SHAEF
SHAEF Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Overview
1.1: Introduction to SHAEF
From the beaches of Normandy to the Ruhr Valley, SHAEF is a two-player, card-driven, World War II strategy game covering the period from June 1944 through March 1945.
After choosing sides (Allies or Axis) players decide which set up option to use (see Section 3). The actual corps and armies that fought in the campaign are represented by counters on a map of the Western Front. The cards represent lower echelon forces, like divisions and brigades, as well as a variety of combat support and special tactics. The cards are (usually) assigned to Corps and Army units.
In a Month, both the Allies and Axis will have a turn to move and initiate combat. Combat is resolved using the cards assigned to the units.
1.2: Victory Conditions
Players check for victory at the end of every Month. The Allied Player wins by controlling two of the four Victory Symbols at the end of the Axis Player's Turn. The Axis Player wins by eliminating all Allied units from Continental Europe in August 1944 or later, or by preventing the Allies from winning by the end of March 1945.
2. Components
2.1: What's In the Box
a) Map Board b) 2 x 10-sided die c) 360 Cards d) 16 Plastic Stands (for holding Army Counters) e) 4 Die Cut Cardboard Counter Sheets f) 2 Player Mats g) 2 Player Aid Cards
2.2: Armies and Corps
Before your first play, insert the rectangular Army counters in the Plastic Stands. Some Armies and Corps will begin play on the board. Place the others to the side until deployed to the board.
2.3: Card Setup
The player mats are used to organize your cards into units. (See Organization, page 11.)
Cards not currently in play are placed to the side in a Reinforcement Deck. A Discard Pile will be created as cards are discarded from play.
a) Cards assigned to Army HQs b) Cards assigned to attached Corps c) Reinforcement Deck d) Discard Pile e) Reinforcement Counters f) Discarded Unit Counters
2.4: Cards
a) Card Type Symbol (See Card Type chart) b) Nationality c) At Start / Reinforcement Month d) Card Title / Designation e) Attack Fire Strength f) Image (no effect on play) g) Defense Fire Strength h) Special Abilities i) Game Text j) Flavor Text (no effect on play) k) Card ID (no effect on play, for reference only) l) Historical Scenario Army m) Historical Scenario Organizational Assignment n) Starting Location (HQs only)
2.5: Card Types
a) Printed in the upper left-hand corner of a card is the card type symbol. b) An Armored Land Force may be referred to as "Armored", an Infantry Land Force as "Infantry", and a Motorized Land Force as "Motorized". c) The term "Land Force" refers to Armored, Infantry, and Motorized Land Forces, but not Support, HQ or Tactic cards. d) HQ cards are always face-up, except when in the Reinforcement Deck or Discard Pile. e) HQ, Support, and Tactics cards move identically to Armored cards, but are not considered Armored cards in any other way. f) Support cards are always Invulnerable. (See Special Abilities)
Card Types
| Icon | Card Type |
|---|---|
| Armored tank icon | Armored Land Force |
| Infantry icon | Infantry Land Force |
| Truck icon | Motorized Land Force |
| HQ (Army) icon | HQ (Army) |
| HQ (Corps) icon | HQ (Corps) |
| Blank card icon | Support |
| Arrow icon | Tactic |
Nationalities
There are four nationalities in the game, as indicated by the color of the card:
a) Germany: Grey b) France: Blue c) United Kingdom: Khaki d) United States: Olive
For history's sake, the actual nationalities of the forces fighting alongside the United Kingdom are provided on the cards, including Canadian, Free Polish, Free Belgian, and Free Netherlands forces, but in game terms these cards are treated identically to other United Kingdom cards.
2.6: Face-down, Face-up, and Flipping Cards
At any point a card is either face-up or face-down.
a) One of the key mechanics of SHAEF is flipping a card from face-down to face-up. A card can only be flipped face-up once per turn. (Turning a card from face-up to face-down in the Cleanup Phase is not considered to be flipping a card.) b) Once flipped, a card stays face-up until the Cleanup Phase (see Section 14). c) Unless you want to take advantage of a card's face-up abilities, flipping is usually optional, with the important exception that a face-down card must be flipped if it is to be taken as a casualty from enemy fire. d) Unless specified otherwise, flipping can take place at any time, but cannot be applied retroactively after a die has been rolled. You should ensure your opponent has a chance to flip cards between announcing fire and rolling dice. e) You can flip a card simply to change its status. For example, you might flip a card to activate its Anti-Air special ability. f) There are instances where a card cannot be flipped. For example you cannot flip your face-down infantry during your own Second and Third Combat Phases. g) Face-down cards are normally kept secret from your opponent unless the rules specifically require you to reveal the card. Revealing a card does not change its face-up/face-down status; the card is shown to the other player and then returned to its place, face-down.
Do We Need to Mention It? When you examine or handle your cards, do so in such a way that the other player is comfortable that you did not accidentally reassign or flip a card.
2.7: Discarding Cards
Cards are discarded face-down into the Discard Pile, even HQ cards, except when the rules or a card's Game Text specifies that a card be "removed from the game". When a card is removed from the game, put it away in the box as it will have no further use this game.
