Battleground World War II

Battleground World War II Rulebook

Table of Contents

Introduction and Designer's Notes

Ultimately, we want you to have that nervous feeling when you play Easy Eight's Battleground World War II, because that is as close as we can imagine to real combat. The rules deal with the human factor: totally intangible and totally unpredictable. Because of this human factor we have dice. Die rolls can represent the human factor and the whims of chance very effectively. So, when you roll a result that seems impossible at the time ("there is no way he could miss at that range!") please remember that just about anything is possible. Even if you come upon some variable we have missed, look at the charts and try to give us the benefit of the doubt. Chances are the variable wasn't missed but we simply built it into the basic die roll. We did this because the variable was too obscure to include as a modifier or so encompassing that it is the die roll itself. You, however, are the final arbiter. If you disagree with our take on a situation or see something missing, feel free to change, add or delete to your heart's content. You bought it, it's your game.

The Scenario Packs are designed with Battleground in mind, but they will supplement any set of skirmish level rules.

Core Rules

The Core Rules introduce players to the structure of Battleground World War II. The Core Rules cover the areas of Scale, Turn Sequence, Initiative, and Sighting.

Scales

Battleground World War II uses a number of gaming conventions or scales. These are intended to ease play and increase excitement and realism.

Time

The time scale for one turn is approximately the time it takes the average soldier to aim and fire a bolt-action rifle twice while being shot at. The idea here is two-fold. First, this is a short period of time which allows for heat of the moment activities, such as crossing a street, throwing a grenade, etc. Second, each turn focuses more on the order of events and less on the time they take to complete, therefore a strict time scale is avoided.

Ground

The ground scale is the following: 1" = the distance a man can crawl in one action. The focus of the ground scale is on the spatial relationship between the opposing forces, not how many meters in range any certain weapon had. This makes for a very playable system that will fit on a 4'x6' table. All measurements throughout these rules are given in inches.

Miniatures

28mm / 1/48 scale models. Smaller and larger scales could also work with appropriate changes in ranges and movement rates. Conversion Charts for 15mm and 20mm scales are available by request.

Throughout the rules the term Figure represents an individual soldier and the term Model represents a vehicle. The term Piece refers to both figures and/or models. Unit denotes several pieces organized together. It is recommended that figures be individually based to allow you to take full advantage of the Unit Scale.

Unit Scale

The game system is based on a one to one ratio. One figure represents one individual soldier on the battlefield, and one model represents one vehicle. Battleground World War II is designed very specifically for a one to one unit scale. All Rates of Fire, Ranges, and most importantly the Fire Effect Charts, assume a one to one unit scale. The use of a one to one unit scale allows players to focus on small unit action with good detail and ease of play. It captures the feel of moving your squad from one hedgerow to the next!

Dice

We use a twenty sided die as our standard die throughout the game. In addition an eight sided, some six sided, and ten sided dice are used. In the rules various types of dice are abbreviated. A three sided die is rolled by rolling a six sided die using the results as follows: 1 or 2 = 1, 3 or 4 = 2 and 5 or 6 = 3.

Note: All die rolls in Battleground World War II require a die roll result of equal to or less than the number necessary to be successful. All modifiers apply to the die roll. Negative modifiers reduce the number rolled, therefore increasing chance of success. Positive modifiers increase the number rolled, reducing the chance of success. All modifiers are cumulative.

Dice Needed	Abbreviation
Twenty Sided Die	d20
Eight Sided Die	d8
Six Sided Die	d6
Ten Sided Die	d10
Three Sided (d6: 1,2 = 1; 3,4 = 2; 5,6 = 3)	d3
Multiple Dice	2d6: roll 2 six sided dice then add together

Items Needed to Play

World War II figures and vehicles: A wide range of World War II figures and models are available from a variety of manufacturers and dealers.
Dice: You will need several d20, d6, d8, and a d10.
A table: You will need at least a 4'x4' table. A 4'x6' table is a good size and a 6'x10' is ideal if you have access to one. You will also need a selection of terrain to cover your table (there is a section on terrain making later in this book).
Other Items: You will need a deck of playing cards, tape measures, pencils and paper. You may also want photocopies of the forms included in these rules.

Battleground World War II is designed for at least two players to play. In addition, an umpire or gamemaster (GM) can be used. A GM can give a fair and impartial interpretation of the rules and of a particular scenario being played. The GM can also keep track of various factors such as hidden movement, spotting, and any special features of the scenario (hidden terrain features, reinforcement arrival, etc.). See the Scenario section for more information on gamemasters and players.

Game Play

Turn Sequence

Battleground World War II uses a simple turn sequence which is repeated until the game is over.

Mark Special Fire modes: At the beginning of every turn, players of both sides should mark any of their pieces that will be using Special Fire modes during the upcoming turn. Special Fire modes include Opportunity Fire, Ambush Fire and Pinning Fire. These Special Fire modes are covered under the rules sections for Infantry and Armor. Pieces must meet all requirements for their Special Fire mode and be clearly marked with counters. In single table games, it may be preferable to mark Opportunity and Ambush Fire on a map or a piece of paper. Always mark Pinning Fire on the table.
Rally Phase: After all Special Fire modes are marked, roll the Rally Check for all Broken individual figures using the Rally rules listed in the Infantry and Armor sections.
Squad morale: After rolling to Rally individual figures, roll for any units of armor or infantry that have fallen below their Break Point. See the rules for Squad and Platoon Morale in the Infantry and Armor sections.
Artillery Phase: After establishing Squad Morale, artillery observers plot new fire missions for next turn and resolve any missions scheduled for this turn. See the Artillery section.
Actions: After establishing Special Fire modes, determining individual and squad Morale and resolving Artillery barrages for the turn, begin the Action Phase. The heart of the Battleground World War II turn is the Action Phase. During this phase pieces move, fire and die. Each piece receives two actions each turn, unless Broken or using Special Fire modes. Actions are covered under the rules sections for Infantry, Armor, and Artillery. We use a random initiative system to determine the order of actions. Although each turn is a short period of time, actions are not considered simultaneous.

The Random Initiative System

Initiative during the course of a game turn is determined by a random card draw. Each unit is assigned to a poker card and a small deck is made of the cards from all units on both sides. Then, the gamemaster (or one player) shuffles the deck. At the beginning of the Action Phase, the gamemaster begins to turn over the cards one at a time. The unit whose card is drawn first takes two actions. Then, a second card is drawn and this unit takes two actions. This continues until the deck is empty and all cards have been drawn. Units which are Broken or who have chosen a Special Fire mode for the turn, do not take actions when their card is drawn; they are skipped and the next card is drawn. If a unit has some pieces on Special Fire and some not (for example: a squad where the machine gun is on raking fire but the riflemen are not), then only those models which are not using a Special Fire mode may take actions on their card.

This system best captures the randomness of combat and settles all issues of which soldier is faster to run, which tank gunner is faster to reload, etc. Most importantly it leads to real nail-biting excitement at the game table as all players, quietly or loudly, hope and pray their card is next.

Card system notes

It is convenient to use cards of the same color (or suit if you prefer) for each side. For example the Allied cards would be a red ace through a red 4 and the Axis cards a black ace through a black 3. This leads to a quick ID of whose turn it is to take actions.
Try to keep the size of the deck between 3-7 cards per side. Split up units on their cards so that there are about this many cards. In a small game, each squad and vehicle will have their own card, while in larger games it is prudent to logically form small groups of vehicles into sections or platoons and place them on one card. The same applies to infantry and support weapons.

Example of a Random Initiative System deck:

Axis (black cards)	Allies (red cards)
Ace - Panther Tank	Ace - 2 Jeeps & 2 M8 Greyhounds
2 - Tiger I no. 1	2 - 2 M10 GMC
3 - Tiger I no. 2	3 - 2 M4 Shermans No. 1 & 2
4 - Squad A	4 - 3 M4 Shermans No. 3, 4 & 5
5 - PAK 40	5 - Squads A & B with Halftracks
6 - Heavy Weapons	6 - Squads C & D with Halftracks

Taking Actions

Once it is determined that it is a unit's turn to take an action, the player may take two actions with each piece in the unit. It is important that each piece complete the first action before any other piece takes a second action. Once any piece in a unit has taken a second action, it is forbidden to go back and do a first action with a different piece in that unit (with the reasonable exception of someone taking two actions of movement with a piece not in immediate contact with the enemy). Refer to the rules sections on Infantry, Armor, and Artillery to see what types of actions may be performed.

Sighting Checks

Line of Sight

Sighting requires a clear Line of Sight (LOS) between the viewer and the target. A Line of Sight is simply a straight path between the viewer and target that is not blocked by any terrain, smoke, or other features. The Terrain rules cover what specific items of terrain will block a Line of Sight. A piece must have clear Line of Sight between itself and the target in order to make a Sighting Check. Line of Sight is of unlimited range, but effective sighting and fire will not be.

Sighting Checks

Sighting checks simulate a piece's ability to see the enemy. Any piece may make a Sighting Check at the beginning of every action. To ease play and reduce die rolling, Sighting Checks are made by each unit. Therefore, one check is made and is assumed to apply to an entire squad or vehicle crew. In games with a Gamemaster, the Gamemaster should make Sighting Checks in secret and tell the player results in secret as much as is possible. In two player games, checks can be made in the open and the player being sighted against can reveal any pieces seen based on maps or dummy counter assignment. In totally open games, with all models on the table at all times, sighting can still be used to determine which models may fire on which targets.

Sighting Procedure

To make a Sighting Check, follow this simple procedure:

Announce which unit is sighting, in which direction.
Measure the range to the area to be sighted.
Classify the target of the search as:
- Infantry or Vehicle
- Open or Concealed
- Moving or Not
- Firing or Not
Infantry or Vehicle - Tripod MG's and mortars are infantry, towed guns are vehicles; all other cases should be self-explanatory.

Open or Concealed - Depends largely on terrain. In the Terrain section each type of terrain is discussed including whether any piece is open or concealed in that terrain; however, common sense and consistency should resolve most cases.

Moving (or Not) - Depends on the last action of the target. If the target moved in its last action, the target counts as moving.

Firing (or Not) - Uses the same principle as moving. If the target of the search fired in its last action, the target counts as firing.
Next, locate one of the above classifications on the Sighting Chart by moving down the left hand column. Then, moving to the right, locate the range always moving up to the next longest range if between columns. The number cross referenced between the two gives the base d20 chance or below to sight the target in question. Next, apply any of the Vehicle, Infantry or Viewer Modifiers on the bottom of the chart. These modifiers shift the range band either to the left or right and change the d20 chance to sight. Positive modifiers move the range to the right the number of bands indicated, while negative modifiers move the range to the left. So a +1 modifier would change the range from 24 to 30, while a -4 would change the range from 20 to 4. The number indicated on the new range band is the actual d20 chance or below to see the target. Roll a d20: if the number is equal or less than the chance to sight then the target is sighted.

Sighting Modifiers

Note: Modifiers are NOT applied to the die roll; instead Sighting Modifiers indicate the number of columns to shift on the Sighting Chart. Negative modifiers shift to the left and positive modifiers shift to the right.

Cover and Camouflage [shift values as extracted from the scrambled chart, paired by order]

Modifier	Shift
Hasty	-1
Improved	+1
Constructed	+2

Hasty applies to pieces in a concealing terrain but not set up in any way.
Improved applies to pieces that have taken some time to conceal themselves and is determined by scenario.
Constructed applies to pieces that have had days to conceal themselves and is determined by scenario.

Vehicle Target size

Size	Shift
Very Small	+2
Small	+1
Large	-1
Very Large	-2

Determined by the vehicle and is included on the vehicle data charts.

Infantry

Full Automatic applies to squads that are firing weapons with a ROF (Rate of Fire) of 3 or more per action.
Single shot applies to individual soldiers using an aimed shot.
Prone applies to figures that are marked prone on the game board.

Chart shifts as extracted: Single Shot fire +2, Full Auto Fire -1, Prone +1. [The source text lists these labels and values separately; the pairing is by order of appearance and sensible direction.]

Viewer

Binoculars apply even if only the squad leader or tank commander has a pair. Generally, all squad leaders and tank commanders have a set. Binoculars may only be used by figures that are not moving. You are not allowed to move in an action that a figure uses the binoculars modifier. Tank commanders may not use the binocular modifier while buttoned up.
Buttoned up applies to any vehicle that is buttoned up. In addition, GMs can disallow any Sighting Check to a buttoned up vehicle if the GM believes there is no way to see the target through a periscope (see the Armor section).
Moving Vehicle applies to any vehicle which moves in an action that it makes a Sighting Check. When making a Sighting Check at the beginning of an action, state if the vehicle will move or not in that action before rolling. If a vehicle has no plans to move and then sees a new target that inspires movement, allow the movement. If no target is sighted do not allow the movement.
Elite This modifier applies to all Elite figures and vehicle crews and represents their vast battlefield experience.
Green This modifier applies to all Green figures and vehicle crews and represents their inexperience in combat.

Chart shifts as extracted, in label order: Binoculars -2, Green +1, Elite -1, Buttoned Up +2, Moving Vehicle +1.

Sighting Chart

[The Sighting Chart's numeric grid (columns by range in inches: 3 to 210; rows: Open / Open Moving / Open Firing / Open Moving/Firing / Concealed / Concealed Moving / Concealed Firing / Concealed Moving/Firing, once for Vehicles and once for Infantry; entries are a d20 target number, "AQ" = automatically acquired, "-" = cannot sight) is scrambled in the source text and could not be reliably reconstructed; it is omitted here.]

Sighting Example

A U.S. bazooka team is on Op-Fire covering a road bend. A German MKIV H moves around the bend on its first action. As soon as the tank moves around the bend, the bazooka team makes a sighting check. The tank on the road is an open moving medium sized vehicle at 15 inch range. This places it on the 15 column of the sighting chart and an AQ indicates that the target is automatically acquired.

At the top of the tank's second action, the tank commander makes a sighting check for the woods. The bazooka team hidden there is judged to be "hastily concealed and prone" and at a 15 inch range. This places the Americans on the 15 column to start. Being hasty shifts them to the 10 inch column, and prone shifts them to the 15 inch column. The tank is in motion which shifts to the 20 column. The tank commander needs a 6 or less on d20 to see them.

Infantry

Introduction

Infantry was the heart of all combat operations during World War II. The infantry rules are intended to give a good feel for small unit combat. Each figure in the game represents an individual soldier. These rules allow players to use their figures independently while still conveying the importance of the squad and teamwork.

The Squad

The typical squad in Battleground World War II consists of 10 men. A squad contains a sergeant who functions as the squad leader and a corporal who is his assistant. In addition the squad carries a light machine gun of some type operated by a gunner and his assistant. The rest of a typical squad would be riflemen. This is a generic squad and certainly there were variations based on nationality and troop quality. World War II was a massive engagement and it is difficult to include the squad makeup of every troop type and nationality. We will use this generic squad as the basic element to game with.

Typical squad: Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Squad Weapon (Light Machine Gun or PMG) Gunner and Assistant Gunner, and Squad Members.

Morale and Leaders

All figures have a morale rating between 1 and 20. This indicates the experience, cool headedness and determination of a figure in combat conditions.

Troop Quality

During the fighting in World War II many different qualities of men took part.

Green: These troops are raw recruits with little training and no combat experience.
Regular: These troops have experienced some action at the front and have good combat knowledge. All troops are assumed to be Regular unless specifically stated otherwise.
Veteran: These troops have been in the front lines for months or even years. They are hardened, tough, and know that it is safer to stay and fight than to run away.
Elite: These troops are the best in training, morale and pure fighting ability.

Command Range: Each figure has a Command Range associated with them. Any figures within this range and Line of Sight are within the Command Range of that figure.

Quality	Typical Soldier: Morale	Typical Soldier: Command Range	Typical Leader: Morale	Typical Leader: Leadership Modifier	Typical Leader: Command Range
Green	8	6	10	-0	8
Regular	10	8	12	-1	10
Veteran	12	10	14	-1	12
Elite	14	12	16	-2	14

Morale Check

A Morale Check is a test of a man or a unit's resolve in combat. Throughout the game you will be required to roll Morale Checks. The controlling player must roll a d20 equal to or less than the figure's morale to pass. If the die roll is higher than the figure's morale that figure is Broken.

Teams of One: Whenever a figure is alone and not within Command Range of a squad or team then he is a Team Of One. A Team Of One always has a morale rating of half the figure's morale. Very few men were willing to fight the war themselves. This does not apply to Heroes.

Craven Coward: Anytime a figure rolls an unmodified 20 on a Morale Check (not a Rally) that figure becomes a Craven Coward. The figure is Broken with no chance of Rally and is removed from play.

Heroes: Any time a figure rolls an unmodified 1 on a Morale Check that figure is driven to heroics. Roll a d20 and refer to the Hero Creation Chart to determine the type of Hero.

Note: to become a Hero or a Craven Coward the die roll must be a natural 1 or 20, must come from a Morale Check, not a Rally or Gut Check, and the Morale Check must be the direct result of enemy fire.

Hero Creation Chart

Die	Hero Type
1	Medal of Honor / Iron Cross / Hero of USSR
2-3	Stud Hero
4-5	Hero
6-10	Normal Hero
11-20	Common Hero

[The Special Abilities column is scrambled in the source; the abilities are given here as printed in order of appearance, and their alignment to the rows above is not certain: "Never Checks Morale. Never takes Gut Checks. Becomes Elite. 2 free actions immediately. Ignore first LtW. Never Suppressed. Can operate crewed weapons." / "Never Checks Morale. Never takes Gut Checks. Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately. Can operate crewed weapons alone. Never suppressed. +1 Morale." / "Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately. +1 Morale." (Normal Hero: "+1 Morale. Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately.") / Common Hero: "Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately."]

Broken Figures

A figure that fails a Morale Check or a Squad Morale Check becomes Broken. A Broken figure runs two actions of movement toward the nearest cover and away from the enemy immediately. This movement conforms to all normal movement rules. Once a Broken figure reaches cover he stops and drops prone. If he cannot reach cover in 2 actions the figure will continue to move 2 actions in every Rally Phase until cover is found.

If a figure is in cover and fails a Morale Check the controlling player can choose to have the figure drop prone and stay; however the figure is still Broken and will not rise up until Rallied. If a figure is prone and behind cover when he fails a Morale Check he no longer has the choice to stay under that cover. The figure will break and run. Cover must offer a +3 modifier before the prone bonus to count as cover for Broken figures.

Surrender

When a surrounded figure breaks and has no cover within 2 actions the figure will surrender. The figure will automatically approach the closest enemy figure with his hands up. It takes one figure to guard any surrendering figures. Surrounded means that there is not an open avenue of escape that is not covered by possible enemy fire. Because this is open to interpretation, disputes will be settled by the Gamemaster or by a die roll.

Refused Surrender: Refusing surrender is when figures strip the surrendering infantrymen of any weapons and then order them to the rear. When a player decides to refuse surrender then one of the refusing player's figures must spend two actions searching each prisoner. The surrendering figure is removed from play after having been searched. A figure whose surrender is refused may never be counted as captured.

No Quarter: When a player decides to gun down a surrendering figure, that player invokes the No Quarter rule. If the surrendering figure was of the enemy then No Quarter is invoked for them. If the figure is on your own side then No Quarter is invoked for you. To invoke No Quarter the player must make a Morale Check based on the No Quarter Chart. When No Quarter is in effect, any figure that would surrender under normal circumstances will become Fanatic instead. No Quarter can be designated as a special rule during a scenario.

No Quarter Chart

Nationality	Own	Enemy	Modifier
American	N/A	1/2 Morale	+4 vs. Germans
Russian	1/2 Morale	Morale
Commissar	Morale	Morale
German	1/2 Morale	Morale	+4 vs. Russian
German SS	Morale	Morale	+4 vs. Russian

Fanatic

Any figure that is a Fanatic cannot be Broken or suppressed. Fanatics must charge any known enemy figure within two actions of movement. Cases where a figure goes Fanatic are covered under Surrender and Squad Morale rules. In addition the Fanatic rule can be designated as in effect as a special rule during a scenario.

Rally

All Broken figures attempt to rally during the Rally Phase of the game turn. There are two types of Rally: Self Rally and Leader Rally.

Self Rally: To be eligible for Self Rally the figure must start the turn in cover and prone. During the Rally phase of the game roll a d20 equal to or less than half of the figure's morale to become rallied. To determine the half Morale Check, subtract or add any modifiers before halving. If the figure passes the check then the figure is treated normally when his card is pulled.

Leader Rally: To be eligible for Leader Rally a figure must start the turn in the Command Range and Line of Sight of a Leader. During the Rally Phase of the game roll a d20 equal to or less than the figure's morale. To determine the Morale Check subtract or add any modifiers, including any Leadership Modifiers. If the figure passes the check then the figure is Rallied and treated normally when his card is pulled. Note: Leaders may "Leader Rally" themselves.

Leaders

Leaders are in charge of squads and platoons. They fulfill a very important role of directing the fire and maneuvering of the squad assigned to them. Leaders also bolster the fighting spirit of the men they command. Leaders have morale like any other figure on the board. Generally a leader will have a morale rating two points higher than the men he commands.

Command Range: Each leader has a Command Range. Command Range equals the Leader's morale minus two. Any figures within this range and LOS of the leader are considered to be within the Command Range of that Leader. Leaders can add their Leadership Modifier to figures within Command Range. Note: Each figure may only be affected by one leader at a time. A figure will be affected by the Leader with the highest Modifier whenever two leaders can affect the same figures. Each leader can only affect as many figures as the leader has points of morale.

Leadership Modifiers: Each Leader has a Leadership Modifier they can apply to the figures within Command Range. This modifier can be used to Rally figures that are Broken. During Leader Rally the Leader that is Rallying figures may apply his Leadership Modifier to the die roll of the Broken figure.

Directed Fire: If a leader personally directs an action of infantry fire then the Leadership Modifier is applied to the die roll. For a figure to gain this bonus the Leader figure must be in base to base contact with the figure he is affecting. Example: If a 16-2 leader is directing a machine gun team then a -2 is applied to the To Hit dice rolled.

Directed Actions: If a leader personally directs any action that requires a Skill Check or Gut Check then the figure making the die roll will gain the Leadership Modifier for that roll. Example: A 12-1 leader is directing movement through wire; each figure that is in base to base contact with the leader at the time of making the Skill Check for crossing wire will receive a -1 on their die roll.

Leader Loss: The loss of a leader in combat adversely affects the men under his command. Any time that a leader is Broken, receives a Heavy Wound (HW) or gets Killed In Action (KIA) the figures under his command and in Line of Sight must take a Morale Check with a modifier that is opposite the Leadership Modifier. Example: A 16-2 leader is KIAed, the figures in his unit must take a +2 morale check. This Morale Check is taken immediately and is treated as if a Morale Check was generated from a direct result of fire.

Squad Morale

Squads have a group personality not unlike that of ordinary soldiers. After a certain amount of abuse the entire squad may decide to head for a less intense area to the rear.

Teams: Any figures that are not in a squad are considered a team. Machine gun crews, bazooka men and artillery crews are all examples of Teams. Teams are subject to all Squad Morale rules. Infantry squads may be broken up into smaller teams.

Squad Morale: During the Rally Phase look to see how many figures in each squad have been disabled (KIA, HW, Broken, Captured). If the number of disabled figures equals or exceeds the squad's Break Point then make a Squad Morale Check. This is a single roll using the morale of the highest surviving leader and taking all of that leader's personal modifiers in to account. If the d20 roll is more than the Leader's modified morale all surviving squad members will break, see Broken Figures.

Break Point Chart

Troop Quality	Break Point
Green	40%
Regular	50%
Veteran	60%
Elite	70%

Fanatic Squads: If the surviving leader rolls an unmodified 1 on any Squad Morale Check all surviving squad members immediately become fanatics and all Fanatic rules apply.

Coward Squads: If the surviving leader rolls an unmodified 20 on any Squad Morale Check all surviving squad members immediately become Craven Cowards and are removed from play.

Ripple Effect: Whenever a squad has a number of friendly figures equal to or more than half of its own number break and run within Command Range and Line of Sight it must take a Squad Morale Check.

Skill Checks and Gut Checks

Situations will arise when a figure's determination and abilities are in question but life is not immediately in danger. These situations are covered by Skill Checks and Gut Checks. Some actions will require both a Skill Check and a Gut Check.

Skill Checks: Whenever there is a question as to whether a figure can complete an action, a Skill Check is used to determine success or failure. Skill Checks are made using the morale of the figure and takes all modifiers into account. However, failure of a Skill Check never leads to a Broken figure. Failure of a Skill Check results in the failure of the attempted action and that action being wasted. Success of a Skill Check means the action was completed. The failure of some Skill Checks can be fatal.

Gut Checks: Some actions do not seem safe and sane to the average soldier. If a player wishes to have a figure attempt an insane action the figure must first pass a Gut Check. A Gut Check is made exactly like a Morale Check, taking all personal and leader modifiers into account. A figure will never become Broken as the result of a failed Gut Check. He will simply not attempt the action. In addition, a figure that fails a Gut Check does not lose an action. Instead a figure that fails a Gut Check can go on and take some other, more reasonable, action.

Check	Examples
Normal Check	Walk along a narrow ledge under fire (Skill and Gut); Jump an obstacle (Skill); Operate a foreign vehicle/equipment (Skill)
Half Check	Ram a building with a half track (Gut); Ram a tank or gun with a tank (Gut); Jump from a second story window (Skill and Gut)
Quarter Check	Ram a tank with a truck (Gut); Jump from a second story window into a moving jeep (Skill and Gut)

Actions

Each figure in the game is allowed two actions per turn. These actions are taken when the figure's card is drawn. These actions can be any combination of actions: move-fire, move-move, fire-fire. All the figures that are associated with the card must all perform their first action. All figures then perform their second action. Each figure can perform different actions from other figures in its squad.

Man Actions: Some tasks that are performed on the battlefield are listed as man actions. Man actions are listed as a number of actions that need to be taken to complete a given task. These actions can be performed by several figures combining their actions. Example: A task that takes 4 man actions can be completed by 2 men in one turn (two actions).

Move: The figure may move up to 5", as modified by terrain, see Terrain section.
Crawl: The figure may crawl up to 2" while prone.
Rise: The figure may rise from the prone position at the cost of one action.
Prone: A figure may drop prone at the beginning or end of any action at no cost.
Fire: The figure may roll To Hit with the number of dice allowed by their weapon, see Small Arms, Machine Guns and Man vs Tank.
Throw: The figure may throw a grenade up to 6", see Grenades.
Mount: The figure may mount or dismount a stopped vehicle, see Passengers and Riders.
Load: The figure may load a crew weapon or a personal weapon, examples: load a bazooka, affix a rifle grenade, etc.
Unjam: The figure may unjam a jammed weapon. This does not include reloading the new round on weapons that require an action to load, see Small Arms - Jamming.
Setup: It takes one action to set up an air cooled MG on a tripod, two actions for a water cooled.
Breakdown: It takes one action to breakdown a MG.

Action Example: "Seeing most of the Americans run, Dieter shouted at the other men to move forward. Pressing on, Dieter advanced toward enemy positions and then dove for cover. Spotting a lone American manning a .30 cal, Dieter fired his MP-40." In the first action Figure A is moving 5" to the front of figures B and C. Figure B is taking the action to fire on the enemy. Figure C has started the action in the prone position and will spend the action getting up. Figure A has now moved and will continue to move for his second action. Figure B is firing again for his second action. Figure C spent the last action getting up from prone and will now move 5 inches to a new location.

Other Actions

Anything a player can think of can be an action if the GM allows or both sides agree. Using a radio, crossing a wall, climbing a tree, boosting a buddy over an obstacle can all be other actions. Some complex tasks may take more than one action. Some actions are complex and dangerous to perform, see the Skill Check and Gut Check rules for more rules that cover these actions.

Small Arms

In World War II it took a huge volume of fire to actually kill a man on the battlefield. Most fire was poorly aimed and served the purpose of forcing the enemy's head down, thus limiting his fire and movement. The Small Arms fire rules take this fact of combat and represents it with a die roll To Hit and to Effect. Players will find that it takes a lot of fire to cause substantial damage to enemy troops.

Weapon Types

Battleground World War II divides the variety of small arms available in the war into several categories. Below are the descriptions for most infantry-carried small arms. Crew served machine guns are covered in the Machine Gun subsection.

Pistols (P): Pistols are handguns designed for close fighting and self defense. All nations issued pistols to officers, staff and special troops like commandos. Pistols have minimal range and have little stopping power. Pistols are also used in Hand to Hand combat; see Hand to Hand.
Submachine Gun (SMG): Submachine Guns are full automatic weapons that fire pistol-caliber ammunition. They have a high rate of fire and adequate range, but only marginal stopping power. All nations issued SMGs to squad leaders, tank crews, gun crews and some special units. Submachine guns may take advantage of Spraying Fire, see Special Fire modes.
Rifle (R): Rifles are bolt action, long barrelled, small arms. Rifles are the standard weapons issued to squad members (riflemen) in German and Russian forces. Rifles offer good range and hitting power, but at a low rate of fire.
Self Loading Rifle (SLR): Self loading rifles are semi-automatic versions of rifles. They have all the advantages of a rifle with the bonus of an improved rate of fire. SLRs are rare for German and Russian forces. All American riflemen were equipped with a SLR throughout the war in Europe.
Assault Rifle (AR): Assault rifles are fully automatic versions of rifles. They have the range and hitting power of a rifle combined with the rate of fire of a SMG. Assault rifles were available to Germans from early 1944 on. Assault rifles were rare, but more common on the Eastern Front. Assault Rifles may take advantage of Spraying Fire; see Special Fire modes.

Gun Chart

The Gun Chart breaks down the most commonly seen weapons of the war by nation. The chart includes all small arms and crew served machine guns. Specific rules for crew served machine guns can be found in the Machine Gun subsection of the infantry rules.

Type: This indicates the weapon's general classification, such as R for rifle, as described above.
ROF: This indicates the weapon's Rate of Fire. The number of dice To Hit per action of fire is equal to the weapon's ROF.
Crew: This indicates the number of figures required to operate the weapon. Any weapon with less than the indicated crew takes an extra action to set up and breakdown and has its jam number decreased by 1 per missing crew member. Example: A 1917A1 HMG with one crew would take 5 actions to set up and jam on a 18 or higher.
Range: This indicates what row on the Effects Chart this weapon uses to determine the chance To Hit. A weapon in the SMG class would use the SMG row to determine chance to hit at various ranges. Some weapons have a bonus range. Example: The German MP-40 SMG has a +2" range. This makes its effective range 10" instead of 8". This bonus never applies to Point Blank Range.
Effect: This indicates what column on the Effects Chart a weapon rolls to determine damage. A weapon in the SMG class would roll on the SMG, or F, column. Some weapons include a + or - modifier. This modifier is applied to all Effects rolls and indicates that the weapon in question fired a particularly effective or ineffective round.
Jam: This indicates a weapon's chance of malfunctioning in combat. If the jam number or higher is rolled on any To Hit roll (never an Effects roll) then the weapon has jammed; see Jamming. Note: A Jam does not necessarily mean the weapon has had a round mislodge in the chamber. Any weapon malfunction, including some sort of difficulty in changing magazines, is covered by the Jamming rule.
Set: This indicates the number of actions required to set up and breakdown the weapon. This number will be affected by the number of crew available, see Machine Guns.

Small Arms List

American

Weapon	Type	ROF	Crew	Range	Effect	Jam	Set
S&W M1917 Revolver	P	1	1	P	P	20	NA
Colt M1917 Revolver	P	1	1	P	P	20	NA
Colt Automatic M1911A1	P	2	1	P	P-1	20	NA

Russian

Weapon	Type	ROF	Crew	Range	Effect	Jam	Set
Nagant Revolver M1895	P	1	1	P	P	20	NA
TT33 Tokarev	P	2	1	P	P	20	NA
Mosin-Nagant Carbine M1938	R	1	1

German

Weapon	Type	ROF	Crew	Range	Effect	Jam	Set
P-08 Luger / P-38 Walther	P	2	1	P	P	20	NA
Kar 98k	R	1	1	R	R	20	NA
Gew-43	SLR	2	1	R

[The source's extracted Gun Chart is scrambled in places (rows and row names are displaced, and the German "-1 setup with wheel base" note position is uncertain); rows are paired by the order of appearance.]

Shooting Sequence

The following sequence will allow any figure using an action of fire to resolve fire quickly.

Find the range between the figure firing and the target in inches.
Determine the type of weapon the figure is using.
Look up the weapon on the To Hit section of the Effects Chart located in the upper left hand corner. This chart determines what die roll is needed to score a hit according to range. Apply any To Hit modifiers to the die roll. Example: A rifle needs an 8 or less at a range of 16 inches. An Elite figure would subtract 2 from the die roll.
Roll the number of d20s according to the ROF indicated on the Effects Chart. Determine the total number of hits.
If you scored a hit, use the Results Chart to roll an Effect. Use the column according to the weapon and roll a d20.
Add or subtract any Cover Modifiers from the die roll.
Look up the correct row with the final modified die roll to find the result.

Effects Chart

To Hit section. D20 To Hit numbers by range band: Point Blank 16, Effective 12, Long 8, Extreme 4. Range bands by weapon, in inches [the table layout is scrambled in the source; the values are given here in order of appearance per weapon and their alignment to the four bands is not certain]: Pistol 4", 5", 8", 15"; SMG 4", 8", 8", 15", 30"; Rifle 5", 15", 40"; LMG 5", 30", 45", 75"; MMG 5", 40", 90", 188"; HMG 6", 45", 102", 218" (a stray "75"" also appears in this group). Rate of Fire (dice per action): Pistol 1, SMG 3, Rifle 1, SLR 2, AR 3, PMG 3, LMG 4, MMG 4, HMG 4, LCMG 3, AC 2.

