Red Star Falling Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
  • a. Game Parts List
  • b. The Game Map
  • c. The Playing Pieces
  • d. Charts and Tables
• Preparations for Play
• Sequence of Play
• Movement
  • a. Normal Movement
  • b. Rail Movement
  • c. Mechanized Movement
  • d. Zones of Control
  • e. Stacking Limitations
• Combat
  • a. Multiple Unit Battles
  • b. Combat Resolution
  • c. Air Units
  • d. The Patton Counter
  • e. Terrain Effects
• Supply
  • a. Supply Determination
• Replacements and Reinforcements
  • a. Replacements
  • b. Pacific Reinforcements
• Special Rules
  • a. SS Units
  • b. The Atomic Bomb
• Victory Conditions
  • a. Automatic Victory
  • b. Levels of Victory
• Designer's Notes
• Tables
  • Combat Results Table
  • Terrain Effects Table

Game Components

a. Game Parts List

The following game parts have been provided:

• Three sheets of die cut counters, for a total of 168 counters
• 17 x 22 full color map
• One rule booklet
• One game chart
• One six sided die
• One game box

b. The Game Map

The 17 x 22 game map represents the area of central Europe where the conflict would have certainly taken place. A hexagonal grid has been superimposed to regulate position, movement, and combat. Rough terrain, rivers, cities, railroads, and the sea are represented on the map. Additionally, there are three start lines representing the German East Front (against the Soviets), Italian Front, and Western Front (against the Western Allies). Whenever it has been possible, the German form of city and river names have been used, thus Vienna is spelled Wien and the Moselle is spelled Mosel. To identify the various terrain features, see the Terrain Chart on the map. The effects of terrain on movement and combat are summarized in the Terrain Effects Table.

c. The Playing Pieces

The 144 die cut cardboard pieces ("units") represent the various forces that would have been involved in the conflict. The red units represent the Soviet controlled forces (Guards are colored a darker red). The brown counters represent the British and Commonwealth forces (the lighter brown are the units on the Italian front). The American (and other Western Allied) units are colored olive green (for the Western Front), light olive green (for the Italian Front), and green (for the Pacific Units). German units are colored various shades of light grey (a different color for each front) and black (for the German SS units). The Allied player controls all non-soviet forces (except for initial setup). There are basically two types of units: air and ground. See section 10 b for rules concerning the atomic bomb.

Ground Units (counter diagram: the printed labels are Designation, Formation, Type, Placement, Attack Factor, Defense Factor, Movement Factor; the sample counters show attack 2, defense 2, movement 5 and attack 3, defense 4, movement 4)

Air Units (counter diagram: the printed labels are Designation, Type, Placement, Attack Factor, Movement Factor; the sample counters show attack 2, movement 10 and attack 4, movement 16)

Explanation

• Attack Factor: the unit's relative combat ability on offense
• Defense Factor: the unit's relative combat ability on defense
• Movement Factor: the unit's ability to move across terrain
• Placement: the area where the unit starts the game
• Designation: the historical identification of the unit
• Formation: the approximate size of the formation
  • XXXXX: Army Group
  • XXXX: Army
  • XXX: Corps
• Type: the general type and equipment of the unit as follows:
  • Armor
  • Mechanized
  • Infantry
  • Airborne
  • Mountain
  • Headquarters (HQ)
  • Tactical Air
  • Heavy Bomber Air

A turn counter has also been included for use on the Turn and Replacement Track.

The following abbreviations have been used:

Abbreviation	Meaning	Abbreviation	Meaning	Abbreviation	Meaning
AF	Air Force	FR	French	RUM	Rumanian
BC	Bomber Command	GD	Guards	SK	Shock
BUL	Bulgarian	I	Italian Front	SS	SchutzStaffel
CAN	Canadian	P	Pacific Theater	TAC	Tactical

d. Charts and Tables

The several charts and tables needed to play the game are located in various places. The Terrain Chart is located in the southeast corner of the map. The Turn and Reinforcement Track is located on a separate sheet included with the game. The Combat Results Table and the Terrain Effects Table are located on the last page of the rule booklet.

Preparations for Play

The Russian player first sets up the German Western Front ("W") units and German Italian Front ("I") units. He must place the units within one hex east of or north of the start lines representing the Western and Italian Fronts, respectively, so that every hex which contains the start line is in a German zone of control. These units may not be stacked or placed on the start line.

