Festung Europa: The Campaign for Western Europe, 1943-1945
Festung Europa: The Campaign for Western Europe, 1943-1945 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Components
- 3. Prepare for Play
- 4. Sequence of Play
- 5. Action Phase
- 6. Strategy Cards
- 7. Stacking
- 8. Movement
- 9. Combat
- 10. Redeployment
- 11. Supply
- 12. Replacements
- 13. Italy
- 14. Air Power
- 15. Infrastructure Collapse
- 16. Determining Victory
- 17. Campaign Game
- 18. Overlord Scenario
- 19. Optional Rules
- 20. Terminology and Rules Abbreviations
- Official Errata and Clarifications (August 2nd 2017)
1. Introduction
Festung Europa: The Campaign for Western Europe, 1943-1945 is a two player game simulating the Second World War in the European Theatre of Operations between the fall of Tunis in May, 1943 and the final Axis surrender in 1945. The game is based on the card system used in MMP's Shifting Sands: The Campaign for North Africa, 1940-1943, but there are many differences that need to be fully understood.
2. Components
One 22" by 34" map Two countersheets - 176 at 5/8" and 120 at 1/2" One rules booklet Two identical player reference cards Two decks of strategy cards (55 cards each) Two six-sided dice
2.1 The Game Map
The game map consists of a series of hexes superimposed on a map of the terrain over which the 1943-1945 campaigns were fought. Individual hexes contain various symbols representing different types of terrain. These are shown on the Terrain Effects Chart on the Player Aid Card.
2.2 The Playing Pieces
2.21 The game includes several different types of units. Both sides have combat units in two different sizes: corps (xxx) and armies (xxxx). In addition the Axis player has fortress units bearing the name of the hex they may occupy.
Each counter shows (full strength and reduced strength sides): Unit Size, Unit ID, Attack Factor, Unit Type, Defense Factor, Movement Factor.
Unit types: Axis combat units are Non-Mechanized Army, Mechanized Army, Non-Mechanized Corps, Mechanized Corps, Paratroop Corps, Fortress, Italian Army, Italian Corps. Allied combat units are Mechanized US Army, Non-Mechanized US Corps, Non-Mechanized Airborne Army, Mechanized BR Army, Non-Mechanized BR Corps, Non-Mechanized Airborne Corps, Mechanized FF Army, Non-Mechanized FF Corps.
2.22 Unit Abbreviations and Color References
| Counter | Nationality | Color Scheme |
|---|---|---|
| ALLIED* | ||
| BR | British | Tan/White |
| CA | Canadian | Tan/Blue |
| FF | Free French | Dark Blue/Light Blue |
| POL | Polish | Tan/Red |
| NZ | New Zealand | Tan/Green |
| US | American | Olive/White |
| AB | Allied Airborne | White/Olive & Tan |
* Canadian, Polish, and New Zealand units are considered "British". FF units are considered "American." Airborne units are treated as either Allied nationality. Waffen SS and Luftwaffe units are considered "German."
NOTE: Only units with a tank icon are considered to be "Mechanized" for game purposes. Mechanized units have certain advantages both moving and in combat.
2.23 All corps, army, and fortress counters are printed on both sides. Each side is called a step, and every counter has two steps. The front side of every counter represents the unit at full strength; the reverse side represents the unit at reduced strength. A reduced side is indicated by a colored stripe. Note that, for most units, the reduced side has weaker attack and defense values, while the movement factor is unchanged.
2.24 Non-Fortress units come in two different types: Non-Mechanized and Mechanized. All Mechanized units have a tank illustration on the counter. Mechanized units have certain advantages in both movement (8.36) and combat (9.243).
2.25 There are several types of game markers included with the game. Their use is described in the rules.
2.3 The Strategy Cards
Each Strategy Card shows: Card Value (from 1 to 4), Card Type (Combat, Event, Event + OPS, or (Allied) Invasion), Event Name, Restriction(s), Effect(s), Year and Card Number. An underlined Event name is a prerequisite for another Event. An asterisked* Event name is removed from play if played as an Event.
3. Prepare for Play
3.1 Markers
3.11 Place the Turn marker on the "Summer 1943" space on the Game Turn Track. 3.12 Place the VP "x10" marker on the "2" space on the General Records Track and the "x1" marker on the "1" space on the General Records Track. 3.13 Place the German Infrastructure "x10" marker on the "2" space on the General Records Track and the German Infrastructure "x1" marker on the "0" space on the General Records Track. 3.14 Place the Allied and Axis Hand Size markers on the "8" space on the General Records Track. 3.15 Place the Allied and Axis Action Round markers on the "1" space of the Action Round Track. 3.16 Place one Allied Airfield marker in the space provided in the United Kingdom Reserve box, and one Allied Airfield marker in the space provided in the North Africa Reserve box. 3.17 Place all other markers within easy reach of the map.
3.2 Unit Setup
Place Allied and Axis units in the hexes indicated in the Campaign Game Setup (17). Place all other units within easy reach of the map.
3.3 Strategy Cards
Each player has his own deck of 55 Strategy Cards:
- 21 cards labeled 1943
- 20 cards labeled 1944
- 14 cards labeled 1945.
Each player separates his Strategy Cards according to the year printed on the card. Only the 1943 cards are used initially. Be sure the cards are thoroughly shuffled prior to drawing the first hand.
3.31 Initial Strategy Cards
ALLIED: The Allied player must choose to start the game with either the Husky or the Roundup Invasion Event card in his hand (see 6.561). The Allied player then shuffles their remaining 1943 cards and draws an additional seven, adding them to the previously chosen card to make his initial hand.
AXIS: The Axis player must choose to start the game with any one card from his 1943 deck in his hand. The Axis player then shuffles their remaining 1943 cards and draws an additional seven, adding them to the previously chosen card to make his initial hand.
Set the cards labeled 1944 and 1945 to one side for later use.
4. Sequence of Play
Festung Europa: The Campaign for Western Europe, 1943-1945 is played in turns, each of which is sub-divided into Phases and Action Rounds which must be strictly followed in the order listed below.
4.1 Air Power Phase
Allied Airbase markers may be relocated (14.4). The Allied player then places available TAC air and SAC air markers on the Allied Air Missions chart printed on the map (14). Allied Interdiction missions are placed on the map (14.32).
4.2 Draw Strategy Card Phase
4.21 Each player draws Strategy Cards from his Draw Pile to bring his hand up to the maximum size for the forthcoming turn. The maximum hand size is as follows:
- 1943 turns: 8 cards
- 1944 turns: 9 cards
- 1945 turns: 10 cards
NOTE: This maximum hand size may be decreased by the play of certain Events and the allocation of Allied SAC Air to the Attack Industry mission (14.2). Should the Axis player play the Jet Interceptors Event to cancel an Allied Attack Industry mission the Axis player immediately draws an additional card.
4.22 If there are insufficient Strategy Cards in the Draw Pile to fill a player's hand back up to its maximum size, take all available cards. Then reshuffle the discards into a new Draw Pile and draw from this up to the maximum hand size.
4.3 Action Phase
Each Action Phase is divided into six identical Action Rounds. Each Action Round allows each player to take one action. The Axis player takes his action first in each Action Round. The players continue to alternate taking actions, advancing their markers on the Action Round Track, until each player has taken six actions.
4.4 Attrition Phase
During the Attrition Phase units are checked for attrition (11.71) and control of hexes behind enemy lines may change (11.72). The Axis attrition phase occurs at the end of the 6th Axis Action Round. Axis units are checked for attrition, and control of hexes behind enemy lines may change. The Allied attrition phase occurs at the end of the 6th Allied Action Round. Allied units are checked for attrition, and control of hexes behind enemy lines may change.
4.5 Turn End Phase
Check for Automatic Victory (16.2). If the game has not ended because of Automatic Victory or the Fall 1945 Turn End Phase advance the Turn marker to the next season on the Game Turn Track and begin the Sequence of Play again with the Air Power Phase. The Axis Action Round marker, if currently showing "RP Card Played," is flipped back to its original side. Both players also have the opportunity to discard any or all of the Strategy Cards remaining in their hand. Place discarded cards face down in the player's Discard Pile. Players may not examine each other's Discard pile.
5. Action Phase
5.1 General Rules
There are six Action Rounds per Action Phase. In each Action Round, each player is allowed to take one action.
5.11 The Axis player conducts the first action of each Action Round.
5.12 Each player must take one of two possible actions:
EITHER
A. Play a Strategy Card, and decide to do ONE of the following options: Play the card for Operations, Redeployment, Replacement Points, or as an Event and following the directions given on the card.
OR
B. Not play a Strategy Card. A player who does not play a Strategy Card must take an Automatic Operation as if playing a Strategy Card with a value of one for Operations Points.
5.13 Players advance their Action Round maker along the Action Round Track (advancing from "1" to "2", "2" to 3", etc.) to indicate which Action Round they have completed.
5.14 Players continue to alternate taking actions until each player has taken six actions.
6. Strategy Cards
6.1 General Rules
Players initiate all actions, including movement and combat, through the play of Strategy Cards. Exception: Automatic Operations (5.12B).
6.11 Each player begins the game using only his 1943 Strategy Cards. His 1944 and 1945 cards are added per rule 6.7.
6.12 Each Strategy Card has a point value ranging between 1 and 4, and may be used in one of four possible ways:
- Operations Points (Called "OPS")
- Redeployment Points (Called "RD")
- Replacement Points (Called "RP")
- As an Event
Each card may only be used one way each time it is played. Exception: Certain Strategy Cards have the words "Event + OPS" printed at the top of the card. These Strategy Cards may be used as an Event and OPS card simultaneously in the same Action Round. After a Strategy Card is played for OPS, RD, RP, or as an Event it is removed from the players hand and placed in his Discard Pile, face down. Exception: 6.52.
6.2 Operations
6.21 If a Strategy Card is played as an OPS card, the player is allowed to spend a number of activation points equal to the value of the card. Note: A minimum of one friendly unit in a hex is required to activate that hex.
6.22 A hex costs the same number of activation points whether it is activated for movement or combat. Exceptions: 11.52; 11.61,
6.23 Each hex may be activated for either movement or combat, but not both. A "Move" or "Attack" marker should be placed on each hex as it is activated. Note: Mechanized units may potentially move and attack in the same Action Round (8.36).
6.24 Only friendly hexes may be activated. Move and Attack markers may never be placed on hexes containing enemy units. Movement markers may be placed in The United Kingdom, North Africa, Eastern Front, and Balkans Front boxes just as if they were friendly hexes for a single OPS point.
6.241 After all activated hexes are marked the Active Player conducts movement of all units in hexes marked with a Move marker. Units in a hex marked for movement are not required to move at all. Move markers are removed as each hex is activated for movement.
6.25 After all movement is completed the Active Player conducts any combat that he wishes to initiate from hexes marked with an Attack marker. At least one unit must attack and resolve combat. Attack markers are removed as each combat is resolved.
