Each battle turn, each commander gives orders to each of his/her units on the battlefield. The orders are given in secret and then revealed simultaneously.
The orders determine what the unit does during that battle turn. Possible orders are as follows:
| Order | Meaning |
| Charge unit x | May only be done by a unit that is not currently
engaged in melee combat (and has a morale level other than rout). It
allows the unit to engage an enemy unit (x) in melee combat, by charging
into it (firing missiles at the unit during the charge (if armed with
any) and then engaging in melee combat). The enemy unit may be in the
same battlefield area as the charging unit, or in an adjacent area (in
which case the unit moves into the adjacent area). Unless the enemy unit
successfully evades or another enemy unit protects it, the two units
will end up in melee combat this battle turn. When charging an enemy unit, this will normally be from the front; however, if the charging unit is coming from a battlefield area to the side of the enemy unit (e.g. a unit is in the enemy Centre, and charges an enemy unit in the enemy Left flank), the attack is deemed to hit the enemy unit in the flank, and if the charging unit is coming from a battlefield area to the rear of the enemy unit (e.g. a unit is in the enemy Reserve, and charges an enemy unit in the enemy Left flank) or the enemy unit unsuccessfully evades the charge, the attack is deemed to hit the enemy unit in the rear. |
| Stand | May only be done by a unit that is not currently engaged in melee combat (and has a morale level other than rout). It allows the unit to stand in current position (i.e. do not change battlefield area). If charged at, the unit may decide either to stand and brace against the attack, to attempt to evade it or to counter-charge against it. |
| Stand and fire at unit x | May only be done by a unit that is not currently engaged in melee combat (and has a morale level other than rout). It allows the unit to stand in current position (i.e. do not change battlefield area) and fire missile fire at an enemy unit (x) in the same or adjacent battlefield area. If charged at, the unit may decide either to stand and brace against the attack or to counter-charge against it. |
| Stand and protect unit y | May only be done by a unit that is not currently engaged in melee combat (and has a morale level other than rout). It allows the unit to stand in current position (i.e. do not change battlefield area) and block any enemy units from charging into the designated friendly unit (y), which must be in the same battlefield area as the protecting unit. If enemy units do charge unit y, they will instead end up charging into the protecting unit instead. The protecting unit can choose either to counter-charge the charging unit(s) or to stand and brace against its/their charge. |
| Hit and run fire against unit x | May only be done by a unit that is not currently engaged in melee combat (and has a morale level other than rout). It allows the unit to stay in broadly the current position (i.e. do not change battlefield area) while circling and firing missile fire at an enemy unit (x) in the same or adjacent battlefield area. If charged at, the unit will attempt to evade the charge. |
| Continue melee combat against engaged unit(s) | May only be done by a unit that is currently engaged in melee combat (and has a morale level other than rout). The unit does not move and continues to attack the unit(s) with which it is currently engaged. |
| Disengage from melee combat | May only be done by a unit that is currently engaged in melee combat (and is the only order allowed to an engaged unit whose morale level has fallen to rout). The unit does not move. It does not attack any unit(s) with which it is currently engaged (though they continue to attack it this battle turn). At the end of the battle turn, the unit will no longer be engaged with any of the enemy units with which it was engaged at the start of the turn. If any other enemy units have charged it during the battle turn, it will, however, be engaged with them (and can attack them during the turn). |
| Retreat and attempt to rally | May only be done by a unit that is not currently
engaged in melee combat (and has a morale level other than rout). It
allows the unit to attempt to restore order and morale. The unit
commander may attempt to increase the unit's morale
by one level by making a dice roll using
his/her Influence (including battlefield command
specialism) + WP at a difficulty of 8; if
he/she fails by more than 5 points (i.e. gets a dice roll result of 3 or
lower), the morale of the unit will instead fall by one level. The unit may optionally move into an adjacent battlefield area if there is one that is not currently occupied by enemy units. If in its own reserve or flank area, the unit may optionally attempt to retreat off the battlefield (this will be successful unless the unit is charged during the battle turn). |
| Rout | Is the only order allowed if a unit is not currently engaged in melee combat and has its morale level reduced to rout. The unit attempts to flee the battlefield by the nearest route. The unit may move into an adjacent battlefield area if there is one that is not currently occupied by enemy units. If in its own reserve or flank area, the unit will attempt to retreat off the battlefield (this will be successful unless the unit is charged during the battle turn). |
| Move | May only be done by a unit that is not currently engaged in melee combat (and has a morale level other than rout). The unit may move into an adjacent battlefield area. If in its own reserve or flank area, the unit may optionally attempt to retreat off the battlefield (this will be successful unless the unit is charged during the battle turn). |
If, when orders are revealed, there is an apparent conflict, the referee determines what happens. Typically, priority is given to faster moving units (e.g. cavalry beat infantry, infantry beat artillery, etc.). If the units are of similar speed (e.g. cavalry versus cavalry), the referee may require the unit commanders of the affected units to make opposing dice rolls using their Tactics (including battlefield strategy) + IQ; the unit with the highest dice roll result will go first, etc.
