American-Mexican War OnLine

Placed Alongside The Enemy

AMWOL Variant

Rule Book

Last modified July 25, 2022


This document provides a basic overview to the rules of Placed Alongside the Enemy (PATE), the naval combat module of the American-Mexican War OnLine (AMWOL). A player who has read and understood these rules should be able to command ships in PATE. New players should start with the rules summary before going through this document. Some details of the rules that are not required for low-level command of ships can be obtained by clicking on the [More Details] links within this document.

The rules are divided into ten sections:

 

1. Map

1.1.  PATE takes place on two maps, one showing Pacific waters (the California and Mexican coasts) and one showing American waters (the Caribbean Sea and the western Atlantic ocean).
1.2.  Each map is divided into two types of smaller area, ports and sea areas. A port contains the harbor of a port city and the coastal waters surrounding it (waters that are near land and closer to this port than any other). A port is divided into two tactical areas, the harbor and the coastal waters. A sea area contains open ocean not near any port city. A sea area contains a number of smaller tactical areas which do not correspond to any particular part of the map. Any ship at sea is located in either a port or a sea area, and in a smaller tactical area; either the harbor or coastal waters if the ship is in a port, or one particular tactical area if the ship is in a sea area.
1.3.  Each port is connected to exactly one sea area, in a specific direction. For example, Veracruz is connected to the South Gulf Coast sea area, exiting to the east; Baltimore is connected to the Mid-Atlantic Coast sea area, exiting to the east; Yerba Buena is connected to the Alta California Coast sea area, exiting to the west. When sailing out of a port, a ship must sail to the connected sea area, and in order to sail into a port, the ship must be located in the connected sea area. Example: Corpus Christi is connected to the West Gulf Coast sea area. A ship sailing out of Corpus Christi cannot sail directly into the South Gulf Coast sea area or the East Gulf Coast sea area; it must first sail to the West Gulf Coast sea area, then to another sea area.
1.4.  Each sea area has a name and a three-letter code; when referring to sea areas in orders, use the three letter code. For each sea area there are chances for the winds to blow in various directions, and a list of sea areas to the north, south, east, and west of the given sea area. On each turn, winds are blowing in a particular direction in each sea area and are either light, moderate, or heavy. There may also be storms in each sea area during the turn; the chance of storms is higher the heavier the winds are. List of sea areas. Each port has a name; when referring to ports in orders, use the name (check spelling carefully). Each port belongs to one of the two AMWOL nations (United States or Mexico) and is controlled by one AMWOL state. Each port also has an exit direction and a defensive rating. The strength of shore batteries defending the port, if any, is proportional to the defensive rating of the port. The winds in each port are the same as the winds in the sea area to which the port is connected. List of ports. Information about ports can also be obtained by clicking on the port in a PATE map.
1.5.  There are two types of ports: on-GITM-map and off-GITM-map. On-GITM-map ports are also cities on the GITM land warfare map. Units and supplies may be moved by water in PATE, then placed back into GITM at an on-GITM-map port. Off-GITM-map ports are not on the GITM land warfare map. Units and supplies in off-GITM-map ports are part of the garrisons of those ports, and operate under the rules for amphibious operations below, but do not take part in GITM. All Mexican, Californian, and Texan ports are on-GITM-map; all other American ports are on-GITM-map except for Mobile and New Orleans, which are on-GITM-map.
1.6.  The Atlantic waters map and the Pacific waters map are not connected directly. Ships leaving the Atlantic or Pacific map sailing south enter the ocean, and remain there for 10-12 turns while rounding Cape Horn before arriving on the other map. While rounding the Cape ships do not report, nor can they receive new orders, until they arrive at their destination.
1.7.  Sea areas and ports which contain one or more ships are marked with ship icons. Blue ships represent ships of the player's state and actively-allied states, red flags represent hostile ships, and gray flags represent neutral ships. A square may be marked with more than one ship if it contains ships of more than one of these categories, and a black ship indicates all three types are present. The presence of frigates in a sea area is noted separately as well.

Sample Sea Area map - Northern Caribbean

Winds are moderate from the west
American sloops at sea
Bahamas
 
Western Caribbean
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOC
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Southwest Atlantic
 
Southern Caribbean
 

2. Ships and Transport Groups

2.1.  There are three kind of naval vessels in PATE; frigates, sloops, and transports. Frigates and sloops are represented as individual ships; transports are combined into transport groups, and do not appear on the map as individual ships. Throughout the rules, the term "ships" refers only to frigates and sloops, not to transports. (There is also a fourth possible type of vessel, the ship of the line, but it is not used in AMWOL games.)
2.2.  Each ship has a state, a type, and a number. FR indicates frigates and SL indicates sloops; thus, US1FR is the first American frigate and MX23SL is the twenty-third Mexican sloop. Ships also have names, which are chosen from a list of historic names. Each ship is rated for number of crew and Marines, quality, morale, experience, naval stores aboard, and damage to hull and rigging. Quality represents the innate abilities of the officers and men of the ship. Experience represents their sailing experience and exposure to combat over the course of previous campaigns. Ships gain one point of experience each campaign turn spent in a sea area or coastal waters of a port, and also gain experience in battle. At the end of each season, ships in harbor (but not those at sea) lose a fraction of their experience, reflecting turnover of men within the unit and the effects of inactivity if they have not been gaining experience at sea. Morale represents their elan and willingness to fight. (Note: Morale is not currently used by PATE, but may be used in future expansions.) Hull and rigging damage vary from 0 (undamaged) to 5 (maximum damage). Ships sink if hull damage reaches 5.
2.3.  Each ship has a commander and a deputy commander, both of whom receive reports from the unit and can send orders for it. Commanders and deputy commanders are assigned by the Naval Minister of the ship's state. Each player has a password that identifies him or her as the commander or deputy commander of his or her ships.