Below are additional rules regarding discards:
a) During battle, a card must be face-up in order to be taken as a casualty from enemy fire; the card may be flipped to be taken as a casualty. A face-down card that cannot flip, cannot be taken as a casualty from fire (but may be discarded due to other reasons, like if the HQ to which it was attached was a casualty of fire – see below). b) Face-up Tactic cards cannot be voluntarily discarded. During the Clean-up Phase, these cards must be discarded or re-moved from the game, as per the card's game text. c) Aside from Tactic cards, you may voluntarily discard your own cards at any time. d) When an HQ is discarded, any other cards assigned to that unit are discarded as well, and the corresponding unit's counter is removed from the map. (If you lose an Army HQ, there are supply implications for the attached Corps, see Section 7, Supply.) e) When a unit is discarded, place all of the assigned cards in the discard pile. The Army or Corps counter is taken off the map (as well as any associated markers) and placed to the side until needed again. f) A face-down card does not need to be revealed when discarded (unless it was taken as a casualty to satisfy a loss in battle). g) As stated above, a card with text or a special ability that specifies that it be removed from the game is not placed in the discard pile, but back in the game box. However, if that card has never been flipped or revealed then it is not removed from the game, since that text or special ability was never activated.
HQ Cards & Units There are two types of unit counters in the map: Corps and Army Reserves. Each Army Reserve corresponds to an Army HQ and any other cards in that Army Reserve unit on the Player Mat. Likewise, each Corps counter has a corresponding HQ card and other cards on the Player Mat; one Corps per slot, behind the Army to which it is attached. When an HQ card is discarded, its corresponding counter is removed from the map.
2.8: The Map Board
The Continent consists of the area of the map representing France, the Low Countries, and Germany. The playable area of the Continent is divided into regions by black boundary lines and blue (river) lines. (Regions are named in Black and Countries in Red.)
a) Impassable areas: The gray areas (Spain, Italy, and Switzerland) are out of play - no units can enter these areas. b) Africa and Britain: These areas are controlled by the Allies; the Axis has no way of moving units to Britain or Africa. (These areas are not considered "regions".) c) Map Features Chart d) Month (Turn) Track e) Operations Point Track f) Clear Terrain g) Woods/Hills: Defending Infantry fire at +1 h) Mountain: Units that move into a Mountain region are Exhausted. Defending Infantry fire at +1. Cards with the Mountain Infantry special ability fire at +1. i) Wetlands / Lowlands: Units that move into a Mountain region are Exhausted. Attacking Infantry fire at -1. Attacking and Defending Armored and Motorized fire at -1. [Transcriber's note: the preview prints "Mountain region" in this entry, under Wetlands / Lowlands. It is transcribed as printed; it may be a typo in the preview for the Wetlands / Lowlands region. Check against the final rulebook.] j) Rivers: Rivers are also boundaries between regions. Land Forces that move into combat across a river fire at -1 for the entire combat (even if the combat lasts multiple phases). k) Victory Symbol: Supply Source for any or all Axis Armies. If the Allies control two Victory Symbols during the Check for Victory phase, the Allies win and the game ends. l) Port: A Supply Source for any one Allied Army m) River Passage: These symbols indicate regions the Allies must control in order to benefit from its associated Port (as indicated by the arrows). n) Paris: Possible Supply Source for the French Army. The side that controls Paris collects one additional replacement card per turn. o) Sea Assault Lane: Units engaging in an Amphibious Assault during the Sea Transport Phase are placed on this lane outside their destination region on the Continent. The number of Operation Points required per unit in an Amphibious Assault is printed on the lane.
Map board key (page 7 of the preview): the Map Features Chart, the Month (Turn) Track (June 1944 through March 1945) and the Operations Point Track (0 to 59) are printed on the board. The board legend lists: Clear Terrain, Woods/Hills, Wetlands/Lowlands, Mountains, Rivers, Victory Space, Paris, Fort, River Passage, and Sea Assault Lane. The lettered callouts on the board correspond to the entries (a) through (o) above.
Region Control
At the beginning of play, all regions on the Continent are controlled by the Axis. Throughout play, a region with no Control Marker is Axis controlled; a region with an (Allies) Control Marker is controlled by the Allies.
You immediately take control of your opponent's region if only your units occupy it; whenever this happens, if you are the Allied player, place a Control Marker with the captured side up; if you are the Axis player, turn over an the existing Control Marker to the captured side. [Transcriber's note: "turn over an the existing" is printed as shown in the preview; it may be a typo for "turn over the existing".]
You cannot use Strategic Deployment (see Section 13.2) through regions captured in the current turn (but you can trace supply through these regions). During the Allied Player's Clean-up Phase, turn over Control Markers with the captured side up; during the Axis Player's Clean-up Phase, remove Control Markers with the captured side up.
2.9: Counters and Markers
During setup, place the Engaged, Out-of-Supply, and Allied Control Markers accessible to both players.
a) Engaged Markers (20): Placed on Corps engaged in combat. b) Out of Supply Markers (20): Placed on the moving player's out of supply units. c) Fortress Markers (8): Placed on top of Corps. (See Section 3.) d) Mulberry Markers (2): See Section 7. e) Operation Point Markers (2): Used to track the Operation Points (one for each player). f) Allied Control Markers (48): Placed on regions controlled by the Allies. g) Corps Unit Counters (47): Turning over a Corps unit counter indicates that the unit is exhausted. h) Army Supply Markers (8): Used to denote the Port (or Paris) that supplies the indicated Army. i) Month (Turn) Marker (1): Used to track the Turns.
3. Setting up the Game
You may choose to play the Historical or Free Scenario. In either case:
a) Cards not scheduled to enter At Start are placed in the Reinforcement Deck, and the corresponding counters placed to the side. b) The Axis Operations Point Marker is placed on 10, the Allies on 35. c) The Month Marker is placed on June 1944, "Allies" Turn side up.
Choosing a Scenario We recommend trying the Historical Scenario for your first game. This will allow you to start the game without spending a lot of time arranging your cards. We expect most players will want to move quickly to the Free Scenario. Arranging your Army stacks ahead of time will speed things up!