An example of this is evading charges (e.g. unit A charges unit B which attempts to evade the charge). The rules for resolving this are as follows: Evading cavalry can automatically evade the charge of infantry, but evading infantry will automatically be caught by charging cavalry. If evading infantry are charged by infantry, or evading cavalry by cavalry, the commanders of both units make opposing dice rolls using their Tactics (including battlefield strategy) + IQ; if the evading unit commander's dice roll result is greater than or equal to that of the charging unit commander's, the evading unit escapes - otherwise, it is caught in the rear by the charge.
Example of battlefield orders
For example, the armies of Darius and Alexander are about to engage. Their initial deployment and first battle turn's orders are as follows:
| Darius Army Reserve Open Camp followers & baggage train - Stand |
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| Darius Army Right flank Open Spearmen 1 - Stand Cataphracts - Charge Archers 1 |
Darius Army Centre Open Spearmen 2 - Stand Spearmen 3 - Charge Archers 2 |
Darius Army Left flank Open Spearmen 4 - Stand Light Cavalry - Hit and run at Archers 3 |
| Alexander Army Left flank Open Pike phalanx 1 - Stand and defend Archers 1 Archers 1 - Stand and fire at Cataphracts |
Alexander Army Centre Open Pike phalanx 2 - Stand and defend Archers 2 Archers 2 - Stand and fire at Spearmen 3 |
Alexander Army Right flank Open Pike phalanx 3 - Stand and defend Archers 3 Archers 3 - Stand and fire at Light cavalry Heavy cavalry - Charge Light cavalry |
| Alexander Army Reserve Camp followers & baggage train - Stand |
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On Alexander's left (Darius' right), the Cataphracts charge at Archers 1, but the Pike phalanx 1 interposes itself between the cataphracts and the archers, so the Cataphracts end up charging into the phalanx instead. As they charge, the cataphracts can fire missile weapons at either their original target (the archers) or their new target (the pike phalanx). As they do this, the archers will fire at them. Finally, melee combat is resolved between the charging cataphracts and the braced phalanx.
In the centre, a similar pattern emerges with Spearmen 3 ending up charging Pike phalanx 2 (which counter-charges), while Archers 2 fires at the charging spearmen.
On the right flank, the Light cavalry fire missile fire at Archers 3, who return fire; as the Light cavalry turn and wheel away, the Heavy cavalry charge into them, and the Light cavalry attempt (unsuccessfully) to evade the charge.
As a result of these maneuvers, the deployment at the end of the first battle turn is as follows:
| Darius Army Reserve Open Camp followers & baggage train |
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| Darius Army Right flank Open Spearmen 1 |
Darius Army Centre Open Spearmen 2 |
Darius Army Left flank Open Spearmen 4 Light Cavalry engaged with Alexander's Heavy cavalry |
| Alexander Army Left flank Open Pike phalanx 1 engaged with Darius' Cataphracts Archers 1 |
Alexander Army Centre Open Pike phalanx 2 engaged with Darius' Spearmen 3 Archers 2 |
Alexander Army Right flank Open Pike phalanx 3 Archers 3 |
| Alexander Army Reserve Camp followers & baggage train |
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To see how the battle progresses from here, see the full write-up of the example battle.