American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

If the defender in a melee wins the melee do the units in the defending hex take a morale check ? Surely if the defending side wins the melee they are not then going to get on there toes and leg it. I read a post fairly recently commenting that melee was too easy in our games,i couldn`t agree more.Could something be done to make melee more costly ? Could the attacker face a morale check if they lost the melee ?
Col Andy Taylor
"Taylors tigers cav division"
III corps
AoG CSA

No notes in front of me, but I believe that:

An attacker that loses a melee does take a morale check at the beginning of their next turn and could route.

A defender that wins a melee may still undergo a morale check because of absorbing losses (just as in ranged fire) but does not suffer a negative modifier that would result from losing a melee.

Those better versed than I can correct any mistakes.

Regards,

Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn
CSA Chief of Staff
3rd Bgde, 3rd Cav Div, II Corps, AoA

God Bless <><

One thing to keep in mind in all of this. It's very possible that a defending unit can win a melee and still take a morale check because of the fire taken in the turn.

Major General Gary McClellan
1st Division, XXIII Corps
AoO,USA

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by andy taylor</i>
<br />If the defender in a melee wins the melee do the units in the defending hex take a morale check ? Surely if the defending side wins the melee they are not then going to get on there toes and leg it. I read a post fairly recently commenting that melee was too easy in our games,i couldn`t agree more.Could something be done to make melee more costly ? Could the attacker face a morale check if they lost the melee ?
Col Andy Taylor
"Taylors tigers cav division"
III corps
AoG CSA
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Hi, Colonel,
I'm not exactly sure why folks seem to think melee is "easy". As it stands now, the attacker has to muster a 5:3 ratio to have an even chance of success. This does not include any terrain or fortification advantages the defender might possess. The attacker has to suffer through full strength defensive fire while only firing back at half strength. In the single turn game, a unit slated to melee can be disrupted, changing the odds and forcing the attacker to make the decision of forgoing the melee or adding another unit (if available) and triggering more fire. Whether he wins or loses, the attacker is disrupted throughout the next player turn, while the defender might return to good order, depending on whether a rout occurred or if it passed the morale check. Even if all the defenders rout after repelling a melee, the defender can move in reserves to defend the hex or even counterattack the depleted attackers. In sum, melee is already weighted heavily in favor of the defender. If you want to eliminate melee entirely, I'm sure that could be arranged by house rule.

For a good narrative of how the mechanics actually worked, read "Red Badge of Courage", about a Union soldier in his first battle. He and a number of his regiment broke and ran when the Rebs attacked, but the regiment as a whole held. Later, after he rejoins his regiment, they attack and take a Reb position(it is a work of fiction, after all). Crane based this narrative on the war stories of ACW veterans, and veterans endorsed it as capturing the essence of combat.

MG Mike Mihalik
1/III/AoMiss/CSA

The rule is:

<font color="red">"The melee defender is subject to normal Morale Checks based on their losses and must automatically take a Morale Check at the end of the Phase if they lose the melee."</font id="red">

Note nothing about attack having to take any kind of morale check win or lose. Which makes melee a nice tactic for forcing morale checks if you think a line is getting sufficiently fatigued or is low morale units, like "E".

If you watch your melees closely you will notice that as an attacker you are disrupted automaticaly but you never route. If you are the defender if you win you may still take a morale check if your total casualties trigger it. If you lose you for sure take a morale check. The thing that makes it a great tactic is regardless the defender's units are going to be disrupted when they go into the check. That means a -1 modifier on the morale check.


LG. Kennon Whitehead
Chatham Grays
1/1/III AoM (CSA)