To Hit Modifiers (chart): Lightly Wounded +5; Green +2; Non Qualified +2; Captured Use +3; Leadership Ability -x; Elite -2; Aimed Shot -2; Sniper -3; Fire on Move 1/2; No Target 1/2. HE Gun Caliber Modifiers (To Hit): 75mm -2; >100 -4; >150 -6; >200 -8; >250 -10.

Cover Modifiers (chart, applied to the Effect roll): Open Ground 0; Road -1; In Deep Water -2; Aimed Shot -2; Point Blank -2; Sniper -5; Brush +1; Hedge +2; Prone +2; Shell Holes +3; Bocage +3; Light Woods +3; Graveyard +3; Rubble +4; Roadblock +4; Heavy Woods +4; Partial Tank Cover +5; Gun Shield +5; Wall +5; Wood Building +5; Fox Hole +5; Trench +5; Sand Bags +5; Stone Building +7; Pillbox +12.

Effect Results Chart. Roll a d20 on the column for the weapon, apply Cover Modifiers, and read the row. Columns run from weakest (left) to strongest (right) as H, G (Pistol), F (SMG), E (Rifle?), D, C, B, A (the source labels the columns with the weapon types Pistol, SMG, Rifle, LMG, MMG, HMG, LCMG and letters; only "SMG = F" and "A ring of a grenade = A column" are confirmed elsewhere in the text, and the weapon-to-letter alignment of the others is not recoverable from the extracted text). Blank = no effect.

Roll	H	G	F	E	D	C	B	A
1	LtW	KIA	KIA	KIA	GD	GD	GD	GD
2	MC	HW	HW	KIA	KIA	GD	GD	GD
3	MC	LtW	HW	KIA

[Rows 1-10 of the chart are complete in the extracted text; rows 11 onward were extracted without their blank cells, so the alignment of rows 11-27 to columns was inferred from row widths and consistency and should be treated as approximate. Where the extracted text did not give a clear value, a cell is left blank. Treat rows 11+ with caution.]

To Hit Modifiers

Lightly Wounded: When a soldier has a Light Wound, the pain of the wound prevents him from firing effectively, so he gains a +5 to any To Hit dice roll.
Green: Infantrymen that have not seen battle react poorly when in a fight. All Green infantrymen receive +2 to the To Hit die.
Non Qualified: Infantrymen that pick up a crew served weapon that they did not start the game with, or as part of that weapon's crew, are considered non qualified. +2 To Hit for being unfamiliar with the weapon.
Captured Use: Infantrymen that pick up a weapon that belonged to the enemy gain a +3 penalty for its use.
Leadership Ability: Weapons that are personally directed by a leader were much more effective in combat. Any leader that is in base to base contact with a figure can add/subtract their Leadership Modifier to the To Hit die of the weapon.
Elite: Elite men were highly trained and motivated. Their superior fire discipline gains them a -2 to the To Hit die roll.
Aimed Shot: When a hit was very important, an infantryman took longer to line up his shot. The first action is spent aiming and the second to fire. To Hit rolls for Aimed Shots are made at a -2.
Sniper: Snipers are deadly accurate due to superior training and positioning. -3 to the To Hit die roll for any designated sniper.
Fire on the Move: When a unit shoots their weapons while on a moving vehicle there is a half To Hit modifier on the To Hit die roll. The half To Hit number is calculated by determining the chance To Hit including all modifiers and then halving the total. This only applies to passengers in/on a vehicle. Infantry may never shoot and walk/crawl in the same action.

Effect Results

Gory Death (GD): The figure has been blown away in a grisly fashion - splattering his buddies with blood and bone. Remove the figure from play. Any friendly figure within 5" must make an immediate Morale Check just as if they were shot at themselves.
Killed in Action (KIA): The figure is dead. Remove from play.
Heavy Wound (HW): The figure was hit hard and is either down and out, or down and screaming. Regardless, the figure takes no further part in the battle. Remove from play unless using I'm Hit rules in the Sniper section.
Light Wound (LtW): The figure has been hit but is still in action. The figure must make an immediate Morale Check at +5 or break. If the Morale Check is passed the figure is forced prone. The figure is at +5 on all fire and other die rolls including morale for the rest of the game. The figure now only has 1 action per turn for the rest of the game.
Morale Check (MC): The figure has taken a superficial hit or had a near death experience. Make an immediate Morale Check as described in Morale and Leaders. If passed the figure is forced prone. See Suppression.
Suppression (Sup): The sound of incoming rounds has forced the figure to hit the dirt. The figure is immediately forced prone. If already prone there is no further effect. Note: Figures in cover will still be affected by suppression. They will duck down/button up and will require an action to get up again. Figures using a Special Fire mode will lose this fire mode if not already prone.

Cover Modifiers

Cover modifiers are applied to the effect die roll. These modifiers reflect the amount of cover a particular figure has. Any modifier based on terrain is covered in the Terrain section of the rules.

Aimed Shot: Aimed fire is more likely to affect a figure and receives a -2 to the Effect Chart.
Point Blank: Close gunfire tended to be extremely effective in causing wounds. A -2 modifier applies to any Point Blank gunfire.
Sniper: Snipers are particularly deadly in their attacks so they gain a -5 to the effect die roll.

Jamming

Any time an unmodified roll of 20 is made on a To Hit roll the weapon has jammed. This does not necessarily mean that the weapon has actually jammed but it does mean that some malfunction has occurred and it needs to be rectified. It takes one action to clear a jam, see Actions. Any weapon which can fire every action (small arms, MG's, etc.) may fire normal the action after being cleared. Weapons which must be loaded (bazookas, flare pistols etc.) must spend an additional action loading a new round.

Modifiers to Jamming Number
Green Troops	-1
Non-Qualified Personnel	-2
Captured Weapon	-2

Special Fire Modes

Opportunity Fire

Opportunity Fire allows figures to forego their normal turn in order to wait for the "opportunity" to fire the moment a target presents itself. This is intended to represent those figures who know or suspect that an enemy, not presently in sight or range, is about to come into a position where the figure can fire. The figure on Op-Fire may only take a shot while the enemy piece is taking an action.

To set Opportunity Fire the figure must meet several conditions.

It must have a weapon to fire. Any gun may be used including any rifles, machine guns, bazookas, panzerfausts, flamethrowers and any other projectile weapon. Infantry may set Op-Fire with grenades but no other types of explosives such as demo-packs, mines and bangalore torpedoes.
The figure may not have a valid target in LOS and effective range. If you have a target in LOS and effective range you must wait for your card to fire. A player may set Op-Fire even if aware of enemy figures, as long as those figures are not in Line of Sight or effective range.
The figure setting Op-Fire must be in good order. For infantry this means that he must be unwounded and not Broken. Crew weapons must have a full crew, their weapon must be set up and loaded.
The figure must forego its normal turn. Once Op-Fire is set the figure loses its turn. A figure cannot give up its Op-Fire once it is set and the turn begun. An individual figure in a squad may set Op-Fire while the rest of the unit is free to act during the turn. Figures still on Op-Fire at the end of a turn may voluntarily remove that Op-Fire in the Mark Special Fire modes phase of the next turn.
The figure loses one action. Once a target comes into sight only one action of fire is allowed. This is to represent the time spent waiting and the effect of firing on a target that suddenly moved into sight.

Op-Fire Example: "As Viktor scanned the room, he heard the scuff of a hobnailed boot on the street outside. Slowly he took a breath and pulled his PPSh tight against his shoulder. Aiming out the window, Viktor waited for his foe to appear..." Last turn the player running Viktor rolled a sighting check, and although he saw nothing the GM informed the player of noise in the street outside. This turn during the Mark Special Fire Phase the player marked Viktor with Op-Fire. When the card for Viktor's squad was pulled, Viktor did not move with the rest of the squad. If the Germans in the street move into Viktor's line of sight Viktor may take a sighting check immediately. If Viktor sights the enemy, he may take one action of fire immediately. This fire follows all fire rules, just as fire within the normal action sequence. Viktor receives only one action of fire. His first action was spent watching and waiting. If the Germans never cross in front of the window, then Viktor's turn is lost. Viktor may never move or take actions with his squad, even if their card comes after the Germans have moved to safety.

Op-Fire Spotting

When a figure is marked with an Opportunity Fire marker it will not make normal Sighting Checks. The figure will take a Sighting Check whenever an enemy figure takes an action within its Line of Sight. Therefore, a figure on Op-Fire may take as many spotting checks as enemy actions taken within its Line of Sight.

Ambush

Ambush is a Special Fire mode that allows a figure to wait until an enemy piece comes in close before firing. A figure may not set Op-Fire if there are legal targets within Line of Sight. In some circumstances it may be beneficial to wait until the enemy comes within a lethal range. Ambush reflects this by allowing a figure to go on a special Op-Fire mode that will allow the enemy to get closer even though they have been spotted.

To be able to set Ambush a figure must fit the following criteria:

Must never have been sighted in their present position.
It must have a weapon to fire. Any gun may be used including any rifles, machineguns, bazookas, panzerfausts, flamethrowers and any other projectile weapon. Infantry may set ambush with grenades but not other types of explosives such as demo-packs, mines and bangalore torpedoes.
The figure setting Ambush must be in good order. For infantry this means that he must be unwounded and not Broken. Crew weapons must have a full crew, their weapon must be set up and be loaded.
Once Ambush is set the figure loses its turn. A figure cannot give up its Ambush once it is set and the turn begun. An individual figure in a squad may set Ambush while the rest of the squad is free to act during the turn. A figure still on Ambush at the end of a turn may voluntarily remove that Ambush in the Mark Special Fire modes phase of the next turn.
The figure loses one action. Once a target comes into sight only one action of fire is allowed. This is to represent the time spent waiting and the effect of firing on a target that suddenly moved into sight.
The figure may never shoot at a target farther than 15".

Pinning Fire

Pinning fire is a special fire mode that assumes the weapon is continuously shooting during the entire turn. Although this volume of fire is inaccurate it is concentrated into a deadly cone that will deny an area to the enemy. There are three types of Pinning fire: Raking, Plunging and Spraying.

Raking Fire: This type of Pinning Fire is the most common. The machine gun sprays bullets approximately two feet off the ground at a steady rate. This type of fire is designed to deny the enemy an avenue of approach. This form of Pinning Fire will force everyone within the affected zone whose cover modifier is less than a +7 prone. Figures are forced prone as soon as the Raking Fire is laid down. Each figure wanting to perform an action within the affected zone, other than crawling, must pass a half Morale Check. If any figure takes an action within this zone, other than crawling, then they are subject to a single roll To Hit by the firing weapon for each action taken. This roll To Hit takes all To Hit and cover modifiers into account. Imaginary lines are drawn from the edge of the machine gun to the edge of the effect zone. This area is the cone of fire. (Diagram: Max Range = Effective Range; Max Width LMG = 5 inches, MMG = 6 inches, HMG = 8 inches, LCMG = 8 inches.)

Plunging Fire: This type of Pinning Fire is used at longer ranges than the Raking Fire. Plunging fire can only take place at ranges longer than effective and shorter than extreme. The machine gun is elevated up and the ammunition is arced into the target zone. If any figure takes an action within this zone then they are subject to a single roll To Hit by the firing weapon for each action taken. This roll To Hit takes all To Hit and cover modifiers, except prone, into account. Figures are not forced prone by Plunging Fire, and because of the arching bullets, figures get no cover bonus for being prone. Plunging Fire can arch over terrain features of 1 level of height. Higher terrain will block Plunging Fire. (Diagram: Max Range = Long Range; Max Depth LMG = 2 inches, MMG = 3 inches, HMG = 3 inches, LCMG = 3 inches.)

Spraying Fire: Small Arms that are capable of full automatic fire are eligible for Spraying Fire. Spraying Fire is using the weapon on full automatic mode to hose an area with bullets. Any figure caught in Spraying Fire must pass a half Morale Check. If that check is failed then the figure must go prone. If the check is passed then the figure has the choice whether to go prone or not. Every action spent within the cone of Spraying Fire is subject to a single roll To Hit. This roll To Hit takes all normal To Hit modifiers into account and is then halved. (Diagram: Max Range = Effective Range; Max Width 4 inches.)

Stopping Pinning Fire: At any time the gun crew is forced off the gun or the gunner or crew takes casualties, then the Pinning Fire is lifted. Furthermore, the gun is finished for the turn. If the gun suffers a jam result when making an attack then the Pinning Fire is lifted for the remainder of the turn.

Pinning Fire Jamming: Because machine guns can roll an excessive number of dice when laying a Raking or Plunging fire, they are subject to special jam rules when using those fire modes. Anytime a Raking/Plunging machine gun rolls a jam, roll an immediate Skill Check, using the loader's morale. If the check is passed, no jam occurs. If the check is failed a jam occurs as normal and the Raking/Plunging fire is lifted. Note: This exception applies only to Raking and Plunging fire not to Spraying fire.

Gun Duels: When two machine guns lay pinning fire on one another then a special Gun Duel rule must apply. This rule only applies when each gun is under the other gun's cone of fire. Roll To Hit dice for each crew member for both Pinning machine guns. Resolve that roll as per normal Pinning Fire rules. If during the result of that roll the machine gun crew is affected then their Pinning Fire template is lifted. This happens immediately when the Pinning Fire is declared, before any other actions are taken. It is possible for both Pinning Fires to be removed, both to stay, or only one to stay.

Machine Guns

Machine Gun Types

There was a wide variety of automatic weapons in service during World War II. These ranged from gigantic machine guns to up-scaled automatic rifles. For gaming purposes these have been broken down into 5 categories. These categories help define the basic capabilities of the weapon in question.

Pre Machine Gun (PMG): The Pre Machine Gun is defined as a weapon that is fed by a limited magazine and difficult to load and change ammunition. It is essentially a fully automatic version of a rifle. The American Browning Automatic Rifle is an excellent example of this type of weapon. These weapons are eligible for Spraying Fire only, and they may never use Raking or Plunging Fire.
Light Machine Gun (LMG): The Light Machine Gun is defined as a full rate of fire machine gun with a bipod that is easily transported by infantrymen. To be considered setup the Light Machine Gun must be deployed with the bipod in use and the crew prone or otherwise braced, i.e. wall, window, trench, etc. It takes no actions to setup. A German MG34 bipod machine gun is a good example of this kind.
Medium Machine Gun (MMG): The Medium Machine Gun is defined as a full rate of fire air cooled machine gun. To be considered setup the Medium Machine Gun must be deployed with the tripod in use. The gunner is considered to be sitting behind the gun firing. This category of weapon may not be fired if it is not setup.
Heavy Machine Gun (HMG): The Heavy Machine Gun is defined as a full rate of fire water cooled machine gun. To be considered setup the Heavy Machine Gun must be deployed with the tripod in use. The gunner sits behind the gun firing. This category of weapon may not be fired if it is not setup.
Large Caliber Machine Gun (LCMG): The Large Caliber Machine Gun is defined as a full rate of fire, typically air cooled, machine gun that fires a large caliber round such as a .50 caliber or a 12.7 mm. To be considered set-up the LCMG must be deployed with a tripod in use. The gunner is considered to be sitting behind the gun firing. This category of weapon may not be fired if it is not setup.
Auto Cannon (AC): The Auto Cannon is defined as a fully automatic main gun. These are generally anti-aircraft guns deployed for ground use or automatic tank guns. This category of weapon is always mounted in a vehicle or towed mount.

Crews

Each machine gun has a particular number of crew members associated with it. The gun may be operated with fewer crew members but it will affect the Jamming Number and Breakdown Number. For every missing crew member there will be a -1 to both factors. Example: A MMG that requires 3 crew members to operate and normally jams on a 20 will jam on a 19 or 20 if it only has 2 crew members and a 18-20 if it only has one.

Jamming

If the controlling player rolls the Jam Number while rolling To Hit dice then the gun is Jammed. It takes one action to unjam a machine gun.

Grenades

Grenades are small bombs carried by individual soldiers. In World War II they were either shockingly effective or practically harmless.

To Throw a Grenade

Pick a target point within 6 inches.
Declare what type of grenade is to be thrown.
Using the range chart, determine the chance of the grenade landing on target.
Apply modifiers for target and thrower.
Roll a d20 using all modifiers To Hit. If the modified number rolled is equal or less than the chance To Hit the grenade lands on target. Place a grenade template and proceed to roll damage. If a miss is rolled, use the deviation template to determine the actual location of the grenade. Place the template on the table with the center over the intended target with the arrow pointing away from the thrower. Roll a d8 and a d3. This shows the grenade's direction (the D8) and deviation (the d3 in inches). Place the grenade template on the actual landing point and proceed to roll damage.
Place the grenade template over the landing point centering the landing point with the dot in the A ring. Now determine which figures are in the area of effect, and in which ring (A, B, C, D). If there is a question as to which ring a figure is in always choose the inner ring. Figures under the A ring will roll on the A column of the Effects Chart. Roll on the Effects Chart using all modifiers on the chart to determine injury to affected figures. Apply injuries just as in Small Arms. Figures may only count terrain cover if the terrain is between them and the center point of the grenade.

Enclosed Space: Grenades could be especially brutal in a tight, enclosed space. Any grenade that goes off in a foxhole, halftrack crew area, or bunker (but not in a normal building) will affect all occupants of the area as if they were in the A ring.

Cluster Grenades: During combat it was common for infantrymen to group grenades together in a sack or tie them together. This was done to increase the effectiveness against both infantry and vehicles. It takes 6 grenades to create a Cluster Grenade. Cluster Grenades are thrown as normal grenades with a +1 To Hit. On detonation they have the effect of a small HE template.

Grenade To Hit Modifiers

Window/Door: This modifier applies to grenades being thrown through any window, door or similar aperture such as down a stairwell. This modifier does not apply at 0" range.
Foxhole: This modifier applies to grenades being thrown into a foxhole, trench or similar dug-in position such as behind sandbags or in a gun pit. This modifier does not apply at 0" range.
Vehicle Top: This modifier applies to grenades being thrown into the fighting compartment of an open top vehicle; such as a halftrack, jeep or truck. This modifier does not apply at 0" range.
Vehicle Motion: This modifier applies to grenades being thrown into moving vehicles. The modifier is +1 per 4" of movement in the previous action, regardless of vehicle facing. This modifier will always be combined with vehicle top and applies even at 0" range.
Thrower Elite: This modifier represents the skill and experience of Elite troops. This modifier always applies.
Thrower Green: This modifier represents the inexperience of Green troops. This modifier always applies.
Thrower Light Wounded: This modifier represents the debilitating effect of Light Wounds. This modifier always applies.
Bunker Slit: Grenades can only be placed in a bunker slit at 0" range. At this range no modifiers apply except those specific to the thrower such as Thrower Elite.

Grenade To Hit Chart

Range	To Hit
0 inches	18
up to 3 inches	12
3 to 6 inches	8

Condition	Modifier
Window / Door	+3
Foxhole	+4
Vehicle Top	+2
Vehicle Motion	+1 per 3" (the text above says per 4"; both as printed)
Thrower Elite	-2
Thrower Green	+2
Thrower LtW	+5
Bunker Slit	only at 0" range

Rifle Grenades

Rifle grenades can give the grunt much needed extra range and punch, but were inaccurate and no substitute for a mortar and a bazooka.

Rifle Grenade To Hit Chart

Range	To Hit
0 inches	18
up to 6 inches	12
6 to 12 inches	8

Condition	Modifier
Window / Door	+3
Vehicle Motion	+1 per 3"
Shooter Elite	-2
Shooter Green	+2
Shooter LtW	+5
Bunker Slit	+10

To fire a rifle grenade

It takes one action to affix the grenade to the rifle.
Nominate a target point within 12" just like a regular grenade. All modifiers to thrown grenades apply; deviation works just as a thrown grenade in the event of a miss. Work out effects just as with a thrown grenade.

Note: It is not possible to direct fire a rifle grenade into a foxhole/halftrack crew compartment because too much arcing is required.

Long Range Rifle Grenade Fire: At ranges longer than 12" and out to a maximum of 30", the rifle is elevated and aimed much like a mortar. If the target point is in sight, roll a d8 to determine direction of deviation, then a d6 to determine distance of deviation. Use the standard mortar deviation template, with the arrow pointing at the enemy table edge. Work out effects just as for a thrown grenade.

Blind Fire: If the target point is out of sight, roll a d8 to determine direction of deviation, then a 2d6 to determine distance of deviation. Use the standard mortar deviation template, with the arrow pointing at the enemy table edge.

Duds

Whenever an unmodified 20 is rolled To Hit with any type of grenade a mishap occurs. This mishap is generally that the grenade is a dud and has no effect. Gamemasters are encouraged to use more interesting mishaps, appropriate to the activities of the thrower, whenever possible.

Hand to Hand

When the going gets tough, sometimes the tough have to run at the enemy and beat them to death with a rifle butt.

Hand to Hand Combat

Anytime an infantry figure ends an action in base to base contact with an enemy figure, hand to hand combat ensues. Both sides roll a d20, modified as below. The low die lives and the high die is HW and out of play. A tie roll indicates that the figures are locked in deadly combat until next turn when they roll again with the first of their cards.

Continuing Combat: Once locked in combat neither figure may disengage until one of them goes down. If a figure enters Hand To Hand on its first action and wins, it may take a second action as normal that turn. If a figure enters Hand To Hand on its second action the Hand To Hand is assumed to be a free action. If a figure is engaged by an enemy in Hand To Hand before its card that turn, and wins, the figure gets two actions as normal. These rules are expediencies to keep Hand To Hand from bogging down play with extra record keeping.

Hand To Hand Modifiers Chart

Condition	Modifier
Over Obstacle	+2
Prone	+3
Crew Weapon	+5
LtW	+5
Green	+2
Elite	-2
Surprise	-2
Leader	-1 per point of Leadership Modifier
Pistol	-3
Extra Attacker	-2 per extra attacker
Higher morale	-1

Hand to Hand Combat Modifiers

Over Obstacle: This modifier applies to any figure who started Hand to Hand Combat in a foxhole or other dug-in position. It represents the difficulty of fighting someone elevated above you. This modifier also applies to any figure who moved into Hand to Hand against a figure behind a wall, sand bags, or a similar elevated obstacle. This modifier is in favor of the figure who started behind the wall because a figure behind a wall can use the wall as cover. The over obstacle penalty is +2.
Prone: Any figure that engages in Hand to Hand combat while prone receives a +3 penalty because of the difficulty of fighting from the ground.
Manning Crew Weapon: Any figure who is manning a crew weapon as a gunner or assistant of any sort when engaged in Hand to Hand combat is subject to the Manning Crew Weapon penalty. This penalty applies to any crew weapon from the LMG or bazooka to the anti-tank gun. This penalty represents the difficulty of the crew being burdened with ammo, occupied with the gun, seated in the gun seat, etc. The Manning Crew Weapon Penalty is +5.
Light Wound: Any figure engaging in Hand to Hand combat with a Light Wound suffers the Light Wound penalty. This represents the pain and disability of the wound. The Light Wound penalty is +5.
Green: Green troopers aren't well trained in Hand to Hand combat and not ready for the savage reality. Green troops always receive the Green penalty of +2.
Elite: Elite troops are trained in various techniques of Hand to Hand combat and are ready to practice them whenever possible. Elite troops always receive the Elite bonus of -2.
Surprise: Figures who have surprise will be more likely to strike down their foe before he can respond. The surprise bonus should only apply to figures that never sighted until actually in Hand to Hand with their foe. The Surprise bonus is -2.
Leader: Any Leader can use his Leadership Modifier as a bonus in Hand to Hand combat. This represents the Leader's greater skill and determination. The Leader bonus is always the Leader's Leadership Modifier.

Assault Engineers

Assault Engineers are special troops trained in the use of engineering equipment. Assault Engineers are ranked as Green, Regular, Veteran, or Elite just as any other troops, but they will have a morale rating at least one point higher than other troops of equal ranking. Assault Engineers are deployed in attacks to use their special equipment and skills to overcome enemy obstacles such as anti-tank ditches and pillboxes. In defense Assault Engineers can deploy wire, lay mine fields, make road blocks and a variety of other obstacles. Each of these tasks require specific tools, wire cutters, shovels, picks, axes, etc. Engineers are assumed to have these tools available unless a scenario indicates otherwise. Normal troops are assumed to have an entrenching tool, but no other special gear.

Obstacles

Assault Engineers are trained and equipped to lay obstacles in the game. They can spend actions to set up defensive obstacles on the table. Some obstacles, such as foxholes, can be set by any troops and are noted as such. The chart that governs the construction of obstacles is located in the Terrain section. Engineers can also reduce and remove obstacles during the game. They do so using the special tools used below. Only engineers can use the specialized equipment below, with the exception of satchel charges. Any troops can use satchel charges for close assaults vs vehicles or as large grenades.

Satchel Charge

A satchel charge is a bag of explosives that can be used for small demolitions. An engineer can spend two actions to set a satchel charge against an object and destroy it. A set satchel charge can knock down a tree, open a locked wooden door or other small demolition projects. Only engineers can use a satchel charge as a demolition. Satchel charges can also be thrown exactly like a grenade with a +2 To Hit penalty. A satchel charge will detonate 2 actions after the action it is thrown or set. These actions are based off the figure who set or threw the charge. Thus the charge will explode on the first or second action of the throwing figure's next turn. Satchel charges explode using the small HE template, with the center point on the charge.

Throwing back: When a satchel charge is thrown near enemy figures, it behooves those figures to return the favor. It takes one action to throw back a satchel charge. To do so the figure must be in base contact with the charge and must pass a half Gut Check. Only one figure can be in base contact with a satchel charge at any one time. Figures stuck in an enclosed space, such as a pillbox, will have a -5 on this check. This check represents both the willingness of a figure to throw the charge and whether the figure can complete the task both in one roll. A thrown back satchel charge is thrown exactly like any other satchel charge.

Demolition Pack

A demolition pack is a package of explosives that engineers can use to destroy enemy defenses, such as pillbox doors. Engineers can also use several demo packs to destroy large structures such as bridges and buildings. Some demo packs are merely large satchel charges, others are purpose designed quantities of explosives. Demo packs are assumed to be the large satchel type unless specified in the scenario. Generally the purpose designed explosives are used to destroy large fixed objects and not under direct fire. Single demo packs can be thrown like a satchel charge, but only out to 3". Thrown demo packs may be Thrown Back exactly as satchel charges. Demo packs can be triggered to explode by a two action fuse, exactly like a satchel charge. Demo packs can also be set against an object, by spending two or more actions. A single demo pack will explode using the medium HE template.

Electrical Detonation: Demo packs can also be triggered electrically. To trigger a demo pack electrically an engineer must spend one action attaching the cables. Any number of charges may be linked to the cable provided an engineer spends one action with each charge linking them together. Then the engineer must move at normal rate to wherever he chooses to detonate from. It then takes one action to detonate. An engineer may wait as long as he likes before setting off the charge. The cable between the detonator and the charge will be cut if any tracked or halftracked vehicle moves across the cable. The cable will also be cut by the A ring of any HE blast. Finally, the cable can be cut by any enemy figures who spend one action at the cable.

Pole Charge

A pole charge is a single demo pack set at the end of an 8'-10' pole. They are used in close assaults to attack pillbox gun slits and second story windows. Pole charges are subject to a two action delay fuse exactly like satchel charges. Pole charges cannot be electrically detonated. Pole charges can be forced into a gun slit at 3" range on a roll of 18 or less. If this roll is failed the charge detonates just outside the slit. Pole charges can also be set in a second story window if the setting figure is in base contact with the wall below. The setting figure must roll a 15 or less to successfully set the charge. If a figure fails to set the pole charge in the window, the charge will land 2" from the target point in a randomly determined direction. A pole charge explodes using a medium HE template.

Line Charge

A line charge is a board or pole with a series of small charges attached. Line charges are set with a two action fuse, just as satchel charges. Line charges cannot be electrically activated. Line charges are used to destroy linear obstacles such as a small road block or a section of wire. Line charges only take one action to set against a linear obstacle and are 3" long. Line charges explode as two small HE templates 3" apart.

Bangalore Torpedo

A bangalore torpedo is a pipe filled with explosives. They are 3" long and can be set and detonated exactly like line charges. In addition bangalore torpedoes can be electrically linked and detonated exactly like demo packs. This allows bangalore torpedoes to create gaps longer than 3" long. Or, the torpedoes can be set under a 3" wide obstacle, such as a mass of wire, and then blow open a gap. Bangalore torpedoes explode with the HE effect of one small HE template every 3".

Flamethrower

A flamethrower is a portable fuel tank that squirts flaming liquid out over a short distance. Engineers are equipped with flamethrowers to clear out stubborn, dug-in defenders. Flamethrowers can also be used to start fires, see the Terrain rules. Primarily, flamethrowers are used in an anti-personnel or anti-tank capacity. Man-carried flamethrowers have enough fuel for 6 actions of fire.

Activation: Flamethrowers must be activated before use by rolling a 17 or less. A flamethrower may activate and fire in the same action. Once activated a flamethrower can fire every action without checking again. As soon as an activated flamethrower holds its fire for one or more actions, that flamethrower is considered inactive and must be activated to fire again.

Anti-Personnel Effect: Flamethrowers use the special teardrop template to determine effect. Any figure within the center red zone is considered Gory Death, regardless of any cover but taking LOS into account. Any figure within the outer yellow zone receives an A column hit with all cover bonuses applied. Any figure in the yellow zone who receives a LtW or worse is considered a Gory Death.

Anti-Tank Effect: Flamethrowers can affect an armored vehicle only if that vehicle is in the center red zone. Any affected armored vehicle is affected exactly like a molotov cocktail but with a -5 on the Effects Chart, taking all other modifiers into account.

Detonation: Whenever a figure carrying a flamethrower receives a Light Wound or worse result from a hit on the Effects Chart, there is a possibility of the flamethrower detonating. Roll immediately on the same chart that affected the figure, using all the same modifiers. If a Light Wound or worse results, the flamethrower explodes. The figure holding an exploding flamethrower is Gory Death and any figure within 3" is hit as if in the yellow zone of the flamethrower.

Mines

Mines are deadly bombs buried or laid on the ground to hinder the movement of troops and vehicles. Mines can be of three types; Anti-Personnel, Anti-Tank and Booby-Trap. Minefields can be either individual mines or an area, maybe 4"x4", marked on the map or table.

Anti-Personnel Mines: Anti-Personnel mines are designed to cause casualties among troops. Whenever a figure crosses a single mine or enters a mined area there is a chance that that figure will detonate a mine. Use the following procedure:

Determine the type of minefield.
Determine the figure's movement rate in inches. Always let the figure finish his action before initiating a mine attack so the figure's actual movement can be determined.
Determine whether the figure was looking or not. A figure will only be looking if warned by an earlier detonation or the player specifically says the figure is looking. A looking figure can never move more than 3" per action.
Now refer to the mine Detonation Chart. Look down the column to the figure's movement and looking status, then across to the right to the minefield column. This number is the figure's chance of detonating a mine. Roll a d20.
If the figure detonates a mine immediately roll for results just as if the figure was in the A ring of a grenade. Then place the grenade template over the detonating figure to determine if any other figures are affected by the mine. Roll for any other affected figures exactly as for a grenade using the appropriate ring of the template.

Anti Personnel Mines Chance to Hit Chart

Rate of Movement	Hasty	Improved	Tricky
5 Not Looking	14	16	18
4 Not Looking	12	14	16
3 Not Looking	10	12	14
2 Not Looking	8	10	12
Prone Not Looking	10	12	14
3 Looking	6	10	12
2 Looking	4

Hasty Mine Fields: Hasty mine fields are laid down quickly in expected lines of enemy advance. Hasty fields are not as closely mined as other types and the mines are merely laid on the surface, with only a modicum of camouflage.

Improved minefield: Improved minefields are laid whenever time allows. In an improved minefield the mines are closely spaced and buried below the surface. However, to save some time they tend to be laid in predictable patterns which are known to experienced enemy engineers.

Tricky minefields: Tricky minefields are a real terror. The mines are practically packed in edge to edge. Fake mines and trip wires are included for unwary engineers. All the mines are well buried and camouflaged and all the tracks are carefully brushed away.

Laying mines: Mine fields can only be laid by engineers. The amount of time taken is included on the Obstacles chart in the Terrain section. Generally minefields are laid before the start of a game. If a player has minefields in a scenario, the size and type of field should be included in with that player's forces. The location of the field or fields can be predetermined by scenario or left to the player to decide. The player should mark the field on the table, or on a map in non double-blind games. Single mines can be marked with a counter, areas defined with a counter on each corner.

Anti-Tank Mines: Anti-tank mines are covered in the Armor section. Anti-tank mines are laid and discovered exactly like other mines.

Booby-Traps: Booby-Traps are specialized mines placed in doorways, windows, medical supplies, knocked out tanks and other nasty places. Booby-Traps follow all the normal rules for anti-personnel mines and can be of any of the types typical to standard minefields. Booby-Traps never cover an area, but instead can be several individual traps.

Clearing Anti-Personnel mines: Although any figure can move through a minefield, only engineers can clear one. To clear a minefield the engineer moves into the field on an action, rolling as normal for a detonation. On the engineer's next action the figure does not move, but still rolls for a detonation with the same chance as last action. In this action the engineer is assumed to be removing mines and marking the lane. The engineer continues to alternate actions of moving and actions of marking until the lane is marked or the engineer is killed.

Marked Lanes: Once a lane is marked any figure may move through with only a 1 chance of detonation, this chance representing the possible missed mine. An engineer can remove this 1 chance of detonation by spending one action of moving and two actions of marking for the entire lane.

Mine Detectors: Engineers equipped with magnetic mine detectors clear minefields as normal. But because of the detection power of the tool, engineers receive a -4 on all detonation rolls, both for moving and for marking.

