Warhammer Modern By Guy Bowers Playtest Lite Version

20th Century Warfare

Warhammer Modern - By Guy Bowers

With the advent of faster loading rifles, more reliable smokeless ammunition and the first reliable machinegun, the Maxim, the nature of warfare rapidly changed.

The difference between the ancient warrior and his modern counter part is the modern soldier learns to love hugging dirt!

Units of infantry had to disperse for survival. The previous tactics of blocks of marching infantry were soon proven to be very outdated, a bloody lesson learnt in the boer wars of the turn of the 20th century by the British.

Terrain

Prior to that war, the British army had fought more primitive armies with predictable results. The accuracy of the rifle and the rapid firepower of the machinegun would devastate formed units. Against the skimishing Boers with modern weapons, there was to be no decisive battle or easy won victory. When brought to the fight, the Boer 'kommando' units would melt away. It would take another invention, the concentration camp, to tame the Boers. The Great War of 1914-18 saw the stalemate of the trenches caused greatly in part by the technologies of the railroad (allowing quick reinforcements), the telephone (allowing the instant relay of battle information) and preservation in food (which allowed troops to remain in situ for long periods). At first, the rifle was seen as a long range weapon with the overly optimistic ranges of 1000 yards, designed to engage marching columns of enemy infantry. After the debacle of WW1, it was realized slowly in military circles that modern warfare would be fought at much shorter ranges. It was one thing to

This is an adaptation of the Warhammer Ancient Battles rules to cover 20th Century Warfare. The intention is to produce a set of skirmish rules which give a fun game while reflecting some of the tactics used on the battlefield and applying these to the game.

Terrain is like WAB with one notable addition, difficult terrain is divided into scattered and dense. Most of the board will be Open Terrain and offers no special rules for cover or movement. It includes any open area (be they plains, grassland, snow plain, desert, street). Difficult terrain is divided to two sub types: Scattered terrain offers soft cover if the infantry unit does not move that turn. It includes rubble areas, crop fields and scrubland. Dense terrain offers soft cover as long as the infantry unit remains in it. It includes woodland, jungle and swamp. Very difficult terrain slows infantry and vehicles to half movement. It includes swamp,snow fields, fordable rivers etc. Impassable terrain cannot be crossed by units unless they are specifically equipped to do so. Mountain troops and Commandos may be equipped with grapnels and lines for crossing impassable terrain, for example.

Movement Movement uses the same conventions as WAB. Most troops have a movement value of 4. We assume that most troops are carrying their weapons and full battledress (helmet, pack, bedroll, food, canteen etc). Some irregulars or similar 'light troops' have a movement value of 5. These are carrying very little apart from a weapon and some spare ammunition. This incudes early Waffen SS (when their doctrine was to travel light and fast), Commandos and most Russians. Infantry and vehicles may double move but then they cannot shoot. Troops may triple move if formed in column and in open terrain (with the disadvantages of being formed up!). Wheeled vehicles may triple move if on roads.

Vehicles Vehicles vary and are based on their cross country speeds and performance. For example, a Tiger tank has a Move of 6 while a Sherman has a Move 8 and the BT has a Move 10. Wheeled Vehicles may move over open terrain normally. They may not march move through scattered terrain and cannot enter dense terrain or very difficult terrain. A typical truck is move 6. Commercial vehicles (2 wheel drive) are not designed for off road and roll for immobilization off road. 1/2 Tracks move as wheeled vehicles but may attempt to enter very difficult terrain at the risk of being immobilized.

shoot volley fire at a marching column in the open at 1000m, another entirely to get a shot off at a fast moving skirmishing target at 100m. This thinking would result in the reducing of size of the rifle cartridge, allowing more ammunition to be carried and the introduction of more rapid firing, automatic weapons. Rapid firing artillery also changed the face of the battlefield. The introduction of 'fixed' ammunition (warhead and propellant in one shell, like a bullet) and hydraulic recoil suppres sors meant that light guns could fire faster. The heavier guns were fired no longer directly, but at map coordinates. Indirect fire was born. Most casualties in the first world war were caused by indirect shelling.

