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THE GENER L
cut in half as per the odds determination rules for
indirect fire. In this manner, the wagon will be hit at
a solemn 80: 1 while the fort is hit with a l iveable
2:1 having a single chance of elimination. This isreally unrealistic, but no more so than the 2-3-6's
in STALINGRAD that hold an entire army at bay.
We must learn to make the rules work for us .
The Empty Fort Ploy I t is always a
pleasure to see an enemy blast away a tan empty for
t ress , wasting his ammunition as well as his pa
tience. The s itua tion arises when artille ry is
deployed in a carrier beside the fort and out of the
enemy line of sight. This way if the fort dies on the
first turn, the carrier trucks the artillery of f to a new
location. Be careful with this one In one game, my
fort was only disrupted, and as my 88- loaded
wagon slipped into the hex, it was annihilated by
naval opportunity fire. There seems to be a sneaky
counter maneuver for every dirty trick.
1 Understanding the Options A good
player always examines the victory conditions of a
situation with a hawk s eye. After much competi
tion, new ideas will still continueto popup and say,
Here I am. In Utah Beach the Allies get to
choose from three objectives. Since the Germans
cannot effectively defend all three, they can elect to
gamble a b it by defending only two of the objec
tives, thereby giving themselves more of a defensive
punch. The only problem is that the undefended
hexes would be the enemy s objective, which could
be a tad humbling. If the German commander likes
to take a long shot, he can almost assure a win if he
defends a single objective and his guess turns out to
be correct. How lucky are you?
Channeling It is possible to force the
enemy to move where it suits you best, to mold his
attack and lead him into traps as if you had a hand
in controlling his forces. There is always this factor
in a solid defensive set up, but even a fluid engage
ment can be changed radically. In S t Lo for ex
ample, the All ies have a choice of victory condi
tions. Theymust either capture all of Grancelles, or
they must capture half of that city and all of the
other cities on board A (Caverge , Kuhn, and
Sambleu). Caverge can be easily conquered, bu t
Kuhn and Sambleu lie well behind enemy lines.
FIGURE The artillery pocket can often minimize the threat
of Allied aircraft. In this deployment, anti-aircraft weaponsare posi
tioned so that bomber attacks on the larger guns mustbe within half
r ange , doub li ng the AA weapon s a tt ac k f ac to rs . Uni ts a re also
deployed one to a hex so that multiple eliminations will not occur in a
single hex. Granted, some units are deployed unreal ist ica l ly, sur
rounded by green hexsides so that they arestuck unti l theend of time
Since the Allies needn t declare an objective, they
can change their minds at any point, according to
the opportunities which present themselves during
play. is, therefore, in the best German interest tochoose his enemy e victory conditions for him by
channeling his attack and defending in force.
By beginning the game with the German
engineer deployed on the single bridge hex at Al2
bridge demolition is almost guaranteed by turn
fou r. A blocking act ion of any consequence will
shield the engineer from a tt ack, and jus t prior to
blowing the bridge, blocking units can race to safetyso they will not be snared in their own t rap. The
block itselfgrows simpler as time passes because the
channel narrows considerably as it approaches the
bridge. After the demolition, German units will
reach Grancelles from t he rea r to bolster the city
defense.
The effect of all this is that the only way the
Allies can gain access to Kuhn and Sambleu, the
rear area cities, is to blast through Grancelles. By
blowing the br idge , t he German has forced the
Allies to satisfy one set of victory conditions before
they have a chance to try for the alternative. Know
ing the enemy s plans can make the defense much
stronger.
A s imi la r rotten trick can be performed in
Turning Point: Celles if all German units
evacuate one city and dash of f to defend the secondin a ploy to win a tactical victory.
2 Increasing Defense Factors Many situa
tions involve city control for victory. The rules tend
to favor units defending in a city because all defense
factors are combined, and the units receive the plus
one die roll bonus. Thus a s tack of rifle platoons
could defend at 24-32 rather than at the individual
printed f ac tor. Unless the enemy can amass a
tremendous armored offensive, the city is almost
invulnerable. Assuming three German r if le p la
toons and an engineer occupy a hex, the Alliesmust
muster 136 armored attack factors to get a two
thirds chance of a kil l. Somet imes the task is at
tempted with indi re ct fire. Using the s ame four
units as before, 240 attack points are needed to pro
duce a series of 4: Is. This is one of the few t imes
that high stacks can be dreadfully effective.
according to the rules, but this is necessaryto keep the artillery in a
concise group. There are two weaknesses to this setup: 1 Allied L5
observation craft can spot the arti l le ry for indirec t fi re w it h a small
chance of disruption (one in s ix); 2 ) in such a congested area, enemy
indirect fire can be subjec ted to scat ter and still do a great deal of
harm.
P GE 13 Minimizing th e Air Artil le
Threat Pesky fighter bombers can put a thorn
any German setup. Often the threat can
neutralized for a time by carefully plotting artille
pockets that are easily defended by n t i ~ i r rweaponry. Bastogne: Siege is a great situation
give this a t ry . Figure 11 presents a sample poc
from this scenario. can be attacked, but it c
also be defended.
14 hanging the Odds of Victory Throu
Stacking Again this is a gambit of questiona
nature, depending on the course of play. Remagen Bridge German armored units can
sacrificed so that the Allied close assaults and blo
removal threat can be better countermanded. T
wrecks count for stacking purposes and can serio
ly limit the enemy attack threat within Artain.
difficult for the Allies to mount a ser ious CA
threat when they can only muster two units in
single hex. Before the situation card was correc
to include onlytwo German halftracks, it was pos
ble to frit ter away all three on the block on the A
tain Bridge, thus making itimpossible for the All
to win because an engineer must enter the hex
clear the block, and he couldn t do that since t
stacking was already at max. At any rate, t
technique is normally suited to a congested situ
tion.
5 Shortening the Game by One Turn This
actually no t a tactic per se; it is more a perception
the definition of control as it works within a
.quential movement system. Many scenarios, ev
the macro-game, det ermine v ic tory by contr
which is defined if at least one friendly unit
cupies, or is the last to enter or pass through is normally the burden of the offensive player
capture these hexes, whi le the defender sits a
waits for the attack to come. I t should therefore
apparent after the first player s fire phase in the l
t ur n, t ha t i f a hex in quest ion is sti ll occupied
enemy units, the game is over. Furthermore, on t
turn prior to that , i f spotting units can be eliminat
or disrupted, t he game ends an entire turn in a
vance since no attack on the victory hex would
possible. Use of split-move will alter the final
of this somewhat in situations like The Encirc
ment of Nancy, bu t in those like T h
Reichswald there can be no reprieve.
AN AFTERWORD
In trying to cap tu re the f lavor of PANZE
LEADER the qualities that will make it stand t
test of time and continue to permit its system to
enjoyed by all of us, I ve come to the realizati
that as a person settles into a favor ite game,
becomes more to him than a simple simulation. I
use terms like empathy , understanding
participating with , and vicarious to descri
the course of play. And now I add still anoth
catharsis Though t he t erm is usually applied
Greek theater, it can also be applied to thedrama
action of wargaming interplay when opposi
forces meet in simulated battle. f;
OR ER Y PHONEWe will now accept game orders by phon
from those individuals with currently vali
MASTERCHARGE, BANKAMERICAR
(VISA), or AMERICAN EXPRESS credit card
The number to call is 301-254-5300. Ask for Cl
Newton or ext.34 and state that you wish to plac
an order for a game. You must give the ordertak
the number, expiration date, and name of yo
credit card along with your order and shippin
address. Phone orders are available every Mo
day-Friday from 8:30 AM to 5 PM. Absolutely n
collect phone calls can be accepted.
