A major obstacle to 'realism' on the tabletop. is the wargames omnipresence both over and upon it. Particularly so considering the nature of C20th Infantry combat (platoon - company level). An umpire and I'm talking here of one who knows his stuff, not just Fred who's been walloped by some Late Romans and is simply waiting to go down the pub, is often a luxury. Whilst the usual set of rules at this level comes in volumes and replaces the TACTICAL game with the TECHNICAL one. In Full Metal EDNA you will take a step back from the 'realistic' rules which have you playing every corporal and private in the squad/platoon/company, and instead will place you in your rightful place, back in command. The basic idea of these rules is that as a combat commander on the ground, you should be more concerned with achieving your objective and managing your resources of manpower/firepower to that end, rather than worrying about exactly where PFC Hucklemeyer and the other 30 guys just like him will be moving and shooting next. The E.D.N.A. principle (Ever Decreasing Numerical Allocation) was invented by my good friend and worgoming companion of many years, Graham Hockley. Basically EDNA is a numerical factor which expresses individuals or units willingness to move forward under fire. It's one simple premise is that a solitary enemy with a rifle can do as much damage to this will to engage by shooting the right person, i.e. the platoon sergeant , as can be done by being caught in the open by,a sudden mortar barrage. in game terms, it's the overall effect of fire on your troops that is important, NOT working out whether Corporal Doberman was hit in the buttock by a grenade fragment or sliced in half by 12.7mm machine gun fire. Scenario The historic South Vietnamese city of Hue was quickly overrun by the NVA/VC during the opening days of the 1968 Tet offensive. Three under strength battalions of US Marines were given the job of retaking the city from what was a highly motivated and well entrenched enemy. The layout of the streets fragmented higher efforts and so the fighting was conducted at platoon and squad level. The Individual qualities of junior officers and NCOS were put to the lest as they shouldered the burden of responsibility for the direction of the battle. A recent study on street fighting says this The small scale tactics of urban warfare are substantially different from those employed in the open field. The nature of objective, scale, weaponry and physical environment are not those to which the average soldier is accustomed. Fighting one's way from basement to rooftop is not the same as capturing a hilltop or destroying tanks at 100 meters. In block clearing operations, forces will be required to enter and search every room of every building in the area. This can be both time consuming and casualty producing suppressive fire is required, and in very high volume. The most difficult, and most lethal, operation is crossing a street or other open area, as each street is a ready made kill zone. Suppression of infantry will be a very frequent experience. One can expect a high casualty rote among officers attempting to rally suppressed Infantry units, this in turn will contribute to the emphasis on low-level leadership". This is Full Metal EDNA. Organisation You are the platoon leader in Hotel Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines (Hotel 2/5). Platoon Leader + Radio operator 1 base Platoon Sergeant 1 base 1 M60 MG with 2 crew 1 base Squad: leader 1 base, 3 Riflemen 1 base, M60 w 2 men 1 base Squad: leader 1 base, 3 Riflemen 1 base, M60 w 2 men 1 base Squad: leader 1 base, 3 Riflemen 1 base, M60 w 2 men 1 base Throw 1D6 - For every '2' points soored, one grenade launcher can be assigned to any squad. Throw again - one 2 man Recoilless Rifle team assigned to platoon on a roll of 5 or 6. Throw again - A tank (M48) is in support under platoon orders. The platoon has a pool of 6 rounds of smoke and 2 rounds of CS gas, which may be used by any non M60 or recoilless rifle base. This eases record keeping. To make if harder on yourself, throw a die for each base to assess previous casualties. A roll of 6 will eliminate any officer, NCO, or M60. One rifleman will be declared KIA from a rifle base. Leadership Factors Determine these by rolling 1D6 for each Officer and NCO/Squad leader. Doe Roll Officer Platoon Sgt Squad leader 1 -2 -1 -1 2 -1 No effect No effect 3-5 No effect +1 N effect 6 +1 +2 +1 Leadership Factors express in game terms by a numerical modifier, just how good a leader is through the effect he can directly exert on his men's efforts. These factors can be used when a leader is directing fire, rallying troops, leading a charge or assault etc. A leader can only use his factor if within dose proximity to a base or group of bases under his command (i.e. 6 Inches for 20mm). The chain of command cannot be bucked. A squad leader with a higher Leadership Factor than a senior NCO or officer who is with a group of bases the squad leader is attached to, cannot use his own factors. E.g. An officer with a Leadership Factor of -1 is in a garden with a squad leader (LF +1), a rifle team (base) and a M60 base. All Leadership modifiers will be at -1. Were the officer and squad leader on different sides of the street, or in separate houses, then each would use his Individual LF. This does not apply to the Platoon Sergeant, who was usually a veteran of some experience and could give advice to the officer 'under his care'. See Tom Berenger's character in Platoon or Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge for