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1943
BATTALION LEVEL GROUND COMBAT FOR WWII



Optional Rules
Units · Movement · Firing · Assaults



« Units and Formations
101 | Veteran Officers
Almost every regiment had a few officers who were particularly wily or experienced in the ways of warfare in their sector, and who had lived long enough to apply them in action. These men could often save the lives of their men, get them into position more quickly, and otherwise "make things happen" in ways which less experienced leaders might have missed.

To roll for veteran officers, roll two dice (2D6) for each sub-unit slated to be used for game play. Any result or twelve (12) on the die will give that unit a veteran officer for the duration of the game. He cannot be killed, because he is not alone. He is assumed to surround himself with other ingenious troopers, thereby perpetuating the locally elite status of that unit. Once acquired, the veteran officer may benefit his unit in many different ways, some of which are expressed in other related optional rules. For further veteran officer related rules, see rule number 202.



« Movement

201 | Scouts
Using this optional scouting rule, each infantry or cavalry unit may send out scouts to search for and identify enemy units. Roll for scout detection at the end of each movement phase.

The values shown in the center of the chart indicate the number of enemy positions (infantry units, heavy weapon bases, etc.) which can be identified by troops of that training level at the range shown. Once the position to be identified is declared, the scouting player rolls one die (1D6) and applies applicable modifiers. If the adjusted value is equal to or higher than the Modified Success roll value shown at right, the position in question has been discovered and may be fired upon, even if it has not previously fired or moved. Any natural die roll of one will result in one damage "hit" against the a base from the scouting unit. Units which have been spotted may be marked as such (Recommendation: Use a single-man enemy base immediately facing the front of the spotted position). Bases in a spotted position remain spotted unless they move out of the line of sight of both the parent unit and scout marker, or unless the parent unit of the scout routs or is destroyed on the same turn as the original spotting.
  Range (in yards)  
Training Level 120 240 360 480 540 Modified Success Roll
Outstanding 4 3 2 1 - 5 or greater
Great 3 2 1 - - 6 or greater
Average 2 - - - - 6 or greater
Poor 1 - - - - 7 or greater
Abysmal - - - - - 7 or greater
Die Roll Modifier: Air superiority = +1
Any natural 1 causes one damage to a base belonging to the parent unit.

Question: what about sighting units in two different range brackets?
202 | Veteran Officers - Command Rolls
Veteran officers are considered to have better control over their men, and to have the ability to get them moving even under difficult circumstances. Using the Command Rolls portion of the veteran officers optional rules, each unit with a veteran officer gets an additional plus one (+1) on all command die rolls for both standard maneuver and assault movement.




« Firing

301 | Fire-Storms
Any unit which has five or more "heavy fire" dice thrown against it in any one fire phase is considered to have suffered a fire-storm effect, which immediately pins down the unit. At least five of all fire attack die rolls for the phase must have originated with at least three of the four following weapon types: On-call or Direct-fire artillery; Trench mortar; Detached heavy or medium machine gun; Flamethrower.

302 | 88 Optics
The German 88-Flak gun had sophisticated optics designed for use against aircraft. These optics also allowed effective long-range performance against armored targets on the ground. Players wishing to include this feature in game play may consider 88s to always be outstanding units.




« Assaults

501 | Lone Assaults
The Second World War saw countless lone acts of bravery, many of which achieved more than whole units. Suicidal acts by individuals were often the reason for the breaking of tactical deadlocks. Indeed, accounts by all nationalities abound with various heroic acts, from rear-guards being assaulted by lone warriors to satchel-charge bearing marines who literally walked through enemy positions, tossing explosives into pesky machine gun nests. They often paid for this bravado with their life.

A lone assault may be attempted once per turn, per battalion or regiment (depending on player preference) against the troop types listed in the chart below. Players should remember that the modifiers are skewed to provide fewer and fewer "heroes" each time an attempt is made. Excessive requests for brave acts will meet with increasing deafness from the less inspired survivors. Also, lone assaults are only effective against somewhat isolated positions or weak units. Fully supported enemy battalions with heavy weapons support will usually chew up lone heroes as quickly as they show themselves!
  Effect on Target
Modified Die Roll (1D6) Heavy Weapon Base Full Infantry Unit Weak Infantry Unit Remnant Infantry Unit
1 None None None None
2 None None None None
3 None None None D
4 None None None K
5 None None D K D
6 K None K K D C
7 C None K C K C C
8 C D K C C K C C C
K = One base killed, D = One base damaged, C = One base captured
    Hero Die Roll Modifiers
  • Great Brave Hero: +1 to die roll if hero is from a unit with great training and/or brave morale or better.
  • Active Hero: +2 to the die roll if a hero was successfully requested by this battalion last turn.
  • Poor Shaky Hero: -1 to the die roll if the hero is from a unit with poor training and/or shaky morale or worse.
  • Well Led Hero: +1 to die roll if hero is from a unit commanded a veteran officer.
  • Consecutive request: -1 for each previous hero action requested by this battalion (including both successful and failed requests).
  • 120 to 180 yards to target: -1 to the die roll if the distance from the hero's unit to the targeted base/unit is between 120 and 180 yards.
  • 180 to 240 yards to target: -2 to the die roll if the distance from the hero's unit to the targeted base/unit is between 180 and 240 yards. No heroic attempts are allowed on targets greater than 240 yards distant.
  • Target supported: -3 to die roll if the target base/unit is supported by one or more friendly units.
  • Target Pinned/Demoralized: +3 to die roll if the target base/unit is supported by one or more friendly units.
 
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