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P G 30_ TH G N R
ADVANCED LEVEL MIDWAY by Mark Dumde i
Continued on Page 34, Column
Midway Is land itself had a formidable a rr ay
heavy AA weaponry. To reflect this fact, Midw
gets a screening value of 20 or equal to th e relati
fortification strength, whichever is the lesser. T
screening value is never less than When Japane
planes bom b Midway to reduce its fortificati
s t rength , they must roll for AA losses using t
Aircraft vs. Ship combat results table.
During t he war , it was fairly common fo r bo
sides to launch search-air a tt acks into locat io
where enemy ships were su spe cte d, but n
confirmed. Therefore, anytime a player wishes
conduct an ai r attack against a square in which
enemy t ar ge t has no t been spotted by re co
(Midway Is land i tsel f is always considered to
spotted ) the attack constitutes a SEARCH-A
ATTACK which is subject to the following rule
At least four squadrons of D & T plan
combined must comprise the mission.
2. If the mission destination is within 5 squares, t
s ea rch a lso a tt empt s t o loca te ships in adjace
s qu ar es . Beg in ni ng w it h the target square, t
searching player calls ou t zones one at a time. On
an enemy force or CAP is contacted, he must s tcalling ou t zones and engage in combat with
available planes.
3. If the mission destination is 6 or more squar
the search only flies and searches the target zon
Furthermore, the attacker must roll t he d ie befo
searching in the same manner s ta ted previously f
air at tacks at a range in excess of 6 hexes.
The use of t hi s rul e will prevent players fro
sending out a single squadron each into many zon
in a desperate attempt to find an elusive enemy ta
force; furthermore, this procedure requires few
planes to do the same thing, bu t they operate
larger groups.
Badly damaged heavy ships o ft en t oo k ma
months t o r ep ai r, d enyi ng t he ir use to the fle
Consequently, inf lict ing ser ious d amag e u p
enemy carrie'rs or batt leships part icular ly wouhave some value towards victory. At t he e nd o f t
game, each BB or CY (not CYL) which is within o
hi t of sinking results in 3 victory points.
Mar in e a nd Army aircraft were not t ra ined
operate from carriers. As a resul t, p lanes based
Midway at the start of the game cannot l and on U
car ri er s. These counters should be marked
separ at e t hem f rom US carrier planes. Techni
note: the Hosho had a capacity of 5 groups, so it c
carry two more in addit ion to the 3 groups it sta
t he game with.
Up to now, only exi st ing rules have be
modified. At this time, we'll get into so
completely new rules. Themost significant change
the addi tion of an Invas ion Force counter whi
represents six t roopships. Each unchecked box
worth one screening value factor and one (defensonly) surface combat factor. Screening values c
only be used in self defense. Fo r each hit against t
I.F. counter, Midway gains 4 fortification poi
and t he US gets one victory point ; i f the I .F . coun
loses five or more ships, then Midway cannot
invaded. Reduce the Atago to 3 hit box
Furthermore, during the four consecutive turns th
Midway is being invaded, two battleships must
located at Midway concurrently fo r four consec
tive turns.
Attached to the Yamato group ar e six supp
ships which are r ep re sent ed by the Supply Fo
(S.F .) counter . Each unchecked box is worth o
screening value factor and one surface comb
Step 10: When aircraf t conduct at tacks against
the arbitrary screening value of 1 , they a re n ot
subject to losses. Keep in mind that the arbitrary
screening value does no t represent a ny AA fire, bu t
rather a factor for battle odds computation only.
FIGHTERS: change to rule 7-Stripping of f
fighters can be used to a tt ack enemy bomber and
torpedo plane sq uadrons. When engaging D and T
plane squadrons in fighter combat, the fighters
double their strength fo r determining combat odds.
D and T's which survive the combat proceed to
conduct a ir a tt acks aga in st enemy ships. Delete
references to t he u se of fighters as extra screening
value.
a. The interceptors decide how many enemy D
& T planes, and of which type, they will attack.
b. Combat against D & T planes is fought
separately from fighter vs. fighter combat.
With regard to fighter combat resolution, the
results table was designed primarily to reflect losses
in large scale f ight er bat tl es . I n sma ll bat tl es , t he
losses are disproportionately high. To correct this
problem, use the following rule: if the lesser side has
fewer than 12 squadrons involved in fighter combat,
reduce all losses by hat{ In case offractions, roll the
die again: 1-3: round losses down; 4-6: round
losses up.
Even when spotted by recon planes, air at tacks
often did no t arrive on target, especially those
launched from great distances. The Hornet s planes
failed to locate the Japanese fleet at Midway; two
years later, a large wave of Japanese aircraft went
of f course in the Marianas. Furthermore, the range
of attacking aircraft would seem to be too short. To
correct these problems use these rules:
If the target is more than 6 squares distant, rol l a
die: i f the die roll is less than or equal t o t he number
of hexes flown to target greater than six there is no
attack. Rol l for each carr ier and f or each mission.
Fo r this purpose, p lanes based on Midway are
considered as carrier planes.
2. The range of all planes is changed to 20 squares.
Planes a re not permi tt ed to attack targets at any
r ange which wou ld p revent the ir return to base.
The rule prohibiting Kamikaze attacks ha s
been added because at this s tage in the war, the
retention of veteran combat experienced pilots was
crucia l to both sides.
N
N
.D
00
M
MARYLAND 8 I TAKAO 3 I
TENNESSEE 8 I MAYA 3 I I I IJ.F. 6 I JUNYO 8 ]
S.F. 6 I RYUJO 6 ITJ
Though an early generation wargame, MID-
WAY h as s ome fine characteristics which make it
one of the better Avalon Hill games: playing time is
short, rules are fairly simple, and there's plenty of
action. Yet, there are a few rules which seriously
detrac t f rom the potential realism o f t he game. A
discussion of each fol lows along with proposedchanges t o cor re ct and enhance this otherwise fine
game.
BATTLEBOARD PROCEDURE : Step
Under the present rules, if a ship is attacked while
alone by two groups of 5 squadrons each, it will be
sunk-even the mighty Yamato succumbs to attack
by no t more th an 30 aircraft More t han once a
clever American commander has waited to a t tack
the last J apanes e r ei nf or cement g roup alone,
thereby sinking the Hosho, Sendai a nd a t least on e
battleship at a marginal cost in planes. Two new
rules correct this si tuation and give the screening
player more flexibility:
A ship can conduct consolidated screening
if a) no o ther ships are screening it; and b) the
ship appl ies its screening value to defend itself; c)
When using consolidated screening, total the
number of planes which are attacking the target ship
into a combined attack value. Compare this figure
to thedefending ship's screening value and reduce to
basic odds; d) Each group of attacking planes now
conducts its attack using t he s ame odds col umn.
Fo r example, the MUTSU is under attack by two
groups of five T planes and one g roup of six D
planes. Under the present rules, one group would
attack at 1-2 and two groups at 5-1 (sinking
M UTSU The consolidated screening rule com
bines all the attacking groups into a combined
attack value: 5 5 6 = 6vs. 8 Mutsu = 2 to Now
the US player conducts three 2 to 1 attacks against
the MUTSU. With average luck, he'll score 5 hit s.
2. Ships with a screening value offour or greater
can split their AA fire equal ly into two p ar ts .
Screening value of 5 divides into values of 3 and 2
factors. When dividing screening value, the firing
ship is no t permitted to use its arbitrary screening
value of 1 against enemy a ir cr af t. Example : t he
Yamato wants to scr een two other ships with 5
factors each, bu t if the Yamato itselfis under attack
other ships must screen it against all t t k i n ~planes-otherwise split screening is no t allowed.
