by David Raybin
The Game SequenceFortune of War The Game Master will say if there are any special events this turn Determine Winds The players determine the wind direction. Roll one dice. On anything but a 6 the wind stays as it was last turn. If a six is rolled then roll an additional dice. A 1 and the wind blows from the French left. A 2 and the wind blows from the French Right. A 3 or 4 and it blows from the French rear. A 5 and it blows from the French front. A 6 and the wind changes. Move the Poison Gas Clouds and Smoke Poison Gas and Smoke Clouds are moved 12" according to prevailing winds. Everybody under the Poison Gas clouds when they come to rest is pinned this turn and stays put. Troops will not move into the poison gas cloud. Troops may fire in or out of the gas or smoke cloud but only at a range of 4". French PhaseBombardment Phase First the French player determines if he will be allowed any off board bombardment. Roll one dice. A 1 , 2, 3 or 4 is NO bombardment. A 5 or 6 is a bombardment and allows that many shells. These are cotton balls thrown from behind the board WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED ! Where they land dictates enemy ( or friendly!) casualties. Then the French player is allowed to fire "on board" bombardment. The French roll 1 die for each artillery piece the board. Each pip is a shell. Small cotton balls are issued depending on the number rolled for each gun. Players toss the cotton balls from behind the gun. Alternatively on board artillery may fire armor piercing shells at a range of 24 inches as direct fire. A 6 is a hit and a kill on any target. If on board artillery uses direct fire it is not considered a covered target. French Move and Fire and German machine gun opportunity fire The French infantry move and Fire. Each Regiment gets 2 dice, which dictates moving distance this turn in inches. Each soldier can move and fire but firing ends that soldier's movement. Machine guns and mortars can either move or fire. Tanks move three dice and fire once but do not have to stop after they fire. Once you remove your hand from any piece that is it for that piece. While the French player is moving the German Player can fire his machine guns three times each. German Return Fire After the French player has moved the German player then gets to fire at the French with all weapons including machine guns. Combat Any soldier in contact with an enemy fights hand to hand until one or the other is killed. Morale After hand to hand combat the French determine morale. Any French unit which is under 50% casualties rolls for morale. A 1, or 2 indicates the unit breaks if the unit is attacking. A 1 breaks the unit if defending. If the HQ unit is 12" away from the regimental leader then 1 is added to the dice. French reinforcements IF any French regiment has captured a LARGE shell hole that Regiment can roll one die for reinforcements who appear next to the leader figure. Capturing a Bunker allows two dice worth of reinforcements and entering an enemy trench for the first time allows three dice worth of reinforcements. If two French regiments are eligible for reinforcements the French player can ALSO roll for machine gun, mortar or artillery or tank Reinforcements, A 1 or 2 is a new machine gun, a 3 is a mortar, a 4 is a new artillery piece, a 5 is Whippet (4 MG ), and a 6 is French St. Chamond ( 1x75mm, 4 MG. ) Reinforcements only come from the dead pile and cannot be accumulated. German Phase After the French receive reinforcements the Germans have a go. German PhaseGerman New Units First the German gets to bring up new units. Unlike the French who get reinforcements from the dead pile, the Germans start the game with all the troops they will ever have ( other than Fortune of War ) but many are not yet on the board. Roll 1 die. A five or six allows for a new unit. Roll another die: A 1 is 10 soldiers. A 2 is a machine gun. A 3 is a mortar. A 4 is a field gun. A 5 is 3 elite soldiers. A 6 is a special. Roll another dice: a 1 is a leader, a 2 is the German tank, a 3 is the Airplane, and a 4, 5 or 6 allows for another immediate roll for new units. German Bombardment The Germans have off Board bombardment only on a Roll of 6, which allows 6 shells. Then the Germans may fire any on board artillery. German Move and French Machinegun fire The Germans throw two dice. This dictates the number of inches their