|
Meine Damen und Herren, Wilkommen in Frankreich. It is August 1914, less than a month since the world went mad, Europe was plunged into war, and it fell to you to fight it. This is us.  IF YOU ARE PLAYING ON THE ENTENTE SIDE, TURN BACK NOW AND GO NO FURTHER Here is the German III Corps, formed up for a surprise field inspection by General von Moltke a few days ago.  As you can probably see, we'll be needing a corps commander, two division commanders, and a metric poo poo-ton of brigade commanders. quote:IV Corps The Corps Commander gives orders to the two divisional commanders; they may not give orders to brigade commanders or individual companies. Each divisional commander reports to the Corps Commander and gives orders to the brigade commanders under them; they may not directly order any companies to move and may not give orders to brigades attached to the other division. Brigade commanders do get to give orders to companies and move chits around the battlefield, at the cost of being at the bottom of the chain of command. Each division's cavalry, engineers, and artillery must be assigned by the Divisional Commander to a subordinate brigade, or it will remain off the board in divisional reserve until attached. The only chit that Divisional Commanders may directly move is their own HQ, of which more later. Likewise, the Jager Battalion must be attached to a division by the Corps Commander before it can join the battle; and the Corps howitzers and the Corps engineers must be attached to a brigade by the Corps Commander. Divisional and Corps commanders need not commit all their assets immediately and may, if they want, keep units off the board, safe in reserve, and introduce them after the start of the battle. What the hell do we do now? First, sort out who will be the Corps Commander and who will command the two divisions (aphid-licker expressed interest in this); everyone else will be either brigade commanders or non-participating staff officers. Once we have a corps commander confirmed in post, the Army Commander will send him his orders and you can start planning the battle; I'll also be making a long post later on how exactly one gives orders. (There is an extensive house rule involved.) Can I see the map again? Sure.  I'll include a full-size map once the Army Commander has his orders. (For reference, we're playing to Grey's scale: 40 pixels to the inch, chits are 50px by 50px, each "inch" represents 80 yards of ground, and the map is 4500px by 3000px, which is slightly more than five miles wide.) Heil dir im Siegerkranz!
|
#
¿
Feb 8, 2017 22:19
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:15 |
|
|
A COLLECTION OF poo poo THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ How to Play Giving Orders Time, Movement, and Spotting Objectives Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 22:09 on Feb 9, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 8, 2017 22:20
|
|
|
UPDATES pending Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Feb 15, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 8, 2017 22:21
|
|
|
I would like to make a request; when you get done discussing things in Roll20, please make sure you come back in here and post a summary of what you've been talking about so everyone, including the observers, can easily follow the discussion and the evolution of your thinking and planning. The whole point of doing this as a Let's Play is so that spectators can follow along in real time with the game and with the reactions to it. edit: also, write loads of graffiti on the map, trust me, it's really funny Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Feb 8, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 8, 2017 22:58
|
|
|
GIVING ORDERS (or, How Do I Make Things Happen?) Right then. Let's talk about orders, how they're going to work, and how to make sure I know what your orders mean. This is how you get your blokes to move around, so pay attention, 007. The first thing of all that I want to say is that while this is a rules-heavy grognard wargame, please don't be intimidated by that. Other players can help you understand enough rules to give effective orders if you're a brigade commander. Alternatively, you could opt for Division or Corps command and not be charged with shuffling chits around!This advice is being given in identical form to both sides. CORPS COMMANDER: PRE-BATTLE Here is what you must do according to the rules, before the battle. You must decide who, if anyone, is going to get those big howitzers and engineers (we'll talk about engineers and some combat rules later), and which division the Jager battalion should be assigned to. And you must deal with the "spotter plane" house rule I've come up with, which I'll also explain later. Of course, there's much more to commanding a corps than that, but that's not for me to tell you about... DIVISION COMMANDERS: PRE-BATTLE Like the corps commander, there are few things you must do, by the rules. Hand out the division assets, and give me orders for where you want to set up your Divisional HQ. More to follow on that subject. And then you have to be part of the chain of command, of course. BRIGADE COMMANDERS: PRE-BATTLE Now we get to the sharp end. What you need to do is turn your bosses' good wishes and highfalutin' thoughts into action. Here are the rules that you need to understand in order to give effective orders before the battle starts. Your unit will start the game off the board and enter across a nominated map edge when there is room for it. (There's not going to be a huge traffic jam on turn 1, we'll get everyone on, mostly.) It will then move according to a pre-written sequence of orders that you give it. Once the battle begins, any orders you give to your companies are subject to the possibility that the orders will not reach them. Pre-battle orders do not have this problem; you have plenty of time to explain your intentions to the men. For a detailed and up-to-date explanation of how to give orders, see this post downthread. DURING THE BATTLE: BRIGADE COMMANDERS During a turn, a brigade is in one of two states: Attack or Defend. If you want your blokes to move, they must be set to Attack. When a Brigade is set to Attack, all companies must move their maximum speed, except that units who need to be stationary to fire will come to a stop on sighting an enemy and (if necessary) begin unlimbering. This is part of the reason why I must have an arrow with your orders; your brigade moves according to the direction of its arrow. By the same token, if you want your blokes to hold in place (and the rules about how firing resolves give an advantage to stationary units over moving ones), their Brigade must be set to Defend; they will then come to a stop. This is the other part of why the orders you give me must have an arrow on them; the end of the arrow indicates where the brigade is to stop. You can also give me orders that say things like "move to point X, Defend for 4 turns, return to Attack, move to point Y." A Change of Orders is when you attempt to alter what your men are doing. This is not a game where I come back to you after every turn to ask if you're sure you still want to keep advancing towards the town. Those men are going to advance until there's a good reason for them not to. Likewise, if they're stopped, they're going to stay stopped until there's a reason to move. You deal with immediate tactical concerns by setting Standing Orders, automatic responses to common situations. CHANGE OF ORDERS When you issue new orders, you do it in the same way as you did pre-battle; draw a map with an arrow, explain what it means. If you want to alter a Standing Order, you can also do that. THE COMMAND RADIUS You have a double Command Radius surrounding your BHQ chit. If a company is within 8" of BHQ, it receives a successful Change of Orders attempt on the same turn it was issued. If it is more than 8" away but is within 16", it is less likely to receive the change, and there is a delay of one turn while someone goes to find them and tell them about the Change of Orders. If it's outside 16", you cannot control it and it will continue doing what it was doing until and unless you can catch it up again. There are other things can screw up your attempted order