More Lessons From the Front again :

Questions with Battlefront Staff’s answers :

(01 February 2008)

Changes and new sections since the last update are marked with a black box to make them easier to find.
Changes in the flames of war reprint are marked with a “*” before the page (e.g.”*Page 1”)
MRB or A5 : Mini Rules Book
HB, HCB or A4 : Hard Cover Book

Rules Afrika Ostfront Festung D D-Day Bloody Villers

Europa minus 1 Omaha Bocage

Rules :

Credits :
*Page 1: Change “Spiritz of War” to “Spritz of War”. We spelt the name of this playtest group wrong. For those who
are interested, a spritz is ‘an aperitif consisting of wine, sparkling water, and liqueur’ much favoured amongst our
Italian playtesters.
History :

What is Flames of War ?

Playing Flames of War :

*Page 21: Change “only text printed in italics is actually rules” to “only text printed in italics and in the accompanying
tables are actually rules”. Yep, as we have said, the tables are actually part of the rules. It doesn’t make much sense
otherwise.

Re-Roll :
- Is it possible to get multiple rerolls based on various situations ?
The general rule is no. See page 20.(Phil)
- Russian company within command of Battalion command. Company fails morale, commissar shoots
someone for reroll, battalion command then gives 2nd reroll?
1
Here is the only exception that I can think of the Komissar rule explicitly allows you a third attempt in
defiance of the no re-rolling re-rolls rule.(Phil)
- German Bailed tanks: Tank failed roll to unbail, rerolls for protected ammo and fails and then company
commander gives additional reroll for being within command range of the platoon.
Nope. No re-rolling a re-roll.(Phil)

Characteristics :
*Page 25: Independent Teams. Add “2iC,” in front of “Company and higher command teams” at the beginning.
Nowhere does it say that 2iC teams are independent teams (opps!).

Motorcycles basing :
- The figures come with two guys on each bike which would make 8 troopers to a big Cavalry base. You
would normally have 4 guys on an infantry base and 7 to 9 medium bases for the platoon. Maybe put less
bikes on the cavalry base?
Cavalry basing is on page 25 of the full rulebook. Medium bases for command teams, large bases for
Rifle/MG teams.
You have three choices.
* Put four solo bikes on a base as per the theoretical organisation.
* Put two bikes with two men each on a large base.
* Put combinations of both. (Phil)

- Just a question of general interest, the Motociclisti Platoon in the online store is supplied with medium bases
it says, but according to the rulebook they should be based on large bases. What is up with that? Also, should
there be two bikes or three on each large base ? So I now have to rebase all of my motorcyclisti ?
Absolutely not! Battlefront have never had a problem with people using models that were based differently
from what is now the standard.
I think the reason that there are medium bases in the pack is that the contents of the pack don't match are
unusual. If they were jeeps or motorcycle combinations, they should be used individually or in pairs on a
large base.
Since they are solo motorcycles, you need twice as many of them anyway. If you were basing four of them
(equivalent to two jeeps or motorcycle combinations) they should be on a large base. OTOH if you are just
using a pair of them as the equivalent of a single jeep, then a medium base makes plenty of sense.(Phil)
- As the Motorcyclisti count as Cavalry, using the cavalry basing seems to be the intention.
Phil, can you confirm that the cavalry basing (medium base for command etc, large for the normal infantry) is
intended? If so will the motorcyclisti blister come with some large bases in future ?
Good point, they are cavalry now. It would be sensible to have large bases. I'll mention it to the people
involved.(Phil)

- I am currently in the middle of basing my DAK recon teams. Is it fair to assume I can/should base two
motorcycle and sidecar combinations to a large base and the command team to a medium base ?
If you are putting two motorcycles and combinations in each team, you should indeed put them on a large
base with one pair per MG team.
If you are only fielding one motorcycle combination per MG team, then they are kept separate as two separate
teams.(Phil)

- Lets take the standard Aufklarung Platoon . Full strength its 225 pts.
3 Squads and each squad has 2 MG teams + 1 HQ section.
For each squad I need a regular infantry base, on which I base 2 or 3 motorcycles?
Or do I need 1 regular base with 2-3 motorcycles for 1 MG team?
Also a ROF question? If I have based 2 side-cars motorcycles on one medium base how many shots do I get?
2x ROF3 or ROF3 (for the entire base)
Each MG team needs a motorcycle team for transport, so for the 6 MG teams you need 6 motorcycle teams.
Each motorcycle team has one vehicle MG for ROF 3, regardless of how many motorcycle models there are
on the team. Only on model in the team should actually carry a machine-gun.
2
A motorcycle team can be:
* a single motorcycle
* two motorcycles based together (on a large base according to the rulebook).
The number of motorcycles modelled in the team has no effect at all.(Phil)

- I have looked this up and am completely confused. Three items ... and citing the rule book doesn't help a lot
as it is critically flawed. (It is like it was written by a committee.)
1. How does one mount his Soviet Motorcycles? Two bikes with sidecar to a cavalry base? (This makes six
men). Or what?
2. And what about command and Comissar bases? It could be one bike and sidecar on a medium base for
commander. One bike with sidecar and no rider, or rider and no sidecar for Comissar.
3. Also, I believe that the Italian are based two two-man bikes per cavalry base, or four solo bikes per cavalry
base, or some combination totalling four. I assume the command uses a total of bikes and riders totalling three
to a cavalry base.
A motorcycle team as used by the Soviets consists of either one motorcycle on a small base or two
motorcycles on a large base depending on your choice. Historically, each motorcycle and combination
typically carried two passengers and a driver who stayed with the vehicle, so two motorcycles (based as a
team) are required to carry a four-man team. OTOH, a single motorcycle is an acceptable alternative if you
prefer.
The Italians were rather different. They used solo motorcycles where the rider was the combat soldier - much
like cavalry. As such they are based like cavalry, four solo motorcycles instead of four horses. Again, you
could use two motorcycles riding double instead.(Phil)

Basing German Pioneer Flame-thrower :

- Does the flame-thrower go on a small base with one other model or a medium base with four others? Is it
really a big deal as it doesn't have any other weapons and is removed after firing ?
What we mostly do here is just model the appropriate rifle teams with a flame-thrower on them. If we want to
use the flame-thrower, we just tell our opponent, otherwise, we tell them to ignore it. Not exactly WYSIWYG,
but we usually have them, so no problem.
Ig I were modelling a separate base, it would be a flame-thrower operator, their number two, and their two
riflemen escorts on a medium base.(Phil)

Vehicles team :
- If a vehicle is listed as a "team" eg. AAMG jeep team, I assume that means it is automatically manned and
there's no need to have another team (say a command base) in the vehicle for it to shoot ??
Conversely, if the model is purely Transport in nature (no weapon system) then it carries stands when moving.
Everything in Flames Of War is a team, be it a Tank team, a Transport team, an Infantry team, or a Gun
team. If a weapon is marked as Passenger-fired, then it needs a passenger mounted in the vehicle to fire it.
Otherwise the crew fire it.(Phil)

Company Command Team :

- The 2iC is a Company Command team ?
The 2iC Command team is not the or a Company Command team. There is one Company Command team per
company.(Phil)

- How do extra Tanks in Company HQ work (i.e. extra 2 Shermans besides OC and 2ic Tanks in a British
Armoured Squadron HQ). Are they Independents or what? Do I have to destroy them to get rid of them or do
they take platoon checks?
The HQ Support Weapons are not Independant teams. They are either permanently attached to combat
platoons or a leaderless platoon of their own.
If they are a leaderless platoon, they have no effect on Company Morale Checks and need the Company or
2iC Command team attached to move.(Phil)

3
- There is an infantry company with an HQ that can take a section of 3 trucks which do not have any other
teams in the section. It is strictly a transport section, but it is not identified as a transport platoon. It is called a
transport section.
These trucks can be attached out as HQ "Weapons" but it is not clear whether they fall under the transport
platoon limitation or not.
Treat the Transport Section's trucks as if they were in a Transport Platoon. The trucks in the Transport
Section are Transports capable of carrying 5 teams like those of a Transport Platoon.
As HQ Support Weapons, they can either be permanently attached to a platoon or they can be a leaderless
platoon that can only move if the 2iC or Company Command team joins them. (Phil)

Motorcycles :
- The motorcycles are always defined like cavalry ?
Only the Italian Motociclisti (who ride their own bikes like cavalry) are defined this way. The Romanians and
others have sidecar combinations with drivers making them transport teams.(Phil)

Weapons carriers :
- In some German Anti-tank Gun Platoons, one is allowed to mount the field piece on a Transport Team as a
"weapons carrier". But what does this do?
It means that the 5cm PaK38 is permanently mounted on the vehicle as a portee that cannot dismount. In
effect the half-track becomes a tank. (Phil)
'In effect' or it really becomes a Tank Team? What about the ones that are not 'permanently mounted', like the
PaK36 ?
It should say portee not weapons carrier in the case of the 3.7cm PaK36.(Phil)

Terrain :

How to Build an Army :

Army composition :
- If, under divisional support, a line says 'a' or 'an' as in 'an allied Italian Carri platoon' does that mean you can
have only one platoon of that type?
One.(Phil)
Game Turns :

- Turns are described, but not necessarily how they are counted. The rules say one player takes their turn, then
the other player takes their turn. Is that Turn One for both players or is it Turn One and then Turn Two? We
both feel that Turn One would apply to both players, but as there is nothing point blank stating that, we get to
wondering about it every now and then. For example, delayed reserves start rolling on the third turn. He goes,
I go, He goes and rolls or we both go twice and on the third go, we start rolling (which is how we've played
it)?
You have a good point actually. It is a rather important assumption in the rules that turns are counted in
pairs. Both players have a go in turn one, then the same in turn two etc. So by turn six, each player has had
six opportunities to move, shoot, assault etc.(Phil)

The Starting Step :

Movement :
Movement Step :
- What is a Movement Step ? The charge and the stormtrooper move, for example, are a movement step ?
Movement step is as outlined on pages 14-25. Stormtrooper rules are on page 136 of the mini rule book.
(Wayne)
There is only one Movement Step in a turn, and it isn't the Assault Step. For example : you can only dismount

4
in the Movement Step unless explicitly allowed by another rule. (Phil)

Movement Distances :

Towed guns movement :

- According to the rulebook man packed guns move 6 inches, infantry move 6. So what the heck good is it
going to do if any to put the infantry in the truck, tow the gun, namely the 25 pdrs, 6 inches.
Only jeeps towing guns are restricted to 6" movement. All other towing vehicles move at their full speed.(Phil)

Moving at the Double :

- The rule for Doubletime states that you must use the most direct route - which implies shortest in distance.
You are able to turn to avoid obstacles, and to follow roads. You must end facing the direction moved. This
all seems pretty clear but I am interested in how it is being played.
Lets say you have a small woods to the North of your tank platoon. You want to go around it. It is more
distance to go around via the West than the East. Looping via the East leaves your platoon facing away from
the enemy, while looping via the West leaves you facing towards the enemy. Both routes are more than your
normal move but within your doubletime move. Assume that you need to end in the same spot via either
route. By rule, you'd have to go via the East route and end with your rear being presented. Are you playing
that way, or are you taking the longer route so you get a better facing? Either way, you get shot at twice.
I've only recently noticed this nuance and it is having a significant impact on the first one or two turns.
The direction you face at the end of the movement is the direction you are travelling at that time.
Common sense will give you the answer as to what direction that is in almost any situation.
If the terrain is a flat desert, obviously that will be directly away from your starting point.
If the terrain is a road with hedges on either side, obviously the direction will be up the road.
If you have just come around the end of a wood, then the direction you are travelling is away from the end of
the wood.
There is no general rule, because there is no simple rule that works. However, the common sense "direction
you are travelling" is usually fairly obvious.
As for the original woods question, the rule on facing is to stop tanks sliding sideways at high speed. I see no
real problem with a player picking a safer route, just so long as they end up facing in the direction of travel at
the end.
And yes, for the smart arses out there, making a small turn around the corner of a wood at the end of your
move just to change your facing is cheating.(Phil)

Moving in Building :

Occupying openings :

- The new rules say that infantry can enter a building

1. If they start their turn adjacent to an opening
2. If another team in their platoon started the turn adjacent to and opening and moved away.
What is #2 supposed to represent? If it's just a game mechanic, what's the rationale for it ?
Its about making it possible to cover the entrance to a building with fire. The teams have to stop at the
entrance so that in the opponent's turn they can shoot before the teams enter the building.(Phil)

- Let's say the Germans wipe out a couple of my Russian infantry in the shooting step. They may be
considering an assault. I really want to get that HMG team over there whether they assault or not. In the
German assault step, can I move the HMG to one of the windows on that side of the building, as long as I'm in
the same "room"? Is the HMG considered to have moved for firing in my next turn or the defensive fire part
of assault phase?
Changing teams that are occupying openings is not movement. It can happen at the start of any step, yours or
the enemy's. (Phil)

5
Moving through Rough Terrain :

Bogging Down :

Bogged down vehicle :

- The last tournament we played had a snow board which was difficult going everywhere except on the roads.
So at the start of movement, the moving player rolled for each tank he was planning on moving, one at a time
and left dice by the tanks that bogged. He then moved all eligible vehicles, making sure they stayed in
command. This seemed to be the common sense way to do it, but like I said before I am not sure this is correct
as the Rules are Written.
This method certainly makes the most sense and reflects how we do it. Although it is not technically exactly
how the rules say to do things,
it works in the situation where the bogged or broken down tanks would be left out of command.
As for unreliable tanks moving at the double, the whole platoon is attempting to move at the double as soon as
one of them does, so rolling all at the start makes sense.(Phil)

- A bogged tank is bailed. The tank makes its motivation for double bailed. In the players turn, the tank is just
bogged.....correct. or am I wrong and the tank is bogged and bailed ?
Correct. If the player passes the Motivation test for Bailing Out a Bogged Down tank, the shot has no effect.
Since causing the tank to become Bailed Out would be an effect from the shot, it cannot be Bailed Out. It
simply remains Bogged Down.
In essence, the Motivation test is an instantaneous, one-off chance to recover from the new Bail Out result. If
you recover, then the new bailed Out result is gone, leaving you in the state you were before (in this case
Bogged Down, but the same applies to being Bailed Out when Bailed Out already, you remain Bailed Out). If
you fail, then the effect is permanent and you are Destroyed.(Phil)

- Do motoclisti take bogging checks? The rules state that vehicles take bogging checks, but that infantry teams
(which include cavalry teams) never take bogging checks.
They move as Jeep teams. Jeep teams take bogging checks.(Phil)

- I had a panzer in a forest and it was facing a churchill but the turret had shot in another direction. I wanted to
bring the turret to forward facing and tried this: I rolled "stormtrooper" for the panzer and succeeded... so I
could "move" in assault phase. I didn't want to incur a "bog test" by moving so I just swivelled my turret.
The rule states that any vehicle attempting to cross rough terrain must make a bog down test. My
interpretation was that I had a zero movement (so no bog down test since I didn't actually attempt to cross any
terrain) but I could still orient my turret because , even with a zero inch move... I could still orient my turret
with storm trooper movement. Can you just move your turret (in a forest during a stormtrooper move) without
causing a bog test ???
Since the tank elected to take a Stormtrooper move and use that to traverse its turret (and possibly find a
better firing position facing the new direction), it has moved. If it moved, it takes a Bog Check. If you do it in
the Movement Step, it is movement. If you rotate to face in the Shooting Step, it is not. Since the Stormtroopers
rule says treat it as a Movement Step, it is movement.
Since the only reason you would be doing this using the Stormtroopers rule is to reposition your tank to
reduce its vulnerabilty. Since that is likely to take more in reality than just a quick traverse of the turret, I see
no problem with the rules as they are.(Phil)

Transports :

*Page 43: Sending Transports to the Rear. Change “at the end of any Movement Step” to “at the end of your Movement
Step”. This is a less confusing phrasing that shows the intent much more clearly.

Dismount and leave a team :

- I was carefully reading the rules while considering the tactic of leaving the 60mm mortar team in a US AI
platoon behind to give fire support while the rest of the platoon moves on to unload closer to the enemy and
then assault on the next turn. I suddenly realised you cant both dismount and leave the mortar (or any other
6
team) behind on the same turn!!
Top of page 49 in the hardcover rulebook:
”When moving, a team may either:
* Move so as to be In Command at the end of the movement step, or
* Remain in place without moving.
This allows you to leave teams in place to give covering fire while others move off. “
You combine these rules with the dismounting rules on page 42 right column that state:
”..... A team that dismounts counts as having moved even if it stops adjacent to the Transport team.”
So a team that dismounts counts as moving (pg 42 hardcover rules), so it cant be left behind that turn. The
platoon cannot move off out of command distance of the just dismounted team. They can leave it behind next
turn, as long as it doesn’t move, but on the turn it dismounts it acts as an anchor for the platoon!!
This doesn’t seem right. Is it the actual intention of the rules ?
Counts as having moved and actually moving are two separate states of being. Counts as having moved
means you fire at reduced rate of fire. Counts as having moved means you are still in place, could not dig in
or become concealed or gtg. A team that dismounts counts as having moved but could remain in place during
movement since dismounts happen at the start of the movement phase before any movement happens.
A mounted unit could and should be able to dismount to provide covering fire while the rest of his mobile
platoon moves forward towards the enemy.
The other option makes no sense and means the rules are broken in their current form.
So don’t forget : Moving and counting as having moved are two different things.(Phil)

- Reading "dismounting cavalry" rule , it seems lightly different: there's no reference to movement STEP, but
it say at the start of the movement and the avanti is a movement..
The intention is that like all other mounting and dismounting, it can only be done in the Movement Step and
other times it is explicitly allowed. (Phil)

- About cavalry : why cant they keep their horse in the bush behind them instead of sending them to the rear ?
That is what happens when they are shooting while mounted. Remember, you are the company commander.
Whether your soldiers are actually on their horses or simply alongside them is a decision for your section
leaders. Your choice is whether to have them fighting as mounted infantry with their horses available, or as
foot infantry. The fact that your troops will dismount at times is why they can shoot and have a decent save
while nominally 'mounted'. If you mean, why can't they dismount and have the horse holders ride away with
the horses and then bring them back later, the answer is simply that you now need each team modelled three
times instead of just two. Since, both on the table and in reality, there are few occaisions where you dismount
to fight on foot, sending your horses away, then call them forward again before the battle is over, it seems like
a waste of effort and rules space. If you were going to this effort, then you might as well go the whole hog.
Mounted Cavalry team: 6 cavalry figures.
Dismounted Infantry team: 4 infantry figures.
Horse-holder transport team: 2 cavalry figures and 4 led horses. (Phil)

- Can a motoclisti unit move as mounted then dismount and move using the "Avanti" special rule? The
cavalry rules state that cavalry can dismount and become leg infantry whenever they move.
No. They can only dismount during the Movement Step.(Phil)

Transport and Bailed out :

- Page 43 of the large rulebook states: You may remove empty Transport teams from the table at the end of
any Movement step. On page 76, under the Bailed Out Vehicles section, the rule states: Bailed out vehicles
may not move or fight until the crew remounts the vehicle. We had the following situation. A German
panzergrenadier platoon dismounted from the half-tracks. In a subsequent turn, one of the half-tracks was
bailed out by artillery fire. It then failed to remount in the next Starting Step. Our question was this: can the
bailed out transport leave the map in the following movement phase? The rule on page 43 does not seem to
exclude bailed out transports.
The rule is intended to be simple. Basically, at the end of your turn you can remove any of your transport that
is still alive. If the transport in question is bailed out, it is still removed.
As pointed out above, there are numerous ways to look at this, but the key is that the biggest effect of actually
7
destroying the vehicle over bailing it out is to the unit's morale. Losing Joe and Bob is a lot more upsetting
than Joe and Bob driving into an ambush and walking back without their vehicle. Chances are that if you win
the fight, you'll get it back anyway. If you lose, well, the lost half-track will be the least of your worries. (Phil)

Tank riders :
- If I have 10 tanks, all of them with a infantry team on it, and they assaults a enemy infantry platoon that is
pinned down, the tanks are hit 3 teams and loses 2 infantry teams, the tanks are unhurt ?
Remember the Tank Riders are Passenger teams. As such, any hit on a tank in the assault would also hit the
tank's Passengers. Any hit on an infantry team automatically destroys it.
Therefore having Tank Riders (as opposed to Tankodesantniki) on a tank in an assault is a quick way to lose
them.(Phil)
- Then during the tanks counterassault can the tank riders dismount and fight in the assault, even when they
are another platoon?
They can dismount, but they cannot take part in the assault. However, since they are not assaulting, they
cannot end their movement within 2"/5cm of an enemy team. This would generally force them to run back out
of the assault when they dismount.(Phil)
- And what will happen if they get hit more then 5 times ?
Assuming you are talking about defensive fire, the result would be that the Tank Rider Platoon is Pinned
Down. Since they are not assaulting, merely being dragged into the carnage as passengers, the assault
continues.
As you can see, it is not a good idea to be a passenger on a tank when it drives into an enemy position! if the
tanks are planning on assaulting, the infantry should get off in their Movement step and assault seperately on
foot.
The Tank Rider Company uses its tanks as transport to get to the battle zone, not as assault vehicles. That's
the job of the (rather suicidal) Tankodesantniki.(Phil)

- Can the Tank Rider platoon be split up and allocated to different tank platoons as riders ? How can they do
this and still stay in command ?
A Tank Rider platoon could mount multiple Tank Companies and be carried in different directions, but it
would be pointless since one half would then have to move back to the other when it dismounted.
If you mean the Tankodesantniki of one Tank Company mounting the tanks of another, once again you could I
suppose, but don't be surprised if their parent platoon starts having to do strange things because half of its
platoon are Pinned Down elsewhere! of course, they would do nothing and die in droves with the normal 5+
save since the rules state mounted on a Tank of their own Company. (Phil)

- Can your fire specifically target tanks with tank riders? Say a HMG team gets hits on a Company of T-34's,
but only half have riders? Can you nominate a priority target for the tanks with riders? Since the HMG cannot
harm the T-34's but can really punish the tank riders, wouldn't the HMG teams target that which it can hurt?
Just target the tank riders instead.(Phil)

Dismounting cavalry :
*Page 44: Change “at the start of their movement” to “at the start of the Movement Step” in Dismounting Cavalry.
Once again, a small rephrasing that makes the intent much clearer.

Leaving the Battlefield :

Movement Special Rules :

Unreliable vehicle in double move :

- Where does the unreliable vehicle break down?
It breaks down when it attempts to move at the double. So it goes nowhere (maybe the driver just revved it to
much before dropping the clutch!).(Phil)

- Consider a KV-1 platoon that is going to move at the double. They are all in Command. If attempted, they
check, one by one, to see if they breakdown. If so, they breakdown at the start of their move. All unreliable
8
units in a platoon attempting to move at the Double roll at the same time rather than test - move - test - move,
so that you know who will move and who won't ?
The whole platoon is attempting to move at the double as soon as one of them does, so rolling all at the start.
(Phil)
Command and Control :

Guns in Command :
- If Immobile Gun Teams become "out of command" due to casualties what do they do, assuming their
transport was sent to the rear and they can't move. Do they sit in place and can they keep firing? I also assume
no out of command gun teams capable of bombardment can participate in a Bombardment?
There is no requirement to be in command to fire a bombardment, so they can keep firing. (Phil)
My example refers to a British Platoon of 6 Bofors 40mm AA gun teams spread out to protect from German
Air attacks, if any of the centrally positioned gun teams are destroyed, some gun teams may then become out
of command, but with no chance to move since they are immobile. Can the out of command gun teams keep
firing AA?
Yes (Phil)
Second example involves a German 105mm Howitzer battery that loses a gun team in the middle/center of the
formation, thus making one flank gun team out of command, but two still within command range of the
platoon CO and the Staff Team. I assume the two gun teams in command may still Bombard (re-rolling for
hits) but the out of command gun team cannot bombard?
All guns can still fire (Phil)

Command and Movement :

- A platoon command can move as he likes as long as he moves with at least half of the teams in the platoon .
How does this work out with a 2 team platoon (command + one other team) ?
I think that the command could move on his own leaving the other team in place but my friend thinks he
should move with half of the other teams in the platoon and somehow I' ve become unsure myself. I think :
The platoon commander must remain or move towards majority of the platoon. In my example of a 2 team
platoon (command + another) then they have to remain within command of each other.
We don't count the platoon commander when your figuring out where the majority of the platoon is for
command movement. see page 49 of HB-MRB for full rules. It’s correct ?
It's only Transport teams that don't count. if the Command team is part of the platoon, then it counts. (Phil)

- The 251s ( in a LW Aufklarung lt AT Zug ) can move about the battlefield as long as they remain in
command & control. Correct? Could the zug command "drop-off" the AT guns and then move out with the
transports? Sounds very cheesy, but want to make sure its legal. Nice way to get 4 roving bands of 251s that
can assist the attack elsewhere.
No. The command team must keep half of the non-transport teams in command.(Phil)

Independent Teams :
*Page 50: Change “Starting Step” to “Shooting Step” in the Command Leadership example. Mea culpa. You don’t take
Platoon Morale Checks in the Starting Step!

- Is the 2iC an Independent Team?

The 2iC is an Independent team.(Phil)

- In some missions, deploying teams cannot be within X"/cm of enemy teams. But then AFTER the
deployment of platoons, independent teams (and HQ leaderless platoons) are deployed - usually stating within
the player's deployment area but NOT with the restrictions applied to the rest of the force.
Do Independent Teams and HQ platoon teams not attached have to abide by the "not within" restrictions that
apply to the rest of the force when deploying ?

9
They deploy following the rules for all other platoons unless otherwise stated.(Phil)

- p.28 : Independent Team's Transport. Exactly which transport belongs to which IT is not defined in the Intel
books. Does the player choose? Can you change this during the game? ex. US Ar Rifle Company HQ - two
IT’s, two transports. Which goes with which?
Correct. The rule on page 20 says that a Transport team rides in the vehicles of its own squad or section. The
members of that squad or section can choose which vehicle to ride in at will. (Phil)

-When the "non gtg" independent team joins the gtg infantry platoon, what happens to the gtg status of the
infantry platoon ? Does it loose its gtg status? If not, how do you resolve shooting modifiers?
A platoon is never Gone to Ground, only a team is. If the team is part of the platoon, then teams shooting at
that platoon can use that team to determine their to hit score if it is the easiest target. (Phil)

- An independent team may join a platoon at the start of any step - does this apply to i.teams in reserve too?
i.e. can I attach an observer/CO/CiC held in reserve to a platoon in reserve and bring them onto the table
together? And, as the attacker in the roadblock mission, can I join i.teams during deployment to other platoons
(the one being ambushed or the ´bodyguards`) ?
Deployment in Flames Of War refers to placing models on the table. Platoons held in reserve have not been
deployed. They are held in reserve.
While the rules do state that independent teams must deploy on table (or with a platoon in ambush) at the
start of the game in most missions, it makes sense to allow them to attach themselves to platoons held in
reserve as well. This would make a good house rule I think. (Phil)

- An independent team joins a platoon. What’s happen if the platoon fail its Platoon Moral Check ?
An independent team that joins a platoon is part of that platoon until the step is over. Since taking Platoon
Morale Checks is part of the step, it isn't over until that has been done.
Therefore if an independent team joins a platoon that the fails its Platoon Morale Check and runs, the
independent team goes with it (Phil).

- If a platoon is being shot at before an assault by artillery with the 2ic in command but not under the template
and the platoon is pinned. Is the 2IC pined for defensive fire? Or can he fire at full rate? also if the 2ic
attaches to a pinned platoon is he pinned for defensive fire?
I know that independent teams join the nearest platoon when being fired upon directly. But does the 2ic have
to be under the template or targeted to be pinned when firing indirectly? Or will he be pinned because the
platoon he is located near has been pinned?
He will always be pinned down. See Independent Teams Defending on page 113.
If he is within 4" he is being assaulted (see Defensive Fire rules), since he is being assaulted, he has to join a
platoon, becoming pinned down.(Phil)

- Can I join my CiC just before a moral Check ?

We allow commanders to join at any time, including after failing a Motivation test, but before carrying out the
result of failing.
This can produce some interesting dilemmas. My Co ran off last week when he tried to stop a platoon from
running away at the last moment. I debated it for a few moments and decided that 50:50 was worth it to keep
the platoon in battle. (Phil)

- If multiple platoons must check morale can you wait until after all have checked before deciding to use your
Company Commander to re-roll?
I understand Phil’s answer in a previous thread allows the CC to attach to re-roll AFTER a failed roll.
However I do not think this answer deals with the issue of multiple platoons.
Ultimately it comes down to this question:
Do you go ALL the way through the process for failed morale from first test to removal for one platoon,
THEN move on? OR Do you do one part of the process for ALL platoons before moving on the next sub-
step?

10
Once a roll (and reroll if any) is made, the effect takes place, so the platoon would be removed from the table.
You then move on to the next platoon and roll its morale check. You cannot roll another platoon's morale
check and then go back and try and influence the first one's. That is over and done with.(Phil)

A CinC rerolls and out of command team question : A British tank platoon is separated widely enough due to
casualties that its left most tank is beyond command distance from its platoon command tank. The CinC is
within command distance of the platoon command tank, but not the leftmost tank. In my turn I bail the
leftmost, out of command tank. In his starting step, he fails to bail in the leftmost tank, attaches the CinC to
the platoon command tank and claims a reroll of the bail in attempt. Huh? Says I. I can't find in the rules
where it prohibits this, but taken to its rules lawyerish extreme it could be a problem. What is to keep me from
leaving a single team from each of my platoons behind as I move, gathered about the CinC, allowing him to
attach to any platoon, anywhere on the board?
Since the teams left with the CO had to be in command at some point, you must have deployed all of your
platoons in a group around the CO and then driven off with half of each platoon.
Seems a high cost for such a small gain. You lose 1/3 of your force, deploy in a set way, and all you get is
more flexibility where you have your one re-roll per step.(Phil)

- If a independent team attachs to a Reconnaissance platoon, does that team become a member of the platoon
and thus gain the abilities of that platoon ?
No. They retain their own abilities.(Phil)

- A Panzerkompanie has a Panther as its CO and 2iC tanks. The player running the tank company elects not to
Kampfgruppe.
During the game, he operates both the CO and 2iC tanks as a platoon, and does not join them to any other
platoons. For all intents and purposes, they are both still independent teams and can not take nor contest an
objective, right?
Correct.(Phil)

- Does the rule for leaderless platoons apply for tanks , eg command tank is knocked out, therefore the
remaining platoon can only remain stationary , shoot and take motivation tests.
In the case where the CIC is an infantry team as well as the 2ic , are they able to move up and take command
of the leaderless tank platoon?
The Captain jumps on the back of the tank and says, "Sergeant, I need your tanks over there." The Sergeant
obliges.(Phil)

Bogged/Bailed command tank :

- CCo can take over any tank in the company - is his old tank now a leaderless team? If he joins the platoon
first, does his old tank stay in the platoon ? No mention of 2IC so I assume he has to join a platoon first,
become the PCo and therefore be eligible for the rule allowing the PCo to take over a tank in his platoon.
Same Question - is his old tank still part of the platoon.
If the ex leaders tank is now no longer the independent team, doesn't that mean it is no longer obliged by the
independent team rule to leave the platoon at the end of the step it attached ? i.e. stays as a grunt tank in the
platoon ?
It becomes a regular tank in the platoon the CO took the replacement from. (Phil)

- If in LW a soviet tank commander (CT) jumps in to a Guards tank(FT) what happens to Company moral?
does it become Fearless?
No.
However ,the Unknown Hero rules for Italian, explicitly changes the teams ratings. Changing to another tank
does not. (Phil)

11
 Shooting :
*Page 53: Change “then they simply don’t shoot” to “then you usually won’t shoot with them” in Splitting Your
Platoon’s Fire. The new phrasing clarifies the intent of the rule which is that they don’t normally shoot simply because
they have no effect, not that they are forbidden to shoot if for some reason the player wants them to.

Check that The Target is Valid :

Line of Sight :
- Line of Sight and being able to shoot are the same thing ?
Line of Sight and being able to shoot are two totally different things.
You must have Line of Sight and not be firing over friendly teams to shoot.
You simply need Line of Sight to Fight in an Assault (or spot for artillery for that matter).(Phil)

- Quoting from memory here, but I think it was any part covered, means concealment and over 50% covered
means no shot .It’s exact ?
If you can see more than a trivial part of the target, you can shoot at it. If you can see at least half of it
unobscured, then it is not concealed. There can not be any clear answer to how much of a team you need to be
able to see as any attempt to define it will simply lead to other abuses.
The rules have a section saying 'Use Common Sense' on this matter. It is silly and unreasonable to shoot at a
microscopic sliver of base. Where this turns into reasonable and sensible is not clear, but most players seem
to be able to come to an agreement on the matter. The declarative approach mentioned above makes this
much easier. If you simply state, 'I'm moving out of sight here' when you move, your opponent can either say
'Fair enough', 'You'll need to shuffle the model a few millimetres further left ... Great, you're hidden now', or
'You have to be kidding'. The first two keep things moving quickly and resolve the problem. The 'You have to
be kidding' option leaves room for discussion and an early agreement on the issue. (Phil)

- My question concerns LOS and hills per page 60. Specifically shorter hills conceal teams seen over them.
Do they automatically conceal teams seen over them, or is it if they meet the concealed by terrain rules on
page 58? Basically what I mean, it is possible for two opposing tanks to have a very small hill, or the
feathered edge of a larger hill in between them yet the hill does not interfere with LOS. Would the tanks be
concealed because there is a hill in between them per page 60, or would they not be concealed per page 58?
I realize the simple approach is usually the best, but I get lost on which is the simple approach on this one.
Getting down and taking a look to see if you are concealed per page 58 seems pretty simple. Then again,
shorter hills conceal teams seen over them per page 60 seems pretty simple, and also very cut and dry.
Maybe page 60 should actually say "shorter hills MAY conceal teams seen over them"?
The basic rule for being Concealed is that you must be at least half behind the concealing terrain. If the tank
is just barely behind the hill, then it won't be concealed.(Phil)

- From the VB battle report: "The Jagdpanzer next behind the recently destroyed vehicle moves forward to
take his place holding the o b j e c tive. It then fired at the Motor Platoon, which because of tank wreckage
meant that only the PIAT and a MG team were visible to the Jagdpanzers." Tank wreckage does not block
LOS, it only provides Concealment. Was this a mistake or am I mistaken ?
The tanks had occupied most of the hedgerow leaving room for only a few infantry teams against the
hedgerow. When the tanks were destroyed, no infantry moved up to take their place, so only the two teams
were visible through the hedgerow.(Phil)

- This last weekend I played some games with a great bunch of guys that I had never gamed with before. They
were playing with, what I believe is, an old and incorrect understanding of the rule. When V2 first came out
there was discussion about the Shooting Between Terrain Features Rule. Evidently some people were playing
it as a 1" wide corridor. Does anybody know of a surviving source of this rules clarification ?
The rule was deliberately written in terms of the distance between the terrain features (rather than in terms of
their distance perpendicular to the line of fire, the 'corridor' approach). This is to keep it simple.
Yes, there are odd circumstances where the terrain features are more than 1" apart, but the line of sight is
angled so that they appear to be almost touching. This rule does not cover that circumstance.
12
On the other hand, the rules on Concealment in general (particularly the diagram of three tanks) point out
that if you can only see a trivial amount of the enemy, then it counts as completely out of sight. This plus
common sense should resolve most problems.(Phil)

- Lines of sight (vertical obstructions) : If you play strict WYSIWIG LOS do you have to see more than the
head of an infantry stand? If I can see the top of an 88mm gun shield is visible. I assume from the wording in
the book that if I can see half the model then I can see it.
If you can see more than half the model it is not concealed. If you can see more than a trivial part of the
model it is visible but concealed. If you can only see a trivial part of the model, then it is not visible. The
definition of trivial is deliberately left open.(Phil)

Rotating team :
- The problems still stand. p35 mini RB infers that the immobile guns must still have a target with which to
alter their field of fire towards. p32 - they do not have a valid target, therefore cannot fire, therefore cannot
rotate. Otherwise you might just as well give them 360 degree arc of fire.
Immobile guns can rotate as part of movement as well. They just cannot move any distance.(Phil)
- Troops can easily get out of command by rotating. This happened to me the other night with a Breakthrough
mission: my Soviet mortars (3 gun teams plus command) were nicely spread out in line abreast to avoid
template weapons. I turned 90 degrees to face enemy reserves and all went out of command. My platoon
leader then had to leave his foxhole and sit between two of the teams to bring at least half back under
command (p27 mini RB). Being in command is still an issue I'm afraid.
The corrections to the mini rulebook to bring it in line with the main rulebook (available in more Lessons
From the Front) add the words if they move at all to the rule you are referring to. If the Platoon Command
team doesn't move, then all is fine.(Phil)

- If you fire at a target, you have to rotate the firing team (or the turret of the tank if you only use turret
weapons) towards the target. This way your field of fire might change, therefore you have to rotate the teams.
But what happen if your infantry stand is just behind a stone wall and is firing to a target that is just 30° from
the front of the stand. Do you have to rotate the stand? If you do so you will not be in contact with the wall
anymore (only the corner) and you will have no more LOF. The same question apply to unit in building...
Teams in a building can be anywhere in the building as all teams in the building are adjacent to all openings
in the building.
A team with its corner touching a wall is certainly adjacent to it, so once again, it has no problem. The main
function of this rule is simply visual. It is really weird for a tank or gun to be shooting at something while
pointing in the opposite direction! (Phil)

- Lets say a Stug with it's 180 LOS in the front has 2 enemy tanks at 10 and 2 o'clock. It's going to shoot at the
first one because it's in its front arc. Do I have to turn the model fully to place it at the tanks 12 o'clock
therefore giving the other tank a flank shot on my Stug?
Your field of fire is determined before rotating your weapon to point at the enemy. What is or isn't in the arc
of the weapon after this point does not matter. In the case of an assault gun with two targets in front of it, but
one off to each side, one assumes that it rotated to fire at one then rotated back to fire at the other, ending the
rotation pointing that way. (Phil)

Tank turret :
- The rules state to "rotate your teams, or their turrets". Is anyone really sure that you have to move the turret?
Maybe its a choice and the tank can rotate just like a hull mounted gun if the player chooses to ? The tank
would just have the option or rotating its turret if something where out of it's front 180.
The turret has a 360-degree field of fire and can rotate within that without penalty.
The hull-mounted weapons do not have a 360-degree field of fire. Any rotation outside their 180-degree field
of fire is movement.
You cannot rotate the hull just because the turret is rotating (Phil).
- Rotating a turret is a movement ?
Rotating happens at the end of movement (page 16), or as part of shooting to point at your target.(Phil)

13
- Does turning a turret on a tank in rough terrain, ONLY THE TURRET, while in the movement step, create a
bog test ?
Yes. It is movement.(Phil)
- Does turning a turret on a tank in rough terrain, ONLY THE TURRET, while in the shooting step, create a
bog test ?
No. The rules say it does not count as movement.(Phil)
- Does turning a turret on a tank in rough terrain, ONLY THE TURRET, while in the assault step for
Defensive Fire, create a bog test ?
No. It uses the Shooting rules.(Phil)

- The target team is within 180-degree field of fire. The shooting tank has a turret and a hull MG.
a) Does the tank has to rotate the turret or does it has to rotate the hull?
You can either rotate the turret or treat the tank as an SP gun and rotate the hull and turret to point at the
target.(Phil)
b) Does it make a difference if the hull mounted weapon (the hull MG) has no chance to hit (range OR
antitank) the target?
A weapon does not need to be able to damage a target to fire at it (and never has had to).(Phil)

Check if the Target is Concealed :

*Page 61: Change “Although it is possible to see into tall area terrain you cannot see through it, even if it is less than
6”/15cm deep. Troops behind tall area terrain cannot be seen by anyone on the other side.” to “Teams in area terrain that
is shorter than either or both the teams trying to see and those they are trying to see can bee seen, but are Concealed.
They can see other teams outside the area terrain as normal.” to Teams Inside Area Terrain. This removes the
duplication with the Teams Behind Area Terrain section and clarifies the situation for teams sitting in shorter area
terrain.

