Battalions In Crisis

Historicon '95 Tournament Results

The third Battalions In Crisis! WWII tournament took place in July at Historicon '95 in Lancaster, PA. As in the previous tournaments, each contestant had to play three rounds. To test player all-around skill, each one had to fight in defensive, offensive, and meeting engagement scenarios. The tournament's theme was combat in close and difficult terrain.

In looking over the victory conditions, note that there are no points for destroying or damaging enemy units. Historians and statisticians have a tendency to collect numbers and to present those numbers as the result of an event. This was particularly noticeable in the body-count mentality of Vietnam. In WWII, Germany lost 4 million dead and Russia 22 million, yet it was Russia that won the war. The objective of the victory points was to make people concentrate on realistic tactical objectives.

At Historicon '95, Jerry Branch took the lead during the first round with 795 points, followed by John Gordon with 725, and Tom Wise with 676. Tom and John had fought each other. Round two saw Tom pull into the lead with a score of 872 after fighting Jerry, followed by John with 626, and Cloyd Smith with a score of 77. All of the other players had negative scores in round two. In round three Tom ran up a score of 1,956 points, John got 874, and Cloyd received 555. Final scores were Tom Wise with 3,504 points for Best Overall, John Gordon with 2,225 for Aggressive Attacker Award, and Cloyd Smith with 789 for the Desperate Defender Award. Kevin Garbelman receive the Good Sportsman award. It is interesting to note that the top three scorers are in the military. Prizes were provided by Geo Hex, Quality Castings, and Vac-U-Cast Plastics.

Round One: Attacker

Attacker enters from the west.

Victory Points:

  • 250 points. No enemy squad, ATG, or AFV, with morale state of halt or better within 10 cm of the road. (Squad inc1udes heavy weapons teams.)
  • 500 points. No enemy unit with a morale state of halt or better able to direct fire on the road with LMGs, ATGs, tank guns, or heavy weapons.
  • 1000 points. No enemy unit with a morale state of halt or better able to fire on the road with LMGs, ATGs, tank guns, or heavy weapons using direct fire or spotted indirect fire.
  • Add value of all units exiting the east edge of the table.
  • Subtract the value of attacking units destroyed.

Special Morale Factor for both sides

Any unit smaller than two squads out of visual contact (alone in the woods) has an additional -4 on any morale checks.

Defending units may set up anywhere east of the set-up line. The only defensive preparations allowed are foxholes. No entrenchments for ATGs, vehicles, or heavy weapons.

Victory Points:

  • 250 points. Spotter, with a morale state of halt or better, able to call indirect fire down on the road. Spotter must be a headquarters unit with a radio or an armored car and be able to see the road.
  • 500 points. LMGs, ATGs, tank guns, or heavy weapons, with a morale state of halt or better, able to direct fire on the road.
  • 1000 points. Squad, ATG, or AFV, with morale state of halt or better within 10 cm. of the road. (Squad includes heavy weapons teams.)
  • Subtract the value of defending units destroyed.

Round Two--ATTACKER

Attacker enters from the west.

Victory Points:

  • 250 points. No enemy troops with a morale state of halt or better in the village.
  • 500 points. No LMGs, ATGs, tank guns, or heavy weapons with a moral state of halt or better able to direct fire on the crossroads.
  • 1000 points. No enemy unit with a morale state of halt or better other than rifles able to direct fire or spot for indirect fire on the crossroads.
  • Add value of units exited from the east edge of the table.
  • Subtract the value of attacking units destroyed.

Special Morale Factor: Any unit not within 25 cm of a fnendly unit has an additional -4 on any morale checks. This does not include units that exit off the east edge of the table.

Defending units may set-up anywhere east of the set-up line. The only defensive preparations allowed are foxholes. No entrenchments for ATGs, vehicles, or heavy weapons.

Victory Points:

    250 points. Able to bring spotted indirect or direct fire other than rifles on crossroads. Spotter's morale state must be halt or better.
  • 500 points. LMGs, ATGs, tank guns, or heavy weapons with a morale state of halt or better able to direct fire on crossroads.
  • 1000 points. Hold any building next to crossroads with units whose morale state is halt or better.
  • Subtract the value of defending units destroyed.

Round Three: Attacker

Enter on the northwest road in column. Units must move in column at the speed of the lowest unit until the turn after contact with the enemy.

Victory Points:

  • 500 points for control of the bridge.
  • 100 points for each building under your control.
  • Add value of units exiting from the east edge of the table.
  • Subtract value of Attacker A units destroyed

Round Three: Attacker B

Enter on the southwest road in column. Units must move in column at the speed of the lowest unit until the turn after contact with the enemy.

Victory Points:

  • 500 points for control of the bridge.
  • 100 points for each building under your control.
  • Add value of units exiting from the east edge of the table. Subtract value of Attacker B units destroyed.

SPECIAL TOURNAMENT RULES

  • Each towed or carried artillery gun, anti-tank gun, or mortar comes with six rounds. Each vehicle assigned to the unit contains 20 additional rounds that can be used by any gun in the battery. Self- propelled artillery and guns come with the ammo, load listed on their respective vehicle data sheets. Bazookas and panzerschrecks come with 6 rounds. Anti-tank rifles have unlimited ammunition.
  • All soldiers carrying special weapons must have a colored dot placed on the bottom of the figure. Use the following color scheme:
      Red- Panzerfausts
      Blue- Molotov cocktails
      Green- Satchel Charge
      Yellow-Demo Charge
      Tan- Panzerschreck or Bazooka
      Black- Misc. (describe on roster)
  • It is alright to substitute vehicle models when you cannot get the correct model. However, as soon the model becomes visible you must tell your opponent what the actual vehicle is. Example: you only have Pz IVD models, but they are supposed to be Pz IVFs. As soon as the tank is visible to the other player, you must let him know it is a IVF and not a IVD.
  • Rolls for damage to armored vehicles are secret per the rules. If your opponent is having a very lucky day, then call the tournament director over to observe the rolls. Same goes for morale checks, etc.
  • Normally, attacks against units that are off the board, like artillery, are not allowed. However, if for some reason troops are just off of the board edge, then aircraft, or perhaps even ground troops close to the edge of the board, may spot the units. The tournament director will make a judgment on a case by case basis.
  • If a unit or an individual wants to make a suicidal attempt at something, call the tournament director to run the morale check. You must keep track of the time limit during your opponent's move. For the tournament the infantry and armor moves will continue to be three minutes. The combined move will be six minutes. The tournament director supplies three minute egg timers; use them.
  • Each pair of players wil be penalized for not completing a minimum of ten turns in the round. The attacker will lose 500 points and the defender will lose 750 points on the first two rounds. In the third round both players will lose 500 points.
  • Vehicles do not block line of sight.

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    © Copyright 1995 by Mike Vogell and Phoenix Military Simulations.
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