Rules

Scale

 Ground scale is 5cm = 1km (or 3” = 1 mile)

 Each daylight turn is 4 hours, so a day will constitute 2, 3 or 4 turns according to season
and latitude as well as 1 overnight turn.

Basing

 Infantry battalions are on 2” square bases

 Tank and tank destroyer regiments go on 2” wide x 4” deep bases
 Artillery, including SP Artillery, goes on 2” wide x suitable depth (basic 3” depth)
 All other vehicles go on 1.5” wide x 4” deep bases
 Infantry, Cavalry, and M/cycle detachments go on 1.5” wide x 1” deep bases
 Tank or Recce vehicle squadrons go on 1.5” wide x 2.5” deep bases
 HQs: Div HQs on 1.5” wide and Corps/Army HQs on 2” wide bases

Turn sequence

 Weather (a.m. phase only)

 Command check
 Air strikes
 Move
 Combat
 Replace HQ lost in previous move

Strength points

Strength points are calculated on how hard it is to eliminate a unit, not on its kill potential, so
when deciding on how many SPs to give a unit, the umpire should take account of a unit’s size
but then temper it by its morale. A “normal” unit gets 1 SP per company or squadron. Elite units
might get 1 – possibly even 2 – extra SPs. Poor units might get 1 – possibly 2 - SPs fewer.
Armour gets +1 SP. Scary kit gets +1 SP. Really Scary kit gets +2 SPs. “Scary” and “Really
Scary” are relative to the other kit around at the time of the battle.

Transport and LOG/POL units get 1 SP per unit or LOG/POL unit they can carry.

Command

For a unit to be in command, it must be within 18” of a competent HQ. A unit out of command
may not move towards the enemy and recovers no lost SPs during a night phase. (See also
effects of being isolated in Supply section)

Orders

All units are deemed to be on normal move orders unless in transport mode. This permits a
transport move: any unit doing this is not allowed to move into combat though may be contacted
by the enemy. Transport movement applies to movement on Open Ground or on a Road only.

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Movement

Unit type Rough Broken Open Road

Ground Ground Ground
Recce 3” 6” 10” 20”
Other wheeled 2” 4” 8” 15”
Tracked 3” 6” 8” 12”
Foot 4” 5” 6” 8”
Mounted 4” 8” 8” 10”
Horse-drawn 1” 1” 6” 6”

 Motorised or horse-drawn units may only cross streams at rivers or fords

 Rough ground includes bocage, marsh, dense woodland etc
 Broken ground includes low hedges, open woods etc
 All of a built-up area counts as road
 Transport orders – may move up to 3 times above allowances
 Embussing or debussing takes ¼ of the transport move.
 Infantry crossing stream costs ½ move (vehicles not permitted)

All battalion-sized combat units exert a zone of control equivalent to their base width all around
themselves unless in built-up areas. Enemy units may not manoeuvre or pass through this: they
must either stop or go in a straight line into combat.

Units in contact with the enemy can disengage during the night phase at no penalty. If they
attempt to do so during the day each dices and loses 1SP on a 1, 2 or 3.

Following a surprise attack, defending units not close to the surprise may not react in the same
movement turn.

Deploying into detachments

Any battalion/regimental sized infantry, cavalry, recce or armoured unit may deploy in part or in
whole into company/squadron-sized sub-units called detachments. This can be done at no cost
to movement. Each detachment has 1 SP and in combat will have 1 fire die. These units may
not move into contact with battalion-sized infantry, armour, recce, or cavalry units. They may
only move into contact with artillery, transport and support vehicles, or other detachments.

Artillery Ranges

 Very short range artillery (e.g. Nebelwerfer) 12”

 Short range artillery (e.g. US 75mm pack howitzer) 18”
 Standard artillery (25pdr, 88mm, 105mm, 155mm etc) 24”
 Long range artillery (155m guns & 210 howitzers) 36”
 Very long range (e.g. German 17cm gun) 48”

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Combat

Each unit in a combat throws a number of D6s:

 Inf or cavalry bns get 2 dice
 Recce bns get 1
 Tanks get 3
 Artillery gets 3
 All detachments (companies or squadrons) get 1 die
 Very well armed units, including armoured infantry and infantry-manned emplacements
get an additional die (and are marked (S) in OrBats and on labels)
 Very poorly armed units get 1 fewer fire dice (and are marked (I) in OrBats and on labels)

Armoured units (tanks. A/Cs, tank destroyers) can take part in combat in support of an infantry
unit if in base contact behind the infantry unit.