- Whenever LOS issues arise, the rules dictate that you would need to be able to get at least half of the target
within your crosshairs in order to shoot. Additionally, the target would receive a Concealment bonus. It’s
correct ?
Not quite. If you can see more than half of the target, it is not concealed at all. If you can only see a sliver of
the target, you cannot shoot at it. Anything between is a concealed target. (Phil)

- The Finns have set up a battery of 81mm mortars in a cornfield. If one of the gun teams is within 4" of the
side (North) edge, but not touching it, do they count as Hidden (not visible at all) or just Concealed (+1 to
hit)? Second, the mortars are all well over 4" from the front (East) edge of the cornfield. They are out of sight
from level ground, but the Russians have an artillery battery HQ on a ridge overlooking the cornfield; can he
see them?
A corn field would be area terrain like a wood.
If either team were taller than the corn (but not twice as tall), both would be concealed when looking across
the corn.
If both were shorter than the corn, they can only see and be seen at 6"/15cm range.
A team at the edge will be concealed but able to see and be seen freely.(Phil)

- If 2 concealed teams of an enemy platoon are within reach for me to shoot at, and the rest of the platoon out
of reach and without concealment, do both teams still get the concealment bonus ? We have 2 options :
Option 1: Only targets that are within range and fire arc are valid targets. If all such targets are concealed then
the concealment +1 to hit applies, even if other teams in the same platoon are in LOS and not concealed.
Option 2: Teams that are not concealed reveal the location of concealed teams. The target platoon is only
considered concealed if all teams in LOS of the shooting team are concealed, even if the unconcealed teams
are not in range or arc of fire of the firing team.
While a close reading of the rules supports option 1, I have always played option 2.
Option 1, nonetheless has to be the correct interpretation since otherwise teams outside of LOS but within
16"/40cm would attract a +1 penalty to hit (for being concealed) making them the easier target over a team

14
more than 16"/40cm away that is a valid target and is concealed (+2 to hit). In this case a team that is
completely unknown to the shooting team would still make the rest of the platoon easier to hit unless option 1
applied.(Phil)
- So if I understand you correctly, you are saying that we can't allow teams out of range to affect the
vulnerability of teams in range otherwise there'd be no reason to suppose that teams out of LOS wouldn't
affect teams in LOS, is that correct ?
Correct.(Phil)

- Where does the tree line end, and the open ground begin for the concealment ?
Trumped by Teams at the Edge of Area Terrain on page 61. A team that straddles the edge of area terrain is
Concealed.(Phil)

- Page 61: Change “Although it is possible to see into tall area terrain you cannot see through it, even if it is
less than 6”/15cm deep. Troops behind tall area terrain cannot be seen by anyone on the other side.” to
“Teams in area terrain that is shorter than either or both the teams trying to see and those they are trying to see
can bee seen, but are Concealed. They can see other teams outside the area terrain as normal.” to Teams
Inside Area Terrain. This removes the duplication with the Teams Behind Area Terrain section and clarifies
the situation for teams sitting in shorter area terrain. I'm trying to understand this one and it is hard to figure
out. The best I can come up with is that if a team has a base depth that is greater than the width of the area
terrain it is occupying, the ' be within 6" ' to see it rule does not apply. So, little teams can hide but a King
Tiger would have trouble, but when being the seer the King Tiger can use its depth to help it spot. This may
result in a lot of measuring. Or I've got it completely wrong, which is more than possible.
I've obviously failed dismally in this one then!
This is about the height of the team, not its other dimensions. Lets go through page 61 section by section.
Teams Behind Area Terrain
Basically if it's taller than both, you can't see, otherwise they are concealed to each other.
Teams At The Edge Of Area Terrain
The one in the terrain is Concealed, the other one isn't.
Teams Inside Area Terrain
The first paragraph (which remains unchanged) says that if the terrain is taller than the team in it, then it can
only see and be seen at 6"/15cm.
The old second paragraph restated Teams Behind Area Terrain. This left the case of teams in shorter area
terrain unstated.
The new second paragraph covers this situation. There are two possible cases.
1. If a tank team is in a cornfield (for instance) that is shorter than themselves, they can see out and be seen
(although are concealed), no matter how big the cornfield is.
2. If a jeep (shorter than the corn) was in the cornfield though, it could see and be seen by a tank outside the
cornfield, but would be concealed, although the tank team would not be. The jeep would only be able to see
another short team at 6"/15cm though.(Phil)

Bunker Buster :
- A building containing 3 enemy infantry teams is hit by two bunker buster weapons. Does each team take 2
saves or 1?
Two.(Phil)
- A weapon firing into a very large building with the bunker buster rating does it hit everyone in the building
or just the room that the targeted team was in.
Huge open spaces with no internal partitions (like the inside of a giant factory) are best treated as normal
open space that just happens to have very high walls around it.
Check out page 222, especially Multi-room Buildings and Rooms.
Basically, you divide your building up into rooms 4-6" across and one floor high and treat each room as a
separate building. Treat big open factories as open space enclosed by walls rather than as a building. Treat
hallways as odd-shaped, long, skinny rooms. (Phil)

- A soviet Kv-1s assault a small inf platoon inside a building, they manage to survive the assault the kills
every inf team inside the build but during consolidation he decide not to move them anymore, so now 3 kv-1s
15
i left inside the building, then i the following turn a German 15cm gun open fire on the build and now we are
not sure on what happens, since the bunker buster rule says that every time inside the builder is hit, but on
what facing and with fire
AT and firepower, and to make matter worse one of the kv-1s was holding so that if they were not i a build it
would have bin hit on side instead of front, but that should not matter if the hole building is explorting around
you.
Interesting. As the rules are written, the shot hits all of the tanks in the building. You could either rationalise
it as the building falling on the tanks, or adopt a house rule saying that only one tank is hit.(Phil)

Going to ground
- Can a Bogged Down vehicle inside concealing terrain that failed its skill test to unbog Go to Ground in the
same turn ?
what about Bailed Out vehicles failing their motivation tests in concealment? can they Go to Ground?
Nothing in the Starting Step is movement. A team that did not move and did not shoot is Gone to Ground. So a
Bogged Down tank is Gone to Ground.(Phil)

- Bailed out tank gone to ground. A tank that didn’t move or shoot that’s concealed gets bailed out ? Is it
classed as gone to ground because of the above or no ?
If the only visible enemy tanks in a unit are concealed and they all stopped doing anything when you hit them,
there is less tendency for the gunners to waste rounds pounding them to scrap. Unless they seem to be getting
ready to do something (equivalent to spotting a gone to ground unit to see the activity), they probably won't
waste ammunition on a 'dead' target.(Phil)

Recce Cautious Movement :

- Can recce infantry claim cautious movement while moving in the open, or do they have to be concealed by
terrain in some way to claim cautious movement?
The Cautious Movement rule only allows teams to be Gone to Ground while moving. It does not remove the
requirement for a team to be Concealed to be Gone to Ground.
The rules for Infantry being Concealed in the open require them not to move to achieve this. Therefore a
recce Infantry team that moves in the open is not Concealed, and thus cannot be Gone to Ground. (Phil)

- If a recce vehicle (Brit Stuart for example) is using cautious movement in the middle of some woods, and it
fails it's bog check, is it still Gone to Ground? I can find nothing that says it loses GTG status.
It moved, but is concealed recce, so of course it is still Gone to Ground. (Phil)

Roll to Hit :

*Page 64: Roll to Hit. Change “score to hit for each team” to “score to hit for each shooting team” in last sentence. Just
to make it really clear which team we are talking about.

- Tank A is bogged and only 5" from the enemy and in the open. Tank B, C and D have been moving for three
turns and are now 39.9" away from the enemy 88 gun. So enforce the Isolated Target rule ? Then you can
shoot at one or the other, not both ?
That rule is applied at the shooter's option, so if the shooter wants to shoot at the whole platoon, they always
can.(Phil)

Allocate Hits to Target Teams :

*Page 67: Shooting at Mixed Platoons. Change “of the priority target type, although exactly which teams” to “of the
priority target type before other types of targets. Exactly which teams”. By splitting the sentence the meaning of each
part becomes more clear.

- The British can't do combat attachments which means that my HMG platoon will never be involved in a
"shooting at mixed platoons" rule. So, am I justified in thinking that they will only ever get a 5+ gun team

16
save? Or does the command team count as an infantry team meaning that any hits from 5+ or 6+ firepower
will allow me to choose to take the saves on my HMG's as infantry teams instead of gun teams?
That rule only affects hit allocation, not saves.(Phil)

- p.45 : Man-packed Gun Teams : Italic Text for Man-packed Gun Teams wrote: "When allocating hits from
weapons with FP 5+ or 6, Man-packed Gun teams can be treated as either Infantry teams or Gun at the target
Player's discretion for the Shooting at Mixed Platoon rule"
and Blocked Text wrote :"Man-packed Gun teams cannot be distinguished from Infantry Teams when
allocating hits from FP 5+ or 6 weapons"
The boxes are summaries not the true letter of the rules, see page 3 of the mini-rule book. (Wayne)
I understand that the italicised words are the precedence. but that doesn't mean this isn't a mistake in the
italicised words with the boxed text being what they meant to say. Maybe I'm missing something, but if you
read the "Shooting at mixed platoon rule"...there's no reason for the above mentioned italicised text to even
exist. Anyone can prioritise guns over infantry anyways...so why go out of your way to specify that 5+ of 6+
weapons can do it when they already can. But… if it was a typo and the boxed text is actually correct. then
there's a reason for the italicised text to exist.
Because the rule says that they cannot, not that they can. (Phil)

- On page 44 it gives an example of hit allocation on a target platoon.

The second example is an HMG that gets 5 hits on a platoon that is more than 8" away.
What is the significance of all the target teams being more than 8" away to hit allocation?
The significance is simply that they are all 8"/20cm away (not more than 8"/20cm). That means that none are
more than 16"/40cm away, so the rules about hitting teams closer than 16"/40cm make no difference. (Phil)

- A Priest troop of 3 guns (2 bailed, 1 active) and the gun troop commander came under fire from a Panther
(or three). The Panthers chose to target Priests over infantry...
The rule for allocating hits says unbailed first, so no issues there... am I required to allocate hits to the bailed
Priests before laying one on the commander or can I lay a hit on the commander before going to the bailed
vehicles? The priority for hits, to me, would indicate the unhit, unpinned but dug-in commander would come
before bailed units... and the rule about aiming at unit types says it is 'subject to the usual rules about
allocating hits' and -that- section says that 'bogged/bailed units are hit after operational ones'.
My argument was that the infantry was 'operational' which places it higher than the bailed Priests for hit
allocation. If I'm wrong then ok but I have to ask about this one... it seems way to wonky and convenient to
me.
Page 67 (45). "Your opponent must allocate hits ... to teams of the priority type, although exactly which teams
of that type are hit is ... subject to the usual rules for allocating hits.
Hits must be allocated to the appropriate type of team, then the normal allocation rules kick in.
In the case mentioned, every tank (including those bailed out or bogged down) takes a hit before any infantry
team.(Phil)
How is this resolved if the Panthers fire both main guns and machineguns? Can the Panthers designate "tanks"
for the main guns and "infantry" for the machineguns? Or are they stuck with only one target prioritisation?
Each team can only have one priority target type.(Phil)
If the latter, then the Priest owning player could place the machinegun hits on the tanks (the priority target)
and then count the main gun hits as spill over onto the infantry (or vice versa). This makes no sense.
That's where the Mixed Anti-tank Ratings rule on the same page comes in.(Phil)

- Had a rule situation come up in a game, and was wondering about proper resolution. Further, if you can cite
the rule that applies, it'd be appreciated. I hit an American Cav Recon squad -- Greyhound and jeep with
mortar team inside -- with some fire from a German AC unit. I hit with 3 2cm shots, and 3 MG shots. He
assigned hits by type of weapon -- allocating first the 2cm hits, 2 to the Greyhound, and 1 to the Jeep, before
then allocating MG hits, 2 to the Jeep, 1 to the Greyhound. I was under the impression that one allocates all
hits according to AT, without separating by weapon -- which is to say the 3 2cm gun hits against his
Greyhound, and the 3 MG hits against his Jeep. What's proper procedure?

17
The hits must be allocated evenly, three to each vehicle, this is by platoon shooting, not by type of weapon.
The hits on the armoured vehicle have to be those with the higher Anti-tank rating, so the 2cm hits are on the
M8 and the MG hits are on the Jeep.(Phil)

Distinguishing tank types :

- So what exactly is the definition of a different chassis? I don’t think they ever specify what chassis is used
on each tank. German models are pretty clear by their naming scheme, but allied tanks less so.
An excellent question that can only be answered by common sense and discussing it with your opponent.
In the Churchill case, I would say that they are the same chassis since the difference is limited to a couple of
hatches being round instead of square and thicker armour.(Phil)

- The Gun Tanks rule allows a player to differentiate targets based on hull-type and/or gun-type. If there was a
German platoon including tanks (say all Panzer IIIMs) with and without schurzen could a player Gun Tank
those? Same hull and gun, but they look considerably different.
I can see the difficulty here. Clearly the presence of Schuerzen makes a big difference to a Bazooka, but little
to a 17 pdr. Using the presence of Schuerzen to pick out the target tank when firing a 17 pdr gun would be
rather excessive. In terms of the Bazooka, one can assume that the tanks with Schuerzen will be attempting to
shield the rest. If they are all in range, then having the Schuerzen take the first hit is not unreasonable.(Phil)

Roll Saves For Teams That Were Hit :

*Page 69: Change “+1 if the range is over 16”/40cm to all teams in the shooting platoon” to “+1 if range to the target
team is over 16”/40cm”. This change brings the rules in line with the only sensible way of playing them.

*Page 73: Add “, except that a hit from a weapon with the Bunker Buster attribute must always be allocated to a team in
a building before a team outside a building” to Unprotected Teams.
Change "The infantry in the open must be allocated hits before those in the building meaning the unprotected teams
receive three hits, and one is allocated to the team in the building” to “The infantry in the open are hit before those in
the building meaning the unprotected teams receive three hits, and one team in the building is also hit” in the example.
As the rules were written technically you could neutralise a bunker buster by putting a single team outside the building!

Pin Down Platoons :

- German Armoured Recon (attacking) vs US Para (defending) : Turn 6 of Fighting Withdrawal. I was dug in
on the objective with my US Para Platoon. During the German turn, Shooting killed 1 stand of my infantry. In
doing so it killed the only stand that could be reached in the assault by a lone Pz II. The German moved in but
could not attack. I passed my motivation check and counter attacked killing the Pz II. My opponent says I was
pinned because I took a hit in the shooting phase which made it impossible for the single Pz II to make an
attack in the assault phase. I said that I wasn't because the loss was suffered in the shooting phase and I did
not take a hit in the assault phase. We diced it. I lost and became pinned. Because the lone Pz II pinned me, I
could only fire 5 times at his charge by his grenadiers instead of the 11 I would have had if I was not pinned.
Didn't get 5 hits and got pushed off the objective. Unsuccessfully counter attacked in my half of turn 6, could
not re-capture the objective. Was I pinned from the first assault by the Pz II?
Yes.(Phil)

- If your platoon becomes pinned the infantry can still mount up (as long as they are not moving toward the
enemy) but the fact still remains that the Platoon is 'Pinned' and will stay that way until you roll a successful
'un-pin' role. I have one last thought on the subject. Which is this - Your pinned platoon has re-mounted their
armoured vehicles. Are those armoured vehicles now able to move toward the enemy as they ignore the
effects of pinning, taking the infantry inside with them? (although why you would want to take pinned troops
closer to the enemy I don't know). Just curious if this is a legal move as I can't imagine a situation when I
would actually want to do it.
Yes you can. Say you have a fairly good chance of unpinning because the CO is joining the platoon this turn,
you might want to move up into an assault position on the assumption that you will unpin next turn.(Phil)

18
Destroyed Teams :

Destroyed armoured vehicles :

- When I combine Moving Near the Enemy, Moving Through Defiles, and Destroyed Armoured Vehicles,
this is what I get:
1. You can move through live enemy and destroyed vehicles except:
2. When it blocks a defile (created by terrain, not other live enemy / wrecks).
2a. In such cases, you can not move a live enemy, but can move through a wreck as Very Difficult Going.
It’s correct?
That's pretty much the intent of the rules.(Phil)
So are you saying the intent is that wrecks don’t create a terrain feature so therefore can not create a defile?
Because when they do matter (such as in a defile) they are Very Difficult Going.(Phil)

- Some tanks on a road with hedges (read as terrain of the difficult variety). The roadway is wide enough for
said tanks to "fit shoulder to shoulder" thus the roadway, for these medium tanks, anyway, is not a defile.
Tanks turn about 45 degrees in order to better fire upon the enemy which they do to minor effect. A mix of
artillery and air support take out one tank, leaving its burning hulk in the middle of the road at a 45 degree
angle. In this position, the model covers about 80% of the roadway from side to side. After a quick, friendly
discussion with my opponent, we determined that, due to the angle the tank was positioned and the fact that a
destroyed tank counts "as Very Difficult Going", that a bog check would have to be made. Note that the same
rule (p 52 minibook) states that "This will only matter when the destroyed vehicle blocks a bridge or a narrow
road..." with no mention of "defile". What do you think about that ?
"After a quick and friendly discussion" sounds like the perfect solution to me. The rules can't possibly handle
every situation and you handled your specific situation perfectly.(Phil)

- Prior to an assault infantry moved onto a destroyed tank. Directly on top. They were then subsequently
assaulted by tanks. Since the infantry are in very difficult going, would that require a bog check to assault
them?
Clearly they are in Rough Terrain so the tank is going the have to test. There is the issue of the tank burning
that could make things a little warm for the infantry though.
My above statements were meant as a guide to state that you cannot create a barrier in an open field simply
by having tanks destroyed there. None has enough tanks to block a field.
OTOH, there is nothing to stop you defining a gap or road as a defile or even as in some case as a two-
vehicle wide defile. It's your terrain after all! (Phil)
- I just could not resist this Phil, the army I saw fighting the Panthers was, 56, yes that is 56 Tanks, I believe
they were T26s and he could cover the whole narrow end of a table when lined up in a row!
56 x T-26 @ 2.4m = 134m
A sight to behold, yes (we play tested it), but an obstacle to movement in an open field, no.(Phil)
In the case I described in the begging the gap was about 8inch from one terrain feature to the next, not
something I would expect to be talked about at the beginning at the game as being a possible defile. When
looking at the game with all the burning tanks between those two feature common sense did seem to indicate
there was an issue.
8"/20cm is a long way in Flames Of War. Most weapons with that range can fire about 200m to 300m. Even
carefully lined up the T-26's would have trouble blocking it!(Phil)

Pinned Down Platoons :

- how do we know which rules to apply the shooting rules to if things like the AA are affected...
The rule about the effect of being Pinned Down is not about Shooting, it is the effect of being Pinned Down.
(Phil)

Pinned down infantry and transport :

- A platoon of panzer grenadiers pinned down. I could only move directly back. I have all my transports
behind my pinned infantry, can I move my infantry back and into my transports?

19
Since the half-tracks are armoured vehicles, they could move up to the infantry and have the infantry mount
them there as well.(Phil)

- Armoured Aufklarungs (250 halftracks) . Platoon is dismounted, two of the halftracks are fired at by british
HMGs and take 5 hits. Only the two halftracks are in view, nobody else. Is the platoon now pinned (except
the halftracks which cant be pinned as they are armoured) ?
The infantry see it as a warning of what will happen if they try to advance, so they decide to sit where they
are. The half-tracks can then continue operating while the infantry get their stuff together again and are
willing to risk those machine-guns themselves.(Phil)

Bailed Out Vehicles :

*Page 76: Add hyphen to “dangerous” in Shooting at Bailed Out Teams.

*Page 76: Change “If a Bailed Out or Bogged Down vehicle is forced to Bail Out again by enemy fire, take an
immediate Motivation Test” to “If a Bailed Out or Bogged Down vehicle is forced to Bail Out again by enemy fire, do
not place a second marker, instead take an immediate Motivation Test”. Once again, a few more words in the sentence
make it much clearer.

- I shoot a platoon of 6lb AT guns at 3 PzIIIs and get 6 hits. Each PzIII is assigned 2 hits. Each PzIII makes an
armour save against each hit. First PzIII fails both saves - less than AT rating of 6lber - and I roll firepower to
kill (if succeed) or bail (if fail). Both fail. Does this reslut in the PzIII team having to: a) Bail (1st hit) and
ignore 2nd hit or b) Bail (1st hit) and take a motivation test (2nd hit) ?
If a tank is bailed out them bailed out again, even if it was by the same platoon's shooting (as in the two hits
allocated and both bail out the target example given above), it must immediately take a Motivation Test for
the second bailed out result.(Phil)

Command Casualties :

*Page 77: Bogged or Bailed Command Tank. Add “Instead it becomes part of the platoon the taken-over tank came
from” at the end of the rule. At present the rule says nothing about what happens to the commander’s old tank!

Warrior Casualties :

- If you destroy a warrior team, you roll a die:

On a 4+ you killed the warrior and the team is destroyed
Otherwise, owning player may designate another friendly team of the same type that is within command
distance of the warrior to take over as the new warrior. Ok, what happens if I don't roll a 4+ and there is no
friendly team of the same type within command distance? Does the Warrior become one of the walking dead?
The warrior survives, but isolated and alone, they stagger to the rear looking for the rest of their unit. (Phil)

- A warrior team (tank or infantry) is killed. They roll the 4+ special save and a nearby team BECOMES
them. Result: What happens to the platoon that the team came from? Does this reduction in strength count as a
casualty? Do they still count it for positive teams?
The team is not Destroyed, so nothing happens to the platoon at all. It is simply one team smaller.(Phil)

- A Brit Armd Car Coy CO (Who is Confident Veteran and has Recce ability) survives the destruction of his
Armd Car. The nearest tank team within command distance is a Sherman (rated Conf Trained) from a
sherman Plt, so the CO transfers to this veteran.
As I understand the rules the Sherman now becomes an independant team, rated as confident vet and has recce
ability. Is this correct ?
Not quite. The Sherman tank become the Company CO and thus a Warrior team, but remains what it was
before, a normal Sherman tank rated Confident Trained.(Phil)

20
Shooting Special Rules :

Protected ammo :
- German tanks get THREE chances to unbail ??? Are German tank crews going to have three chances to
unbail per turn. By my reading, a bailed German tank crew fails it unbail motivation check, but, they have
protected ammo and immediately get a second roll correct? Now, assuming they also fail this roll, and
General Rommel happens to be in the force and in LOS of the bailed crew allows them to re-roll failed
motivation checks. So, the question is do these checks stack thus giving the German bailed tank team three
attempts to unbail or do the two extra attempts cancel each other out and they still only get two tries? I won't
even speculate that by a strict reading of the rules they could possibly have four attempts.
The special rule Protected Ammo gives you a re-roll. This overrides the normal rule that doesn’t give anyone
rerolls to remount a bailed out vehicle. However, it does nowhere does it say anything that overrides the rule
that you may only have one reroll.
All of the rules allowing rerolls say something to the effect of "you may reroll this roll". No matter how many
rules say "you may reroll roll X", you may still only reroll roll X once unless some other rule says you may
reroll it more than once. The only rule that says this is the Komissar rule.
If you argue to the contrary, then all rerolls could be rerolled, and the rule on page three would be
unnecessary! (Phil)

Slow traverse:
- Should page 58 Slow Traverse read: Tanks with a slow traverse add +1 to the score required to hit when
shooting any weapons at targets that are entirely behind a line drawn across the front of the tank's TURRET
before it moves at the start of the shooting step. Instead of hull ?
No. The Slow Traverse rule is exactly as intended. (Phil)
- This rule is intended to affect the bow MG which is not in the turret ?
If you can fire at a target behind the line across the hull front with a hull MG, then yes!(Phil)

Foxholes :

- Is it possible to dig in katyushas, transports, motorcycles, etc.? Where in the rulebook is stated that vehicles
can't dig in??
The rules don't stop vehicles from digging in, however doing so has absolutely no effect.(Phil)

Dismount and Dig in :

- Can I dismount the LMGs and attempt to dig them in? Move the rest of the PLT elsewhere ?
1. You cannot dig in if you started the Movement step mounted. Dismounting counts as movement. Digging in
is instead of movement. One or the other.
2. If teams cannot dig in, they do not and can do whatever they want instead. So, since the troops in the half-
tracks cannot dig in, they can get out and start walking if they wish.(Phil)

Smoke Ammunitions :

Smoke and Aircraft

- You said the rule on page 121 was the only way to get concealment from aircraft. Does that mean that
smoke does not provide concealment from aircraft?
Yes. Smoke was often used to mark targets for aircraft. The instruction "bomb the smoke" works fine.(Phil)

- If a team is inside a smoke screen can aircraft still target it even though the second and third aircraft in the
flight will usually be more than 6 inches away from the target in the smoke screen?
Only the position of the first aircraft matters as all will bomb from this point, one after the other.(Phil)

- How does a smoke screen affect AA guns firing at aircraft ?

Since the guns are in the smoke, the aircraft are concealed, but can be shot at.
21
I'd just like to point out that smoking an observer team will not stop it from calling an All Guns Repeat
bombardment. The only restrictions are that they do not move shoot or assault. (Phil)

- Would like to know that since aircraft can attack a target that is smoked, could an arty unit call an AGR (Al
Guns Repeat) on a target that is smoked ?
The simple problem with smoke is that the gunners have to bring up a new supply of smoke ammunition to fire
a smoke bombardment again. It takes every smoke shell they have just to fire one screen. The delay in getting
more ammunition means new meteorological conditions, confirming the target is still there, hence new
ranging in. (Phil)
Flame-Throwers :

- If I upgrade one of my rifle teams to a flamethrower, do they continue to shoot as a rifle team until the
flamethrower shoots and the team is removed ?
The Rifle team is replaced with a Flame-thrower team, not upgraded. A Flame-thrower team can only shoot
with its own statistics, just like any other team.(Phil)

- If a flamethrower team shoots and is then removed, but this removal now puts all teams in that platoon out
of 4" of an enemy platoon it could otherwise have assaulted, can the platoon make use of the shooting is too
successful rule ?
Yes .(Phil)

- Does a Pioneer/sapper team that is upgraded to a flamethrower team retain the pioneer/sapper status or are
they basic infantry. The difference is AT 4 in assault as a pioneer versus AT2 in assault as an infantryman.
I believe the wording is replace one Pioneer Rifle team with a Flame-thrower team. Since the Flame-thrower
team is not listed as a Pioneer Flame-thrower team it is not.
Had it said replace a Rifle team with a Flame-thrower team, then the implication would have been that the
Pioneer attribute carried over since it is not mentioned either way. (Phil)

- Can the Midwar German Flammepanzers make an assault? I can find nothing in the rule book of in ostfront
that says they can't, i've been told it was settled in lessons from the front but i can't find it in there either.
At present they can. We decided that it was not something we wanted to have in Festung Europa. However,
the mid-war books still allow it.(Phil)

Vehicles Weapons :

Vehicles Machine-guns :

*Page 87: Turret-rear MG. Change heading to “Turret-rear MG” without the ‘R’ capitalised. Change “Any team
assaulting a vehicle armed with a turret-rear MG” to “Any team assaulting a vehicle armed with a turret-rear MG that is
not Bailed Out”. Bailed out vehicles aren’t going to gain much protection from a weapon that isn’t manned.
Change “doubling the effective firepower that can be levelled at a target” to “doubling the effective firepower of the
mounting” in Twin MG. Minor wording change that makes the sentence more accurate, but changes nothing!

AA MG :
- Some of the units that previously had Self-Defence AA MG's have a weapon simply called an AA MG?
With no reduction to ROF for being classed as a Self-Defence weapon system?
AA MG are always Self Defence AA.
Some other weapons are also Self Defence AA. take the Sd Kfz 222 for instance. It's 2cm KwK38 is capable of
firing at aircraft, but it is not a dedicated AA vehicle, so its 2cm gun has the Self Defence AA attribute.(Phil)

- An AAMG is a vehicle MG (ROF3, range 16", FP6+) that can also be fired skywards ?
That's the definition of it. Yes. (Phil)

22
- I believe that I read in the rulebook that if you fire your AA gun, you cannot fire your main gun? But for the
life of me I cannot find it, does anyone know where this is, if at all? The question comes up because if I am
attacking (with planes) a platoon of US Mortar Halftracks and they elect to shoot their AA at my planes in an
effort to reduce losses, does this mean they can’t fire their Mortars in their subsequent shooting phase ?
The AA MG rule is on page 87. The last paragraph states that an AA MG cannot be fired at the same time as
a main gun, although they can be fired at the same time as other machine-guns.(Phil)

Passenger-fired AAMG :
- I'm still wondering if I can have another one of my teams ride with the platoon commander so that all 4 of
my HT's can have AAMG's?
No need. Any passenger can fire the passenger-fired AA MG, and the Platoon Command team is a
passenger.(Phil)
- If it's just a passenger fired aamg, doesn't it get 360 degree field of fire?
Yes it does. (Phil)

- AA MG's can fire while pinned (at full ROF on armoured vehicles, ROF 1 on unarmored vehicles), or is it
simply an omission, and the old v.1 rule is still in effect?
The rule isn't in second edition, so no, it isn't there!(Phil)

Bailed Tank with Turret Rear MG :

- First rule (Pg 76 MRB) "Bailed out vehicles may not move or fight until the crew remounts the vehicle"-Vs-
Second rule (Pg 87 MRB) "A turret-rear MG may not shoot. It's function if purely defensive. Any team
assaulting a vehicle armed with a turret-rear MG, must re-roll and successful Skill test to hit. etc....."
It is my interpretation that BAILED OUT VEHICLES MAY NOT MOVE OR FIGHT so it could not use the
turret-rear MG in an assault. It’s right ?
Using the Turret Rear MG is a form of fighting. It cannot be used by a bailed out vehicle. (Phil)

Infantry Weapons :

Man-Packed Guns :

Large Guns :

Snipers :

*Page 92: Change “Snipers are always rated as” to “Snipers are Infantry teams and are always rated as”. Yep, we never
said that snipers were infantry teams. Obvious, but we never said it!

- So what comes under the term "terrain feature"? Can a Sniper deploy on a hill, or is the intention area
terrain?
Check out page 36 of the mini rule book (page 58? full rule book) under Concealed by terrain. A hill is listed
as a 'Terrain Feature'. Normally a team would have to be at least half hidden by the hill to be concealed.
However, Snipers are always concealed. The requirement to be in a terrain feature helps make them a little
more sensible in where they appear. Most hills are not smooth domes, but have plenty of nooks and crannies
for someone to hide in. (Phil)

- If a sniper shoots at a platoon with a Scot 2iC attached and the defender allocates the hit to the 2iC is the
platoon Pinned? The sniper rules say the platoon is pinned. The Bagpipe rules Say hits on the 2iC don’t count
to pin the platoon.
Any hits assigned to the piper do not count for pinning down the platoon.
Thus any hits on the team by a sniper (or flamethrower for that matter) do not count for pinning down the
platoon. If the piper was the only team hit, the platoon is not pinned down and continues on. The piper lies in
the dirt, mortally wounded, but playing on, inspiring the troops to revenge them against the sassenachs.(Phil)

23
- "Sniper's Hide" points that a Sniper must be deployed in an "terrain feature"; which a building is. But once
deployed, it cannot move. But the rule "Occupying Openings" allows an infantry team to switch the opening
they are using at the start of any Step; so it's not a movement.
So I guess a Sniper inside a building may not leave the building, but he could change the opening through he's
shooting at will, couldn't he ?
Changing openings is not movement for infantry teams (otherwise teams would suffer ROF penalties when
changing openings, which they don't).
Since it is not movement, there is nothing in the building rules to stop a sniper changing between openings in
a building.
However, the sniper rule isn't about movement in the game sense, it is about changing their position in any
way at all.
Once placed, the model of a sniper cannot be moved.
The basis of how I'd play it is simply that a sniper occupies a spot and sits their until it becomes too
dangerous, then leaves. They do not attempt to defend their spot. If it is threatened, they head out the back
way and come back tomorrow.
On that basis, I can't see a sniper changing window. That's a quick way to become an ex-sniper!
On the other hand, they are an infantry team and I see no problem with them rotating to face an enemy. (Phil)

Assaults :
Some situations :
- Three platoons: Germans: G1 Allies: A1 and A2
G1 moves into base contact with A1 during assault. A2 (another allied platoon) is behind A1 (now 3” away
from G1). Per the rules, both A1 and A2 can fire Defensive fire at G1 (assuming they meet LOS requirements
and such). The rule states:
p77 "Any enemy platoon that has teams within 4” of an assaulting team is counted as being assaulted and is
eligible to conduct defensive fire. A platoon does not need to be in contact with the enemy to count as an
assaulted platoon."
Does “being assaulted” meant that now both A1 and A2 are being assaulted thus having to both pass
motivation tests to counter attack and both being able to counterattack ?
Correct.(Phil)
G1 moves into base contact with A1 during assault. A2 (another allied platoon) is behind A1 (now 1.5” away
from G1). Can G1 do this? G1 cant reach A2 due to A1 bases being in the way, so can G1 assault A1 without
breaking the ‘Other Enemy Platoons” rule on page 75? “…assaulting teams may not move within 2” of any
team in a platoon that they are not assaulting” Does the above situation# 1 fix this ?
They simply choose both enemy platoons as the platoons they are assaulting. (Phil)

- Ok situation:
Plt. A assaults Plt. X and Y (as per all the assault rules, 4" etc).
Plt. X is hit, fails motivation and runs off.
Plt. A and Y fight some more, A wipes Y out. During the assault charge into contact moves, Plt. A has
managed to get some teams within 4" of the already assaulted Plt. X.
Can Plt. A breakthrough assault Plt. X?
The intention is that you can breakthrough against any platoon within 4"/10cm, even if you had assaulted
them earlier.
The defender can break off up to their full move, so you would have to advance quite a bit to force them back
into the fight if they did not want to.(Phil)

- A situation we had last night.... lets say that your platoon has half of its teams shoot at platoon A and half
shoot at platoon B. When it comes time for assault, do you send your platoon at platoon A and B at the same
time (single round of defensive fire, counter assault, etc) and treat it as a single combat, or do you treat the
assault on platoon A as a different assault than the one on platoon B ?

