Famous Divisions: Guards Armoured Division Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1.0 Quick-Summary Game Concept
  • 1.1 Fog of War
• 2.0 Game Components
  • 2.1 Maps
  • 2.2 Charts and Tables
  • 2.3 Combat Units
  • 2.4 Headquarters Units
  • 2.5 HQ Activation Chits
  • 2.6 Information Markers
  • 2.7 Extra Units
• 3.0 Game Turns
  • 3.1 Sequence of Play
  • 3.2 Weather Phase
  • 3.3 Supply Phase
  • 3.4 Activation Phase
  • 3.5 End of Turn Phase
• 4.0 Reinforcements
  • 4.1 Replacements
  • 4.2 ARVs (Armored Recovery Vehicles)
• 5.0 Supply
  • 5.1 Supply Determination
  • 5.2 Low Supply and Out of Supply Units
• 6.0 Activation
• 7.0 Stacking
  • 7.1 Stacking Limits
  • 7.2 City Stacking
• 8.0 Zones of Control (ZOC)
• 9.0 Movement
  • 9.1 Movement Restrictions
  • 9.2 Roadway Movement
  • 9.3 Stacking and Movement
  • 9.4 Overrun
  • 9.5 Riding Tanks
  • 9.6 Debarking
• 10.0 Combat
  • "Famous Divisions" Combat Results Table
  • 10.1 Combat Procedure
  • 10.2 Artillery
  • 10.3 Event Chits
  • 10.4 Combat Results
  • 10.5 Retreat
  • 10.6 Advance after Combat
  • 10.7 Anti-Aircraft
  • 10.8 Attacking Across Streams, River, Canal, Bridge
• 11.0 Ranged Fire
  • 11.1 Artillery Ranged Fire
  • 11.2 Artillery Barrages
  • 11.3 Direct Ranged Fire
  • 11.4 Opportunity Fire
• 12.0 Demolishing Bridges
  • 12.1 Pontoon Bridges
• 13.0 Evening and Night
  • 13.1 Evening Game Turn
  • 13.2 Night Game Turn
• 14.0 Weather
  • 14.1 Weather Effects
• 15.0 Fortifications
  • 15.1 Fortification Facing
  • 15.2 Fortification Movement Costs
  • 15.3 AVREs
• 16.0 Engineers
  • 16.1 Clearing Fortification Chits
• 17.0 Scenarios
  • 17.1 Scenario 1: Operation Goodwood
  • 17.2 Scenario Activation
  • 17.3 Event Chits
  • 17.4 Victory Conditions
  • 17.5 Scenario Special Rules
  • 17.6 Scenario 2: Bonninghardt Ridge
  • 17.7 Scenario Activation
  • 17.8 Event Chits
  • 17.9 Victory Conditions
  • 17.10 Scenario Special Rules
  • 17.11 Scenario Notes
  • 17.12 Scenario 3: Operation Veritable
• 18.0 Optional Direct Ranged Fire
• 19.0 Design Notes

1.0 Quick-Summary Game Concept

Famous Divisions: Guards Armoured simulates four particular battles that involved the British Guards Armoured division in 1944 and 1945. Each game turn represents approximately six hours of actual time, and each hex represents approximately 550 meters from side to side. The game system utilizes a basic odds-ratio combat results table that is augmented by "Event Chits" that players randomly draw from a cup during the course of play.

Each game turn is not divided as a separate friendly and enemy turn, but rather is comprised of numerous individual "HQ Activations". All of the game's HQ activation chits are placed into an individual opaque cup, and each one is drawn one at a time to initiate the activation (movement and combat) of a headquarters (HQ) unit, and all of that headquarter's associated units (companies). When that HQ's activation is finished, a new HQ activation chit is then drawn from the cup, and its activation commences. All of the HQ activation chits are drawn one at a time in this way until the draw cup is empty. When the last of the HQ activation chits have been drawn, that game turn is considered over.

Note: This rules system supersedes the rules system printed in World at War #20 (Grossdeutchland), except as specifically relevant to Guards Armoured alone.

1.1 Fog of War

A player may inspect the units and stacks of the other player if he demonstrates a line of contiguous and uninterrupted (by blocking terrain) hexes not in excess of 10 hexagons in length (from any of his own units presently on the map to the enemy unit or stack he desires to inspect), or only 5 hexagons during snow weather turns, or only 1 hexagon (adjacent) during night turns.

Exception: No enemy unit or stack in the same hex as a fortification is subject to inspection.

However, any enemy unit that conducts any manner of combat must be revealed in all cases (even if occupying a fortification).

2.0 Game Components

This game includes two counter sheets (560 counters), and four maps (two map-sheets) of four battlefields where the Guards Armoured division fought. Players will need to provide three six-sided dice, and also three small opaque cups for drawing various random game pieces.

Activation Draw Cup: One of the three draw cups is to be used for "Activations" (see rule 6.0); place all of the HQ activation chits of the scenario being played into the activation draw cup.

German Event Draw Cup: One of the three draw cups is to be used for German "Event Chits" (see rule 10.3); place the specified event chits designated by the scenario into the German event chit draw cup.

British Event Draw Cup: One of the three draw cups is to be used for British "Event Chits" (see rule 10.3); place the specified event chits designated by the scenario into the British event chit draw cup.

2.1 Maps

Each hexagon encompasses about 500 meters. The maps portray four distinct battles: "Operation Goodwood", "Bonninghardt Ridge", "Operation Veritable" and "Joe's Bridge". The hex grid printed on the maps is used to facilitate the movement of units and to delineate the various terrain features. The effects on play of the various terrain features can be found on the Terrain Chart (printed astride each map).

2.2 Charts and Tables

The rules and the maps include all of the charts and tables necessary for play. The Terrain Chart includes the combat modifiers as well as the movement costs per each type of unit and terrain.

2.3 Combat Units

The various game pieces represent all of the historic combat units, as well as all necessary chits to facilitate game play. The combat units are primarily companies, and are color-coded by nationality:

• Tan = British
• Grey = German

Additionally, the individual combat units are color-coded in accordance with their respective battalion HQ unit, indicating the combat units that may move and/or attack when its battalion HQ unit is "Activated" (see rules 2.5 and 6.0):

The numerical ratings and symbols printed on each combat unit are indicated as follows:

The front side of all combat units is always considered to be their full-strength side, whereas the back side is always considered to be their depleted (reduced-strength) side. Whenever any full-strength combat unit suffers casualties, it is flipped to its back side, which is printed with lower numeral ratings. Whenever any depleted combat unit suffers casualties (depleted again), it is eliminated and removed from play.

Note: Some of the units are not printed with depleted back sides. As such, they are simply eliminated whenever they suffer casualties.

As a general note, units that are Wheeled are assumed to include trucks or other types of wheeled vehicles. In the case of infantry or artillery, it is assumed that they are being transported (if classified as a Wheeled type unit), and any unloading/unlimbering occurs automatically within the timeframe that is represented during each turn. Nonetheless, in most cases such units are not assumed to be loaded or limbered when engaged in combat.

2.4 Headquarters Units

Headquarters (HQ) units exist to "Activate" combat units (see 6.0), provide a supply source during the supply phase, and provide a retreat direction for any units that are forcibly retreated after combat. Each HQ unit is color-coded to correspond to a specific HQ activation chit, and a particular battalion, indicating which units are activated during a turn (when the corresponding HQ activation chit is drawn from the draw cup).

If a battalion's HQ unit has been eliminated, the units of that battalion cannot be activated as a whole. The HQ activation chit remains in the draw cup, and is drawn normally, but only one stack of units (any units of that same battalion in any one hex) may be activated per game turn. For example, if the German HQ KGK has been eliminated, the German player may activate one hex that contains any KGK company when the KGK HQ activation chit is drawn. However, if the scenario also includes the division HQ for that side, that division HQ may activate that whole battalion normally, when the division HQ activation chit is drawn (see rule 6.0).

2.5 HQ Activation Chits

Each player is allotted an assortment of "HQ Activation Chits," as specified by the current scenario. All of the HQ activation chits (of both sides) are placed into the activation draw cup (except those of reinforcement battalions, until their arrival on the map), and are then drawn blindly by either player each turn, one at a time, to determine the sequence of the battalions to be activated throughout each game turn (see rule 6.0). Each drawn HQ activation chit allows the player of the same nationality to activate (move and/or to conduct attacks) the same color-coded battalion units during that turn.

2.6 Information Markers

In addition to the Turn Track markers, the following information markers are provided to aid game play:

Blown Bridge Markers: Used to indicate map-printed bridges that have been destroyed (see rule 12.0).

Pontoon Bridge Markers: Used to indicate presence of pontoon bridges astride a river or canal hexsides (see 12.1).

Road Move Markers: Used to indicate units that have moved along a road, to be placed in the last hex occupied by that unit during a turn to retain its eligibility for the road movement rate, per the Terrain Chart (see rule 9.2).

Supply Markers: Used to designate units that are Low Supply or Out of Supply (see 5.2).

Overrun Markers: Used to indicate units that have conducted an overrun attack, and are thus eligible to conduct overrun movement.

2.7 Extra Units

The game is provided with extra units that are not required by any of the scenarios. The Scots battalion, for example, replaced the Welsh battalion after Operation Market Garden, and so is included for potential future scenarios, or for player-designed scenarios.

3.0 Game Turns

Each game turn simulates approximately six hours of one day. As such, there are four types of turns: Morning, Day, Evening, and Night. The sequence of play for each type of turn is exactly the same; the only notable differentiation is that Evening and Night turns entail movement and combat penalties (see rule 13.0), as well as limiting the application of certain Event Chits (see rule 10.3).

3.1 Sequence of Play

Each turn (Morning, Day, Evening or Night) is divided into the following Phases, which are played in the order listed:

Weather (Phase #1)

Supply (Phase #2)

Activation (Phase #3)

End of Turn (Phase #4)

3.2 Weather Phase

One player determines the current weather for the current turn (see rule 14.0).

3.3 Supply Phase

Both players determine the supply status of their units (see rule 5.0).

3.4 Activation Phase

Both players place their HQ activation chits, as specified by the current scenario (to include the HQ activation chits of reinforcement units, if any) into the activation draw cup. Either player then thoroughly mixes the draw cup to assure a random drawing during the game turn.

During the "Activation Phase" of each turn, either player (it doesn't matter which player) blindly draws one HQ activation chit from the draw cup: The chit drawn indicates which HQ is currently activated, and which battalion's units may be activated by that headquarters unit. Only units within that HQs activation range (see rule 6.0) may move and/or attack.

Exception: Division HQ's may activate any friendly units of any battalion (if that battalion had not been activated yet during that turn).

Any movement of each activation must be completed before any attacks are commenced. When a battalion is activated, each unit of that battalion may move, attack, or move and then attack. No unit may ever attack and then move.

3.5 End of Turn Phase

After the last HQ activation chit has been played, all information markers (except roadway movement) and event chits are removed from the map. Under-construction pontoon bridges, if any, are flipped to the completed side (see rule 12.1), and the game turn marker is moved to the next turn box on the turn track.

All HQ activation chits are placed back into the activation draw cup (except any battalions that had been eliminated during the previous turn).

Remove all "Pinned" markers from all units that were pinned by Opportunity Fire (see rule 11.4) during the current game turn.

Flip any artillery unit(s) that had fired from the "FIRED" side, back to the front (ready to be fired) side.

If the current turn is the end of a night turn, each player may roll for possible replacements (see rule 4.1 below).

4.0 Reinforcements

Reinforcements are units that are scheduled to arrive during specific game turns via specific entry hexes (as indicated by a particular letter printed on each entry hex along the edge of the map). When a reinforcement unit arrives on the map, place its corresponding HQ activation chit in that player's activation draw cup.

Note: Inasmuch as Reinforcements are not on the map before their entry, they are not required to be within their HQ's activation range during their first (only) entry turn. All reinforcements are assumed to be within activation range when entering the map.

Reinforcement units may enter the map as single, individual units, or as stacks (within normal stacking limits), one unit or stack at a time per the owning player's preference. Upon entry, a reinforcement unit or stack is immediately governed by all of the normal rules pertaining to movement and combat. Until entry onto the map, no reinforcement unit is subject to any rule governing movement or combat.

If any particular entry hex is occupied by any enemy unit (or a Pinned friendly stack), a scheduled reinforcement may simply arrive in the closest, legally enterable map-edge hex on that same side of the map. If, because of enemy units and prohibitive terrain, no legal entry hex is available, reinforcements thus cannot arrive on the map until a subsequent turn, when an enterable hex becomes available.

Note: A player may purposefully withhold the arrival of his own reinforcements until a later turn, although doing so does not afford any additional rules benefit or advantage. In such a case, the reinforcing unit's activating HQ is placed into the draw cup each turn, nonetheless.

4.1 Replacements

At the end of each calendar day (that is, at the end of each night turn), each player may roll one die to receive possible replacements (though some scenarios may specify that a side does not receive replacements). If the die roll is 1-3, the rolling player may then immediately rebuild one depleted leg unit of his choice (from among the units present on the map). If the die roll is 4-6, then no replacement is possible.

The current weather affects the replacement die roll, as follows:

Weather	Modifier
Clear	-1
Overcast	0
Fog	+1
Rain	+2
Storm	+3
Snow	+3

A depleted unit can never be rebuilt if it is currently within an enemy unit's ZOC, or within any Direct Ranged Fire unit's range, however. In addition, a depleted unit can never be rebuilt if it does not have an uninterrupted contiguous path of hexes (of any length and route) from the unit's hex to an HQ unit of the same battalion, or its divisional HQ (even if that unit is not yet marked as low supply).