Sample Ship Report - USS Cyane (US3SL)

Commander: David Connor
 Deputy: Robert Stockton
Location: Off Mazatlan Base: Yerba Buena
Quality: Very Good Experience: 11 Morale: 2 Stores: 11
Crew: 150 Marines: 20
 Hull Damage: 0 Rigging Damage: 2
Attached Ships
US6SL, US9SL, US10SL, US11SL
Ships Visible
Allied ships: US1FL, US6SL, US9SL, US10SL, US11SL at sea
Enemy ships: MX2FR, MX3FR, MX4FR, MX10SL, MX11SL, MX12SL, MX13SL, MX14SL, MX15SL, MX16SL, MX17SL, MX18SL, MX19SL, MX20SL, MX21SL, MX22SL, MX23SL, MX24SL, MX25SL, MX26SL, MX27SL, MX28SL, MX29SL, MX30SL, MX31SL at sea
Land Units Visible
MX2IN

2.4.  Transports groups have states, numbers, and the type TR; thus, NE4TR is the fourth Neapolitan transport group. Transport groups are rated for the same items as ships are, excluding Marines, and are also rated for capacity. Capacity indicates the amount of troops and GITM supplies the transport group can carry (see the rules on transporting units and supplies for details). Transport groups also have commanders and deputy commanders, and in general operate in the same way that ships do.

Sample Transport Group Report -  MX3TR

Commander: Don Federico Gravina Deputy: Jose de Palafox y Melzi
Location: Cape Horn (sailing to Southwest Atlantic) Base: Acapulco
Quality: Fair Experience: 3 Morale: 2 Stores: 11
Crew: 500 Capacity: 5000 Hull Damage: 0 Rigging Damage: 0
Carrrying:
MX16IN, 15 supplies
Ships Visible
MX2FL

2.5.  Transport groups controlled by the same state can be combined if they finish a turn in contact with one another; they can also be divided into two smaller groups. Transport groups so combined or divided may not have capacities greater than 20,000 or less than 500. To divide a transport group or combine two or more, contact the GA and request the action (later there will be a web page to submit orders to combine or divide transport groups).
2.6.  Ships may be active or inactive. Transport groups cannot be inactivated. When inactive, ships do not appear on the map, do not use stores or supplies, and do not give intelligence reports. Ships can only be inactivated in ports of their home nation, under control of their home state, not in off-map ports. They cannot inactivate in the presence of hostile ships. Reactivating an inactive ship takes four campaign turns. If an inactive ship is in a port which is captured, or if enemy ships are in the harbor and no friendly ships or shore guns are present, then the capturing/entering nation can choose to capture or destory the inactive ships. That nation scores points, and the nation losing the ships loses points, equal to those for sinking or capturing the ships in a sea battle. If the ships are captured, they will be captured with 0 crew, and the capturing nation will need to transfer crew from its own ships to sail them.
2.7. Crew can be transferred between SLs and FRs. To do so the ships must be in the same location. If in a sea area they must be able to see one another - if in a port, they must both be in harbor, or both in the coastal waters. There must be no enemy ships present in that location. Crew can only be transferred from transport groups if the group retains at least 1 crew per 10 capacity after the transfer. Ships may not be left with less than 70 crew (40 for frigates) as a result of a transfer, unless the ship is immediately scuttled. SLs are limited to 150 crew and 20 Marines, and FRs to 250 crew and 25 Marines. TRs have 1 crew per 10 capacity. They can carry crew above this amount; each crewman above 1 per 10 capacity takes up 1 space of capacity

