This is the third in a series of articles devoted to the GBACW Series Rules.  GMT rates GBACW’s complexity a “7” for good reasons.  Though there are undoubtedly whiz kids who read the rules and are ready to play, some of us poor mortals require a little more before we sit down at the table.  These articles are addressed to the latter group in hopes of easing the journey.  They are not, however, a substitute for reading the rules.

Introduction

Despite the compilation of the 2nd Disorder Table almost 20 years ago and its development since then, 2nd Disorders can be a stumbling block for new players and veterans alike.  This article seeks to put to rest common misconceptions and present the latest changes to the rules governing 2nd Disorders.  As a devotee of the series, I’ve also allowed myself some remarks on how well I think GBACW simulates Civil War realities.

Abbreviations used in the text

• DRM = Die Roll Modifier
• MP = Movement Points
• SP = Strength Points
• SR = Series Rules
• TEC = Terrain Effects Chart
• UDD = Universal Disorder Die Roll

What does a 2nd Disorder represent, anyway?

Toward the end of the Battle of Shiloh, Colonel Thomas Jordan, the Army of Mississippi’s chief of staff, conferred with General Beauregard, who had not yet decided to call a halt to the increasingly difficult struggle.  Jordan cautioned the Creole, likening the condition of the army to “a lump of sugar, thoroughly soaked with water, yet preserving its original shape, though ready to dissolve…”

Jordan’s simile is apt when thinking about 2nd Disorders in GBACW.  When a unit incurs a 2nd Disorder, the result is never good.  The unit may or may not “dissolve”, but when it doesn’t, there’s always some other price to pay.  But isn’t that the way it should be?  A disordered unit suffering a 2nd Disorder is obviously further disordered.  There’s a limit to what a unit’s cohesion can bear, as students of the American Civil War or any war might attest.

What follows divides the various cases of 2nd Disorders into classes arranged in terms of their causes and/or consequences, generally but not exclusively progressing from least to most severe.  We’ll discuss the mechanics of resolving 2nd Disorders, both for Infantry/Cavalry and Artillery.  We’ll also discuss Collapsed/Blown units and Rout checks, differentiating the latter from 2nd Disorder UDDs.

And one other point:  any and all Disorders suffered by an already Disordered unit are 2nd Disorders.  There’s no such thing as a 3rd disorder.

2nd Disorders due to Movement

This class of 2nd Disorders generates minor penalties except in one case — Reaction Movement.  And that makes sense.  Civil War literature records plenty of descriptions of obstacles disrupting an advancing line or rough terrain stringing out a column of march.  Terrain slows movement and can break up a line, but nothing else.  On the other hand, a “Reaction” is conducted under enemy pressure and can lead to more serious consequences.  Let’s take a look at what the 2nd Disorder Table tells us about the difference.

Moving through another unit.  Just as it was difficult in reality to conduct “Passage of Lines”, so it is in GBACW.  The maneuver costs two MP in addition to any terrain cost, which means a unit under Attack Orders cannot even attempt it.  In view of the linear formation simulated by Attack Orders, this restriction seems perfectly reasonable.

Non-artillery units under Advance Orders and attempting to move through a friendly unit must UDD upon reaching the first hex beyond the stationary unit, adding the Movement cost of the stationary unit’s hex if that cost is 2 MP or more.  It disorders if it fails the UDD.  If the unit was already disordered and fails, it must, in the words of the 2nd Disorder Chart, “Return to entering hex — activation finished”.  “Entering hex” will be defined in the errata for the 2019 rules.  It is the hex occupied prior to entering the stationary unit’s hex.

Movement/Retreat/Advance into d/dx Terrain.  “D/dx Terrain” is that requiring an automatic disorder or a UDD to enter or cross, as indicated on the TECs.  TEC abbreviations have varied a little over the years, but the TEC notes for each game are clear.  A 2nd Disorder suffered from such terrain stops movement/retreat/advance.