6.26 Axis Mechanized units may not attack Allied Beach Head hexes in France before play of the Rommel Event. Exception: this restriction is lifted for the rest of the game if the Allied player plays the Roundup Invasion.
6.3 Redeployment
6.31 If a Strategy Card is played as an RD card, the player may use Redeployment to move Non-Mechanized and Mechanized units, as well as Allied Airfield markers (10.2). Fortress units may not use RD movement. There is no restriction on the number of Action Rounds a player may play Strategy Cards for Redeployment.
6.32 The player receives a number of RD points equal to the value of the card.
6.33 The rules governing Redeployment movement are detailed below (10).
6.4 Replacement Points
6.41 If a Strategy Card is played as a RP card, the player may immediately spend a number of replacements equal to the value of the card. There is no restriction on the number of Action Rounds a player may play Strategy Cards for Replacements.
6.42 After the first time the Axis player plays a Strategy Card for replacements flip his Action Round marker to its "RP card played" side. Each additional time the Axis player plays a Strategy Card for Replacement Points subtract 1 Victory Point on the General Records Track. This penalty applies for the rest of the current Turn. Note: A Strategy Card Event that gives the German player replacements does not count towards this Victory Point penalty.
6.43 The rules governing the expenditure of Replacement Points are detailed below (12).
6.5 Events
6.51 If a Strategy Card is played as an Event, the instructions on the card must be followed. Allied Invasion events have an associated marker that is placed on the Game Turn Track. Events that change the VP level also have an associated marker that may be put on the Game Turn Track or kept in front of the side that played the Event.
6.511 The name immediately over each photo is that Strategy Card's Event Name. An underlined Event Name indicates that Event is a prerequisite for play of another Event.
6.52 If a Strategy Card marked with an asterisk (*) is played as an Event, permanently remove that card from the game after completion of the Action Round it was played. The card is not removed from the game if played as an OPS, RD, or RP card.
6.53 Certain Events introduce new units (reinforcements) into play. There is no limit to the number of reinforcement events a player may play in the same turn. Note: Reinforcement Events are separate and distinct from the play of Strategy Cards for Replacement Points. A player may play a Strategy Card as a Reinforcement Event and play cards for RP in the same turn.
6.54 Allied reinforcements may be placed into any of the following locations: the United Kingdom Reserve box, the North Africa Reserve box, or any Beach Head hex with an Allied control marker. Allied reinforcements may also be placed in an Allied-controlled Paris.
6.55 Axis reinforcements may be placed in the OKW Reserve box, any national capital, or any urban-industrial hex in Germany. Note: There are no Italian reinforcements in the game.
6.56 The Allied player may play one Invasion Event per turn. Exception: The Avalanche Invasion may be played any Action Round after every hex in Sicily is Allied-controlled. At the time an Invasion Event is played, place the marker with the corresponding name on the Game Turn Track as a reminder that the invasion has occurred that turn.
6.561 The Allied player may play either the Husky or Roundup Invasion Event but never both during a single game.
6.562 An Invasion Event may not be played during a winter turn. Exception: The Shingle Invasion may be played during a winter turn.
6.563 The Anvil-Dragoon invasion may be played at any time beginning with the Fall 1944 turn.
6.564 All of the units specified on the Invasion Event Strategy Card must be used in that invasion.
6.6 Combat Cards
6.61 Combat Cards are a special form of Event that may be played immediately prior to combat resolution. The Attacker must play first, followed by the Defender. Combat Cards are the only cards that may be played during the opponent's Action Round.
6.62 Combat Cards are placed face up on that player's side of the map, and may influence combats in later Action Rounds during the same turn (9.25). Exception: A few Combat Cards, such as Severe Weather, are discarded after the current Action Round.
6.63 At the end of each Action Phase, all Combat Cards that were played must be placed in that player's Discard Pile.
6.7 Deck Management
6.71 At the start of the Winter 1944 Draw Strategy Card Phase each player adds his 1944 cards to his Draw Pile and reshuffles his Draw Pile and his Discard Pile together to form a new Draw Pile. His Draw Pile will now consist of his 1944 cards and any 1943 cards that have not been permanently removed.
6.72 At the start of the Winter 1945 Draw Strategy Card Phase each player adds his 1945 cards to his Draw Pile and reshuffles his Draw Pile and Discard Pile together to form a new Draw Pile. His Draw Pile will now consist of his 1945 cards and any 1943 and 1944 cards that have not been permanently removed.
7. Stacking
7.1 Stacking Limits
7.11 Three units, regardless of type or size, may stack in one hex. Exceptions: up to five Allied units may stack together in a Beach Head hex. There is no limit to the number of units that may stack in the United Kingdom and North Africa Reserve boxes, the Eastern Front and Balkans Front boxes, and the OKW Reserve Box.
7.12 Allied and Axis units may never stack together.
7.13 Stacking limits are in effect at all times except during RD and movement, including during retreat movement that occurs as a result of combat resolution (9.46). If any hex is overstacked at the end of RD, movement, or retreat, units in excess of the stacking limit are eliminated. The owning player decides which units are eliminated in this fashion.
7.14 Units of different nationalities (2.22) controlled by one player may stack together and activate for movement and combat without additional OPS costs. Exception: Activation of Allied units if Coalition Strife is in effect.
8. Movement
8.1 When Units May Move
8.11 Combat units may move when their hex is Activated for movement during an Operation or Event. Remove Move markers as each hex is Activated for movement. Note: Treat the United Kingdom Reserve box, North Africa Reserve box, Eastern Front box, and Balkans Front box as "hexes" for purposes of movement. A Move marker placed in these boxes activates any and all units in the box for movement (only).
8.2 Movement Costs
8.21 All hexes cost one movement point to enter, regardless of the terrain type. Units may never move more than their printed Movement Factors in a single Action Round.
8.3 Movement Restrictions
8.31 Movement must be from hex to hex. Hexes may not be skipped. Units may never enter a hex containing an enemy combat unit. Units may never enter partial hexes or hexes lacking a name printed inside them. Axis units may not enter Allied Beach Head hexes unless an Invasion Event has placed an Allied control marker in that Beach Head.
8.32 Allied units (only) may move directly to/from the United Kingdom Reserve box and any adjacent Beach Head hexes. Exception: if the Allied player plays the Roundup Event they may only use Redeployment movement (10.0) to move between the United Kingdom Reserve box and any Beach Head hexes. This restriction is lifted at the start of Game Turn 3.
8.33 Allied units (only) may move directly to/from the North Africa Reserve box and any adjacent Beach Head hexes.
8.34 Axis units (only) may move directly to/from the Eastern Front box and any adjacent hexes.
8.35 Axis units (only) may move directly to/from the Balkans Front box and any adjacent hexes.
8.36 Non-Mechanized units may move through, but not end their movement in, a hex with an Attack marker.
8.37 Mechanized units may move through a hex with an Attack marker. Mechanized units may not create Attack markers when they have completed their move, but may attack as part of an already placed Attack marker. If they do this they lose their Move marker and are considered activated for combat instead. Note: This is the only case in which a unit may both move and attack in the same Action Round.
8.38 Hexes color-coded in red (example: Breslau and Danzig) represent the historical Soviet occupation zone. After play of the Tehran Event by the Allied player his units may not enter these hexes. After play of the Enemy at the Gates Event by the Axis player these hexes are off-limits to both players.
8.4 Zones of Control (ZOC)
8.41 The following units have Zones of Control when in either Limited Supply or Full Supply (11.51):
- Mechanized Armies
- Mechanized Corps
NOTE: These units are easily recognized by the tank illustration on the counter. No other units have Zones of Control.
8.42 Zones of Control extend into all adjacent hexes, including Beach Heads. Exceptions: ZOC do not extend between the Kristiansand hex in Norway and the Hirtshals and Viborg hexes in Denmark. Allied ZOC do not extend into either the Eastern Front or Balkans Front boxes, nor do Axis ZOC extend into either the United Kingdom Reserve or North Africa Reserve boxes. ZOC do not extend over prohibited hex sides (printed in red).
8.43 Moving units must stop upon entering an enemy ZOC. Units may not move directly from one enemy ZOC to another or retreat or trace supply through an enemy ZOC. Friendly units negate enemy ZOC for retreat and supply only.
9. Combat
9.1 General Rules
Only combat units in a hex Activated with an Attack marker may initiate combat. Remove Attack markers as each combat is resolved.
9.11 During combat the Active Player is called the Attacker and the non-Active player is called the Defender.
9.12 Each combat may involve only one defending hex. Any number of units in adjacent hexes under an Attack marker can combine to participate in the same attack.
9.13 Activated units in a single hex do not have to participate in the same combat; they can attack different adjacent hexes.
9.131 German Mechanized units may not participate in an attack on an Allied Beach Head hex in France unless the Rommel Event has been played.
9.14 Each unit may participate in only one attack per Action Round. A unit's Attack Value may not be divided between multiple combats.
9.15 Units with an Attack Value of "0" may attack by themselves or with other units. If they attack with other units they will add nothing to the Attack Value (9.23) of the attack but they can absorb losses. If they attack by themselves the attack is resolved on the 1:3 column.
9.16 Only attacking units participating in a combat may take losses or advance. If there are non-participating units in the attacking hex, they are not allowed to take losses or advance.
9.17 Units of different nationalities on the same side may attack in the same combat only if one of the attacking hexes contains units of both nationalities. Only one attacking hex needs to meet this requirement; other hexes involved in the same attack may contain units from any of the nationalities in the multi-national hex.
9.2 Combat Resolution
9.21 Combat Resolution Sequence
- Designate the Combat
- Determine the Combat Odds
- Apply Column Shifts
- Play and Select Combat Cards
- Determine Results a. Take Losses b. Determine Combat Winner c. Retreats and Post-Combat Advance
9.22 Designate the Combat: The Attacker designates which units are attacking the defending hex.
9.23 Determine the Combat Odds: The Attacker adds up the Attack Factors of his attacking units to determine the Attack Value (AV) of his attack. The Defender adds up the Defense Factors of his defending units to determine the Defense Value (DV) of his defense. Figure the ratio of the AV to the DV on the Combat Results Table (CRT). Fractions are always rounded in favor of the Defender, i.e. downwards. Odds greater than 7:1 are resolved on the 7:1 column; odds of less than 1:3 are resolved on the 1:3 column.
9.24 Apply Column Shifts: There are four ways the combat odds may be shifted.
9.241 The Allied player may at his option place available TAC Air Ground Support (14.31) and SAC Air Carpet Bombing (14.22) missions. These always increase the combat odds.
9.242 Column shifts are then applied using the Terrain Effects Chart (TEC). These always decrease the combat odds.
9.243 If friendly units under an Attack marker contain at least one Mechanized unit, and the hex they are attacking does not contain any enemy Mechanized or Fortress units, shift one column to the right.