Clearing Booby-Traps: Engineers can remove booby-traps by following a procedure similar to clearing anti-personnel mines. First the engineer must pass a Gut Check because Booby-Traps tended to be much more difficult than minefields. A half Skill Check must then be rolled. If the half Skill Check is passed, the trap is disarmed. If the check is not passed, but the number rolled is equal or less than the figure's morale, then the trap is still in place but did not detonate. If the half Skill Check is not passed and the number rolled is higher than the figure's morale then the trap has detonated, resolve as for a normal mine detonation.

Clearing Anti-Tank Minefields: Engineers clear anti-tank minefields exactly like they clear anti-personnel minefields. However, the engineer only risks detonation on the action of marking, not the action of moving, because the mines are not triggered to detonate against a man.

Man vs. Tank

"Corporal Hicks could not help but grin as the Mk IV moved by, seemingly oblivious to the danger. Keeping cool, he waited for the tank to show its rear. Hicks fired the bazooka. He saw the rocket strike the rear hull and then ducked shrapnel as the tank brewed up with multiple secondaries."

During World War II the tank dominated the battlefield. In an effort to provide infantry with a way to destroy these monsters they were given specialized equipment and training. For game purposes a Tank is defined as any fully tracked armored vehicle with an enclosed fighting compartment, including a top and a main gun. An AFV (armored fighting vehicle) is defined as any armored vehicle that is not a tank. See the Armor section for specific vehicle classifications.

AFV Effects on Infantry

At any time an AFV or Tank comes within 5 inches of an infantry figure, that figure must pass a Gut Check using the modifications provided in the chart. If the Gut Check is passed the figure may remain in the location occupied. If the figure fails the Gut Check then the figure must expend 5" and up to 10" of movement toward cover to escape. The figure is not Broken, he is only moving away from the vehicle. If the figure passes the Gut Check he has the option of staying in place or moving 5"-10" toward cover. If the figure has not moved during the current turn then this movement is considered his movement, otherwise treat it as a free movement.

Movement Into Close Combat with AFV

Whenever a figure advances into contact with a Tank or Assault Gun there is a half Gut Check when that figure moves within 5 inches of the vehicle. Whenever a figure advances into contact with an AFV there is a Gut Check when that figure moves within 5 inches of the AFV. If this check is passed then the unit may continue forward toward the Tank or AFV, otherwise the figure must follow the same rules as AFV Effects on Infantry. The following chart is used to modify the dice roll for advancing on AFVs and Tanks.

Advancing into AFV Modifiers

Condition	Modifier
Elite	-2
Green	+2
Entrenched / Cover	-5
Front of vehicle	+3
Vehicle unbuttoned	+3
Engineer	-4
Vehicle in Smoke	-3
Immobilized	-3

Close Assault

Infantry close assault vs. AFV or Tank takes an action to complete. The infantry must be in base to base contact with the vehicle at the start of this action. Infantry can never close assault from Op-Fire or Ambush.

Grenade Attack

It is possible that a grenade placed in the correct spot on the rear deck or tracks of an AFV or Tank may cause damage. To make such an attack the figure attacking must be in base contact with the vehicle and possess a grenade. The controlling player must state whether a rear deck attack or a track attack will be tried. If trying to place a grenade in the fighting compartment of an open topped AFV then you must consult the grenade rules.

Use the above rules to move the figure into close combat with the AFV or Tank.
Determine the AFV or Tank size.
Have the attacking player declare whether they are targeting the tracks or the engine deck.
Check the Placement Chart and roll a d20. Modify the result with the appropriate table modifiers.
A low roll on the die indicates a successful attempt. Now roll a d20 on the Grenade Effect chart.
Apply the result to the target.

Molitov Cocktail

On several fronts in the war infantry were forced into using gas filled bottles as anti-tank weapons. These were known as molitov cocktails and could be affective against AFVs and Tanks when the fiery liquid found a way inside the vehicle. The cocktail is thrown exactly like a hand grenade. If the cocktail landed on the Tank or AFV then roll a d20 and check the Molitov Effects chart. If the target was an open topped vehicle and the molitov cocktail landed inside, use the Open Top Chart instead.

Magnetic Mine

These lethal weapons were developed in order to give a very effective anti-tank weapon to the infantryman. The only problem is that the soldier using the weapon had to be close enough to touch the tank to place the mine.

Move the figure into close combat with the AFV or Tank.
Using the Placement Chart, roll to place the mine.
Roll on the Hit Location chart to see where the mine is placed.
The mine will detonate in two actions after it has been placed, based on the placer's actions.
Upon detonation roll for penetration using the mine's Penetration number.
Subtract the target's armor from the Penetration number, this is the final Penetration number.
If the d20 roll is less than or equal to the final Penetration number, roll on the Penetration Effects Chart. If no penetration apply any Non-Penetration effect from the Hit Location Chart.

Satchel Charge

Satchel charges were sometimes used as expedient anti-tank weapons. In order for a satchel charge to be effective it must be "placed" on the tank. Satchel charges may also be thrown at an AFV and may Hook on the vehicle and cause damage. Demo packs may be placed like satchel charges. A thrown demo pack will never Hook on an AFV.

Placed

Use the rules to move the figure into close combat with the AFV or Tank.
Roll for an attempt to place the Satchel Charge. If the attempt fails the charge is still "set" and is placed on the ground next to the vehicle.
Roll for Placement location on the Hit Location Chart.
The charge will detonate two actions from the time it was placed, timed to the placer's actions.
Subtract the target's armor from the Penetration Number.
If the d20 roll is less than or equal to the final Penetration Number roll on the Penetration Effects Chart. If no penetration apply Non-Penetration Effect from the Hit Location Chart.

Thrown

Using the rules for throwing satchel charges, roll To Hit, using all applicable modifiers.
If a hit is scored, then roll to see if the charge has hooked on to the vehicle. To do this, roll on the chart for placing satchel charges using all modifiers, including thrown. If a miss is scored or the charge fails to hook, the Charge is set and placed beside the target vehicle.
If a hit is scored and the charge hooks then roll on the Hit Location Chart.
The charge will detonate two actions from the time it was placed, timed to the placer's actions.
Using the charge's Penetration, subtract the vehicle's armor and roll to penetrate. If a penetration occurs roll on the Penetration Effects Chart and apply damage. If there is no penetration check the Hit Location Chart for Non-Penetrating Effect.

Close Assault Placement Chart (roll a d20; a low roll is a success; columns are target vehicle size)

Attack	VS	S	M	L	VL
Grenade vs. Engine / Rear Deck	14	10	7	5	3
Grenade vs. Tracks / Wheels	14	11	9	7	5
Magnetic Mine	12	12	14	16	16
Satchel Charge	14	12	10	8	8

[Note: the row labels and numbers of this chart were scrambled in the source text; the rows are given in the order printed.]

Modifiers
Elite	-2
Green	+2
Light Wound	+5
Engineers	-2
Thrown Satchel Charge	+5
Anti Magnetic Paste (Magnetic Mines Only)	+10

Mine & Explosives Penetration Chart

Weapon	Penetration
Magnetic Mine	30
Satchel Charge	20
Demo Pack	25

Grenade Vs Tracks / Wheels Effects Chart

Die	Effect
1-4	Grenade explodes within the tracks. Track pieces and links are blown apart. The track is permanently destroyed.
5-8	Grenade explodes within the tracks. Track pieces and links are twisted off the rollers. The tank is immobilized until 8 man actions are spent on the tracks by the crew members for repairs.
9-12	Shrapnel and concussion rock the side of the tank. The effects are sufficient to slow the vehicle to half speed until the crew spends 6 man actions on the tracks to repair them.
13-16	The explosion has caused slight track damage. The vehicle will lose 2 inches from its speed until the crew spends 4 man actions on the tracks to repair them.
17-20	The shrapnel and explosion have been directed away from the tank. No damage has resulted from the attack.

Modifiers: Cluster Grenade -5; Vehicle In Motion +4.

Grenade Vs Engine Deck Effects Chart

Die	Effect
1-4	Grenade explodes and catches the fuel within the engine. This causes an explosion as the engine is destroyed, vehicle is immobilized. Vehicle's engine is on fire.
5-8	The explosion's concussion rips through the engine decking causing engine damage. The vehicle is immobilized until the crew spends 8 man actions on the engine to repair damage.
9-12	The explosion's concussion rips through the engine decking causing engine damage. The vehicle is immobilized until the crew spends 4 man actions on the engine to repair damage.
13-16	The shrapnel from the grenade has lodged itself in the engine compartment. The engine is prevented from gaining full throttle. Half speed until the crew spends 4 man actions on the engine to repair it.
17-20	The shrapnel and explosion have been directed away from the tank. No damage has resulted from the attack.

Modifiers: Cluster Grenade -5.

Molitov Effects Chart

Die	Effect
17-20	The Cocktail hits the vehicle and erupts in a ball of flame. Although hitting the vehicle and igniting, most of the gas splashes off the target into the surrounding terrain. Check for fire.

The remaining four results (dice 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16) are printed in the source as the following effects, but the mapping of each effect to its die range was scrambled and cannot be reliably recovered. In the order printed:

Flame seeps into the fighting compartment of the vehicle. Wide spread panic hits the crew as the flames inch closer to the ammunition and fuel supply. All crew members passing a morale check must bail-out, otherwise they are KIA. Vehicle is on fire.
As flame and gas spread across the vehicle, some finds its way inside the fighting compartment and causes havoc. Any crew member failing his morale check must bail-out. The vehicle will lose a turn while the crew is dealing with the damage and fire.
As the fireball covers the target vehicle it flashes past the vision ports. This makes it very hard to see out of the vehicle and fight effectively. Panic sets in the crew from the attack. Any crew member not passing their morale check will be unable to take any action for their next turn. Any actions taken by the crew will receive a +2 modifier as well.
Flame and gas cover the vehicle and cause concern to the crew. Any crew member not passing their morale check will be unable to take any action for their next turn.

Modifiers: Unbuttoned -4; Flamethrower -5; Rain / Snow +4.

Molitov Open Top Effects Chart

Die	Effect
1-4	Flame explodes through the fighting compartment. The vehicle is caught on fire. Anyone failing a morale check is considered KIA, everyone else must bail out. Any heavy weapons must be left behind and are destroyed along with the vehicle.
5-8	The cocktail has burst inside the vehicle causing panic and damage. The driving compartment is completely knocked out killing the driver. All radios and inherent vehicle weapons are destroyed. All crew members must bail-out, vehicle is on fire.
9-12	Flame and gas burst inside the vehicle. Wide spread panic hits the crew as the flames inch closer to the ammunition and fuel supply. All crew members failing a morale check must bail-out, vehicle is on fire. The vehicle is out for 2 turns while the fire is extinguished.
13-16	Flame and gas cover the vehicle and cause concern to the crew. Any crew member not passing their morale check will be unable to take any action for their next turn.
17-20	The cocktail has burst inside the vehicle causing more panic than damage. While most of the supplies and packs in the vehicle are caught on fire no real damage is caused.

Modifiers: Unbuttoned -4; Flamethrower -5; Rain / Snow +4.

Projectile Attack

During World War II several weapons were developed to allow the infantryman to attack tanks at a distance. These weapons are allowed to take advantage of Op-Fire and Ambush.

Panzerfaust

A panzerfaust is a single shot disposable weapon. It takes an action to fire a panzerfaust, after which the weapon is removed from play. The effective range is very short but they have incredible penetrating power. The panzerfaust is a missile weapon and allowed to be on Op-Fire and Ambush.

Determine the range to the target.
Determine the type of panzerfaust on the chart.
Look right on the chart for the appropriate range then check the top of the chart for the To Hit number.
Roll a d20. Modify this roll with all the modifiers on the Gun To Hit chart except for HEAT round.
If the roll is less than or equal to the To Hit number, a hit is scored.
Roll for location with a d20 on the Hit Location Chart.
Subtract the target's armor from the Penetration Number, this is the final Penetration Number.
Roll a d20. If the roll is less or equal to the final Penetration Number, then roll on the Penetration Effects Chart. If there is no penetration, check the Hit Location chart for Non-Penetrating Effect.

Bazooka / Panzerschreck

A bazooka is a rocket propelled anti-tank weapon. It has a short range and decent penetration capabilities. The Penetration and To Hit charts are given below. Use the modifiers of the Gun To Hit Chart. The bazooka and panzerschreck are missile weapons and are allowed to be on Op-Fire and Ambush. Both the bazooka and panzerschreck are crew served weapons and require both a gunner and a loader. It takes one action to load a bazooka or panzerschreck and one action to fire.

Determine the range to the target.
Determine the type of bazooka or panzerschreck on the chart.
Look right on the chart for the appropriate range then check the top of the chart for the To Hit number.
Roll a d20. Modify this number with all normal gun To Hit modifiers except for HEAT round.
If the roll is less than or equal to the hit number, then it is a hit.
Roll for location with a d20 on the Hit Location Chart.
Subtract the target's Armor from the Penetration Number, this is the final Penetration Number.
Roll a d20. If the roll is less or equal to the final Penetration Number, then roll on the Penetration Effects Chart. If no penetration then check the Hit Location Chart for Non-Penetrating Effect.

Bazooka and Panzerschreck To Hit Chart (range in inches for each range band; To Hit number in the top row)

Weapon	PB	Short	Effective	Long	Penetration
To Hit	16	11	7	3
Panzerschreck	8"	15"	23"	30"	46
Bazooka 43	8"	15"	23"	30"	23
Bazooka 44	9"	16"	24"	32"	28

Panzerfaust To Hit Chart

Weapon	PB	Short	Effective	Long	Penetration
To Hit	16	12	8	4
Panzerfaust Klein	4"	6"	10"	16"	31
Panzerfaust 30	4"	8"	12"	18"	39
Panzerfaust 60	5"	10"	14"	20"	46
Panzerfaust 100

Anti-Tank Rifle (ATR)

Early in the war various countries developed anti-tank rifles. These rifles were large caliber rifles designed to penetrate lightly armored vehicles. As the war progressed and armor became more effective the ATR was phased out. ATRs have one shot per action.

Determine the range to the target.
Look right on the chart for the appropriate range then check the top of the chart for the To Hit number.
Roll a d20. Modify this roll with all gun To Hit modifiers.
If the roll is less than or equal to the To Hit number then it is a hit.
Roll for location with a d20 on the Hit Location Chart.
Subtract the target's armor from the Penetration Number, this is the final Penetration Number.
Roll a d20. If the roll is less than or equal to the final Penetration Number, then roll on the Penetration Effects Chart. If no penetration then there is no further effect to the vehicle.

Anti-tank rifles fired such a small, light shell that they never cause damage unless the shell first penetrates the target's armour and thus never cause a Non-Penetrating Effect. In addition ATRs always have a +3 modifier on the Penetration Effects Chart.

(The source numbers these steps 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; there is no step 3.)

Machine Guns vs AFVs and Tanks

Truly desperate infantry can fire their machine guns at enemy armor and potentially cause damage to light vehicles. Machine guns must be specifically targeting the enemy vehicle to cause damage. Armored vehicles moving through any type of Pinning Fire will never be effected, although exposed crew may be. To use a machine gun against armour, follow the procedure below.

Roll To Hit as normal for the machine gun at the present range, using all To Hit modifiers and full Rate of Fire. Machine guns will never be able to penetrate armor at longer than effective range.
If a majority of hits is scored then there is the potential to Penetrate armor. A majority is 3 hits for a 4 ROF weapon, 2 hits for a 3 ROF weapon. If less than a majority of hits is scored, the attack will have no effect even vs exposed crew. In an attempt to concentrate fire the machine gunner has given up the gun's ability to spray an area.
If a majority of hits is scored then roll for a Hit Location as normal. All hits will be to the same location. This is to represent that the machine gun penetrated by beating on one small area of the target's armor.
Subtract the target's armor from the Penetration Number, this is the final Penetration Number. Only roll to Penetrate once for the entire attack. Any penetration is for all of the hits.
Roll a d20. If the roll is less or equal to the final Penetration Number, then roll on the Penetration Effects Chart. Only roll once on the Penetration Effects Chart. This one result is the total damage caused by the entire attack. If no penetration then there is no further effect to the vehicle.

Machine gun fire will be too light and spread out to cause any damage unless it first penetrates the target's armor and thus never causes a Non-Penetrating Effect. If penetrated, however, machine guns will have a +3 modifier on the Penetration Effects Chart.

ATR & Machinegun To Hit and Penetration Chart (range bands 5" / 15" / 30" / 45")

Weapon	5"	15"	30"	45"
ATR to Hit	16	12	12	8
ATR Penetration	13	10	7	3
MMG to Hit	16	12	12	12
MMG Penetration	5	4	-	-
HMG to Hit	16	12	12	12

[Note: the range band labels of this chart were scrambled in the source text; they are given as best recovered.]

Snipers

"Holman had hit the ground, blood geysering from his chest, even before the shot rang out. The rest of the squad dove for cover in a panic. The silence that followed was broken by the sound of Holman weakly calling out for help. Each man looked at the man next to him. Who would help Holman?..."

Snipers are specially trained riflemen who are experts not only as marksmen but also as patient hunters. Not every lone rifleman is a sniper. Only special training, practice, and natural talent make a figure a sniper.

Snipers are expert riflemen who are trained to lay in ambush and use precise rifle fire to slow an enemy advance and break enemy morale. Snipers are deployed in two man teams, one sniper and one observer. Sniper teams are rated as Green, Regular, Veteran or Elite just like any other troops, but will generally have a Morale rating at least two points higher. Sniper teams use a number of special rules to represent their unique abilities.

Ambush: Snipers are an exception to the normal Ambush rules. Snipers can aim while on Ambush and can shoot out beyond 15". Snipers may never set Op-Fire or Ambush if Light Wounded.

Aim: Because of Snipers' high skill they are able to use an Aimed shot while on Ambush or Op-Fire. This is an exception that applies only to snipers and represents both the snipers' skill and the coordination between the sniper and the observer. Thus a regular sniper will be -5 To Hit and -7 To Effect while using Ambush or Op-Fire.

Extended Range Ambush: Because Snipers can be so effective with their fire they may take Ambush shots at targets up to 40" away. This is an exception to the standard Ambush rules and allows snipers to set Ambush with targets within LOS and effective range and still shoot at them outside of 15".

Sighted in Location: Unlike other troops Snipers may still set Ambush if their location is known to the enemy.

Sighting: The observer is always issued a pair of binoculars which they use for all Sighting Checks.

Concealment: Any Sniper who starts the game in a fixed position will automatically count as Constructed Concealed because of the snipers' training in camouflage and concealment.

Sighting Chart: Because Snipers carefully choose the moment when they fire, snipers always count as Concealed Infantry, not as Concealed Firing Infantry.

Target Selection: Generally hits are randomized amongst a squad and no firer can pick to shoot a squad leader or other special squad member. Snipers are the exception to this rule. Snipers can select the Squad Leader, Machine Gunner, or any other specialist within a sighted squad.

I'm Hit!

In basic game play figures with Heavy Wounds are removed as casualties. In games with snipers the I'm Hit! rule can add to the excitement. I'm Hit! can also be used in any small scale infantry game if the participants so choose.

Man Down: Whenever a figure takes a Heavy Wound there is a possibility that one of the other squad members may stop fighting to help his wounded fellow. Therefore, any time a figure receives a Heavy Wound determine which friendly figure is closest to the wounded man, out to a maximum of 6", that figure will have to pass a Gut Check. Only one figure will have to check. If two figures are equal distance away randomly determine who will check.

Gut Check: The figure closest to the wounded man makes an immediate Gut Check. If the check is passed the figure continues on as normal, ignoring his wounded brother. If the check is failed the figure must now Help His Buddy.

Help His Buddy: A figure that has failed his Gut Check will stop fighting and Help His Buddy. On that figure's next card he will spend his first action moving to his wounded buddy. On his second action he will drag his wounded buddy at full 5" movement rate towards the nearest cover of at least +3 protection. The figure will continue to spend every action dragging his wounded buddy to cover until both he and the wounded man are behind cover. Once behind cover the figure will spend two actions applying a field dressing to the wounded figure. Once this is done the wounded figure is removed from play and the other figure may return to the battle as normal on his next action.

Medics: The presence of a Medic on the field will allow other figures to ignore their wounded buddies, secure in the knowledge that the Medic will care for them. Any figures within 15" and LOS of a Medic will be immune to Gut Checks caused by wounded fellows. In addition any figure failing a Gut Check will automatically stop dragging his wounded buddy as soon as he moves to within 15" of a friendly Medic. Players are encouraged to move their Medics about, helping any Heavy Wounded figures.

No Quarter: If at any time a Medic is Heavy Wounded or KIAd by enemy fire then all figures on that Medic's side are immediately subject to No Quarter.

Heavy Wound: Figures that receive a Heavy Wound are always removed from play at some point. Even if treated by a fellow squad member or a Medic, a figure with a Heavy Wound will never recover in the course of the game.

Infantry Quick Play Charts

[The source's Infantry Quick Play Charts pages reproduce charts already given in the sections above (Hero Creation, Troop Quality, Break Point, Hand To Hand Modifiers, Grenade To Hit, Close Assault Placement, Grenade Effects, Molitov Effects, Mine & Explosives Penetration, Bazooka / Panzerschreck / Panzerfaust / ATR / Machine Gun charts, Special Fire Mode dimensions). They are not repeated here.]

Armored Combat

Vehicle Types

"Kilroy marvelled at the requisition forms. Presently there were seven models of the Sherman tank in operation, all with slightly different parts requirements. Now they were adding two new classes of Tank Destroyers and a new light tank! His head swam."

World War II was the first war to be dominated by vehicles. The advent of the internal combustion engine, combined with modern manufacturing techniques, enabled all nations to field a wide variety of vehicles. During this time experimentation with vehicle configurations was common, resulting in a variety of vehicle classifications. For game play each vehicle is categorized into a type of vehicle. The classifications Battleground World War II uses are for game purposes and not what each nation actually called their type of vehicle. Any armored vehicle that is not a Tank is referred to as an AFV.

Tank (T): Fully tracked, turreted armored vehicle with an enclosed top and a main gun.
Assault Gun (AG): Fully tracked, enclosed top, armored vehicle with no turret and a main gun mounted in the hull.
Self Propelled Gun (SP): Fully tracked, open-topped armored vehicle with no turret and a main gun mounted in the hull.
Tank Destroyer (TD): Fully tracked, armored vehicle with an open-topped turret and a main gun.
Armored Car (AC): Wheeled armored vehicle.
Halftrack (HT): Any armored vehicle with a front set of wheels and a rear set of tracks that support an armored fighting compartment.
Truck (TR): Any unarmored vehicle whose main purpose is to transport men or material. Most trucks are wheeled but some are tracked and halftracked trucks.
Jeeps and Motorcycles (J or M): Small wheeled vehicles designed to carry a few men and a small cargo.

Tank Crews and Morale

"Wittmann looked proudly at his men. Surely the Tiger was an awesome machine, superior to any other tank. But, Wittmann knew that it was the cool professionalism and comraderie of his crew that had made him famous. His job in this war was to guide those boys through safely."

Tanks are fascinating masters of the battlefield: tons of metal that protect a crew who focus their energy on aiming their main gun on a target and destroying it. For all of their supposed protection these monsters could easily become steel coffins when the crew's luck changed. The men in these machines were very aware of the danger that fate could hold in store for them.

Typical Armor Crew

Commander: Occupies the most prominent place on the tank, in the cupola on top of the tank. His role is to direct the actions of the other crew members, to select targets and to watch out for attacks on the tank.
Gunner: He occupies the space right next to the gun forward in the turret. His job is to aim and fire the gun. It is important that he keep in good contact with his loader and the commander.
Loader: The loader selects the next round that will be loaded into the breach of the main gun and loads it after the main gun has fired.
Driver: The driver is responsible for driving the tank.
Radio Operator: The radio operator keeps the other tanks in the group informed as to what is going on and informs his own crew about other actions on the battlefield. He can also use the hull machine gun.

(The source includes a Tank Crew Positions diagram labelled Radio Operator / Hull Gunner, Loader, Commander, Driver, Gunner.)

Crew Quality

Vehicle crews have a quality rating just as infantry squads do. This rating represents each member's individual skill and their ability to work as a team.

Green: These crews have received only elementary training, only just received their vehicle, and have never seen combat before. Green crews suffer a number of penalties in combat.
Regular: Regular crews have had some training together in their vehicle. They have also tasted combat before and are somewhat prepared to face it again, provided all goes well. All vehicle crews are assumed to be Regular unless specifically stated otherwise in a scenario.
Veteran: Veteran crews know each other and their vehicle well. They've seen the worst and know that their vehicle and crew mates will carry them through.
Elite: Elite vehicle crews are the best of the best. They shoot straighter, maneuver better, and keep their heads no matter how deep it gets. Elite crews receive benefits in combat.

Armored Combat Crew Quality

Crew Quality	Crew Morale	Crew Command Range	Typical Leader Morale	Leadership Modifier	Leader Command Range
Green	10	8	12	-0	10
Regular	12	10	14	-1	12
Veteran	14	12	16	-1	14
Elite	16	14	17	-2	16

[Note: the column headings and some values of this table were scrambled in the source; the arrangement above is the best recovery of the printed numbers.]

Craven Cowards: If a tank crew rolls an unmodified 20 on a Morale Check they become Craven Cowards, abandon their tank, and will leave the board with no chance of Rallying.

Heroes: If a tank crew rolls an unmodified 1 on their Morale Check they are driven to heroics, roll on the chart below to see what type of hero they become.

Die	Hero Type	Special Abilities
1	Medal of Honor / Iron Cross / Hero of USSR	Never Checks Morale. +1 Morale. Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately. Ignore any penetration results that are 16 or higher. Never forced to button-up.
2-3	Stud Hero	Never Checks Morale. +1 Morale. Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately. Never forced to button-up.
4-5	Hero	+1 Morale. Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately. Never forced to button-up.
6-10	Normal Hero	+1 Morale. Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately.
11-20	Common Hero	Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately.

Note: Craven Cowards and Heroes are only created by unmodified die rolls of 1 or 20 and only on a morale check, never a Skill Check, Gut Check or Rally.

Tank Morale

These morale rules apply only to fully Armored Fighting Vehicles: Tanks, Assault Guns, Tank Destroyers, Armored Cars and Self Propelled Guns. Armored vehicles that are infantry oriented, halftracks, jeeps and trucks, do not follow these rules. The drivers of such vehicles are considered part of the squad that is attached to them and follow all morale rules associated with infantry.

The crew of the tank fight and maneuver together, therefore they have a collective morale rating. This rating is a single number between one and twenty indicating the experience and devotion of the crew. If there is a Tank Leader present then the crew always tests their morale on his number; otherwise the Tank Morale number is always used.

Morale Checks

A Morale Check for a tank crew is similar to the Morale Check for infantry. There are combat results that can force the crew to take a Morale Check. A Tank Morale Check is made with one roll applying to the entire crew using the Tank Leader's morale if one is present, otherwise using the morale of the crew. To make a Morale Check, roll a d20. If the die roll result is higher than the morale rating the check is failed. The crew must Bail-Out.

Immobilization: At any time a tank gets an immobilization result then they must pass a Morale Check. This check is caused because the crew of an immobilized tank are far more vulnerable to enemy fire and may decide not to wait around for the shot that kills them.

Crew Loss: If one of the crew members of the tank die as a result of a penetrating round then a Morale Check is made for that tank. The loss of a crew member to a penetrating shot dispels the illusion of safety for the rest of the crew who may decide to seek cover elsewhere.

Main Gun Loss: If the tank's main gun is knocked out the crew is subject to a special Morale Check. This check is made exactly like a standard Morale Check. If it is passed then the vehicle may fight on with its secondary armament. If it is failed the crew will not abandon their vehicle but instead will drive it off the field by the most expedient route, exposing themselves to a minimum of risk.

Small Arms Morale Checks: Anytime a vehicle crew is forced to take a Morale Check because of enemy small arms fire the crew will always button up but suffer no other ill effects. If an exposed crew member is KIA or wounded by small arms fire no Vehicle Morale Check is required. The vehicle is forced to button-up, but the crew will not abandon their vehicle because of the loss.

Bail-Out

If at any time a crew member fails a Morale Check caused by a combat result (other than small arms) then the crew must abandon their vehicle immediately. This abandonment is referred to as a bail-out. Each crew member is Broken exactly like a Broken infantry figure. The crew will now be subject to all infantry rules including Morale and Rally rules until they re-enter their tank. Vehicle crews who Rally may choose to re-enter their vehicle unless it is brewed up. Crews may voluntarily bail-out of any vehicle at any time.

Tank Leaders

Tank Leaders are exceptional tankers that typically lead a platoon of tanks or AFVs. They are rated just like infantry leaders, having a morale rating and a modifier. Any crew led by a tank leader always checks on his morale. In addition the Leadership Modifier of the leader can be applied to any To Hit die or Hit Location die.

Tank Platoon Integrity Check

Every turn each side must check the willingness of their armored forces to fight on. At the start of each turn count the number of tanks and AFVs that are remaining on each side.

75% Check: If 75% or more of your tanks are destroyed or are out of action each of the remaining tanks must take a Morale Check. Broken crews and abandoned tanks count toward the 75% for this rule.

50% Check: If 50% or more of your tanks are brewed up then each of the remaining tanks must take a Morale Check.

Results of the Tank Platoon Integrity Check: If a tank has failed the Morale Check, roll a d20 to determine the behavior of the vehicle. Refer to the Results of the Tank Platoon Integrity Check chart.

Tank Platoon Integrity Check Modifiers

Condition	Modifier
Tank in Defensive Position	-1
Tank Immobilized	+1
Taking fire from side	+1
Taking fire from rear	+2
Main Gun knocked out	+2

Results of Tank Platoon Integrity Check

Die	Result
1	Crew rolls on Tank Hero Chart
2-4	No Effect
5-9	The tank must seek cover away from the enemy. On next turn the tank returns to normal. If tank is immobile then crew will abandon the tank instead. The crew is not considered broken.
10-14	The tank will withdraw from enemy fire, facing the enemy, until it is rallied at normal morale. No other actions are allowed. If tank is immobile then crew will abandon the tank instead.
15-19	The tank will retreat from the enemy seeking any available cover. The crew is considered broken. If tank is immobile then crew will abandon the tank instead.
20	The tank crew immediately abandons the tank with no chance to rally. They will flee off the board.

[Note: in the source the effect texts for dice 5-9 through 20 were printed as one run of text; they are assigned to the die ranges in printed order.]

Actions

"Sweat poured off Ferrell as he loaded yet another 75mm round. The commander called a target and Ferrell heard BANG as the round sped away. 'Loader-AP, Driver Forward' came through his headphones. As Ferrell pushed another round home he called 'AP' and prayed for a break."

The typical Armored Fighting Vehicle crew consisted of several men, each with a different task, all working together to achieve the common goal of destroying the enemy. Because there are several men in each tank, one tank may perform many tasks at once. For example, the loader could be loading a new round in the main gun while the gunner fires the co-ax gun. At the same time the driver navigates the tank while the radio operator fires the hull machine gun. All of this is going on while the commander is looking for a new target. Each crew member is allowed two actions per turn exactly like infantry. Vehicles move on a card draw just like infantry, as described in the Core Rules.

Unbutton: Takes one action for the crew to open all of the vehicle hatches and vision ports.
Button-up: A vehicle may button-up at the beginning or end of any action for no cost.
Fire main gun: It consumes one action to fire the main gun. This is performed by the gunner.
Aim main gun: The gunner may spend extra time lining up a shot for extra accuracy. This action may not be the action the gun is being loaded or an action in which the vehicle moves. The gunner may not spend an action of Aim Main Gun without the direction of the commander.
Direct Fire: A commander may spend an action directing the fire or aiming of the main gun. Any Fire Main Gun action taken without the direction of the commander suffers the No Commander penalty. A tank leader may only use his leadership modifier on a main gun shot if he is directing fire in that action.
Fire Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun: An exposed figure in the commander's cupola may fire the AAMG if there is a gun present.
Fire Hull Machine Gun: The radio operator can take an action to fire the hull mounted machine gun.
Fire Co-ax Machine Gun: The gunner may fire the co-ax mounted machine gun if he is not taking an action to fire or aim the main gun.
Launch Smoke: It takes one action for the commander or the loader to launch vehicle mounted smoke.
Load main gun: It takes at least one action to load the main gun of a vehicle. See the Vehicle Chart and the Gun Rules for more detail.

Simultaneous Action: Each crew member is allowed to perform two actions per turn. All crew members must complete a first action before any member may begin a second action. Example: A driver may do nothing on first action while the gunner aims because the driver knows the movement will ruin the aiming.

Movement

"Schmidt pushed confidently forward, up over the bocage. He could feel the Tiger sticking as commander Wittmann warned him of a tree to the right. He compensated and pushed over into the road."

All vehicles have 2 actions to spend during their turn, both these actions may be movement. All terrain specific movement is covered in the Terrain section.

Turning: Any turns that are less than 90 degrees are part of normal movement. These turns are assumed to follow a logical path between the start and finish of the action. Only fully tracked vehicles may pivot in place in order to make a 90 or 180 degree turn.

90 Degree Turn: When a fully tracked vehicle must make a 90 degree turn in place, half of the vehicle's movement factor is spent for that action. The vehicle may not do anything except move, or remain motionless, with the remaining part action. A tank can turn in place 90 degrees and then move half its movement in the same action.

180 Degree Turn: It takes a fully tracked vehicle a full action to complete a 180 degree turn.

Dead Tracks: When a fully tracked vehicle loses the use of one of its tracks it is considered a Dead Track. A fully tracked vehicle may still pivot in place with one good track. It takes one action to pivot up to 90 degrees with a Dead Track.