Withdrawal Movement (SR 9.54).  Units using Withdrawal Movement must UDD if the hex(es) they move into would cost more than 1 MP using normal movement.  An already disordered unit failing a UDD in the first hex entered must stop.

Reaction Movement.  Here’s where the penalties start to bite, as foreshadowed above.  An already disordered Cavalry or Artillery unit failing its UDD loses an SP.  Woe unto cavalry in rough terrain, as the DRMs can be hefty (SR 9.63, 4th bulleted point).  In some of the games sub-units like detachments or units in Open Order may Reaction move, but do not incur the DRMs.

2nd Disorders due to Fire Combat

Fire Table Results.  As is to be expected, 2nd Disorder penalties associated with Fire Table results are an order of magnitude harsher than those associated with movement.  The immediate consequences for an already disordered unit suffering a 2nd Disorder from Fire Table results are straightforward:  Infantry/Cavalry lose an SP and must retreat 1 or 2 hexes.  Artillery doesn’t retreat, but loses an SP.  One can easily imagine skulkers heading for the rear or troops responding to spontaneous cries of “retreat”.

However, that isn’t the end of the story.  As we read in SR 12.35a, a Phasing unit suffering this result is done for the activation.  If hit by Phasing Fire from outside its arc of fire, a non-phasing unit suffering this result may not Return Fire versus the triggering unit, regardless of whether it retreats so as to place the Phasing unit in its arc of fire.  (Disordered artillery cannot fire in any case.)  These cases are illustrated below.  Old-timers, take note:  if 44th GA’s return fire surprises you, be advised that SR 10.42 was remodeled for 2019.

Finally, we must consider the fate of a Collapsed unit (SR 12.23).  First, a word on what Collapse seeks to simulate.  Occasionally regiments suffered staggeringly high loss rates during a single battle.  Examples include the 1st Minnesota and 26th North Carolina at Gettysburg.  We honor these formations because of their exceptional fortitude, as military literature tends to cite 50% as the loss threshold beyond which a unit ceases to effectively function.  GBACW, however, adopts the general observation as the rule.  Non-artillery units in GBACW immediately collapse when they suffer an SP loss reducing them to less than half their original strength.  Further consequences depend on the circumstances that brought about this misfortune.  Let’s take a look at 12.23’s implications.

1)  The simplest situation involves an already disordered unit within one SP of Collapsing.  If it suffers a “D” result or fails a UDD resulting from Fire Combat, it loses an SP and retreats 1 or 2 hexes, but now it is also Collapsed.  As we read in 12.23, the Disorder resulting from Collapse has no effect if the unit is already disordered.

2)  Now let’s consider a good order unit hovering on the brink of Collapse (let’s say it’s a 6 SP or 7 SP unit that’s already lost 3 SP).  It will immediately Collapse upon losing another SP.  When it does, it immediately Disorders.  This can only happen to a good order unit that suffers a 1d+2 or worse result from the Fire Table.  In addition to the SP loss and accompanying Collapse, such a result involves either a UDD with a +2 DRM, or an automatic Disorder.

Here’s the tricky part:  that previously good order unit is now already disordered due to the step loss and Collapse.  It is thus more likely to fail its +2 UDD and suffer a 2nd Disorder, or, if the result is a 1D (or worse), it of course automatically suffers that 2nd Disorder.  As the penalty for a 2nd Disorder from Fire Table results is the loss of an SP (and retreat), that means another SP loss after having collapsed.  And that means the unit must check for Rout upon the conclusion of its retreat.  Failure, or course, means Rout.  Passing, on the other hand, is consequence-free, and the unit may hobble off to await a Straggler Recovery opportunity (in some games), or may resume its place in line if the player is heartless or desperate enough.  In GBACW, though, you never know.  Even a Collapsed unit may achieve dramatic results via Shock, and less dramatic results through Fire Combat.