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TH G N R L
Fi fty- five years ago , when Vlad imi r I. Leninwas at his peak as one of th e mos t successfulrevolutionaries of all time, he said, History is
always richer in content, more varied, more manysided, more lively, and more subtle than even the
best parties. The hardcore wargamer, whose
favorite board game is a slice of the past he is reliv
ing, would be quick to agree with the old Bolshevikbecause the mo re historical information that is
available about the game the more exciting and
engrossing he finds it. (Whether or not it is better
than a good party is open to question.)
The primary objective of this column, whichwill appear in THE GENERAL at irregular intervals, is to help make wargaming more enjoyable
for our readers by identifying sources of the latestbackground information in concise , t imely and
critical reviews of books that feature military
history topics. Special attention will be given t o
titles that are of particular interest to Avalon Hillwargamers.
A secondary objective of the column is to p ro
vide the design staff members at AH with aresearch library of current military titles at the
lowest possible cost. This objective is already inthe bag because review copies are sent to us free of
charge.Publishers of military books have been
solicited to send review copies of their most recentreleases that cover all eras of warfare, famous unit
histor ies , bat tl ef ie ld tact ics, overal l s trategy,
biographies of noted military personalities, equipment and armaments. Not all of the books that arereceived will be reviewed but each one wil be listedin a section of t he co lumn entitled: Books
Received .
U-Boat. By Lothar-Gunther Buchheim translatedby Gudie Lawaetz 666 Fifth A venue N. Y. N. Y.10019 Bantam Books Inc. 1979. 284 pages200 photos drawings soft cover 9.95.
Buchheim shot over 5000 photographs aboard
two of Hitler s submarines in an attempt to capture the reality of war before i t was irretrievablylost. He has been successful in cul ling 200-plus
black and white pictorial documents to give the
reader a feel ing of the claustrophobia, the constriction and the oppression that goes along withfighting aboard a 220-foot VII-C class V-boat inWWII. The collection of photos inc lude the
sighting, signaling and maneuvering together of
two subs dur ing a rare meet ing in mid-Atlan ti c.Action episodes include the periscope-level attack
and shelling of the hapless tanker, Clea and the
surface torpedo assault and subsequent burning of
the tanker, Arthur F Corvin which brought on a
thorough depth charging by an American-made,
four-stacker destroyer. The violence of the nea r
OFFTHE·SHELF
WATERLOO =
~ i _ f r i k a o r p s WW]]DpseTt CampaIgn
fatal attack is attes ted to by the blurred photos of
the crewmen. Buchheim captues the exhaust ionand fear in the faces of the crew from a s tr ickenV-boat that has been pulled out of the sea by hisboat but who must stay on the deck during the raceto safety in the submarine pens along the coast of
France. The narrative, which is written in chroni
cle form, is adequa te t o s uppo rt the excellentphotography. The student of submarine warfare
will be fr ust ra te d to see the pages are no t
numbered nor is there an index. I t took 83 rounds
f rom the deck gun to sink the halves of the Cleabut the caliber of the weapon could not be found
anywhere in the book. For the wargamer, who hasan interest in the war at sea and especially in sub
marine warfare, this book is a mus t to read. For
the reader who is interes ted in the courage and
bravery that men can show under the most
demanding conditions, do not miss reading thisone.
. George O Neill
Boarding Party- The Last Action of the Calcutta
Light Horse. By James Leasor . Wayside RoadBurlington Massachusetts 01803 Houghton
Mifflin Company 1978. 204 pages 8.95.
In late 1942, German V-boats began to wreak
havoc on Allied shipping in the Ind ian Ocean.These German submarines were being guided to
their targets by a secret transmitter aboard a Nazi
ship, which had taken refuge in the neutral harborof Portuguese Goa, 400 miles south of Bombay,India. The dilemma faced by the Bri tish was howwere they going to remove this thorn in their sidewithout violating Portuguese neutrality. The
answer was found in The Calcutta Light Horse, a
part-time military territorial unit, which in realitywas 95 7 a socia l and sporting club and 7 an
auxil iary mil itary organizat ion. Brit ish leaders
recruited 8 middle aged merchan ts , banke rs ,
lawyers and accountants f rom the ranks of the
Light Horse and sent them on a r ai d of the ship,that if i t fai led would have been disavowed by theBritish government as nothing more than a wildescapade of a few drunken civilians. The finalproduct of Leasor s research is the true story of
one of the strangest and funniest events of WWII.
The quality of the writing is excellent with the excitement and frustration of the operation
permeating the ent ire book, which makes it interesting general reading but nothing specia l forthe wargamer who wants detailed historical data.
Arnold Blumberg
Herman Goring -From Regiment to Fa schirmpanzerkorps. By Roger J Bender and
George A. Petersen. P.O. Box 23456, San Jose
P G
California 95123, R. James Bender Publishin1975. 208 pages 13.95.
This book is billed as an organization and coba t history of the Herman Goring military f
mation from its beginning as a Prussian police u
in 1933 to its demise as a corps in the fields of Sony in 1945. Every reorganization is presented
great detail by citing official orders and tablesorganizat ion. Readers who are interes ted in t
order of battle for companies and battalions wfind the book useful. But beware. Most of the
formation is in German. That portion of the bo
that treats the unit history and which is potentiaof the greatest value to a wargamer is very sketchThere a re some specifi c and interesting storabout the unit, such as how it saved the
treasures of Monte Cassino Abbey before Allbombers blasted i t, bu t there are not enough
them to make the book useful to the reade r w
wants more details of the life of the unit. T
authors also have included details about t
uniforms, insignia (color plates) s tandards a
vehicle markings. The book is liberally illustratwith excellent black and white photos of the m
and equipment of the Hermann Goring .
hardcore wargamer might f ind th is book useand interesting bu t not the novice.
Arnold Blumbe
Battle fo r Antwerp. By J .L . Moul ton. 1
Madison Avenue New York NY 10016 Hpocrene Books 1978. 208 pages 7 phot
numerous maps hard cover 14.95.
While the eyes of Europe and the world wriveted on the dramatic events transpiring in
Belgian town of Antwerp, another equally imptant campaignwas being waged behind the fron
clear the port of Antwerp and the ScheIdt estua
Even had Montgomery s daring airborne stroke
Arnhem succeeded it is doubtful that the w
would have been significantly shortened givenAllied supply quandary. Moulton goes to csiderable lengths to back the prevailing theory t
Monty e rr ed badl y in no t first securing the
proaches to Antwerp.The book details the relatively easy advance
the th Armoured Division from the Seine to ta
Antwerp virtual ly without a fight . But hereBri tish fai led to press their advantage a
although the port was theirs virtually undamag
seaborne access to it was not, for the Germans scon trol led the ScheIdt with mines and coas
guns. Thus began a long s truggle for masterytween the Canadian First Army and the Germ
75th Infantry Divis ion in the f looded pold
astr ide the ScheIdt to the final assaults
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PAGE THE GENERA
W W NT YOU alcheren Island by the 4th Commando Brigade,and t he 52nd Lowland Division. Although theGerman defenders were 2nd line troops of lowmorale sarcastically referred to as the white
bread division due to their ranks being filled withwounded veterans with stomach disorders , thenatural defenses of the ScheIdt were formidableand forced the Allies to new heights of amphibious
war fa re to avoid the channelizing effect of theflooded polders. Cut of f and without armor sup-
port, the German s only hope was to play fort ime-every day their guns control led the ScheIdtwas another day that the Allied sledgehammerblows on the major German front were weakenedby lack of supply.