9.244 If the Allied player attacks a hex containing the Hitler marker shift one column to the left.
9.245 Out of Supply (OOS) units under an Attack marker shift one column to the left.
9.25 Play and Select Combat Cards: The Attacker may play any one Combat Card whose conditions are met by the combat. In addition, the Attacker may elect to use any eligible Combat Cards in front of him. After the Attacker plays and selects all his Combat Cards, the Defender has the opportunity to play and select Combat Cards using the same procedure outlined for the Attacker. OOS units may not receive the benefits of any Combat Card.
9.26 Determine Die Roll Modifier (drm): Each player examines his played Combat Cards to determine the final drm for this combat. This step is conducted separately and simultaneously.
9.261 Any attack made by the American 7th Army receives a +1 drm in addition to any positive modifiers for Combat Cards played or selected by the Allied player. This modifier is canceled by Axis play of Patton Sacked. After Allied play of Patton Reinstated the American 3rd Army receives the same +1 drm for the rest of the game.
9.262 Any Allied attack from Norway to Denmark, and from Denmark to Norway, suffers a -2 drm in addition to any negative modifiers for Combat Cards played or selected by the Axis Player.
9.263 Any Allied attack made entirely across Rhine River (dark blue) hexsides suffer a -2 drm in addition to any negative modifiers for Combat Cards played or selected by the Axis player. This is in addition to the one column shift for the river hexside. After Allied play of the Rhine Bridgehead Event the -2 drm is canceled for the rest of the game.
9.27 Determine Results: The Attacker rolls a die, modified by the drm, and consults the Combat Results Table. A die roll of less than "1" is treated as a "1" and a die roll greater than "6" is treated as a "6". The first of the two numbers is the number of step losses inflicted on the Attacker, and the second of the two numbers is the number of step losses inflicted on the Defender. Excess losses, if any, are ignored.
9.3 Taking Losses
9.31 Both the Attacker and the Defender must now apply their combat losses. The Attacker applies his losses first, followed by the Defender. Losses are taken by flipping full strength units to their reduced side and/or eliminating reduced strength units. Eliminated units are removed from the map.
9.32 A reduced strength Army that is eliminated may be replaced immediately in its current hex by either a full or reduced strength Corps of the same nationality from a reserve box. Exception: The Allied 1st Airborne Army may only be replaced by the Allied Airborne Corps.
9.321 An Allied Army tracing supply to an "Overlord" or "Roundup" Beach Head hex may be replaced with a Corps in the United Kingdom Reserve box.
9.322 An Allied Army tracing supply to any other Beach Head hex may be replaced with a Corps from the North Africa Reserve box.
9.323 A German Army may be replaced with a Corps in the OKW Reserve box. German Corps in the Eastern Front box or the Balkans Front box may not replace a Germany Army.
9.34 The following units may not be replaced by a Corps after elimination: German Fortress units and Italian armies.
9.35 Any Corps may replace any Army of the same nationality without restriction.
9.36 Replacing an eliminated Army with a Corps is entirely voluntary. There is no penalty for failing to do so, and eliminated Army units are immediately eligible to be re-created with Replacement Points (12.4).
9.4 Retreats
9.41 Determine Combat Winner: The player who inflicts the higher number of step losses wins the combat. If both players inflict the same number of step losses neither player has won the combat.
9.42 If the Attacker wins the combat all defending units that survived the combat must retreat, regardless of the number of step losses removed by each side. Attacking units never retreat, even if they lose the combat.
9.43 If the Defender has lost the combat his units must retreat a number of hexes equal to the difference in step losses in the combat. The first hex of a retreat must be in the direction of a friendly supply source (Allied: 11.2; Axis: 11.3). If the number of step losses was equal neither side advances nor retreats.
9.44 Units may choose not to retreat under certain circumstances.
9.441 Units in Alpine, Forest, Marsh, and Mountain hexes may choose not to retreat by taking one additional step loss. Axis units stacked with a Fortress unit may choose not to retreat by taking one additional step loss.
9.45 Allied units in a Beach Head hex adjacent to the United Kingdom Reserve box or the North Africa Reserve box may retreat to that reserve box. Retreating in this manner satisfies any number of hexes the Defender was required to retreat.
9.46 Units that retreat:
- May not enter a hex containing an enemy unit
- May retreat through a hex in violation of stacking limits, but may not end their retreat overstacked.
- Must retreat through friendly-controlled hexes if possible; if not possible they may retreat into empty enemy-controlled hexes (they do not gain control of enemy-controlled hexes they retreat through; they do gain control of enemy-controlled hexes they end their retreat in).
- Must end their retreat in supply if possible.
- May not retreat back to the original defending hex.
- May not end their retreat adjacent to the original defending hex if retreating more than one hex.
- May not retreat through an enemy ZOC.
- May retreat to different hexes when more than one unit is retreating.
- May not retreat into hexes which the unit could not legally move into; if forced to do so eliminate the unit instead.
- May not, if Axis, retreat into the Eastern Front Box or the Balkans Front box.
9.47 Units that can neither perform a required retreat, nor ignore the retreat, are eliminated instead.
9.48 If defending units retreat into a hex that is attacked later in the same Action Round, they do not add their Attack Factor to the Combat. In addition, if at least one step loss is inflicted by the Attacker, immediately eliminate the already retreated units. They do not count towards fulfilling step losses.
9.49 Retreating from a hex does not cause control of that hex to change to the other side, unless the Attacker advances into the vacated hex (9.56).
9.5 Advance After Combat
9.51 If the Attacker has won the combat his units may, after the defender has retreated, advance a number of hexes equal to the difference in step losses in combat. The first hex of an advance must always be the hex originally occupied by the Defender.
9.52 Advancing units must stop upon entering an Alpine, Forest, Marsh, or Mountain hex. Advancing units must stop on entering an enemy ZOC. They may not move from one enemy ZOC to another. Allied units must always stop upon exiting a Beach Head hex.
9.53 After play of an Invasion Event Allied units may advance one hex if there is a vacant hex adjacent to that Beach Head hex (See 8.31).
9.54 After play of an Invasion Event Axis units may advance into a Beach Head hex containing an Allied control marker.
9.55 Advancing units may not enter a hex containing enemy units.
9.56 Advancing units gain control of any hex they enter.
10. Redeployment
10.1 Redeployment (RD) is used to move a unit long distances through friendly-controlled hexes, or to/from a reserve box, the Eastern Front box, or the Balkans Front box.
10.2 A unit may RD each time a player plays a Strategy Card for Redeployment Points. The number of Redeployment points available in an Action Round is equal to the value of the Strategy Card played (between 1 and 4). It takes one point to move one full or reduced strength Corps, or an Allied Airfield marker. It takes three points to move one full or reduced strength Army or the Hitler marker (16.41).
10.3 Redeployment points may be split up among different nationalities and hexes as the player sees fit.
10.4 Units may RD by land from their hex to any other friendly-controlled, supplied hex. The route between the two hexes may only enter friendly-controlled hexes. A unit must end its Redeployment immediately upon entering an enemy Zone of Control.
10.5 Units may also RD by sea from one friendly-controlled port hex to another friendly-controlled port hex. Units that RD by sea must start and end their movement in friendly-controlled port hexes.
10.51 Axis units in the ports of Bergen, Stavanger, and Oslo may only RD to the ports of Copenhagen, Kiel, and/or Bremen.
10.52 Axis units in ports bordering the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea may not RD to Ports in the Mediterranean Sea and vice versa.
10.6 No unit may RD more than once in each Action Round. A unit may not combine land (10.4) and sea (10.5) Redeployment in the same Action Round. Fortress units may not Redeploy. OOS units may not Redeploy.
10.7 Allied units may RD directly to/from the United Kingdom Reserve box and the North Africa Reserve box. They may also RD to/from either Reserve box and an Allied-controlled Beach Head or port hex.
10.8 German units may RD to/from the Eastern Front box, the Balkans Front box, and the OKW Reserve box. They may also RD to/from the Eastern Front box, the Balkans Front box, and the OKW Reserve box and any in-supply Axis-controlled hex. Italian units may RD to/from the Balkans Front box. They may also RD to/from the Balkans Front box and any in-supply Axis-controlled hex (subject to rule 13).
10.9 The Allied Airborne Corps and the Allied 1st Airborne Army have a special Redeployment capability. These two units (only) may Redeploy to/from the United Kingdom Reserve box and any in-supply Allied-controlled hex.
11. Supply
11.1 Supply Determination
Units must be in supply to perform most actions. Supply is determined:
- at the instant of activation for movement, combat, Redeployment, or using Replacement Points,
- during combat for the Defender,
- during the Attrition Phase for each side.
11.2 Allied Supply Sources
11.21 The Supply Sources for all Allied units are the United Kingdom Reserve box and the North Africa Reserve box. In addition, Paris and Naples act as Allied supply sources so long as they are Allied-controlled.
11.3 Axis Supply Sources
11.31 The Supply Sources for German units are the urban-industrial hexes in Germany. These are Berlin, Breslau, Munich, and The Ruhr.
11.32 Salzburg becomes a Supply Source for German units (only) after play of the Alpenfestung Event.
11.33 The Supply Source for Italian units before Italian Surrender (13.2) is Rome.
11.34 Milan becomes a Supply Source for Italian units (only) after play of the Italian Social Republic Event.
11.4 Tracing Supply
11.41 To be in supply, units must trace supply through any number of friendly-controlled hexes to a Supply Source. Supply must be traced across hexes that the tracing unit could legally enter.
11.42 Units may not trace supply through an enemy-controlled hex, whether that hex is enemy-occupied or not.
11.43 Units may trace supply to a friendly-controlled port hex, and then directly to a Supply Source. Units may also trace supply to a friendly-controlled port hex, and then overland to a Supply Source. No more than two ports may be involved in tracing a Supply line. Note: Allied units may not trace supply through an Allied-controlled Antwerp hex port unless The Scheldt hex is also Allied-controlled.
11.44 After play of an Invasion Event the Beach Head hex containing the marker with the same name as the Strategy Card is considered an Allied-controlled port hex.
11.45 Units unable to trace supply are Out of Supply (OOS).
11.5 Supply Status
11.51 Supply Status is measured by the distance a unit is from a friendly Supply Source. Units that are up to three hexes from either a friendly Supply Source or a port that can trace directly to a friendly Supply Source are in Full Supply. Units in Full Supply cost one OPS per hex to Activate for both movement and Combat. Exception: Allied units if Coalition Strife is in effect.
11.52 Units that are more than three hexes from a friendly Supply Source or that trace supply via a friendly-controlled port or ports are in Limited Supply. Units in Limited Supply cost one OPS per unit in the hex to Activate under an Attack marker (not for a Move marker). The full cost to Activate the hex must be paid, or the Attack marker may not be placed.
