The taxonomy of WW2 rules

In the field of information modeling and knowledge modeling, a taxonomy is a way to sort out a complex body of knowledge, by providing a structure of definitions and categories, to help you find your way quickly, and see which pieces of information belong together.

An easy example is the taxonomy of Carl Linnaeus, which was used to organize all the animals of the animal kingdom into like groups.  This gives us the concept of animal families, etc - mammals, canines, and so forth.

Carl Linnaeus' Taxonomy (example)

One of the things I would like to do, based on a series of games played in ODMS recently, is to come up with a taxonomy for WW2 micro armor rules.  So the first thing is to come up with some of the categories of concepts that apply to different rules.

Off hand, I can think of these:

• Scale (i.e. how many vehicles does a tabletop model represent)
• Turn Sequence
• Friction/Fog of War
• Command & Control/Morale
• Hit mechanism
• Kill mechanism
• Acquisition/Spotting rules 

I will have to come up with ways to divide and recognize the features in each of these areas, and then come up with a reasonable (but finite) categorization system for the WW2 rules we have played recently.

Jagdpanzer - a rules review

This is another review in the Once and Future Rules series, of wargame rules that are out of print, but that got a lot of play at one time (at least, in the clubs and groups I played in since the early 1980s).

Once upon a time, in Campaign Headquarters (in Newport News), there were some gamers called Alfred, Jason and Gary.  They played Jagdpanzer.

Once upon a time, in Campaign Headquarters, there were some gamers called Wayne and Oscar.  They played Jagdpanzer.

Once up on a time, in Campaign Headquarters, there was a gamer named Danny.  He played Jagdpanzer.

Most of the folks I played with in those years (mid to late 80s) were playing Overwatch.  Some were playing Angriff!  But not a small sampling were playing a set of rules called Jagdpanzer, published by Greenfield Hobbies, and authored by Kevin Cabai (a former armor Captain in the US Army).  This was when I tried the rules, and I liked them.

One of the strengths that I will applaud, right away, about Jagdpanzer, is that it is very inclusive.  It covers many different weapon systems (armor, infantry, artillery, airpower), all in rule subsystems that are very clean and workable.  The overall effect is a game that gives depth to all sorts of scenarios, but is not difficult to play.  Also, it avoids (by using a dice mechanism for penetration and kill, although informed by real life vehicle and weapon characteristics) the old problem that some rulesets have (I'm looking at you, Overwatch) of comparing mm of penetration, vs mm of armor, to determine a kill.  As an engineering professor, I realize it is not that simple, and that the number of variables present in any single shot to target situation are far to numerous (and perhaps unknowable) in order to present a way of modeling them all.  So why not use a dice mechanism to add in the fuzziness?  Mr. Cabai does just that in Jagdpanzer, and it works very well.

Another think I like very much about the game is that while it lists a ground scale (1 inch equals 25m), it gives all movement and weapon ranges in inches.  Nice.

Here is an overview of the rules, so you can see what I'm talking about, and I'll return with an assessment at the end.

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Turn Sequence

Basic concept - On each turn, for each of your units (the basic unit is the platoon, which is usually 3-5 individual vehicle models), you decide if that unit is going to do one of the following three options:
1. Move and Fire
2. Move double (no fire)
3. Stationary (double fire)

A full turn consists of two movement and direct fire phases (see below).  For each of them, a vehicle decides if it is going to do one of the above options.  So in the first move phase of a turn, a unit could Double Move, and then couldn't fire during the first fire phase.  But then in the second move phase it could Normal Move (and fire in the second fire phase).

If a unit Moves and Fires, it is assuming that the unit is moving tactically, taking advantage of available cover, and is loaded and ready to engage if a target is found.

A unit that double Moves, is assumed to be moving at top available speed (cross country or road), and doesn't conform necessarily to available cover (so may be easier to hit).

A unit that double Fires is assumed to be stationary, and focused merely on firing and reloading as quickly as possible.

Based on that - here is the turn sequence, with some notes:

A. Determine Initiative - Roll 1d6 to determine who gets the choice of being Side A or Side B.
B. Command & Control (optional rules - a dice roll based on nationality to see if a unit activates or not).
C. Movement Phase
   1. Side A
   2. Side B
D. Direct Fire Phase
   1. Stationary Shooters fire Simultaneously
   2. Moving Shooters fire Simultaneously
   3. Stationary Shooters fire Simultaneously (a second time)
   4. Close Assaults
   5. Overrun Attacks
   6. Remove/Emplace Vehicle Smoke
E. Aircraft (optional)
   1. Movement
   2. Combat
F. Morale
G. Movement Phase
   1. Side B
   2. Side A
H. Direct Fire Combat (same as D.1 through D.6 from above)
I. Artillery
   1. Fire missions striking this turn will Impact
   2. Plot new fire missions
   3. Remove/Emplace Artillery Smoke
J. Morale

Movement - In phases C and G, movement takes place.  The two sides alternate who is the first mover, based on the Initiative dice at the beginning of the turn.  The first mover has 2 minutes (only) to move his Command Vehicles (the command vehicle for each unit).  Then his other vehicles in those units move to follow the command vehicle route.  Once the first player is done, then the second player only has 30 Seconds (!) to move his command vehicles.  Any command vehicles that do not move, mean that the other vehicles in their units will also not move that phase.
Movement rates are given for Road, Cross Country, and Rough Ground (wood, hills, mud, deep snow).  Recall that a Double Mover getst double the listed rate.  Rates are listed in inches on the vehicle detail sheets.

Armored Vehicles

Direct Fire (Tank and Anti-Tank) - Roll 1d20 per shooter, and see if they roll below the "To Hit" number.  The basic number to hit is an 11 (or less).  Modifiers to that basic number are here:

Situation . . .
+3 Consecutive Fire (same target)
+3 Automatic Weapons (small AA weapons, autocannons)
+2 Targetting a Building
+1 Range Finder (PzV-f, Nashorn, PaK36, PaK43, FlaK 18)

Target Is . . .
-6 Hull Down
-6 Entrenched
-5 In Dense Woods
-3 In Light Woods
-4 In Town
-4 Infantry
-1 Towed Gun
-3 Moving

Shooter Is . . .
+2 Short Range
+0 Medium Range
-4 Long Range
-2 Moving (without gun stabilizer)
-1 Moving (with gun stabilizer)
-2 2nd Shot, Same fire Phase, at a new target

Penetration
Take the Penetration Value of the weapon firing, based on range (short, medium, long), and subtract the armor value of the facing of the vehicle hit (Front, Side, Rear, or Top).  This gives you a number, which can be indexed on a Penetration Chart, to give the Number to roll, or less, on 1d20 to score a kill.  Otherwise the shot has no effect.  Rather than using the chart, you can calculate it easy enough - just add 5 to the penetration value, before subtracting the armor value.  The resulting number is your target to roll, or less, to score a kill.

