Ambush!: Purple Heart
Ambush!: Purple Heart Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- 2. US Vehicles
- 3. Game Parts
- 4. Paragraphs
- 5. Radios
- 6. New Maps and Terrain
- 7. New Counters
- 8. Random Destruction
- 9. Optional Rule
- 10. Rules Clarifications and Errata
- 11. Hints and Reminders
- Mission 13: Drop Outs
- Mission 14: Reconnaissance in Force
- Mission 15: Homecoming
- Mission 16: On Guard
- Mission 17: The Racer's Edge
- Mission 18: The Morning After
- Vehicle Summary
- Artillery Scatter Diagram
- Additional Weapon
2. US Vehicles
2/1 Independent US Vehicles
Many of the US vehicles you encounter in Purple Heart are not under your command. Instead, they move and fight just as German vehicles do, following all movement and combat rules just as if they were German (with the exception that the US vehicles will not attack your squad). US Vehicle Cards contain Condition, Action Die Roll, and Paragraph references which direct the vehicles' actions. Movement is conducted from hex to hex, using the current Condition Card movement references, moving the vehicle to the hex indicated as if the vehicle were German. However, these vehicles do make Paragraph Checks, the same as US soldiers. In all cases, the current German Action Die Roll number is used to determine the US vehicle actions. Remain in Rounds as long as active US vehicles not under your control are on the map, even if there are no active Germans on the map. New paragraphs have been included to assure that the US vehicles will not kill your squad members (but careless soldiers can be run over). Should you wish to use these vehicles for your own purposes, resist the temptation. Do not, for instance, put incapacitated soldiers into a US jeep that is not under your control. If your squad begins a Mission with control over a vehicle, you can use that vehicle as described in 17. of the Ambush! rules.
2/2 New Tank Actions
There are two new TANK ACTIONS (see 17/13 of Ambush! rules) available to the tanks in Purple Heart: pushing and crunching. These actions are not specifically called for by paragraph; the tanks will automatically perform one or the other when circumstances dictate. (Just as a tank is not instructed by paragraph to try to run over a slow soldier in his path, but it does so if given the opportunity.)
Pushing Vehicles. If a US or German tank begins its turn adjacent to a hex containing 2 immobile large vehicles and is instructed to enter their hex, it will attempt to push one out of its way. (If a tank encounters the two vehicles during movement, it will stop moving in an adjacent hex. The next time that it is instructed to move, it will push.) The pushing tank makes an Accident Check: If the tank fails the Check, then its push attempt also fails: it remains in the hex it attempted the push from, and it must roll on the Accident Table and apply any results immediately. If the tank passes the Check, the vehicle being pushed is moved to the adjacent hex that would cost a tank the least MP's to enter (i.e., clear before cover; cover before rough; etc.), and the pushing tank is moved into the hex the pushed vehicle occupied. A vehicle may never be pushed into a hex that a tank is prohibited from entering, nor can it be pushed into the hex the pushing tank just came from. The vehicle making the push attempt cannot perform any other action that turn.
Crunching Vehicles. If entering a hex that contains a small vehicle holding active enemy targets, a tank will attempt to run it over, making 2 Accident Checks, one just prior to and the other just after the crunch. If the tank passes the first Check, the small vehicle is immediately disabled. Each passenger conducts an immediate PC Check: If successful, the passenger is placed prone and unharmed in the same hex; passengers which fail their PC Checks roll for damage as if hit by a satchel charge (outside). If the tank fails the first Accident Check, it does not crunch the vehicle and loses the rest of its turn. (It does not suffer an Accident, however.) If the tank has successfully crunched a vehicle, then it makes the second Accident Check; if it fails this Check it has an Accident.
If a tank is instructed to enter a hex that contains 2 vehicles, at least one of which is small and does not contain active soldiers friendly to the tank, the tank can enter that hex by crunching one vehicle.
3. Game Parts
Purple Heart provides new counters, three new maps (one full map and two half-maps), new Mission Cards, new German Cards, and this Rules/Paragraph booklet. It is necessary to own the original Ambush! counters, maps, view sleeve, and dice to play Purple Heart. You will not need the original Ambush! Paragraph Booklet, German Cards, or Mission Cards, nor is it necessary to own a copy of Move Out! (though, if you enjoy playing Ambush!, we do suggest that you run right out and buy it).
4. Paragraphs
The paragraphs in the rear of this booklet form the heart of the game, and they should not be read until called for by a Paragraph Check or other game instruction. The paragraphs are numbered from 300 to 1000, with intentional gaps.
5. Radios
A radio may be given to your squad at the start of a Mission. If so, it requires one Port Box to be carried.