The Allied player then places the German Eastern Front ("E") units within three hexes on the western side of the Eastern Front's start line. These units may be stacked and do not have to cover the entire start line, but they may not be placed on the start line.

The Allied player then places his (the Western Allied) units, which have no placement indicated on them, in the area west of the Western Front start line. Units may be stacked, but may not be placed on the start line.

The Russian player then sets up his units east of the German Eastern Front. They may be stacked, but may not be placed upon the start line.

During the first turn, only the Russian and German Eastern Front units may move. During the second turn, all Russian and German units may move, but no British or American units may move. During the third turn, all units may move and the Western Allied Italian Front units may enter the board on the Italian Front start line, using either rail or normal movement.

Sequence of Play

Each turn is divided into two parts: Russian and Allied. The following outline is provided to assist players:

I. The Russian player moves first, completing the following steps:

1. Replacement/Reinforcement Step: Russian replacements are placed on the map according to the appropriate rules.
2. Supply Determination Step: The supply status of the Soviet controlled units are determined. Units which were unsupplied two consecutive turns are removed from play.
3. Movement: Both air and ground units are moved up to the limit of their movement factors.
4. Combat: All combats are resolved. Every allied (and German) unit which is in a Soviet zone of control must be attacked.
5. Mechanized Movement: Ground units are moved. Infantry (including airborne and mountain) units may move one hex. Armor, mechanized, and HQ units may move their full movement allowance. Air units may not move.

II. The Allied player then reinforces, determines supply, moves, conducts combat, and mechanized movement in the same five steps described above. The game turn marker is then advanced. The atomic bombs may only be dropped after the Allied player's mechanized movement step is done.

III. The game ends at the end of the American part of turn fourteen or when the automatic victory conditions are fulfilled, whichever comes first.

Movement

a. Normal Movement

During the regular movement portion of his turn, a player may move any, all, or none of his units up to the full movement factor printed on the unit. Movement factors are expended by entering a hex, the number expended being indicated on the Terrain Effects Table. Movement factors are not transferable between units and may not be carried over from turn to turn. Movement ceases upon entering an enemy zone of control.

b. Rail Movement

During the regular movement phase, the moving player may move a number of his units by rail. To do so, a unit must move to a railroad hex, expending the normal movement factors for the appropriate terrain. Once on the rail hex, the unit may move along the railroad an additional twelve (12) hexes. Rail movement must be continuous along a rail line uninterrupted by any opposing unit's zone of control. A unit may not enter a zone of control in the turn it uses rail movement. Up to six Allied units and four Russian units may move per turn. Units may move normally after rail movement, but may not exceed their movement factors for non-rail movement. Rail movement is not affected by terrain. A railroad may not be used if it cannot trace a line of hexes, uninterrupted by opposing zones of control, along a continuous rail line to a friendly city (one that has been controlled by the player).

c. Mechanized Movement

After combat a player may move his ground units in a manner similar to normal movement, except that only armor, mechanized, and headquarters units may move up to their normal movement allowance. Other ground units may move only one hex and air units may not move. During the mechanized movement part of a player's turn, rail movement may not be used, and units may not enter an enemy zone of control.

d. Zones of Control

The six hexes adjacent to an unit's hex are known as that unit's zone of control. These zones of control help to regulate movement, combat, and supply. During regular movement, a unit may not enter an enemy unit's zone of control directly from the zone of control of an enemy unit and its movement must cease upon entering the zone of control. During mechanized movement, an unit may not enter a zone of control of an enemy unit. A unit may leave an enemy zone of control at any time, except directly into another enemy zone of control.

e. Stacking Limitations

Up to three ground units may remain in a hex at any time and any number of units may move through a hex. While the allied player controls the German units, German units and Western Allied units may not stack together. They may however participate together in attacks. No unit may enter a hex containing an opposing unit. Units are moved individually and not as stacks, and stacking limitations do not apply until the end of movement. Stacking limitations do not apply to headquarters and air units.

