Republique Tactics

REPUBLIQUE
GRAND-TACTICAL NAPOLEONIC WARFARE IN MINIATURE

Republique FAQ

Why is there no volleying in Republique?: The command perspective in Republique is that of a corps or column commander, maybe a division commander. Officers at that level are not really dealing with the coordination of small-arms, they are more concerned about the larger aspects of the battle. A major goal of Republique is to resolve a major battle in a reasonable amount of playing time, and merging volley fire with melee combat and other assault-related elements was the best way to move the game forward as quickly as possible. At the end of the day - or maybe we should say "at the end of the hour" - the senior command's perspective of the combat will be that of knowing that an assault happened, and that either friendly or enemy troops had lost ground. How that happened would be less of an immediate concern and substantially (but not entirely) out of their control.

So, there is no order system in Republique?: Yes there is, but it is more a "control" system. Each division's current action (action = orders) is declared just before game play starts, and such formations in the game may continue doing next turn, whatever they did last turn. So if a unit was advancing last turn, it may continue advancing this turn. If it was on hold last turn, it may automatically continue holding this turn without having to reassess or test for anything. Only if they are making a substantial change in their action do they need to make a die roll test for Maneuver. So it is not all "free", it is just that continuity matters. As for higher level orders, that is handled as written or texted orders between players, so in that regard, yes there are orders, but it is up to the players to send and interpret them.

For the corps system and the "corps level assets," can I just declare everything in my corps as a corps level asset?: This falls under order-of-battle changes. It is not permitted for players on the corps system to declare all (or large blocks) of their infantry or cavalry as "corps level assets" so they can move them at-will without bothering to issue orders. Corps level assets are going to be small in size and are typically rather humble assemblies of cavalry and/or artillery.

Can I scoop-up a block of good officers and send them all to one assault to help punch a hole in the lines?: The cumulative effect of the E or P leader within 3" assault modifier should not be used to weaponize an army's upper leadership by unnaturally collecting and concentrating high value commanders at a single point on the battlefield in order to gain a block of plus-points. Players who appear to be doing this should either be stopped by the game umpire, or at least be held very closely to any rules (e.g., Maneuver and Rally) which penalize leaders who wander away from their formation.

I have an infantry regiment in line occupying a village, and one of its bases is hanging in the open (i.e., not in the buildings) at one end. An enemy infantry unit outflanks the regiment against that one base in the open, is my regiment in town considered outflanked?: Yes. If you wanted to avoid suffering the outflanked minus, you should have put all of the bases in town conforming to its footprint, or deepened the unit to bring those bases to the rear. The regiment will still get the bonus for being in town, but it will also suffer the outflanked minus because some of its troops got hit on their flank outside of town.

If I put artillery fire onto an infantry unit marked as being in square, and I am also firing from the typical "firing from enfilade" angle down the length of the unit, is that a double-enfilade bonus?: No. An Infantry unit in square is considered an enfilade target from all firing angles; front, side and rear. There are no additional or doubling of enfilade bonuses gained from any additional firing angle considerations against the unit.

Can a player roll to change a division's maneuver state (orders) after they have already moved?: No. Rolling at the end of a move phase would essentially allow two die roll tries for each change attempt (one try at the end of this phase and another try at the beginning of the next friendly movement phase).

What happens after one unit out of an Advancing division makes a Maneuver to one side to assault an enemy, when that unit is now facing a different direction than the rest of the division?: If the unit wants to again move in a different direction than the rest of the division on the next turn, it must roll for Maneuver again. At that point it is basically a separate task force operating on the division's flank, which must be rolled for each turn. Failure to roll successfully to maintain that, means that the unit must then move (if at all) in a way that rejoins the division and moves on their approximate heading (within 45 degrees).

Is pre-measuring allowed to find out whether an assaulting unit is within General or All Out assault range?: Yes. Pre-measuring is allowed for checking assault ranges because each category is a very specific declaration of command intent, planning and execution, and not just a randomly established occurrence.

Game Tactics
A few words on tactics and their application to the Republique wargame rules

Setup and leaders: If you are generating leader traits on the Setup page, remember that the commander of your side can change the order-of-battle before game play starts. This means for example, that if you roll a deficient leader for your best reserve troops, you still have time to transfer him out to a less important division while transferring in some other better leader to command your best troops.

Grand Tactical Support: Proper deployment of your forces is crucial. Placing divisions too far apart from each other is a common error which leaves your units vulnerable. Many army corps of this period operated on surprisingly narrow fronts, often between 20 and 30 inches game scale or maybe less. This assured that neighboring divisions were nearby and able to help. 18 inches may not seem like far on the game board, but in reality, divisions would have avoided operating 1500 yards apart from each other. Despite these constricted deployments, you must still attempt to maintain clear lanes within each division to allow for passage of cavalry and artillery.

Tactical Support: One of the biggest problems in many games is lack of mutual support for attacking units. Many commanders are tempted to go on adventures with individual formations, especially with cavalry brigades which are fleetingly presented with tempting targets. Remember, Republique is not forgiving to poorly supported units, and while your cavalry may pound an impressive hole in enemy lines, the enemy will react. And his reaction may be to flank the cavalry before it can reform and withdraw. When you use your cavalry, support it with other cavalry and horse artillery to prevent enemy units from cutting them off.; Artillery is another type of support which should be closely integrated. A common mistake is to mask artillery batteries with assaulting troops. After all, once the assault goes in, the infantry will decide the rest right? Maybe not. When organizing an assault, leave gaps in or between your attacking divisions. These can then be used by artillery to keep firing onto enemy targets right up until (and after) the assault hits, thereby giving your infantry the best possible support.

Terrain: Develop an eye for terrain. Intervening rough ground can interfere with mutual support of units. Rivers, forest, ravines and rough areas can all slow down units moving to the aid of formations in distress. On the other hand, look for enemy deployments which can be exploited. See if your opponent has isolated units which can be destroyed piecemeal before help can arrive. If your current deployment does not allow interior-lines, then abandon part of the line to consolidate your position - there are no rules against that.

Artillery: It is best to keep an artillery reserve, so that damaged or morale hit batteries on the line can be pulled away and replaced with fresh bases. This keeps joint battery fire from being disrupted by weak units. Even without an immediate reserve, badly damaged or morale hit batteries should be pulled back to avoid becoming weak points in the front which the enemy can use to crowbar their way into a flanking position against nearby units.

Skirmishers: If pesky enemy skirmishers are harassing your troops near the edge of a wood line, try sending one of your dedicated light infantry units forward, and sweep the area with packed skirmishers (if there is no enemy artillery nearby). As you move in, hit the opposing parent unit with skirmish fire until it has so many morale hits that it has to pull in its own skirmish markers. This effectively sweeps the area clear of the problem, at least for the moment.

Maneuver: If you end up with a heavily morale-hit unit at the front of an advance, move it to the rear first. This gets the weak unit out of the way at its own movement cost instead of forcing fresh units to lose movement as they pass through the rattled or shaken troops to their front.

Withdrawals: If you are forced to withdraw to another place on the field, place some infantry in square supported by cavalry. About face the rest of your force so it can march away at full speed while the squares and cavalry guard the rear.

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