4.2 ARVs (Armored Recovery Vehicles)

The British player is eligible to rebuild one depleted Tracked or Wheeled type unit instead, if that unit is presently stacked with an "ARV" (Armored Recovery Vehicle) unit, in addition to the aforementioned stipulations. That ARV unit must not be marked as either low supply or out of supply, however.

Eliminated units may never be rebuilt.

A player cannot accumulate replacements by not using them during previous turn. If a replacement is not conducted for any reason, it is lost thereafter for the remainder of the game.

5.0 Supply

Both players must audit the supply status of all units during the Supply Phase of each turn.

5.1 Supply Determination

To be considered in supply, every unit must have an uninterrupted contiguous path of hexes (of any length and route) from the unit's hex to an HQ unit of the same battalion. For example, the German 88 unit of the KGW battalion must have a demonstrable path of traversable hexes from the 88 unit to the KGW battalion HQ.

Battalion HQs themselves must also have a supply path, although a battalion HQ must have a demonstrable path of traversable hexes (of any length and route) from the HQ unit to any other HQ (other than itself).

Note: A division HQ may be nominated as a single source of supply for any single battalion.

Design Note: Each of the scenarios occurs over the course of a few days, at most, and so the supply rules are therefore intended to primarily only affect units that are completely cut off from other battalions. So long as any particular battalion HQ remains in contact with any other battalion HQ, they are assumed to have enough on-hand supply to subsist throughout the duration of the scenario.

However, if, during the Supply Phase, no battalion HQ is available as a source of supply, one stack of units (only) may be nominated as being automatically in supply for that turn (even if no battalion HQ is available). As such, any unit(s) from that unsupplied battalion in that same stack are always assumed to remain in supply throughout the current turn, even if no HQ is available. The unit(s) in that nominated stack may thus move, attack and defend normally during that turn. If there is more than one unit in the nominated stack, only one unit or stack may be designated as being automatically in supply if any of those units in that stack split off during movement or a retreat.

All other units from that same battalion that are not stacked with that nominated stack cannot be considered automatically supplied. A unit is not qualified as being automatically supplied if it moves into or through a nominated stack's hex during movement, or retreats during that same turn. However, during each Supply Phase, the owning player may nominate a different stack (or the same stack) as being automatically in supply each turn, if supply cannot be restored. In any case, though, only one stack (even if only one unit is present) of each battalion may ever be nominated as being automatically in supply.

A supply path may be any length and route, although no supply path may pass through the following hexes:

• Any hex presently occupied by any enemy unit.
• Any hex presently within any enemy unit's ZOC, unless that hex is also occupied by any friendly unit.
• Into or across any terrain where a Wheeled type unit is not allowed (NA), as indicated by the Terrain Chart.

5.2 Low Supply and Out of Supply Units

Any particular unit that cannot demonstrate a supply path to a battalion HQ during a supply phase is immediately considered "Low Supply." If a particular unit cannot demonstrate a supply path during two consecutive supply phases, it is immediately considered "Out-of-Supply." If any unit is unable demonstrate a supply path during three or more consecutive supply phases, it immediately suffers casualties (it is flipped to its depleted side, or is eliminated if already depleted).

Note: Units that suffer casualties are not considered destroyed, per se, but simply low on ammo supplies to such an extent that they have no ability (or will) to fight.

A unit that is currently low supply or out-of-supply suffers the following penalties:

• Low Supply: Attack Strength is halved (rounded up).
• Out-of-Supply: Attack Strength and Defense Strength is halved (rounded down).
• Tracked and Wheeled type unit movement is halved (rounded down).
• No Direct Ranged Fire is permitted.

Artillery must be flipped to "FIRED" side, and must remain so until supply is reestablished.

6.0 Activation

During each game turn, either player blindly draws one HQ activation chit from the draw cup. The HQ activation chit that is drawn thus determines which battalion may be activated at that time. In this way, HQ activation chits are drawn one at a time throughout the game turn to regulate the order in which the battalions on the map may move and attack.

No combat unit may move or conduct any attack unless it is "Activated" by its battalion headquarters unit (an HQ unit that is printed with the same color-code as the combat units that will be moving and/or attacking during that activation). When a battalion activation chit is drawn from the draw cup, the owning player may nominate that battalion HQ to move any or all of the combat units of that same battalion designation (for example, "KGK"). Each battalion has a unique color-code to differentiate it from all other battalions. No battalion HQ may be nominated to activate any units of any other battalion.

Exception: Division HQ's may activate any friendly units of any single battalion during each turn (if that battalion had not been activated yet during that turn).

To activate a combat unit, however, that unit must be within the "Activation Range" (printed to the side of the HQ unit, within a white flag depiction) of the nominated battalion HQ (if that HQ's activation chit had been drawn from the draw cup). An HQ may activate one, some or all of the combat units that are within its activation range (of the same battalion), or none at all, if the owning player prefers.

Note: An HQ activation range is defined as a direct line of contiguous hexagons from (but not including) an HQ's present hex to any friendly combat units' hexes (including each such unit's hex), but disregarding any terrain, enemy units or enemy ZOC.

Each battalion HQ unit is eligible to activate as many friendly units (of the same battalion) as are within its activation range. However, no combat unit may ever be activated more than once during the same turn, even by a division HQ. When a battalion's activation is complete, its HQ activation chit is placed into a discard pile until the next turn when all HQ activation chits are placed back into the draw cup.

Note: Units that start the scenario off map, or reinforcements that are not on the map prior to their entry are always assumed to be within their battalion HQ's activation range during their first (only) entry turn.

If a player chooses not to activate any of a battalion's units, he may simply declare a "pass," and places the HQ activation chit he drew into the discard pile normally (not back into the draw cup). That battalion may not be activated during that game turn, except by a subsequent division HQ draw (and only if it had not been activated during its first HQ activation draw, or that division HQ had activated another battalion).

No battalion may ever be activated more than once during the same turn.

When the last of the HQ activation chits has been drawn from the draw cup, the game turn ends, and a new game turn begins. Place all of the HQ activation chits back into the draw cup (except any battalion that had been totally eliminated during the previous turn), to be drawn again during the following turn normally.

If no battalion HQ is available to activate a battalion's units, the owning player may activate a maximum of one stack of units (any units of that same battalion in any one hex) per turn, whenever that battalion's HQ activation chit is drawn from that player's draw cup. If that scenario also includes the division HQ for that side, that division HQ may activate that whole battalion when the division HQ activation chit is drawn (see rule 6.0).

Activation of a battalion allows the units of that battalion (only) to move and/or fight (in that order); an activated unit may either move, fight or move and then fight. No unit may ever fight and then move.

7.0 Stacking

Each hex on the map is limited to a specified stacking limit, regardless of the type of terrain in any hex, and regardless of the type of units stacked therein. Friendly and enemy units may never be stacked together in the same hex at the same time.

7.1 Stacking Limits

Each hex can accommodate a maximum of four units of any type, or a maximum of two units while utilizing roadway movement (see rule 9.2). However, any depleted unit is only counted as half when calculating the stacking of units in a hex. Thus, each hex can accommodate a maximum of eight depleted units, or perhaps three units and two depleted units, and so forth. If utilizing roadway movement, a maximum of four depleted units may be stacked together, or perhaps one unit and up to two depleted units.

Note: Division HQs are never subject to any stacking limits. A division HQ may stack freely in any hex.

Stacking limits are only enforced at the end of all units' movement. If a hexagon's stacking limit is exceeded, the owning player must then eliminate (or at least deplete) enough units in that hex to comply with the stacking limit.

Differently color-coded battalion units may stack together freely, though they may never be activated together, regardless.

7.2 City Stacking

The stacking limit in any city hex is six units of any type (i.e., a maximum of twelve depleted units). However, the stacking limit in a city hex while utilizing roadway movement remains two units.

Towns and villages are not considered cities for purposes of stacking.

8.0 Zones of Control (ZOC)

All combat units (but never any HQs) exert a Zone of Control (ZOC) into each of the six hexagons that surround its present hex. ZOC does not ever extend into any hex or across any hexside wherein a Wheeled type of unit is not allowed (NA), per the Terrain Chart (except into a hex that is crossed by a bridge that has not been blown). For example, no unit exerts any ZOC into a forest hex because movement into a forest hex is forbidden to Wheeled type units.

An enemy ZOC is not negated by a friendly unit (except when demonstrating a supply path; see rule 5.0. Nevertheless, a supply path may never enter an unoccupied hex that is within an enemy combat unit's ZOC).

Additionally, movement into an enemy ZOC is restricted as follows:

• Any unit that enters an enemy ZOC must halt its current movement immediately.
• Any unit that begins its movement within an enemy ZOC, and then exits that enemy ZOC must expend +1 MP (i.e., in addition to the cost of terrain in the adjacently entered hex).
• No unit may utilize roadway movement when exiting any enemy ZOC.
• No unit may move across any river or canal hexside into an enemy ZOC, unless a bridge (if not blown) is astride that river.
• No retreating unit may move into any enemy unit's ZOC. If a retreating unit is unable to retreat because of enemy ZOC, it is simply eliminated and removed from the map.

9.0 Movement

During the movement portion of activation, the activating player may move any units that have been activated by an eligible HQ (as well as the HQ unit itself). Each unit is allotted a movement allowance, which is the lower rightmost printed numeral printed on each such unit's chit.

Each unit may be moved from its present hex to a succession of adjacent hexes, paying a specific Movement Point (MP) cost in each hex as it enters each such hex. Each type of terrain (as printed on the Terrain Chart along the side of the map) specifies three particular movement costs, which are specific to each type of unit (Leg/Tracked/Wheeled). The numerals simply indicate the required MP cost for each type of unit when entering that terrain.

For example, a Wood hex appears on the Terrain Chart as such:

2 / H / ALL

• 2 = Two movement points to enter a woods hex if a Leg unit.
• H = Half movement allowance to enter a woods hex if a Tracked unit.
• ALL = All movement allowance to enter a woods hex if a Wheeled unit.

Each unit in the game is either a Leg, a Tracked or a Wheeled category; Leg type units are denoted by having no symbol printed around their movement factor, whereas Tracked type units are denoted by a rectangle printed around their movement factor, and Wheeled type units are denoted by a circle printed around their movement factor.

Each of the three movement categories only ever applies to the type of unit of that same category. For example, the movement cost for Leg type units in a Wood hex is two (2 MPs), and is only applicable to Leg units, never to Tracked units or Wheeled units. The movement cost for Tracked type units in a Wood hex is "H" (which means "Half" of a Tracked unit's MPs), whereas the movement for Wheeled type units in a Wood hex is "ALL" (which means "all" of a Wheeled unit's MPs).

An "ALL" movement cost indicates that the type of unit must expend all of its entire printed movement allotment to enter that one particular terrain hex, and therefore requires that type of unit to begin its movement already adjacent to that type of terrain to be eligible to expend 'all' of its available movement to enter that hex. "H" movement costs indicate that the type of unit must expend half of its printed movement allotment to enter that particular hex, in which case a unit may have already moved up to half (round fractions down) of its printed movement allowance before it enters such a hex.

Road and highway movement indicates "½" for some units, which requires that type of unit (Tracked and/or Wheeled) to spend one-half (0.5) of a movement point to enter that road or that highway hex (via a hexside that is connected to that road or the highway symbol).

Movement into a railway, minor road, road or highway hex (via a hexside that is connected to the railway, road, minor road or highway symbol) is to be moved per the movement cost indicated for either a railway, minor road, road or highway, regardless of the other type of terrain in that same hex (see rule 9.2).

Entry hexes are listed as OTIH to indicate that all units entering an entry hex move per the (O)ther (T)errain (I)n (H)ex.

Any type of unit may expend some or all of its MPs, although no unit may move into any hex that requires more MPs than the moving unit has available or remaining. Unused MPs may not be saved from one game turn to the next, or transferred amongst different units.

Exception: If a unit has not moved at all, it may always move at least one hex, even if the movement cost to enter that hex exceeds that unit's printed movement factor. This exception does not, however, permit a unit to enter a type of hex where it is otherwise prohibited to enter.

Each unit's movement must be completed before a subsequent unit may begin movement, though all units' movement must be completed before any attacks by those units commence during that same player's game turn. Moreover, the movement of all the units of an activated battalion (that are intended to be moved) must be completed before any of those units may conduct any attacks during that activation.

9.1 Movement Restrictions

Whenever moving any type of unit, the following restrictions apply:

A unit may never cross a major river hex without a bridge. Tracked and Wheeled type units may not cross a river or canal hexside without a bridge. In all cases, anywhere a bridge symbol is indicated across any type of hexside presumes that the terrain in that hex (such as a river) or along that hexside is nullified by the bridge symbol. All bridges are considered to be the same type of other surrounding terrain in that hex.

A unit is always permitted to move at least one hex, even if it lacks sufficient MPs (because of being unsupplied) to otherwise move into a particular hex, assuming that hex permits movement therein for that particular type of unit.

The Movement of all Tracked and Wheeled units, as well as HQ units, is always halved (rounded up) if out of supply (see rule 5.2).

Units may move together as a stack, but a stack of units must complete its movement as one movement before another unit of that battalion begins to move (units in a stack may not move together and then be split off to move in multiple directions). Any unit in a moving stack may be "dropped off," however, as the other units of that stack continue to move; in such a case, a unit that is dropped off cannot then continue to move from there. Once any unit is dropped off, its movement is ended for that activation.

9.2 Roadway Movement

Any unit that moves from any roadway hex (defined as a minor road, road, highway and even any railway) to an adjacent roadway hex (via a hexside connected by a roadway symbol) expends movement per the road movement rate, as specified for that type of unit (Leg, Tracked or Wheeled) on the Terrain Chart printed on the map. The other terrain in that hex or along that hexside is disregarded when expending MPs, even if movement is normally not allowed into a particular hex or across a particular hexside. For example, Tracked and Wheeled units may not enter a "marsh" hex (indicated as NA on the Terrain Chart) except whenever a roadway symbol is printed across that hexside.