change; being fired on, for instance. So that's how Brigade commanders interact with their companies. But how do they interact with their boss? DURING THE BATTLE - CORPS AND DIVISION COMMAND Brigadiers are at a major advantage to their real-life counterparts; where a brigadier in the real war was only aware of the immediate doings of his own brigade (and often not particularly aware even of that), a brigade commander in the Great Goon War is aware of what everyone on their own team is planning and doing. They are therefore able to act on player knowledge of things they should not, in fact, have any knowledge of; Westmost Brigade can break off a planned attack and head across country to assist the beleagured Eastmost Brigade. Additionally, we need a method of simulating the real-life fact that it was extremely difficult for commanders in the First World War to adapt and change their orders to meet a developing situation. So, in order to issue a Change of Orders, Brigade commanders have to jump through a series of hoops first. The underlying principle is that since everyone knows information that only the Corps Commander should know, all attempts to change one's orders must clear through Corps Commmand. If a brigade attempts to change its orders, it must succeed on a dice roll. For a brigade located near its divisional commander, who in turn is in direct telephone contact with its corps commander, this is relatively easy. For a brigade located halfway across the map, nowhere near a road, far from its divisional commander, and locked in heavy combat, this is relatively difficult. If the roll succeeds, your brigade starts putting its new orders into effect. If not, it continues with its old orders, and may attempt to change orders again on subsequent turns. Divisional command can assist with helping its brigades change orders by remaining in telephone contact with Corps HQ, which it does by being in a town with a road link back to your side's nominated edge of the map; if DHQ moves, or the telephone wires are cut, its brigades' ability to change orders decreases significantly. It also has a 30" aura around it; if a brigade leaves the 30" zone, it becomes harder to change orders. Brigades can also make it easier to change orders by being within 8" of a road. (This is so that the abstracted message-carrying runners can move between HQs as quickly as possible.) There's a tradeoff to be made here for Divisional commanders. What do you value more - safety behind the lines at the cost of being further from your men, or closeness to your men, while being very distant from your boss and risking being cut off by the enemy? It'll depend on your plan. THE RUNNER There is also a special chit called the Runner, who appears to convey certain critical messages from Brigades who fulfil an objective in their orders. The Runner moves by the quickest route known to it towards the last known or expected location of the HQ it's heading to. All well and good when it's heading for a Divisional HQ that hasn't moved in years; but when it's going to a HQ in the field, which could be God knows where? And then, if enemies unexpectedly appear and force Divisional HQ to move, and the Runner doesn't know about it, or if the Runner is simply unlucky while moving, they can be killed or captured, and their information will be available to the enemy... Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Mar 1, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2017 01:52
|
|
|
The other side has its corps commander in post. We need a corps commander ASAP. Perestroika posted:This is probably too much to hope for, but is there any room for conditionals in orders? Something like "Advance to that ridge. If there are any enemies in the valley below, stay there and engage. If not, cross through the valley and up that other ridge." Conditionals like this are very strongly encouraged, particularly if you also tell me information like e.g. whether or not you should auto-deploy a Runner if contact is made. The more I don't have to ask you questions because something happened that wasn't covered by your orders, the faster I can run the game. Just make sure that if you're going to have a condition like this, tell me what you want to do after the condition ends, otherwise things could get interesting.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2017 13:33
|
|
|
There is an argument that corps command is the level that requires the least knowledge of the rules, since you're not physically moving chits around; it's the brigade commanders who have to worry about exact firing and sighting ranges and suchlike.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2017 13:57
|
|
|
A message arrives from Army Headquarters. FROM: GENERALOBERST KUNO von MOLTKE, SECOND ARMY TO: GENERALLEUTNANT TEVERY BEST, III CORPS Here are your orders for the upcoming battle. First, please see enclosed a full-sized military-scale map of your area of operations. Under no circumstances may your men stray from this area. [That means, no map expansions like we had last time round.]  Here also is the Official Range Ruler.  You are warned that cavalry patrols have reported significant enemy forces located to the south, believed at this stage to be French, and heading in your direction. The whereabouts of Field Marshal French and his contemptible little army are unknown. Your orders are as follows; you will enter the map in the marked area, and then, in descending priority:  1. Make your way to Quatreprouts as quickly as possible and hold it against enemy attack. [Battle End 1] 2. Prevent the enemy from occupying St Croissants. 3. Contain the enemy forces and prevent them from turning our flank. 4. Maintain the integrity of your forces to the best of your ability. [Battle End 2] Some Army-level reinforcements are available should you require them; but it will be strongly to your credit if you can achieve victory without this. With my full faith and comfort, Signed, Kuno Augustus Friedrich Karl Detlev Graf von Moltke, Generaloberst So there you go. You'll be judged after the battle on how well you can balance these competing demands. The battle will end when one side fulfils its end-of-battle criteria: When you occupy Quatreprouts and get a message back to Corps Command, a timer will begin. When the timer runs out, reinforcements will arrive in enough strength to end the battle. They will be irritated should it turn out that Quatreprouts has not, in fact, been renamed Vierfurze when they arrive. If you lose three-quarters of your total forces, including any Army-level reserves provided, General Kuno will consider that the battle is too bloody and will order it stopped. Finally, for better understanding of scale, here is the large map again; first with one brigade of each side on the map, and then with your entire corps on it.   There are more people who've expressed interest than there are brigade commands. Corps Commander needs to provide me with a finalised order of battle ASAP; I do have a list of players by the order in which they expressed interest in playing, if you want to go by seniority. steinrokkan posted:I have a question, in They'll remain on defend orders, but you can have them move at one-half movement speed. For instance; you have 9 companies on defend orders deployed in an east-west line, and your westernmost company spots enemies to its west , like a line of battleships about to cross your T. You may remain on Defend and react by moving up to 3 companies on each turn so that your line will then run north-south to face the enemy, and it does not count as a Change of Orders (although, for the purposes of the firing rules, the companies do count as having moved). This rule replaces the ones about arcs of fire in the rulebook; all companies can shoot/move/spot in any direction at any time. And yes, a company set to Attack must move its full movement speed in the direction it was ordered to move, and hang the consequences.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2017 17:26
|
|
|