24
If platoon B is within charge range, then half of the platoon charges each platoon and the fight is on. It's one
big furball.
If platoon B is not within charge range, then those that shot at platoon B cannot take part in the assault. They
are giving covering fire and will have to wait until the breakthrough to get involved. (Phil)

- Lets the call the teams from the attacking plt -- 1 and 2 and the two defending plts A and B. Remembering
that the attacking plt has split is fire with some teams firing on A and the other on B
1 fires at A and 2 fires at B.
1 charges A but does not drag B into the assault as it is out of DF activation range. The assault between 1 and
A goes on to its conclusion.
(Defender) A wins 1 is destroyed or breaks off the assault is over.
or
(Attacker) 1 wins because A is destroyed or breaks off, Now the rest of the attacking plt in this case the teams
I have named 2 (which could not assault against A) can do a breakthrough assault on the teams they fired at in
this case it would B (off course we are assuming that B is close enough based on the original question) The
teams from the first part of the assault (teams 1 of the plt) can now join with teams 2 in the breakthrough.
I don’t believe the breakthrough has to be done by teams from 1 alone, it can be any part of the plt and 2 can
assault B because it fired on them.
The only restriction on 2 is that it can not partake in the initial assault onto A
OR
1 launches assault into A which would bring B into the assault because B would be activated from defensive
fire, so 2 also launches the assault against B at the same time.
To quote Phil "It's one big furball. "
Or 1 charges A and 2 charges B both at the same time.
You can only assault with one platoon at a time, but can assault as many platoons as you want to at once
(assuming big enough nuts for the job if there are many platoons to be assaulted!).(Phil)

- My Airborne platoon was in a mix of open terrain/wood 4" away from a single gun team of a German 20mm
AA platoon. The rest of that platoon was spread out in the direction of the assault at max command distance.
Additionally, there was a StuH42 within 6" of my Airborne platoon.
So that's the basics - Shooting now commenced. I destroyed the one 20mm AA gun that was within range of
my assault. Under the shooting was too successful rule I went ahead and assaulted - since the StuH was within
4" of my assaulting teams after the assault move was completed it got to conduct defensive fire. Obviously it
failed to pin my platoon.
Here's my origination of the first question - should I have taken a tank terror test in order to assault the AA
platoon because the StuH ended up participating in the assault. (Just to be safe I went ahead and rolled it -
rolled a 6 - so I passed there)
No. The platoon you launched the assault against was the AA platoon and since the StuG was more than
2"/5cm away it does not have to be assaulted. (Phil)
Now we get to the meat. Do I continue using the the Shooting was too Successful rule where there are no
defending platoons within 2" (the StuH after the assault move was 3" away) or do we consider the assault a
success and then allow me to breakthrough into the StuH - since the original target was the AA gun platoon
and there weren't any more of them within 4" of me .
Remember this is an intermixed platoon thing here...
The assault is not over since the StuG is within 4"/10cm and therefore part of the assault, just as it would
have been if the 20mm gun were still alive.
The essence of the Shooting was Too Successful rule was once stated by Wayne as "You can't stop an assault
by dying." Just because the 20mm died, it doesn't allow it to change the assault.
Since the Shooting was Too Successful rule requires a Motivation test to counterattack and the Opponent
Tests motivation rule says that all platoons test to counterttack if any of them were hit, the StuG would need to
test to counterattack.(Phil)
But the StuH is the "nearest uncontacted enemy team", which is not given any qualification for which platoon
that team must belong to. It "[is] from a different platoon than they fired at." Therefore "the team must stay in
place and give covering fire instead." This means not participating in the assault. I don't know if that means
for the rest of the assault, or just for the combat round, however.
25
However, you are ignoring the Shooting was Too Successful rule. The 20mm AA Gun still counts since its
death does not change the situation. The platoon can still charge it even though it died while they were
charging.(Phil)

- A situation came up where my armoured panzergrenadiers assaulted as tank teams in the first round, the
enemy platoon motivated and counter-attacked and bailed one 251. I failed to motivate to carry on. What
happens to the 2 teams in the bailed out transport when the platoon breaks off ? They didn't dismount when
the transport bailed and the rules state that bailed tank teams are captured. It would be very harsh for the two
teams in the vehicle to be captured as well because if they were on foot they could break off up to 6". To get
out of the vehicle and run away would expose them as much as the infantry on foot breaking off and in the
real situation the other vehicles would still be firing as they retired. In the end we rolled a die and they got out
and ran away which we both agreed was the sensible thing to do. We can't find reference to this anywhere as
transports cannot assault and the bailed out and captured rule applies to fully armoured tank team crew being
temporarily blinded (I think that's the wording) but these are fully armed fighting men who are about to
dismount and fight on foot anyway.
And for the first round the halftrack of my armoured panzergrenadiers count as Tanks...it's not until the
second round that they become transports again when the infantry teams dismount. In fact they are only
deemed to be tank teams because the infantry are on board. The failed motivation check is at the start of the
second round of combat (for which they are dismounted) and that only serves to dictate the actions that the
assaulting platoon can carry out which in this case is to break off.
They may fight as if they were Tank teams. They are not Tank teams, they are Infantry teams that fight as
Tank teams, and are still passengers and still die if their transport dies. (Phil)

- When a platoon launches an assault, does the player have to move all eligible teams into contact, if possible?
If a person had a 6 stand platoon, and assaulted, could he only move 3 stands into assault, and leave the other
3 out (not including teams that provided covering fire)? If the answer is yes, then are those 3 uninvolved
stands not part of the assault at all?
If this is possible, then I see some potential for abuse in terms of preventing "Defensive supporting platoons"
from becoming involved in the defensive fire, and the counter assault.
Simply have teams give covering fire and don't assault with them.(Phil)

- A kampfgruppe contains a flammpanzer and other team types. Can it assault? We have said yes as it is not a
flame tank platoon.
Interesting. By the rules, you are correct. I didn't think of that possibility. I had intended to prevent
Flammpanzer III flame-tanks from assaulting.(Phil)

- US infanty advance to within assault distance on an armor platoon and fire their bazookas in the shooting
step. All the bazookas hit and kill all the enemy armor.
Based on the shooting was too successful, the US player wanted to make a move and push closer to the
objective. The question was, did he have to make a motivation test since he was originally going to be
assaulting armor ?
There are no Armoured Tank teams in the platoon when the assault begins, so not Motivation Test required.
The bazookamen breathe a sigh of relief, "wow, that was easy!", and occupy the objective of the assault.(Phil)

- Suppose you have a situation where one platoon assaults two enemy platoons which are intermingled. After
the attacker's first round, one of the defending platoons fails its motivation test to counterattack and falls back.
The other platoon passes its test and counterattacks. What happens if in a later round of the assault the
attacker's movement brings it to within 4" of the defending platoon that failed its test and had to retreat? Are
the defending teams captured? Or, is it considered a new platoon and its earlier retreat not a factor? Common
sense would say that ought to retreat again, but the rules don't say that.
If an enemy platoon broke off, but you ended up your subsequent counterattacks back within 4" of it, you
could breakthrough assault it.(Phil)
Ok time for the San man to apply brokenness to this logic. (That is if platoons can have multiple DFs)
Platoon A DF due to Attacking platoon Z (APZ), Platoon B conducts covering fire because he can. Plt B
breaks off and falls back...Plt A continues fighting until he falls back. Now the rules somewhere and rules
26
lawyers please don't kill me if I botch this say you must assault a new platoon. So I assault Platoon B because
he's closer, and then platoon A can covering fire for platoon B. I understand if you are defensively firing
against two separate platoons in 2 separate assaults, but umm...if the interpretation of the rule says you may
multiple DF I just let 2 platoons DF twice in the same turn..To me thats bad monkey mojo.
Yes I know they alternated DF and covering fire...but still...Bad Monkey Mojo.
Firstly, you are not required to make a Breakthrough Assault, you could Consolidate if you wanted to.
Secondly, it is not as easy as you suggest. When platoon B Breaks Off, it must get more than 4"/10cm from
platoon Z. If Platoon Z did not charge into contact in such a way as to bring a team within 4"/10cm of B in a
subsequent Counterattack, then Z could not Breaktrough Assault B as it is more than 4"/10cm away.
It is not a tactic that the defender can exploit as it actually benefits the attacker as they have the option to take
a second bite at B this turn instead of having to wait until next turn to do so.(Phil)
-But if A and B are being assaulted and A or B falls back first...Z fights the remaining group which brings him
closer to the falling back troop..then the remaining platoon runs off...then aren't you breakthroughing (if thats
a word) into the first falling back platoon (dang do I need a picture). It’s correct ?
No. Once a platoon breaks off, it is no longer in the assault. Assaulting teams can no longer go within 2"/5cm
of that platoon.
The only way to bring that platoon back into the fight is to choose to launch a Breakthrough Assault once you
have beaten the other platoon. There is nothing to stop you choosing to Consolidate instead if that would be a
better choice.
Imagine a different assault. Z charges X. Y is 6" away from Z after they contact X, so is not involved in the
assault. However, some teams from X are within 4"/10cm of Y. Later in the assault Z counterattacks X and
ends up within 4"/10cm of Y. Y is still not involved in the assault. X then Breaks Off and runs far, far away. Z
can now choose to launch a Breakthrough Assault into Y or Consolidate.
This is the same situation as your A and B, except that unlike Y, B was once involved in the initial assault (and
is Pinned Down for running away).(Phil)
- Maybe I am having a Dolt moment here, but what happens if the plt that fails and has to fall back can not get
beyond 2", if the assault was over it would be captured, but if the assaulters are still fighting another plt, they
might still end up with 2" of the plt that broke off!
The Breaking off rules say nothing about the assault being over. If a platoon breaks off, even if the assaulting
platoon is still engaged with another platoon, they must get 4"/10cm away or surrender.(Phil)
- So even if subsequent assaults bring you into 4 inches the 'whole' falling back platoon must surrender ?
You check immediately they break off. What happens afterwards is irrelevant.(Phil)
- Slightly although it still tell me that you continue to 'log' DF shots as if Z is infantry gets shot 3 times by A
DF and B covering fire (CF)
First of all, the term 'covering fire' is only used in the rules for teams in the assaulting platoon that are
shooting rather than assaulting.
Platoon B is being assaulted, so it gets defensive fire like any other platoon being assaulted.
Since Platoon Z is assaulting two platoons, it will suffer defensive fire from both platoons.(Phil)
- Then we get to that breakthrough assault into B where A is now 4" from the contact point so 'safe' from Z
(?).
If A is more than 4"/10cm from Z, then they take no part in Z's fight with B. If they are within 4"/10cm then
they are being assaulted and get to defensive fire.(Phil)
- The roles then transpose where B is DF and A is CF..nails 2 more hits and then boom...assault is over..why?
(This could be equated as easily for tanks) because it seems feasible by the rules that each team can fire twice
given the situation.
A Breakthrough Assault is a totally new assault according to the rules. Any hits from the defensive fire in
prior assaults have no effect on pinning the attacking platoon in this assault.(Phil)
- Or could I be misunderstanding when the 4" is measured as I always understood this is measured before the
consolidation/breakthrough move?
What 4"? A Breakthrough Assault is a whole new assault. It starts with Charge into Contact. Then any teams
now within 4" are being assaulted and get to defensive fire, etc.(Phil)

- If an infantry platoon is trapped between two platoons, one being a tank platoon and the other an infantry.
Can they attempt to launch an assault at the tanks, fail their motivation test, and then subsequently launch a
new assault at the infantry ?
27
The answer to your question is no. You have to launch your assault against the tanks before you roll the
Motivation Test to assault them. Even if you fail, you have already launched your one assault for the platoon
that turn and cannot turn around and assault the infantry.(Phil)

- Situation: I had some infantry teams about 2" from a line of Romanian cavalry(call platoon A). Behind those
cavalry was another platoon of Romanian Cavalry (call platoon B). Those were just shy of 8" (pretty much
exactly 8") from my teams at the start of the turn. Now, I had planned to assault Platoon A. However, my
shooting wiped out platoon A. Here's the question.
According to the rules, for Shooting was too successful, I can move into Platoon A's positions and then
breakthrough assault onto platoon B. Ok, good, and this triggers defensive fire from platoon B. Sure.
However, the question came up from my opponent that platoon B should also get defensive fire from the
'assault' on platoon A's positions.
If platoon A had remained, my assaulting teams would not have been within 4" of platoon B and should not
have triggered defensive fire. However, in order to breakthrough assault into platoon B I would indeed need to
move within 4" of them on my shooting was too successful assault. However, if they then are considered in
the original assault, is it really a breakthrough assault or a continuation of the first assault at that point (if they
get DF from the first assault and I end my first charge still within 4")
So, do people think the answer is:
A) Breakthrough assault on Platoon B, with a single DF from plt B for the breakthrough assault
B) Breakthrough assault on Platoon B, with 2 DF from plt B, for both SWTS assault move and the
breakthrough
C) If my SWTS charge into contact takes me within 4" of plt B, then plt B gets a single DF, and the original
assault is not over (thus no breakthrough assault). Since I had no teams within 2" I get no attacks, and the
Romanian cavalry get to counterassault.
Bear in mind that the Shooting was too Successful assault has to be into the position the enemy occupied,
essentially as if the enemy were still there. Unless the second platoon was within 4"/10cm of that position, you
would not be able to do a Breakthrough Assault into them. If they were, then the first assault ends once you
occupy the first platoon's position. You then launch a Breakthrough Assault and the second platoon gets
involved and fires defensive fire.(Phil)
- It that now a double edges sword so to speak? If you are within 4" to launch a breakthrough assault then
your initial shooting is too successful assault would have trigger Defensive fire and a counter assault from
platoon B. Since they are at 4" of your ending assault (shooting too successful) position. Is that not correct?
Pretty much. If they are close enough to do a Breakthrough assault into, they were close enough to be drawn
into the initial assault and are indeed drawn in. If they weren't close enough to be drawn in, the aren't close
enough to breakthrough into anyway.(Phil)

- If tanks assault infantry, the assaulting tanks win, and there are enemy tanks within 4" and counting as in the
assault, are the enemy tanks forced to withdraw, losing any bailed / bogged tanks as these are not able to
withdraw ?
The first point that needs to be clarified is: have the assaulting tanks won?
They win if they end the round with all of the enemy that are within 4"/10cm are bailed out or bogged down.
Clearly this can only happen if they destroyed all of the infantry teams within 4"/10cm or the infantry broke
off in a previous round.
If they have won, then the immobilised tanks are captured.
If they have not won, then the enemy attempts to counterattack to rescue their tanks. That could mean the
infantry send in more teams to continue the fight, or simply that the tank unit passes a motivation test to
counterattack. If the tanks do counterattack, they can do nothing, but they clearly will not win the fight either.
If they break off, they will surrender since they are within 4"/10cm.
If they did counterattack, then it become the original tank unit's turn to take a Motivation Test to
counterattack since they were assaulted (ineffectively) by tanks. These Motivation tests continue until one or
the other side breaks off abandoning any immobilised tanks to the enemy.(Phil)
- You wrote :” If they did counterattack, then it become the original tank unit's turn to take a Motivation Test
to counterattack since they were assaulted (ineffectively) by tanks.” You only have to take a motivation test if
take a hit in assault combat............did this change ?
Whenever you are assaulted by tanks.(Phil)
28
- Does this mean that a tank can flat out assault another tank in hopes of driving them off because they failed
their motivation? Yeah they get DF but if I can force a tank off of an objective just by assaulting it with some
tanks ?
I was just stating how the rules work in that specific and unusual situation. Tanks still cannot assault
tanks!(Phil)
- How does this work with the Tanks can't assault tanks section on Page 106?
"If the only enemy teams from the platoon you are assaulting that are within 4" of an assaulting team are tank
or transport teams and your only teams within 4" of them are Tank teams, you have won the assault."
In that case, can the Motivation Tests, the assaulting tanks win and capture the immobilised tanks as the
crews ran off with the infantry.(Phil)

- If inf charge inf, and the defending inf have a tank in support directly behind them, do the charging inf have
to test for the tank? The tank would be less than 2" from the assaulting inf at the end of assault movement. If
they are required to test and fail the test, is the entire charge cancelled ?
If the infantry came within 2"/5cm of the tanks, they would have to assault them, thus having to take a
Motivation Test. If they could stay outside 2"/5cm of the tanks, then they don't.(Phil)

Select the attacking platoon:

Who can assault ?

- Can you initiating a charge when out of command ? Here is the example, a plt of infantry gets shot up in the
opponents turn which leave a few teams out of command distance from the rest, then in the players turn he
takes the out of command teams and charges the enemy which happens to be within 4" of one of the teams, no
the commander does not charge with them only the team that was out of command assaults. In the who can
assault section of the book Pg 95 it does not say he cant, it does say "Leaderless plts- Platoons without a plt
command team cannot launch assaults" but this is not relevant as he does have a plt commander even though
it is out of command range. Then there is page 97 "Ignore out of command" Teams do not have to remain In
Command or attempt to get into Command when charging into contact.
Yep. As long as the platoon has a command team, any team in the platoon can launch an assault.(Phil)

I can´t se anywhere in the rules where it says if cavalry teams can assault a enemy platoon i a building, i know
that they can´t move into a build while they are mounted, but nothing about assaulting, and the rules says that
you have to move up to a opening in a build to make it into contact with every team in the building.
how does people play this ?
Cavalry cannot assault teams in a building while mounted(Phil)

Infantry assaulting tank :

- Example: A platoon of American infantry is assaulting a platoon of German infantry. The German infantry
happen to have a Stug behind them. After the Americans charge into contact with the Germans infantry they
have a few teams that are 3" away from the Stug.
Question: Do the Americans have to roll tank terror test to launch the initial assault? I say no and some folks
say yes. There are two governing paragraphs that discuss this.
P.95 :” If you wish to launch an assault against a platoon that has armoured tank teams, you must pass a
motivation test for the attacking platoon before beginning the assault.” and P.99 :” Any enemy platoon that
has teams within 4" of an assaulting team is counted as being assaulted and is eligable to conduct defensive
fire at the whole attacking platoon.”
The quote on p.95 is saying that a Tank Terror test is required if you are launching an assault against an
armored tank team. I believe that since the American infantry did not end their movement within 2" of the
Stug they are not 'launching an assault against' that team. hence no TT test.
I believe the quote on p.99 is saying that the tank team is drawn into the assault only after it has been launched
against the infantry and is hence eligible to conduct engage in counterattacks.
Essentially the tank is considered as 'being assaulted' (because it is within 4") even though the infantry did not
'launch an assault' against it (within 2"). Because the infantry did not 'launch an assault' against the Stug then
no TT Test.

29
The tank teams are only pulled into the assault AFTER the teams have made contact (ie they are within 4" of
the assaulting platoon). Since the assaulting platoon has already moved into contact, it is no longer required
to make tank terror tests. As mentioned before, the platoon is NOT assaulting a platoon that has tank teams,
the tank teams just happened to get pulled into the assault due to the final placement of the attacking teams.
(Phil)

Charge into Contact :

- What constitutes a successful Charge Into Contact ?

One that contacts the enemy.(Phil).

- For the "Charge into Contact" it is base contact. For the "Roll to hit teams in Contact" it is within 2" ?
Don't mistake headings, the job of which is to convey the general concept of the rule in very few words, with
the actual rule. The rule labelled "Roll to Hit With Teams in Contact" does not use the term contact at all.
However, it does convey the general idea of what the rule is about.(Phil)

- Is "in contact" the same thing as "base to base" or is it the same thing as "able to fight"? The diagrams seem
to suggest "base to base", but the text doesn't actually use any such language, and never defines the term. The
"Roll to Hit With Teams in Contact" heading only confuses things, since all teams within 2" roll to hit.
The name of a rule or a heading is simply a quick guide to the general idea of the rule.
The charge into contact rules on pages 96 and 97 give a pretty good indication as to what is meant by in
contact. essentially it is base-to-base contact with a few exceptions like across a hedge.(Phil)

- The charge is a Movement step ? So Can I move my transport and dismount for a charge ?
There is only one Movement Step in a turn, and it isn't the Assault Step. You can only dismount in the
Movement Step unless explicitly allowed by another rule. (Phil)
Charge and dismount: is not a movement step it is part of the assault step. See transport in assaults page 72
and German special rule Mounted Assault on page 137 of the mini rule book.(Wayne)

- "The Most Direct Route" MRB 97. Can I surround a tank when charging it from the front ?
You cannot surround a tank when charging it from the front. The only way to get behind a team that you are
assaulting is to move behind it in the movement step before you charge. (Phil)

- The picture 2 on Page 96 of the Hardback Rulebook shows a team moving to the side of a team already in
contact to make base contact with the enemy. Are you saying that the example in the rule book is incorrect? It
is only a slight movement to the side, but nevertheless the most direct route would have placed that team in a
queue, but instead the rules show it taking an indirect route in order for it to make base contact.
This seems to be supported by the text of the rules on the same page, which say "If there are no enemy teams
within 4" not already in contact with one of your assaulting teams, the remaining assaulting teams move into
contact with teams that are already in contact with your teams instead". There's nothing here about taking the
most direct route, and backed up by the example picture I can't see how the 'must queue' interpretation is
supported by the rules.
As I see it the difference is that the team in the second diagram can move into contact with the enemy gun by
moving directly towards it. If, for example, the team in the third diagram was also within 4"/10cm of the gun,
it could not move around the other two and into the side of the gun. It would not be moving directly towards
the gun. It would be moving away from the gun to the side and then back again. All it would be able to do is
move in behind the first two teams. If there was a fourth team, it would move in beside it, etc.(Phil)
- When I read you would struggle to surround a tank, I could see that if contact was those with 2" you would
indeed struggle, but if only those in contact are not allowed to move, then I am struggling with this direct
route thing. I am getting the picture that it means in a straight line, so you would have to turn the team to face
the target then move in a straight line, of course this would then form a conga line for the ones on the flanks
of the initial attackers and IMO is not taking the direct route to the tank, which IMO would be to side step the
team in front and charge past it to the target.
If attacking one tank you would never and I repeat never be able to surround a tank unless you started by
surrounding it and the Charge into contact surrounded the tank.
30
If you had a column of three small teams facing the front of a tank, the first would charge the tank. The
second could reasonably contact the same side of the tank beside it in most cases. The third would be pushing
it to contact the same tank in the front, so piles up behind the rest. It cannot go around them to get to the side
or rear of the tank.
If in its next counterattack, another enemy tank had arrived, the team that is not in contact could indeed move
directly towards it away from the tank that it was previously near.(Phil)

- I have 2 platoons close together. I am going to be assaulted. The 1st platoon was 2 inches away and the 2nd
platoon is 7 inches away from the closest enemy assaulting team.
The 1st platoon is total destroyed in the shooting step.
The enemy charge using the Shooting Too Successful rules. He must charge toward any remaining teams in
the platoon but there are none.
Does he charges 2 inches to where the platoon was (before dieing) or 4 inches and move past the dead
platoon's position?
This does make a difference as a 2 inch charge will not involve the 2nd platoon because it will be over 4
inches away and a 4 inch charge will drag in the second platoon as it would be within 4 inches of a charging
team !
It refers to the Charge into Contact move. You have to Charge into Contact to the unit you shot at, or their
positions (if those teams no longer exist). You would then chose to Consolidate or Breakthrough from
there.(Phil)

- With a platoon that has teams that shot at more than one platoon ; can only teams that shot at the platoon that
gives “Shooting too successful” move in the charge at the now missing Teams/Platoon? As it is following all
the rules of movement in charging ?
If the platoon was able to charge before shooting and isn't able to when the time comes to do it, it may still
charge using the Shooting to Successful rule.
Teams may still only charge the platoon they shot at as normal.(Phil)

- What happens when there are no defenders left within 4"/10cm after DF ?
In that case, the attacker wins the assault and can consolidate or try their luck with a breakthrough on
another platoon. Or not, as was pointed out above, there are no enemy at all within 4"/10cm to breakthrough
into.(Phil)

Tanks assaulting into terrain:

- "Any movement through difficult/very difficult terrain requires a test. It could be movement, assault,
counterassault, breakoff, and/or consolidation would require a bog test. "
So the tank did NOT take a Bog check to assault the defending team, Essentially you only take one Bog
check, no?
To be clearer, you could end up taking a Bog Check to Charge into Contact, to Counterattack, and to
Consolidate all in the same assault.
You would not take two Bog Checks to Charge into Contact and then Push into the Enemy position as it is in
effect the same movement, just interrupted to see whether it is completed or not.(Phil)

Assault and bogged down :

- My question is about what happens when a Fully Armoured Tank Platoon Assaults and becomes Bailed or
Bogged in the first round ? For example - 4 Pz IVs Assault a 25pdr Gun Platoon that is dug-in behind a stone
wall. One gets Bogged and the remaining three are Bailed by Defensive Fire.
At the End of the first round of Assault, there is no winner so the Gun Platoon must either Break-off or roll to
Counter-attack.
If they fail their Motivation Test to Counter-attack do they have to Break-off? The only enemy are Bailed or
Bogged Tanks. As the guns can only move 2" do the Guns that are still within 4" of the Bogged / Bailed
Tanks get captured?
If four tanks charge four guns and all bog down before making contact, then the charge too far rule comes
into effect and there is no assault and we move onto the next platoon (no defensive fire, no break off, no
nothing, there simply wasn't an assault, although there was some movement).
31
If four tanks charge four guns and all get into contact, but are then bailed out by defensive fire, then there is
an assault as the tanks got into combat. All un-bailed tanks (all zero of them) then roll to hit. Of course the
result is no hits. The Guns then take a motivation test to Counterattack (since they were assaulted by tanks). If
they succeed, they capture the tanks. If they fail, they must break off (being captured in the process unless they
are Light or Man-packed). Presumably the gun crews having failed to destroy all of the assaulting tanks,
panicked and fled (a good reason to protect your guns with some infantry!).(Phil)

Opponent Conducts Defensive Fire :

*Page 100: Change “they only benefit from Concealment and Bulletproof Cover they occupy at that point” to “they
only benefit from Concealment they occupy at that point, but are never in Bulletproof Cover” in Concealment and
Bulletproof Cover. When we looked more closely, we couldn’t think of any situation where they could possibly be in
bulletproof cover.

*Page 100: Tanks Contacted By Infantry. Change “did not move in the Movement Step” to “did not move in the
Movement or Shooting Steps”. This stops Italians and others from Avanti moving out of cover to assault tanks. We
never thought of this when we wrote the rules and it really doesn’t make much sense, although the rule used to allow it.

- I was watching a game and the following situation occurred: A platoon of Panzers was assaulting a strek
kompanie that once the tanks moved were within 4" of a KV company.
Now since defensive fire says something to the effect of the unit within 4" can fire defensive fire as if
assaulted... Can the tanks defensive fire against tanks, even though they can't assault or be assaulted by other
tanks?
The tanks would defensive fire, but not counterattack since they cannot assault the tanks.(Phil)

- What happens when all the teams of an assaulting platoon within 2" of teams of the enemy platoon that is
being assaulted are destroyed, but the attacking platoon is not pinned?
Assuming you mean destroyed by defensive fire, then the attack happened because a team did get into contact.
However, since not teams are in a position to fight when the time comes to do so, they cannot harm the enemy.
When the time comes to make a Motivation test to counterattack, the enemy automatically passes their test
and counterattacks bringing the fight to the enemy. (Phil)

- If a HT is destroyed by defensive fire, the platoon is pinned and assault fails.....

If the HT is bailed by defensive fire, that team doesn't make an attack, but the Mounted Assault continues and
passengers may participate in the Counter Attack. Is that correct?
If a half-track is destroyed, the platoon is Pinned Down and cannot assault.
Remember also, that passengers in a Bailed Out vehicle do not dismount automatically. They cannot dismount
until they counterattack. Since the teams are in effect a Bailed Out Tank team, they do not fight in the first
assault combat round either. (Phil)
But then why the wording in the Armoured assault rule : ”Teams that dismount from half-tracks that were
destroyed by defensive fire take no part in the first assault combat round, but may counter attack after that.”,
Casualties are expected when assaulting 1 hit destroying 1 HT should not be enough to stop the on rush of an
assault ?
There is a disagreement between the two rules (due to them being written at different times in the process).
The issue is that the Mounted Assault rule does not say that having a half-track Destroyed does not Pin Down
the platoon. If the platoon is Pinned Down, then the platoon fails its assault and the rest is irrelevant.(Phil)

- I was attacking my friend that were trying out his new Italian parachutist.
And during the game he had a Paracadutisti demolisher platoon in ambush, with he deploys in a forest within
6" of my company of 7-34. They don't move in the movement step, but then in the shooting step he makes a
avanti test and pass, so he move them 4" closer to me.
then in the assault he assaults my tanks, and says that i can't make defensive fire, because he did not move in
the movement step and did not shoot in the shooting step, and he was still in the forest when he started the
assault. Can this really be true?
I must admit that the rules seam correct since I have look at it a few times after the game.

32
Reading the rules, it certainly looks like they allow this trick. It is not a deliberate design, merely an
unforseen interaction of two rules.
Personally, since the Avanti movement is in place of shooting (although not actually shooting, hence the
loophole), I would not pull this stunt.(Phil)

- I’m on the defence-my opponent assaults me and 2 of his teams are in the open the other 4 are in the
building coming at me through the windows....he realizes that the 2 in the open are gonna hurt him bad when I
def. fire at him...so he cover fires with them and assaults with the 4 in the concealing terrain. When I shoot, I
argue that my def. fire needs only 3s because two of the assaulting platoons teams are in the open-he argues
that no, those teams didn’t assault, they cover fired and my def. fire goes against the actual assaulting teams
coming at me from concealment...the teams that cover fired are not eligible targets. So I miss pinning him by
one....no biggie it was a friendly game and I didn’t press it? I get to shoot at the whole platoon in def. fire
right? The ones giving covering fire in the open are valid targets-right?
The biggest issue here is the timing of defensive fire. Defensive fire is conducted after the assaulting troops
charge into contact. Since your opponent's teams are not in the building at that time, there really is no
problem.(Phil)

Roll to Hit with Teams in Contact :

Roll Saves for Armoured Vehicles :

*Page 104: Change “All Infantry teams have an Anti-tank rating of 2” to “All Infantry and Gun teams have an Anti-
tank rating of 2” in Infantry Anti-tank Ratings. Also change the heading to “Infantry and Gun Anti-tank Ratings”.
Another oversight in the original version never said anything about the anti-tank rating of gun teams.

Other Teams Do Not Roll Saves :

Push into Enemy Positions :

- I played today a game. my panzers assaulted infantry teams behind a linear obstacle. We declared the
obstacle is difficult going for a tank.
I charge with one tank in contact to the infantry behind the obstacle and make a bog check regarding to "tanks
assaulting into terrain" on page 97.
the tank destroyed his enemy and pushed into the enemy position referred on page 105.
if I charge into contact with tanks in rough terrain, I have to make a bog check. but I did this one and
augmented that the assault is the rolling over the obstacle and the enemy team.
So my question: need I have to make a bog check for pushing into enemy positions? can anyone tell me the
page in the rulebook?
No additional Bog Check required. You have already taken the Bog Check with you Charged into Contact or
Counterattacked. The only question was would you actually get across or would the defenders keep you on
your side of the hedge. If you cleared a space with you attack, you actually get to cross the hedge that you
took the Bog Check to cross..(Phil)

Has Assaulting Platoon Won :

- At the beginning of the assault section it talks about "won". If you have caused no casualties, it appears that
you have not "won" the assault. If that is the case and we follow the assault phase step by step then a tank
does not need to test as no Casualties have been caused, it is not bogged down or bailed out and therefore the
process of assault in the attackers phase stops ?
In other words since the person assaulting has not "won" there is no need to test, like for any unit even
infantry v infantry ?
Check out Has Assaulting Platoon Won, page 106, third paragraph. if you have not won, you must
Counterattack or Break Off.
If you were not hit, you automatically pass the Motivation test to Counterattack (you still have to take the test,

33
you just automatically pass it), giving you the choice of counterattacking, breaking off away, or breaking off
through the enemy.(Phil)

- "If the only enemy teams from the platoon you are assaulting that are within 4"/10cm of an assaulting team
are Tank or Transport teams and your only teams within 4 of them are Tank teams, you have won the assault."
(pg 106) . Am I reading this right, If I have a mixed platoon, say by attaching my infantry 2IC to a tank
platoon, I assault an enemy tank platoon. The enemy kills my 2IC. I have won ?
Unfortunately, the enemy gets to check if they have won first (just after killing your infantry team), so they
win.(Phil)

- Does the 4" rule concerning the winning of an assault apply to Cossacks, or does it increase to 8"? So in this
case, would the assaulting Cossack platoon "win" the assault against the artillery platoon at 6" ? Let's say for a
moment that these are heavy, immobile guns. Would the gun within 8" of the "winning" Cossack platoon be
destroyed, even though they technically aren't "breaking off" (cuz they don't need to)?
They have won the assault because no enemy teams are within 4".(Phil)

Opponent Tests Motivation :

Counterattack :

*Page 108: Change “ignoring the effect of being Pinned Down until the assault is over” to “ignoring the effect of being
Pinned Down while Counterattacking”. The greater precision of the new wording eliminates some odd readings of the
rule.

- A Strelkovy have charged a platoon A. Both platoon A and platoon B conduct defensive fire but fail to score
10 hits. A survives the first round of combat and wants to counter charge. B also wants to counter charge
cause the platoon B is to 2’’ of the strelkovy. Page 86 MiRB “A platoon must have at least one team within
4" of the enemy platoon to Counterattack, but Only platoons already engaged in the assault can
counterattack”. What does the word engaged mean ? Unit A may not be in contact (due to defensive fire
casualties - see the many other threads) but obviously can counterattack. Can B ?
They count as having been assaulted. Anything that was assaulted can counterattack. Therefore they can
counterattack.
To be more specific, they certainly weren't assaulted (in that no one rolled to hit them), but they count as if
they were.(Phil)
Do they counterattack at the same time? In other words, would A and B throw their dice at the same time?
Yes (Phil)

- When you move in a counterattack, you still must move DIRECTLY towards the enemy, so you can't "skirt
around". If you are within 2" of an enemy team, you still have to move towards that team. But if your path is
blocked you take the most direct route which would mean you could end up skirting around, even if you dont
make an angle change? The team might not be facing the tank, for example, but it sure would get down the
flanks? If you can not move directly to the tank you can not move?
You are meaning that the friendly troops in front block the way, so they go around them to the back of the
tank? Nope. They may be annoying, but they aren't really obstacles. your troops just have to queue up for
their turn to do or die.(Phil)

- Launching an Assault and Counterattacking are the same thing and the same rules ?
Launching an Assault and Counterattacking are indeed two different things.(Phil)

- From the MRB (hardback) p.108: "PASSENGERS: Passenger teams may dismount and counterattack. They
do that at the start of their Charge into Contact movement as if this was the Movement Step."
I assume this applies to Cavalry teams as well. Meaning that Cavalry teams that are assaulted by tanks have
the option to dismount and counterattack on foot. With that said I suppose there could be two interpretations
here.

34
1.) Cavalry riders are passenger teams and hence the rule applies
2.) Since it doesn’t mention Cavalry specifically then no the rule does not apply
Cavalry are not passengers. They cannot dismount during an assault. If you need to dismount, do so before
assaulting and assault on foot. If caught on the hop, break off, dismount and assault back in your turn.(Phil)

Break Off :

- In a game last night my opponent managed to get his three Churchills sitting on an objective. I had a couple
of 7.5cm infantry guns sitting in a wood about 6-7 inches away firering everything they had in the hope of
bailing him.
I had bought an infantry platoon across the table and assaulted the churchill's, I surrived DF and got one team
into contact. He hit and the Churchill's failed their test to reassault (and also failed their BB reroll). What
happened next was do right nasty.
The assault had come directly from the rear of the churchill's directly to their front where my infantry guns
(The churchill's were parallel to my Table edge). According to the assault rules he had to break off directly
away from the assault but not go within 4 inches of my infantry guns. This proved impossible as the guns
were in front of him. He could not turn and move away as we decided it was not 'directly away'
End result 3 captured Churchill's and we discover a DBM term exists in FOW 'Buttocks of Death'
So did we play it right?
Yes you can. Look at the middle team in the example in breaking off. It is moving off at an angle to avoid
being captured by the teams to the left and right.
As long as you keep moving away from all teams within 4" and don't come closer than 4" to any other teams,
you can attempt to avoid surrendering by retreating at an angle. (Phil)

- Since you are allowed to avoid impassable terrain and whatnots...Could you try to go around a "blocking"
platoon. One of our guys came up with this example after he watched the 5 PzIIIs surrender. Both mine and
my opponents answers were no you can not.
Yes you can. Look at the middle team in the example in breaking off. It is moving off at an angle to avoid
being captured by the teams to the left and right.
As long as you keep moving away from all teams within 4" and don't come closer than 4" to any other teams,
you can attempt to avoid surrendering by retreating at an angle. (Phil)

- My teams can dismount or limber up when breaking off ?

The rules do not allow teams to dismount or limber up when breaking off. (Phil)

- First, the givens: Platoon A is a defending platoon in a section of woods, 2" from the backside of it. Platoon
B is an attacking platoon to the front of A. Platoon C is a platoon of STuH's 7" to the rear of the woods,
behind A. Platoon B and C are on the same side.
From the rules on pinned units, A Pinned unit can not move into line of sight of an opposing unit.
So: Platoon A gets pinned during the shooting step. During the Assault Step, Platoon B charges into Platoon
A. A round of combat happens, and Platoon A fails a motivation, and has to break off. Can they break off
towards the STuH's, and therefore, into their line of sight? Something that on the surface says no, they are
pinned and a unit can not move into line of sight from a unit that belongs to the other side.
When breaking off, you must move directly away from the enemy. That basically means you have to get away
by the quickest route. If the enemy blocks part of their exit route, then the most direct way is around them
(bearing in mind they have to stay more than 4" away).
If a platoon is Pinned Down before it Breaks Off, it cannot move towards an enemy platoon it can see, so its
exit route can be blocked by enemy platoons behind it. In most cases that would force the platoon to break off
sideways - usually leading to a failure to get more than 4" from the assaulting troops, resulting in
surrender.(Phil)

- If you either chooses to break off from assault, or forces to do so by loosing an assault, how do you move
your teams/vehicles? Is it a strictly line away from the enemies assault "path", or could you choose to move
the breaking off team in any direction to avoid the assaulting team (not strictly backwards)?