Any unit that is attacked while utilizing any roadway movement always defends per the other terrain in that hex, as indicated by OTIH (if attached, units on a road are assumed to be deploying off of that road).

During Opportunity Fire into a road hex, place a "Road Move" chit atop any unit(s) utilizing road movement (as opposed to units that entered that hex from a non-road hex).

9.3 Stacking and Movement

A stack of units may move together (as a stack) if they began their movement stacked together. Any such stack may not move more than the unit in that stack that is printed with the lowest MP numeral (although any particular unit in a stack may individually end its movement in a preceding hex to permit its stack to continue its movement from there normally).

9.4 Overrun

An "Overrun" is an offensive movement that may be attempted by any one or stack of Tracked combat units only (any unit with a rectangle printed around its printed movement factor). Multiple hexes or stacks of Tracked units may never collectively conduct an overrun together; an overrun is limited to any single Tracked unit or stack of Tracked units in one hex.

To attempt an overrun, a Tracked unit (or stack of Tracked units in the same hex) must conduct a normal attack during its activation. Any other friendly units may participate in an attack beforehand, but neither the attacker (the overrunning player) nor the defender may add any artillery to the overrun attack in any case.

Note: No overrun may ever be attempted into any hex wherein a Tracked unit's movement is normally not allowed (NA), except via a bridge or a road into that hex.

If the overrun attack successfully eliminates or forcibly retreats all enemy units in the combat hex, the overrunning unit (or stack) is eligible to advance after combat normally (see 10.6), although it is not required to do so. In either case, place an "Overrun" marker atop that Tracked unit (or stack). If, however, the overrun attack does not eliminate or forcibly retreat all enemy units in the combat hex, that Tracked unit's (or stack's) activation is concluded normally; no "Overrun" marker is placed, and that unit's (or stack's) activation ends immediately.

Note: It is permissible for only one or some units in a stack of Tracked units to be designated as conducting an overrun while the other units in that stack are not.

After a successful overrun (if the defending units were eliminated or forcibly retreated from the combat hex), any one stack of Tracked units (or any one Tracked unit in a hex nominated to be conducting an overrun) has become eligible to continue movement —after that attack—as if it is continuing its movement normally (minus any movement points already expended, if any, before moving adjacent to that combat hex). Thus, an overrunning unit may move up to the extent of its remaining movement allowance thereafter (this includes the hex where the advance after combat occurred).

After a successful overrun, an overrunning unit that conducts overrun movement thereafter must halt its movement immediately if it enters any enemy ZOC, normally. If an overrunning unit began its overrun within an enemy unit's ZOC, it may exit that hex, but must expend +1 MP normally, per rule 8.0, but must halt again if it enters any enemy ZOC after exiting its initial hex.

A stack of overrunning Tracked units may be split off and moved in multiple directions, if the owning player prefers, so long as each Tracked unit does not exceed its movement allowance, counted from the beginning of its movement (prior to the overrun attack).

9.5 Riding Tanks

Any Leg type unit can be moved with any Tracked type unit (any unit with a rectangle printed around its printed movement factor) of any battalion during movement, per that Tracked type unit's movement allowance. To do so, the Leg unit and the Tracked unit must begin or move into the same hex, and must each expend +1 MP to mount up that Leg unit. That Leg unit is then stacked with that Tracked unit, and a "Riding Tanks" chit is to be placed atop those two units.

Note: Movement costs that normally apply to Leg units are ignored while it is riding a Tracked unit. Likewise, a Tracked unit may not be moved as a Leg unit merely because it is carrying a Leg unit.

While a Leg unit is riding with a Tracked unit, it is considered to be the same unit as that Tracked unit (not a separate unit), and is thus only activated when that Tracked unit is activated (and is also considered to be the same unit for purposes of stacking, so long as that Leg unit is "riding" that Tracked unit). Thus, if that hex is attacked, only the Tracked unit is targeted (the Leg unit's defense is ignored in such a case). Moreover, any combat result affecting that Tracked unit also affects that riding Leg unit equally. For example, a DC result (see rule 10.4) against a Tracked unit with a riding Leg unit requires that Leg unit to suffer a depletion (this is in addition to the other depletion required by that DC combat result).

Note: A Tracked unit may not conduct any overrun while a Leg unit is riding along.

If a Tracked unit becomes pinned while a Leg unit is riding along, the riding Leg unit is also pinned. Furthermore, that Leg unit is immediately dismounted in such a case, and not considered to be riding along (the troops have jumped off the tank to take cover). If a dismount (whether voluntary or involuntary) causes a hex to become over-stacked, the stacking limit is not enforced until the end of their collective movement, but the owning player must then eliminate (or at least deplete) enough units in that hex to comply with the stacking limit in any such hex.

At any time during movement, a Leg unit may be dismounted from a Tracked unit. To do so, the Leg unit and the Tracked unit must each expend +1 additional MP to dismount that Leg unit, removing the "Riding Tanks" chit immediately. A dismount within a hex does not in-and-of-itself provoke Opportunity Fire.

If an artillery barrage (see rule 11.2) hits a hex where a Leg type unit is riding along with a Tracked type unit, that riding Leg unit must also suffer casualties (become depleted) if that Tracked unit suffers casualties.

9.6 Debarking

Wheeled type units (only) may convert to Leg units during their movement, so as to be eligible to move as Leg units into terrain that is otherwise prohibited to Wheeled units (or to simply move per the Leg movement cost).

Note: A Wheeled unit may not debark if it is presently "Pinned" (see rule 11.4).

As a particular Wheeled unit is moving, the owning player may announce that the unit is "debarking." To do so, that Wheeled unit must expend at least half of its printed movement allowance in its present hex, and the owning player must place a "Debarked" chit atop that Wheeled unit. Once placed, that Wheeled unit is considered a Leg unit for all purposes (until it is re-embarked; see below).

Note: For purposes of "Opportunity Fire" (see rule 11.4), debarking is considered to be movement, even if the debarking unit does not exit its present hex yet.

When any Wheeled type unit becomes a Leg (L) unit, its movement allowance is then considered to be 4, regardless of the type of unit it is. A debarked unit is eligible to move up to its full MA (4), even after it has been moved as a Wheeled unit (provided that it had not moved more than half of its MA as a Wheeled unit during that activation, which would disallow it to debark during that same activation).

Once any Wheeled unit has debarked as a Leg unit, it functions as a Leg unit until it is re-embarked. A unit may be re-embarked as a Wheeled unit (if not pinned) during a later activation (requiring no additional movement to do so), and once it is re-embarked, it may move again normally (up to its full printed MA), and may even be debarked yet again during that later activation. But a unit may never, however, debark and then re-embark during the same activation.

Note: A unit that is presently out-of-supply is eligible to debark normally, although it is ineligible to re-embark until it is no longer out-of-supply. "Low" supply status does not prohibit re-embarkation.

Tracked units may never be debarked.

It is perfectly legal for a debarked unit to ride tanks per 9.5 normally, but once a unit is re-embarked, it is immediately considered to be dismounted.

10.0 Combat

After movement, if any, all activated combat units are eligible to attack any enemy units, if presently adjacent to the targeted enemy unit's hex. Each combat unit is eligible to conduct or participate in one attack, although combat is never mandatory. Indeed, some combat units in a particular stack may attack while other units in that same stack might not attack, if the owning player prefers.

Note: A player is not required to declare all of his attacks after finishing his units' movement; he may decide and resolve each attack, one at a time, as he conducts them (in any order that the attacking player prefers).

To be eligible to conduct an attack, a combat unit must be within the Activation Range (at the time of that attack) of its Activating HQ unit (see rule 3.4).

Note: Inasmuch as reinforcements are not on the map before their entry, they are not required to be within their HQ's activation range during their first (only) entry turn.

If multiple units (either as a stack or from multiple adjacent hexes) are attacking the same enemy hex, their collective Attack Strength numbers are added together as a sum, and then compared to the collective Defense Strength numbers of the enemy unit(s) present in that enemy's hex. Multiple enemy units in the same combat hex must be attacked as a sum.

"Famous Divisions" Combat Results Table

Dice Roll	1-4	1-3	1-2	1-1	2-1	3-1	4-1	5-1
2	DC	DC	DD	DE	DE	DE	DE	DE
3	DR	DC	DC	DD	DE	DE	DE	DE
4	-	DR	DC	DC

Note: Calculated ratios greater than 5-1 are to be resolved per the 5-1 column. However, a calculated and adjusted ratio of less than 1-4 is always to be resolved as 1-4.

10.1 Combat Procedure

Each attack is resolved to completion per the following procedure (in the numbered order as listed):

1. The attacker designates a particular hex to be the target of a combat attack by any of his eligible and adjacent combat units.

2. The attacker calculates the total Attack Strength (the first, red, leftmost number printed on a combat unit) of all participating attacking combat units (including any of his own artillery units, in range, that he announces will be added to his attack; see rule 10.2 and 11.0), while the defender calculates the total Defense Strength (the second, green, lower middle number printed on a combat unit) of all defending combat units in the adjacent target hex (including any of his own artillery units, in range, he announces that will be added to his defense). The attacker's and the defender's total combat strengths are then compared as a ratio (dividing the attacker's total combat strength by the defender's total combat strength, rounding any fractions down to the next whole number; for example: 1-1).

Note: Any unit that is currently pinned by any Direct Ranged Fire (see 11.4) is not eligible to participate in an attack during that game turn. A pinned unit that is attacked suffers no additional penalties, however.

3. The attacker now draws and applies the Event Chit he has just drawn (and any black Event Chit he draws or plays from among his starting allotment), and then the defender draws and applies the Event Chit he has just drawn (and any black Event Chit he draws or plays from his starting allotment, if any; see rule 10.3).

4. The attacker applies the terrain dice roll modifier of the defending unit's hex terrain (as indicated by the Terrain Chart printed along the side of the map), as well as any fortification chit that is present in that same hex (see rule 15.0). Apply all of the terrain (and fortification, if any) modifiers that are present and applicable in the defender's hex (for example, attacking across a river into a hill hex requires the attacking player to apply the river and the hill terrain modifier).

Note: The dice roll penalty of a hexside type of terrain (such as a river) or fortification chit is only applicable if all of the attacking units are attacking across the terrain or fortification chit's hexside depiction. Each hexside type of terrain is indicated on the Terrain Chart by a green hex line symbol.

5. The attacker applies the current weather dice roll modifier, if any (see rule 14.1), and the evening (+1) modifier, if it is an evening turn.

6. The attacker then rolls two six-sided dice (or three dice if a night attack; see rule 13.0, or three dice if attacking across a bridge hexside), and cross-references the net result of that dice roll under the "Dice Roll" column of the CRT with the column under the correct ratio.

Note: Any net dice roll result (including all accumulated modifiers) that exceeds 12 is to be considered a result of 12. Similarly, any net dice roll result (including all accumulated modifiers) that is less than 2 is considered a result of 2.

7. Implement the final result indicated by the CRT (see 10.4 below).

10.2 Artillery

When the attacking player is determining the attack strength of his units during a particular attack, he may also add the attack strength of any friendly artillery unit(s), if each artillery unit is within range (see rule 11.1), and has not already "Fired" during that game turn.

After the attacker has decided to add (or not add) any of his available artillery units to his attack, the defending player may then add the attack strength (not the defense strength) of any of his own artillery unit(s) to the defense of his own units during that same attack.

Note: Adding a defender's artillery is the only instance during the game when any unit's attack strength is added to the defense strength of any other unit.

No artillery unit is required to be activated to be added to the attack or defense of a combat engagement, but once any artillery unit's attack strength has been added to an attack or defense, it is considered to be "fired" (flip that artillery unit to its reverse side, indicating that it has fired), and is not eligible to be added to any other attack or defense until the next game turn.

An artillery unit cannot add its own attack strength to its own defense strength, or to the defense of any units in its own hex (the scale of each hex in the game is less than the typical minimum range of most large caliber artillery guns). However, any other artillery unit(s) in a different hex may be added to the defense of an artillery unit that is being attacked, normally.

The maximum range of any artillery unit is indicated by the white triangle-number printed above its movement number. Only an artillery unit that is within range of a combat hex may add its attack strength to the attack or to the defense of that combat. Range is determined by counting outward from the firing artillery unit (not counting the artillery unit's hex itself) and all of the hexes to the combat hex (including the combat hex itself). If the combat hex is farther away than the artillery unit's range number (printed within the white triangle symbol), that artillery unit cannot contribute any strength to that combat engagement.

Note: Either player may add as many of his eligible artillery units to a combat engagement as he has available (if within range, and if they haven't already fired during that same game turn). Whenever adding artillery, the attacking player must always declare all of his artillery units that he intends to fire during each combat engagement first; then the defending player may declare which of his artillery (if any) he intends to fire during that combat engagement second.

After any artillery unit has been added to a combat engagement, it is flipped to its "fired" side, and remains flipped until the end of the current game turn (that is, until all of the HQ activation chits have been drawn). An artillery unit that has been flipped to its fired side cannot be added to any other combat engagements for the remainder of that current game turn, but still functions normally in all respects if attacked.

At the end of each game turn, all artillery units that have fired are flipped back to their non-fired sides (to indicate that they are eligible to be fired again normally during the game turn that is about to begin).

10.3 Event Chits

Each side is provided with an allotment of "Event Chits," which are placed into two separate draw cups (a German draw cup and a British draw cup), as specified by the scenario. Some scenarios will also specify that some of the Event Chits are not in play for that scenario, and others are set aside as a starting allotment that players may play during the turn (instead of drawn).

