As the attacker, the acting player will determine the total number of chits to be pulled for combat resolution. He must choose the minimum number but may choose up to the maximum. This choice must be declared aloud before drawing the first chit.

The active player draws each chit, one at a time, and resolves the chit before the next one is drawn. Both players are free to examine the results chit.

All chits have two sides, for the vast majority of which only one side’s effect is used in a given combat. Some chits may not be applicable for a combat, as the condition for neither side is met; these are to be taken as no result. For most chits, one side will take precedence, meaning that if its condition is met, that side’s effect will apply.

Some chits will apply both sides’ effects for that combat. These are rare, but significant.

Where a chit effect causes a hit, the total number of hits for that combat are summed, before the hits are allocated. All other effects take effect immediately, except morale tests as these occur at the very end of a combat resolution.

As both the active and inactive players’ units may suffer hits, the following rules apply to both players during combat resolution. All effects that apply to the defender are resolved before any effects which apply to the attacker.

When allocating hits, the lead battalion of a brigade must receive the first hit. The owning player may then spread the remaining hits over the rest of the brigade, but the lead battalion must take a second hit before any other battalion takes a second hit.  

If a combat chit’s effect is to reduce the number of hits taken, this occurs before any hits are allocated to a brigade participating in that combat.

After allocating the first hit against the lead battalion, the owning player may choose to negate up to two more hits by retreating the affected brigade one space for each hit. The retreating unit must make a legal move to do so and must end further from away from visible enemy units; the retreating brigade may not move adjacent to an enemy unit. If this condition is not able to be met, the player may not retreat that unit and the hits will apply.

If the player retreats a unit, to negate a hit, after the first retreat move, the unit gains a fatigue point. If the same unit is retreated a second time, from that combat, then it also becomes disordered.

Example #1:

                Brent sends Bylant’s Brigade of infantry against David’s infantry brigade, Karl Franz, in a hasty attack. Brent’s modified Combat Die Roll is 17; David’s modified roll is 6. Brent’s combat strength ratio is therefore 2:1, as he needed one more pip to reach 3:1, much to David’s relief. Brent must draw at least three chits, due to the Hasty Attack tactic, but may choose to draw up to five, as David’s played Defend, given that his brigade is holding a small village and its environs. Brent feels luck is on his side, although he cannot count artillery support as it is a hasty attack, and announces that he will draw five chits. He draws the chits and while David watches, he determines which chit sides have precedence and which do not. One of the chits applies in a 2:1 situation, so that side will take effect as the other precedence side is Open (ground) and this combat occurs in a village. Note, Brent’s brigade is in open ground, but combat occurs in the defending unit’s terrain. Each of the chit effects that apply are summed with the result of A1, D1, D-1, F, and M.

David ‘s defending unit suffers no hits, due to the one hit being canceled by one of the chits. Brent’s attacking unit suffers one hit, allocated against the lead battalion of that brigade. As Brent’s unit suffered the most hits from that combat, it also receives the Fatigue effect (gains one FP) and must also take the Morale test, which his unit passes. This ends this combat’s resolution.

Example #2:

Following the combat in Example #1, David is now the active player, and he selects Hasty Attack, targeting Brent’s brigade that just attacked (Bylant), using his Karl Franz brigade that had successfully defended. As Brent cannot choose Evade, since his infantry brigade is not eligible for evasion, and since he is not in defensible terrain, being in the open, Brent cannot select Defend. Brent also wants to save time, for a Prepared attack later in the same turn, so he choses Hold.

The modified CDR for David is 11, and Brent’s is 13. Brent’s defenders have a very slight advantage in combat power, but this only matter a chit’s condition relies on combat power.

Now, David must choose three chits, but may add a fourth. He decides to draw the minimum of three. He pulls chits with the applicable effects of A1, A2, D2. Ouch! A costly combat. David allocates one hit against his lead battalion, but as he does not want to vacate the village, he chooses to not retreat and therefore takes the second hit and applies it to another battalion in his brigade. Brent must take one hit against his lead battalion, and he allocates the hit accordingly. He now elects to negate both remaining hits by retreating, and his brigade is now disordered with a fatigue point. As neither brigade is yet wavering, and no effects required a Morale test, the combat ends. Brent’s Bylant brigade has two Fatigue Points, is disordered, and has taken at least two hits so far in this battle. David’s Kark Franz brigade has taken two hits but remains defending the village.

Example #3

 Later in the same turn, David spies an opportunity. He plays Cavalry Charge and moves two cavalry regiment stands adjacent to Brent’s Bylant brigade as it is vulnerable to such a combat. Brent chose Hold, as it was his only option. Brent’s CDR is 2 and David’s is 14, ending with a ratio of 7:1 in David’s favor. David must draw a minimum of two chits, and a maximum of three; he draws three.

After determining the applicable effects, the results are A2, D2 and M. Another costly combat.

Brent takes another hit against his lead battalion and retreats, gaining a third Fatigue Point. David applies one hit to each of the lead squadrons of his two cavalry regiments. As neither side received more hits, although the allocated hits were 1 and 2, defender to attacker, both sides’ units will take morale tests. David passes one and fails the other, reducing one of the regiments’ morale levels.  Brent miraculously passes his morale test and recovers from disorder (passing any morale test has an additional effect of removing disorder from the unit). Luck was with Brent after all. David’s one cavalry regiment that passed morale may advance, for free, one move, to occupy the position Brent’s brigade just left.

If Brent’s brigade does have suffer any further casualties this turn, at the end of the turn he can switch the lead battalion in his brigade. David can do the same, swapping out the lead squadron, for each of his two regiments, if he chooses to do so.

A unit removes one fatigue point at the end of each turn, requiring a Rest order card to remove 1d3 more FPs. A Rally/Recover order is used to attempt to recover a lost hit, but the last hit can never be recovered. The same order, Rally/Recover, can be used to recover from Disorder, but not in the same activation as an attempt to Rally by the same unit.