11.53 Supply status may change by play of certain Event cards.
11.6 Out of Supply (OOS) Penalties
11.61 Units that are OOS cost 1 OPS per unit, not per hex, to activate for both Movement and Combat.
11.62 OOS units may not use Redeployment movement.
11.63 OOS units receive a one column shift to the left when attacking (9.245). OOS units may not receive the benefits of Combat Cards when either attacking or defending.
11.64 OOS units may not take Replacements.
11.7 Attrition
11.71 Units that are OOS during their side's Attrition Phase are eliminated. Exception: A friendly-controlled hex which contains a friendly Fortress unit is not eliminated.
11.72 During the Attrition Phase, any vacant hex which if it were a friendly combat unit would be eliminated for being OOS, becomes enemy-controlled.
12. Replacements
12.1 Replacement Points (RP)
A player receives Replacement Points by playing a Strategy Card and announcing he will be conducting a Replacement Point Action Round. Replacement Points, once acquired, must be spent immediately. Replacement Points may not accumulate from Action Round to Action Round or turn to turn. Any Replacement Points not spent are lost.
12.2 Replacement Costs
Replacement costs are the same for both sides and for every nationality. It costs the following to replace steps:
- Replace a Corps step: 1/2 (one-half) RP
- Replace an Army or Fortress step: 1 (one full) RP
12.3 Re-creating Units
An eliminated unit may be recreated at either reduced or full strength in a single Replacement Point Action Round.
12.31 Recreated Allied units may be placed in the United Kingdom Reserve box, North Africa Reserve box, or any Allied-controlled Beach Head hex.
12.32 Recreated German units may be placed in the OKW Reserve box, Eastern Front box, Balkans Front box, or any Supply Source in Germany (11.31).
12.33 Recreated Italian units may be placed in the Balkan Front box or any urban-industrial hex in Italy. After play of Italian Social Republic recreated Italian units must be placed in Milan. Note: See 13.3.
12.34 Some units may never take Replacements. These are marked with a black dot on the right hand side of the unit counter.
12.4 Replacement Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to the spending of RP:
- After Italian Surrender (13.2) the Axis player may not spend RP to rebuild Italian Corps until play of the Italian Social Republic Event.
- The Axis player may spend a maximum of two RP per Replacement Point Action Round on Mechanized and Luftwaffe units. This limit increases to three after play of the Production Miracle Event. This restriction does not apply to Axis events granting the Axis player RP.
- German Fortress units may not take Replacements if an Allied unit is present in an adjacent hex. Once eliminated German Fortress units may not be recreated.
13. Italy
13.1 Before Italian Surrender
Prior to Italian Surrender, Italian units may operate in Sicily/Italy, hexes adjacent to Italy, the islands of Corsica/Sardinia, and the Balkans Front box. If forced to retreat into any other hex that Italian unit is eliminated. German army units may not enter hexes in Italy/Sicily south of the Arno River until play of the Italian Disarmament Event.
13.2 Italian Surrender
Italian Surrender is triggered at the end of any Allied Action Round that the Allies control at least eight (8) hexes in Sicily/Italy. Remove all Italian units from the map.
13.3 After Italian Surrender
After Italian Surrender Italian units may not be rebuilt. When the Italian Social Republic Event is played Italian Corps may be rebuilt at a rate of one each turn for the remainder of the game. Italian Armies may not be rebuilt after Italian Surrender.
14. Air Power
14.1 Marker Placement
During the Air Power Phase the Allied player assigns his SAC markers to SAC missions and his TAC markers to TAC missions. These markers are placed directly on the Allied Air Missions Chart printed on the map.
14.2 Strategic Air Power (SAC)
The Allied player begins the game with the two SAC markers (UK BC; US 8th AF). A third SAC marker, the US 15th AF, is available as an Allied reinforcement. SAC markers may be assigned to the following missions:
| SAC Mission | Effect |
|---|---|
| Attack Industry | Each SAC marker performing this mission reduces the maximum Axis hand size by one during the Draw Strategy Card Phase (4.2). |
| Attack Infrastructure | Each SAC marker performing this mission decreases the German infrastructure total on the General Records Track by one (15.1). |
| Attack Oil Production | Each SAC marker performing this mission decreases the value of an Axis RP Action Round during the current turn by one. |
| Carpet Bombing | Shift one Allied attack 3R. May modify an attack made by any Allied nationality. |
14.21 The Allied player may assign a maximum of one SAC marker to any single SAC mission in 1943, up to two SAC markers to any single SAC mission in 1944, and any number of their SAC markers to any single mission in 1945.
14.22 Carpet Bombing missions are placed on the map after the Attacker has designated the hex he is attacking (9.241). Simply pick up the SAC marker and place it on top of an Attack marker. Carpet Bombing missions may combine with the effects of Air Superiority to give an Allied attack both a 3R shift and a +1 drm. A maximum of one Carpet Bombing may occur each Action Round. A Carpet Bombing mission may not modify an attack in combination with a TAC Ground Support mission. After modifying combat that SAC marker is removed from the map and returns to play during the next Air Power Phase.
14.3 Tactical Air Power (TAC)
The Allied player begins the game with all four TAC air markers (US-A; US-B; UK-A; UK-B). TAC markers may be assigned to the following missions:
| TAC Mission | Effect |
|---|---|
| Ground Support | Shift one Allied attack 1R - may be used once each Action Round. May only shift an attack made by a unit of the same nationality. Maximum of two shifts (one US, one UK) per attack. Airborne units may act as either nationality. |
| Interdiction (Strafe) | Axis units may not Redeploy into any hex within four hexes of an Allied interdiction marker. Axis Zones of Control within four hexes of an Allied interdiction marker are also canceled. |
14.31 Ground Support missions are placed on the map after the Attacker has designated the hex he is attacking (9.241). Simply pick up the TAC marker and place it on top of an Attack marker. A Ground Support marker may be placed in any hex adjacent to either the United Kingdom Reserve box or the North Africa Reserve box, or within three hexes of an Airfield marker. Ground Support missions may combine with the effects of the Air Superiority Event to give an Allied attack both a 1R shift and a +1 drm. A Ground Support mission may not modify an attack in combination with a SAC Carpet Bombing mission. After modifying combat that TAC marker is removed from the map and is eligible to modify combat again in future Allied Action Rounds.
14.32 Interdiction missions are placed on the map at the end of the Air Power Phase. They may be placed on top of any permanent Airbase or Airfield marker on the map. They remain on the map until the end of the Action Phase. After the end of the Action Phase any TAC marker performing the Interdiction mission is removed from the map and returns to play during the next Air Power Phase. When tracing Interdiction range do not count the hex with the Airbase marker but do count Beach Head hexes.
14.4 Allied Airfields
The Allied player has two permanent Airbases, one in the United Kingdom Reserve box and one in the North Africa Reserve box. The Allied player also has two mobile Airfield markers. Airfield markers may move at the start of the Air Power Phase before markers are allocated. They may also relocate using Redeployment (10.2). Movement may be to any Allied-controlled hex not adjacent to an Axis unit. If a hex containing an Allied Airfield marker is occupied by an Axis unit pick up the marker and place it in the nearest Allied-controlled Beach Head hex, the United Kingdom Reserve box, or the North Africa Reserve box (Allied player's choice).
15. Infrastructure Collapse
15.1 The state of the Axis war economy is kept track of using the "German Infrastructure" markers on the General Records Track (see 3.13). German Infrastructure may be reduced in the following ways:
- Allied Strategic Bombing,
- Allied Event Cards,
- Loss of Industrial Centers.
Each Allied SAC marker in the map's "Attack Infrastructure" mission box at the end of the Air Power Phase reduces German Infrastructure by one.
The following Allied Event cards reduce German Infrastructure by one: Hamburg Firebombing and each play of Dambusters.
The following Allied Event cards reduce German Infrastructure by two: Strangle, Thunderclap.
Allied capture of any Industrial Center hex reduces German Infrastructure by one. The loss is permanent even if that hex is subsequently recaptured by the Germans.
15.2 When the German Infrastructure reaches zero (0) the Axis war economy has collapsed. Infrastructure Collapse:
- Cancels/Prevents play of Production Miracle, Panzer Refit, Synthetic Fuel Reserves, V-1 Buzzbombs, V-2 Rockets, and Electro U-Boats Unleashed,
- Reduces Axis hand size permanently by two,
- Subtracts 1 VP for all future Axis RP Action Rounds.
16. Determining Victory
16.1 Victory Points
Victory is determined by the position of the Victory Point markers on the General Records Track.
The Victory Point total changes in one of three ways:
- When control of a Victory Point hex changes,
- Through the play of certain Strategy Cards,
- Axis RP card play (see 6.42).
When the Axis player gains a Victory Point immediately increase the VP level on the General Records Track by one. When the Allied player gains a Victory Point immediately decrease the VP level on the General Records Track by one.
16.2 Automatic Victory
ALLIED: The Allied player wins an Automatic Victory if the VP total is 0 during the Victory Determination Phase of any turn. He also wins an Automatic Victory if he controls the Berlin hex (only possible after Allied play of the Stalin Betrayed Event) and the Hitler marker has been eliminated.
AXIS: If the Allied player began the game by playing the Husky event the Axis player wins an Automatic Victory if he controls Marseilles, Paris, and Rome hexes at the end of the Fall 1944 turn. If the Allied player began the game by playing the Roundup event the Axis player wins an Automatic Victory if he controls Marseilles, Oslo, and the Ruhr hexes at the end of the Spring 1944 turn.
16.3 Campaign Game Victory
The campaign game ends if a player achieves an Automatic Victory, or at the end of the Fall 1945 Turn. In the latter case the Axis player wins if the Allied player has failed to achieve an Automatic Victory by the end of the last turn. There are no draws.
16.4 Hitler
16.41 The Hitler marker starts in the Berlin hex. The marker may not move except by Redeployment (RD), and may only relocate between German supply sources. Play of certain Event Cards may eliminate the Hitler marker (16.43).
16.42 The Hitler marker does not count towards stacking. In combat it shifts an Allied attack one column to the left.
16.43 The Hitler marker may be permanently eliminated from play in one of four ways:
- If any Allied unit occupy its hex.
- The marker is present in the Berlin hex when the Fall of Berlin Event is played by the Allied player.
- As the result of a successful Allied die roll after play of the Valkyrie Event.
- As the result of Axis play of the Hitler Dies Event.
16.44 If the Hitler marker is not eliminated by the die roll from the Allied Valkyrie Event the Axis VP penalty for the following events increases from one (1) to two (2): Orders from Berlin, Disaster in the East, Disaster in the Balkans, Mincemeat. This increased penalty is canceled after play of the Hitler Dies event.
17. Campaign Game
17.1 Game Length
The Campaign Game begins with Turn 1 (Summer 1943) and ends with Turn 10 (Fall 1945) or Automatic Victory (16.2).