Combat

Combat is caused whenever an unit is in an opposing unit's zone of control at the end of normal movement. The player which just moved his units is considered the attacker in all cases. Combat is resolved after normal movement. To resolve combat, total the attacking unit's (units') attack factor(s) and the defending unit's defense factors plus any defense factors contributed due to terrain type, and reduce them to a simple ratio of attack factors to defense factors, rounding the odds in the defender's favor. For instance, if ten factors attack an unit with one defense factor on a river (which adds two defense factors), the simple ratio would be three to one (3 - 1) and if three attack factors attacked eight defense factors, the simple ratio would become one to three (1 - 3). Units may not attack at odds less than one to three and if a unit is found to be unable to attack at those odds while in an enemy zone of control, it is eliminated immediately.

a. Multiple Unit Battles

When several units attack more than one defending units, the attacker has the option to treat the combat in several ways. The following rules must be observed:

1. Every defending unit which has an opposing unit in its zone of control must be attacked.
2. A unit may attack only the defending units in its zone of control and may only participate in one attack.

The attacker may decide to attack defending units in a stack separately and may use units which are stacked together in separate battles (that is, he does not have to use all the units stacked together in one battle). Units may deliberately attack at low odds, as long as the odds are not less than one to three (1 - 3). The combat factor of an unit may not be split, nor used in more than one attack. Terrain defense factors are added into every attack made (where applicable).

b. Combat Resolution

For every attack, a die is rolled and the Combat Results Table is consulted. Cross-index the die roll result with the odds to find the combat result. Here is an explanation of the combat results:

• AE: Attacker Eliminated, remove from play all attacking units.
• AX: The attacker loses one unit (his choice).
• NE: No Effect, (no unit is eliminated).
• BX: Both the attacker and defender must lose one unit (owning player's choice).
• DX: One defending unit is eliminated (defender's choice).
• DE: Defender Eliminated, remove all defending units from play.

c. Air Units

These units have been introduced to the game to represent the highly co-ordinated tactical air strength that was often brought to bear during WWII. This is in addition to the air support that was normally given to a unit. When an air unit is alone, in an opposing zone of control, it is eliminated. Air units do not have zones of control and thus do not inhibit enemy movement. There are no stacking limitations on air units and they may add their attack factors to any attack, within its movement factor, by placing the air unit on the hex to be attacked. Any air unit which attacks is returned to its original hex after combat. An air unit may move to a new hex during normal movement, but if it does, it may not attack.

d. The Patton Counter

The aggressive leadership of General George S. Patton often lent its weight to attacks in which he was on the scene. His unit (the HQ) is treated like any other unit, except that it raises the combat odds one column when participating in an attack. For instance, if the Patton counter participated in a combat which would otherwise have been resolved at 5 - 1, then the attack would be resolved at the odds of 8 - 1. Once eliminated, the Patton counter may not be brought back into the game through replacement. The Patton counter does not count towards stacking.

e. Terrain Effects

Units which defend on certain terrain receive additional defense factors. See the Terrain Effects Table to determine the number of defense factors added. Please note that terrain effects are not cumulative (e.g., a full city hex with a river receives only four defense factors), and units must be in the hex to receive the additional defense factors. Terrain defense factors are added to every battle involving units in the terrain. An attack which involves defending units in two different hexes will have the terrain defense factors from only one of the hexes included (defender's choice of which terrain).

Supply

Every unit must be in supply to operate effectively. During the supply determination portion of his turn, a player must determine whether any of his units are out of supply. If a unit is not in supply for two consecutive turns, the unit is eliminated.

a. Supply Determination

A unit is in supply if it can trace a line of communications free of enemy zones of control, no matter how long, to a city which can trace a line free of zones of control to another city, or to a railroad exit off the east edge (Russian) or west edge (Allied) of the map. Neither line may be traced across sea hexes. Otherwise, the unit is out of supply.

Replacements and Reinforcements

a. Replacements

Each turn, the Russians, Germans, British, and Americans may replace units which have been eliminated. The number of attack factors that may be replaced each turn is stated on the Turn Record Track. Air units are replaced at twice the normal replacement points. Replacements which are not used may be accumulated from turn to turn. No German unit may be brought back after the sixth turn. Any accumulated German replacement points at that time are lost. Replacement points may only be used to replace units of the same nationality (being determined by the color of the counter - British replacement points may replace Canadian units for instance). German replacements are placed in any supplied friendly German city. Russian replacements enter the east edge of the map. Allied replacements enter the map on the west edge. Replacements may only be taken from the "dead pile" - those units eliminated from the board.

b. Pacific Reinforcements

One of the major disadvantages of the allied side would have been the two front war that they were fighting. Many troops were held back in the United States in anticipation of the invasion of Japan. In order to reflect the diversion of some of these troops to the European theater that the conflict would have caused, the Allied player may choose to receive one unit (his choice) from the Pacific forces available each turn starting with the seventh turn. The Pacific forces have a "P" as the placement and consist of the United States' 9th, 10th, 14th, and 24th Corps. They must enter on the west edge of the map.