Whenever an attacking player declares an attack, each player (the attacking player and the defending player) must each draw one Event Chit from his own draw cup. A drawn Event Chit specifies a description (the event), a dice roll modifier, and usually a nullifier. Drawing an Event Chit is never optional, and must be drawn blindly by each player from his own draw cup, only. No more than one Event Chit may ever be drawn by each player when an attack is conducted.

When a player draws an Event Chit, he is required to apply the number printed on the chit to his attack dice roll, as a modifier. If a player draws a blue Event Chit, he must add a negative (-) modifier to the dice roll, but if a player draws a red Event Chit, he must add a positive (+) modifier to the dice roll.

Note: Some Event Chits are ineffective at night. Event chits that are printed with a "No Night" symbol are never applicable during a night game turn. If a player draws an Event Chit with a "No Night" symbol during a night (not merely an evening) turn, that Event Chit is not applied and is simply placed into that player's discard pile immediately.

Insofar as lower dice rolls on the CRT are beneficial to the attacker, but higher dice rolls on the CRT are beneficial to the defender, the blue Event Chits are always helpful to the attacker, but the red Event Chits are always helpful to the defender (regardless of which player draws a blue or red colored chit).

Note: The black Event Chits aren't printed with any number, and only indicate a specific nullifier (see below).

In any case, after the attacking player and the defending player have each blindly drawn one Event Chit, both of the chits' modifiers are applied to the attacking player's dice roll, regardless of the color of the Event Chit that each player has drawn.

Example: The attacker draws a red Event Chit printed with a "+2", and the defender draws a blue Event Chit printed with a "-3". Therefore, the players must add 2 to the dice roll, and also subtract 3 from that same dice roll. Therefore, the net total modifier is -1.

Most of the Event Chits are also printed with a nullifier, which simply cancels another specific Event Chit, if drawn by the opposing player. If one player draws an Event Chit that nullifies another particular Event Chit, that other Event Chit (if it is drawn by the other player during that combat) is not applied, and is instead placed into his discard pile (where all of a player's Event Chits are placed after they have been played). For example, if the attacking player draws a red "Apathy" Event Chit, and the defending player draws a blue "Accurate Fire" Event Chit, that "Accurate Fire" event chit cannot be played because it is canceled by the "Apathy" chit's nullifier. As such, only the red "Apathy" Event Chit's dice roll modifier (+2) is applied to that combat dice roll, in that case.

Note: Once drawn and played, an Event Chit is placed into a discard pile (not back into the cup). However, once all Event Chits have been played, then all of those Event Chits in the discard pile are collectively placed into the draw cup.

Some of the Event Chits are black and not printed with any modifier, but only a nullifier or an effect instead. Black Event Chits are assigned by each scenario only, and some are not drawn like blue and red Event Chits, but are allotted to each player instead to be played when applicable: A Black Event Chit simply allows a player to nullify a specific blue or red Event Chit when it is has been drawn or played (by either player). A player is not required to play any of his Black Events, but he may only ever do so when a blue or red Event Chit is drawn (to nullify a blue and/or red Event Chit); a player may play any Black Event Chit (whether just drawn or from his allotment) when a blue or red Event Chit is drawn (and can be nullified by a Black Event Chit), or a player may simply save his Black Event Chits for possible later usage, if he anticipates an opportunity during a later game turn. Once a Black Event Chit is played during a scenario, it cannot be regained by any method; it is expended permanently.

A Black Event Chit cannot be canceled by any other Event Chit.

Historical Note: The Event Chits, more than just adding additional modifiers to a combat result, are engineered to simulate those flukes in combat that can singularly or collectively alter the course of a battle, and occasionally even transcend other tangibles such as fire superiority or able leadership. For instance, something like the loss of a company commander to sniper fire could be enough to completely demoralize an outfit and render it combat-ineffective for the duration (despite that unit's "official" strength in terms of troops, weapons and equipment). Moreover, these peculiarities of war will often counteract themselves; for example, a particular unit may be made up of seasoned veterans and raw recruits, such that the two repelling conditions cancel each other out. Such oddities of combat are actually more the norm than the exception, in fact, and this is exactly what the Event Chits are intended to show the players during the game.

10.4 Combat Results

The combat result of any attack dice roll simply indicates a two-letter code that specifies the effect:

• AE = Attacker Eliminated: All attacking units are eliminated.
• AP = Attacker Pulverized: Half of the attacking units are eliminated.
• AD = Attacker Decimated: One attacking unit must be eliminated.
• AC = Attacker Casualties: One attacking unit must be depleted.
• AR = Attacker Retreat: All attacking units must retreat two hexes.
• - = No Effect.
• DR = Defender Retreat: All defending units must retreat two hexes.
• DC = Defender Casualties: One defending unit must be depleted.
• DD = Defender Decimated: One defending unit must be eliminated.
• DE = Defender Eliminated: All defending units are eliminated.

AE or DE combat results indicate that all of the attacking (if AE) or defending (if DE) units must be eliminated.

AP combat results indicate that half (round any fractions down) of the attacking units must be eliminated.

AC or DC combat results indicate that one attacking (if AC) or one defending (if DC) unit suffers casualties and must be flipped to its depleted side (or must be eliminated if already depleted). The applicable player always decides which of his units suffers casualties. An HQ unit in a stack cannot be chosen as a casualty unless that HQ is the only defending unit.

AR or DR combat results indicate that a retreat of two hexes (see 10.3) of all attacking (if AR) or all defending (if DR) units that were involved in that particular combat is mandatory.

Note: An HQ unit that is stacked in the same hex as an attacking unit may retreat with that unit after rolling an AR result (despite that HQ unit not contributing to the attack from that hex).

AD or DD combat results indicate that one attacking (if AD) or defending (if DD) unit must be completely eliminated and removed from the map. The applicable player always decides which of his units is eliminated (a unit that is already depleted can be eliminated to comply with this combat result). An HQ unit in a stack cannot be chosen as an elimination unless that HQ is the only defending chit.

10.5 Retreat

Any AR or DR combat result is a mandated retreat indicating that all surviving attacking (if AR) or all surviving defending (if DR) units involved in that particular combat must retreat exactly two hexes.

Note: Multiple units in the same hex that must retreat are not required to retreat as a stack; each unit in that hex may retreat separately and to different eligible hexes.

Retreats do not require the expenditure of any MPs. However, any unit that is required to retreat must move to a legal hex that is closer to (not equidistant to or farther from) to a friendly HQ. The retreating unit must attempt to move directly closer to its own battalion HQ (or the division HQ, if in play) if it is possible for that retreating unit to do so without entering any enemy unit's ZOC (see below). If it is not possible (and only if it is not possible), that retreating unit may instead move directly closer to any other friendly HQ (of the owning player's choice). If there are multiple other friendly HQs, the retreating unit must move directly towards to closest of those other friendly HQs (that can be approached without entering any enemy unit's ZOC).

Note: If no HQ is available to retreat towards, the opposing player may choose that retreating unit's retreat path, which must be via legal hexes (not over-stacked, not into any terrain where that type of unit is NA, nor into the ZOC of any opposing unit; see below).

Normal stacking limits (see rule 7.1), as well as normal movement restrictions (see rule 9.1) apply to retreating unit(s), though no retreating unit may ever move into any enemy unit's ZOC, even if no other retreat path is possible. If any unit is unable to conduct a mandated retreat due to stacking limits, prohibited terrain, or enemy ZOC, it is eliminated immediately and removed from the map.

10.6 Advance after Combat

After an attack has been resolved against a particular combat hex, if all of the defending units have been eliminated or forcibly retreated, any of the attacking units may then immediately advance after combat into that same hex (within normal stacking limits). An advance after combat does not require the expenditure of a unit's movement (although a Tracked unit that is continuing to move after an overrun attack must count that advance after combat as part of its total overrun move; see 9.4).

Note: Enemy ZOCs are always ignored when conducting an advance after combat.

Moreover, Tracked and Wheeled units may then move one additional hex (after entering the initial combat hex as an advance after combat), if not in violation of any normal movement restrictions or stacking limits (although this does not apply to Tracked units conducting an overrun; see 9.4).

Exception: No unit may ever advance after combat into or across any kind of terrain where movement is forbidden (NA) to that type of unit, though any unit may advance after combat across a river or canal that is crossed by a bridge that is not "blown" (see rule 12.0), or into or across any terrain via a roadway hexside.

Advance after combat is never mandatory. The attacking player may choose to advance any of his units (that participated in the preceding attack) into the combat hex, or none at all.

10.7 Anti-Aircraft

Any unit that is designated as either AA or Flak may nullify an Airstrike or Strafing Event Chit, if drawn during a combat engagement.

If, during an attack, a player draws a blue Airstrike or Strafing Event Chit, that Event Chit may be nullified (and placed into the discard pile) if the opposing player demonstrates that any of his units presently on the map are printed as either "AA" or "Flak." In such a case, the opposing player must roll two 6-sided dice before the attack is resolved; if the dice roll is greater than ( > ) the number of hexes between that AA or Flak unit and the combat hex, the Airstrike or Strafing Event Chit is immediately nullified and discarded.

Note: If the unit is printed as "Lt" (light) AA or Flak, the opposing player must roll three 6-sided dice, not two.

The opposing player is eligible to roll to nullify an Airstrike or Strafing Event Chit per each AA or Flak unit near the combat hex, and whenever an Airtrike or Strafing Event Chit is drawn.

10.8 Attacking Across Streams, River, Canal, Bridge

If all of the attacking units are attacking across a Stream type terrain hexside, a +2 dice roll penalty must be applied. Similarly, if all of the attacking units are attacking across a River or Canal hexside, a +4 dice roll penalty must be applied. However, in either case, if any of the attacking units are attacking across a Stream, River or Canal that is crossed by an intact bridge symbol, only a +1 dice roll penalty applies to that attack, regardless of other attacking units that are attacking the same enemy hex across a Stream, River or Canal hexside.

11.0 Ranged Fire

Some units are printed with a range number (within a triangle symbol), which allows them to attack enemy units from distant hexes. "Ranged Fire" permits units that are not adjacent to the combat hex to be added to an attack, or conduct a separate attack from a distant hex.

There are two types of ranged fire: Artillery Ranged Fire (see rule 11.1) and Direct Ranged Fire (see rule 11.3), described as follows:

11.1 Artillery Ranged Fire

A unit printed with a white triangle may add its attack strength to any combat engagement (either to the attacker or the defender) during a player's activation (see rule 10.2), even if that unit had already been activated and moved (if it had not yet been "fired"). An artillery unit that is added to a combat engagement must be within range of the combat hex, meaning that the artillery unit itself must not be any farther, counted in hexes, from the combat hex (to include the combat hex) than the number that is within the white triangle symbol printed on the artillery unit (not including the artillery unit's hex).

Note: Enemy ZOC does not affect Artillery Ranged Fire. Likewise, a "pinned" unit may conduct Artillery Ranged Fire normally.

Artillery Ranged Fire disregards the terrain in every hex between the firing artillery unit and the combat hex (in other words, no line of sight restrictions apply to any artillery units that are added to a combat engagement).

11.2 Artillery Barrages

Instead of adding an artillery unit's attack strength to a combat attack, as described under 11.1, a player may declare an activated artillery unit to conduct an "Artillery Barrage" against an enemy unit that is within range, and observed by at least one unit that is friendly to the barraging artillery. A targeted enemy unit is observed if at least one unit (friendly to the barraging artillery unit) demonstrates a path of unobstructed hexes from its own hex to that targeted enemy unit's hex, up to a maximum distance of 10 hexes from the observing unit to the targeted hex (not counting the observing unit's hex, but counting the target's hex), or only 5 hexes during any "fog", "rain", "storm", or "snow" weather turn.

Exception: If barraging during a Night turn, the maximum distance of an artillery barrage is only 1 (adjacent) hex.

If a terrain symbol on the Terrain Chart features a black triangle symbol, it is considered blocking terrain to the observing unit, and no enemy unit may be considered observed through that terrain by that unit (though observation may be demonstrated into any blocking terrain normally, provided that no other blocking terrain is intervening).

Note: Elevation differences never nullify any blocking terrain; All blocking terrain in between a unit and an enemy unit disallows observation. However, any unit on any peak hex (signified by a red triangle symbol) is not obstructed by blocking terrain directly adjacent to that peak hex). Moreover, blocking terrain never obstructs observation that is traced precisely along the hexspine of that blocking terrain hex. No unit, enemy or friendly, ever obstructs observation.

To resolve an artillery barrage, the barraging player must first roll three six-sided dice per each barraging artillery unit. If the dice roll total (of all three dice) is greater than ( > ) the distance between the barraging artillery and the targeted hex (if it is within range), that targeted hex is considered "hit" by that artillery barrage. If the dice roll (of all three dice) is equal to or less than ( < ) the distance between the barraging artillery unit and that targeted hex, it is not considered to be a hit.

Terrain will affect a barrage's range, depending on the type of terrain in the targeted hex: The barraging player must simply add that type of terrain's dice roll modifier (as indicated by the Terrain Chart printed along the side of the map), as well as any fortification chit that is present in that same hex (see 15.0), to the range of hexes that is counted from the barraging artillery unit and the target hex. For example, if the range to a targeted city hex is ten hexes, the barraging player must add "+3" to that range of ten because of the city's dice modifier (printed as a red +3 on the Terrain Chart). Therefore, the range would be thus calculated as thirteen instead of ten (and requiring a dice roll of 14 or higher to achieve a successful "hit").

Design Note: This is not meant to suggest that the type of terrain somehow affects the actual range of the firing artillery, but rather simply reduces the odds of a successful "hit" by decreasing the quotient.