Tracked Vehicles move freely through open and scattered terrain. They may enter dense terrain and very difficult terrain but risk becoming immobilized. Crew served weapons come in two types, those that can be man handled (on tripods or light carriages) and those that can't (those on gun carriages). Tripods can move through any terrain but cannot march move. Gun carriages cannot be easily moved by the crew (the gun can only move across open terrain and cannot double move). Light carriages (up to 47mm) can be moved through open terrain but cannot march move. Heavy carriages (76mm guns) can be manhandeld at half speed. Very heavy carriages (88mms) can only be moved by vehicle, the crew can only move the gun to pivot in the other direction.

With the introduction of the 'land cruiser tracked', dubbed 'water tanks for Mesopotamia', warfare would be revolutionized again. The armoured outpost, the tank, was able to move over the impassable terrain of the war torn battlefield and be immune to small arms fire. This invention helped break the stalemate of the trenches, but it would take a genius on the losing side, Model, to realize the tank's potential for another form of warfare, the Blitzkrieg.

Line Of Sight Troops cannot shoot through friendly or other enemy troops unless firing from an elevated position. Field guns and tripod machineguns are move or fire, they have to be manhandled round to face another direction if the target is out of the gun's 90º fire arc. The German '88, the 2pdr and Vickers MG are exceptions, as they may be freely moved through 360º. Radios and telephone lines allow instant communication to and from units. In effect, those with communication equipment may act as line of sight for other units (see indirect fire). Very lights may be fired either as a signal to illuminate an area. Characters and specialists (leaders and RT operators) enjoy the 'Look Out Sir!' rule to avoid unfair targeting. There are two exceptions. Artillery fire may by chance hit a character or specialist. Snipers may pick out characters and specialists if they have line of sight. If a specialist is killed, it is assumed his equipment is lost too. A radio is assumed to be Knocked out when operator is killed.

Line of Sight In a game dominated by shooting, line of sight becomes a very important aspect of the game.

Skirmishing: There is no Shooting penalty for shooting at a Shooting follows the same principles as WAB. Strict line of sight rules apply, models skirmishing target – the may not shoot through other models, friend or foe. modern rifled weapon is highly accurate. MODIFIERS +1 Shooting at a Large Target or Formed unit Formed Units: +1 Second and subsequent shot at a large stationary target Traditionally, men were -1 Shooting while moving grouped together for ease -1 Shooting at Long Range – Over half weapon’s range of control. In the 19th -2 Shooting at extreme range - Up to double the weapon’s range. Century troops were still -1 Target is in Cover (Wall, house, dug out, Tanks hull down) drilled to march and shoot -2 Infantry target is in Hard Cover (Prepared position, sandbagged house, Bunker together as a formed slit). mass. COVER AND TANKS: Tanks can’t normally claim cover, they may being ‘dug in’ but Troops in march column only in if defending in a ‘last stand’ type scenarios. Walls and fences do not count as (two or three abreast) cover - only ‘hull down’ positions behind a hill offer this protection. may triple move giving themselves great maneu- ARTILLERY SHIELDS—Gun shields offer soft cover for those behind them and protecverability, at a cost of tion from the effects of shell templates which fall in front of the shield. Dug in guns being easy targets to an (only available usually to the defender in a Last Stand type scenario) count as hard enemy. Troops in march cover from all directions. Crew served weapons with gun shields are considered in column count as a large cover to the front. target. SMOKE: Any target who’s line of sight is traced through the smoke counts as being The ‘Buddying Up’ rule in soft cover. Two groups of smoke block line of sight. accurate and is to encourage units to skirmish. BUDDYING UP: Any shots against a formed unit (where the bases are touching) are Bunched up units will treated as shooting at a large target. This does not count crew served weapons in make excellent targets! cover, who are protected in part by the weapon or cover. The SMLE of WW1 had sights graduated to over 800 yards but was only effective at skirmishing troops in cover at ranges of 100 yards or less.

HIP FIRING - Moving and firing with a heavy automatic or semi automatic weapon is done from the hip, not from the shoulder. This ‘off sights’ shooting is very inaccurate and thus halves the rate of fire.