I have a request here from a HEY GAIL who can't get to a computer at the moment for command of the 77nd Brigadesteinrokkan posted:Finally, I have made a map with a grid that can be toggled on and off, as well as movable tokens for each unit type, if anybody would find it convenient. I could certainly find it convenient! Do you take commissions? A few grids at larger scales would be extremely useful for me. I'll get round to your question, by the way, in a few hours; there's a big post coming on terrain, movement, and spotting. edit: this is a reminder to Tevery Best, and others, that the 7th Jager Battalion requires a commander Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Feb 9, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2017 18:52
|
|
|
aphid_licker posted:Is 7th Jäger a command like a brigade or an asset like the cav? It's both; a human commands it and it has an HQ chit, but it starts the game as a Corps asset and must be assigned by the Corps commander to a Division before it can do anything. steinrokkan posted:Sure, let me know what sizes you would like and I will render them. Could you do me one with 1200x800 squares and one with 600x400 squares, pretty please with sugar onna top? Just the transparent-BG grid so I can dump them onto my .psd? Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 19:35 on Feb 9, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2017 19:20
|
|
|
How the Game is Played vol. 2: Time, Movement, and Spotting Having discussed the rules for giving orders, let us now consider how units move when they are ordered. Rules about firing and engineers and other such things are coming later; these effortposts take time. Time and Turns The battle begins at 0700, dawn, and continues until the victory conditions are met. Sunset is at 2030. Each turn is 30 minutes long, which gives you 27 turns of daylight. The weather forecast is early mist, clearing at some point after 0730, and good weather all day. Conditions for flying are excellent. (Please note that the above only relates to the first 1914 game played on the Saint Croissant map. Subsequent games have different weather conditions and hours of daylight.) Each turn consists of a series of phases: all units on Team A move, then all units on Team B move; then anyone who is eligible gets to open fire according to a detailed priority list; then if there's a decision to be made, the relevant player(s) make their decisions; and then another turn starts. Who moves and fires first in any one phase is determined by initiative, a die roll before each turn. Basic Movement The unmodified movement for all units is as follows: quote:Infantry, Engineers, Machine Guns, Mortars, Artillery, and anything else I haven't thought of: 8" That's simple enough. Remember that you must be on Attack orders to move, and when you move you must move your full movement allowance. However, let's just complicate things slightly. House Rule: Battle Order, Marching Order, and Roads The base game is designed to be played on a scale small enough for the presence of roads to not be important. We're scaling up to a map that's miles wide from end to end, so roads matter and we need a house rule to govern them. Now the fun part. When a Brigade is in Attack stance, it may be in one of two states: Battle Order and Marching Order. A unit's default state is Battle Order, ready for combat. Brigades in Defend stance must be in Battle Order. However, when an Attack brigade is put in Marching Order and its HQ is on a road, it halts for one full turn and adopts the formation you see in the Corps diagram, and everyone in the Brigade is considered to be on the road. The Brigade then gains a movement bonus equal to half its speed. You may bring a unit onto the map in Marching Order and it immediately gains the speed bonus. A Company in Marching Order is not allowed to fire even if it is eligible; it must first go into Battle Order, and the brigade spends its next available movement phase leaving its Marching Order formation and taking up its Battle Order formation. (There is a default Battle Order formation provided, but I strongly suggest you design your own.) Brigades in marching order do not display their attached assets; they are assumed to be in the column somewhere and may not be targeted until the brigade enters battle order. Have fun with that. Is it worth following the roads to get the extra movement, or will you cut across country? Do you want your men to stop and fight if encountering the enemy while on a road, or press on towards their objective? House Rule: Activity While Defending Brigades on Defend stance which are not currently spotting an enemy at 12" automatically Entrench themselves, which takes 6 turns. (Note: again, this applies only to the first 1914 round on the Saint Croissant map. Units still auto-entrench in following rounds, but I may well have changed the amount of time that it takes to entrench.) Cavalry Cavalry brigades have an expanded command circle of 12" and 24". Cavalry companies may be ordered to dismount at the cost of half their movement; they are then treated as infantry until they remount (at the same cost). Do you want to launch a bold cavalry charge, or dismount and ambush the enemy with firepower? Artillery Artillery larger than 75mm must be limbered and towed in order to move. Artillery smaller than 75mm can be carried for up to 4 turns in succession before it must be either limbered or put down. So, your mortars can be carried, but the FKs and howitzers have to be limbered. In order to unlimber, a gun must remain stationary for one full turn. If it finishes its movement on turn 6, it spends the whole of turn 7 unlimbering and cannot fire until turn 8. Likewise, an unlimbered gun takes one full turn to limber before it can move off. Arse hortillery does not need to be unlimbered. Note that a British 18-pounder field gun has a calibre of 84mm. Terrain So, here's what all the colours mean. Green space is simple open ground. Dark green indicates woods and forests; infantry passes through easily, guns struggle if they're not on a road. The hills you seem to have figured out (there's a slight movement penalty for going up a level, but I'm not saying exactly what it is), as well as the roads and towns. The little snot blobs in open ground are farms, which may or may not cause a movement penalty to go through (again, deliberately not saying). Pink is the railway line, which costs an extra inch of movement to cross unless you're cavalry, or on a road. Woods, each level of a hill, and towns all block line of sight. (Note: The La Dand-Effyaders map contains a depression, which has its own rules.) SPOTTING: OR, HOW NOT TO BE SEEN Right, pay attention to this bit; it is absolutely critical that you understand it, because it's what the spotting rules are based on. Spotting is not a thing that you do; spotting is a thing that is done to you. These rules are not written in terms of "infantry can see this far away, cavalry can see further because of their magic binoculars". They are in terms of "if you are doing X, any enemy chit can see you from Y inches away". There's a few exceptions, but in the main, spotting is not something you do; spotting is something that is done to you. The base spotting ranges are as follows: quote:If the following applies to YOUR CHIT, an enemy unit may spot it at the stated distance: Spotting occurs during any phase when a Company is within the unobstructed Spotting Range of an enemy company; each company determines spotting individually, but informs the entire brigade of what it has seen. House Rule: Spotting Companies in Marching Order Regardless of how Brigades in Marching Order appear on the map, all spotting distances (and only spotting distances) are reckoned as if all its companies and attached companies are located on the road, within the boundaries of the formation. House Rule: Hills and Spotting I was surprised when I found out how stingy the rulebook is about the effects of hills; I suspect that it's something, like roads, that doesn't scale up well. Therefore, the following house rules apply. (NOTE: Once again, this only applies to round 1 at Saint Croissant. Different spotting ranges can and will apply to different maps.) quote:A company that is on a hill may spot other units, and be spotted if it moves or fires, at 32" away if it is on level 1 of a hill, 40" if it is on level 2 of a hill, and 48" at level 3. So, a company on level 1 of a hill has 32" of vision (yes, I know that