6 to kill except:
 Units in transport mode or disembarking (4, 5, 6)
 Unprotected transport units (eg lorries, carts, bowsers etc) lose 1SP per unit attacking
regardless of dice result

Some units get saving rolls (4, 5, 6 to save):

 Infantry in built-up areas or emplacements, when being attacked
 Non-armour in rough ground
 Armour from infantry short of anti-tank weapons (except in built-up areas) (So infantry
units short of A/T weapons are marked (L) in OrBats and on labels)
 Defending a river bank if no others apply
 Anyone hit by a Recce detachment

Combat results

SPs lost in combat are marked off the orbat. If neither side is eliminated both sides remain in
place except:
 If attacker is not eliminated, a defending unsupported artillery unit is automatically
eliminated and replaced by a 1SP Infantry company which retires on foot 6” from its
position. The attacker may move into the vacated ground.
 Where a company/squadron-sized unit has been in combat with a bigger unit, but neither
has been eliminated by combat and the smaller unit is not in a prepared position, the
smaller unit retires 6” and the attacker may move into the vacated ground.

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Supply

 Consists of LOG (i.e. ammunition for guns) and POL (i.e. fuel for armour)
 LOG and POL is not usually held below divisional level. Units within a division can
usually draw on LOG or POL either from their own division or from higher echelon
assets (corps/army), but not from other divisions
 Units which capture LOG/POL supplies from the enemy can add these to their totals
 POL is only expended by armoured divisions
 LOG is only expended by artillery
 1 x POL Is used for each turn an armoured division moves (and +1 POL by any move of
a motorized division by transport move)
 1 x LOG used for each time an artillery piece fires
o for re-supply, see Night Phase
 Units which are isolated (i.e. they cannot trace a reasonable path to their HQ) may not
attack on the 2nd day of isolation; halve the number of fire dice (rounding down) on 3rd day
and surrender or disperse on 4th day

Engineers

Engineer or pioneer units can be used as ordinary infantry, though will usually lack heavy
weapons (so will be labelled as (L)) and may have fewer strength points than average infantry.
In addition though, they can build or destroy bridges, clear or lay mines and build fortifications.
Some HQs have engineering capability: these do engineering work at half the normal rate. The
usual time taken for each of these, and chances of success are:

 build a bridge unopposed: across a stream, 1 turn; across a river, 3 turns

 build a bridge opposed: not possible
 lay a bride for demolition unopposed: 1 turn
 lay a bridge for demolition opposed 2 turns and throw a D6, 1-2 unsuccessful and
engineers lose 1 SP, 3-4 unsuccessful; 5-6 successful.
 (bridges successfully laid for demolition will blow up on 2-6 on a further roll of a D6).
 build fortifications enough for 1 unit to get a saving roll takes 2 turns

Air and Sea Power

Naval power is spotted as per artillery. Add 1 die per unit attacked.
Air power can be concentrated as desired.
6 on a D6 to hit.

Air-landing
Result:
Roll a D6 and add +1 for each of the 1-2 no effect
following which applies: 3.4 1SP dispersed – accrues in next
Paras landing in rough night phase
Gliders landing in broken (nb they may not 5-6 2SP dispersed – 1SP accrues each
land in rough) next night phase
Landing within 2” of enemy flak 7+ 1SP dispersed, accrues next night
Add +2 if landing in night phase phase and 1SP permanently lost

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Night Phase

Recovery of lost strength points

 losses are recovered in this phase and rate will depend on scenario, though rough rule of
thumb is that a division in a reasonable state gets about ½ its losses back up to a
maximum specified in the scenario OrBat. The umpire will decide which units get what.
Additional recovery for infantry if a hospital in its command chain is available and the
same for armour if a recovery unit is available. Isolated units do not recover any SPs.

Resupply

 POL and LOG can be resupplied by all routes, but air is only half effect (rounded down)
and can be worse if resupply area is subject to enemy A/A fire (a 4, 5 or 6 on a D6
disrupts by a further half, also rounding down) or the weather is poor (cloudy or overcast)
 For a division which gets both LOG and POL, the commander may choose the balance
of POL or LOG he wants each resupply turn up to the maximum for each which he can
stock-pile.
 For 1944-45, U.S./Brit/Can divisions resupply overnight at the rate of 10 x POL/ LOG (5 x
LOG for inf divs) if they have a valid overland/seaborne supply route
 For 1944-45, Soviet divisions resupply overnight at the rate of 9 x PO/LOG (5 x LOG for
inf divs) if they have a valid overland/seaborne supply route
 For 1944-45, Axis divisions resupply overnight at the rate of 7 x PO/LOG (4 x LOG for inf
divs) if they have a valid overland/seaborne supply route

Movement

 Units in contact with the enemy may disengage if they are not surrounded and may make
up to a full move away from the enemy and back towards their own lines.
 All other units may make up to a full normal move as long as:
o they are behind their own lines or
o if they are “in the front line”, that they move away from the enemy

Weather

 Roll 1 x D6 to determine the weather for the following day:

NW Europe 1 2 3 4 5 6
Spring Overcast Overcast Cloudy Cloudy Fine Fine
Summer Overcast Cloudy Fine Fine Fine Fine
Autumn Overcast Overcast Cloudy Cloudy Fine Fine
Winter Overcast Overcast Overcast Overcast Cloudy Fine

(Umpire to adjust according to location)