3)  Returning to the already disordered unit that will collapse upon the loss of one more SP, let’s say it suffers a 1d+2 result or worse.  As we saw in the case of a good order unit incurring such a result, it immediately collapses upon losing the SP.  We know the Disorder caused by Collapse has no effect if the unit is already disordered.  But there’s still the little matter of the “d+2” or “D” part of the Fire Table result.  If the unit then fails its “d+2” UDD or has suffered a “D”, that part of the result does constitute a 2nd Disorder.  The penalty is again the loss of an SP and a retreat.  Having lost an SP after collapsing, the unit must check for Rout upon the conclusion of its retreat.

Top Unit Disorders (SR 8.35 and 12.35).  When enemy Fire Disorders or Eliminates the top unit in a stack, units stacked beneath it must UDD.  If already disordered, a failed roll results in the same consequences as those levied against an already disordered top unit suffering a like result.  But note that the UDD such units conduct is not the one that affected the top unit — negative or positive DRMs from the Fire Table result that affected the top unit are not counted here.  The only DRMs come from Fatigue and/or the leaders with whom the unit may be stacked.

This breed of UDD has a time-honored place in GBACW history.  Back during SPI days, if the top unit was eliminated or routed, units stacked beneath it had to check morale, routing if they failed.  Of course, in those days Rout was not quite as drastic a fate as it is now.

Friendly Fire (SR 10.26).  Can’t resist a promising shot, despite it involving firing over the heads of friendly units adjacent to the target?  Join the club.  But be aware of the risk:  no one likes being caught between two fires, and if those friendly units are already disordered, the consequences of poorly aimed fire (defined as an unadjusted roll of 2 or less) could be severe.

It might be helpful to take a closer look at this case, as it is of the type that tends to trip up even veteran GBACW players.  If the friendly non-artillery unit caught in Friendly Fire is already disordered and now fails the required UDD, it has suffered a 2nd Disorder.  When we consult the 2nd Disorder Table for instruction, we find that it must now UDD again.  If it passes, it loses an SP and must retreat 1 or 2 hexes.  If it fails, it routs.

Artillery is slightly different.  If it suffers a second disorder due to Friendly Fire, it is Abandoned (SR 12.8).  (The 2nd Disorder Table will be updated to reflect this.)

Nothing so brings out the serious nature of a second disorder as such stark consequences, but some players err at this point and make it unnecessarily worse.  If a non-artillery unit fails its required UDD after the Fire Roll of 2 or less, they conclude the unit has Routed.  It has not.  Instead, it has suffered a 2nd Disorder, the consequences of which are not known until it rolls its 2nd Disorder UDD as prescribed by the 2nd Disorder Table.

Let’s see how these mechanics work themselves out in the next class of 2nd Disorders.

2nd Disorders due to Reaction Facing Change/Refusal, Shock-related causes, Adjacent units Routing, and Retreating through Friendly units.

Like 2nd Disorders caused by Friendly Fire, 2nd Disorders caused by each of the situations in this class involve the same consequences for non-artillery units.  They must UDD again.  Passing means losing an SP and retreating.  Failure means Rout.  Artillery is only affected by two of these four situations, but simply suffering a 2nd Disorder in those two situations means it’s Abandoned.  As with Friendly Fire, this class of 2nd Disorders tends to cause players problems, for the same reason explained above.

Reaction Facing Change/Refusal.  Any non-artillery unit that conducts such a Reaction must UDD.  This is never the UDD prescribed by SR 12.35b.  It is instead the UDD prescribed by SR 9.62, 2nd bullet point.  If the unit is already disordered and fails 9.62’s UDD, it suffers a 2nd Disorder.  That 2nd Disorder is the reason for the follow-up UDD prescribed by 12.35b and the 2nd Disorder Table.

Shock, including Pre-Shock Cohesion checks and Retreat Before Infantry Shock.  Each of these cases work a little differently.