A radio is considered manned as long as it is in a hex with an active US soldier. When a radio is manned, a paragraph may allow you to send or receive instructions by radio. A radio is unmanned if not in a hex with an active US soldier, or if it has been destroyed.
When the soldier carrying a radio is wounded, incapacitated, or killed, by whatever means, there is a chance that the radio is also destroyed. Roll percentile dice: If the result is 25 or less, the radio is destroyed and is useless for the remainder of the Mission.
6. New Maps and Terrain
6/1 The New Map Sheets
Purple Heart includes one new full size map (Map C) and two half-maps (Maps D & E). The half-maps, when called upon by a scenario Set Up, are placed on top of either Map A or B from your Ambush! game.
Placing Half-Maps. When so instructed, place the half-map over the bottom of the original map so that hexes A10 through Y10 of the half-map lie directly over the same hexes of the original. It is suggested that you paper-clip the maps together.
6/2 New Terrain
Vineyards are treated like cover hexes, except that wheeled vehicles may never enter a vineyard hex.
Level 4 Hexes in no way effect or change the Ambush! LOS rules except that from the top of a Level 4 hilltop you can see quite a bit.
Stone Wall Hexsides are about 4 feet high and cost an additional +1 MP for soldiers to cross. Tracked vehicles may cross at a cost of +2 MP's; they must make an immediate Accident Check in the new hex crossed into. Wheeled vehicles may not cross intact stone wall hexsides.
If a soldier is prone and adjacent to a stone wall hexside, any and all LOS traced through that hexside to or from the soldier is blocked. This is the only time stone wall hexsides effect LOS.
When a target is adjacent to a stone wall hexside, and LOS passes through that hexside, modify Fire Combat as follows:
Stone Wall Fire Combat Modifiers
Soldier Prone Adjacent: Prohibited.
Soldier Standing Adjacent: −2 to Hit.
Soldier Crouching Adjacent: −3 to Hit.
Vehicle Adjacent: −2 to Hit and +2 to die roll when determining location on Vehicle Hit Chart (note that any modified roll greater than 9 is 9).
Soldiers and vehicles which receive stone wall hexside Fire Combat modifiers receive no other Fire Combat modifiers, regardless of the terrain in the hex they occupy. Stone wall hexsides may be destroyed and penetrated in the same manner as stone walls, and the effect on targets adjacent to stone wall hexsides as they are destroyed or penetrated is the same as well (as outlined in 13/5 of the Ambush! Rules). There is a +4 Fire Combat modifier when aiming at a stone wall hexside.
The Monument Hex blocks all LOS, and the hex may not be entered. Since it was designed by a famous French sculptor, you lose 100 VP's if you intentionally destroy it.
All-Water Hexes may not be entered (unless specifically allowed in a scenario briefing or paragraph) and never block LOS.
Alley Hexes represent very narrow passages between buildings, woods, and other objects. They are considered clear/road hexes, except that tanks and Jagdpanthers in full alley hexes can fire their weapons only down the hexrow that the front of the vehicle counter faces. Note that partial alley hexes (such as N12 on map E) have no effect on play.
Wharf Hexes may not be entered by land vehicles.
Sub Pens. The large building on Map D running roughly from hex C16 to I15 is a sub pen. The 13 hexes which surround water are made of reinforced concrete and cannot be penetrated by any weapons or explosives. The remaining hexes (G14, H13, H14, H15, I15) are normal stone building hexes. Each sub pen hex is considered a clear/interior hex and may be moved through by soldiers normally.
Beach Hexes are clear hexes, except they cost 2 MP's for soldiers and vehicles to enter.
Fuel Tanks. The 2 fuel tanks on Map D are 1 story high and block LOS the same as a building. These hexes may not be entered by soldiers/vehicles, because they take up the entire hex (as do bunkers).
7. New Counters
In addition to providing more counters of types that you are familiar with from playing Ambush!, Purple Heart offers some new counter types that are necessary for play.
Casualties. Certain Missions will call for the placement of Casualty markers as part of sightings; these markers represent 1, 2, or 3 recently killed or incapacitated US or German soldiers. They do not give VP penalties or awards, unless specifically indicated in a Mission paragraph or briefing.
Destroyed Wall Hexside. When a wall hexside is destroyed by a bazooka or main gun shot, place one of these markers in a hex with the arrow on the marker facing the destroyed hexside. This will help you remember which hexside is now open. Remember that if a second hexside of the same building hex is destroyed, that building hex turns into rubble (see 13/5 of the Ambush! rules).
Jam. Used as generic jam markers if a certain type of weapon counter is unavailable.
Vehicle AR Markers. Some new vehicles are provided with double-letter codes on their counters and have matching double-letter coded AR markers with IN ratings from 5 to 0 to reflect crew loss. (When a vehicle takes a crew loss, flip over or replace the AR marker so that the new lower IN is exposed, and place the marker in the new correct IN column of the AR Track.)