While Moulton s scholarly approach issomewhat tedious in its documentation, itnonetheless is an excellent detailed account of thislittle publicizecd campaign wherein so many AlliedAFVs or funnies if you will) received their main
testing under fire. An especially valuable work forthose interested in the ar t of amphibious assault aspracticed in 1944.
. Donald Greenwood
OOK RECEIVED
The Napoleonic Wars by Michael Glover , 7
Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, Hippocrene
Books, Inc., 1978. 240 pp., 100 illustrations, 22.50.
The German Raider A tlantis by Capt . Bernhard
Rogge and Wolfgang Frank, translated by Lt.Cdr. R.O.B. Long, RNVR, 666 Fifth Ave., NewYork, NY 10019, Bantam Books, Inc., 1979. 224pp. 2.25.
Uniforms Organization an d History o f the frikakorpsby Roger J. Bender and Richard D.Law. P.O. Box 26772, San Jose, CA 95159,Military Arms Research Service, 1973. 256 pp.,
354 illustrations, 13.95.Space Shuttle: merica sWings to the Future byMarshall H. Kaplan, 329 W. Aviation Rd.,
Fallbrook, CA 92028, Aero Publishers, Inc., 1978.256 pp., 14.95.
Combat Record o f the 504th Parachute InfantryDivision Compiled by Lt. William MandI e and
PFC David H. Whittier. P.O. Box 3107, Uptown
Station, Nashville, TN 37219, The Battery BookShop and Press, 1978 reprint; originally printed
1945).. 172 pp., 447 photos, 3 color plates, sof tcover, 12.00.
66 A Story of World War II by Siinto Wessman.P.O. Box 3107, Uptown Station, Nashville, TN
37219, The Battery Book Shop and Press, 1978. originally printed 1946). 7 pp., 270 photos, 5maps, 22.50.
The Saga o f the All American Compi led and
edited by W. Forrest Dawson. P.O. Box 3107, Up-town Station, Nashville, TN 37219, The BatteryBook Shop and Press, 1978 originally printed
1945).381 pp., 852 photos, 100 drawings, 25.00.McDonnell Douglas F 15 Eagle by James Steven-son . 329 W. Aviation Rd., Fallbrook, CA 92028,Aero Publishers Inc ., 1978. 104 pp., softbound,
6.95.
British and American Tanks of World War II byPeter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis. 219 Park Ave.South, New York, NY 10003, Arco PublishingCo., Inc. 1969.222 pp., softbound, 5.95.The Bat tle for ntwerp by J.L. Moulton, 7
Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, Hippocrene
Books , Inc ., 1978. 208 pp., 6 maps, 14.95.Commando Extraordinary by Charles Foley, 666Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10019, Bantam Books,Inc., 1979. 224 pp. 2.25.6 Squadron: Operation Crucible by Frederick
~ i t h 666 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10019, Ban-tam Books, Inc., 1979. 224 pp., 2.25. G
to write for the GENER L If you can string
words together into an interesting article
format on any Avalon Hill wargame, there's a
good chance you're just th e per son we're
looking f or . You can supplement our l iterary
staff with artic les of strategy, game analyses,
Series Replays, commentaries, new scenarios,
or variants.Al l articles should be type-written, double
spaced and accompanied by a self-addressed
envelope bear ing first class postage. Other
wise , rejec ted art ic les will not be returned.
Y ou l l f li p o v er t hi s completely ravamped revision
of t he o ld 3M g a me . Al l o f t h e factors that are important
real sailboat racing can be found Regatta-wind
direction, tacking, blanketing, jibing, spinnaker tactics:
e ve n p r ot e st s a n d f ly in g Jib es l
Y ou l l t hr il l to t he t en si on o f maneuvering before
t he s ta r ti ng g un . R oa r w it h laughter at the spectacle of
your opponents engaging a l uf fi ng contest that
t ak es t h em o ff t he course entirely. Howl with agony as
you discover that your careful p lo tt in g of t he l ay l in e
has left you ten bo at lengths to leeward o f t he f ir st
mark
The game is designed p r im ar i ly f or p l ay e rs w it h
some sailing experience, but the simple and carefully
w ri tt en r ul es allow any land lubber or stinkpotter to
en jo y the thrills a nd excitement o f s ai li ng without
enduring the hours of misery sanding the hull or
l o ok in g f or a crew that can tel l the difference between
a spinnaker boom and a boom vang
Each player Regatta up to six) has his own
b oa t to race around the colorful 22 x 28 mapboard
on a series of courses that are on ly limited by the
player s imagination Committee boat, course marks,
a nd w in d indicator can be placed a b ou t t he map
v ar io us p os it io ns f or common triangular courses,
Cup-style c o ur se s , a nd o t he r s
YOU make all of the decisions a true racing
skipper h as to m ake . YOU pl an a pre-race strategy
th at will b ri ng y ou across t he l in e first YOU decide
Articles should be supplemented with i l lustra
tions and/or charts whenever possibl_e.
Commencing with the January, 1977 issue
the GENER L will pay 5 per running 10
column of edited text. Letters to the Editor are
not subject to remuneration. Alternatively
authors mayelectto take their remuneration in
t he f orm of Avalon Hil l p roducts, paid at the
rate of 150% of the cash remuneration. Not
that i l lustrat ions and decorative type faces are
no t s ub je ct to remuneration except by prio
agreement with the editor.
when to tack, and when to put up your powerful
spinnaker for the downwind leg YOU try to take
advantage of unexpected wind shifts, blanket your
opponents' sails, and much more- in fact, REGATTA
s so close to re al s ai lb oa t racing that t is h ig hl y
recommended fo r t ra in in g beginners and even
experienced sailors tactics an d racing strategy
A ll the facets of real sailboat racing are included
REGATTA, including P uffs, Wind S hifts, S pinnakers,
Blanketing, Right-of-Way, Tacking, J ib in g , a n d race
s co ri ng . A nd f or neophyte sailors, there's a h el pf ulsummary of the rules of yacht r ac in g, a lo ng w ith a
nautical glossary listing the most common terms used
by sailors.
GAME INCLUDES:
• 6 multi-colored diecast yachts
• 1 Committee Boat
• 4 Course markers buoys)
• 2 dice• 6 Spinnaker Cards
• Complete Rules with Nautical Glossary
• Full-color mounted mapboard
• Win k Shift Indicator
Regatta i s t h e perfect game for family fun ashore,
or for those absolutely e days a fl oa t; t he k in d
where that orange p ee l y ou throw overboard drifts
past you three hours later S uitable for ages 1 0 a n d u p
5 Retail
8/12/2019 Vol16i3
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Letters to the Editor
THE GENER L
Dear fellow classics player,
I address this letter to thethirty or so players
who have competed year-in and year-out in t he
AH500 a t Origins. I p hi lo so ph iz e a t g re at
l engths , I wi ll was te paper a nd not get to the
reason for writ ing. Here t hen in b rief , is why I
compete in the classics :
1 I l ike to compete.
2. I l ik e the c lass ic games bes t.
3. Origins hasbecome part of my summer. I
renew a fellowship with the rest of you eachyear.
4. S inc e we a ll attend i t, we fulfi ll our own
prophesy that Origins will be where the action is.
Yet, something is awry. Attendance fell offin t he 500 t hi s y ea r whi le t he RUSSIAN CAM
PAIGN was oversubscribed in an expanded
tourney. I would love to winthe 500, but let's face
it. We a re now mostly middle-aged men. When
Bruno s ay s h e u sed to play in 3-minute-move
Sparta tourneys he was much younger. Time has
mellowed us all . Winning is no l onger the only
thing and I have seen the AH500 become a gentile
affair with Britishreminding the German to bring
in the 15th panzers . We are p laying games and
Origins is entertainment. As suc h, I feel we t he
players should have some input i n to the running
of the 500. The game companies a re not against
thisconcept, but sofar no concerted effort suchas
this one hasdeveloped. I askyou to consider what
modification, if any , y ou wou ld l ike to see in
future years . I ask that you give this careful con
sideration and send your reply in writing to me. I
will collate and forward your responses to the AH
staff who will be planning next year'sconvention.