supercedes what I just said about spotting, this is an exception to the general rule), but if it's moving around or it opens fire on anything while up there, it can also be spotted by an enemy that's 32" away. Vision versus visibility! You may well be able to see my house from up there, but in return, I can also see that you are up on the hill. Should provide a few comedy "OH gently caress" moments. See below for more detail and a case study on the slightly weird rules for hills. Cover These rules do not apply to towns; towns are a special case, dealt with in a moment. A company is in Cover when it is stationary in a Farm, or is in a Wood or Entrenchment. Entrenchments offer protective cover from enemy fire as well as from being Spotted. Any company which is in in Cover and did not move at all on the turn lays an Ambush for its opponents, and may not be fired on until the turn after it is spotted. A company inside a Wood can only see out of the Wood if it is within 1 inch of the relevant edge. Towns A company in a Town is invisible to anyone not in the Town and cannot see out of the Town. It has both Spotting and Protective Cover at all times while in the Town, and uses the Cover spotting rules. All Towns have Outskirts, which extend 50mm from the marked borders of the town. A company in the Outskirts has Spotting and Protective Cover and has an unobstructed view out of the Town, but cannot see into the Town, or be seen by any company inside the Town. The Outskirts are unmarked and do not exist until and unless a Company specifically declares that it is in them. A company which travels through the Town is assumed to be using the main road and its movement is not affected; a company which intends or is forced to stay must move at combat speed while it is in the town. House Rules: Spotter Plane The Corps Commander may request a Spotter Plane fly over any point on the map at any time during the day. The request must be made before the battle begins. The Spotter Plane will attempt to spot anything within 24 inches of that point that is not in cover, and will then report back to the Corps Commander. Next time: Firing Rules steinrokkan posted:One more question, in this scenario, if the infantry is our guy, and the cav is enemy, which of the cav units are visible to us? Here's how this is going to work. The infantry spots all enemy units except the one at the bottom right corner, because level 2 of the hill is blocking the infantry's line of sight. In order to spot that chit, it would need to move forward onto level 2. If the cav on the edge of level 2 and 3 shuffled back an inch so it didn't have any part of its chit on level 3, it also would be hidden by level 3. It's the furthest edge of a level of elevation that blocks LOS, not the nearest. It's a bit janky and a bit gamey, but it's the best we can do without mucking around with crest lines. Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Mar 9, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2017 21:40
|
|
|
Your Order of Battle is full. THE OBSERVER THREAD IS NOW OUT OF BOUNDS UNTIL THE END OF THE BATTLE Orders from all Brigade Commanders are due in at the absolute latest before 5pm GMT Thursday 16th, one week from now, but if we can get them in sooner, we'll start sooner.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2017 22:42
|
|
|
Here is the map with names on, in full and pocket-sized editions  aphid_licker posted:All I have left to do before the first turn is make a post stating where my HQ goes and to what brigade all the division-level assets go? Strictly according to the rules, yes, that is all I need to know directly from you before the game starts. quote:I don't have to do stuff like formally assign the missions we planned out in the chat to the brigades, say in what order they enter the map etc., brigadiers handle that? Strictly according to the rules, no. In the sense of, if you do not do this, the game can still begin, so I do not require you to do this. You may, however, think it wise to make such arrangements. edit: Rule Clarifications Brigade-to-Brigade Communications I've been thinking about this point for a while: A Red-Trousered Goon posted:Can BHQs use their runners to communicate with other brigades No, but there *is* another way of doing this, and I agree it makes sense for Brigades to pass information between each other. Here's the solution. Any Brigade which has a Company within spotting distance of a Company from another Brigade (and its vision is not obstructed in some way) is considered "in touch" with the other Brigade. Information that reaches Brigade HQ is automatically shared with any other Brigades with which it is in touch, after a delay while the (abstracted) runners move around. (Yes, this means that you will technically be in touch with a brigade that's 40" away at the top of a hill, but any information shared between them will take several hours to arrive.) Spotting an enemy company based on information from other Brigades may trigger an Auto-Response. Ordering Units and the Command Zone Companies may be ordered outside the Command Zone by their commander. For instance, an infantry brigadier with attached cavalry may want to order their cavalry forward to scout and then return. When a Company leaves the Command Zone, Brigade HQ will only know what it is doing if another company can Spot it, and information does not travel back to Brigade HQ from the absent company until it returns to the Command Zone. Companies outside the Command Zone attempt to fulfil their last written orders as best they can; if they are still out of command range, they then switch to Defend orders and do not move. Cavalry in Brigades in Marching Order A cavalry unit attached to a Brigade which is in Marching Order can choose to move at the infantry's speed if its commander does not want it getting ahead of the column, or it may proceed at its own speed. Once the Brigade goes into Battle Order its obligatory movement returns to 12". Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Feb 10, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 10, 2017 00:37
|
|
|
Firing rules, or, PEW PEW BANG BANG rAttATaTTarAttATaTTa BOOOOOOOOOM Here are the rules on what happens when you shoot at things. Firing Range The base firing ranges are as follows. quote:Rifle Companies (infantry/cavalry): 8" When eligible to do so, any company may fire in any direction at any enemy company which it has Spotted on the current turn, subject to the order of priority (see below). Firing occurs after all movement by both sides has been resolved; there is a mechanic to govern what happens if company moves into and then out of an enemy's firing range. If a company is in Cover and firing at an enemy inside the same piece of Cover, firing range is limited to 4". Fire and Friendly Units There is no friendly fire. Infantry and Cavalry cannot fire through friendly units (although they may move through a friendly unit's space, so long as there's room for it to do so). Artillery may only fire through a friendly unit if it fulfils the requirements for Overhead Fire. Machine-Gun Fire Machine Guns may fire through friendly units. If they are in a Wood or Trench and in base-to-base contact with an Infantry or Cavalry company; or in a Town and in base-to-base contact with a company in the Outskirts, their firing range is calculated from the company they are in contact with. This has since become known as the "Billy Bonus" and is further explained and demonstrated here. Overhead Fire A unit's Firing range is not affected by being on a hill. Artillery may fire over the heads of friendly companies on the same elevation, provided that the company is at least 2" away from the guns and 2" away from the target. Any company which is is entirely on one level of a hill may fire over the head of friendly units who are entirely 1 or more levels below where this would otherwise not be possible. Companies with elevation cannot fire at targets that have a friendly company within 2". Other Restrictions on Artillery Artillery may only fire out of a wood if its edge is touching the edge of the wood; it may only fire out of a town if in the Outskirts; no artillery in a wood may fire into the wood; no artillery in the Outskirts may fire into a town; no