3. Turn Sequence

3.1.  PATE is played as a sequence of turns. PATE turns run at the same time as the GITM turns of the campaign.
3.2.  Each turn is divided into a series of phases; the repair phase, supply phase, initial amphibious phase, combat phase, movement phase, final amphibious phase, and intelligence phase.
3.3.  In the repair phase ships conduct repairs. Ships in same-side or actively allied ports that do not have orders to sail out will repair one point of hull damage and all rigging damage in the repair phase of each turn. A port cannot repair more ships than its yard capacity, minus the number of ships it is building. Transport builds do not count against this limit (but transport repairs do). Other ships will repair one point of rigging damage per turn, but will not repair hull damage.
3.4.  In the supply phase, ships and transport groups consume stores, and ships and transport groups in port may load stores aboard. Ships and TRs at sea or in the coastal waters of ports use 1 unit of onboard stores per turn. Ships and TRs in harbor will use stores from the port city if available, and will consume onboard stores if not. Ships in same-side or actively allied harbors may load up to 24 stores (the maximum they can carry) if the port city has stores available to load. A transport can carry additional stores; each additional store uses 20 spaces of capacity. A port cannot reprovision more ships than 2 times its yard capacity. If a ship that is in port has more stores than the amount it requested to carry in orders, it will unload the rest back to the port from which it is drawing stores. Ships that use their last remaining store, or have no stores aboard, suffer crew loss and stop responding to orders except for base change orders. They will automatically sail to their base port; they will accept orders to change base to friendly-controlled port. When they reach base, they will have to draw one store for each turn they were out before reloading stores in the hold. There is no way to transfer stores from one ship to another. (Note: the term "supplies" refers exclusively to supplies for land units in GITM.) 
3.5.  The Naval Minister can order stores moved from one port or inland city to another if the ports (cities) are within 10 strategic squares of one another and in contact with one another. Two ports are in contact with one another if two units in those cities would be in contact (see GITM rule 10.2). Stores may also be moved from one port to another if both ports are connected to the same sea area or adjacent sea areas, and there are no hostile ships in either port, and in the connected sea area(s), there are not more enemy warships raiding commerce than there are friendly warships convoying commerce. Ports can received stores only if they have yard capacity; ports with zero yard capacity (all in the Caribbean) may not receive stores. Stores may be moved only from the port in which they began the turn (ie, stores cannot make two consecutive moves on one turn) and no port may originate movement of more than 60 units of stores per turn. Stores moves through inland cities count against the limit of 60 supplies moved through those cities.
3.6.  In the initial amphibious phase, transports begin loading or unloading units and supplies into or from GITM (see rules section 9 below).
3.7.  In the combat phase, battles take place. Ships in ports may move into the harbor, or out to the coastal waters, to join a battle. Ships in sea areas may not move to join battles, but may only fight ships with which they are already in contact.
3.8.  In the movement phase, ships and transports move one sea area. After this movement, winds may change and storms may appear (see rule 8.1 below). Ships and transports may then, winds permitting, move a second sea area.
3.9.  In the final amphibious phase, transports complete loading and unloading begun in the initial amphibious phase, and combat in off-GITM-map ports occurs.
3.10.  In the intelligence phase, naval intelligence is generated.
3.11.  At the end of each turn, every player will receive two reports. The first one contains a list of all events that happened during the turn that were observed by the player's ships, transports, and frigates. The second one contains maps and status reports showing the positions of the player's ships and transports at the start of the following turn. At the beginning of each campaign players will receive the position report showing the positions of their ships and transports at the start of the campaign.