Asa p reface, l et me state that I do not believe we
should be discussing any revisions to the rules ofthe games themselves. The question here is how to
organize the tournament, not whether a 2-3-6 can
hol d up the entire German Army. you don't
think it can, t he re a re other games and tour
naments where it doesn't Also, I firmly believe
that the enjoyment I have found at past tourney's
has beenlargely due to the affable and able direc
tion of Doug Burke, Dale Garbutt, and Richard
Hamblen. Our first order of business is to insure
that they continue to run the 500.
In order t o help you think about this issue,
and not in an effort to foist my own opinions, let
me suggest some areas of possible change which
were voiced informally at the Frog Pond this
year late Saturday night.
1 The RUSSIAN C AM PAIGN tourney as well
as the 500 , BLUE & GREY Pre-Napoleonic all
s ta rt a t about t he s ame t ime and this precludes
double e nt ry t o s ome extent. Cou ld o r should
t hese tou rneys in which so many of us are in
terested be staggered or scheduled to encourage
multiple entry?2. Should t he f ie ld in the 500 be dropped to 64?
3. Should the tourney requi re p laying a f ixed
number of gameswitha final round or twofor the
top winning players?
4. In lieu of a plaque, how about a permanent
trophy of somesort with the names of all winners?
5. Should chess clocks be used?
6. Should starting t imes be moved to earlier Fri
day?
7. Should a junior tourney be estab li shed for
those under 16 (this one is my own idea and I push
for this)? t has become the standardprocedure to
seed the tourney. Thus, younger players are
blown away by us in a perfunctory fashion in
round 1 We have all done this to some youngster
and it is not a good feeling. This cannot be good
for the hobby as i t d is courages young players
from playing the classic games. Naturally, the
junior tourney would be more informally organ
ized and adjudicated. My wife has suggested that
the junior winner wou ld p lay the winner of the
sen io r d iv is ion for a small p ri ze (wh ich only thejunior could c laim) the c ha nc e for t he you ng
player to take on the' 'master Sunday afternoon
might produce amusing results.
Please do not l imit yourself to the issues
rai sed here. I await your rep ly . I trust that from
the dialogue between players and AH s ta ff will
emerge even greate r en joyment at future
meetings.
Bruce Maston, M.D.
1404 Union St.
Schenectady, New York 12308
I don t supposethe discussion wouldbe com
p le t e w it h ou t a response of some type from
A valon Hillso I llround ou t thepresentation with
a fe w o f my conclusions. First, I th ink i t s a bit
premature to downgrade the 500. 1979 was the
f irst t ime in 5 years that theevent didnot sell ou t
and there were stUlonly a handful o events that
attracted more competitors. While it may be ex
pecting too muc h fo r the even t to con tinue to a t
tract a maximumfield o f 8given thefar greater
number o events with which it must compete in
present dayORIGINS the500may havebeen un
duly hampered thisyear by the poor tournament
facilities and the extremely late appearance of
tournament information inthe GENERAL. I ful
l yexpect i t to s tage a comeback to the 100+ par
ticipantlevelin 1979. Asfor theprizelist, wehave
a policy for tournaments in which wetryto return
100 o f the entry fees in the form of prizes.
We re willing to foot the billfor employee salaries
an d expensesto runthe events, bu t l iketo have the
popularity o the event determine the prize list.
T ha t is w hy some events which don t draw as
many entrants due to lesserpopularity or excess
playing time cost more than others. Whatever we
take in however we return in prizes-a fact that
isn t widely publicized. fo r example, an event
attracts morepeople than weexpected, weusually
ad d additional prizes to cover the excess.
An d to encourage more of yo u to join this
discourse here is one such responsefrom a veteran
Classics participant .
Dear Dr. Maston:
I was surprised to see the decline in registra
t ion for the Classics tournament this year, but I
th ink there area number of very good reasons for
it. t is AH's most prestigious tourney, and the
theory behind itis, I suppose, that those whocom
pete (or at least those who compete and do well)
mus t b e the creme de la creme of competition
garners. The theory is wrong . I o nc e d id an ex
amination of the GENERAL (articles and Op
ponents Wanted ads) to see what the Top 45
garners were playing. My surveywas extremely in
c ompl et e be ca use I was u na bl e t o establish
preferences for more than about a third of the
people on t he li st. Neve rt he le ss , it may be in
d icat ive. I was able to identify a total of 26 in
dividual game choices. Of these, there were 11
votes for Classic games, but 15 votes for
non-Classics. To cit e a few e xample s, Kevin
Combs, t he n l eadi ng t he p ack, likes D-DA YRUSSIAN CAMPAIGN and PANZERBLITZ.
Robert Chiang, a f orme r l ea der , is big on
PANZERBLITZ PANZER LEADER and
ARAB-ISRAELI WARS. Tom Oleson, always
highly ranked, is widely known as an ANZIO nut,
while Frank Freemon is a RUSSIAN CAM
PAIGN specialist. So it is definitely not true that
the best garners are the Classics players.
A second point that needs to be made is that,
precisely be ca use they a re ol de r games, t he
Classics have fallen way behind the current state
of the art. For all i ts shortcomings, RUSSIAN
CAMPAIGN is a quantum leap ahead of STAL
INGRAD in terms of authenticity. I play to com
pete, but I play wargames b ec au se t hey a re
simulations. All other things being equal, I would
prefer t o p lay the game that is the better simula
tion.
Third, the Classics tournament is perhaps go
ing to have to have more support from AH i fi t is
to prosper. t used to be the richest tournament at
Origins, and in terms of the total purse, i t prob
ably sti ll is. However, the competition is coming
on strong. The f i rs t -p lace prize in th e
PANZ ERGRUPPE GUDERIAN tournament
this yearwas considerablyhigher thanthat forthe
Classics. This fact alone was enough to persuade
me to go outand buy a copy of PGG. I have fan
tasies of someday winning enough to b e ab le t o
pay for the trip to the convention, you see.
Theother reasons for thedecline in populari
ty of the Classics were touched upon in your let
ter. The tournament overlapswith too many other
desirableactivities, primarily because it takes too
long. The number of rounds needs to be reduced,
but the idea of cutting the field back from 128 to
64 may be self-defeating if the idea is to preserve
the prestige of the tournament. t may simply be
an acknowledgment that we can't scrape together
128 players any more.
My own suggestions for improving thesitua
t ion arethese.Firs t, themix of permitted games in
the tourney needs to be altered drast ically, to
ref lect wha t people a re actua lly p laying these
days. Almos t by def in it ion the Class ics wou ld
dropout, sothe tournament would probably have
to be renamed . How about t he Ava lo n H il l
Masters Tournament? As an alternative, the
Classics tournament might be retained for tho se
who r ea ll y l ike t he o ld g ames , but it m igh t be
downgraded instatus , with the big money moved
o ve r i nt o t he Masters ' . What g ames cou ld b e
p layed in the Masters'? I would suggest Russian
Campaign and Panzerblitz. Bot h a re popular,
and, provided the proper scenarios are chosen,
both can beplayed quitequickly . A good tourna
men t might have fou r rounds, with each player
having t o t ake each sideonce in both games. The
overallwinner would be the onewho turned in the
best overall performance i n t erms of objectives
taken and/or casualties sustained or inflicted.