17.2 Set Up
The Allied player sets up first. Units with a stripe are set up reduced.
Note on the set-up tables below: the printed rulebook shows these as counter pictures. They are listed here as location, unit, and the three printed values Attack-Defense-Movement. (Mech) marks a counter showing a tank. The "stripe" (reduced-side) marking is a visual feature of the counters and is not reproduced; use the printed set-up page.
ALLIED SET UP
- North Africa Reserve Box: BR Corps (Mech) 2-2-3; NZ Corps 1-1-3; US Corps (Mech) 2-2-4; US Corps (Mech) 2-2-4; AB (Airborne) Corps 1-2-2; FF Corps 1-1-3; POL Corps 1-1-3.
- UK Reserve Box: BR Corps (Mech) 2-2-3; BR Corps 1-1-3; BR Corps 1-1-3; BR Corps 1-1-3; US Corps (Mech) 2-2-4; US Corps (Mech) 2-2-4; CAN Corps (Mech) 2-2-3; POL Corps 1-1-3.
AXIS SET UP
- OKW Reserve Box: GE Corps 2-2-4.
- Norway: Bergen - Fortress 0-3-0; Oslo - GE Corps 2-2-4.
- Denmark: Copenhagen - GE Corps 1-1-4.
- Netherlands: Amsterdam - GE Corps 1-1-4.
- Germany: Berlin - GE Corps 1-1-4, Fortress 0-3-0 and the Hitler marker; Aachen - Fortress 0-2-0; The Eifel - Fortress 0-1-0; The Saar - Fortress 0-2-0; Freiburg - Fortress 0-1-0.
- France: Brest - Fortress 0-2-0; Bordeaux - 1st Army 2-3-3; Falaise - 7th Army 2-3-3; Paris - GE Corps 1-1-4; Amiens - SS Pz Corps (Mech) 3-3-4; Ostend - 15th Army 4-4-3; Channel Ports - Fortress 0-4-0; Avignon - GE Corps (blue counter, Luftwaffe) 1-2-4; Marseilles - 19th Army 2-3-3; Toulon - IT 4th Army 2-3-3; Corsica - IT 5th Army 2-3-3.
- Italy: Milan - GE Corps (blue counter, Luftwaffe) 1-2-4; Oristano - GE Corps 1-1-4; Verona - 14th Army 3-3-3; Ferrara - 10th Army 3-3-3; Cassino - Fortress 0-1-0; Pescara - Fortress 0-1-0; Messina - GE Corps 1-1-4; Rome - IT 7th Army 2-3-3; Trento - GE Pz Corps (Mech) 2-2-4; Trieste - IT Corps 1-1-3; Naples - IT Corps 1-1-3; Taranto - IT 8th Army 2-3-3; Trapani - IT Corps 1-1-3; Enna - GE Pz Corps (Mech) 2-2-4; Palermo - GE Corps 1-1-4; Gela - IT 6th Army 2-3-3; Syracuse - IT Corps 1-1-3.
- Balkans Front Box: GE Corps 2-2-4; IT Corps 1-1-3; IT Corps 1-1-3; IT Corps 1-1-3.
- Eastern Front Box: EMPTY.
(Italian armies 4th through 8th carry the black dot meaning they may never take Replacements, 12.34.)
17.3 Special Scenario Rules
None, but see 3.31.
18. Overlord Scenario
18.1 Game Length
The Overlord Scenario begins with Turn 4 (Spring 1944) and ends with Turn 10 (Fall 1945) or Automatic Victory (16.2).
18.2 Set Up
The Allied player sets up first. Units with a stripe are set up reduced.
18.3 Special Scenario Rules
The Victory Point total at scenario start is 18. The Axis Infrastructure total at scenario start is 15. The following cards begin the scenario already in the Discard Pile: U-Boat Offensive; Anti-Submarine Warfare. Both players shuffle their remaining available 1943 and 1944 decks together. The Allied player must begin the scenario with the Overlord Event card in his hand, in addition to eight other cards. The Axis player may elect to begin the scenario with V-1 Buzzbombs Event card in his hand, in addition to eight other cards. Note: The Axis draw may be smaller depending on the number of SAC markers allocated to the Bomb Industry mission by the Allied player during the Air Power Phase.
18.4 Cards Permanently Removed
- Allied: 1, 5, 6, 12, 13, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 33
- Axis: 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 20
18.5 Game Turn Track Event Markers
- Turn 1: Husky; Avalanche; Fuhrer Directive 51; Eiche
- Turn 2: Vemork Raid -1 VP; Speer; Italian Social Republic
- Turn 3: Shingle; P-51 Mustangs, Argument, Rommel
ALLIED SET UP (Overlord Scenario)
- North Africa Reserve Box: US 7th Army (Mech) 3-3-4; US Corps (Mech) 2-2-4; BR Corps (Mech) 2-2-3.
- UK Reserve Box: BR Corps (Mech) 2-2-3; CAN Corps (Mech) 2-2-3; US Corps (Mech) 2-2-4; POL Corps 1-1-3; AB (Airborne) Corps 2-2-2; Allied Airfield marker.
- Italy: Rome - US 5th Army (Mech) 3-3-4; Pescara - BR 8th Army (Mech) 3-3-4; Termoli - POL Corps 1-1-3 and NZ Corps 1-1-3; Cassino - FF Corps 1-1-3.
- Foggia: Allied Airfield marker.
- Allied control markers, 1 in each location: Vesuve (Beach Head), Oristano, Corsica, Olbia, Cagliari, Shingle (Beach Head), Anzio, Avalanche (Beach Head), Naples, Foggia, Auletta-Potenza, Bari, Brindisi, Taranto, Pizzo, Corligliano-Calabro, Messina, Enna, Palermo, Trapani, Prizzi, Gela, Syracuse, Husky Beach Heads (both).
AXIS SET UP (Overlord Scenario)
- OKW Reserve Box: GE Corps 2-2-4.
- Norway: Bergen - Fortress 0-3-0; Oslo - GE Corps 2-2-4.
- Denmark: Copenhagen - GE Corps 1-1-4.
- Netherlands: Amsterdam - Fortress 0-2-0.
- Belgium: The Scheldt - Fortress 0-2-0.
- Balkans Front Box: GE Corps 2-2-4.
- Italy: Milan - IT Corps 0-1-3; Grosseto - 14th Army 3-3-3 and GE Pz Corps (Mech) 2-2-4; Perugia - 10th Army 3-3-3.
- Germany: Berlin - Fortress 0-3-0 and the Hitler marker; Aachen - Fortress 0-3-0; The Eifel - Fortress 0-2-0; The Saar - Fortress 0-3-0; Freiburg - Fortress 0-2-0.
- Eastern Front Box: SS Pz Corps (Mech) 4-3-4.
- France: Brest, St. Nazaire, Bordeaux, Cherbourg - Fortress 0-2-0 each; Rennes - GE Corps (blue counter, Luftwaffe) 2-3-4; La Rochelle - 1st Army 2-3-3; Falaise - 7th Army 3-3-3 and GE Pz Corps (Mech) 3-3-4; La Havre (Le Havre) - Fortress 0-2-0; Channel Ports - Fortress 0-4-0 and 15th Army 4-4-3; Amiens - GE Pz Corps (Mech) 3-3-4; Paris - GE Corps 1-1-4; Narbonne - GE Corps 1-1-4; Brussels - SS Pz Corps (Mech) 3-3-4; Avignon - 19th Army 2-3-3; Marseilles - Fortress 0-2-0.
19. Optional Rules
19.1 Optional Axis Card Draw
During the Winter 1944 Draw Strategy Card Phase the Axis player may elect to add any one 1943 or 1944 card to his hand before shuffling and drawing the remainder of his cards. Design Note: The most essential Axis Strategy Card Event to select at this stage of the game would be Forced Labor. After that the next most valuable Strategy Card Event would be Atlantic Wall (Static Divisions). During the Winter 1945 Draw Strategy Card Phase the Axis player may elect to add any one card to his hand before shuffling and drawing the remainder of his cards.
19.2 Optional Allied Card Draw
During the Winter 1944 Draw Strategy Card Phase the Allied player may elect to add any one 1943 or 1944 card to his hand before shuffling and drawing the remainder of his cards. Design Note: The most essential Allied Strategy Card Event to select at this stage of the game would be the Overlord invasion. During the Winter 1945 Draw Strategy Card Phase the Allied player may elect to add any one card to his hand before shuffling and drawing the remainder of his cards.
19.3 Play Balance Options
19.31 Antwerp Supply. Beginning the turn after The Scheldt and Antwerp hexes are Allied-controlled the Allied player receives two additional Move/Attack markers every Action Round that he plays a Strategy Card for OPS or Event + OPS. Balance: Strongly Pro-Allied.
19.32 Disbanding Volkssturm Units. During any Axis Action Round in 1945 the Axis player may announce his Volkssturm are being incorporated into the regular German Army. The effects of the Volkssturm Event are permanently canceled. The German player receives four (4) free Replacement Points, which may be spent immediately to flip any reduced German unit on the map. The RP may not be spent on Mechanized or Luftwaffe units. Points not spent are lost. Disbanding is considered an Axis RP Action Round, but there is never a VP penalty regardless of other events in play. Balance: Strongly Pro-Axis.
19.33 Increased War Crimes Penalty. The Victory Point penalties for the Allied Event War Crimes Uncovered are doubled, i.e. 2 VP if Force Labor has not been played by the Axis player and 4 VP if it has been. Balance: Moderately Pro-Allied.
19.34 Oil Field Mission Priority. The Allied player may not assign more than one SAC marker to the Attack Oil mission until the Fall 1944 game turn. Balance: Moderately Pro-Axis.
19.35 Unrestricted TAC Ground Support. The Allied player may place up to three TAC Ground Support markers on a single Attack marker instead of two. Nationality restrictions (14.3) still apply; to place three markers the attacking hex or hexes would have to contain at least one UK and one US unit. Balance: Slightly Pro-Allied.
19.36 The Abbey at Cassino. If the Allied player uses a SAC marker to conduct a carpet bombing mission during an attack on the Cassino hex add 1 VP. Penalty applies only to the first carpet bombing. Balance: Slightly Pro-Axis.
19.37 Industrial Center Losses. Reduce the Axis Maximum Hand Size by one for each Urban-Industrial Center in Germany under Allied control. Balance: Slightly Pro-Allied.
19.38 Winter Turn Restrictions. The Allied player may not place more than one TAC Ground Support marker per Attack marker instead of two. If used in conjunction with optional rule 19.35 overrules that rule during winter turns. Balance: Slightly Pro-Axis.
19.4 Alternate Overlord Invasion Sites
Players wishing to explore Overlord invasion sites that were historical possibilities but not included in the game may opt to include the following as additional choices in addition to the Overlord invasion hexes printed on the map:
- Norway: Place the Overlord invasion units in the Roundup invasion hex opposite Bergen.
