5th Fleet: Modern Naval Combat in the Indian Ocean
5th Fleet: Modern Naval Combat in the Indian Ocean Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- 2.0 Game Equipment
- 3.0 Sequence of Play
- BASIC GAME RULES
- 4.0 The Action Phase
- 5.0 Movement
- 6.0 Stacking
- 6.2 Groups
- 7.0 Strategic Air Missions
- 8.0 Combat Air Patrol (CAP)
- 9.0 Detection
- 10.0 Combat
- 10.9 Close Defense Hex Combat
- 11.0 Damage
- 12.0 Mines
- 13.0 Aircraft Carriers
- 14.0 Basic Game Scenarios
- ADVANCED GAME RULES
- 15.0 Darkness and Weather
- 16.0 Logistics (Optional)
- 17.0 Random Events
- 18.0 Tactical Nuclear Warfare (Optional)
- 19.0 Deep Mode (Optional)
- 20.0 Optional Rules
- 21.0 Unloading
2.0 Game Equipment
2.1 Game Components
5th Fleet contains:
- One rulebook
- Three 56cm x 81cm maps
- Two sheets of 192 counters
- One sheet of 96 counters
- One sheet of 260 game markers
- Two identical charts and tables booklets
- Two logistics/player tracking rosters
- Three scenario deployment cards
- Two Strategic Air Display cards
- One ten-sided die
Allied counters have green borders of two types: light green (Arabian Peninsula nations) and dark green (all others). Each country has its own color. India, Iran, and Indonesia have tan-toned borders in different shades, since they can be neutral in some scenarios. Soviet counters have a red border, but each country controlled by the Soviets has its own specific color. In addition to color, each nation's forces can be recognized by a two-letter abbreviation printed on the counter.
The reverse of each counter is printed with an explosion symbol and reduced values, indicating that the unit has been damaged. Each player also has a set of markers used to track game information; some are printed in the Allied color, some in the Soviet color, and others in a neutral color.
Note: The game uses a ten-sided die. When a 0 is rolled, it is treated as 0, not as 10 as in many other games. In addition, a result of 0 is always treated as an even number.
2.2 Game Questions
If you have a question about the rules, you may write to Victory Games with a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and a staff member will attempt to answer it.
2.3 Playing Pieces
In 5th Fleet, at the start of the game one player is chosen as the Allied player, and the other as the Soviet player (or sometimes the Indian or Iranian player). Each player controls the game's counters, drawn from among 22 nations:
The Allied player controls the counters of:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- France
- Spain
- Portugal
- Canada
- Thailand
- Netherlands
- Somalia
- Saudi Arabia
- Kuwait
- Bahrain
- United Arab Emirates
- Qatar
- Oman
The Soviet player controls the counters of:
- Soviet Union
- North Yemen
- South Yemen
- Ethiopia
The following counters are used by both players depending on the scenario, since they can be neutral, Allied, or Soviet-aligned:
- India
- Iran
- Indonesia
2.4 Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used in the game, and are listed on reference cards for 3rd Fleet, 6th Fleet, 2nd Fleet, 7th Fleet, and 5th Fleet.
3.0 Sequence of Play
All actions that occur during a game turn take place in a strict sequence of play. The game turn is made up of a number of phases, which, like the turns themselves, may be made up of a number of segments. They must be carried out in the order listed below.
One day of real time is represented by three game turns: AM (Morning), PM (Afternoon), and Night, each of which represents 8 hours of real time. Certain phases in the sequence of play occur only in AM or Night turns and are skipped in the other turns.
Strategic Cycle (AM Game Turns Only)
A. Random Events Phase (Advanced Game; not on Game Turn 1): The Allied player rolls a die and both players consult the Random Events table (17.0).
B. Weather Phase (Advanced Game): The Allied player rolls a die and both players consult the Weather table for the map on which the scenario is played (15.0). For Squall or Storm results, a die is rolled again and the Zone table is consulted to determine the affected zones.
C. Submarine Mode Phase (Advanced Game; optional): Players may place Deep markers on any submarine with a movement allowance of 2 or more. Players may also remove Deep markers from their submarines (19.0).
D. Strategic Air Phase:
- Allocation Segment: Both players secretly assign strategic missions to air units on the Strategic Air Display card (7.1).
- Interception Segment: Enemy air units on an interception mission in the same zone may execute air-to-air combat (7.2).
- Bounce Segment: Surviving interceptor air units execute air-to-air combat against enemy air units in the same zone that are on missions other than interception (7.2).
- Mine Segment: Air units on a mine-laying mission place Mine markers in coastal, shoal, and restricted-water hexes (12.0).
- Strategic Detection Segment: For each reconnaissance air unit in a zone, the controlling player may place a strategic detection marker on an enemy surface unit (or stack), or may attempt to place a strategic detection marker on an enemy submarine in that zone (9.2).
Activity Cycle (All Game Turns)
E. CAP Phase: Both players assign air units to Combat Air Patrol (8.0).
F. Replenishment Phase (Advanced Game; optional): Both players may carry out replenishment in port and at sea (16.0).
G. Local Detection Phase: Local detection markers may be placed on surface units or submarines occupying enemy Limited or Extended Detection zones (9.2).
H. Tactical Coordination Phase: Air units on tactical coordination missions may be assigned to surface units or submarines on the map (7.4).
I. Action Phase:
- 1st Action Segment: A die is rolled to determine the active player. On an even result, the Allied player is active; on an odd result, the Soviet player is active. The active player announces which type of unit he will activate: Surface, Submarine, or Air.
- 2nd Action Segment: The die is rolled to determine the active player. That player announces the type of unit he will activate (he may not select a unit type already chosen in the 1st segment).
- 3rd Action Segment: The die is rolled to determine the active player. That player announces the type of unit he will activate (he may not select a unit type already chosen in a previous segment).
- 4th Action Segment: The die is rolled to determine the active player. That player announces the type of unit he will activate (he may not select a unit type already chosen in a previous segment).
- 5th Action Segment: The die is rolled to determine the active player. That player announces the type of unit he will activate (he may not select a unit type already chosen in a previous segment).
- 6th Action Segment: The die is rolled to determine the active player. That player announces the type of unit he will activate (he may not select a unit type already chosen in a previous segment).
J. Local Detection Removal Phase: Surface and submarine units that do not occupy enemy detection zones may have their Local Detection markers removed (9.5).
K. CAP and Tactical Coordination Landing Phase: All units on CAP return to the airfield or carrier they departed from (8.4). Air units on Tactical Coordination on the map are placed on the Strategic Air Display in the Return to Base box (7.4).
Terminal Cycle (Night Turns Only)
L. Fuel Phase (Advanced Game; optional): Fuel expenditures of combat units are updated on the Logistics Rosters (16.0).
M. Repair Phase: Damage 1 markers are removed from ports and airfields. Damage 2 markers are flipped to their Damage 1 side. Damage 3 markers are replaced with Damage 2 markers (11.0). Destroy markers are not removed.
N. Strategic Air Mission Termination Phase: Air units on the Strategic Air Display are returned to their carriers or airfields of origin (7.6).
O. Strategic Detection Removal Phase: Strategic Detection markers may be removed from units, or may be flipped to their Local Detection side (9.5).
Game Turn Indication: The game turn is now over. The Game Turn marker is advanced one space on the Game Turn Track. Players again carry out the Strategic Cycle if the next turn is an AM turn, or the Activity Cycle if the next turn is a PM or Night turn. This process repeats until the game ends.
BASIC GAME RULES
4.0 The Action Phase
Most activity takes place during the Action Phase, which is made up of 6 Action Segments. During each Action Segment, a player moves and executes combat with units of a single type (surface, submarine, or air). When he has finished activating the selected unit type, he announces it aloud.
4.1 The Action Segments
To determine who goes first in each Action Segment, the Allied player rolls a die. If the result is even (including 0), the Allied player activates his units first in that segment; if the result is odd, the Soviet player activates his units first. This is done at the start of each of the 6 Action Segments.
In each Action Segment, the active player announces which type of unit he will activate: surface, submarine, or air. He may then activate all or part of the units of the announced type. It is not permitted to announce a unit type that has already been chosen in a previous Action Segment of the current phase. For example, if the Allied player is the active player in the 1st Action Segment and chooses air units, he may not activate air units again in any later Action Segment of the current phase; the next time he becomes active, he must choose surface or submarine units to activate.
Once a player has activated all three unit types during an Action Phase, it is not necessary to roll a die to determine the active player for the remaining Action Segments of that phase — the opposing player is automatically active for all remaining segments. For example, if the Soviet player was active in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Action Segments, the Allied player is automatically active for the 4th, 5th, and 6th Action Segments. The second player then announces which type of unit he wishes to activate; he is not required to activate the same type of unit as the first player.
A player must always select one of the three unit types when he becomes active at the start of an Action Segment. He is not allowed to pass. However, an active player is not required to take any actions with the chosen unit type — he may, in fact, do nothing at all if he wishes. (Note that in some scenarios, one or both players do not have all three unit types on the map. In that case, the scenario's special rules specify that the Action Phase consists of fewer than 6 Action Segments.)
4.2 Unit Activation
To be selected for activation, a unit must belong to the unit type selected for the current segment (surface, submarine, air), and must not have already been activated in that segment. For example, if a player announces "Air" at the start of an Action Segment, he may only activate air units in that segment. A player must finish the actions of one unit (or stack) before activating another unit (or stack). To keep track of which units have already been activated in a segment, players may rotate units 90 degrees after activation; at the end of the segment they may be returned to their normal position.
4.3 Limitations on Activation
Activation of units in an Action Segment is entirely voluntary. A player is not required to activate units in his surface, submarine, or air segments. Units occupying different hexes may not be activated together.
Surface Units: A player may activate all or part of his surface units occupying the same hex at the start of an Action Segment. All surface units within a hex do not have to be activated at the same time; a player may choose to activate some surface units in a hex at one point in the Action Segment, and activate the remaining units later. However, all units that are activated together must carry out their actions together as a stack (6.0). Friendly units of different nationalities may be activated together without restriction.
Submarines: Submarines must be activated individually. A submarine must finish its actions before another submarine may be activated.
Air Units: A player may activate a maximum of 4 INT, ATK, and/or BMB air units at the same time, and there is no limit on activating RCN, AEW, or EW units stacked together in the same hex. A player may activate a maximum of 3 INT, ATK, or BMB within the same stack, but never more. Friendly air units of different nationalities may be activated together without restriction.
Air units from an aircraft carrier are considered stacked together. These units may be activated individually or as a stack, with a maximum of 4 INT and/or ATK units per activation. If two or more carriers occupy the same hex, the air units of the different carriers may be activated as part of the same force (with a maximum of 4 INT/ATK).
4.4 What activated units can do
Once a player has announced the type of unit he is activating in the Action Segment, he may move and execute combat with each of his units (or stacks) of that type. A unit or stack must finish its actions before another unit or stack is activated. In addition, a unit may only be activated once per segment. While a unit is executing actions, no other unit — enemy or friendly — may move or attack, except for enemy units on CAP (8.2).
Air or surface units that are stacked together and activated as a single force are considered a single unit for activation purposes; they may not be split up, and they must execute the same types of attack. If an attack is made, not all units in the stack are required to participate in the attack.
Surface Units: A surface unit or stack may move and/or attack in an Action Segment, with the following restrictions:
- It may move without attacking.
- It may move and execute one or two attacks.
- It may execute one or two attacks and then move.
- It may execute one or two attacks and not move.
- It may execute one attack, move, and then execute a second attack.
A surface unit may never execute two attacks of the same type in the same segment. Thus, in a surface Action Segment, a surface unit may execute one or two of the three attack types (but never more than one of each): ASW, SSM, and Cruise Missile (10.0).
Example: A player has a stack of 4 surface units and decides to activate them together. First, he executes an ASW attack; then he moves the stack; finally, he executes a Cruise Missile attack.
Submarines: Each submarine is activated individually. A submarine may move and execute an attack, in either order, during an Action Segment.
Air Units: An air unit or stack may move and execute an attack at any point during its movement. Air units are the only units that may interrupt their movement to attack. Air units must always begin and end their activation at an authorized airfield (or aircraft carrier, 13.0).
Activation example: During the first Action Segment, the US player rolls a die and gets a 2, so he becomes active. He announces "Air" and activates as many air units as he wishes, after which he places the US Air Action Segment marker in the 1st Action Segment box of the Action Segment Track. At the start of the second Action Segment, the US player rolls a 4 and again becomes active. He announces "Sub" and activates as many submarines as he wishes, after which he places the US Sub Action Segment marker in the 2nd Action Segment box of the track. At the start of the 3rd segment, the US player rolls a 3, so the Soviet player becomes active. The Soviet player announces "Air" and activates his air units, placing the Soviet Air Action Segment marker in the 3rd Action Segment box. The US player rolls a 6 and becomes the active player for the third (and last) time. He must announce "Surface" since he has already announced "Air" and "Sub." After activating his surface units, he places the US Surface Action Segment marker in the 4th Action Segment box. There is no longer any need to roll a die to determine the active player for the 5th and 6th Action Segments, since the US player can no longer become active. So, at the start of the 5th Action Segment, the Soviet player announces "Sub" and activates as many submarines as he wishes, then places the Soviet Sub Action Segment marker in the 5th Action Segment box. In the 6th Action Segment, the Soviet player must announce "Surface" since he has already activated his air units and submarines. After activating as many surface units as he wishes, the Action Phase is over.
4.5 The Action Segment Track
Each player has 3 Action Segment markers labeled "Air", "Surf" (Surface), and "Sub" (Submarine). So that players can remember which unit types they have selected during the 6 segments of the Action Phase, players must place these markers on the Action Segment Track. When each player selects a unit type to activate during an Action Segment, he must place the appropriate marker in the box corresponding to the current segment. At the end of the Action Phase, the markers are removed from the track.
5.0 Movement
There are several types of hexes on the map: sea hexes, made up entirely of water; land hexes, made up entirely of land; and coastal hexes, made up of a combination of land and water (including island hexes), which are divided into three types — Restricted Water hexes, Fjord hexes, and hexes that are neither restricted water nor fjord (non-restricted water/fjord). There are also two special hex types: Shallow Water hexes and Shoal hexes, which can affect the movement of surface units, detection, and combat against submarines. See the Terrain Key for a full list of hex types.
Note: 5th Fleet uses a new map, with more natural graphics than the previous games in the series. Sometimes more than one type of sea appears in the same hex. In that case, the hex is treated as being of the predominant type contained in it. For example, if a small amount of open sea appears in a hex predominantly composed of shallow water, the hex is treated as a shallow water hex.
Note 5th Fleet: There are also 3 special zones on the map that affect victory conditions in certain scenarios: the Strait of Hormuz zone and the Bab-el-Mandeb zone on the West map, and the Strait of Malacca on the East map. No unit may ever leave the map, in any scenario.
5.1 How Units Move
Each unit's movement value (printed directly on the counter) represents the maximum number of hexes the unit may travel when activated. A unit may move fewer hexes than shown on the counter, but never more. When a unit moves, the player moves it through hexes contiguous to one another. Note that certain units may not move into certain hex types.
When a stack is activated, the air or surface units in it may move a number of hexes equal to the movement allowance of the slowest unit in the stack. A moving stack may not drop off a unit and continue moving — the stack must move, attack, and stop together.
Note 5th Fleet: Special restriction for the Persian Gulf — US and French aircraft carriers, as well as the Soviet carrier Tbilisi, may never enter a Persian Gulf hex.
5.2 Surface Unit Movement
A surface unit may enter any sea, coastal, or shallow-water hex. It may never enter a land hex. During movement, surface units may pass through a hex occupied by friendly or enemy units. Likewise, they may move through enemy Base hexes without restriction. However, surface units may never end their movement stacked in the same hex as an enemy unit or Base (even if destroyed). Surface units may end their movement in a coastal defense hex.
A surface unit may never enter a hex by crossing a side made up entirely of land. For example, a surface unit in hex 1212 on the Caribbean map may not move directly into hex 1213 — it must first pass through hexes 1112 and 1113.