artillery in a town may fire at all; only howitzers may fire into a town from outside. The Order of Combat Combat proceeds in the following phases: quote:Indirect Fire Artillery Combat is not resolved like movement; in combat, Team A's artillery fires, then Team B's artillery fires; then Team A's MGs, then Team B's MGs, etc. The Order of Priority A company which fires always attacks the closest company it is allowed to fire at, subject to the Order of Priority, which is based on a "like to like" principle. Artillery must fire at artillery if available, then machine-guns, then any other target Machine Guns are the exception: they target Rifle Companies first, then any other target Rifle Companies must target other Rifle Companies, then Machine Guns, then Artillery. HQ Units and Runners are always last in the Order of Priority and may only be shot at when there is no other valid target. Close Combat Rifle Companies which, during their movement, move into base-to-base contact with an enemy company which it Spotted on a previous turn, initiate Close Combat. Infantry companies perform a Bayonet Charge; Cavalry performs a Cavalry Charge. Units who are being charged suspend the Order of Priority rules and instead fire on the charging company. A unit may be charged by multiple opponents at once. Any other unit that would move into base-to-base contact with an enemy stops 1" short, as does any company which would move into base-to-base contact on the same turn that an enemy company is Spotted, and any company which is Suppressed (see below) while charging. A charge which scores a hit (which is more likely than a hit with rifle fire) either kills the charged company or forces it to retreat suppressed. A successful Bayonet Charge allows the company to attack one more enemy within range; a successful Cavalry Charge may attack up to three more enemies. FIBUA, FISH, and FIPAC (or, Special Rules for Towns) In a town, all firing ranges are restricted to 3", and a unit may enter Close Combat without first Spotting its enemy. (Fighting In Built Up Areas, Fighting In Someone's House, and Fighting In Pubs And Clubs. Guess which the British Army does the most?) Firing Mechanics I roll dice and determine who gets hit. There will be no discussion of the exact mechanics. Results of Fire, Suppression Firing results in one of three outcomes: Miss, Suppression, Kill. A company that is missed is unaffected; a company that is killed is removed; a company that is suppressed remains on the board and may not move or fire. If a company is hit while suppressed, it is killed. In the Rally phase, all surviving Suppressed companies attempt to remove their suppression; if successful they continue trying to carry out their orders. Morale There are two Morale phases, immediately before and immediately after close combat. On the turn that it occurs, if a Regular brigade is reduced to 1/2 or 1/3 of its original strength (not including attached units), it makes a Morale Check. Your Jaeger battalion is an elite unit; it checks only at 1/3 and does so with a bonus. (They don't keep making checks on every turn; only on the turn on which they are reduced.) There are three possible results: Rout, Retreat Suppressed, and Unaffected. If the Brigade routs, all its Companies are removed, including attached units. If the Brigade Retreats Suppressed, on its next turn all its companies (including suppressed and attached companies) Break Off; when they finish breaking off, all units are suppressed. (Suppressed units who retreated due to a Morale Check are not Killed.) Any Orders the Brigade was trying to carry out are disregarded; any units that Rally go into Defend stance. Night Operations A few of the rules about firing and spotting change during the hours of darkness: see this post for details. Supplemental: The Engineer Not really part of firing rules, but I think I'm pretty much done with stuff to explain, and he's not worth his own post, although he is a lot of fun... An Engineer has many uses; in Grey's game they spent a shitload of time building bridges. It's a fighting stand, and when on the board, it moves/spots/defends itself as though it were Infantry. However, I keep Engineer chits off-board and operating in an abstract manner unless they're within 12" of an enemy company, or specifically ordered to come on-board (for instance, if they're needed to replace a killed infantry company). An Engineer can move around freely when it has a task to perform, regardless of the stance of its Brigade; takes 4 turns to entrench itself (a regular Company on Defend Orders takes 6); it produces 3" of trench on each side of itself (the regular company produces 1"); and it goes on working even if it Spots an enemy or is fired on, although it's not allowed to fire while working. It also carries onto the map 3" of barbed wire, which takes 4 turns to place, and it can also someone asked about Jaegers posted:The Jaegers get two bicycle companies for faster movement on roads, and are good at not routing. I also hear they get particularly peevish about OPSEC violations. That's all! Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 22:51 on Mar 9, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 10, 2017 12:19
|
|
|
FYI: I've been doing a few quick playtests of my various house rules, and I'm going to need to revamp the rules about when brigade commanders can give new orders because there's still too much scope for interrupting the flow of the game; file it under "things that work fine in person but not in an internet game". Fortunately, you guys aren't really thinking of brigade-level operations yet. I'll be quick. Sorry.steinrokkan posted:Trin, it seems that the combat rules do not give any penalty to companies moving into the range of stationary defenders - both will fire with the same "initiative" based entirely on their side and no other factors, is that right? Not so; let's look at how the Firing Phase works again. quote:Artillery Let's take the example situation from the OP of the observer thread, and say that the Germans have won initiative and, on Attack stance, advance south; the French, on Defend stance, sit and wait for them.  The Movement Phase goes off, the Germans move through the wood, everyone's in sight and firing range of each other. The Firing Phase begins. There's no artillery to fire. The German MGs have moved and are disallowed from firing. The French MGs fire. Next up are Stationary Infantry. The Germans have no Stationary Infantry, and none of the French Infantry has moved; so even though the French lost initiative, their Infantry will all fire first; we then go on to Moving Infantry and the Germans return fire. It doesn't work like the Movement Phase, in which all of Team A's forces move and then all of Team B's move; you resolve each category for both teams before moving down the list.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 10, 2017 18:15
|
|
|
Revised brigade ordering rules are up; basically, Brigades can only make a Change of Orders when a Runner from a higher HQ gets to them, and I'm asking for a list of Auto-Response settings in your brigade orders so I can answer questions like "do you want to break off yet?" (which will be occurring multiple times a turn every turn once battle is properly joined) without interrupting the game; if I'm going to interrupt the game, I want it to be because someone has to make a strategically important decision, not because I need to know where you want to dig your latrines. edit: here is the German default Battle Order, if you want to improve on this feel free. The image includes my 4/8/12/16 range bullseye; all units are within 8" of HQ and the mortar is far enough back to fire over the infantry's heads 
Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Feb 11, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 10, 2017 23:47
|
|
|
An aeroplane flies over Corps HQ; the observer throws 1,000 leaflets over the side, and the plane vanishes in a puff of garlic. A French-speaking ADC tells you that the leaflets were printed on the orders of a "General de Corps Mon Pere". (I will carry messages between threads on the same terms as last time; they must be strictly silly in intent, and they must be specifically approved by the Corps Commander.)
