Contents Contents _____________________________1 7.7 Routs from Battle ____________23 Credits _____________________________1 7.8 Generals Killed or Wounded ______23 1.0 About Rally Round the Flag® ___________2 8.0 End of Turn ________________________24 1.1 Overview _______________________2 9.0 Battle Example of Play __________________24 1.2 History _______________________2 9.1 Battle Playthrough ____________24 1.3 Designer _______________________2 10.0 Scenarios ________________________30 1.4 How to Win _________________2 10.1 Draw, Reserve Decks, Discard Pile __30 2.0 Components _______________________3 10.2 Event Cards __________________30 2.1 Map _______________________3 10.3 There’s the Devil to Pay ______32 2.2 Cards _______________________4 10.4 We’ll Fight Them Through the Town _34 2.3 Stands _______________________4 10.5 Setting the Pieces ________________36 2.4 Tracks and Markers ___________6 10.6 Turning the Flanks ________________38 3.0 Game Conventions _________________7 10.7 The Last Act _____________________41 3.1 Dice Rolls _______________________7 10.8 Hypothetical _____________________44 3.2 Troop Strength Step Losses _____7 11.0 Reinforcements and Event Cards ______46 3.3 Discipline Checks ___________8 11.1 July 1st Noon __________________46 4.0 Game Setup _______________________8 11.2 July 1st Afternoon ____________46 5.0 Sequence of Play _____________________9 11.3 July 1st Evening ____________46 6.0 Activating Generals _________________9 11.4 July 2nd Morning ____________47 6.1 Command Cards _________________9 11.5 July 2nd Noon __________________47 6.2 Command Event Cards __________10 11.6 July 2nd Afternoon ____________47 6.3 Activate a General __________11 11.7 July 2nd Evening ____________47 6.4 Move the Activated General ____12 11.8 July 3rd Morning ____________47 6.5 Perform Actions ________________13 11.9 July 3rd Noon __________________47 6.6 Pass ______________________17 11.10 July 3rd Afternoon ____________47 7.0 Battles ____________________________17 12.0 Optional Rules __________________48 7.1 Battle Monument ________________17 12.1 Actions ________________________48 7.2 Battle Boards ________________18 12.2 They Got ‘Round Us! __________________48 7.3 Battle Cards ________________18 Orders of Battle ________________________48 7.4 Battle Dice ________________19 Army of Northern Virginia – Robert E. Lee _____ 48 7.5 Battle Event Cards __________19 Army of the Potomac – George C. Meade ______50 7.6 Resolving a Battle __________20 Designer’s Notes ________________________51 Credits Game Designer: S. Craig Taylor Jr. Art Director: Becky Siebe Featuring the art of Mort Künstler Lead Illustrator: Alex Wilcox Developers: Graphic Design: Alex Freel Jeff Billings, Mike Billings, Jeff McCulloch Publisher: Jeff Billings Copyright 2016, Lost Battalion Publishing LLC / Images Copyright 2016 Mort Künstler, Inc. 1 Registered Trademark #4898340 1.0 About Rally Round the Flag® concentrate on the battlefi eld fi rst and achieve 1.1 Overview dominance on the prominent terrain. On July 1, 1863, neither army was situated with a clear Rally Round the Flag® Division Command is a advantage for control of the battle. game that recreates the Battle of Gettysburg fought from July 1st to July 3rd, 1863. Each As various corps from each army arrived on stand represents a brigade of troops, and the fi eld of battle, problems in command, is commanded by Division, Corps, and Army control, and communications led to badly Generals. deployed troops and hesitancy in maneuver and commitment. Control of the two Round Rally Round the Flag® is designed to focus Tops (each with an elevation of over 500 feet) Players on taking and holding ground. This left the Army of the Potomac with a better is represented by controlling the critical road observation of the Confederate deployment network surrounding Gettysburg. In game and movement. Even so, very poor operational terms, this is accomplished by controlling discipline offered up whole regiments from specifi c points along roads called March both sides for destruction. Critical Areas of Circles, whereby Victory Points are scored. the battlefi eld were at risk of loss as a result, including ceding the high ground and meager road network to the enemy. 1.2 History Heroism was the only constant on the In the summer of 1863, Lee faced a battlefi eld, and the death toll in both armies disorganized Army of the Potomac. Major was staggering. General Joseph Hooker had just been relieved of command and the likely successor, Major General John F. Reynolds, declined command. 