Note: Event Chits are never drawn nor played during any artillery barrage.

If a targeted hex is "hit," any unit in that hex is susceptible to casualties. If all of three die rolls are the same number, two of the units in that hex suffer casualties (or one unit must be totally eliminated if there are not at least two units in that target hex), of the owning player's choice. If two of the three die rolls are the same number, one unit in the hex suffers casualties, of the owning player's choice. If none of those die rolls are the same number, no units in the hex suffers any casualties; the barrage has no effect, even after a hit.

However, if the targeted hex is a clear type of terrain hex, three of the units in that hex suffer casualties if all of the three die rolls are the same number (or one unit must be totally eliminated if there are not at least three units in that target hex), of the owning player's choice. If two of the three die rolls are the same number, two of the units in that hex suffer casualties (or one unit must be totally eliminated if there are not at least two units in that target hex). If none of those die rolls are the same number, no unit in the hex suffers any casualties, nonetheless, even in a clear terrain hex.

Exception: No Tracked type of unit may ever be totally eliminated by any single bombardment, regardless of the dice roll or the mandated casualties (if there are no other units to suffer casualties in that hex, than no additional effect occurs to that Tracked unit during that bombardment).

Exception: No unit that is stacked in the same hex with a Bunker or a Trench may ever be totally eliminated by any single bombardment. In the same manner, no additional effect occurs if there are no other units to suffer casualties in that hex.

An artillery unit may conduct one barrage when it is activated, but may not then participate in a normal attack (per rule 10.1). If an artillery unit participates in a normal attack (either per 10.2 or 11.1), it may not conduct any barrage during that game turn.

When activated, an artillery unit may move and then conduct a barrage after it has moved, normally. No unit may ever conduct a barrage or an attack and then move, however.

An artillery unit may never Advance After Combat after conducting a barrage.

Historical Note: Most of the artillery units in the game are more or less equivalent in terms of caliber, and thus the barrage rule specifically does not distinguish between individual types of guns (barrages tended to be inaccurate on the whole, regardless of the size of the guns firing). For instance, consider the famous British 25-pounder; a comparatively smaller gun, but one that was undoubtedly more effective than many of its larger caliber contemporaries.

11.3 Direct Ranged Fire

A unit printed with a black triangle is unique inasmuch as it may attack any type of enemy unit as a ranged attack (from an adjacent hex to a distance of multiple hexes), although a Direct Ranged Fire attack must "hit" the targeted enemy unit first, before resolving its attack upon that unit. A unit that is conducting a Direct Ranged Fire attack must be within range of the targeted unit's hex, meaning that the firing unit itself must not be any farther, counted in hexes, from the targeted unit's hex (to include the targeted unit's hex) than the number that is within the black triangle symbol printed upon the firing unit (not including the firing unit's hex).

Note: Enemy ZOC does not affect Direct Ranged Fire. Likewise, a "pinned" unit may conduct Direct Ranged Fire normally.

A Direct Ranged Fire attack may be conducted against a hex that is adjacent to the firing unit using the same procedure, and even conduct a normal attack (per 10.0) against an adjacent hex if the firing unit is activated.

Note: No Direct Ranged Fire is permissible if the current weather is Fog or Storm (see rule 14.1), or during any Night turn.

Unlike artillery, a Direct Ranged Fire attack must demonstrate a path of unobstructed hexes between the firing unit and the targeted unit. If a terrain symbol on the Terrain Chart features a black triangle symbol, it is considered blocking terrain, and no Direct Ranged Fire attack may be conducted through that terrain (although a Direct Ranged Fire attack can be conducted into any blocking terrain, with a penalty, provided that no other blocking terrain is intervening; see below).

Note: Elevation differences never nullify any blocking terrain; All blocking terrain in between a Direct Ranged Fire attacker and an enemy unit disallows Direct Range Fire. However, any unit on any peak hex (signified by a red triangle symbol) is not obstructed by blocking terrain directly adjacent to that peak hex). Furthermore, blocking terrain never obstructs observation that is traced precisely along the hexspine of that blocking terrain hex. No unit, enemy or friendly, ever obstructs observation.

To "hit" a targeted enemy unit, the attacking player must simply roll two six-sided dice: If the number on each of those two dies is greater than ( > ) the distance from the firing unit to the targeted unit, that targeted unit is considered to be "hit" by that Direct Ranged Fire. If the roll on either of those two dice is equal to or less than ( < ) the distance from the firing unit to the targeted unit, it is not considered to be a hit, and no further effect occurs; That Direct Ranged Fire attack is ended. Range is always calculated as including the targeted unit's or stack's hex, but not the firing unit's hex.

Historical Note: The penetration variances of Direct Ranged Fire-capable units in the game are subsumed within the myriad of other characteristics affecting "probabilities of kill" (Pk) at this game's scale, such as rates-of-fire, optics, ammo types/allotments, target disposition and facing, terrain anomalies, ad infinitum, particularly against company-sized enemy units. For example, an 88mm gun is assumed to be firing more accurately and effectively per round, although a smaller 57mm is assumed to firing more rounds per minute within the same time span. Thus, the actual chances of a hit between the two were relatively similar (range permitting) all other factors being equal.

If a Direct Ranged Fire attack occurs during a Snow weather turn, a -1 die roll penalty must be applied to each die of a Direct Ranged Fire attack dice roll.

If a Direct Ranged Fire attack occurs during an Evening game turn, a -1 die roll penalty must be applied to each die of a Direct Ranged Fire attack dice roll.

If the target of a Direct Ranged Fire attack is presently occupying a blocking terrain type of hex (signified by a black triangle on the terrain chart), a -1 die roll penalty must be applied to each die of a Direct Ranged Fire attack dice roll (cumulative with Snow and/or Evening die roll penalty normally), although any other type (non-blocking) of terrain has no effect upon a Direct Ranged Fire attack.

If the target of a Direct Ranged Fire attack is presently using road movement (during Opportunity Fire, only), a +1 die roll penalty must be applied to each die of a Direct Ranged Fire attack dice roll.

Note: Direct Ranged Fire penalties are cumulative. For example, Direct Ranged Fire attacks occurring during a Snow and Evening game turn thus incur a cumulative -2 die roll penalty (to each die roll).

Note: Event Chits are never drawn nor played during any Direct Ranged Fire attack.

If a targeted unit is "hit," that targeted unit suffers casualties if that same dice roll is equal to or greater than ( > ) that same targeted unit's defense strength number plus (+) the range—in hexes—from that firing unit to that targeted unit. Range is always calculated as including the targeted unit's hex, but not the firing unit's hex.

Exception: Any Direct Ranged Fire attack upon any 2-9-8 "Flak" unit is always resolved against that Flak unit's reverse side defense strength number (5), not 9, even if that Flak unit is not depleted.

If a targeted unit suffers casualties, it is flipped to its depleted side (or is eliminated if already depleted), and is considered "Pinned." If the hit dice roll is less than the targeted unit's defense strength number plus (+) the range—in hexes—from that firing unit, that unit is only "Pinned." A unit that becomes pinned must halt its movement (assuming the hit occurs as a result of "Opportunity Fire"; see rule 11.4 below). Inasmuch as a pinned effect is only applicable during an enemy unit's movement, it is ignored unless it occurs during an enemy movement.

Note: Any unit that is currently pinned by any Direct Ranged Fire is not eligible to participate in an attack per 10.1 during that game turn.

A Direct Ranged Fire unit may conduct one Direct Ranged Fire attack when it is activated, as well as one Direct Ranged Fire attack per each hex that is entered by a moving enemy unit or stack that is within that Direct Ranged Fire unit's range (known as Opportunity Fire; see rule 11.4). When activated, it is permissible for a unit to move, and then conduct a Direct Range Fire attack. Unlike a bombardment, it is also permissible for a Direct Ranged Fire unit to conduct a normal attack per 10.1 after it has conducted a Direct Ranged Fire attack. No unit may ever conduct a Direct Ranged Fire attack and then move, or conduct a normal attack per 10.1 and then a Direct Ranged Fire attack thereafter. A Direct Ranged Fire unit may never conduct more than one Direct Ranged Fire attack during its own activation, but a Direct Ranged Fire unit may conduct as many Direct Ranged Fire attacks during enemy movement as Opportunity Fire allows.

Direct Ranged Fire may not be added to an attack like artillery, although, a unit may always participate in a regular attack per 10.1 normally after conducting a Direct Ranged Fire attack.

A Direct Ranged Fire unit may not Advance After Combat after conducting a Direct Ranged Fire attack.

11.4 Opportunity Fire

A Direct Ranged Fire unit may conduct one Direct Ranged Fire attack each instant that any enemy unit or stack enters any hex that is within the printed hex range of that Direct Ranged Fire unit. This is known as an Opportunity Fire.

Exception: Any unit advancing after combat may not be targeted as Opportunity Fire, although any unit that is conducting an overrun movement (after advancing after combat) is subject to Opportunity Fire.

To conduct an Opportunity Fire, the firing player must simply announce his intention to do so against an enemy unit or stack moving into a specific hex (if observable and within range). That enemy unit or stack is temporarily halted in that specific hex, and the Direct Ranged Fire attack is resolved normally. After that Direct Ranged Fire attack is resolved, the enemy unit may continue moving normally if it was not pinned or eliminated. If it enters another hex that is within the range of that Direct Ranged Fire unit (or any other Direct Ranged Fire unit), another Direct Ranged Fire attack may then be resolved against that moving enemy unit or stack again.

If a Direct Ranged Fire attack is conducted against an enemy stack, the firing player may choose which single enemy unit in that stack he is targeting. However, an HQ unit may not be chosen as the target of any Direct Ranged Fire attack unless it is the only unit in that hex.

Note: A player cannot conduct Opportunity Fire in a hex retroactively after an enemy unit or stack has exited a hex. A player must announce his intention to conduct Opportunity Fire when an enemy unit or stack is moving into a hex (within range) where the firing player intends to conduct a Direct Ranged Fire attack. If a Direct Ranged Fire unit moves into a hex to conduct a Direct Ranged Fire attack in the same hex where an Opportunity Fire will occur, the Opportunity Fire is always resolved first.

An enemy unit that does not move (during an enemy player's activation) is never subject to Opportunity Fire (they're assumed to be under some kind of cover if not moving). However, a Direct Ranged Fire unit may always conduct a Direct Ranged Fire attack against an enemy unit (even an enemy unit that did not move) during its own activation.

Any quantity of eligible Direct Ranged Fire capable units are permitted to fire into a particular hex, in successive order as the firing player prefers.

Design Note: Insofar as each game turn represents six hours, the outcomes of Opportunity Fire may represent numerable tactical situations beyond what the mere procedures of the rule might appear to be simulating at any one instant during the course of a player's movement phase.

12.0 Demolishing Bridges

A player may attempt to demolish a bridge that is adjacent to any engineer (Eng) unit, but not within any enemy unit's ZOC.

Note: A pinned engineer unit cannot demolish a bridge.

To demolish one bridge, the owning player must roll one six-sided die (once per activation, at any moment during that activation) and then implement the results as follows:

• 1 = No effect
• 2 = Bridge is "blown"
• 3 = Bridge is "blown"
• 4 = Bridge is "blown"
• 5 = Bridge is "blown"
• 6 = Bridge is "blown"

Demolishing a bridge is never subject to any modifiers.

A pontoon bridge (see rule 12.1 below) can be demolished exactly like a map-printed bridge per the same procedures above.

12.1 Pontoon Bridges

A player may place a pontoon bridge across any river or canal hexside or one-hex river that is adjacent to any activated engineer (Eng) unit, but not within any enemy unit's ZOC.

Exception: A British ARVE unit is eligible to place a pontoon bridge across any river, canal or river within any enemy unit's ZOC.

To do so, the owning player simply places one pontoon bridge chit in a hex, with its under-construction side facing up (featuring a hammer and wrench depiction). At the end of that current turn (after all of the HQ activation chits have been drawn), that pontoon chit is then flipped to its front side, and it then functions like a normal bridge, but only so long as an activated engineer unit remained adjacent to that pontoon bridge, and did not become pinned at any time while that pontoon bridge was under construction.

Note: A pinned engineer unit may not place a pontoon bridge.

A pontoon bridge cannot be completed if, at any time, any enemy unit moves adjacent to the hexside or the hex where it had been placed, or if the activated engineer that has placed the pontoon bridge becomes pinned, eliminated, retreated (or moves to any hex that is not adjacent to the pontoon bridge's hex), or is within enemy ZOC). In such a case, that under-construction pontoon bridge chit must be immediately removed from the map. Furthermore, any pontoon bridge that is placed in that hex during any later turn must placed as under-construction again, as if a new pontoon bridge.

A pontoon bridge may be placed in a major river hex that is adjacent to another completed (not still under-construction) pontoon bridge. In such a way, a player can place multiple pontoon bridges across a wide portion of a river.

A pontoon bridge may not be placed during a storm or snow weather (see rule 14.0).

A pontoon bridge does not affect the combat modifier when attacking across a river or canal, and only functions to allow units to cross a river or canal wherein a unit's movement is normally not allowed (NA).

13.0 Evening and Night

"Evening" and "Night" game turns impose movement and combat penalties, in addition to limiting the application of certain Event Chits, explained as follows:

13.1 Evening Game Turn

Evening game turns do not affect movement or limit the application of any Event Chits, but any normal attack (per 10.1) conducted during an Evening game turn incurs a +1 dice roll penalty (as signified by the red circled "+1" printed on the upper lefthand corner of the turn track), in addition to all other relevant dice roll modifiers. Moreover, if a Direct Ranged Fire attack (per 11.3) occurs during an Evening game turn, a -1 die roll penalty must be applied to each die of a Direct Ranged Fire attack dice roll.

