Scenario Decide where the enemy line of resistance is going to be. Now take one picture card (J/Q/K), from a pack of ordinary playing cards'. Shuffle the remaining deck and draw the first five cards face down. Add the picture card, shuffle and then place face down on the table in suitable defensive positions. i.e. buildings, edge of copse, crest of hills etc. These represent possible enemy positions. No more than two cards may be laid in one place (within four inches of each other). You ought to know where there will be at least one enemy position, but the uncertainty of the location of others should encourage a bit more thought being put into the tactics. You may find the following markers useful for Take The High Ground ! Prone / Wounded figure - "Hit The Dirt" Wounded or dead figure, face down - "Pinned" Two wounded figures - "Gone to Ground" Charging / advancing figure - "Pressing On" Maxim HMG model - "Silenced MG" Pair 5mm Dice (Irregular Miniatures) - "GUTS" RESULT SCORE Success EQUAL to or LESS than GUTS Critical Success Any double (i.e. 1, 1 ; 2, 2 ; 3, 3) that is EQUAL to or LESS than current GUTS Failure A score GREATER than GUTS Critical Failure Any double (i.e. 4, 4 ; 5, 5 ; 6, 6) that is GREATER than current GUTS In its basic form GUTS attempts to combine several influences upon men in combat - morale (discipline & confidence), training, leadership, ground, resistance etc., into a single numerical value, creating what S.L.A. Marshall termed the "reservoir of combat energy". A high GUTS value indicates a confident, experienced or aggressive unit, a low score similarly a poorly motivated, inexperienced or exhausted one. In most instances, whenever an element attempts to carry out movement or firing in the game, it must make a dice roll against the current GUTS rating. A successful result allows the unit to move under fire, bring accurate fire to bear on an enemy position, rally etc, whilst failure prevents the action from taking place due to such circumstances as a lack of confidence, poor leadership or the result of effective enemy fire ; this in turn might lead to a further drain on 'combat energy', being pinned down and even casualties. Eventually, GUTS will fail once too often as men are pushed beyond their physical and psychological endurance and they must be withdrawn from play. GUTS must be assigned to each leader, rifle, BAR & heavy weapons team. Typically these might be : US Marines - GUTS 8 ; Leaders & weapon teams 9 (use 2xAvD) US Infantry - GUTS 7 (use 2xD6) The Communist MG teams / bunkers will also have a GUTS which represents their resilience, basically the ability to stick it out when things get dicey. Say a GUTS of 8. Throw 2 dice to make a check against GUTS and consult the table below : Once a team`s GUTS has been reduced to three - '3' - it must begin to withdraw. If it reaches '0' then it is removed from play as the element will take no further effective part in theis battle. Roll the dice for each individual leader such as the platoon commander, squad NCO etc, and for each rifle, BAR or heavy weapons team and check against GUTS. If : Critical Success then move a distance equal to current GUTS (cm`s for 15mm & inches for 20mm figures) Success then move a distance equal to die score Failure "Hit the Dirt" Critical Failure "Hit the Dirt" & lose one 'casualty'. This casualty represents men becoming separated and taking cover, falling back on their own cognizance, stepping on mines etc. UNDER FIRE As soon as an infantry team moves within 24" of the centre front edge of a playing card, turn that card over. If it is a picture card (J/Q/K), then replace it with a HMG team (with a couple of CCF tommy gunners for effect if you wish) or bunker. The heavy machine gun has a cone of fire which at 24" is 5" wide (I suggest producing a couple of cones from clear acetate showing range bands as useful gaming aids). The HMG has three ranges; - Close to 8" - Effective to 16" - Long to 24" The LMG has threee ranges; - Close to 6" - Effective to 12" - Long to 18" The MG Cone must always be brought to bear on the nearest moving target (bringing into the cone as many elements as possible at the same time), unless that is, the MG is under fire from one of your BAR`s. In this instance, it must engage and return the fire of that BAR. e.g. The MG may force an infantry team to take cover on it's left in one turn, switching it's fire to a closing infantry team on the right in the next bound. A Bar team brings the HMG under fire and 'pins' the cone in place. Moving Under Fire Any movement that takes place within an MG Cone or that takes a BAR or rifle team into the cone, is treated as 'Moving Under Fire'. Critical Success Troops move a distance equal to the die roll Success Troops "Hit the Dirt" Failure Troops "Go To Ground" Critical Failure Troops "Go To Ground" A score of 5,5 or 6,6 = 1 casualty. "Hit The Dirt" Use a lying figure or casualty figure placed next to the team to represent troops who have been forced to "Hit the Dirt". Once on the ground they may open fire on the enemy as long as they are in range. If the player wishes to 'Press On' the attack and ignore a "Hit the Dirt" result, a dice throw must be made against the current GUTS. A Critical Success and they will ignore the "Hit the Dirt" result with no penalty. If a Success they "Hit the Dirt". On a Failure they "Go To Ground" and on a Critical Failure, lose a further casualty and become "Pinned". Modifiers to base score: -2 Pltn Leader with team -1 Squad Leader -2 Covering fire from BAR +1 within MG Effective range +2 within HMG Close range band Each turn troops are halted within