As if you haven't had enough, here's another batch of optional rules. All are for Balkan Front. I recommend the airborne capture and 2-RE divisions rules, and I often use the bomber as transports and the Italian alpine breakdown rules. The others are quite minor, and I find the river flotilla rule to be a lot of bark for little bite.

Airborne Capture

An airborne unit may attempt to seize one enemy-owned objective when it air drops. The objectives are: a bridge, an airbase, a minor port. The airborne unit must drop in the hex of the objective (for airbases and minor ports) or in a hex adjacent to the hexside of the objective (for bridges only). The unit must land undisrupted in order seize the objective. The dropping player rolls one die and consults the success table. If the attempt fails, the other player retains possession of the objective. Note: If several airborne units drop on an objective, each may attempt to capture it.

2-RE Divisions

Having all divisional units at 3 REs simplifies the rules and speeds play, at the cost of some accuracy. (In particular, two-regiment Italian divisions operate under a penalty. Being weaker than other divisions due in part to their smaller size, they realize no benefit at all for size when counted at 3 REs.)

All divisional units are 3 REs in size except for the following, which are 2 REs in size:

German: light infantry, 6-10 motorized, mountain, static.
Italian: all except cavalry divisions.
Hungarian: all.

Notes:

Even this rule is simplified for playability, but the remaining exceptions add great complications for little play value. If you're interested, here goes:

The German cavalry division has four regiments. However, its regiments are smaller than most, so everything more or less works out OK. If you really want to, count it as a 4-RE division. One German mountain division, the 73rd, is a three-regiment infantry division retrained and reequipped as a mountain division. I do not recommend tracking one German mountain division at 3 REs and the others at 2 REs. The reserve mountain division is 3 REs.

Yugoslav infantry divisions typically took their depot regiments (used for training and replacements) into the field. While this makes them larger than 3 REs, 4 REs seems too much (the depot regiment is small), and I'm not interested at all in introducing a 3 1/2 RE size! Roger Clewley, who helped greatly with the Yugoslav OB, does think these divisions should be counted at 4 REs. So, if you disagree with me and play them at 4 REs, you're in good company. One of the three Yugoslav cavalry divisions, the 3rd, has only two regiments.

Italian cavalry divisions at this time were organized around four regiments: three cavalry and one bersaglieri. Count them at 4 REs if you really want to, but note that the cavalry regiments are small, so that 3 REs for the division isn't really inaccurate.

Greek divisions typically had three regiments. Occasionally they had two regiments (the Greeks swapped around regiments inside divisions fairly frequently), but trying to track this is a big waste of time. Another waste of time is tracking the Bulgarian division or two with four regiments. As for special two-regiment brigades, I think it's time to close this discussion!

Italian Alpine Breakdowns

Italian divisions have no breakdown counters in the game. In general, this correctly portrays most operations of the Italian Army. The alpine divisions, however, are an exception. Manned with excellent troops, these divisions were trained and organized to operate as independent regiments (and battalions) as the occasion demanded. Also, they could be flown by transports fairly easily. (Most of 2nd Tridentina was actually flown into Albania from Italy, bypassing the slower ships and congested ports). Alas, Counter Sheet 21A lacked the room for breakdowns for these divisions. If you're willing to make your own counters, add the following:

No.	Front	Back	IDs
2	8 Alp XX HQ	-	A, B
1	3-8* Alpine III	3-8 Alpine III	A
4	2-8* Alpine III	2-8 Alpine III	A, A, B, B

The alpine divisions break down as follows:

5-8 Alpine XX
1x 8 Alpine XX HQ
1x 3-8 Alpine III
1x 2-8 Alpine III
4-8 Alpine XX
1x 8 Alpine XX HQ
2x 2-8 Alpine III

[See page 7, bottom of left column, for icons.]

Bombers as Transports

The following type B air units may be used as transport air units, at the owning player's option:

Axis: BR.20M, He 111H, SM.79-1, SM.81, Z.1007b
Allied: SM.79-1, Well 1C

When used as a transport, such an air unit can carry cargo, at the same capacity as a type T air unit. When used as a transport, the air unit has its air attack and air defense strengths each reduced by 2 (but never below 1).

Troop Restrictions

Border units and the reserve mountain division may not voluntarily move more than two hexes from any hex in their home country. If forced to retreat beyond this area, such a unit may not attack until it is within two hexes of any hex of its home country. (There are Bulgarian, German, Greek, and Yugoslav border units; the reserve mountain division is German.)

Capturing Fortified Hexsides

When an enemy unit captures a hex containing a fortified hexside symbol, the fortified hexsides in the hex are not immediately destroyed. Instead, they are destroyed in the capturing player's next initial phase. While captured, fortification hexsides have no effect on combat. (It is assumed that small detachments of troops are holding out in isolated pillboxes and other strong points and must be rooted out-all this goes on below the level of representation in the game.) Note that the original owner usually gets one player turn in which he can recapture the fortified hexsides before they are destroyed.