Special Rules

a. SS Units

These units, being a direct part of the NAZI organization, would have been anathema for the allies to fight with and in fact would have been disbanded by the Allies at the first opportunity. To reflect this, all SS units which come within three hexes of any non-German Allied unit, at any time, are immediately removed from play and may not be replaced.

b. The Atomic Bomb

On the eleventh turn and on the thirteenth turn, the allied player receives one Atomic Bomb. It must be dropped during that turn after the allied mechanized phase. It may be dropped on any hex and it destroys all units in the hex. No units may enter the destroyed hex until the next month (two turns later) and supply may not be traced through that hex for that period. Bombed cities may not be used for either Victory Conditions or Supply. No air unit is needed to drop the atomic bomb.

Victory Conditions

a. Automatic Victory

The Russian player wins immediately upon entering any city hex of the Ruhr (Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Köln, or Essen). The Allies immediately win by entering either hex of Warsaw.

b. Levels of Victory

Otherwise the game ends on turn fourteen after the Allied Mechanized Movement. Each player counts the number of full or partial city hexes he has occupied. A city is friendly and considered occupied if that player's unit was the last one to have occupied the city's hex or if they could have occupied it at the beginning of the game (if the city had not been occupied during the game). City hexes which have had the atomic bomb dropped on them do not count towards victory conditions. The margins of victory are:

Number of Cities Controlled	Result
15 - 18	Draw
19 - 22	Marginal Victory
23 +	Decisive Victory

Designer's Notes

In the Second World War, many outrageous, daring, and impossible operations were devised by the contending powers. Some operations, like the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, were brilliantly successful and produced tremendous results. Some, like the Allied attack on Dieppe, ended in disaster. Some, like the German invasion of Great Britain (Operation Sea Lion), withered away and never happened.

Red Star Falling is based on another operation that never came off. General George S. Patton understood that America and her true allies would one day have to fight the Russians. Gen. Patton felt that the best time to fight the Russians would be at the end of World War II. Nearly all of the American units deployed in Europe at that time were at full strength and the German war machine was still in operation. Although many German Army units had ceased to exist, much of the personnel of these units had found their way into Kampfgruppen. The Soviet units at this time were veteran formations. However, they were usually at only two thirds strength. With the Atomic Bomb, the rearming of the German troops, and the leadership of General Patton, Red Star Falling is the decisive conflict for the control of all of Europe.

Although the Soviets have little chance of long term victory against atomic weapons, their main hope is to destroy the Allied armies in the field before the Americans and British can commit all their conventional forces to the battle. Indeed, their only real chance of victory is to capture all of central Europe and attempt to hold it at the Rhine, using all of Germany's industrial capacity to outproduce America. Perhaps, the Russians would have made it to the English Channel; but then, George Patton could have been eating breakfast in the Kremlin.

Tables

Combat Results Table

As printed, the header "5 - 1 / 6 - 1" sits stacked above the 7 - 1 column; no separate 5 - 1 or 6 - 1 column is printed. The table is reproduced as printed.

Die Roll	1 - 3	1 - 2	1 - 1	2 - 1	3 - 1	4 - 1	7 - 1	8 - 1
1	AE	AE	AE	AX	AX	NE	BX	DX
2	AE	AE	AX	AX	NE	BX	DX	DE
3	AE	AX	NE	NE

Explanation

• AE: All attacking units are eliminated.
• AX: One attacking unit is eliminated.
• NE: No effect.
• BX: Both attacker and defender lose one unit.
• DX: The defender loses one unit.
• DE: All defending units are eliminated.

Terrain Effects Table

Terrain	Movement Cost	Combat Effects
Clear	1 M.P.	None
Full Hex City	1 M.P.	Add 4 D.F.
Partial Hex City	1 M.P.	Add 2 D.F.
Rough	2 M.P.	Add 2 D.F.
River	2 M.P.	Add 2 D.F.
Railroad	See Rail Movement	None
Start Line	As Other Terrain	None
Sea	Entry Prohibited	None
Coast