The Russians made great use of Stalingrad`s sewer system as a means of communication, bringing up supplies, covered movement between defensive postions or approach to and behind the German front line positions. Orson Welles` classic film noire "The Third Man" gives an idea of moving around sewers but without the obvious complications of Stalingrad. Comrade Rat tries to reflect this; your unit may have been given a variety of orders but it still boils down to finding your way from A to B in the sewers. Comrade Rat can be played as a game on it`s own or part of a larger game where the Russians, or Germans for that matter Another notable tactical use of sewer systems occured during the Battle of Aachen, on the western front in November 1944. It is simpler to presume that you are using the sewers purely to attack a German position but you can create a random mission -- roll for 1xD6: 1 - re-supply 2 - reinforce 3,4 - attack German position 5,6 - ambush Germans There are two ways to handle sewer movement. First is a bit less detailed. Begin by rolling 1xAvD for the relative and arbitary distance to target. Process. Each turn roll 1xD6, you need a 5,6 to be in the right place at the right time, +1 for being Assault Pioneers or similar; any Germans trying sewer movement need a 6. To get to the destination you need to finish on a success and to have been on course more often than not. If you arrive late there is a chance that the position may have fallen, enemy dug-in or reinforced - this happens on a 5,6 on 1xD6. If you find that your men are not on route, roll 1xD6 for complications: 1 - You are really lost, -1 next roll 2,3,4 - No problems just lost 5,6 - Germans; see below The other method of moving around in sewers is to use the mapping approach. Roll 1xD6 each turn to generate the sewer; keep going till you find a manhole, hatchway or an exit that takes you to the surface. Roll another 1xD6, if it is a double with the first dice rolled you have an encounter: 1 - dead end 2 - straight 3 - bend left or right 4 - T or X junction 5 - 1,2,3,4 manhole, 5,6 hatch to side 6 - Chamber Beyond a Manhole or hatch, -1 if in a chamber: 1,2 - rusty ladder to surface 3 - rubble or cave in 4 - more sewers 5,6 - chamber Chamber: 1,2 - basement of a collapsed building. Route to surface with a 4,5,6 chance of a dugout 3 - a fortified basement 4,5 - small sewer chamber, roll 1xD6: 1,2 - 0 exits 3,4 - 1 5,6 - 2 4,5,6 chance of a manhole 6 - large sewer chamber, roll 1 xD6: 1,2 - 1 exit 3,4 - 2 5,6 - 3; 4,5,6 chance of a manhole Unlike 'Dungeons and Dragons' or it`s ilk there are no die rolls for sewer or chamber contents, presume the sewers are knee deep in filthy water, human waste and rats at best. Encounters, 2xD6 : 1 - Rats. One figure chosen at random (first to pick a picture card from a deck of playing cards, if none all men ok), is scared witless by rats if he fails his RODINA roll. If fails, roll 1xD6: 1,2 Freezes and refuses to go on 3,4,5 Runs away, +1 to next encounter 6 Screams and claws at walls shouting hysterical, +2 to next encounter for every game turn the soldier is left screaming. Leader of group may use his leadership rating as modifier to calm men down. 2,3 - Gasses. You`ve come across methane or similar gasses which have built up in the tight confines of the tunnel or pooled within the chamber. Roll RODINA for each character. If they pass, they may gag or wretch but can stuff handkerchiefs over their mouths and noses. If they fail, the character must stop to vomit, +1 to next encounter per figure vomiting. Any character that rolls a double 6 on their RODINA passes out. Firing weapons, using naked flame or explosives could easily cause a catastrophic explosion in real life but we'll forgo that here. 4,5 - Barricade. Old bedframes, broken chairs, crates and oildrums are blocking the way forward. Roll 1xD6 : 1,2 - Undefended obstacle. 3,4 - Covered from manhole above. 