3.1: Historical Scenario
a) Cards with a Historical Setup of a month (e.g. "Aug 1944") or "Special" are placed on the Reinforcement Deck. b) The rest of the cards are placed in units on the player mats using the Historical Setup assignments. c) The SHAEF card's once per game ability must be used in June 1944 to provide the necessary Operations Points for the Scenario. d) Unit counters are placed in the locations noted on their backs and on their corresponding HQ cards. e) Allied units placed on the Sea Assault Lane must conduct an Amphibious Assault against Normandy in June 1944; the two Airborne Corps must attack Normandy via Airborne Movement. 52 Operations Points must be spent for these units to be set up here, leaving the Allies with 3 Operations Points for Turn 1.
Fortress Markers When a Corps counter beneath a Fortress Marker moves or is discarded, the Fortress Marker becomes available for placement (by the Westwand Tactic Card). Fortress Markers can be voluntarily removed at any time. Only one Corps counter may be placed beneath a Fortress Marker.
3.2: Free Scenario
a) Cards with a Historical Setup of a month (e.g. "Aug 1944") or "Special" are placed on the Reinforcement Deck. b) The Allies player (secretly) creates legal units and armies with the Allies "At Start" cards (using the Organization rules). Land Forces must respect the Army but not Corps Historical Assignments. At Start Tactic and Support Cards can be assigned to any unit or placed in the Reinforcement Deck. c) HQ units with a starting location of the Normandy Sea Assault Lane are instead placed in Britain. The rest of the Allied HQs are set up in the starting location indicated on the card. d) The Axis player now creates units in the same way. e) Axis Army Reserve counters must be placed in or adjacent to the Starting Location on its card. Corps counters may be placed wherever the Axis player sees fit; however, no more than 2 Corps (in total among all Armies) may be set up in regions that aren't in the same, or an adjacent, region as its parent Army.
4. Sequence of Play
Each complete Month starts with the Allies Player-Turn, followed by the Axis Player-Turn, and then a check for victory.
Months and Turns To avoid confusion, Turns always refers to a player's turn. A full round is referred to as a Month.
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Allied Turn a) Allied First Supply Phase b) Allied Replacement Phase c) Allied Sea Transport Phase d) Allied Airborne Phase e) Allied Movement & Combat Phase i. First Allied Movement Phase ii. First Allied Combat Phase iii. Second Allied Movement Phase iv. Second Allied Combat Phase v. Third Allied Movement Phase vi. Third Allied Combat Phase f) Allied Reorganization Phase i. Allied Attach Corps Phase ii. Allied Strategic Deployment & Reassign Cards Phase iii. Allied Move or Place Supply Markers and Place Mulberries g) Allied Second Supply Phase h) Clean-up Phase – Both players discard or remove face-up Tactic Cards. Reset Allied Operations Points Marker to 35. Both players turn over face-up non-HQ cards, turn over exhausted Corps counters, stand up exhausted Army Reserves, and remove Out-of-Supply Markers. Turn the Month Marker over to the Axis turn.
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Axis Turn a) Axis First Supply Phase b) Axis Replacement Phase c) Axis Movement & Combat Phase i. First Axis Movement Phase ii. First Axis Combat Phase iii. Second Axis Movement Phase iv. Second Axis Combat Phase v. Third Axis Movement Phase vi. Third Axis Combat Phase d) Axis Reorganization Phase i. Axis Attach Corps Phase ii. Axis Strategic Deployment & Reassign Cards Phase e) Axis Second Supply Phase f) Clean-up Phase – Both players discard or remove face-up Tactic Cards. Reset Axis Operations Points Marker to 10. Both players turn over face-up non-HQ cards, turn over exhausted Corps counters, stand up exhausted Army Reserves, and remove Out-of-Supply Markers.
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Check for Victory – If the game is not over, move the Month Marker to the next month and turn it over to the Allied turn.
5. Organization
- Corps units are attached to Armies.
- Cards are assigned to units.
Verifying Organizational Compliance Corps attachments are not considered secret. You may verify that your opponent's units have no more than five cards assigned when they are set up for combat and when cards are moved in and out of a unit during Strategic Movement.
5.1: Army and Corps Attachment
a) An Army consists of its Army Reserve unit and 0-4 attached Corps. b) An Allied Army may have a maximum of one Corps attached of a nationality that differs from its Army Reserve.
5.2: Armies in a Region
a) At the end of each of your three Movement Phases, as well as at the end of your Reorganization Phase, if you have units from more than two Armies in a region, you must discard units until the situation is rectified. b) You may have units from more than two Armies in a region after the Reinforcement/Replacement Phase or the Sea Transport Phase (see Section 9.1, Sailing into Port). c) You may have units from more than two Armies in a region after a retreat (see Section 12.6, Retreats), but if it is your turn you will still need to rectify the situation at the end of each Movement Phase and the Reorganization Phase.
5.3: Card Assignment
a) A Corps or Army Reserve may have no more than 4 cards assigned to it, in addition to its HQ card. b) A Corps HQ card and cards assigned to it are a Corps. c) The Army HQ card and cards assigned to it are an Army Reserve. d) You cannot assign an HQ card to another HQ card. e) An Allied Army Reserve may have up to one card of a different nationality assigned to it that differs from that of its HQ; a Corps cannot have any cards of differing nationalities. These restrictions are only enforced when a card is revealed or flipped.
