Stripped Down for Parts: Banish All Their Fears: Bayonet & Musket Series, Vol. 1

  

 

Ben Hull has designed a handful of historically based wargames that run from conventional hex-and-counter games (the Musket and Pike series series) to the truly groundbreaking (Fields of Fire (GMT Games, 2008), of which the Deluxe Second Edition, at time of writing, is being shipped from the GMT’s Hanford warehouse to eager gamers across the globe). I have a particular interest Early Modern history and warfare. Early Modern isn’t a term used in wargaming circles, but (depending who you ask) it covers roughly the period from 1550 to around the 1790s (which marks the beginning of the Age of Revolution, or more commonly the Napoleonic Era for wargamers – I think there might be enough in the way history is divvied up to warrant a post of its own; if anyone’s interested, leave a comment), so when I heard – a few years ago now – that Mr Hull was co-designing (with David A. Fox)a new system to explore the pivotal battles of the tactics of the late 1600s to mid-1700s, I knew this was something I’d have to get my hands on.

The first volume of GMT’s Bayonet and Musket series is Banish All Their Fears (GMT Games. 2023). It was released last year; I had ordered it on P500 but had to drop my order (when there was a flat fee for up to 12 lbs, I couldn’t justify paying $53.00 shipping for a $40.00-something game), but I managed to pick it up a few months later in last year’s Fall Sale, so all’s well that ends well.

Banish all their Fears is actually two games in one; presented here are the battles of Neerwinden (July 29, 1693) and Blenheim (August 13. 1704). I always feel like I’m getting more value for money getting a whole second battle in a tactical wargame (we’ve been spoilt in recent years with the Men of Iron Tri-Pack (GMT Games, 2020) and the Musket and Pike: Dual Pack (GMT Games, 2022), but for a new rules system, two is a good starting number.

The first thing you notice about the box cover is the title. The calligraphic script sets a (rough) expectation of the period of this historical simulation and conveys a sense of the seriousness of the game. The highlighting of the individual title rather than the series title also evokes a particular sensibility, hopefully putting the prospective player into the correct mental framework.

The cover illustration is a notable (if slightly inappropriate) painting by the late nineteenth century artist Richard Simkin. Simkin specialised in the accurate representation of period uniforms. This is what he’s best known for – especially in miniatures gaming circles – but Simkin also responsible for dozens of battle paintings, many of which adorn the halls of Britain’s most storied army regiments. While evocative of the period of the game and the nature of the tactics involved, the unit and battle portrayed in the cover art are the First Foot Guards, visualised here in their moment of glory as the battle of Ramillies. It does make for a great cover, especially framed by the cardinal red of the box, but it might have been better to save it for the freshly announced Volume II of the Bayonet and Musket series, Over the Hills and Far Away (GMT Games, ~2026) which will cover the battles of Steenkirk (August 3, 1692, during the War of the League of Augsburg) and Ramillies (May 23, 1706, part of the War of the Spanish Succession). Same wars covered as here, but different battles.

The box back offers short descriptions of the two battles covered in the game and outlines the scope of the Bayonet and Musket series which, appropriately enough, is envisioned to cover the significant battles of Europe from the War of the League of Augsburg through the War of Spanish Succession. This period is a high point in the ear of the decisive battle, where huge sovereign or coalition armies would often decide the fate of nations in a single bloody day.

The box back also tells us that Banish All Their Fears is intended to be a two player game for the usual 14+ age-group (though for the subject matter alone, I’d be reluctant to try this on anyone under about sixteen). The game’s complexity is a 6 out of 9 – the high end of intermediate, a little taxing but not overwhelming), and its solitaire rating is 7 out of 9. These sound about right, but what gave me pause was the 3-7 hours playing time. I can see how the bigger battle Blenheim) could take six or seven hours to play to conclusion, but I may have to wait until someone with a spare room retires so I can leave it set up at their place between sessions.

We’re also told the map scale is roughly 200-220 yards to a hex, that the individual units are battalions of 500-600 soldiers (the manoeuvre unit for the game is the brigade, each of which will be made up of two to five or more battalions), a Cavalry counter represents two to three squadrons, and a regimental artillery marker represents a battery of eight to ten guns.

The Playbook and Rules of Play. (Sorry but I didn't have the bandwidth to research
the provenance of the booklet cover illustrations. I may get to that for the review.)

As is often the case with historical simulations (and with series games in general), Banish All Their Fears comes with a Rulebook and a separate Playbook. The Rulebook has been prepared with its role as a series rulebook in mind. Any game-exclusive rules will be found in the Playbook. Both books appear to be well laid out, set in the preferred GMT font (a version of Garamond at a guess, but I’m no expert).