Shoal Hexes: PC and CO units are the only units able to enter shoal hexes. This is forbidden to all other surface units.
Blocked Hexside: Surface units may never cross a blocked hexside.
Docking: An active unit or stack occupying a friendly port may spend 2 points of its movement allowance to dock. A unit that occupies a port without having spent 2 points to dock is considered undocked.
The player must separate his docked and undocked units in the port using the "Docked" marker. All units under the Docked marker (including submarines) are considered docked; the others are undocked.
A docked unit that is activated does not spend a movement point to become undocked. After leaving the dock it may move normally and may be activated as part of a stack with other undocked units in the hex.
Docked units are subject to several special combat rules (10.0). Units may dock in damaged or destroyed ports.
5.3 Submarine Unit Movement
Submarines are subject to the same restrictions as surface units, including blocked hexsides and docking. A submarine with a movement allowance of 2 may dock by spending only 1 movement point (not 2), and a submarine with a movement allowance of 1 pays nothing to dock.
Shoal hex: Submarines may never enter a shoal hex.
Full speed: When a submarine is activated, the player may announce that it is moving at full speed. Activating a submarine at full speed adds 1 movement point. However, moving at full speed can affect the placement of a Strategic Detection marker on the submarine (9.2). A player may not activate a submarine at full speed if it is in a restricted-water or shoal hex. Likewise, a submarine moving at full speed may not enter a restricted-water or shoal hex.
5.4 Air Unit Movement
Air units may enter and move through any hex on the map, regardless of hex type (including hexes with blocked hexsides) or the presence of friendly or enemy bases. Air units have only one movement restriction: they must begin and end their activation at a friendly airfield or carrier.
The following restrictions apply to air unit activation:
International Borders: Air units may move through the hexes of any country without restriction.
Note 5th Fleet — International Borders: In Basic Game scenarios, air units may move through hexes of any country without restriction. In the Advanced Game, there are restrictions on crossing international borders.
Note 5th Fleet: US, Australian, French, and Soviet air units may begin and end their activation at any friendly airfield. Indian air units may begin or end their activation at a Sri Lankan airfield, on the Maldive Islands, at Car Nicobar (4568), and of course at any Indian airfield. All other air units must begin and end their activation at an airfield of their own country, unless the scenario specifies otherwise.
Changing airfields: Given the restrictions above, an air unit does not have to end its activation at the airfield it started from. It may move to another airfield within its movement allowance. However, if it changes airfields, it may not be activated (or fly strategic missions or CAP) for the next 8 game turns. On the 9th turn after the airfield change, it may be activated again. (To remember that a unit may not be activated after an airfield change, players may place it on the Game Turn Track 8 spaces ahead of the current turn, noting the airfield it is on beneath the counter. When that turn arrives, it returns to its airfield ready for activation, CAP, or strategic missions.)
Aircraft Carriers: Air units that start the game aboard a carrier (CV) must remain aboard that carrier for the entire game. Air units assigned to a CV are destroyed if their carrier is sunk (remove the units from the Aircraft Carrier Display; however, CAP and strategic air missions already underway continue until the aircraft are forced to land, at which point they are destroyed). Air units that do not start the game aboard a carrier may never end their activation on a carrier.
A US AV-8 air unit assigned to an AA unit may not leave the surface unit it is attached to, and is destroyed if that AA unit is destroyed.
5.5 Base Hexes
There are 3 types of Base hexes: airfields, ports, and combined port/airfield hexes. Bases belong to the Allied player, the Soviet player, or are neutral. Each Base has a Close Anti-Air value, used when the base is attacked (10.0).
Note 5th Fleet — Off-Map Airfields: The Soviet player has 4 off-map airfields (Baku, Ashkhabad, Kabul, and Cam Ranh) and the Allied player has 2 (George Town and Singapore).
Off-map airfields are not treated as hexes; they are connected to the map by arrows. A distance (in hexes) is printed inside each off-map airfield box, indicating the number of movement points an air unit must spend to travel from the airfield onto the map.
Note 5th Fleet: For example, a Soviet air unit entering the map from Kabul must spend 12 movement points to enter hex 4417. Likewise, an air unit must spend 12 movement points to travel from hex 4417 to Kabul.
Once an air unit has entered a hex from an off-map airfield, it may move normally and is subject to the previous restrictions; it may end its activation at an airfield on the map. Off-map airfields may be attacked by cruise missiles (10.5).
Note 5th Fleet: Only Soviet air units (not their allies) may operate from the Soviet off-map airfields. Only US, Australian, Thai, and Malaysian air units may use the Allied off-map airfields.
6.0 Stacking
A maximum of 12 friendly surface units (CV, CG, CL, DD, FF, BB, CO, and PC) may end an Action Segment stacked together in the same hex. Non-combat surface units do not count against this limit. Groups (6.2) may end an Action Segment in the same hex as long as the 12-combat-unit-per-hex limit is observed.
There is no limit on stacking friendly submarines at the end of a Submarine Action Segment. Submarines may end their activation stacked with friendly surface units (and vice versa), and they do not count toward the surface stacking limit.
A maximum of 4 friendly INT, ATK, and/or BMB air units may occupy an airfield hex at any point in a turn. Air units may pass through an airfield in violation of the restrictions above (in transit). RCN, EW, and AEW air units do not count toward the maximum number of air units at an airfield. Air units at an airfield located in a coastal hex may occupy the same hex as surface units or submarines.
Friendly units of different nationalities may occupy the same hex. Opposing units may never occupy the same hex at the end of an Action Segment. Notable exception: if the Tactical Nuclear rule is in use (18.0), players may stack as many combat surface units as they wish.
6.1 Stacking Restrictions
Movement: A player may activate all or part of his surface units in a hex as a stack, except for Groups (6.2), which must be activated separately. A maximum of 4 INT, ATK, and/or BMB air units, plus as many RCN, AEW, and EW units as desired, may be activated from an airfield or CV at once. Submarines must be activated individually.
Position: The position of surface units within a stack does not matter until the opponent declares a Bombing or SSM attack against the stack. Once combat resolution has begun, the position of the ships may not be adjusted. The position of air units within a stack is never significant.
If several Task Forces and/or Task Groups occupy a hex together with other surface units that are not part of a group, groups do not benefit from the anti-air values of other groups or units during defensive combat (10.4 and 10.6).
6.2 Groups
Groups are collections of surface units that carry out actions together. There are two types of groups: Task Groups and Task Forces.
Creating Groups: At the start of a player's surface Action Segment (before any unit is activated) and at the end of that segment (after all units have been activated), a player may create groups from available stacks of surface units and adjust the status of existing groups. Creating and maintaining groups is voluntary — a player is never required to form a group, and may break up his groups at the start or end of his surface Action Segment if he wishes (and must break them up if they no longer meet the required size). Units of different nationalities may belong to the same group.
Each player has a set of markers printed with "Task Force" on one side and "Task Group" on the other. Forming a group is not limited by the number of markers in the game — players who have used up their markers may still form groups, using blank markers to represent them.
To create a group, a player designates a stack of surface units and indicates which units in that stack are included in the group. Those units are removed from the map and replaced with a Task Group or Task Force marker of the appropriate side (Allied or Soviet). If 2 or 3 combat units (CV, CL, CG, DD, FF, BB, CO, PC) plus any number of non-combat units are chosen, players use the Task Group side of the marker. If 4 or more combat units plus any number of non-combat units are chosen, players use the Task Force side of the marker. More than one group may be formed from the same stack of surface units.
When surface units are chosen to form a group, the player places them on his Task Group/Force Display in the box corresponding to the number of the Task Group/Force marker representing them. On the display, one surface unit is placed per box — the placement order represents the order in which the units are stacked (box 1 being the top of the stack). If a group contains more units than there are boxes, place the extra units at the end of the row of boxes.
Docked surface units in a port hex may form a group, but may never form one together with undocked units occupying the same hex. Stacks of docked and undocked units must be kept separate.
Enhancement of Groups: At the start or end of a surface Action Segment, a player may add surface units to an existing group as long as they are located in the same hex. Remove the added units from the map and place them on the Task Force/Group Display in the box corresponding to their new Task Force/Group. If adding ships upgrades a Task Group into a Task Force, the marker on the map must be flipped to the correct side.
Disbanding Groups: At the start or end of a surface Action Segment, a player may disband any group he wishes. To do so, he removes the Task Group/Force marker and places the group's surface units on the map. If, due to combat losses, a group falls below the minimum required size, the player must adjust the group (see below).
Combining Groups: At the start or end of a surface Action Segment, a player may combine all or part of his groups occupying the same hex. The combined group is represented by a single Group marker (all other group markers are removed), and the placement of surface units on the Task Group/Force Display is adjusted to reflect the new group structure. If the new group has 4 or more combat units, use the Task Force side of the marker.
Special Group Restrictions: Surface units that start a surface Action Segment in the same hex but are activated separately may not, at the end of that segment, regroup to form a group with all or part of the units they were stacked with at the start of the segment.
Groups and Combat Losses: If, due to combat losses, a Task Group falls below 2 combat units, the player must immediately adjust the group's status by removing the marker and placing the remaining units on the map. (If a Task Force falls below 4 combat units, it is adjusted by simply flipping the marker to its Task Group side, provided it still has 2 or more combat units.) Task Groups and Task Forces that are adjusted due to combat losses may not combine with other friendly groups occupying the same hex until the next start or end of the player's surface Action Segment.
Movement: A Group marker behaves like a surface unit. It may move a number of hexes equal to the lowest movement value among the group's units. Groups stacked in the same hex must be activated individually. Once a group is activated, it must move and attack as a stack — no unit may separate from a group until the end of the surface Action Segment. Remember that whenever units of the group execute combat, the participating units must execute the same type of combat (for example, units may not execute SSM attacks while others execute ASW attacks at the same time).
Defense Combat Benefit: Units within a Task Force that are attacked by torpedo, SSM, or Bombing attacks receive a +2 modifier to their defensive die rolls (10.0). Units in a Task Group receive no such benefit. Docked units that are part of a Task Force receive this modifier.
7.0 Strategic Air Missions
Air units may be assigned to strategic air missions during the Strategic Air Phase, which occurs on AM game turns. A unit assigned to a strategic mission may not be activated during the next 3 Action Phases (AM, PM, and Night). While flying strategic missions, air units are placed on the Strategic Air Display.
7.1 Mission Eligibility
There are 4 types of strategic missions to which air units may be assigned in the Basic Game: Interception, Reconnaissance, Tactical Coordination, and Mining. A Strategic Air Mission Eligibility chart shows which mission types each air unit type may fly. There are 6 air unit types — Interceptor (INT), Attack (ATK), Bomber (BMB), Reconnaissance (RCN), Electronic Warfare (EW), and Airborne Early Warning (AEW) — plus a special unit type, Aerial Refueling (AR). Certain missions are forbidden to certain air unit types; for example, an INT unit may never be assigned to a Mining mission.
Strategic Air Display: Each player has a Strategic Air Display card on which air units are placed for strategic missions. The display is divided into several named zones, each of which is also delimited by borders on the map corresponding to the Strategic Air Display's layout. Each zone has 4 mission boxes, plus additional Return to Base boxes (7.6).
During the Allocation Segment of the Strategic Air Phase, each player secretly assigns all or part of his air units to strategic missions. To assign an air unit to a strategic mission: (1) decide the mission type the unit will fly; (2) decide the zone in which it will be placed; (3) take the unit from its airfield or carrier and place it in the desired mission box of the display. Damaged air units may not fly missions normally. Friendly air units of different nationalities may fly missions in the same zone.
False Mission Assignment: During the Allocation Segment, a player is allowed to mislead his opponent by removing one or more air units from the map without assigning them to a strategic mission. (If a player knows exactly how many enemy air units are removed from the map for missions — even though the actual mission assignment is secret — this could strongly influence his own assignments.) At the end of the Allocation Segment, air units that were not assigned a strategic mission are returned to the airfield from which they were removed.
Zone Range of Air Units: Air units occupy the zone in which their airfield or carrier is located. Some air units can fly missions at extended range, while others cannot fly strategic missions at all. An air unit's movement allowance determines the range (in zones) at which it may fly a mission:
| Movement Allowance | Range |
|---|---|
| 71 or more | 3 zones |
| 51–70 | 2 zones |
| 26–50 | 1 zone |
| 11–25 | Only within its own zone |
| 10 or less | May not fly strategic missions |
Example: A US F-18C unit (movement allowance 20) and a P-3 unit (movement allowance 70) occupy Key West in the Florida zone. The F-18C may only be assigned to a reconnaissance or interception mission in the Florida zone, since its movement allowance is between 11 and 25. The P-3 may be assigned to reconnaissance, tactical coordination, or mining missions in the Florida zone, or in any zone up to 2 zones away (the Panama Canal zone, for example).
Off-Map Airfields: All off-map airfields are treated as being one zone farther from the zone to which they are connected by arrows on the map, if the distance shown in the off-map airfield box is 15 hexes or less. An airfield is considered 2 zones farther if the distance shown is 16 or more.
Special Strategic Air Mission Restrictions: The restrictions below apply to strategic missions.
-
A friendly airfield or carrier with no INT air units, located 4 hexes or less from an undamaged enemy airfield or carrier that has at least 1 INT air unit, may not fly strategic missions with its air units. (Exception: if at least 1 friendly INT unit is currently located at least 4 hexes from that carrier or airfield, this restriction is ignored.)
-
On the Atlantic map, Soviet air units occupying Norway or the Baltic Sea zones may never fly strategic missions in, or transit through, the English Channel zone while flying a strategic air mission.
Note 5th Fleet:
-
If 4 or more Allied INT units occupy undamaged airfields or carriers in the Persian Gulf zone, all Soviet-controlled air units in the Persian Gulf zone, as well as the Baku and Ashkhabad off-map airfields, may not fly any strategic mission. In addition, no Soviet-controlled air unit occupying an airfield in another zone may be assigned to a strategic mission in the Persian Gulf zone. (Note the restrictions on Allied carriers in the Persian Gulf, 5.2.)
-
If 4 or more Allied INT units occupy undamaged airfields or carriers in the Gulf of Aden zone, all Soviet-controlled air units in the Gulf of Aden zone may not fly any strategic mission. In addition, no Soviet-controlled air unit occupying an airfield in another zone may be assigned to a strategic mission in the Gulf of Aden zone.
-
In any scenario in which Indian units are in play, India's opponent may never fly strategic air missions in, or transit through, the India zone with air units on strategic missions.
Ending Strategic Air Missions: An air unit remains on its strategic mission until it is destroyed, forced to return to base (7.5), or until the Strategic Air Mission Termination Phase of the next Night turn.
Solitaire Mission Assignment (optional): To simulate the uncertainty of mission assignment when a player plays solitaire, the following rules may be used: (1) Roll a die. On an even result, the player may assign Allied air units to strategic missions as he wishes; on an odd result, he may assign Soviet (or Latin American) air units to strategic missions as he wishes. (2) Once the player has assigned air units for the side determined in step 1, he rolls again to determine mission assignment for the opposing side. This second roll is divided by 2 (rounded down); the result is the number of that side's air units the player may assign to strategic missions. If the second roll was even, the player may assign that number of air units to strategic missions anywhere on the map (subject to range restrictions); if the second roll was odd, the player may assign that number of air units to strategic missions only in zones already occupied by the selected air units — not in zones within 1 or 2 zones' range of their airfields (in that case, air units at off-map airfields may not fly strategic missions at all).
7.2 Interception Missions
Air units on interception missions may attack enemy units on strategic missions in the same zone.
Interception Segment: During this segment of the Strategic Air Phase, opposing units on interception missions in the same zone must fight air-to-air combat. First, players check their Strategic Air Displays zone by zone. Combat must occur in a given zone if both players have assigned units to interception missions there. If only one player (or neither) has assigned air units in that zone, there is no air combat. Thus, from 0 to 16 air-to-air combats can occur in this segment. When combat occurs in a given zone, a player's interceptors must be combined into a single force for the combat (even if they are of different nationalities). See 10.8 for air combat resolution.