Example: A T34, at Medium Range, is firing it's 76L41 gun at the front armor of a PzIVH.  Looking at the weapon chart for the Soviet Gun, we see that at Medium Range, it penetrates 11.  Looking at the PzIVH, we see that the front armor is rated a 7.  So, adding 5 to the gun's penetration value (11+5=16), and then subtracting the armor of the target vehicle (16-7=9) means that we have a chance of a 9 or less on 1d20 to score a kill, if a hit is registered.  In practice, very simple - lookup the range and penetration, and the armor value of the target.

Machine Guns - Vehicle machine guns do not affect armored vehicles in the game.  Larger calibre automatic weapons are listed on the regular vehicle charts.  Normal MGs however, do affect soft targets.  They roll with a strength of '5' on the soft target (i.e. Infantry) table - see below.

Catastrophic Kill
If the number to score a penetration is half or less than the number needed, then it is a catastrophic kill (for instance, in the example above the number needed was a 9 or less, so rolling a 4 or less would be a catastrophic kill).  This means that all crew, passengers, and equipment are also destroyed with the vehicle.  Also, place a burning marker on the vehicle, it now blocks line of sight.

Crew/Passenger Bailout
If a vehicle is killed, but not a catastrophic kill, then there is a chance for bailout by crew and passengers.  Roll 1d6, on a 1 or 2 all personnel are killed, otherwise they bail out.

Vehicle Smoke
Vehicles can (very limited basis) fire smoke rounds.  Pick a target and roll 1d6 for scatter based on range - Short (1,2), Medium (1,2,3), Long (1,2,3,4,5).  If it scatters, the smoke round hits 1 inch away in a randon direction.  It produces a line of sight blocking puffball.
Some vehicles have smoke dischargers - these produce a puffball 1 inch from the model of the vehicle, in the direction the tank is facing.

Spotting (optional)
Spotting rules give a ditance away that a target can be spotted.  It is based on whether the unit being spotted is stationary, in a prepared position (trench or pit), or moving - and also what type of target it is (vehicle, gun, infantry).  This ranges from unlimited range in the open to see a moving vehicle, to only 3 inches to see infantry in the woods or hills in a prepared position.  This is an optional rule, but tends to encourage more play with the terrain and maneuver.  Under these rules, you can spot through smoke, but only up to 4 inches on the other side of the smoke.

Infantry

Infantry vs. Soft Targets (that is, other infantry units, and vehicles with a side armor of 2 or less) is handled by looking up the basic strength of the infantry unit firing.  This is for a single counter (the game recommends counters for infantry), representing a single infantry squad (usually 3 squads per platoon).  These squads are rated for the following types:

• Infantry
• Armored Infantry
• Airborne Infantry
• Armored Cav/Recon
• Cavalry
• Heavy Weapons
• HQ Section
• Crew

Each type has a strength value for the year and nationalities that employ those types (for instance, in 1941 a Soviet infantry squad has a strength of 4, but in 1943, a Soviet infantry squad has a strength of 6, representing better weapons/training/leadership).

Each basic type has an associated range, within which it can engage other Infantry.  For instance, basic Infantry has a range of 12 inches, but Cavalry only has a range of 8 inches.

Infantry vs. Infantry fighting - when an Infantry squad attacks another, there is a target number based on the terrain the target is in (the only modifier to this number, is if the target is moving, this number is increased by 1):

• Open - 10 or less
• Soft Cover - 8 or less
• Hard Cover - 7 or less
• Supressed - 6 or less
• Entrenched - 5 or less

There is an infantry chart, so your actual number you roll is cross indexed with your squad's strength, to see if you either Supress or Kill the enemy.  In practice, it works very simple.

Melee Combat - Infantry ending in contact with enemy counters will fight melee.  Fights are determined by finding all the attacking (moving) counters that are touching a single defender counter.  Roll 1d6 per counter involved.  Any attacker that is less than a defender's number is destroyed.  Any defender that is less than an attacker is destroyed.  Ties are resolved as both destroyed.  So if multiple attackers go against one defender, the defender can beat all of them by rolling the highest number, otherwise as above.

Melee modifiers (to the d6 rolled) are these:
+1 Charging
+1 Cavalry
+1 Airborne
+1 SS
+1 Marines
-1 Crew
-1 HQ Section
-1 Entrenched
-1 Routing

Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons - A variety of anti-tank weapons can be employed by Infantry squads.  These include Recoil-less Rifles, Handheld Anti-Tank Rockets (Bazooka, PIAT, etc), Anti-Tank Rifles, and the experimental German X-7 Wire-guided Missile (was it ever really used?).  Each of these weapons has range (short/medium/long) and vehicle penetration rules.

Infantry Close Assault - Infantry attacking vehicles use the Close Assault rules.  An infantry squad that closes to contact with an enemy vehicle must pass a Morale test.  If it passes, it rolls 2d6 on the close assault table.  The variables on the table are whether or not the vehicle is closed top, and the terrain (open, wooded, urban).  A range on the 2d6 roll determines if the vehicle is killed.  That is the only result.

Other Rules

Artillery
Rules are given for artillery pieces on the table to engage in Direct Fire against armor units (ranges and penetration are given for different size guns).  Indirect fire rules are given - how long it takes for an artillery mission to arrive, what types of missions you can call (Point, Rolling Barrage, Creeping Barrage, Final Protective Fire), and what type of pattern it falls in (point/tight, or area/loose).  Rules for scatter of shot from the aiming point are given.    Finally, rules for HE rounds vs. infantry and soft targets (those with a side armor of 2 or less) are given.  Infantry are subjected to a chart much like small arms fire.  Vehicles are two, but hard vehicle targets (with a side armor over 2) are only affected very rarely (roll of a 10 exactly, on a 20 sided dice, and only for certain types of artillery).  In the case of artillery (HE rounds) there are column shifts to the left for being in certain terrain (entrenched infantry, woods, town, suppressed target, woods, etc).

Combat Engineers
Rules are given for combat engineers (placing and dealing with obstacles, such as abati, barbed wire, craters, dragon's teeth, tank ditches, and mine fields).  A discussion of, and rules on, different types of mines is present.

Aircraft
Rules are given for aircraft, with a view towards permitting supporting air actions that present ground support.  Detailed dog fighting rules are not present.

And that's it for the rules.  More on the Vehicle and Weapon statistics, in the next article.

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So, what do I think of Jagdpanzer?  It is a game of it's time, but I do like how it abstracts some vehicle info (penetration and armor), and also how it keeps armor values to a minimum (averaging turret and hull, so that an armored vehicles has four armor values - front, side, rear, and top).  It plays fast.  The morale rules are playable, and give good results.

My only regret - and this is largely from memory (I will have to check the rulebook again) is that there is no mechanism for recovering from Suppression (that I recall). It might have been a preferred house rule, but I seem to remember that we would use either a Command Control roll or a Morale Test to recover from Suppression (I can't find where in the rulebook it discusses this...

Update! After talking with the author, I confirmed that it is a Morale Test that removes a Suppression result.

Overall, and in light of how well the many different branches of WW2 combined arms land warfare is - these are really great rules.  A nice high resolution (low aggregation) wargame simulating WW2 ground combat, and it covers everything in elegant ways, that is still fun and easy to play.