I haven’t spent a lot of time yet with Banish All Their Fears (I haven’t even finished punching and sorting the game at time of writing), but I’m working through the rulebook now. When the game first arrived, I was distracted with other game and family priorities, and put it on the metaphorical shelf (actually, a stack of new arrivals), not forgotten, but neglected.

The Rulebook is just 24 pages long and profusely illustrated. In the time between BATF’s release and me finally getting to the look seriously at the game, there was some chatter in the usual places of the rules being obtuse, badly written, or outright unplayable, depending on the shrillness of the commentator. Maybe I’m missing something, but I’m working through the rulebook now – I’ve only had a cursory look at the Battle Book at this stage – and so far, I’m not hitting any roadblocks.* The game begins with some different concepts, like making the focus on command and control practically a separate meta-game, directly influencing the action on the board, but I knew that going in. It was alluded to in the description I read, what, maybe three years ago on the GMT product page when the game was first launched on P500.

I don’t want to get too deep into the long grass regarding how the game works – I’ll save that for an AAR or review – but the Bayonet & Musket system uses two boards in the execution of a game; the game map, reflecting the geography and battlefield and the status of the combatants, and a Command Display, where each side in their turn attempts to order their units. If the manoeuvring on the Command board is successful, those moves are translated to the hex-grided Battle map.

The Playbook comes in at 64 pages. The Playbook features a pretty thorough Table of Contents, a one-page historical introduction to set the mood, then straight into Neerwinden. Both battle sections feature historical notes, Set-up information. Any scenario specific rules, and exhaustive lists of the make-up of each brigade in the two sides’ Orders of Battle. The Neerwinden section runs to eighteen pages, the Blenheim section to twenty-two pages. There are a few exclusive rules for each of the two featured battles, but in each case, they amount to just a handful of clauses (about half a column for Blenheim, less for Neerwinden).      

The Battle-specific sections are followed by a further five pages of historical notes covering uniforms, cavalry and infantry formations and musketry techniques. A seven-page Detailed Example of Play, a bibliography, reproductions of the counter-sheets and maps, and a handy reproduction of the Sequence of Play on the back cover page. The Sequence of Play is broken down into fix steps, which can be tracked on the Turn Track card, but we’ll get to that shortly.

The two games share a Turn Track PAC. The game’s progress is measured in twenty-minute and one-hour increments; when the third Minutes rounds has been played, the Minutes marker returns to the first box and the Hour marker is advanced along its track. The card also boasts a Phase track, with the six phases of play:

- the Artillery Phase (in which both sides limber, move, unlimber, or fire their artillery units. The movement-related actions are committed simultaneously, then, starting with the player with the most pieces on the board, the antagonists work through their firing cannon units consecutively, until done.

- next, the Wing Activation Phase. The action here takes place on the Command Board; starting with the player with the highest Army Commander rating, the players take turns activating a Wing Commander, then giving an order to a single unit in that wing. Once this is completed, the Wing Commander’s counter is flipped to its Finished side. Orders go back and forth until all Wing Commanders have given their orders, or until both players have passed.

- the third phase – the Brigade Activation Phase – involves executing orders given to each brigade consecutively (back and forth between the players) until each brigade’s orders have been executed or changed by the brigade commander. This is also where the fighting takes place. This phases also finishes when both players have passed.

 - The last three phases are administrative and should be fairly quick to execute. These include the Routed Unit Movement Phase (all Routed units perform their Rout movement here), Victory Determination (when appropriate), and the Clean Up & Reset Phase, which involves housekeeping prep for the next turn.

The game comes with a stack of cards, so we’ll work through them now. Firstly, there are two duplicate pairs of double-sided Player Aid Cards, one each per player (no need to share). One offers the Command and Movement Tables, the other Combat Tables for Infantry and Artillery (front) and Cavalry (verso). The CRTs are clear, with lots of notes covering abbreviations and

The Command and Movement Tables offers a list of Wing Actions (which can be conducted in the Wing Activation Phase), Movement allowances, a Brigade Order Change table (a brigade commander may attempt to change their orders given a change in the situation on the ground).

There are no surprises with the combat results tables. These are eminently readable, with decent-sized explanatory notes for results, CV modifiers and Open Flank conditions, and includes a simple chart for units unable to retreat. Looking as these, I’m left thinking the actual combat resolution may be the simplest part of the system.