Click here for the full AMWOL campaign turn sequence

4. Submitting Orders

4.1. Players send orders for each ship and transport group, for each turn, at the PATE Ship Order Desk. The orders sent govern the actions of the ship/transport during the turn. If multiple orders are sent, the last one sent by the commander is accepted, and the last one sent by the deputy commander is accepted if the commander sent none.
4.2. If a ship or transport group is attached to another ship or transport group (see rule 4.4) then the orders for the attached ship are automatically copied to the attaching ship. Example: If US5SL and US8SL are attached to US2SL, then orders sent for US2SL are copied to US5SL and US8SL. No orders need be sent for US5SL and US8SL unless the players desire to detach them from US2SL. If orders are sent for US5SL and US8SL, and those orders do not detach the ships from US2SL or attach them to a different ship, then those orders will not be carried out, because they will be replaced by the orders copied over from US2SL. Exception: Amphibious orders sent for transport groups are not copied to other ships attached to the transport group, and amphibious orders sent for a transport group will not be replaced with orders from the ship to which the transport group is attached. [More Details] Attachment has no other effect on ships; in particular, it does not affect whether two ships move together or not in the movement phase (they generally will do so because their orders will be identical, but ships which are not attached but have been sent identical orders are equally likely to move together). Ships which are attached to other ships will remain attached on subsequent turns until they are explicitly detached, or until they finish a turn out of contact.
4.3.  The order form is divided into seven sections. In the first section, players type the ID of the ship or transport group for which they wish to send orders, and their password to identify themselves as commander or deputy commander. Ships are always referred to by ID, never by name, in orders.
4.4.  In the second section, players indicate whether they want to attach or detach their ship to/from another ship, and if they wish to attach, what ship they wish to attach to. To attach, you must click the Attach box and enter a valid ship ID. Ships and transport groups may attach to any other ship or transport group in the same tactical area, but you may not attach a ship to a second ship which is itself attached to a third ship. That is, if MX2SL is attached to MX3SL, then MX1SL may not attach itself to MX2SL. A ship or transport group may attach to ships and transport groups of other states. To detach a ship from another ship and attach it to a third, simply check the Attach order and enter the name of the new ship; do not click the Detach order in this case.
4.5.  In the third section, players indicate desired movement for their ships/transports. They can indicate one or two sea areas to which the ship/transport should move, and a port to which the ship/transport should move. They can also specify movement to any port with an enemy ship instead of naming a specific port. If there are enemy ships in more than one adjacent port, one of the enemy ships is selected at random and the moving ship goes to its port. Players can specify at what time the ship should move to port, and whether the ship/transport should enter the port's harbor or remain in its coastal waters. If a ship wishes to move to the harbor or coastal waters of its current location, the port name must be included in the order form; a ship ordered to enter harbor or sail to coastal waters with no port specified will not move. Last, they specify whether they want to sail together with other ships with the same movement orders with which they are in contact, or sail alone.
4.6.  In the fourth section, players indicate desired contact orders. Ships can choose to pursue enemy ships encountered, evade them, or accept contact. Pursuit means the ship will follow after enemy ships you encounter if they sail away, abandoning existing movement orders to do so, except that they cannot pursue ships evading battle or fleeing from battle (see rules 7.4 and 7.8 below). Accept means the ship will accept contact if enemy ships remain, but will not follow if they leave. Evade means you will avoid contact with enemy ships if sighted, and escape contact when possible if you cannot avoid it. Ships giving pursue or evade orders may specify both a minimum number and a maximum number of enemy ships to pursue or evade. If a ship specifies neither of them, then it will pursue or evade any number of enemy ships it encounters. If its specifies only a minimum number, then itwill pursue or evade if it encounters that number or more, otherwise it will accept contact. If ir specifies only a maximum number, then it will pursue or evade if it encounters that number or fewer, otherwise it will accept contact. If it specifies both, then if the minimum is less than the maximum, it will pursue or evade only if it encounters a number in that range (inclusive), otherwise it will accept. If the minimum is less than the maximum, then it will pursue if it encounters the minimum or more, or the maximum or less. Example: If a ship specifies a mininum of 2 and a maximum of 10, it will pursue 2 ships or 3 ships, or 9 ships or 10 ships, but not 1 ship or 11 ships. If it specifies a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 2, then it will pursue 1 ship or 2 ships, or 10 ships or 11 ships, but not 3 ships or 9 ships. Ships can also choose whether to join allied ships they encounter and sail together, or to sail separately. Last, they choose whether to manuever for windward gauge or leeward gauge upon meeting enemy ships. The ship's choice of contact orders may be limited by its intended commerce orders, or whether it is maintaining a blockade. [ More Details ] Ships with Evade checked may not Join Allies, as they never approach the allied fleet to join it.
4.7.  In the fifth section, players indicate desired combat orders. Ships can choose to engage enemy ships, accept battle if the enemy offers it, evade battle, or run past enemy ships (offering battle but breaking it off quickly). They can choose, if in battle, to maneuver for leeward or windward gauge, to engage in line ahead or to break the enemy's line, and to aim at enemy rigging or enemy hulls. If they fight a battle in a port, they can choose whether they wish to fight in their current location or, if they can evade any battle in their current tactical location, move to the other tactical location in the port (harbor or coastal waters) and fight there. They can also choose, if they retreat from a battle in coastal waters, to attempt to go to harbor or to open sea (success is not guaranteed).
4.8.  In the sixth section, players indicate desired orders for encountering commercial shipping. Ships can choose to raid enemy commerce, convoy their own commerce, or ignore commercial shipping entirely.
4.9.  In the seventh section, ships/transports indicate how many naval stores to load, and if transports, indicate orders to load or unload units or supplies from/to GITM.
4.10.  In general, players may submit orders in all sections in any combinations they desire.
4.11.  If a ship/transport fails to send orders, and does not receive orders from an attached ship, then default orders will be carried out. The ship/transport will not move, will not change its attachment if any, will load to full store capacity if located in a harbor, will not load or unload units or supplies if a transport, will accept contact with other ships, will join allies, will accept combat, will manuever for leeward gauge, will engage line ahead, will not break enemy lines, and will fire at enemy rigging. 

5. Detection

5.1.  A ship or transport group will detect an enemy ship or transport group if it is contact with it. Two ships are in contact if they are in the same port (even if one is in the harbor and the other is in the coastal waters) or if they are in the same tactical location of the same sea area. Ships and transport groups in the same sea area but different tactical locations are not in contact. A ship will list the identities of all ships with which it is in contact in its position report (see sample report in rule 2.3). Ships will report whether enemy ships are to windward or to leeward; if in port, they will also report whether the enemy ships are in harbor or in the coastal waters. A player's position report maps will show ship icons in all places where his or her ships/transports (those on which he is commander or deputy commander) are in contact with other ships/transports.
5.2.  Sloops can also detect enemy ships or transport groups in the same sea area but not in contact with the sloop. Sloops detecting enemy ships in this way do not report the exact number and identity of the enemy ships/transports they detect at sea, but approximate information will be available by clicking on the appropriate icon on the sea area map in the position report. If a sloop is at sea, then it may detect all enemy ships in that sea area and may also detect enemy ships in ports connected to that sea area. Sloops are less likely to detect enemy ships if they are accompanying an allied frigate. [More Details]
5.3.  Ships located in an on-GITM-map port (either harbor or coastal waters) will automatically report the identities of GITM units in that port's tactical square, and have a chance to report the identities of GITM units in the port's strategic square but not in its tactical square. Units in the strategic square (whether in the city tactical square or not) will receive reports of the ships in the port. Garrisons of off-GITM-map ports will report the presence of ships and frigates in those ports to the Naval Minister with a one-turn delay.
5.4.  At the end of the turn, any ship in a sea area which has not moved and is not in the presence of an enemy ship has a chance to detect other ships in the same sea area. They will not do so if their contact order is Evade, and if they have orders not to join allies, they will not join allied groups of ships. (They may be joined by other ships that detect them, however, even the detected ships have orders not to join allies. This may change later on.) [More Details]
5.5.  During the intelligence phase, players will receive reports of the presence of ships that started the turn in the same sea area or port as their ships ended the turn. The ships so reported may have sailed to new locations during the turn. These reports may not be accurate, and the number of ships reported may not be accurate. 