35
The diagram in the rulebook shows (deliberately) a team moving at a diagonal to avoid another enemy team.
Directly away does not specify a particular direction, rather that you must move away as directly as
possible.(Phil)

- Suppose you have a situation where one platoon assaults two enemy platoons which are intermingled. After
the attacker's first round, one of the defending platoons fails its motivation test to counterattack and falls back.
The other platoon passes its test and counterattacks. What happens if in a later round of the assault the
attacker's movement brings it to within 4" of the defending platoon that failed its test and had to retreat? Are
the defending teams captured? Or, is it considered a new platoon and its earlier retreat not a factor? Common
sense would say that ought to retreat again, but the rules don't say that.
If an enemy platoon broke off, but you ended up your subsequent counterattacks back within 4" of it, you
could breakthrough assault it.(Phil)

- Just read this in the section on the new rule book reprint: Page 252: Change “All teams move 4”/10cm away
from enemy. Any within 4”/10cm of assaulting teams are Destroyed” to “All teams move at least 4”/10cm
away from enemy. Any remaining within 4”/10cm are Destroyed” in Break Off. This should make the quick
reference sheet reflect the rules a bit better.
Does this now mean that light guns are captured if forced to break off from a combat as they cannot move "at
Least" 4" away from the enemy ? I think the intention here is just to fix the rules summary at the back which
seemed to imply that a break off move was 4" for everyone, which isn't the case. All teams break off their
normal movement rate.
Exactly. No change to the rules in any way, simply making it clearer in the quick reference that the break off
move is not just 4"/10cm.
If you start in contact with an enemy team and then move 4" away, you are going to be 4" away which is
within 4" of the enemy.
Think about it, if I asked you to draw circle showing everything within a 100-mile radius about your house on
a map, you would draw a circle at 100 miles, including everything a exactly 100 miles wouldn't you.
If the guns are medium, heavy or immobile guns and they are within 4" of the enemy, they are unlikely to get
away, whereas light guns will unless they are in contact with a tank. (Phil)

- Lets say you are choosing to break off from an assault. The enemy attacked with two teams against a line of
5 teams, contacting teams F2 and F4.
___E1___E2___
F1_F2_F3_F4__F5
The lines of teams precisely parallel the long edge of the board, and the F teams have their friendly edge
behind them. Do these teams have to go straight towards their edge, or can teams F1 and F5, for example,
head off directly sideways - or are they required to go on a line drawn through the centre of their base to the
centre of the nearest enemy team? Could F2 head off left, so long as it does not move closer towards an
assaulting team (there are no other enemy in this case)?
The rule is intended to mean that a team looks to its own survival first, but does so with an eye to getting back
into command as fast as possible (ideally immediately).
In the original example the team would have to back out of 4"/10cm and then skirt the enemy trying to get
back into command.(Phil)

Pin Down Defending Platoons :

Victor Consolidates :

…Or Launches a Breakthrough Assault :

- Can cavalry make a breakthrough assault on platoons that are 8" away from them?
The rules state that you can use your consolidation move to assault a platoon up to 4" form your platoon but
cavalry has a consolidation range of 8".Yes. Cavalry can launch a Breakthrough assault against enemy up to
8" away.(Phil)

36
Pin Down Attacking Platoons :

Shooting Was Too Successful :

*Page 112: Change “take a Motivation Test to Counterattack as if they had taken a hit in the assault combat.” to “take a
Motivation Test to Counterattack and will be Pinned Down at the end of the Assault Step as if they had taken a hit in the
assault combat”. This makes it clear that all of the effects of taking a hit apply to them.

*Page 112: Change “wins the assault and can choose whether to Consolidate or launch a Breakthrough Assault” to
“wins the assault and can Consolidate”. After looking more closely, we discovered the obvious—there can never be a
breakthrough assault in these circumstances.

- If I understand the rules correcting, when shooting was too successful and there are no enemy units within
assault range, you can still move 4" towards the enemy you would have assaulted. However, if there are
enemies within 2" of you, they get defensive fire, but you cannot assault. Why would anyone do this?
To clarify, if you have teams within 2" after moving up, it is an assault as normal. If you only have teams 2-4"
away, then you have already destroyed all of the teams you could have destroyed in the assault anyway, so
you have been as successful as you could have been if you didn't shoot. you haven't lost anything, you just
don't have anything more to do.(Phil)
The key point about the Shooting Was Too Successful rule is that it allows you to launch an assault as normal,
even if the teams you planned on assaulting are no longer there. The two sections on "No Enemy within..." are
clarifying some common situations rather than creating new rules. They are restatements of the Charging into
Contact, Opponent Conducts Defensive Fire and Roll to Hit sections showing how they apply in these
situations.
In essence the Shooting Was Too Successful rule allows you to pretend that they are there in the first round of
the assault.
If you were planning on charging some infantry that had anti-tank guns just behind them and massacred the
infantry, you would still charge forward into the void. You would now have enemy teams within 4", so they
can Defensive Fire and become assaulted platoons, just as they would have if the destroyed teams were still
there.(Phil)
- So Phil, at what point then could a Shooting Was Too Successful result in a Breakthrough assault?
You just said that if *any* enemy teams are within 4" of a Charge into Contact after Shooting Was Too
Successful, they become part of the original assault. Therefore, since all enemy teams within 4" are now
considered in the original assault, there can't be any enemy platoons within 4" to Breakthrough Assault onto.
However, the Shooting Was Too Successful rules specifically say that an assaulting platoon, if there are no
defending teams within 4", can either Consolidate or perform a Breakthrough Assault. A Breakthrough assault
requires there to be enemy teams within 4".
I'm confused, as I now don't see any possible way that an assaulting platoon can perform a Breakthrough
Assault after a Shooting Was Too Successful Charge into Contact, although the rules clearly imply it is
possible.
Well, I guess they don't really have much of a choice do they.
The reference to Consolidate or Breakthrough was a general statement. We didn't think it through far enough
to realise that there is no choice since there cannot be anyone to Breakthrough in to. You still have the choice,
just you will never be in a situation to exercise one o the options.(Phil)

- First my platoon moves, then it shoots at the platoon it is about to assault. Everyone within 6'' on the enemy
side is dead, my teams move their assault move. At this point he counts as having lost the assault and has
ONLY two options -- to consolidate or to attack. He must take Motivation test to attack. He passes the test
and chooses to consolidate. I choose to conduct breakthrough assault and move additional 4''. Is that right?
My issue is that according to his interpretation of the rules I can't do a breakthrough assault because there is
noone to assault within 4''.
He is spread out so I reach no one base-to-base or within 2 ''. Some of the teams from his platoon are now
within 4'', what happens to them? Teams from other enemy platoon are now within 4'', what happens to them?

37
There's your error. If there are teams within 4" he hasn't lost the assault (or more correctly, you haven't won
the assault).(Phil)
- So there is no assault after all ?
Incorrect. There is an assault. You Charged into Contact (well not quite, having wiped out the victims of your
charge, but it is still the same) and have not won the assault since there are still enemy within 4". That leaves
your opponent to take a Motivation test and counterattack or break off. (Phil)
- Can the opponent choose to not do anything, like my opponent has chosen?
No. They are in an assault. They must Counterattack or Break Off. If they "do nothing", they are in effect
electing to Break Off and any teams left within 4" of the assaulting team are destroyed.(Phil)
- The way we played it, since there was no assault and my opponent choose to neither fallback nor
counterassault but choose to do nothing, I did not get my consolidation move ?
You keep saying "since there was no assault". That is why you keep getting confused. There was an assault
and it was not finished. You charged and destroyed everything you could have (i.e. all teams within 2"), which
happened to be nothing since you got them in Shooting, but did not win outright since there are still enemy
teams that can counterattack. Hence there is an assault and you did not finish it.(Phil)

- Page 112: Change “take a Motivation Test to Counterattack as if they had taken a hit in the assault combat.”
to “take a Motivation Test to Counterattack and will be Pinned Down at the end of the Assault Step as if they
had taken a hit in the assault combat”. This makes it clear that all of the effects of taking a hit apply to them.
Shouldn't that be "Pinned Down at the end of the current Assault"? Otherwise they are eligible for full ROF
for any other Assaults that occur within that Assault Step.
Well spotted. The actual printed version did not include the words "at the end of the Assault Step" as we
noticed the same thing. Unfortunately, the web document did not get updated.(Phil)

Independent Teams in Assaults :

Assault Special Rules :

Morale :

Platoon Morale Checks :

- A situation: A player has 2 of 3 Recon teams from his M10 SP-AT PLT destroyed. M10s are not "on-board"
yet. Does he do a Morale Test?
Yes.(Phil)
- Do the M10s count as in play as they are not really off-board but in hiding until brought out?
The rules state that they are held off table. Since they are not on the table, they cannot be on the table for
Platoon Morale Checks.(Phil)
- If he does do a Morale Test and fails does the entire PLT retreat.
Yes.(Phil)

- As I have played against with so many people, the way that players count combat attachments in my
experience (including myself until now...) is that a combat attachment does nothing to extend the size of a
platoon WHILE alive (emphasis mine). But does when dead.
As an example, if you get a German LW Grenadier platoon (no this wasn't the example that came up, but near
enough) and if you combat attached two HMG's and two 8cm Mortars, I am used to playing the outcomes a
certain way. Until now, the players I am used to - without having asked about this, I hasten to add... no one
being blamed !!! - would have said that if you killed off the two HMG's and the two 8cm Mortars but nothing
else you would NOT have to do a morale test for being under half - BUT you would be half a stand away
from such a test. (By reasoning of 7 RMG plus 2 HMG plus 2 mortar = 11 stands).
This is because the reasoning I have heard in the past suggests that the attachments do not count to the unit
strength while alive.

38
My friend's reasoning is that if you lose those previously mentioned 2 HMG's and 2 Mortars then you DO a
morale test for being below half strength. Which is correct ?
Below half strength is simply a phrase that captures the nature of the rule in simple cases. In complex cases,
you should totally forget the word (and concept of) half.
The rule is, as stated above several times:
a) More dead than active = test
b) Less (or equal) dead than active = no test.
Attachments never count as active.
So 4 HMG's dead = 4 dead, 7 active = no test.
4 Rifles dead = 4 dead, 3 active = test. (Phil)

- Hypothetical situation: You have a full strength panzerpioneeer company of 3 platoons of 3 squads each.
You convert 2 teams in each platoon into flamethrower tms.. Giving you a total of 6 flamethrower teams. You
Kampfgrup these 6 teams with the 2IC...giving you in essence a flamethrower platoon. You use all of them
against a tank platoon..; leaving the 2IC alone. How do you determine platoon morale (i.e. the break point to
roll a morale check)?
Here's your problem. There is no such thing as a "break point" in Flames Of War. Trying to calculate one or
use that concept will get you into endless trouble. A platoon needs to take a Platoon Morale Check when it
has less active teams than it has destroyed teams. That's all you need to remember.
With that in mind, the problem becomes easy to resolve. Used flame-thrower teams are neither active (they've
been removed from the table) nor destroyed.(Phil)

Company Moral Checks :

Sole Survivor :

- Can the CO re-roll a failed sole survivor motivation test ?

Although not at al explicit in the rules, it would seem to me that attaching the Company Commander to a team
would not change the fact that the platoon had been "reduced by casualties to a single Infantry team".
Thus, the platoon would need to take a Sole Survivor test, and if the CO was attached, it would be re-rolled,
but the CO would go with the platoon if it broke.(Phil)

- When forming the kampfgruppe the 2ic looses his independent team status. If he becomes a lone survivor
does he revert to being the 2ic / independent team again?
He is no longer an Independent team when the KG forms and never becomes one at any later point.(Phil)

- In my opponents turn he reduced my pioneer team to the commander and the flamer.
I took a half strength test and passed. In my turn I moved both forward and skilled test with the flamer leaving
the commander. Does this STILL count as being reduced by casualties to BECOME a sole survivor? I wasn't
one with my flame thrower on and if by using him then taking him off does not count as a casualty .
AND if I was not reduced to a sole survivor by losing my pioneer rifle teams (only half strength test needed)
how come one minute I am not reduced by casualties to become a sole survivor but then I LOSE NO more
troops and the next minute I am one. I was not reduced to a sole survivor by casualties, only casualties I
received caused me to half strength my platoon. So technically is their a possible loop hole to being a sole
survivor ?
There is really only one way you can be reduced to a sole survivor status and this is from taking casualties, it
might not have been in the last turn but you sure did take casualties otherwise you would be at full strength.
After you remove the Flamer you have one team left, he is now the sole survivor. He became the sole survivor
because the platoon had taken casualties at some point in the game.
This does bring up an interesting questions.
Do you check just once or every start up round including your opponents ?
Every one of your starting steps. (Phil)

- In MLFTF, Phil noted that if a company commander makes his warrior save, the effect is for the unit he
swaps with to become the new Company commander.
39
How does this affect morale?
When we played today, we forgot this rule. Had we not, my CO might have taken one of the last 2 tanks from
my 7AD Crom/FF platoon. I assume that would have changed the morale status of that platoon from 2 alive/2
dead to 1 alive/2 dead which is sole survivor. Is that correct? I would have had to roll for that platoon at the
end of the phase even though it took no damage?
My opponent's CO would have upgraded rides to his one team tiger platoon. What would that do to Company
Morale? He would have gone from 4 alive/1 dead to 3 alive/1 dead? Potentially, this could cause a company
command check if you went from say 3 alive/3 dead to 2 alive/3 dead?
It would seem that the only other solution would be for the new unit to simultaneously CO and member of a
platoon, which seems to fail the simplicity test.
If the commander abandoned his tank because it was bogged down, then it would join the platoon to replace
the one he took. If it was destroyed, it doesn't. (Phil)

Artillery :
- In V1, all Gun Teams could fire as R/MG Teams. The main exception being the Russians. In V2, without
this rule, most mortar Teams cannot defend themselves at all in Defensive Fire.
Correct.(Phil)

- How would my mortars fire should a two tube 81.4mm mortar section have a 60mm mortar added to it ?
As if all of the tubes were 60mm mortars.(Phil)

Firing in Bombardment :

- A mortar in a cornfield has to obey the 4 inch artillery rules?

Is it trees or buildings? No, so no problem.
Not all area terrain is woods ! (Phil)

- Does the artillery rule for bocage country where you can only range in on teams 10cm away from hedgerow
apply for mortars as well ?
You have the restriction at the wrong end. You must be 4"/10cm back from the hedgerow to fire, rather than
your target being more than 4"/10cm from the hedgerow.(Phil)

Select the Aiming Point :

Roll to Range In on the Target :

Spotting teams :
- Can the Troop HQ Command team observe for the battery whilst out of command distance. i.e. can it act as
a independent observer team ?
The HQ Troop command team is the Battery Captain. He is not an observer at all. His task is simply to run
the battery. As such, he is neither a Company Command team, nor an Observer team and can only spot when
acting as a Platoon Command team for a Gun Troop.(Phil)

Roll to range in :
- On Page 121 of the v2 mini-rule book it says you have +1 to the difficulty to range in if the target is
concealed. Of course that's in a brown box, not in italics, so it isn't a rule, it's an explanation.
Well, technically is a table referenced by a rule, so it's pretty much a rule. The contents of the box are
nowhere else so it can't be a summary of anything.
At the top of the second column is a rule entitled 'Concealment From Aircraft'. This says that 'Teams in, or on
the far side of and within 4"/10cm of, woods or buildings are Concealed from aircraft.'(Phil)

40
Staff teams :

- Artillery Staff are now labelled Rifle teams but in the armoury are listed as unable to fire.
Staff teams are not labelled Rifle teams. I think you are confusing them with Observer Rifle teams. (Phil)
- Can a Staff or an Observers (Rifle teams) able to fire ?
Staff teams are not Rifle teams, while Observer Rifle teams are Rifle teams (just as Observer Marmon
Herrington armoured cars are armoured cars). Rifle teams can shoot. Staff teams cannot. Just to be really
clear, there is no such thing as an 'Observer team' as such, just teams that are Observers.(Phil)

All Guns Repeat :

AGR is good for lane denial as well. If I range in on a platoon in the beginning, I set a marker down. Even
though that platoon is no longer there, my opponent knows as long as the marker is there, any subsequent
platoon travelling that route can be hit. I can fire on that marker as soon as his platoon is in range (the lead
teams) and next turn as they leave (trailing teams).
Ties up a battery firing on the spot while waiting for the next enemy to arrive (you have to keep doing All
Guns Repeat every turn or range in again), but sometimes it's worth it.(Phil)

- Do you roll for the repeat fire on the originally ranged in target, then roll for another attempt to range in on
second target? Am I then correct to presume the actual bombardment on the second ranged-in target would
occur in the subsequent turn?
It is not about one battery ranging in on two targets, but rather two or more batteries ranging in on a single
target. If one observer can see a target they can range in their own battery. then in the next turn while their
own battery continues to fire, they can range in a second battery on the same target.(Phil)

Observer Teams :

*Page 127: Change “Observer teams can spot while Pinned Down” to “Observer and Spotting teams can spot while
Pinned Down” in Observing While Pinned Down. This just makes it really clear that it doesn’t matter who is spotting,
being pinned down doesn’t affect them.

- Observers are now also labelled as rifle teams but are not listed in the armoury at all.
Nor are Pioneer Rifle teams or Command Rifle teams for that matter. They are Rifle teams that are also
Observer teams. (Phil)

- Why a German Reconnaissance armoured car Sd Kfz223(Radio) could not direct artillery like all American
platoon commanders? Seems reasonable that most German and British recon units had radios and would be
trained to call fire just as well as the GI 's. If it's not allowed in the rules then can a infantry observer team be
mounted in an armoured car platoon in the same way as a tank platoon ?
The observer isn't mounted in the tank (armoured car), the tank becomes an observer team. This leaves the
tank with all its normal functions, but allows it to act as an Observer team as well.
The US have an interesting situation. Their M3A1 armoured cars are transport teams, not Tank teams. The
Observer team as to be a passenger in the M3A1, This will prevent them making a Recon Deployment
move.(Phil)

- MRB, page 105. Observing while pinned down : “Observer teams can spot while pinned down, but not if
they are a bogged down or bailed out tank”.
This was pointed out to me tonight when an American Platoon leader (pinned down) tried to call in an
artillery barrage. This was a discussion that started and I was asked to give my opinion on.
I ruled that the platoon leader is NOT an observer team. Since the platoon is pinned down he can not call in
the 105 artillery. The platoon leader is granted the same special ability to call artillery that any CiC has. If a
CiC was somehow pinned he could not call it either as he is not an observer either. With that same thought
process; if a platoon of Priests (armoured artillery) was pinned down the platoon leader for the priests could
not call the artillery, someone else would have too.
What do you think about this issue/topic. Was I reading this correctly? Is there something in the rules I missed
about other teams spotting for artillery ?

41
The rules for Bogging Down and Bailing Out state that you may not fight while in such a state. This includes
spotting for a bombardment.
The rules for being Pinned Down state that you can shoot, just with penalties in some cases. Being Pinned
Down does not stop you from spotting for artillery.
The specific note in the Observers section was just to remind players that they can do so. It should perhaps
mention spotters as well.(Phil)

- If an artillery observer can only see part of an enemy team can he call a bombardment down on it? My
observer could just see a quarter of an infantry team - the rest was blocked by a wood. Do I have to be able to
see the centre of the target team, or is just any part good enough.
If you can see more than a trivial part of the enemy team, you can shoot at them or range artillery in on them.
If you successfully range in on the target, the template will be centred over the target team. (Phil)

Position the Template :

- I came across an interesting situation recently with the placement of artillery templates. In most cases
placing the template on the target and orienting it to the firing battery isn't a problem. However if you've got a
Russian 12 gun battery then there's a lot of battery to choose from. They use a double width template too, so
any change in orientation can be significant.
You need to use common sense and talk with your opponent when the situation is unclear.(Phil)

Roll to Hit Teams Under the Template :

*Page 130: Change “with lower Armour ratings before those with higher Armour ratings” to “with lower Top armour
ratings before those with higher Top armour ratings”. Most people figured out that if you were taking the save on the top
armour rating, then that must be what the rule was referring to.

- An artillery battery bombards an enemy artillery battery ranging in 1st turn and getting 2 hits out of 3. there
are 2 guns and an infantry team under the template.
1/ Do the hits to teams under the template get allocated by the defender?
or 2/ Do the hits randomly strike the teams under the template?
or 3/ Roll 2 dice for gun hits and 1 dice for an infantry hit?
There are four types of team in Flames Of War (page 25).
Artillery rolls to hit each platoon under the template separately and each type of team in the platoon
separately.
So if a platoon under the template has 3 Infantry teams, 3 Gun teams, and 3 Transport teams under the
template, you roll three dice for each type. The targeted player then picks which specific ones were hit.
One of the reasons for doing things this way was to stop artillery sniping. It was amazing how good some
artillery observers were at spotting officers in the old rules! Now you need to be very lucky to actually get the
platoon command team or another critical piece of equipment. To a large extent this represents the observer
bombarding the whole platoon rather than sniping the key teams.(Phil)
- Does that mean that I can just allocate saves to the Rifle Teams and keep my Command Team forever?
As long as you can keep finding Rifle teams under the template, yes.(Phil)
- Don't you have to allocate saves separately to avoid immortality?
At some point there will be enough hits to mean the command team will have to take one, either because they
are all that is left, or simply that every team was hit. This latter isn't that improbable. Say you are hitting 4
teams on 4+, then one time in 16 the command team will get a hit.(Phil)

Rocket Launchers :

Roll Saves for Teams that were Hit :

Pin Down all Platoons that were Hit :

42
 Smoke Bombardments :

- When the roll for wind direction can be made ? Before the deployment ?
The roll for wind direction can be made at any time. But you certainly can't roll for the wind direction before
you deploy. (Phil)

- Can I use the All Guns Repeat rule if the target or the spotting team are smoked ?
The rules give a certain set of restrictions on using the All Guns Repeat rule. These do not include requiring
the Spotting team to have line of sight to the aiming point.
Therefore, smoke bombardments on the spotting team or the target will not prevent them using All Guns
Repeat.(Phil)

- Since bunkers have no skill rating they cannot be targeted by smoke bombardments or direct fire smoke
from even within 16" This just seems wrong as as blinding a bunker would be exactly what you want to do
before approaching to assault. Also, are bunkers pinned by preliminary bombardment ? Secondly, by our
reading of the rules only direct fire smoke can be directed at a bunker and this seems the best way to assault
them- pinning doesn’t work as they are independent teams and automatically unpin at the start of the assault
step (bigger!).
That is an interesting observation.
Clearly however, the intent is that bunkers do remain pinned down otherwise the first column of page 211 is
completely meaningless.
A bunker that is pinned down as per the Shooting at Bunkers rules on page 211 remains pinned down until it
rallies in the following Starting Step (which it does automatically since it passes Motivation Tests
automatically).(Phil)

Artillery summary :

*Page 136: Artillery Summary. Delete “Re-roll failed attempts to Range in on a team moving At the Double”.
This was a leftover from the development process that didn’t get removed from the summary.

Aircraft :
- Is air support a divisional support choice or is it like LFTF 3 where it did not count vs your support platoon
choice ?
Same as it has always been. It is not a Support Choice. That is why it is not listed as such. (Phil)

- You use of the P47 Thunderbolt as a "common attack aircraft" example on p.122 of the M-MRB. This is not
a plane choice in Mid war (nor is the Typhoon for that matter). I assume that this chart is for illumination
only, or is there some points difference? Personally, I prefer the auto kill of the P47 bombs to the "don't bog
the bomb" roll of the P40 and P38.
The chart is titled Sample Ground Attack Aircraft, so yes they are a sample for illustrative purposes. (Phil)

Roll for Air Support :

*Page 139: How many Aircraft. Change “When a flight of ground attack” to “When a flight of ground-attack”. That
missing hyphen really matters!

- When exactly do you decide which weapons your aircraft are using? Before or after the Roll for air support ?
You buy a specific type of aircraft. Since the Stuka D and Stuka G are different type of aircraft (rather than
armament loads for the same aircraft), you can have one or the other. You choose the armament before
rolling for the number. As for when to decide which weapon you are using, you should do so when you place
them on the table. I'm not sure that it makes much difference whether you do it before or after rolling how
many aircraft as the different weapons are best against different target types, pretty much regardless of
numbers.(Phil)

43
Select the Aiming Point :

- My opponent gets aircraft and positions them to destroy a couple harmless little jeeps that I SWEAR aren't
spotters for my m-10's. Then he has a tank fire at the jeeps as well to make sure they die. I of course disengage
(ok, so they WERE spotters for my M-10's. Anyone else get a kick out of German players being more afraid
of jeeps than tanks?) and move 12 inches away, placing me out of the aiming zone for the aircraft. The
aircraft, which had been 6 inches away from the back of the jeeps to keep out of the friendly fire zone pick a
new target within 4" as they're allowed to do. The new target is 4" closer to friendly troops than the jeeps
were.
So here's the question: When you pick a new target for the aircraft, do you have to reposition them and
recheck for distance to friendlies? Common sense (to me) says "yes". The rules don't say you have to,
therefore there's a strong case for saying "No".
No. The rules say nothing about repositioning the aircraft. They remain where they are. (Phil)

Conduct Anti-Aircraft Fire :

- AA fire is done after all other fire takes place but before aircraft attack. This gives you the chance to pin AA
platoons, therefore increasing your aircrafts chances.
If you pin light AA guns they drop to RoF 1 per team. With that same thought process, what happens to
pinned heavy AA gun platoons? They have a RoF 1 already. Do they incur the +1 shooting penalty or what?
Since its a skill check I can't just come out and say yes. But on the same note, they have to suffer something
from being pinned.
Should they suffer from "skill check +1" to hit Aircraft?
The rule says no modifiers, so no modifiers. (Phil)

- I had also noticed that on page 119 of the FOW rulebook it states that any teams that shoot at aircraft cannot
shoot in their next turn, however it does not seem to say anything of the opposite, that is if a team were to
shoot at something in their turn whether or not they would be able to fire at aircraft in their opponents
following turn.
There is nothing stopping you shooting in your turn, then firing AA in the opponent's turn. You do not need to
predict in your previous turn that you will need to fire AA fire in your opponent's turn.(Phil)

- When AA guns are on the other side of a smoke screen and firing at aircraft can they only fire at planes
within 6" as the smoke screen rules state for concealment? Or, if they are over 4" from the smoke screen can
they shoot as stated in the AA fire section ?
An artillery smokescreen conceals a target from aircraft, but does not prevent the aircraft from attacking the
target in the smokescreen.
An artillery smoke screen limits the line of sight from an anti-aircraft gun in it to 6"/15cm.
If the teams are not actually in the smokescreen, the smoke screen has no effect. The edge of the smokescreen
represents the point at which it becomes to diffuse to have further effect.(Phil)

- In the rulebook it says that "AA MG can be fired at the same time as other machine guns, but not at the same
time as a main gun, since the commander and gun crew cannot do two things at once." So in my opponents air
support shooting phase I can fire the AA MG at attacking aircraft; but then in my shooting phase can I fire the
main gun as usual or can I not fire it because I used the AA MG in my opponents shooting phase?
In a game I had last night, my Hornisse were bombed by my opponents air support. I fired my AA MG at his
attacking aircraft but I was told that if I used the AA MG i couldn't fire my Hornisses' main gun in my next
turn. I'm just not really convinced because I don't think I am firing them at the same time. one weapon in his
turn and then one in mine.
Any time you fire at aircraft you cannot fire in your next turn.(Phil)

Roll to Range In on Target :

- On Page 121 of the v2 mini-rule book it says you have +1 to the difficulty to range in if the target is
concealed. Of course that's in a brown box, not in italics, so it isn't a rule, it's an explanation.
44
Then on page 164 (reference sheet) it says you have +1 to the difficulty if target is concealed BY WOODS
(capitalization mine to distinguish difference)
The same discrepancy exists for artillery as well, but there's no special mention about concealment for arty
such as there is for aircraft.
So: Is concealment from aircraft only possible under the rule on page 121, or is that in addition to the normal
means of concealment? It would make sense in a way if you couldn't hide from aircraft just by lying down in
the open, but....(?)
That is the only way to be concealed from aircraft. (Phil)

- At the top of the second column is a rule entitled 'Concealment From Aircraft'. This says that 'Teams in, or
on the far side of and within 4"/10cm of, woods or buildings are Concealed from aircraft.' The interesting
thing about this is, if those teams are AA teams, they can't shoot at the planes, although the planes can shoot at
them (pages 119 "Intervening Terrain" and 121 "Concealment From Aircraft"). "
Correct. Don't place your AA guns beside trees or buildings. While the AA have to locate and engage their
targets, the aircraft are usually given a target to bomb. They don't have to positively locate the enemy before
beginning their attack run. Simply bombing the woods or the north edge of Villers Bocage is sufficient. (Phil)

Roll to Hit Teams Under the Template :

Roll Saves For Teams that were Hit :

Air support summary :

*Page 148: Air Support Summary. Delete “Re-roll failed attempts to Range in on a team moving At the Double”.
Another leftover (good for lunch the next day, bad for rules).

Reconnaissance :

*Page 149: Add “although it can spot for artillery bombardments” to the end of Eyes and Ears. Another clarification
that makes sense.

- Can an American recce platoon command team (who has the “excellent communication rule”) call in an
artillery strike in the same turn that it is reorganising following a successful disengage ?
Teams that are reorganising cannot spot for artillery. (Phil)

- The American Tank destroyers and all the jeep/carbine teams are sitting near the objective. I move my
german panzers into line of sight and want to fire my main guns, declaring tank teams as priority targets. The
American player makes his skill check and disengages, moving his tank destroyers out of my line of sight.
Since I moved I do not fire at the disengaging tank teams. All other teams (the jeeps and infantry) remain
where they are near the objective and do not follow the Tank destroyers into hiding.
My question is:
1. Do the jeep teams have to follow the tank destroyers away from the objective and behind the trees?
2. Since they did not, can I now shoot with my MG's at the remaining jeeps who are still in my line of sight,
or is my shot wasted because I wanted originally to shoot the tank teams?
They are part of the platoon, so you can shoot them. Any tank teams that can be hit are hit first. Since there
are none, the hits must be applied to the rest of the platoon.(Phil)

Eyes and Ears :

- Issue arose tonight about a bailed Panzer II (recce unit) being about to push an ambush outside 8"
deployment. In otherwords, does a bailed out recce tank team retain its ability to deny an ambush within 8" of
itself ? The other members of the platoon left it behind (failed to remount 2 turns in a row).
Since the ambush doesn't magically appear, but was actually in place or nearby unseen all the time, it
presumably wasn't there when the tank arrived, and still isn't there when it becomes bailed out. (Phil)

45
- Hmmm, that would then imply that ambushes can't be placed within the range limits of anywhere a recce
unit is OR ANYWHERE IT HAS BEEN PRIOR TO THAT. Do we need to leave a trail of bread crumbs
behind our recce units to show the areas that have been cleared of ambushes ?
Check out page 197 for examples of ambushes appearing behind troops who thought that they had cleared an
area. In these case the troops are moving back into the area by covered and hidden routes.
The reason that they are revealed at 8"/20cm when trying this trick near recon troops is that the recon troops
are still there to see them moving back (even if not fully combat effective).
Once the recon has moved on, there is no one to see them wander up and get ready to ambush whoever is
coming behind the recon. (Phil)

- The reconnaissance rules say that you can't use the Eyes and Ears rule when the Recce Platoon is pinned.
But if I took three Panzer II Luchs the whole platoon would consist of tank teams and they don't take any
effect from being pinned. Can tank teams use Eyes and Ears or not!?
Very good question. Since platoons containing only armoured tank platoons cannot be pinned down, the
platoon cannot be pinned down when it attempts to do Eyes and Ears, and thus can do so. (Phil)

Disengaging :

- As the rules are written, "away from the shooting teams". "Move away from" is the opposite of "move closer
to". The situation : the recce teams Y are being shooted from X, those teams are 20'' away from the recce
teams. The recce teams pass a skill team, and it happens that there's a wood over there.
Let's suppose that Z is a place where they could be out of sight from the teams at X, and they could reach
moving. But the point is that Z is 16'', which is closer to the enemy than Y. So, could the recce teams move to
Z?
The rules do say away from which requires the disengaging teams to move generally away from the enemy.
Your movement is not away from the enemy.(Phil)

- I have a question regarding reconnaissance and assaults. Is it possible for recce, both armoured (car, tanks)
and infantry to launch an assault? I do understand that DF could lead to a problem; the disengaging from
shooting rule. That you must succeed with a skill test to press home the assault instead of disengaging. Is this
correct or have I missed something?
The rules for forced disengage actually state that you can only be forced to disengage in the enemy Shooting
Step, not in your own Assault Step., so no forced disengage from defensive fire.(Phil)

- Is a recon team forced to disengage when it has double-timed and missed a save? The rule says you may not
disengage when double-timed but is "forced disengage" different?
You can always be forced to disengage. It reflects your troops state of mind, not their deliberate tactical
decisions.
Since you are forced to disengage after all the damage has already been done, it is never a good thing. You
could have simply moved away in your own turn instead. Hence, it reflects the recce boys freaking out about
the amount of fire they are taking and backing off.(Phil)

Reorganisation :

*Page 153: Reorganisation. Add “spot for artillery bombardments” to the list of things that cannot be done while
reorganising. Likewise, another clarification that makes sense.

Night Fighting :

Moving at night :
- Which takes precedence? Stormtrooper allows you to move in assault phase 4" extra. But British Night
Rules allows no movement of over 8". So... can I move my Pnzr Grenadier infantry 6" + 4" OR ONLY 6" +
2" (keeping to the 8" rule) ??
The limit of 8"/20cm is on any specific movement. You can therefore move 6"/15cm in the Movement step and
then Stormtrooper an additional 4"/10cm in the Assault Step.(Phil)
46
Night fighting and artillery:

*Page 154: Add “Teams spotting for an Artillery Bombardment must choose a team that they could see to shoot at as
their Aiming Point. Teams firing an Artillery Bombardment do not have their range restricted by the Night Fighting
rules.”. Most people probably figured out that it was the spotter that was affected by darkness, not the artillery pieces.
Change “With nothing but their eyes to guide them, there is no way for aircraft to accurately identify targets on the
battlefield to attack” to “With nothing but their eyes to guide them, there is no way for aircraft to accurately identify
targets to attack” in No Air Support. This was just to make room for the previous change.

- Is the intent that bombardments can only fire a max of 24” away even if the observer ranges in on a team
further away? (ie the observer is 4” away form a team that is 35” way form the Artillery battery.) As it is
written I would say no unit can fire more then 24”. ( max range for night fight is 24" unless a team has fires
and is in los).
The limitation of night affects the Spotting team not the Bombarding team for Artillery Bombardments.(Phil)

Night attack :
-Does night end when US Para's attack in DFA? Here is why I ask.
The DFA briefing in Afrika states, "When a US Parachute Rifle Company attacks in DFA, the game starts at
night with the Night Fighting Rules in effect". Afrika pg200
MiRB pg132. No where does it state when night ends, or if you roll (like British night attacks) to see if night
ends.
The intention was that Dawn arrived in the same manner as for a British Night Attack. That doesn't make the
Assault Step into a Movement Step, it simply allows some troops to treat it as one in some cases. (Phil)

Night attack and air support :

- A British Infantry Company were attacking in Breakthrough against a Luftwaffe Field Company.
Page 139 wrote: "If they do so, the game starts in darkness and uses the Night Fighting rules (on page 132)
until morning breaks.
At the start of the defenders turn 3, the defender rolls a die. On a score of 5+ morning has broken. etc."
Page 132 wrote: NO AIR SUPPORT "Air support may not be requested on turns where the night-fighting
rules are in effect"
Page 11 wrote: The Starting Step
"During the starting step you:
1 Check Company Moral
2 Check Victory Conditions
3 Reveal Ambushes
4 Roll for Air Support
5 Select Aiming Point and position Aircraft
6 Roll for Reserves
7 Rally Pinned Down Platoons
8 Remount Bailed Out Vehicles
9 Free bogged Down Vehicles
10 Smoke Disperses"
This leaves four queries:
1/ Is the start of the turn before the 5+ dice roll is made where the night-fighting rules are in effect. I.E. as you
made a roll for morning at the start of the turn, then that was a turn when Air Support could not be requested?
If the Night rules are not in effect for the turn, then they are not in effect for the turn, so Aircraft can be used.
(Phil)
2/ Is the start of the defenders turn the same as the Starting Step - I would expect so.
That is the first thing in the Defender's turn, so the start of the defender’s turn would presumably be the start
of the Starting Step.(Phil)
3/ Is the sequence of the Starting Step tied to being resolved in that numerical order - it would seem to be the
case.
Yes. (Phil)

47
4/ At what point in this step do you insert the "Roll for Morning on a 5+" - can you roll for morning before the
steps rolling for Air Support?
At the start as stated in the rule.(Phil)

National Characteristics :

Who are the Americans ?

US Special Rules :

Tank Destroyers :

*Page 157: Tank Destroyer Doctrine. Change “Self-propelled Anti-tank Platoons” to Self-propelled and Tank Destroyer
Platoons” in the last line. The wording of this rule should be consistent with the one above.