Reverse: Any vehicle may move in reverse at half of forward speed. All terrain has effect exactly as in forward movement. No vehicle may ever move in reverse and in forward in the same action. A vehicle that is forced to take a Bog Check while in reverse always receives a +2 penalty on the check to represent reduced visibility.

Bogging: Certain types of terrain and obstacles can cause a vehicle to become stuck. This is known as bogging. Whenever a vehicle crosses terrain that requires a Bog Check roll a d20 to determine if the vehicle becomes bogged. If the number rolled is equal or greater than the bog number of that terrain type then the vehicle is considered bogged. The bog happens immediately when the terrain is crossed and the vehicle is not allowed to finish any movement.

Unbogging: Whenever a vehicle is bogged that vehicle can try to free itself. Unbogging takes an action of movement to perform. Roll a d20 to determine if the vehicle has become unbogged. If a 10 or less has been rolled then the vehicle has become unbogged. If on unbogging a number is rolled that is equal to or greater than the bog number for that terrain then the vehicle is bogged worse than before. If the vehicle is bogged for a second time it is considered immobilized for the rest of game play.

Buttoned-Up

"Commander Coyle sat high in his cupola watching the German platoon roll by. He could see that infantry fire had forced his foe to button-up. There was no way they could see him maneuvering around their flank."

Buttoned-Up: A vehicle is considered Buttoned-Up when all of the hatches on the tank are closed. If there are no markers on a tank that indicate otherwise, this is the state the tank is in. Because of the limitations of being Buttoned-Up there are several restrictions. Buttoning-Up may be done as part of any action for free. Buttoned-Up crews are immune to small arms fire and non-penetrating artillery.

Sighting: A Buttoned-Up vehicle will have a number of blind spots. A spotting modifier is always used in this mode.
Movement: Vehicle cannot use road bonus. Vehicle receives +2 on all Bog Checks.
Shooting: The vehicle will receive a penalty on all main gun shots.

Unbuttoned: The state of being Unbuttoned is when all of the hatches are open so as to allow the crew the maximum benefits for sighting and ventilation. The practice of opening hatches when the vehicle was not in combat was very common for all armies in the war. For all of the advantages being Unbuttoned gives the tank crew, it does invite attack from the simplest of defenders. Crew members become vulnerable to attack from small arms fire and grenades may be thrown into open hatches. When an armored vehicle is Unbuttoned in play then an UB marker is placed on top of the vehicle. Unbuttoning always costs an action to perform. The driver can move the vehicle but no other actions may take place during the action of Unbuttoning.

Commander Exposed: In this state the only hatch that is open is for the commander of the tank. Typically in combat the rest of the crew would remain Buttoned-Up while the commander would have his head exposed, looking for targets. The advantage is that the commander could gain the advantage of spotting and directing the tank while the rest of the crew is protected. An armored vehicle in play that is in this mode must place a COE marker on the tank. A vehicle may become Commander Exposed at the beginning or end of any action at no cost. Note: A vehicle where the commander always exposes himself at the beginning of first action and always Buttons-Up at the end of second action is allowable but there is a cost. The gamemaster should consider that the commander's hatch is left open while the commander is down waiting for his next action. An astute enemy could take advantage of this. If a player wants to specifically close the hatch he may. However it will take an entire action to expose the commander.

Crew Exposed: The Crew Exposed designation is reserved for vehicles that have open tops like halftracks or trucks. These vehicles do not have the capability to Button-Up but can have the men duck below the sides of the vehicle. When the crew of these vehicles are standing up and looking over the sides of the vehicle a CE marker is placed on the tank. In order for figures to fire small arms and machine guns from a vehicle they must be Crew Exposed. It is possible for a single person to be placed on Crew Exposed status while the rest of the crew is down behind cover.

Crew Covered: This is only for armored open-top vehicles like halftracks. This designation cannot be taken advantage of by trucks or jeeps. This is the normal state of open-topped vehicles that are not specifically marked as Crew Exposed. When an open-topped armored vehicle is Crew Covered it suffers the following penalties:

Sighting: Only the driver and radio operator if present is allowed to spot. In addition they may only sight out of the front 30 degrees of the vehicle. A spotting modifier is always used in this mode. Figures within 1" of the vehicle may not be seen.
Movement: Vehicle cannot use road bonus. Vehicle receives +2 on all Bog Checks.
Shooting: The vehicle will receive a penalty on all main gun shots.

Gun Rules

"It had taken Woll a few shots to get used to how little he had to lead his targets. But he certainly appreciated the accuracy. He appreciated even more the thick black smoke and flying turret his new 88 brought out of every target."

Gun Types

Throughout the war there were many types of guns. Continual improvement in technology and design led to the development of several guns even for the same vehicle. In game terms there are 4 types of guns, based on the length of the barrel. The barrel length greatly affects the performance of the round being fired.

Short (S): This stubby looking barrel size appeared quite frequently in the beginning of the war, but was found throughout. The disadvantage to the short barreled gun was its inability to produce sufficient amount of velocity for the round being fired. Velocity directly relates to accuracy, especially over distance. There is a modifier for penetration for short barrel guns. These modifiers reflect the performance of the short barreled gun. The advantage of a short gun is that it was able to fit into small vehicles and it was all that was needed to deliver HE to a target.
Standard: This is the typical length gun that appeared throughout the war. The Sherman's 75mm gun is a perfect example of this gun. This is considered the base line for all of the gun rules.
Long (L): In order to produce a higher muzzle velocity, gun designers produced long versions of guns. These "long" versions produced better muzzle velocities than normal length guns and therefore increased accuracy and penetration.
Extra-Long (XL): A few guns in World War II were designed to be extra-long. These guns were rare and powerful. Extra-long guns increased hitting power and accuracy even more than the long barreled guns of the time.

Gun Mounts

There were two basic kinds of gun mounts in tanks during World War II: turret mounted guns and hull mounted guns.

Turret Mounted: The gun is mounted in a revolving turret that is mechanically or manually rotated. Turrets can be normal speed or slow depending on the tank and how the turret is manned and powered. When the turret is turned and fired in the same action the tank receives a penalty To Hit based on the chart below. Turrets can be turned and fired in the same action as long as they are not turned more than 90 degrees for a standard turret or 45 degrees for a slow turret.

Slow Turret: Turrets that are slow in revolving due to lack of power or the weight of the turret.

One and Two Man Turrets: Several early war tanks had one or two man turrets. These severely affected the ability of the crew to perform the several functions required of them. Whenever the commander is required to operate the main gun that action of fire suffers the No Commander penalty. In addition when the commander is down operating the gun for an action of fire he also receives the Buttoned Up modifier. Furthermore, when the gunner is the only person in the turret he must reload the gun for himself. All reloading times are doubled.

Hull Mounted: The gun is mounted in the hull of the tank. The only way to move the gun is to move the entire tank. There is a 15 degree arc off center in which the gun may traverse before the tank is required to move. When a tank moves to obtain a new target all rules covering moving tanks are in effect.

Ammunition Types

There were several ammunition types developed for guns during World War II. The most common of these was Armor Piercing (AP) and High Explosive (HE). As the war progressed there became a high demand to develop rounds that could effectively deal with heavy armor. A whole range of shells were available to the average tanker by the war's end. The type of round can affect both the To Hit process and Penetration ability.

Armor Piercing (AP): The Armor Piercing round is the average anti-tank round found in World War II. The round was hard tipped and the idea was that the round was forced through the armor of the target.
Armor Piercing Capped (APC): Armor Piercing Capped Ballistic Capped (APCBC) were developed to take advantage of a smaller penetrator that was buried inside the tip of the Armor Piercing round. These rounds could better defeat the target's armor. These rounds were soon developed and distributed in the field. The AP Penetration number reflects the use of these types of rounds.
High Explosive (HE): High Explosive was developed to be a "soft target" round. It was very effective in attacking men and material, but only slightly useful against armored targets. This particular round is resolved against soft targets like artillery. See Tank vs Man and Artillery.
High Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT): This round was discovered early in the war. It used a shaped-charge warhead to shoot hot gas when it hit the target. This hot gas penetrated the armor like a shot. The advantage was that, because the penetration was based on chemical energy and not kinetic energy, it could be delivered by a low velocity weapon. The disadvantage was that HEAT rounds had a slower muzzle velocity and were therefore less accurate.
High Velocity Armor Piercing (HVAP & APCR): This round was developed to give even better penetration capability than ordinary AP rounds. The American army called this round the Silver Bullet. This type of ammunition was typically produced in limited numbers and therefore was scarce on the battlefield. Not every gun that shot this type of ammunition should be played as if it had an unlimited supply. The penetration value of this round is listed separately on the tank chart.
Smoke (SM): This round was developed to allow vehicles to mark targets and obscure lines of sight. Smoke has no effect on targets but produces a smoke cloud out to the range of the HE impact of the weapon type. Smoke rounds are typically in limited supply.

Ammunition Supply: Not all Tanks and AFVs always carried all the rounds available to them. In order to determine which special ammunition types are carried by a particular Tank or AFV roll a d6 for the number of rounds in the vehicle. This rule is typically reserved for very special tank rounds like HVAP and APCR but the rule can be used at any time to indicate a shortage of ammunition. Certain Tanks and AFVs were assigned to particular roles like tank destruction or infantry support and therefore would not carry many rounds contrary to their mission. For example: a Tank Destroyer may have a limited supply of HE.

Gun Actions

In order to lay the gun onto the target, fire and reload it takes several actions. These actions are performed by the crew of the vehicle or gun.

Load Time: Reload time is expressed in the number of actions it takes to put a round in the chamber and make the gun ready to fire. This action is performed by the loader of the weapon system. The tank and gun chart give Load Times for all weapons. All guns up to and including the 88L take one action to load. Guns of 88XL or larger take two actions to reload. Any gun that has a separate shell and charge take an extra action to load.

Veteran and Elite Crews: Any tank crew that is Veteran or Elite may reduce the load time one action up to a minimum load time of one action. A Veteran or Elite crew may only reduce any load time by one action. If the gun takes one action to load a Veteran or Elite crew will have no increase in the Rate of Fire.

Self Propelled Guns: When a SP is not moving, and has not moved in the previous action, it may decrease its load time by one action. When gaining this action bonus the crew must be Crew Exposed and be a full crew. Therefore it is possible for a SP gun to fire and load in the same action if its original load time was one action. This bonus may be combined with the Veteran and Elite crew bonus but will never obtain 2 shots in one action.

Aiming: Typically the gunner is trying to get off a shot before the enemy can return fire. The gunner is always assumed to be lining up his next shot quickly while the gun is being loaded, possibly letting out a quick burst from the co-ax as well. A gunner may take an additional action of aiming in order to better his chances To Hit. See To Hit Modifiers.

Laying the Gun: The gun must be pointed at, or laid on, its target before firing. Laying the gun includes Traversing and Elevating and occurs as part of an action of fire, not as an additional action.

Traversing: Each gun can be rotated the amount See Gun Mounts.

Elevation: Each gun is able to move up and down a certain degree. This limits how low and how high a gun can shoot. A vehicle may not shoot any targets that require elevation or depression that are within 2 tank lengths. Targets will require elevation or depression if they are one or more levels above or below the firing vehicle.

Shooting Sequence

The Gun To Hit chart is used to determine all hits for main guns. The following sequence will allow any firing to be resolved quickly.

Determine Hit

Find the range between firer and target in inches.
Determine all To Hit modifiers for the shooting model.
Determine all To Hit modifiers for the target model.
Roll a d20 and check the Gun To Hit chart according to range and barrel length. After modifying the resulting die then examine the number needed To Hit the target. If the final die roll is this number or less then a hit has been achieved. Any roll of a 20 is a Jam, see Jamming.

Determine Hit Location

Determine what armor facing is toward the shooting unit. If there is a question, always choose front over side, and choose side over rear.
Roll a d20 and reference the Hit Location Chart to determine location.

Determine Penetration

Look up the Armor value of the location of the target vehicle.
Look up the Penetration value of the shooting weapon.
Subtract the Armor value from the Penetration value of the shooting weapon. This becomes the number needed (or less) to roll on a d20 to successfully penetrate the target.
Roll a d20 to determine Penetration.

To Hit Modifiers

Armored Combat To Hit Modifiers (die roll modifiers)

Fire Based	DRM
Green	+2
Non Qualified	+2
Captured Use	+3
Leadership Ability	-x
Elite	-2
Aimed Shot	-2
Fire on Move	+12
No Target	1/2
Moved in Previous Action	+5
Buttoned Up	+2
HEAT round	+2
No Commander	+3

Target Based	DRM
Moving Front	+1
Moving Side	+1 per 3"
Very Small Target	+2
Small Target	+1
Large Target	-1
Very Large Target	-2
Light Woods	+3

Gun To Hit Chart (To Hit number by range band; range band limits in inches)

Gun Size	PB (16)	Short (14)	Effective (12)	Long (8)	Extreme (4)
Short (S)	5"	23"	60"	75"	90"
Standard	8"	30"	75"	103"	+
Long (L)	8"	45"	90"	113"	+
Extra Long (XL)	10"	53"	113"	150"	+

AP Penetration Over Range Chart

Gun Size	PB	Short	Med	Long	Ext.
Short (S)	-	-10%	-25%	-50%	-75%
Standard	+25%	-	-10%	-25%	-50%
Long (L)	+25%	-	-	-10%	-25%
Extra Long (XL)	+25%	-	-	-	-10%

Fire Based Modifiers

In Motion: In World War II tanks had very primitive gun firing mechanisms compared to modern day equivalents. Hitting a target while in motion was very difficult during this time period. Most tankers had to come to a stop before shooting their main gun. The rocking motion of the tank threw off the shot. If a tank fires in the same action that it moves then there is a +12 To Hit modifier. The US developed a gyro-stabilizer that helped with this situation so US tanks that are fitted with this device only receive a +6. See the special rules on the M4 Sherman sheet.
Moved in Previous Action Phase: The rocking motion of a tank that has just stopped tends to throw off the shot of the main gun. Therefore the shooting unit receives a +5 To Hit. Again the US gyro-stabilized tanks only gain a +3 To Hit.
Buttoned Up: It is very hard to see and effectively engage a target while the tank is Buttoned-Up. A +2 for vehicles that are Buttoned-Up.
Non-Qualified: When tank crew members rearrange themselves to man the main gun there is a +2 die roll modifier.
HEAT Round: The HEAT round was a low velocity ammunition and needed to be lobbed at the target. Therefore when shooting a HEAT, HE, or Smoke round you gain a +2 Die Roll Modifier. This modifier only applies to main guns firing a HEAT round; never to bazookas, panzerschreks, panzerfaust or other infantry carried missile weapon with a HEAT warhead.
No Commander: Whenever the commander is not directing the fire of the Main Gun the gun receives the No Commander penalty.
Zeroed In: If units are in defended positions for very long they usually zero in their guns on the enemy's likely avenue of approach. They fire a round or two and "tweak" the target location in. When firing into a Zeroed In location the unit gains a -4. After the tank moves or the crew abandons the vehicle this modifier is lost. Vehicles may be allowed to Zero In as part of a scenario set up.

Target Based DRM

Motion: When the target has moved in its last action phase it is considered still in motion.
Moving Front: The target gains a +1 whenever the target is moving and the shot is to the front or rear.
Moving Side: The target gains a +1 for every 3" of movement. The faster a target is moving the harder it is To Hit. This only applies to targets that are not moving directly at the shooter.
Target Size: The size of the target makes it harder or easier To Hit. There are 5 sizes and each has a modifier associated with it. Each tank has a Target Size listed in the Tank Chart.
- Very Small +2: This is for small jeeps and motorcycles and the like. All anti-tank guns are considered very small targets.
- Small +1: This category is for small tanks and cars and other vehicles with very low silhouettes. They gain a +1 To Hit modifier.
- Medium: The normal size for a target is the typical mid-war tank like the German PzKw IV. There is no modifier for this target size.
- Large -1: It is easier To Hit a large target and therefore there is a -1 modifier for large targets.
- Very Large -2: In the war there were several extremely large tanks and vehicles that were built. These are considered a very large target and gain a -2 to the die roll.
Acquired Target: When the gunner has been shooting at the same target several times he can adjust his fire. The shooter may not move and the target may never have left the shooter's sight for this bonus to apply. For the first shot there is no modifier. The second shot gets a -1 in order To Hit, the third a -2. A -2 modifier is the maximum Acquired Target modifier allowed.

Jamming

Any time a To Hit roll is an unmodified 20 there is a Jam. When a Jam is rolled no round has been fired. Instead the round was a dud, the round was misconnected, or some other mishap has occurred in loading. It takes the loader one action to clear the Jam. Once the jam has been cleared the gun must be reloaded, using the load time for the gun and crew in question.

Hit Location

Once a hit has been scored it is necessary to establish where the target tank has been hit. To determine Hit Location roll a d20 and refer to the Hit Location Chart appropriate to the facing of the target. This chart will indicate any specific damage done by a Non-Penetrating round, and any additional effects of a penetrating round. Note that Non-Penetration Effects apply only to weapons of 37mm or larger caliber. Any size gun will receive Automatic Penetration when striking the 1 location from front or rear.

Automatic Penetration: The round has struck the ground and ricocheted upward into the underbody of the tank or has passed through a vision slit or similar aperture. Regardless the round does not roll to penetrate but immediately rolls on the Penetration Effects chart, using all modifiers.
Immobilized: The round has destroyed the vehicle's tracks / suspension or has knocked out the engine. Fully tracked vehicles that are immobilized by a track hit may take advantage of the Dead Tracks rule.
Crew -1 action: This Non-Penetrating effect represents the stunning effect of a round bouncing off the location of a crew member's seat. The affected crewman loses one action on his next card. Any crew member who is Unbuttoned or exposed will be KIA / MC instead, but the round still does not penetrate and there is no additional effect.
Crew KIA: The penetrating round has struck and killed the indicated crew member.
Gun Destroyed: Any time a location mounted with a main gun or hull machine gun is struck that gun is out of action for the remainder of the game. Even a Non-Penetrating round will bend the barrel or otherwise render the struck gun inoperable if the round is a 37mm or larger.
/MC Morale Check: This indicates that hits on this location will cause the crew to take a Morale Check in addition to any other effects, see Tank Morale.
Smoke: This indicates that, in addition to other effects, the tank's engine is smoking. Place smoke on the engine deck for the rest of the game.
Half Move: This Non-Penetrating Effect indicates that the tank's engine has been damaged by the shock of the hit and the tank can now only move at half normal rate, all terrain modifiers still apply.
The round has not penetrated and causes no damage.

Hit Location and Cover: Tanks can take advantage of terrain to protect themselves from enemy fire. Once a hit is scored and location determined look to see if any terrain covers the location where the target vehicle was struck. If the location is open to the firer then proceed as normal with Penetration. If the location is covered by any sort of terrain then the shot has been fouled and no hit has occurred. Any sort of terrain will do because the terrain does not necessarily have to stop the incoming round, only knock the round off course, blunt its shape or otherwise degrade the round's performance so that it will not be able to penetrate any armor.

Hull Down: A tank in the defensive may have a custom dug pit that covers the entire hull and leaves only the turret exposed. Tanks in this position are referred to as Hull Down. A Hull Down tank will only be struck by hits that strike locations 17, 18, 19, and 20 on the location chart for a front shot. Any tank may use the crest line of a hill to gain a Hull Down position, but in so doing creates a shadow it cannot shoot into, see the Terrain section.

Leadership Modifier: A Tank leader who is directing an action of fire can use his Modifier to adjust Hit Location instead of as a bonus To Hit. The player must state that he is doing this before any To Hit dice are rolled. The modifier is not applied directly to the die roll but instead used to move the hit around the chart. A -1 leader can shift the hit one box up, down, left or right, but never at a diagonal. A -2 leader can shift one box down then one box left or 2 boxes up for example but never at a diagonal. A Leadership Modifier may never be used To Hit the 1 location from the front or rear.

Penetration

Each round in the game has a Penetration value. This indicates how effective the round is versus armor. When the round hits the tank look up the tank's armor value at the location hit then subtract it from the Penetration value of the gun shooting: this final number is the number or less needed to roll on a d20 to successfully penetrate the target's armor.

No Penetration Possible: If the number is 0 or less there is no Penetration possible, the armour is too thick. However if the gun was 37mm or larger there may still be a Non-Penetrating Effect for that Hit Location, refer to the Hit Location chart.

Auto Penetration: If the Penetration number is 20 or more still roll to penetrate. On a roll of a natural 20 the round was brittle or a dud or some other fortune of war has saved the target from destruction. There is no automatic Penetration except from a strike to the 1 location from the front or rear and strikes to locations with No Armor.

No Armour: Some vehicles on the chart have "auto" indicated on one or more locations. This indicates that, although the vehicle is armored, there are substantial open areas. Hits to locations with an armor value of "auto" roll immediately on the Penetration Effects Chart.

No Penetration: If the number rolled was higher than the Penetration chance then no Penetration has occurred. If the gun was 37mm or larger refer to the Hit Location chart for possible Non-Penetrating damage. Once this is complete, the shot is over. (In the Shooting Sequence: if there was no Penetration and the hit was from a 37mm or larger shell, apply any Non-Penetrating Effects to the target. These effects are specific to the Hit Location and taken from the Hit Location chart.)

Penetration Occurs: If the number rolled was equal or less than the Penetration chance then Penetration has occurred. Move immediately to the Penetration Effects Chart and roll for effect, using all modifiers found on the chart. Apply the results indicated to the target. In addition apply the Penetration effect from the Hit Location chart to the target. Thus a target may be out of action for some time and have a dead crew member, be immobilized, or have other specific damage.

Penetration Results:

If Penetration is successful then roll a d20 on the Penetration Effects chart to determine the extent of the damage created.
Apply any result to the target unit.
Apply any location specific results obtained from the Hit Location chart to the target.

Penetration Effects Chart

Die	Result	Effects
1	Catastrophic	The incoming round has scored a direct hit on the ammunition racks. The vehicle violently explodes sending the turret in a random direction for 1d6 inches. All crew are instantly killed and any unprotected personnel next to (1") the vehicle sustains a roll on the C column on the effects chart.
2-4	Total Destruction	The incoming round has scored a hit on the ammunition racks. All crew is instantly killed and any unprotected personnel next to (1") the vehicle sustains a Morale Check.
5-10	Fatal Internal Damage	The incoming round has destroyed the tank. All internal systems are destroyed while a heavy fire is started from the punctured fuel system. Each man failing a 1/2 Morale Check will be KIA, otherwise all crew must bail out. The bailed out crew is considered Broken and must seek cover in their next turn if not rallied.
11-15	Heavy Internal Damage	The incoming round has easily penetrated the armor before it and damaged the interior and crew. Each crew member must take a morale check, failing the Morale Check will indicate a KIA on the member. The vehicle is out of play for 3 turns while the crew deals with the damage. All further actions the vehicle takes are at +2 to any die roll.
16-18	Internal Damage	The incoming round has slammed hard against the armor it just penetrated, weakened but not yet finished the inside of the vehicle has taken damage. Shrapnel is sprayed through the interior wreaking havoc. The vehicle is out of play for 2 turns while the crew deals with the damage. Furthermore the vehicle's radio is knocked out. To all further actions the vehicle takes a +1 to its die rolls.

Modifiers: Any gun smaller than 37mm +3. Add a -1 to the result die roll for every 10 points over the armor value you have penetrated. For example, if the armor of the target vehicle is a 6 and the penetration of the round is a 30 then you would subtract 2 from the dice roll for the above chart (30-6=24, and a -1 for each 10 points over the armor value=-2).

Un-buttoned: Any model that is dealing with internal damage will not button up their vehicle if it was Unbuttoned to begin with.

Brewed-Up: Any effect that is a 10 or less on the Penetration Effects chart is a Brew-Up. A result roll of a 10 or less will produce smoke. When this result is rolled place smoke on top of the affected vehicle. This smoke will last the rest of the game.

Actions: Any crew member that is dealing with internal damage will not take time to perform any other actions. If the controlling player wishes, the crew may voluntarily abandon the vehicle.

Penetration Fall Off Over Range: All shells lose muzzle velocity as they travel to their target. The greater the distance traveled, the more energy is lost. This can dramatically affect a shell's chance of penetrating armor. However long barrelled guns were less susceptible to this fall-off because they impart more initial velocity to their shell. The Penetration Fall-Off Over Range Chart describes how much Penetration will be lost by a shell based on barrel length and range.

Penetration and HEAT: HEAT rounds do not depend on kinetic energy, velocity, to penetrate their target. Instead HEAT rounds use a chemical reaction to create a focused explosion against armor and thus penetrate. Because of this HEAT Penetration is never affected by range, even point blank. Many guns have a HEAT round available and all bazookas, panzerschrecks, and panzerfaust weapons use a HEAT warhead.

Stopping Heat: Because HEAT rounds could be so effective, especially the man-carried types, counter-measures were developed. A HEAT round is dependent on hitting its target at exactly the right distance for its chemical reaction to have maximum effect. It was soon learned that a HEAT round could be stopped if the round was forced to detonate early. A variety of methods were used to trigger HEAT rounds early. Some American tanks had racks welded on and then filled the space between the rack and the armor with sandbags. Germans welded thin armored skirts to the sides and turrets of several tank and assault gun types. Russians improvised some of both methods. All of these methods were reasonably effective. If a HEAT round hits a location that is protected with sandbags or skirting, the Penetration of the round is halved immediately. Subtract the target's armor value from the warhead's halved Penetration and roll to penetrate as normal.

Special Fire Modes (Armor)

"Linthicum peered through the sight and into the road. Holy Smokes those Panthers are big! 'Sir, there it is, should I fire?' No answer. The Panther was filling his sight. Linthicum's hand shook. 'Sir?'..."

Opportunity Fire

Opportunity Fire allows vehicles to forgo their normal turn in order to wait for the "opportunity" to fire the moment a target presents itself. This represents those models who know or suspect that an enemy, not presently in sight or range, is about to come into a position where the model can fire. The model on Op-Fire may only take a shot while the enemy figure is taking an action. To set Opportunity Fire the model must meet several conditions.

The model must have a gun to fire. This can either be a main gun or a vehicle mounted machine gun. The vehicle may set Op-Fire with some or all of the guns of a vehicle. Each weapon on Op-Fire must have a separate crew member to man it. A gunner cannot be on Op-Fire with the main gun and the coax machine gun. Nor can a gunner be on Op-Fire with the main gun and use the co-ax normally.
The model may not have a valid target in LOS and effective range. If you have a target in LOS and effective range you must wait for your card to fire. You may set Op-Fire even if you are aware of enemy pieces, so long as those pieces are not in Line of Sight or effective range. A vehicle with infantry in LOS and effective range may set Op-Fire with the main gun to shoot at armor, provided the main gun is loaded with AP. If the main gun is loaded with HEAT, which is effective against infantry and armor, the player may still set Op-Fire vs. armor. To do so the player must state at the beginning of the turn the intention to fire only at armor. Once Op-Fire has been set under these circumstances it will be impossible to shoot the main gun vs. infantry for the entire turn, even if new infantry come into sight.
The piece setting Op-Fire must be in good order. For vehicles this means all relevant crew must be unwounded, the crew can not be dealing with internal damage and the gun must be loaded. Crew weapons must have a full crew, their weapon must be set up and be loaded.
The piece must forego its normal turn. Once Op-Fire is set the piece loses its turn. A piece cannot give up its Op-Fire once it is set and the turn begun. If only part of a vehicle crew set Op-Fire then only those crew members lose their normal turn. Thus the driver can drive while the hull machine gunner is on Op-Fire. Any vehicle motion will ruin Op-Fire for a main gun. This exception represents the difficulty in aiming and firing a large gun from a moving vehicle. Because of the limitations of the gunsights and traversing mechanisms, main guns may never set Op-Fire if the vehicle is moving.
The crew member loses one action. Once a target comes into sight only one action of fire is allowed. This is to represent the time spent waiting and the effect of firing on a target that suddenly moved into sight.
No passenger or rider may set Op-Fire while the vehicle that they are in/on is in motion. If a vehicle moves during the turn any figures that are marked with Op-Fire and are passengers or riders on the vehicle will lose their Op-Fire and their turn.

Op-Fire Spotting: When a model is marked with an Opportunity Fire marker it will not make normal spotting checks. The model will take a spotting check whenever an enemy figure or model takes an action within its Line of Sight. Therefore a model on Op-Fire may take as many spotting checks as enemy actions taken within its Line of Sight. In a vehicle where only part of the crew is on Op-Fire this only applies to those members on Op-Fire. The remaining crew roll spotting as normal.

Ambush

Ambush is a Special Fire mode that allows a model to wait until an enemy piece comes in close. Typically a model may not set Op-Fire if there are legal targets within Line of Sight. In some circumstances it may be desirable to wait until the enemy comes within a lethal range. Ambush reflects this by allowing a model to go on a special Op-Fire mode that will allow the enemy to get closer even though they have been spotted. To be able to set Ambush the setting model must fit the following criteria.

Must never have been sighted in their present position.
The model must have a gun to fire. This can either be a main gun or a vehicle mounted machine gun. The vehicle may set Ambush with some or all of the guns of a vehicle. Each weapon on Ambush must have a separate crew member to man it. A gunner cannot be on Ambush with the main gun and the co-ax machine gun. Nor can a gunner be on Ambush with the main gun and use the co-ax normally.
The piece setting Ambush must be in good order. For vehicles this means all relevant crew must be unwounded and the crew cannot be dealing with internal damage and the gun must be loaded. Crew weapons must have a full crew, their weapon must be set up and be loaded.
The model must forego its normal turn. Once Ambush is set the model loses its turn. A model cannot give up its Ambush once it is set and the turn begun.
The model loses one action. Once a target comes into sight only one action of fire is allowed. This is to represent the time spent waiting and the effect of firing on a target that suddenly moved into sight.
The model on Ambush may not move during its turn.
The model may never shoot at a target farther than 15 inch range.

Vehicle Combat

"Wittmann saw a fifth Sherman come over the hedge. 'Fire' he called. CLICK. 'Gun Jam, Reload' the gunner yelled. Fast and steady he could hear his boys respond to the new crisis. Quickly surveying the situation Wittmann ducked his head and punched the trigger on his external smoke canisters."

Ramming: When a vehicle rams another vehicle in combat there is a chance that damage could be done to the target vehicle. In order for a crew of a vehicle to ram the crew must pass a half Gut Check. This Gut Check is not required if the target vehicle is unarmored or two sizes smaller. Unarmored vehicles can never ram armored vehicles and are required to pass a half Gut Check versus any size of Unarmored vehicle. You must begin at least half of your movement rate away from the target in order to generate enough momentum to damage the target. Determine the size of your vehicle then determine your target's size. Index the Ramming Chart to determine the number you must roll to damage the target vehicle. The player of the target vehicle then also indexes the chart as if he was ramming in return. He would roll as well to determine if the ramming tank takes damage. After determining who receives damage roll on the Ramming Damage Chart and apply the results.

Vehicle Smoke: Most Tanks and AFVs were armed with smoke dischargers that allowed the vehicle crew to launch smoke in order to deny the enemy a clear target. When an action is taken to launch smoke by the commander or the loader smoke is placed in front of the vehicle. This smoke will last two full turns. Any shot that is fired through the smoke will be considered No Target and will receive a half To Hit modifier.

Smoke Availability: Each AFV in the game has a chance that it was armed with smoke launchers. On the vehicle chart there is a column marked Smoke. This column indicates the chance on a d20 that smoke dischargers are available for that vehicle. Roll once at the beginning of the game.

Reloading Smoke Dischargers: Most vehicle mounted smoke launchers needed to be loaded from the exterior of the vehicle. It takes 2 actions to reload smoke dischargers once outside the vehicle. This was the loader's job.

Abandoned Tanks: Abandoned Tanks on the field can be very advantageous cover for infantry men or a treasure trove of equipment. Any infantry who come upon an abandoned tank will never "crew" the tank but they may scrounge any machine guns available. A tank may not be scrounged if it is on fire or ever had a "brew up" result. Only two machine guns can be removed during the scope of this game; the hull machinegun and the anti-aircraft machinegun. It takes one action to remove the AAMG and two actions to remove the hull machine gun. Abandoned tanks can also yield other items that might be useful during a scenario. Gas, ammunition and pioneer tools are all items that could prove useful to infantry fighting in a battle.

Tank Crews in Battle: Tank crews that are not present in tanks and are not broken may participate in battle however the player sees fit. A tank crew is normally armed with SMGs except for the tank commander who will have a pistol. The crew will have a total of d6 grenades available to them. They may take over a tank that has not been destroyed.

Anti-Tank Mines: Any vehicle that moves over an anti-tank mine or minefield will have a chance of striking a mine. The chance of striking a mine is based on movement rate and listed on the Anti-Tank Mine chart below. Any vehicle that strikes a mine will roll on the Anti-Tank Mine Effects Chart. Anti-tank mines are sighted just like anti-personnel mines as described under Assault Engineers. Vehicles that are Crew Covered or Buttoned-Up will never sight a minefield.

Anti Tank Mines Chance to Hit Chart

Rate of Movement	Hasty	Improved	Tricky
Road Not Looking	15	17	19
Full Not Looking	13	15	17
Half Not Looking	11	13	15

[Note: the remaining rows of this chart, labelled in the source Quarter Not Looking and Quarter Looking, were scrambled. The values printed for them are 9, 11, 13 and 11, 13 and 9, and cannot be reliably assigned to rows and columns.]

AT Mine Effects Chart

Die	Effect
1-4	The Mine explodes between the tracks with enough force to penetrate the underbody armor. Fuel and Ammo explode. The tank is totally destroyed.
5-8	The Mine explodes within the tracks. Track pieces and links are blown apart. The track is permanently destroyed.
9-12	The Mine explodes within the tracks. Track pieces and links are twisted off the rollers. The tank is immobilized until 8 man actions are spent on the tracks by the crew members for repairs.
13-16	Shrapnel and concussion rock the side of the tank. The effects are sufficient to slow the vehicle to half speed until the crew spends 6 man actions on the tracks to repair them.
17-20	The explosion has caused slight track damage. The vehicle will lose 2 inches from its speed until the crew spends 4 man actions on the tracks to repair them.