6. Movement

6.1.  A ship or transport group can submit three orders for movement, two for sea areas and one for ports. The port movement order can specify whether to move into the harbor or to the coastal waters. A ship or transport group can shift position within a port by sending an order to move to the port it is currently in, to whichever portion it wishes to move.
6.2.  Ships and transports in sea areas may move only to a sea area which is adjacent to their current sea area, or to a port connected to their current sea area. Example: A ship in the East Gulf Coast may move to theWest Gulf Coast, Campeche Bank, or Bahamas. It may not move to the South Gulf Coast or North Caribbean unless it moves to an adjacent sea area first. It may move to Mobile, which is connected to the East Gulf Coast, but not to Galveston, which is connected to the West Gulf Coast.
6.3.  Ships in port may only be ordered to move to the sea are connected to that port. Ships in harbor in a port may not leave the port when hostile groups of ships are in the harbor or off the coast, except at the start of the combat phase (see rule 7.1); this requires them to fight to exit the harbor if the hostile ships wish to give battle. Similarly, ships in coastal waters may not enter the harbor of a port if hostile ships are present, except at the start of the combat phase. (See also wind conditions for sailing into and out of harbors in rule 6.6 below). Ships off the coastal waters of a port may sail to the attached sea area, but may not sail to the harbor if hostile enemy ships are present (either in the coastal waters or the harbor) except at the start of the combat phase; this prevents entering the harbor without offering battle to a hostile ship off the coast if there is one, and gives ship commanders the opportunity to see enemy ships in a harbor if any before entering it.
6.4.  Movement is carried out in the following sequence. During combat, ships and transport groups can move within a port to join a battle in progress in that port; either from the harbor to the coastal waters, or vice-versa. (See rule 7.1 for details.) First, ships and transports in ports can shift position within the port (if they have not already done so during combat). Second, ships and transports in sea areas with orders to move to ports connected to their current sea area may do so. Ships cannot sail directly from one port to another. To sail from one port to another port on the same sea area, first sail to the sea area, then sail to the new port. Third, ships and transports sail to their first sea area. Fourth, winds shift and storms may occur (see rule 8.1 below). Fifth, ships and transports which moved enter ports connected to their new sea areas. Sixth, ships and transports sail to their second sea area. Seventh, ships completing a Cape Horn transit arrive on the map. Last, ships and transports which moved to a second sea area in the sixth step may enter ports connected to their new sea areas.
6.5.  Ships and transports may not be able to sail as ordered, depending on the wind and any damage they have suffered. Ships that move in the first movement phase have a chance of ending their movement and being unable to move again in the second phase. [More Details] In port movement, ships may not enter or exit a harbor if they must sail upwind into heavy winds, or if enemy ships are present and they must sail upwind into winds of any strength, except that groups containing frigates may move if only enemy sloops and TRs are present. They also may not move from harbor to coastal waters within a port, or vice versa, if enemy ships are present, except in the movement before combat, except that groups containing frigates can move if only enemy sloops and TRs are present.
6.6.  Actively allied ships and transports groups in the same location will move together, unless they have Sail Alone orders, and will have a single roll for their ability to sail due to wind and damage. The chance of moving will be equal to the chance of the ship with the lowest movement chance in the group , so either all will move or all will not (this prevents damaged ships from being left behind by undamaged ones). They will move together regardless of whether they are attached for the purpose of sharing orders, or not; attachment does not affect movement of ships in any way. Ships with Sail Alone orders will always move by themselves (but in case of contacting groups of ships, may evade or pursue together with other ships; see rule 6.9 below). Ships that are at sea that have Sail Alone orders, but no movement orders at all (not even an order to sail to their current sea area) will disperse to separate tactical areas at the beginning of the turn (but may encounter new ships when they do, in which case their evade/pursuit orders will be used).
6.7.  Ships and transport groups which move to a new port will be placed in the coastal waters of the port, unless they have orders to enter the harbor and enemy ships are not present. Ships and transport groups which move to a new sea area will be placed in a randomly selected tactical area in that sea area. If other ships or transport groups are in the same tactical area, the moving ships will encounter them, otherwise they will not.
6.8.  Ships and transport groups which encounter other ships or transport groups while moving may join the ships they encounter or not. If the ships encountered are allied or neutral, then the moving ships will join them if the Join Allies box on the order form is checked, otherwise not. If the ships encountered are hostile, then the moving ships will avoid them if their Contact order is Evade, otherwise not. [More Details] When two allied groups of ships join, they will sail together. When two hostile groups join, one will be to windward and one to leeward. If the moving ships arrive from windward or leeward, they will take that position; if they arrive from across the wind, then they will maneuver for position. If one group has requested windward and the other group leeward, they will take their desired positions; if not, the position of each group is random. If two groups are already present and a third group joins, it will approach from windward or leeward as above, then join an allied group if the first group in the direction from which they approach (windward or leeward) is allied.
6.9.  If a ship or transport group with a contact order of Pursuit sees an enemy ship or transport group in the same tactical location sail, it will abandon its own sailing orders (if any) and pursue the departing enemy ship. All pursuing ships will move together; their move will succeed if the move of the pursued ships succeeds, and will fail if the movement of the pursued ships fails. If the pursued ships enter a harbor, the pursuing ships will not do so, but will remain in the coastal waters of the port. Pursuing ships can also select not to pursue into the coastal waters of ports, but abandon the pursuit remain in the open sea.
6.10.  Ships and transport groups can move between the Atlantic and Pacific by rounding Cape Horn, but do not send orders to move to Cape Horn. Instead, they send orders to move to any sea area on the appropriate edge of one map, then any sea area on the appropriate edge of the other map. Example: A ship in the Southwest Atlantic can round Cape Horn by ordering a move to South Mexican Coast or Eastern Pacific. (The ship, if ordered to the sea area on the other map as its second move, may not make that second move under rule 6.4; if not, you need to resubmit the order on the following turn.) The crossing will take 10-12 turns, not including the turn on which the ship enters the Atlantic, except that transports or ships sailing with transports require 12-14 turns to cross the Atlantic. Ships do not know how long it will take to cross until they arrive. Groups of ships that enter the Atlantic together will remain together during the crossing, but will not encounter enemy ships while crossing. Ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean cannot receive new orders until they reach the other map; during the crossing they will refuse to accept new orders.