Both games adapt themselves readily to this
method of determining a winner.
With proper scheduling and restructuring, it
should be possible to arrange things so that a
playercould participatein both the Masters' and a
scaled-down Classics.
Gary Charbonneau
Bloomington, IN 47401
Dear Mr. Greenwood,
I hope that upon reading myletterconcerning
new PBM kits you don't groan aloud and wing it
toward the closest waste basket. Although I've
been a subscriber to The General for onlya short
while, I've a lr ea dy seen sever al l ett er s wi th
subsequent editorial reply concerning this sore
subject. I understand completely that risingcosts,
l it tl e i f any p ro fi t, e tc ., considera tion s prohibit
new PBM kit ventures. that's theway it is , then
that ' s that .
I felt compelled, however, to express why I
and perhaps others, would like to see these new
kits. I l iveina small town inTennesseewith no one
inthe local area to the best of my knowledge, other
than myselfinvolved in wargaming. Thus, to PBM
is the only way I have of enjoying your games, i.e.,
t he ones with PBM kits available. Many of your
latest game titles sound great and I know I'd love
to p lay them, only not by myself.
You've mentioned in former replies on this
subject that manywargamershave theirown PBM
methods for games without AH PBM kits. Would
you be willing to solicit and publish some of these
methods or perhaps include a PBM k it sheet in
your pages that o ne cou ld cop y f rom or have
printed at one's own expense? Or bar ring tha t,
wou ld yo u con si de r p ol li ng your readers to
determine i f a PBM kit for a particular game is
desired enough to warrant manufacturing this kit
with a price that would return a profit? You might
find out that many of us are willing to incur the
expense in order to continue our enjoyment of this
hobby.
Van W Stewart, III
Manchester, TN
One of the major reasons, besides expense,
f or n ot activelyfurthering the pb m kit l ine is the
increased complexity of the newer games. Multi
phase games which are so popular currently are
much more diff icult to pbm an d often require
several mailings per turn. Postalplay in itself is a
difficult enough experiencefor gamerstrying itfor
the first t ime without weighting them down with
the added rules an d inherent complications o f a
multi-phase system. Therefore, we hope to avoid
giving newcomers a wrong steerinto an unpleas
ant pb m exp er ience w it h a d if fi cu lt g ame by
offering kits only fo r those games which are easily
played by post. Once an individual is experienced
with postal play of the classics he can, and will,
readily co me u p with his own systems fo r postal
play o f the more compl icated games . For us to
encourage postalplay o f the harder games would
bea disservice to the novicean dprobably result in
diminishing the actual numbers o f postal enthu
siasts. We will, however, continue to publish the
more interesting tips fo r postalplay o f the multi
ph as e game s in the GEN ER A L as they come
available to us.
P GE
Dear Mr. Greenwood,
Many thanks for your excellent AH
Philosophy Part 73. The letter you received i
quite typical of the sour grapes I l is ten to in the
hobby-usually while playing an AH game-o
what r ip-off artis ts you guys are. I've gotten to
the point of nauseam pointing out whose name
are on t he des ign credi ts for PANZERBLITZ
You r d is ti nc ti on be tween a p ub li sh er and
designer should help to alleviate some of thi
d rive l. Persona lly, I wou ld rather buy a gam
and pay a few dol la rs m ore j ust to get th
mounted mapboard that will last me than have to
buy the same game two years l at er because I'v
worn out the components. You didn't mentio
this aspect of complaints against AH (i.e. cos
which is starting to diminish because of the risin
costs of lesser physical quality games that som
people insis t on dumping on publ ic .
thoroughly enjoyed #16.1 and was pleasantl
surprised with the new scenarios for ANZIO
However , I think Tom missed a golden oppor
tunity to publish a series of lists of those begun i
the appendix of the third ed. rulebook (Non
playable Coastal Hexes, etc.). Perhaps he can b
persuaded to do this soon. One last i tem-I thin
many subscribers are missing the fact that the
DO get a game in most every issue of th
GENERAL. The only difference is that yo
usually already know the basic rules and don
have to stop playing old favorites t o en jo
s omet hi ng new. Dur in g the p resent energ
crunch (real or imagi ned) t hi s f re e Extr
Mileage is muchly appreciated Keep up th
good work
Chester Hendrix
Marysville, CA
Dear Sir:
One of thethingsI've oftenwondered about i
whether it is permissible to photocopy pages of th
GENERAL for persona l u se . I o ft en make copie
of variant art icles (such as the scenario sheets fo
the recent Coral Sea var iant s) to keep with m
g ames . Wou ld I be i ncor re ct in p ro vi di ng s uc
photocopies to others?
William O. Rutherford
Fairfax, VA
A materialin the GEN ERA L is copyrighte
an d reproduct ion with inten t to sel l is strictl
forbidden. However, we don t mind if yo u mak
photocopies f or y ou r personal use. In fa ct , w
often omit color overlaysto aid readers in makincopies of charts they may want to use more than
once. Neither would we mind y our prov idin
photocopies of particular articles or issues from
S OL D O U T back issues NO LONGER in stock
providedyou charge no morefor this service tha
your own expenses. Anyone sellingsuch copiesfo
a profit or distributing copies o f still availabl
back issues would be in violation o f the copyrigh
laws.
Dear Editor,
As a devoted follower of Avalon Hil l f or
number of years , I feel compelled to write an
voice my opinions and concerns on Avalon Hill
recent progress.
I h ave p le as an t memor ie s of the halcyo
days not so long a go, w hen The Avalon Hi
Game Company publishedonly one game a yea
One of the reasons that I looked forward to thChristmas Sea so n wa s b ec au se I k new I wou
see the unveiling of another AH masterpiece.
have always admired Avalon Hill for their reluc
tance to publish an unperfected game, and fo
their resistance to the urge to mass-produc
sloppily-done wargames which your competito
have succumbed to.
However, one cannot help but wonder wit
the increase in newtitles, if thesame high quali t
of previous releases can be upheld in the newe
games . I rea li ze that these fears are probabl
groundless, but I cannot help but worry abou
Avalon Hill becoming like Th e Other gam
company turning out countless unfinishedgame
by a certain deadline.
In other words , I am saying that here is on
subscriber who does not mind delays in the new
releases because of the extra c ar e I know is bein
put into them. So do not rush things
Mark Challioor
Wilmette, IL 60091
8/12/2019 Vol16i3
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PAGE 34 THE GENERA
READER BUYER S GUIDETITLE BISMARCK 12.00
SUBJECT Naval Battle of the Denmark Straits plus
hypothetical surface actions 1940-43.
BISMARCK was t he 4 4t h g ame t o u nd er go
analysis in the RBG and fared exceedingly well.
Thi s may be explained in part by the relatively
small response whi ch b ar el y provided a
statistically valid samp le . We have observed that
games with a smaller numerical following t end to
have a more en thusi as t ic r esponse per average
own er b ecau se t he r at er is more likely t o r ea ct
favorably solely on the basis of t he s ub je ct
mat ter alone. Regardless of the number of naval
enthusiasts, the sixth place rating of BISMARCK
a t 2 .3 7 is both commendable and surprising.
The game showed fine balance throughout
the ratings, bowing ou t of the t opha l f only in the
Ease of Understanding category where several
typos, and t he complex charts and optional rules
of t he Adv an ced Game doub tl ess caused a
rat ings letdown.