Angriff! - review

This is another review in the Once and Future Rules series, of wargame rules that are out of print, but that got a lot of play at one time (at least, in the clubs and groups I played in since the early 1980s).

This is a review of the Angriff rules, by Myers and Zimmermann, from 1968.  The version I have, and am reviewing (in particular) is the version I played just after high school, from the 1982 printed version.  While I only played these, by themselves, a little in the 1980s, I liked them, and would continue to use the infantry rules with other sets of tank rules, for a very long time.  Before I get into the detailed review, a little history and nostalgia about my history with WW2 rules and wargaming.

 World War 2 wargaming, has been a very large part of my wargaming experience from the beginning.  Before coming to miniatures and miniature wargaming, I started with board games that had a WW2 flavor, and also I had been an avid military model builder, mostly of US ground vehicles from WW2.  Moving into miniatures, my first foray was into Napoleonics, as described earlier in another review, and that gave way to medieval skirmish gaming very quickly (as something my co-gamers at the time were interested in).

However, my brothers and I, like lots of kids from that generation, also grew up on a steady diet of WW2 war movies and books.  So when the possibility of building some WW2 miniatures, and coming up with rules, came upon us, we used the plastic HO (including all the near-HO scales, 1:87, 1:76, and 1:72) models for infantry from Airfix and Atlantic, as well as all the many HO scale models we had built and painted.  The rules were based on my experience, at the time, with the Hinchliffe guide, as well as some books from the library on wargaming.  It seemed to me that these types of games, unlike the "obviously" much more scientific SPI and Avalon Hill games, could be written by an amateur.  So I came up with some rules.  They were simple.  Tanks moved 8".  Jeeps moved 12".  Infantry moved 4".  Shooting was by numbers of D6, and the number of 6s rolled were casualties.  A US Sgt with a SMG was by far the most dangerous element in the game (thanks John Wayne movies).

Moving forward, I got a little more interested in more formal rules.  I got a copy of Tractics, from TSR.  I really liked the first book - Tank and AntiTank, but it was just a little bit too much detail.  That remains true today for lots of people who encounter Tractics.

Moving forward, I tried some other rules sets, eventually (later on) setting on Overwatch, but in the meantime, I tried the Angriff rules and also the WRG 1925-1950 rules.  One thing I encountered early on was the fantastic magazine, Wargamer's Digest, from Gene McCoy.

The pictures of battles, and the fantastic tabletop scenarios and maps, along with Gene's system 76 order of battle system were extremely exciting, and one of the things that drove my interest in this period.  So when I got into Angriff, and saw the possibility of representing troops in a way similar to Gene's - with a single tank for a command vehicle, and then a tank representing each platoon, so a company might have a total of four models.  That works great for Angriff, and was the scale of gaming I wanted to do.  I never used a total of 30 miniatures on a stand to represent the infantry, as Angriff requests, but usually I would have a stand of three miniatures to represent a platoon or section.

The rulebook itself is divided up into (roughly) two sections.  The first, up to page 24, is the actual wargames rules.  This covers a variety of different topics:

• Unit organization
• Preparing for Battle
• Movement of Forces
• Sighting
• Terrain Descriptions
• Artillery Fire
• Tank Fire
• Small Arms Fire
• The Melee
• The Charge
• Percentage and Direct Fire Tables
• Engineers
• Urban Warfare
• Morale Factors
• Odds-n-Ends

The second section is the set of detailed appendices.  This runs from page 25, through to the end of the book, at page 62.  This is an excellent set of charts covering not only the modeling of combat phenomena in the wargame rules (such as vehicle parameters, and weapon systems range and accuracy), but also things like typical order of battle charts for common organizations from WW2.  As a very useful resource from the time, there is also a list of manufacturers that make HO and Micro scale WW2 models.

Scale
So, as mentioned, the rules call for a 1-to-1 representation on tabletop by vehicle models, but using stands for infantry is recommended (a stand for 10 men is perfect).  However . . . as mentioned, most of the time when I played these rules, we used 1 vehicle for a platoon, when translating a historical OB or one of Gene McCoy's excellent scenarios.  That gets a little funky sometimes, but seems to work for most scenarios.

• Ground scale is 50 yards to an inch.  (I can't find it now that I am looking, but I recall that in micro scale it is 100 yards to an inch).
• Turns appear to be about a minute per turn (calculating backwards from the movement rates).

Turn Sequence
Angriff has each player roll 2d6, to determine initiative.  High roller gets to chose to be player A or player B in the following sequence.  Note, as you read through this, that phases 1 and 2, as well as phases 6 and 7 are each roughly simultaneous.  So, while player A does phase 1, then player B does phase 2, the results of those are simultaneous.  Everything else, happens when it happens.

1. Side A moves 1/3 of its move, plus an additional 3" for all vehicles or men on roads.
2. Side B moves 1/3 of its move, plus an additional 3" for all vehicles or men on roads.
3. Artillery fire, if any, commences.
4. Tanks or vehicle mounted weapons fire.
5. Small arms fire, if any, commences.
6. Side B moves the remaining 2/3 of its move (but only 1/3 if it has fired).
7. Side A moves the remaining 2/3 of its move (but only 1/3 if it has fired). 
8. Melee combats.

No movement plotting, no order writing.  The importance of moving first or second, in turn phases 1/2 and 6/7 is of course the psychology of giving away your intended position before your opponent moves, so it may be useful to move second (i.e. choose being Player B if you are high roller for initiative).  Equally, being player A could be important, it is up to the player.

Movement
As can be expected from the turn sequence, all movement distances (given in the rules by vehicle type; or a total of 6" for dismounted infantry) are divisible by 3.  So dismounted infantry can move 2" in the first move phase, and then 4" in the second move phase, if they did not fire.

Infantry that are dismounted, can also move an additional 6" at the end of a move, representing a forced march.  This takes place, simultaneously for infantry of both sides, following phase 8 of the turn (i.e. - after everything else, include melee combats).  An infantry element can only force march three rounds in a row, and then has to take a break of a Full turn with no movement.  If an infantry element force marches for two rounds in a row, then it has to take a Half turn rest.  Alternating force march with regular moves mean that no rest periods are needed.

What this 'force march' business means is that an infantry element can cover 12" of tabletop distance in a turn, by force marching (pretty good for most WW2 rules).  Also, while force marching, the infantry can fire, but only at half effect.

Terrain, in the game, is officially in four different types - Woods (which may be moderate/light or dense/heavy), Hills (which are assumed to be contoured, like "wedding cake" hills), Swamps, and Rivers (which come in 3 classes, or widths).

Loading a vehicle is handled very much like old school rules handled Artillery in horse and musket games.  Infantry in Angriff, as regards loading and unloading, can do any two actions.  These can be (1) loading, (2) moving, and (3) unloading.  The same applies to towed guns and equipment.  Large artillery can only be moved by heavy movers, not being manhandled.

Sighting
The typical sighting distance is 1750 yards, or 35 inches.  The game handles units that are out of LOS, or beyond sighting distance, by using poker chips to represent small groups of troops.