two powerful if fictional examples. Charlie The enemy was largely unseen except for gun flashes and the odd fleeting movement. We likely that the only 'Gooks' your leathernecks will come across are the dead ones. The Setting Create a street with 6-8 houses on either aide of a road which is 6 Inches wide if using 20mm or ban in 1/200th (10mm) scale. Each house has a walled balk garden with man high walls, and if you like, small front gardens with low walls. Put in the odd alleyway for effect and as Hue was known for it's tree lined vistas, some trees lining the street. This is your platoon's axis of advance, the objective is the large building, possibly a church placed of the crossroads. This is fortified by 'Charile' with an RPD heavy machine gun raking the street. Place three playing cards Including the Ace of Spades here and one playing card in each building, all face down.  The Rules Starting EDNA is 8 for all elements. Each time a test is required, throw 2xd6. If under then fine. If over minus difference and this is new EDNA, i.e. EDNA 8, score '10' this is two over so new EDNA is 6. Every second turn, odd a playing card to each unoccupied building, cleared or otherwise. MOVEMENT Movement is based upon a base's current EDNA, plus any bonuses produced by Leadership Factors and/or covering fire. This is the maximum that an element can move. An EDNA of '0' means the bases are pinned. A tank is 'knocked out'. Movement must be declared before EDNA is thrown for. Covering fire and leadership bonuses must be determined before EDNA is thrown. Infantry following behind the cover of a tank, move at the tank's EDNA. A tank's movement can be increased by infantry element's Leadership Factors. Bases can either move or fire. To enter an uncleared building or back garden, the element must pass a further EDNA test. If a group of bases is attempting to enter a building at once, test on lowest EDNA. Bonuses still apply "Mouse-holing", i.e. to break Into another building from the inside can only be done from a cleared building on a 2d6 throw of '8' or more. +2 Grenade Launcher, +4 Bazooka or Recoilless Rifle. Any attempt to enter an uncleared building either from without or within suffers a -1 for each playing card there. Unless CS is used. COVERING FIRE A rifle base, M60, or support weapon can give covering fire to troops attempting to move or enter a building. Throw 1d6 for every 3 riflemen (not leaders), +1d6 if have Grenade Launcher. Throw 2d6 for every support weapon. Throw 3d6 for every M60 mg or tank. Add Leadership Modifiers. Every '6' soared adds +1 to the movement rate (up to 8) that turn or +1 to EDNA throw if entering a building. THE STREETS Each turn a base ends in a street and is not moving along the house walls, throw 3x2d6 for casualties. Each turn a base ends in a street but is hugging the walls, throw 2x2d6 for casualties. in both oases +2 on EDNA throw. RALLYING At the end of each turn, a leader may attempt to 'rally' himself or any base or group of bases he's in proximity to and obviously able to communicate with. Use common sense. Throw 2d6 +/- Leadership Factor per base. This is the new EDNA (good or bad). A '0' result will permanently decrease the Leadership Factor by an additional -1. A leader may re-organise bases which have received casualties. HOUSE CLEARING To dear a building, any non-leader base, or chosen base if more than one, must roll beneath its current EDNA. If successful, remove one playing card. Only one floor may be cleared per turn. If there are more playing cards than floors, then repeat process until all are removed. CASUALTIES Every time an EDNA throw is required casualties may be sustained. Any double, i.e. '2 & 2' will cause one wounded casualty. If movement in the open is covered by smoke, then any result below 4 is void. Any double '6' will cause one dead casualty. You shouldn't leave wounded in the street or other open areas, but for now recovering and treating casualties is beyond the scope of these rules. Feel free to add your own. THE BODY COUNT Every card you remove is a possible body count. Each picture card (JQK) equals one enemy dead. To knock out entrenched RPD, you must first dear ALL the houses on the street and then bases may test Individually against their present EDNA with modifiers as for covering fire. Tank or Recoilless Rifle may fire at any time. Choose one card from stack, if Ace of Spades then It's knocked out. Once RPD knocked out, no longer apply casualties from The Streets section of these rules. THE COST Play the game to real time, giving yourself say one and a half to two hours to reach your objective. There is no yard stick for determining winners, though taking the objective with low casualties and a high body count will keep 'Battalion' off your back. After all, this is the 'NAM and tomorrow there's another street. SUGGESTIONS If you want to play this down the club, I would suggest doing it as a 'multi-player solo', with an umpire controlling the players who would all be on the same side. Give a platoon each to the players, and as an active umpire, you can throw in the odd local counter-attack to get yourself in on the tabletop action. This element can be fought using standard simple modern combat rules (see back issues of Wargames Illustrated for some very effective ones). To change the scope of the game would be easy and I'm experimenting at the moment with "BERLIN '45 ", where the platoons have been replaced by Soviet battalions and individual houses changed to city blocks. Back to The Gauntlet No. 1 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com