After air combat has been resolved, all air units still permitted to continue their interception missions (i.e. not forced to return to base as a result of combat) may initiate combat in the Bounce Segment. Air units that receive an "r" result in combat are placed in one of the Return to Base boxes on the Strategic Air Display (7.6).
Bounce Segment: During this segment, air units still on interception missions may initiate combat against all enemy air units in the same zone that are on missions other than interception — Reconnaissance, Tactical Coordination, and Mining. To resolve this combat, the intercepting player rolls a die and consults the Bounce column of the Air-to-Air Combat Results table (no ratio is calculated). The result (10.8) applies to all enemy air units currently on non-interception missions in that zone, regardless of number or type. Interceptor units initiating this Bounce combat can never suffer a result from the opponent when attacking in Bounce. At the end of the Bounce Segment, all remaining interceptor units are placed in one of the Return to Base boxes on the Strategic Air Display (7.6).
Interception example: During the Strategic Air Phase, the Allied player assigns 2 units to interception missions in the Norway zone. In the same zone, the Soviet player assigns 1 unit to interception, 1 to reconnaissance, and 1 to mining. During the Interception Segment, air combat is resolved between the Allied and Soviet interceptors. Suppose the Allied player wins: his 2 units remain on interception and the Soviet interceptor returns to base. In the Bounce Segment, the Allied units attack the Soviet reconnaissance and mining units. The Allied player rolls a die and consults the Bounce column of the Air-to-Air Combat Results table. The result eliminates 1 Soviet unit while the other returns to base. At the end of the Bounce Segment, the 2 Allied units return to base.
7.3 Reconnaissance Missions
Air units on reconnaissance missions affect the detection of enemy units during the Strategic Detection Segment of the Strategic Air Phase (9.0). At the end of that segment, all reconnaissance air units are placed in one of the Return to Base boxes of the zone they occupy (7.6).
7.4 Tactical Coordination Missions
Air units on Tactical Coordination missions are used to improve attacks against enemy units. During the Tactical Coordination Phase of the AM, PM, or Night turns, both players may remove all or part of their air units from the Tactical Coordination boxes on their Strategic Air Display and assign them to enemy submarine or surface units occupying a hex within their mission's range.
To assign a tactical coordination air unit to a submarine or a stack of enemy surface units, place the air unit directly on top of the enemy stack. The air unit stays with the assigned enemy unit or stack even if that enemy unit or stack moves in the following Action Phase. If several enemy submarines occupy the same hex, a tactical coordination air unit may only be assigned to one submarine in the hex. If a stack of enemy surface units splits during the surface Action Segment while under tactical coordination, the player who owns the air unit must decide which unit or stack to follow — he cannot follow every enemy surface unit to their separate destination hexes.
If a tactical coordination air unit is assigned to an enemy unit or stack, +2 is added to the attacker's die roll on every attack (not just one) made against that unit or stack in the following Action Phase (10.0). However, a maximum of 1 tactical coordination air unit may be assigned per enemy submarine or surface stack, so a maximum of +2 may be added to any attack roll for this reason.
During the CAP and Tactical Coordination Landing Phase, all tactical coordination air units on the map are removed and placed on the Strategic Air Display in the Return to Base box of the zone in which the air unit was operating. There, they may take no further actions until they return to their airfields during the Strategic Air Mission Termination Phase (7.6). A player is not required to use all his tactical coordination air units on the AM turn; he may hold them in reserve for use on the PM or Night turns if he wishes.
Tactical Coordination Restrictions: The following restrictions apply to tactical coordination missions:
-
A tactical coordination air unit with an ASW value of "N" may not be assigned to an enemy submarine unit.
-
A tactical coordination air unit may not be assigned to an enemy surface unit or submarine if the hex occupied by that enemy unit is 4 hexes or less from an enemy INT air unit at an undamaged airfield. If the surface unit or submarine to which the tactical coordination unit is assigned later moves to more than 4 hexes from a friendly INT air unit, the tactical coordination unit continues its mission.
-
If the tactical coordination air unit moves with an enemy unit or stack into a hex beyond its normal range, it stays with the enemy unit or stack and continues to provide the die roll modifier for combat. It is placed in the Return to Base box of the zone in which it is carrying out its tactical coordination mission, and returns to base normally (unless it changes airfields).
Notable exception: In the Advanced Game, a tactical coordination air unit provides no combat die roll modifier if the unit or stack it is assigned to moves into a storm zone (15.2).
Note 5th Fleet — Tactical Coordination Mission Example: A Soviet 138 RCN unit based at Al Mukalla (Gulf of Aden) is on a tactical coordination mission in the South Arabian Sea zone. During the PM turn's Tactical Coordination Phase, the 138 is assigned to hex 3122 (South Arabian Sea zone), which contains a US SN and a US Task Group of an FF and an AE. The 138 is assigned to the Task Group; an Allied CAP marker occupies Muscat (hex 3317).
During the surface Action Segment, the US Task Group moves to hex 3320 in the Gulf of Oman zone. Even though this hex is at the outer edge of the 138's strategic mission range, it stays with the enemy Task Group. Note that the CAP mission over Muscat does not affect the Soviet tactical coordination unit even though the 138 is within 4 hexes of Muscat after the US Task Group has moved.
During the CAP and Tactical Coordination Landing Phase, the 138 is placed in the Return to Base box of the Gulf of Oman zone, where its mission ends, rather than the South Arabian Sea zone where it was originally assigned to the Task Group.
If the US Task Group had split up at the start of the Allied surface Action Segment — meaning the FF went one way and the AE another — the Soviet player would have had to decide which stack of ships the 138 followed.
7.5 Mining
Air units on a mining mission may place a Mine marker on the map during the Mine Segment of the Strategic Air Phase (12.0). At the end of that segment, all air units on a mining mission are placed in one of the Return to Base boxes of the zone in which they carried out their mission (7.6). Note that an RCN air unit with an ASW value of "N" may not fly a mining mission.
7.6 Returning to Base
Air units that receive an "r" result in air combat during the Strategic Air Phase are placed in one of the Return to Base boxes of the zone they occupy on the Strategic Air Display. A unit placed in one of these boxes may take no further actions.
Return to Base Boxes: There are 4 Return to Base boxes in each zone on the Strategic Air Display. Each box corresponds to the zone from which an air unit traveled to fly its mission. Units that began a mission in the zone they occupy are placed in the "Occupy" box when forced to return to base; units that moved from another zone to fly their mission are placed in the "1 Zone" box when forced to return to base, and units that moved 2 or 3 zones are placed respectively in the "2 Zones" or "3 Zones" box. Each of these 4 boxes carries the initials of the zone the air unit left to fly its mission. When an air unit is placed in a Return to Base box, rotate the counter so the nose points toward the zone it originally came from.
Example: A US air unit based at Shemya airfield (in the West Aleutians zone) is assigned to an interception mission in the Bering Sea zone. After the mission, the unit is placed in the "1 Zone" box in the Bering Sea zone's Return to Base area, with the counter's nose pointing toward the initials WA (West Aleutians). During the Strategic Air Mission Termination Phase, the unit is returned to Shemya airfield.
Interception, Reconnaissance, and Mining missions are resolved during the Strategic Air Phase, so players must keep track of the zones their units came from. Tactical Coordination air units return to their bases or carriers during the CAP and Tactical Coordination Landing Phase; players who have trouble remembering the zone of origin of their units may note it on a slip of paper placed under the counter.
Strategic Air Mission Termination Phase: During this phase, which occurs on Night turns, all air units on the Strategic Air Display are returned to the airfields or carriers they came from (in addition to paper notes under the units, players can also use the scenario's set-up to remember the airfield or carrier of origin for their units).
Air units that cannot land on a carrier may return to an airfield different from the one they started from, as long as the new airfield is in the same zone and stacking restrictions are not violated. However, if air units change airfields at the end of their mission, they may not be activated, fly CAP, or fly another strategic mission for 8 full game turns starting from the current turn (5.4). If an air unit's airfield of origin has been destroyed, the unit must return to a different airfield if possible, subject to the restrictions above. If no friendly airfield is available, the air units are destroyed.
Air units based on a carrier must return to the same Aircraft Carrier Display after their mission (the carrier may have moved to another zone — this does not affect the return of its units). If the carrier is destroyed while its units are on a strategic mission, all its air units are destroyed during the Strategic Air Mission Termination Phase.
8.0 Combat Air Patrol (CAP)
CAP is a special role for air units that lets them stand guard from an airfield or carrier.
8.1 How to Perform CAP
During the CAP Phase, players may assign all or part of their INT, AEW, or EW air units that are not on strategic missions to CAP missions. At the start of the CAP Phase, one player rolls a die: on an even result the Allied player announces his CAP missions first; on an odd result the Soviet player announces first. (Units of different nationalities may be combined in the same CAP mission.) Units on CAP may not be activated during the Action Phase.
Each airfield or carrier may assign a maximum of 4 INT, plus as many EW and AEW as desired, to a CAP mission. If 2 or more carriers occupy the same hex, or a carrier is in an airfield hex, all CAP units there must be combined into a single mission. As long as no airfield or carrier assigns more than 4 INT to CAP, each mission may hold an unlimited number of air units. If carriers separate after contributing to a combined CAP mission (or one leaves an airfield it was flying CAP from), the player must break up the mission and provide a separate CAP marker for each carrier or airfield the units came from.
CAP markers at an airfield may never be moved. CAP markers aboard a carrier move with the carrier.
Special EW and AEW Restriction: A CAP mission with no INT unit can never initiate an attack.
CAP Display: Each player has a CAP Display to track his air units on CAP missions, consisting of a series of numbered boxes with matching CAP markers. Air units on a CAP mission are removed from the map and placed in one of the display's boxes; the matching CAP marker is placed on the map in the hex the units were removed from. A hex may hold only one CAP marker. The number of CAP boxes on the display is not limited — a player flying more CAP missions than there are boxes may use blank markers to create new CAP markers.
8.2 CAP and Air-to-Air Combat
A CAP marker lets friendly air units interfere with enemy air unit movement during the Action Phase.
Range of CAP missions: A CAP mission has a range of 4 hexes (excluding the CAP marker's own hex). When an active enemy air unit or stack moves into a hex within CAP range, the enemy air unit's movement is temporarily halted. The CAP player may choose to engage the enemy air units in air combat in that hex, or do nothing. In the first case, air combat is resolved immediately between all units involved (10.8); in the second, no combat occurs and the enemy units continue moving.
A CAP mission may make at most one attack against a particular enemy unit or stack during an Action Segment; however, it may make additional attacks against different enemy air units in that same segment (a CAP mission making more than one attack in a segment suffers a negative die roll modifier, 10.8). The CAP player may choose to attack enemy units at any point as they move or activate within range of the CAP marker — at 4, 3, 2, or 1 hexes — but never in the hex occupied by the CAP marker itself.
An enemy air unit or stack that activates from an enemy airfield or carrier within 4 hexes of a CAP mission may be attacked in the hex where the activation occurs, as soon as possible.
Friendly CAP mission ranges may overlap. If enemy units activate or enter a hex within range of 2 or more CAP missions, the CAP player may combine his CAP missions to attack the enemy units, or attack separately with each available CAP mission. Enemy units may be attacked an unlimited number of times by different CAP missions during the Action Phase, but never more than once by the same CAP mission, and never more than once per hex.
In some circumstances, a player whose units are attacked by an enemy CAP mission may use his own CAP missions in the resulting air combat (10.8). CAP missions only affect enemy air units moving or activating within their range — never enemy CAP missions themselves.
CAP missions may be assigned to off-map airfields. However, off-map CAP units never affect the movement of enemy air units on the map, nor do they combine with any on-map CAP missions.
Limitations to CAP Attacks: A CAP mission may initiate an unlimited number of combats against different enemy air units or stacks during the Action Phase, as long as it does not suffer an "r" (return to base) combat result. Units in the Return to Base box of the CAP Display may not initiate combat.
Air combat between a CAP mission and enemy air units is resolved before the enemy air units initiate any combat in the hex they just moved into. If the enemy air units survive the air combat, they may attack from that hex or continue moving and attack afterward.
AEW and CAP: If a carrier flying a CAP mission has no AEW unit in the mission, use the front (CAP) side of the CAP marker. If the mission includes an AEW unit, use the other side (CAP & AEW). Always use the CAP & AEW side of the marker for a CAP mission flown from an airfield.
CAP Mission Attack Markers: After a CAP mission's first air combat (assuming it does not return to base), the player places an Attack marker on top of those units on the CAP Display. If a CAP mission fights a 2nd air combat in the same Action Segment, the marker is flipped to its "2+ Attacks" side and stays there until the CAP mission is forced to return to base, or until the end of the Action Phase, when the marker is removed.
CAP Combat Values: Air units on CAP missions at airfield hexes use their full anti-air values when initiating air combat against air units at any range up to a maximum of 4 hexes. Air units on CAP missions aboard a carrier may have their anti-air values modified. The range at which a carrier flies a CAP mission, and the presence of a US or non-US AEW unit in the mission, can affect this modifier — the Aircraft Carrier CAP Chart lists the anti-air value modifications for CAP units aboard carriers. To use the table, cross-reference one of 3 columns (matching the CAP mission's AEW status) with one of 4 rows (matching the range, in hexes, between the carrier and the location where the CAP units fight their air combat). The combined anti-air value of air units on a CAP mission is never modified below 1, even if the chart would normally reduce it to 0.
Notable exception: When an aircraft from a carrier and one from an airfield are combined in the same CAP mission, all CAP units in that mission always use their full anti-air values regardless of range — the Aircraft Carrier CAP Chart is not consulted in this case.
Example: An Allied carrier flies a CAP mission with no AEW unit. The combined anti-air value of the Allied air units in the mission is 19. If the Allied player engages the Soviet unit at 4 hexes' range, the CAP mission's anti-air modifier is 2 (19 × 1/8 = 2, rounded down). At 3 hexes' range, the modifier is 4 (19 × 1/4 = 4, rounded down). At 2 hexes' range, the modifier is 9 (19 × 1/2 = 9, rounded down). At 1 hex's range, the CAP mission uses its full value of 19.
8.3 CAP and SSM Combat
If a CAP mission includes an AEW unit, or a US F-14A or F-14D INT unit, in the same hex as a surface unit under attack by an enemy SSM combat, the CAP mission may assist the surface unit's defense (10.4). This support applies as long as the CAP units are not forced to return to base. A CAP mission assisting against an SSM attack does not have a CAP Mission Attack marker placed on it.
8.4 Returning to Base
Air units attacked by a CAP mission that suffer an "r" result are immediately returned to their airfield or Aircraft Carrier Display of origin (they may not be activated for the rest of the Action Phase). If they had moved more than half their movement allowance before suffering the "r" result, they must be able to reach a friendly airfield within their remaining movement allowance, or they are destroyed.
If CAP units suffer an "r" result in air combat, all air units in the mission are placed in the Return to Base box of the CAP Display, directly beneath their normal CAP box. Units in the Return to Base boxes may take no further actions for the rest of the Action Phase.
CAP and Tactical Coordination Landing Phase: During this phase, all units on the CAP Display, including those in Return to Base boxes, are returned to the airfields or carriers occupied by their CAP markers. The CAP markers are then removed from the map.
CAP units may return to damaged airfields or carriers. If an airfield or carrier carrying a CAP marker is destroyed during the Action Phase of the current cycle, the air units of that CAP mission are destroyed during the CAP and Tactical Coordination Landing Phase (they continue flying their CAP mission during the Action Phase in which their airfield or carrier was destroyed).
8.5 CAP vs US Stealth Attacks
US F-117 air units may execute stealth attacks (10.6). If an enemy CAP mission attacks a US F-117 while it is executing a stealth attack, a special column on the Air-to-Air Combat Results table is used to resolve the combat (10.8).
Example: The Allied player has a CAP marker in hex A (an airfield). The Soviet player activates an air unit in hex F and moves it into hex E. Since this hex is within the CAP mission's range, the unit's movement is halted and the Allied player has the choice to attack the Soviet unit or not. The Allied player declines, so the unit continues moving. The air unit moves into hex D, and the Allied player again has — and again declines — the choice to attack. The Soviet player moves into hex C, and the Allied player again declines. When the Soviet player moves into hex B, the Allied player decides to attack, and air combat is resolved there. After combat is resolved, if the Soviet unit survives, it may continue its mission — moving further or attacking. (If hex A had instead been a carrier with a CAP marker and no AEW unit, the same sequence would apply, using the carrier's own CAP anti-air values.)