BS2 Troops Infantry with BS2 are a disadvantage with the 7’s to hit system. To offset this they halve their shots and require 6’s against any target BS3 troops could hit on 6’s.

This is a very important rule with very important yet subtle consequences. The standard rifle has a 24” range (extreme range of 48”). You might be able to snipe at a man in the open 48” away but you’ll only be able to shoot someone in cover at 24”. Troops in a bunker will only be accurately targeted at ranges of 12” or less.

7’s to hit Any modifier which reduces a chance ‘to hit’ above 6 is an automatic miss.

Example: A squad of 10 recruits firing at long range at a target in cover (a total of -2 to hit) would take 5 shots and require 6’s to hit. What about BS4 units? They are rare and very good shots! Armour:The consequences of not having any armour saves (or cover saves for that matter, as cover is factored into shooting) is the game becomes much quicker to play. Helmets should affect the effectiveness of artillery fire. All troops without helmets shoud treat artillery wounds at +1 strength.

Armour Save Virtually no troops outside the modern era have armour. The standard helmet does not offer a save.

Ambuscade: this is the BAR equivalent of overwatch. It is only available to defenders in a 2 to 1 attack scenario - using it all the time slows the game down!

Ambuscade (optional rule) Antitank weapons may elect to fire in a mode called “ambuscade”. In their own Shooting phase, instead of shooting with the unit in question (HMG or AT gun), the owning player may place a marker, within range, line of sight, and arc of fire of the unit. The unit does not move nor may it fire that turn. In the opponent’s subsequent Movement phase, the player may fire the unit at one target which moved within a 3” radius of the marker provided the target still fulfills range, line of sight, and arc of fire restrictions at that time. The results of this fire are applied immediately. Machineguns do not need ambuscade, they have suppressing fire (which can be viewed as ‘potential shots’ rather than actual shots).

Initiative is also used with the optional encirclement rules (see end).

Initiative Tests Sometimes squads and vehicle crews will be called upon to make initiative tests. ‘Bogging down’ and testing for minefields (to name a few) maybe become a modified INI test to avoid. So a skilled team will spot the mines or avoid getting stuck while less skilled won’t.

Morale UNIT SIZE: This is a change from WAB, due to the smaller sizes of units.

CLOSE COMBAT: Possibly an additional attack for SMGs and Pistols? Or reflected in officer’s stats? Grenades might reduce the penalty for fighting into cover? Alternatively, troops may ‘fix bayonets’. The use of bayonets allow the rerolling of misses in combat for the basic attacks. It takes a turn for a unit to 'fix bayonets' before it charges and the player can only reroll hand to hand hits, not grenade hits. Some nations may have army standards. These flags will give +1 to combat resolution as normal and allow the re-roll of break tests as normal.

The only significant change from WAB is the introduction of the concept of pinning. When a squad in cover takes a panic test from 25% shooting casualties, it does not flee on a failed test but become suppressed instead. Suppressed troops may not move or shoot, until they rally (passing a Ld test at the start of their turn). They keep their heads down and tend to their wounded comrades. Should a suppressed squad be subject to a second failed test, they flee as normal and abandon their position. Suppressed squads do not affect nearby squads for panic tests (as fleeing troops normally would). Suppressed troops are keeping their heads down and cannot be targeted by aimed shots. They may be targeted by suppressing fire. Units in the open flee as normal (in military terminology they are 'falling back'!). If fleeing troops pass into cover, they immediately may make a rally test as long as there is no enemy within 8”. If they succeed, they become suppressed. If they fail, they continue their full flee move. This test only applies for the first time the unit enters cover. Fleeing units which rally in cover become suppressed.

Voluntary Fails A player may choose to fail a panic test (and suffer the negatice consequences) of any unit without testing. This is a useful tactic if a unit is taking too much fire and wishes to keep their heads down or fall back. Unit rally size All Infantry units, support weapon and tank crews may rally as long as they are still 1/2 strength or over. Under 1/2 and they cannot rally and are removed.

Assaults Close combat - as WAB. Consists of melee and close shooting. Charging opponents are obliged to maximise contact for both sides. There is no stand and shoot or fire and flee reaction - units either stand or flee.