- The last sentence and paragraph on page 157 of the hardcover rules states:
"If no carbine teams from the platoon are left on the table, any remaining tank destroyers abandon the field,
and the whole platoon counts as destroyed."
Now, this comes at the end of a section talking about how to deploy the M10s and it is probably meant to say:
"If no carbine teams from the platoon are left on the table, AND THE TANK DESTROYERS ARE NOT
YET DEPLOYED, THEN any remaining tank destroyers abandon the field, and the whole platoon counts as
destroyed."
But, this is not what it says and a pretty strong argument could be made that tank destroyer platoons will
abandon the field while still having half more than half of their teams on the table and without the benefit of a
motivation roll.
How is this rule being played? and has there been any clarification of it?
That sentence is only relevant in the context of the rule, which is about the arrival of the tank destroyers.
Once they are on table, they are there and the rule no-longer applies.(Phil)

- In Afrika, the US has the Self Propelled Antitank Platoon (SPAT). In FE, it has the Tank Destroyer platoon
(TD).
In the US Special Rules, "Self-propelled Anti-tank Platoons may Disengage even if they fired in their own
turn."
Unlike the other special Tank Destroyer rules, it does not include the Tank Destroyer platoon. It is just the
SPAT.
Is that intentional, such that TD platoons do not get to Disengage if they fired, the way SPAT can, or is that a
typo?
Definitely both SPAT and TD Platoons can disengage.(Phil)

- Must I disengage my Towed Tank Destroyer platoon (FE p.106) if it is in Bulletproof Cover ? Can I conduct
my defensive fire ?
The rules says “Infantry and Gun teams in Bulletproof Cover are never forced to disengage.” and “Recce
teams that Disengaged may not conduct Defensive Fire... Other teams in the Recce Platoon that did not
Disengage continue to operate as normal”. Since reorganisation only affects recce teams that disengaged,
and infantry and gun teams in bulletproof cover don't usually disengage, there is no effect on them when their
platoon is forced to disengage.(Phil)

Seek Strike Destroy :

*Page 157: Seek, Strike, and Destroy. Change “If no Carbine teams from the platoon are left on the table, any
remaining tank destroyers abandon the field, and the whole platoon counts as Destroyed.” to “If no Carbine teams from
the platoon are left on the table and the tank destroyers are not yet deployed, they abandon the field and the whole
platoon counts as Destroyed”. This rule was only meant to affect tank destroyers that hadn’t turned up yet.

- page 133 MRB - Seek Strike Destroy - the wording for placing the TD's now includes the word "all". Does
48
this mean all TD's must be placed at the same time, or can you still choose to place one, some, or all during
the turn?
The word 'all' usually means every one of them, so no you cannot place some of them and the rest later. (Phil)

- The question has been raised that you only get US SSD for TDs if the unit is placed on the board at the start
of the game and you lose that ability if placed in reserve (i.e. must come on the board as a full unit to include
TDs). I do not see that in the rules, but others have put forth strong arguments that they do not retain SSD
while in reserve status. Which is correct (Please) ?
As the rules are written the Tank Destroyers can only use Seek Strike and Destroy if they start the game
deployed on the table. If they are in reserve, they cannot.(Phil)

Dismounting Machine-guns :

*Page 161: Change “that has passenger-mounted machine-guns” to “has more than one machine-gun mounted” in
Fields of Fire. While in most cases the rule worked as written, the US M3A1 armoured car has multiple machine-guns,
but the .50 cal is not passenger-fired.

Having a look at this I notice something please correct me if I am wrong, but a 50 cal HMG is classed as a
manpacked Gun team, does that mean when it is dismounted it can move and fire at a reduced rate of fire of
course.
I ask this because I thought HMGs could not move and fire, but it appears that the 50 cal is does not fit under
HMG team?
Correct. The .50cal MG team is not an HMG team, just an MG team and a Man-packed Gun.(Phil)

Hit them with Everything You've Got :

- The "Hit Then With Everything We've Got" rule allows the Americans to bring in a second (or more) battery
and have it hit the same point as the first battery without needing to make ranging-in rolls. It works just like
an All Guns Repeat, except that new batteries can be added in. Each one gets its own template and rolls for
hits, etc. as if it were acting alone. It’s correct ?
The new batteries still need to roll to range in. They do not get an automatic "All Guns repeat".(Phil)

Under Command :
- My opponent last night raised an interesting question about how bombardments are called in using the
60mm mortars found in the US armored infantry platoons. I had always assumed that the US special rule
Under Command applied to them, but my freind pointed out that the Under Command Rule applies to
Weapons platoons of various types and cannon platoons and chemical mortar platoons. Nothing in the rule
says anything about Armored Infantry platoons that happen to have a 60mm mortar team as part of their
TO&E.
The Under Command rule does not apply to artillery pieces in Company HQ and Combat Platoons (such as
the 60mm mortar in an Armored Rifle Platoon).(Phil)

Who are the Germans ?

German Special Rules :

Kampfgruppe :

*Page 166: Kampfgruppe. Change “up to half of the Sections or Squads from any Combat or Weapons platoons” to “up
to half of the Sections or Squads (excluding the HQ Section) from any Combat or Weapons platoons”. This is an
important clarification that has been made on the web. Too many other rules can be broken otherwise.

- Are HQ sections counted when determing number of sections / squads for half in a platoon when taking
sections/squads for the Kampf Gruppe?
No. (Phil)

49
- Do Combat and HQ attached Teams/sections count when determining number of sections / squads for half in
a platoon when taking sections/squads for the Kampf Group?
No. Attached teams are not part of the platoon, they are only attached to it.(Phil)

- So a 2 section Armoured Car platoon would count as only 1 Section for KGing (as the HQ section does not
count) and there for could not send a section to a KG as half of 1 is less then 1 ?
Correct, you would need three armoured cars before you could detach one to a Kampfgruppe.(Phil)

- So can Light mortars from Infantry platoons be transferred from the platoon to the Kampfgruppe?
Yes. They are a Squad that is not the HQ Section (Phil)

- When EXACTLY MUST a KG be designated ? (in the form of a number in the mission sequence)
The number depends on the mission. but the answer is before you do anything with your force. You can wait
until o b j e c tives are set etc, but the instant your force comes into the picture, you must have completed
everything about reorganising it. I say that the intention is very simple. Before you get to do anything with
your force in this mission you must have completed all Kamfgruppe creation and Combat Attachments. If
what you are trying to do seems to require a complicated interpretation of this statement, then it probably is
not supposed to be done. (Phil)

- CA and KG are done the same, then you should be able to make your KG JUST BEFORE Deployment ?
They are done at the same time.(Phil)

Mission tactics :
- The Panzerfausts go along with the command team when Mission Tactics occurs ?
The Command team is the Command team, not the Command team with X, Y and Z changed or removed, so
yes the Command team retains its Panzerfaust option.
You might view it as the platoon has a supply of Panzerfausts that are sufficient for one team to use them at
any time. For simplicity and clarity, we say that the one that can use them at any point in time is the
Command team.(Phil)

Stormtrooper :

*Page 166: Stormtroopers. Add “as a Movement Step in which it” after “the platoon treats the Assault Step”. Somehow
half of the sentence was lost in the original printing.

- The Stormtrooper move is “a Movement step” ?

The Stormtrooper rule allows Germans to sometimes treat the Assault Step as a Movement Step.
That doesn't make the Assault Step into a Movement Step, it simply allows some troops to treat it as one in
some cases.(Phil)

- How is it possible for a heavy/medium gun that only has a 2 inch move to stormtrooper 4 inches?
It was a very deliberate design decision. The Germans have a long history of keeping guns well forward and
moving them up with the infantry in attacks.
They are one of the main users of infantry guns in this role and frequently used anti-tank guns this way as
well. That is one reason they provided dog harness for the entire grew and a large idler wheel for the trail, to
keep their anti-tank guns mobile in a way no other country except the Soviet Union considered (the Soviets
have a different special rule to get their heavy guns up with the infantry).
Giving the guns a total of a 6" move (on a good day) when they do not shoot certainly matched the
descriptions of their infantry guns and anti-tank guns operating with infantry in assaults.(Phil)

Can your remove transports in a stormtroopers move ?

Transports can only be removed in THE movement step. (Page 91 MRB)
The stormtrooper rule states that "Although it is not a movement step...mount and dismount..." (Page 136

50
MRB)
No mention is made about being able to send Transports to the rear.
Stromtrooper allows troops to treat the Assault Step as a Movement Step in which they can move 4"/10cm,
mount and dismount. They cannot send transports to the rear.
The Sending Transports to the Rear rule should be interpreted as "your Movement Step" rather than "any
Movement Step".(Phil)

- In my German force can independant teams make stormtrooper moves ? Independent teams operate as if
they were a platoon on their own. That alone is enough to say they can attempt to stormtrooper I think. They
operate as a platoon. They are in command so they must be their own command team. That’s correct ?
An independent team is ineffect a one-team platoon. As such it can make Stormtrooper moves.(Phil)

- I'm not entirely certain if this is a stupid question, but the stormtrooper rule as I understand it from the main
rulebook says that any platoon can stormtrooper 4 inches, regardless of it's normal movement range. Am I
correct to assume that "regardless of its normal movement range" also includes immobile gun teams such as
88's and 105's?
Immobile guns can only move if towed by a tractor. That is the definition of an Immobile gun. So an Immobile
gun can Stromtrooper, however it can only move if towed by a tractor. If you have a tractor limbered to it,
then it moves, otherwise it does not.(Phil)

Armoured Rocket Launcher :

- The 3 Nebelwerfers have a total of 18 launch tubes 4 Panzerwerfers have 40 launch tubes but there effect is
the same, was this a playability decision or is there a historical reason.
Simply keeping all rocket launchers the same for ease of play. We have some ideas for the Panzerwerfer
though!(Phil)

- " Unlike other artillary, Panzerwerfer 42 rocket launchers may make a Stormtrooper move after firing
artillary bombardments" ....Please be gentle in your responses...but, does this mean I automatically (without
rolling) get the stormtrooper move? Or, does it mean I may attempt to make a stormtrooper move after firing
artillary bombardments?. Seems to me that the phrasing should say "may attempt" to make a stormtrooper
move if a roll is necessary? Personally though I am happy to live with whatever the ruling is, I just want to be
prepared. I have played them as having to roll, mostly for the benefit of fair play up till now. But the points
are so much, for really so little, I am hoping a little squeaker of a bonus applies in this case.
Artillery may not normally make Stormtrooper moves if it fires a bombardment. Since a platoon may contain
teams firing bombardments and teams that didn't, it has nothing to do with the platoon rolling to make a
Stormtrooper move. The teams that fired a bombardment can't make a Stormtrooper move.
The Armoured Rocket Launcher rule says that these teams can make the move if the platoon makes a
Stormtrooper roll.(Phil)

Stuka zu Fuss :
- A stuka commander in LOS with 2 platoons can spot for two shoots with the rockets ?
Each Stuka zu Fuss fires as a separate battery. That means it needs its own spotting team. A spotting team can
only spot for one battery. So unless all of the half-tracks moved into LOS to spot for themselves, the
commander can only spot for one of them.(Phil)

Mounted assault :

*Page 167: Mounted Assault. Delete the paragraph that begins “Teams that dismounted”. This situation cannot happen
in the rules, so there is no point in discussing it.

*Page 167: Mounted Assault. Change “a passenger in each Transport team may fight” to “a passenger in each Transport
team that is not Bailed Out may fight”. Nothing surprising in this change. A bailed out half-track isn’t going to fight.

- What benefit does "fighting as if they were a tank team" give? When do we apply infantry rules and when do
we apply tank rules (if ever)?

51
The half-tracked infantry fight as a tank, so they cannot hit another vehicle etc. OTOH, they are not Tank
teams, they just roll to hit etc as if they were.(Phil)

- The mounted assault rules (p.137 mini-rulebook) state that "In the first Assault Combat Round, one infantry
team carried as a passenger in each Transport team may fight as if it was a Tank team".
Does the "first Assault Combat Round" include the first counterattack? Thus causing a tank terror test?
Note, regardless of whether the passengers are Tank teams or not (and the intention was that they aren't) they
certainly aren't 'Armoured Tank teams' or 'Fully-armoured Tank teams' as required by the two rules
mentioned above.
The Mounted Assault does not require the enemy to test motivation to counterattack if they do not hit, and
falls back if pinned down by defensive fire.(Phil)

- The Panzergrenadier HQ in Ostfront could use the Mounted Assault special rule or not ?
As the Intel Briefings currently stand, the various Company and Higher Command teams cannot launch a
Mounted Assault with a Panzergrenadier Platoon that can.
This does seem a little strange, so as a house rule, I would suggest allowing them to do so.(Phil)

Tiger Aces :

- In the rules (p 168 in large rules) it states: "At the start of the game". Cool. When is that exactly? After
deployment, after scenario is rolled, when you first shake your opponents hand and say "Hi, I will be the guy
beating you this evening". I know it seems like a minor thing. Game was held recently with my local group,
hold the line late war. Anyway, terrain is placed and scenario is rolled. German playing is defending and is
pretty sure he is going to put his 3 StuGs in ambush. However, he then rolls a 6 for his King Tiger skills,
followed by a 4 and a 5. Yes we have a ROF 3, re-roll misses monster on the table. So it is placed in Ambush
instead. At the time nothing was thought of it. Then someone pointed out that in other battle reports the skill is
rolled for after deployment.
Any time from the 'Hi!' to turn 3 when the Tiger player goes, hang on, I should roll my skill as I might get
better shooting!(Phil)

- If you roll a six for your Tiger skills and the Plt I/C gets For the Fatherland for his own skill I presume the
whole platoon still benefits? What if he gets schnell, is it just him that rolls on a 2+ and can possibly
stormtrooper on his own ?
We have always played it that Schnell and For the Fatherland apply to the whole platoon when rolled as the
Platoon Commander's Tiger Ace Skill.(Phil)

Who are the British ?

British Special Rules :

Tally Ho !

*Page 174: Change “The 2 pdr and 6 pdr guns” to “The 2 pdr guns” in Tally Ho! fluff text. There are no 6 pdr-armed
tanks that have the Tally Ho! rule.

Eight-gun batteries :
- Each 4 gun troop counts as a different platoon on the board. So here's my situation. I want to bombard the
hell out of an enemy position. So say I fire a murder with all 8 guns and do some damage. Next turn, I'd like
to repeat bombard with one gun troop and re-range the other gun troop in to fire a smoke mission.
Now I know I have to re-range in the other troop since you can't repeat bombard with different ammunition.
And I of course know the gun troop doing the repeat bombardment would not be a murder, just a regular old
mission. But that'd be enough to pin. So... is there a rule disallowing this anywhere?
To add to this : I do a murder/stonk. My opponent assualts/fires from aircraft etc. my guns and I am left with 4
tubes. I roll to unpin and I am eligable to fire a bombardment. Can I do an AGR on my previous ranged in
marker, but treat it as a 4 gun battery not a murder/stonk?
52
It would seem to me that in the case of a Murder, then the rules would support you being able to repeat with
just one gun troop. The rules talk about artillery platoons repeating their bombardments. In this case, the gun
troop (an artillery platoon) is doing exactly what it did last turn, its just that its buddies are not having ceased
fire on that target.
In the case of a Stonk, the gun troop would be doing something different from before, as the structure of the
bombardment has fundamentally changed from a double template to a single one.(Phil)

Who are the Soviets ?

Soviet Special Rules :

Hen and Chicks :

- The Hen and Chicks rule says... "If any Soviet Tank or Transport team (inc assault guns and armoured
transports) in a COMPANY moved more than 6"/15cm in the movement step, none of the Tank or Transport
teams in the COMPANY can shoot in the shooting step".
Does this mean that teams in a Platoon, and that are not assigned to a company (such as armoured car
platoons, but not an armoured car company) don’t follow the Hen and Chicks rule?
Also, does the Company Command tank of a Tankovy Battalion HQ follow the hen and chicks rule? The only
company he is in is his own (or the battalion). If he moves over 6"/15cm is everyone prevented from firing? Is
Hen and Chicks intended to cover independent tanks and platoon sized transports or only the larger less
capable tank/transport companies?
All Soviet vehicles are affected by Hen and Chicks unless explicitly excluded from this rules.(Phil)
- If one company does not prevent another firing, what about a solo battalion command tank? As the only true
independent command team in the battalion, I'd have thought not, but does it then affect the companies it
commands if IT moves more than 6"?
Independent teams operate as if they were a platoon on their own (page 50). It is still a platoon/company,
even though it is a one-tank platoon/company.(Phil)

- Does the HQ tank in a Tank company suffer from Hen and Chicks ?
Independent teams operate as a platoon of one. This is the first rule on page 50.
This means that the hen and Chick rule applies to them, even when they are operating on their own.(Phil)

Soviet hero Kommissar and blocking detachment :

- My soviets were under fire from artillery and it required a company check, rolled a one, then rolled a 1
again. After the second failed reroll for a motivation check you roll a die and kill the number of bases hit by
the HMG team, bar saves. Does that mean you take a third save or they don't leave the table?
We ended up for the sake of finishing the game counted the platoon as destroyed as it failed 3 motivation
checks.
If the result of the failed Motivation test is the destruction of the company, then they are destroyed. The effect
of shooting and pinning them is additional to any normal effects of the failed Motivation test, no instead of it.
An example would be a company attempting to assault a tank. If they failed the test, the Blocking Detachment
would come into action allowing them to re-roll. If they passed the re-roll they would attack the tanks (better
odds than the HMG's!). If they fail the re-roll they don't assault and get shot and Pinned Down.(Phil)

Tankodesantniki :
- The tanko special rule states that hits have to be assigned to the tanko's before the tanks they're riding ?
Only in assault combat, not in any form of shooting, including defensive fire.(Phil)

- They fight in assaults as if dismounted" (minRB p. 143). There is an implication this means they are
mounted on the tank in an assault. Or can be mounted during an assault step ? Would the tanko need to be
dismounted before the assault began?
The tankodesantniki rules are written to allow them to be modelled on the tank or modelled in a way that they
can be dismounted. If they are permanently modelled on the tank (looking ultra cool I hope!), then they can
fight as if they were dismounted and clustered around the tank. (Phil)

53
- Question about the "Ignore Destroyed Tankodesantniki SMG teams when determining whether a Tankovy
Company is below half strength and needs to take a Platoon Morale Check":
Does that mean we can count active tanko teams towards company strength. Example - 10 T34's with 10
tankos - Company strength is 20? Your half strength would be 10 and since tankos don't count you have to
lose all ten tanks to be a half strength? Or do they mean if I lose 4 tanks/tankos then it's 6 active/4 destroyed
not 6 active/8 destroyed. In which case why not say to ignore the tankos completely when determining below
half strength?
The definition of below half strength is more teams destroyed than still fighting.
If you lose all of your tanks and none of your desantniki (due to a freak set of diesel fires?), you have 10
destroyed and 10 fighting, so you are OK.
If you lose five tanks and their desantniki (more likely), you have 5 teams destroyed (ignoring desantniki) and
10 still fighting, so you are fine.
If you lose seven tanks and their riders, you have seven teams destroyed and six still fighting, so you are
below half strength. (Phil)

- What happens to TDs on bogged/bailed tanks? Can they still fight in assaults and/or shoot their SMGs?
There is nothing to stop them from doing so. (Phil)

- Can TDs fire defensive fire when their "host" tanks are assaulted?
They are teams in the platoon, so why should they not fire if their platoon is assaulted?(Phil)

- I just don't remember if the rules address this one - do TD casualties impact Morale in any way?
Read the last paragraph of page 143.(Phil)

- Can the Tank Rider platoon be split up and allocated to different tank platoons as riders ? How can they do
this and still stay in command ?
A Tank Rider platoon could mount multiple Tank Companies and be carried in different directions, but it
would be pointless since one half would then have to move back to the other when it dismounted.
If you mean the Tankodesantniki of one Tank Company mounting the tanks of another, once again you could I
suppose, but don't be surprised if their parent platoon starts having to do strange things because half of its
platoon are Pinned Down elsewhere! of course, they would do nothing and die in droves with the normal 5+
save since the rules state mounted on a Tank of their own Company. (Phil)

- Are they some form of combat attachment where platoons are allocated to tank platoons and operate with
them.
No. They are part of the platoon. (Phil)

- A Finnish Pioneer team hits a T34 carrying Tankodesantniki with their flamethrower. If they pass their 5+
firepower test, the tank and its riders are destroyed; what happens to the riders if they fail?
Are they destroyed automatically, for being hit by a flamethrower and not being enclosed AFVs? or do they
get the 3+ special save, as per P.181 of the HBRB?
They are infantry teams. Infantry teams are destroyed by flame-throwers with no save.(Phil)

- Tanko rules on page 143 of the rulebook state: "While a single Tanko...team is mounted on a tank...they
operate as tank riders..."
Tank Rider rules on page 49: "...every time you hit their vehicle, they are hit and your opponent must roll a 5+
save for them, even if the tank's armour isn't penetrated."
Shooting rules on page 32: "...check that the target platoon is...within Range...within Line of Sight...within
Field of Fire...At least one team from the target platoon must fulfil all of these criteria in order to be a valid
target."
So far so good. However, check the Splitting Platoon's Fire rules on page 31: "A team must shoot all of its
weapons at the same enemy platoon...If some of a team's weapons can't damage the target...then they simply
don't shoot."
Now, a RAW reading of this suggests that if you fire at the tank carrying the tank riders, you cannot fire any
54
weapons that can't damage it. In other words, you can't use MGs to clear Tankos or Tank Riders off the back
of T-34 by actually shooting MGs at T-34s, since these weapons can never damage the tank itself.
Of course, I suspect that BF's intent was to allow people to "hose" Tanko-carrying T-34s with MGs and "clear
the decks", so to speak.
However, in order for "Intent" to match "Rules", the clarification must be made that the Tank Riders or
Tankodesantniki - i.e. transported infantry teams must be singled out as targets (since in that case, MGs can
cause damage to their targets and thus can shoot).
With this in mind, I ask for official clarification of the following two questions:
1. Are tanks carrying Tank Riders/Tankodesantniki excepted from the language on page 31 stating that you
can only fire a team's weapon if it can damage the target?
2. If such an exception is not granted, can Tank Riders/Tankodesantniki be explicitly targeted or are they
effectively immune from any weapon that cannot damage their tank?
The implications, of course, are fairly clear - if BF confirms that Tankos only take their 3+ save against
weapons that can damage their tank, then Tankos suddenly become a lot more survivable and useful.
Conversely, if BF confirms that Tankos can either be singled out, or else that the language on page 31 is a
typo/omission/misstatement/somehow does not apply to Tank Riders/etc., well, then Tankos are back in their
"rarely seen in optimised armies" V2 role.
The rule about weapons not shooting if they can't harw the target is solely about what happens to the other
weapons if you fire say a tank gun and a co-ax machine-gun at a tank. Just because the co-ax can't hurt the
tank doesn't allow it to pick another target, it simply doesn't fire.
There is nothing to stop you from firing the MG at the tank if you want to waste your and your opponent's
time, but since it can do no damage, all of the die rolling will be in vain.
As for tank riders, if you shoot the tank with machine-guns, although the hits will have no effect on the tank,
the tank-riders will still be hit.(Phil)

- I had this situation in a game recently. I had 3 KV-1e with 2 tanko's(left), move 6" to be contesting an
objective. the Objective was contested by 2 US SP AA halftracks. Two KV's (with tanko's) fired at the half
tracks and both missed (very annoyed), but then I thought, hey wait, i can dismount my tanko's and assault in
the assault phase. Which I subsequently did, the halftracks get no defensive fire, as they can't fire their main
gun, I get two hits, and the halftracks were destroyed. Leaving me to hold an objective.
Now I understand (in hind-site) that i can't launch an assault from a "transport", however, if i had moved 6"
then dismounted, then fired, then assaulted just with the tanko's (since tanks can't assault vehicles), is that
legal?? This is assuming regular rules apply, eg. not being pinned etc.
The paragraph about not falling back if pinned down by defensive fire applies to tankovy companies with
desantniki period. It does not matter if the desantniki are on the tanks or not.
OTOH, the problem with charging with just the desantniki is that it leaves you with no hits scored in the first
assault combat round. The enemy can breakoff or counterattack at will. It seems to me to be a quick way to
lose your desantniki since most platoons will kill several in the first attempt and the tankovy company has to
make a motivation test to counterattack to score its first hits.(Phil)

- TK can fire a vehicle mounted AAMG, such as are available on the M4A2, IS-2, or ISU-122/152 ? If so,
would they be able to fire at full ROF, since the tank crew is not distracted from manning the vehicle's
internal guns, and, in an assault, would this also mean they could fire the AAMG without putting the vehicle
at risk for being crew exposed? Lastly, would this use of the vehicle mounted AAMG affect the use of their
own inherent SMGs at the same time?
No, it’s not possible. If you look where the machine-gun is actually mounted, you will see that you need to be
in the hatch or to have vacated the hatch to use the machine-gun. Were I a tank commander and some grunt
climbed on my head to fire my machine-gun, I know I'd certainly tell them where to go - off my tank! (Phil)

- Can we get a ruling on the prompting tankodeseantkniki to command status if the command tank is killed?
Technically legal by the rules till you say otherwise... Maybe a ruling on the ability of the tanks to outpace the
walking tanko's??? (aka, leave command range)
There is nothing stopping one of the SMG teams being appointed Platoon Command team if the original
commander is dead.
Personally, it seems like a complicated way of getting a small infantry platoon that has endless command
55
problems, but there is nothing stopping it.
Likewise, there is nothing requiring the deseantniki to keep up with the tanks, but again, it's not a good idea
as it could result in your tanks having to halt or retire at a critical moment if they take casualties. The text in
the rule about deserting their post is simply an explanation of the reason for the following two rules.(Phil)

- What about the rule about if you promote a Tankodeseantniki to company leader it becomes a shiny new
tank. This allows me to magically make new tanks appear, or does it represent that heroic Tankodeseantniki
jumping in front of the 88 shell and taking one for the team ? It sounds silly but the rules allow it.
The team become the Platoon Command team, they don't suddenly grow a tank. They remain a Platoon
Command SMG team.(Phil)

Quality of quantity :

*Page 182: Change “A Soviet Company currently having at least fifteen” to “A Soviet Company starting the Step with
at least fifteen” in Quality of Quantity. This wording change makes the things a lot clearer.

- When does the Strelkovy get the "10 hits before pinned advantage" in the shooting step?
Example : German platoon A fires at the Strelkovy platoon C which has 16 units. A inflicts 7 hits at C. And C
misses 3 inf. saves. Does the Strelkovy platoon C becomes pinned ? When do you calculate the possibility of
the "10 hits before pinned advantage"? Before taking losses or after?
It is the strength you start the step with that matters.(Phil)

Infiltration :
- If a Soviet company is infiltrated to 2" from an enemy in clear, the enemy has first turn as the Soviets forfeit
the right to move first. By a literal reading, In the shooting phase the Soviet would be counted as Concealed
and Gone to Ground as there was no prior turn to move in. Is this correct ?
There is no 'Deployment Step'. Deployment happens before the game begins. The game begins with the
Starting Step of the first player's first turn. Any movement at the end of Deployment would count as movement
in the previous turn for the player having the second turn.(Phil)

Big battalions :

*Page 182: Change “nine or more guns” to “nine or more weapons” in Big Battalions. Nine mortars are also a big
battalion, so weapons is a bit more appropriate.

- this rule applicable to mortars which can have 9 teams in platoon ? Mortars are designated as gun teams. But
the term gun teams is not used in the sentence or in the italics. Merely the term guns. Guns has a definition in
the arty section and so do mortars and tubes.
In this context it is intended to mean artillery weapons firing. Were it literally guns, then the Strelkovy's
artillery which has eight guns and four howitzers would also be excluded! (Phil)

Mixed Battalions :

*Page 182: Change “total number of guns firing” to “total number of weapons firing” in Mixed Battalions. If you are
being picky, a howitzer is not a gun, so once again weapons is a better choice of word

Choosing your Force :

*Page 183: Add to the text beneath the heading “No matter which method you choose, the key thing to remember is that
the Intelligence Briefings in our handbooks is that the diagrams show the organisation of each of your platoons, and this
in turn tells you how to base your miniatures (if the picture says four figures, then four figures go on a base). For more
information see Boot Camp on our website: www.FlamesOfWar.com “. Something we just never said, but is really
helpful for beginners.

Fielding Allied Platoons :

56
Multiple Company Forces :

Making Combat Attachments :

- page 146 - Attachements. Are attachments from weapons platoons by team or squad/section? Are
attachments from Company HQ by team or squad/section?
As the rule says, by team. (Phil)

- Can I attach a platoon command team ?

Although the rules do not say it explicitly, you cannot attach the platoon command team.
If you attach out all the weapons, the HQ Section is removed from the game.
If you do not attach out all the weapons, the platoon still needs a command team.
Either way, the platoon command team cannot be attached out. (Phil)

- If a team is combat attached to a Reconnaissance platoon, does that team become a member of the platoon
and thus gain the abilities of that platoon ?
No. They retain their own abilities.(Phil)
- So when a non-recce team is attached to a Recce Platoon, the non-recce team gains none of the abilities of a
Recce Platoon, however the Recce Platoon loses none of it's abilities unless specified by the rules. (The only
rule where this ocurrs being Recon Deployment) ?
Correct.(Phil)

- When EXACTLY MUST CA and HQCA be stated explicitly? (in the form of a number in the mission
sequence) ?
The number depends on the mission. but the answer is before you do anything with your force. You can wait
until o b j e c tives are set etc, but the instant your force comes into the picture, you must have completed
everything about reorganising it. I say that the intention is very simple. Before you get to do anything with
your force in this mission you must have completed all Kamfgruppe creation and Combat Attachments. If
what you are trying to do seems to require a complicated interpretation of this statement, then it probably is
not supposed to be done. (Phil)
- Can you Combat Attach teams from a unit in reserve?
There are no "units in reserve" when combat attachments are made.(Phil)

- Is it legal to CA a pzshrek from HQ to an HMG platoon, then CA out of the HMG platoon all of the HMG's
and then have the HMG platoon leader and the HQ attachment as a legal platoon still on the board ?
Since all of the sections of the MG Platoon have been attached out, the HQ is also removed, so no.(Phil)

Fielding Variant Forces :

600-points Battles :

- Using the 600 point rules on page 187, what scenarios are used for this type of game? Also, concerning
objectives, do we cut the placement in half or still use the 12" from centre line rule for most of the scenarios?
I support the use of all of the missions with 600 points. Some are more challenging than others, but make for
an interesting variety of wargaming experiences.
I always keep all of the objectives in the mission. They are needed to stop the one Tiger and one small infantry
platoon army from being unbeatable because they are sitting on the only objective!
As for table sizes and deployment, the half-size table is to keep the game handy in size and give infantry a
chance. Generally I'd play most 600 point missions with each player occupying a short table edge regardless
of the stated deployment and keep the distances from the centre line the same. In cases like Hold the Line
where that gives the attacker no deployment area, giving them 8"/20cm at the back of the table seems to
work.(Phil)

1500-points Battles :
57
Multi-player Battles :
Painting your Force :

Combat Missions :

Deploying your Force :

- In a battle with or without reserves, do you tell your opponent your complete army list before deployment, or
do you just say how many platoons you have? Or do you use fog of war, only identify a platoon as you deploy
it, for added fun. I am not talking about being dishonest, just something you agree upon before play to add the
unknown factor ?
I think it adds something to the hobby to tell your opponent about your force before the game.(Phil)

- In some scenarios the word nominate is used. e.g. a player must nominate a platoon. Does this mean that the
nominating player must name the platoon used to his opponent rather than not telling him ?
The intention is that you tell your opponent your choice in both cases. (Phil)

- If I want to deploy a platoon of infantry (Grenadiers) that is starting the game mounted as tank riders, do I--
A. Deploy the tank platoon (Marders in this case) and the riding infantry platoon at the same time, counting as
ONE platoon for deployment purposes, or
B. Put the Marders down, wait, then deploy the infantry later, announcing that they are riding the Marders. or
C. Some other way.
For deployment, you would have to deploy them one after the other. I see no problem with deploying the
infantry mounted on tanks that are already deployed. It is much the same as deploying infantry in buildings or
anything else.
In terms of reserves, if they both come on together, again I see no problem with bring them on mounted.
OTOH, if you only have one platoon arrive, it will have to be one or the other and they'll have to wait for the
other platoon to arrive before they can pair up. To me this simply represents the difficulty they experienced
marrying up in the rush to get to the battlefield. Rather than rendezvous and arrive together, they have had to
rendezvous on the field and get things sorted out there instead.(Phil)

- Do mounted motociclisti teams count as a platoon with vehicles for the purposes of scenarios, most notably
Breakthough?
A motorcycle is a two-wheeled motor vehicle and moves as a Jeep team. Sounds pretty much like a vehicle to
me.(Phil)

- It states that Transport platoons must be assigned to a unit and deployed with that unit. Once it is deployed it
can then break away and operate as a separate independent team.
This is different to allocating it to a team as the rules state this can never be done to an independent transport
platoon.
On the face of it this seems simple enough until you get to the reserves rule being used in a scenario. I use the
example below
If I have a force of the following units :
1 x Artillery Battery
2 x Rifle Platoon
1 x Transport Platoon
The Scenario that I am playing (e.g. encounter) states 50% are held in reserve so I select the Transport Platoon
and the one rifle platoon to be held in reserve.
On the first eligible turn I roll for reserves and roll a 5 or 6 entitling me to one platoon of reserves. If I deploy
the Infantry Platoon I will not have a platoon to initially deploy the Transport Platoon with and I cannot
deploy the Transport Platoon by itself. Do I therefore have to wait until I can roll 2 x 5 or 6's on the dice
before deploying these units.

58
The other option is do I deploy the combat and Transport platoon as one (requiring either one 5 or 6 ) and then
split them. This doesn’t feel right as I seem to be getting two Platoons on for the price of one.
The truck platoon has its own command team and operates as a platoon in its own right. However, when
deploying, the transport platoon is assigned to another platoon and both count as a single platoon for
deployment and reserves.
That means that your force has three platoons for deployment, an infantry platoon with a truck platoon (for
example), an infantry platoon, and an artillery platoon. If you had reserves, then two of these would have to
be deployed in reserve. If it was the artillery platoon and the trucks and infantry platoons, then the first
reserve roll would get you the infantry and the trucks, both separate platoons. They could arrive together
getting your infantry forward faster.
Later, once the infantry have dismounted, the trucks can drive off and pick up the other infantry platoon for
instance. (Phil)

Missions Objectives :

Victory Points :

Mission Special Rules :

Ambush :
- By the letter of the rules, a infantry team that ambushes in concealment can do so over 4" away from the
target, otherwise the ambush must be over 16". Can this infantry straddle the 4" line? ie, be able to appear in
ambush and then immediately assault ? Or is the intent to prevent an assault ambush where the ambushing
teams must start outside of assault range?
The rule is that they must be more than 4" away. (Phil)

- Is the following rule interpretation correct? I rather think it is but one can hope otherwise. Basically looking
for some way to avoid the mass repeated ambushes a MECH force will get hit with in most of the scenarios.
“Recon only stops ambushes from being placed within 8" and LOS, not within 8", as well as LOS.
Ambushes can be deployed 9" away from the enemy and in LOS, or within 8" and out of LOS.”
An ambushing platoon may not deploy teams within 8"/20cm of or within line of sight of a Recce team... The
normal ambush rules prevent ambushes in the open within 16"/40cm. However, an ambush from behind a
wall or in a wood could be made at 9" and within line of sight. (Phil)

- Can the defender deploy one huge platoon as ambuscade and split fire into both the chosen ambush target
and the escorting platoon, thereby possibly destroying two platoons of the attacker before the start of the first
turn?
There are no additional restrictions to the normal shooting ones as to what they may shoot at.(Phil)

- Ambush Concealing Terrain : Teams located behind a ridge are considered concealed. Can an Ambush
therefore be sprung from a behind a ridge and still be considered as being in concealing terrain ?
A team that is concealed by terrain, whether it be in or partly in area terrain, or behind a linear obstacle can
deploy from ambush at least 4"/10cm from the enemy.(Phil)

Immediate Ambush :

*Page 197: Immediate Ambush. Add the words “using the normal Ambush rules” at the end. It is not clear that this is a
subtitle of the normal Ambush rules. Now this is one to note as it does differ from previous answers on the matter.
Immediate Ambushes must use the Ambush rules to determine eligible locations.

- Are immediate ambushes under the same restrictions as regular ambushes as to how closely they can deploy
to recon/recce and opposing forces?
No. The Immediate Ambush is deliberately more permissive than normal ambushes. One of the intentions is to
encourage the attacking player to deploy back from the cauldron or risk an early demise. (Phil)

59
Defensive Battle :
- I don't see what the benefit is in making the defender win by default. Neither player has achieved the given
victory conditions
Here you are confusing the conditions for ending the game with the victory conditions. In actual fact, the
driving the opponent across the half-way line is only included in the mission to stop attackers going, the game
isn't over yet because I still have three teams hiding behind this wood at the back of the table, so you haven't
won. It is simply a way of allowing the defender to end the game if the attacker is stalling! The exact opposite
of how you use it. I have no doubt that the mission still works as a fair fight, but I would suggest that the
composition of forces in your area will be quite distorted by the change. Infantry forces are forced to attack in
every mission with that change, making them all take some form of mobile fighting power like tanks.(Phil)

Mobile Reserves :
- In the Missions/scenarios which have Mobile Reserves do the Jeeps of an M10 Platoon count as a Platoon
with vehicles ? I think they do count, so dismount the Carbine Teams and ditch the Jeeps.
If you ditch the vehicles, you have three carbine teams, no M10's!
The M10's don't suddenly appear from the ether, they are hiding near the rest of the platoon until they are
needed. if the platoon is deployed without vehicles, it is deployed without all vehicles, including their
M10's.(Phil)

Scattered Reserves :
- If I play a mission with scattered reserves and my reserves arrives and I throw a 3 or 4, where does the
platoon arrives? Is it the whole edge from on corner to the other? Or at the middle point of the edge?
If your reserves arrive from a table edge, they can arrive anywhere along that table edge.(Phil)

- In the Mission "Encounter" if the reserves arrive in a corner, they may deploy 40 cm from the corner. My
question is: May the reserves arrive from the short side of the table or must they arrive from the long side of
the table?
Scattered Reserves arrive within 16"/40cm of the corner on either table edge.(Phil)

Strategic withdrawal :
*Page 201: Change “At the start of turns six and seven” to “At the start of their turns six and seven” in Phased
Objective Withdrawal. The timing was unclear in the first version.