1.3 Designer Lincoln settled on Major General George Rally Round the Flag® took a lifetime to design Meade as the commander of the Army of the with more than two decades of research. Potomac. Oddly, this was a development that During development, we progressed from a General Robert E. Lee was not happy to see. conventional movement and combat system to Lee had a level of respect for Meade that was a hybrid command activation and opportunistic unusual, commenting that if “he” (Lee) “made system. a mistake Meade would beat him.” The Corps, Division and Brigade Command The promotion of a capable Union General games all share similar systems and in the Army of the Potomac compounded mechanics, becoming more granular at Robert E. Lee’s own command problems in the Brigade Command level. The game’s the senior command of the Army of Northern mechanics are all based on the extensive Virginia. With Jackson dead, Second Corps research and detail underlying the system. command was assigned to Ewell, who was Please enjoy this fi nal epic design of master recently wounded. This change in Generals game designer and icon of historical gaming – threw off the precision and timing of the Army S. Craig Taylor Jr. of Northern Virginia. The Army’s maneuver was off ever so slightly, and this complicated the execution of Lee’s orders on the battlefi eld. 1.4 How to Win The Area around Gettysburg was known by You can win Rally Round the Flag® by meeting both Lee and Meade, but the disposition of the a scenario’s Victory Condition. All Victory Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Conditions are met by scoring Victory Points or, Virginia was not known by either commander in some cases, controlling Map Areas. at the time of contact. Once both sides made 2 initial contact in the morning hours of July There are two ways to score Victory Points: 1st, a race began to see which army could cause Kills on opposing Generals [See 7.8], and control March Circles on the Map. 2.1.1 Pikes Control of a March Circle is achieved by having Pikes are the main highways Generals use to no attached Map Areas containing opposing move on the Map. Pikes do not extend into the Troop Stands and having at least one friendly town of Gettysburg. Pikes contain March Circles Troop Stand in or pass through an attached that are located along them at various intervals Map Area. When this is accomplished, a and are of the same color as a Pike. Control Marker is placed in the March Circle and the Victory Point Tracks are adjusted by the value in the March Circle. [Exception: Scenario 2.1.2 March Circles setup will indicate which March Circles are There are 20 March Circles on the Map. Each controlled by which side prior to game start.] March Circle serves two purposes: to allow Once a Player secures the Areas attached to Generals to March rapidly along Pikes; the a March Circle, he controls the March Circle second is to establish control of the Map for and gains the March Circle’s Victory Points. purposes of gaining Victory Points. However, if each Player controls an Area that Generals move along a Pike from March Circle shares an Edge with a March Circle, the Victory to March Circle. Only a General may occupy Points for that March Circle are contested and a March Circle. No Troop Stands may ever be Victory Points previously awarded move to the present in a March Circle. Contested box. Note that there is a total of 43 Victory Points on 2.1.3 Areas the Map. Areas are named locations where Troop Stands, and Generals not occupying March Circles, are placed. Troops from both sides may 2.0 Components be in the same Area. Areas are attached to March Circles and other Areas by way of Area This section describes the various components Edges. Battles take place in Areas and are of Rally Round the Flag. resolved using the Battle Boards. There a 47 Areas on the Map. 2.1 Map There are a few Map Areas that come close to There are 4 key features of the Map: Pikes, attaching to a March Circle, but do not. These are: March Circles, Areas, and Edges. the northwest corner of Mill Pond does not attach to the 5 VP March Circle; the southern-most tip of McPhearson’s Ridge does not attach to the 3 VP March Circle. 2.1.3.1 Area Capacity Each Map Area can hold as many Troop Stands and Generals as will fi t within the Area’s boundaries without overlap and without crossing Edges. Both Players will have to agree on placement should a portion of an Area prove diffi cult. Friendly Generals may stack to allow more room. Remove the General standee from the base to facilitate stacking. 2.1.4 Area Edges Area Edges delineate Areas and are indicated by a thick, gray line on the Area’s 3 border. Stands may enter an Area by moving across a shared Edge. March Circles share an Edge with one or more Event Cards are played at various times during Areas. Stands may not pass through a March a Player Turn. Event Card backs with a mini-ball Circle to another Area connected to that March bullet on them must be played when drawn.