The German vehicles receive turns in alphabetical order, with double-letter AR markers following single-letter AR markers. (For example, German L would go, then German vehicle LL, then German M, etc.). You decide the order that US vehicles and US soldiers receive turns.
Counter illustrations (not text-transcribed): the printed page 5 also shows the Engine, Locomotive, Box Car, Car, Spotlight, Dam, Destroyed Rail, Flood, Coastal Defense Gun, Halftrack, Dog (live and dead), Explosive, and Broken Tread counters. The booklet gives no rules text for them.
8. Random Destruction
Bridges, buildings, walls, sightings, etc., which players encounter during play should under no circumstances be destroyed or shot at unless they contain active targets, or their destruction is specifically allowed in a mission briefing or in a paragraph instruction. Players should understand that if they destroy a bridge without reason, the game system will not know that the bridge is down, which will result in illogical movement situations that can ruin a mission's programming.
9. Optional Rule
Two of the new maps provided in Purple Heart contain quite a few buildings. The German soldiers and vehicles, however, have no provision for firing at targets lying prone in building hexes, because they are not in sight, and therefore not valid targets, even though German weapons are quite capable of penetrating buildings. The following optional German action is highly suggested because it allows the German soldiers to fire at these hidden targets. Letting them do so is much more realistic, and evens things up a bit.
If a German soldier has fired at a visible target in a wooden building hex, receives a subsequent order to fire again, but has no target because the US soldier has since fallen prone, the German may now fire at the wall in an attempt to achieve a penetration result. Conduct the following procedure for the German:
-
If the paragraph gives no other options for the German (i.e., move, surrender, throw a grenade, etc.), the German conducts a PC Check: If successful, the German will fire at the wall; if fails, the German will do nothing.
-
If the German is allowed to fire at the wall, he will crouch and conduct the procedure outlined in 13/5 of the Ambush! rules.
NOTE: A German tank will conduct the same procedure outlined above, but will fire its main gun at a stone wall, its coaxial or bow MG at a wooden wall.
10. Rules Clarifications and Errata
Following are corrections and explanations for various Ambush! rules. it is suggested that you read through them to ensure that you are playing the game correctly.
5/4 Sightings (Clarification) A sighting reference on a Mission Card, such as s3 or s5, indicates that the sighting may occur. Do not mark the sighting off on your Squad Record until it does occur. A sighting occurs only when you read a paragraph preceded by a Sighting Reference (such as paragraph 019 or 021 in the original Ambush! Paragraph Booklet.)
6/1, 3. Action Phase (Clarafication) The right hand column under the Exception should read: The paragraph that activates the Germans and initiates Rounds may state that one side or the other has the advantage in the first Round. Advantage is thus pre-determined by the paragraph, although you still roll in order to place AR markers on the correct Turns. (Correction) Under Panic on the same page and column, Germans may also Panic as a result of combat (13/1).
8/2 Embankments (Clarification) When LOS crosses an embankment hexside and one of the sighting hexes is on a lower level than the embankment hexside, the LOS is blocked, unless the other sighting hex is adjacent to the embankment hexside on the same level as the embankment. For example, a soldier in hex O11 on Map C could not see a target in hex T8 since the embankment on the Q10/R9 hexside blocks the LOS even from the level 4 hilltop. However, the target could be seen in hex U8 since U8 is on the same level as the embankment. Note that in neither case does the embankment on the O11/P10 hexside block LOS, since hex O11 is adjacent to and on the same level as this embankment.
9/4 Clearing a Jammed Weapon (Clarification) A German with a jammed weapon will use his second weapon, if he has one; otherwise, he will attempt to unjam his weapon. When a German Action Paragraph requires him to fire, he attempts to unjam his weapon instead. If a German becomes weaponless due to breakage or ammo depletion, he will attempt to acquire a weapon from another German or inactive US soldier in his hex, using the Pick Up/Exchange Equipment action (5/3, 6/7). Use this action instead of the action indicated on his card as soon as he is in a hex with a suitable weapon.
9/7 Machinegunners (Clarification) If a German soldier's card says assists firing, that soldier will always assist the primary machinegunner in the hex, if he has a turn remaining and the other soldier is instructed to fire the machinegun. However, when the assistant receives a turn prior to the other machinegunner, he will do whatever his Action Paragraph instructs him to do, whether it is lie prone, stand and throw grenade, or, indeed, assist firing machinegun. (This clarification will make machinegunners a little less deadly and a little more human).
10/1, 5. Determine Target Damage (Clarification) If a soldier is prone in a hex where a grenade explodes, he is considered Panicked instead of Wounded if the damage result is located on the Wnd/Prone column. For example, on the Grenade Outside Row, a die result of 5 or 6 is treated as a wound if the soldier is standing or crouching, and as panic if he is prone.