Tank vs. Man

"Sager watched impotently as the T34 pulled to a stop directly over his partner's foxhole. The tank was clearly out of range of his Panzerfaust. Sager could do nothing as the tank slowly shifted back and forth in place, then pulled away. Seeing the deep depression the tank had left, Sager knew his friend must be dead."

Despite the invulnerability against the infantryman vehicle crews were frequently required to protect their vehicle from infantry using all kinds of tactics. In addition AFVs could be useful in knocking out strongpoints that friendly infantry could not do alone. All of these missions required that the tank move into close proximity of the infantry and engage them.

AFV Effects on Infantry: At any time an AFV or Tank comes within 4 inches of an infantry figure that figure must pass a Gut Check using the modifications provided on the AFV effect on Infantry chart. If the Gut Check is passed the figure may remain in the location occupied. If the figure fails the Gut Check then the figure must expend 4" and up to 8" of movement toward cover to escape the AFV or Tank. The figure is not considered Broken, only moving away from the vehicle. If the figure passes the Gut Check this movement may still take place if the owning player so wishes. If the figure has not moved during the current turn then this movement is considered his movement, otherwise treat it as a free movement.

(Note: the Man vs. Tank chapter above gives 5 inches and 5"-10" for the same rule; both are as printed in the source.)

HE vs Infantry: Any vehicle whose gun carries a HE round may use that round vs infantry targets. In order to fire HE at infantry and soft targets follow this procedure.

Place a marker at the location where you want the HE round to land.
Determine a chance To Hit the target using the Gun To Hit chart. All modifiers will apply as normal.
If a hit is scored place the HE effects template over the marker and roll for each figure that is under each ring. Each ring corresponds to a letter on the Effects Chart. All cover modifiers will apply if the cover is between the marker and the target figure. The gun caliber will also have a modifier.
If the roll missed the HE round will deviate. Place the HE effects template down over the marker. Roll a d8 and a d6. Move the marker d6 inches in the direction indicated by the d8 on the HE effect template. See the HE size chart.

Entrenchments: Whenever firing a main gun directly at an Entrenchment there is no chance for the HE round to actually hit inside a foxhole or trench. Anyone that is not prone in the entrenchment will take damage as normal, with all cover modifiers, but any prone figure will be immune to damage.

Equipment: Any small equipment is considered destroyed if within the A ring of an HE shell, while AT Guns and Artillery must make a roll on the HE Effect chart for whatever ring they lie under. If a KIA or HW is rolled then the gun is out of action for the game.

Terrain: Check the Terrain rules for special cases to this procedure.

HEAT vs Soft Targets: Any HEAT round can be used against a soft target instead in an anti-tank role. Roll To Hit just as for HE shells. HEAT rounds do not deviate however, any HEAT round that misses will be ignored. This is because the shaped charge of a HEAT round will only produce effective explosive results if placed in the exact right spot. A HEAT round that hits its target will explode exactly like an HE shell of the same size but will be one ring smaller.

Vehicle Mounted Machine Guns

Most Armored Vehicles will have one or more machine guns listed on their chart. It was vital in combat to keep infantry at bay with machine gun fire to protect the vehicle. Vehicle machine guns are treated as LMGs because they are not crew served, and have limited arcs of fire and visibility. They are not as effective as their infantry controlled equivalent. The only exception is a machine gun that is mounted as an AAMG or a main gun. Vehicle Mounted machine guns follow all normal machine gun To Hit and Effect rules as described in the Infantry chapter.

Hull Machine Gun (Hull): The gun mounted in the lower hull of a tank is called the hull machine gun. It is manned by the radio operator. It is operated by only one man and therefore doesn't fulfill the requirements of a crew served machine gun.
Co-axial Machine Gun (Co-ax): The gun mounted next to the main gun of a tank is called the co-axial machine gun. It is manned by the gunner. The gunner can only fire the co-ax when he is not firing or aiming the main gun. The co-ax is operated by only one man and doesn't fulfill the requirements of a crew served machine gun.
Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun (AAMG): The machine gun mounted in the commander's cupola is called the AAMG. It can only be operated by an exposed crewmember. The AAMG is operated by only one man and doesn't fulfill the requirements of a crew served machine gun. Not all vehicles automatically carried an AAMG. The vehicle chart will have a number listed under AAMG, if you roll this number or less on a d20 there is a gun present. A dash on the chart indicates no gun is ever available. Americans and Russians commonly mounted a LCMG in the AAMG position. These weapons fire exactly like any other LCMG but may never use Pinning Fire.
Main Gun: When a vehicle has a machine gun mounted in the turret with no other type of main gun then it is a main gun machine gun. These were designed specifically to operate within the tank and keep the ammunition supply going as such they do not suffer any penalties for being manned by a crew of one. Main gun Machine Guns are ineligible for any sort of Pinning Fire, just as all other vehicle mounted machine guns.

Limitations of Vehicle Machine Guns

Machine guns that were mounted in vehicles were not served by a dedicated crew and typically had a limited arc of fire.

Firing Arcs: Most vehicle mounted machine guns had a limited arc of fire.

Hull Machine Gun: Any hull mounted machine gun has an arc of 45 degrees out the front. In addition there were shadows created by the structure of the tank. These limitations are 3" for standing infantry figures and 5" for prone infantry figures for all machine guns mounted in the tank.
Co-ax Machine Gun: The co-ax has the same limitations as the hull machine gun.
AAMG: The AAMG has a limitation of 3" from the front and 1" on the sides of the tank.

Pinning Fire: Any machine gun that is mounted on a vehicle is not allowed to use any type of Pinning Fire. This is because vehicle mounted machine guns do not have a complete crew. In addition Pinning Fire is outside the training and doctrine of most armored crews.

Crew Gun Fire

Tank crews could often protect their vehicle with small arms and grenades. Any crew wishing to fire in this fashion must be Unbuttoned. Determine the number of grenades available to the crew before any actions by rolling a d6. The crew will follow all normal small arms and grenade rules.

Pistol Ports: Many tanks in World War II had small holes in the armor to allow the crew to shoot out of the tank with excellent protection in return. Unfortunately they created a limited arc with virtually no chance to see outside the tank. Only SMGs and pistols may be used out a Pistol Port. The No Target modifier always applies when using a Pistol Port. Any crew member using a Pistol Port will not be allowed to perform any other actions. Any added armor such as sandbags or skirts will render Pistol Ports useless. Pistol Ports are used by Buttoned-Up crew members.

Crushing Things

A vehicle can deliberately drive over objects and men in order to destroy them.

Crushing a Foxhole: Any fully tracked vehicle may crush a foxhole by spending two actions of 180 degree turn. See vehicle movement rules. Any infantry in a foxhole so crushed is KIA. A vehicle crushing a foxhole does not actually spin in place, rather the vehicle simply grinds back and forth for two actions. The vehicle's facing will not change.

Running Down Men: When any vehicle tries to run over a figure the figure must make a Skill Check in order to dive or roll out of the way. If the figure is prone in the open they receive a +5 to the die roll. Light Wounded figures also receive a +5 to the die roll. If this check is failed the figure receives a HW.

Damaging Equipment: Any small equipment run over by a vehicle is destroyed. This includes but is not limited to machine guns, mortars and radios.

Artillery and AT Guns: These weapons may only be damaged by fully tracked vehicles. Any gun run over by a tank will be destroyed. When a tank or AFV runs over the gun it must take a Bog Check. The size of the vehicle determines the Bog Check. Very Small vehicles bog on a 13. Small vehicles bog on a 15. Medium vehicles will bog on a 17 and a Large vehicle will bog on a 19. A Very Large will only bog on a 20.

Anti-Tank Guns

"Blase yanked the cord and a third round sped away only to bounce off the Stalin tank's armor. In a flash another round was loaded and Blase yanked again. The tank kept coming..."

During World War II many nations developed guns that were designed to destroy enemy armor. These guns were typically towed by vehicles and were dug-in for defense. Anti-tank guns use all the normal To Hit rules for Tank guns and all modifiers that are associated with them.

Rate Of Fire: Anti-tank guns are crewed by several men in an open environment. Because of this they have a higher rate of fire than the same gun mounted in a tank. An anti-tank gun that is fully manned and set up may fire and load in the same action. Any time there is not a full crew or the gun is not properly set up the gun must fire and load in separate actions. An anti-tank gun has an arc of fire of 30 degrees off center.

Large Anti-Tank Guns: Large Guns normally take longer to load than one action but the Anti-Tank version of the same gun will load one action less than specified. For example: An 88 Extra Long which normally loads in 2 actions when mounted in a King Tiger will only take one action to load when it is an anti-tank gun.

Manhandling: In order to move a gun either in place or to a new location it must be manhandled. It takes the full crew of the gun in order to move it 3" or 90 degrees in place in one action. If there is less than the full crew moving the gun it will take twice as long. Rough ground will halve the movement rate of a manhandled anti-tank gun. A manhandled gun may not cross any obstacles or be moved up or down levels in a building.

Limbering and Un-Limbering: Limbering is the act of hooking up or unhooking a gun from its transport. The time it takes to set up the gun is also included in the time it takes to un-limber a gun. Limbering or un-limbering takes a number of actions depending on the gun. The gun chart specifies the number of actions it takes to un-limber and set up a gun. Breakdown and limbering take the same number of actions.

Primemovers: Most anti-tank guns will have a primemover available to move them about. This vehicle is usually a wheeled or halftracked truck. The driver for the primemover must come from the crew of the gun.

Crews: Any anti-tank gun is crewed by a particular number of figures. It takes all of these figures to man the gun effectively. If any of the crew members are out of action or spending their actions doing something else the gun will not be as effective and will lose its rate of fire. If the gun is lost due to combat any surviving crew members are allowed to fight as if infantry. All crews are subject to normal infantry rules.

Gun Shields: Gun Shields are armored plates that protect the crew from small arms fire. When behind a Gun Shield the crew receive +5 cover. A crew member may not claim both a Gun Shield modifier and an emplacement modifier at the same time. The crew member is either behind the Gun Shield or behind the emplacement.

Halftracks

"Smith drove as fast as the M3A1 halftrack could go. He had to get between his squad and that machine gun. He turned hard to the left and pulled to a stop in front of his squad. Smith could hear hundreds of rounds tearing into the armored side of his vehicle as the squad rose up and returned fire."

During World War II there was a need for an armored vehicle to transport and protect infantry. Halftracks were designed because they could carry decent armor but were relatively simple to manufacture and had good cross-country performance.

Crew: The crew of any halftrack is the Squad or Gun Crew that use it. The driver is always drawn from that squad. A halftrack can hold up to 12 men internally. Figures in excess of 12 are considered riders.

Halftrack Machine Guns: Some halftracks had machine guns built into them. To determine if a particular halftrack carries a mounted machine gun roll a d20 and check the availability number on the vehicle chart. If the number is less than the availability number then a machine gun is mounted. If no gun is available for a location it is possible to mount the squad machine gun in that location instead. No pre-machine gun can ever be considered mounted in a vehicle location.

Fighting: It is possible for the exposed squad to fight from a halftrack. Only five men on each side of the halftrack are allowed to fight from the rear compartment. The squad will receive the partial tank cover modifier to any fire they receive. Furthermore passengers will receive the half To Hit modifier when shooting while the halftrack is in motion. The crew may only fight while Crew Exposed.

Grenades: It is possible for figures to throw grenades from a halftrack. If the grenade is thrown from a moving halftrack on a roll of 20 on the To Hit die the grenade has been dropped and will explode in the rear compartment of the halftrack.

Bazookas, Panzerschrecks and Panzerfausts: When firing a rocket propelled weapon from the back of the halftrack any accompanying squad members must be Crew Covered with only the shooter being Exposed. No type of man-carried rocket launcher may be fired while the vehicle is in motion.

Halftrack Mounted Guns: Any halftrack that carries a main gun carries the gun and crew in place of a squad. These weapons may never gain a reload bonus due to an open fighting compartment. However they can gain a bonus for a Veteran crew.

Mortars: When a halftrack contains a mortar it cannot carry any additional men except for the mortar crew. The mortar is not allowed to fire while on the move, otherwise it follows all normal mortar rules. A halftrack mounted mortar never has to set up or break down.

Breaking: When a driver of an armored halftrack breaks due to combat he turns the vehicle around and seeks cover. Passengers that are riding in a vehicle when they break will drop prone in the vehicle. Riders will bail out.

Halftracks and Halftrack Trucks: Halftracks that do not have an armored fighting compartment are considered Halftrack Trucks and do not gain any of the special rules as Halftracks. They do, however, move on the terrain chart as if they are halftracks.

Trucks, Jeeps & Motorcycles

"Riener poured rifle fire into the truck. He saw the driver slump and the truck swerve and strike a fence. Riener gaped as two squads quickly leapt out. He suddenly felt as if he had dumped over a basket of snakes."

Due to the advent of the internal combustion engine all kinds of motorized vehicles were seen on the battlefield. Wheeled vehicles of all kinds were employed everywhere during the war. They were used to tow guns, transport supplies and men and used as expedient fighting platforms. The wheeled vehicle was the most prevalent type of vehicle during the war.

Carrying Capacity and Drivers: Each vehicle type is allowed to carry the particular number of figures indicated on the vehicle chart. The driver of the truck, jeep or motorcycle must come from the unit being transported.

Fighting: When fighting from a truck, figures use all of the rules that are associated with halftracks, but they receive no armor bonus. Truck crews can never Button-Up or Crew Covered to protect themselves. When a driver of an unarmored vehicle breaks due to combat he will turn the vehicle around and seek cover. Passengers that are riding in a vehicle when they break will Bail-Out unless the vehicle is moving, in which case the Broken figure will go prone and do nothing else.

Shooting Trucks: When shooting at a truck with a gun use all normal rules that apply To Hitting a vehicle target. The only difference is that you use the Truck Hit Location Chart and the Truck Damage Chart. When attacking a truck the shooting player never rolls for Penetration; Penetration is automatic.

Machine guns: Whenever figures engage a truck with machine gun fire they must decide whether to shoot to damage the truck itself or shoot to hit the men it is carrying. When shooting at the men determine hits and damage as normal in the infantry shooting rules. Men never receive any cover modifiers from trucks even if they are prone. When trying to shoot at the truck itself then use the following sequence:

Roll To Hit dice as if the truck was an infantry target.
If there were a majority of hits for the gun type then roll for location on the truck Hit Location chart.
The location is automatically damaged from the fire. In addition any personnel located in that location will receive fire as normal.

Rifles, SMGs and Pistols: You are not able to significantly affect a truck with a rifle. Rifles and other small arms can always be used to shoot at figures in the truck.

Driver Hit: Whenever the driver receives a Light Wound, HW, or a KIA then the Truck, Jeep or Motorcycle must roll on the Crash Chart.

Crash Chart

Die	Effect
1-4	The driver tumbles out of the vehicle pulling the wheel to the left. The vehicle makes a sharp left turn moving one full action immediately. At the end of the action the vehicle overturns. E column hit on all passengers.
5-8	The driver slumps over the wheel pulling it to the left. The vehicle makes a left turn moving one full action immediately. The vehicle comes to a rest at the end of this movement.
9-12	The driver slumps forward as he gets hit. The vehicle is kept in a straight line moving one full action immediately.
13-16	The driver slumps over the wheel pulling it to the right. The vehicle makes a right turn moving one full action immediately. The vehicle comes to a rest at the end of this movement.
17-20	The driver tumbles out of the vehicle pulling the wheel to the right. The vehicle makes a sharp right turn moving one full action immediately. At the end of the action the vehicle overturns. E column hit on all passengers.

[Note: the order of the 5-8 / 9-12 / 13-16 effect texts was scrambled in the source; they are assigned by their descriptions.]

Passengers and Riders

"Georgi clutched desperately to the engine deck, the palm of his hand burning, the back of his hand near frostbite. The combination of noise, wind, cold, and heat was all but unbearable. There was a sudden, deafening crash and Georgi jumped for the ground without a thought."

A Rider is a figure that is "riding" on top of a vehicle. A Passenger is any figure that is inside a vehicle intended to carry infantry.

Dismounting: Dismounting is when a figure mounted in or on a vehicle gets off on their own accord. Figures that are forced off are Bailing Out. It takes an action to dismount from any mounted position. In the action that the infantry dismount the vehicle must be stopped and may not move at all. Five infantry men are allowed to dismount on each of the three sides: right, left, rear. These figures are placed directly next to the side they dismounted on. The infantry are never required to exit any side as long as they conform to the above rules. Example: If there are 13 men in a halftrack 5 may exit the left side, 5 exit the right side and 3 exit the rear. This would allow all of the men to get out of the halftrack in one action. Yet, if the right side of the halftrack were under fire then 5 men could exit the left side and 5 could exit the rear while 5 men waited inside the halftrack until the next action phase.

Bailing Out: Bailing Out is when a figure is forced to exit a vehicle. The figure is placed next to the vehicle where the Bail Out occurred. Figures that Bail Out are Broken. Passengers or Riders that are forced to Bail Out never affect the actions of the vehicle carrying them. It is up to the controller of the unit to declare what side the unit bails out at. A figure will Bail Out if:

A figure dismounts while the vehicle is moving.
An armored vehicle that takes a hit forces a Bail Out for any mounted riders.
An armored vehicle fires its main armament while carrying riders it forces a Bail Out for any mounted riders.
A truck crashes.
A vehicle rotates its turret.

Moving Bail Outs: Any figure that is forced to Bail Out from a moving vehicle is at risk of injury. The figure must roll on the SMG column of the Effects Chart.

Crew Exposed / Buttoned-Up: Passengers use all of the normal rules for Buttoning-Up and exposing. It takes one action to expose passengers. Riders are always exposed.

Protection for Riders: Riders can gain protection while riding on a vehicle. This protection is afforded only when the line of fire is traced through the turret structure before reaching the troops. Otherwise the units are exposed normally.

Crew Served Weapons & Dismounting: Crew Served Weapons cannot be dismounted in the normal time of one action. Two actions must be spent to remove the weapon from a vehicle. Example: If a mortar team dismounts from a halftrack it will take 2 actions, during which half of the team will be dismounted and next to the vehicle while the others are still in the halftrack. The dismounted men must still remain next to the vehicle during the next action as they are assumed to be receiving the crew served weapon that is being handed to them. This does not apply to pre-machine guns or light machine guns.

Crew Served Weapons & Bailing Out: Any Crew Served Weapon will be left behind when a unit is bailing out. A Bail Out is an instant reaction to an event and there is not enough time to retrieve the weapon in question. This rule doesn't apply to light machine guns or other individual small crew served weapons. Any weapon with a set up time will be abandoned in a Bail Out.

Riding Capacity: Each vehicle can carry a certain amount of infantry as Riders.

Indicating Riders / Passengers on a Vehicle: If the figures cannot be placed on/in the model then set them aside with some type of marker or indicator that the vehicle is carrying riders or transporting passengers. Off table there should be an area set aside to allow the figures that are riding or passengers to be placed. They should relate to the marker in some fashion so that it is easy to tell which units are in what vehicles.

Rider Capacity

Vehicle Size	Number of Riders
Very Small	0
Small	5
Medium	8
Large	12
Very Large	16

Fighting Riders: Figures on the back of tanks may not fire from their positions while the Tank is moving. Otherwise they may fight as normal.

Vehicle Charts

The Vehicle Charts are included in the Charts Chapter. The charts are by no means complete, containing only the most prevalent of the German, Russian, and American types. Additional charts will be posted on our web site regularly, space and time limitations preclude a total listing here.

Wt.: Weight in tons
Size: Vehicle size for targeting and ramming
HF: Hull Front armor; TF: Turret Front armor; HS: Hull Side armor; TS: Turret Side armor; HR: Hull Rear armor; TR: Turret Rear armor. Note: Turret armor applies to the upper structure of armored vehicles with no turret.
Speed: The vehicle's movement rate per action, in inches.
Load: The number of actions it takes to load and lay the gun, before modification for one man turret, crew quality, or SP gun status.
TR: S indicates a slow turret; N indicates a normal speed turret; * indicates a two man turret; # indicates a one man turret; - indicates no turret.
T: Vehicle type, as described on pg 2 of Armored Combat.
Smoke: Roll at the beginning of the game to see if each vehicle has a smoke discharger. Rolling this number or less indicates a launcher is present.
HMG: This indicates the presence and type of hull machine gun. If a number follows the gun type you must roll that number or less on a d20 at the beginning of the game to have a gun. A - indicates no gun was ever mounted. A LMG-T indicates that the hull machine gun was turret mounted. A x2 indicates two guns were present.

Location Charts: The rule set includes detailed Hit Location Charts for 3 of the most common tanks of World War II. The M4 Sherman, the PzKpfw IV H, and the T-34 Model 1941 are all included. These sheets include detailed hit locations, as well as stats, crew lay out, and special rules. Because of limitations of space and time only these three vehicles were included. Use the T-34 Location Chart for all Russian tanks and so on. We will be producing many more Location Charts for as many vehicles as we can. 36 of the most common tanks are available in Easy Eight's Tanker's Challenge.

Vehicle Statistics Charts

[The source's German, Russian, American and Softskin Vehicle Statistics tables (columns Name, Wt., Size, HF, TF, HS, TS, HR, TR, Speed, Load, TR, Type, Smoke, HMG, CMG, AAMG, Gun, Penetration AP / APCR-HVAP / HEAT / HE, HE Size, and for softskins Cap.) were flattened by the text extraction with empty cells dropped, so individual values cannot be reliably matched to their vehicles and columns. These tables are omitted rather than guessed. The full statistics for the five vehicles that have their own Vehicle Sheets below are given on those sheets. The vehicle names listed in the source's German table include PzKpfw IB, IIA, IIF, IIL Lynx, IIID, IIIF, IIIG, IIIH, IIIJ, IIIM, IIIN, IVC, IVD, IVE, IVF2, IVH, IVJ, VD2 Panther, VG Panther, VIE Tiger I, VIE Tiger I (late), VIB Royal Tiger and PzKpfw 35(t); the Softskin table lists the Schwimmwagen Kfz1/20, Opel "Blitz" 3 ton, Horch Kfz 17, Ford Maultier, Halftracked Truck, Halftracked Truck Prime Mover, GAZ-67B (The Russian Jeep), GAZ-MM, Ford (Russian), Jeep, 3/4 Ton Truck, 1 1/2 Ton Truck, 2 1/2 Ton "Duece and a half" and German Kuebelwagen Kfz 1, with the notes that jeeps are type J and trucks type TR.]

Truck Effect Chart

Small Arms Effects: Small arms do not roll on these charts. Roll To Effect passengers/driver with any hits as normal. Machine guns may affect the truck or the passengers. When affecting the truck all passenger effects apply. See Armored Combat.

Main guns and Machine guns: Main guns that shoot at trucks will affect the vehicle and the passengers as described in the chart below. The chart is specific to machine gun fire and main guns firing AP, HE and HEAT will have additional effect.

HE and HEAT: HE and HEAT rounds will have all the effects listed on the chart and will lay out an Effects Template as well, rolling as normal for all passengers covered. In addition roll a d20. On a roll of 8 or less the vehicle suffers a fuel explosion, see Location 1 on the Front Chart.

[The Front and Side hit location diagrams (silhouettes numbered with the d20 Hit Location results) are pictures and could not be recovered from the source text. The effect lists for each location number are given below.]

Truck - Front Hit Location: effect on vehicle and on passengers

Location	Vehicle	Passenger
1	Fuel Tank / Explosion	All roll on A column
2	Immobilized / Crash Check	Morale Check
3	Immobilized / Smoke	Morale Check
4	Immobilized / Smoke	Morale Check
5	Immobilized / Smoke	Morale Check
6	Immobilized / Crash Check	Morale Check
7	No Effect	d3 HW
8	Immobilized / Smoke	Morale Check

Truck - Side Hit Location: effect on vehicle and on passengers

Location	Vehicle	Passenger
1	Immobilized	Morale Check
2	Immobilized / Crash Check	Morale Check
3	No Effect	No Effect
4	No Effect	No Effect
5	Fuel Tank / Explosion	All roll on A column
6	Immobilized	Morale Check
7	Immobilized / Crash Check	Morale Check
8	No Effect	No Effect

Vehicle Sheets

The rule set includes detailed Hit Location Charts for three of the most common tanks of World War II (the M4 Sherman, the PzKpfw IV H and the T-34 Model 1941) and for two halftracks. In each Hit Location table, roll a d20 for location; the "No Penetration" column applies when the round does not penetrate (Non-Penetrating Effect, only for 37mm or larger guns) and the "Penetration" column when it does. "MC" is Morale Check. Where a location has R and L entries, they are the right and left parts of the same numbered location on the printed silhouette.

PzKpfw IV Ausf H

The Mark IV was the most common German tank produced during the war. The H version was in service from Spring, 1943 to the end of the war.

Specifications: Introduced: Spring, 1943. Crew: 5. Weight: 23.5 tons. Length: 18' 8.5". Width: 9' 4". Height: 8' 7". Ground Clearance: 1' 3.5". Track Width: 1' 3". Main Gun: 7.5cm KwK L/48. Max Elevation: 20 degrees. Ammunition: 2700 MG rounds / 87 Main Gun rounds. Speed: 23.6 mph. Range: 93 miles. Trench Crossing: 7' 6". Fording Depth: 2' 9".

Vehicle Statistics: Wt. 25; Size M; HF 14, TF 12, HS 5, TS 7, HR 3, TR 3 (armor); Speed 9; Load 1; Turret N; Type T; Smoke 8; HMG LMG; CMG LMG; AAMG LMG-10; Gun 75L; AP 30; APCR 35; HEAT 23; HE 13; HE Size Med.

Special Rules

Schurzen: Almost all PzKpfw IV ausf H had fitted spaced armor skirts called Schurzen. These were designed to protect the side hull and turret from shape charged (HEAT) weapons. The side skirts are removable and were often damaged in combat. The turret skirts were permanent and could not be removed. Turret Schurzen cover all turret side and rear locations. Schurzen halve the Penetration Number of any magnetic mines, bazookas, grenades, or other HEAT rounds. Side Hull Schurzen covers Locations 1-15 Side/Rear, Availability: 14. Turret Schurzen covers Locations 17-19, Availability: 19.
Zimmerit: A cement coating was also introduced with the ausf H model of the PzKpfw IV. The cement was known as Zimmerit. Its cement makeup and rough texture significantly reduced the ability of magnetic mines and "sticky bombs" to attach to a tank. Any tank that is covered in Zimmerit will receive a +10 to the Close Assault Placement Chart with a magnetic mine. Availability: 14.
Platoon: A platoon of PzKpfw IVH was 5 tanks on paper but because of war time limitations a platoon generally consisted of only 4 tanks.
APCR: Was rarely available and only in small quantities. Availability: 10. d6 rounds if available.

(Tank Crew Positions diagram: Loader, Radio Operator / Hull Gunner, Commander, Driver, Gunner.)

[The numbered silhouette diagrams could not be recovered; the effect for each Hit Location number is given in the tables.]

PzKpfw IV Ausf H - Front Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
6	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Normal Damage
8	No Effect	Normal Damage

PzKpfw IV Ausf H - Side Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC
2	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
6	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
8	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC

PzKpfw IV Ausf H - Rear Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke
4	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke
5	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke
6	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
8	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke

PzKpfw IV Ausf H - Top Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Main Gun Destroyed / MC	Main Gun Destroyed / MC
2	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
6	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
7	Radio -1 Action	Radio Man KIA / MC
8	Loader -1 Action	Loader KIA / MC

T-34 Model 1941

The introduction of the T-34 in combat created anxiety within the German tank corps. The combination of mobility and sloped armor proved successful. The T-34 base model lead to many excellent modifications that lasted throughout the war.

Specifications: Introduced: Summer, 1941. Crew: 4. Weight: 28.5 tons. Length: 21' 4". Width: 9' 9.5". Height: 7' 10". Ground Clearance: 1' .5". Track Width: 1' 7". [The Main Gun, Ammunition, Speed, Range, Trench Crossing and Fording Depth lines of the specifications were not recovered from the source.]

Vehicle Statistics: Wt. 28.5; Size M; HF 19, TF 18, HS 11, TS 9, HR 3, TR 3 (armor); Speed 11; Load 1; Turret S; Type T; Smoke -; HMG LMG; CMG LMG; AAMG LCMG-5; Gun 76L; AP 23; APCR -; HEAT -; HE 12; HE Size Med.

Special Rules

Turret: The turret of the T-34 Model 1941 could only accommodate 2 crew members with very little room to move. In addition when the turret was rotated the gunner and loader seats did not rotate. These factors combined to result in a very inefficient turret/gun design. Therefore this tank cannot turn the turret and fire in the same action. If the turret is rotated in the previous action before firing there is a +2 to the To Hit die roll.
Commander / Gunner: The gunner in the T-34 Model 1941 also served as the commander. This individual was very overworked and at no time could be Commander Exposed when firing the main gun or coax. Whenever the commander is operating the main gun he is acting as a gunner, not a commander. Therefore all main gun shots will suffer the No Commander penalty as well as the Buttoned-Up penalty.
Commander Exposed: The T-34 Model 1941 had a large single hatch for the commander and the loader. The hatch folded forward to provide excellent cover from the front but no cover from the sides or rear. The hatch will give a +7 modifier when being shot at from the front but only a +3 from the sides or rear.
Radio: Radios were only provided to command tanks. Radios in T-34 model 1941 tanks were operated by the tank commander. A commander must spend an action to use the radio.
Ammo Storage: Only 9 rounds were available in the turret ready racks. When more ammunition was needed the floor of the tank had to be removed. This took time and energy at perhaps a bad time. After 9 rounds have been fired, more ammunition must be retrieved in the floor bin. It takes 1 action to remove the floor plate, 1 action for every 3 rounds removed and a further 1 action to replace the floor plate. No other actions may take place except driving until the floor is replaced. When using a T-34 Model 1941 players should note what type of rounds are in the turret rack before the game begins.

[The Top hit location result 8 and 13 refer to a "Turret Overhang - see special rule"; the source's special rules text for Turret Overhang was not recovered, if present.]

T-34 Model 1941 - Front Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
6	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Normal Damage
8	No Effect	Normal Damage

T-34 Model 1941 - Side Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC
2	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
6	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
8	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC

T-34 Model 1941 - Rear Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke
4	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke
5	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke
6	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
8	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke

T-34 Model 1941 - Top Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Main Gun Destroyed / MC	Main Gun Destroyed / MC
2	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
6	Hull MG -1 Action	Hull Gunner KIA / MC
7	No Effect	Normal Damage
8	No Effect	Turret Overhang - see special rule

M4 Sherman

The M4 Sherman was the most common of the numerous varieties of Sherman tank to see service in WWII.

Specifications: Introduced: July, 1942. Crew: 5. Weight: 30.5 tons. Length: 19' 4". Width: 8' 7". Height: 9'. Ground Clearance: 1' 5". Track Width: 1' 4.5". Main Gun: 75mm M3. Max Elevation: 25 degrees. Ammunition: 4750 MG rounds / 97 75mm rounds. Speed: 24 mph. Range: 100 miles. Trench Crossing: 7' 6". Fording Depth: 3'.

Vehicle Statistics: Wt. 30.5; Size M; HF 14, TF 12, HS 7, TS 9, HR 4, TR 4 (armor); Speed 9; Load 1; Turret N; Type T; Smoke -; HMG LMG; CMG LMG; AAMG LCMG-15; Gun 75; AP 25; HVAP -; HEAT 23; HE 13; HE Size Med.

Special Rules

Sandbags: It was common practice for Sherman crews to sandbag their tanks as a defense against German HEAT weapons such as the panzerfaust. Sandbags were applied to the hull front and to the hull/turret sides. Sandbags halve the Penetration number of any HEAT weapon. Front Hull sandbags cover locations 3-5 & 7-16, Availability: 12. Side Hull/Turret sandbags cover locations 9-15 & 17-19, Availability: 10.
Gyro Stabilizer: Sherman tanks were equipped with a gun stabilizer that theoretically increased accuracy for tanks firing on the move. The stabilizers were a first generation device and not popular with crews. Stabilizers were often turned off by the dissatisfied gunners. Any M4 with a working stabilizer has reduced To Hit penalties: Moved in Previous Action: +3 (not +5). Fire on Move: +6 (not +12). Stabilizer Turned On: Crew must pass a Half Skill Check at beginning of game to use the Gyro Stabilizer.
High Ground Pressure: M4 Shermans had a very high ground pressure compared to similar armored vehicles. M4s suffer a +1 on all Bog Checks.
Turret Speed: Compared to its German rivals, who generally had a slow turret, the Sherman's turret speed gave a substantial advantage. Be sure to enforce turret speed when fighting Panthers and Tigers!
Turret Access: The M4 turret has only one hatch, for the commander. The commander and gunner can both use this hatch effectively but the loader is at a disadvantage. Any time a Penetration Effect indicates the crew must Bail-Out and pass a Morale Check or be KIA, the loader is at +5 on the Morale Check to represent his limited access to the hatch.
Ronson: Because of the M4's use of gasoline fuel and poorly designed ammo storage the tank was prone to catch fire easily. This led to the nickname "ronson". All Penetration Effects are -1.

(Tank Crew Positions diagram: Gunner, Radio Operator / Hull Gunner, Driver, Loader, Commander.)