|
|
#
¿
Feb 12, 2017 00:40
|
|
|
The railway has no in-game mechanical use. Trains would not have been run anywhere remotely close to where there might possibly perhaps maybe be fighting.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 12, 2017 01:40
|
|
|
An updated guide to brigadiers for writing orders (and sorting out a few existing complexity vs playability issues) will appear tomorrow. In the meantime, everyone should check my rules posts again, thoroughly, and get any remaining questions out now. I'm surely not the first person to underestimate the amount of changes that needed to be made after playtesting and I've been tweaking and experimenting and re-experimenting and re-tweaking in response to test results and player questions, unfortunately without keeping a proper changelog (it would have drowned the thread in me if I'd made a new post for every change). But yeah, stuff's changed, most of it not drastically, but lots of it will affect which orders you give and how. In particular I am thinking very hard about the whole question of conditional orders and automatic responses; somewhere in there is the balance I'm looking for between giving you the freedom to be cool and imaginative, and making the game impossible to adjudicate from drowning in "if X, then Y; if A, then B; if L and a little P comes out, IHOP; but I before E except after C at all times when you hold a half fizzbin" constructions all tailored to each individual brigade, either because of orders that end up butting against the rules, or having to apply a million automatic responses every time a brigade even thinks about advancing. Still trying to find it. Sorry; this is possibly now starting to cut into brigadiers' critical planning time. It may be a question of this is something that just has to be played out.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 12, 2017 21:53
|
|
|
Brigade Orders, Automatic Orders, Runners, and Other Associated and Miscellaneous Crap Right then. First I owe thanks to everyone in both sides' Roll20 for letting me talk at them for a while yesterday, which has really helped me nail down the flaws in the original presentation of the rules and get them closer to what I was intending. I'll go back and revise the original rules now. HOW TO WRITE BRIGADE ORDERS You must include a map with an arrow indicating how your forces will move. The arrow is non-negotiable. I cannot properly adjudicate moves without an arrow. Any orders without an arrow are invalid and will fail. You should include pictures of all Battle Order formations you wish to use (or at least a link to them; perhaps Corps HQ could collate a list of formations that everyone could refer to and not clog their orders up with too many images?). You may use more than one at various points; transitioning from one formation to another occurs "on the move". Any orders given without reference to a formation shall use the default formation and attached assets will be deployed at my discretion. You should tell me what the brigade is to do when it arrives at its finishing point, and you are encouraged to be as exact as possible about the final location of Brigade HQ. When a brigade arrives at the finishing point of its orders it will automatically switch to Defend, and entrench itself. Conditionals It is allowed to include in your orders a condition for your brigade to follow: for instance "If an enemy is sighted, retreat in direction X; otherwise, continue to [TOWN_NAME]." However, please remember that I have a lot of brigades to move around the board. The more complicated your orders, the more conditions they include, the more likely I am to misunderstand something, forget a particular permutation, or implement the orders in a way other than you intended. I will not re-adjudicate turns if this happens; you are responsible for giving clear orders. You may not use conditionals to vary the Standing Orders or override game rules, such as the firing Order of Priority. It is invalid to, for instance, order infantry companies to "Fire first on artillery, then on machine guns"; they will always obey the rules. There is one exception: I will in certain situations accept "Hold your fire unless..." orders if, for instance, you want to fully bait the enemy into a trap before firing on them. Breaking Off It is permissible to, when writing a Change of Orders, give orders for "Break Off and then move as follows:" you will switch to Attack at the end of the break-off and move accordingly. You may not write a break-off conditional in your initial orders. However, if you break off due to a Standing Order, your men lose their orders, automatically switch to Defend stance, and must receive a Change of Orders to move again. Attack and Defend stance, and obligatory movement As a general principle: an infantry company on Attack must move its full movement on every turn. An MG or artillery company must move its full movement unless there is an enemy company within firing range, in which case it stops to fire. All three types of company must remain stationary on Defend stance. These rules are interpreted very loosely when a brigade arrives at a point where it intends to stay; as long as the brigade is coming to a stop, it's permitted to have e.g. companies who arrived at their final point last turn, who do not move on this turn, while other companies are still moving into their final positions because they lacked the movement to make it all the way last turn. Standing Orders Standing Orders cover the following common situations. When the condition is triggered, the brigade automatically reacts as specified without the need for intervention by you. If you've played isometric RPGs like Baldur's Gate, think of them as being kind of like auto-pause settings. Please note that you may not add extra Standing Orders, or change the options available to you. If what you want to do is not listed below, you are not setting a Standing Order, you're adding a conditional to your orders. They're at risk of being disregarded or misinterpreted if you've put them in with your Standing Orders. The