1. Free For All :

*Pages 202: Change “The player finishing their deployment first” to “The player finishing deploying their platoons
first”. Just to make it clear that we are talking about deploying platoons, and not independent teams and HQ support
weapons here.

- I have a further question. If I start as first player in FFA in difficult terrain, I count as moved. So do all teams
in rough terrain have to make bog checks?
They count as having moved. This does not mean that they moved. So, if they did not move, they don't need a
Bogging Check.(Phil)

2. Encounter :

*Pages 203: Change “The player finishing their deployment first” to “The player finishing deploying their platoons
first”. Just to make it clear that we are talking about deploying platoons, and not independent teams and HQ support
weapons here.

3. Hold the Line :

4. Fighting Withdrawal :

60
- The rule "Phased Objective Withdrawal" reads: "At the start of turns six and seven the defender removes one
of the objectives placed by the attacker". The victory conditions for Fighting Withdrawal reads: "The battle
ends when the attacker starts their turn holding any of the objectives".
Which, though, comes first?
- Checking the victory status (phase 2 of the Starting Step) or;
- Removing the objective (??? in Starting Step).
I had a situation where at the start of turn 6, the defender had nothing contesting the objective, while the
attacker was contesting the objective. Do I as the defender get to take the objective off "at the start of the
turn", or does the attacker win by holding it?
At the beginning of the defender's turn 6. (Phil)

- Turn 7. At the start of the turn, the German is on the objective (one that he placed). It says to remove an
objective at the start of turn 7. Is this done before or after checking for Victory Conditions are considered ?
The objective is removed at the beginning of the defender's turn.(Phil)

5. Breakthrough :

6. The Cauldron :

- My opponent had one platoon on table (infantry) and one platoon in immediate ambush. I then deployed my
panthers and brummbars just over 16" away from the infantry but within 14" of the centre of the table because
of the way his infantry were deployed. He then deployed his two HQ cromwells within 16" of the centre of
the table but not in concealing terrain or out of line of sight but within 8" of my forces. He then moved 16"
and shot the side of my panthers as the defender gets the first turn, he got lucky and hit with both and
destroyed one and bailed the other.
My question is this, do the independent teams have to obey any laws for deployment as their placement would
invalidate my positioning. No self respecting panther commander would get close enough to a cromwell to let
that happen when they can stand off and shoot them with impunity.
The rules state that the independent teams must obey the normal deployment restrictions but apart from being
within 16" of the centre there are none, yet the attackers independent teams must stay 8 or 16 inches away. Is
it just me or is this a bit loopy?
The mission is assumed to begin at dawn as the attackers realise that the defenders have infiltrated their
positions. In the case you describe the Panther crew wake in the morning to the sounds of Cromwell tanks
roaring past blasting them!
With the Immediate Ambush and Independant teams, it is unwise to deploy in positions that are too exposed as
the attacker.(Phil)

- Where can you deploy a sniper in the Cauldron Mission (assuming sniper use by the defender)? In all the
other missions "no mans land" is fairly easy to define i.e. not in either deployment zone but in the cauldron
mission the attackers deployment zone is a bit 'fluid'. The obvious answer (so probably the correct one : he is
any point within 32" of the dead centre of the table (16" deployment zone for the defender plus 16" for the gap
the attacker leaves between himself and the defender) but then you have the problem of hills and woods and
stuff that would allow deployment within 8". You also have the problem that the attacker might not deploy in
a whole quarter of the table because the dice didn’t give him the options to. I suppose the absolutely correct
way would be to mark the starting positions of every single team the defender puts down to allow for later
measurement (so you can measure to see if the attacker COULD have deployed there) and also remember
what quarters of the table he didn’t deploy in. Bit of a nightmare really. Any thoughts from anyone? For ease I
am tempted by the 32" option but I doubt if it would be allowed in a tournament.
Some mission have no No Man's Land shown on the map. In this case there is no No Man's Land for snipers
to deploy in, so they are restricted to just your deployment area. (Phil)

7. Roadblock :

61
- Roadblock mission is difficult to understand. It should be made clearer that an infantry force is ambushing
an enemy motorised column that is advancing down a road (?)
Umm, yes? Is that the right answer? Wink (Phil)
- Here appears to be some grey areas in this rule (Ambuscade) where it can be easily interpreted as only the
selected "target" platoon gets shot at. An easy source of friction that could be cleared up by a statement of
intent from someone at BF. In addition, the width of the road can be up to 8" (say, an autobahn), which might
also allow some latitude in "single file".
The platoon in Ambuscade can fire at any valid target. (Phil)

- When does the attacking player place their independent teams? The small rulebook says in point #6 that the
defender places teams but never says when the attacker places. Does the attacker place their independant
teams prior to the ambuscade and therefore can attach their independant teams to the platoon in the
ambuscade?
The last sentence of the Racing to the rescue rule states that they deploy with any attacking platoon arriving
from reserve.(Phil)

- What happens if you lose an entire platoon to the ambuscade? Since losses do not count, do you just treat it
as if that platoon were never part of your list? For example: If I use an 8 platoon Romanian Tank Company
list, and lose an entire platoon of 3 R-2s to the Ambuscade, do I now consider it to be a 7 platoon force for
purposes of Company Motivation test?
Correct.(Phil)

Fortifications :

Trench lines, Gun Pits and Tank Pits :

- Guns can rotate in gun pits. It is assumed that the team doing the work would have enough common sense to
build the 'pit' in such a way to allow rotation. Besides, a gun/ tank pit isn't really a hole in the ground, it's a
'berm' of dirt built up to form a dirt rampart. If you can protect guns and tanks, you should be able to protect
mobile artillery! Isn’t it ?
Actually, the last sentence in the Trenches and Gun pits rules states that they do not rotate. The remain facing
their original direction. They still have their full field of fire, but do not rotate.
This is simply a modelling issue. There is often not room in modelled fortifications for an artillery piece to be
rotated.(Phil)

Bunkers :

*Page 211: Shooting at Bunkers. Add “, which remains Pinned Down until it Rallies in its Starting Step” at the end of
the Pinned Down result. Otherwise there really isn’t any point in shooting at bunkers!

- By our reading of the rules only direct fire smoke can be directed at a bunker and this seems the best way to
assault them- pinning doesn’t work as they are independent teams and automatically unpin at the start of the
assault step (bigger!). It’s correct ?
That is an interesting observation. Clearly however, the intent is that bunkers do remain pinned down
otherwise the first column of page 211 is completely meaningless. A bunker that is pinned down as per the
Shooting at Bunkers rules on page 211 remains pinned down until it rallies in the following Starting Step
(which it does automatically since it passes Motivation Tests automatically).(Phil)
- Clarification of a bunker that cannot or does not have to or may attach to adjacent combat platoon would be
nice.
Since a Bunker has no Training rating, it has no Command Distance so it cannot join another platoon..(Phil)

- what is the official word on smoke bombardments vs bunkers?

Since artillery cannot target a bunker, they cannot fire smoke bombardments at a bunker.(Phil)

62
- A stationary tank with ROF of 2 that is within 16 of the bunker make a single skill check or 2; one for each
shot ?
You get the normal ROF for your weapon, so a stationary tank gets 2 Skill Tests, while a moving one gets a
single test.(Phil)

- Bunkers come fully "manned". You do not put any of your other teams inside them (indeed, you cannot).
They have either an HMG or an AT gun which can fire on its own. That means the Germans can get an 8.8
gun in a bunker for 12 points ?
12 Fortification Points (out of the 20 you could spend on Bunkers).(Phil)

- This is the situation. Your opponent places four 4” square bunker models in a box around an objective. The
Firing slits all face to the inside of the box. They fit front corner to front corner. You don’t have any bunker
busters to just kill the Bunkers so you have to assault. By the rules infantry must stay 2 inches away from
enemy teams. So the closest any infantry can approach is 6+ inches from the objective and the firing slit. In
the assault phase, can the infantry still assault the bunkers?
Simply treat the firing slit as the enemy for the purposes of the 2" rule. The rest of the bunker is just
decoration.(Phil)

Barbed Wire Entanglements :

*Page 212: Fully-tracked Vehicles. Add “Fully-tracked vehicles still do not need to take a Bogging Check, however”.
Running over a barbed wire obstacle doesn’t make it more difficult to cross!

- OK the situation is this. I am about to be assaulted by a platoon of inf. The enemy is in contact with the BW
between us, and within 4" of my stands. Half of his stands miss their motivation test to cross so can't assault.
Enemy stands that were not in contact with the BW may not cross I thought. I hold my ground and counter.
He holds his ground and consolidates to counter attack.
Does he have to roll for motivation to cross his other stands and do they have to be in contact with the BW at
the start of his consolidation to move across??? I think that: I don't have to roll for motivation to cross wire, I
just have to start touching it. Mines require me to roll motivation to cross but I don't have to be touching them
to move across them. That’s correct ?
Yes, but you do require a Skill test to do so. (Phil)

Minefields :

*Page 213: Change “must stop moving immediately they cross the minefield” to “must stop moving immediately after
they cross the minefield”. Add “Even if the team ends up still on or partly on the minefield, it still counts as across the
minefield” in Moving Through a Minefield.
Change “Teams may not attempt to cross a minefield while moving At the Double” to “Teams may not attempt to cross
a minefield At the Double” in Motivation test to Cross Minefields.
Change “Mines are a new hazard for soldiers in the Second World War. Springing up around every defensive position
and littering the battlefield wherever trench warfare sets in, minefields make no-man’s land a real devil’s garden” to
“Minefields make no-man’s land a real devil’s garden, springing up around every defensive position and littering the
battlefield wherever trench warfare sets in” at top of page.
Just a few wording changes to clear up a few questions that pop up from time to time.

- Minefields sound as though they are reasonably effective obstacles against tanks.
They each have to take a motivation test to enter it then a skill test to avoid being mined.
If they fail the skill test they take a AT5 hit against the top(bottom) armour with a 1+ firepower!
I can find no rules that say that the mine flail on the Scorpion has any effect other than the team not having to
test to enter the mine field as "the crew are confident in the ability of the tanks armour to protect them." And
"They have cleared a path if they cross the minefield without hitting a mine"
(This is all on the Spotlight section of this website.)
So the only benefit is it takes 1 less test. (It still takes the test that could easily destroy it)
I can find no rule that says the Scorpion takes the blast against it's front armour as I expected due to the B-
great flail on the front of the tank.
63
Can anyone tell me where I should look to see any different?
Am I missing a section of rules somewhere?
Your reading looks correct to me.
The losses to flail tanks while clearing minefields was fairly high. In 1944 a platoon had four flail tanks. They
worked in pairs. The first of each pair was supposed to clear a gap and the second one widen it. The Second
pair made a second gap for redundancy. The losses from uncleared mines were sufficient to require the
second gapping team to guarantee a gap.
Flails are fast and pretty good, but still no where near perfect. At Alamein many of the flails failed to
complete their gaps due to a combination of breakdowns and hitting mines their flails had missed. (Phil)

- You laid a minefield, with the front edge toward the enemy at the 15-1/2" range from the defending infantry
platoon ( no quibbles about it whether it's over 16 or not). Immediately behind it is a barbed wire strip. The
terrain is cross country.
So two questions:
1. What rolls would a tank tm have to roll to cross both obstacles (motivation and then skill test I supposed)?
Assuming he started at the front edge of the minefield, does the tank tm have the distance to assault the
infantry pltn? ( My estimate is 12 inches to start in cross country .... 2"inches to cross the minefield, the
movement goes down to rough terrain once the tank tm hits the barbed wire..8 inches? and 6 inches left once
the tank tm crosses the barbed wire..so the total movement from the front edge of the minefield is 10 inches.
The tank tm will stop at 5-1/2 inches from the infantry pltn.)
2. What rolls would an infantry tm have to do to cross both fortifications? And what's the consequence if he
gets "hung up" on the wire? I think its pretty gruesome, but I wanted confirmation on this.
Once you have crossed the minefield, you have crossed the minefield, regardless of whether there is space for
the model on the far side or not. So the presence of a barbed wire entanglement on the far side of the
minefield makes no difference to crossing it, the troops cross it and then halt at the barbed wire. The next
move they cross the barbed wire. (Phil)

Anti-tank Obstacles :

- Can a bulldozer gap any anti-tank obstacle no matter how it is constructed, or are they limited to just ditches
?
While AT Ditches are a form of AT Obstacle, they are different in that a bulldozer can clear them. Bulldozers
are not much use against other forms of AT obstacle.(Phil)

Engineering Equipement :
Radio-controlled Demolition Carriers :

- A question after suffering from those little german pioneer nightmare tanks last night. What counts as
moving into or through difficult terrain?
Suppose a German pioneer team is on the edge of a forest (part in/part out). Does moving from such a position
count as moving in difficult? So if the pioneers fire their goliaths, do they move 8 inches or 12?
In this particular instance, I'll go with video evidence to settle this one. The only video of a Goliath I've seen
actually shows it being operated from the edge of a wood.
In the case of a Goliath, as long as its path from the edge of the team's base to the enemy doesn't go through
rough terrain, it is fine.
That would for instance make them impossible to use from behind a hedge or in a building, but fine from the
edge of area terrain like a wood (Phil)
- If the target team is behind a hedge or wall, would the r/c vehicle be destroyed upon hitting that obstacle? Or
would it be treated like assaults are against that type of obstacle... ie it makes contact even if it physically can't
reach the team?
Just stop it a little short of the wall and detonate it there. You don't have to move the Goliath at or into
contact with the enemy, so you don't have to hit the wall before blowing it up.(Phil)
- Similarly, I suppose you could ambush from a building and fire a goliath in the same way.

64
No. A team in a building is entirely in the building, so it cannot fire the Goliath as the Goliath would start in
Rough Terrain.(Phil)

- When a team shoots at a demolition carrier in the enemy shooting step...

a. Is that defensive fire? We have said no, and also said that shooting does not break gtg status as it was not in
the player's turn.
No it is not Defensive Fire as such.(Phil)
b. Can the same team shoot at more than one demo carrier? We have said no.
The rules for shooting at Demolition Carriers talk about individual carriers. Any team that is under the
template for a carrier may shoot at that carrier. If multiple carriers are launched at them, they may shoot at
each of them.(Phil)

- Can Goliath and Borgward demo carriers move through (ie. over the top of) enemy infantry teams as they
drive straight to their target?
A demolition carrier can move through an enemy team. The defensive fire represents their attempts to stop it
from doing so.(Phil)

- Can you launch a demo carrier at a target that is not in LOS of the team using the demo carrier ?
Here is the example in question. Lets say an infantry platoon is in the woods back lets say 2" from the wood
edge. So in this condition they only can be seen within 6" of any other enemy team. But lets say the demo
carrier team is 7"-12" away when it launches and stops short of the woods since it can not enter it and then
explodes thus having the ability to kill the infantry teams that technically can not even be seen from the
enemy since it is under the template which reaches 3" into the woods. Thus they did not know of there
presents and shot anyways.
You do not need to aim the goliath at or even near an enemy team.(Phil)

- Can Recon platoons disengage from a Demolition Carrier? Can a Goliath be 'bailed out' by small arms fire?
(If not, it would seem to me that Goliaths are a no-brainer for the competitive German player.)
By the rules as written, recce troops cannot run away from a Goliath.
One of the experimental rules we have been considering is to have a turn delay between triggering the
Goliath and having it go off. So in your turn you move the Goliath into position and announce that it is going
to detonate. At the start of your next Shooting Step (after an intervening enemy turn) the Goliath detonates.
This removes a lot of issues and simplifies things too. There is no longer any need for defensive fire against
them since you can shoot them in your own turn and they can't blow up cavalry or recce troops since they will
just move away, etc.
It makes them useful for what they are designed for, blowing up fixed defenses that can't run away, but no
longer useful against mobile troops who can.(Phil)
Would you use the same rule for Bogward B IVs?
Yes. For all remote-control demolition carriers.(Phil)

Fortification Missions :

*Page 218: Limited Fortifications. Change “use the table below to determine” to “use the table below instead of that
shown on page 217 to determine”. Yep, it replaces the previous table. Not sure what else it could be for though?

Trench Fight :

*Page 219: Trench Fight. Move the text from “Remember, Pioneer teams” in step 5 to the end of step 6. The arrow in
No Man’s Land should go down to the centre line. Shoot the author and the proof reader!

- Just noticed this in attacker's deployment . The text says attacker deploys 40cm from centre line but picture
puts deployment area at 60cm . Witch one is right ?
The arrow should extend to the centre line. You must deploy 16"/40cm back from the centre line.(Phil)

65
- Do we have to consider independent teams such as Spotters, HQ teams (ie panzerschrecks, HQ Mortars...),
Snipers to be included in the potential casualties of the preliminary bombardment ???
Yes. Note, though that HQ Support Weapons are not Independent teams. (Phil)

- Additionally we have quite an intense debate with regards to the sentence which says, that the attacker rolls
a dice per team in the platoon selected by the defender... Could this mean that as an exception when receiving
a preliminary bombardment, the defender chooses in each of his platoons who are casualties and then rolls to
save them, or do we have to, as attackers roll separately for tank, transport, gun and infantry?
Hits are assigned as if they were caused by an artillery bombardment. This requires you to roll separately for
each type of team (Tank, Infantry, Gun, and Transport).(Phil)

- How many sights could a bunker have, would it be possible for a 10cm by 10 cm by 5 to have a 360 degree
arch of fire ???
Yes it can. Of course, it is often better to have an enfilade bunker with a blank wall to the enemy so that they
can't pin it without entering the killing zone.(Phil)

The Big Push :

Street Fighting :

- Played this weekend out of town and a question came up over which rules are considered part of standard
play regarding buildings and fortifications ?
The basic question is are the rules for Fortifications in p209 through 216 and Street Fighting in pages 221
through 224 considered to be in effect unless defined otherwise? Are these core rules? Should players assume
these are in effect or should these be assumed to be in play only if specifically listed as in play?
The first sentences on page 221 (Street Fighting) says "These street-fighting rules add more detail to fighting
in large city buildings and from house to house in towns. Use them once you are familiar with the main part
of the rules and want to experiment with urban combat."
They are more detailed rules for fighting in buildings. they can be used with any buildings if you want, but
they are more detailed rules for use with the agreement of your opponent. OTOH street-fighting in
appartment blocks won't work well without them(Phil)

Large Buildings :

- Page 222 of main rule book states "Use a template as normal counting all teams in the building as under the
template if any part of the building is"
This is part of the street fighting rules section. I can't find any specific mention in the standard rules part of the
MRB about this being the case in "normal" play.
So is it restricted to street fighting, or is this "normal", i.e. is everything in a small (non multi room) building
tested for if the building is under the template ?
Because teams in a building have no specific location, other than "in the building", it is impossible to
determine which ones are under the template and which ones are not, hence the rule.(Phil)

- We have been working on building a dense 4x3 table of buildings and have played two games using the
street fight scenario. The two major questions that came up last night were: The 2 inch rule. Do you still use
the rule in city fighting? This makes manoeuvre next to impossible in such dense terrain.
The Rooms rule: "When fighting in multi-room buildings treat each room as a separate building and assume
that every team in the room is adjacent to every opening into and out of that room. "
Charging into Contact : "When charging into contact from one room to the next, no movement is necessary
since your teams are already adjacent to all openings into the next room. However, since only one team can
fight through each opening, you do need to decide which teams will fight through which openings. Your
opponent also needs to decide which teams will defend each opening. If any of the selected teams are
destroyed in defensive fire, another team from the same room can move in to replace them since they too are
adjacent to the opening. "

66
So when assault takes place, do the attackers and defenders move the selected teams that are defending next to
their respective openings? When would assaulting teams be able to move into the room? The openings would
always have an enemy team next to them since any team in the room is adjacent to all openings. So one team
could occupy each opening and enemy could not penetrate until they were completely wiped out, no?
The key is that the 2" rule only applies to visible teams. Since teams are not visible until you move into the
adjacent room, it cannot apply. Until you move into the adjacent room, they are not visible. One you move
into the adjacent room, you are automatically adjacent to them since everything in both rooms is adjacent to
the opening between them.
The main reason for the all adjacent rule is so that there is no measuring within rooms. If you are in a room,
you are in the room, it doesn't matter where, except when the rules require you to explicitly say which team is
currently at which opening.
Of course, when you are outside a building, the 2" rule applies. You can't run past a building down a narrow
alley because you will be within 2" of an occupied opening and have to assault to get past it.(Phil)

- Teams with a LOS to an opening have LOS to every team in the building. Teams in a building always count
as concealed, even to teams in the same building. They also count as being in bullet proof cover unless the
shooting team is adjacent to an opening into the building. Does that mean that if your team is shooting OUT
of a building (via an opening) that they are therefore no longer in Bullet-Proof-Cover ?
No. When they are being shot at, they are not the shooting team, the team that is shooting at them is the
shooting team. They would only not have bulletproof cover if the team shooting at them was shooting from an
adjacent room for instance and was therefore adjacent to the opening that they were shooting through.(Phil)

- Buildings block LOS. Troops on one side of a building are completely out of sight of any enemy on the
other side of the building. If a building has windows on all sides can troops on one side see troops on the other
side - or does the above rule take into account openings and windows in any case ?
The building blocks line of sight, you cannot see through a building, not even if there are windows on both
sides. The interior walls and furniture is presumed to block the view through the house.(Phil)

Streets and Rubbles :

Breaching Walls :

Assaults in Building :

I can´t se anywhere in the rules where it says if cavalry teams can assault a enemy platoon i a building, i know
that they can´t move into a build while they are mounted, but nothing about assaulting, and the rules says that
you have to move up to a opening in a build to make it into contact with every team in the building.
how does people play this ?
Cavalry cannot assault teams in a building while mounted(Phil)

Street-Fighting Missions :

*Page 225: Across the Volga. Hyphenate “calculating” correctly. Shoot the proof reader again and string up the
graphics boys!

Not One Step Back :

Historical Battles :
Battalion-sized Battles :

- Platoons that are not assigned to companies from the Battalion Reserve, do they still act as any other platoon
would if assigned to a company?
Yes.(Phil)
- A Battalion HQ is a higher command team so it takes Company morale checks for all of the companies
67
under its command. If the Battalion Commander is destroyed and the Battalion 2IC is still on the table does
the Battalion 2IC start making Company Morale checks? OR does the Company Morale checks start being
taken by the Company Commanders?
No, the battalion 2iC cannot take Company Morale Checks unless they are appointed as a replacement
Company Command team. the Company Commanders make their own checks.(Phil)
- If the Battalion Commander is destroyed and the Battalion 2IC is still on the table does the Battalion 2IC
start making Battalion Morale checks?
No. (Phil)
- Platoons that are not assigned to companies from the Battalion Reserve, can they be held off table as
reserves in scenarios that use the Reserves Special Rule?
Yes.(Phil)
- Can Observer teams that come from platoons in the Battalion Reserve join any platoon in the Battalion?
even if the platoon they come from stays in the Battalion reserve OR gets assigned to a company that is
different from the company the Observer Team is attached too?
Independent teams can join any friendly platoon.(Phil)
- During the starting step the Battalion commander may allocate or recall Battalion Support platoons from
companies. The rule states that this happens before rolling any dice. To be clear this means that if I have a
company that is about to be forced to make a company morale test I can recall all of the support I had attached
to it so that if the company fails that support will not run with the company, correct?
Yes.(Phil)
- If I have a company that has lost more platoons than what it has left (ie dropped below 50%) before they
take a Company Morale check I can assaign support platoons to that company. Do these platoons then count
towards that companies strength for determining if they are over 50% as long as they have been assigned? As
an example a company loses 2 of 3 platoons. Before making a Company Motivation test two Support Platoons
are assigned to the company. The company then goes from having 2 of 3 platoons destroyed to 2 of 5 platoons
destroyed no longer needing a test correct? If these same support platoons are then recalled the company then
drops from 2 of 5 destroyed to 2 of 3 destroyed and would then need to test once again, correct?
Yes.(Phil)

- A Battalion HQ has the same base points cost as a Company HQ, correct?
Yes.(Phil)
Campaigns :
Types of Campaign :

Mission Selector :

Axis of Attack—Anzio :

Anzio Terrain Chart :

Playing Axis of Attack Campaigns :

Reorganise your Force

- Page 239, hard cover rules. When you reorganize, you can add or subtract one squad or section from each
combat and/or weapons platoon. What about optional teams that the squad might or might not have? Let me
give an example.
A US armoured infantry platoon can have a bazooka team added for an additional 15 points. If I have a full
strength (255 point) armoured infantry platoon and I decide to remove one of its squads (2 rifle teams and a
bazooka team) between the first and second games, can I bring it back between the 2nd and 3rd turns without
the bazooka team? In other words if I start with both of the only two teams that I can add or delete in a certain
configuration am I locked into that configuration for the whole campaign until I spend victory points to
change it ?

68
Yep. Each reorganisation is a new thing, so in the second case you are adding a (weak) squad to an under
strength platoon. (Phil)

- What about optional teams that are part of the company HQ? Can a pupchen be switched for AT rifles
between games? Or a 37mm AT gun be switched for a bazooka? Could they be dropped altogether between
games?
Yes they can be switched instead of the section being added or removed.(Phil)

- What about changes to the HQ section of a platoon, such as the addition or subtraction of a bazooka team
from the US recon platoon or 37mm AT gun for a bazooka team in the HQ of a US armoured Infantry
plt...clearly you cant drop the HQ section but can it be modified between games? If it can be modified can one
of the squads in that platoon also be switched in or out at the same time or would the change of the bazooka
team use up that platoons only "add or remove" ?
Yes (Phil).

- What about changes to a squad that is a permanent part of a platoon, such as the addition or subtraction of a
bazooka team to or from the LMG squad or the Mortar squad of a US armored Infantry plt...clearly you cant
drop one of these squads but can it be modified between games? If it can be modified can one of the squads in
that platoon also be switched in or out at the same time or would the change of the bazooka team use up that
platoons only "add or remove" ? Could both bazooka teams be dropped or added at the same time? or would
that be two switches and have to occur over two game interface times?
One squad or section added or removed (or changed).(Phil)

- What about minor changes to a switch able squad, such as the addition or subtraction of an AAMG on one of
the jeeps in a recon squad in the above mentioned Recon plt or the addition/subtraction of a bazooka team
from a US armoured Infantry plt? Can you simply switch one of the AAMGs or bazooka teams in or out for
the appropriate point adjustment? Does such a switch count as that platoons only "add or remove" ? Could
both AAMGs (one in each of two squads) be switched in or out at the same time? Or, is the only way to
change an AAMG done by dropping the squad that has it between one pair of games and then replacing the
dropped squad with a squad with no AAMG between the next two games?
One squad.(Phil)

Multi-Player Campaigns :

Making Terrain :
*Page 241: Common Terrain Making Materials. Change “3mm to 6mm MDF” to “1/8-1/4”/3-6mm MDF”. Strangely,
some of the world still uses archaic measurement systems.

- Do you use one roll on the table per 2x2 section? It says players take turns selecting a sector and rolling on
the table. Does each player get a roll per sector? Or alternate with 3 rolls each? Or do players just keep
selecting and rolling until both are satisfied, what if one guy is happy and does not want more terrain and the
other wants lots. What does the BF staff do for amount of terrain usually ?
There are six table sections on a 6x4 table. One roll per section = three rolls per player.(Phil)

Western Europe Terrain Chart :

Fighting Winter Battles :

Eastern Europe Terrain Chart :

*Page 245: Eastern Europe Terrain Chart. Change “2+” to “2” in General Winter. It was going to be a long winter the
way it was!

- Under the General Winter section if you roll a 6 it says something along the lines of:
Roll again on a roll of 1 it is Fall and the battlefield is covered with mud. On a roll of 2+ it is winter and the
69
battlefield is covered with snow. On any other roll it is Summer.
What other roll can there be ? I thought it was a typo where the "+" should not have been added so since I
rolled a 2 we ended up playing in Winter anyway but on a 3+ it would be summer. What is it really supposed
to say ?
Well spotted. Correct, on a 2 it is Winter.(Phil)

Mediterranean Terrain Chart :

Desert Terrain Chart :

The Gaming Hobby :

Example of Play :

Quick Reference Sheet :

*Page 252: Change “All teams move 4”/10cm away from enemy. Any within 4”/10cm of assaulting teams are
Destroyed” to “All teams move at least 4”/10cm away from enemy. Any remaining within 4”/10cm are Destroyed” in
Break Off. This should make the quick reference sheet reflect the rules a bit better.

*Page 253: Change “Concealed by woods” to “Concealed” in Artillery Roll to Range In on Target. A copy and paste
error. Shoot the author again!

- On page 164 (A5 reference sheet) it says you have +1 to the difficulty if target is concealed BY WOODS
(capitalization mine to distinguish difference)
Now this clearly is a reference to the rules not the rules themselves. The by woods reference here was to
remind players that only woods and buildings conceal teams from aircraft.(Phil)

- The same discrepancy exists for artillery as well, but there's no special mention about concealment for arty
such as there is for aircraft.
Hmm, that simply appears to be a cut and paste error in the quick reference. It is of no significance
whatsoever. (Phil)
Rules Index :
*Page 254: Change “62” to “62, 73, 211” in the index entry for Bunker Busters. This should help people find the rest of
the rules for them.

*Page 255: Add “X-Ray” after William and before Yoke and Zebra. Even though nothing ever starts with X.

Design Notes :
What is interesting is that what was originally intended as a simplification has become an oddity. No one
noticed this in the whole 2nd edition process.
Over time we have moved away from the very basic platoon vs platoon shooting to the team vs platoon
concept which resolves a lot of silly situations. I didn't realise this original formulation was still there.
We have long played the way most people here seem to, that is, roll to hit separately with teams at long and
short range, and then roll saves separately depending on the range of the team scoring the hit.
Now by the wording of the rules, this isn't correct, but it certainly makes more sense and is how almost
everyone has played the game.(Phil)

When it came time to reprint the Flames of War rulebook, we took the opportunity to correct a few glitches in the first
print run. Most of these changes are very small (like the first one—spelling the name of one of the playtest groups
right!). The few more significant changes are just rewordings of rules to make their intent a little more clear.
The following list has all of the changes that we made. As you can see the list appears long, but that’s mainly the
explanations, not the changes!

70
We hope that this will make the rules more robust and expect them to remain in their current form for at least the next
two or three years.(Phil)

- The Anti-aircraft platform listed on page #210 of the Afrika Book makes the M15 CGMC (37MM) system
as "Wheeled". If I am not mistaken, the M15 was built upon the same M3 half-track transport, the M13
MGMC, and the T28E1 CGMC.Is this a typo and how long until an errata sheet is available?
Wheeled is a rules mechanic not the actual description of the vehicles drive system. It means it was rated as
Wheeled because it was overloaded by its armament and its cross-country performance was hindered.
(Wayne)

-Why do some guns have different ROF's in different vehicles?

OQF 2pdr - ROF 2 in the Crusader, ROF 3 in the Churchill
M5 37mm - ROF 2 in the Stuart, ROF 3 in the Grant/Lee
Same gun. Should have the same ROF. Do these guns somehow have a faster rate of fire in a different turret ?
It's mostly about having a commander who is neither the gunner nor the loader, so he can pick new targets
without having to stop firing the gun.(Phil)

- Should Man Packed gun teams have a save of 4+ ?

Getting the balance right with HMG teams (in particular) was a long drawn-out and difficult process. During
that time they had ROF 4, 5, and 6 at times. They had all sorts of rules tried out with them.
In the end after months of working with them, we decided to go with the simple solution that we adopted.
In our opinion it is a good balance between their known ability to mow down infantry foolish enough to walk
in front of them and their known vulnerability to specific countermeasures. Most of the other solutions
attempted or suggested had the flaws of either being too complicated, not working, or dragging out the game.
The playtester's biggest concern with the 5+ save was with the vulnerability of the guns on the move.
However, they were extremely vulnerable on the move.
I'd suggest perusing accounts of combat in 1917/18 to gain a good appreciation of how heavy machine-guns
fared in battle and their strengths and weaknesses. In WWI they were not overshaddowed by tanks, and had a
major part to play in most battles. This makes study of these battle rewarding in understanding them in battle.
(Phil)

- Why are cavalry saves the same than infantry ?

One reason is that Cavalry teams include a couple of extra soldiers as horse holders. These are not normally
modelled (six horsemen to a team is a bit cumbersome!), but help absorb losses.
On top of that, cavalry are not normally suicidal. A combination of fast movement and good use of terrain
makes them difficult to hit. Where they really suffer though is their inability to simply stop and go to ground
like infantry. While things are going well they are great. Once things go badly, they go really badly!(Phil)

- My question is: why is the artillery template square rather than round? A round template doesn't have to be
oriented and teams under the template can be easily determined with a tape measure if you haven't got a
template handy.
Interesting indeed. Seeing as you bumped into the one big problem with square templates (orientation), I'll
throw in some good points about them.
* Square templates are easy to make from a piece of paper if you forgot to bring one.
* The fall of fire from an artillery battery is generally treated as a rectangle for military planning. The guns of
a battery fire parallel to each other. Since the blast of a single round is elliptical along the line of fire, a
battery tends to cover an elliptical area.
* Rectangles are easy to combine into double-width templates.(Phil)

- The rules discuss infantry assaulting tanks when 'Teams' begin the assault phase from a terrain feature
without moving or shooting during their turn. If these conditions are met, then the tank does not get defensive
fire. It doesn't especially make sense to me - how would you surprise the tank crew so much that they didn't
fire their machine guns at your buddies across the way that they DID see.
Once the first team is close enough to the tank, the options include:
* Smoke grenade
71
* Flour bomb
* Mud bomb
* Smearing mud on optics
Obviously, the top options are better, but the bottom ones still work according to the guys that did it (more
than once). Once any of these solutions are applied anyone can reach the tank in safety! (Phil)
- So a soviet infantry platoon could have 1 guy in cover assault with him and his 30 buddies not and cover and
the tanks just ignore the horde running toward them ?
Not ignore, simply can't see. It's not much help knowing that there are a screaming horde coming for you if
you have no vision devices that can see them.
Remember too, the tank had to deliberately place itself within 4"/10cm of a concealed infantry team. It can't
happen by surprise (although I have been surprised when my opponent springs it on me!), it takes a foolish or
conscious decision by the tank for it to happen.(Phil)

- We were using fortifications last night and were surprised not to find any mention of the 3+ gun pit save for
guns in gun pits anymore. Is this an omission, or did we just not find it in the book during the heat of battle?
Also, most players were not happy with the dumbing down of the fortification rules and locally we'll probably
stick to the 1E versions but with the 2E points costs and bunkers added. The one team removes a whole 8"
minefield or a whole 8" section of wire once a vehicle has crossed it being the biggest issues!
The change from a 3+ save was to balance out the increased effectiveness of a number of gun teams.
In particular, the ROF 6 HMG balances out in the game because of its greater vulnerability. Giving HMG
teams a 3+ save is quite unbalanced.
Instead, we decided to treat HMG's that are seriously well dug in with overhead cover as bunkers.(Phil)

- Can anyone explain to me why the rules for hitting vehicles on side has been decided to 180 degree instead
of 90 ?? Sometimes in the game my cannons are position in such a way that a real life shot would hit the side
anytime but still the rules say I have to use the front armour value. I'd just like to know if this is based on real
tanks or to make the game better.
The problem with front arcs less than 120 degrees or so is that players end up manoeuvring to get just across
the imaginary line to get "flank" shots that are equally improbable as the "front" shots that you are querying.
We decided that 180 degrees was much simpler and could be measured by eye, whereas 120 degrees would
need a protractor.(Phil)

Haut

Afrika :

How to use this Book ?

