For those who are accustomed to the world of ‘hex and counter’ wargames, the unit pieces in Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars can be a little disorienting, because they do lack many distinctive elements. There are no NATO symbols, no uniforms, no corps or regiments to which they belong, and – above all – no values indicating movement or combat strength.

The pieces – the work of the excellent Fabio Maiorana – are generic rectangular pieces in red and blue (recalling the illustrations and colors of old battle maps) bearing the icon of the type of ‘arm’ (infantry, cavalry or artillery) with a color (white, silver-grey or gold-yellow) indicating the quality of the unit itself.

The information given by the colour and type icon together also define the unit class. For example, white infantries represent the classic line infantry unit. Gold cavalries are heavy cavalry units like Cuirassiers , etc. Each of these types is associated with some special rules, that modify the way units move and/or fight, and how they should be used on the battlefield.

A unit on the battlefield consists of two of these pieces sharing the same hex. The mutual arrangement of the two pieces will indicate whether this unit is deployed in a line, column or square, or whether it is disordered (without formation) or broken (with only one point of strength left). While cavalry and artillery can only have one type of formation (column and line respectively), infantry can change their formation during the course of battle.

One peculiar aspect is that different formations act almost as different creatures on the battlefield. Thus, columns will be used to move faster, to push away enemy units and to occupy strategic positions on the battlefield. Lines, on the other hand, will be used for defensive purposes, being able to fire more effectively on enemy deployments, at the expense of mobility. Finally, squares are – as expected – an excellent defence against enemy cavalry, but very ineffective in terms of combat and movement.

Depending on their formation, units will attack using different special dice, with different effects. Column formations will use  grey Assault dice, while Line formations will use orange Fire dice. I will describe more in details these dice in the next article.

Knowing how to skillfully manage formations, knowing when to switch between them, and knowing when to issue them orders will be the keys to winning the battle.