list of Standing Orders is as follows. If you do not explicitly set a Standing Order, it automatically is set to the default. It is always best to use the wording that I give here. Default order Optional order quote:When sighting an enemy 12" or less away on Attack stance: If you select "turn and move", a new arrow will be drawn pointing directly at the enemy and your formation turns to face its new direction. Once no enemy companies remain in spotting range, your brigade will move back towards the path of its original movement arrow, re-adopt my closest approximation of your original formation, and continue moving towards its destination. (This, and all procedures, assumes that you have not in the meantime made a Change of Orders.) quote:When attacking the enemy: Brigades default to charging, but may advance using rifle fire if you want. Brigades on Defend stance must remain stationary and use rifle fire to defend themselves. Only rifle companies charge; MG and artillery companies remain stationary and support the charge. quote:When an enemy company Breaks Off or Retreats Suppressed: The brigade suspends its original orders and chases after the retreating companies until they're no longer spottable. The same rule for returning to its original arrow applies to automatic pursuit as it does for "turn and move" up above - the pursuit continues until the enemy is gone and then you return to your original orders. The Senlac Hill Rule says that Brigades on Defend stance do not pursue retreats regardless of this setting; to do that you need a Change of Orders and a switch to Attack stance. You cannot tempt a defender out of good defensive positions by attacking and immediately breaking off to trigger a Standing Order; if a brigade is going to do that, it needs a human to order it. quote:Break Off automatically when: This is to allow Brigades to set how aggressive they want to be. As mentioned above, Brigades which Break Off due to a Standing Order switch to Defend and require a Change of Orders before they can move again. [SUPERCEDED INFORMATION ABOUT RUNNERS DELETED] In-Character Orders, or, Fluff vs Crunch I like people who roleplay a bit and give their orders in character. This is Cool and Good and I approve of it. However, it is absolutely critical to not allow your fluff to make your crunch unclear. By all means give orders in character, but please make sure you write in gameplay and rules terms when appropriate - again, I'm adjudicating a lot of brigades every turn and if I can't understand quickly where I'm physically supposed to move your chits, I'll take a best guess and get on with it. I do believe I'm done. Feel free to keep asking questions, but hopefully all the big holes are closed and now we're just looking at edge cases. Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Mar 9, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 13, 2017 16:42
|
|
|
e; f, doublepost Actually: Tevery, can you give me the message in plainpost, not in quote tags, so I can quote it myself? Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Feb 13, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 13, 2017 16:52
|
|
|
Tevery Best posted:Hello? Yes, hello? Is this the French field telephone? How splendid! Would you kindly get me the corps commander? Yes? Sent, under the name Generalleutnant Tevery Spitzehut Unhofflichmann Beste von Polieren (Spikehat Rudeman Best von Polish, the last in tribute to the real General Hermann von Francois.) As you put the phone down, you hear a response from a Frenchman struggling, but succeding, to maintain his dignity. "That exchange was quite an amuse boche, but please wait for the main course to be delivered to you by our artillery." quote:Trin, a number of questions: Yes it does, I decided that if you do get your T crossed it's your own fault and the solution is to draw a better formation. Once you stop, you stop. quote:What, specifically, are Division HQs allowed to decide and order without intervention from Corps HQ? As a matter of game rules: When they are in telephone contact? Everything, since it is assumed that they can clear their orders with you over the telephone. When they are not? Nothing. Since all players can see the whole map at the same time, which is information that only Corps HQ should have, all orders must clear through Corps HQ to balance this out and stop Westmost Division acting immediately on something they shouldn't know for another 10 turns. Now, you can certainly say "you can order your brigades around without my input", and let your divisional commanders act with minimal input in the thread and as a matter of players discussing tactical decisions; but the mechanics of the game require that since all commanders have access to information only known to Corps HQ, all orders must clear through Corps HQ before going into effect. quote:I know we are not supposed to know the nitty-gritty of the fighting engine, but on the sliding scale below: What I can tell you, and no more, is that arse hortillery has the range of a field gun and can move like an infantry MG; it is more manoeuvreable even than your Minenwerfers, which have a limit on how far they can be manhandled. quote:More provocatively, are there any differences in fire/bayonet power of French and German infantry companies? What about infantry vs cavalry? Sorry, the line's very https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JEUChn0Jq8 Your infantry and cavalry is the best in the world, clearly. How could it not be? Look at the spikiness of your hats! And their ridiculous red trousers with which they are so obsessed! (Did you notice that the chits in the OP of the observer thread are wearing red trousers? I'm disproportionately pleased with myself for thinking to do that...) Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Feb 13, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 13, 2017 17:42
|
|
|
Corps commander, please check your players are still present, there is a distinct lack of activity for there needing to be 9 brigadiers all hashing out their orders Also, here is your telephone map. 