COVER: This is similar to the effect of shieldwall in WAB and is the system I used in Siege and Conquest. In fact, S&C was influenced by playing these very rules! It is common for troops to ‘go to ground’ rather than run when faced with an assault. Thus the choice is left to the player.

Grenades allow the side using them to strike first. If both sides have grenades, then normal order is followed. In addition, grenades allow models not in contact to fight, any model within 2” can fight. Cover Attacking defended obstacles. Targets behind cover or in an open top vehicle are at -1 'to hit'. Hard cover (such as a bunker or a tank) is at -2 'to hit'. Suppressed targets do not benefit from cover from charges. Combat Resolution Usually no modifers are applied to the result (there being no ranks, flanks, standards or musicians). Panic tests are taken as normal. Units in cover may flee or choose to become pinned instead. Sometimes it’s safer staying put.

Some vehicles, such as the KV2, have such a high profile, they cannot count as being in cover.

Armour

A simple wooden fence or stone wall will not count as cover for a tank - these will not stop a tank shell! To be in cover, the tank will have to be hull down behind a substantial hill or similar obstacle. Tanks cannot hide behind street corners shooting!

The front, flank and rear zones are shown on page 13 of the main rulebook. An enemy shooting from within this zone will hit the respective armour facing. Top armour is used for infantry antitank grenades and aerial attack.

Most vehicles count as large targets. Each vehicle has an Armour Toughness rating on each of it's facings Front, Flank (referred to as the side armour), Rear and Top.

Tank crews typically have the following typical morale: Raw Crews Ld 6 Regular Crews Ld 7 Veteran Crews Ld 8 Italians were known for their dogged determination despite overwhelming odds and very poor machinery. Russian crews were often raw but had the added incentive that they were not allowed to abandon their tanks if they were at all in working order. To do so would mean a chat with the Comissar. So they have a morale ‘incentive’!

A typical tank will look like this: M M4 Sherman 8

BS 3

Ini 2

Ld 6

Front 5

Side 4

Rear 4

Top 3

Pts 115

Fire arcs (Open and Buttoning Up) Tank weaponry follow the same fire arc restrictions of other weapons, being 90 degrees or 45 degrees either side of the direction of the gun barrel. Open An open tank may turn it’s turret freely through 360 degrees. The tank commander is looking out of his hatch and can spot targets. This gives the tank better spotting but the tank commander becomes a hard cover target (-2 to hit). An open tank is also more vulnerable to infantry assault (see below). Buttoned up The tank is limited to a 90 degrees fire arc (direction turret is facing). To change the turret’s facing requires an initiative test. Some tanks, such as the Tiger have slow traverse, they may only change their turret direction by 90º a turn. Tank Crew Tank crews ignore morale around them outside the tank. However, if the tank is damaged, they may have to pass a panic test to stay with the vehicle.

Optional Rule - Vehicle Squadrons Mutiple vehicles are put in squadrons or sections. Vehicles in squadrons will have to take a morale test for the squadron if one of their vehicles are destroyed. If they fail, they will disengage (withdrawing at full speed backwards) until they pass a morale test.

Damage If the tank is hit by a shell, subtract the Strength of the shell from the armour on the facing hit. A D6 is rolled by the defender. If the result is greater than the modified Strength, there is no effect, the tank has ‘saved’. If the roll is lower, the tank is damaged.

The simple method is designed for very large games or games played at a smaller scale (15mm). The ‘saving roll’ determining damage is a difficult concept to get some players heads around but it really does work! Try it out a few times.

Strength of Weapon

The table isn’t really necessary but it helps players familiarise themselves with the system.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ * * * * * * * *

2 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ * * * * * * *

3 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ * * * * * *

Armour of facing 4 5 6 7 2+ 3+ 2+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ * 6+ 5+ 4+ * * 6+ 5+ * * * 6+ * * * * * * * *

8 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ *

9 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+

10 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+

11 2+ 3+ 4+

12 2+ 3+

The following table is a useful guide to calculating saves: “-” = AUTOMATIC SAVE “*” = SAVE AUTOMATICALLY FAILS A DIE IS STILL ROLLED TO DETERMINE DAMAGE. The Simple Method (for large scale battles) The ‘saving roll’ made by the defender determines the damage done to the tank if the save is failed. If the roll is not saved, look on the table below: Defender rolls a 1

Surface Hit

Crew make a panic test. Failure means tank abandoned

Defender rolls a 2

Minor Penetration

Panic test plus the tank cannot move or shoot for a turn

Defender rolls a 3 or more

Major Penetration

Tank is destroyed.