- The Netherlands: Place the Overlord invasion units adjacent to Amsterdam and The Scheldt. The invasion "hex" here is opposite Amsterdam only. Units may not attack or move into The Scheldt.
Players should note neither of these options were playtested and there is no promise of balanced results.
19.5 Tournament Bidding
Either the Campaign Game or the Overlord Scenario may be used for tournament play.
19.51 Players should bid VP to determine sides. Each player rolls a die. Player with the high die declares a side he wishes to play AND the amount of VP he will "cede" to the opposing player. Bids must be in whole numbers and a player may bid zero. The opposing player may either accept the bid, and thus play the other side, or bid a higher VP number to play the same side. Bidding ends when one player accepts the opposing player's bid. The VP total is adjusted at the BEGINNING of the game to match the number of ceded points.
20. Terminology and Rules Abbreviations
(Asterisk): If a Strategy Card marked with an asterisk is played as an Event, the card is permanently removed from the game after the Action Round in which it was played. It is not removed from the game if used as an OPS, RD, or RP card.
Activated: When a hex has had its movement or attack Activation cost paid during an Action Round, all the units in the hex are considered Activated and conduct the action indicated on the Activation marker. Note: Activated Mechanized units can both move and attack in the same Action Round.
Active Player: The player taking an action during his part of the Action Round. During combat the Active Player is also the Attacker, while his opponent is the Defender.
Army District: Hexes in France, Belgium and the Netherlands with the numbers 1, 7, 15 or 19 printed in blue. German units in an Army District hex can have their movement and attack capabilities restricted by Allied play of the Fortitude event.
Attack Factor (AF): The first (leftmost) number below the unit symbol. This is the numerical measure of a unit's ability to conduct offensive actions and inflict damage.
Attack Value (AV): The sum of all the Attack Factors participating in a single attack.
Card/Event Name: Each Strategy Card is named to describe the event or action that it represents. If the name is underlined it indicates that Event is a prerequisite for another Event.
Combat Card: Combat Cards are a special type of Event that are played during the Combat Phase. Note: For simplicity the rules refer simply to Combat Cards rather than Combat Card Events.
Control: Each hex on the map is at all times controlled by either the Allied or the Axis player. At the beginning of the Campaign Game all hexes on the map are Axis-controlled. A hex controlled by you is considered friendly. A hex controlled by your opponent is enemy. Control of a hex changes to the enemy when an enemy unit enters it, or the hex becomes Out of Supply.
Defense Factor (DF): The second of the three numbers below the symbol. This is the numerical measure of a unit's ability to conduct defensive actions and resist damage.
Defense Value (DV): The sum of all the Defense Factors participating in a single attack.
Draw Pile: The deck of Strategy Cards a player draws his cards from during each Draw Strategy Card Phase.
Discard Pile: The collected Strategy Cards that the player has previously played for Operations, Redeployment, Replacements, and as Events (other than "*" Events), or removed from their hand at the conclusion of the Turn End Phase.
Die roll modifier (drm): A drm is a number that is added to, or subtracted from, a specified roll of the die.
Full Supply: The supply status of combat units within three hexes of a Supply Source.
Limited Supply: The supply status of combat units that are more than three hexes from a Supply Source.
Mechanized: An Army or Corps whose primary form of transportation consists of vehicles.
Movement Factor (MF): The third (rightmost) of the three numbers below the symbol. The number of contiguous hexes a unit may enter during a single Action Round when Activated for movement.
Non-Mechanized: An Army or Corps whose primary form of transportation consists of marching and draft animals.
Operations Value (OPS): The Number of Activation Points that a player may spend to place Move and/or Attack markers during an Action Round.
Out of Supply (OOS): A unit is OOS when it cannot trace a Supply Line to a friendly Supply Source. An OOS unit suffers several restrictions, and in most cases is eliminated during the Attrition Phase if still OOS.
Redeployment (RD): An Action Round where the value of the Strategy Card is used to move units great distances within friendly territory.
Replacement Points (RP): Replacement Points are used to rebuild reduced strength units and to recreate eliminated units.
Strategy Card: The cards used in the game. Each Strategy Card has a point value ranging between one (1) and four (4). These points may be used for their Operations Value, or for Redeployment, or for Replacement Points during a single Action Round.
Supply Line: A string of contiguous friendly-controlled hexes or ports leading from a unit to a Supply Source.
Supply Source: A hex on the map from which a Supply Line originates.
Victory Point (VP) Hex: Any hex whose name is printed in yellow. When control of these hexes changes, the VP markers are adjusted on the General Records Track.
Zone of Control (ZOC): The ability of combat units to project their influence into adjacent hexes. Not all units have a ZOC (see 8.41).
Official Errata and Clarifications (August 2nd 2017)
The following is the publisher's official Errata/Clarifications sheet dated August 2, 2017, which amends the rules above. Where it conflicts with the rules text or the set-up pictures above, this sheet governs.
Official Errata/Clarifications
MAP
- The hex in northern Italy should be spelled "Parma" rather than "Palma".
- The Bremen hex is a port hex.
- Movement between Gela and Prizzi is prohibited.
COUNTERS
- The La Rochelle fortress counter is placed on the map, reduced side up, at the same time as other German fortress units when the Forced Labor event is played. Apparently it was not included on the card. It sets up at full strength in the Overlord scenario.
- Ignore the "-1 VP" on the one side of the Yalta event marker as well as the "+1 VP" on the one side of the Autumn Mist event marker. These are from an earlier version of the game.
RULES
- To clarify rule 6.24 amend it to read "Only friendly occupied hexes may be activated. Move and Attack markers may never be placed in vacant hexes or in hexes containing enemy units."
- In 2.22 CAN and POL units are not the colors indicated in the rule. These were the colors of the playtest units. These Commonwealth units are the same exactly color of other British units. Similarly IT units are not light and dark green, they are simply light green (although the reduced side stripe is dark green).
- Refer to rule 14.2 for the availability of the Allied SAC and TAC markers at the start of the game. They are considered among the "other markers" mentioned in rule 3.17.
- The only reference to the effect of the Wehrkreis (W) spaces on the map is found on Axis Card #41.
- 17.2 Campaign Game - Axis Set Up, Balkans Front Box: There are four Italian units and no German corps.
PLAYER AID CARD
- Ignore the reference to rule 9.264 on the Terrain Effects Chart. There may have been such a rule at one time but it is not present in the rules.
- The text "German Army Group" ought to be "Germany Army District."
CARDS
- Allied Card #42, Montgomery (Veritable), is an Event like Cobra and Diadem, not an Event+OPS.
- Allied Card #46, No Retreat, should have an asterisk next to the event name. The card is permanently discarded after it is played as the event.
- Allied card #49, FDR Dies, should be underlined, because it is a prerequisite for play of Stalin Betrayed. In fact that is the only function of the card, per the printed text.
OVERLORD SCENARIO (clarification)
In rule 18.4 there should be two additional Axis cards permanently removed.
- Axis Reinforcements card #18. The counter mix suggests it, but the card ought to have been listed.
- Italian Social Republic #21. Rule 18.5 mentions the marker being placed on the Game Turn Track and there is a reduced Italian unit that sets up in Milan, but the card ought to have been listed.
In rule 18.5 the "Argument" event is listed as having been played. This marker should be in its holding box on the map, not on the Game Turn Track (though it really doesn't make much of a difference so long as you know the event has been played).
Given that Italy has surrendered you may safely assume that all Italian armies have been eliminated and permanently removed from play.
Given the placement of Allied control markers you may safely assume the Axis fortress units that set up in the Cassino and Pescara hexes have been eliminated and permanently removed from play.
The following are not mentioned in the opening setup. They are considered eliminated and may be rebuilt at the start of play:
- British: 3 Corps.
- American: 2 Corps.
- Italians: 7 Corps.
- Germans: 3 Infantry Corps, 1 Airborne Corps.
Any remaining units enter the game through the play of their reinforcement cards.
AUTOMATIC VICTORY (clarification)
To gain an auto-victory the Axis player must control all three hexes in both situations (Husky or Roundup invasions). Allied control of even one prevents auto-victory. The Allies do not have to control all three!
VICTORY CONDITIONS (correction)
The crossed text below is deleted from the rules:
Victory Conditions (16.2): ALLIED: The Allied player wins an Automatic Victory if the VP total is 0 during the Victory Determination Phase of any turn. He also wins an Automatic Victory if he controls the Berlin hex (only possible after Allied play of the Stalin Betrayed Event) and the Hitler marker has been eliminated.
More Official Clarifications
RP EVENTS VS. RP ROUNDS (clarification)
It's important to be able to distinguish between these.
At the start of play: The Axis player gets one free RP Action Round per turn. The second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth time they conduct an RP Action Round during the same turn subtracts one victory point (-1 VP). So if the German player played six consecutive RP Action Rounds in a Turn they would have lost five (5) victory points.
After Infrastructure Collapse is triggered: Same as before, but now even the first RP Action Round subtracts a victory point, so using the same example the German player would subtract six victory points (-6 VP) instead of the just mentioned five.
Axis Events that say "Play for Replacement Points" never subtract victory points. They are Speer, Panther Brigades, Production Miracle, and Bottom of the Barrel.
There are also Axis events that act as quasi-replacements that never subtract victory points as well. They are: Atlantic Wall (Static Divisions) and Panzer Refit.
SUPPLY RULES (clarification)
Rule 11.43 defines whether or not a unit is in supply. As in, in supply or out of supply. That is why rule 11.45 follows it. Having defined when a unit is in supply in rule 11.43 the latter rule covers any other case: when a unit is Out of Supply. If it is out of supply a number of penalties, found in 11.6, apply.
The issue here is not distance but rather whether or not there is a path.
Rules 11.51 and 11.52 define supply for purposes of activation and combat, whether or not a unit is in supply or Out of Supply.
The issue here is not a matter of a path (unless the unit is Out of Supply - then 11.6 comes into play) but rather the distance.
It is very easy to be in Limited Supply. An Allied unit in Toulouse in southern France can trace supply back to Cherbourg, for example, and from Cherbourg to the Supply Source in the UK Reserve Box. But the unit is well beyond the range of being in Full Supply.
Now let's suppose the Allies have captured Bordeaux. An Allied unit in Toulouse may trace supply back to Bordeaux, for example, and from Bordeaux back to the Supply Source in the UK Reserve Box. That unit is in Full Supply. Similarly, let's suppose that Bordeaux is not Allied-controlled but Marseilles is. That Allied unit in Toulouse could trace supply to Marseilles, and from Marseilles to the Supply Source in the North Africa Reserve Box. That unit is also in Full Supply.
Questions and Official Answers
Q: 3.31: Opening hand card choices are secret or open? A: 3.31 - secret, absolutely.
