NOTE: You CANNOT request a sortie in a hex adjacent to a friendly unit.
Interdiction: Commanders may designate missions as interdiction, with preferred areas/roads to interdict and preferred targets. These attacks will be used as overwatch fires during the opponent's turn. So moving on roads may be dangerous... I will treat such attacks as normal air strikes (i.e. sortie successful attack table, etc.)
Perry indicates that the planes had little loiter time, so I will randomize at which 'minute' they appear (got a use for those old D20s now). Thus limited exposure during movement may save you from getting hit.
FOs may move independently of any opsheet. They have a movement of 5 due to the communication equipment, etc.
Note that FOs observing from high ground do better.
Regular inf. platoons can call arty fires, but at a severe penalty.
How to handle arty in this game: Bn commanders should send all requests to me [Lee]. Overall commanders should send me their priority list of who gets preference. I will dish out arty (done by the staff, etc) in accordance to requests and priorities. Note that you won't be guarenteed of getting any (unless your overall commander gives you a dedicated battery or something), so your instructions for your bn. might need conditionals, depending on arty support, etc.
A) First of all, I would like opsheets to clearly indicate the boundaries between units. These should be crossed only under dire circumstances, because of the possibility of friendly fire. I will strictly enforce them, as commanders who fire into another units zones often end up with a court martial.
In order to overlap on opsheets, units must have orders in their opsheets on how to proceed. Thus if you want to pass through another unit without penalty, they must be aware that you are coming. You cannot fire into another units zone unless both opsheets specify that you are allowed to (and the area fired into should not be in the path of maneuver of the unit whose zone it is in, i.e. supporting fires only).
Passing through friendly units: When passing through a friendly unit (specified on the opsheet), only one formation may move during that turn. This means someone holds while the others pass through. This shouldn't be a big deal, but it may slow down a force for a turn or two to wait for another one to pass through.
I don't feel that I can nail everything down in this general rule, being as there are many different kinds of military 'borders' and ways of interacting. To those writing opsheets: coordinate them with general zones of operation (which your overall commander should be able to declare). I'll interact with anyone doing opsheets in order to get an acceptable one done. Thus I won't penalize anyone for not 'guessing what I'm thinking.' I will try to leave enough flexibility while getting the spirit of zones of operation.
B) Preliminary instructions may NOT be issued to units in any sort of contact. If a unit has declared failure on an opsheet, it must first execute its failure instructions before it can execute any preliminary instructions on a new opsheet.
C) Units without orders: A unit without orders retreats after 3 turns of contact ONLY if it is significant contact (i.e. not pot-shots, say at least 1/3 the size of the force without orders). Because I'm reffing this, I can establish the necessary force. Note that it has to be perceived enemy forces, not actual hidden ones.
D) Move: Units under move orders do not automatically fail upon contact. Treat them as units without orders. After 3 turns they must try to continue their move or declare failure and retreat.
I think this will rehabilitate the unused Move operation. Note that overrunning is not prohibited to units without orders...
A) We'll stick with 1 MP for woods hexes (infantry).
B) Units firing uphill receive a -1 penalty on the Area Fire Table, and a -1 drm on the Point Fire Table. Units firing downhill get a +1 shift on the AFT and a +1 drm on the PFT. The rest is cut for simplicity's sake.
C) ONE TO VOTE ON: I'd like to try this idea, but it may affect
play balance seriously. Send your vote to me whether to
keep it or not:
Units in town hexes can 'hide' inside a hex. Such units cannot
see outside their hex (so no spotting, overwatch, etc). Their
advantage is that they cannot be spotted in return, and cannot
be affected by normal direct fires. Artillery affects them normally,
and mortars and IGs may fire at the hexes as unspotted fire (see below).
[It seems the woods were pretty light, so I'll limit this to
full village hexes (protective terrain)]
NOTE: You can be hidden in move mood (centered in the hex), so this will allow you to move through town hexes without being spotted (out of LOS). This will go a ways to making it tougher to take out a city by long-range fire.
Status is changed during your action phase (it's like a mode change, i.e. it is not an overwatch trigger). Hidden status is independent of mode (so you can be hidden in move or fire mode). It costs 1/2 your movement to change from or to hidden status.
Cautious movement: By spending double movement costs, you can declare cautious movement, which negates the bonus for ambush listed above.
Spotted markers on your units are removed at the beginning of your action phase.
Note that it is possible to fire and then become unspotted if you get the next action phase (initiative flip-flop). That could prove interesting...
COMMENT- If you are on defense in good terrain and cease firing for a turn, this represents taking up new positions, so you have to be spotted again. If you keep shooting, then you remain spotted.
Area Fires may be directed at hexes without a spotted target. Such fires are resolved at 1/2 firepower. EXCEPTION: use the rules in 11 above for units that are hiding (if we decide to keep that rule).
| Infantry: | Billiard | Open | Partly Prot | Protective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move mode | unlim. | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Fire mode | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Dug-in | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicles: | ||||
| Move mode | unlim. | unlim. | 15 | 10 |
| Fire mode | unlim. | 15 | 2 | 1 |
Any AT gun than is 37mm or less is treated as infantry for spotting. Other arty is treated as vehicles.
What happens when you move into a unit that you didn't see? An automatic assault-style combat ensues, depending on the moving units. (i.e overrun, consolidate assault of assault).