7. Combat

7.1.  Whenever two groups of ships are in contact at the start of a combat phase, they may engage in battle. [ More Details ] Frigates and sloops fight in the same battles. If there is a ship of the line in the game (which will normally not be the case), sloops and frigates fight in the same battle as ships of the line  only when the battle takes place in a harbor, or when it takes place in coastal waters and the winds are onshore, so that the frigates and sloops cannot run away downwind. Frigates and sloops in sea areas, or in coastal waters with winds that are not onshore, never engage in combat against ships of the line. When transport groups, sloops or frigates, and ships of the line are all present in a battle situation, and the frigates and sloops are fighting one battle and the ships of the line are fighting a separate battle, the transport groups engage in battles only with the ships of the line, unless the transports have engage orders and the ships of the line on both sides do not. Enemy sloops and frigates cannot force battle on transport groups that are sailing with friendly ships of the line. If the ships are in a port, and some are in the harbor and some in the coastal waters, then they may move to join each other (if they can evade any battle in their current location, and if the wind permits them to move in or out of the port: see rule 6.6). A ship is in a battle from which it can depart to exit or enter the harbor before combat (for example, a frigate in a harbor is opposed only by an enemy TR which cannot block its departure from the harbor battle, or a ship on a side which outnumbers its opponents more than 2 to 1) can choose whether to fight in its current tactical location (harbor or coastal waters) or move to the other tactical location before fighting, if the wind permits. Ships in the harbor have priority to come out of the harbor to fight; if the ships in the harbor wish to come out, and have favorable winds and can evade any battle in the harbor, they do so. After they move, the ships in the coastal waters may enter the harbor if they wish to do so, and if the wind is favorable and they can evade any battle that exists in the coastal waters, including one brought on by ships in the harbor coming out. If the battle takes places in the harbor, then the shore batteries defending the harbor will take part if any ship in the battle is allied to the side controlling the port.
7.2.  Ships in battle may choose to engage in line ahead or may choose to break the enemy's line. Breaking the enemy's line leads to a more decisive battle and increases the odds that the victor will capture the loser's ships as prizes.
7.3.  Ships in battle may choose to fire at enemy rigging or at enemy hulls. Firing at enemy rigging will cause a higher proportion of damage to the enemy rigging increases the chance of taking prizes but reduces total fire effect; firing at enemy hulls increases the chance of sinking enemy ships.
7.4.  At the start of battle, unless the battle takes place in a harbor, each ship or transport group may attempt to evade the battle, and will do so if its combat orders are Evade.
  • If all ships on both sides attempt to evade the battle, then no ship moves and the battle is over.
  • If all ships on one side, but not all ships on the other, attempt to evade the battle, then the side that is entirely fleeing has a chance to escape. Either all ships will escape or none will. If the ships are to windward, then escape is very unlikely; if the ships are to leeward then escape is very likely unless the battle is in coastal waters of a port and the winds are onshore, in which case escape is unlikely. Individual ships evading battle on the side that is not entirely evading battle will always succeed in evading in this case.
  • If at least one ship is attempting to evade the battle, but at least one ship on each side is not, then the evading ships will succeed as long as the number of warships on their side that are not evading is at least half the number of enemy warships that are not evading. Otherwise each ship makes a separate attempt to escape using the same chances that apply when the whole side is attempting to escape. The ships that are not evading will engage in battle, along with any ships which fail to escape.
  • If the battle is fought in a harbor, then evading the battle is impossible.
  • Transports that do not evade battle will not be damaged if their side has at least double the number of warships in the battle that the opposing side has.
In all cases, ships evading battle cannot be pursued - if they successfully evade then they have gotten away from pursuers. Ships that evade from sea area battles will move to a different tactical location in the same sea area. Ships that evade from coastal waters battles will move to the connected sea area (ships in choke point coastal waters cannot choose which sea area to evade to). Ships that evade battle will have their first naval movement phase move postponed until the second phase, unless it is a move to the connected sea area in which case it will be cancelled as the evasion will have achieved it. Also their port moves will be delayed until the start of naval movement phase 2 if they were ordered for earlier in the turn.