Q: 3.31 and 4.1 and 4.21: Does Turn 1 SAC reduce opening Axis hand size? A: Turn 1 is no different than the other nine turns in the game so, yes.
Q: Rule 6.25 states, in part: "At least one unit must attack..." Does this mean at least one unit from each hex marked for attack or at least one unit from any hex marked for attack? I assume the latter. A: At least one unit from each hex with an attack marker must make an attack.
Q: 6.42: Just to be clear, the 1st Axis play of a card for an RP doesn't cost a VP UNTIL Infrastructure Collapse (15.2) when EVERY Axis RP play costs a VP. Do I have that correct? Also, there isn't a 2 VP penalty for 2nd and subsequent Axis RP plays after Collapse, correct? (No where does it say whether 6.42 and 15.2 are cumulative or not.) A: You have it correct. The first Axis RP play is a "freebie" (flip the German Action Round marker to its "RP Card Played" side to indicate it). It's not easy to reach infrastructure collapse but, should it happen, then yes you are correct. It's a 1 VP penalty each and every time the Axis conducts an RP Action Round, including the first.
Q: 6.55 - The text says: "Axis reinforcements may be placed in the OKW Reserve box, any national capital, or any urban-industrial hex in Germany." Can a "national capital" be ANY controlled national capital (i.e. Paris, Brussels, Oslo...) or should it be inside Germany (only Berlin)? A: Any means any. The wording is literal.
Q: 6.56 Are invading units activated to attack or move when the invasion event is played, or are they merely placed on the beachhead? A: Merely placed.
Q: 8.31 - If the Germans move into a beach head hex that was invaded (changing control), and the Allies then regain control via an attack from land, does the beach head become usable again for RD by sea? A: Yes, because it would now have an Allied control marker again.
Q: 8.32 / 8.33 - Is there an MP cost of '1' or 'all' when moving from a reserve box to a beachhead or other map hex? In other words, when moving onto the "map" can a unit keep moving? (By "map" I mean the hex part, clearly.) A: The units may keep on moving. They would only have to stop if one was using Redeployment (RD) movement and, for example, moving from a friendly port to another friendly port.
Q: 8.32 - Can the Allies use regular movement from the Great Britain or North Africa reserve boxes through an adjacent beach head hex if that hex was never invaded? How about if it was invaded, but later taken back by the Axis? A: No. No (assuming it lacks an Allied control marker).
Q: 8.32 / 8.33 - May Allied units on the map be activated and move to a Reserve Box through an active Beachhead and directly from that Reserve Box back to the map through another active Beachhead? I.e. Husky Beachhead -> North Africa Reserve Box -> Avalanche Beachhead. A: In essence you're asking if movement under 8.32 and 8.33 may be combined. The rules do not forbid it so yes. Once you figure how to crack the "nut" at Messina you'll never be doing this. As you noted the Axis player was acting too aggressively down in the "toe" of Italy.
Q: 8.34 / 8.35 - Eastern Front / Balkan Front: I understand that Axis units may freely abandon those boxes, until the event "Enemy at the Gates" is played, correct? A: There isn't any "occupation requirement" of any kind. There's about 80% of the German Army in those boxes most of the game. They simply are not represented with counters.
Q: 8.43: This rule states that friendly units negate enemy ZOC for retreat and supply. Nowhere is this mentioned in the Retreat (9.4) or Supply Trace (11.4) rules, so I am just double-checking to be sure that ZOCs are negated in these 2 instances. A: The initial rule is correct and governs the later rules you refer to.
Q: 9.242 - When units in multiple hexes attack, how are hex side penalties applied. Only if all units cross relevant hex side or if any do so? A: I assume this applies to rivers. If so, then all attacking units must attack over the river.
Q: 9.245 - If both units with and without supply are attacking the same enemy hex, is one column shifted to the left? (We think that the answer is yes, but just want to be sure). A: Yes. If someone is fighting with one arm behind their back, everyone is fighting with one arm behind their back. And that goes for Combat Cards.
Q: 9.25 seems to state that you could use a newly-played combat card together with one or more played in previous rounds in the same combat. Is this correct? A: Yes. This is one of the innovations from the traditional "PoG" model. You may only play one combat card per Action Round but instead of losing them the moment you stalemate or lose a combat they remain in front of you for the rest of the turn. You play a card and then indicate whatever other combat cards you desire for a combat (if one has trouble remembering turn them sideways in front of you as they are committed, then turn them back after the Action Round is over).
Q: 9.25 - I have PoG imprinted on my brain, so it took me a while to believe that Combat Cards stayed in effect for the entire turn (win or lose). Is this correct? A: Yes, the Combat Cards work differently. You can use a card multiple times but they are limited in other, different, ways. You can only play one card per Action round, even if you hold multiple Combat Cards in your hand. Each turn builds to a kind of Combat Card crescendo and then things go back to normal.
Q: 9.264 (missing paragraph) - Wehrkreis: The TEC says -1 drm, see paragraph 9.264, and references Axis Card 41. There is no paragraph 9.264. Axis card 41, Volksturm, mentions the drm. Is that for the action round it's played, the rest of the turn or rest of the game? There is no mention of Wehrkreis in the rulebook. A: The -1 drm applies for the rest of the game, after the event is played.
Q: 9.4 - Fortress Units: Assume that they cannot retreat, but couldn't find this spelled out explicitly in the rules. A: They may not retreat.
Q: 9.43 - Is there any mandatory direction for the second hex of a retreat - and beyond? A: There is not, assuming the player does not violate the rules of course. Things like an enemy Zone of Control or, well, going into the sea or an ineligible Beach Head hex.
Q: 9.43 - Are step losses in combat the number from the CRT or are losses suffered due to failure to retreat included? A: The former. The rules do indicate this. The text in 9.51 "advance a number of hexes equal to the difference in step losses in the combat" is literal. You resolve combat using the combat results table. That's where combat is resolved. The resolution of combat yields a number of step losses that the table lists. That's it. There will never, ever, be more than a four hex advance. The number of steps eliminated due to failure to retreat has nothing to do with combat resolution. If defending units suffer losses above and beyond those resulting from the initial combat due rule 9.47 being triggered it has nothing to do with the combat result found on the Combat Results Table. Elimination due to failure to retreat occurs during retreat, which follows the initial combat resolution.
Q: 9.441 - I think that Beachhead hex is missing here, because it appears in the aid card as a terrain where retreat may be cancelled. Correct? A: The option to take a loss in place of retreating is open to a Beach Head hex, yes. However if the Beach Head is adjacent to a reserve box retreat is also allowed (think of it as an evacuation, such as if the Allies had decided to abandon Omaha Beach as they almost did). Obviously if the Beach Head is not adjacent to a reserve box retreating means the unit is eliminated.
Q: 9.441 - "Axis units stacked with a Fortress unit may choose not to retreat by taking one additional step loss." Could the additional step be the last step of the Fortress unit? A: Yes, but - why would you do that? You've just consigned the other unit or units to a death sentence the next Action Round if retreat is called for.
Q: 9.441 - If the defender loses it last remaining step to cancel retreat, does that prevent attacker advance? A: If there isn't a defending unit in the hex, there's nothing prohibiting an attacker advance. If it was not possible for the Defender to have retreated, or if they canceled the retreat and thereby were eliminated, the Attacker is free to advance based on the rule - the number of step losses in the combat. Note that the logical thing to do is to not suffer elimination if it can be avoided. Canceling a retreat only is logical if the defender has something left to defend with. By retreating the post-combat advance will be limited (and terrain may limit it past the initial hex).
Q: 9.52: This states that advancing units may not move from one enemy ZOC to another. Does this mean that if they are in an enemy ZOC at the moment of attack (by units other than in the defending hex) they cannot advance? Or can they always advance into the defender's vacated hex and this rule governs further movement? A: The wording is literal, and correct. If there is ZOC you may not advance. The Axis will often lack the ZOC and the Allied player will be able to advance; the Allied player will but rarely lack a ZOC and the German player won't be able to advance. This is pretty accurate from a historical standpoint.
Q: 10.51 - The text says: "Axis units in the ports of Bergen, Stavanger, and Oslo may only RD to the ports of Copenhagen, Kiel, and/or Bremen." And viceversa? That is, may units in Copenhagen, Kiel, and/or Bremen RD to the Scandinavian ports? A: Yes.
Q: 10.7: "Allied units may RD directly to/from the United Kingdom Reserve box and the North Africa Reserve box." The next sentence says they "may also" go from the Reserve Boxes to an Allied-controlled Beach Head or port hex. This implies that they can also RD elsewhere. So, can they be placed on any friendly hex from the Reserve Boxes? Into a hex with friendly units (as in PoG)? Not clear where else they can RD to, other than Beach Heads or Ports. A: The wording is literal, and correct. It governs long distance movement. So for example an Allied unit in the North Africa box could RD to the UK box and then activate with other units the during next Action Round, or it could RD from the North Africa box to a newly established Beach Head.
Q: 10.9: How is this different from other units, other than it can't enter the North Africa Reserve box? A: It's very different. The Airborne Corps/1st Airborne Army could, for example, RD from the UK box to, for example, Orleans. No other Allied unit in the UK Box can do that. They could only RD to a Allied-controlled Beach Head or port.
Q: 11.43 - May the Axis use ports for tracing supply and RD without any restriction? I find this strange, as the Allies had total control of the seas... A: They are considered in Limited Supply (more a function of supplies on hand, but the occasional U-Boat delivery as was done at Cherbourg as I recall). Regarding Axis port-to-port RD see rules 10.51 and 10.52.
Q: 11.5 - Trying to understand the rules better, I ask this: is an Allied unit three or less hexes away from an Allied-controlled Antwerp (also controlling The Scheldt) in Full or in Limited Supply? A: Full Supply. Controlling both hexes is crucial to the final Allied drive into Germany.
Q: 11.52 - If a limited supply hex is activated for combat and there is a Fortress unit on it, do you have to add the Fortress unit into the OPS cost even if it does not take part into the attack? A: Yes. There is no partial activation of hexes, per rule 11.52 ("The full cost to Activate the hex must be paid, or the Attack marker may not be placed.")
Q: 11.71: If there are one or two non-fortress units in the hex, are they eliminated if OOS, and just the fortress survives, or do all OOS units with the fortress survive? A: All the units remain. As the German player you might add a Corps or two to a Fortress to slow the Allied player down some but a wise Allied player would just screen anything more substantial. The German player needs his panzer units to maintain some control of the front. Putting a couple of panzer corps in, oh, Brest, is just a big waste. But Hitler was crazy so the game allows you to try it out for yourself!
Q: 12.1 At first I didn't notice that RP's were spent immediately (unlike PoG). A: Yes, a totally different take on replacements. With the new rules you can have a "miracle in the West" for example. If the Axis player had to wait until after all six Action Rounds the Allies would probably be in Berlin at the end of the turn.
