Command Combat… Other Periods

I placed the colon between Command Combat and Civil War for a specific reason, because the Command Combat system is intended to reach beyond the Civil War.  The idea of orders having to be sent out from generals to their subordinates is one that can work in any period, especially ones before radio contact.  It makes battles represent their time periods more accurately as there is a lag time between making a decision and implementing it.  It also makes the player feel more like one person trying to herd a large army rather than micromanaging every aspect.

Also, I intentionally made the rules as simple as I could because I believe war gaming begs to be simplified.  With computer games making it easier than ever to play with ease, the best way to compete is to have simplified and fun rules.  Plus, even if computer games didn’t exist, those of us who grew up with war games now have responsibilities, and we can’t play 12 hour epic games like we once did.  So it’s best to have games that are quick and easy to play.

Therefore, I see this system expanding into other periods, particularly those with muskets.  It would transfer simply enough to those periods because the strategies and maneuvers are all the same with only a few exceptions.  The big difference would be the ranges and the special rules granted to specific commanders based on their styles of leadership.  There would also be some minor alterations based on their countries.  For instance, Napoleonic era infantry could form square, though Austrian infantry would have a separate, special maneuver that they did instead of square.  Also, cavalry would be more useful in battles rather than before and after the combat.

Eventually, my plan is to make two or three expanded rules systems.  One would be pre-American Civil War, and one would be post-American Civil War.  I would possibly have a separate book just for the Napoleonic era since that was so iconic, but I’m not sure.

The reason I have it all hinge on the Civil War is because that’s when everything changed.  The advent of the rifled musket made everything different from ranges to strategies, so I would put those in separate books.  However, I would like to make the point values such that one could mix and match armies from every book to go against one another, creating “what if” scenarios.  I’m also considering ways to let a player choose between rifled and smoothbore muskets just so everyone’s on an even playing field.  That way you could build a French army under Napoleon to take on an army of the Satsuma rebellion, or have armies of the Mexican war go up against George Washington and his rebel band.

One day this will happen; but I must finish what I have planned for Command Combat: Civil War first.

My Source of Information

When looking up information, I always start with Wikipedia.  Some people criticize that for some reason.  I don’t understand why.  First, they provide a great overview to get you started, and they have everything in one convenient location.  You add to that the fact that not only does it list the various connections, (what battles the unit or general was in, etc.) but they have links!  These links become enormously helpful.

But here’s what’s specifically great about Wikipedia: They list their sources, with links, at the bottom of the page.  That’s right, if I want to learn more about what I’m reading, I can click on those links and find out more, or learn where to buy a book I need, etc.

I also have a small library of Civil War books.  The most useful one, of course, is Shelby Foote’s The Civil War.  Nothing is more complete, and easy to navigate.  As I was making each book, I read through the years of which I was writing in Foote’s book, occasionally picking up something to use I hadn’t gotten out of Wikipedia.  I also had Ken Burn’s documentary running almost on a continuous loop on the specific year of which I was writing.  This provided inspiration and, again, small ideas I hadn’t considered before.

And, as I said, I have a few other books that I went through to find a bit more to put in.  For instance, I knew there was something interesting Forrest had done in ’64 that I wasn’t seeing in my regular sources, so I picked up his biography again and found it, placing it in as one of his special rules.

A more specific example of something that came out of Foote’s book was Longstreet’s special ability to create a flank attack.  I knew he had played an important role in the Battle of the Wilderness, coming in at just the right time to hit the Federals and taking them by surprise; but what I had forgotten was that he split up a brigade, creating a separate one under a temporarily promoted officer.  This way the Federals thought they knew where every Confederate brigade was, and was therefore surprised when a new one appeared on their flank.  As such, his rule allows him to break up a brigade and have a new one appear within a certain distance and attack.

1864 History