10/2 Grenade Strike PC Check (Addition) Tanks and soldiers inside vehicles may not make this PC Check.
11/1 Assault (Clarification) A soldier assaulting a target in a wheeled vehicle must first enter the vehicle (1 MP). You cannot assault a target in a tank, Jadgpanther, or E Boat.
11/2 Capture (Change) A captured German may be moved in Rounds, but the Movement Allowance of the German and his guard is reduced to 2. The German still has a free stance change unless already wounded. The German is still inactive, and his Actions are determined by those of his guarding soldier. If a captured German subsequently escapes, put him in Self Preservation for the rest of the Mission; if he begins a turn not in sight of US soldier, remove him from the map.
17/3, 17/4 Vehicle Movement (Correction) You may not intentionally drive a vehicle into a crater hex; however, a movement reference might force a vehicle to enter one. If so, the vehicle enters the hex at a cost of 3 MP's, and makes an immediate Accident Check. Craters have no effect on fire combat against vehicles.
17/6 Fire Combat Against Vehicles (Addition) Although a closed tank is considered an active target for a German soldier, a soldier will not fire at a closed tank if only armed with a weapon (such as a pistol or bolt rifle) that has no chance of achieving the penetration necessary to do damage to the vehicle. The German will ignore those parts of a paragraph instructing him to do so.
17/12 Running Over Soldiers (Addition) If a US vehicle attempts (and fails) to run over a German soldier and wants to try again in the same turn, the vehicle must exit the hex, turn around sharply (1 MP), and conduct an Accident Check in the hex where it performed the sharp turn. If successful, the vehicle can return to the hex containing the German soldier and once more attempt to run him over.
Chart and Table Card
Assault Table. A result of "—" indicates no effect.
Weapon Type Chart. Automatic Rifle Medium Range should be "10-16" instead of "10-13." Grenade Outside Medium Range should be "3-4" instead of "2-4." Wnd/Prone result column indicates that, if this result is rolled, a prone soldier is panicked, rather than wounded; a standing or crouching soldier is wounded.
Accident Table Results:
Disabled (Addition) When a car becomes disabled, all surviving occupants lose any remaining turns that Round and are automatically considered to be outside the vehicle, crouching in cover.
Crash (Correction) If a German vehicle fails an Accident Check and receives a Crash result on the Accident Table, the crash procedure should be somewhat modified. Consult the Movement References on the Mission Card to determine the hexes the vehicle will move through, instead of moving the vehicle 2 hexes in a straight line. While this may occasionally result in a somewhat unreasonable crash around a corner, it will keep any surviving Germans on track, and allow them to move on foot.
11. Hints and Reminders
- If you need to remember a specific paragraph, write down the paragraph number and a few words describing it, such as: Victory Conditions: 666. When you are instructed to look at a paragraph at a certain time, make a note of the paragraph number and situation that must exist before you can look it up. This could save you from an enormous amount of wasted time and frustration later in the Mission, especially in Purple Heart, which has some very complicated paragraphs.
- When you purchase weapons for your squad, remember that each weapon comes with one round of free ammo. This ammo still takes up one Ammo Box, however. A soldier cannot carry 6 rounds of ammo and 'one in the weapon.' Note also that a pistol and a round of ammo for it each take up an ammo box.
- Don't forget to conduct grenade/satchel charge PC Checks! Both German and US soldiers (not in a vehicle) have the chance to fall prone and/or throw the thing away (see 10/2 of the Ambush! rules).
- Bazookas are a squad's best friend. Not only are they vital for such difficult tasks as blowing up tanks, but they are often extremely helpful when attempting to take out the odd machinegun nest hidden in a building. Remember that any stone or wood wall hit by a non-dud bazooka round is automatically destroyed, and any soldiers behind the wall are hit and take damage as if by semi-automatic rifle fire.
- Move soldiers in a crouched position during Operations. This can mean the difference between life and death for your men.
- Use your commanders to give turns to soldiers with good Weapon Skills. (We have seen Private C move into a German's hex, assault to kill, fail, assault again, fail again, and finally succeed before the German had a chance to respond.)
- Although there is no right way to attack a bunker or occupied building, crouching next to one of its windows may be the safest (unless the crafty German stands up!).
- Once a crew weapon has been set up in a hex, any soldiers in that hex may fire it, without spending an action to set it up again.
- If a wounded German is instructed to enter a hex that he will never be able to (due to his halved Movement Point Allowance), move him into the hex anyway. Otherwise he will spend the rest of the Mission trying to get out of that one hex.
- Place Event markers every time the word appears on the Mission Card as a result of a Paragraph Check, even if a subsequent die roll indicates No Event.