Q: 13.1 - Can the Germans RD down to Sicily to stop Husky? A: Rule 13.1 would prohibit a German army from doing so. I do not believe there is anything preventing a redeployment of corps unless there is Allied TAC Interdiction assigned per 14.3
Q: 14.2 - If on turn one, the Allied player targets industry, does the Axis player start one card down or is it irrelevant as cards are dealt out pre-turn during set up? A: The way we played it was drawing a random card from the Axis player's hand and returning it to the top of the draw pile. That way if the card was the one they pre-selected they still were assured of getting the card before the 1944 cards were added to the deck. One could simply skip 3.3, in theory, but the net effect would be the same.
Q: 14.2 - For Allied SAC units performing an Attack Industry action, is the reduction in Axis Hand Size permanent - or only for the following turn? A: Only until the following Turn. Factories do, after all, get rebuilt. There is a permanent reduction if Infrastructure Collapse is triggered - that's because the factories are not being rebuilt.
Q: 14.2 - Does the attack on Industry reduce the German hand by that number of cards permanently (i.e. every turn) or just the next turn? If the former, is there a minimum Axis hand? A: The current turn. If it was permanent the game would be over in about three or four turns. The minimum Axis hand size - yes there is one - will depend on the year, the number of Industrial Bombing missions, and whether or not the Axis have suffered infrastructural collapse.
Q: Map - Kristiansand to Hirtshals and Viborg (and the reverse). Does "Allied Only" apply only to attacks, or to both attacks and movement? A: Only the Allies may. The Axis needed to ship port to port. If the Axis want to move to/from Norway they must use Redeployment movement. The Allies had so many options open to them from vast amounts of shipping to actual landing craft. Heck, even the Norwegians would have been giving them ships.
Q: Are impassable hexsides considered impassable when calculating air ranges? A: They are not.
Q: Map - Several hexes aren't land connected but movement between them isn't prohibited. This "felt" wrong, especially in Sicily. The connections in question are: Gela-Prizzi, Prizzi-Trapani, Venice-Ravenna, Savona-Genova, Toulon-Savona. A: You're right about Gela-Prizzi. This is a case of the artwork deviating from the prototype. There should be a red line between them. As for Prizzi-Trapani that's a tiny stretch of water that the Allies certainly could have "jumped" given their capabilities. Think of it as a short "left hook." I don't have a problem with allowing it. The Venice-Ravenna hexside we actually had discussions about. There's bound to be a limitation or two when imposing a hex grid over a coastline. To cover it we'd have to shift the entire grid to the left and that would just create more issues. It was also a game play issue. The Axis could pile three units in Ferrara and hold out too easily, or so we felt based in playtests. Also had discussions about Toulon-Savona. It's a tiny bit of water and we felt the Allies could have pushed along the coast there. Otherwise the Briancon hex would be like a giant roadblock and that did not seem correct.
Q: 14.31 - Ground Support from North Africa or UK airfields is 1 hex to beach, and 1 hex per add'l, up to 3 maximum? Ground support from N. Africa airfield can reach Naples? A: You have it correct - TAC Ground Support could be placed in the Naples hex.
Q: 14.31 says: "A Ground Support marker may be placed in any hex adjacent to either the United Kingdom Reserve box or the North Africa Reserve box, or within three hexes of an Airfield marker." Does it mean -literally- ANY hex adjacent to a Reserve Box? Or just any active Beachhead adjacent to a Reserve Box? A: Literal. The text says hex, not Beach Head hex.
Q: 14.31 - When tracing air range from the permanent airfield in a Reserve Box, do you trace it through an active beachhead or through any adjacent hex (as mentioned above)? A: There is nothing in the rules requiring air power to trace through a Beach Head.
Q: 14.32 - Air Interdiction prevents axis units redeploying into any hex in range. Does this refer just to the ultimate destination hex or all hex on the path to that destination. For example, the campaign starts with several German units in Sicily. With an allied airfield and strafe mission in North Africa, would these units be prevented from redeploying to Germany (to meet Roundup for example). A: All hexes. You get shot up outbound just as much as inbound.
Q: 14.32 - If an interdiction mission is placed at an airfield marker, what happens to that mission if that airfield moves after the air power phase, during the turn, either by Allied RD, or as a result of Axis units entering the hex? A: If the airfield moves the interdiction mission marker(s) move with them.
Q: 14.4 - Airfields: Assume they can't be placed on a beachhead? A: See 14.4: "Movement may be to any Allied-controlled hex not adjacent to an Axis unit." There's nothing prohibiting the Airfield marker from being placed in a Beach Head hex, so long as there are no enemy units adjacent to it.
Q: Cards - When cards specify attacks in France (or Italy or Germany), what matters, hex of attack marker or target hex? Or both. A: The defending hex.
Q: 1st Airborne Army - There are three events regarding this army: as reinforcement, Market-Garden and Varsity. We assumed that you can't place this army with Market-Garden and/or Varsity unless you have played the reinforcement card? Or do we have to take the card literally and place the army according to the text in Market-Garden/Varsity? And suppose we have played Market-Garden (with or without the reinforcement card), how do we implement Varsity? Just pick up the airborne army wherever it is and place it according to the text of Varsity? A: 1st Airborne Army has to be already on the map to employ Market-Garden or Varsity. Card #38 is a reinforcement card. Cards #27 and #45 are not.
Q: Vesuve and Anvil-Dragoon Beach Head hexes - After both the Avalanche and Anvil-Dragoon invasion events have been played, 1) are the Vesuve and Anvil-Dragoon BH hexes adjacent in all respects? i.e. Can both Allied and Axis units use normal movement to move or attack from one to the other (excluding Axis armor if Rommel hasn't been played)? 2) Also, are both BH hexes "in France" for the purposes of Rommel? 3) Can Italian units enter either BH hex? A: 1) Not sure it was my intent but it seems harmless to allow it. It will save the Allied player an RD round if they want to get that French corps off of Corsica. 2) I would say yes. 3) Yes, per rule 8.31, final sentence.
Card Clarifications
Shingle invasion
Q: Reading the card ("Play an Action Round after Husky or Avalanche"), it seems that it may be played in the same turn another invasion is played, so it would be another exception to 6.56 (like Avalanche). Am I correct? A: Yes, Shingle is an exception to the usual one invasion per turn. Though in practice it rarely comes up. Husky is a first turn, 1943 event. It is possible for Avalanche to fail to appear in 1943 but it often does (the exact odds depend on the size of the Axis hand in the Summer 1943 and Fall 1943 game turns).
Severe Weather (Combat Card)
Q: Do the effects last the entire turn (the card text says "for this entire Action Round" which is different than some other Combat Cards which state "May be used each Action Round for the rest of the turn." Since that text is absent, I assume it only applies to one round. If so, that means Air Superiority takes over the remaining rounds of this turn. A: The current Action Round only. Given that each Action Round represents roughly two weeks of historical time that is about the length of a stretch of exceptionally bad weather. The text "this entire Action Round" is literal. Effects do not extend into other Action Rounds.
Q: The card text also states "Return any Allied Air markers giving Ground Support to the Air Power Chart." Does this include SAC's providing Carpet Bombing, or is it strictly just TAC's providing Ground Support. A: The weather affects everybody - SAC include.
Q: Severe Weather returns air markers to "the Air Power Chart". Does this mean that they could still be used later in the turn? A: Yes.
Jet Interceptors
Q: If this is used against an Infrastructure Attack, does the Axis gain back 1 infrastructure? Or is it not usable vs. this attack? A: There are no restrictions on the card; if there were the card would have text indicating such. The infrastructure track is adjusted. Remember that each turn is depicting the aggregate of an entire yearly quarter of bombing so don't think of it in the literal sense of the buildings unbombing themselves. It's more akin to analysts saying "Sir, our initial reports of damage to Axis industry were overly optimistic." That sort of thing happened all the time in an era where planes were dropping their bombs all over the countryside and missing their targets by a mile or more. I'm also going to anticipate an extremely unlikely situation and answer it ahead of time. If strategic bombing (as opposed to other factors) triggers an infrastructure collapse that is it: a collapse is a collapse. Jets can't move the marker from "0" to "1". Only from "1" to some higher number. The Allies have a tough enough time of it in this game in my own experience.
Q: Card says it "cancels one SAC mission." Does this mean that 1 SAC counter is canceled, or that ALL counters in 1 SAC Mission box are canceled? (i.e. if I have 2 SAC counters in the Carpet Bombing box, are both SAC counters removed for the turn, or just 1 of the 2?). A: Just one. As in: one. Also: 1. It does not say "cancels all SAC assigned to a single mission. That would be overpowered and too pro-Axis.
Panzer Refit
Q: The text says "Eliminated Axis Mechanized units are rebuilt full strength." I assume from this text that ALL mechanized units in the dead pile get rebuilt immediately with this card (and placed according to the normal rules for re-created units). Is this correct? A: Correct.
Valkyrie
Q: It forbids the Axis from playing an Event plus OPs card in the subsequent round. Can they play one of those cards, eschewing the event and using only the OPs points? A: Event+OPS and OPS are two different actions. Yes the German player may play the card for whatever its OPS value is.
Donitz
Q: It says 'may not be played if any hex in Germany is Soviet controlled'....How do we know when any hex is Soviet Controlled? Is it when Axis card #52 'Enemy at the Gates' is played? And/or when Allied card #47 'Fall of Berlin' is played? A: Once Enemy at the Gates is played as the Event - which is likely - the Donitz event is no longer eligible to be played. Germany would have had to have been doing much better in history for their to have been any prayer of a negotiated peace. For what it's worth I do not recall a single playtest that saw the play of Donitz for the event.
Yanks and Tanks
Q: You have to use OPS to make an attack, and after combat resolution you can restore a US Army or two US Corps back to full strength. Do you have to resolve all the OPS before implementing the event? A: Short answer: yes. You play the OPs first and, if there is any combat (hint: there should be!), the Allied player may then flip reduced units per the card. Note that this does not allow the Allied player to rebuild a unit they might have chosen to eliminate in the combat. The unit(s) must still be on the map, and reduced.
Italian Social Republic
Q: Can this event played if the whole of Italy is in the hands of the allies (just for the VP)? A: There is nothing preventing play of Italian Social Republic that late in the game. It's a propaganda thing. The Germans could have set up the new government just about anywhere, not just northern Italy. Of course you don't get the other card benefits (12.33, 13.3).
Fortitude
Q: The text of the card prohibits Axis units in that district from moving or attacking. Does that also prohibit those units from redeployment within that district or redeployment to leave that district? A: Card text is literal. May not move or attack. At all. They are frozen.
Q: Do the movement restrictions also apply to any Axis units who move into or through that district, or just those units that were present at the time of the Fortitude event? In other words, can an Axis unit that started outside of the Fortitude-affected district move through that district to the other side unimpeded? A: Other units may move through the Army District. If they end their movement within the district, however, they too are subject to the event.