5.4: Player Mat Unit Slots
The cards of units in play are placed on slots on the player mat (when not in combat).
a) The Army Reserve is always in the front slot, with the HQ card on top, face-up. b) The cards of a Corps attached to an Army are placed beneath the Army Reserve, with the HQ card on top, face-up. c) The cards assigned to each unit are stacked beneath its HQ. Except for the HQ being on top, it does not matter which order the cards are arranged within an individual unit.
6. Operation Points (OPs)
Operations Points (OPs) represent theater level logistical resources and are naturally limited. You will spend your Operation Points throughout your turn to perform various actions.
Keep track of your available Operation Points on the track printed on the board. Operations Points are reset during the Clean-up Phase at the end of the moving player's turn:
- The Allies are reset to 35 OPs
- The Axis are reset to 10 OPs
Unused OPs are not carried forward to the next Month.
Operations Points Costs
| OP Cost | Action | Phase |
|---|---|---|
| Varies | Per Unit performing an Amphibious Invasion. The OP cost is printed on the Sea Assault Lane | Sea Transport |
| 5 | Per Unit Sailing into Port | Sea Transport |
| 5 | Per Unit using Airborne Movement | Airborne Movement |
| 1 | Per Card that uses the React Special Ability | Combat |
| 1 | Per Corps, to change the assigned Army | Reorganization |
| 1 | Per Card, to change a non-HQ card's assignment and/or move any card by Strategic Deployment | Strategic Deployment |
| 0 | Per Allies Card reassigned from the Reinforcement Deck to a Unit in Britain or Africa | Strategic Deployment |
7. Supply
Units are either in supply (i.e., supplied), or out-of-supply.
A Corps is in supply if:
- It is in the same or adjacent region as the Army Reserve of the Army to which it is attached (except Armies in Africa or Britain, see below);
- That Army Reserve is in supply. If an Army Reserve is Out-of-Supply, a Corps attached to that Army is Out-of-Supply too.
An Army Reserve is in supply if:
- It can trace a line of friendly controlled regions across the map to a valid supply source, including regions you captured on your own turn. The region the Army Reserve occupies may be contested.
7.1: Supply Determination
a) First Supply Phase: During your own First Supply Phase, place Out-of-Supply Markers on any of your units that are not in supply. Corps and Armies so marked are out-of-supply until the Second Supply Phase, and those that are in supply likewise stay in supply until that time. b) Second Supply Phase: During your Second Supply Phase check the supply status for all of your units. Any out-of-supply units are removed from the board and its cards placed in your discard pile. c) Opponent's Turn: When it is your opponent's turn, you only check supply at the time of a particular combat resolution - your unit's supply status can change over the course of the turn. Do not mark your units with Out-of-Supply Markers on your opponent's turn.
7.2: Axis Supply
a) An Axis Army Reserve traces supply to any of the four Victory regions. b) Any number of Army Reserves can trace supply from each of these regions. c) If more than one region can be used, the Axis player doesn't have to designate which region is used. d) Axis Army Reserve supply lines can be any length.
7.3: Allied Supply
a) An Allied Army Reserve traces supply to its corresponding Army Supply Marker. b) Army Supply Markers can be placed or moved (any distance) during the Reorganization Phase for 1 Operation Point. c) An Army Supply Marker may be placed in a region with a Port or Mulberry, except the French 1st Army, which can place its Army Supply Marker in Paris (if it is controlled by the Allies). d) Only one Army Supply Marker can be placed per Mulberry or Port Symbol (Côte D'Azur has two, Antwerp has three). e) Allied supply lines cannot be traced more than five regions from the Army Reserve to the Army Supply Marker, not counting the region the Army Reserve is in. f) A Corps in Britain or Africa is supplied if attached to a supplied Army whose Reserve is on the Continent. g) If a Corps in Britain or Africa is attached to an Army that is Out-of-Supply in the Second Supply Phase, that Corps must immediately be attached to a different Army (at a cost of 1 Operation Point). If it cannot, due to Organizational Restrictions (see Section 5) or a lack of Operation Points, all of the cards assigned to that Corps (including the HQ) are placed in the Reinforcement Deck, and the counter removed from the map. h) During the Second Supply Phase, a Corps on the Continent attached to an Army whose Reserve is in Britain or Africa (or discarded) is out-of-supply. The unit is removed from the map and its assigned cards placed in the discard pile.
7.4: Mulberries
a) The Allies receive two Mulberry Markers (or Mulberries). b) During the Reorganization Phase immediately following a successful amphibious landing, one or both Mulberries may be placed in the region captured in the landing. This is the only time a Mulberry can be placed. (Placing a Mulberry does not cost Operation Points.) c) Once placed, a Mulberry may never be moved. If the region is subsequently re-conquered by the Axis, the Mulberry is permanently removed from the game. d) A Mulberry acts as a Port, and is in addition to any other Ports in the region.
7.5: Effects of Being Out-of-Supply
a) You cannot move units with Out-of-Supply Markers in the Second and Third Movement Phases. b) Attacking or defending cards assigned to out-of-supply units fire at -1. c) An out-of-supply unit that initiates combat must retreat after the First Combat Phase if there are still enemy units in the region (see Retreats, Section 12.6).
8. Replacement Phase
8.1: Replacements
Neither side receives Replacements on Turn 1. On future turns during your Replacement Phase, shuffle your Discard Pile, then draw a number of cards and place them face-down in the Reinforcement Deck without revealing them to the other player.
- If you are the Allies, draw 2 cards as Replacements, 3 if you control Paris.
- If you are the Axis, draw 1 card as a Replacement, 2 if you control Paris.
8.2: Army HQs
An Army HQ card with an At Start/Reinforcement Month that is the same or earlier than the current Month is placed in its corresponding slot on the player mat. There is no Operation Point Cost to do so.