• An already disordered unit must UDD if it Retreats Before Shock.  If it fails, it suffers a 2nd Disorder and must then UDD again, as prescribed by 12.35b and the 2nd Disorder Table.  Thus, this case follows the same mechanic as that governing Friendly Fire and Reaction Facing Change/Refusal.  Artillery may not retreat before shock.
• An already disordered unit that fails a Pre-Shock Cohesion check suffers a 2nd Disorder.  You could think of Pre-Shock Cohesion checks as a sort of UDD, the big difference being that the top unit rolls for all the units in the stack.  The other difference is that there are several DRM that may apply, and most are bad.  Old-timers should note in this context that the new Defender’s Pre-Shock DRMs table is a little kinder, levying a +1 DRM on disordered units rather than the old +2.  If the top unit fails the check, good order units in its stack merely disorder, but already disordered artillery is now Abandoned (without a UDD), and all non-artillery units must UDD again as prescribed by 12.35b and the 2nd Disorder Table.  The results can be very dire, as the rest of our story will make clear.
• An already disordered non-artillery unit suffering a Disorder result from the Shock Table (and every single Shock Table result is going to disorder someone) retreats if required and must then UDD as prescribed by 12.35b and the 2nd Disorder Table. In other words, the Shock result is itself the trigger for the 2nd Disorder UDD.  Artillery, however, is again different.  If already disordered, a 2nd Disorder means it is Abandoned, again with no additional UDD.
• There’s also a special set of provisions for Shock Resolution rolls of 10 or more.  Defending artillery anywhere in the stack is automatically abandoned, whether it was already disordered or not (SR 11.64, for which errata will be forthcoming).  Defending non-artillery must retreat 2 hexes and disorders.  If that is a 2nd Disorder, it rolls a 2nd Disorder UDD and suffers the usual consequences.  And regardless of whether it suffered a first or second Disorder due to the Shock, if it has survived to this point, its final tribulation is a Rout check.  Just as in the case of a Collapsed unit that loses an SP after collapsing, passing this check is consequence-free.  Failing means Rout.

Adjacent unit Routing.  GBACW players have probably all heard of what happened to the Union XI Corps west of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863 — Stonewall Jackson’s flank attack resulted in a mass panic.  Similar events occurred at Stephenson’s Depot on June 15th, 1863; at the Wilderness early on May 6th, 1864; less than a week later at Spotsylvania on May 12th; and again at Nashville on December 16th of that year, to name only a few examples of sudden defensive collapses.

Being a regimental system as it is, GBACW cannot quite guarantee results like these.  However, it includes a mechanic that can produce a local panic.  When a unit routs, all adjacent infantry and cavalry units must UDD.  If they fail, they disorder.  If already disordered and failing the UDD, they UDD again in accordance with 12.35b and the 2nd Disorder Table.  So, Rout can spread.  Especially in games involving green or questionable units with low cohesion ratings, such as 1st Bull Run in Red Badge of Courage and several of the Gringo! battles, the results can gut a command.

SR 12.54 points out, however, that this mechanic involves no “double jeopardy”.  A unit that has already conducted a UDD due to an adjacent unit routing does not check again in case other adjacent units rout.

Retreating through Friendly Units (formerly Displacement).  It’s safe to say there are dozens of recorded Civil War anecdotes describing one unit retreating through another and causing more or less confusion in the process.  This GBACW mechanic updates the old Displacement mechanic to better reflect that reality.  The pattern may by now be familiar.  The stationary unit must UDD.  For non-artillery units already disordered, a failed UDD is followed by the UDD prescribed by 12.35b and the 2nd Disorder Table.  Already disordered artillery is Abandoned if it fails it UDD; it does not roll again.

Like SR 12.54, SR 12.46 can generate chain reactions.  But it too states that, when a unit has already rolled a UDD after a friendly unit retreats through it, it does not roll again if any other units retreat through it due to consequences of the same Combat result.

Post-Shock Disorder

Was any species of Civil War combat more soul-shattering than assaults on a stalwart enemy?  The history of the war is replete with examples of such attacks, both successful and unsuccessful.  Unlike the SPI version of GBACW, the victor of such an assault (Shock) does not emerge unscathed in the GMT version.  That is what Post-Shock Disorder is all about.