5,6 - 1xAvD Germans covering obstacle. Roll 1xD6: 4,5: MG34 team 6: Flammenwerther! If undefended or covered from a manhole above, then Russians may set about dismantling the obstacle. Roll 6xD6 to determine the strength of the barricade. You will have to expend that number of RODINA to clear the a route ahead. Two figures can set to work clearing the barricade in a tunnel, three in a chamber. Each figure rolls against his RODINA, if successful he manages to reduce the strength of the barricade by that amount. If he fails, then the job is more difficult than it appears and he can only count 1/2 his RODINA, but he makes lot`s of noise. Making noise is bad. If the barricade is undefended, +1 to encounters for every time, a man fails his RODINA. If the barricade is covered from a manhole, roll 1xD6: 1,2 - There are shouts in German from above. A spray of shots is aimed at the men clearing the barricade. 3,4 - ACHTUNG ! A grenade lands in the sewer. 5 - Petrol pours down onto the barricade. The men working on it are engulfed in flame. Make successful roll on RODINA to escape with light wounds. Men who fail are killed. 6 - FLAMMENWERFER WOR ! A Flamethrower is aimed into the tunnel. All men within 6" killed. Men within 6-8" roll against RODINA to escape with light burns. From this point on, +3 to all encounters. 6 - 1xD6 Russian riflemen hopelessly lost, they join you. 7 - 1xAvD Soviet Scouts with PPSH SMG`s find you. These guys are hard as nails and used to sneaking around in the muck ! Remove any + encounter factors you`ve received so far. 8,9,10 - 2xAvD Germans. Roll 1xD6: 1,2 they are lost, you may get the drop on them, both sides roll again with lowest SCHNELL / RODINA score winning initiative (fire first) 3,4,5 patrol, roll for initiative as before but deduct every + encounter factor you`ve gained in the last 4 turns from the German. SCHNELL roll; 6, They`re hunting you! 11,12 - German Assault Pioneers. 1,2 They`re on a mission and not expecting you. You`ve got the drop on them 3,4 A bump in the dark - roll for initiative as above 5,6 They`re hunting you ! All Schmeissers and flamethrowers. Germans appear from a random direction and there are 2xAD of them. Any time you encounter Germans who are not lost there is a 5,6 chance of an inspection hatch to the surface. Combat in the sewers is going to be nasty. It is dark and the fear of the unknown means that panic lurks just beneath the surface. To reward the cooler and tougher individuals RODINA/SCHNELL is always added to the roll for firing. In a sewer tunnel, only one man may fire in any one direction and should the first man in the the target tunnel be missed, there is still a chance of hitting the second on a richochet. he narrow confines of the tunnels actually turn them into a natural shooting gallery, men are bunched and close together, so automatic weapons count every figure in front of them (up to the total no. of the firer`s RODINA/SCHNELL). Grenades can be thrown but travel half distance, but as their blast is magnified, best tos a greande into an adjoining tunnel or round a corner. Every figure in tunnel up to 8" takes hits from grenades. Flamethrowers have a range of 12"; every figure within 8" is dead or as good as, others roll for secerity of wounds. That stretch of the tunnel is now ablaze and impassable. In a chamber, the troops have the ability to spread out, so - 2 to firearms but everyone in chamber must be tested if grenade thrown. There is one round of firing and then it goes to hand to hand ... there are no morale tests for the Russians. German goonsquads act as usual. So you find an exit to the surface. It is time to make a fighting exit from the sewers Roll or FESTER FOR GOOD. Roll 1xD6: 1 - the manhole or exit can be opened but is under observation by Germans. Score 4,5,6 + Leadership to realise this, +1 if scouts, otherwise each man leaving the exit is fired on until someone silences the defenders. 2 - Exit is blocked, try again at -1 per retry. 3,4 - Exit can be used; there are Germans in hand grenade range 5,6 - Exit is clear you have a 4,5,6 chance of deploying before any attack, +1 if scouts. If you do not have time to deploy you have to attack from the exit, firing as you go. Back to The Gauntlet No. 19 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 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