German Forces :
72
- The Motorcycle/Kubelwagon stat line in the back of Afrika has something about an MG fitting. Only the
Italian Motorcycles count as Cavalry, all the others count as normal transport.
Have a look at page 29. The motorcycles of the Scout Platoon have MG's fitted.
Now look at page 31. The motorcycle of the Company HQ does not have an MG fitted.
This is the same as the US half-tracks that are listed as having an "Optional Passenger-fired .50cal AA MG or
AA MG". Some have one, some the other, and some none at all. (Phil)

- A German Company Commander (CC) or 2iC that has purchased as part of the HQ upgrades, an AT Rifle
team (or bazookas or whatever depending on the army).
Now, the CC/2iC is deployed within command range of this AT rifle team as well as another seperate infantry
platoon. The CC/2iC is shot at...what happens?
CC/2iC is independent so must join a nearby platoon. Is he considered to be part of a platoon already (the AT
Rifle being the only team of said platoon) or does the CC/2iC plus AT Rifle join the nearby infantry unit
during the shooting step?
The AT Rifle is a leaderless platoon. The 2iC can choose which platoon to join. (Phil)

- It appears that the HQ plt teams now can't be in a kampfgruppe. The kampfgruppe rule only allows teams
from Combat and Weapons plt, the "making attachments for the HQ" rule only allows HQ support teams to be
attached to combat or weapons plt. In v1 the kampfgrouped teams were added to the (otherwise unattached)
HQ teams to make the Kampfgruppe.
I suspect it was _intended_ that the HQ assets could be included, unfortunately the only way it might be
possible to do it with the rules as written is to "double dip" by attaching them to combat/weapons plt and then
KGing them back again, which adds the additional complexity that it's not clear if the attached HQ teams
increase the size of the combat/weaps plt for the purposes of determining the numbers available for the "up to
half". Simply adding "or kampfgruppe" to the HQ attachment rule would solve the issue.
Correct.(Phil)

- I have always found it hard to believe that a Platoon Commander picked up a SMG and a bundle of grenades
and then let his MG ( for example an AAMG on a vehicles ) just disappear into the void, only to have it
magically reappear when he dropped the SMG.
The Platoon Command Group doesn't actually have an MG. We simply rate them as an MG team to make it
easier to manage the platoon, same as other platoons where we equalise the firepower across all teams.(Phil)

- The Afrika book only has the Marder III 7.62 variant available for the Sicily/Italy front in the Tank-hunter
Platoon, but the other Marder III variants such as the H and M models were also present at those locations as
well. Currently, those variants can only be found in Ostfront, and I don't think you're allowed to mix units in
different books.
Correct, you cannot mix between books. (Phil)

- Does Rommel's escort platoon count as a platoon for morale purposes? I only ask since I beleive unattached
HQ platoon elements do not, and these may be considered similar. Do one of these vehicles count as a
command tank, or is the platoon leaderless without Rommel, the CO or 2iC (?)
It is a separated platoon. Rommel is not a Company HQ, so he cannot have Company HQ Support
Weapons.(Phil)

- I'm trying to build a German list, from the Afrika book, with lots of British equipment in it. If I take Rommel
then I can get the Escort Platoon of Honeys. The question : If I take a Panzer Koy, Can I count the Honey
Platoon one of the Panzer Platoons for the purposes of meeting the requirement to have at least two Panzer
Platoons?
No, they are an Escort Platoon, not a Panzer Platoon.(Phil)

- When a German Pzrgren/Grenadier HQ is used to convert to a PzrPioneer/Pioneer HQ, do the CO and 2iC
become pioneers?
No (Phil)
73
- Can an truck/jeep PzGrenadier/Aufklarungs company take an armored heavy platoon?
As with a Panzergrenadierkompanie, the company is either armoured or not. If it is armoured, then at least
the HQ and one platoon must be armoured and the heavy platoon is armoured.(Phil)

- If I take Schwimmwagen/Kübelwagen can the Inf-teams mount them ?

Yes the BMWs or Kubels are transport teams. Note also, that their MG is Passenger-fired. They cannot shoot
unless they are transporting an infantry team.(Phil)

- Can we have an armoured Aufklärungs Platoons supporting a Panzerkompanie ? Does it carry over it's
special rule, from pg 39, of the "Mounted Assualt", or is that only particular to a "Amoured Auklarungs
Platoons fielded in a Aufklarungsschwadron - Reconnaissance Mechanised Company, and not to it, in a
PanzerKompanie?
Yes, you can have armoured Aufklärungs Platoons supporting your Panzerkompanie, and yes they retain their
Mounted Assault special rule. (Phil)

Italian Forces :
Italian unknown hero :
- A HQ is an unknown hero and any platoon he leads autopasses any morale test on a 2+, does this apply to
the entire company for company morale checks ?
The Unknown Hero and any Platoon led by him pass Motivation Tests on a roll of 2+.
If the Company Command team is the Unknown Hero, then they will pass Motivation Tests on 2+. Since a
Company Morale Check is a Motivation Test by the Company Command team, they will pass that on
2+.(Phil)

- The number of Bersaglieri combat platoons also apply to the Motociclisti ?

Correct.(Phil)

- Reading Afrika it says that "The Trieste motorised infantry division was the best infantry division in North
Africa...............Even the Fucilieri of the division were noted for their excellent performance and used the
bersaglieri organisation"
Does this mean that it would be acceptable to use Fucilieri figures rather than Bersaglieri and use the Afrika
book Bersaglieri formation, motivation and skill rating for them.
That was the intention! (Phil)

- I noticed that none of the Semoventes in the Italian Arsenal entries in the Afrika book have their guns listed
as being Hull-mounted, but it should really be in there. I know it's pretty damned obvious by looking at the
models themselves that their main guns are Hull-mounted, but there are rule-twisting bastards out there
(notably those who prescribe to the Read As Written philosophy to interpreting rules)...
Anyone who is stupid enough to look at the model and say that the gun isn't hull-mounted shouldn't be playing
this game!!!(Phil)

British Forces :
Commando platoon and No Alone rule:
- It just seem's silly to me that the HMG and Mortar platoon count like a commando platoon ?
Same with the US Ranger platoon's
"Commando Platoon" is usually used to refer to the combat platoon. "Commando platoon" (lower case p)
would be any platoon that is commandos.
So, the You Are No Alone rule refers to the Combat Platoons only.(Phil)

- Arty Major (staff team) goes over & takes charge of a rifle platoon, and charges the enemy ?
However, since he is not a 2iC, Company, or higher Command team, he cannot take over a platoon. (Phil)

- British HQ Platoon . My British Infantry company has two 3” mortars and two Bofors on truck. Reading the
rules on 146 of the little book it appears I cannot have the 2inC look after these guys during a battle. It looks
74
like I’ll be forced to attach these to a combat or weapons platoon if they what to be useful in the game.
British doctrine was to have these teams for a platoon known as HQ platoon. With the rules as written I can’t
do this. Likewise the CS tanks in my tank squadron cannot be commanded by anyone unless they join one of
the combat platoons. Maybe you should have assigned the HQ platoon a platoon commander (or make one of
the teams the commander?) ?
Check out page 146 for your mortars. They form a leaderless platoon that your 2iC can join as needed to
move form place to place.(Phil)

- Does my command carrier have a normal passenger fired MG ?

It is actually described as a Troop Carrier which is a Transport team with the same stat line as the OP
Carrier or Mortar Carrier.(Phil)

- Pg 140, where the "Tally Ho!" rule it's described, it's said that "the 2pdr and 6pdr guns..." But in the Afrika
briefing, there's just one Tank with the Tally Ho! characteristic, the Crusader II and its 2pdr tank gun.
What about Crusader III? Is this some kind of errata?
We were generous to the Crusader III before. The Crusader III lost a crewmember to fit the 6 pdr in the
turret. The problem was that it is difficult to come up with an effective way of modelling ROF 1.5, so we left it
at 2 when we gave it Tally Ho.
More information led to the conclusion that the Crusader III was issued with the later types of ammunition
earlier than we previously believed, but that they operated in a more cautious manner than their
predecessors. Hence the loss of Tally Ho and the greater AT rating. However, their ROF remains where it
should be, 2. (Phil)

- In v2, the Pheasant is not turntable, but it was mounted in the 25pdr chassis. So is this right? If so, was the
reason previously discussed?
Basically, they found that the recoil was such that the turntable was too unstable and dropped it.(Phil)

-PIAT in a British motor company. There is the box in Afrika, which states, that there could be only either
PIATs or Sticky Bombs/AT-Rifles. First problem (not a rule problem, but one of playability): a motor
company is only allowed to have 1 PIAT for the whole company (rather poor if you ask me).
Second problem: it's nowhere written in the update for the motor company in Desert Rats,
and third problem: it's been for rifle companies before, I think that's the answer as well as I think it was just an
oversight by BF.
So the question is, if the motor company is allowed to have a PIAT and Sticky bombs at the same time.
The probable answer: "Yes, it's just been a slip, and the rule for either PIAT or Sticky Bombs is just for the
rifle company."
The PIAT replaced the Sticky Bomb in the British arsenal. (Phil)

- The British Rifle Company can take organic AA in the form of Oerlikon 20mm Portee's.
The British Motor Company and the British Armoured Car Squadron can take AA support in the form of
Breda 20mm Portee's. However "Portee" has a specific meaning in the rules now, and these vehicles are
neither "Portees" nor get the "Tip and Run" special rule.
The Portee attribute has always had the same meaning and these vehicles have never had the Portee attribute.
(Phil)

- So I buy a Bofors platoon and downgrade 2 Bofors to the watercooled AA weapons that are carried portee
on their trucks.
What weapon stats do they use when portee? Their normal RoF 4, 24" range etc etc or are they now a normal
vehicle 50cal RoF3, 16" range?
They remain a M2 .50 cal AA gun.(Phil)
What happens if I move the truck... does their RoF stay at 4 (or 3), or does it drop to 1?
As an AA gun (as opposed to a vehicle machine-gun) they drop their ROF to 1 (Phil).
And does the truck now count as an Unarmoured tank team, or is it still a transport???
All portees are Tank teams.(Phil)

75
- A MMG carrier that didn't move may use the HMG as is. Some British HMG units may fire bombardments
(vickers used as close support artillery, and so on). So, one of those Vickers mounted in the MMG carrier that
didn't move, may fire artillery bombardments ?
The Vickers can fire bombardments from their MMG Carriers. Apparently if was more convenient than doing
so dismounted because the elevation was easier to set with the gun up on the engine deck.(Phil)

- When British artillery is operating with 2 gun troops, can the staff team service both gun troops while they
are operating independently, but both within command distance?
Yes.(Phil)

- When the gun troops operate independently and range in on two separate targets, do they drop ranged in
markers on both targets, and can they then Mike target either ranged in marker with the entire battery the
following turn, Or can only the guns that actually fired on the target use mike target ?
They both have separate ranged in markers in this case. Since neither could fire a Stonk or Murder on their
own, and a Mike Target can only be called on a Stonk or Murder, they would have to range in again on the
target as a combined battery to use these special rules.(Phil)

- If the 25pdr guns are held in reserve their staff team has to deploy cause the british share one staff team
between 8 guns (two batteries for any other nation) their staff teams are independant. And if its scattered
reserves the staff team could end up 3 and a half feet away from its battery. The rest of the battery is out of
command and cannot move closer to the enemy ?
Not quite. Each troop has its own command team in addition to the battery command team.(Phil)

- Can Divisional Cavalry (Afrika) take Heavy Mortars (4.2") as support?

Initially I would have thought the answer was no since the mortars are not specifically listed as a support
option under the div cav section on pg 135. However, I have since seen discussion about taking Valentines as
support for Australian Divisional Cavalry.
The rationale for for taking Valentines as support is the statement on pg 135 that says, in part, that Australians
get “all of the benefits and restrictions on the previous page” (pg 134). Since this includes Valentines you can
get Valentines.
So, by that logic, both Australian and New Zealand div cav seem like they should be able to get 4.2" mortar
platoons (confident veteran) as support. For that matter the AUS div cav could take anything listed on pg 134
as support and NZ div cav could take anything on pg 137. Is this correct or am I missing an important variable
once again?
4.2" Mortars are listed as Rifle Company Support platoons, not Divisional Support platoons. Since the Div
Cav can only have Divisional Support platoons, they can't have the 4.2" mortars.(Phil)
- So, from this can I also assume that the platoons listed on pg 134 (AUS) and 137(NZ) of Afrika are not legal
support choices for a divisional cavalry squadron?
For example, I assume Valentines cannot be taken as support for Div. Cav. since they are not listed as
divisional support nor are they listed as support for Div. Cav. on pg 135.
The material on pages 134 and 137 is almost entirely additional restrictions on the choices available. The
only new options available are the Aussie MG Platoon as a Weapons choice, the NZ Heavy Armoured
Platoons, and the Div Cav. The rest are just further restrictions on the normal restrictions or changes to
points and ratings.(Phil)
- Does that mean that the 2/2 MG Bn can be listed as support for Div Cav ?
Is it listed under Divisional Support? No. Therefore it is not available.(Phil)
- Valentine II Tank Platoon ?
This is a Support choice for a Rifle Company, not a Divisional Support choice. it is not available.(Phil)
- Light and Heavy Armored Platoons ?
Yes. The NZ special rules state that NZ companies can take them.(Phil)

- Firstly it says that Riffle Company's and Recce Companies are classified as Confident Trained, does that
mean that Canadian motor companies, armoured companies etc are still vets? or is it not possible to take a
those companies. What does the extra points for chuchills and for shermans represent? and are they
considered trained or vets?
76
You can only take Rifle and Recce Companies. The infantry division does not have any other type and the
armoured division did not get into action until the close of 1943.
There is a whole thread on the Churchill points running somewhere at present. basically, you have more
points, but they remain trained, so they need to cost more to be the same relative part of your force.(Phil)

- I know that Indian and gurkas could join a normal rifle company as support, but could they join an aussie
company, or any other commonwealth variant for that matter?
The answer is no. The Indian Divisions included British Battalions as well as Indian Battalions. Hence their
ability to operate together.(Phil)

- Deploying two British Scout Patrols, I am aware they count as one platoon for deployment. Does this mean
that they have to deploy within command distance of each other ?
The way we play this is that they must deploy at the same time, but deploy as the separate platoons that they
are. (Phil)

- In the Afrika book the British recce platoon have 3,4 or 5 Humber LRC III. There is the option to replace up
to 3 Humber LRC III with Humber II/III at no cost. After that is written that LRC and Scout Patrols are Recon
platoons. It seems to me that the Humber II/III are (a little) better then LRC...so i think it is strange that the
replacement has no cost!
Humber LRC are Jeeps for mobility, while the Humber armoured car is wheeled. The additional speed is
traded off for less armament. (Phil)

Us Forces :
- Given that Bazooka Teams now have an AT of 4 in Tank Assaults and Command Kelly 'One Man Army'
Rule which states "Kelly uses ... from rifles to bazookas ..." Does Command Kelly have an AT of 2 (per
AFRIKA) or AT of 4?
He has an AT of 2. he has no special rule increasing the normal AT for infantry teams. (Phil)

-If a M3A1's passengers dismount the LMG's is the vehicle considered "empty" and forced to withdraw, or
does it stay while the crew fires the .50 cal in support?
The crew have elected to form a static defensive machine-gun nest, so they send their transport away. They
dismount with their carbines during mobile operations.(Phil)

- As I read the current rules all the AAMGs on the M3A1 will have 360 degree firing arcs (MiRb 65) as they
are passenger fired and not passenger mounted and therefore not subject to the 'Fields of Fire' special rule
(MiRB 135).
The AA MG's on an M3A1 armoured car are mounted on the side of the vehicle and cannot fire across the
vehicle. They have a 180 degree field of fire along the side of the vehicle.(Phil)

- The AI Assault Debate seemed to indicate that you could dismount one team to assault while the other
stayed in the 'track to fire the passenger-fired MG in support, so I assume the same applies here. So, one
passenger dismounts one LMG, the second passenger stays in the car to fire the other LMG, and the crew fires
the .50 cal.
The recon only have one passenger per armoured car. There is nothing requiring the transport to be removed
unless its machine-guns are dismounted. (Phil)

- What happens if they have to/choose to Disengage? Can they remount?

They only have a vehicle to remount if they did not dismount the LMG. If so, they can remount in their next
Movement Step. (Phil)

- Does the dismounted team abandon the LMG and remount with just their carbines?
If they dismounted the LMG, they have nothing to remount. (Phil)

- Does the onboard crew and the remaining passenger team just drive off and abandon the poor LMG team
entirely?
77
There is no remaining passenger team in an armoured car. Since a half-track only has one MG, if the MG
dismounted, the half-track drives off. If someone stays in it, well...(Phil)

- However, if they don't dismount the LMG's and just get out with their carbines for Phil's "mobile
operations", does the M3A1 leave?
No. There is no rule requiring them to leave while they have their MG's still mounted. (Phil)

- In first edition, Stars and Stripes had a rule for jeeps that said "Infantry teams carried as Passengers in Jeeps
(including light mortar teams) can fire their weapons while mounted. If the jeep moved, the passengers count
as moving. Of course, most of us used this to probably mount bazookas and go hunting. Cheap lil one shot
wonders, but it appears that 2nd edition has done away with this rule. Is this the correct notion ?
Yes. Only those with special rules allowing them to shoot mounted can do so.(Phil)

- I am still confused by the US recon's porteed 60mm mortars. Page 164 Africa. As far as I can tell, the portee
rule (pg 25 mini rule book) says nothing about being able to fire a porteed weapon from a vehicle, it only
seems to talk about unloading them. In most cases this is fine since the porteed team is a tank team and is
clearly defined with a line or two in the appropriate arsenal. Not so the US 60mm mortar on a jeep, no where
that I can see does anything indicate that it can fire from the vehicle. Now i know we all are aware that the
whole portee concept was that the gun could fire from the vehicle in reality, but the portee rule does not state
this.
Additionally, the 60 mm is a man packed team and so could always be carried as a passenger and dismounted
as any other man packed team.
However, by designating them as portee, their transport is required to be sent to the rear as soon as they
dismount. The whole designation as porteed seems to have the effect of making the 60mm lose most of its
mobility permanently as soon as anyone wants to fire it.
Was this the intent of their designation as portee?
That was indeed the intent of the rule.
If the mortar is mounted in the jeep as a portee it becomes the jeep's armament. The jeep now has a 60mm
mortar and an AA MG as its armament. It can only fire one or the other.
As an aside, the mortar is still dismounted to fire in reality, but promptly remounted again ready to move,
appearing in game terms as if it fired from the jeep.(Phil)

- It appears to me that the section for "Armoured Rifle Platoon" is distinctly separately, though on the same
page, as the part where it talks about trucked platoons.
In the entry for the Armoured Rifle Platoon itself, there is no option to replace halftracks with trucks. There
are a lot of options available, but that is not one of them. Much further down on the page, after an obvious
section break, is the text about replacing halftracks with trucks. That makes the text only available as an
option to a Company, which may or may not choose to implement it, but not to the individual platoon itself
when purchased as a support for a tank company.
The Truck-borne Company says to replace the half-tracks in its Armoured Rifle Platoons with trucks, so
clearly they are still Armoured Rifle platoons.(Phil)

Painting Guides :

Airborne Assault :
Death from above mission :
- How do Snipers work in a Death from above mission? Can a Para troop with this mission use them first off ?
If they can, do they have to roll for drop casualty? or do they show up in movement phase like normal ?
Snipers cannot be used with the Death From Above mission. The pre-game air strike is made at dusk before
the landing. (Phil)

- Do gun teams move and take saves like their normal gun type or do the move and save as a pistol team?
The rules state that they shoot as a Pistol team. It does not state that they are Pistol teams. As a result, they
remain the same type of team as normal, they just shoot as a Pistol team.
Note: The wording in Version 1 implied that they did indeed become a Pistol team. (Phil)
78
- Are combat attachments considered a 3rd, 4th or 5th squad and thus are placed behind the Command Stand
during deployment?
It would be very difficult to make combat attachments for this mission. There is simply not enough space in
the aircraft for extra personnel in the platoon. (Phil)

- If playing as Americans do you still get the air strike from Total Air Superiority or do the Night Attack rules
override it?
The air strike still happens, presumably at dusk. (Phil)

- Do infantry teams keep an special designations (such as Pioneer, Panzerknacker or Warrior) before they
recover their weapon canisters?
Warrior teams remain Warrior teams no matter what.
Although not explicitly stated, Pioneer teams and Panzerknacker teams would need to recover their
equipment from their containers before using any of their special abilities. These abilities are based on
equipment as much as training, so until they have their equipment it makes no sense for them to be able to use
them. (Phil)

- Can Koch and/or Von der Heyte call for artillery and assault before they recover their weapon canister since
Koch is stated as "always rated as above" and Von der Heydte would have no other change by recovering his
canister?
No. No team can spot for an artillery bombardment or assault until they recover their container.(Phil)

- Does a glider going through a friendly gun teams landing position crash? The rule only specifies enemy
teams
No problem with friendly teams. the only reason for doing gliders after paras is so that you don't know the
success or otherwise of one before committing to the other.(Phil)

- Can you fire the AA MG on gliders in Defensive fire if the teams being assaulted are still in the glider
(assuming that you can assault teams in gliders)?
Yep.(Phil)

- Are the gliders consider terrain and thus must be manoeuvred around/climbed over or under/ bog tested? If
so what are they classified as (linearly object, difficult going, very difficult going)?
The rules state that gliders are just markers.(Phil)

Arsenals :
German :
- Lorraine Schlepper should be "Bunker Buster" (Phil)

Italians :

British :
- p.209 add in notes for little Mortar team : “Smoke”
- p.209 the “Tank Assault 4” is for the PIAT not for the anti-tank rifle.(Wayne)
- This is probably a long dead issue, but in the 1st Edition update PDF for British forces, British Pioneers are
rated as having Tank Assault 3. However, in Afrika, they are rated as Tank Assault 4. Which is correct?
Africa should have said AT 3, but says AT 4. Until we get to reprint it, that is what it is.(Phil)

United States ::
-The US M4 81 MMC is now listed as having Turret front MG ? It is simply a cut and paste error. The only
intended change is to say Smoke Bombardment.(Phil)

Haut

79
 Ostfront :

How to use this Book ?

German Forces :
- Lorraine Schlepper should be "Bunker Buster" (Phil)

- All KV-1e tanks are Slow.(Phil)

- Fallschirmjägerkompagnie: in Compagny HQ change “Replace Command SMG teams with Command

Panzerknacker SMG teams for +5 points”. The new sentence : ““Replace Command SMG teams with
Command Panzerknacker SMG teams for +5 points per team”(Phil)

- I just brought a blister pack of German 15cm guns, and saw that there were a total of 10 crew member, but
only medium bases with it, so I ask how should I base it, for the rules say that you only use medium if the gun
have 4 crew members, and the 15cm gun have a crew of 5, as seen in the diagram in ostfront. So I ask all of
you, how should I base the guns?
All infantry guns should have four crew. It's a glitch in the diagram that got carried forward into the
pack.(Phil)

- Where is the axis cavalry support ?

Same place as before, in the web articles : http://www.battlefront.co.nz/Article.asp?ArticleID=930 (Phil)

- I believe the Panzer IV D used the 75mm KwK 37 L/24 main gun. Are there any stats for their use (Armor
rating, ROF, AT, etc) ?
Any surviving panzer IV D were upgraded to Panzer IV E standard, so use their stats.(Phil)

- Ok so does anyone want to give me their interpretation of what you can do with the Pioneer Platoon from a
German Panzerkompanie. They come with a schwimminwagon and 3 trucks then you can purchase an
additional 3 half-tracks. I presume the troops then ride 1 stand per vehicle.
Correct. (Phil)
Can I send the trucks to the rear then load everyone else into the haltracks or would I need to take a casualty
first a-la "clown car" syndrome?
You can, although the half-tracks will be very crowded with all of the engineering stores (Phil) .
Can the troops mounted in the halftracks make a half-track assault?
No. That platoon does not have the Mounted Assault rule, so it cannot use it.(Phil).

- A Panzergrenadier list (or a Fallschirmjaeger list) can take Panzer platoons as a support choice. Can he take
a Panther platoon from a Panthercompanie (ie trained) given that it is, by all means, a Panzer platoon ?
80
The Panthers at Kursk were a rather unique unit. They fought en masse as a 200-strong brigade. After this
battle, the surviving tanks were amalgamated into a single battalion and sorted out the remaining problems.
For this reason, the Panthers from this list cannot be used as support for any other unit.(Phil)

- The Luftwaffe Feldkompanie can have a 120mm mortar platoon with a staff team. Are the 120mm mortars
allowed to use the staff team ?
Nope. The Luftwaffe mortar batteries do not need or have a staff team.(Phil)

- In the Luftwaffe Felkompagnie, it says may be 120mm mortars of 75mm with a suitable drop in cost. I have
the book Goring's Grenadiers which is where the lists are derived from and it has theses two units,
Nebelwerfers and the 10.5cm as the Div artillery depending on which division you choose. Just need a
clarification that it is OK to field the 10.5cm battery.
There is nothing to stop you from leaving the artillery battery with 10.5cm leFH18 howitzers.(Phil)

- Since a Schnellschwadron was part of a Grenadier Division, is it within the realm of possibility to
LEGALLY use an SS or LFK Schnellschwadron ?
The Luftwaffe Feld Divisionen did not have the reconnaissance assets of the early German Infantry Divisions,
so they cannot field a Schnelleschwadron.
The Waffen-SS were pretty much Panzergrenadier units, even when named as Grenadier units and are best
modelled with the Panzergrenadier and Aufklarungs lists. It was not until 1944 that the Grenadier Divisons
der Waffen-SS saw action and these were not SS divisions, but rather divisions under SS control.(Phil)

- On page 66 of Ostfront there is an option for the heavy anti-aircraft platoon that allows you to take a third Sd
Kfz 7/2 3.7cm self propelled anti-aircraft gun for an additional 55 pts. Now would this only be available in
conjunction with the replacement of the 8.8cm guns or can this third gun be taken with the 8.8cm guns
making a platoon of two 8.8cm guns and one 3.7cm gun.
It's hard to add a third Sd Kfz 7/2 unless you already have two Sd Kfz 7/2!(Phil)

- Can an truck/jeep PzGrenadier/Aufklarungs company take an armored heavy platoon?

As with a Panzergrenadierkompanie, the company is either armoured or not. If it is armoured, then at least
the HQ and one platoon must be armoured and the heavy platoon is armoured.(Phil)

Finnish Forces :
- All KV-1e tanks are Slow.(Phil)

- Here is the scenario: A Finnish jaakari platoon led by Torni is assaulting a KV-1e PLT. Torni gives his
platoon "Skilled Soldier" which lets them reroll failed skill tests. The KV-1e platoon has Turret-rear MG
which requires teams assaulting to re-roll successful skill tests to hit. So what is the sequence of events? For
example: Torni and company get 4 hits and 3 misses on the KV-1e's. Which reroll goes first? Does Torni
reroll his three misses and then reroll all successful hits? If so, does he get to reroll any of the first four
successful hits that fail as a result of the turret-rear MG? Or, does he reroll his four successes first and then
reroll his 3 misses?
I run both of the guys in my Finn armoured company, and I was sitting there thinking about how great both
features were and then it occurred to me that if I had to use the two against each other I didn’t really know
how to resolve it. So here I am!
You cannot re-roll a re-roll ever (except for komissars!). So since a die that was originally a miss has already
been re-rolled, it cannot again be re-rolled for the Turret-rear MG. It is still the same Skill Test to hit.
In effect you roll all 7 dice, then re-roll all 7 dice. The re-rolls cancel out and you may as well just roll them
once and call it the re-rolls.
This can happen in other circumstances too. Same result: re-roll misses cancels out re-roll hits.(Phil)

Hungarian Forces :
- I was writing my 1500pt list for Hungarians when I came across the upgrade for the Puskas platoon upgrade
from rifles to rifle/mg for +15pts per squad. Now, does this include the Platoon HQ or just the squads?

81
You upgrade all Rifle teams. The Command Rifle team is a Rifle team.
The cost is expressed as +15 points per Puskas Squad, but that in no way restricts who is upgraded.(Phil)

- The Huszar platoon are available for motorised infantry ?

There were no Huszars in the Hungarian 1st Armoured Field Division, only on in the Infantry divisions and
corps. So you can support the Puskas Szazad.(Wayne)

Italian Forces :
Italian unknown hero :
- A HQ is an unknown hero and any platoon he leads autopasses any morale test on a 2+, does this apply to
the entire company for company morale checks ?
The Unknown Hero and any Platoon led by him pass Motivation Tests on a roll of 2+.
If the Company Command team is the Unknown Hero, then they will pass Motivation Tests on 2+. Since a
Company Morale Check is a Motivation Test by the Company Command team, they will pass that on
2+.(Phil)

- pg 103 Compagnia Fuccilieri; it's said that they can field an "allied German Anti Tank Gun platoon"
But there's no platoon named "Anti Tank Gun Platoon" in the German Briefing. There is a "Light AT Gun
Platoon", a "Motorised AT Gun Platoon" and a "AT Platoon".
I guess the right one is the "AT Platoon" in pg 50 (grenadierkompanie), but, could anyone confirm it, please?
It should say Anti-tank Platoon.(Phil)

Romanian Forces :
- The correct value for the T-3 is Front armour rating 6. (Phil)
- Why Romanian 38(t) are listed as unreliable ? The 38(t) was renowned for being ultra reliable and the
Romanians got a lot of 38(t)s as well as spare part.
Second hand pieces of crap that had already been used to invade at least three countries. Of the 50 initially
only 5 could be made to run when they got them. They had already been rejected by the Hungarians! (Wayne)

- Ostfront says the Cari Co. can have an "allied German 1942 Panzer platoon" as support. RAW would say
this limited to just the 1942 Panzer Plts of Pz 38T. Are Mixed Platoons also allowed as they can serve in 1942
or 1943. It would seem odd if I could not get a Panzer III Plt in 1942.
The only Panzers in the area were Panzer 38(t).(Phil)

- In Ostfront, the Romanian Central Fire Control special rule states: "Romanian Company Command teams
cannot act as spotting teams for artillery bombardments." Should this be interpreted as only the Company
Command team is prohibited from spotting for bombardments (ie. Platoon command teams may spot with the
appropriate +1 penalty)? Or that none of the Command teams in the company may spot for bombardments (ie.
only observers may spot, unless the artillery platoon can spot for itself)?
The rule refers to the Company Command team itself. So the 2iC Command team could still join the company
mortars and act as their spotter in the platoon commander role (although the Company Commander himself
could not). (Phil)

Soviet Forces :
- Armoured Cars are Tank teams (they certainly aren't Infantry, Gun or Transport teams) so they are affected
by Hen and Chicks rule. All Soviet vehicles are affected by Hen and Chicks unless explicitly excluded from
this rules. (Phil)
- You can add a jeep to the Motostrelkovy Battalion HQ as personal transport for the Company Command
Rifle team for +5 points. (Phil)

- How the heck can Cossacks be mechanized in V.2 when panzergrenadiers in trucks are infantry? Since when
does horse flesh equal the protection of an armoured halftrack?
If you make them defend in all the attack/defence games they lose the benefit of being mounted, as they are
dug in and their horses are sent to the rear.(Wayne)

82
- Strelk support option lists a tankovy company. Go to page 165, where it specifies that this supporting
tankovy company uses the listing from page 140. Fine and dandy - EXCEPT that the tankovy listing has only
medium tanks. No lights, and no heavies. So no KV1e's or light tanks, KV!s's only available as Guards Heavy
Tanks.
Yes of course there is still Tankovy support for Strelkovy Batalons.
Look at the Tankovy options on pages 140 to 141 or if an early 42 army T-26s or KV-1e or KV-1s from page
144. Not the entry in the Strekovy says Tankovy (not specifically Heavy, Medium or Light).
Plus Guards Heavy tanks are available from Divisional Support. (Wayne)

- KAZACHYA SOTNYA (P. 41 Ostfront) "Before the game begins you may amalgamate two kazachya
Platoons with the Company HQ to form one large platoon under the 2iC Command team. The Company
Command team, Komissar teams and Anti-aircraft Section are not fielded in this case. The platoon’s
Command teams become normal Rifle/MG teams." If this is answered elsewhere please forgive me.
If I field a Kazachya Stonya Company and use this rule who is the CC of the all company?
Can I detach the AA Section during the amalgamation process to the amalgamated platoons, ending with a
platoon that as the 2 kazachya Platoons, plus the 2iC and the AA Section from the previous Company HQ ?
The intention is that if you are fielding a Kazachy Sotnya and amalgamate platoons, the 2iC beomes the
Platoon Commander while the Comapny Commander operates separately as normal.
If you are fielding an amalgamated platoon as a support option, then the Company Commander does not
come into play.(Phil)

- Looking in the Cossack list, a "Tankovy Company" can be used as a support choice. This includes the T-26,
right? Or is that tank restricted to the Mixed Tankovy Batalon and Strelkovy support.
Since there is no such thing as a 'Tankovy Company', the answer is any Light, Medium, Heavy or T-26
Tankovy Company.(Phil)

- Do the AA machine guns on trucks (the DsHKs) available for the Soviets count as Portee or can I use them
as technical. i.e. move and shoot Mad Max/Sudanese/Brotherhood of Nod dune buggy militia style ?
Its a vehicle mounted MG so it could move and shoot however it also has the Awkward Layout rule that says it
cannot move and shoot. (Phil)
However if its a HMG (rof 6) then it can but a reduced rate of fire (ROF 2) ?
Since HMG teams are Gun teams, they can never be vehicle-mounted machine-guns unless some special rule
like the HMG Carrier rule applies. The DShK on a truck is not an HMG Carrier.(Phil)
So is it portee artillery or vehicle mounted. It says it can be mounted in a truck.
A portee is merely a truck-mounted weapon that can dismount as a Gun team. It has no effect on the weapon
while mounted on a truck.(Phil)

- I have a question concerning the Matilda II tanks in service with the Soviets. In the Ostfront book they are
no longer rated as unrealiable while in the Afrika book under British service they are unrealiable. I tried to
find out which one was correct because I find it hard to believe the Soviets upgraded it after getting it from the
Brits. I could understand if the unrealiable was a typo for the Afrika book or Ostfront omitted it but not how it
is now.
The Soviets recieved new Matildas for quite some time after shipments to the desert stopped (infact they
recieved almost all of theirs after that point). Their ones are much newer as a result. They are the only forces
new ones in service. Both Afrika and Festung Europa have only old worn-out wrecks available.(Phil)

- Can you take a T-26 company as a weapons platoon for motostrelkovy ?

In the Motostrelokovy Batalon, the only weapons choices are Light and Medium Tankovy Companies. They
cannot be T-26 Companies.
The reason for this is that the tank regiments in the Motor Rifle Corps were newly formed when the corps
were established.(Phil)

Painting Guide :

Arsenals :
83
German :
- Lorraine Schlepper should be "Bunker Buster" (Phil)

- All KV-1e tanks are Slow.(Phil)

- The MG34 have ROF 2 when Pinned Down.(Phil)

Finnish :
- All KV-1e tanks are Slow.(Phil)

Romanian :
- The correct value for the T-3 is Front armour rating 6. (Phil)

Hungarian :

Italian :

Soviet :
- The ROF for Maxims HMG when pinned should be ROF 2.(Phil)

Haut

Festung Europa :

How to use this Book ?

German Forces :
- Fallschirmjägerkompagnie: in Compagny HQ change “Replace Command SMG teams with Command
Panzerknacker SMG teams for +5 points”. The new sentence : ““Replace Command SMG teams with
Command Panzerknacker SMG teams for +5 points per team”(Phil)

- In the MW books they specifically mention that the Aufklarungs platoons get the "jeeps" with passenger-
fired MG's, but just says "jeeps" with no reference to vehicle weapons for the Heavy Platoon. Then in FE it's
flip-flopped. Now, seeing as how we are talking, Real Life, about the same basic machinegun, and that the
MG on the "jeep" is the team's own weapon, I take it that every kubel/MC combo that mounts an MG or
HMG team gets its "optional passenger-fired MG". But seeing as how Rules Weasels occasionally come out
into the light, I'd appreciate an Official Word if anybody knows where it is.
Hmm, yes. It does appear to missing from FE.(Phil)

84
- In FE, for Panzer Platoon, it says "one platoon must be entirely equipped with the same tank type as the
command teams" then under the MkIV/H list is states that you can down grade up to half to MkIII M/N. My
question is, does this down grade happen after the "entire platoon equipped" rule?
The intention is that you must have a full platoon of Panzer IV tanks if you have an HQ of Panzer IV tanks.
The only way to field Panzer III tanks is as your second platoon after the one of the same type as the
HQ.(Phil)
- In the German section of Festung Europa, it states that you may substitute up to half of the PzIVHs with
PzIII Ms or Ns with the appropriate points reductions.
My question is this. Does that mean per platoon or the entire force of panzer. This is something that I am very
curious about.
Per platoon.(Phil)
- your answer here seems to contradict what you mention here:” The intention is that you must have a full
platoon of Panzer IV tanks if you have an HQ of Panzer IV tanks. The only way to field Panzer III tanks is as
your second platoon after the one of the same type as the HQ. “
Not really. Two different rules. The first platoon must not use this option at all, but the second and third
platoons can replace half of their Panzer IV tanks with Panzer III tanks if you wish.(Phil)

- If you include the pioneer company on the Aufklarungsschwadron it says : “The Panzer pioneer platoon is
organized like that of a gepanzerte panzergrenadierkompanie on page 29.” The picture includes the half tracks
with no optioned for unarmoured transport. That's fine, the only problem is under the HQ section :” If the
company has any armoured half tracks, you must replace the Kfz12 ...for 15 points per half-track.” So if your
going with an unarmoured option, are you not able to have pioneers as they would have transports and force
you to take half tracks ?
Correct.(Phil)

- For the first time I was putting together a German Aufklarungsschwadron using FE and was rather shock to
find the cost of the upgrading to the Sdkfz 250's for the Aufklarung Platoons had gone up from 10 pts per
squad to 20pts! The HQ 250's had remained at the same cost of 15pts. Surely in the period where armour has
generally come down in cost this is a misprint ?
The points for converting to half-tracks is not a printing error.(Phil)

- Is it possible to use a mix of armoured and motorised combat platoon for a late war Aufklärungsschwadron?
Panzergrennies have to use up a support option to mix them, but there is no such a explicit restriction written
in FE.
Historically I only know 2 Aufklärungsabteilungen, and they both were fully armoured, the official TO&E
shows only pure companies IIRC, but I would love to be able to put all my favourite models on the table, and
motorbikes are just funny.
Most battalions had one armoured and one motorised company. OTOH, Panzergrenadier battalions were
homogenous by this stage.(Phil)

- Shouldn't Flammpanzer III's get the option for Schurzen? Was this omission deliberate or an oversight?
AFAIK no Flammpanzer III were ever fitted with Schürzen.(Phil)

British Forces :

- In MW the Canadians, Australians and Indian platoons don´t use the British Bulldog rule. In Late war
(Festung Europa) there is no mention of them not using the British Bulldog rule so that would mean that they
use the British bulldog rule in LW. Or does it?
The Indians and Canadians are the same as mid war. The canadians don't use Bulldog - Check out the
Assault Troops rule, and the Indians do (not mention in either book of them not doing so).(Phil)

- Canadian first Armoured Brigade fought all the way from Sicily to the Gothic line and beyond. They were
very highly thought of by the 8th army. I do not think they are any different in there organisation etc, just
curious as to why they do not get the option in Festung Europa as per the british tank units to be Italy
veterans?
85
They do indeed, That's where the veteran tanks supporting the Canadian Italy Veteran Rifle Company come
from!(Phil)

- In the amendments to Afrika Commando Troops were given Tank Platoons as Support options.
In FE they don't have them, is this another typo or did they really not field them?
The Commandos were not directly supported by Churchill tanks in any of their operations in Normandy.(Phil)

- Commandos in Festung Europa read "You may not field more than one support platoon of each type, even if
you have multiple commando troops". Commando's can only get the scout patrols needed to be replaced by
AVREs by taking a Recce Platoon and adding the patrols. If you add two patrols to the recce can both be
replaced by AVsRE or just one?
Both.(Phil)

- Indian units in Italy use the "Italy Veterans" rule. You list the revised points for units up to 2000(!550)
points. Most of the gamers I play against are working toward a "max" force, with all allowed options.
Therefore, what would be the points adjustments for: 2500, 3000, 3500, 4000, 4500, and 5000 ?
Break them into 1000, 1500, or 2000 point lumps and add up the corresponding points, e.g. 2500 = 1000 +
1500 so you have 775 + 1165 = 1940 points.(Phil)

- Indian forces do not get the "British Bulldog" special rule. However, can they have the "Carry on Sergeant"
special rule ?
Yes (Phil).