9.0 Detection
Detection determines the location of enemy surface units or submarines so that they may be attacked. A detected unit or stack has a Detection marker placed on it. There are 2 kinds of Detection markers, Strategic and Local. Air units and bases never need to be detected.
9.1 Detection Zones
There are two kinds of detection zones: Limited Detection zones (the unit's own hex plus its 6 adjacent hexes) and Extended Detection zones (the 12 hexes surrounding the Limited zone). Only surface units and submarines exert detection zones; air units and bases do not. Every submarine exerts a Limited zone only; every surface unit or stack exerts both a Limited and an Extended zone.
9.2 Placement of Detection Markers
A detected Soviet unit gets a Soviet Detection marker; a detected Allied unit gets an Allied Detection marker. Once placed, a Detection marker stays with the unit and moves with it until removed in a Strategic or Local Detection Removal phase. Each submarine, surface unit, or stack may carry only one Detection marker (Strategic or Local) at a time.
Strategic Detection Segment (Strategic Air Phase, AM turns only): for each reconnaissance air unit flying in a zone, the controlling player (Soviet first, then Allied) may: (1) place a Strategic Detection marker on an enemy surface unit or stack in the mission's zone — notable exception: this cannot be done if the target occupies or is adjacent to a hex with an enemy INT unit at an undamaged airfield, whether or not that INT unit could actually be activated; French ATL, US E-2, and Soviet Tu-95D units ignore this restriction; or (2) attempt to place a Strategic Detection marker on any enemy submarine in the mission's zone — notable exception: this cannot be attempted against a submarine within 4 hexes of an enemy INT unit at an undamaged airfield. To attempt a submarine detection, the player names the target submarine, its owner, and its type (SS, SB, SN, noisy SN, or deep-diving SN — not to be confused with Deep Mode, 19.0), rolls a die on the Submarine Detection table cross-referenced with owner/type (subject to the modifiers below); a "D" result places a Strategic Detection marker (flipping an existing Local marker to its Strategic side); a "-" result fails. A maximum of one strategic detection attempt per submarine per segment is allowed, though several air units may combine their ASW values into a single attempt. An RCN/EW unit with an ASW value of "N" may never attempt submarine detection. After placing (or attempting) a detection, the reconnaissance unit is placed in a Return to Base box (7.6).
Local Detection Phase (every game turn) places only Local Detection markers, never Strategic:
- A Local Detection marker is placed on every enemy surface unit/stack occupying the Limited or Extended zone of a friendly surface unit/stack, or the Limited zone of a friendly submarine.
- If an enemy submarine occupies a friendly Limited detection zone with a combined ASW value of 6 or more, roll on the Submarine Detection table as above; "D" places a Local marker.
- All submarines in a shoal or restricted-water hex within the Baltic Sea zone (Atlantic map) automatically receive a Local Detection marker during this phase. (Units already carrying a Strategic or Local marker are unaffected by this phase.)
Action Phase — 4 additional triggers for detection:
- If a surface unit/stack (or a submarine) fires an SSM, Cruise Missile, or ASW attack from within an enemy Limited detection zone, place a Local marker on it once the attack resolves (for a submarine, roll on the Submarine Detection table with the automatic combat modifiers noted below).
- When an enemy surface unit/stack moves directly from one friendly Limited/Extended zone to another exerted by the same friendly unit(s), place a Local marker on it; if a submarine does the same while the friendly zone's combined ASW value is 6+, roll on the Submarine Detection table instead. Only one detection attempt per submarine is allowed per Action Phase for this reason, even if it crosses several such zones.
- A submarine moving at full speed (5.3) automatically gets a Strategic Detection marker if it starts or enters, during its movement, any hex within 5 hexes of an enemy surface unit or submarine.
- When a surface unit/stack enters an undestroyed enemy coastal-defense hex, an enemy base, or a hex adjacent to one, place a Strategic Detection marker on it (submarines are unaffected by enemy bases or coastal-defense hexes).
If a unit already carries a Strategic marker, it cannot be detected further during the Action Phase; if it carries a Local marker, it cannot be detected further unless conditions for a Strategic detection are met, in which case the Local marker is flipped to Strategic.
Submarine Detection Table modifiers (all cumulative):
- −4: detecting an SN that just fired an SSM or Cruise Missile attack (a noisy Soviet SN firing SSM is automatically detected)
- −4: detecting any submarine that just fought a combat
- −3: detecting any submarine in a restricted-water hex, or an SN/SB in a shallow-water hex
- −2: detecting an SN that just fought a torpedo or ASW combat
- −3: detecting a submarine during the Activity Cycle while in a Limited zone of enemy units combining ASW 26+, or during the Strategic Detection segment by enemy air units combining ASW 8+
- −2: same, for enemy ASW 18–25 (Activity Cycle) or air ASW 6–7 (Strategic segment)
- −1: same, for enemy ASW 10–17 (Activity Cycle) or air ASW 4–5 (Strategic segment)
- +2: detecting a submarine in Deep Mode (Advanced Game only, 19.0)
9.3 Detection Restrictions
Submarines: Detection status is tracked individually — if several submarines share a hex, each detected one needs its own marker, and an undetected submarine entering a hex with a detected one stays undetected (a hex may hold both detected and undetected submarines). A submarine never carries more than one Detection marker.
Surface units: Detection is tracked by hex. Placing a Detection marker on one surface unit immediately detects every surface unit in that hex. If an undetected unit/stack ends its Action Segment in the same hex as a detected one, it is immediately detected too, and vice versa (an undetected stack entering a detected stack's hex causes mutual detection); if a stack splits into separate forces, every splitting unit is detected and markers are placed wherever they end their movement. Undetected surface units sharing a hex with a detected submarine remain undetected (and vice versa) — submarine and surface detection statuses never affect each other. Detecting any unit in a Group detects every unit in that Group (and every other unit in the hex). A surface unit/stack never carries more than one Detection marker.
Bases: Bases are always considered detected, but submarines and surface units occupying them still need a successful detection roll to be attacked.
9.4 Effects of Detection
Surface units and submarines must carry a Detection marker (Local or Strategic) to be attacked. If a detected submarine shares a hex with an undetected one, only the detected submarine may be attacked. Every surface unit in a hex carrying a Detection marker may be attacked.
9.5 Removing Detection Markers
Detection markers are removed at two points in the game turn.
Strategic Detection Removal Phase (Night turns only): Strategic markers are removed from surface units and submarines, except:
- A surface unit with a Strategic marker in an enemy Limited/Extended zone has its marker flipped to Local instead.
- A submarine with a Strategic marker in an enemy Limited zone with combined ASW 6+ has its marker flipped to Local instead (no table roll).
- A surface unit with a Strategic marker within 3 hexes of an enemy coastal-defense hex or base keeps its Strategic marker.
Local Detection Removal Phase (every turn): Local markers are removed from surface units and submarines, except:
- A surface unit with a Local marker in an enemy Limited/Extended zone keeps it.
- A submarine with a Local marker in an enemy Limited zone with combined ASW 6+ keeps it.
- Note 5th Fleet: A surface unit with a Local marker within 3 hexes or less of an enemy coastal-defense hex or base keeps it.
10.0 Combat
There are 6 types of combat: Torpedo, Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM), Cruise Missile, Bombing, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), and Air-to-Air. The first five are resolved on the Combat Results table; Air-to-Air is resolved on the Air-to-Air Combat Results table.
10.1 Initiating Combat
Only an active unit or stack may initiate combat, by announcing the attack type and the target.
Surface units must be detected before being attacked. A surface unit may make at most 2 attacks during its activation, each of a different type; an activated stack counts as a single unit for this 2-attack limit regardless of how many ships it contains. Units of different nationalities may fight together.
Submarines must be detected before being attacked, and each submarine attacks and is attacked separately.
Air units never carry Detection markers. They may be attacked by defensive fire during a Bombing combat and by CAP air units.
Bases never carry Detection markers. They may be attacked by Bombing and Cruise Missile combat; units inside a base must still be detected before they can be attacked.
10.2 Combat Values
Values printed on units: Movement Allowance (max hexes per activation); Defense Value (resistance to damage — air units have none); Anti-Air Value (air units have one value; surface units have both a Close and an Area value — a colored box marks "long-range" Area Anti-Air capability); Special Value (air units: Bombing value; surface combat units: close-combat value, 20.0; submarines: torpedo value); Victory Point Value (on AA, SC, FC, ET, and MP units — never used in combat); Minesweeping Value (on minelayers); a cruise-missile silhouette marks units that can fight Cruise Missile combat.
SSM Value measures an SSM-capable unit's attack strength; units also have an SSM range, the maximum hexes (not counting the attacker's own hex) at which an SSM attack may be launched, always by the most direct route (no zigzagging). An "S" before the SSM range marks a sea-skimmer missile; some units are marked "fast SSM" instead, and some carry both traits. SSM values in parentheses mean limited SSM ammunition.
Note 5th Fleet: some air units show a colored star instead of an SSM value, meaning they have a limited SSM capability (see Advanced Game rule 16.4).
ASW Value measures ASW capability. Some Soviet submarines are marked "Noisy" (a colored circle) on their ASW value; other Soviet SNs are "Deep-diving," marked with a colored square around a "D" behind the ASW value.
Note 5th Fleet: US SBs show ASW values in parentheses, meaning those values may not be used in any ASW combat.
Interceptor Air Units: Before INT units are activated, the player declares the role each will fly in combat, which changes its combat values (non-INT units always use their printed values): Fighter — full Anti-Air value, Bombing and SSM values reduced to 0 (the default if no role is declared); Bomber — full Bombing and SSM values, Anti-Air value reduced to 1; Fighter-Bomber — Anti-Air value halved (round down), Bombing and SSM values halved (round down; SSM range unaffected).
Air Units with Limited SSM Ammunition: A land-based air unit with limited SSM ammunition may fire 2 SSM attacks per sortie, or alternatively one attack per game using its SSM value doubled (e.g. a US P-3 with SSM value 20, based at Key West, may fire 2 attacks of 20 or one attack of 40 per game — note that airfield-based F-18Cs cannot fire SSM attacks at all even though their SSM value is shown in parentheses). Place a "1 SSM Attack" marker after the first attack; a second attack (or a single doubled attack) earns an "Out of SSM Ammo" marker, and the unit fires no more SSM attacks for the rest of the game.
Carrier-based air units with limited SSM ammunition may likewise make 2 attacks total per carrier per game (not per unit), or one attack per carrier per game at double value using any eligible air unit. Example: if the US carrier Gwash has F-18C, A-6, and S-3 air units all showing an SSM value of 40 in parentheses, the US player may make 2 attacks of 40 from Gwash during the game using any eligible unit, or a single attack of 80 using one eligible unit. Track expenditure with a "1 SSM Attack" marker on the unit (or on the carrier, for the second/doubled attack, which places "Out of SSM Ammo" atop the carrier and grounds every air unit aboard for SSM purposes for the rest of the game). Carrier air units bearing "Out of SSM Ammo" cannot be resupplied, even under the Advanced Game Logistics option.
10.3 Torpedo Combat
A torpedo attack may be made when: (1) the attacker is an active, undocked submarine; (2) the target is a detected, undocked surface unit or stack; (3) the attacking submarine is adjacent to the target; (4) the attacking submarine may only attack into one hex, even if adjacent to several enemy-occupied hexes. Notable exception: a surface unit cannot be attacked if it is separated from the attacking submarine by a land hex or a blocked hexside.
Resolution:
- The attacker notes his submarine's torpedo value.
- He may choose 1 or 2 surface units in the target hex; a unit may be targeted only once.
- He divides his torpedo value between the chosen targets as he wishes (announcing the split); a single target gets the full value.
- The defender selects up to 3 units in the target hex (submarines included) and totals their ASW values (up to 4 units if 8+ combat surface units occupy the hex).
- The defender rolls on the Combat Results table, Defense column, cross-referenced with the totaled ASW value, applying all applicable modifiers (cumulative): +2 if at least one target is part of a Task Force; −4 if none of the targets belong to a Task Force or Task Group; +2 if the attacking submarine is in restricted water or a fjord (or an SN in shallow water); +2 if the attacking submarine already carries a Detection marker. The result (0–11) is the defense modifier used below. Notable exception: skip steps 4–5 if every unit in the target hex has an ASW value of "N" — there is no defense roll.
- For each declared target, the attacker rolls on the Attack column (cross-referenced with the torpedo points allocated) minus the defense modifier from step 5 (applied to every attack roll, not just the first). Further modifiers: +1 if the target hex has a Tactical Coordination air unit assigned to it (7.4); −3 if the target is a PC or MS; −1 if the target carries Torpedo Decoys.
- Compare the result to the target's Defense Value and apply damage or destruction immediately (11.0).
- Once all declared targets have been attacked, the combat ends; if necessary, consult the Submarine Detection table to see whether the attacking submarine is detected (9.2).
Torpedo combat example: The detected Soviet submarine Zimin (torpedo value 22) fires at a detected US stack containing the Gwash (defense 9, ASW 8), the Cnole (defense 3, ASW 4), and the Ptsrn (defense 3, ASW 3) — none grouped. The Gwash and Cnole are targeted, with 3 points against the Cnole and 19 against the Gwash (3+19=22). The Allied player totals his ASW (15) and rolls a 4; with no Task Force/Group present, 4 is subtracted, and because the Zimin is already detected, 2 is added, giving a final roll of 2 (4−4+2=2), which on the Defense column (Combat Value 14–18) yields a defense modifier of 3. Attacking the Cnole with 3 points, the Soviet player rolls 0; subtracting the defense modifier of 3 and another for the Cnole's Torpedo Decoys gives a final roll of −4, which on the Attack column (Combat Value 3) produces a result of 0 — no damage. Attacking the Gwash with 19 points, the Soviet player rolls 4, reduced by 1 for the defense modifier (net roll of 3 after all adjustments), which on the Attack column (Combat Value 19–24) produces a result of 2 — the Gwash takes no damage, and combat ends.
10.4 Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM) Combat
An SSM attack may be made when: (1) the attacking force is an active surface unit, submarine, or air unit (or stack of surface/air units), and is not docked. Note 5th Fleet: coastal-defense hexes may also fire SSM attacks (10.9). (2) The target is a detected, undocked enemy surface unit or stack — bases cannot be attacked by SSM. (3) The target must be within SSM range (in hexes) of the attacking unit. (4) Surface units and submarines cannot attack across land hexes or blocked coastlines, and the path between the attacker's hex (exclusive) and the target's hex (inclusive) may not cross a restricted-water hex; air units are exempt from these restrictions.
An SSM attack targets only one hex; if a stack fires the attack, not every unit in the stack has to participate.
Positioning of Defending Units: Immediately before an SSM combat is resolved, the defender may rearrange his stack; units of different groups must stay separate from other groups and from ungrouped units in the same hex. Once resolution begins, the defender may no longer reposition his units.
Resolution:
- The attacker totals the SSM values of all participating units and announces the target hex. If more than half of the contributing units carry sea-skimmer SSMs, the attack is a sea-skimmer attack.
- (A) Total the Area Anti-Air values of every unit in the target hex. For a sea-skimmer attack, multiply surface units' Area Anti-Air values by 1.5 (round down). If air units fire the SSM attack from a hex adjacent to the target, surface units in the target hex with the long-range Area Anti-Air trait (a colored box) have their values multiplied by 6 instead. Notable exception: skip step A if the target is in a restricted-water hex.
- (B) Total the Close Anti-Air values of the specific surface units targeted by the attack (as chosen in step "3" of preparation). For a fast SSM attack, multiply this total by 0.5 (round down).