Editor's note: the Table of Contents lists "Scenarios" at page 8, but no "Scenarios" heading is printed on that page; the Missions begin directly with their titles, which are used as the section headings below.
Mission 13: Drop Outs
6 June 1944. Somewhere in Northern France. Part of the pre-dawn air assaults prior to D-Day, your squad has landed miles from its drop zone. All night your men have tried in vain to link up with any Allied units. As dawn approaches, it seems that your men may very well have to surrender — after all, what can so few do against so many?
Your Squad
As a prelude to this mission your men conduct a Landing Quality Check (see below) to determine how well they survived the paradrop into northern France. First, outfit your squad, but because of difficulties in carrying equipment on paradrops, the soldiers are limited in the types and amount of equipment they can bring on the mission. You cannot buy the following types of weapons for your squad:
Medium Machineguns Semi-Automatic Rifles
When parachuting, a soldier can carry one Port Box of weapons and his full complement of ammo. You may place up to four Port Boxes of weapons and eight Ammo Boxes of ammo in a weapons cache (that makes the paradrop with you). Bazookas, BAR's, satchel charges and bazooka ammo must be placed in the weapons cache during the drop; they cannot be parachuted in with a soldier. After the Landing Quality Check, a soldier can carry equipment normally, and you can redistribute the surviving weapons and ammo as you wish.
Set Up
Use Map A (from Ambush!). The top of the map is the east edge. Your soldiers enter on any hex between I1 and Y1 (inclusive). No markers begin the mission on the map. The Activation Levels are as follows:
c1: 0-1. c2: 0-3. c3: 0-5. c4: 0-8.
Landing Quality Check
This sequence should be performed after your squad has been prepared and armed and the contents of the weapons cache have been determined. The paradrop takes place off-map; after it is completed the mission begins. Conduct the following procedure for each soldier to see what kind of landing he made:
-
Roll one die to determine the type of terrain the soldier or cache landed in: 0-3: Clear/Road; 4-6: Cover/Brush; 7-8: Woods/Building; 9: River.
-
Once the type of terrain has been determined, roll one die and locate the result under the correct terrain to determine the landing quality:
Clear/Road 0-8: Good landing. 9: Bad landing. The soldier is wounded.
Cover/Brush 0-8: Good landing. 9: Bad landing. Roll one die again: On a roll of 0-4, the soldier is wounded; 5-9, the soldier is incapacitated.
Woods/Building 0-4: Good landing. 5-9: Bad landing. Roll one die again: On a roll of 0-5 there is no effect; on a roll of 6-8, the soldier is wounded; on a roll of 9, roll one die again. On a roll of 0-4, the soldier is wounded; on a roll of 5-9, the soldier is incapacitated.
River 0-8: Good landing. 9: Bad landing. Roll one die again. On a roll of 0-4, the soldier just misses the river and lands safely on a river bank; on a roll of 5-9, the soldier lands in the river and drowns. All his equipment is lost.
- All soldiers which survived the landing may begin this mission as described in the Set Up. Once all soldiers have been accounted for, determine in what kind of terrain the weapons cache landed. If it landed in a River hex, it and all it was carrying is lost. Otherwise, roll one die: 0-8, the cache was found by your men; 9 the cache was lost and the squad will have to do the best they can with what they have.
Once you have completed the procedure for the entire squad and the cache, you can distribute whatever equipment survived the drop among your squad as you see fit. Equipment from killed or incapacitated soldiers is available, unless the soldier landed in the river.
Special Rules
Night Visibility. The mission occurs during the night and visibility is reduced to 4 hexes unless specifically stated otherwise. A soldier can trace an LOS only 4 hexes, exclusive of the hex the soldier occupies.
River. The water barrier running from hexes H1 to R16 is a river and may only be crossed at an intact bridge.
Victory
The number of Victory Points needed to win and the way the mission ends will be revealed during play.
Mission 14: Reconnaissance in Force
22 July 1944. South of Caen, France. As part of the prelude to a major Allied breakout, your squad is being sent out on a reconnaissance in force of the perimeter to determine the German positions. Your squad will rendezvous with Squad 2 of Baker Company at map coordinates J8, a tactically important road intersection. Your squad must reach that position as quickly as possible and link up with the other squad.
Your Squad
Buy new weapons for your squad and receive a radio and 2 jeeps for free. The jeeps are under your control; each is capable of carrying four men and all their equipment.
If you purchase a medium machinegun, you can mount it on a jeep for a cost of 2 extra Weapons Points. A medium machinegun mounted on a jeep cannot be removed from the jeep; if the jeep is wrecked so is the gun. The machinegun is fired by Passenger 1; any other passenger can assist. The driver of the jeep can neither fire nor assist firing the machinegun. The jeep can still carry four men and their equipment.