The Allies place the Army Reserve counters in either Britain or Africa unless otherwise specified; Axis Army Reserve counters are placed in any Victory region.
8.3: 5th PanzerArmee June 1944 Reinforcements
The units of the 5th PanzerArmee were held in reserve to counterattack Allied invaders, wherever they might land. The Axis player may spend 5 Operation Points to have these units appear in either Paris or Antwerp (not both) during the Axis Replacement Phase of June 1944. These units may then be used like they began the turn in that region.
Once the 5 Operation Point cost is paid, any or all of the cards with a Reinforcement Month of June 1944 belonging to the 5th PanzerArmee may be assigned at no further OP cost.
- In the Historical Scenario, cards must be assigned to the units designated on the cards.
- In the Free Scenario, the cards can be assigned to either of the Corps or the Army Reserve of the 5th PanzerArmee.
Alternately, if the Axis player does not wish to spend the 5 Operation Points, these cards may remain in the Reinforcement Deck and assigned as usual, as per Section 13.1.
9. Allied Sea Transport
During the Sea Transport Phase, Allied units may be moved from Britain or Africa to the Continent. An Army may leave one or more attached Corps behind in Britain or Africa, but a Corps cannot be transported to the Continent if its parent Army's Reserve unit remains in Britain or Africa.
Units in Britain may only move to the Continent's Atlantic Coast. Units in Africa may only move to the Continent's Mediterranean Coast.
The Axis can never move units (or cards) across the sea.
9.1: Sailing into Port
a) During the Sea Transport Phase, the Allies can move one unit from Britain or Africa into each Allied controlled Port or Mulberry. This is known as Sailing into Port. b) Each unit Sailing into Port requires five Operation Points (regardless of the number of cards assigned.) c) During the Sea Transport Phase, units Sailing into Port may ignore restrictions regarding the number of Armies in a Region (see Section 5.2), and may act in the three subsequent Movement & Combat Phases as if they started the turn in that region.
9.2: Amphibious Assault
a) The Allies can also use the Sea Transport Phase to conduct an Amphibious Assault. Place the units on the Sea Assault Lane pointing to the region they will move into during the First Movement Phase; the region may be (but does not have to be) enemy occupied. b) The Operation Point cost for each unit of an Amphibious Assault varies by region and is indicated on the Sea Assault Lanes on the map. c) A Corps cannot conduct an Amphibious Assault if its parent Army's Reserve is not also conducting an Amphibious Assault against the same or an adjacent region. d) Units placed on Sea Assault Lanes for an Amphibious Assault must land on the First Movement Phase, and cannot move further that turn. e) Any Corps entering an enemy occupied region in an Amphibious Assault must be placed on the front line of an ensuing combat (See Section 12, Combat). f) An Armored Land Force card cannot be flipped in an Amphibious Assault, unless allowed by the card's Game Text. g) Land Forces belonging to units that are Amphibiously Assaulting fire at -1 in that turn's combat. h) Allied units cannot retreat from an Amphibious Assault. i) If at the end of the Third Combat Phase there are still Axis units in the invaded region, all of the Allied units that were part of the Amphibious Assault on that region are removed from the board and the cards assigned to those units discarded.
10. Airborne Movement
a) Allied units in Britain or Africa comprised solely of cards with the Airborne special ability may be moved during the Airborne Phase to a region on the Continent. b) Each unit using Airborne Movement costs 5 Operation Points. c) A Corps that starts in Britain using Airborne Movement may be moved to any region adjacent to the Atlantic coast; or in the same or an adjacent region to the Reserve of the Army to which the Corps is attached, and this Army draws supply from the Atlantic coast or Paris. d) A Corps that starts in Africa using Airborne Movement may be moved to any region adjacent to the Mediterranean coast; or in the same or an adjacent region to the Reserve of the Army to which the Corps is attached, and this Army draws supply from the Mediterranean coast or Paris. e) All cards moved by Airborne must be flipped by the end of the First Combat Phase even if they don't participate in combat. f) Units used Airborne Movement cannot move in the subsequent Movement Phases of that turn. g) Cards that use Airborne gain the Attack Enemy Rear special ability for the First Combat Phase. h) During the First Combat Phase, cards belonging to units that used Airborne Movement do not suffer the -1 associated with attacking across a river or in amphibious assault. i) Units that use Airborne Movement cannot retreat. If at the end of the Third Combat Phase there are still Axis units in the region attacked, the units that used Airborne Movement are discarded.
11. Movement
There are three separate (regular) Movement Phases. During a Movement Phase, each unit may move to an adjacent region. There are restrictions:
a) Corps with Engaged Markers cannot move. b) Corps under Fortress Markers cannot move. c) Units that used Airborne Movement cannot move. d) Units conducting an Amphibious Assault cannot move. e) Exhausted Corps cannot move. f) Units in Mountain terrain cannot move in the Second or Third Movement Phases. g) Units with Out-of-Supply Markers cannot move in the Second or Third Movement Phases. h) Other restrictions are described in the game text on (some) cards.
12. Combat
Combat occurs between enemy units that occupy the same region during a Combat Phase. If there is more than one region that has opposing units, the moving player decides the order in which the different regions' combats are resolved. Each combat is resolved before the next starts.
Combat is comprised of one or more battles in a region; a battle is fought between specific opposing units.