regular troops may move this turn. A roll of three dice dictates the length of move for the German Elite troops and tanks. The Germans move and fire like the French. French machine guns get their three shots of opportunity fire. French Fire The French then get to fire all their weapons. Combat Any hand to hand combat is resolved. German morale If there are 5 or less Germans in a Trench line they surrender and the line belongs to the French. END OF TURN (Game Ends When French Take all 3 Trenches.) SPECIFIC ACTIONSFire (Hot Steel) A man may fire 8" . He hits with a 5 or 6 for a target in the open and with a 6 for units in cover. A machine gun may fire 12."Trench mortars are indirect fire weapons and can fire from 2" to 12." They hit on a 5 or 6 in or out of cover. Tanks (you are welcome) Tanks move independently with 3 dice. If a singe 1 is thrown the tank cannot fire that turn. If two 1's are thrown the tank as suffered a mechanical problem, the third die indicating the number of turns the tank is out of action. Three 1's and the tank has suffered a fatal mechanical problem. Firing does not stop the tank from moving but it can only fire each weapon once per movement phase. Tanks can only be killed by armor piercing artillery. Denominate the artillery shells for that purpose. If it misses the tank it has no other effect. Guns on Tanks are direct fire weapons. It can fire High Explosive or armor piercing rounds. High explosive is a cotton ball thrown from the hand suspended directly over the tank. Armor piercing is a range of 24 inches. A 6 is a hit and a kill on any target. Tanks can cross wire at will. Tanks can cross a trench only straight on and not at an angle. The tank will be successful in crossing with a roll of 13 or better. A fascine will enable an automatic cross once the fascine is placed. Saving Rolls (Lucky Duck) Elite men save on a 4, 5 or 6 when suffering any adverse reaction. German elite throw three dice for movement. Elite troops fight hand to hand +1 on die roll Barbed Wire (Ouch) A man cannot move through barbed wire, it must be cut. A man can cut wire on a roll of 6, two men on a roll of 5 or 6 and so forth until you get to 6 men in which case the wire is automatically cut. Wire cutting men can only do so in their turn which is their entire activity that phase. In other words you can move up to the wire but you must wait until next turn to cut it. The German Airplane (Red Baron) Whenever the German airplane appears for a staffing run, place a tape across the battlefield at any angle the German player desires. Every Frenchman crossed by the tape is killed on a roll of 4,5 or 6. A roll of 1 assumes the Frenchman manages a return shot, which strikes the German plane. A return shot of 1 or 2 is a bullet through the wing, no effect. A 2 or 3 is a bullet in the vitals of the plane, the German breaks off the attack but can return on later turns. A 5 or 6 is a bullet in the vitals of the German, the plane crashes and cannot return. The German Tank (Sausage on Wheels) When the German brings on the tank (German A7V 1x57mm, 4 MG ) it will operate as a French tank does except it can cross a trench at will. Hand to hand combat. Any enemy units in contact with each other fight hand to hand. Each player throws a dice. High die wins. Add +1 for each man beyond an even fight. Poison Gas (Yuck) Instead of high explosive a player may chose to fire poison gas with his off board artillery. If so the player commits to a gas attack and loads his pieces. He throws the gas shells. Everybody hit throws a dice. A 6 kills. As noted the gas will linger and will pin units until it blows off the board. Smoke (Gets in Your Eyes) Smoke is the same as poison gas but only effect is that it stops firing at more than 6". Leaders (Take me to your…..) Leader stands dictate the center of mass of the unit and form a point where reinforcements arrive. Units belonging to the regiment must be within 12 inches of the leader to move. If outside this zone they may not move but may fire. Bunker (Archie) These are strong points. The unit inside saves on a 6 from ANY prospective casualty taken with the exception of hand grenades which is a save on a 5 or 6. To throw a hand grenade the soldier must be within 3 inches and is considered NOT in cover. Posthumous medals are plentiful Back to Dispatch February 2004 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com |