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8/12/2019 Vol16i3


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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8/12/2019 Vol16i3


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.

8/12/2019 Vol16i3


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

8/12/2019 Vol16i3


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


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


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

8/12/2019 Vol16i3


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

8/12/2019 Vol16i3


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