I wanted a solo set of rules for squad action, wherein I defined a squad as having 5 men, i.e., 5 figures, and tried out several variations on a theme. In one, I laid out a table which prevented a side from coordinating the actions of the entire force.
| Chart #1 | |
|---|---|
| DICE | ACTION |
| 01 to 20 | Move 2 squads |
| 21 to 40 | Fire 2 squads |
| 41 to 60 | Move & Fire, 2 squads |
| 61 to 75 | Fire 3 squads |
| 76 to 90 | Move 3 squads |
| 91 to 100 | Move & Fire 1 squad |
On each half-turn, the active side tossed percentage dice to see what its actions would be. Each side had 5 squads, and you’ll note that the greatest number of units a side could ‘energize’ at any given time was 3 of the 5. You’ll note the chart contained provisions for both movement and firing. But after a couple of bounds, I decided there must be a better way.
Method 2
And so, I tried Method Number 2. Here, too, I had a chart which limited the movement of forces, but this time it focused on the type of unit, rather than the number of units.
| Chart #2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| DICE | SIDE A will move | SIDE B will move |
| 01 to 25 | Heavy tanks Infantry | Infantry Armored cars |
| 26 to 50 | Light tanks Heavy tanks Armored cars | Heavy tanks Light tanks Infantry |
| 51 to 75 | Infantry Light tanks | Light tanks Infantry Armored cars |
| 76 to 100 | Armored cars Light tanks Infantry | Heavy tanks Armored cars |
Each side tossed its dice, and moved the appropriate type units. All units moved 10 inches when called upon. As for firing, after Side A moved, and Side B had moved, I diced again to see which side would be A and which would be B for the fire phase… I used the same chart, Chart #2, to see which types of units would fire.
Again I set up a small encounter, and again, after 2 or 3 bounds, didn’t like what was presented on the table. Why? In truth, I’m not sure. Due to the random selection of different types of units, the movment sequence was sorta ‘lurchy’, not bad in and of itself, but still not as smooth as I would have wished.
Method 3
And so we come to Method #3. Again, a ‘mechanised’ and random system for unit activation… but this time I used a deck of cards. One 6-card Sequence Deck is used for both sides. Cards are alternately drawn at random, i.e., one side is Side A for the first card, the other becomes Side A for the second card. Note there are 4 functions to be performed, in order, on each card. When a card is drawn, the Active Side, Side A, moves its squads. After movement is complete, Side B then has its designated squads fire, which is returned by Side A. Then Side A sees if it can rally its men. A and B are reversed on the next draw.
| Chart 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card Number | SIDE A No. of Moving Squads | SIDE B No. of Firing Squads | Side A May Fire | Side A Rally |
| 1 | All | All | 1 squad | Yes |
| 2 | All but 1 | All but 3 | 3 squads | Yes |
| 3 | All but 2 | All but 2 | 2 squads | Yes |
| 4 | All | All but 2 | 2 squads | No |
| 5 | All but 1 | All but 1 | 1 squad | No |
| 6 | All but 2 | All | 3 squads | No |
To see what this type of sequence would bring, I set up a small platoon of 4 squads (5 men each) whose goal it was to scout out a small village in which there were rumored to be enemy units present. The enemy was hidden, and right there, we had the opportunity for an ambush or two. In fact, a grand scale ambush, for the dreaded enemy consisted of 5 squads, one more than the scouting party.
I kept track of each squad’s Efficiency Levels (EL)… there were 15 of them. When a squad was hit, one EL was crossed off, and when all 15 were gone, so was the squad.
This is what happened to Lt. Grab, commanding Squad #4 of the scouting party. Situated on the left flank, his squad was caught while still undeployed… the worse for him for advancing in march column formation while in Indian country. His squad came up against an ambush consisting of 2 of the 5 defending squads, and before Grab’s unit could withdraw, bullets filled the air, enough to reduce the squad’s 15 ELs to zero. Exit Lt. Grab and Squad #4.