Looking into or through woods is even more limited (10" if looking  into moderate woods; 5" if looking into dense woods).

Rules are in place for how much can be hidden in a building, and how and where visibility markers are replaced by actual units, etc.

Artillery Fire
The rulebook covers barrage fire, but recommends against it for the scale engagements the rules are representing.  That never stopped a wargamer, however here I will cover the recommended use of artillery pieces in direct fire (and limited indirect fire, such as with a forward observer).

So, firing an artillery piece, or even a tank weapon, that is firing High Explosive rounds (rather than armor penetrators) allows the weapon to have an impact on crew members of towed weapons, and exposed infantry, within 2" of the point of attack of the weapon.  The effect is very simple, and is a number of casualties in that impact circle based on the caliber of the weapon.  If this kills all the crew of a served weapon, then the weapon is also considered destroyed (for game purposes).  Note that such fire is limited to the normal 35" sighting range.

Indirect fire, by using an observer, is allowed for any range up to the maximum for the weapon, as long as an observer is within 35" of the target.  The rules prohibit towed AT and AA weapons from firing this way, as they were designed and intended to work differently.

As mentioned, barrage fire is defined in the rulebook, for artillery assets that might be off board, but it is advised against because it is out of the scope for the engagements envisioned in the rules.  One of the interesting things about barrage fire in these rules is how simply it is handled (another mark for the elegance of these rules).

1. Construct a grid like the one pictured here, on clear acetate (12"x18" for HO; 6"x9" for Micro).  
2. Place the star over the aiming point of the barrage fire, with the top of the star pointing aligned in the direction of the barrage (i.e. - pointing away from where the firing battery is located).  
3. Then roll 2d6.  
4. If you are using a small battery (i.e. tubes smaller than 135mm), then the two numbers are the squares that are hit by the barrage.  
5. If you are using a large battery, then those two numbers, as well as the sum of the two, are the squares that are hit.  
6. If you roll doubles on the dice, then that is a bad barrage, and only the one square is struck (plus the sum, if a large battery).  

The book then gives a series of four charts corresponding to different artillery tube sizes (75-99mm; 100-135mm; 136-175mm; and 176mm and up).  The sum of the two targeting dice are consulted on the corresponding table, and it gives the total number of AFVs, soft vehicles (listed as trucks), and dismounted Men that are killed in each square affected.  Simple, and fast.

Direct Fire - Tank and Anti-Tank
Considering the era that these rules were first published, and the rarity (at the time) of percentile dice, the method that the rules handle percentage-chance-of-hit for firing direct heavy weapons is rather clever.  Also, consider that for most WW2 land rules, the bread and butter is the tank-on-tank set of adjudication rules - and for Angriff this is no different.  They work well, and that is what makes the ruleset memorable.

First, the chance to hit with a weapon is determined from national weapon characteristics tables (in the appendices) that give a basic chance for each range bracket, for each weapon type.  That basic chance represents the typical chance to score a hit, with no significant modifiers.

The possible percentage numbers (resulting from the weapons/range chart), along with the hit numbers for 2d6, are:

Percent Chance	Hit on (2d6 scores)
78%	2 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 12
72%	3 4 6 7 8 10 11
67%	2 4 6 7 8 10 12
61%	4 6 7 8 10
50%	2 4 6 8 10 12
44%	6 7 8
33%	4 7 10
28%	2 6 8
17%	4 10
11%	3 11
6%	2 12

Second, look up that percentage on the Percentage Table (above).  This will then give a number of results on a pair of D6 dice (2-12).  If those results are added up, the percentage is approximately the numbers represented on the table.  Scoring any of those numbers on 2d6 (with one of them being red, more later on that) means a hit is scored.

The simplest modifier for this is that if the weapon is stationary (i.e. - did not move this turn) then the number 5 (in the 2-12 spread) is also counted as a hit (if you look at the above chart, you will see that 5 and 9 are never regular hit numbers).  And if both the firing weapon and the target are stationary, then the numbers 5 and 9 are added in as hit results.

If firing at a concealed target, the first time firing at it, the percentage table drops one category.

Third, determine the effects of a hit.  If against a towed weapon, it is automatically destroyed.  If against another AFV, then the red d6 comes into play.  There is a hit location table, for direct fire combat. It is divided up into five columns, corresponding to the facing of the target vehicle that the hit came in on.  It can come in on the Front, Side, Rear, or Front-Side (front corner), or Rear-Side (rear corner).  Then, the red d6 is consulted, and a location is generated.  These include:

• Gun Shield
• Front Turret
• Front Driver
• Front Bottom
• Track
• Side hull
• Side Turret
• Rear Hull
• Rear Turret

For each location, the national vehicle characteristics tables will give an armor thickness.  For each range bracket of a weapon, in addition to giving the accuracy of the weapon at that range, the amount of armor penetration is also given.  If the shot penetrates the armor, the target vehicle is dead.

Here is an example of the hit location chart.  Assume that the shot is coming in the front of the vehicle, and consult the red d6:

1. Gun Shield
2. Front Turret
3. Front Drive
4. Front Bottom
5. Front Driver
6. Track

This is a very elegant system, again from a time when percentile dice were not common.  Tractics, if I recall, tried to get away from a dice spread that was different from what you could easily do with d6s, and they used a random number generator that was based on 20 numbered chips in a bag, draw one to simulate rolling 1d20.

PzMkIV F1

Modification/Houserule: Rather than using the d6 system... you could just roll percentile dice against the number you have gotten from the weapon/range chart.  To this add 11% if  you are firing while stationary, and 22% if you AND the target are stationary.  Example: if you get 61% chance, then roll percentile dice, and on a 61 or less, you have a hit.  Of course you then have to roll 1d6 for hit location, and of course, that means that you will lose the charm of certain hit locations not happening on certain percentile rolls (because of how the 2d6 method works), but it means one less chart look up during direct fire adjudication.  This assumes that a modern wargamer could get, and want to use, percentile dice rather than the one pure die type - the sacred d6.

Example of direct fire AFV combat -
A Panzer Mk IV F1 tank is facing off, face on, against a T34 A.  The range is 1000 yards (20") and both tanks moved this turn.

The MkIV fires a 75mm/L24 gun, so we consult the German chart for that weapon, and find that at 1000 yards the 75mm/L24 has a 44% chance to hit and penetrates 51mm of armor.

The T34 fires a 76.2mm/L30 gun, so we consult the Russian chart for that weapon, and find that at 1000 yards, the 76.2mm/L30 has a 61% chance to hit, and penetrates 85mm of armor.

The firing is simultaneous.  According to the percentage hit table, the German tank will hit on 6,7, or 8 on the dice.  The Russian tank will hit on 4,6,7,8 or 10 on the dice.

The German player rolls, a 3 and a 5, with the 5 being the red dice.  A total of 8 means a hit, on location 5.  Looking at the Front table for hit location (above), we see that a 5 is the Front Driver position of the tank.  Looking at the Russian vehicle table, we find that the T-34 A has only 45mm of armor at that location, so the German gun (which penetrates 51mm) will score a kill.