The provisions for Post-Shock Disorder have occasionally confused players, so let’s carefully lay them out.  While this class of disorder doesn’t apply when the defender retreated before shock (voluntarily or involuntarily), and may not apply when a disordered defender Routs or retreats after failing its Pre-Shock Cohesion check, there’s no free lunch for most units that went toe-to-toe and rolled to resolve Shock (step 6b of the shock procedure).

• A phasing (attacking) infantry or dismounted cavalry unit that completes Shock Step 6b (rolling the die to decide the outcome) will disorder as the concluding step of its shock (Step 6e).  Note that this does not happen until the unit resolves any & all Continued Shocks it may have undertaken.  If the phasing unit is already disordered prior to Step 6e, it will lose an SP.
• Mounted Cavalry is different.  No matter whether it’s phasing or non-phasing (attacking or defending), cavalry disorders during Step 6e, if it completed Step 6b.  If already disordered prior to Step 6e, Post-shock disorder automatically renders it Blown, a unique status for cavalry.  See SR 11.59 for its effects, all of which are dire, including a provision for a Rout Check upon losing any SP, similar to that for Collapsed units.  If the Blown cavalry is also Collapsed, it checks for Rout only once, as will be clarified in the errata.
• Units under March Orders unfortunate enough to be shocked are another unique case.  No matter what the fate of the immediate victim of the shock, the other regiments in its brigade register their alarm over the situation by conducting UDDs during Step 6e, disordering if they fail.  Given that the immediate victim may well have routed (see SR 11.37), it may be that one or more of those sister regiments is already disordered.  If they fail the UDD, thus suffering a second disorder, they lose an SP.

Nota bene: Stacks and 2nd Disorders

The stacking rules have always implied that more than one unit may suffer a second disorder resulting from the same fire combat or Shock.  The 2019 stacking rules, which Greg Laubach successfully pioneered in Cedar Mountain, increase this possibility, since they remove the limit of two non-artillery units per stack.  As each unit rolls its 2nd Disorder UDD separately, it is plain to see that, without a counterbalancing rule, the more units in the stack, the worse the results can be.  For example, in the case of Fire Table results, an already disordered large unit alone in a hex could lose an SP, but a stack of smaller disordered units could lose as many SP as there were units in the stack.

However, Greg provided a counterbalancing rule for Cedar Mountain, and that rule is also now part of the 2019 corpus.  Stacked small units may all end up retreating but lose a maximum of 1 SP, the top unit suffering the loss, as usual.

Conclusions

2nd Disorders are not like first disorders.  They generally represent a much more precarious situation for the affected unit.  GBACW confirms this in several ways, not only via the penalties prescribed by the 2nd Disorder Table, but by the additional restrictions specified in SR 12.35.

Artillery, as usual, follows different patterns when it suffers a 2nd Disorder.

Additional Rout checks occur only in extreme circumstances — when a Collapsed or Blown unit loses an SP, or an Attacker rolls an adjusted 10 or better when shocking.

The 2nd Disorder Table can be a great resource.  Units suffer 2nd Disorders in all kinds of ways, but the penalties for these grievous states of affairs vary from nothing at all to Rout.  Those who are unsure of themselves would do well to keep the 2nd Disorder Table within arm’s reach as they play.

Because the penalties for 2nd Disorders are so dire in certain situations, it is in the players’ interests to set up and then exploit such situations among the enemy’s forces.  Nothing can produce a local crisis more quickly than a Rout that spreads to adjacent units.  The player who lights the fuse resulting in his enemy’s mass panic can rightly savor it as a moment of triumph, because it doesn’t happen often. 

The implication of the foregoing is that the best tactic a player can employ is to use both combat tools available to him — Fire and Shock.  If Fire disorders a previously good-order enemy, Shock can push that enemy beyond its capacity to resist and into the Rout box.  This combat paradigm may be GBACW’s greatest strength, mirroring as it does the essence of 19th century tactics:  achieve fire superiority before driving home the assault.

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Previous Articles:

Determining AMs in Great Battles of the American Civil War (GBACW)

March Orders Stacking, Extended Columns, and the Road Movement Exception in Great Battles of the American Civil War (GBACW)