Set Up
Use Map C. The top of the map is west; your squad, loaded into the jeeps, enters the north mapedge in hex Y7. The Activation Levels are as follows:
c1: 0-1. c2: 0-6. c3: 0-8.
Special Rules
River. The water barrier running from the lake to hex Y15 is a river and may be crossed only at an intact bridge.
Victory
Victory Points and how the mission ends will be revealed during play.
Mission 15: Homecoming
25 August 1944. Rhone Valley, France. On a commando raid deep behind enemy lines, your squad was cut off and isolated. After 12 hours of hard fighting, they finally broke out of the encirclement. Now your men are heading back to camp, exhausted but proud of a mission well done.
Your Squad
Buy new equipment for your squad. After the squad has been armed and supplied, roll on the following chart to determine how much ammo has been consumed. For every member of your squad, roll a die for each type of ammo that soldier possesses. Cross-reference the number obtained on the correct column in the chart below and subtract the ammo lost on your Squad Record.
Ammunition Used Before the Mission Begins
| Die | Ammo Clips | Grenades | Bazooka Rounds | Satchel Charges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | − | − | − | − |
| 1 | − | − | − | − |
| 2 | − | − | − | − |
| 3 | −1 | − | − | − |
| 4 | −1 | − | − | − |
| 5 |
−1, −2, −3: The number of rounds/clips subtracted from the soldier's record. Out: The soldier is completely out of the type of ammo indicated. (−): No effect.
NOTE: Ammo reduction called for in excess of what a soldier actually possesses is ignored.
Set Up
Use Map C. The top of the map is the west. Your soldiers may enter the north mapedge between hexes Y15 and Y19 (inclusive). The camp is located beyond the south mapedge. Place a Dam marker in hex N5. There are no Activation Levels.
Special Rules
Dam. Hex N5 may be entered or exited from hex O5 and M6 only. The dam is considered level 2 clear terrain. When moving into the dam hex ignore the embankment hexsides indicated along hexes M6 and O5.
Dry Riverbed. Because of the dam in hex N5, all river hexes from hexes N6 to hex Y15 are dry riverbed and should be treated as Cover hexes for all game purposes.
Victory
Victory Points and how the mission ends will be revealed during play.
Mission 16: On Guard
3 September 1944. Rhone Valley, France. The Allied supply lines grow longer as the Germans retreat faster: General Truscott has just been informed by Allied HQ that his armored advance must stop when present supplies run out. Your veteran squad has been hand-picked by the General himself to guard the forward gasoline supply depot near the city of Dijon. Don't let him down!
Your Squad
Buy new equipment for your squad and receive 2 jeeps for free. The jeeps are under your command.
Set Up
Use Map C. The top of the map is the east. You must set your men up in a wide perimeter to guard from all directions: Two men must be within 10 hexes (inclusive) of each map corner (hexes A1, A19, Y1, Y19). You may place the jeeps where you wish. IMPORTANT: No soldier can start the mission in the depot itself (the building occupying hexes U15, U16, V12, V14, V15, W13, W14, W15). Once you have set up, either move your men as normal in Operations, or, if you do not wish to move them from their present positions, begin the mission by making Paragraph Checks for the hexes your men currently occupy. The Activation Levels are as follows:
c1: 0-1. c2: 0-3. c3: 0-6. c4: 0-8. c5: 0-8.
Special Rules
Night Visibility. The mission occurs on a bright, moonlit night: Visibility is reduced to 6 hexes. A soldier can trace an LOS only 6 hexes, excluding his own hex.
River. The water barrier is a river and may only be crossed at an intact bridge.
Alert. Each soldier is considered On Alert. When Rounds are commenced, determine Awareness normally: Any Aware US soldier is considered In Command for the first Round. All US soldiers are considered Aware and In Command during the second Round. After the second Round, Command must be determined normally for the rest of the mission.
Victory
Victory Points and how the mission ends will be revealed during play.
Mission 17: The Racer's Edge
15 March 1945. Western Germany. Racing at the head of an Allied pincers, your squad has reached the Moselle River! Orders direct your men to destroy all bridges across the Moselle, cut off the retreating German remnants, and close the trap!
Your Squad
Buy new equipment for your men and receive 5 satchel charges for free.
Set Up
Use Maps B (from Ambush!) and E. Place Map E over the lower half of Map B so that hex A9 of Map B is adjacent to hex A10 of Map E. The top of the map is the west edge. Your soldiers may enter any hex along the south and west edges between hexes A5 to H1 (inclusive). Place an intact wooden bridge marker in hex G11 and an intact stone bridge marker in hexes J11 and R10. Place a Rubble marker in every building hex west of the river (hexes L5, M5, M6, K7, M10, N9, O6, P5, Q5, Q8, R7, P9, Q10, S9). The Activation Levels are as follows:
c1: 0-4. c2: 0-5. c3: 0-7. c4: 0-8.
