Spearhead is a set of rules published in America designed for divisional level combat in WW2. The actual set consists of a 45 page rule and scenario book, A4 size; a 49 page TOE book, 2 quick reference sheets on A4 card, and 4 data cards detailing factors for infantry, armour and gun platoons for the German, British, American, Russian, French and Italian armies.

The rules, written by Arty Conliffe, are designed to reflect national doctrine more than technical equipment qualities, and the battalion is the basic operating unit. Models depict platoons, and the ground scale is roughly 1"=100m/yds. One turn equates to 15-30 minutes of real time. The contents lists force organization, chain of command, recce, movement, spotting, direct fire, indirect fire, aircraft & AA, close combat, town fighting, morale and engineering. The rules book is well presented with good clear text in double column format, and photos of models are scattered liberally thoughout.

Method of play looks very simple. Once your force is organised into battalion groups, orders are written, or rather drawn. A map of the battlefield is sketched, and a movement arrow for advancing battalions is drawn on. This is more than just a paper exercise. This line is the exact route that the Battalion HO (Bttn HO) must take - nearly all platoons under it's command are not allowed to stray more than 6" in most cases from the Bttn HO. So if you carelessly draw an attack line through a swamp for your battalion of Elefants, that is where they must go! Movement and defenders deployment are related to terrain features. Flank marches and timed orders are allowed. Once combat starts, players can attempt to change orders, this being based on a D6 roll cross-referenced against nationality. Personally I think this table (page 7) is too vague German pares can change orders just as easily as German Volksturm, and British Paras have the same 50% chance as a British territorial battalion defending the wind swept Highlands of Scotland or Lowlands of France in 1940. There could have been an effort to relate this table to troop quality, not just nationality. However, as this is a D6 only system, it would be easy to modify it to allow for this.

Rules allow attached recce platoons to deploy further out than others from the Bttn HO, and Bttn mortars can be dropped off as well to fire in support. Direct fire is blatantly simple, almost DBA-ish in that the firing platoon rolls a D6, adds it's attack factor and subtracts enemy defence factor (in effect), a resulting 6 destroys a platoon, and 4- 5 suppresses it. Multiple suppression results in the same turn cause kills. There is a strict firing sequence and target priority which means noneffective weapons must still fire, as they would in real life (for example 3.7cm PAK against KV-1 and infantry - the PAKs must fire at the tanks even though the player knows it would have no effect and would prefer to fire HE at the accompanying infantry). The distinct firing sequences allows for combined arms tactics.

Indirect artillery is assigned by battalion to fighting battalions, and Forward Observers are allocated. These roll a D6 for artillery response. Now here the D6 roll is cross-referenced with another nationality table - which gives the British only 50% chance of receiving divisional fire, the Yanks 66% and Germans 66%. I thought that the British divisional artillery after 1942 was the best controlled (i.e. it's FO were the best trusted and trained) such that even though the Americans had more artillery around generally, the British could bring down the most batteries because of the flexibility and trust inherent to the system. Again, it would be easy to alter the table accordingly. Rules cover pre-planned bombardments and rockets.

Aircraft rules are limited to ground attack types, no strategic bombers here, which is fair enough. Ground attack is treated as a form of direct fire in effect, the mere presence of enemy firing flak is factored in, even if it misses, which is good.

There is a complete rule section on fighting in built-up areas, which is an often glossed over subject. The morale rules are simple troops are either Green, Regulars or Veterans. They have 3-2-1 break points respectively, based on casualties. At every break point the battalion tests morale on 1 D6, needing 5-6 to pass. A battalion that fails is simply removed from play! The advanced rules section allows a 3-4 result to cause on table retreat instead. Engineering rules cover the usual mines, digging-in, barbed wire, bridges, demolition and road blocks. Interestingly, the mines 'attack' units attempting to cross.

Other advanced rules cover hidden movement and cross-attaching companies/ platoons. Three scenarios are included to help the gamer get started with the rules. The rules book has several pages at the back with adverts from the likes of GHQ Old Glory and Brookhurst Hobbies, etc.

The TOE book is very useful, containing 51 divisional organizations laid out for Spearhead for Germans, Italians, French, UK, Russians, and US forces. Independent brigades and Corps support battalions are not included, but can be deduced from other sources, such as the Nafziger collection, or the MicroMark series of army lists. Notes are included to help use the TOE tables, and photos

The equipment data charts are very comprehensive, although spot the obvious mistake - they have completely forgotten that Russians had the best A/T rifle of the war, as well as various anti-tank grenades - to give 1941-43 Russians an AT value of 2 when Italians even make 3 with their single (at best) 20mm Solothurn per platoon is an insult to Russian infantry with numerous PTRD41 and hollow-charge A/T grenades. Upgrade them to 3 instantly!