7.5.  Next, ships attempt to close quarters. If all ships on both sides have chosen to fight at close quarters, then they do so. If some ships on both sides but not all on both sides have chosen to close, and the side with fewer ships closing has at least half the number of the side with more ships closing, then all ships that have chosen to do so fight at close quarters, and those ships that have not chosen to do so fight at range. If some or all ships on one side have chosen to close, and fewer than half the one side's number of closing ships have chosen to close on the other side , then those ships that have chosen to close have a chance to succeed in closing on the entire enemy fleet. If they succeed, the ships that attempted to close, and all ships on the other side, fight at close quarters, and ships on the closing side which did not choose to close, fight at range. If no ships on either side have chosen to close, then all ships fight at range. Ships that move to close quarters lose 10% of their effective strength (because they must initially engage bows-on to the enemy), are more likely to damage enemy ships but are more likely to be damaged themselves, and are slightly more likely to take a prize or be taken than ships which engage in line ahead. In a battle where one side has only shore batteries, the other side fights at range. Quality and experience modifiers are doubled when battles are fought at close quarters.
7.6.  If ships have successfully closed quarters, then the ships at close quarters must decide whether to engage in line ahead, or to attempt to break the enemy's line. If both sides maintain line ahead, or both sides break line, then they succeed it doing so. If one side attempts to maintain line ahead while the other side attempts to break that line, then there are three possible outcomes. The breaking fleet may lose coordination during its approach and fight the enemy with itssquadron divided. If so, the ships suffer a -25% strength penalty. The chance of losing coordination is 30%, minus 10% for every point of quality advantage the breaking fleet has over the enemy fleet. If the breaking fleet maintains coordination, then it attempts to break through. If its succeed, it gets a strength bonus of +33%. The chance of breaking through is 60%, plus12.5% for each point of quality difference. If the breaking fleet maintains coordination but fails to break through the enemy line, then there is no penalty or bonus, and both fleets engage in line ahead at close range.
7.7.  The combat strength of a ship is 60 for frigates and 30 for sloops, and is modified as follows. Ships with less than 70% crew lose 2.5% of combat strength for each 1% of crew below 70%, falling to 0 at 30%. Ships at close quarters gain 1 point of strength for each 20 Marines aboard. Ships to windward gain +10%. Strength is also modified for quality and experience (later for morale also) and for pre-existing damage. Ships with Run Past orders have their strength reduced by 2/3, but the damage they take is reduced by 1/3 (because they depart the battle early and maneuever to do that, rather than to inflict maximum damage on the enemy). If the battle takes place in a harbor, and the shore batteries are allied with one side in the battle, then each undamaged shore battery has strength equal to 100 times the defense rating of the harbor, and each damaged shore battery has strength equal to 50 times the defense rating of the harbor.  All ships engaged in battle gain 1 to 5 points of experience, depending on the odds in the battle (more even odds give more points).
7.8.  At the end of combat, all unsunk ships on the losing side attempt to escape the battle. Those that do not escape are taken as prizes by the winning side. One ship on the winning side is randomly selected as captor; the commander and deputy of the captor become the commander and deputy of the prize, the prize receives a new ship ID based on her new state (the lowest number available will be used) and acquires the same attachment and orders as the captor (thus if the captor sails away, the prize will sail with it). Transports cannot be captured; if they fail their escape attempt, they are sunk instead, even if they have less than 5 hull damage. Escaping ships will move to a different tactical location if the battle was fought at sea; they will move to the connected sea if the battle was fought in a port. Ships in choke points cannot choose which sea area to escape to, but must go to the connected sea area. Escaping ships may not be pursued. Ships that escape from battle will have their first naval movement phase move postponed until the second phase, unless it is a move from a port to the connected sea area, in which case it will be cancelled as the evasion will have achieved it. Also their port moves will be delayed until the start of naval movement phase 2 if they were ordered for earlier in the turn.

8. Storms

8.1.  Between the first and second sea area moves of ships and transport group, storms may occur. The chance of storms is 2% in sea areas with light winds, 5% with moderate winds, 10% with heavy winds. If there are storms in a sea area, they are also in all ports connected to that sea area.
8.2.  Ships and transport groups in sea areas caught in storms may suffer damage, and may founder; the more damaged they are (including existing damage) the more likely they are to founder. They may also be blown to a new tactical area, or to the sea area downwind of the present sea area. If land is downwind of the present sea area, they may be blown on the rocks and sunk. Ships in harbors may take rigging damage but will not take hull damage, and the same is true for ships in coastal waters of same-side or actively allied ports (they enter harbor to ride out the storm). Ships in coastal waters, not of same-side or actively allied ports, are affected in the same way as ships in sea areas, except they may be blown to the sea area connected to the port.
8.3.  Ships that are blown to a new tactical location or a new sea area by a storm will have their movement orders for phase 2 cancelled, and will also have orders to move to ports cancelled. If their contact order is "Pursue" it will be changed to "Accept." This means that ships in coastal waters of a port that are blown out to sea by a storm will not return to that port before the next turn.