For example, a Tiger I is hit on it’s front facing (Armour 6) by an 85mm gun (Strength 9), giving a 3. So a 1-3 will damage the tank while a 4+ will save. A 1 is rolled. Looking on the table below, the crew make a panic test. Rolling a 6 on two dice, they pass. If the Tiger was hit by a strength 7 gun, it would save on a 2+ and the worst result would be a ‘1’ a panic test.

The Detailed Method (For standard sized battles) In the detailed method, an additional die is rolled by the attacker to determine the extent of the damage caused by the hit. This second die is modified depending on whether it is a side hit (greater chance of an immobilization) or a rear hit (greater chance of engine fire).

If the roll is not saved, look on the table below: ‘Save’ Roll of a 1 Surface Hit 1 Immob 2 Glancing

‘Save’ Roll of a 2

‘Save’ Roll of a 3

‘Save’ Roll of a 4+

Minor Peneteration Immob, 1 Crew D3 Crew

Major Peneteration Immob, D3 Crew Fire, D6 Crew

Catastrophic

Immob, D3 Crew Fire, D6 Crew

3 4

Gun D3 1 Crew

Gun D6, 1 Crew Fire

Gun D6, D3 Crew Fire, D3 Crew

Gun D6, D6 Crew Hv Fire

5 6

Glancing Fire

D3 Crew Hv Fire

D6 Crew Hv Fire

2D6 Crew Cook Off

+1 to the dice roll on the damage table for Rear hits -1 to the dice roll on the damage table for Side Hits 'Glancing' cause no damage but the crew must pass a panic test or exit the vehicle. 'Crew' causes crew casualties, the number indicated by the table. Crew test for morale when 25% of the crew is lost. If half the crew is lost but still with the vehicle, the tank may move or shoot but not both. 'Gun' hits cause a main weapon (or random turret with multi turret weapons) to be damaged. The BS of the tank is reduced by the indicated amount. A gun reduced to BS0 is inoperable. If the gun becomes inoperable and it is the crew's only main weapon, they have to pass a panic test or abandon the tank. 'Immob' (Immobilized) vehicles cannot move. The crew must pass a panic test to remain with the vehicle (Not a good idea to stay with an immobilised vehicle). The damage cannot be repaired by the crew. ‘Fire'. A minor fire has started which can be put out by the crew by making a Ld test. The crew can do nothing for a turn while they fight the fire. Failure of the test means it develops into a heavy fire next turn on a 4+. A ‘1’ results in the fire miraculously going out.

Germans gain 1/2 victory points for crews recovered. Russians gain nothing - they were expected to stay with the tank if it was still operational.

'Heavy Fire'. A serious fire has broken out and the tank must be abandoned. Roll 4+ for each crew member to escape without injury. Roll 4+ in the subsequent turn for the tank to cook off. A ‘1’ results in the fire miraculously going out. 'Cook Off'. The tank explodes as the ammunition explodes. All Infantry within a D6" are wounded on a 4+. With small tanks or vehicles (with little or no HE) the radius is a D3”. Panicking crew flee the tank. If the player has the models, they may be rallied in subsequent turns.

Assaulting a tank. As outlined above, tanks are counted as hard cover unless open topped or open (which count as cover). Tank crews fight back but treat their attackers as being in cover (it is hard to fight back in a tank!). Models with antitank grenades are treated separately. Roll to hit with BS as normally, treating the tank as a large target. On a 1, the grenade goes off in the thrower’s hand, 2 is a miss while a 3+ is a hit. Roll for damage on top armour. Remove the Antitank grenade model and repllace it with a model without one after the attack.

Tank Desaint Troops carried on the back of a tank (in soviet desaint fashion, but I've seen pictures of US and German troops using a similar tactic). Troops on the top of a Tank are treated as being in cover to the front and do not count as ‘Buddying Up’.