Example: The Axis player captures two hexes of the Metaxas Line in his regular player turn of Apr I 41. An Allied counterattack recaptures one of the hexes in the following Allied player turn. In the Axis player turn of Apr II 41, the fortified hexsides in the Axisowned Metaxas Line hex are destroyed, while the other hex is no longer Axis- owned and the fortified hexsides are not destroyed. Note that this rule applies to fortified hexsides, but not to forts.

Mount Athos

Mount Athos is an autonomous region of Greece containing twenty monasteries; it is a famed religious center. The presence of troops at Mt. Athos would bring disapproval and protests throughout Europe and the Americas. Accordingly, treat Mt. Athos (hex 14A:4907) as neutral. (The autonomous region was actually larger than this one hex, but there's little need to make things more complicated here.)

Floatplanes

The Italian Z.50613 air unit is a float plane, as indicated by the code F between its bombing and range ratings. The floatplane cannot use regular airbases and never counts against their capacity. Instead, it uses friendly-owned ports as floatplane airbases. The floatplane capacity of a port is the same as the port's naval capacity. For example, a minor port has a floatplane capacity of 2. The port bombing and port demolition affect the floatplane capacity as well as the port capacity. In addition, a port bombing hit on a port affects floatplanes there, just as an airbase bombing hit affects air units at an airbase.

River Flotillas

The Hungarian and Yugoslav river flotillas are for use in Grand Europa, as adding them to Balkan Front adds many rules for two counters that will rarely see action. Still, far be from me to prevent you from using more rules if you want to. Use Scorched Earth Rule 28E, River Flotillas, with the following modifications:

For "Soviet," read owning player. For example, the owning player moves his river flotillas in his movement phase.

One hit, not two, sinks each of these river flotillas. (These have fewer and older ships than the Soviet ones.)

A river flotilla controls one river hexside of the hex it occupies. Use the top of the counter to point to the controlled hexside. As a river flotilla moves, trace the path of river hexsides along which it moves. A river flotilla cannot enter a river hexside controlled by an enemy river flotilla.

A river flotilla is treated as a 1-RE field artillery unit with a combat strength of 1, not 2. It has an intrinsic light AA strength of 1.

A river flotilla may carry 2 REs of cargo. See Scorched Earth Rule 28A3 and 28C for river ports and how naval units carry cargo. Warning: This system may not mesh well with the existing Balkan Front naval transport rules. Use at your own risk of perplexity.

The Hungarian river flotilla is part of the Hungarian 3rd Army. Place it in any river port in Hungary adjacent to the Danube River when deploying the 3rd Army.

The Yugoslav river flotilla is a mobilization reinforcement for Serbia. When mobilized, it appears in any river port in Serbia adjacent to the Danube River.

EXPERIMENTAL RULE

The following rule is experimental--which means it's both optional and poorly tested. I've played with versions of it off and on for years, but I've never been able to decide if it works well or if it adds enough to the game to be worth it. Well, I'm now letting it see the light of day. If you find it of interest, try it out, and drop a line to EXchange on how it works.

Dedicated Missions

Pilots of many nations pressed home critical missions in the face of stiff AA fire. To show this, a phasing player can declare some or all air units flying bombing and transport missions to be flying dedicated missions, before AA fire against them is resolved. AA fire and mission resolution results are modified as follows:

An R result becomes an A result. Dedicated air units complete their missions before being affected by the result, as follows:

• An air unit on a bombing mission has its bombing strength halved.
• An air unit on a regular transport mission lands its cargo.
• An air unit on an air drop mission drops its cargo, which receives a -1 to its disruption roll.
• An A result becomes a K result. Dedicated air units complete their missions before being affected by the result, as follows:
• An air unit on a bombing mission has its bombing strength halved.
• An air unit on a regular transport mission lands its cargo.
• An air unit on an air drop mission drops its cargo, which receives a -3 to its disruption roll.

For Balkan Front, German, British and Greek air units may fly dedicated bombing missions, and German air units may fly dedicated transport missions. No other air units may fly dedicated missions.

For Scorched Earth, German, Finnish, and Soviet Guard air units may fly dedicated bombing missions, and German air units may fly dedicated transport missions. No other air units may fly dedicated missions.

For Second Front, German, American, British, and French air units may fly dedicated bombing missions. No other air units may fly dedicated missions.

See you next ish.

Coming in future Issues

Due to the fact that SUPERMARINA ran longer than originally projected, several articles planned for this issue were pushed back to Europa #18. These include Jean-Guy Rathd's "Tunisian Thunder" and Graham Stephens' "Up Front with Task Force Johnson."

Other upcoming articles will cover Italian alpine divisions, play reports from several games of Scorched Earth, detailed Grand Europa information on the naval units represented in Balkan Front, a thorough analysis of the BF Plan Y scenario, and our other usual columns, including the return of "Computer Europa" and "From the Editor."