Honour Forums

Discuss the Honour system.

1. Alan Charlesworth
   Member

   In my last game I realised that the rules do not seem to fully cover bridges (unless I have overlooked a section). We had a bridge that went accross an impassable river but never got to a point where it was contested, so didn't have to improvise any rules. Before this comes up again I would be interested in other thoughts on this.

   When moving accross a bridge it is reasonable to assume there would be a road either side. So looking at the rules for roads - roads negate other terrain. Although the rules don't specify a formation for moving on a road it is reasonable to assume that this would have to be March formation. Here we have to accept the usual wargame problem of terrain models being vastly overscale relative to groundscale (to accomodate our 1BW wide figure stand) - in this case a 30 metre wide road or bridge. So perhaps can accept that we can get our unit accross the bridge in March formation.

   However, if the crossing is contested then we have a problem. As a unit in March formation cannot move to contact or fire, it cannot cross the bridge if opposed. The attacker would have to have sufficient force to destroy all opposition by fire from the opposite bank before attempting to cross. This would prove rather difficult in practice.

   Has anyone encountered this problem?

   Posted 1 year ago #

2. John de Terre Neuve
   Member

   Nice question, I encountered the same problem when running a scenario while I was testing another set of rules(decided I liked Lasalle more). It is hard to imagine crossing a bridge in anything but march formation, so I suppose you really have no other option if the river is impassable.

   John

   Posted 1 year ago #

3. Alan Charlesworth
   Member

   Yes I think for practical wargaming purposes March is the only formation you can use - otherwise you would have to create a complicated rule section just for movement on roads and bridges etc.

   However, I do think something is needed with regard to assaulting accross bridges otherwise you just have this standoff situation. Everyone has heard of Rivoli and Lodi and there are numerous other accounts of contested bridge crossings.

   Given that there is an AB map with a bridge and an impassable river I am suprised this question has not come up more often. There is a 1 in 12 chance of getting this map. Are players ignoring this map, or aren't there many AB games being played?

   This topic has been raised in previous posts by yourself and seperately by evilgong. However, there was no conclusion reached and Sam made no suggestions. Hopefully this thread will generate more discussion.

   Posted 1 year ago #

4. Andrew
   Member

   Had this occur in a solo game, I decided to allow the unit to cross bridge in march formation only and to be able to charge the opposing unit, fighting a the melee with half dice. Seemed a logical and more realistic exception to the rule.

   Posted 1 year ago #

5. Alan Charlesworth
   Member

   Sam

   Doesn't this require an official rule clarification?

   Posted 1 year ago #

6. Sam Mustafa
   Le Grand Fromage

   Sorry, this escaped my notice.

   Yes, I will do an official clarification to the effect that you can only cross a bridge in March formation.

   Posted 1 year ago #

7. cam_millar
   Member

   One oddity I saw in a game in the weekend, is this seems to mean a defended bridge is harder to cross than a stream or (from memory) a ford across a river.

   You cannot charge an enemy unit on the other side of a bridge. But you can charge an enemy unit on the other side of a stream or ford crossing a river (since it is rough ground).

   Don't we have some rather famous examples of troops charging across a bridge (seem to recall that fellow Napoleon did it).

   Is there anything that states how wide a ford is and how it is placed?

   Cam

   Posted 1 year ago #

8. Sam Mustafa
   Le Grand Fromage

   I always thought that Napoleon's infamous charge across the bridge was only made possible by the French artillery clearing the Austrian defenders back away from the riverbank.

   My feeling is that, at the scale of Lasalle, a stream is really just an impediment. But a bridge represents some necessary crossing of a major body of water.

   Posted 1 year ago #

9. mikepfanenstiel
   Member

   A lot of bridges in Italy have steep banks, maybe deep water after winter snows, but some are just streams where the bridge makes it easier to travel. There are several minor fights perfect for LaSalle over a bridge crossing. Might want to consider a bridge a special terrain piece like a town square. I.e. "Bridge attack column" looks like a March Column when crossing a bridge, but fans out to Attack column when across.

   Posted 1 year ago #

10. Alan Charlesworth
    Member

    Sam

    It wasn't so much the March Formation issue I was thinking that needed a rule clarification but the ability to somehow assault accross a bridge.

    Unless I am reading it incorrectly the River Crossing map on page 88 has an impassable river running right accross the board with a single bridge. A game played on this map is likely to consist of two sides staring and firing at one another accross the river with no way of crossing and coming to grips with each other. If you roll this table you can probably agree a draw without setting out any figures and move onto the next game?

    Posted 1 year ago #

11. Sam Mustafa
    Le Grand Fromage

    We've played a couple of games with that map, and the attacker almost always chooses fords and/or bridges for his terrain options. But the river on that map also runs diagonally, so there can easily be crossings on the attacker's side of the board, long before he reaches the defender's lines.

    Posted 1 year ago #

12. Grinner
    Member

    I thought that all rivers/streams in AB games were considered Rough Terrain?

    Posted 1 year ago #

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