Some moltov bombs Others ‘duds’.

AT grenades (like cocktails and ‘sticky’ can injure the user. will be simply be

Most guns fire once per turn. Light ‘semiautomatic’ guns like the German 37mm may fire twice if the crew passes an intitiative test. Heavy guns (122mm and larger) fire every other turn. Really big guns (203mm) fire every third turn (twice in a battle!). Guns will be costed based on their rate of fire for the standard game (6 turns). Mortars: They did have very high rates of fire but were limited by correcting fire between shots and ammunition stocks. Light and medium mortars are quick firing weapons and may fire twice a round. Heavy mortars fire once per round. Mortars may only fire indirectly and are limited to four rounds of shooting per battle (unless army list allows extra ammo). Quick Firing Guns: Most lighter guns are what the British call 'quick firing' or QF. They fire once a round. The powder charge and warhead are 'fixed', are together in the same shell. Earlier guns loaded shell and powder charge separately and were much slower firing. Heavy guns have a shell and a separate powder charge (known as bag loaded). Loading is a great deal slower as each must be loaded separately into the gun. These weapons fire once every other turn, but as compensation they are much more lethal. Lighter 'bag loaded' guns (such as the Japanese 70mm) may make a Initiative test to fire each turn.

Field Guns

Field Guns typically have a Toughness value of 6 if they are hit. They are effectively immune to the effects of AP shells and can only be harmed by HE or HEAT ammo. A ‘HIT’ on the deviation dice is used to see if the gun is hit with the full strength of the weapon, otherwise the crew and gun are hit by the shrapnel of the weapon (half the weapon’s strength with HE or 1/4 with HEAP).

Indirect Fire (Currently being rewitten) Indirect fire is considered to be fire at extreme range (at -2). At this range, most hits will be supression hits. Zeroing in On the second and subsequent turns of firing, a forward artillery observer may correct the fall of fire. The observer makes an initiative roll. If passed, all subsequent shots against that target are at +1. (Additional plusses?) Mortars Mortars did have very high rates of fire but were limited by correcting fire between shots and ammunition stocks. Light and medium mortars are quick firing weapons and may fire twice a round. Heavy mortars fire once per round. Mortars may only fire indirectly and are limited to four rounds of shooting per battle (unless army list allows extra ammo). Quick Firing Guns Most lighter guns are what the British call 'quick firing' or QF. They fire once a round. The powder charge and warhead are 'fixed', are together in the same shell. Earlier guns loaded shell and powder charge separately and were much slower firing. Heavy guns have a shell and a separate powder charge (known as bag loaded). Loading is a great deal slower as each must be loaded separately into the gun. These weapons fire once every other turn, but as compensation they are much more lethal. Lighter 'bag loaded' guns (such as the Japanese 70mm) may make an Initiative test to fire on each even turn. Indirect Fire To fire indirectly requires either line of sight (directly or through radio/telephone) or is PREDICTED fire. LINE OF SIGHT can be traced from any radio or telephone equipped unit. This normally means the radio equipped unit or model doing nothing that turn (not moving nor firing radioing in the coordinates). Tanks & other vehicles with a dedicated radio operator may ignore this penalty. Dedicated artillery observer units make misses less likely. Once an observer unit gets a 'hit' they may inform the artillery battery and increase the accuracy of the indirect fire. PREDICTED fire is scenario dependant and was based on local landmarks. After the terrain has been placed down but before any forces are put down, the player may write down up to three locations where the predicted fire will be aimed. The note can them be slipped under a convenient terrain feature for safe keeping and the battle forces placed on the table.

Transport Vehicles and Portees When firing against transport vehicles, a dice is rolled for each hit to see if it hits the transporter or the cargo. On a 4+ the cargo area is hit instead of the transport (but may be in the blast radius for HE!). The cargo gets the protection of the vehicle’s armour unless it is on a flatbed. Infantry units in the back of the vehicle are hit as normal (despite being bunched together). HE and HEAT hits all with shrapnel. Portees (that is guns carried on the backs of lorries) are treated as cargo. If the gun is hit, it is treated like a field gun, ignoring AP hits. The Portee and truck test morale as one, if the truck driver runs because it’s on fire, I can’t see the gun crew staying around to get roasted!