Combat Resolution Overview
- Combat Set up
- Attacker may use Reconnaissance
- First player sets up
- Second player sets up
- Second player arranges individual battles
- Firing
- Defender pre-combat retreat
- Defender fires, one unit at a time
- Attacker fires, one unit at a time
- React
- Attacker may React
- Defender may React
- Retreats
- Defender may (or must) retreat
- Attacker may (or must) retreat
- Place Engaged markers and turn over exhausted units
12.1: Setting up for Combat
Players will need a bit of free table space to setup combat. In combat, each player has a front line and a rear area (see diagram). Only cards belonging to units in the region are set up for combat. (Cards in an Army Reserve in an adjacent region may be able to fire in support, but these cards don't need to be moved from the player mats.)
a) First, the attacker announces if any of his or her cards will use the Reconnaissance special ability; if so, that card must be face-down and then flipped; and then the defender must set up for combat first. The attacker sets up first if it does not flip a card with Reconnaissance special. It is only necessary to flip one attacking card with Reconnaissance for the entire combat. b) The first player to set up places the cards of each of the units involved in either the front line or in the rear area:
- An Army Reserve must be placed in the rear area.
- A Corps with only its HQ card must be placed in the rear area.
- A Corps with an Engaged Marker must be placed in the front line.
- An Amphibiously Assaulting Corps must be placed in the front line.
- An attacking cards with the Attack Enemy Rear special ability can be set up against the rear area of the opponent. If there are no units in the defender's rear area, units may still be set up against the (empty) enemy rear area.
- Attacking cards using their Independent special ability are separated from their units and setup separately. Cards that use the Independent special ability must be flipped by the end of the First Combat Phase even if they don't fire in the combat.
- Note that in the rare case that a defender has more than 2 armies in a region, then all of the units of the third (or more!) Armies must be placed in the rear area, and those units must attempt pre-combat retreat - see Section 12.2. c) The player setting up second now follows a similar procedure as the first player setting up. d) The player setting up second now arranges the individual Battles.
- Each front line unit must be paired against an enemy front line unit (or card with the Independent special ability).
- If one side contains more units, the excess units are placed into existing Battles by the player setting up second. Thus, there will not be situations where both players have more than one unit.
- If possible, a Battle cannot contain units from more than one Army on one side; but if one side has units from two different armies in the front line (or rear area) and the other side has but one unit, all of the units may fight in the same battle. If this is the case, the side with two Armies must designate one of the Armies to be secondary at the time when the battles are being arranged. Cards from the Secondary Army fire at -1.
- Engaged units do not need to be arranged into the same battles as the previous Combat Phase.
- Occasionally an opponent will not set up a unit in the front line. You still may be able to fire all of your front line units. Each fires one at a time, and there is no Secondary Army penalty. Casualties are taken as per Section 12.4.
Diagram (page 18 of the preview): shows a sample combat setup. The Defender Rear holds the Defender Army Reserve and the Attacker's Army A Corps 2 (Airborne Corps); the Defender Frontline holds Defender Corps 1 and Defender Corps 2; the Attacker Frontline holds Attacker Army A Corps 1 and Army A Corps 2; the Attacker Rear holds the Attacker Army A Army Reserve, Army A Corps 3, and Attacker Army B Corps 1.
12.2: Pre-combat Retreat
a) After combat is set up, but prior to firing, defending units in the rear area may declare their intention to use pre-combat retreat. b) If the unit contains a face-up Motorized or Infantry Land Force, it cannot use pre-combat retreat, unless those cards are discarded. c) The defender must spend 1 OP per card retreated. d) As noted in Section 12.1, if a defender has 3 armies in a region, all of the units of one of those armies must use pre-combat retreat. If the defender does not have or wish to use OPs for some or all of these cards in this army, the cards are discarded. e) There is a possibility that units using pre-combat retreat will suffer casualties. During the ensuing combat, these cards may be taken as casualties from excess hits fired against the defender's rear area. They cannot be taken as casualties from excess hits caused by attacking units on the front line. (See Section 12.4) f) Attacking cards that can fire against the defender's rear area may do so, even if all of the defending units use pre-combat retreat.
12.3: Firing
Firing is the act of rolling a 10-sided die, and comparing the result to the modified Fire Strength of the firing card. (Cards may have a different Fire Strength on attack as on defense.) If the number rolled is less than or equal to the modified Fire Strength, a hit is scored. In line with common game convention, a zero on the die is treated as a ten.
a) A card can only fire once per Combat Phase. b) The defender fires all units in a combat before the attacker fires. c) When it is your turn to fire, you may resolve the individual battles in any order you wish. d) All fire from a unit must be directed at the same enemy unit in that battle – the firing player decides which unit to target. e) If there are no enemy units to battle (in either the rear area or front line) that your unit is setup to fire against, your unit may still fire. For example, if the defender does not setup any units in the rear area and the attacker uses a unit with Airborne to Attack Enemy Rear. Another example would be if two units fire on one enemy unit, and fire from the first unit forced all of the enemy cards to be discarded – the second unit could still fire. f) You must declare which cards in a unit will fire before rolling dice for that unit. This includes cards firing in support from the Army Reserve. g) All fire from one unit is rolled before the targeted unit being takes casualties. [Transcriber's note: "being takes" is printed as shown in the preview.] h) A face-down card must be flipped just before firing.