- (C) Add the Close Anti-Air values of units stacked directly beneath the targeted units. For a fast SSM attack, multiply this total by 1.5 (round down). Notable exception: if a unit stacked beneath a target is itself a target, do not add its Close Anti-Air value again — it may only count once per SSM combat. A unit at the top of a stack is treated as stacked beneath the unit at the bottom, so every unit in a stack has something stacked beneath it. Separate groups in the same hex cannot support each other this way. A unit stacked directly beneath a target that has an Anti-Air value of "N" contributes nothing.
(D) Add the Anti-Air values of all friendly surface units in hexes crossed by the SSM's flight path to the target. In addition, if an enemy SSM attack passes within 2 hexes of a friendly surface unit with the long-range Anti-Air trait, add that value too — but only if the unit does not occupy the target hex itself and the attack is being fired from more than 1 hex away; each eligible unit may contribute only once per attack.
Total steps A–D: the defender rolls on the Combat Results table (Defense column) against that total (no roll if the total is 0), with these cumulative modifiers: +2 if at least one target is in a Task Force; −4 if none of the targeted units are in a Task Group or Task Force; +2 if a friendly CAP mission with an AEW unit covers the target hex; −2 if the attacker has an EW unit in the attacking stack. The result is the defense modifier for use below.
Then, one target at a time, the attacker declares how many SSM points he directs at each (an undamaged single target simply takes the total); a given target can be attacked only once per SSM combat but may be attacked separately by different active enemy units in the same Action Segment.
Defender's target-selection roll: before resolving damage, the defender rolls a die to see which of his units can be chosen: on an even roll (not counting 0) only units in the top half of the defending stack may be targeted; on an odd roll (not counting 9) only the bottom half may be targeted (an odd-sized stack's middle unit counts as part of the top half). With only one unit in the stack it can always be targeted, but the attacker must still roll. On a roll of 0 or 9, the SSM attack ends immediately with no effect (if the Logistics option, 16.0, is in use, the attacking units are still considered to have expended SSM ammunition).
For each attack, the attacker rolls on the Attack column (Combat Value = SSM points allocated) and subtracts the defense modifier (applied to every roll, not just the first), plus: +2 if the target hex has a friendly tactical coordination air unit assigned to it (7.4); −4 if the targets are in a restricted-water or fjord hex; −2 if the targets are in a (non-restricted, non-fjord) coastal hex; and — if the attack is fired from 2+ hexes and the attacker has no combat surface unit or submarine adjacent to the target hex at the moment of combat — subtract the number of hexes between attacker and target (never applied to 1-hex SSM attacks, even from air units). Compare the result to the target's Defense Value and apply Damage/Sinking immediately (11.0). Repeat for each declared target; afterward, place a Local Detection marker on the attacking unit(s) if needed (or consult the Submarine Detection table for a submarine attacker, 9.2).
SSM combat example: US frigates Tdale, Grove, and Curts (SSM 8, range 2, all sea-skimmers) are 2 hexes from a detected Soviet Task Group containing the CG Tmshk (Area AA 4, Close AA 6) and the DD Gremy (Area AA 5, Close AA 6, Defense 4). The Allied player declares an SSM attack; combined US SSM value is 24. Rolling a 1 for target selection, only the bottom-of-stack unit may be targeted, so the full 24 points are directed at the Gremy. The Soviet Area AA total is 9, halved for the sea-skimmer attack to 4 (round down); Close AA total is 12 (using the top-of-stack Tmshk's value, since every unit in a stack has something stacked beneath it), giving a total defense of 16. Rolling 0 on the Defense column against Combat Value 14–18 gives a defense modifier of 2. Attacking the Gremy with 24 points, the Allied player rolls 9, then subtracts the defense modifier of 2 and another 2 for firing at 2 hexes' range with no adjacent Allied unit, for a final roll of 5; on the Attack column against Combat Value 19–24 this gives a result of 4 — the Gremy is sunk (11.0), and the attack is over.
10.5 Cruise Missile Combat
A Cruise Missile attack may be made when: (1) the attacking force is an active surface unit (or stack) with at least one Cruise-Missile-capable unit (marked by a Cruise Missile symbol on the counter), or an active submarine or air unit with that capability. (2) The target is an enemy airfield, port, or coastal-defense hex — surface units and submarines cannot be targeted by Cruise Missile combat. When attacking a combined port/airfield hex, the attacker must specify which he is targeting. Off-map airfields may be targeted. (3) US Cruise Missile attacks may reach targets up to 25 hexes away; Soviet attacks up to 18 hexes. The path need not be the most direct and may cross any hex type or hexside; for an attack on an off-map airfield, count the printed off-map distance as part of the range. (4) The attacking unit or stack may target only one hex, even if within range of several; not every Cruise-Missile-capable unit in a stack must participate.
US Cruise Missile attack values: a US unit's Cruise Missile attack value equals half its SSM value (half its damaged SSM value if damaged, both rounded down) — e.g. the US cruiser Mispi attacks at 6 (4 when damaged). If a stack attacks together, all participating Cruise-Missile-capable units combine their values into one total. Notable exceptions: the US battleship NJrsy uses its full printed SSM value directly as its Cruise Missile value (12 undamaged, 9 damaged); a US B-52G's Cruise Missile value is 18 (12 damaged).
Soviet Cruise Missile attack values: every Soviet submarine attacks at 9 (6 damaged); Soviet Tu-95H and Tu-160 air units attack at 12 (9 damaged).
Resolution: the attacker totals the combined Cruise Missile attack value of all participating units and announces the target hex (in range). There is no defense roll. The attacker rolls on the Combat Results table, Attack column, against the total attack value, applying: −2 if the target hex is covered by a CAP mission with total Anti-Air 18+; −1 if covered by a CAP mission with total Anti-Air 9–17. The result (0–11) is applied as Damage/Destruction to the target immediately (11.0). The attack is then over; place a Local Detection marker on the attacker if needed (or consult the Submarine Detection table for a submarine attacker, 9.2).
Example: A US stack containing the battleship NJrsy and the cruiser Prctn fires a Cruise Missile attack. Combined attack value is 18 (12 + 6, remembering Prctn's value is half its printed SSM value). The Allied player targets Havana, 24 hexes away, and rolls 0; on the Attack column against Combat Value 14–18 this gives a result of 1 — Havana is undamaged, and the attack ends.
Cruise Missile Ammunition: in every scenario, Cruise-Missile-capable units have limited ammunition. In Basic Game scenarios this is specified in that scenario's special rules; in the Advanced Game, players track Cruise Missile expenditure on the Logistics Roster (16.0) even if the Logistics option itself is not in use — the number of Cruise Missile attacks a unit may make is printed on the roster. Each time a unit fires, check off one of its CM circles; once all are checked, it may fire no more Cruise Missile attacks for the rest of the game.
10.6 Bombing Combat
A Bombing attack may be made when: (1) the attacking force is an active air unit or stack. (2) The target is an enemy airfield, port, coastal-defense hex, or a detected surface unit/stack — off-map airfields cannot be attacked by Bombing. (3) The attacking air unit must be in the same hex as the target. (4) The attacker may target only one hex and cannot split its Bombing value across multiple hexes; if a stack attacks, not every unit must participate.
Once an air unit has finished bombing, it must return to a friendly airfield or carrier; if it lacks the movement to do so, it is destroyed.
BMB attack restrictions: BMB air units cannot bomb enemy surface units — they may only bomb an enemy base or coastal-defense hex (if they carry an SSM value, they may still fire an SSM attack at surface units instead). INT and ATK air units may bomb enemy bases, coastal-defense hexes, or surface units.
Attacks against bases: A Bombing attack on an enemy base or coastal-defense hex cannot be combined with an attack on surface units in the same hex, and vice versa — the attacker must choose one or the other. If attacking a combined port/airfield hex, the attacker must specify which he is targeting.
Positioning Defending Units: immediately before a Bombing attack on surface units is resolved, the defender may rearrange his defending stack as he wishes; units of different groups (and lone units) must stay separated, and docked units can never be repositioned together with undocked ones, though each may be arranged separately within its own stack. Once combat begins, the defender may not reposition further.
US Stealth Attacks: the US F-117 stealth fighter may make stealth attacks, but only against an enemy base — never against surface units. A Bombing attack counts as "stealth" only if the sole attacker is a US F-117 — no other US or Allied air unit (not even an EW unit) may be activated alongside it. Stealth attacks change the defensive die roll (below) and make interception by enemy CAP harder (10.8). An F-117 may still fly a normal, non-stealth attack if activated together with other US or Allied air units.
Resolution: (1) the attacker totals the Bombing value of all participating units and announces the target hex. (2) If attacking surface units, the defender may rearrange his stack. (3) The attacker may target one or all surface units in a hex (docked or undocked, in a port); if attacking a base, only the base may be targeted. (4) The attacker splits his Bombing value among targets as he wishes (a lone target takes the full value); a given target may be attacked only once per Bombing attack.
Defender's die roll totals: (A) Area Anti-Air of all defending surface units in the hex — skip this step if attacking a base or coastal-defense hex, and enemy surface units there (docked or not) never contribute Area Anti-Air to a base's own defense. (B) Close Anti-Air of the targeted surface units (docked or not) — for a base or coastal-defense hex, use only its own printed Close Anti-Air value; docked surface units there don't add Close Anti-Air unless at least one target is docked (in which case a docked stack's value is added even though the base itself isn't attacked, per rule D below). (C) Close Anti-Air of units stacked directly beneath the targets (same "no double-counting, no cross-group support" rules as SSM combat). (D) If at least one target is a docked surface unit/stack in a port hex, add the base's own Close Anti-Air value to the total even though the base itself isn't under attack (skip this if none of the surface units are docked). (E) Area Anti-Air of friendly surface units in hexes the attacking air units flew through en route (plus units within 2 hexes of the flight path with the long-range trait), each contributing at most once and only if not in the target hex itself.
Total A–E: the defender rolls on the Combat Results table, Defense column (no roll if the total is 0), with cumulative modifiers: +2 if at least one target is in a Task Force (not applicable against bases/coastal-defense hexes — remember docked units can form a Task Force); −4 if none of the targets are in a Task Group/Force (same exception); −2 if the attacking air stack includes an EW unit; −3 if the attack is a stealth attack. The result is the defense modifier, applied to every attack roll below — and it can also damage the attacking air units: on 0–3, the attackers are unaffected; on 4–6, the air player rolls a die — odd, unaffected; even (including 0), the defender picks one fighter-bomber or bomber-role unit from the attacking stack to flip to its damaged side (or destroy, if already damaged); on 7+, the air player rolls twice, each roll applying the 4–6-style effect independently (the defender may destroy a unit outright by assigning it 2 "hits" across the two rolls).
Resolving attacks: for each declared target, the attacker rolls on the Attack column (Combat Value = Bombing points allocated) minus the defense modifier, plus: +2 if the target hex has an assigned tactical coordination air unit (7.4); +4 if attacking surface units (not a base) in restricted water or a fjord; +6 if attacking docked surface units (only +6, not +6 and +4, if the docked target is also in restricted water — and this modifier does not apply to undocked units attacked in the same combat); −3 if the target is a PC; −3 for a night Bombing attack (Advanced Game only, 15.1). Compare the result to the target's Defense Value and apply Damage/Destruction (11.0). Notable exception: if an attacking air unit was damaged by the step-6 roll, the attacker must reduce and may freely reallocate its Bombing points among the same declared targets (attacking the same number of targets as originally declared) to reflect the lower total — no reallocation is needed if the damaged unit wasn't participating in the attack anyway. Repeat for each target; afterward place a Local Detection marker on the attacker if needed.
Bombing combat example: A US A-6 (Bombing value 90) attacks a detected Soviet Task Group containing the CG Tmshk (Area AA 4, Close AA 6) and DD Gremy (Area AA 5, Close AA 6, Defense 4). The Allied player targets the Gremy (bottom of stack) with all 90 points. Combined Soviet Area AA is 9; Close AA of the Gremy (6) plus the Tmshk's (6, since the top-of-stack unit counts as beneath the bottom one) gives a combined defense total of 21 (9+12). The Soviet player rolls 6 on the Defense column against Combat Value 19–24, giving a defense modifier of 5. To see if the A-6 is damaged, the Allied player rolls 0 — an even result, so the A-6 is flipped to its damaged side, reducing its Bombing value to 45. Attacking the Gremy with the reduced 45 points, the Allied player rolls 7, subtracts the defense modifier of 5 for a net of 2, which on the Attack column against Combat Value 42–52 gives a result of 4 — the Gremy is sunk, and the attack ends.
10.7 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Combat
An ASW attack may be made when: (1) the attacking force is an active surface unit, submarine, or air unit (or stack), not docked. (2) The target is a detected submarine (which may be docked). Notable exception: a docked submarine can only be attacked by another submarine, unless its port is damaged or destroyed, in which case air units may also attack it; surface units may always attack a docked submarine. A submarine sharing a hex with a friendly surface unit that has an Area Anti-Air value of 1+ cannot be attacked by air or surface ASW combat at all — only by an enemy submarine. (3) The attacking submarine or surface unit must be adjacent to the target (never separated by a land hex or blocked hexside); an attacking air unit must share the target's hex. (4) An ASW attacker may target only one hex. (5) A submarine can be attacked at most once per ASW combat in the enemy's surface Action Segment, and once in the enemy's air Action Segment (further attacks in that segment are blocked once either has hit it), but an unlimited number of times during the enemy's submarine Action Segment.
Resolution: (1) the attacker selects up to 3 active surface units, 4 active air units, or a single submarine, and totals their combined ASW value. (2) He chooses a detected target submarine. There is no defense roll. (3) The attacker rolls on the Combat Results table, Attack column, against the combined ASW total, with cumulative modifiers: +2 if the target has a tactical coordination air unit assigned (7.4); +3 if the target is in restricted water or a fjord; +3 if the target is docked (only +3 total if also in restricted water) — exception: −3 instead if the target is docked in an undamaged, undestroyed port and is attacked by enemy surface units (ignore restricted water/fjord in that case); +3 if the target is an undocked SB or SN (not SS) in a shallow-water hex. (4) Compare the result (0–11) to the target's Defense Value and apply Damage/Destruction immediately (11.0); place a Local Detection marker if needed (or consult the Submarine Detection table for a submarine attacker, 9.2).
Example: The US SN Phila (ASW 9) attacks the detected Soviet SS Albts (Defense 6), which has a friendly tactical coordination unit assigned. The Allied player rolls 9, +2 for the coordination unit, for a modified result of 11; on the Attack column against Combat Value 7–9 this gives a result of 6 — the Albts is sunk, and the attack ends.
10.8 Air-to-Air Combat
Air-to-air combat is fought between opposing air units and resolved on the Air-to-Air Combat Results table. It occurs at 3 points in a game turn:
Interception Segment (Strategic Air Phase only): combat must occur between opposing interception-mission units sharing a zone (7.2). Roll a die per zone to determine the attacker: even (including 0) — Allied; odd — Soviet.
Bounce Segment: surviving interceptors may attack all enemy non-interception (reconnaissance, tactical coordination, mining) air units in the same zone. The intercepting player rolls on the Bounce column of the Air-to-Air Combat Results table (no ratio calculated) and is always the attacker; only one Bounce combat may be fought per player per zone, regardless of how many surviving interceptors remain.
Action Phase: CAP units may interrupt enemy air movement within range to initiate air-to-air combat (8.2); the CAP side is always considered the attacker. If a CAP mission attacks active enemy air units, the enemy's own CAP missions may sometimes join the fight (below).
Defender's CAP: if a CAP mission interrupts active air units to attack them during the Action Phase, all of the opposing player's CAP units (including EW units) within range of the combat hex may contribute their Anti-Air values to the fight — carrier-based CAP values are modified for range as usual (8.2). A CAP mission already carrying a "1 CAP Attack" or "2+ CAP Attacks" marker cannot support friendly active air units this way, and a CAP mission that does provide such support immediately receives a "1 CAP Attack" marker itself.