13.2 Night Game Turn

The movement allowance of all units during Night game turns is halved (round any fractions up), in addition to being halved by inclement weather, if any.

Note: Any movement circumstance that requires "All" of a unit's movement is prohibited during Night game turns.

Any normal attack conducted during a Night game turn must roll three six-sided dice (not only two dice) instead, in addition to all other relevant modifiers (although not the +1 dice roll penalty for an attack during an Evening turn, which only applies during Evening game turns, not Night game turns).

No Direct Ranged Fire is ever permitted during Night game turns.

Some Event Chits are printed with a "No Night" symbol; Any player that draws an Event Chit with a "No Night" symbol (a moon within a red backslash symbol) cannot play that Event Chit, and must discard it immediately instead. That player does not draw a replacement Event Chit.

14.0 Weather

At the beginning of each game turn of a scenario, a player must roll one six-sided die to determine the current weather condition of that game turn, and implement the results as follows:

• 1 = Clear
• 2 = Overcast
• 3 = Fog
• 4 = Rain
• 5 = Storm
• 6 = Snow

Each game turn will indicate a modifier to the weather die roll (indicated by the "+" or "-" modifier printed inside the white cloud symbol), which must be applied to the roll. As such, some weather conditions will not be possible during specific scenarios, but will be possible in other scenarios of the Famous Divisions series.

14.1 Weather Effects

The effect of the current weather is listed as follows:

• Clear: No effect on movement or combat whatsoever.
• Overcast: If any Airstrike or Strafing Event Chit is drawn, it is discarded during that turn.
• Fog: No Direct Ranged Fire attacks are permitted. If any Airstrike or Strafing Event Chit is drawn, it is discarded during that turn. Barrage spotting range is reduced to 5 hexes.
• Rain: All units' movement allowances are halved (round any fractions up). A +1 dice roll penalty applies to all attacks. If any Airstrike or Strafing Event Chit is drawn, it is discarded during that turn. Barrage spotting range is reduced to 5 hexes.
• Storm: No Direct Ranged Fire attacks are permitted. All units' movement allowances are halved (round any fractions up). A +2 dice roll penalty applies to all attacks. No pontoon bridges may be placed. If any Airstrike or Strafing Event Chit is drawn, it is discarded during that turn. Barrage spotting range is reduced to 5 hexes.
• Snow: All units' movement allowances are halved (round any fractions up). A +3 dice roll penalty applies to all normal attacks, and a -1 die roll penalty applies to each die of any Direct Ranged Fire attack. No pontoon bridges may be placed. If any Airstrike or Strafing Event Chit is drawn, it is discarded during that turn. Barrage spotting range is reduced to 5 hexes.

The current weather condition only ever prevails during the current game turn. When a new turn begins, a new weather roll is required, per rule 3.2 normally.

15.0 Fortifications

Some scenarios specify that fortifications are to be placed in certain locations, which add a dice roll penalty to any attack against any enemy unit occupying that fortification hex, exactly like a terrain dice roll penalty (except per rule 15.1). In fact, a fortification dice roll penalty is also added to any terrain dice roll penalty, if any, in that same hex.

Note: No fortification is ever considered to be blocking terrain, although a fortification's presence does not negate blocking terrain in a hex (an orchard is not assumed to be hewn if a bunker is placed in that orchard hex, for example).

There are four types of fortification chits, and each type simply adds a single dice roll penalty, exactly like terrain. In that regard, like terrain, a fortification has no effect if it is not presently occupied. Each fortification's dice roll penalty is listed as follows:

• Trench = +1

• Minefield = +2

• Dragon's Teeth = +3

• Bunker = +4

  Note: It is permissible for a player to place more than one fortification chit of a different type in the same hex. However, no more than one fortification chit of each type may ever be placed into the same hex. If multiple types of fortification chits are placed into the same hex, the dice roll penalties are cumulative (to include the terrain penalty in that hex, if any, as well).

Like terrain, a combat result has no effect upon a fortification.

Some black Event Chits, if played during an attack against a fortification's hex, nullify the fortification dice roll penalty, indicated by the cancellation icon printed on the back of the Event Chit. That Event Chit, after it is played, is discarded normally (see 10.3).

15.1 Fortification Facing

Unlike terrain, a fortification chit's dice roll penalty is not omni-directional when that fortification's hex is attacked. Each type of fortification is printed with a green hexside symbol indicating which hexsides that the fortification chit specifically faces. As such, a fortification chit's dice roll penalty is only applicable if all of the attacking units attack across that fortification chit's hexside depiction. Thus, when placing a fortification chit, a player must place that fortification chit so as to face a particular direction, aligning that fortification's green hexside symbol with the hexagon on the map where it is placed.

Exception: Minefield fortifications are omni-directional.

If two or more fortification chits in a hex are facing different directions, it is possible that some fortifications may be facing all of the attacking units, while others may not be. In such a case, only the fortification chit that is attacked across all green hexside symbols applies its dice roll penalty, per 15.0 above.

15.2 Fortification Movement Costs

A fortification chit adds an additional MP cost to the hex it is in, if it is entered via that fortification's green hexside symbol (this is in addition to the terrain's normal MP cost), which is not negated by the presence of any type of roadway.

Note: A roadway indeed negates any map-printed fortification hexside that it traverses.

The MP cost of each type of fortification is specific to each type of unit (Leg, Tracked, Wheeled) normally, listed as follows:

• Trench = +1/+1/NA
• Minefield = +H/+H/+H
• Dragon's Teeth = +1/NA/NA
• Bunker = +4/+0/+1

For example, if a Leg unit enters a clear terrain hex where a minefield fortification is present, the MP cost for a Leg unit to enter that hex is 1 MP (per the Terrain Chart) plus half (+H) of that Leg unit's MA (movement allowance).

15.3 AVREs

A minefield fortification does not impart any dice roll penalty if its own hex is attacked by a British ARVE unit, either alone or with any other British units.

An ARVE does not ever remove any minefield fortification, nor will it nullify its movement cost.

16.0 Engineers

If any engineer unit (any unit printed with "Eng") participates in an attack, the dice roll penalty of any terrain or fortifications in the combat hex is halved (round fractions down). If more than one terrain and/or fortification chit is present in a hex, each dice roll penalty is halved individually, not all of the penalties in the hex collectively.

16.1 Clearing Fortification Chits

Any activated engineer unit is eligible to remove a fortification chit (though never any map-printed fortification, which represent far more thorough construction). To remove any fortification chit (if not currently occupied by any enemy unit), that engineer unit must be adjacent to (or in) that fortification chit's hex at some moment during its activation. It is permissible for an engineer unit to move first and then remove a fortification chit (or vice versa), but an engineer must expend at least half of its printed movement allowance in or adjacent to that fortification chit's hex to remove any fortifications there.

Clearing a fortification chit is automatic; no die roll is ever required (and regardless of how many fortification chits are present in a hex). However, if an engineer unit becomes pinned, even after it is already adjacent to a fortification chit (or in that fortification chit's hex), it may not clear any fortification chit that turn.

Note: An engineer unit is not eligible to clear any fortification chit if it is pinned or if it participates in combat during that same turn.

An engineer cannot clear any fortification that is occupied by any enemy unit, or within any enemy unit's ZOC.

17.0 Scenarios

The four scenarios that are included here specify the map, units and Event Chits that are to be used, as well as victory conditions, and any special instructions pertinent to the battle portrayed (such as which side chooses the first activation).

The various unit designation abbreviations of the four scenarios are clarified as follows:

• Art = Artillery
• KGK = Kampfgruppe "Karst"
• KGL = Kampfgruppe "von Luck"
• KGW = Kampfgruppe "Walther"
• Luft or L = Luftwaffe
• Para or P = Paratroopers
• Pz = Panzer
• AA = Anti-Aircraft (94th)
• AR = AT Regiment (21st)
• Art = Artillery (55th and 153rd)
• CG = Coldstream Guards
• Eng = Engineers
• GG = Grenadier Guards
• IG = Irish Guards
• Inf = Infantry
• MG = Motor Rifle Guards
• SG = Scots Guards
• WG = Welsh Guards

17.1 Scenario 1: Operation Goodwood

The first real battle for the Guards Armoured division, Operation Goodwood, is an example of inept tactics. Montgomery planned to break the German stranglehold on Caen by massing his three armored divisions into one gigantic strike force aimed at Falais and beyond. The problem was that the bridges over the Orne River were not sufficient to move and deploy the three divisions at once, and they, therefore, crossed one at a time, and were lined up one behind the other (first the 11th, then the Guards, and finally the veteran 7th). By that time, it was beginning to dawn on the British command that the veteran "Desert Rats" were losing their fighting edge. The tankers were bloodied, and were overly cautious after being slammed by the German defenders. The 11th was still relatively sharp in the attack, led by perhaps the finest of the British armored commanders, General Adair. The Guards were still an untried force despite the proud tradition of the battalions and regiments in the order of battle.

Another unusual element of Goodwood called for massed armor with little infantry support in the attacking columns. With limited space for deployment, the British divisions opted to 'front load' their attack with tanks, and hold the infantry back. This was partly due to a severe manpower shortage as compared to the massive stocks of machinery available to the British Army at the time. Commanders would sooner lose ten tanks than one infantry soldier. The experience in Operation Goodwood would show exactly that.

17.2 Scenario Activation

The British player chooses the first British HQ activation chits (before all activation chits are placed into the draw cup). Thereafter, all of the British HQs must be drawn randomly normally.

German Set-Up

Unit	Location
HQ von Luck	Within 3 hexes of Cagny
88 KGL	Within 1 hex of Cagny
Gren KGL	Within 5 hexes of Vimont
Pz IV KGL	Within 1 hex of Frenouville
503T KGL	Within 1 hex of Emieville
HQ 200	Within 1 hex of Le Poirier
1 Bat 200	Within 1 hex of Grentheville
2 Bat 200	In Le Mensil
3 Bat 200	In Le Mensil
Gren 200	In Grentheville
HQ II/125	In Troarn
1/II 125

British Set-Up

Unit	Location
HQ 2GG	In Demouville
Scout 2GG	Within 3 hexes of Demouville
Rcn 2GG	Within 2 hexes of Demouville
1 2GG	Within 1 hex of Demouville
2 2GG	In Demouville
3 2GG	Within 1 hex of Demouville
AT 2GG	Within 2 hexes of Demouville
ARV 2GG	Within 3 hexes of Demouville
HQ 2IG	In Cuverville
Scout 2IG	Within 3 hexes of Cuverville
Rcn 2IG	Within 2 hexes of Cuverville
1 2IG

Location Hex Numbers (Operation Goodwood)

• German: Cagny (3435); Vimont (1931 or 2032); Frenouville (2930); Emieville (3142); Le Poirier (3530); Grentheville (4131); Le Mensil (4037); Troarn (1950 or 1851); Banneville (2948); Manneville (3145); Sanneville (2949); Touffreville (3053).
• British: Demouville (3944); Cuverville (4252).

17.3 Event Chits

Place 30 random blue Event Chits and 30 random Red Event chits into the British draw cup.

Place 30 random blue Event Chits and 30 random Red Event chits into the German draw cup.

The British player begins the game with these black Event Chits, which he may use to nullify specific blue and/or red Event Chits (see 10.3):

• Calm Under Fire (nullifies Caught in the Crossfire)
• Fighter Cover (nullifies Airstrike)
• Repaired (nullifies Radio Out)
• Resupplied (nullifies Ammo Exhausted)

The German player begins the game with these black Event Chits, which he may use to nullify specific blue and/or red Event Chits (see 10.3):

• Fire Lane (nullifies Charge)
• Heavy Casualties (nullifies Tough Outfit)
• Intensive Fire (nullifies Inferior Equipment)
• Overcautious (nullifies Tactical Approach)

Then, place 6 random black Event Chits in the British draw cup, and 6 random black Event Chits in the German draw cup.

17.4 Victory Conditions

The British player wins this scenario if he exits at least 25 attack strength points off of the map via Entry Hex B, provided that the British player can demonstrate a path of any roadway hexes from Entry Hex A to Entry Hex B that is not within any German unit's ZOC, nor within the range of any German Direct Ranged Fire unit.

However, if the Germans control (were to last to occupy) less than four cities on the map, a German victory will be downgraded to a British victory instead, regardless of the preceding paragraph.

17.5 Scenario Special Rules

The German 503T KGL unit must begin the scenario flipped to its depleted side.

The movement cost of British units on any roadway is 1 MP, never ½ during this scenario.

Historical Note: Lacking infantry support to conduct an effective combined arms operation, British armor was overly cautious during its advance. Additionally, bombing and a preceding rolling barrage had cratered much of the landscape, slowing their movement even more, not to mention a fear of minefields, as well as some pointed encounters with stubborn Stugs and 88 batteries.

17.6 Scenario 2: Bonninghardt Ridge

At Bonninghardt, the British Army returned to their old regimental tradition and began to deploy smaller battlegroups composed of one tank and one infantry battalion from the same regiment. The British actually tried this earlier in the battle for "Joe's Bridge" (see Scenario 4 below) when they deployed two battalions of the Coldstream Guards together in a battlegroup. Now, it was the Irish again, with the infantry and tanks working in tandem for a go at Bonninghardt Ridge—the last German defensive position before the Wesel.

The initial objective of the Guards Armoured division was a small village called Hamb, which they found to be evacuated. The Germans were in the high ground beyond, and the Irish knew that they would have to take that ground or be sitting ducks in Hamb for German artillery. This realization initiated an action which became known as "The Irish Corpse Party", with severe casualties in both the infantry and the tank battalions from a solid German defense. With intense pressure to the north bearing down on the town of Veen, and substantial reinforcements from other battalions of the Guards Armoured division, the German troops eventually broke and cleared the ridge. It was sobering to learn, however, that the Germans were merely initiating a phased withdrawal back across the Rhine throughout the battle. The Guards suffered as much as they had inflicted, and did not achieve the decisive breakthrough that they had hoped for. This resulted in yet another major operation (Varsity) involving airborne troops to bounce over the Rhine River near Wesel.

