League Of Augsburg - Fighting Talk

Hi, new to the forum and hope someone can help me get my head around the melee phase of BLB.
Accepting the concept of Fast, uncluttered rules that run from a good fast play sheet I fall to pieces if I cant get my head around the mechanics, the following are the bits I just cant get into David Land
Infantry Charges and Melees on page 20

1. It states that 3 rounds should be fought (More if re inforced)
Loosers of melee are always pushed back 2"
All pushback troops test morale

Therefore is a melee the 3 rounds with casualties added together from a pushback/morale point of view - I.e. Fight three rounds, add up the total casualties, the side with the greatest casualties are pushed back and test morale OR is each round of melee dealt with seperatly i.e. the side with the highest casualties for that round of melee pushed back and tests morale.

The second option is the one I think is discribed which would mean a melee can last a MAXIMUM of 3 rounds (unless reinforced)

2. It states that troops break after a certain number of push backs. Assuming (which can make an - of u & me) that break means rout (??) then a Raw unit that looser the first round of melee will not be pushed back but simply route ?

The line that adds to my confusion is 'Fire casualties count when adjudicating the 'overall' melle result.

Any help appreciated
Dave

Hi Dave,

New to the period and forum myself and I haven't even played a game with my BLB rules yet.I'm busy building my Marlburian British army and just reading the rules over and over again and like anything new it takes time to understand the mechanics of how they work.
Infantry Charges and Melee Page 20
It is confusing the way it has been worded, but the way I understand it 3 turns/rounds of combat is the maximum number any one battalion can fight unless reinforced.
After each round of combat the loser being the battalion that received the most casualties must test there morale Page 23 Testing Infantry Morale see 7th circumstance - Lost melee and pushed back this turn.
So with bad luck the losing battalion may not even be there to fight a second or third round.
Again on Page 20 Raw Troops break/rout automatically on first push back,
Drilled Troops on second push back, Elite on third, and Guards on forth consecutive push back.
All troops in melee are disordered after their first round of combat and anyone joining a melee are automatically disordered.
Next again on Page 20 you need to understand that infantry can only Charge shaken or disordered infantry or a defended obstacle, except if Tribal infantry who can charge anything.
Standing and Firing at Chargers is a choice infantry may make when being charged themselves, these casualties count towards the casualty result when working out the overall results of a melee.They may also stop cavalry charging home.
Just keep reading the rules over and over again and the mechanics of them should fall into place.

Hope this helps.............Ray.

Hi Ray
Thanks for the reply, your understanding of the melee phase confirms my thoughts - many thanks.

Iam working on a Danish/Dutch Army at the moment, the rest of the chaps I game with are doing various other nations.

I think we will get our first game in about 6 weeks & I guess it wont be until we have played through it that it will become clear.

Cheers
Dave

I am happy to answer any questions that anyone has about the rules so pst away and I also am very happy for others apart from myself to snwer the queries!! so thanx Ray and others who pick up the cudgel.
On the 'three rounds' query.
A unit could technically fight for more than three rounds if a melee was reinforced by opponents.The push back rule is as stated by Ray. Guards could take three consecutive pushbacks and as long as they passed morale could survive. Other quality troops could not.
These situations DO occasionally occur in my experience but the key word here is OCCASIONALLY. Play a few games, see what happens. I think you may find that the possible but improbable very rarely occurs!!

No problem Barry, and thank you I'm just glad I got it right and gave the right answer

Ray.