Resolution (not used for combat against stealth attacks): (1) total the attacker's Anti-Air values (no unit may be omitted). (2) Total the defender's Anti-Air values (no unit may be omitted; the defender may add supporting friendly CAP units in range, as above). (3) Express the two totals as a ratio (attacker : defender), rounding down in the defender's favor, and find the matching column on the Air-to-Air Combat Results table — the Interception row is used for combat in the Interception Segment, the CAP row for CAP-initiated combat, and the Bounce column for the Bounce Segment. (4) The attacker rolls a die, with cumulative modifiers: +2 if the attacker has an EW unit; −2 if the defender has an EW unit; −1 if the attacking CAP mission already has a "1 CAP Attack" marker; −2 if it already has a "2+ CAP Attacks" marker. Two further modifiers apply specifically to CAP-vs-stealth-attack combat: +1 if a CAP mission with combined Anti-Air 10+ attacks an F-117 flying a stealth attack; −1 if the CAP mission's combined Anti-Air is 5 or less. (5) Cross-reference the modified roll with the ratio (or Bounce) column found in step 3. The result is written as attacker's-result/defender's-result (a slash divides the two); each side is a number of damage steps and/or an "r" (return to base).
RCN, EW, and AEW units always have an Anti-Air value of "N" (0). If an air unit or stack with a combined Anti-Air value of 0 is attacked by an enemy CAP mission during an Action Phase, all its active air units are automatically destroyed — no table roll needed. Friendly CAP missions may still support active RCN/EW/AEW units against enemy CAP attacks, however.
Damage is always applied by the losing player's opponent to whichever of his units he chooses, except that INT units flying the Fighter role in the affected force must be damaged first if possible. An "r" result forces a Return to Base for the affected side; no "r" means the unit(s) may continue their mission.
Returning to Base: an "r" result forces the affected air unit or stack to return to base — its exact handling depends on when combat occurs. In the Interception Segment, units suffering "r" are placed in the Return to Base box matching the zone they started from, oriented toward that zone. In the Bounce Segment, "r" applies to every non-interception defending unit in the zone; remove them from their mission boxes and place them in a Return to Base box for the zone they occupy. In the Action Phase, CAP units suffering "r" are placed in their Return to Base boxes on the CAP Display, and an active unit/stack whose movement was halted by a CAP mission and which suffers "r" must return immediately to its airfield or carrier of origin, provided it hasn't already spent more than half its movement (8.4). Units in Return to Base boxes may take no further action for the rest of the game turn.
Continuing a mission: a result with no "r" lets the air units continue. In Interception/Bounce combat they remain on their assigned strategic missions; in the Action Phase, attacking CAP units stay on mission and may initiate further combat (placing or adjusting CAP Mission Attack markers, 8.2), and units whose movement was halted by CAP may resume moving from the interception point (and cannot be attacked again by that same CAP mission for the rest of the segment).
CAP vs. Stealth Attacks: no ratio is calculated. Instead, combat is resolved on the special "CAP vs Stealth Attack" column of the Air-to-Air Combat Results table. US/Allied CAP missions within 4 hexes of the hex where the F-117 is attacked may not join the combat, and the usual +2 EW modifier for the attacking CAP mission does not apply here (the 10 Anti-Air / 5-or-less die roll modifiers from step 4 above still apply).
Air-to-air combat example: the Allied player has 2 F-14A units (Anti-Air 9 each) on interception in the Norway zone; the Soviet player has an S-24 (Anti-Air 4) also intercepting there, plus a Tu-16D on reconnaissance and an Il-38 on tactical coordination in the same zone. In the Interception Segment, combat occurs between the F-14s and the S-24; rolling a 3 makes the Soviet player the attacker. The ratio is 4:18, rounded to 1:5. The Soviet player rolls 7, which on the 1-5 ratio's Interception row gives "1r/0" — the F-14s take no losses and stay on interception; the S-24 loses a step and returns to base. In the Bounce Segment, the Allied player attacks the two non-interception Soviet units; no ratio is calculated. Rolling 9 on the Bounce column gives "0/3r" — the Allied player takes no losses, while the Soviet units lose 3 steps combined (Allied player's choice) and are placed in the Norway zone's Return to Base box. At the end of the Bounce Segment, the F-14s are placed in a Return to Base box since their mission is complete.
10.9 Close Defense Hex Combat
Note 5th Fleet: there are 2 coastal-defense hexes on the map — Perim Island (0605), always Soviet-controlled, and Larak Island (3612), controlled by the Iranian player, but only in Scenario 2.
Close Defense Hex attacks: when a surface unit or stack enters a hex adjacent to (or the hex of) an enemy coastal-defense hex during its activation, its movement is temporarily halted while it suffers a sea-skimmer SSM attack (the surface unit is automatically detected, 9.2), resolved normally per 10.4. Afterward, the surface unit may resume movement from the interception point. If this attack damages a surface unit and reduces its movement allowance, the reduced allowance only takes effect the following turn — during the turn it is attacked, it continues moving with the allowance it had at the start of its activation.
A coastal-defense hex may make an unlimited number of such attacks, but never against the same enemy unit or stack more than once per Action Segment — even if that unit or stack keeps activating and re-entering the coastal-defense hex's own hex or an adjacent one. In later game turns, a surface unit previously attacked by a coastal-defense hex can be attacked again if it re-enters the hex or an adjacent one. If a surface unit starts its activation adjacent to an enemy coastal-defense hex, it is not attacked if it moves directly to a hex 2 hexes from the coastal-defense hex. Submarines are never affected by enemy coastal-defense hexes. Surface units and submarines may end their movement in a coastal-defense hex.
Close Defense Hex SSM values: both coastal-defense hexes have an SSM value of 40; coastal-defense attacks always count as sea-skimmer attacks.
Attacking coastal-defense hexes: they may be attacked by Cruise Missile and Bombing combat. Each coastal-defense hex has an Anti-Air value used against Bombing attacks on it. A damaged or destroyed coastal-defense hex can no longer make coastal-defense attacks (it regains that ability once repaired, 11.0).
11.0 Damage
Damage may be inflicted on units or bases in combat. Units always start the game undamaged. A unit's damaged side is shown by an explosion graphic and, in most cases, reduced values.
11.1 How Damage Occurs
Damage against surface units and submarines: compare the combat result to the target's Defense Value. No effect if the result is less than half the Defense Value; Damaged (11.2) if the result is at least half the Defense Value but less than the full value; Sunk (eliminated) if the result equals or exceeds the full Defense Value.
Damage against air units: air units take damage in steps, suffered during Bombing (10.6) and air-to-air combat (10.8).
Damage against bases and coastal-defense hexes: a combat result against a base or coastal-defense hex (from Bombing or Cruise Missile attack) is looked up on this table:
| Combat Result | Base Effect | Combat Result | Coastal-Defense Hex Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 or less | None | 4 or less | None |
| 4–7 | Damage 1 | 5–7 | Damage 1 |
| 8–9 | Damage 2 | 8–9 | Damage 2 |
| 10 | Damage 3 | 10 | Damage 3 |
| 11 | Destroyed | 11 | Destroyed |
11.2 Effects of Damage
Unit damage: a damaged unit is flipped to its explosion side. A unit damaged a second time is sunk/destroyed and removed from the map.
Base damage: place the appropriate marker (Damage 1/2/3/Destroyed) in the hex; damage is cumulative — a second Damage 1 result becomes Damage 2, and a Damage 2 base taking another Damage 1 (or a Damage 1 base taking Damage 2) becomes Damage 3; any base pushed past cumulative level 3 is destroyed. In a combined port/airfield hex, damage or destruction affects only whichever facility (port or airfield) was the declared target — the markers themselves carry port or airfield symbols. Note 5th Fleet: players may create additional Damage/Destroyed markers from blank counters if needed.
Damage to units in a base: units inside a damaged base are not themselves damaged, but air units at a damaged airfield may not be activated or fly strategic/CAP missions (units already flying such missions when their airfield is damaged continue and return normally via the Strategic Mission Termination or CAP and Tactical Coordination Landing phase). A damaged base or coastal-defense hex's own Close Anti-Air value drops as follows:
| Damage Level | Close Anti-Air Value |
|---|---|
| Damage 1 | Printed value ÷ 2 (round down, minimum 3) |
| Damage 2 | 3 |
| Damage 3 | 0 |
| Destroyed | 0 |
Note 5th Fleet: each Damage/Destroyed marker is printed with the correct Close Anti-Air value for its damage level.
Air units at a destroyed airfield are also destroyed (surface units and submarines in a destroyed port are not). CAP units already flying from a destroyed airfield continue their mission but are destroyed at the CAP and Tactical Coordination Landing Phase; units on strategic missions cannot return to a destroyed airfield but may return to a different one during the Strategic Mission Termination Phase (7.6). A destroyed base or coastal-defense hex is non-functional for the rest of the game and cannot be attacked again; its Close Anti-Air value can never be used.
11.3 Repair
Damaged surface units and submarines can never be repaired. Damaged air units can be repaired in the Advanced Game (17.0). Damaged bases and coastal-defense hexes can be repaired: during the Repair Phase of the Terminal Cycle (Night turns only), all Damage 1 markers are removed, all Damage 2 markers become Damage 1, and all Damage 3 markers become Damage 2. Destroyed bases can never be repaired.
11.4 Torpedo Damage (Optional)
To simulate more realistic torpedo damage against surface units: if a surface combat unit (CV, BB, CG, DD, FF, CT — not CO or PC) or an AA unit suffers a Damaged result from an enemy torpedo attack, the player rolls a die:
- If the roll is equal to or greater than the unit's Defense Value, it is "dead in the water" — place a "Movement Allowance 0" marker on it; it can never move again for the rest of the game.
- If the roll is less than the Defense Value, the difference between the roll and the Defense Value becomes the unit's new movement allowance (maximum 3, or 2 for AA units) — place the matching "Movement Allowance 1/2/3" marker on it.
- If the roll is even, do not flip the unit to its damaged side; it keeps using its undamaged combat values if it fights again, but — like a normal damaged unit — is destroyed if it suffers another Damaged result (in this case the Movement Allowance marker itself is the sign that the unit is damaged).
- If the roll is odd, flip the unit to its damaged side as usual; it uses its damaged combat values if it fights again, and is destroyed if damaged a second time.
A surface combat unit damaged this way by a torpedo attack ignores its printed movement allowance and uses the one shown on its Movement Allowance marker instead. If the Logistics roster is in use (16.0), damaged units with a movement allowance of 0 or 1 no longer expend fuel.
12.0 Mines
12.1 Mine Placement
Mining missions: an air unit on a mining mission may place a Mine marker in any coastal, shallow-water, shoal, or restricted-water hex (including island-only hexes) in the mission's zone, during the Mine Segment of the Strategic Air Phase (Soviet player first, then Allied). Once an air unit has placed mines, it moves to the appropriate Return to Base box (7.6).
Soviet submarines may also lay mines, but only when the Advanced Game Logistics option (16.0) is in use: during the Mine Segment, the Soviet player may place a Mine marker in any coastal/shallow/shoal/restricted-water hex adjacent to a Soviet submarine, checking off 3 boxes on that submarine's Logistics roster to do so; without 3 free boxes it cannot lay mines.
Mine limitations: Allied mine markers are used for Allied-laid mines, Soviet markers for Soviet-laid mines. The supply is a hard limit — 15 Soviet, 9 Allied markers; once a side's markers are all on the map, it can lay no more for the rest of the game. A hex may never hold more than 4 Mine markers total, regardless of who laid them.
12.2 Effects of Mines
Once placed, Mine markers are neutral — they affect both players regardless of who laid them, remain on the map for the rest of the game, and can never be removed. They trigger in two situations: when an active surface unit/stack or submarine leaves a mined hex (movement is halted while the Mine Table is consulted, then resumes); or when a surface unit/stack or submarine ends its activation in a friendly port hex containing at least one mine.
Mine Table: the controlling player of the active force rolls a die (subject to modifiers below) against the column matching the number of mines in the hex (1–4). A "−" result means no effect. A result of 1, 2, or 3 gives the number of units in the force that take damage, resolved as follows: (1) roll a die — even (including 0): the owning player applies the damage to his own units; odd: the opposing player chooses which units are hit. (2) The player determined in step 1 selects that many units from the affected force (ignore any excess if the force has fewer units than the result) — each selected unit immediately takes a Damaged result (or is destroyed if already damaged); no unit can be dealt two damage results from the same mine attack. Notable exception: surface units with a Defense Value of 5 or more can never be destroyed by mines (only damaged), and a damaged one with Defense 5+ cannot be selected again in step 2 for further mine damage; submarines and non-combat surface units with Defense 5+ CAN be destroyed by mines. As with torpedo damage, a movement-allowance reduction from mine damage only takes effect the following turn.
Mine Table die roll modifiers: add the combined minesweeping value of any MS (minesweeper) units in the active force or in the mined hex at the time of the attack; if the US RH-53 (MSW) unit is within 2 hexes of the mined hex, add 2 more (cumulative with MS units in the hex) — MS units may support minesweeping an unlimited number of times per Action Phase, but the RH-53 only once per Action Phase. The maximum total Mine Table modifier is +4.
Note 5th Fleet: the Persian Gulf column of the Mine Table is used only in Basic Game Scenario 2.
13.0 Aircraft Carriers
Carriers (CV) are mobile airfields from which air units operate while the carrier moves. Air units assigned to a carrier at scenario start can never be reassigned to a different airfield or carrier (or vice versa).
Deployment of Air Units: air units assigned to a carrier are deployed on the off-map Aircraft Carrier Display and are considered to occupy the same hex as their carrier. They may be activated individually or in stacks of up to 4 INT/ATK units plus an unlimited number of EW, AEW, and RCN units. If a carrier is damaged, its air units are restricted: (1) at most one INT unit may fly CAP; (2) at most one unit may fly a strategic mission; (3) at most 2 units may be activated during the air Action Segment (together or individually). If a carrier is destroyed, all its air units are destroyed (those on CAP or strategic missions are destroyed during the CAP and Tactical Coordination Landing Phase or the Strategic Mission Termination Phase, as applicable).
Fjords: air units aboard a US or Soviet carrier in a fjord hex may not be activated, but may still fly CAP and strategic missions.
USS Kearsage and USS Peleliu: these US AA units count as carriers even though not named as such (they retain their AA function), and each can carry one AV-8 air unit exactly like a carrier. If the Kearsage or Peleliu is removed from the game to satisfy victory conditions, its AV-8 is removed too and cannot be used for the rest of the game (this removal earns the Soviet player no victory points). An AV-8 based aboard an AA unit can never transfer to a land airfield or another carrier, and an airfield-based AV-8 can never transfer to a carrier or an AA unit.
Note 5th Fleet: USS Essex and USS Tarawa are treated the same way as Kearsage and Peleliu — US AA units that count as carriers (while keeping their AA function) and can each carry one AV-8. An AV-8 assigned to an AA unit at scenario setup has a movement allowance of 8; an AV-8 assigned to an airfield at setup instead has a movement allowance of 10 (each AV-8 counter shows both values, with the parenthetical 10 used when airfield-based). If the Essex or Tarawa is removed from the game to satisfy victory conditions, its AV-8 is likewise removed and lost for the rest of the game (with no victory points to the Soviet player), and the same no-transfer restriction applies between AA-based and airfield/carrier-based AV-8s.
14.0 Basic Game Scenarios
Scenarios vary in the number of maps used and forces involved, and each carries a Low, Medium, or High complexity rating. In Basic Game scenarios every turn is a day turn (all scenarios start on an AM turn) and no optional/Advanced Game rules apply. Scenario setup instructions give each unit's name followed by its nationality and type in parentheses. Units meeting the size requirement may be grouped into Task Groups/Forces before play begins; surface units and submarines that start in a port are considered docked and get a Docked marker. No unit may enter a partial hex cut off at the edge of the map — these are ignored, though air units may still be assigned strategic missions in zones that are only partially on the map.
Victory points: most scenarios award victory points (VP) as follows.
Destroyed enemy units: INT/ATK/BMB air units, 3 VP; all other air units, none; SN, 5 VP; SS, 3 VP; the Soviet carrier Svdsk, 10 VP; the US carrier and battleship NJrsy, 16 VP; every other surface combat unit, VP equal to its Defense Value; AA units, VP equal to half its Defense Value at the time destroyed (round down); SC, FC, OL, AM, CS, MP, and MS units, 2 VP each.