Encirclement (Optional Rule) As wargamers we naturally move our models around the table with no restrictions, looking down from a god like perspective on the battlefield. In battle accounts, it was often noted that less skilled troops were often outflanked or encircled by better troops. But how to reflect this on the battlefield is the challenge. The following rules are to encourage more realistic movement on the battlefield and are entirely optional. They are designed for serious simulation wargamers and not competitive play. The player can move freely any unit • • • •

Towards Towards Towards Towards

the enemy board edge (or scenario objective). a visible enemy in fire arc. an enemy which fired in the last turn.* an enemy moving large target.*

Any other move requires the unit to make ain initiative test. * Armoured units which are ‘buttoned up’ ignore the last two. They cannot automatically react to shots outside their firing arc or moving vehicles. A unit may always fire at a target in the open and in fire arc. A unit can fire at an enemy unit in cover if: • • • •

It It It It

did fire (revealing it’s position). did not fire but did move and is inside 18". did not fire, did not move but is inside 12". is a large target which did not fire nor move but is inside 24".

Units leaving cover A unit leaving cover is free to do so as long as it was not shot at last turn. If it was, an initiative test is required (effectively the unit may be pinned). Units in the open will press on regardless until casualties push them back. Notes: Better troops may react on their own initiative to move. Poor troops rely on officer motivation or march on forward heedless to their flanks. So if you are moving towards enemy territory or revealed enemy, you are allowed a 90 degree cone of advance for your troops. Any other move other than a retreat would require an intitiative test. A failed test simply means your troops haven’t had your thought and foresight and cannot perform that move this go (they may move normally within the restrictions). Naturally you may only test once per go and may use one squad leader/officer’s initiative test once in your go to recheck this roll. Troops may retreat freely, using the same 90 degree arc as advancing but applying it to your nearest board edge (friendly territory). Encirclement – The principle When you are wargaming you get a birds eye view of the entire battle field. You can see the enemy machine gun nest hidden behind the corner of a building on the crossroads. You can see where troops are spread thin and where the concentrations are, and you can then modify your plans accordingly. In reality your troops would be completely unaware of the enemy. It is very difficult to take away this effect, we can only make it more difficult to take advantage of. Flanking is a common tactic in games. You see an enemy force sneaking up behind the tree-line, so you send an intercept squad, even though your troops don’t know they are there. So why would they go gallivanting off into the woods? The player may see the enemy flanking, but do your forces? It may be an obvious tactic, but do they think of it?

Nazi Germany The German army was by far the most efficient and professional army at the start of the war, even though it lacked sufficient transport and relied on a largely horse drawn artillery. As the war progressed, the losses it sustained could not be made up and the squad size and quality were greatly reduced. German Schütze Veteran

BS 3 4

Ini 3 4

Ld 7 7

Move 4 4

Typical 1941 Squad is NCO with MP 40, 6 Rifles, MG 34 Gunner, MG34 loader, MG 34 Ammo Carrier with Rifle

Feldwebel Leutnant Hauptmann

BS 3 3 4

Ini 4 4 4

Ld 8 8 9

Move 4 4 4

German are +1 when Determining Attacker (Blitzkreig rule). Rng 24 12 12 24 36 12

KAR 98 MP 40 Walther P38 MG 34 MG 34 Tripod Panzerfaust

Str 3 3 3 3 4 9

ROF 1 3 2 4 4 1

Notes Light Weapon - No move and fire penalty Light Weapon - No move and fire penalty (dedicated loader gives +2 ROF) (dedicated loader gives +2 ROF) 1 Shot, backblast (Here for reference!)

The Soviet Union The Soviets lacked an effective officer corps after the Stalin purges. What the Red army lacked in training, it made up in numbers. Conscripts soon learnt the hard way to fight. As the Soviets rarely re-equipped units (it was easier to build new ones), you’d often find veterans units of greatly reduced strength, a company with barely enough men to make up a platoon. Patriotic War Russians

Conscript Soldier Veteran

BS 2 3 4

Ini 2 2 3

Ld 6 7 6

Mov 5 5 5

Typical 1941-42 Squad is NCO with Ppsh, 7 Rifles, DT Gunner, DT loader with Rifle. Later squads would be ones section Ppsh, two sections rifles. Russians are usually lightly equipped.