AFV armour values vary from 13 for a Jagdtiger to 2 for a Panzer I. A/T values tend to assume common ammo types rather than fancy APCR, APDS or HEAT rounds that were only available in small numbers, which for this level of game is a realistic assumption.

Overall the rules are presented well and clearly written, with examples. They appear simple but elegant in execution. There is enough scope for the technology orientated gamer to argue and tweak factors and add obscure armour and guns, whilst the technophobe should feel comfortable playing general without having to worry about his 76.2mm barrel lengths and angles of impact. Whilst I have mentioned armour mostly, the rules cover infantry just as much, and as such could be suited for Korean War and Arab- lsraeli wars 1948-56 with little modification.

Look around at the shows for these rules, or contact Caliver Books for availability.

FROM THE EDITOR

Hope Mark doesn't mind me butting in here but I also have a few observations to make concerning 'Spearhead'. Firstly those of you whose WW2 armies are based and organised for 'Command Decision' or 'Clash of Armour' will have no difficulty in using your 'toys' with these rules as each 'stand' or model represents a platoon. Those of you who normally game at a lower level should be able to muddle through with what you've got with only minor problems - so basing is not really an issue (hurrah!).

I think the most attractive thing about 'Spearhead' is the ease of play and the relatively few tables and charts you have to wade through in order to get a result. There are also very few modifiers with each table, further speeding play. As such they are ideal for when you want a fast moving 'club' game that can be finished in an evening. Also, as Mark says they are user friendly and shouldn't present too much of a 'culture shock' for players who do not normally game in this period. Perfect for introducing new gamers to WW2 combat and with just enough detail to keep the 'grognards'happy

The sequence of play, especially the order in which things fire has been very carefully thought out, and although it may seem a relatively simple thing it functions extremely well. It helps to get a real feel for WW2 combat without plethora of special rules, tables and goodness knows what. For me, this was one of the joys of the system. It gives a superiority (at least initially) to prepared anti-tank guns vs. armour and allows 'SP tank hunters' and the like to 'shoot & scoot'.

Those of you who enjoy 'tweaking' rules should be aware that is all D6 based. Therefore modifiers have to be used very sparingly as even a simple +1 can have a fairly massive (and disproportionate) effect. Given that plus and D20s are no longer the exotic or expensive items that they used to be I'm curious why the D6 was used for 'Spearhead'. It is the same in 'Shako' (Arty Conliffe's other recent rules set) and gives similar potential problems (more of this perhaps in a later issue when we review 'Shako').

With regard to the combat mechanic of two suppressions squalling 1 kill I have to say / am not totally convinced and there is a suspicion that it leads to combat being settled largely by weight of fire (or number of 'tubes'). We have fiddled with the idea that units which suffer a double suppression are not killed automatically but rather have a 'saving throw' dependent on their quality (low morale troops tend to dissolve rapidly under weight of fire, better troops have more chance of sorting it out). This does of course mean an extra die roll when resolving combat Somehow, some of the 'Spearhead' combat mechanics don't quite work for me (but remember they are fast which counts for a lots). On the plus side 'Spearhead' handles the relationship between infantry and armour very well indeed. Those of you who think tanks roll everything will be in for some nasty shocks. In this game infantry have a definite role to play. As with the rest of the rules the mechanics for combined arms may appear simple - but they are not simplistic.

The morale rules are brutally simple and tend to work well. However, you can't really simulate some quirks such as high morale troops who aren't terribly good (i.e. some early war Russians) or very proficient units who have become a little 'sticky' due to war weariness (i.e. some late war British infantry divisions). This is where 'Spearhead' really suffers in comparison with 'Command Decision' with it's split experience/morale rating. Also, as Mark points out, the Command Table really does need some work, replacing nationality with type of formation (i.e. elite, conscript etc.) would probably do the trick.

Finally, I'd like to point out that I have some doubts over the various qualities assigned to the nationalities (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they don't agree with my bias.). If you believe that the Wermacht was the finest army ever to fight then these rules are definitely for you! These boys are the best at everything, pretty much regardless of period or type of unit. Hmmmm. The Russians are normally the worst at everything. This universal edge may be fair enough in 1941- 42, but what about 1944 - 45? Shocking though it may seem to some I really do believe that some Russian formations could (and did) both out general and out fight opposing German formations (it wasn't all down to weight of numbers, big tanks and Hitler's mistakes). However, in fairness to 'Spearhead' it should be said that it is easy enough to tweak, change or ignore the ratings they give to units.

All in all however 'Spearhead' are well worth a look and make a refreshing change from the many sets of rules which emphasise hardware to the nth degree. As Mark says they are eminently playable, make a refreshing change for the veteran 'tanker and are an excellent introduction for the novice. Almost 'Fire & Fury' for tanks!