The Russian player rolls a 5 and a 2, with the 2 being the red dice.  A total of 7 means a hit, on location 2.  Looking at the Front table (above), we see that a 2 is the Front Turret position of the tank.  Looking at the German vehicle table, we find that the PzMkIVF1 has only 30mm of armor at that location, so the Russian gun (which penetrates 85mm of armor) will score a kill.

T-34/76 A (1941)

Direct Fire - Small Arms
This system is, if anything, even simpler than the tank/anti-tank system.

It involves calculating the total number of firing points (from a chart) that are firing on an enemy target (which could be a single stand, a weapon team, a group of stands, or a vehicle).  These points come from infantry stands (1 pt per stand, if it represents 5 or more men), LMGs (2 points), HMGs (3 points), Mortars (2 points), and Flamethrowers (2 points).  there is a slight modification to the total number of points for the range.  Then 2d6 are rolled against a Kill Factor table, which gives a resulting number between 1 and 3.  Multiply the kill factor by the number of calculated points, and that is the number of casualties.  This is simultaneous.

If firing small arms at vehicles, the only which may be affected in this system are soft vehicles, and wheeled armored vehicles (such as armored cars).  Tracked AFVs are immune to small arms fire, in this sytem.  Against a soft vehicle, if the vehicle takes small arms fire, and that includes either rifles or MGs, then there is a 50% chance for a hit (roll 2d6, as above, with a hit on 2,4,6,8,10,12).  Further, if the results are either 2, 6 or 8, then it is a kill (otherwise a disable).  Against a wheeled AFV, this chance drops to 33%, so a hit is on 4,7,10.  No chance to kill a wheeled AFV, only disable it.

Close Combat
As with Small Arms fire, the close combat system is interesting, works well, and is based on a number of points of Attackers vs Defenders.  Infantry is easy, with 1 point per man involved in a close combat.  Vehicles get points for thickness of armor, and also for the number of machine guns.

The procedure is to add all the points for each side in a melee together (Note: a melee is when a group of attackers end their last move of the turn within 1 inch of the defender - this makes for an interesting twist on the turn order - in order to be the attacker you have to be Side A).   Compare the two points totals, and derive a ratio.  The attacker must have at least 1-2 odds in order to attack.  Then the attacker rolls 2d6 on a Melee Effects Table, and it gives a resulting letter.  Look up that letter on the Melee Losses table, and you will find what percentage of Attackers or Defenders have died, in terms of the points for their side.

The results on the loss table will be a percentage of loss for each side, and an indicator of which side (attacker or defender) has to retreat (which is a full move for vehicles, and Infantry must retreat 18" or to the nearest supporting unit).

Charging
Units can charge into combat, which they announce at the start of a turn, then move.  Vehicles get a whole move, and infantry gets 9".  If contact is not made, then the unit gets no further move that turn, but can engage in small arms fire at half effect.

If the charge is successful, then both sides can (possibly - 50% chance) engage in small arms fire before the melee.   This is at point blank range, and the chance is determined by rolling 2d6 (again, the percentage table is consulted, so at 50% success is at a 2,4,6,8,10,12 on the dice).  If this is successful (each side rolls separately), then the Defender can fire at full effect, and the Attacker can fire at half effect.  If the Defender is successful at the 50% test, then he may also introduce reinforcements from units within 6".

On turns after a charge, infantry can only move 2" and vehicles only 1/3 of their normal move.


Extras
The rules cover a number of extras including the following:

• Engineering (including entrenching, vehicle repair, laying bridges, demolition, mines and obstacle breaching, and laying smoke).
• Urban Warfar
• Morale (which affects campaign moves and committment to combat)
• Weather
• Capturing equipment

Thoughts
As you could probably tell from my review of the rules' sections above, I am a big fan of Angriff.  Yes, there is the problem of having to consult four different tables for each AFV firing (weapon table for the firer's chance and penetration, percentage table for dice chance, hit table for location, and target vehicle table for armor).  But this is no different from other rule sets.  Consider Overwatch, very similar.  But Angriff plays fast, and it gives great results.  It was relied on by the gaming groups I was in for many years as a means of providing reasonable Infantry (and other small arms fire) adjudication for other tank-centric games (like the already mentioned Overwatch).

Some of the problems in the system are the problems of scale - in some places, the scale is different for HO (or more commonly these days, 20mm or 15mm in addition to HO) and Micro scaled vehicles and ranges, but it is never clearly laid out (like the 9" move for infantry charges - is that only 4.5" in micro?).  But these are minor problems, and could easily be settled on by a group as a set of rules by practice, rather than rules as written.  It lends itself to all sorts of additional house rules (aircraft, parachuting operations, landings, etc) - but in the end it is a very solid set of move and shoot rules for armor and infantry, with reasonable artillery rules that play fast.

More modern rules might do things differently - for instance, I love the command and control rules in Blitzkrieg Commander.  Other rules might introduce a random factor for penetration (such as in Firefly, if I recall).  But as written, for a nice evening game, or a convention game where you want your gamers to know the rules after just a turn or two Angriff is still excellent.

My own house rule suggestions

• Angriff works great if you prepare vehicle information cards for each side, or a  simple vehicle information sheet, that has the vehicle and weapons stats JUST for the platforms used in your particular game.
•  Add in an extra factor to small arms and close combat for command stands/vehicles.
• Use the percentile dice system (described above) instead of the Percentage Table.

Overwatch - review

This is another review in the Once and Future Rules series, of wargame rules that are out of print, but that got a lot of play at one time (at least, in the clubs and groups I played in since the early 1980s).

We have severely underestimated the Russians, the extent of the country and the treachery of the climate.  This is the revenge of reality.
                   -Heinz Guderian

Overwatch was a rule set that was really very popular with the gaming crowd that played at the Campaign Headquarters store on the Virginia Peninsula (the parent store was in Norfolk, but I played at the store that was originally located in Hampton, and later in Newport News, much more frequently).

The crew at the store had originally gotten a copy of the 1979 playtest edition of the rules, which they almost immediately migrated to (previously playing a mix of Tractics and Angriffe).  But, the version I own, and the one I played mostly, was the second edition that came out in 1984.

These rules, written by Robert Davison, were written with 1/285 (or 1/300) scale miniatures (micro-armor) in mind.  The two earlier sets (Tractics and Angriffe) were written for HO scale miniatures, but could be adapted to micro-armor.  The ground scale is fifty yards to the inch, and the time scale is a minute to a turn.  For our games, which were tank heavy (as the rules tend to also be written for), and extremely tactical (not a lot of off-table assets, and not a lot of off-table maneuver), these rules were perfect for the games we were playing.  Davison chose to focus the rules on the period of 1943-45, which also suited us in our games (many of which were in the terrible latter years of the Eastern Front, as well as during the American campaigns in Italy and France).

The turn sequence is a non-simultaneous turn sequence, which works very well, although fire combat execution is done so as to mimic simultaneous action.  The turn is broken up into six phases, although I recall that once we were playing frequently, there was a tendency to slip phases 3/4 and 5/6 together, which is (as I recall) a big mistake and leads to weird outcomes.