M4 Sherman - Front Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Imobilization / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
6	Imobilization / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Normal Damage
8	No Effect	Normal Damage

M4 Sherman - Side Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC
2	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
6	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
8	Tank Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC

M4 Sherman - Rear Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke
4	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke
5	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke
6	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
8	No Effect	Immobilized /MC /Smoke

M4 Sherman - Top Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Main Gun Destroyed / MC	Main Gun Destroyed / MC
2	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
6	Radio -1 Action	Radio Man KIA / MC
7	Gunner -1 Action	Gunner KIA / MC
8	Commander -1 action	Commander KIA / MC

M3A1 Halftrack

The M3A1 halftrack was common with US forces. Despite some good points it was unpopular because of its thin armor and referred to as the "Purple Heart Box".

Specifications: Introduced: May, 1941. Weight: 10 tons. Length: 20' 9.5". Width: 7' 3.5". Height: 7' 5". Ground Clearance: 11.25". Track Width: 1'. Speed: 45 mph. Range: 180 miles. Fording Depth: 2' 11". Crew: 3 / 10 passengers.

Vehicle Statistics: Wt. 8; Size M; HF 0, TF 0, HS 0, TS 0, HR 0, TR 0 (armor); Speed 12; Load -; Turret -; Type HT; Smoke -; HMG -; CMG -; AAMG LCMG-15; no main gun.

Special Rules

Armor: The M3A1's armor factor of 0 does not mean it is automatically penetrated. The 0 indicates that the attacker must roll under his Penetration number as usual, but the armor of the vehicle subtracts nothing. This makes the M3A1 more vulnerable to MGs in the anti-armor role.
Pulpit Mount: M3A1s that are equipped with an AAMG carry the gun in the pulpit mount. There is no shadow for the gun on the vehicle's right side or front. The shadow on the left side extends 3" out. The shadow to the rear extends out 6". Gunners standing in the pulpit mount are very exposed and receive only +2 cover, not the usual +5.
Crew: Unless stated otherwise in a scenario, the driver, commander and AAMG gunner must come from the squad transported in the halftrack.

(Crew Positions diagram: Commander, Assistant Driver, 10 Passengers, Driver.)

M3A1 Halftrack - Front Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Imobilization / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC / SMoke
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC / SMoke
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC / SMoke
6	Imobilization / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Normal Damage
8	No Effect	Immobilized / MC / SMoke

M3A1 Halftrack - Side Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
2	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
5	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
6	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
8	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC

M3A1 Halftrack - Rear Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized /MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized /MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized /MC
6	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
8	No Effect	d3 HW / Normal Damage

M3A1 Halftrack - Top Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
2	Engine Hit Half speed / Smoke	Immobilized / MC / Smoke
3	Immobilized / MC	Imobilized / MC
4	Engine Hit Half speed / Smoke	Immobilized / MC / Smoke
5	Engine Hit Half speed / Smoke	Immobilized / MC / Smoke
6	No Effect	Normal Damage
7	No Effect	Normal Damage
8	Driver -1 Action	Normal Damage

Sdkfz 251/1 Hanomag

The "251" was one of the most successful and popular vehicles of WWII. However, by D-Day, 1944 its age was showing and a replacement was in the works, but never saw wide service.

Specifications: Introduced: Summer, 1939. Weight: 9 tons. Length: 19'. Width: 6' 11". Height: 5' 9". Ground Clearance: 1'. Track Width: 9.25". Speed: 33 mph. Range: 124 miles. Trench Crossing: 6' 6". Fording Depth: 2'. Crew: 2 / 10 passengers.

Vehicle Statistics: Wt. 9; Size M; HF 2, TF 2, HS 2, TS 2, HR 2, TR 2 (armor); Speed 10; Load -; Turret -; Type HT; Smoke -; HMG LMG-5; CMG -; AAMG LMG-5; no main gun.

Special Rules

Hull MG: The 251 generally carried a forward mounted MG-34 (LMG) with a gun shield. The Hull MG, when available, is operated by a Crew Exposed passenger. The arc of fire is the front 180 degrees. The Hull MG has a 1" shadow throughout its arc.
AAMG: Some 251s carried a second MG-34 (LMG) on a rear pintle mount. The AAMG may fire through the rear 180 degrees and has no shadow. The AAMG may only be fired by a Crew Exposed passenger. Squads commonly removed the AAMG and used it as a second squad weapon. If no AAMG a squad may mount the squad weapon in its place. It takes one action to mount or dismount an AAMG.
Crew: Unless otherwise stated in a scenario, the driver and commander must come from the squad using the halftrack.

(Halftrack Crew Positions diagram: Commander, 10 Passengers, Driver.)

Sdkfz 251/1 Hanomag - Front Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized / MC / Smoke
4	No Effect	Immobilized / MC / Smoke
5	No Effect	Immobilized / MC / Smoke
6	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Normal Damage
8	No Effect	Immobilized / MC / Smoke

Sdkfz 251/1 Hanomag - Side Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC
2	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
3	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC
4	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC
5	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC
6	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC
7	Immobilized/ MC	Immobilized / MC
8	No Effect	Immobilized / MC

Sdkfz 251/1 Hanomag - Rear Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Automatic Penetration	Normal Damage
2	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
3	No Effect	Immobilized /MC
4	No Effect	Immobilized /MC
5	No Effect	Immobilized /MC
6	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
7	No Effect	Immobilized / MC
8	No Effect	d3 HW / MC

Sdkfz 251/1 Hanomag - Top Hit Location (die roll of the Hit Location d20)

Location	No Penetration	Penetration
1	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
2	Engine Hit Half speed / Smoke	Immobilized / MC / Smoke
3	Immobilized / MC	Immobilized / MC
4	Engine Hit Half speed / Smoke	Immobilized / MC / Smoke
5	Engine Hit Half speed / Smoke	Immobilized / MC / Smoke
6	No Effect	Normal Damage
7	No Effect	Normal Damage
8	No Effect	Normal Damage

Armored Quick Play Charts

[The source's Armored Quick Play Charts pages repeat the Hero Creation, Crew Quality, Tank Platoon Integrity Check, Crash and Penetration Effects charts already given above. They are not repeated here.]

Artillery

Introduction

Historically, Artillery and Mortars caused approximately 67% of all casualties in World War II. Barrages of shells could break up an attack by disrupting concentrations of troops and by devastating attackers caught in open ground. A dug-in defender could fare better against artillery, but barrages prevented the moving up of reinforcements. Strongpoints can be eliminated by direct fire from large guns. In Battleground, there are two types of artillery, On-Board and Off-Board. Off-Board Artillery is resolved during the Artillery Phase. On-Board Artillery has a card exactly like infantry and vehicles.

On-Board Artillery

On-Board Artillery refers to any artillery piece that actually has a model on the table. Artillery of this type is treated much like an anti-tank gun. The piece is placed on the table, including any crew, exactly like any other piece. On-Board Artillery pieces take actions just like any other piece in the game and have a card in the deck. Generally, On-Board Artillery will take the form of one or two infantry support weapons such as light mortars or infantry howitzers.

Artillery Crews

Each type of gun or mortar has a crew of between two and ten. This crew is required for efficient loading, aiming and firing of the gun. Artillery crews are infantry figures and are subject to all infantry rules, including Morale Checks. Each crew member receives two actions each turn when the piece's card is drawn. All crew must complete their first action before any crew begin a second action. A typical artillery crew will consist of a Gun Commander, a Gunner, and one or more Loaders.

Gun Commander: The gun commander is responsible for directing the fire of the weapon either by personally sighting targets and directing fire or by contacting a forward observer and conveying corrections to the crew. Each gun will have a commander; in addition entire batteries may have an overall commander. Some guns, in particular light mortars with a two man crew, will not have a commander. A gun with only two crew members suffers no penalty for lacking a gun commander.
Gunner: The gunner is responsible for the aiming and firing of the gun. The gunner is under the direction of the commander and in communication with the loaders.
Loaders: Each gun will have one, or more likely, two or more loaders. Loaders are responsible for loading the gun with new shells and clearing spent brass. Most guns need more than one loader to maintain maximum rates of fire.
Gunner's Assistant: Some guns, particularly anti-air artillery, will have a gunner's assistant who aids the commander in sighting and will often have a range finder.

Crew Quality

Artillery crews have a quality rating just as infantry and vehicle crews do. This rating represents the crew's experience with the weapon and with combat in general.

Green: Green gun crews are new to their piece and to each other. Although they can be serviceable when using Indirect Fire, they will suffer when using direct fire and when setting up the piece.
Regular: Regular gun crews have some training and experience and are proficient with their piece. All gun crews are assumed to be Regular unless specifically stated otherwise in a scenario.
Veteran: Veteran gun crews are strong and experienced team members who are ready to fight on, even in dire circumstance.
Elite: Elite gun crews are masters of their weapon and of combat. They will receive bonuses when using Direct Fire.

Crew Morale

Artillery crews use the morale rules for infantry figures. They are subject to normal Morale Checks and Suppression. Broken artillery crew members are treated exactly like any other Broken infantry, and all Rally rules apply. In addition the crew as a whole are subject to Team Morale Checks as described in the Infantry chapter. Gun crewmen can become Heroes or Craven Cowards just like infantry figures.

Mortars and Guns

There are two types of On-Board Artillery; mortars and guns. Most rules will apply to both types but there are some subtle differences and special case rules will apply.

Mortars (M): A Mortar is a small tube fitted to a bipod that fires a shell on a high trajectory over relatively short range. Mortars are generally a smaller piece of equipment that may be moved easily by men or light vehicles. Mortars can only use rules for Indirect Fire and may never set Special Fire modes.
Guns (G): A Gun is a field piece on a wheeled carriage that requires a vehicle to move it around. Guns may use Direct Fire or Indirect Fire as they choose. Guns using Direct Fire use all anti-tank gun rules and may set Special Fire modes. Guns using Indirect Fire may not set Special Fire modes.

Actions

An artillery crew is a team that must work closely together to operate their piece effectively. Each gun is allowed two actions per turn just like vehicles and infantry. Artillery move on a card draw as described in the Core Rules.

Fire Gun: It consumes one action to fire a gun or mortar. This is performed by the gunner.
Aim Gun: The gunner may spend extra time lining up a shot for extra accuracy. This action may not be the action the gun is being loaded. The gunner may not spend an action of Aim Gun without the direction of the commander.
Direct Fire: A commander may spend an action directing the fire or aiming of the gun. Any Fire Gun action taken without the direction of the commander suffers the No Commander penalty. A gun commander may only use his Leadership Modifier on a shot if he is Directing Fire in that action.
Load Gun: It takes one action to load the gun. The gunner is laying the gun on target while the loader is loading. Some guns may fire and load in the same action. Some guns require more than one action of loading. See the Gun Chart for more detail.
Manhandle Gun: It takes the full crew of the gun one action to move it 3" or rotate 90 degrees in place.
Limber Gun: Limbering takes a number of actions, depending on the gun.
Unlimber Gun: Un-limbering takes a number of actions, depending on the gun.
Setup Mortar: Setting up a mortar takes a number of actions, depending on the mortar.
Breakdown Mortar: Breaking down a mortar takes a number of actions, depending on the mortar.
Correct Fire: An artillery spotter may spend an action correcting fire for pieces using Indirect Fire.

Manhandling

In order to move a gun either in place or to a new location it must be manhandled. It takes the full crew of the gun one action in order to move it 3" or 90 degrees in place. If there is less than the full crew moving the gun it will take twice as long. Rough ground will halve the movement rate of a manhandled gun. A gun may not be manhandled across obstacles or up and down building levels.

Limbering and Un-Limbering: Limbering is the act of hooking up or unhooking a gun from its transport. Gun set-up is included as part of the Limber and Un-Limber time. Limbering or Un-Limbering takes a number of actions depending on the gun. The Gun Chart specifies the number of actions it takes to limber and set up a gun. Breakdown and Limbering take the same number of actions.

Setup And Breakdown: All mortars must spend a number of actions setting up to fire. The number of actions required are specified on the mortar chart. In addition some mortars must spend actions to breakdown before they are able to be transported by their crews.

Direct Fire

Direct Fire mode is only available to guns firing at targets within Line of Sight. Mortars may never use Direct Fire mode. Guns using Direct Fire follow exactly the procedures used by anti-tank guns and all modifiers apply to shooting, rates of fire, and morale with the following exception.

Acquired Target: Most artillery weapons were not equipped with the same sights as vehicle weapons and anti-tank guns. Thus artillery weapons may never gain an acquired target modifier.

Ammo: Only in extremely rare cases will an artillery gun be equipped with any ammo except for HE and Smoke. Special ammo types, such as anti-concrete or armor piercing rounds, will rarely be seen. Therefore artillery guns fired against armor will have to use the HE penetration for their gun. On those rare occasions where special rounds are available, there will only be d6 rounds present. Note: This is not always true. The entire line of Russian 76.2mm guns were equipped with AP and commonly used in the anti-tank role. The same is true of the German Flak 18 "88".

Indirect Fire

Only mortars and artillery guns are allowed to use Indirect Fire. Any on-board piece using Indirect Fire resolves its fire on its card, just like when using Direct Fire. Indirect Fire may be spotted by a spotter, a crew member, or blind fire. Blind fire will be highly inaccurate.

Spotting: All on-table pieces must have a spotter of some sort. This spotter may be the gun commander or, in the case of weapons with no commander the gunner, or some separate spotter. Separate spotters must be platoon commanders or a dedicated artillery spotter. Spotters can communicate with the gun crew either by direct communication or via radio/phone.

Direct communication: To utilize direct communication the spotter must be within Line of Sight and Command Range of the artillery piece.
Radio/Phone: Spotters outside of LOS or Command Range must be in possession of, or in base to base contact with, a field telephone or wireless radio set. The gun commander must also possess a wireless radio set or phone.

Correction Fire: So long as the spotter is communicating with the artillery crew the spotter can correct fire, see below. If the spotter loses communication, or there is no spotter present, then the artillery piece may only use blind fire, see below. The spotter may never correct while Broken or while spending actions on any other activity. A light wounded spotter may correct so long as he is not Broken or otherwise occupied.

Corrected Fire

When using corrected fire with a spotter versus a new target follow the procedure below.

First shot new target: On the first shot at a new location place a target marker on the target point. This point must be in Line of Sight of the spotter, and outside the minimum range of the weapon. Roll a d8 and 2d6; the first round will land at this location. Resolve damage as normal for any pieces under the template. When firing at a new target it takes one action to aim the weapon and one action to fire. Leave a marker at the location of the actual point of impact.

Corrected Fire from first round: If this initial round has landed within LOS of the spotter then the spotter may correct the round. The first action for both the spotter and the crew is to correct, and possibly load. The weapon crew will fire, or load and fire, in the second action. The spotter can correct the impact point up to 15" and only within his LOS and outside the weapon's minimum range. Corrected fire will roll a d10 and a d6. Any roll of 9 or 10 on the d10 will indicate a direct hit and the d6 will be ignored. If a 1-8 is rolled move the round in that direction the number of inches indicated on the d6. Leave a marker at the actual point of impact.

Fire for Effect: If there is a marker present, either from an initial shot or an adjusted shot the weapon crew may Fire for Effect. In Fire for Effect the weapon crew will fire at the existing marker. Weapons which have a ROF that allows fire and load in the same action may fire both actions, rolling a d10 and d6 as above, with both rounds deviating from the same marker. Weapons with a slower rate will load one action and fire one action at the existing marker. Weapons may Fire for Effect at an existing marker until the marker is adjusted, the weapon runs out of ammo, or the crew is forced off the weapon. Once a marker is placed by a first round or by correction it is never moved by Fire for Effect.

A mortar or gun may fire a round into a location that they cannot see. When using Blind Fire use all of the rules for first fire except that the round will deviate from the initial location 3d6 inches. Blind Fire may never use the Fire For Effect rules.

Multiple Tubes

When there is more than one artillery piece on table working under the same spotter then those tubes form a makeshift battery. This has no effect on Direct Fire. When using Indirect Fire the battery will fire all together. Roll for deviation only once, all tubes will work off the same result. The templates will then be laid out in a Loose Line pattern as described in Off-Board Artillery.

Off-Board Artillery

Off-Board Artillery is any artillery weapon that does not have a piece on the game table. Because of the long range of many artillery weapons in World War II it was common for units to receive fire support from distant batteries. This fire support was dependent on a number of factors including: continued communication between the front line and the battery, higher commands prioritizing fire, and the battery's ability to continue operation. Thus the battery of guns or mortars are not always available for fire missions on a particular section of the battlefield. Players must remember that there is generally an entire battle happening at the same time that their small action is taking place. Communications between the front line troops and the batteries located in the rear areas experienced breakdowns and cut lines. It is important to note that not all communication devices worked properly in the middle of combat. The spotter always requests artillery during the Artillery Phase of the game, not when their card is drawn. The spotter is considered calling in fire during the entire turn and is not allowed to perform any other actions, even when their card is pulled.

Artillery Phase

The Artillery Phase is used to resolve all requests for Off-Table Artillery for the next turn. Off-Board Artillery for the present turn lands during the Artillery Phase and remains in play for the entire turn.

Fire Missions

Artillery that is called from Off-Board is always referred to as a Fire Mission. At the start of any scenario the player will know the number of Fire Missions allotted to him. In addition to the number of Fire Missions the scenario will indicate the number of tubes and size providing these missions. For example: A scenario could call for 3 Fire Missions of 3 tubes of 81mm Mortars, 16 Contact, 15 Availability. The scenario could allocate zero Fire Missions with the number and size of tubes in support. This would indicate that artillery is not generally available to the player but there is a chance that during the engagement it could be reallocated to the player's sector. All Fire Missions are subject to availability and the spotter's ability to communicate to the battery.

Fire Mission Duration: A Fire Mission will land in the Artillery Phase and remain in effect for the entire turn.

Availability: It is possible for the battery that has been assigned to you to be redirected to a more intense sector of the battle therefore you must be granted permission for each Fire Mission requested. To represent this the game uses an Availability Number. The Availability Number is a number between 1 and 20. This number indicates the chance that when a Fire Mission is called that it will be granted. This number or less must be rolled in order to receive any Off-Board support. This roll is only for a call being made that turn and any spotter may call for a new Fire Mission each turn.

Spotters

All Off-Board artillery pieces must have a spotter. The spotter must be declared at the start of the game. The figure designated as the spotter is the only one allowed to communicate with the Off-Board Artillery. This communication is always by radio or telephone. The rolls for Contact and Availability are rolled for during the Artillery Phase but occupy the spotter and the radio carrier for the entire turn. The requested artillery will land in the following Artillery Phase. If at any time during the turn the spotter is KIA, HW or Broken then the spotter is unable to complete his call and any Fire Missions requested by him for next turn will be cancelled.

Radios and Phones: At any time that electronic communications is used the player must roll a Contact check. This check represents the ability of that technology to deliver the message back to the battery. When a radio is used the Contact number is usually lower than with field phones. Whenever a spotter wishes to request a Fire Mission that spotter must first make a successful Contact roll.

New Fire Mission: When a spotter is calling artillery onto a point that is not within 8 inches of a current Fire Mission it is considered a New Fire Mission and will follow this procedure. Artillery may not be called within 18" of friendly units.

The spotter rolls the Contact die roll. If the roll is less than or equal to the Contact number then the player now rolls for Availability.
The spotter rolls for Availability. If the number rolled is less than or equal to the Availability number then proceed to plan the Fire Mission for the next turn.
The player now decides the impact point and Pattern, Spread and Direction of the artillery Fire Mission. Record this information and hold it until the Artillery Phase of the next turn.
The controlling player places a red marker in the location where last turn's artillery barrage was called for.
The impacting artillery will roll a d8 for the deviation direction and a 2d6 for the distance of the deviation. Move the red marker to the actual landing point. Lay down effects templates based on the pattern selected. Roll for effect immediately on any pieces within this area of effect. Leave the markers to indicate the affected area for the entire turn.

Correcting Fire: During the Artillery Phase spotters may adjust an existing barrage rather than calling a new one. This is called Correcting Fire. In order to correct fire on a barrage the spotter must have the barrage within Line of Sight. The following sequence applies to any Fire Missions that are being corrected. Artillery may not be called within 18" of friendly units.

The spotter rolls the Contact die roll. If the roll is equal or less than the Contact number then the player now rolls for Availability.
The spotter rolls for Availability. If the number rolled is less than or equal to the Availability number then proceed to plan the corrected Fire Mission for the next turn.
The player must use the same pattern, spread and direction of the previous artillery Fire Mission.
The artillery will now impact in the following Artillery Phase as long as the spotter is still alive and able to Direct Fire. The impacting artillery will roll a d10 for deviation direction and a d6 for distance.

Walking Fire: When the player wishes to move the artillery impact zone up to 4 inches in a set direction this is Walking Fire. The following sequence is used for Walking Fire. Artillery may not be walked within 8" of friendly units.

The spotter rolls the Contact die roll. If the number rolled is equal or less than the Contact number roll for Availability.
The spotter rolls for Availability. If the number rolled is less than or equal to the Availability number then proceed to plan the walking Fire Mission for the next turn.
The player must use the same pattern, spread and direction of the previous artillery Fire Mission.
The spotter may move the impact point up to 4 inches in the direction of the artillery Direction that was set in the original Fire Mission.
The artillery will now impact in the following Artillery Phase as long as the spotter is still alive and able to Direct Fire. There is no deviation for this type of fire.

Fire For Effect: When the spotter would like to continue the artillery in the exact location that it is already being impacted then the spotter declares Fire For Effect. Fire for Effect never deviates but does require a Contact and Availability check. Fire For Effect must be preceded in the previous Artillery Phase by some kind of Fire Mission. The mission can be any of mission types available: New Fire Mission, Correcting Fire, Walking Fire or Fire For Effect. The following procedure applies to Fire For Effect:

The spotter rolls the Contact die roll. If the number rolled is equal or less than the Contact number roll for Availability.
The spotter rolls for Availability. If the number rolled is less than or equal to the Availability number then plan Fire for Effect for next turn.
The player must use the same pattern, spread and direction of the previous artillery Fire Mission.
The artillery will now impact in the following Artillery Phase as long as the spotter is still alive and able to direct the fire. The impacting artillery will use the marker from the artillery Fire Mission that landed in the previous phase.

Impacting Artillery

Artillery falls during the Artillery phase one turn after it is called for, assuming the rolls were made correctly. The effects of Off-Board Artillery stay for the turn, just as Pinning Fire for MG's. When artillery impacts during an Artillery Phase markers are laid out according to what pattern, direction and spread was selected by the spotter.

Pattern: Each gun that is in a battery will have a marker on the table. The marker that was used to define the location of the impact point is used as the center for the patterns. Individual markers never deviate, they will always land in the pattern called.

Loose Point: Each gun in the battery will have a marker that is arranged around the spotter marker 4 inches away.
Tight Point: Each gun in the battery will have a marker that is arranged around the spotter marker 2 inches away.
Loose Line: Each gun in the battery will have a marker that is arranged in a line. The spotter marker is used as the center of the line as much as possible. Each marker is 4 inches away from each other in the line.
Tight Line: Each gun in the battery will have a marker that is arranged in a line. The spotter marker is used as the center of the line as much as possible. Each marker is 2 inches away from each other in the line.

(The source includes an Off-Table Artillery Patterns diagram labelled Loose Point 6 inches, Tight Point 3 inches, Loose Line 6 inches, Tight Line 2 inches; the diagram itself could not be recovered.)

Direction: The direction of the artillery pattern must be stated so that if it is walked the direction is determined. The direction is simply stated beforehand using the standard deviation template directions of 1 through 8.

Changing Patterns or Directions: Artillery Batteries will take 1 turn to change any characteristics. After Changing Pattern or Direction a new Fire Mission must be used to call in the new fire even if it is going to hit the same point.

The Beaten Zone: Each marker that is placed on the table for a pattern is the center of a template. The Beaten Zone is the area under the template that corresponds to the size of the round.

Beaten Zone Effects: Once an artillery Beaten Zone is placed, all models within 2" or within the Beaten Zone immediately drop prone / button up before any actions are taken or fire is resolved. Green troops are not allowed to drop prone until after their card has been drawn and fire is resolved. Each figure or model that is caught within the Beaten Zone during the Artillery Phase will receive an attack as if they were just hit by On-Board Artillery. Each figure or model that spends any action within the Beaten Zone will receive an attack as if they were just hit by On-Board Artillery. Resolve fire effects for any pieces in the Beaten Zone. Any piece still in the Beaten Zone on second action is attacked again. The effects of the Beaten Zone last all turn.

Special Target Types

When a target is hit by Indirect artillery fire either On-Board or Off-Board it may not necessarily be hit directly. The following is a list and explanation of types of targets that are harder to hit and affect than normal.

Foxhole / Trench: Artillery which lands on top of a foxhole or trench does not automatically land inside the hole. After hitting the top of the foxhole or trench roll a d6, on a result of a 1 then the artillery round lands inside the foxhole or trench and will KIA anyone inside automatically. If the shell did not go in the foxhole then figures that are in the foxhole are affected as normal. Any figure that is prone inside the foxhole will be immune to damage unless the shell lands in the hole. When a foxhole or trench is under an artillery pattern then there is the same chance that it will receive a direct hit. This roll is made during the Artillery Phase and when the figures occupying the foxhole or trench take actions.

Armored Vehicle: AFVs that are targeted are not necessarily hit unless a supplementary die roll of a d6 results in a 1 or 2. If a direct hit is scored then roll for a location on the top chart of the vehicle in question. Then look up the HE penetration value of the type of round. Roll to penetrate as normal versus the top armor of the vehicle. Apply breakthrough effects if the shell penetrates. Direct hits will cause Non-Penetration effects.

Open Topped Armored Vehicle: Open top vehicles are affected exactly like other AFV. In addition rounds may land directly in the open crew area. If the hit location indicates that the open area of the vehicle was hit then the round landed inside of the vehicle. Any figures or crew that are inside the vehicle at the time will be KIA and the vehicle rolls on the Penetration Effects Chart at a -3.

Trucks and Jeeps: Trucks and Jeeps must be directly hit, just as for armored vehicles, to destroy them. Figures and crew of the vehicles can be affected if they fall under the ring of a round that landed close by. Roll for each figure as normal.

Equipment: Any piece of equipment like a machine gun or an anti-tank gun that is under an effect template must make a roll as if it was a figure. If a KIA or HW is the result then the equipment is considered destroyed. Use this method to determine if any particular item takes damage from attack.

Artillery in the Forest: Artillery was especially brutal on infantry caught in the woods. Far from offering protection the canopy of trees detonate the rounds in the air, greatly increasing the amount of shrapnel. Any artillery shells landing in any sort of forest: light woods, heavy woods, or orchards, will have increased effect.

Increase area of effect: Artillery landing in forest will be one ring larger than indicated on the chart. Thus guns that normally extend to the D ring will now go out to the E ring.
Reduced cover: Infantry receive no cover for being prone when under artillery attack in the forest. In addition any other cover is halved. Thus foxholes, halftracks, trenches and the like only offer +3, not +5. Figures which are prone in foxholes may still be attacked. Infantry in covered foxholes or crews buttoned up in closed top armored vehicles will be immune to attack.
No direct Hits: Artillery landing in a forest will never receive a direct hit against any type of vehicle or entrenchment. The shells are detonated by the trees and will not land on the ground.

The Gun Chart

The gun chart is a representative listing of the artillery used by Americans, Germans, Russians. Additional guns will be featured on our web site.

Type: M indicates mortar, mortars may never use direct fire. G indicates gun, guns may use direct and indirect fire. ATG indicates anti-tank gun, ATG may never use indirect fire. (AC appears in the source for anti-aircraft guns.)
Gun: Indicates size and length of the gun, length is irrelevant to mortars.
Load: The number of actions it takes to load and lay the gun, before modification for crew quality.
Crew: The number of crew necessary for efficient operation. Having one crew member LtW or even prone means you do not have a full crew.
Set-Up: The number of actions it takes to un-limber and set up or to break down and limber.
Range Min: The minimum range applies only to indirect fire.
Range Max: Maximum range applies only to indirect fire, a weapon must have a max range of UN to be used as Off-Board artillery.
Penetration: Indicates the Penetration number for each type of main gun round. AP: The standard round for anti-tank work. APCR/HVAP: Rare, high powered, AP round. HEAT: Shaped charge, not affected by range. HE: The Penetration for a direct hit with an HE round.
HE Size: The size of template to use for that HE round in the anti-personnel role.

[The German, American and Russian Gun Statistics tables (columns Name, Type, Gun, Load, Crew, Set-Up, Range Min / Max, Penetration, HE Size, Notes) were flattened by the text extraction with their cells scrambled across the page, so the individual values cannot be reliably matched to their guns and are omitted rather than guessed. The guns named in the source's tables are, German: 2cm Flak 30, 2cm FlaKvierling 38, 3.7cm FlaK 37, 8.8cm FlaK 18, 3.7cm PaK 35/36, 5cm PaK 38, 7.5cm PaK 40, 8.8cm PaK 43/41, 5cm leGrW 36, 8cm GrW 34, 10cm NbW 35, 12cm GrW 42, 7.5cm leIG 18, 15cm sIG 33, 10.5cm leFH 18, 15cm sFH 18, 10cm K 18 and 15cm K 18; American: M2 60mm Mortar, M1 81mm Mortar, M3A1 37mm Anti-Tank Gun, M1 57mm Anti-Tank Gun, M5 3-in. Anti-Tank Gun, M1A2 37mm AA Gun, M1 40mm AA Gun, M2 90mm AA Gun, M2A1 105mm Howitzer, M1A1 155mm Gun and M1 8in. Howitzer. The notes printed beneath the charts include: "When used vs infantry roll To Hit as a HMG, Effect as a LCMG -7."; "Smoke AP available. HEAT availability 15."; "Smoke HEAT availability 15."; and "APCR availability is a 5, d6 rounds if available. Smoke".]

Terrain

Introduction

We use a variety of terrain in Battleground World War II, from the ruins of Stalingrad to the sunken roads of Normandy. Each type of terrain will have an effect on movement, on sighting, and on cover. This section includes a brief description of all basic terrain types and their effects on game play.

Ground

Open Ground

Open Ground can be any area of table without other terrain. It provides no cover, has no effect on movement, and no effect on sighting. Pieces in open ground are Open. Figures in open ground can still go prone for the +2 bonus and count any man-made terrain, such as foxholes, as that terrain type if in the foxhole.

Modeling: A ground cloth such as an old army blanket or similar material can cover the whole table as a base. This default terrain can be open ground.

Rough Ground

Rough Ground can also be any area of the table, from a fallow field to the entire table.

Sighting: No effect, models in rough ground are Open.
Movement: See chart. Rough ground will slow wheeled vehicles.
Cover: Rough Ground provides no additional cover, but figures may still go prone and use foxholes, etc.
Modeling: Rough ground can be represented by patches of brown, gray, or green felt. Rough ground can also be the default terrain of the ground cloth.

Road

Roads on the table are considered to be in reasonably good condition with a minimum of shell holes, etc. They can be of any length or width, but 4" wide and several feet long are good averages.

Sighting: Models on road are Open.
Movement: Vehicles that start and end an action on road can move at double or triple normal speed, see Terrain chart. Infantry that start and end an action on Road can move an extra 1" for a total of 5" per action.
Cover: Infantry on Road are very exposed. They receive a -1 cover modifier. This modifier applies even while prone, so infantry prone in the road are only +1. This modifier does not apply to infantry riding in/on hard or soft vehicles, only to infantry on foot.
Modeling: Roads can be represented with 4" wide strips of gray felt.

Poor Road

Poor road is an unpaved road such as a dirt path or corduroy road. This type of road is common on the Eastern Front and rural regions in the west. Poor roads will generally run through forest or large areas of rough ground.

Sighting: Poor road is identical to standard road.
Movement: Poor road provides no movement bonus. Figures and models move on poor road just as across open ground.
Cover: Poor road is identical to standard road.
Modeling: Poor roads can be represented by 3" wide strips of brown or tan felt.

Fields

Fields are areas of cultivated land. In the game they can be of any size, 8" x 12" works well. Fields can be fallow or planted.

Sighting: Fallow fields have no effect on sighting. Fields of tall crops such as wheat or sunflowers count infantry and vehicles as Concealed.
Movement: Any type of field is Rough Ground.
Cover: No type of field will offer any cover. Infantry may go prone normally.
Modeling: Rectangles of colored felt work well, brown for fallow fields, gold for fields of tall crops such as grain. Fields can be bought from hobby stores or various fake furs can be used for 3-D fields.

Hills

Hills are natural rises in the terrain. Hills can either be gentle or steep and can be of any height. Hills can be covered by another terrain type, such as light woods or rough ground. In this case the rules for both types of terrain apply.

Sighting: Models and figures on hills are considered open unless the hill is covered by another type of terrain. Hills block Line of Sight to any pieces looking across one. Hills also cause shadows in Line of Sight to models on the hill.
Movement: Gentle hills have no effect on movement. Steep hills reduce all infantry and vehicles to 1/2 rate. If the hill is covered with another type of terrain, all of that terrain type's movement modifiers apply as well.
Cover: Hills provide no additional cover. Figures may go prone as normal. Any cover for other terrain types apply as normal. Vehicles can use hills to gain hull down positions, see Vehicle Hit Locations.
Modeling: Hills can be modeled with store bought hills. They can also be cut from foam and painted and/or flocked. Books, cereal bowls, and anything else can be stacked and covered with a drop cloth to make inexpensive hills.

Hills and Line of Sight (example): The tank in this example has pulled to within 1" of the crest line of the lower level of the hill (level 1). Therefore this tank is hull down to any enemy firing at it over the crest. Having the crest between the firing tank and enemy targets creates a shadow that the tank cannot fire into. To determine the size of this shadow measure the distance from the crest to the edge of the hill. In this case 8". Then measure from the base of the hill out away from the tank 8". The area from the base of the hill to 8" out is the shadow. The tank has no Line of Sight to this area and cannot engage any targets within the shadow. To engage targets in the shadow the tank must pull forward over the crest, thus losing the hull down position. The level 2 hill to the tank's right blocks all line of sight to or from the tank. It cannot engage or be engaged over the level 2 hill.