Using Support and Army HQ Cards in Combat Many Support and Army HQ cards have special abilities like Attack from Reserve or Defend from Reserve that allow them to fire into combat in an adjacent region. Support and Army HQ cards without the Independent special ability must be fire in conjunction with another unit in the same Army. [Transcriber's note: printed as "must be fire in conjunction".] Cards in an Army Reserve are still restricted to firing once per Combat Phase. (You may wish to turn cards that have fired upside down in the card tray until the end of the phase.) i) If a card flips specifically for the purpose of firing, it does not suffer the -1 penalty for firing while face-up. j) Attacking Infantry cannot flip in the Second or Third Combat Phase; these cards can only fire if face-up with an Engaged Marker. k) A face-down card that cannot flip (see below), cannot fire. l) Fire strength may be modified for many reasons - see the Fire Modifiers Table. When Fire is modified, the modification is to the target number, that is, the attack or defense fire strength. (Thus, a card with a printed fire strength of 3 but a -1 modifier, must now roll a 2 or less to score a hit.) Multiple instances of the same ability are combined; for example, two cards with Anti-Aircraft subtract 2 from the Fire Strength of enemy aircraft.
Fire Modifiers Table
| Modifier | Condition |
|---|---|
| -1 | Did not flip to fire (i.e. at the moment of firing the card was already face-up) |
| -1 | Attacker in the Second and Third Combat Phases |
| -1 | Defender in the Third Combat Phase |
| -1 | Fortress special ability not assigned to a Corps beneath a Fortress Marker |
| +1 | Fortress special ability assigned to a Corps beneath a Fortress Marker, defending against Amphibious Assault |
| +1 | Infantry Land Force defending in a woods/hills or mountain region |
| +1 | Mountain Troop special ability attacking or defending in a mountain region |
| -1 | Motorized and Armored Land Forces attacking or defending in wetlands region |
| -1 | Aircraft special ability, per face-up card with the Anti-air special ability in targeted unit |
| -1 | Land Force that moved across a river |
12.4: Taking Casualties
Casualties in a targeted unit are taken after all of the fire from a unit is rolled (including support cards from the Army Reserve), but before the next unit fires.
a) Barring any special Game Text, the targeted player must discard one card for each hit. b) When a face-down card is discarded due to enemy fire, it must be flipped immediately prior to being discarded. If it cannot be flipped (for any reason), it cannot be taken as a casualty to satisfy the hit. c) In Combat Phases 2 and 3, the moving player's face-down Infantry cannot be flipped and therefore cannot be taken as casualties. d) Casualties must be taken following these preferences: i. A card from the unit being fired upon (including the HQ card) ii. A card from another unit in the same battle iii. A card from any other unit in the same region iv. For fire directed at the defender's rear area, a card from a unit that used Pre-combat retreat; these units cannot be hit by fire directed at the front line. v. Any excess hits beyond these are ignored.
If a Corps HQ Card is taken as a casualty, all cards belonging to the Corps are discarded. If an Army HQ Card is taken as a casualty, all the cards belonging to the Army Reserve are discarded (and the other units from that Army are now out of supply).
12.5: Using React
After both sides have fired, starting with the attacker, cards with the React special ability can be reassigned from an Army Reserve to a Corps in the same Army and immediately fire. A player must announce all reacting cards simultaneously. The Army Reserve must be in the same or an adjacent region as the Corps.
A card cannot use React to move to a Corps that already has five cards. Each card that uses React costs one Operation Point. A reacting card must fire at the same unit that the Corps fired at earlier.
12.6: Retreats
After all of the battles in a region are resolved, units from both sides may retreat.
a) Each unit retreats individually. b) Some units in a combat may retreat while others fight on. A unit with only an HQ card must retreat, even if no enemy units remain in the region. c) Defending units retreat before attacking units. d) Attacking units with Out-of-Supply Markers must retreat if defending units remain in the region. e) The defender retreats by moving the unit into an adjacent friendly controlled region free of enemy units. f) Attacking units retreat back to the region from whence they came. g) Attacking units that retreat are exhausted. h) Retreating units may ignore organizational limits at the time of the retreat. i) If a unit must retreat, but cannot, it is discarded.
12.7: Engaged or Exhausted
If both sides still have units on the front line at the end of the First or Second Combat Phase, Corps on the front line, as well as any that used Airborne Movement, are marked with Engaged Markers.
a) Engaged units cannot move, and must fight on the front line in the following Combat Phase – even units with face-up attacking Infantry and Motorized. b) Army Reserves are never engaged.
Exhausted Exhausted Corps have their counters turned over (to their Exhausted side) to indicate their status. Exhausted Armies are tilted on their side. c) Attacking units that retreat are exhausted. d) Attacking Corps with a face-up attacking Infantry or Motorized cards are exhausted, unless engaged. e) Attacking units with Out-of-Supply Markers are always exhausted after the First Combat Phase.
13. Reorganization Phase
13.1: Attach Corps
During this Phase, you may change your which Armies your Corps are attached. [Transcriber's note: printed as "change your which Armies".]
a) Corps MAY be (re)attached to Armies to which they are not adjacent in anticipation of Strategic Deployment. b) When you take an Allied Corps HQ from the Reinforcement Deck and attach it to an Army, place the Corps in England or Africa. [Transcriber's note: printed as "England"; Section 2.8 and elsewhere use "Britain".] c) When you take an Axis Corps HQ from the Reinforcement Deck and attach it to an Army, place the Corps counter in any Victory region. d) All of the Corps attachments take place simultaneously; organizational limits are not enforced until the end of the phase. e) Each Corps (re)attachment costs 1 Operation Point.