17.7 Scenario Activation

The British player chooses the first British HQ activation chit (before all activation chits are placed into the draw cup). Thereafter, all of the British HQs must be drawn randomly normally.

17.8 Event Chits

Place 30 random blue Event Chits and 30 random Red Event chits into the British draw cup.

Place 30 random blue Event Chits and 30 random Red Event chits into the German draw cup.

The British player begins the game with these black Event Chits, which he may use to nullify specific blue and/or red Event Chits (see 10.3):

• Calm Under Fire (nullifies Caught in the Crossfire)
• Fighter Cover (nullifies Airstrike)
• Hardened (nullifies Raw Recruits)
• Repaired (nullifies Radio Out)
• Resupplied (nullifies Ammo Exhausted)

The German player begins the game with these black Event Chits, which he may use to nullify specific blue and/or red Event Chits (see 10.3):

• Fire Lane (nullifies Charge)
• Intensive Fire (nullifies Inferior Equipment)
• Bogged (nullifies Aggressive Assault)
• Heavy Casualties (nullifies Tough Outfit)

Then, place 6 random black Event Chits in the British draw cup, and 5 random black Event Chits in the German draw cup.

17.9 Victory Conditions

The British player is awarded victory points per each of the following locations that were last occupied by any British unit:

• Sonsbeek: 2 VPs (per city)
• Hamb: 1 VP (both towns)
• Issum: 3 VPs (three cities)
• Bonninghardt: 1 VP
• Hill 58: 1 VP
• Hill 40: 1 VP
• Hill 57: 1 VP
• Hill 41: 1 VP
• Veen: 3 VPs

In addition, the British player will receive 1 VP per each unit exited off of the map via Entry Hex C and/or D, provided that the British player can demonstrate a path of any roadway hexes from Entry Hex C or D to Entry Hex A or E that is not within any German unit's ZOC, nor within the range of any German Direct Ranged Fire unit.

The British player wins this scenario if he accrues at least 3 VPs.

The scenario is considered to be a draw if the British player accrues less than 3 VPs, or a British defeat (a German victory) if the British player has not accrued any VPs by the last turn of the scenario.

17.10 Scenario Special Rules

The Germans are provided with 5 Minefield chits, 10 Trench chits, as well as 3 Bunker chits, and must set-up before the British player sets up any of his units. Each German fortification chit must be set-up in a hex with at least one German unit.

17.11 Scenario Notes

German paratrooper units were actually an amalgam of the 2nd, 6th and 7th Fallschirmjaeger divisions.

The British 1st infantry battalion represents a unit of the British 3rd infantry division, and the British 2nd and 3rd infantry battalions represent units of the British 53rd infantry division.

Historical Note: The 57 unit represents captured 57mm guns.

17.12 Scenario 3: Operation Veritable

After the failure of "Operation Market Garden", Montgomery was still eyeing a northern approach to the Rhineland, and teeing up "Operation Veritable" as his solution. This full-blooded drive into Germany would aim to breach the Westwall fortifications in the Reichwald Forest and then push on through Kleve and Goch to reach a Rhine crossing at Xanten or Wesel. Both the terrain and the German defense were formidable, and so Montgomery wanted to hold his armor in reserve to exploit the breech by no less than five infantry divisions packed into the line near Nijmegen.

By early February, all was in readiness, and the operation kicked off with another massive artillery bombardment and a week of heavy fighting on the German frontier. The wet weather and some timely demolitions by the Germans found most of the waterways subject to severe flooding. Again, it was hardly the time or the place for armored forces, except to support the infantry in its dogged attack.

17.13 Scenario Activation

The British player chooses the first British HQ activation chits (before all activation chits are placed into the draw cup). Thereafter, all of the British HQs must be drawn randomly normally.

German Set-Up (Operation Veritable)

Unit	Location
HQ KGK	In Sonsbeek
Rcn KGK	Within 3 hexes of Sonsbeek
Sturm KGK	Within 2 hexes of Sonsbeek
1 Mot KGK	Within 2 hexes of Sonsbeek
Flk KGK	Within 1 hex of Sonsbeek
2 Mot KGK	Within 1 hex of Sonsbeek
PzWerf KGK	Within 1 hex of Sonsbeek
Werbl KGK	Within 1 hex of Sonsbeek
HQ Luft	In Issum
1 Luft	Within 3 hexes of Issum
2 Luft	Within 3 hexes of Issum
3 Luft

British Set-Up (Operation Veritable)

Unit	Location
HQ Eng	In Geldern
3 Eng	Within 2 hexes of Geldern
4 Eng	Within 2 hexes of Geldern
HQ 94AA	In Geldern
1 94AA	Within 3 hexes of Geldern
2 94AA	Within 3 hexes of Geldern
3 94AA	Within 3 hexes of Geldern
HQ Art	In Chateau
(A)55th Art	Within 3 hexes of Chateau
(B)55th Art	Within 3 hexes of Chateau
(C)55th Art	Within 3 hexes of Chateau
(A)153rd Art

Location Hex Numbers (Operation Veritable)

• German: Sonsbeek (3249); Issum (2234, 2334 or 2235); Hochwald (1335 or 1435); Niederwald (1839); Bonninghardt (1344); Veen (1452).
• British: Geldern (4531); Chateau (3733); Aengensch (3335); Kapellen (3443); Hestert (4348); Kervendonk (4852).

17.14 Event Chits

Place 30 random blue Event Chits and 25 random Red Event chits into the German draw cup.

Place 30 random blue Event Chits and 25 random Red Event chits into the German draw cup.

Editor's note: the source prints "German draw cup" for both lines above; the first line is presumably the British draw cup, as in every other scenario. Transcribed as printed.

The British player begins the game with these black Event Chits, which he may use to nullify specific blue and/or red Event Chits (see 10.3):

• Calm Under Fire (nullifies Caught in the Crossfire)
• Fighter Cover (nullifies Airstrike)
• Flamethrower (nullifies Bunker)
• Hardened (nullifies Raw Recruits)
• Repaired (nullifies Radio Out)
• Resupplied (nullifies Ammo Exhausted)

The German player begins the game with these black Event Chits, which he may use to nullify specific blue and/or red Event Chits (see 10.3):

• Fire Lane (nullifies Charge)
• Heavy Casualties (nullifies Tough Outfit)
• Intensive Fire (nullifies Inferior Equipment)
• Overcautious (nullifies Tactical Approach)
• Suppressive Fire (nullifies Aggressive Assault)

Then, place 6 random black Event Chits in the British draw cup, and 6 random black Event Chits in the German draw cup.

17.15 Victory Conditions

The British player is awarded victory points per each of the following locations that was last occupied by any British unit:

• Goch: 1 VP (per city)
• Bleijenbeek Castle: 1 VP
• Hommersum: 1 VP (city hex)
• Kessel: 1 VP (city hex)
• Groote Hurst: 1 VP (city hex)
• Siebengewald: 1 VP (city hex)
• Asperdeen: 3 VPs (per city)

In addition, the British player will receive 1 VP per each unit exited off of the south edge of the map, but east of the Maas river, provided that the British player can demonstrate a path of any roadway hexes from Entry Hex A to that exit hex on the south edge of the map that is not within any German unit's ZOC, nor within the range of any German Direct Ranged Fire unit.

The British player wins this scenario if he accrues at least 6 VPs.

The scenario is considered to be a draw if the British player accrues 4-5 VPs, or a British defeat (a German victory) if the British player accrues less than 3 VPs by the last turn of the scenario.

Editor's note: as printed, the source gives no result for exactly 3 VPs. Transcribed as printed.

17.16 Scenario Special Rules

The Germans are provided with 3 Minefield chits, 5 Trench chits, 2 Bunker chits, as well as 3 Dragon's Teeth chits, and must set-up before the British player sets up any of his units. Each German fortification chit must be set-up in a hex with at least one German unit.

To represent the flooding of the waterways, all streams and fords are considered to be rivers.

17.17 Scenario Notes

The division's "Welsh" battalion of the 32nd Guards brigade was being replaced by the 2nd "Scots" battalion at this time, and therefore isn't available for this scenario.

Hex 3213 and the surrounding forest hexes are the famous Broederbosch woods, where some of the first encounters occurred.

17.18 Scenario 4: Joe's Bridge

Not wanting to get caught up in street warfare in Antwerp, Montgomery sent the 11th division to secure the port while the Guards Armoured pressed on from Brussels into a gap where the Germans defense was organizing behind the Albert Canal. The Guards were assisted by the armored cars of the Household Cavalry, which found a bridge capable of supporting infantry in the open near Beringen. The Welsh Guards Infantry Battalion was sent across to secure a bridgehead, and found itself sharply counterattacked by German paratroopers, part of the 20,000 German fallschrimjaegers that had been deployed into Holland just in time to tenaciously hold towns such as Bourg-Leopold and Hechtel. This stalwart defense, combined with some very rugged terrain slowed the British advance until the Household Cavalry discovered a gap between the villages, and led elements of Joe Vandeleur's Irish Guards through to seize a bridge over the Meuse 'Escaut canal. The De Groote Bridge, or "Joe's Bridge" as it came to be called, allowed the British to create a bridgehead for Monty's planned "Market-Garden" offensive. It took four days of hard fighting to go these last few miles, and while the Guards Armoured struggled forward, the 11th division took Antwerp by storm, but failed to press on to cut off the escaping German 15th Army.

17.19 Scenario Notes

Market-Garden is not featured as a scenario in the game because of its size and scope, but players may be interested to know that the map for this scenario mates up with the Highway to the Reich map, and so players should feel free to construct their own scenarios that allow the Guards Armoured, using the Famous Divisions game system, to roll right up on Arnhem as a continuation of the Joe's Bridge scenario.

17.20 Scenario Activation

The British player chooses the first British HQ activation chit (before all activation chits are placed into the draw cup). Thereafter, all of the British HQs must be drawn randomly normally.

German Set-Up

Unit	Location
HQ II 180	In Afferden
Schwr/II 180	Within 4 hexes of Afferden
Rcn/II 180	Within 4 hexes of Afferden
88/II 180	Within 4 hexes of Afferden
HQ I 180	In hex 3213
Schwr/I 180	Within 1 hex of 3213
PzJg/I 180	Within 1 hex of 3213
HQ I 16P	In Virj
88/I 16P	In Virj
1/I 16P	Within 5 hexes of Virj
2/I 16P	Within 5 hexes of Virj
3/I 16P

British Set-Up

Unit	Location
HQ 2AR	In Offelt
1 2AR	Within 1 hex of Offelt
2 2AR	Within 1 hex of Offelt
3 2AR	Within 1 hex of Offelt
4 2AR	Within 1 hex of Offelt
HQ 5CG	In Heijen
Rcn 5CG	Within 5 hexes of Heijen
A 5CG	Within 5 hexes of Heijen
B 5CG	Within 5 hexes of Heijen
C 5CG	Within 5 hexes of Heijen
Eng 5CG	Within 5 hexes of Heijen
AT 5CG

Location Hex Numbers (Scenario 4 set-up)

• German: Afferden (3707 or 3808); Virj (2524); Hommersum (3220); Viller (2825); Kessel (2226); Hassum (2420); Asperdeen (1623).
• British: Offelt (4820); Heijen (4116); Heijen Castle (4115); Gennep (4321 or 4421); Ottersum (4223).

17.21 Event Chits

Place 30 random blue Event Chits and 25 random Red Event chits into the British draw cup.

Place 30 random blue Event Chits and 25 random Red Event chits into the German draw cup.

The British player begins the game with these black Event Chits, which he may use to nullify specific blue and/or red Event Chits (see 10.3):

• Calm Under Fire (nullifies Caught in the Crossfire)
• Fighter Cover (nullifies Airstrike)
• Hardened (nullifies Raw Recruits)
• Outflanked (nullifies (Flanking Maneuver)
• Repaired (nullifies Radio Out)
• Resupplied (nullifies Ammo Exhausted)

The German player begins the game with these black Event Chits, which he may use to nullify specific blue and/or red Event Chits (see 10.3):

• Fire Lane (nullifies Charge)
• Intensive Fire (nullifies Inferior Equipment)
• Rallied (nullifies Dispirited)

Then, place 6 random black Event Chits in the British draw cup, and 6 random black Event Chits in the German draw cup.

17.22 Victory Conditions

The British player wins this scenario if he exits at least 25 attack strength points off of the map via Entry Hex A or B, provided that the British player can demonstrate a path of any roadway hexes from Entry Hex C to Entry Hex A or B not within any German unit's ZOC, nor within the range of any German Direct Ranged Fire unit.

If the victory conditions are unfulfilled, this scenario is considered to be a draw if British units are the last to have occupied every hex that is adjacent to all three of the bridges that span the Meuse L'Escaut Canal.

17.23 Scenario Special Rules

The British player may also deploy the 2nd battalion of the Welsh Guards (2WG units), but to win the game, he must exit 50 attack strength points off of the map via Entry Hex A or B. Furthermore, no draw is possible if any units of the 2WG battalion are deployed on the map.

2WG Set-Up

Unit	Location
HQ 2WG	In Beringen
Rcn 2WG	Within 3 hexes of Beringen
A 2WG	Within 3 hexes of Beringen
B 2WG	Within 3 hexes of Beringen
C 2WG	Within 3 hexes of Beringen
Eng 2WG	Within 3 hexes of Beringen
(A)SPG 2WG	Within 3 hexes of Beringen
(B)SPG 2WG	Within 3 hexes of Beringen

17.24 Scenario Notes

The "Joe's Bridge" map mates directly with the "Highway to the Reich" map, published by SPI.

