COMMAND DECISION UPDATE As of this printing, there is a new COMMAND DECISION Errata and Update Sheet available from the WORKSHOP. Among the modifications that I have seen in playtesting are the following: 1. SUBMACHINE ARMED STANDS AND TANK MG's: These stands are always allowed to fire as if they moved one level less then they actually did. Thus a tank given a CAUTIOUS ADVANCE Order may fire its MG's in the Opportunity Fire Phase as well as the General Fire Phase. Note that the main armament may not fire under this rule, rather only the tanks MG's. A SMG Stand given a FULL MOVE Order can therefor fire in the General Fire Phase, though it normally would not be allowed to do so. However in both cases this moving fire is NOT simultaneous, rather the moving units fire only after all opportunity fire is taken. Thus a tank destroyed by opportunity fire will not be allowed to fire it's weapons. 2. COMMAND STANDS: In place of the current joint command stands, ie Command Infantry, Command Weapons, etc; it is suggested that all command stands be single figure stands at all levels. This would mean that an American WWII Infantry Company would have the following: OLD ORGANIZATION NEW ORGANIZATION Command/Weapons Stand 3 Infantry Stands Command Stand 3 Infantry Stands Weapons Stand From personal experience, this makes for a much more flexible organization, as ones Company Commander is not permanently wedded to ones Heavy Weapons. Thus, one can leave one's weapons stand behind for covering fire, while sending the company commander off to lead the assault. It also means that since these are two separate stands, it is harder to kill them off, and the standard infantry company not crippled as quickly as it is now, where the loss of the stand cripples both weapons and command. 3. CALL FIRE: Used as an order by Command or FO Stands, this order is used in place of writing orders for Artillery Fire. A Call Fire Order takes the place of the usual written Fire Mission. Call Fire orders are not plotted, rather during the General Fire Phase the Artillery/Mortar Fire is placed where requested. Under this rule, Artillery Fire can be used to engage targets of opportunity. Call Fire Orders can only be used by the FO's with their parent Artillery Units. Other artillery fire can still be controlled by the FO, but those missions must be plotted in advance. Likewise Artillery Fire Missions controlled by Command Stands must still be plotted as before. Company Command Stands can act as FO's for Battalion Heavy Weapons, ie Mortars, Infantry Guns, etc that are an integral part of the battalion. While doing so they can use CALL FIRE Missions for one weapons stand/type, ie a German Company Command Stand can not control the Battalions 12 cm and 8 cm Mortar Stands, but could use either weapon during the General Fire Phase. 4. SUPPORT STANDS: Support Stands are an optional stand found at the Battalion and Regimental Level. These stands represent the cooks, clerks, signal personal, etc; that make up part of the average unit headquarters but which do not show up in combat. Normally, these support stands are not present in an average game, but there are a number of cases where they can be present and useful. The average battalion has from one to two such stands, while a regimental headquarters would have from two to six, both in the headquarters and supply companies. Support Stands have 1 die for fire, and a range of 4". They are rated as one level less than the actual rating of the unit, so that the support stands of a veteran battalion would be rated as being experienced. If lost, they have a morale modifier of -1 per stand on the entire unit. The following are other rule ideas and modifications sent in by some of the CD/CA players nationwide: articles: Air to Ground and Tiger Tiger Burning Bright. Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Newsletter #1 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1990 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com