Fire combat was performed with the help of Chart #4, below. Each squad that fired totaled a number of Fire Points (FP), added a 10-sided die roll, and looked across the top row of the chart for its Total Fire Points(TFP). A percentage dice throw then determined the EL loss of the target.
| Chart 4: TOTAL FIRE POINTS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DICE | 1 to 5 | 6 to 10 | 11 to 15 | 16 to 20 | 21 to 25 |
| 01 to 33 | 2 EL | 3 EL | 4 EL | 5 EL | 6 EL |
| 34 to 66 | 1 EL | 2 EL | 3 EL | 4 EL | 5 EL |
| 67 to 100 | 0 EL | EL1 | 2 EL | 3 EL | 4 EL |
The TFP was determined by summing the following… (a) each man firing contributed 1 FP, (b) if the target unit was at point blank range (about 3 inches), another FP was added, (c) target in cover knocked off 2 FP, and so on… and then (d) the 10-sided die roll.
Most of the time, the TFPs which were looked up in the chart totaled no more than 15. I added the two columns on the right hand side of Chart #4 (16 to 20, and 21 to 25) for “expansion purposes”… if, for example, I decided to change the definition of a squad from 5 men to perhaps, 6 or 8, or, in a subsequent engagement, I tossed in a heavy tank or two with increased Fire Points.
In my test scenario, the advancing squads all marched up, quite unaware of the presence of the enemy units. And quite properly, as the scenario demanded, they were ambushed as they came through the tree lines surrounding the village.
I already mentioned the fate of Lt. Grab and his squad, and Lt. Harsh was not far behind. Note that I had placed lieutenants in charge of the scouting squads… the defending units were commanded by sergeants.
Harsh’s unit fired on a defending squad emplaced in one of the village houses. A couple of good volleys on two successive action card draws… and the defending squad took a morale test, failed and withdrew. This permitted Harsh’s men to enter the house.
Note on Chart #3, that both sides get a limited ability to fire on each card draw. The non-active side fires first, then the active side. Good dice tosses on two card draws in a row by Harsh’s men produced a total of 7 Els lost by the opposing squad.
When the defending squad took its morale test, it started with a basic Morale level (ML) of 80 percent. One point was deducted for each lost EL, and so the defenders tested with an ML of 73 percent, and failed. They lost another EL, fell back, and one of their men was placed in the Rally Zone.
Note that the last column in the action chart, Chart #3, tells whether or not the active side can rally its men. This occurs on 3 of the 6 randomly drawn cards. If rally is permitted, the poor fella in the Rally Zone can return to his squad with a percentage dice throw of 70 or less. If he fails, he dies… he’s seen no more.
This rally provision, or rather, the lack of it, was one of the things that plagued the units in the scouting platoon. When its cards were drawn, the cards rarely provided for a rally phase. The defenders seemed to draw all the rally cards. Each time the scouts were fired upon and lost ELs, took a morale test and failed (which really wasn’t that often), they accumulated men in the Rally Zone.
And the failure to rally hurt the scouting platoon’s squads in another way. Every man in the Rally Zone took 10 percentage points off his squad’s basic ML… hence deprived of a chance to rally, the morale of the advancing squads kept going down.
After Lt. Grab’s men disappeared, Lt. Harsh’s squad seemed about to go the same route… located as they were in the middle of the village, and being targeted by most of the defenders, they kept accumulating EL losses. And they continually passed their morale tests, which, while demonstrating the fine training and conditioning instilled in his men by the lieutenant, simply kept them in the line of fire.
One morale test failure and they would have run back 10 inches… almost to safety… but no, these guys stood there and took it on the chin.
But finally, the remaining scouting squads withdrew. One squad less, but they had accomplished their mission… yes, General, there were enemy troops, lots of enemy troops, in the village.
A final note. For these exercises, I used my single-mounted 40mm Merten plastic troops.
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© Copyright 2000 Wally Simon
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