On the positive side, however, the 1.69
rat ing for Components s et a new reco rd for that
c at eg or y b ea ti ng t he p re vi ou s b es t, SQUAD
LEADER by .13. Almost as impressive was theRealism score of 1.84 which took second honors
only to C RO SS O F I RO N. Undoubtedly the
game benefi tted from a comparison to its simple
predecessor of the same name. The highly
sophisticated and innovative search procedures
of t he n ew v er si on ad d a g rea t dea l of realism
while not s ub tr ac ti ng excessively from the
playability of the original. It is onlywhen leaving
the Basic Game for a venture into the plethora of
options that the game bogs do wn in a sea of
charts and compl icat ions. Natural ly , the playing
time is variable depending on the range of extras
being utilized to increase realism and the a t tend
ant playing time.
1 Physical Quality 2.162. Mapboard 3.00
3. Components 1.694. Ease of Understanding 2.975. Completeness of Rules 2.636. Play Balance 2.727. Reali sm 1.84
8. Excitement Level 2.09
9. Overall Value 2.3110. Game Length 3 hours, 8 min
Advanced Level Midway-continuedfrom page 30
factor. Screening values c an onl y be used in se lf
defense. Each S.F. box checked-offgivesthe US one
victory point.
Provided that the Japanese have los t at least
three of their four main carriers before Night, June
5 th , the fol lowing optional forces appear on theNight Turn, June 6th: Heavy Cruisers : Takao
Maya (Chokai class) and Light Carriers: Junyo
Ryujo. These carriers have surface and screeningvalues of 2. Aircraft capacities: Junl o: 15 Rl ujo: 3
Aircraft compliments: Junyo:6 F 5 D; Rl Ujo:4 F 6T. Ifthe Japanese bring theseships on the board, theUS player gets two points for each turn he has held
and continues t o hold Midway.
To reflect the presence of destroyers assigned to
e ac h fl eet , t he f ol lowi ng r ul e is added: When a
Japanese battleship uses its own screening value tode fen d itself: + I to screening value. When a
Japanese CY or CYL uses itsown screeningvalue todefend itself: 2 to screening value. When a UScarrier uses its own screening value to defend itself:
3 to screening value. When a ship uses DD screenvalue, it cannot split its AA value, but it can still useconsolidated AA.
US long range bombers on Midway included 6
squadrons of B 1 Ts and I squadron of B-26 s. When
these planes make a high level bombing attack, the
screening AA value equals the average AA value of
the target fleet. Subtract one f rom the number of
hits scored and two f rom the number of attacking
planes shot down. Include destroyer screeningvaluewhen the target is a carrier or BB. These 710ng range
bomber squadrons are subject to CA . P. intercept ion; they have unl imit ed range . The US can only
use each squadron once p er d ay . I f t h e long ra
planes at tack on thesame turn as other planes, tare considered a separate wave and must att
first.
The US also held the battleships Tennessee a
Maryland in res erve to the eas t. These ships wo
only have been committed i f the Japanese air losmade thei r use safe while a t t he s am e time rec
indicated that enemy surface forces would attem
to take Midway. To reflect these conditio
implement the following rule: if the Japanese hlost at least 30 attacksquadrons (D and T) and onafter Night, June 5th, the Japanese I.F. is east of
E area row inclusive, then the US battleships appon the wes t edge of the map three turns after thconditions are met, but no sooner than 0500 Ju
5th. When US ships app ea r o n the board,
v ic to ry poi nt s f or h ol di ng M idway a re halve
drop fractions. Therefore, i f the Japanese br ing
the Junyo force and the US uses t he battleshi
point values for Midway remain normal.
The use of all of these rules will accomplish
correction of earlier, unforeseen, design errors, geach side additional flexibility, and eliminate m
of the stereotype tactical and strategic procedu
now practiced. The screening rules and addi t ion
destroyer s screening value g ives Nagumo
opportunity to advance towards Midway wconsiderably less hazard from air attack.
ttl: ~ V A L O N trlLGAME CO.
COMING UP NEXT TIME
1 1 r _ o o _ ~ _ @ _ ) _ ] _ ~ ~ _ ~ _ i l _ ® _ ~ _ O O _ ~ _ ® _ ~ _ ____
AVALON HILL RBG RATING CHART
rmct<
I
o n
JJ 3C-o
em::J OJ
0
....
Q.
no3-0
i
th e games are ranked by thei r cumulat ive scores which i s an average of the 9 categories for
game Whi le i t may be fairly argued that each category should not weigh equal lyagainst the oth
we use it only as a generalizationof overall rank By breaking down a game s ratings intoindiv
categories the gamer isable to discernfor himsel f where thegame is strong or weak in thequa
he values the most Readers are reminded that the GameLength category is measured in multipl
ten minutes and that a r at ing o f 18 wou ld equal 3 hours.
turn, the Allies may no t count on newly acquired
supply sources to bring on the addit ional units in
Turn 3, t he s ame way that they cannot count on
unit losses to free up sup pl y f or new unit s . The
Allies can , h owev er , b ri ng t he HQ and a new
combat unit on into Le Havre, s ince these two
will au tomat ica ll y be suppl ied by occupying
Le Havre.
RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN:Q. When the SS panzerco rps must be withdrawn,
what happens if one tries to withdraw by sea an d is
sunk?
A. Another p an ze r u ni t mus t be s en t o ff in its
place. Furthermore, t he panzerco rps must be able
to move off by no rmal movemen t, rail or sea
movement. A panzer unit in an isolated pocket
wit h no acces s to the sea could not be withdrawn.
SQUAD LEADER
43.61 Can a level 3 hex s ee a level 0 hex directly
behind a level 2 cliff hexside of the same hill?
A. No, n ote this is an except ionto the case stated
in 43.61.
D-DAY 77
Q: May a supply hex which is cont rol led for
r e in forcement pu rposes be used to supp ly All ied
units no t occupying the hex i f t he hex is i n Ger
man zon e of control?
A: No. The phrase in r ule 1 6.12 stating
through any enemy zone of control shou ld be
r ea d t o m ea n through or to an y hex in enemy
zone of control .
Q: Dur in g t he S up pl y P ha se of Turn 3, the
Allies control fo r supp ly pu rpose hexes R29 and
Q28 . They h av e 1 units on the cont inent being
supplied by these two hexes. During the Move
ment Phase of Turn 3, the Allies p l an t o b r ing an
HQ uni t i n to Le Havre , t hus i ncreas ing supp ly
capacity in Turn 4 to 17 uni ts . Does Rule 16.8
allow the Allies t o b ri ng onto the continent in
Turn 3 a total of 7 new units in anticipation of
t he ir be ing supp l ied f rom Le Havre in Turn 4?
A: No. The phrase in Rule 16.8 stating i f next
turn it would take t h e supp lyaway f rom another
unit on the continent refers to supply available
d ur in g t he Turn 3 S up pl y P ha se , b ef or e a ny
movement . Even i f it would be impossible for the
Germans to regain control of Le Havre in their
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THE GENERAL PAGE
n f i l t r t o r ~ s port
Some people might claim it risky to send
of the air units up at the same time. There
some good reasons to do so. The best cha
the Bri t ish have to find the Bismarck is infirst few turns before the range of possible lo
t ions becomes overwhelming. Secondly, the
search as se t up keeps the German ships m
than tw o zones away f rom the ship patrol
between Ice land and the Faeroes. This g
these ships a second chance to hold the lin
bad weather occurs. I f t he visibility appears
it is going to stay bad you can give up
gressive air search and keep enough units in
air to keep your ship search going and send
rest home to ref it . When the LR Recon units
ready to return to base you ll have the tw o la
based bombers ready to fly as temporary s
s ti tu tes. I f you are lucky and good visibi l ity
curs, the air units can remain away fo r a cou
of turns without risking the integrity of the l
fourth moves respect ively forcing the Norfo
and Suffolk to use h igh speed shadow to ke
in t ouch . I f by the end of the start of the fi
move th e Bismarck has no t been discovere
the Suffolk should be moved to B7 with t
Norfolk tw o hexes behind.