1. Move Sequence Determination - dice roll to see who moves first (this is not a choice; if you roll high, you go first)
2. Movement Execution - both sides move, based on the order determined earlier, side A then side B
3. Target Acquisition and Fire Designation - Using the target designation rules, determine who CAN shoot, and from those, both sides (again, side A first) will announce fire intentions.  This cannot be altered.
4. Fire Execution - All declared shots from the previous phase are not executed.  If you didn't declare a shot, you can't take one now.
5. Reaction Fire Designation - If you did not have a shot declared in phase 3, you could now declare a target.  It is possible, that because of weapons fire, you could see targets now, that you couldn't acquire before.
6. Reaction Fire Execution - All fire designated in phase 5 is now executed.

When followed, this leads to pretty good results.  When players get sloppy, and start declaring and executing, all in one swoop, or even before the other player declares, then it gets fuzzy, and the old enemy of simultaneous movement rears it's head here - the argument about "I would have done that, but now I'm going to do this instead". . .

The rules cover a definition of how movement is handled (it is pretty straightforward and sensible).  Infantry, in a game with 1 minute turns, and 1 inch to 50 yards, does not move fast (1 inch per turn).   But, for our games, this hardly mattered, as we didn't do too much in Overwatch games with infantry, other than crew served weapons (gotta have those AT guns out there, you know).

Other rules covered are all the rules for direct fire (arc of fire, line of sight, target acquisition, chance to hit, dice modifiers, results of hit, etc), indirect area fire (artillery), direct area fire (howitzers, etc.), effects on soft targets, tank riders, close assaults, overruns, morale, and a description of the various support weapons (crew served, and man-portable).  Rules exist for weapons such as flame throwers, rockets, and smoke rounds (from regular weapons, and from smoke mortars, etc.).

The book gives some useful generic organization notes (sections, platoons, companies, batteries, etc.).

C2 is described, but it only really affects calls for indirect area fire missions (artillery).  And the rules are pretty clear, that if a spotter is in radio contact (and he is assumed to be), and the firing battery is available (which it is, unless it is on table and moving), then fire missions arrive in the same turn they are called for.

Good rules are presented for terrain and its very specific (tactical) effects on line of sight and target acquisition.

But, the bulk of the book is given over to tables.  The first set of tables (Table A through Table H) are tables in support of the rules - things like acquisition, the chance to score a hit, hit location, the effects of HE rounds, and the area of artillery are just some of these.  But the next set of tables are the data tables on equipment.  All of the major combatants of Europe in the period covered (43-45) are present - the Americans, British, Russians and Germans.  Each nationality has a page (or two in the case of the Germans) of information about AFVs.  There is also a page of information about weapons for each nationality (but Americans and British are combined).

Finally, some additional equipment tables exist, detailing soft skin vehicles, and the more common artillery pieces. This is followed up by the appendices, which cover a wide variety of additional equipment (less common vehicles and weapons) that are not on the main charts, as well as a section on points values, and finally a discussion on some of the special ammo used in the war (like the American High Velocity Armor Piercing, or HVAP round).

There is nothing revolutionary here in these rules, except maybe in how the fire phase is handled.  That, even, is not too unique.  What works is that these rules have a nice simplicity, and they are also appealing to those who like all the detail about their tanks.  For some reason, in the early and mid 80s, we loved this sort of thing (see more discussion on this "cult of detail" when I review Seekrieg, later on in this series of articles).  One of the other WW2 rulesets I played and plan to cover, is Angriffe.  It also covers the same spread of data (to almost the same level of detail).  The WRG WW2 rules get away from this, somewhat, by introducing armor class for tanks (in the WRG rules, each AFV is rated a letter, from A to F, for front and side armor, rather than using mm of thickness, as Overwatch and Angriffe do).

But what really seemed to work in these rules, is that the model for combat was at the same time very specific, and also abstract enough to move quickly.  It was very specific, in that it covered (mostly) armored warfare in Europe, in the period 1943-45.  Meaning, that most of the rules were covering tank-on-tank action, with some considerations for artillery, and even less for infantry.  On the other hand, this narrow focus allowed a bit of abstraction to creep in.  Most AFVs of the time have a very similar set of physical design features that lend themselves to a generic hit location system (this is an abstraction).  The "to hit" roll is based on three things, really - what is the gun class (i.e. - the accuracy of the optics used for targeting the weapon, combined with the inherent accuracy of the weapon itself), whether the target or firer are stationary (or moving), and a modifier for range.  That is it - this makes it simple to represent, but it is an abstraction (what about crew training?  what about visibility?  what about the state of the equipment?).  Finally, weapon effects from direct fire weaponry is an abstraction.  Does the stated penetration of the round you fired, at the range you fired, exceed the listed armor for the vehicle, at the hit location you determined your shot to strike?  If so, then the vehicle is destroyed.

Walking through the combat adjudication is a nice way to see the simplicity of the rules.

First, table A gives you the knowledge of who you can see. This is based on target class (infantry, artillery vehicles, etc), and is given in yards.

Table A - Target Acquisition

Next, table B gives you the chance, as described above, of scoring a hit.  This is a percentage value based on a matrix (for each gun class) of whether the shooter or target are moving or stationary.  This is modified by -20% for each (round up) 1000 yards (20 inches).

Table B - Hit Determination

Table C is a 2d6 roll to see where the hit strikes.  This incorporates rules for hull down targets, and also for low-silhouette targets.

Table C - Hit Location

Table D gives you the information needed to determine if direct fire HE rounds are effective against a target (firing that big 152mm howitzer might be nasty vs a light tank, but what about vs infantry in a building?).

Table D - HE Effects

Table E is a set of tables for determining the effects of machine gun fire.

Table E - MG Effects

Table F is a set of charts detailing infantry weapons and their effects.

Table F - Small Arms Fire

Table G is a set of charts for resolving area fire attacks (artillery missions).  It is done by determining the number of weapons, and caliber, and this sums up to an attack factor.  That factor is then matrixed against the target types in the fire mission area (which is detailed on Table H), and a chance for a kill results.

Table G - Artillery Effects

That is it for the rules.  It is driven by the charts, which are very straight forward.  It is a good set of rules, if not brilliant in innovation.  However, for us it worked very, very well.  One of the things that is of interest to the WW2 armor battle wargamer is the interaction of different weapon systems.  By taking a look at (Table P) the Russian weapon data here:

Table P - Russian Gun Penetration

And (Table L) the German AFV data here (the first half, there are two sheets of German AFVs):

Table L - German AFVs

We can see that a round fired by a Russian 76.2mm L41 gun (the weapon on most models of the T-34/76) at about 1000 yards, can penetrate 73mm of armor.  If you compare that to the front upper-hull armor of most German AFVs, you can see that it won't kill a Mk IV F2, G, H, J or any of the big cats (Panther, or either mark of Tiger).  It won't kill a StugIII, or the big Self Propelled Anti-Tank pieces (Elefant, Jagdtiger, etc).  So, if you are firing a T-34/76, you should either be prepared to get a side shot against those German targets, or maybe hope you hit a softer piece of the tank (although the turret is usually worse...).  It is that kind of data that tank nerds (like I used to be, and still devolve into from time to time) really like.

