House Rules


  1. There is no limitation on motorcycle movement (i.e. you can motor right up to enemy units). Units firing at motorcycle troop while riding the bikes get a +1 shift on the area fire table, in addition to the normal modifiers.
  2. We are not using optional rule 1.3 (movement of German troops by truck and halftrack).

  3. Strength 1 B-targets will be treated as P-targets. AT rolls against strength 1 targets will be somewhat more successful than at tougher targets. This affects some German tanks (Pz II) and the French armored cars.
  4. Be alerted that I feel free to change the reinforcement scheme. We may or may not be playing with extra reinforcements.
  5. For simplicity, I'll cut the simultaneous movement stuff and go 'by the book'. This will make ambushing columns impossible (since each unit will move individually), but it will save me from having to do everything simulaneously and figuring out how to handle overwatch, etc. Of course, units can move in stacks.
  6. The overall commander can give priorities for air power: direct support and interdiction. Bn commanders should send in requests for support to me [Lee], and overall commanders should send me their priorities, then I will settle the requests for air support. Requests should include target hex and number and type of mission. Direct support missions will be conducted during the Action Phase (so there is no separate air sortie phase).

    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.

  7. Artillery- Each artillery battery will have an FO, which is a 2-step unit with no firepower. It can be used to spot for fires for it's arty battalion (for French), and for any artillery if German. FOs may be destroyed - if so, the battery will send out another FO team after a certain period of time (at least a few hours, possibly much longer). In FTF games these FOs can't be destroyed because they can be seen. In our game, they can stay hidden, so there is no need for invulnerability.

    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.

  8. Changes to opsheets

    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...

  9. Cross-fire: Let's up the fire table modifier to +2 instead of just +1 for crossfire (on the area fire table). The morale shift remains at +2. Point fires in a single SFA that qualify for crossfire receive a +2 drm on the point fire table.

  10. MG Units: I will restrain myself and will not double the firepower of MG units. I'd like to try that someday though.

  11. Terrain:

    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.

  12. Ambushes: Just to make things a bit scarey, if you enter a hex with a previously unspotted enemy unit (and an assault- style combat thus results), the defender receives the benefit of an automatic cross-fire the first round of combat.

    Cautious movement: By spending double movement costs, you can declare cautious movement, which negates the bonus for ambush listed above.

  13. Units are either spotted or unspotted. Unspotted units cannot be targeted for point fires or direct SFAs (though note firing on hexes without targets below). Units become spotted when they fire and an opposing unit can trace a valid LOS to them, or according to the spotting table below. Note that overwatch restrictions are in play as per TCS 3.1, so it is possible that you can spot a unit but not fire movement-based overwatch at it because of range restrictions.

    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).

    Spotting ranges:
    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
    Note that units moving on roads can be spotted at any range, as long as a valid LOS exists.

    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).

  14. Intelligence: I'll give you a basic picture of what enemy units you see along with an estimate as to strength. It's not guaranteed as completely accurate. The German Aufklaerung troops are better at spotting and estimating enemy strength than normal troops. Same for the French 6 GRDI.

  15. German Pioneer units receive a -1 column shift on the morale table when in assault-style combat (to reflect their training at being in close combat.) So double the morale, then subtract 1.

  16. You cannot conduct direct area fires at a unit if hex adjacent to the target hex that the LOS goes through is occupied by a friendly unit. i.e. you can't fire through adjacent friendly troops. Exception: If the target hex is at least 2 contours higher than the hex occupied by friendly units.
    [We're going to try this one out. Point fires are unaffected. This is simply to cease supporting fires when friendly units are very close. Note that the only restriction is shooting through your own units to an adjacent enemy unit.]

  17. Units cannot combine for an SFA if they are from different companies. Support weapons may join any SFA that is conducted by units in their formation (so Bn weapons can support any SFA conducted by units from their Bn, etc). This encourages people to keep companies together, and makes support MGs and IGs more important because of their flexibility. Someone else suggested something like this on the net a month or two ago, but I forgot who it was. Naturally everyone can still fire on a hex; these fires are simply resolved separately. EXCEPTION: If units have a cross-fire, they may combine freely with other friendly units in an SFA without restriction.

  18. Infantry with only 1 step remaining fire at 1/2 firepower.

  19. Foot units cannot be transported on tanks. Combine assaults are otherwise allowed (with the inf. going in on foot).

  20. There is a -1 column shift on the Area Fire table when firing at a hex with only 1-2 steps in it.



NOTE: In retrospect, I wouldn't use most of these rules, since they added lots of complexity for very little effect. The ones that work for pbem are pretty good, but the smaller stuff I wouldn't use if I were to do it over again.



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