Special Rules (Mission 17)
River. The water barrier running from hex A6 to Y11 is a river and may be crossed only at an intact bridge hex.
Bridge Destruction. To destroy a bridge, a soldier must be in the bridge hex and climb down to its supports (2 MP's to climb up or down a bridge), and plant two satchel charges if the bridge is stone (both must explode simultaneously), or one satchel charge if the bridge is wooden. It takes one action to plant one satchel charge.
These modified satchel charges have fuses that can be set for up to 4 turns (record the number of turns on your Squad Record). At the start of the designated turn, prior to any other actions, the charges go off and the bridge is destroyed. All soldiers on or under the bridge are immediately killed and any vehicles disabled.
A soldier under a bridge can be seen as if he were crouching on top of the bridge. Base Hit modifiers against targets under a bridge are determined as follows: When firing from a different hex at a soldier under a bridge, the target is considered to be crouching in an interior: through aperture not adjacent to firer hex. If in the same hex but on top of the bridge, then the target is crouching in interior: through aperture adjacent to firer. (Note: This means that a soldier crouching or prone on top of a bridge has no LOS to a soldier under the bridge.) If the firer and target are both under the same bridge, then the target is considered crouching in clear.
If a soldier is wounded or panicked while under a bridge counter, roll one die and compare the result to the soldier's IN rating; if greater than the rating, the soldier falls into the river, is swept away and considered KIA; if equal to or less than the rating, the soldier panics and loses the rest of his turn, but does not fall. Soldiers under a bridge counter may engage in all forms of combat with no exceptions.
Victory
You need 28 VP's to win. You do not receive VP's for the activation of Germans. Rather, you receive 10 VP's for each destroyed bridge counter, and one VP for each killed, captured, or incapacitated German. Additional VP's will be revealed during play. The mission ends in Conditions 3 or 4 when one of the following occurs: 1. there are no active Germans on the map and you have wired or destroyed all three bridges (or used all your satchel charges); 2. all 3 bridges have been destroyed and there is no LOS between any active US and German soldiers; or 3. there are no active US soldiers on the map.
If the mission ends in 1., then ALL bridges are considered destroyed for VP purposes. VP loss for incapacitated US soldiers is ignored. If the mission ends in 2., then VP loss for incapacitated US soldiers is ignored. If the mission ends in 3., US soldiers may exit from the south and west mapedges between hexes A5 to H1 (inclusive). VP loss for incapacitated US soldiers may be avoided by exiting them off the map with the rest of your squad. Only bridges wired to blow at the moment the mission ends count as destroyed for VP purposes.
Mission 18: The Morning After
20 December 1944. The Ardennes. For days the Germans have been pouring through what used to be the Allied lines. Your parent regiment, cut off and isolated, has issued the orders Hold On. As the day begins, your men awake in the small town they have been tenaciously defending for days. Supplies are running low. The squad is exhausted. All along the front, men count their ammunition and wonder how long they can hold out.
Your Squad
One member of your squad (determined at random) begins the mission wounded. Buy new equipment for your squad and receive a radio for free. After the squad has been armed and supplied, roll on the following chart to determine how much ammo has been consumed in the previous days' fighting. For every member of your squad, roll a die for each type of ammo that soldier possesses. Cross-reference the number obtained on the correct column in the chart below and subtract the ammo lost on your Squad Record.
Ammunition Used Before the Mission Begins
| Die | Ammo Clips | Grenades | Bazooka Rounds | Satchel Charges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | − | − | − | − |
| 1 | − | − | − | − |
| 2 | − | − | − | − |
| 3 | −1 | − | − | − |
| 4 | −1 | − | − | − |
| 5 |
−1, −2, −3: The number of rounds/clips subtracted from the soldier's record. Out: The soldier is completely out of the type of ammo indicated. (−): No effect.
NOTE: Ammo reduction called for in excess of what a soldier actually possesses is ignored.
Set Up
Use Maps B (from Ambush!) and E. Place Map E over the bottom half of Map B, so that hex A10 on Map E is adjacent to hex A9 on Map B. The top of the map is east. Your squad begins the mission in hex K15. Place Rubble markers in the following hexes: B11, C11, E11, D13, G13, G16, O18, and P18. Place Ford markers in hexes I11, O10, and V11. There are no Activation Levels.
Special Rules
River. The water barrier running from hex A6 to Y11 is a river. A river hex can be entered only at an intact bridge hex or a ford hex. In this mission ONLY, vehicles may cross fords for a cost of 3 MP's.