Overwatch is a far cry from the abstracted details in a game such as Flames of War, or Blitzkrieg Commander, although I really like BC (mostly for the innovative rules, and the way it incorporates infantry, making the combined arms operation quite important).  And it is very much a different game than Bolt Action.  It was really a different game from the contemporaries of its own time (Angriffe and Tractics), but it did compete, somewhat, with Jagdpanzer and possibly the WRG 1925-1950 rules  The latter played faster (and I had some extremely enjoyable games of the WRG WW2 rules), but they sacrificed more detail in the quest for faster play..

With Overwatch, you get all that neat data driven analysis and comparison, and the game moves quickly.  That's probably why we played it for most of the 80s.

Naval Imagi-Nations Campaign

Background
As the nations of Balkania left the Imperial Age, and entered into the age of massive industrialization, like their European counterparts, there was a mad rush to construct fleets of warships of ever increasing complexity and lethality, in an arms race that rivaled those of the early 20th century.

Tweedland Destroyer Flag

The Imperial Navy of Tweedland, modeled after a number of successful designs in the British Navy form the years between the wars, was involved a series of strategic operations in the Pampion Sea, against her ancient adversary, Royal Marina of Vulgaria.  The Vulgarians had jump-started their naval architecture program just a few decades earlier by kidnapping several prominent Italian designers and engineers, so their units bear a strong resemblance to the Regia Marina.

Vulgarian Royal Marina

Tweedland, in this region, is operating from their colonial ports at Utica and Cyrene, and operate a rather large air station at Pancritas.  They are actively involved in policing the Pampion Sea, as well as supporting their ground operations in Talantis - which means delivering supplies to Tarraco.

Vulgaria, on the other hand, has their southern mainland ports of Massilia and Salonae to support operations in the Pampion Sea.  The regional capitol at Cremona is home to not only Vulgarian 4th Air Force, but also is home to their notorious Motor Torpedo Boat squadrons.

Friesland Naval Ensign

The ground campaign in Talantis is between the Tweedland 8th Army, and the Frieslander Talantian Corps.  In order to limit the amount of support that the Tweedland navy can deliver, the Frieslander Supreme Commander has authorized the use of U-Boats in the Pampion Sea, against Tweedland shipping.  These elements will occasionally coordinate with the Vulgarian Royal Marina.

As a political gesture towards honoring the Pampion Triple Naval Alliance, the Free-Falconia Government has placed some of their remaining naval assets under command of the Tweedland colonial office at Utica.  These would normally be allocated to keeping the Talantian Approaches open, for supply convoys, but operational needs may have them committed, alongside Tweedland ships, throughout the Pampion theater of operations.

Free Franconia Military Forces

Campaign
I have been working up a simple system whereby two sides of players (one commanding British and French ships, representing Tweedland and Free-Falconia; the other commanding Italian and German forces, representing Vulgaria and Friesland) will follow this order of play for each turn:

1. Allocate patrol forces - naval and air
2. Receive operational intelligence and orders
3. Commit reserve forces for support of operations, or divert patrol forces
4. Adjudicate map situation, and develop tabletop battle for that turn

---

Rules
I will be using General Quarters.  I plan to employ the original GQ1 and 2 rules - I have the newer GQ3 edition of the rules (published by the fine folks at ODGW), and they are great, but they would distract, as I am expecting players who are not necessarily naval gaming experts, and the older rules are much simpler).  Ship models will be Navwar 1:3000 vessels.

Operations Map
This was developed using AutoRealm, and I plan to use the same map for several different fictional naval campaigns.  I plan to go back and use the transition fleets I developed for Furstenberg and Rumpwhistle in an operation on this map, as well.

flash review of Bolt Action (Osprey/Warlord)

I got to sit in on a Demo Game of Bolt Action at Siege of Augusta this past weekend.  The game was run by Charles Cabell, and it was extremely enjoyable.  Here is a really quick review of the game, and I should mention that I followed up by buying a copy of the rules from Time Portal Hobbies.

 

Bolt Action is a joint venture between Warlord Games and Osprey publishing. Warlord writes the rules and makes the models, Osprey publishes the books.

A word about the Osprey venture into rule publishing.  Each title might not be your cuppa tea, but they are all done nicely, I certainly like a few, they are using proven rules writers, the production is excellent, and the prices are far lower than the other rules publishers. 

Okay, the game is squad based (5-15 figures per squad). WW2. Maximum of 1 tank and 1 recon vehicle per side.  Turn goes by drawing activation markers out of a bag. Player picks a unit to activate, and chooses 1 of 6 commands (move, shoot, run, hold, etc). Warlord Games makes sets of colored dice to use as these activation markers, with the six sides corresponding to the six possible commands, so that everything is clearly marked on the table (see above picture).  Individual shooting and individual melee resolution by dice. Simple morale rules. Nice organization tables, for the big four (Germany, US, Russia, England).  

Separate books (again, priced affordable) cover other belligerents and go deeper on the main crew. Well done, and supported by an excellent line of models from Warlord. Could be played any scale, even 54mm. Could stretch to other conflicts (Korea, WW1, Vulgarian Civil War).

Decent skirmish game. Feels less gimmicky than Flames of War. Lots of product, but none will break the bank.

WW2 Eastern Front Card Game - on Kickstarter

Collins Epic Wargames has revised the latest offering from their excellent Spearpoint: 1943 series of WW2 tactical card games. The new title (on Kickstarter from Dec 6 for 45 days, until Jan 20) is Spearpoint 1943 Eastern Front

Image from the Kickstarter Page.

The original is a favorite here at Gaming with Chuck - it plays fast and well, is easy to teach, and rewards good decision making.  The original pits US and German forces against each other.  This new offering - now being funded (and, as of this writing, very close to success) through Kickstarter!  Project page here.

The new title is Eastern Front and faces off the favorite foes of WW2 wargamers everywhere - Russia vs. Germany.  The cards, units, and play all look great from what has been released so far (including a print and play combat preview - very nicely done CEW).

A nice video, from the Kickstarter Project page, gives an overview of how the game is played.  This is a really nicely done video, something of a standard these days with new games. And Collins Epic Wargames has done well here. Check it out at the Kickstarter page.

In addition, there is already a nice entry at Boardgame Geek with lots of images of components, etc.

An older video, from earlier in 2013, shows a great example of game play for the system.


If you are looking for a good, solid combat card game, that rewards good thinking and decision making, and still has enough luck in it to make it dramatically exciting to play - consider backing Spearpoint 1943 Eastern Front.  You'll be glad you did.

Spearpoint 1943 - how to video

I have been working on doing a photo report on some of my fantasy armies, as well as my completed (hooray) 19th century Imaginations fleets.  However, this has been a busy week, so instead I'll just post a quick nod to my friend Byron's card based WW2 combat game, Spearpoint 1943.

At Origins, he taped a new "how to" video, and it is pretty nice.  Here it is.

