Au pas de Charge | 14 Sep 2019 7:07 p.m. PST |
Do any ACW rule sets use the Rebel Yell as a factor? Is it a morale or a melee factor? Does it affect the confederate unit using it, the Union unit being charged or hearing it, both? |
DJCoaltrain | 14 Sep 2019 8:44 p.m. PST |
I suspect it may have been effective the first couple of times. But, once the novelty had worn off, the union troops would have heard it before and would have been prepared for it. Just sayin. :) |
raylev3 | 14 Sep 2019 11:10 p.m. PST |
Some rules have used it…some rules give rebels a plus when they attack. Never understood why, unless it's a mechanism to force the rebs to attack. |
Old Contemptible | 15 Sep 2019 1:16 a.m. PST |
Never liked rules that did that. It's impact on the battlefield is overrated. |
Consul Paulus | 15 Sep 2019 2:20 a.m. PST |
It is usually a factor in melee, and reflects the author's attempts to reproduce historical behaviour. Consequently, some make it an optional rule that players can ignore if they feel it ruins the game's balance. In Brigade Fire and Fury (also known as 2nd ed. Fire and Fury), it is optional. The author explicitly states it is applied to reflect the assertion by some historians that Confederate infantry, especially the ANV, had a "superior offensive spirit", and suggests it could be applied to Union Western theare infantry in some scenarios. If applied to Union infantry, the modifier's name is changed from "Rebel Yell" to "Huzzah!". |
Herkybird | 15 Sep 2019 4:45 a.m. PST |
Like other battle cries in history, I suspect it was a way of encouraging your own side to advance, rather than a device for unnerving your enemy. I guess it also helped identify friendly units (or enemy) in the smoke and dust of battle. Just my musings tho' |
14th NJ Vol | 15 Sep 2019 6:55 p.m. PST |
Black Powder Glory Hallelujah has Rebel Yell as a re-roll of a miss die in melee. If re-roll is a hit Yankee player does get a saving roll. |
Pan Marek | 15 Sep 2019 8:10 p.m. PST |
Original F&F had it as a melee modifier if Rebs attacked. Now its optional. Frankly, my take is that its a perpetuation of myth. There is nothing in my reading to suggest Rebs were any better man for man than Yanks. Their successes in the east are entirely due to better leadership. And they were not so successful in the west. Again, due to leadership. Not troop quality. |
79thPA | 16 Sep 2019 11:23 a.m. PST |
Mostly literary trope for silly rules mechanics. |
Saber6 | 16 Sep 2019 11:39 a.m. PST |
I think it is a mechanic to get Rebel players to charge. |
Au pas de Charge | 16 Sep 2019 1:01 p.m. PST |
OK, so it seems like the ACW gamers dont put big stock in the Rebel Yell as a tabletop modifier. |
John Michael Priest | 16 Sep 2019 1:50 p.m. PST |
I use both it and the "manly cheer" in my game and determine whether the opposing side heard it, if they reacted to it and if the CO stopped the men from reacting to it if the reaction proved I'll advised. |
Trajanus | 16 Sep 2019 2:16 p.m. PST |
The Rebel Yell may have had some effect in specific instances. I seem to recall reports of it disconcerting Union troops in the Wilderness who had trouble locating the direction and proximity of their attackers. |
Old Contemptible | 16 Sep 2019 10:43 p.m. PST |
Maybe in a skirmish game against inexperienced troops with poor command. I never bought into the notion that Southerners were inherently better fighters and this is what a "Rebel Yell" rule is impling. |
Old Contemptible | 16 Sep 2019 11:28 p.m. PST |
"Superior offensive spirit" has nothing to do with the individual soldier. The Union soldiers had as much offensive spirit as thier Southern counterpart. Offensive spirit or lack of had more to do with the Northern command the first two years of the war. There are any number of examples of Union troops showing their offensive spirit while their Generals were lacking such. |