Many people are asking the burning question: "Should I use the new Balkan Front rules and charts in games of Scorched Earth or Western Desert?" followed by, "What about my German air unit counters from the other games? Should I alter them?"
At this point in time Balkan Front rules are official only for Balkan Front and to attempt to integrate them into other games of the series is fraught with uncertainties. For example, consider the new administrative movement rule, which allows a unit to pay only half the normal MP cost to move through any terrain except into mountain hexes, or across mountain and major river hexsides, so long as the other requirements for admin. movement are met. Is this rule applicable to the East Front or desert?
Based on all that I know, the answer is "No!"
John Astell says in his discussions of this rule change in the Second Front playtest that the relaxation of this rule applies only to that portion of continental Europe west of the Axis-Soviet Demarcation Line.
There is also the play balance issue to consider. Applying partial AEC and an overall weather modifier to combat rolls in Scorched Earth sounds like fun, and it is good to experiment with the impact these rules may have on the play of that game. But let's face it. Their effect on the outcome of a full-length game of SE is a real question mark.
Furthermore, no one except maybe John Astell knows how these rules will interact with the other existing rules for the East Front, such as winterization.
So, in general, until John Astell says that any Balkan Front rule is official for the whole series, I would recommend that you consider them all optional. This applies to the use of the new CRT and other charts as well.
As for re-rating German air units, if you are willing to invest the time, by all means go ahead and get out the liquid paper. These new ratings are official and presumably final. -RG
Scorched Earth
Yes. I think this falls into the same category as moving an RP by operational rail and then using it for a ground combat. Given that we are dealing with a two week turn, this is okay.
Flying extended range air-naval interaction is okay. This is just a variation of the naval unit bombing mission (20F2h). Fighter units are exceptions- these are prohibited from flying extended range bombing missions. So an Me110E, for example, couldn't fly this mission at extended range.
Rule 38E states "When flying to a search hex, the air unit has its movement ALLOWANCE reduced by 4 MPs. " In the case of an extended range bombing mission this reduction of 4 MPs would be applied against a modified movement allowance equal to twice the unit's printed movement RATING. So, for example, an He 111H (Movement rating = 22) could fly to a search hex up to 40 hexes away.
The question revolves around the wording on page 33, first sentence; "...deployed stacked with any other units IN the MD or..." (Rule 36)
Here's how it works. First of all, the "non-divisional units" referred to in Rule 36 are ONLY those units appearing under the "Nondivisional Units" heading in each MD listing on the OB. It does not refer to all units in that MD listing which are less than a division in size. So a cadre listed in the Kiev MD could deploy in the same manner as a division. Likewise, border regiments, para units, etc.
The next point to clarify is that "army areas" take precedence over the geographical configurations of the MDs when deploying. For example, units in the Leningrad MD are not restricted to setting up only in the Leningrad MD, but rather are deployed as defined by their army area frontage. Thus units of the 14th Army can deploy in the Arkhangelsk MD as dictated by their army area; in fact, they MUST do so.
Similarly, units of the 11th Army in the Baltic MD can deploy in hex 1B.3219 even though this hex lies in the Western MD.
The proper interpretation for the deployment of "non-divisional units" (ie. those units listed under the heading, "Non-divisional Units" in each MD as given in the OB) is as follows.
These units are deployed stacked with any other units OF the MD - that is, any other unit listed above them in that MD's OB listing. OR they may deploy in any city or fortress IN the MD. This latter alternative is geographical. So, the "non-divisional units" listed in the Leningrad MD section of the OB can be deployed with units of the 14th, 7th or 23rd Armies, or in any city or fortress in the Leningrad MD. They can not, however, be deployed in Belomorsk, as this is a city of the Arkhangelsk MD and is too far from the border to contain any other units of the Leningrad MD. Note they may deploy in Murmansk, but only if a unit from the 14th Army is also deployed in the Murmansk hex.
Looking at other examples further south, "non-divisional units" of the Baltic MD can be deployed with other units of the I ith Army in 1B:3219, and "non-divisional units" of the Odessa MD may deploy with other units of the 9th Army in hex 3B:1419.
One last point on deployments:
The deployment of reserve units which are listed in the MD listings, such as those of the Leningrad MD, also deserve some comment.
The OB states that up to 7 REs of these may be deployed within 10 hexes of Leningrad. There are no geographical MD restrictions on this deployment. For example, Narva is eligible for placement of some of the 7 REs, and so is Viipuri, even though these two cities are in the Baltic and Arkhangelsk MDs respectively. Also note that "non- divisional units" can be deployed with these units. Thus one could have Leningrad MD "non-divisional units" located in the Baltic, Arkhangelsk, and Leningrad MDs after deployment.
Around here we believe the answer is no, yet it seems funny that the deployment mechanics would intentionally make certain that 1B:3321 is the only hex on the border the Soviets cannot back up.
"Five hexes from the border" is counted such that the hex adjacent to the border hexside in any army area is "one hex away from the border." Thus there is no way that the Soviets can place any units in 1B:3420. It is somewhat strange that this one hex OB:3321) can not be backed up, but that is the way it is.
The Urals errata are still being pulled together by yours truly, but I can tell you that the ports of Belomorsk and Onega DO continue to freeze during the winter. The line "and/or south of hexrow 1700" was inadvertently dropped from the rewrite of Rule 29D3 and should be added back.
No, RPs may only be carried overland by other ground units.
Technically, no. By the "Rules as Written" the only way to get the Guards Motorized Divisions into play is to convert one of the specified units. Since all these units are fragile, none can be replaced. So, if none of these units are in play, the conversion can never occur. Experienced players would rarely, if ever, allow this to happen - they keep the proper units in reserve awaiting the conversion out of harm's way.
In a friendly game, however, I would suggest this: Allow the conversion to occur "in the replacement pool" (theoretically by converting a dead Lt Tank Cadre). Armor RPs must be paid "in full" to "buy" the resulting Guards Motorized Division from the pool. Thus the Soviets get the unit, but at a cost of 5 armor RPs.
See Rule 10C3. As the rule states, if the attacking force is capable of 112 or more AECA (such as against clear terrain in clear weather), then ATEC is used.
No, except for a harsh winter rolled on Dec I 41, of course.
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