(The diagram is labelled: Crest line of Hill; 8" to edge of hill; Tank Hull down from opposite of hill crest line; 8" of "Shadow", Tank has no line of sight of this area; Level 2 hill blocks line of sight from this direction.)

Woods

Light Woods

Light woods are areas of forest on the tabletop. They vary in size from small 6" copses to the entire table. They can be of any size or type of tree, light refers to the spacing of the trees and density of undergrowth.

Sighting: No one can draw a Line of Sight through more than 6" of light woods. Any model in light woods is Concealed.
Movement: See Chart. Vehicles are slowed as they maneuver around trees.
Cover: Infantry in light woods receive a +3 modifier on the Effects Chart. This modifier assumes the infantry are using trees as cover and can be added with a prone bonus but with no other kind of cover modifier. It is not possible to hide behind a tree while in a foxhole.
Vehicle Cover: Any vehicle in light woods is +3 to be hit. This is an exception to the normal way terrain covers vehicles because individual trees are not generally represented on the table. See Vehicle Hit Locations.
Modeling: Light woods can easily be represented by a patch of green felt with a few trees spread around. The felt patch will more clearly show the boundaries of the wood. Trees can be store bought or home made from sponge or foam which is painted and/or flocked.

Heavy Woods

Heavy woods are areas of dense forest with thick undergrowth. They can be of any size on the table, just as light woods. Heavy woods can be of any type of tree, the heavy refers to the spacing of trees and the density of undergrowth.

Sighting: No one can trace a line of sight through more than 4" of heavy woods. Any model or figure in heavy woods is Concealed.
Movement: See Terrain Chart. Vehicles are not able to push between trees and through the thick undergrowth. Infantry are slowed as they hack through the undergrowth.
Cover: Heavy woods provide +4 cover to infantry. Just as with light woods, this bonus may be added with prone but with no other bonus.
Modeling: Heavy woods are modeled exactly as light woods, possibly with a different color of felt to differentiate.

Orchards

Orchards are areas of man-made forest. Because they are spaced more widely, orchards have less effect on movement than light woods, but in all other respects are identical.

Natural Obstacles

Brush

Brush is an area of bushes, flowers, or scrub anywhere on the table. Brush can be man-made or natural and can be of any size. If it covers a large area, there should be a large number of small bushes, not one large bush.

Sighting: Brush offers no sighting cover to vehicles. Infantry that are in base contact with brush are considered concealed. Brush does not block Line of Sight except to prone infantry.
Movement: Brush has no effect on movement. Wheeled vehicles and infantry can easily go around, and tracks easily go over.
Cover: Brush provides +1 cover, which may be added to prone, but no other cover.
Modeling: Brush can be easily made from railroad lichen or by pieces of sponge or foam dipped in flocking.

Hedge

Hedges are areas of linear brush set by man. They generally outline a field or garden. Areas of thick natural brush can use the rules for hedge.

Sighting: Hedge is generally tall enough to block Line of Sight. Infantry in base contact with hedge are considered concealed. Vehicles against hedge, with the hedge between them and the viewer, are considered Concealed.
Movement: It takes infantry and wheeled or halftracked vehicles one action to cross a hedge. Full tracked vehicles cross hedge at no penalty.
Cover: Hedge provides +2 cover to infantry. This bonus may be added with prone but with no other bonus.
Modeling: Hedge can be modeled just like brush, just set out in lines. Lines of pre-made hedge can also be bought in hobby stores.

Bocage

Bocage is a type of sunken road common to the Normandy region of France. It consists of a section of Road that lies below the ground level with an earthen embankment on each side. This embankment is surmounted with a hedge and individual trees that rise above the ground level. Bocage compartmentalizes the battlefield, hiding enemy forces and making coordinated action difficult.

Sighting: Bocage blocks Line of Sight. Models and figures in one side may look down into the road, but may not see across the other side. Figures in or against one side are Concealed. Models and figures in the road are Open.
Movement: Models and figures in the road treat the road as any other road. Figures require one action to cross one side of bocage. Fully tracked vehicles require one action to cross one side of bocage and face a Bog Check of 18. Halftracked and wheeled vehicles may not cross bocage except at breaks.
Cover: Models and figures in the road follow standard road rules. Figures in the bocage being fired at from the other side receive +3 cover. This may be added with prone but with no other cover.
Breaks: Over time, farmers cut breaks into the bocage to allow farm implements to pass from one field to the next. Any figure or model may use a break at the rough ground rate.
Modeling: Bocage is most easily modeled with roads lined with hedge. Breaks can be marked with colored felt or simply represented by holes in the hedge.

Bocage Line of Sight example: In this example, solid lines show open line of sight, dashed lines show blocked line of sight. (1) Tank 1 has pulled up to the bocage and can see through into the road. Because there is a break across from Tank 1 it can see part way into the opposite field. But where the break ends Tank 1 loses Line of Sight at the opposite bocage. (2) Tank 2 is in the road. Tank 2 has Line of Sight down the road and to the bocage on either side. Tank 2 cannot see into any of the fields. Tank 2 will see Tank 1 because Tank 1 has pulled up against the bocage. But Tank 2 will not see Tank 1 until it fires or Tank 2 is directly beside it. (3) Tank 3 is in the field. Tank 3 cannot see into the road and can only see tanks directly against the opposite hedges.

Gully

Gullies are linear obstacles, old ditches or dry streams, that can sometimes serve as emergency trenches in the game. A gully on the table should be about an inch wide and several feet long.

Sighting: Infantry or vehicles in a gully are Concealed.
Movement: The modifiers on the chart are for crossing the gully. Infantry and any vehicles that fit in the gully may move up and down the line at the rough ground rate.
Cover: Infantry in a gully receive +3 cover. Infantry prone in a gully are out of sight to enemy outside the gully just as being prone in a foxhole.
Modeling: Gullies can be easily represented by 2" wide strips of brown or tan felt.

Emplacements

Shellholes

Shellholes are large craters left by aerial bombing and Off-Board Artillery. Generally tank guns, mortars, and other On-Table guns will not leave usable craters. Shellholes can be between 1" and 4" diameter, with the 1" type the most common.

Sighting: Infantry in a shellhole are Concealed. Vehicles will be considered Open unless they find the crater of a 2 ton bomb to hide in.
Movement: Shellholes are considered Rough Ground.
Cover: Infantry in a shellhole receive a +3 cover. Infantry who go prone in a shellhole may not fire out and can only be hit by fire directly into the hole, either from shells or grenades falling in, or infantry fire from within 2".
Modeling: Shellholes are relatively inexpensive at hobby shops. They can be custom made with modeling clay. Modeling clay is especially useful for larger size holes.

Wall

Walls are linear stone structures used to define the boundaries of a field, yard, or garden. Walls can be of any length but will generally surround an approximately 6" x 6" area or one side or corner of a larger area.

Sighting: Infantry against a wall are Concealed. Small vehicles will be Concealed if against the far side of a wall. Most walls are not high enough to block Line of Sight. Some walls will block Line of Sight and should be designated as such at the start of the game.
Movement: Infantry take one action to cross a wall. Tracked vehicles of size small or less and halftracks may push through a wall in one action. Tracked vehicles of medium size or larger may push through a wall at 1/2 movement rate. Wheeled vehicles may not push through walls. When vehicles push through a wall they leave a gap of rough ground as wide as the vehicle.
Cover: Infantry behind a wall gain +5 cover. Infantry prone behind a wall may not shoot or be shot from across the wall. Infantry may not shoot over a wall tall enough to block Line of Sight.
Modeling: Walls can be modeled with walls from hobby shops. Walls can be scratch built from strips of card or balsa wood textured with sand in their paint.

Foxhole

Foxholes are man-made holes that infantry use for cover on the battlefield. Foxholes are generally 1" diameter circles or 1" x 2"-3" ovals. Large mortar pits and dug in positions for AT guns also act as foxholes.

Sighting: Foxholes are Concealed if dug in concealing terrain or if the digging infantry had time to camouflage the hole, as determined by scenario. Otherwise foxholes count as Open. Note that foxholes will be sighted even if empty. Anyone who sights a foxhole is allowed an immediate Sighting Check to determine if the hole is empty or occupied. Infantry in a foxhole are Concealed or Open depending on their hole.
Movement: Anyone crossing a foxhole counts it as rough ground. It is free movement to enter or exit a foxhole.
Cover: Infantry in a foxhole gain +5 cover. Infantry who go prone in a foxhole may not fire out and can only be hit by fire directly into the hole, either from shells or grenades falling in, or infantry fire from within 2".
Crushing a Foxhole: Any fully tracked vehicle may crush a foxhole by spending two actions of 180 degree turn. See vehicle Crushing Things rules. Any infantry in a foxhole so crushed are KIA.
Covered Foxholes: If infantry have had time, as determined by scenario, a roof of logs and dirt can be fashioned over a foxhole. Covered foxholes allow the occupying infantry to ignore the forest penalty for artillery fire, see Artillery. In addition, grenades can only be thrown in from within 2" range, and then with the window penalty to hit. Any covered foxhole that receives a direct hit from a mortar or artillery shell offers +5 cover to the occupying infantry, but all other effects apply as normal. In all other respects, covered foxholes are identical to uncovered holes. Covered foxholes will be relatively rare in games.
Modeling: Foxholes can be scratch built from clay. To differentiate between shellholes and foxholes, include a few clay sandbags around the rim of the hole. Covered foxholes are available in hobby shops.

Trenches

Trenches are foxholes longer than 3". Trenches are crossed exactly like gullies. When a trench is crushed, only the area equal to the length of the crushing vehicle is destroyed. Otherwise they are identical to foxholes.

Modeling: Trenches can be cheaply represented by 2" wide strips of brown felt. More satisfying trench systems will require a lot of time and money, refer to a dedicated book on terrain making.

Sandbags

Sandbags are stacked up to create cover in areas where it is impractical or impossible to dig. They are identical to foxholes in all respects except they are automatically crushed when any vehicle of size small or larger moves over them. This is free movement for the vehicles and infantry may avoid just as if rammed in the open. See vehicle movement rules.

Modeling: It is relatively hard to model sandbag emplacements. A selection of sandbag emplacements are available in hobby stores. To model individual sandbags, squish a small ball of clay into shape between your fingers.

Pillboxes

Pillboxes are reinforced, covered foxholes that make deadly machine gun placements and command bunkers. Pillboxes range in size from a single MG team to a coastal artillery structure. A series of small pillboxes are sometimes connected with trenches or tunnels. Small pillboxes will be more common in scenarios.

Sighting: All pillboxes are Concealed and are sighted as vehicles. Size modifier is determined by the size of the pillbox, therefore a single MG team pillbox would be very small and an artillery structure very large. It is never possible to determine if the pillbox is occupied without moving to within 6" and making a Sighting Check. When a pillbox is sighted the barrels of any 20mm or larger guns should be mentioned.
Movement: Small pillboxes will count as rough ground. For larger pillboxes, look at the model and determine what type of terrain it might be. Most pillboxes will be impassable to vehicles and count at least as rough ground to infantry. Vertical surfaces will take at least an action to go up, if they can be climbed at all. Pillboxes are often surrounded and/or strewn with wire.
Cover: Pillboxes offer +12 cover to anyone within. This may never be added with prone. Anyone forced prone may not fire out or be hit by incoming fire. Grenades may only be put in at 0 inch range. Any infantry firing into a gunslit from outside and from within 2" deny the +12 cover to those in the box. Instead the occupants get +5. This counts only to infantry fire during an action, not any Special Fire mode, and only for fire from within 2". It is not generally possible to reduce a pillbox during the course of a game.
Doors: Pillbox doors may be opened by causing 2 Damage Points with a 75mm or larger gun (see Reducing Terrain) or by an engineer spending two actions to affix a demo pack.
Modeling: Several shapes of pillboxes are available in hobby stores. Custom made pillboxes will require an investment of time and research.

Wire

Barbed wire was commonly used on all fronts in WW II to channel infantry movement. Barbed wire will be a linear obstacle about 2" wide and of any length.

Sighting: Wire has no effect on sighting and is easily seen.
Movement: Wire takes two actions for infantry to cross, at the end of which the infantry must make a Skill Check. If passed the figure is through and may act as normal next action. If failed the figure must make a Check at the end of each of its subsequent actions and is stuck until the Check is passed. Any wheeled vehicle may cross wire at half rate, except jeeps and motorcycles, which may not cross. Any tracked or halftracked vehicle may at full movement rate, but will face a Bog Check, see below.
Cover: Wire offers no cover, and generally may not be crawled under.
Cutting Gaps: Any tracked or halftracked vehicle automatically leaves a gap when it crosses wire but faces a Bog Check. Infantry with cutters can make a 2" wide gap with 2 actions of cutting. Engineers may make gaps with bangalore torpedoes and line charges, see Assault Engineers.
Bogging: Vehicle crews were not able to run down wire obstacles at will. The wire had a tendency to wrap up in the suspension of vehicles and possibly cause serious damage. Any vehicle crossing a wire obstacle must take an immediate bog check. For wheeled vehicles this check is an 8, for halftracks a 10, and fully tracked vehicles bog on a 12 or greater. Any vehicle that bogs in a wire obstacle rolls on the Grenade versus Track Effects Chart in the Man vs Tank section of the Infantry rules. It will take twice as many actions as listed to repair any damage because of the difficulty in removing razor sharp wire from a vehicle suspension.
Modeling: Wire is easily made by taking picture frame wire and wrapping it around a dowel rod. The resulting coil can be cut to length and used as is.

Roadblocks

Roadblocks are man-made obstacles designed to deny a road to vehicle traffic. Road blocks can be made of logs, rubble, overturned vehicles, or more frequently all three. Roadblocks are generally an inch or two wider than the road they aim to block. Roadblocks can be either small or large, this is determined by the model and the scenario.

Sighting: Roadblocks are sighted as small size vehicles. Roadblocks are Concealed if built across a road in concealing terrain such as forest or a city. Otherwise the road block is Open. Infantry in a roadblock are always Concealed. Vehicles behind a road block are Concealed.
Movement: Vehicles may not cross a large roadblock. A small roadblock may be crossed by spending two actions and making a 16 Bog Check every action. Infantry may cross any road block by spending one action.
Cover: Infantry in a roadblock receive +4 cover. They may not add this bonus to any other cover including prone. Infantry wishing or forced to go prone are considered to be behind the road block and may not fire or be fired upon from the far side.
Reducing Road Blocks: Small roadblocks can be reduced by a medium size or larger fully tracked vehicle spending two actions to cross and then spending two actions to reduce. The vehicle is subject to Bog Checks all four actions. Large vehicles gain a -1 to these checks, Very Large receive a -2. Small roadblocks may also be reduced by gaining 3 DP results from a 75mm or larger gun. Large roadblocks may only be reduced by receiving 6 DP results from 75mm or larger guns or by receiving 2 DP results from 120mm or larger guns (see Reducing Terrain).
Modeling: Small roadblocks can be purchased in hobby shops. Roadblocks can also be fashioned from modeling clay. Large roadblocks look best if they include steps for defenders, timbers, and even vehicle pieces in the model.

(The source text reads "Infantry may cross any road by spending one action", taken here as referring to roadblocks.)

Graveyard

Graveyards will be commonly found near churches, or sometimes on isolated hills. Graveyards will generally be about 6" x 6".

Sighting: Infantry in a graveyard are Concealed. Vehicles in a graveyard are Open.
Movement: Graveyards are rough ground.
Cover: Infantry in a graveyard receive +3 cover, this assumes hiding behind headstones. This bonus may be added with prone but no other cover.
Modeling: Gravestones can be custom made out of card or modeling clay. Gravestones can also be bought. Several gravestones will be needed for a graveyard.

Partial Tank Cover

Partial tank cover is given to any exposed crew member on an armored vehicle. This cover is also given to tank riders if the fire crosses the turret or center superstructure to hit the riders. No cover is given to riders between enemy fire and the turret or superstructure. Partial Tank Cover also applies to exposed infantry riding in an armored vehicle such as a halftrack. This cover is also given to infantry on the ground using an immobile armored vehicle as cover. This bonus may be combined with prone. Infantry may not use a brewed up vehicle for cover. Partial Tank Cover is +5.

Water

Stream

Streams are linear obstacles, small creeks that run across the table. Streams should be an inch or two wide and several feet long.

Sighting: Infantry or vehicles in a stream are Concealed.
Movement: The modifiers on the chart are for crossing the stream. Infantry and any vehicle that will fit may move up and down the stream at half the rough ground rate.
Cover: Infantry in a stream receive +1 cover. Infantry may never go prone in a stream and ignore suppression results.
Modeling: Streams can be represented by 2" wide strips of blue felt.

Small Rivers

Small rivers are linear obstacles that run across the table. Small Rivers should be 3-12" wide and run the length or width of the table. It is common for there to be hedge, brush, and light woods along the banks of rivers. The Rapido River in Italy would be a 12" wide small river. All the river rules assume a mild current. In faster currents, disallow wading outside of fords. In super fast currents disallow infantry to cross fords and penalize boats.

Sighting: Infantry wading the river are Concealed. Infantry in boats or any vehicle in a ford are Open.
Movement: Infantry can wade a small river at any point at 1/4 rate. Vehicles and infantry may cross at fords at 1/2 rate. Any infantry or vehicle may cross a bridge at road movement.
Cover: Infantry wading or crossing at a ford are in Deep Water and receive -2 cover. In addition, infantry in a river may never go prone and ignore Suppression.
Modeling: Small rivers can be represented with 5"-13" wide strips of blue felt.

Large Rivers

Large rivers should be rare in games. They should be at least 18" wide and cross the entire table. Large rivers can only be crossed by bridges and at rare fords. Frequently in a game, only one side of the river will be on the table. The Rhine River at Remagen would be a large river.

Deep Water

Deep water is any river, pond, or ocean beach. Infantry in deep water are subject to all rules for the type of water they are in (river for example). In addition, infantry in deep water may never go prone, ignore suppression, may never fire or throw grenades out of the water, and suffer a -2 cover penalty.

Marsh

Marshes are areas of soft, wet ground, interspersed with small ponds and mud bogs. They can be of any size, but because marshes seriously reduce movement, use should be carefully planned.

Sighting: Infantry in a marsh are Concealed.
Movement: Infantry are slowed to a 1/3 rate, vehicles of any kind may not cross a marsh.
Cover: Infantry in a marsh gain a +1 cover bonus. Infantry may never go prone in a marsh and ignore any Suppression result.
Modeling: Marshes can be modeled with an irregular patch of blue-green felt strewn with lichen and an occasional tree.

Buildings

Buildings are any man made structure on the tabletop. Depending on the scenario buildings may be bombed out or whole, the rules for both types are the same except for the listed exceptions. Buildings are either of stone or wood construction. Designate this before the battle begins. There may be any number of buildings in a game and they can be of any size, depending upon the models available.

Sighting: Buildings are automatically sighted. Infantry in a building are Concealed. Vehicles partially behind a building are Concealed. Buildings block Line of Sight.
Movement: Buildings block all vehicle movement. Infantry may enter/exit buildings through open doors for free. It takes infantry one action to enter/exit a window or a closed door. Infantry may move around inside a building at normal rate. It takes an action to go up or down a staircase.
Cover: Wood buildings provide +5 cover. Stone Buildings provide +7 cover. Infantry may fire out windows and doors at full cover. Prone infantry may not shoot or be shot at, but are still affected by HE effects with prone bonus. Infantry in a building are forced prone as normal by a Suppression result on the Fire Effects Chart. Cover applies to any model being fired at from outside the room the model is in. Two rival models in the same room have no cover.

HE effects vs buildings: Any HE direct fire shell that hits a wood building will blast through and spray those inside with shrapnel. Once a hit has been determined, use the HE blast template and place the center point on the wall at point of impact, with arrow pointing in the direction of fire. Then refer to the 90 degree cone lines on either side of the arrow. Any model within this cone is affected, in whatever ring he falls under, just as any other HE shot. Figures in the cone receive no cover from the building because of the large amount of shrapnel produced by the building. Figures that are prone receive full prone bonus. Figures behind sandbag emplacements within the building receive full cover for the sandbags. Resolve effects as normal.

Stone Buildings: The HE effects procedure is exactly the same for stone buildings. However, any HE shell must be at least 60mm to affect the interior of a stone building. Smaller guns can use AP shells. AP shells resolve fire in the same way as HE except they use the narrow cone on the HE blast template. Note AP will not generate sufficient shrapnel to be effective vs wood buildings.

Indirect Fire vs Buildings: All Indirect Fire works exactly as normal vs buildings with no roof. Versus buildings with a roof, mortars and guns up to 100mm have no effect except to figures in the attic who are affected as normal, with wood building cover but ignoring prone. If larger guns land on a roof once in the game resolve normally. If larger guns land on a roof a second time remove the roof and affect any models below.

Reducing Buildings: With the exception of roof removal, buildings cannot be reduced during a game without specific scenario rules. Tank guns and On-Board Artillery would have to spend hundreds of rounds to reduce a building. It takes big guns or aerial bombing to take a building down.

Starting Fires: Wood buildings and the roofs of stone buildings can be burned during play. Any hit by an HE shell on a wood building or roof has a 1 on a d20 chance of starting a fire. White Phosphorus shells can start a fire on a 7 or less. Flamethrowers can start a fire on a 14 or less. It will take at least 10 - 15 turns for a building to become fully involved. However they will quickly fill with smoke and any figure in a burning building 5 turns after the fire starts will need to make a Gut Check to stay. Figures failing the Check will be put outside at the nearest exit, figures remaining will be at -20% on all sighting. Any figure still in a fully involved building must pass a Gut Check or die. Figures passing the Check are put outside the building by the nearest exit.

Bombed Out Buildings: Some buildings have been bombed and shelled before the game begins. These buildings have no doors, only open doorways. They have no roofs unless the model comes with one. Some models will have low wall sections where a piece of wall collapsed. These low sections may be crossed by infantry or vehicles exactly as a wall, see above. Because of the wide variety of bombed building models available, it will often be necessary to make specific building rules for the models used before each game, using these rules as a guide.

Modeling: Bombed out buildings are widely available in hobby stores, though expensive. Intact buildings are also available in hobby stores. In addition, some model railroad buildings will work. Buildings can be scratchbuilt from card, thin wood, or foam core. Intact buildings can be made with simple shapes and have all window and other details painted on. Bombed buildings are best with windows and doors cut, and jagged sections of low wall.

Rubble

Rubble is formed by the collapsed ruins of buildings and will be common in bombed out villages and cities. Rubble can form excellent defensive positions.

Sighting: Infantry in rubble are concealed. Vehicles will be concealed if behind a large pile.
Movement: Infantry move through rubble at normal rate. Vehicles will be restricted and suffer a Bog Check.
Cover: Rubble provides +4 cover to any infantry. Figures may combine this with prone but with no other cover. Vehicles may use rubble to cover Hit Locations.
Modeling: Rubble can be scratch built by gluing rocks or bits of wood to a base. Texture with sand and dry brush.

Smoke

Smoke is laid out by a variety of sources, grenades, main guns, artillery, smoke dischargers, and burning vehicles and terrain. Burning vehicles and terrain follow the smoke rules in Reducing Terrain.

Sighting: Smoke blocks all Line of Sight. Pieces may shoot into smoke with the No Target penalty.
Cover: Smoke provides no cover.
Movement: Smoke does not affect movement but vehicles should use care driving full speed with obscured vision.
Dissipation: Smoke will rapidly fade away. It will drift d6 inches in a random direction (use a d8 and the HE Effect template). Grenade and discharger smoke will last 3 turns. Artillery smoke will last 4 turns. Burning vehicles and terrain will last for the entire game.
Modeling: Cotton balls make perfect smoke.

Reducing Terrain

Some types of terrain can be destroyed in the course of a game. Each terrain type includes specific rules on how it is reduced. Foxholes, for example, can be crushed. Generally, if a terrain type does not include specific rules on how that terrain is reduced, that type of terrain cannot be reduced in the course of a game.

Damage Points: Some terrain types are assigned a number of Damage Points or DP. Damage points can only be inflicted by main guns of the listed caliber or higher. To inflict DP on a terrain type, roll To Hit as normal, using HE or HEAT ammo. If a hit is scored, then roll once for effect on the HE results table, taking the modifiers for gun caliber in to account, but no other modifiers apply. Any infantry in the blast radius are affected normally. Then consult the chart to see how many DP are caused.

Hit Effect	Damage Points
Gory Death	2
KIA	1
HW	1/2
Other	0

Starting Fires: Some terrain types are flammable and may burn during the game. Rules for burning buildings are included in the building section. Any sort of wood or tall fields can also be burned. White Phosphorus shells will start woods or fields to burning on a roll of 5 or less. A flamethrower will start a fire on a 14 or less.

Smoke: Burning forest and fields will generate smoke. Once a fire has been started lay down the HE effects template. The initial fire will cover out to the Small HE Effects template. Roll a d8. The number rolled will indicate wind direction. Every turn, during the artillery phase, roll a d3. This will indicate how many inches the smoke will spread in the direction of the wind. No piece may enter more than 2" into the smoke because of the heat and lack of oxygen. This applies only to smoke from a fire, not a smoke screen.

Obstacles

Figures can build obstacles during the game. The Construction Time Chart indicates how many man actions are required to construct various obstacles. Some obstacles may be built by any type of troop, some take non-engineers longer and some can only be built by engineers. Artillery and Vehicle crews can dismount and create obstacles as well.

Construction Time Chart

Obstacle	Number of Actions	Max Number of Men	Modifiers for Normal troops
2 man Foxhole	16	4	-
2" Trench	24	4	-
Gun Pit	36	6	-
Covered Foxhole	24	4	x2
Small Road Block	72	6	x2
Large Road Block	288	12	x4
6" Wire

[Note: this table was extracted as a flat run of cells; the values are arranged here in the order printed. The terrain movement chart referred to throughout this chapter as the Terrain chart is not part of the recovered text.]

Scenarios

Getting Started

Beginning to play Battleground World War II is simple if you introduce yourself to the game a piece at a time. To begin with read Core Rules and the Infantry section up to and including Special Fire modes. For now ignore Assault Engineers and other specialized areas. Concentrate on the sections outlining the card initiative system, spotting, infantry morale, actions and small arms fire. Ignore or include Special Fire modes as you see fit for now.

Give Me Shelter

Once you are familiar with the Core Rules and the first part of the Infantry section you are ready to play "Give Me Shelter". This scenario is designed to introduce players to Battleground World War II in a simple and exciting manner. You can use the cut-out card figures provided with the rules or use any figures you have at hand. Once you have the counters or figures gathered, give one order sheet to your opponent and take the other sheet, both of you should review your orders and see if you have any questions about the squad or its equipment.

Set Up: When you have finished reading your orders, you and your opponent should lay out the table with whatever terrain you have available. Use the map on the back of your order sheets as a guide. Concentrate on getting started quickly, so use colored paper or felt to represent the woods and the cabin for now if no other terrain is available. Try to keep the cabin at the exact center of the table so as not to give either side an advantage. The map is drawn to a 4' x 4' table, but a covered dining room table would work just as well. If using a larger table it is best to keep the game down to about 4' x 4'.

Card Deck: Next form a deck of 4 playing cards, a red ace and deuce and a black ace and deuce. Each squad should be divided in half, with squad members 1-5 going on the ace and 6-10 going on the deuce. The Axis player will be black cards, the Allied player will be red cards. Shuffle the card deck.

First Turn: To begin the first turn, draw a single card. Then move the five figures whose card is drawn on to their table edge. The figure's first action has been to move on to the table. They may do whatever action they choose for a second action. When all five figures are done with their second action, draw the next card. Now move those five figures on the table and then take their second action. Continue until all four cards are drawn and all twenty figures have taken their two actions. Reshuffle the deck.

Continuing Play: Now mark any figures who wish to use a Special Fire mode in turn two. Roll to Rally any figures Broken in turn one, if appropriate. Resolve any Squad Morale if appropriate. Ignore Artillery Phase. When done marking Special Fire and resolving Morale begin drawing cards for turn two. When the first card is drawn take first action with those five figures. Remember to make Sighting Checks at the beginning of every action. Continue this procedure until all cards are drawn and all actions taken for turn two. Play as many turns as necessary until one squad fails a group morale check.

This initial scenario will help you answer many procedural questions and give you a feel for the game's flow. During this first scenario refer to the rules as much as is necessary, paying special attention to the sections on Spotting, Actions, and Morale.

More "Give Me Shelter": When finished with Game 1 of "Give Me Shelter" read the rules for Machine Guns and Special Fire modes. Now you are ready to play Game 2. Use the exact same terrain set-up as you did for Game 1, simply add the card counters for the machine gun and crew. Game 3 will add another squad of infantry and a mortar. For rules on the mortar see the Artillery section and the sub-section for On-Board Artillery.

Russian Gold: When you have played all three games of "Give Me Shelter" then you are ready to play the "Russian Gold" scenario. "Russian Gold" is essentially a large version of "Give Me Shelter" set in an urban environment. Terrain for "Russian Gold" can be developed out of any buildings available or by using 2D card buildings laid flat on the table with windows and doors drawn on. Eventually most people will want to collect purpose built terrain but for now use whatever you have to get gaming quickly. "Russian Gold" will add Snipers to your gaming, so look over that section of the Infantry rules. In addition you can expect extensive use of Grenades and Hand to Hand combat, so review those sections of the Infantry section if you haven't already.

High Noon

After you have finished with "Give Me Shelter" and have read the Armored Combat section you are ready to add tanks to your gaming. "High Noon" is designed to help you add vehicles easily one step at a time. Use the card counters provided or any tank models you have available.

Orders and Set Up: "High Noon" plays exactly like "Give Me Shelter" and will follow the same pattern of setting up. Again use whatever terrain is handy to represent the road and bocage. A review of the Terrain section for rules on road movement and bocage may be worthwhile. Because there are only 2 cards in the initiative deck for Game 1 it may be easier to roll a die each turn to determine initiative for Game 1 only. Pay extra attention to Movement, Actions, and Unbuttoned / Buttoned Up status. Play until one tank is penetrated and out of play for one or more actions, or until one tank is abandoned.

Game 2: Game 2 adds a squad of infantry, armed with anti-tank weapons and transported in a halftrack to "High Noon". For Game 2 you will need a card deck with 4 cards, one for each tank and one for each squad. To play Game 2 you will need to review the Man vs Tank section of the Infantry rules and the Halftracks and Passengers and Riders sections of the Armored Combat rules. Play Game 2 of "High Noon" as many times as necessary to answer any questions you have about vehicles or infantry and vehicles together.

To the Front: "To the Front" is essentially an enlarged version of "High Noon". This scenario adds an entire platoon of tanks to each side. Examine the rules on Tank Platoon Integrity in the Armored Combat section. Once you have played "To the Front" you can play a variant with 4 tanks per side and 4 halftracks with infantry squads per side. A meeting engagement of this size will take 3-5 hours to play, depending on the experience level of the players and will give an excellent view of mobile combined arms gaming.

Advanced Scenarios

Once you have both "Give Me Shelter" and "High Noon" under your belt you will be in a good position to begin designing your own scenarios and using the other scenarios available in these rules. We have included a section on designing your own scenarios later in this chapter. Below is a short description of each of our five scenarios included in these rules and what rules are required to play them.

Russian Gold: This scenario is set in the ruins of Stalingrad in the winter of '42/'43. It involves two equal forces of infantry supported by snipers battling for control of a bank. A good understanding of all Infantry rules including Sighting, Special Fire modes, Grenades, and Snipers as well as the Terrain rules for Buildings is required. If you can play this scenario you have the Infantry rules down well.
To the Front: This scenario features four Mk IV H tanks in a meeting engagement with four M4 Sherman tanks. It should incorporate all basic Armored Combat rules including Morale, Hit Location and Penetration, and vehicle Sighting as well as Special Fire modes. If you can play "To the Front" you have a good understanding of the Armored Combat rules.
Ring of Desperation: This scenario features a Soviet armored force versus an all infantry German defense. This scenario uses the Infantry and Armored Combat rules, especially Man Vs Tank and Tank Vs Man. This scenario will greatly benefit from the use of Limited Intelligence.
La Neuville: This scenario features Germans trying to capture an American held bridge during the Battle of the Bulge. It adds Anti-Tank Guns, Mortars, and Engineers to the basic Infantry and Armored Combat rules. This scenario also uses several Terrain rules and Bogging. Use of Limited Intelligence is suggested.
Bocage: This scenario is set in Normandy soon after D-Day and depicts the American advance on St. Lo. This large scenario incorporates almost every facet of the rules into an exciting combined arms action. Use of Limited Intelligence is very beneficial.

Playing the Game

Battleground World War II puts the gamers in charge of how they wish to play. The game can be played with or without a gamemaster and using a variety of different methods. This allows two gamers to have a stand up fight on one table quickly or for a gamemaster to put on a double blind game with random elements and surprises. We have included a number of tips and suggestions on how to get the most out of your gaming by emphasising the fog of war.

Gamemasters

A gamemaster can serve a number of valuable functions and enjoy a very rewarding game to boot. A GM can witness secret rolls, keep track of hidden movement and settle any questions that arise during the game. Gamemasters can also run third party or neutral forces. Gamemasters can also take the initiative to create their own scenarios. This can be very exciting for players because they will have only vague information about the opposing players' mission and forces. A well designed and carefully run scenario can provide a Gamemaster with the ultimate joy of watching both sides sweat and cheer as the game unfolds. In any club there will be several gamers who have the desire and the knack to be good GMs. Really anyone can do it. And it takes a load off of everyone if a different person presents a game each week.

