THE RULES OF THE GAME OF WAR

2. Fighting Units

At the opening of hostilities, each side has fifteen fighting units at its disposal, to wit:

9 infantry regiments
4 cavalry regiments
1 foot-artillery regiment
1 mounted-artillery regiment

The rate of advance of units is one square per turn for infantry and foot artillery and two squares per turn for cavalry and mounted artillery. A unit may move in any direction. Units permitted to move two squares at a time may do so straight or diagonally; they may also move straight for one square and diagonally for the second, or vice versa, the only restriction being that they must move through and into unoccupied squares. These rapid units may also, of course, be moved just one square per turn if a player so desires.

Units possess a specific tactical strength according to type of armament, and this strength varies, too, according to whether the unit is in an offensive or a defensive mode. Tactical strength is expressed numerically as a factor determined by a unit's situation.

Thus an infantry regiment has an offensive factor of 4 and a defensive factor of 6. This defensive factor rises to 8 where the unit is in possession of a mountain pass, and to 10 when it is garrisoned in a fort.

A cavalry regiment has an offensive factor of 7 when charging, which is to say when it is in direct contact with a square occupied by the enemy unit it is attacking. Its defensive factor is 5, a value that is unaffected when a cavalry unit occupies a pass or a fort. When not charging, cavalry may serve as attacking infantry, in which event its offensive factor is 4.

A cavalry charge consists of the combination of the offensive force of all four of an army's cavalry regiments, which must be aligned without a break along a series of squares, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, with, in the leading position, one such unit placed in direct contact with an enemy unit. Charging cavalry may not attack any enemy unit, of whatever type, that is ensconced in a mountain pass or garrisoning a fort.

An artillery regiment, whether foot or mounted (since this difference concerns speed only), has an offensive factor of 5. Its defensive factor is 8, rising to 10 where the unit is in possession of a pass, and to 12 when it is occupying a fort.

The fire of all units (just like a cavalry charge) travels in straight lines only, along vertical, horizontal or diagonal sequences of squares radiating from the square occupied by the attacking unit. The range of artillery, both offensively and defensively, is three squares aligned in any direction. The range of infantry is two squares. The range of a cavalry unit operating defensively (or serving as attacking infantry, that is to say, when not in contact with the square under attack either directly or via the mediation of a friendly cavalry unit) is also two squares. The offensive range of cavalry charging together in a single column may, of course, cover four squares in the case of the rearmost regiment, whose offensive factor is effective as far as the square taken by the leading cavalry unit. But should this leading unit come under immediate counter-attack, it will have at its disposal (apart from its own defensive factor) only two of its supporting units, since the fourth will now be out of range.