A good airtight patrol line gives the Brit
p layer some luxury in the placement of his tw
mobile battleships. They need no t be plac
directly in the center of the patrol line. By pla
ing them in G 16 they can aid in search a
favorably react to any possible German mo
for the f ir st tw o turns. The advantage in plac
them here is t ha t t hey free air units norma
slated to guard the Faeroe- Britain gap fo r mo
aggressive search operations.
The Arethusa Manchester and Birmingha
should be moved to D 1 2, D 1 3 and E14 to fo
a patrol line between Ice land and the Faer
Islands. They change to patrol mode in the neturn. I f bad weather occurs the Birmingham a
Manchester can retreat to E1 3 and F 14 respe
tively without fear of German penetration.
One LR Recon air unit must be placed wit
tw o zones of Bergen. On the second turn it c
move there on patrol to search. The bes t u
f or t he j obis
oneof
thetw o
basedi n Eir e
and
placed in F18. The tw o LR Recon a ir units
Plymouth should be placed in 8. From h
they can support any pat ro l ship in line and
reinforce the Eire air unit into Bergen. The ot
air units are placed as indicated to search th
of the zones the German ships can reach a t
maximum first turn bonus. On the next t
they re in excellent posit ion to search fart
north if visibi l ity improves or s tays t he sa
and to reinforce the ships and coastal region
the v is ib il it y deter io ra tes. I f thi s s itua tion
curs, the P lymouth bomber un it should be s
north to increase the coastal search at H 17
The Prince of Wales and Hood should nev
be split within reach of the Bismarck The G
man batt leship could quickly sink either alo
with little damage to herself. I f t hi s did occu
the Bismarck need no longer fear Brit
surveil lance and would probably break shado
before effective measures could be taken (i.
intercept ing with at least tw oth
battleships). The Prince of Wales and the Ho
should a lso always try to remain between t
Bismarck and the Atlan ti c. Th is k eeps t he
tw o ships on interior lines and able to interce
(rather than chase) the Bismarck once shediscovered.
patrol or movement
movement
reconnaissance
movement
movement
movement
reconnaissance
patrol
movement
movement
movement
movement
in task force
movement
Mode at end of
f i rst move
B7
01 3
E14
C7
012
G16
G16
Position
at end
of first
move
1 . Norfolk
2. Birmingham
3. Manchester
4. Suffolk
5. Arethusa
6 . Hood
7. Prince of Wales
1. Scapa LR R ec on A F16
2. Scapa LR R ec on B 015
3. Scapa Bomber 1 5
4. Hva Ifiord LR Recon 01 5
5 . E ire LR R ec on A F18
6. Eire LR R ec on B F16
7. Eire Bomber G 16
8. Plymouth LR 8
Recon A land) movement
9. P lymouth LR 8
Recon B land) movement
10 . P lymout h Bomber no movement
The Bri tis h p la ye r must always revert to
maximum German movement when set ting up
his positions and searches. I f t he German ships
are no t located after a few turns of search, at
least he is sure that they haven t passed
through his patrol line.
The d iscuss ion so far has ignored the ef
f ec ts o f weather on search capability. Although
no defense can prevent the German ships from
breaking out i f the visibi li ty is at level X, a good
defense should and can effectively adapt to the
greatest possible changes in weather. Once the
Bri t ish player has ensured that his patrol l in e i s
leakproof, he can use whatever is left over to
actively look f or t he German ships.
The Norfolk and Suffolk are usually given
t he j ob of guarding the s trai ts between Iceland
and Green land if for no other reason than
they re closest to it. It is best to leave both
ships there even though onl y one is needed to
guard the passage a t e it he r B8, B7 or C7 .
The second ship can t really help anywhere
else and it has a nice ploy it can tr y in conjunc
tion with t he f ir st . The Norfolk and Suffolk
should never be placed adjacent to one another.
If a German ship makes a tw o zone move
through one ship i nto the other in bad weather
or fog, it can escape the search of both in the
same turn . It is best to keep them one zone
apart to prevent this and to allow one to move
to support the other in case of visibility level 5 .
The Norfolk stays where it is on patrol. It is best
to leave her at B7 and no t place her in B8 or C7
because a t max imum movemen t, bot h t he is-
marck and Prinz Eugen can reach B7 at the end
of the ir move. At maximum movement, they
pass through B8 or C 7 during their f ifth and
Ai r Units
Ship
they can do damage? The l onger his ships re
main on patr ol after a breakthrough, the more
di ff icu l t i t will be to organize a search once he
discovers the Germans have escaped. uteven
wor se , if he prematurely abandons the patrol
line, he is practically giving the German ships
free passage i nt o t he A tl an ti c. I t is a situation
which the British player must t ry to avoid at all
costs.
The previously stalled FORTRESS EUROP
project is once again proceeding full t i lt wi th the
assignment of a new game developer here at
Avalon Hill. Those interested in applying fo r a
playtesting position for this game should
address their inquiries directly to new projecthead Alan Moon c/o Avalon Hill. Experience with
RUS SI AN CAM PA IGN is a prerequisite.
A lth ou gh b y-m ail te stin g is expected,
preference will be given to those who can attend
l ive sessions with the developer either during the
week or on Saturdays dur ing normal working
hours.
It was obvious that Contest No. 89 was
based on a mail-order only game even without
knowing the sub ject matter as the number of
ent ries fel l of f dramati ca ll y f rom the previous
issue s CROSS OF IRON contest . Hopeful ly the
recent release of the 3rd edit ion of ANZIO to the
retail trade wi ll get th is excel lent game into more
common usage in the years ahead. In any case,
Tom O leson s puzzle for the new Diadem
scenario stumped all but four entrants. Those
winners were: Philip Rennert, Washington, D.C.;
Claude Drong, Spring Grove, IL; Mark Simonitch,
Concord , CA; and Carl Anderson of Peekskill,
NY.
While exact prices have nd t been determined
yet, it seems a safe assumption that the New
Year will bring a new round of price increases as
we struggle to keep up with double digit infla
tion. The coming Xmas season may be your last
chance to make that game purchase you ve
been pondering fo r so long before the prices go
up again.
The solut ion for Contest 90 is as follows:
When d is tr ibut ing his f or ces, t he British
player must guard primarily against a quick Ger
man outbreak. He must make sure that a Ger
man ship moving at maximum speed does no t
get i nt o t he Atlantic before he has a chance to
close the gaps between Britain and Greenland.
The worst possible situation that could possibly
befall Britain is to know that a poor set-up could
have given the German a chance to escape into
the Atlantic undetected. Does he continue to
maintain his Greenland to Britain patrol in the
hope that the German ships are still east or does
he give it up and send his ships out i nt o t he
Atlantic in a futile hope of locating them before
Vol. 1 6, No.1 started the new publication
year of f right with a fine 2.67 overall rating
making it the 6t h best issue ever. Tom Oleson s
Analyzing th e Gus ta v Line was the most
popular article with 333 points on our 1 200
point maximum scoring system. As might be ex
pected, following close behind with 32 6 points
was Tom s other article Hitting The Beaches
Again which proposed the fi ve new ANZIO
scenarios on which his winning analyt ical article
was based.Total voting fo r the issue was as follows:
Analyzing the Gustav Line 33 3
Hitting the Beaches Again 32 6
British Victory in Third Reich 23 3
ANZIO Designer s Notes. . . . . . . . 87
The 1776 Thesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
PANZER BLITZ Series Replay . . . . . 73
The Aggressive Tightrope . . . . . . . 41
The Asylum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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