Units reaching objective hexes: each scenario's special rules list which units count toward which primary or secondary objective hexes. FC, SC, MP, and AA units carry a printed VP value (reduced on their damaged side, except AA); other objective-scoring units use the rules below. (1) reaching a primary objective hex scores the unit's full printed VP value; (2) reaching a secondary objective hex scores half that value (round down); (3) some scenarios award OL, AM, and CS units (which carry no printed VP value) a flat 10 VP for a primary objective and 5 VP for a secondary one, whether damaged or not.
Every scenario's own victory conditions may list additional special VP awards, and some scenarios don't use the general award table above at all — always follow that scenario's own special rules first.
ADVANCED GAME RULES
15.0 Darkness and Weather
15.1 Darkness
In Advanced Game scenarios there are Day turns and Night turns: AM and PM turns are Day turns, Night turns are Night turns.
Effects of Day: all rules apply normally.
Effects of Darkness: certain restrictions apply during Night turns (see the following rules for specifics — Night Bombing penalties, etc., as noted earlier in 10.6).
Time of year: if both players agree, in Advanced Game scenarios set on the North Pacific or Atlantic maps (not the Caribbean), the map may be treated as being in winter or summer. In a winter scenario, both the PM and Night turns count as Night; only the AM turn is Day. In a summer scenario, AM, PM, and Night turns are all Day turns — there is no night at all.
Effects of Darkness: the following restrictions apply to air units during Night turns:
-
Bombing: subtract 3 from the attacker's die roll on every Bombing attack made at night, unless one of the following units contributes its Bombing value to the attack (in which case there is no night penalty): United States A-6, B-52G, F-15E, F-18D, F-111E, F-111F, F-16; United Kingdom TorG; France SupE; India Jaguar; Oman Jaguar; Saudi Arabia TorG; Soviet Union MiG-29, MiG-29B, Su-24, Tu-16C, Tu-16G, Tu-26, Tu-95H, Tu-160.
-
Air-to-Air Combat: all air units have their Anti-Air value reduced by 2 (minimum 1) at night, except the following types, which fight at full value: United States F-14A, F-14D, F-15C, F-18C; United Kingdom TorG; Netherlands F-16; France Rafale; India MiG-29, Mirage 2000; Oman TorF; Saudi Arabia F-15, TorF; Soviet Union MiG-29, MiG-29B, Su-27, Su-27B; United Arab Emirates Mirage 2000.
Aside from these limitations, all rules apply normally at night.
Note 5th Fleet — Air Unit Activation: all air units may be activated normally during Night turns, except Soviet Yak-36 (Y36) units based aboard a carrier, which cannot be activated at all at night. Night does not affect CAP or strategic missions.
15.2 Weather
During the Weather Phase (Strategic Cycle, AM turns), the Allied player rolls a die on the Weather table. There are 3 possible results: Clear, Squall, or Storm. A Clear result has no further effect. A Squall or Storm result triggers a second roll on the Zone table, determining the affected zone(s); players note the affected zones — every hex inside them is affected for the next 3 game turns.
Squall effects: (1) a surface unit must spend 2 movement points to enter any hex in a squall zone; (2) surface units in a squall zone exert only their Limited detection zone; (3) submarine movement is unaffected; (4) air units at airfields in a squall zone may be activated normally, but carrier-based air units may not be activated (they may still fly strategic and CAP missions regardless of whether the carrier itself is in the squall zone); (5) air units may move through and fly strategic missions through a squall zone normally; (6) replenishment at sea cannot take place in a squall zone (16.0).
Storm effects: (1) a surface unit must spend 4 movement points to enter any hex type in a storm zone (though a surface unit may always move at least 1 hex during its activation); (2) submarine movement is unaffected; (3) air units in a storm zone may not be activated, fly strategic missions, or fly CAP; (4) a strategic mission cannot be flown into a storm zone, even by air units starting elsewhere; (5) air units may move through a storm zone normally; (6) Detection markers are removed from all surface units occupying or entering a storm zone, so surface units in a storm zone cannot be attacked; (7) no attacks can be made by a unit in a storm zone, though submarines in a storm zone may still make ASW attacks; (8) surface units in a storm zone exert no detection zones at all, and their own zones don't extend into a storm zone; submarines in a storm zone exert only a Limited detection zone and may only attempt to detect enemy submarines — never surface units; (9) replenishment (at sea or in port) cannot take place in a storm zone (16.0).
Note: a surface unit starting its movement in a storm or squall zone may move into an adjacent clear-weather hex with no ill effect. Also, air units on strategic missions are unaffected by squalls or storms located between their mission's starting point and where it is carried out.
Note 5th Fleet: thus, an air unit in the Persian Gulf zone flying a strategic mission into the North Arabian Sea zone is unaffected by a storm or squall in the Gulf of Oman zone.
Weather is not rolled for in an Advanced Game scenario played entirely in a region with no Weather table of its own — check each scenario's special rules for which map(s) use weather.
16.0 Logistics (Optional)
The Logistics option makes for more realistic games, but lengthens play and requires tracking sheets. It is usable only in the Advanced Game.
16.1 The Logistics Rosters
Each player has a Logistics roster (which also tracks other Advanced Game information). Victory Games gives players permission to photocopy these rosters for personal use. Units are listed by country and grouped into 4 categories: Surface, Carrier, Submarine, and Replenishment. Each unit has a number of boxes for tracking ammunition and fuel expenditure — never more boxes than the roster provides. Mark the rosters in pencil, since the information changes throughout the game. Some unit types (AA, PC, ET, FT, FC, SC) are not tracked on the roster at all, since logistics information isn't kept for them. Roster information is open to both players at all times.
16.2 Surface Units and Ammunition Expenditure
Surface units (except carriers) have 3 kinds of ammunition boxes: SSM, ASW, and Area Anti-Air (AAA). A unit with no boxes for a given type can never make that kind of attack; once all its boxes of a type are checked off, it can no longer use that value at all (until resupplied, 16.6).
SSM Ammunition: check off one SSM box whenever a unit fights an SSM combat (each participating unit in a multi-unit attack checks its own box). Some surface units have a star after their SSM boxes, meaning they can only resupply SSMs in port, never at sea (16.6).
Intensive and Maximum SSM attacks: when firing an SSM attack, a player may declare some or all participating units are making an "intensive" or "maximum" attack. Intensive: SSM value ×1.5 (round down), but check off 2 SSM boxes per participating unit. Maximum: SSM value ×2, but check off 3 SSM boxes per participating unit. Units in the same attacking stack may mix normal, intensive, and maximum attacks. PC units can never make intensive or maximum attacks, but may make unlimited SSM attacks without ever needing resupply — however, a PC unit not in a home-country port hex during the Fuel Phase (Night turns only) of an even-numbered game turn (6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36) is automatically eliminated (sunk), awarding victory points to the opponent as normal; a PC unit in a port of the wrong nationality during the Fuel Phase is likewise lost.
Note 5th Fleet: Exception — Thai (TH) and Malaysian (ML) PC units have no home-country port on the map. During the Fuel Phase of even-numbered turns, Thai and Malaysian PCs are not eliminated as long as they occupy hexes 4478 and 4578.
Aircraft Carriers: a carrier expending its own SSM, ASW, or AAA values in combat tracks the expenditure the same way as any other surface unit.
Secondary SSM ammunition: some surface units have two separate rows of SSM boxes, meaning they carry two different SSM types — one shown by the printed counter values, the other by values in parentheses on the Logistics roster (marked with a grey band). The number left of the slash is that second type's SSM range; the number right of the slash is its attack value. A unit with two SSM types must declare which type it is using for a given attack (never both in the same attack) and checks a box in the matching row; resupply (16.6) restores both types to full. SSMs with a range of 2 are Harpoons; those with a range of 5 are Tomahawks.
ASW Ammunition: check off one ASW box whenever a surface unit fights ASW combat (using ASW defensively against a torpedo attack does not check a box). Once all ASW boxes are checked, the unit can no longer use its ASW value in either offense or defense against torpedoes — this has no effect on its detection abilities.
AAA Ammunition: check off one AAA box whenever a unit uses its Area Anti-Air value defensively against an enemy SSM or Bombing attack.
AAA Ammunition Used as SSMs (optional): US and Australian surface units with an Area Anti-Air value of 1+ may expend AAA ammunition to fire an improvised SSM attack: declare the intent, check an AAA box, and the unit fires with SSM value 5 and range 1. Such an attack always counts as "fast" SSM, and the unit cannot combine it with any other SSM ammunition type in the same attack (other participating units in the same stack may still use their normal SSM types).
Cruise Missile Ammunition: units with a Cruise Missile silhouette have one or more circles under the CM column of the Logistics roster; every participating unit checks one circle per attack. Once a unit has no circles left, it can no longer fight Cruise Missile combat. Cruise Missile ammunition can never be resupplied.
Patrol Combatants (PC): not tracked on the Logistics roster at all, and so never track ammunition or fuel expenditure (see the SSM rules above for their special elimination check).
16.3 Submarines and Ammunition Expenditure
Submarines have 2 kinds of ammunition boxes: SSM and Torpedo (TORP). All submarines carry torpedoes, though not all carry SSMs. Once all boxes of a given type are checked, the submarine can't use that value again until resupplied (16.6).
SSM Ammunition: check off one SSM box per SSM combat fought. Submarines can fire intensive and maximum SSM attacks exactly like surface units (16.2). Some US submarines carry two SSM types, handled the same way as the equivalent surface-unit rule.
Torpedo Ammunition: check off one Torpedo box whenever a submarine fights a torpedo or ASW combat. Using ASW defensively against a torpedo attack does not expend a Torpedo box, but once all Torpedo boxes are checked, the submarine can no longer use its ASW value defensively against torpedo attacks either. Running out of torpedoes does not affect a submarine's detection ability.
Cruise Missile Ammunition: Cruise-Missile-equipped submarines expend ammunition exactly as surface units do (16.2).
Intensive and Maximum Torpedo Attacks: a submarine's torpedo attack may likewise be declared intensive or maximum, expending extra ammunition and boosting the torpedo value exactly as for SSM attacks (16.2).
16.4 Air Units and Ammunition Expenditure
For each carrier-based air unit that fights a Bombing combat, check off one BOMB box on the carrier's roster. Once all the carrier's BOMB boxes are checked, its air units cannot fight Bombing combat until the carrier is resupplied (16.6). US AA units Essex and Tarawa are tracked as carriers on the Logistics roster (13.0). Airfield-based air units fighting Bombing or SSM combat never expend ammunition — the airfield is treated as having unlimited resupply of every type. Air units fighting ASW or air-to-air combat never expend ammunition. Air units may always fly strategic and CAP missions regardless of ammunition status.
Note 5th Fleet — Aircraft SSM: several carriers have box rows labeled AIR SSM. Air units based aboard these carriers that carry a special SSM indicator may fire SSM attacks; each such attack checks one AIR SSM box (an attacking US A-6 checks 2 boxes instead). Once all of a carrier's AIR SSM boxes are checked, its air units cannot fire SSM attacks until the carrier is resupplied.
Aircraft SSM values (attack value/range; damaged value where applicable; carrier name in parentheses; all listed missiles are sea-skimmers): US F-18C and S-3 (Harpoon) — 20/2 (10/2 damaged); US A-6 (Harpoon) — 60/2 (40/2 damaged); French Super Etendard (Exocet) — 30/1 (18/1 damaged); UK and Indian Sea Harrier (Sea Eagle) — 9/2 (4/2 damaged); Soviet MiG-29B (AS-9) — 18/2 (9/2 damaged).
Land-based air units with special SSM indicators cannot fire SSM attacks at all.
16.5 Movement and Logistics
Units on the Logistics roster with Fuel boxes must track fuel expenditure. Units without Fuel boxes — submarines, replenishment ships, and every carrier — never expend fuel (nuclear-powered ships such as the US battleships Wiscn and NJrsy are also fuel-exempt, marked UNLIM in the Fuel column).
Fuel Expenditure: during the Fuel Phase of the Terminal Cycle (Night turns), check off one Fuel box for every surface unit on the map that has Fuel boxes, regardless of how far it moved in previous turns (even if it didn't move at all).
Optional Fuel Expenditure: for more realistic tracking, players may agree to skip checking a Fuel box for units that didn't move, or moved at most 1 hex, during each AM/PM/Night turn. To track which units moved, mark a slash in a Fuel box if the unit moved more than 2 hexes in any Action Phase that turn; leave it unmarked if it moved 0–2 hexes. During the Fuel Phase, a unit with a slash gets one box checked; units without a slash get none.
Out of Fuel: once all of a unit's Fuel boxes are checked, it is out of fuel — place an "Out of Fuel" marker on it. An out-of-fuel unit: (1) has a movement allowance of 1, and may dock for free; (2) has its Defense Value reduced by 1 (minimum 1).
16.6 Replenishment
To regain ammunition and fuel, a unit must be replenished — either in port or at sea. A unit may replenish before all its Fuel/ammunition boxes are checked.
A unit that replenishes cannot be activated in the Action Phase immediately following the Replenishment Phase (other units stacked in the same hex that did not replenish may still be activated). Players rotate a replenishing unit's marker 180 degrees as a reminder that it cannot be activated; air units assigned to a replenishing carrier cannot be activated either, though they may still fly strategic and CAP missions. At the end of the Action Phase, flip replenished units back to their normal orientation.
In-Port Replenishment: to replenish in port, a unit must be docked in a friendly port hex at the start of the Replenishment Phase. In-port replenishment cannot occur in a damaged/destroyed port, or a port in a storm zone. At most 4 units (only one of which may be a replenishment ship or a carrier) may replenish per port per Replenishment Phase. For each replenishing unit: a surface combat unit (non-carrier) clears all its SSM, ASW, AAA, and Fuel boxes; a submarine clears its TORP and SSM boxes; a carrier clears its SSM, ASW, AAA, BOMB, and AIR SSM boxes; a replenishment ship clears either its AP boxes or its FP boxes (not both). Cruise Missile (CM) and nuclear (N) boxes can never be cleared this way. Ports themselves have unlimited resupply and expend no points to replenish friendly units.
Example: during the Replenishment Phase, US units Cnole (FF), Mnstr (FF), Hoel (DD), Grman (OL), and Svnah (CS) are docked at Dutch Harbor. Since Grman and Svnah are both replenishment ships, only one may itself be replenished there — the Allied player chooses to replenish the Cnole, Mnstr, Hoel, and Grman, clearing every checked box on their rosters (except Cruise Missile/nuclear boxes).
At-Sea Replenishment: to replenish at sea, a surface unit must share a hex with a friendly replenishment unit (CS, AM, OL) at the start of the Replenishment Phase. For each checked Ammunition Point (AP) box cleared on the replenishing ship, the player may take one of these actions for a friendly surface unit in the same hex: clear all SSM/ASW/AAA boxes of a non-carrier surface unit; clear all SSM/ASW/AAA/AIR SSM boxes of a carrier; clear a single BOMB box of a carrier; or clear a single AP box of another replenishment unit. Likewise, for each checked Fuel Point (FP) box cleared on the replenishing ship, the player may: clear all Fuel boxes of one surface combat unit, or clear a single FP box of another replenishment unit. (Some US carriers and the battleship Wiscn have FP boxes on the Allied roster, used only if optional rule 20.4 is in play.)
At-Sea Replenishment Restrictions: (1) submarines can never replenish at sea; (2) surface units with a star after their SSM boxes cannot have those boxes cleared at sea — only in port; (3) a replenishing unit can clear at most 6 AP and/or FP boxes per Replenishment Phase; (4) at-sea replenishment cannot occur in a squall or storm zone. Allied units may replenish at sea from any Allied replenishment unit regardless of nationality.
Example: during the Replenishment Phase, US units Amrca (CV), HueCy (CG), and Qrtms (CS) are stacked in the same hex. The Allied player clears 5 AP boxes and 1 FP box (the maximum allowed per Replenishment phase). He decides to clear the Fuel checks on the HueCy (spending the FP), the SSM, ASW, and AAA checks on the HueCy (spending 1 AP), 3 BOMB checks on the Amrca (spending 3 more AP), and finally, all the ASW checks on the Amrca (spending the 5th AP).