Running a Game: Gamemasters will be in charge of setting up terrain, issuing orders and forces to both sides, and making and drawing from the card deck. Gamemasters can also take control of broken units and handle any special case rules or situations. They can also be the voice on the other end of the radio, issue new orders to one or both sides mid-game, and generally contribute to the chaos of war on the table top.

Players

Players are the heart of any game. Players control one or more squads or vehicles on the table top. In Battleground World War II you will need at least one player per side. Players have total control over the actions of their forces so long as all rules are observed. There is no rule against being outlandish, cunning, or stupid in Battleground World War II. However the Morale rules and common sense should keep most players in the realm of reason. In addition players will have a more enjoyable time if they use their forces in realistic and reasonable manners.

Unrealistic Actions: In playing Battleground World War II there will be times when players take actions that just don't make any sense. There is no actual rule against using the primemover of an anti-tank gun as a shield for an infantry advance, for example. But this is an activity rarely seen in real war, especially considering the value of vehicle transport and the survival instincts of truck drivers. Some GMs may disallow such silliness, others require a Gut Check. In games without a GM a player must be ready to justify these actions to their rightly outraged opponent, and possibly make a Gut Check. If a player insists on taking silly, unrealistic actions, regularly stop gaming with that player.

Starting a Game: Games played without a gamemaster will require that both players agree on a scenario; either provided by us, or created by the players, or some other third party. Then each player should pick either the Allied or Axis power and read the orders for that side only. Gather your forces individually, keeping the make up of your force from your opponent as much as possible. Then set up the terrain together, using the map as a guide, and substituting terrain as necessary or desired. Build a card deck as described and deploy any forces that begin on table as per scenario, using whatever form of Limited Intelligence you desire. Begin play when ready.

What's that Rule!: In any game without a GM any rules discrepancy that cannot be resolved by a quick reading of the rule should be resolved by each side rolling a die, the low die deciding the ruling. After the game, talk the rule through in a more relaxed context, and jot down the decision you reach together for future games. Always remember that the point of a game is to have fun!

How did you know that?: In many games an argument that comes up often is: "That squad would never do that because in reality they would not know about my hidden HMG that is in this hedge." In Battleground World War II we avoid this argument by keeping the HMG hidden using some form of Limited Intelligence. If you choose not to use any form of Limited Intelligence in your game you should accept the omniscience of all forces on both sides so long as sighting checks are properly made.

Limited Intelligence

In a small unit battle such as Battleground World War II, any scenario can be greatly enhanced through the use of Limited Intelligence. In real WWII wartime conditions, unit commanders often had little information about the enemy. The idea behind Limited Intelligence in this game system is to accurately portray this reality, by keeping players from knowing anything their forces do not know. This includes, but is not limited to, the enemy's strength and mission, location of all terrain features, and even the precise location of enemy units. There are several techniques when using Limited Intelligence in tabletop games. Remember, it is key to keep players from knowing their opponent's forces and mission. This can work in any game with a GM and even without one, if both players are using a scenario written by a third party and if both are unaware of each other's briefing. Below, are some other methods.

Mapping: Maps are commonly drawn by a defender in defend/assault games and the defender reveals their units as the attacker discovers them. In this system the defender makes a map of the placement and status of all of his forces. The attacker then moves his forces on to the table, making sighting checks as normal. Whenever a defending piece is sighted that piece is placed on the table. Any movement out of sight of the attacker is marked on the map, as are Special Fire modes. The map should be kept as neat and accurate as possible, and shown to the attacker at the end of the game. In GM'd games, maps can also be used by the attacker with the GM referring to both maps and placing models on the game table as they fire or are fired upon. This method can be cumbersome but will work with a level headed GM and if players on both sides enjoy a quieter, slightly abstract game with great excitement at the end. In addition to taking longer, mapped games do not give the "hands on" fun of moving models on the table until the game is almost over.

Dummy counters: Counters can be used to represent real and fake units on the table. This method does not even require a GM and can be effective if both sides keep careful track of their pieces. A ratio of one fake per two real units works well. Generally a fake is removed as soon as an opponent makes a successful sighting check of it and a real model is placed on the game table as soon as its counter is sighted. Sighting rolls are made in secret by the controlling player, who then looks at the chart and tells his opponent what type of unit, if any, he would see. When rolling for a fake, the controlling player always claims to have rolled an unsuccessful spotting check. The great drawback is that both players know when they've been sighted and when their fakes are gone. It also looks boring on the table until most of the real models are sighted.

Single sided Games: In gamemastered games, sometimes it may be useful to have all the players on one side. The gamemaster then plays all the forces on the other side. This is especially useful in commando raids, bunker assaults, and any game where one side is static and may not be fun to play. Gamemasters of these games should take care to keep their forces' actions as random and realistic as possible. Single sided games will not work if the players perceive that the enemy is using knowledge it should not have, whether this perception is accurate or not.

Double Blind Play: Double blind is a great way to give players the ultimate in Limited Intelligence on the game table. Double blind games are games with two identical tables in different rooms. They require a GM and a double set of terrain and a double set of figures and models for both sides. Although this may seem daunting, it is actually quite easy to do, and it is surprising how even a small group of gamers can come up with enough figures for a large game.

Sighting: In a double blind game, each side is assigned to a different table. On one side should be the Axis player with all of his forces and all the terrain he is aware of. The Axis player moves his forces on the table in the normal turn sequence and does normal sighting checks. Whenever an Allied figure or model is spotted, that piece is placed on the Axis table in its position. Do not tell the Allied player his piece has been spotted. The Allies have their own table, showing all of their own models and any Axis pieces they have spotted. In all other respects, double blind games are exactly like single table games.
Set Up: If care is taken in setup, double blind games are easy to run and very exciting to play. Separate rooms are not even necessary, a sheet or partition will do. And, identical figures are not necessary. Using US troops on the Allied table and British or Russian on the Axis is fine, so long as the Axis player knows. In some games they need not even be told that. For example, on the morning of June 6, '44, there is no need to tell the Germans if they are facing US, UK, or Partisan forces. The terrain does not even need to be exact to the inch, just close.
Running the Game: When measuring LOS (Line of Sight) and range, always work from the attacker's table. This will settle most arguments. And never explain anything. Simply tell the players what they see and what happens. Players will always question the GM, but never answer them other than to say that you know the rules and everything was taken in to account. If you make a mistake, don't tell anyone. Simply, fix the mistake on whichever table it occurred, if possible. If a mistake cannot be fixed, ride through it and apologize if caught. It is just a game and the goal is for both sides to have fun, not to comment on the GM's style or ability.

Scenario Design

There are two basic approaches to designing your own scenario; taking a historical action and making it into a scenario, or taking your scenario idea and placing it in a historical context. In scenario design everyone will have their own taste, and their own balance of history and game balance.

Historical Battle: When starting with a historical situation, research the number of units, the types of units, and from your reading try to gather as much as possible about the troop qualities and specific equipment of the participants. Also pay as much attention as possible to the terrain and deployment of the opposing forces. Fill in any gaps with research that is general to the front and time of the encounter. Endeavor to make the scenario as fair as possible within its historical context, no one wants to play the Germans in the Falaise Pocket; unless they are playing one small group of Germans with a chance of breaking out without being savaged by artillery and airstrikes. Tailor the scenario to be realistic and fair. And remember, history is replete with "what if?"

Game Idea: When taking a game idea and placing it in a historical context, begin simple, by placing it on a front. From there research a specific time and campaign. History is full of nameless villages and short intense firefights that were never recorded in history books, but were of great importance to the men involved. Feel free to take any situation you can imagine, place in the appropriate place and time, and say it takes place at Village R, or Hill 737. World War II lasted for six years by official count and involved millions of men on six of the seven continents. Chances are that if you can imagine it something very similar actually happened in World War II. Truth truly is stranger, and more exciting, than fiction. Example: In Guy Sager's autobiography The Forgotten Soldier, Sager rarely knew where he was or what unit he was facing. But Sager remembered fine details about a number of engagements that, though part of a larger campaign, made no difference to anyone except him, his squad, and their Russian opposites. Guy Sager was one of millions of men on all fronts with similar experiences.

Have Fun: Regardless of the method you choose, try to remember that Battleground World War II is primarily a game, not a simulation. Although we feel the rules do simulate well the diverse elements of skirmish level combat in the 1930's and 40's, the intent is to make a fun game, not a rigid following of history.

Scenario Orders and Forces

Each scenario below is printed in the source as a pair of order sheets (one per side), each with a map on the back. The maps (a key of Field, Light Woods, Tree, 1 Level House, 1 Level Hill, Bocage & Road, Rubble, a grid scale, and each side's start line) are pictures and could not be recovered; the orders and forces are transcribed below. "ML" is the figure's Morale Level (and Leadership modifier where shown, e.g. ML 12-1).

Give Me Shelter

Russian orders. Date: February 3, 1942. Location: Outside Moscow, Russia. Background: Your squad is separated from its parent division and lost on the steppes of Russia. Running low on provisions and without shelter you do not expect to live through the night. In the distance you see a lone cabin, your only hope for survival. But, you also see a small group of gray clad figures moving towards this shelter from the West. Orders: You must capture the cabin. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available (enter on board Turn 1):

Game 1: One squad of Regular infantry: 1 Squad Leader with TT33 and PPSh-41 (ML 12-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with PPSh-41 (ML 11); 1 Gunner with DP (ML 10); 1 Asst Gunner with Mosin-Nagant (ML 10); 6 Riflemen with Mosin-Nagant (ML 10). All squad members carry 2 grenades.
Game 2: One squad of Regular infantry, as described in Game 1. One Maxim 1910 HMG with 3 Regular crew (ML 10). All crew carry a Mosin-Nagant and no grenades.
Game 3: Two squads of Regular infantry, as described in Game 1. One Maxim 1910 HMG as described in Game 2. One 50mm RM obr. 40 mortar with 3 Regular crew (ML 10). All crew carry a Mosin-Nagant and no grenades.

Rules tips: 1. In Game 1, pay close attention to individual and squad Morale rules, in Infantry page 2. 2. In Game 2, make note of Special Fire modes, especially Pinning Fire in Infantry page 11. 3. Rules for the Mortar are covered in the Artillery section. Only the rules for On-Table Artillery will apply. Artillery page 2.

Note: This scenario is intended to introduce players to the rules a step at a time. By adding elements one by one in a single exciting setting, players will be able to assimilate the rules easily. Play these scenarios over and over until you feel you have a good understanding of the infantry and infantry weapons rules.

German orders. Date: February 3, 1942. Location: Outside Moscow, Russia. Background: Your squad is separated from its parent division and lost on the steppes of Russia. Running low on provisions and without shelter you do not expect to live through the night. In the distance you see a lone cabin, your only hope of survival. But, you also see a small group of brown clad figures moving towards this shelter from the East. Orders: You must capture the cabin. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available (enter board on Turn 1):

Game 1: One squad of Regular infantry: 1 Squad Leader with P-08 and MP-40 (ML 12-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with MP-40 (ML 11); 1 Gunner with MG-34 LMG (ML 10); 1 Asst Gunner with Kar 98k (ML 10); 6 Riflemen with Kar 98k (ML 10). All squad members carry 2 grenades.
Game 2: One squad of Regular infantry, as described in Game 1. One MG-34 HMG with 3 Regular crew. All crew carry Kar 98k and no grenades.
Game 3: Two squads of Regular infantry as described in Game 1. One MG-34 HMG as described in Game 2. One 50mm leGrW 36 with 3 Regular crew. All crew carry a Kar 98k and no grenades.

Rules tips and Note: as on the Russian sheet (the German sheet cites Infantry page 2, Infantry page 11 and the Artillery section's On-Table Artillery rules).

High Noon

American orders. Date: June 23, 1944. Location: Near St. Lo, France. Background: A lone Sherman tank is separated from his company and attempting to return to friendly lines. Moments ago the commander sighted a German Mark IV. Both tanks immediately drove for cover in the bocage. Now you must get past the enemy tank and exit the opposite table edge. Orders: Return to friendly lines by crossing the opposite table edge. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available (enter on board Turn 1):

Game 1: One M4 Sherman tank with Regular crew (ML 12); AAMG M2HMG .50 cal (15 or less); unlimited HE and AP rounds; d6 Smoke rounds; vehicle Smoke Launchers (15 or less).
Game 2: One M4 Sherman tank as described in Game 1. One M3 halftrack, AAMG M2HMG .50 cal (12 or less). One squad of Regular infantry: 1 Squad Leader with Colt 1911A1 and Thompson M1 (ML 12-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with M3A1 Grease Gun (ML 11); 1 Gunner with BAR (ML 10); 1 Asst BAR Gunner with M1 Garand (ML 10); 1 Bazooka Gunner with BAZ 44 (ML 10); 1 Bazooka Loader with 5 HEAT rockets and M1 Garand (ML 10); 4 Riflemen with M1 Garand (ML 10). All squad members carry 2 grenades.

Rules tips: 1. In Game One roll to check the availability of vehicle Smoke Launchers and AAMG before starting play. 2. In Game Two pay close attention to the rules for Man vs Tank in the Infantry section. 3. In Game Two remember the driver for the halftrack must come from the Infantry squad.

Note: This scenario is intended to introduce players to the Armor rules a step at a time. Play Game 1 as many times as desired to get a good feel for armored combat. Then run Game 2 to introduce halftracks and Man vs. Tank rules. Play game 2 as much as desired to get a good feel for combined arms.

German orders. Date: June 23, 1944. Location: Near St. Lo, France. Background: A lone Mk IV H tank is separated from his company and attempting to return to friendly lines. Moments ago the commander sighted an American Sherman. Both tanks immediately drove for cover in the bocage. Now you must get past the enemy tank and exit the opposite table edge. Orders: Return to friendly lines by crossing the opposite table edge.

Forces available (enter on board Turn 1):

Game 1: One Mk IV H with Regular crew (ML 12); MG-34 AAMG (15 or less); unlimited HE and AP rounds; d6 Smoke rounds; Vehicle Smoke Launchers (15 or less).
Game 2: One Mk IV H tank as described in Game 1. One Sdkfz 251 halftrack, MG-34 Hull MG (12 or less). One squad of Regular infantry: 1 Squad Leader with P-38 Walther and MP-40 (ML 12-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with MP-40 (ML 11); 1 Gunner with MG-34 LMG (ML 10); 1 Asst Gunner with Kar 98k (ML 10); 1 Panzerjaeger with panzerschreck (ML 10); 1 Panzerschreck loader with 5 HEAT rockets and Kar 98k (ML 10); 4 Riflemen with Kar 98k (ML 10). All squad members carry 2 grenades.

Rules tips and Note: as on the American sheet.

Russian Gold

German orders. Date: September 14, 1942. Location: Stalingrad, Russia. Background: After weeks of brutal, close quarters fighting your platoon has settled into a defensive line within the ruins of the city. A Russian platoon has set up its line just two blocks away. The "dead zone" between you is dominated by a large building. You have just received word that that building is a bank and may be full of valuables. Orders: You must capture the bank. To capture the bank you must have figures in the building and there can be no Russian figures in the building at the end of the game. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available: A platoon of the 711th Infantry Division, 6th Army. Deploy within your defensive zone at the beginning of the game.

Three squads of Veteran infantry, each squad includes: 1 Squad Leader with P-08 and MP-40 (ML 14-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with MP-40 (ML 13-1); 1 Gunner with MG-34 LMG (ML 12); 1 Asst Gunner with Kar 98k (ML 12); 6 Riflemen with Kar 98k (ML 12). All squad members carry 4 grenades.
One Veteran platoon headquarters: 1 Platoon Leader with P-08 and MP-40 (ML 15-2); 1 Platoon Sergeant with P-08 and MP-40 (ML 14-1); 1 Grenadier with Kar 98k and 4 rifle grenades (ML 12); 1 Medic with P-08 and no grenades (ML 14); 1 MG-34 MMG with 3 crew and no grenades (ML 12). All headquarters personnel carry 4 grenades.
One Veteran sniper team: 1 Sniper with Kar 98k with scope (ML 14); 1 Observer with MP-40 and binoculars (ML 14).

Special Rules: 1. No Quarter is in effect. Any figure who would Surrender will go Fanatic instead. 2. Ignore the medic if not using the I'm Hit! rule. 3. All figures may begin moving at the top of turn 1.

Russian orders. Date: September 14, 1942. Location: Stalingrad, Russia. Background: After weeks of brutal, close quarters fighting your platoon has been taken out of reserve and pushed into the front. A German platoon has set up its line just two blocks away. The "dead zone" between you is dominated by a large building. You have just received word that that building is a bank and may be full of valuables. Orders: You must capture the bank. To capture the bank you must have figures in the building and there can be no German figures in the building at the end of the game. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available: A rifle platoon of the 10th NKVD Division, 62nd Army. Deploy within your defensive zone at the beginning of the game.

Three squads of Veteran infantry, each squad includes: 1 Squad Leader with TT33 and PPSh-41 (ML 14-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with PPSh-41 (ML 13-1); 1 Gunner with DP (ML 12); 1 Asst Gunner with Mosin-Nagant (ML 12); 6 Riflemen with Mosin-Nagant (ML 12). All squad members carry 4 grenades.
One Veteran platoon headquarters: 1 Platoon Leader with TT33 and PPSh-41 (ML 15-2); 1 Platoon Sergeant with TT33 and PPSh-41 (ML 14-1); 1 Rifleman with Mosin-Nagant (ML 12); 1 Medic with TT33 and no grenades (ML 14); 1 Maxim HMG with 3 crew and no grenades (ML 12). All headquarters personnel carry 4 grenades.
One Veteran sniper team: 1 Sniper with Mosin-Nagant with scope (ML 14); 1 Observer with PPSh-41 and binoculars (ML 14).

Special Rules: as on the German sheet.

To the Front

American orders. Date: 0642, July 8, 1944. Location: Near St-Fromond Eglise, France. Background: After the American forces broke out of the bocage country they were able to move out into more open terrain. This terrain was more suitable to mobile tank fighting. As your platoon of Shermans advances you encounter a platoon of Mk IVHs coming into your sector. Orders: You must engage and destroy the enemy tank platoon. The platoon is destroyed when all of the enemy vehicles are Brewed-Up, Abandoned, or Broken. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available: One platoon from Combat Command B, 3rd Armored Division. Move onto own table edge on turn 1.

Three M4 Sherman tanks with Regular crew (ML 12); AAMG M2HMG .50 cal (15 or less); unlimited HE and AP rounds; d6 Smoke rounds; vehicle Smoke Launchers (15 or less).
One M4 Sherman tank with Regular crew, Tank Leader (ML 14-1); AAMG M2HMG .50 cal (15 or less); unlimited HE and AP rounds; d6 Smoke rounds; vehicle Smoke Launchers (15 or less).

Special Rules: 1. Check for each vehicle to determine if it has an operational gun stabilizer.

German orders. Date: 0642, July 8, 1944. Location: Near St-Fromond-Eglise, France. Background: After the American forces broke out of the bocage country they were able to move out in to more open terrain. This terrain was more suitable to mobile tank fighting. As your platoon of Mk IVHs advances in a counterattack you encounter a platoon of Shermans coming into your sector. Orders: You must engage and destroy the enemy tank platoon. The platoon is destroyed when all of the enemy vehicles are Brewed-Up, Abandoned, or Broken. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available: One platoon from the 2nd SS Division, "Das Reich" attached to the 257th Fusilier Battalion of Battle Group "Heintz". Move on to your table edge on turn 1.

Three Mk IV Hs with Regular crew (ML 12); MG-34 AAMG (15 or less); unlimited HE and AP rounds; d6 Smoke rounds; vehicle Smoke Launchers (15 or less).
One Mk IV H with Regular crew, Tank Leader (ML 14-1); MG-34 AAMG (15 or less); unlimited HE and AP rounds; d6 Smoke rounds; vehicle Smoke Launchers (15 or less).

Special Rules: 1. Roll for each tank to determine if they carry schurzen or zimmerit.

Ring of Desperation

Russian orders. Date: January 14, 1943. Location: Outside Pitomnik, Russia. Background: The ultimatum given to the Germans at Stalingrad was rejected and so orders were issued to annihilate the Germans. Under the operation name 'Ring' the Russian 65th Army attacked toward Stalingrad. The operation has been only four days old and the desperation of the German soldier is apparent. The Russian forces are just a few miles from the main German airport outside Stalingrad. Orders: The forces under your command must push past any defending Germans. You must exit half of your T-34 off the opposite edge of the table. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available: Men and tanks from Russian 65th Army. Enter on Board Turn 1.

8 T-34/76 Model 1941 with Regular crews (ML 12).
2 Squads of Regular infantry each with: 1 Squad Leader with TT33 and PPSh (ML 13-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with PPSh (ML 12-1); 1 Gunner with DP (ML 10); 1 Asst Gunner with Mosin-Nagant (ML 10); 6 Riflemen with Mosin-Nagant (ML 10). All squad members carry two grenades.

Special Rules: All Russian Squads must enter the game as Riders on the T-34s. A maximum of a half squad may ride on the back of any one tank. All Russian forces must enter the west edge of the game board on Turn one.

German orders. Date: January 14, 1943. Location: Outside Pitomnik, Russia. Background: High Command has refused a Russian order that they surrender. In response the Russians are attempting to crush all Germans in the south. Under the operation name 'Ring' the Russian 65th Army attacked toward Stalingrad. The tenacious Germans of the 6th Army tried to stop the Russians from moving in any closer. It became a desperate struggle to maintain the defensive line around Stalingrad. Now the Russians are threatening to overrun the airport in Pitomnik. Orders: The forces under your command must stop the Russian advance. Destroy the majority of the Russian armor to win the game. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available: Men from the scattered units of the 6th Army.

1 Squad of Veteran engineers: 1 Squad Leader with P-38 and MP40; 1 Asst Squad Leader with MP40; 1 Engineer with Flamethrower (6 Bursts); 7 Engineers with Kar 98k. This squad has to divide between its members: 5 Teller Mines, 2 Magnetic Mines, 5 Cluster Grenades, 8 Smoke Grenades.
1 Squad of Veteran infantry: 1 Squad Leader with P-38 and MP40; 1 Asst Squad Leader with MP40; 1 Gunner with MG-34 LMG; 1 Asst Gunner with Kar 98k; 6 Riflemen with Kar 98k. This squad has to divide between its members: 5 Teller Mines, 2 Magnetic Mines, 5 Cluster Grenades, 8 Smoke Grenades.
1 MG 34 MMG with 3 Veteran crew (ML 12); all crew carry Kar 98k and no grenades.
1 Pak 40 75L anti-tank gun with 4 Veteran crew (ML 12); all crew carry Kar 98k and no grenades.

[The Morale Level values printed for the German forces, in source order, are ML 15-1, 14-1, 13, 13 (engineer squad) and ML 14-1, 13-1, 12, 12, 12 (infantry squad); their placement was scrambled in the source.]

Special Rules: The German forces may setup in foxholes and trenches. The Pak 30 [sic, as printed; the gun listed is the Pak 40] may start the game entrenched. A Teller mine may be laid as a single, hasty AT mine in front of a tank or in a close assault. In a close assault a Teller mine follows all rules for Satchel Charges.

La Neuville

American orders. Date: December 21, 1944. Location: La Neuville, Belgium. Background: To the south of Trois Point the 3d Battalion of the 505th had been deployed on a wide front which was extended still farther as its neighboring battalion concentrated at Trois Points. Near the three or four houses of the hamlet of La Neuville a bridge still spanned the Salm, covered by the 505th on the east bank. This is one of the last bridges that still spanned the Salm. It is of prime importance to demolish the bridge in order to halt the advancing Germans. Orders: The forces under your command must destroy the bridge at La Neuville and then retreat. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available: Men from 3d Battalion of the 505th Regiment.

Set up anywhere at beginning of game: One squad of Regular infantry: 1 Squad Leader with Colt 1911A1 and Thompson M1 (ML 12-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with M3A1 Grease Gun (ML 11); 1 BAR Gunner with Browning Automatic Rifle (ML 10); 1 Asst BAR Gunner with M2 Carbine (ML 10); 6 Riflemen with M1 Garand (ML 10). All squad members carry 2 grenades. Two Regular bazooka teams, each team includes: 1 Gunner with BAZ-44 and Colt 1911A1 (ML 10); 1 Loader with 6 HEAT rounds and M2 Carbine (ML 10). The bazooka teams can be attached to infantry squads. One 57L anti-tank gun with 3 Regular crew, all crew carry M2 Carbine and no grenades (ML 10). One 76L anti-tank gun with 4 Regular crew, all crew carry M2 Carbine and no grenades (ML 10).
Arriving on turn 3 on the road on the American edge: One squad of Regular engineers: 1 Squad Leader with Colt 1911A1 and Thompson M1 (ML 12-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with M3A1 Grease Gun (ML 11); 1 BAR Gunner (ML 10); 1 Asst BAR Gunner with M2 Carbine (ML 10); 6 Riflemen with M1 Garand (ML 10). All squad members carry 2 grenades. The engineers are equipped with a total of 7 Demo Packs which they can use to destroy the bridge. The engineers are transported in a truck, the driver of the truck must come from the engineer squad.

[The placement of the two squad rosters and of the "set up anywhere" and "arriving on turn 3" headings was scrambled in the source; the assignment above follows the order printed.]

Special Rules: Each engineer with a demo pack must spend a turn on the bridge to set their explosive. The engineers may try to blow the bridge at any time but will have to roll a d20 to do so. Each demo pack counts as 2 points on the d20. For example if there are 5 packs set correctly then there is a 10 or less chance to blow the bridge.

German orders. Date: December 21, 1944. Location: La Neuville, Belgium. Background: SS-Oberfuehrer Mohnke was tasked with rescuing the cut-off Peiper. Mohnke made his main effort with a westward thrust at the Salm River Line, first in the direction of Trois Point, then as a groping attempt to find some weak spot farther south. Near the three or four houses of the hamlet of La Neuville a bridge still spanned the Salm. Villagers have informed you that the bridge is being guarded by Americans who are in the process of rigging the bridge for demolition. Orders: You must capture the bridge before the Americans can destroy it. Game Length: 10 Turns.

Forces available: Men and Armor from the 1st SS Panzer Division. All forces move on to table on turn 1.

Three squads of Regular infantry, each squad includes: 1 Squad Leader with P-38 and MP-44 (ML 12-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with MP-44 (ML 11); 1 Gunner with MG-42 LMG (ML 10); 1 Asst Gunner with Kar 98k (ML 10); 6 Riflemen with Kar 98k (ML 10). All squad members carry 2 grenades. One rifleman carries a panzerfaust 60.
3 SPW 251/1 halftracks. The driver of the halftrack must come from an infantry squad.
2 PzKpfw IVH with Regular crew (ML 12).
2 PzKpfw VIB with Regular crew (ML 12).

Special Rules: 1. All Snow Banks count as rough ground. 2. Moving through a snow bank requires a Bog Check: Pz VIB 17; Pz IVH 18; Sdk 251 16.

Bloody Bocage

German orders. Date: July 27, 1944. Location: Le Lorey, France. Background: SS-Unterscharfuehrer Ernst Barkmann of the 2nd SS-Panzer Regiment found himself in the front lines of the American advance with very little support. As infantry were retreating in the face of Allied pressure Barkmann rallied a straggling squad and talked an anti-tank gun into supporting him in defending the crossroads from Le Lorey and St. Lo. With his now refurbished Panther and a small support element he was ready to meet the American Threat. Orders: You are to hold the crossroads near the Church, until reinforcements arrive. You are to defend against all attacks that are expected to come through this area. Do not allow any Allied units to capture the intersection or exit your table edge. Game Length: 11 turns.

Forces available: Elements of 4th Co. SS-Panzer Regiment 2, SS-Panzer Division Das Reich.

1 PzKpfw VG Panther with Elite crew, Tank Leader Barkmann.
2 PzKpfw VIE (l) Tigers with Elite crew (ML 15). (Historically no Tigers were present, we added them for game balance. Try the game without them if you think you're a Barkmann.)
One squad of Elite infantry: 1 Squad Leader with P-38 and MP-44; 1 Asst Squad Leader with MP-44; 1 Gunner with MG-42; 1 Asst Gunner with Kar 98k; 6 Riflemen with Kar 98k. All squad members carry 2 grenades. One rifleman carries a panzerfaust 60.
1 Pak 40 75L anti-tank gun with 4 Elite crew (ML 14); all crew carry Kar 98k and no grenades.
One team of Elite engineer tank hunters: 1 Heavy Weapon section; 1 Team Leader with MP-44 and magnetic mine; 1 MG-42 MMG with 3 Elite crew (ML 14); 1 Engineer with Kar 98k and cluster grenade (ML 14); 1 Engineer with Kar 98k and panzerfaust 60 (ML 14); 1 50mm leGrW 36 mortar with 3 Elite crew (ML 14); 1 Engineer with P-38 and panzerschreck (ML 14); 2 Elite spotters with field phone (ML 14); 1 Engineer with Kar 98k and 6 HEAT rockets (ML 14). All crew carry Kar 98k and no grenades. All team members carry 2 grenades.

[The Morale Level values printed for these forces, in source order, include ML 16-2, 15-1, 15, 14 (several), 17-2 and 14; the source layout interleaves two columns so their placement for the Panther / Tank Leader, the squad leaders and the Team Leader could not be reliably recovered.]

Special Rules: 1. All roads in this scenario are roads with bocage on both sides. All bocage rules apply, see Terrain. 2. All German forces may begin anywhere on the table. All infantry and crew weapons may be dug-in. 3. Use of Limited Intelligence, such as mapping or double blind is highly recommended.

American orders. Date: July 27, 1944. Location: Le Lorey, France. Background: Americans are trying to expand the beachhead and force a breakout. Unfortunately the hedgerow terrain in the north of France is aiding the determined German resistance. Little headway has been gained since the invasion. American forces have moved out in strength from the village of St. Lo and run into very little resistance. Hoping to break the defensive back of the Germans, the Americans pushed relentlessly forward. Orders: Troops under Allied command, are instructed to take and hold the crossroads near the Church. Military intelligence reports light resistance in the area. It is believed that this sector is held by a reconnaissance unit of the 3rd Fallschirmjager Division. In other words this should be a "milk run". Game Length: 11 turns.

Forces available: Elements of 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division with elements of 737th Tank Battalion.

2 M10 GMC with Regular crew (ML 12); unlimited AP, only d6 HE rounds.
Four squads of Regular infantry, each squad includes: 1 Squad Leader with Colt 1911A1 and Thompson M1 (ML 12-1); 1 Asst Squad Leader with M3A1 Grease Gun (ML 11); 1 BAR Gunner (ML 10); 1 Asst BAR Gunner with M1 Carbine (ML 10); 6 Riflemen with M1 Garand (ML 10). All squad members carry 2 grenades. Each squad rides in a M3 halftrack, the driver for the halftrack must be taken from the squad.
4 M4A1 Shermans with Regular crew (ML 12); unlimited AP, HE, and Smoke rounds.
Reconn. section: 2 M8 Greyhounds with Regular crew (ML 12); unlimited AP and HE rounds. 2 Jeeps each with 2 Regular crew (ML 10); M2HMG .50 cal LCMG mounted. All M8 and Jeep crew carry M3A1 SMGs and 2 grenades.
Two Regular bazooka teams, each team includes: 1 Gunner with BAZ-44 and Colt 1911A1 (ML 10); 1 Loader with 6 HEAT rounds and M1 Carbine (ML 10). The bazooka teams can be attached to an infantry squad.
4 M3 halftracks, each carries an infantry squad. Determine availability of AAMGs and Smoke Dischargers for all vehicles. Determine if the Sherman tanks have operational Gun Stabilizers.

Special Rules: 1. All roads in this scenario are roads with bocage on both sides. All bocage rules apply, see Terrain. 2. All American forces move on their table edge on turn 1. The Americans enter the board in any order they choose. 3. Use of Limited Intelligence, such as mapping or double blind is highly recommended.

Glossary

[The source glossary is an index listing each term with a page reference; page references and entries that consist only of a page reference are omitted here. Entries with a definition are given below, alphabetized.]

AAMG: Anti Aircraft Machine Gun. This weapon is located on the top of a tank turret near the commander’s cupola; designed to protect a tank from aircraft, it can be especially deadly when used against enemy infantry, lightly armored AFVs and defenses. Examples of common AAMGs include the U.S. .50 Cal. and the Soviet DDSh 12.7mm.
AC (Auto Cannon): Defined as a fully automatic main gun; generally anti-aircraft guns deployed for ground use or as automatic tank guns. This weapon is always mounted in a vehicle or on a towed mount. The German 20mm Flak 38 is a prime example.
Action: The basic time element of the game: roughly the amount of time it takes a soldier to load and fire a bolt-action rifle twice while being shot at. Each individual unit or figure gets two actions each game turn. Common actions include firing, moving, loading, etc.
AFV: Armored Fighting Vehicle. This category includes any armored vehicle including Tanks, Halftracks, SP Guns, Tank Destroyers, etc.
Ambush: A Special Fire mode that allows a figure or model to wait until an enemy piece comes in close in order to fire upon it; similar to Opportunity Fire, but with special rules in regard to range and concealment.
Anti-Personnel Mines: Mines specifically designed to explode and shoot hundreds of small pieces of metal into the air when stepped on by an enemy soldier; the German “Bouncing Betty” was a deadly and common anti-personnel mine.
Anti-Tank Guns (AT Guns): A gun designed to shoot AP shells at enemy AFVs; the German “88” was the most famous anti-tank gun of the war, though it began its career as an anti-aircraft gun.
Anti-Tank Mines: Mines specifically designed to explode when an AFV rolled over it; anti-tank mines destroyed enemy tracks and suspensions and could also injure or kill enemy crews inside an unlucky AFV. The German “Teller” mine gained the most notoriety during WWII.