This Article reprinted with permission of On All Fronts.
Are you tired of having your cardboard pieces kicked around and off the old SQUAD LEADER (SL) boards? if so, I just might be able to help you out. What follows is a discussion of some basic tactics and strategies that could help you be the player doing the kicking.
First, we'll start with three broad categories: strategy & tactics, knowing the rules, and knowing the victory conditions. At this point, you are probably wondering why include anything about the last two. For the simple reason that many times, I've seen key attacks fail because of the misapplication of rules.
For example, failing to require the mandatory Morale Check (MC) for firing a Panzerfaust (PF) in a building. I've also seen attacks that should have failed succeed for the same reasonthat's what those red Movement Factors (MF) are for.
The same applies to victory conditions. Recently, I was in a tournament getting my cardboard pieces kicked around only to be the winner at the end. Why? Because my opponent had not fully understood the victory conditions. He was very surprised to learn that he had lost.
The best way to explain the basics is to give you some examples. So set up Scenario #I and grab a pair of dice while you're at it. The topics we are going to discuss are: Victory conditions, which will determine your strategy; lines of fire, fire & movement, and supporting fields of fire which are the tactics you will be using.
Now on to Scenario # 1. Look at the victory conditions. See anything unusual? The Russian player has to take two buildings away from the German player. Seems straightforward. But wait a minute, it also says that if the Germans take a Russian-held building then the Russians victory conditions increase by two more buildings for a total of four.
Now the German player has strategy. He must deny or delay the first condition while trying to take a building himself. Count how many stone buildings there are and subtract four. This leaves five. For the German player, this means occupying one Russian-held building can deny the Russian player victory. Interesting? Remember, eventhing in a scenario is put there for a purpose.
During the course of playtesting, units, special rules, or victory conditions have been added or deleted for the purpose of play balance. Careful reading can help you decipher the logic behind a scenario and in turn help you to formulate a sound strategy for winning.
Implementation
Once you've decided on a strategy, its time to implement it. Let's look at the tactical considerations that evolve. Setting up first is a disadvantage because it gives your opponent the chance to exploit the weak spots in your setup. An error can be costly especially if your opponent gets to move first. The restrictions on setting up Scenario #1 blunt this effect mercifully since it is the beginning scenario. Let's set up the scenario like this:
Germans: Building (Bldg) 175; 9-1 Leader counter, 4-6-7 unit counter in hex F6; 4-6-7 unit counter and light machine gun counter (lmg) in hex F5; 4-6-7 unit counter and light machine gun counter (Img) in hex G6; (buildings K5,17 are in reserve.) Bldg K4; 4-6-7 unit counter with Img in J4; 8-0, 4-6-7 in hex J5; 4-6-7 in hex K5; Bldg M7; 8-1, 4-6- 5 with MMG in hex L6; 4-6-7 with lmg in hex M7; 4-6-7 in hex L7.
Russians: Bldg F3; three 6-2-8 squads in each hex; 10-2 leader counter in hex F3; Bldg N4, 4-4-7 (two units) in hex N5, 4-4-7 (two units) in hex M5; 8-0 leader counter in hex N4.
With this setup the Germans have three important lines of fire. L6 to L1, and I7 to 12 segments the Russian force into three groups and prevents reinforcement from one to another. Fire from J4 and J5 make crossing the street from Bldg F3 very risky.
Let's take a look at the effects of this set-up on fire and movement. The principle here is to reduce your opponents combat ability through fire to such a point that you can move without sustaining unreasonable losses.
For example, the Russians in Bldg F3 have to contend with F5, G6, and J4. The combat ability of G6 and F5 have to be dealt with first because of their increased firepower. They will be adjacent when you move, giving them double firepower. Here are where the dice come in.
To see how effective each different type of attack will be, roll your dice to simulate an attack and check the results. For example, is E4 strong enough to take out F5, or do you want to combine with F3? Okay, E4 vs F5-roll your dice. I got 9 with a + 3 modifier, (inside a stone building) yielding a no effect on the infantry fire table. if you roll your dice ten times, you will have a rough percentage of success and failure. Heres what I got: 5, 4, 9, 7, 6, 5, 8, 3, 8, and 9.
On the 16 firepower (FP) column which is the total firepower of the units firing with a + 3 dice roll modifier (DRM) due to the stone buildings, they resulted in six Morale Checks out of ten for 60%. Out of these six, three resulted in a "morale break" meaning those troops can't move or fire. Adding all the dice rolls together and dividing by ten gives us an average of 6.4. A good chance, but supporting fire would make it better. By using this method with different combinations you will soon have an idea of your chances for success.
Lets apply the analysis to another situation. If the German player decided to take Bldg N4, he would find that supporting fire would be a necessity The heavy machine gun (HMG) and leader at hex M9 should move up to hex M7 where it can fire on both N5 and M5, The light machine gun in hex I7 would join in to fire against M5. The leaders would have to stay with the support weapons to lend their modifiers in order to decrease the formidable + 3 DRM for stone buildings.
Once entrance has been gained, move the HMG to M5 to assist in taking the building and to free the MG at L6 for fire on F5, which is where the Russians ought to be by now. You will also now have control of the always important stairway hex (the white square).
one last note. Looking at the victon, conditions, I hope you understood the significance of the part pertaining to "completely occupy." Yes, a desperate end run by the German player in the last turn can have a squad or leader in a building to nullify the Russian victory conditions-if they survive!
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© Copyright 1999 by Dana Lombardy.
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