Frontline General: Spearpoint 1943 Eastfront - Kickstarter

Byron Collins - a good friend of mine - has a kickstarter campaign going for the next game from his board game company (Collins Epic Wargames).  Spearpoint 1943 Eastern Front (the original, which takes place in Italy, is a fantastic game, and was nominated for an Origins award).  This is a WW2 card game based on deck construction, but the game is not just a generic deck builder, it also features some very interesting scenarios, as well as dice based combat.  As the game unfolds, it has a great tactical feel to it, and the battle feels like it is moving through stages (first contact; focus forces; and finally decisive engagement).  All in about 30 minutes.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cewargames/frontline-general-spearpoint-1943-eastern-front

Game day with the Catawba Military Gaming Society

So, there is a wargaming club in the Charlotte NC area that am proud to have been a part of, some ten years back now, when my Wife and I lived in Rock Hill (in the outskirts of the greater Charlotte Area).

 We were visiting family in the area this weekend, and I got to spend the day, gaming with the Catawba Military Gaming Society (CMGS).  The game was a WW2 miniatures game set during the Kursk campaign on the eastern front.  It use, of course, the rules called Battlegroup Kursk from Iron Fist Publishing.  This was a really satisfying game. I got to play as a commander on the Russian side, in a sort of modified meeting engagement battle.  On our side, we had a company of T-34/76 tanks, and a company of truck mounted infantry.  Three of the T-34s were carrying squads of SMG armed tank riders.  Along with this, we had a T-70 tank, in a scouting mode, and also a sniper team, and assorted infantry support units (a small howitzer, a heavy machine gun, several light machine guns, etc).

Facing us was a German force, with a platoon of PzIVh tanks, and a platoon of StuG-IIIs.  Supporting this was some German infantry, again they were truck mounted, and a few support elements which included a half track towing a Pak38 5cm gun. It was a good scenario, and big thanks to Jerry Frazee for running it.

The game has an interesting feature in that each side has a total of points, derived from the units they have, called something like Battle Points (BP).  Every time a loss is sustained (either losing a terrain objective, or losing an AFV or infantry unit), the losing side draws a chit from a cup, representing a loss of points (kept secret) from the total of BP that the side started with.  Once one side hits 0 (zero) then they lose the game.  Elegant.  And it encouraged the capture of terrain objectives, which is always a good thing.

The game is a basic I-Go, You-Go type turn sequence, with basic movement rates for infantry and vehicles, depending on their movement mode (cross country or road), and each turn, when an element is activated it has a few choices.  It can go for a close assault move, or it can choose a sequence combining movement and shooting, getting two options to combine (resulting in either move-move, move-shoot, shoot-move, or shoot-shoot).  Or, you can put your unit in a watch mode - either Ambush Fire (works like overwatch does in many games) or on Reactive Move (the move version of overwatch).  Both of those, we learned in our game, are very important, and can contribute greatly to the tactical flexibility of your army.

The number of elements that you can activate each turn is determined by a dice toss.  Roll 2d6 and add to that a number representing the strength of your command structure, the result is the number of activations you can do in the turn.  A decent sized game will have you with more elements than you have command points each turn, so there will always be something you want to activate that you did not quite have time to do this turn.  This type of command structure has always appealed to me, as it leaves the player with tough choices each turn.  Certain types of command elements have special orders that they can issue, and the different nationalities have different special commands open up to them.  For instance, on the Russian side, we had an infantry commander, who could for the price of one activation point, activate all infantry units within 5" of his model, if they were going to do a forward facing full move (basically, a move-move sequence).  This was done several times by the brave heroes of the Revolution, in our game.

Shooting is done by measuring range, rolling to observe (if it is direct fire), then rolling for effect (getting hits).  The defender may or may not get a saving throw depending on the type of unit, and if it is in cover or not.  Elements that don't save are killed.  A unit that takes hits must then pass morale or become "pinned". A Pinned unit may do nothing until it is unpinned.

There are several observer units on each side of the battlefield, as well as an enumerated list of off board artillery assets.  Each side may activate an observer unit (many Germany command and recon elements can also serve as Observers, on the Russian side of the battlefield, not so many) and use it to call in off board artillery.  The method is very similar to other modern games - roll to make the request (typically a 3+ on a single d6), roll to be on target (the worse you roll at this point, the more the barrage drifts), roll for distance and direction of drift, have the barrage land.  Once it lands, it is not so very deadly, as it is irritating.  The falling barrage tends to put target units under it's template (a limited number, not all of them, typically) into a pinned status.

As mentioned, everytime a loss is suffered, a chit is pulled that deducts from your BP total.  At the end of a turn, a commander can also decide to pull a chit, in exchange for being able to unpin 1d6 units.  Very touchy decision - after all, your dice roll could always be a 1, or it could be a 6.  Do you take this "unpin" option when only one of your units is pinned (even if it is a unit that is crucial to your assault plans?) or do you wait until you have 3, 4, or 5 units pinned, so hopefully you will get your "money's" worth, by taking a BP chit, in exchange for the chance to unpin friendlies.

All in all, a very nice set of rules.  I liked it a lot.  There is just enough "Chrome" here to make it feel like WW2 (and not Space Marines, Russian Civil War, pirate skirmish, or any number of other game experiences, that a more generic ruleset could feel like).  Yes, the rules are simple.  Yes, it is all based on D6 (close assaults, for instance, involve rolling - admittedly small - buckets of dice).  But it is still, in my opinion, a good game.  And a much better, and more flexible system, than say Flames of War.

The game was played at the excellent games/comics store Parker, Banner, Kent & Wayne.  This is an excellent FLGS in the old school.  Tons of gaming stuff on hand, loads of game tables, lots of smiling staff, and regulars, hanging around ready to talk about games or gaming.  I immediately fell in love with the store.  If I still lived in the Charlotte area, I could easily see myself becoming a regular here.

I don't know the history of the ruleset, but from what I have heard through the rumor mill, this was going to be the WW2 ruleset that the Warhammer Historical rules publishing house was going to release.  Before the knuckleheads responsible decided to ashcan the whole Warhammer Historicals project.  I am glad that Battlegroup Kursk got published.  I understand there is already a book out covering the army lists and scenarios for the invasion of Fortress Europa, called something like Battlegroup Normandy.  Well, good for Iron Fist.  I hope this one goes far, it deserves to.

PS - there is a line of supporting hard plastic miniatures, from the Plastic Soldier Company, that go along with the rules (or any other 15mm WW2 game, for that matter).  These models look great, seem to be pretty easy to assemble (I am thinking of ordering some Panzer IIIs for my North Africa collection), and are priced very nice.  There are also a wide number of models in 15mm available from Zvezda, that look great (in my opinion) and are priced very nice.  I think this is a great thing, but I do hope that future rules publishers will get away from having to have the complete package (rules, miniatures, support tools, etc).  One of the things that is so nice about historical miniatures is that your set of nicely painted miniatures can be used to play many, many different games, with many, many different rules.  Having the complete package gives new players who come from the Games Workshop experience, the idea that "to play game XXX I have to buy XXX miniatures".  That is always a good attitude to squash, in my opinion!