My goal for this Issue of S-1 is to answer as many rules questions that I have stacked upon my desk. I have not identified the names of the person who submitted the question. 1. ON THE WEAPONS CHARACTERISTICS CHART FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE 95L22 IS LISTED AS HAVING HVAP AMMUNITION WITH A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN ARMOR PENETRATION AND RANGE. GIVEN THAT THIS WEAPON IS A LOW VELOCITY HOWITZER, ISN'T HOLLOW CHARGE MORE LIKELY? The HVAP line actually belongs to the 3.7" Mark 6 AA Gun just above it, and was misplaced by the typesetter. 2. ON THE US VEHICLE CHARTS THE L28 AND M15 MOTOR MACHINE GUN CARRIAGES ARE EACH LISTED AS HAVING 3 AAMGs, WHILE, THE M16 MOTOR MACHINE GUN CARRIAGES ARE LISTED AS HAVING 6 AAMGS. I CAN'T FIND ANY PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE SHOWING ADDITIONAL MACHINE GUNS ON THESE VEHICLES. I THINK THIS MAY BE AN EXCEPTION RATHER THAN THE RULE? The actual Motor Machine Gun Carriages have actually 2 and 4 .50 cal AAMG's each, but for game purposes were given a 50% firing bonus to reflect the fact that these weapons had a full gun crew and better ammunition supply, when compared to the average AAMG. 3. WHY IS THERE SUCH A DIVERGENCE IN AMMO PER TON BETWEEN CA AND CD? The ammo per ton listing were refigured by Frank and basically doubled in an attempt to update the information, as well as reduce the number of supply vehicles used by artillery units. Compared to WWII, the basic supply of ammunition for a modern day artillery battery has increased by a factor of 3 to 5 times. 4. ARE ARTILLERY BURST RULES CORRECTLY TESTED? I'M A FO FROM ALL THE WAY BACK IN THE 70's AND IT SEEMED THAT A 8" H0WITZER BATTERY COVERS MORE GROUND THAN A 6 TUBE 81mm PLATOON WHEN FIRING, YET BOTH RAVE A 1" BURST AREA. IN FACT ALL THE BURST AREAS ARE 1". COULD I GET A REVISED LIST SOMEWHERE? The HE burst areas were reduced as Frank thought that his CD factors were on the generous side. It was one change that was thought out, though it does seem strange. The new rule also better demonstrated the value of the ICM rounds and MLRs. 5. IT IS STATED THAT ALL STANDS CHECK MORALE BY GROUP, BUT THE RESULTS SEEM TO IMPLY THAT THEY APPLY TO THE INDIVIDUAL STAND. CAN YOU PLEASE CLARIFY THIS: The morale check is made by the group that is obeying the same order, which usually means the same company or battalion. Stands attached to the group check as part of the group, stands detached from the group either check by themselves or with the command to which they are attacked. EXAMPLE: A veteran German Infantry Company consisting of a Command Stand, 3 Infantry Stands, and an attached Engineer Stand is moving forward. The engineer stand came from the Regimental troops, while the company weapons stand has been left behind to give covering fire. Four hits are taken on the company, which when rolled for end up with two hits on the engineer stand, one on the command stand, and one on an infantry stand. The engineer stand will be forced back due to the hits on It as soon as the hits occur. The group will then check morale. As rewritten the rules state that the morale modifiers are -1 for every other casualty (hit) this turn, and an additional -2 for every stand lost this turn. (As an aside, our local house rule states that we count each stand hit, regardless of how many hits it takes as a -1, unless the stand is eliminated, it which case it counts as an additional -2.) Remember that stands that are forced back due to hits are pinned as well, so that when they check morale they have an additional -1 to the die roll. In the case above, assuming that the German command is veteran, morale 10, the die roll would start as a 10, with a modifier -2 for the hits, counting every other, so the base number is an 8. The Engineer Stand will use the same die roll as the rest of the company, but will be checking for an 7 due to the fact that it was forced back/pinned during the turn. If the engineer stand had a different morale number, it would still use the same die roll as the rest of the unit. Thus it would be possible within a group morale to have different effects, giving one the feeling of checking morale by stands. One important item to remember is that a unit can be FORCED BACK either though fire or morale. The effect is the same, ie run away and be pinned, but the means of getting there are different. Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Newsletter #4 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