13.2: Strategic Deployment & Reassign Cards Phase
During this phase you can spend Operation Points to reassign your (non-HQ) cards to different units, and/or move entire units around the map. Movement (of cards or whole units) during this step is referred to as Strategic Deployment.
a) Each card reassigned and/or using Strategic Deployment costs 1 Operation Point, even if reassigned to a different unit in the same region. b) There is no Operation Point cost for the Allies to assign a card from the Reinforcement Deck to a Unit in Britain or Africa. c) All of a player's Strategic Deployments are assumed to take place simultaneously, and no card can be moved twice; organizational limits are not enforced until the end of the map. d) Other than HQs, cards must be face-down to be moved or reassigned via Strategic Deployment. e) To move an entire unit together via Strategic Deployment, all of the cards except the HQ must be face down. Move the corresponding Army Reserve or Corps counter on the map. f) A unit or card using Strategic Deployment must trace a path across the map. It cannot enter an enemy controlled region, or a region captured this turn, including the starting and ending regions. (Thus, a card cannot be reassigned from or to a unit that ended the turn in a region that was enemy controlled at the beginning of the turn.) g) Card and units using Strategic Deployment are not affected by terrain. h) The Allies may trace Strategic Deployment paths over the sea between Ports, and/or Africa and Britain. Unlike the Sea Transport Phase, during Strategic Deployment there is no limit to the number of cards (or units) that can move through a particular Port.
13.3: Move or Place Supply Counters and Place Mulberries
During this Phase, Mulberries can be placed as per Section 7.4.
Then the Allied player may place or move Army Supply Markers at a cost of 1 Operation Point per Army Supply Marker. Army Supply Markers may be placed in newly captured regions.
14. Clean-up Phase
In this order, do the following:
a) Remove Out-of-Supply Markers. b) Both players discard or remove face-up Tactic cards from the game, according to the cards' Game Text. c) Both players turn over all face-up non-HQ cards on their player mats, so all cards except the HQ cards are face-down. d) Both players turn over Exhausted Corps counters and stand up Exhausted Armies Reserves. e) During the Allied Player's Cleanup Phase, Control Markers with "captured" side up are turned over; during the Axis Player's Cleanup Phase, Control Markers with "captured" side up are removed.
15. Special Abilities Defined
Airborne: Cards with the Airborne special ability can use Airborne Movement. See the Airborne rules, Section 10. Cards moving by Airborne Movement gain the Attack Enemy Rear special ability for the First Combat Phase of that turn.
Aircraft: A card with the Aircraft special ability unit fires at -1 for each face-up card with the Anti-Aircraft special ability in the unit fired upon.
Anti-Aircraft: See Aircraft.
Anti-Tank: An Armored Land Force fires at -1 for each face-up card with the Anti-Tank special ability in the unit fired upon.
Attack Enemy Rear: Cards with this ability can attack units in the defender's rear area; cards moving by Airborne Movement gain this ability for the First Combat Phase of that turn. If the defender does not have any units in its rear area, the attacking units may still fire (see Section 12). If units attacking the rear area become engaged, these units must be placed in the front line in the Second and Third Combat Phases of that turn.
Attack from Reserve: If this card is in an Army Reserve, it may fire in a battle with any attacking unit in the same Army, as long as both the Army Reserve and the unit being supported are in supply. The Army Reserve must be in the same or an adjacent space as the supported unit. This fire is rolled at the same time as those hits from the attacking unit.
Defend from Reserve: If this card is in an Army Reserve, it may fire in a battle with any defending unit in the same Army, as long as both the Army Reserve and the unit being supported are in supply. The Army Reserve must be in the same or an adjacent space as the supported unit. Hits from this fire are taken at the same time as those hits from the defending unit.
Fortitude: This card always scores a casualty on an unmodified fire roll of 1 (one).
Fortress: Cards with the Fortress Special ability fire at a -1 if not assigned to a Corps beneath a Fortress Marker. While assigned to a Corps beneath a Fortress Marker, cards with the Fortress special ability fire at a +1 against an Amphibious Assault.
Fragile: When this card is taken as a casualty it is removed from the game instead of being placed in the discard pile.
Independent: Attacking cards with the Independent special ability may be separated from a unit and act like its own separate unit (of 1 card) during that combat. This separation is done during the Combat set up (see Section 12.1), and the card is revealed but not flipped at that time; cards that use the Independent special ability must be flipped by the end of the First Combat Phase even if they don't participate in the combat. This ability can be used in conjunction with the Attack Enemy Rear ability. If a card that is Independent retreats, it rejoins its assigned unit. If its assigned unit's HQ has been discarded, it can be immediately assigned to any Army HQ at a cost of 1 OP. Cards with both the Independent and Attack from Reserve special abilities cannot create a combat in an adjacent space that does not contain any other friendly units. The use of the Independent special ability is optional.
Invulnerable: This card cannot be chosen as a casualty; if the HQ to which it is assigned is discarded, this card is discarded as well (without being flipped).
Mountain Troop: This card fires at +1 in Mountain regions. This is cumulative with the benefit of being an Infantry Land Force defending in Mountain regions.
Reconnaissance: You may flip a card with this special ability in one of your attacking units to provide Reconnaissance for that combat. A support card in a supplied Army Reserve that is not in the same region may provide Reconnaissance for a single combat involving a supplied unit of that Army. It is necessary to flip the card to gain the Reconnaissance ability for that combat.
React: A card with this special ability may be used in the Reaction step(s) of combat (see Section 12.5). (You must reveal the card using React.) Each card that uses its React ability costs 1 Operation Point.
Preview gap: the Kickstarter preview ends at page 24 with the React entry. Sections 16 (Historical Scenario Example, First Turn), 17 (Designer's Notes), 18 (Photo Credits), 19 (Map Notes) and 20 (Index), and the rest of the printed rulebook after page 24, are not part of this transcription. The sample turn and designer's notes are therefore absent; the publisher states the preview pages cover all rules needed to play.