On the reverse side, Cavalry combat gets the same treatment, with two tables; the top one for horse on horse violence, and the second for the potentially messier horse on pedestrian attack. All the charts have a +/- value for the columns, depending on the relative strengths of the Attacking and Defending parties, Finds the column, check your modifiers, and roll a d10.

Artillery works a little differently, with the roll compared to the column marked from the distance (range) of target hex. The further away, the more likely to miss. A hit can be a Hit (grey circle) or an Effective Hit (filled in circle); each carries its own little bundle of difficulties for the recipient, and two consecutive Hits will equate to an Effective Hit. Markers are provided for these conditions in the counter mix.

The Blenheim Command Map. Both players use the same map. There is no hidden
information in BATF, which is a good thing, as the translation from the Command
Map to the Battle Map should produce enough fog of war for the most
stout-hearted of simulationist.

As I as previously alluded to, one of the innovations of Bayonet & Musket system is the introduction of a two-tier manoeuvre system, reflecting the difficulties in managing the enormous armies fielded by nations at the time. The Command Map is a schematic representation of the battlefield divisions or “wings,” indicated on the corresponding battle maps (these divisions are marked on the battle map with inconspicuous dashed-red lines). The battle area is divided into five Wings, and each turn, the Army Commander can give one order to each Wing Commander. Good operational communications and competent senior officers were crucial to success in the field, but the earliest conception of a formal general staff was still a hundred years in the future, in the time of Empress Maria Theresa. In their time, leaders like Marlborough had to wing it (I’ll see myself out).

The Blenheim Battle Map. These crappy photos really don't do justice to the work here.

The maps are slightly schematised representations of the Neerwinden and Blenheim battlefields. This schematic realignment is needed to bring the geographical features such as rivers and roads into a manageable alignment with the superimposed hex-grid, and in turn with the red-dashed lines marking the divisions between the armies’ wings, or distinct manoeuvre areas (which you probably can’t quite make out make out in these photos).

The Neerwinden Battle Map. The wing boundaries remain sadly obscured, here,
but they are clear enough to work with IRL.

 The grand complication of the game is manoeuvre management; getting the troops you need to the place where you need them. The careful arrangements made on the Command Map in the Wing Activation Phase of a turn are interpreted on the Battle map into action on the confused and crowded reality of the battlefield. While I haven’t played the game yet, this feels like it might be the best realisation in a hex-and-counter simulation of the difficulties facing overall commanders in this age.

The maps themselves are a joy to behold. Looking at them, it should come as no surprise the artist responsible was none other than Charlie Kibler, who has been responsible for some of my favourite game maps. They are at once attractive and fully functional. The maps are just one more reason to get this game to the table sooner rather than later.

Counter sheets 1&2.

Counter sheets 3&4.

And counter sheets 5&6. Long autumn nights of clipping ahead.

The unit counters for Banish All Their Fears are simply gorgeous. The choices of colours for the various nations are both appropriate and historically accurate, and they stand out on the board. I was a little disappointed when I first saw the yellowy-buff ground colour, but the counters pop on the map, so I can see the wisdom in the choice now. with illustrations representing formations of infantry, cavalry, dragoons (who may fight as infantry or cavalry, depending on the situation) and tactical field artillery (brigade light cannon, heavy batteries are abstracted).

Some folks have complained about the shift from a representative soldier in uniform a the counter’s illustration, such as we see in the Musket and Pike series, has given way to birds-eye representations of men in dressed files. I don’t have a problem with this; in fact, I really like the way the units are represented here. In all, the armies of thirty-six different nations and principalities are represented in this game The counter art is attributed to Dariusz Buraczewski. Mr Buraczewski has indeed worked on dozens of games, including a clutch of GMT titles (check his credits). I haven’t played many of the games he has contributed to, but his work here is outstanding.

The box is the solid two-inch box you’d expect to get from GMT. The game also comes with two ten-sided dice in a non-descript but functional light grey) and a roll of baggies, although I think I’ll be repurposing these; Banish All Their Fears is a game that demands counter trays. I’m just not sure of the best way to sort the counters yet. If anyone has some advice in this regard, drop me a note.

 

* While I’ve been chipping away preparing this post, Justegarde has done a two-part playthrough (as well as a comparison between the Blenheim battle and Steve Pole’s Battle of Blenheim, 1704 (Legion Wargames, 2018)) on his YouTube channel that put my humble contribution here in the shade. Justin noted in his playthrough that the living rules were a big improvement on those presented in the box, and I respect his opinion on these things more than some, so I think I’ll be visiting the print-shop before I try to tackle this game. I think I’d still like to write a review of the game, but after I’ve played the battles through a couple of times each.