an MG Cone by "Hit the Dirt", "Gone to Ground" or "Pinned", they must test their GUTS for the result of enemy fire. Critical Success Troops who have Gone To Ground revert to Hit the Dirt. Success No result Failure "Hit the Dirt" becomes "Gone to Ground" "Gone to Ground" becomes "Pinned". "Pinned" as below Critical Failure - 1 GUTS and if the score is 6,6 an additional casualty is inflicted. Only troops who have "Hit the dirt" may attempt to leave cover and move next turn. Troops who have "Gone to Ground" (use two wounded figures) are making the best use of cover available and may not engage the enemy or give covering fire. They may attempt to move by making a successful GUTS roll, modified as below : -2 Pltn.Leader with team -1 Squad Leader with team -3 outside MG Cone Should troops fail this GUTS throw to leave cover, they will lose one GUTS point and be considered 'Pinned' if still within an MG Cone, unable to return fire and must be rallied by a Leader before they can make any further aggressive action. Troops outside a cone lose one GUTS only. Leadership Leadership modifiers do not have to be applied, but when they are, any casualty result refers to the leader, who is making himself conspicuous. Leadership modifiers cannot be applied by a leader who is "Pinned" or "Gone to Ground". At the start of the next turn following the loss of a Pltn Leader, make a GUTS check on the nearest infantry element to the leader casualty. If it is a Critical Success then a natural leader emerges. Natural leaders can perform the same functions as the Pltn Leaders but without modifiers. This is a one-off test. If the result is a Failure, reduce the elements GUTS by one. If Critical Failure, reduce by two. Rallying Rallying can only be conducted by an officer, the platoon sergeant or squad leader being physically present with the team being rallied. Leaders may self rally. To rally, the leader must throw beneath his own current GUTS with a modifier of -1. This rallies troops from "Pinned" & "Gone to Ground" to "Hit the Dirt" status. Covering Fire A BAR has a Close range of 6' and an Effective range to 12'. A rifle team has a Close range of 5' and an Effective range to 9' Either type of infantry team may provide 'covering fire' to other infantry teams moving within the MG Cone of a heavy machine gun, but not both together in the same turn. For BAR`s, make a GUTS roll : Critical Success Add the die score to the current GUTS of the moving troops to determine movement rate. Success Move at GUTS Failure No covering fire, BAR team loses 1 GUTS Critical Failure No covering fire, BAR team loses 1 GUTS & one casualty Modifiers: -1 If Pltn Ldr (not Squad Leader) with a covering BAR directing fire, -1 per covering BAR, -1 If at least one BAR at Close range. For rifles also check GUTs - as above but treat Critical Success as Success only with the following modifier : -1 if Leader with riflemen Silencing a Machine gun An MG can be silenced by either direct fire from a BAR team, a Bazooka / Recoilless Rifle or by grenade (within 3'). A BAR team may attempt to silence an enemy position. Roll against GUTS Critical Failure "Pinned" exposing themselves to fire, lose 1 casualty If Close Range also - 1 GUTS Failure "Gone to Ground", remove 1 GUTS Success Silenced Remove MG Cone. Critical Success Silenced. Remove MG Cone. Gooks - 1 GUTS, - 2 if Close Range Modifiers : - 1 Not under Fire - 2 Close Range - 1 Leader present Both Bazooka & Recoilless Rifle have a range of 18 inches/cms. Roll against GUTS : Critical Failure Team killed exposing themselves to fire Failure Heavy fire ! "Gone to Ground", remove 1 GUTS Success Remove 1 GUTS from HMG Critical Success Silenced. Remove MG Cone. If a HMG is 'silenced', remove the MG Cone & place a marker such as a 'casualty' figure on the machine-gun position to denote it`s status. Silencing an MG with a grenade takes place from cover at or within 3'. Roll against GUTS: Critical Failure Grenade thrower killed as he exposes himself Failure No result Success Silenced. Remove MG Cone. Critical Success Anguished cries. It`s K-O`d and silenced for good! A rifle team may now immediately follow up the grenade with a bayonet attack by testing to leave cover with an additional -2 modifier. ANY movement within the close range band of a HMG 'silenced' by a successful GUTS roll, may cause it to open fire again. The crew have just been lying doggo waiting for an opportunity to catch you in the open. Roll for the HMG under it`s current GUTS to do so. "ATTACK!" An infantry team which has the possibility to physically reach a HMG with an unmodified GUTS, can choose to make a close assault with grenades and bayonets. If the team makes it to the position roll against GUTS : Critical Failure Attackers killed in a shower of grenades and burrp gun fire. Failure Stiff fight, overcome defenders but throw under GUTS not to lose a casualty. Success Gooks are dead but lose 1 GUTS Critical Success You`ll get a citation, dead Gooks lie everywhere NOTES i) Infantry caught within overlapping MG Cones, MUST test separately for each Cone! The troops in the cones may still only move / fire once though. ii) During the game it is assumed that there is a lot of firing going on but little of it is effective - the rules try to reflect the instances when effective fire is being directed, rather than the usual "who hasn`t fired yet ?" type of rules. Related Ron Broward's Story: Part I (G15) Ron Broward's Story: Part II (G16) Take The High Ground: Korean War Rules Battle for Horseshoe Ridge: Scenarios Back to The Gauntlet No. 16 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com