9. Transporting Units and Supplies

9.1.  Transport groups may carry GITM units and supplies. Each transport group is rated for capacity. Infantry units take up one point of capacity per man, as do army headquarters units. Cavalry units take up three points of capacity per man, artillery take up two points of capacity per man. If an infantry or cavalry brigade has a battery attached, then 100 of its men count as artillerists. For example, an infantry unit with 1500 men and no battery takes up 1500 points of capacity, but one with 1500 men and 1 battery takes up 1600 points (1400 infantry plus 100 artillerists at 2 points each). Corps headquarters take up 5 points per man plus 20 for each supply unit carried (supplies carried by other units do not take up any space). Supplies carried aboard the TR take up 20 points of capacity per unit, as do naval stores in excess of 24.
9.2.  To load or unload units, the unit must be coming from or going to a GITM location which is accessible to the transport, or going to garrison duty in an off-GITM-map port. A GITM unit in a strategic square with mountain or hill terrain may not load onto a transport, and a unit on a transport may not unload into a strategic square with hill or mountain terrain. To load onto a transport in an on-GITM-map harbor, the unit must be in the GITM tactical square of the port city, or if no enemy units are present, anywhere in the same GITM strategic square. To load onto or unload from a transport in the coastal waters of an on-map port, the unit must be in the GITM strategic square of the port, but not in the tac square of the city, or in any other strategic square adjoining that port's coastal waters. If no enemy unit is present it may also be in the tac square of the city. Units unloading from a transport in an on-map port's harbor must unload into the city tactical square of the port. (If the city contains hostile units the program may not handle the unloading gracefully; please contact the GA before attempting this.) Units unloading from a transport in coastal waters of an on-map port must enter the strategic square along an edge of the tactical map that is adjacent to water on the strategic map. [Map showing loading/unloading locations] Units may load from or unload to off-map ports from either the harbor or the coastal waters of the off-map port. GITM units loaded on transports will be automatically inactivated; they will be automatically activated when unloaded onto the GITM map, but will remain inactive if unloaded into the garrison of an off-GITM-map port. [ More Details ]
9.3.  Transports carrying supplies can unload the supplies into a port city or into a corps headquarters unit. To load or unload supplies from a city, the transport must be in the harbor of that city. The transport can load or unload as many supplies as it can carry into a city. The transport can move on the turn that it unloads/loads supplies to/from a city. To load/unload supplies into/from a corps HQ, the corps HQ must be in a position from which it could load onto the transport. The number of supplies that may be unloaded to a corps HQ is 1 per 500 capacity of the transport group. The transport may not have movement orders and the corps HQ may not have strategic movement orders (including march to battle or pursuit orders). You can unload supplies on the same turn you load units, or vice-versa, but the form will not let you order both. Contact the game administrator and request that the supplies be loaded or unloaded manually; then send orders to unload or load the units.
9.4.  Loading and unloading of units and supplies begins in the initial amphibious phase. At this time units, supplies, and transport groups must be in a valid location to commence loading or unloading. If the transport group performing a load starts the turn in an ally-controlled harbor, then the loading is completed in the initial phase and the units/ships may move and fight normally, except that units may not load in one friendly harbor at the start of the turn and unload in a different one at the end of the turn. Similarly, if a transport group performing an unload ends the turn in an ally-controlled harbor, then the unloading can be completed in the final phase and the units may move in tactical phase 5. Otherwise the loading/unloading takes the entire turn. In this case, the units and transport groups may not engage in combat or move, except that unloading units may move in tactical phase 5; all other orders to move will be cancelled, and if the unit engages in combat or is forced to flee combat, the loading/unloading itself will be cancelled. A transport group in the coastal waters of an ally-controlled port may not move into the harbor to complete its loading/unloading in the initial phase; it does its loading/unloading from the coastal waters, and any order it has sent to move into the harbor will be cancelled.

10. Port Garrisons

10.1.  Off-GITM-map ports (US Atlantic ports) can have GITM units as garrisons. Transports may unload GITM units into these ports and they will automatically enter garrison duty. Off-GITM-map ports do not have tactical maps, and GITM units in garrisons remain inactive in GITM.
10.2.  If hostile units land at a garrisoned port, a battle will take place between the garrison and the landing force. This battle is not fought using the regular GITM rules. Effective strengths are equal to the unit's strength for infantry and light infantry (less 100 for each battery attached), half strength for cavalry (less 100 for each battery attached), 800 per battery for heavy artillery, 600 per battery for medium artillery, and 400 per battery for light artillery. Batteries attached to infantry are medium, batteries attached to cavalry are light. If a side has fewer than 800 infantrymen present for each battery (where a 3000/1 IN counts as 2900 infantry and 1 battery) then artillery units (but not batteries attached to infantry or cavalry units) are unsupported and get a -90% modifier. Strength is modified for quality and for no other modifier. The defending side receives a +33% strength bonus for defensive terrain. If the defending side loses, its units automatically surrender at the end of the battle; if the attacking side loses, its units will reboard its transports at the end of the battle if the transports are still present, otherwise they will surrender. If the attackers win the battle, they capture the port; if hostile units land at an ungarrisoned port, they capture it without loss.