- In the Support Section of the Rifle Company, Machine Gun Platoons are listed as 0 to 2. In Afrika, and the
OB's that I have been able to find, the listed number of platoons were three (3). Is this a typo, or are the OB's I
have incorrect for late war.
There are three machine-gun platoons in the brigade, but only two are available to support your
company.(Phil)

- In the Divisional Support section, you show 17 pdr's as being an option for the RA AT platoons. I currently
have a platoon of 17/25 pdr's, and would like to know:
A-Can I still use these guns in a late war force.
B-If so, what is the point costs.
C-Would they still be pulled by the quad and limber.
Yes. They are identical. Mostly the old 17/25 pdr was replaced by newer guns as soon as possible, but the
older guns did soldier on for a while. (Phil)

- FE states that if you have exactly 3 fireflys you can form a separate platoon from the rest of the Shermans. If
this platoon were Canadian, would it have to pay the 10 point Canadian special rule addition?
You must create the Firefly Platoon when creating your force, so when creating your force, you know that you
have an extra platoon and must pay the extra points for it.(Phil)

- If I buy 4 British armoured platoons, but only upgrade 3 of the platoons to have Fireflies, can i still seperate
the Fireflies into another platoon?
Yes.(Phil)

- Is the Firefly platoon include in the 2-4 limit?

No. In units that did this, they had five platoons of three tanks rather than four of four.(Phil)

- Does the Firefly platoon give me a extra support choice?

Yes. It is an Armoured Platoon. (Phil)

- Guards armoured squadron : Should the armoured CIC be able to re-roll company morale checks like his
infantry counterpart ? Pg. 79 FE.
Yes it is a bit of a glitch. Any Guards Company can use the Guards rules, not just a Rifle Company.(Phil)
86
- Can an armoured recce troop act as support for an armoured squadron? FE is written in a way that assumes
no one would want to mix the cromwells troops with the sherman troops
The Armoured Recce Regt generally fought as a battalion. One of the only uses as a recce unit was in
Operation Perch leading to Villers Bocage where for one day 8th Hussars put a squadron on each flank of the
advance. Hence, they are unlikely to be found supporting the Armoured Squadrons.(Phil)

- In FE at page 80 for the Canadian on read: "...all of your force become Canadians and you must add+10
points for each Canadian patrol, platoon, or battery."
This rule regard already the Company HQ or not? Reading the rule i think not, but is not clear.
With version 2 we deliberately changed the terminology in the intel Briefings so that Company HQ is not
listed as a platoon.(Phil)

- Just wondering whether it's possible to have two sections of AA that mix SP and non-SP. The picture (pg. 77
FE book) shows 2 sections with three 40mm bofors. The Option box states "Replace all Bofors 40mm guns
and AA tractors with Oerlikon 20mm SP at no cost, or with Bofors 40mm SP for +30 points per Anti-aircraft
Section." I can read that two ways. It says "replace all...", which could mean both sections must be the same in
the platoon, or it could simply refer to guns within the section. It gives a cost of "+30 points per AA
Section...", making me wonder if it's possible to mix the units. So I'm wondering, can I have one section of
40mm Bofors, immobile, and the second section as 20mm SP trucks, all in one platoon? I'm thinking it's not
possible, but wanted to run it by you all.
You must replace all of them. That is the first part of the sentence. The second part deals with how much it
will cost you to do so. That is +30 points per section. It cannot be a flat cost as you may have three or six
guns to upgrade.(Phil)

- Can you mix 6-pdr and 17-pdr AT gun sections in the same platoon? Or do you need to purchase a single-
section 6-pdr Platoon and a single-section 17-pdr platoon? ? ?
The divisional anti-tank regiment of most infantry divisions had four batteries, each of three troops, each of
four guns. In each battery two troops had 17 pdr guns, the other one had 6 pdr guns.
The 6 pdr guns were usually dug in right up with the front lines, while the 17 pdr guns were positioned further
back as back stops since they were to big and too hard to dig in to position right in the front lines.
So mixed troops are not accurate at all.(Phil)

United States Forces ::

- M4,M4A1, or M4A3 Sherman have a front armour : 6. The 75mm version should still be 6 . The 76mm and
105mm tanks should be Front armour 7 (Phil)

- US Truck Sections are a Support option for Rifle Companies.(Phil)

- On page 101 of FE, it says you can take 0 to 1 Assault Gun Platoon as a Weapons Platoon for a Cavalry
Recon Troop, while on page 102, it says 0 to 2. Which one is correct ?
0 to 2 is correct.(Phil)

- The US cavalry patrols are made up of an M8 armored car, a jeep team and a 60mm mortar team. The book
show an AA MG jeep and a second grey jeep, this implies you get a second jeep if you portee the mortar. Is
the patrol now made up of just two teams (the m8 and the portee mortar team)? or is it still made up of 3
teams, with the loss of the portee mortar team counting as the loss of two teams?
The Jeep team remains a single team, whether the mortar is porteed or not and whether it is modelled with
one jeep or two.(Phil)

- The 'header' says 0-1 assault gun platoons, which I noticed after ordering 2 as per the main entry which
states 0-2 assault gun platoons. Just how many Platoons of Scotts may I field in my Cav Recon Coy ?
You may have 0 to 2.(Phil)

87
- In Festung Europa, Rangers get one Support Platoon per Ranger platoon. Simple enough. However, there is
an extra sentence after: "You may not field more than one Support Platoon of each type, even if you field
more than one Ranger Company."
Rangers have 2 options that relate to my question:
0 to 1 Tank or Light Tank Platoons
0 to 1 Armored Field Artillery Battery or Field Artillery Battery
Obviously, if I have a single Ranger Company with 2 Ranger Platoons, then I could take one option from
each, but could not take 2 Tank Platoons or 2 Field Artillery Batteries. However, if I have 2 Ranger
Companies, each with 2 Ranger Platoons, could I take a Tank Platoon and an Armored Field Artillery Battery
with one company and a Light Tank Platoon and a Field Artillery Battery with the other?
I guess it all comes down to the definition of type. A Tank Platoon is obviously the same "type" as another
Tank Platoon, but is it the same "type" as a Light Tank Platoon?
The intention of the restriction is that you may only field, for instance a single Tank Platoon or a single Light
Tank Platoon, no matter how many Ranger platoons or companies you are fielding in the game.(Phil)

- I made a Ranger list with 5 Ranger platoons, 2 Mortars, 1 105 mm, 1 Armoured recon and 4 M3A4 Stuarts.
Everyone of the CO's (3 in all) can re-roll for platoon moral test, for any platoon. Not only platoons under
there company ?
They can join and give re-rolls to platoons in any company.(Phil)

- Can an assault CO take snipers in regular missions? They are listed as an infantry co, but the list does not
specifically allow or disallow them
They do not have snipers available.(Phil)

- If an assault co is in an assault with an armored vehicle are they AT: 2 or AT:3? The rules do not specifically
say (according to BO even the US pioneers on D-Day didn't bring explosives), however the Fluff text says
that the assualt boat platoons have explosives to assault tanks with.
They only count as Pioneers for crossing minefields and assaulting bunkers, so they are AT 2.(Phil)

Soviets Forces ::

-- If you have say a full strength russian strelk company can you upgrade 1 platoon in it to rifle/mg? or do you
have to up the lot ?
All means all. You must replace all of the Rifle teams in your Company with Rifle/MG teams, or none.(Phil)

- Why are katyushas less effective in LW than mid ?

Festung Europa is correct. Ostfront was increased by mistake, but stands as it is.(Phil)

- Where are the IS-1 ?

The IS-1 was rebuilt as an IS-2 before seeing combat.(Phil)

- I've noticed that in FE Razvedki platoons can take a flamethrower team replacing a R/MG team. This means
that SMS armed Razvedki can't use flamethrowers? I wonder if this is intended.
This is certainly an unintentional effect. The intent was to allow the swap, whether or not the SMG upgrade
was taken.(Phil)

- I was working on putting together a LW Strelkovy list when I noticed the following about Shtraf companies
on pg 133 of FE: "It is organized like a normal Submachine-gun Company (page 124), but it must have a
Komissar team." Does that in fact mean it is a submachine-gun company that motivates on a 2+? Are they
really ROF 3? I had always thought Shtraf were just another Strelk company and was totally unaware that
they are in fact submachine-gunners. Is that correct or a misprint? While the whole company would cost 430
points, they could be one tremendous assault group with 63 shots even while moving! If they are in fact
submachine-gunners can teams from a flame thrower platoon be attached to them?
You are correct in all of your assumptions except that they are a Shtraf Company, not an SMG Company, so
cannot have flame-throwers attached.(Phil)
88
- Page 117, Soviet Medium Tank Company entry reads "upgrade all T-34...tanks to have Cupolas for +10
points per platoon". Does this mean per each of the 3 platoons in a Medium Tank Company (i.e. up to +30), or
once for the Company as a whole ?
In this case platoon was used as the generic per platoon, not intending the cost to be per sub unit of the
company. The cost is +10 points for all of the tanks.(Phil)

- Found this the other day while attempting to build a late war Soviet list. The MotoStrelkovy in late-War are
rated as mechanized. Yet in mid-War they are rated as Infantry.
The combat companies have not changed much other then number of teams. They are still both leg infantry.
So why is late war listed as Mechanized ??
The answer is simpler! We looked at the Motostrelkovy Batalon and the Strelkovy Batalon and thought, the
biggest difference between these two lists is that the Motostrelkovy should be attacking, not defending most of
the time. They have armoured transports (see tanks in weapons choices), so it made sense to do it.
Now you have a choice between defensive Soviet infantry and attacking Soviet infantry when making a force,
rather than two flavours of vanilla.(Phil)

- I noticed in Festung Europa in the German Section at the bottom of p.22 says "Flame Tank Platoons May
Not Assault". However, in the Russian section, on p.137 there is no such box indicating that Soviet OT-34
Flame tanks may not assault. Was this a typo or do the Russians know something the Germans don’t?
The Soviet flame-tanks were deliberately left with the ability to assault. Both German and British doctrine and
accounts are quite clear that flame tanks withdraw after flaming.
Soviet flame tanks had much smaller fuel tanks and without information about their doctrine, it seemed unfair
to restrict them in a similar way as once their tanks are empty they are still operational gun tanks (without the
hindrance of trailers and top secret fuel that limited the Crocodile).(Phil)

Designer’s note :

-If his given units equaled my given units MW and they don't LW, which is the more balanced period ?
Neither period is more balanced.
Balance isn't between two forces, but between a force and all of the opposition it is likely to face.
What that means in your context is that your rifle company is still pretty much as effective against any
opponent that it might face in late war as it was in mid war against the full range of opponents it faced.
On the other hand, your armoured company is not as effective against the full range of opponents in late war,
whereas it was in mid war.
Take a force of a dozen Sherman tanks in the mid war period. It is fairly effective against an infantry force
and can take on almost any tank force it encounters since its guns and armour are pretty good. In the late
war, the infantry it faces now have anti-tank guns that automatically penetrate its armour for the cost of mid
war guns that could hardly penetrate its armour. The Shermans are now outclassed by the infantry. Likewise,
the Germans now have Panther tanks for the price they previously paid for Panzer IV tanks. Basically, the
force needs more Sherman tanks to be as effective.
Take a force of lots of infantry with little support. Lets say that in the mid war they are effective against other
infantry forces, but die against tank forces because the tanks machine-guns kill them if they move and they
can't shoot the tanks because of their armour. They are just as effective in the late war period, despite
changes in tanks. They still have the same effect on infantry forces, and still can't hurt tanks and die to their
machine-guns.
So, in that respect both periods are balanced for both types of force.(Phil)

- I just bought my copy of FE and compared what I´d have to change with my US Rifle Company to make it a
late war army. During the comparison, I noticed that almost all armored units or units capable to defeat
armoured targets got cheaper. Well, no surprise here with all the increased armor around. What realy riddles
me is why or how the points for infantry changed. It seems random at least. The HQ is -5, rifle platoons (with
the Bazooka added for Africa) are at +5. And nearly all weapons or support platoons are at either + or - 5-20
points. Is there a hidden system?
89
Over the years since the Rifle Company was first pointed out (Stars and Stripes) we have refined the points
system. To bring everything onto an even keel, we repointed everything in Festung Europa with the new points
system.
Part of you confusion comes because when we did Afrika we kept the old points values where possible rather
than changing everything for the sake of 5 points.(Phil)

- If you think Festung Europa has missed something you are attached to, pause before you attack the
keyboard.
1. Take a breath and have a look at the cover and read the date the book covers and then check the date of
combat introduction of your favourite vehicle or weapon.
2. Then read Phil's Design Notes : http://www.battlefront.co.nz/Article.asp?ArticleID=1218
3. Then remember we will produce Campaign and Divisional books, which will cover things specific to
certain units and campaigns (such a the 21st Panzer division's converted French vehicles or the Funnies of
the British 79th Armoured Division and D-day beach landing equipment units etc.) Warriors have always
been unit specific, so of course they will be in Divisional books. (Wayne)

Haut

D minus 1 :

Allied Airborne in Normandy :

British Airborne Forces :

- What happens to the observer team in the british para mortar plt when u change both mortar sections into
vickers mg sections ?
When the mortar teams are changed to Vickers machine-guns the observer no longer has any function and is
removed.(Phil)

US Airborne Forces :
- I was looking at the Afrika list for the 75mm pack howitzer and it has a direct fire range of 24 inches and
bombardment of 48 inches. Smoke but no smoke bombardment. Phil said in the LFTF that they could not
parachute enough smoke shells in for a sustained smoke bombardment. No problem with this.
D minus 1 has their direct fire range as 16 inches and the bombardment as 64 inches. And they get a smoke
bombardment. Why did the stats change from Mid to late war ?
The answer is simply that the mid war figures are based on how we did things five years ago. The late war
figures are the real version 2 stats.(Phil)

Airborne Assaults :
90
- I see that US para, Brit para & brit airlanding companies have no movement penalties at night if in the
airborne LW assault scenario.
If I have one of those three above armies and my opponent with a British inf chooses to attack at night as per
the appropriate scenario, do I invoke the rule from D-1 and have no movement penalties?
The Night Training special rule is one of the Mission Special Rules for the Seize and Hold mission, so if you
are playing that mission with the correct type of platoon you can invoke that special rule. However it does not
apply to any other mission. Further to the above: remember it is only the appropriate type of platoon that uses
Night Training not your entire Company. (Jason)

Mission Special Rules :

Coup de main clarification :

An Airlanding Platoon (D Minus 1, Page 11) taken as a Support Platoon in a British Parachute Rifle
Company can be used in a Coup-de-Main glider assault (D Minus 1, Pages 57-58).

Haut

D-Day :

D-Day :

Weapons of D-Day : Landing Craft

- Sextons and Priests in landing craft. If I take these for a British company it states I have to upgrade the OP to
a Sherman. This sherman then would be attached to a platoon in a landing craft. It seems a little strange that I
have to take a lumbering Sherman observer onto the beach rather than one on foot attached to the infantry
platoon. Was this just a mistake?
Now, if they are upgraded to shermans, can I have them be DD shermans and attach to a DD platoon?
No the OP is not a DD tank. It could land with a DD or other platoon brought to the beach in landing craft
though.(Phil)

- When unloading landing craft what happens if you can't get all the teams off. A friend of mine had three
craft come in almost on top of each other and there just wasn't enough room even at full movement to get 2
full infantry platoons and a full Priest battery out.
Presumably, the are not fully unloaded and remain in place until the next turn when they unload the
remainder of the unit.(Phil)

91
- Several british units deploy as groups larger than a single platoon such as scout patrols, recce troops, field
Artillery Batteries, and recce troops with AVsRE. How does this effect placement in landing craft. A) They
count as one platoon for calculating reserves and all get in the same boat (getting very friendly with their
mates) B) They count as one platoon for calculating reserves and each platoon/patrol gets its own boat. C)
Their special reserve calculation rule is ignored and it is every platoon for itself.
One boat for the lot.(Phil)

Beach Tables :
- Are infantry affected by movement over sea walls, ie do they have to be adjacent to go over. We both think
no but wanted to ask anyway.
Difficult Going for infantry as per page 214.(Phil)

- Have just recently starting playing the hit the beach mission. Was after some guidance on the sea wall.
I understand that it is to be treated as an AT obstacle, and provides concealment and bullet proof cover to
infantry teams. It can also be blown up by pioneers if they have a supply truck handy.
My question revolves around line of sight. Is the sea wall supposed to:
a) block line of sight to infantry not adjacent to it from those in the hinterland not on a hill
b) provide concealment to all infantry on the beach from those on the hinterland not on a hill
c) do nothing until infantry is adjacent to it eg troops in the hinterland can blast away indiscriminately at those
on the beach. (barring range and no other obstructions except for the sea wall)
The sea wall is a bank that rises from the level of the sand to the level of the ground behind the beach.
A sea wall is usually not particularly tall and provides no cover or concealment at all except to teams on the
beach that are right up against it.(Phil)

Amphibious Assault :
Setting-up
- In the amphibious assault rules under Select the First Wave pg 11 of D-Day, the allied player selects up to
half his platoons and they are his first wave platoons. Each gets a landing craft and this landing craft is placed
in the sea zone ready to attempt to land on the first turn.
On page 15 of the D-Day book the Floating Artillery rule states the player may load a landing craft with a US
armored field arty btty and hold it in the sea zone instead of attempting to beach. From this position it can fire
bombardments.
Is the floating battery one of the First Wave platoons? In other words, if I have 8 platoons I can select 4 as
first wave. Would a floating battery have to be one of those 4 or is it additional to the 4?
Also, if a battery were in the floating reserve, could it be picked up by a returning landing craft and then
deployed as a floating battery?
In the first game I played of the Utah beach mission I assumed the floating battery was not one of the first
wave platoons and used it to fire a bombardment first turn, in addition to attempting to land 4 first wave
platoons. Upon re-reading the rules I am not so sure that i could attempt to land 4 first wave platoons. One of
the first wave "slots" may have been supposed to be filled with the floating battery.
The floating artillery must be carried in one of your initial landing craft, in your example, one of the 4
available, leaving 3 to carry infantry ashore.(Phil)

Returning for more

- A ranger mortar squad has 3 mortar teams and a command team. Does this count towards the 4 minimum "of
these" for returning in a D-Day mission...
Two different things. They only have one infantry team, so they don't return. OTOH, if they were say a Boat
Section with both 4+ infantry teams and man-packed gun teams, then the man-packed guns come back with
the infantry. Boat Sections are US assault platoons where the Weapons Platoon was divided up amongst the
rifle platoons giving each platoon a bunch of infantry and a machine-gun or mortar.(Phil)

- The US Boat Section has the option of swapping out a Bazooka Team for a LMG team up to a maximum of
2 in the assault company. Can you swap this out at any time during the game or are you restricted to your
initial choices before the game begins. for example, I have 4 boat teams in my company at the start of the
game. One of the boat sections is destroyed but becomes available again as a result of the recycling rule.
92
When it is recycled can I choose to swap a bazooka team with an LMG team in the newly recycled team. I ask
this questions as gun teams die rather easy in the early stages of a beach assault, but bringing them on later for
additional fire power once a foot hold has been established would be a good tactic and rather cool.
Hmm. I think the rules would say no, but since you are not likely to play this scenario in a competitive
environment, I'd definitely as my opponent for the OK and do it! (Phil)

D-Day Tanks
- Can a British company take both DD tanks and Mine Flail tanks? If armoured platoons are 0-1, how can I
get both? There is some text saying that the mine flails don't take a support slot, but does this mean they go
beyond the 0-1 limitation? It would seem strange that I couldn't get both.
We are considering the possibility of raising the 0 to 1 limit on tank platoons supporting a British Rifle
Company to 0 to 2, so left that open for the future.(Phil)

- Do DD tanks count towards the # of platoons in reserve versus the number of platoons that are in the first
wave or do are they completely set aside. This is important since the number of platoons in reserve is always
rounded up (5 platoons in a company, 3 would be reserve) and if they are counted as part of the first wave and
the total then 4 platoons from a 6 platoon company would land on the first turn and only 2 would be in
floating reserve.
Correct. A 6-platoon force would have three landing craft. If they had DD's they could land 3 platoons in
landing craft with the DD's swimming ashore at the same time.(Phil)

Naval Gunfire Support

- For Spotter Aircraft on Naval Gunfire Support does normal 16" rule apply. This is the one that the aircraft
base cannot be within 16" of friendly troops otherwise it flys off. Given that at one point the destroyers
decided to park on the beach for fire I would say no but for the game we treated it just like regular aircraft.
Correct. The Air Observation Post 'Stangs weren't flying that high, not were they loitering! The air-to-ground
photographs that some took are fairly low level! (Phil)

- Is it considered to have a staff team? Essentially, can it do all guns repeat and TOT ? Also, do the US special
rules Excellent Communications apply to them? Does Hit Them With Everything You've Got apply?
Naval Gunfire Support does not have a Staff team and does not benefit from the rules that require a staff
team.(Phil)

Mission : Hit the Beach

- Do you still do Preliminary Bombardment in the scenarios or is that already taken into account? We ran the
Utah beach one last night and I started the game with only 11 teams on the table since almost every gun team
failed their saves and everything automatically dies.
The Utah ans Sword scenarios use the full Hit the Beach mission rules with the changes specified in the
scenario. So, the answer is yes, they have a preliminary bombardment. On average it will destroy 1 in 3 Gun
teams and 1 in 6 Infantry teams since the player needs to roll a 4+ to hit them, then they fail a save ro be
destroyed.(Phil)

- Some mates played a double game (2 boards together) of "Hit the Beach' on Thurs night. A question came
up about tanks that we couldn't found an answer to.
Do tank platoons or for that matter any vehicle or gun platoon have to take a motivation test for below half
strength in this mission? We assumed not, as there is nowhere for the tanks to retreat. Or do you assume the
tank (vehicle/gun) crews have abandoned the tanks etc and nicked off themselves ?
They do indeed need to take Platoon Morale Checks. There are plenty of ways of skiving off rather than
sitting in that big fat target when all of the others have died.(Phil)

- So for units that have multiple platoons that count as one unit for set-up, deployment and reserves (Read RA
and Scout Carriers), do I still get one boat apiece for them in the Hit the Beach Mission? In other words, does
a whole battery of RA or 9 scout carriers ride in a single Higgens boat? Or would you ignore the normal
ruling and give each platoon a boat at the beginning?

93
They deploy as a platoon, so landing them in a single boat makes sense (from a purely gaming
viewpoint!).(Phil)

- We are planning a Sealion Campaign that will start with a number of separate Hit the Beach missions on
standard 6*4 tables. How many Landing Craft should each German player have for the scenario?
The way I read the rules the Germans should have just enough Landing Craft for the first wave and then have
to re-cycle these Landing Craft to ferry the platoons in the floating reserve ashore.
However, some of our group think that each platoon starts in a Landing Craft with the floating reserve
platoons ready to move into the sea zone from turn 2. How should it be played ?
If you are working from the D-Day book, then half of your platoons start with landing craft. These same
landing craft then have to go back to sea to load the remaining platoons and bring them ashore.(Phil)

Mission Special rules :

D-Day Fortifications :
- For D-day with a 4 foot table, you get 40 fortification points or whatever is in the D-day book ( I am at
work), then you can only spend 1/2 of that on Bunkers. The other 20 points can be spent on tank traps etc
from the Fortification rules in the main book correct?
Correct.(Phil)
-Now the Bunkers you buy have those weapons included, do they need to be modelled inside of the bunker?
Ex., 88mm ATG Bunker has limits.
It is a game of toy soldiers, so models of your bunkers are a good idea!(Phil)
- The troops inside the bunker they come form the fortification points not from the 1000 points worth of
German troops correct?
Correct. A bunker comes with its weapon.(Phil)
- Can I still buy 2 more 88mm guns and place them in open fortifications for example?
Yep (Phil)
- When you buy a MG bunker, do we model a MG stand in there or do we place a regular MG42 stand in
there? Can we place other troops inside the bunker if there is room inside?
A bunker cannot be entered. Only the weapon that is in the bunker can be in it. As for modelling, go with what
you see in photos! (Phil)
- For minefields, wire etc., those limits come form the original Fortification rules correct?
Correct.(Phil)

Modelling Beaches :

The Battles for Utah Beach

Weapons of D-Day : Obstacles

- What's the point of all the cool obstacles that you can purchase if they have zero impact on the game? I
know it looks great, but you'd think that the ramps and hedgehogs would have some impact.
They do have an effect. That's what is delaying many of your landing craft and forcing them to wait out at sea.
Since the obstacles were fairly uniformly distributed across each beach, tying the effect in to the exact
positioning of your model obstacles made little sense.(Phil)

- Barbed wire goes away completely when a tracked vehicle touches it. This lends itself to really odd
situations where the track just touches a corner and suddenly the whole front is missing. I was also wondering
why it isn't a bog check? I have seen what happens when you run over barbed wire and throw track. While
most of the rules in FoW give a realistic result in the end this does not even come close.
It was a Bog Check in earlier drafts. The problem is then that deep belts of barbed wire are more effective at
stopping tanks than minefields!(Phil)

Hobart’s Funnies :

94
AVRE-Armoured Vehicle, Royal Engineers
- In any mission when I am attacking I can swap the AVRE for 2 Carrier patrols. This becomes a support
choice but does not use up any of the existing support slots ?
You swap Carrier Patrols for AVRE Sections on a one-for-one basis. You may swap up to two Carrier Patrols
for AVRE Sections.((Phil)
- Does this work for any mission for a Brit rifle company to only the Beach assault ?
Any mission.(Phil)

- Commando company and AVRE. The only way to get access to carrier patrols for commandos is to take a
recce sqdn. Do I really have to buy the mandatory (useless) armoured cars just so I can get the carrier patrols
that will be switched for AVsRE?
Yes. (Phil)

- Can a AVRE blow up a sea wall section since it is a "anti-tank obstacle" ?

Yes. It is an anti-tank obstacle. Demolishing Sea Walls was one of the things they were built for. Of course,
and SBG is quicker and more reliable.(Phil)

- Commandos in Festung Europa read "You may not field more than one support platoon of each type, even if
you have multiple commando troops". Commando's can only get the scout patrols needed to be replaced by
AVREs by taking a Recce Platoon and adding the patrols. If you add two patrols to the recce can both be
replaced by AVsRE or just one?
Both.(Phil)

The Battles for Sword Beach :

The Normandy Campaign :

Bocage :

Bocage Rules :

- The bocage rules clearly state that a team can not end it's movement IN/ON TOP OF bocage itself. However,
what about ending movement IN/ON TOP OF a bocage opening such as a gate? The rules mention several
times that you are to treat the gates/openings the same way as the rest of the bocage when it comes to
MOVEMENT (i.e. you must stop next to it and cross it on the next turn, etc.). However, unlike the specifics
involving the actual bocage, the rules DO NOT specify weather or not you can end your movement IN/ON
TOP OF the opening in the bocage.
The reason for the rule about not ending movement on top of bocage is simply because the hedges are usually
modelled quite thick and players are tempted to balance their models on top of it rather than treating it as the
wide hedge that it is. I would have thought that balancing models on a gate would be pretty tricky (and rather
pointless) so the rules did not mention it. Very Difficult Going is not Difficult Going, so Bocage stops Rangers
just like anyone else.(Phil)

Modelling Bocage :

Fighting in the Bocage

- Assault-Multiple platoons inside the bocage : There are 3 tanks from a platoon and an open topped vehicle
(M10) from a second platoon against bocage. The M10 is between the 3 tanks. All 4 vehicles fired MGs
through the bocage at an inf platoon in the open on the other side.
The inf platoon moves forward and assaults the 4 vehicles.
The inf make there tank terror roll.
The 4 vehicles fire defensive fire & the inf are not pinned (bad rolls).

95
The inf continues to assault & they score 2 hits.
Can those 2 hits be assigned to the tanks only? If there where 3 hits, can they be assigned to the tanks only?
Yes. Yes.(Phil)
After armor saves are made, can the M10 platoon retreat, but leave the tanks to continue the assault?
Yes.(Phil)
Does the M10 platoon need to make a motivation test to retreat if it had no hits?
Yes. Any hits scored in an assault cause all platoons to test.(Phil)
Can the inf after stopping at the bocage for the initial assault, can they move* through the bocage thereby
allowing the next wave of inf to stop at the bocage & assault.
Only if they are Pushing into the Enemy Position (see page 105). Otherwise there is nowhere for them to
move.(Phil)

- Situation: a platoon is trying to assault an enemy positioned on the other side of a bocage hedgerow, along it.
Enemy units are 6" away while the bocage hedgerow is 4" away. Can the attacking platoon declare the assault
since the hedgerow is within 4"? or the 4" assault range distance must reach the enemy team (as normal) on
the far side of the hedgerow?
If the enemy are adjacent to the hedgerow, then any team adjacent to the hedgerow on the other side would be
treated as adjacent to them (see page 97 Assaulting Across Linear Terrain).
Thus, if the hedgerow in the example above was 2" thick, then the infantry charging up to the hedgerow would
be in contact with the enemy on the other side.
If the hedgerow were only 1" thick, then they would have to move up to the hedgerow and then launch the
assault across it into the field where the enemy is.(Phil)
- Thanks for your answer Phil but it is unclear to me if i can "start" an assault against enemy teams adjacent to
the hedgerow having my units at 4" from the hedgerow. I was thinking that you can start an assault when you
have at least one team within 4" of an enemy team as usual but the bocage rule you reported above (units
adjacent to the hedgerow are considered in contact to the enemy positioned adjacent to it on the other side)
makes me wonder if i only need to be at 4" from the hedgerow border (2" thick) to start the assault.
Hmmm, we've never put much thought into that. If we could get into contact (i.e. touch the hedge) we've
charged!(Phil)

- My infantry platoon have lined themselves up against some bocage. An enemy platoon moves up to the
other side of it in his movement phase and then assaults. Since we are both adjacent to the bocage he has no
space to move his models into contact with mine so he assaults from where he is, happy with that bit. My
question is, when I conduct defensive fire does he benefit from concealment & bullet-proof cover or not?
Check out D-Day page 42, Taking Cover.
Bocage do not provide bulletproof cover from fire by a team adjacent to the same hedgerow, so no there is no
bulletproof cover against defensive fire.(Phil)

- Page 41 "Bocage Hedgerows provide concealment for any team seen through them, except by a team that is
itself adjacent to the same hedge". What exactly does this mean? The unless you are both adjacent to the
hedgerow shooting through it incurs a concealment penalty. That’s correct ?
It is very important to realise that the rules for bocage are just the standard rules for linear obstacles. They
have been restated where the issue of the height of the obstacle makes things different from a normal loe
hedge, but they are the same rules.
The rules for linear obstacles say that if you are adjacent to a linear obstacle (like bocage), you can see
through it without penalty. The bocage rules do not change this. The sentence you are quoting only adds the
obvious corollary that if you are both adjacent to the same hedgerow, neither of you are concealed.(Phil)

Weapons of D-Day : German Tanks

Axis of Attack : The Bréville Gap

Weapons of D-Day : Allied Tanks

Axis of Attack : Cutting The Cotentin

96
- In the Pont L'Abbe Sector is this battle supposed to be played on a 4' X 3' table like the bocage sectors or is
it supposed to be played on a 4' X 6' table like Ste. Colombe sector?
4'x3'(Phil)
- Also in the Victory section of the same sector it says that if the US player has not advanced beyond this
sector by the 4th game then it is a german victory. However, win or lose the first game the US player will
move beyond the Pont L'abbe sector. Does this mean that once the US player moves into the Orglandes sector
then if they get beat back into the Pont L'Abbe sector and that continues then the Germans gain a victory?
Yes (Phil)

Weapons of D-Day : Allied Tanks

- Also just been reading an account re a Troop of Churchills after the Normandy landings fireing Smoke from
hull mounted 2' mortars to conceal themselves from advancing Germans so they could run like hell.
Almost every tank in existence has a similar capability, whether from smoke dischargers, smoke candles,
smoke mortars, or simple smoke hand grenades. The rules assume that your tank commanders are using these
devices appropriately and it is part of the roll to hit. One of the reasons you might miss that Veteran tanks
sitting right in front of you is their skilful use of their smoke generators.(Phil)

Haut

Bloody Omaha

- The team structure for an Ost Bn Grenadier Platoon is Rifle/MG teams. (Phil)

- In reading the rules for adding BG Cota in a US assault company, it appears that he can only be deployed in
missions with reserves? Maybe I am reading something wrong, but it says: "Cota starts the game off table. In
the starting step of any turn that Cota is off table, when rolling for reserves roll a die." Page 37 of Bloody
Omaha. What do you do in missions without reserves? I.e. free for all, fighting withdrawal, etc.? Does this
mean that I roll for him in the normal "roll for reserves" step even in missions that don't have reserves? Did a
search and checked the LFTF and did not see anything on this. Am I missing something buried in the BO
book ?
Page 34 part 6 of the Starting Step. Rolling for Reserves. (Phil)

- A Festungkompnie can have integral fortifications. In a hit the beach scenario, does it also get D-Day
Fortifications? The hit the beach mission states that the defender gets DDay Fortifications, but the
Festungkompanie briefing says that you cannot field fortifications with missions that include them.

97
If you take a Festungskompanie as the defenders in the Hit the Beach mission, you cannot use any of your
normal points to buy fortifications since the Hit the Beach mission uses the Fortifications rule from the main
rulebook instead.This allows you to take more infantry and supporting troops instead since your fortifications
come for free with the mission.(Phil)

- Fortifications for Festung are deployed before your OPPONENT places an Objective. Actually it says before
you or your opponent places the first objective(Pg. 22 in Bloody Omaha). But that conflicts with the wording
on pg 12 ?
Both apply. All objectives are placed after fortifications.(Phil)

Villers-Bocage

- The Villers-Bocage book page 12 states, "SS units are Allies to any other German company and vice versa
and so follow the Allies rule on page 183 of the rulebook. All of your support platoons are from Paner Lehr
and are Allies to your S SS panzer Co.". Does this mean the S SS Panzer co can take ANY German units as
allies (even from FE?) or that it can only take Panzer Lehr Allies.
The sentence you refer to is a general statement. Any SS you have in your force are allies to normal German
units. It says nothing about how you get to have the SS in your force, just that once they are there any SS you
have are allies.(Phil)

- I was looking at VB last night and noticed that the German Recon Unit is using 251 HTs, shouldn't they be
250s? Also can anyone give me a reason (other than troop capacity) that I can't swap 251s for 250s? (IE Use
250s for Command units that only have 1 stand?). Was it non-historical??? I know Rommel used a 250 for his
command vehicle why wouldn't other units do so as well?
German Recon used both. The 250 was in short supply so Tiger Battalions used the 251 and the second
company of many recon battalions also used the 251.(Phil)

- In the Villers-Bocage book, on page 46, the German II/130. Aufklarungszug in the scenario is listed as a
Motorised Scout Platoon (with no panzerfaust option in its HQ). According to page 24 the Motorised Scout
Platoon is equipped with cycles and sidecars and no panzerfaust option is even possible. Is the German
platoon for this battle meant to be the unit on the top of page 24, the "Motorised Scout Platoon" with cycles or
is it supposed to be an "Aufklarungs Platoon" from page 33, which does have the optional panzerfaust
mentioned in the scenario force list but is equipped with halftracks?
Could someone from BF please confirm which of the two platoons is the correct one or was the intended one
for this scenario, the cycle equipped unit or the halftrack equipped unit? We plan to fight this battle at our

98
FLGS next month and I'm assembling and playing the panzer company in question and want to make sure I
buy the right models.
The Panzerfaust mention is redundant.(Phil)

I hope it could be help you and BF. Say me if we can erase some sentence because we have an answers in the
last LFTF.
Thank you and sorry for my poor English.

99