Victory
The number of Victory Points you need to win and the manner in which the mission ends will be revealed during play.
Vehicle Summary
Truck
Large Vehicle; Non-Armored; Open Only
Maximum Occupants: 2 in front (Driver & Assistant); 8 in rear Slow Movement Point Allowance: 4 Fast Movement Point Allowance: 8
Hit Chart
| Item Hit | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tire | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Body | 2-9 | 2-7 | 1-5 | 1-4 | 1-3 |
| Driver | − | 8-9 | 6-7 | 5-6 | 4-5 |
| Assist | − | − | 8-9 | 7-8 | 6-7 |
| Psgr |
Number of occupants (columns 0 to 4+).
Damage Effects
Tire. Vehicle cannot be driven fast. If occupied, make an immediate Accident Check. Body. If body is hit, resolve combat using Damage Table of the attacking weapon. If result is Light Penetration, reduce passengers (if any) by one. If penetration result is Medium or Heavy, truck is disabled. Driver. Roll for damage using the Damage Table of the attacking weapon. If driver panics or is wounded, make an immediate Accident Check. If driver is incapacitated or killed, an Accident occurs; roll on the Accident Table. Assistant. Roll for damage using the Damage Table of the attacking weapon. Passenger. Reduce the number of passengers by one.
Considered a car for grenade/satchel charge attacks and on the Accident Table.
Motorcycle with Sidecar
Small Vehicle; Non-Armored; Open Only
Maximum Occupants: 2 Slow Movement Point Allowance: 7 Fast Movement Point Allowance: 12
Hit Chart
| Item Hit | Number of Occupants: 0 | 1 | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tire | 0-4 | 0-2 | 0-1 |
| Body | 5-9 | 3-5 | 2-3 |
| Driver | − | 6-9 | 4-6 |
| Psgr | − | − | 7-9 |
Damage Effects
Tire. Vehicle cannot be driven. If occupied, an Accident occurs automatically. Body. Resolve combat using Combat Table of attacking weapon. If a penetration result, the vehicle is disabled. If any other result occurs, make an immediate Accident Check. Driver. Roll for damage using the Damage Table of the attacking weapon. If driver panics or is wounded, make an immediate Accident Check. If driver is incapacitated or killed, an Accident occurs; roll on the Accident Table. Passenger. Roll for damage using the Damage Table of the attacking weapon.
Motorcycles do not count towards the 2 vehicle maximum per hex, and they can move through a hex already occupied by 2 vehicles. They are considered a Car for grenade/satchel charge attacks and when determining damage on the Accident Table. When a motorcycle enters a hex containing active soldiers, it makes the same Accident Checks as a car, but with a modifier of −2 on the driver's Driving Skill.
E Boat
Large Vehicle; Armored; Open Only
Crew: 5 Slow Movement Point Allowance: 4 Fast Movement Point Allowance: 8
Hit Chart
| Item Hit | Front | Side | Rear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 0 (M) | 0-2 (M) | 0 (M) |
| Deck | 1-5 (M) | 3-5 (M) | 1-2 (M) |
| Bridge | 6-8 (H) | 6-7 (H) | 3-4 (H) |
| Crew | 9 | 8-9 | 5-9 |
Facing hit: Front, Side, Rear.
Damage Effects
Hull. If the hull is hit and the penetration equals or exceeds the armor rating, the boat sinks. Deck. If the deck is hit and penetration equals or exceeds the armor rating, the boat explodes and sinks. If the penetration does not equal or exceed the armor rating, reduce the crew by one. Bridge. If the bridge is hit and the penetration equals or exceeds the armor rating, the Captain is killed and the boat veers out to sea and is eliminated for VP purposes. Ignore Paragraph Checks; instead, each time the boat receives a turn, move it Fast towards the nearest all-water mapedge hex, and then exit. Crew. Reduce the crew by one.
A grenade successfully thrown into an E Boat reduces the crew by 1.
Artillery Scatter Diagram
Roll percentile dice; round lands in indicated hex.
The printed diagram is a hex grid with a centre TARGET HEX 0-9, surrounded by the hexes listed below. Each hex carries the percentile range printed in it:
- Target hex: 0-9
- Inner ring: 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39
- Outer ring: 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85-89, 90-94, 95-99
The diagram's geometric placement of each range is shown in the printed booklet; the list above gives the ranges exactly as printed.
Additional Weapon
Panzerfaust
| Same | Adj | 2-Hex | 3-Hex | Penetration: Light | Penetration: Med | Penetration: Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0-2 | 3-5 | 6-9 |
Note: A Panzerfaust can be fired only once. All soldiers in a hex in which a Panzerfaust has impacted must check for damage on the Grenade Outside column of the Weapon Type Chart.