Historical Note: The 57 unit represents captured 57mm guns.

Editor's note: the source prints the following set-up block (Bourg-Leopold, Lommel, Hechtel, De Groote, Voort; British at Koersel, Beringen and Tervan) without a scenario heading or activation text, directly after the scenario 4 notes. It is transcribed in the order printed.

German Set-Up (Bourg-Leopold block)

Unit	Location
HQ I 6P	In Bourg-Leopold
1/I 6P	Within 5 hexes of Bourg-Leopold
2/I 6P	Within 5 hexes of Bourg-Leopold
3/I 6P	Within 4 hexes of Bourg-Leopold
4/I 6P	Within 3 hexes of Bourg-Leopold
HQ II 6P	In Lommel
1/II 6P	Within 3 hexes of Lommel
2/II 6P	Within 2 hexes of Lommel
3/II 6P	Within 1 hex of Lommel
4/II 6P	Within 1 hex of Lommel
HQ Flak 16P	In Hechtel
(2)20/Flak 16P

British Set-Up (Bourg-Leopold block)

Unit	Location
HQ 2AR	In Koersel
1 2AR	Within 3 hexes of Koersel
2 2AR	Within 2 hexes of Koersel
3 2AR	Within 1 hex of Koersel
4 2AR	In Koersel
HQ 1WG	In Beringen
A 1WG	Within 3 hexes of Beringen
B 1WG	Within 2 hexes of Beringen
C 1WG	Within 1 hex of Beringen
AT 1WG	Within 2 hexes of Beringen
HQ Eng	In Tervan
3 Eng

Location Hex Numbers (Bourg-Leopold block)

• German: Bourg-Leopold (2605); Lommel (4111); Hechtel (2620); De Groote (4415, 4516, 4515, 4516 or 4617); Voort (1118).
• British: Koersel (1509 or 1510); Beringen (1305); Tervan (1602).

18.0 Optional Direct Ranged Fire

For players that prefer Direct Ranged Fire (11.3) to be more potent, modify the eighth paragraph (skipping notes) referring to "hits" to read as follows (the optional change printed in red):

If a targeted unit is "hit," that targeted unit suffers casualties if the higher die of that same dice roll, plus (+) the firing unit's printed range number (in the black triangle), is equal to or greater than ( > ) that same targeted unit's defense strength number plus (+) the range—in hexes—from that firing unit to that targeted unit. Range is always calculated as including the targeted unit's hex, but not the firing unit's hex.

If neither die is higher, then either die is added to the firing unit's printed range number, and a hit is determined just the same. Otherwise, all other rules per 11.3 function the same.

19.0 Design Notes

The basis for the "Famous Divisions" concept was an idea to begin a dedicated series of operational-level wargames that would expound the notable combat divisions of World War II, and thus give players an accurate portrayal of each division's exploits during the war, as well as provide a comparison of the featured division's organization, structure, and equipment, particularly in relation to other famous divisions of the Second World War.

The Famous Divisions premise had been a conceptual proposal since the early nineties, but had not yet materialized as a functional game system, nor evolved much beyond a collection of borrowed rules derived primarily from Highway to the Reich and PanzerBlitz, though with no definitive cohesion to speak of. By the mid-nineties, the game had mutated into a very rudimentary combat system that attempted to meld tactical and operational precepts, but was also overly-complex due to its ad hoc and extemporaneous evolution. Not surprisingly, the rules were never quite complete and lacked consistent principles necessary to define the game's focus. But, fortunately, the rules did include a well-researched order-of-battle for the German Grossdeutschland division, as well as a set of well-developed scenarios highlighting four specific battles of the Grossdeutschland division on the Eastern Front. And so, from this, it would be possible to build a workable prototype, despite the hodgepodge of mismatched rules.

When assigned to develop the game system (such as it was) in early 2010, I was confronted with a stack of improvised and unfinished rules that were little more than the cumulative efforts of multiple developers who had only managed to add successive layers of complexity to the game. Ironically, the original premise intended to feature a necessarily simple rules system, but the ambitious attempt to create a semi-tactical yet operational game (a difficult thing to do) accomplished quite the opposite. Furthermore, the very long development process ultimately produced a disconnection of thought as the rules set bounced from one developer to another over the course of several years. Never quite complete, the entire project fell into obscurity, where it remained for the next fifteen years.

But, the premise still had much potential, and once I began to delve into the tome of notes and ideas, I began to attempt to assemble the disjointed rules into a functional game. Thankfully, the orders-of-battle provided a good basis from which to reconstruct the various concepts, and that was at least enough to start with, even if it would become necessary to discard the rules in their entirety. Moreover, the scenarios were complete and accurate, as were the maps of the various engagements, which were taken from actual German operational maps. Somewhere within the briar's patch of misaligned rules there was the potential for a good game, and perhaps an ongoing series.

As it went, however, the existing rules proved to be too convoluted and complex to be salvageable. In fact, this had been a systemic problem from the very start, as explained in a 1994 letter from one of the previous developers (Maj. Walters, USMC) who stated that "Trying to playtest with the set [of rules] provided wasn't working—there were too many holes..." and "...we ended up with too many questions that we couldn't answer. Playtest games 'seized up' on the first turn." And so, ultimately, the only viable solution to revitalize the game was to simply discard the existing system almost entirely, and essentially start from scratch.

One of the first things that emerged was the innovative 'Event Chit' concept. This began as an offshoot of the Fire & Movement system that I had designed for Decision Games' folio series, which had originally been a suggestion by Joseph Miranda that players could somehow be able to play their artillery support like playing cards (instead of tracking the locations and ranges of innumerable artillery units spread all over the map). After I had developed this into a structured rule, it seemed to be especially adaptable to operational level simulations, and very well-suited to the perspectives of company and battalion commanders on the battlefield who perpetually lack the omniscience that is pervasive in almost all wargames.

Hence, I then worked it into the new rules for Grossdeutschland, and sat down with Ty Bomba to playtest the system. Within the first game turn, Ty recognized the merits of the whole concept, specifically as an engine to increase the element of chaos in the game, and he suggested that I broaden the concept greatly, particularly to include some method to randomize it all. Admittedly, initially I was hesitant to overdevelop a good idea into a potential Frankenstein, but I took Ty's suggestion to heart, and set about working out a format to give players a quasi-narrative style of chit draw system. From there, I researched numerous accounts of combat during the war, and composed a list of the most common themes that seemed to define small unit engagements during the war. To that end, players will quickly recognize the various themes represented by the 160 event chits included in the game, such as Ambush, Suppressive Fire, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Sniper, Outflanked, Radio Out, Hero, Tough Outfit, Low Ammo, et cetera...over 80 individually specific occurrences to simulate virtually every conceivable variance of combat.

When we sat down for the next playtest, with the new expanded event chit system (I had already finished the new core rules by then), it singularly added a totally new dimension to combat resolution. In a sense, the addition of the event chits operates like an additional dice roll when resolving combat. However, whereas a dice roll has no memory, and is therefore completely random beyond the standard bell-curve results, the event chit system is not entirely random, and this is the true advantage that it presents beyond a game system that relies on dice alone (which is always susceptible to fluctuations.) For instance, diligent players can track and note which event chits have been drawn during the course of a game, and which ones have yet to be drawn. This feature was a very purposeful design element because I had always desired a methodology that allowed units in a game to "learn" from their previous combat experience. For instance, a player may draw the Bad Commander event chit, and thereby suffer the associated die roll penalty (a "+2" in this case), but such an occurrence—in real life—would result in the prompt dismissal of that commander. In this regard, the event chit system works excellently to ensure that a theoretical bad commander cannot perpetually reappear due to excessive bad luck; there are only three Bad Commander chits included in the game, and while it is conceivable that a bad commander could be replaced by yet another bad commander (as has occasionally occurred in real life), the odds of this happening is only 25% (and the odds of this happening a third time is only half of that). In short, once a Bad Commander event chit is drawn and played, it cannot be drawn again, and players may presume that this represents the removal of an incompetent officer from command (Soviet players can assume that he was arrested and sent to a gulag—or worse!) Thus, in summary, players cannot necessarily predict the draw of any event chit, but they can calculate some probabilities based on the event chits already played. This might be akin, for example, to a colonel gauging the morale of his men—something for which he may have a sense, but cannot really quantify. Essentially, we're talking about the chaos of war, a dynamic that is probably underrepresented in wargaming as a whole.

As a final component, each event chit is printed with a specific nullifier that will cancel another event chit of the opposite class (red or blue); in this way, the event chits are more than simple dice roll modifiers, and this aspect of the rule thus increases the variability of outcomes. Referring to the aforementioned example, a Bad Commander event chit will be abrogated by the draw of an Aggressive Assault chit, representing the premise that another officer may step up at a critical moment to act decisively in spite of the commanding officer's timidity or perhaps indecisiveness. However, note that an "Aggressive Assault" should not be misconstrued with the type of reckless attack that would exemplify an incompetent leader; Other event chits represent just that, i.e., the Reckless Assault event chit. Nevertheless, a combination of an Aggressive Assault and a Reckless Assault yields a net dice roll penalty (+2), and so it can be seen that the myriad of combinations create their own narrative, and this is exactly what I wanted to create in terms of simulating the thematic facets of combat. In a sense, it is my hope that the narrative element of the event chits will give players a kind of war movie "feel" when playing the scenarios.

Beyond the innovation of the event chit system, the mechanisms of the rules system is mostly typical; there are four turn phases, a CRT, activation rules and command strictures, as well as unit classifications (leg, wheeled, tracked), and conventional concepts regarding lines of supply, ZOC, advance after combat, overrun rules, etc. Inasmuch as the game is represented at the company level (almost all of the units in the game are companies), the game system entails a prevalence of tactical rules that are designed to typify the nature of combat at the scale represented (500 meters per hex). The most obvious characteristics of this are the "direct-ranged-fire" rules, which were developed to simulate combat beyond the limitations of the CRT, which presumes that combat is an engagement of both sides (i.e., whereby both sides are essentially shooting at each other, and it is assumed that most of the combatants are within the ranges of their respective weapons). But, in terms of the increasingly potent anti-tank guns that were developed during the war, the CRT was simply an inadequate apparatus, particularly because anti-tank engagements were often one-sided encounters (the tanks that possessed the longer-ranged guns would dominate the battlefield until such time as the enemy closed within their own range to return fire, assuming they survived long enough to do so). In this respect, the game system recreates the same dynamics of a tactical level game; players that become caught up in a direct fire engagement will get a sense for what is happening, and why it is happening.

Indeed, when Grossdeutschland (World at War #20) was being playtested, there were some playtesters that expected a tactical game (particularly because the units in the game look like the kinds of game pieces you will find in a platoon-level game like Panzer Leader), and began to call for more complexity in terms of things like ballistics data, etc, etc—the kind of detail that is found in games like Advanced Squad Leader or Advanced Tobruk, forgetting the scale being portrayed. As an operational-level game, direct-ranged-fire weapons in both Grossdeutschland and then Guards Armoured were designated as any guns with a barrel diameter of at least 75mm or greater—most of which were relatively equal in terms of effectiveness when considering innumerable other battlefield variables that effect the probabilities of a "kill". Insofar as the game's pieces represent company-sized units, a nominally superior gun is not necessarily more advantageous than a gun with, say, a much higher rate of fire, particularly when engaging a full company of enemy vehicles. This is not always the case, strictly speaking, but when specifically referring to guns of at least 75mm, the exigencies of combat will frequently produce more variables to the probabilities of a kill than mere ballistics data might suggest. A good example of this is the massive 152mm gun of the Soviet KV-2, which was only provisioned with 36 rounds of ammunition—none of which were armor-piercing projectiles. Moreover, the gun's severe recoil had a tendency to jam the turret ring, such that more KV-2's were lost to breakdowns than enemy fire. As an addendum, the most obvious exception to this is the infamous "88", which was so stellar that it may appear to be underrepresented in this regard, but at the operational level, its advantages are evident.

And so, ultimately, the conceptual proposal of the so-called "famous divisions" premise has now come to fruition after decades in wargaming purgatory, and with the popularity of Grossdeutchland, Guards Armoured is a further refinement of an ongoing game system, with more planned for the future covering other theaters and even other eras.

Among the other historic divisions that have been considered for future games in the series (famous or not) is the US 3rd Armored Division (Spearhead), which would actually span several eras (World War 2 in Europe, the 1970s for a hypothetical World War 3 in Europe scenario, the 1980s for a hypothetical World War 3 in Europe scenario, and perhaps a Desert Storm scenario, which would have elements of the 3rd face off against the Iraqi Medina armored division). There is also the likelihood of doing the 82nd Airborne Division (perhaps just World War 2), the Japanese 38th Division (which took Hong Kong and was later on Guadalcanal) or the 2nd Sendai Division. Another candidate is the US 1st Infantry Division, or certainly possibly another German panzer division (take your pick).

In any case, as more divisions in the series are portrayed, the system will undergo further refinements and improvements, sport better graphics, and conceivably include generic maps for hypothetical match-ups of different divisions from the various games. Moreover, there is every potential for the system to widen into other eras, like World War 1, for some really interesting contrasts, not to mention a new variety of Event Chits specifically reflective of that period, and even other types of units (helicopter gunships, for instance).

All in all, the system has good potential to feature that particular scale that is somewhere in between the tactical and operational scope of battle, and is a good example of the ever-evolving nature of wargaming. Fans of the system are encouraged to offer their ideas and thoughts for what divisions in modern history would be well-suited to the series. The possibilities are endless.