16.7 Out of Fuel/Ammo Markers
Both players must check their Logistics rosters whenever a unit uses a combat value tracked on the roster. When a unit runs out of a resource, place an Out of Fuel or Out of Ammo marker on it (flip to the Out of Fuel & Ammo side if it runs out of both). The Out of Ammo marker applies as soon as a unit runs out of any one ammunition type — not all of them — and the unit may still use whichever combat values it has ammunition left for. Remove these markers once the unit is replenished.
17.0 Random Events
During the Random Events Phase of every Strategic Cycle except Turn 1, the Allied player rolls a die and both players consult the Random Events table. There are 3 possible results:
Aircraft Replacement: the indicated player may choose any one of his non-BMB air units on the map (including off-map airfields and carrier-based units) currently showing its damaged side, and flip it back to its undamaged side. Destroyed units can never be replaced this way.
Command Failure: roll again — odd means the Soviet player is affected, even (including 0) means the Allied player is affected. The affected player rolls on the Zone table to determine which zone(s) suffer the penalty: all his air units in the indicated zones cannot be activated or fly strategic missions for the current turn and the next 2 turns (CAP missions may still fly normally, but cannot support friendly air units attacked by enemy CAP in air-to-air combat, 10.8). In the next Strategic Air Phase, none of the affected player's air units in other zones may fly strategic missions into the indicated zones. Off-map airfields are treated as occupying the zone they connect to for this purpose.
Note 5th Fleet: for example, the Baku off-map airfield is treated as being in the Persian Gulf zone, and the George Town off-map airfield is treated as being in the Sumatra zone.
Commando Raid: roll a die — odd means the Soviet player may execute a commando raid; even (including 0) means the Allied player may. The indicated player targets any enemy airfield (not an off-map airfield or port, and not a carrier), rolling once per raid attempt on the Commando Raid table (the same airfield may be targeted repeatedly across the game):
| Die Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 0–1 | No effect |
| 2–4 | Damage 1 |
| 5–6 | Damage 2 |
| 7–8 | Damage 3 |
| 9 | Destroyed |
Damage from a raid is cumulative with existing damage exactly as in 11.2 (e.g. an airfield already at Damage 1 that suffers a raid result of Damage 2 becomes Damage 3; a raid result of Damage 3 against an already-damaged airfield destroys it).
18.0 Tactical Nuclear Warfare (Optional)
The game assumes only conventional weapons are used. By mutual agreement, players may use nuclear weapons, but only if the Logistics option (16.0) is also in use. When these rules are used, ignore the stacking limit in 6.0 entirely — any number of friendly combat surface units may stack together at the end of a surface Action Segment.
18.1 Availability of Nuclear Weapons
Only US, French, British, and Soviet units may use nuclear weapons. There are 4 nuclear weapon types: SSM, Bombing, ASW, and Area Anti-Air (Cruise Missile attacks can never be nuclear). If a surface unit or submarine has a nuclear capability for a given combat type, this is tracked in the appropriate ammunition boxes on the Logistics roster (submarines with nuclear ASW weapons show an "N" behind their TORP boxes). Air units may also make nuclear attacks (below).
18.2 Use of Nuclear Weapons
When a player initiates combat and one or more participating units has a nuclear capability for that combat type, he may announce that some or all of his units fire nuclear weapons. For each unit doing so, cross off its "N" (or check a box, for air units) in the appropriate section of the Logistics roster. Once a surface unit or submarine's "N" is crossed off, it can never use that nuclear weapon type again for the rest of the game. Nuclear weapons can never be resupplied.
Air units may keep making nuclear attacks as long as they have unchecked boxes in the Air Unit Nuclear Attack section of the Logistics roster.
Nuclear combat is resolved normally, with these exceptions:
SSM: a unit firing a nuclear SSM multiplies its SSM attack value based on the number of enemy surface units (of any type) in the target hex:
| Enemy Surface Units in Target Hex | SSM Value Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 13 or more | ×5 |
| 5–12 | ×4 |
| 4 or fewer | ×3 |
A unit firing a nuclear SSM cannot make intensive or maximum attacks, and cannot target units inside a base. Soviet air units (not Allied) with SSM values may make nuclear SSM attacks — each such attacking unit checks an SSM box in the Air Unit Nuclear Attacks section of the Soviet Logistics roster.
Bombing: all US and Soviet INT and ATK units may make nuclear Bombing attacks. Note 5th Fleet: all US and French INT/ATK air units, as well as Soviet Su-24 units, may make nuclear Bombing attacks. Such attacks may only target enemy surface units — never bases or units inside a base. The Bombing attack value is boosted using the same multiplier table as nuclear SSM attacks above. Each attacking unit checks a BOMB box in the Air Unit Nuclear Attacks section of its Logistics roster.
ASW: surface, submarine, and air units making nuclear ASW attacks have their ASW value multiplied by 5. This increase does not apply when using ASW defensively against a torpedo attack. Among air units, only US and Soviet RCN units may make nuclear ASW attacks; if they do, the attacking player checks an ASW box in the Air Unit Nuclear Attacks section of his Logistics roster for each attacking unit. A nuclear ASW attack cannot be made against a submarine occupying a base hex.
Area Anti-Air: if a surface unit uses nuclear anti-air weapons defensively against an SSM or Bombing attack, its Area Anti-Air value is multiplied by 5.
18.3 First Use of Nuclear Weapons
Once a player has used nuclear weapons, both players may use them for the rest of the game without further restriction. However, the very first use of nuclear weapons is restricted: (1) neither player may use them in the first 3 game turns; (2) neither player may use them in the last 3 game turns. If nuclear weapons are used at all, the player who did NOT use them first receives 100 victory points at the end of the game.
19.0 Deep Mode (Optional)
By mutual agreement, submarines may enter a special state called Deep Mode.
19.1 How to Enter Deep Mode
During the Submarine Mode Phase of the Strategic Cycle, players (Soviet first, then Allied) may place Deep markers on any or all of their submarines with a movement allowance of 2 or more, and may likewise remove Deep markers from their submarines. Once a submarine enters Deep Mode, it must stay in that state for the next 3 game turns (AM, PM, and Night). Deep Mode has nothing to do with a submarine's "Deep-diving" trait — non-deep-diving submarines can enter Deep Mode too. Notable exception: a submarine cannot enter Deep Mode while in a shallow-water, restricted-water, or fjord hex.
19.2 Effects of Deep Mode
Submarines in Deep Mode operate normally except: Movement — movement allowance is fixed at 1; they cannot move at full speed and cannot enter shallow-water or restricted-water hexes. Combat — an attacker fighting an ASW combat against a Deep Mode submarine subtracts 1 from his die roll; a Deep Mode submarine may still fight ASW combat normally, but cannot make Cruise Missile or SSM attacks; it may fight torpedo combat, but its torpedo value is halved (round down). Detection — add 2 to the die roll when attempting to detect a Deep Mode submarine on the Submarine Detection table (9.2).
20.0 Optional Rules
The following optional rules may be used by mutual player agreement.
20.1 Increased Movement for Air Units
Extended Range: an active INT, ATK, or BMB unit may fly at Extended Range (trading fuel capacity for range): its movement allowance increases by 25% (round down), but its Bombing, Anti-Air, and SSM attack values are all halved (round down, minimum 1).
Mid-Air Refueling: US, British, and Soviet air units may extend their movement allowance via mid-air refueling. There are 4 Aerial Refueling (AR) units in the game: US KA-6, US KC-135, UK Victor, and Soviet Tu-16A. AR units have no combat values and can never move — they stay at the airfield or carrier where they started the game unless destroyed (the US KA-6 must start aboard a carrier; the others must start at an airfield). During a player's air Action Segment, an INT, ATK, or BMB unit sharing an airfield or carrier with a friendly-nationality AR unit may add 50% to its movement allowance for that segment, provided it does not move within 4 hexes of an enemy INT unit during the first 10 hexes of its activation. Each AR unit in play can boost only one INT/ATK/BMB unit per Action Segment.
High Mission Profile: any INT, ATK, BMB, or EW unit may fly a High Mission Profile (flying at maximum altitude to save fuel): its movement allowance increases by 25% (round down), but if it fights Bombing or SSM combat during that activation, the enemy adds 2 to his defensive die roll.
Note: air units may stack all of the above movement bonuses together for up to a 100% increase in movement allowance.
Reduced Range: any INT, ATK, or BMB unit may fly at Reduced Range (trading fuel capacity for ordnance): its movement allowance is halved, but its Bombing value increases by 30 (a unit with a printed Bombing value under 20 gains only 15 instead — so an INT unit flying the Fighter role, with Bombing value 0, gains nothing). SSM, Anti-Air, and ASW values are unaffected by Reduced Range. This option cannot be combined with Extended Range or High Mission Profile, but can be combined with mid-air refueling — in that case the unit uses its printed movement allowance while still gaining the Reduced Range Bombing bonus.
20.2 High Speeds
During the Action Phase of AM turns, players may declare that some or all of their surface combat units (except PC units) move at high speed: immediately check one extra Fuel box on the Logistics roster for each such unit (on top of the normal Fuel Phase check). CO and FF units moving at high speed gain +1 movement allowance for the next 3 turns (AM, PM, Night) of that day; all other surface units gain +2 movement allowance for the same period. Units moving at high speed must spend 2 movement points to enter a restricted-water hex.
20.3 Close Combat
Every surface unit has a Close Combat value — its SSM value boosted by short-range weapons such as guns and helicopters. A player may only fight close combat when declaring an SSM attack; unlike an SSM attack, close combat may target enemy bases or coastal-defense hexes, but a unit fighting close combat in a segment cannot also fire a separate SSM attack that same segment.
Close Combat Against Enemy Surface Units: if the active player declares an SSM attack against enemy surface units at 1 hex range, he may declare close combat instead; this can target docked enemy units too. Notable exception: close combat cannot be declared if the attacker is separated from the target hex by a land hex or a blocked hexside.
When close combat is used, 1 or 2 SSM-style combats are resolved in sequence (one for the active player's units, one for the inactive player's target units), following normal SSM resolution except: (1) participating units use their Close Combat value, not their SSM value; (2) the attacker may freely choose his target — no die roll to determine top/bottom half of the stack; (3) the defender ignores Area Anti-Air entirely when totaling his defense, and ignores the AEW/F-14 CAP defensive bonus; (4) restricted-water and coastal hexes do not modify the attacker's die roll.
If close combat results in 0 or 9 on... (see the table below) — the die roll instead determines who gets to attack: 0 means only the initially active player attacks; 1–5 means the active player attacks first, the inactive player second; 6–8 means the inactive player attacks first, the active player second; 9 means only the inactive player attacks.
| Die Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 0 | Active side only |
| 1–5 | Active first / Inactive second |
| 6–8 | Inactive first / Active second |
| 9 | Inactive side only |
On a 0 or 9, only the indicated side attacks, and close combat ends immediately afterward (the active side is still considered to have fired an SSM attack even if the roll denied it an actual attack). On 1–8, the first-listed side attacks and applies damage, then any surviving enemy units may fight a second close combat round. Inactive, docked units (even ones replenishing) may still fight close combat.
Close combat expends SSM ammunition normally for both sides, and either side may fire intensive or maximum close-combat attacks (16.2): in an intensive attack, each participating unit's SSM value is halved (round down) and added to its printed Close Combat value; in a maximum attack, each unit's full printed SSM value is added to its Close Combat value instead. Surface units with no SSM value (or no SSM boxes left) may still fight close combat, but cannot make intensive/maximum attacks; a unit with unchecked SSM boxes remaining can instead attack at its printed Close Combat value minus its SSM attack value. Provided they weren't already activated earlier in the Action Phase, inactive units that took part in a close combat may still be activated normally later in that same phase — even ones that fought in the close combat.
Close Combat Against Enemy Bases: a surface unit (or stack) may fight close combat against an adjacent enemy base; if the target hex has both a port and an airfield, the attacker must declare which he is attacking. Notable exception: close combat cannot be declared if the attacker is separated from the target by a land hex or blocked hexside. This is resolved like an SSM attack against the base, except: (1) the attacking unit's Close Combat value minus its SSM value is used, and intensive/maximum attacks are not allowed; (2) there is no defensive die roll; (3) the active player cannot also attack enemy units in the target hex; (4) unlike close combat against surface units, the inactive player never gets a return close-combat attack against a base hex; (5) restricted-water, fjord, and coastal hexes do not modify the attacker's die roll — however, the attacker automatically subtracts 3 from his die roll on every close-combat attack against a base; (6) units fighting close combat against a base do not expend any Logistics roster ammunition boxes; (7) damage against the base is applied per 11.0.
20.4 US Aircraft Carriers as Oilers
Certain US carriers, and the battleship NJrsy, can double as OL (oiler) replenishment ships, at the usual combat penalties for doing so. Each has 5 Fuel Point (FP) boxes on the Logistics roster, used only when this option is in play; these FP boxes can be used to replenish friendly surface units at sea (16.6). If one of these units replenishes in port, all its FP boxes are cleared along with its ammunition boxes. These units may also be replenished at sea by any friendly replenishment unit with FP boxes — for every checked box on the replenisher, one box is cleared on the carrier/battleship, up to a maximum of 5 (16.6). US CV and BB units cannot replenish other units while in a squall or storm zone.
20.5 Coordinated Air Strikes
If an active air unit or stack enters a hex containing an airfield or carrier with friendly air units that have not yet been activated this segment, those air units may join the active force and move/attack together with it, as long as adding them does not push the combined force above 4 INT/ATK/BMB units. The combined force's movement allowance becomes whichever is lower: the movement allowance of the newly-joined units, or the remaining movement allowance of the original active force. Notable exception: air units at off-map airfields can never join a coordinated air strike with units already on the map.
When returning to an airfield, a stack of air units may drop off some units at an eligible airfield along the way and continue on to a different airfield with the rest — though units landing somewhere other than where they started still suffer the usual airfield-change penalty (5.4). Once back at base, air units that took part in a coordinated strike may not be activated again for the rest of that segment.
20.6 US "Stand-Off" ASW Attacks
Any US SN with an ASW value of 10 may make one "Stand-Off Weapon" (SOW) attack per game against an enemy submarine at 2 or 3 hexes' range, using the "Sea Lance" weapon. When declared, the attacking SN uses an ASW value of 6 (4 if damaged) instead of its printed value. Each eligible SN may make only one Stand-Off attack per game — once made, that SN can never make another Stand-Off attack for the rest of the game, even if resupplied. If the Logistics option is in use, mark an "S" in an available TORP box of the attacking SN instead of a normal check, to record that it used a Stand-Off attack rather than a standard one.
Special note: the Sea Lance program was cancelled by the US Navy in early 1990.
20.7 Special Area Anti-Air Value of USS Foster
The US DD Fostr, which normally has an Area Anti-Air value of 0, is treated as having an Area Anti-Air value of 3 (2 if damaged) whenever it is part of a Task Force or Task Group that includes at least one US CG, DD, or FF with an Area Anti-Air value of 1 or more. In the game, the Fostr is modeled as carrying a Mark 41 Vertical Launch System with a mix of ASW, anti-surface, and anti-air missiles — but without its own fire-control radar to guide its Standard SM-1 anti-air missiles in flight. When sailing near other warships that do have their own fire-control radar, the Fostr can fire its Standard SAMs and hand off in-flight guidance to the nearest capable warship.
21.0 Unloading
At any time, one or more of a player's SC, FC, MP, or AA units that enters one of that player's primary or secondary objective hexes (listed in each Advanced Game scenario's special rules) may be removed from the map and placed in the Unloaded Units box. Once removed, a unit can never return to play or be attacked. Unloading is voluntary — a unit may enter an objective hex without being unloaded.
If the US AA units Krsge or Peliu are removed from the map by unloading, their AV-8 air unit is also removed and can never return to play.
At the end of the game, a player scores victory points for his unloaded units. The number of points scored can depend on when the unit was unloaded, and whether it was damaged at the time. If a unit's objective is a port, it may still be unloaded there even if the port is damaged or destroyed. See the victory-point rules in 14.0 for how objective-hex points are scored.