Serzhánt Leytenánt Kapitán

Acc 3 3 4

Ini 4 4 4

Ld 7 8 8

Mov 5 5 5

Soviets are +1 INI for Advancing.

Mosin Nagant Shpagin (PPSH) Tolkarev Pistol Degalitrev LMG Maxim HMG PTRD Anti tank

Rng 24 12 12 24 36 30

Str 3 3 3 3 4 6

ROF 1 4 2 3 6 1

Notes

Light Weapon - No move and fire penalty (dedicated loader gives +1 ROF) (dedicated loader gives +2 ROF), Heavy Weapon Heavy Weapon (PTRS is ROF 2)

German Tanks Panzer IVH

M 8

BS 3

Ini 2

Ld 7

Front Side 5 4

Rear 4

Top 3

Pts 140

German 75mmL48 gun firing AP, HE and Smoke. Two MG34 machineguns (hull and coaxial). 5 Crew (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver/hull gunner). Radio.

75mm AP 75mm HE MG34

Rng

Str

ROF

Notes

Rng 48 Rng 30 Rng 24

8 7 3

1 1 4

Str 3 shrapnel, Small Template

Schurtzen on Pz IV adds +1 Armour to side/rear vs HE/HEAT and PTRS AT Rifle (+10 points) Tiger 1

M 6

BS 3

Ini 2

Ld 8

Front Side 6 5

Rear 5

Top 3

Pts 300

German 88mmL56 gun firing AP, HE and Smoke. Two MG34 machineguns (hull and coaxial). 5 Crew (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver/hull gunner). Radio.

Rng 88mm APCBC Rng 48 88mm APCR Rng 48 88mm HE Rng 30 MG34 Rng 24 Sdkfz251/1

M 8

BS 3

Str

ROF

8 9 7 3

1 1 1 4

Ini 2

Ld 7

Notes Str 3 shrapnel, Small Template Front Side 3 3

Rear 3

Top 0

Pts 50

One MG34 machinegun (hull) fired by squad on vehicle or co driver. 2 Crew (driver, co-driver) and 10 passengers. German tank tactics were generally very cautious, advancing slowly. In defence they often used ambush tactics or the superior range of their guns to neutralise the enemy.

Russian T34/76

M 9

BS 2

Ini 2

Ld 6

Front Side 5 4

Rear 4

Top 3

Pts 100

Soviet 76mmL41 gun firing AP, HE and Smoke. Two DT machineguns (hull and coaxial). 5 Crew (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver/hull gunner). 76mm AP 76mm HE DT

Rng

Str

ROF

Notes

Rng 30 Rng 30 Rng 24

7 7 3

1 1 3T

Str 3 shrapnel, Small Template

May take veteran crew (+20 pts, BS3, I 3, Ld7). May take Radio (+10 pts). May take ‘Sub Caliber’ rounds (+10 points, +1 Strength to AP). Soviet tanks were given special ‘sub-caliber’ ammo. These were tungsten shells and in high demand. Each tank would only have two shells for use on big cats. In game terms it’s very limited ammo – 2 shots!

KV1

M 6

BS 2

Ini 2

Ld 7

Front Side 6 5

Rear 5

Top 3

Pts 200

Soviet 76mmL41 gun firing AP, HE and Smoke. Two DT machineguns (hull and coaxial). 5 Crew (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver/hull gunner).

76mm AP 76mm HE DT

Rng

Str

ROF

Notes

Rng 30 Rng 30 Rng 24

7 7 3

1 1 3T

Str 3 shrapnel, Small Template

May take veteran crew (+20 pts, BS3, I 3, Ld7). May take Radio (+10 pts). May take ‘Sub Caliber’ rounds (+10 points, +1 Strength to AP). Soviet tank tactics were generally attack ‘en masse’ and move to take a shot at the enemy’s side armour. In defence, they would lure the enemy in so again they could take side shots at the armour.