|
|
#
¿
Feb 13, 2017 23:37
|
|
|
HEY GAIL posted:*Clicks heels* This is a reasonable and fundamentally valid set of orders. However, they could be clearer. Some of this is my fault because it's based on things which used to be true and now are not. (This post uses the royal, collective "you", not the personal "you". quote:
Not bad; but the woogly arrow is concerning (although I think I know what is meant by it) and "as long as feasible" is very vague. Remember I have nine brigades to adjudicate on your side, plus however many the enemy has. I will try to interpret things in your favour, but the more you leave to me to decide, the more chance there is of something happening that you did not intend because I mis-read something while moving brigade 11 out of twiddley-two and cursing why I ever wanted to run the thing in the first place. quote:3. Deploy into battle order before we get into the forest. Advance through the forest in battle order, infantry ahead and guns 2" behind. Approach in Attack stance. This is fine, although it's unnecessary to specify the stance because you must be in Attack stance to move. Also note that a brigade automatically switches into Battle Order when it leaves the road. quote:4. Advance until the foot is one inch beyond the treeline, with the guns two inches behind them, one inch within the forest. This will allow both the foot and guns to see out, and maintain a two-inch distance between the foot and the guns so the latter can fire over the heads of the former. It is good that it is specified that the guns should line up two inches behind the infantry to fire overhead. It is very bad to say the infantry should be "one inch beyond the treeline" so that they can "see out". Does this mean you want them in the wood or out of it? If I'm "seeing out" of a forest, this kind of implies that I'm in the forest... Again, I can probably get to where you want, and I love reading in-character orders and comments; but not when they interfere with it being clear where you want to put something. quote:If nothing else happens, entrench where we are, send a runner back to Division HQ, Unnecessary, since these things will now happen automatically. However, this is only the case since the most recent rules update, so it is quite forgivable and my fault for writing bad rules in the first place; when in doubt, you should err on the side of ordering something to happen rather than relying on it happening automatically; the worst thing that happens is I say "this will happen automatically". quote:Brigade headquarters will be set up an inch within the forest. Valid. quote:At all times: remain In Touch with the brigade next to me. Extremely useful supplementary information. quote:Send a runner back to division HQ if fired upon. This is also automatic. Brigade commanders no longer have any control over when a runner deploys. quote:Halt and fire if fired upon. These are fine, but it is best to use the exact form of words I used when writing the standing orders, and to label the section of your orders which contains standing orders as "standing orders". Final comment; no formation has been given, so the default formation will be in use for at least part of these orders. If you want a specific formation, you must show me a picture of what it looks like. (This is not a judgement, just an observation. Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Feb 14, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 14, 2017 04:40
|
|
|
Many Goons posted:MGs that are in base contact with an infantry unit can fire as if they stood where that infantry unit does, but remain protected from enemy fire by the presence of said infantry. This is a fine point that has confused people on both sides, so let's clarify it for both threads. MGs can fire through friendly units at all times. MGs in base-to-base contact with a Rifle Company only reckon their firing range from the rifle company if the MG is in a Wood or Trench; or if the MG is in a Town and its Rifle Company is in the Outskirts. These MGs both get the Billy Bonus:  Only the bottom MG gets the Billy Bonus:  Please note that I use red chits as markers; they do not belong to any side, and if they accidentally get left on any map that you see, do not panic.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 14, 2017 12:42
|
|
|
Crazycryodude posted:76th Brigade orders rough draft: These are very well-written orders and I urge everyone to use this as an example. The only comment I can make is that if you're (that's the royal "you" again) having trouble pinpointing the exact point at which you wish to leave the road, you could zoom in some and provide a separate image which marks it.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 14, 2017 19:32
|
|
|
Housekeeping notes: The soft deadline for orders is 2pm GMT Thursday 16th. Orders that arrive after the deadline but before I begin the adjudication may or may not accepted at my discretion. You will be informed when the adjudication has begun and no orders whatsoever will be accepted after that point. Also, I will not be offering critiques of everyone's orders. Someone in here has produced Good and Cool orders that I approve of. It is now the job of senior commanders to get everything shipshape and Bristol fashion. I am still available for clarification of rules. I will also accept emergency orders from Divisional commanders for brigades whose commanders' whereabouts are uncertain. Also I'll be posting a short questionnaire so y'all and the observer thread have something to do/watch while you wait. Participation is greatly appreciated. Checklist for Corps commanders: Have I assigned the Corps assets to divisions? Have I ordered the spotter plane? Have I collected everyone's orders (including attachments) into one place to make things easy for certain persons whom it would be well to keep happy? Checklist for Divisional commanders: Have I attached the Divisional assets to brigades? Have I given legal orders for the movement of my Divisional HQ? Have all my brigadiers given legal orders? Checklist for Brigade commanders Am I aware of all rules that might be relevant to what I'm trying to do? Are my orders legal and compliant with the latest guidelines? Am I sure that I have posted them in the thread, clearly marked? and, finally, Am I as offensive as I might be? This last one, is clearly, most important.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2017 01:28
|
|
|
Digest of Rules: Always Bayonet Charge The rest will look after itself
|
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2017 18:12
|
|
|
Official Historian's Survey: Turn 0 In among the vast amount of paperwork for a general officer to deal with on the eve of battle, you find a note from the Official Historian, urging you to set out your honest and unrestrained views now for posterity and the benefit of future officers and servants of the Empire. He asks that you answer all, some, or fewer of the following questions, and assures you that they will be kept most secret until the end of the war. 1. How do you feel the planning for this battle has gone, in general? 2. How confident are you in the plans and orders that you personally have laid for this battle? 3. How confident are you in fulfilling the various objectives set by the Army Commander? 4. Is there any one aspect of the battle that seems to you will be most critical, on which success or failure is most likely to turn? 5. Thinking optimistically, what do you think the likely result of the battle will be? 6. Thinking pessimistically, what do you think the likely result of the battle will be? Post ITT. Keep the observer thread supplied with content. edit: on the other side of the hill, one general replied with a deeply heartfelt letter to his beloved on the eve of battle, which still managed to hit all these points; another responded entirely in the medium of SNL Sean Spicer gifs. Just saying, la. Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Feb 16, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 16, 2017 02:36
|
|
|
It is the hour before dawn. Many of you are already on the march. General Beste von Polieren sleeps fitfully, desperate for word from the front. The men's spirits are light; your junior officers have kept them calm and reassured, and slightly drunk on glory and victory and whatever liquor you have already appropriated on your march through France. Your plans are laid as well as they ever will be, and now it is time to put them into practice. After all that, the calculation of the odds, the sifting of the probabilities, and then the fear... Your fate is now, for the moment, out of your hands.  It is in mine.  France wins the initiative. Game on! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt7xJdKfIMM THE ADJUDICATION HAS NOW BEGUN. NO FURTHER ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED. edit: The game has reached Turn 4 and halted for the night; nobody has orders to give. Update pending... Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Feb 17, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 16, 2017 19:27
|
|
|
It wasn't the shooting that was the problem. Next time all cavalry is going to be in cav brigades, it's far too much of a pain in the arse to have it running around attached to infantry. Right then. I'll make this look pretty later when I'm not in urgent need of sleep. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VRHgzrCQHw Turn 1: 0700 French initiative Two issues here; the first is traffic, the second is my inability to keep your cavalry switched on after I've had it switched off to do the other lot's screenshots. One brigade in each division doesn't make it onto the field until next turn.  Turn 2: 0730 French initiative On the other hand, when the said cav makes it up onto La Cote, it sees a French traffic jam that makes yours seem like a pleasant rest cure at Baden Baden. The two sides exchange fire, more for the look of the thing than for anything else, before yours turns about and does a runner.  Which one of you figured out the entirely mean and sneaky trick that I appear to have played on you several days ago? Give them a medal and listen next time. Only thing wrong was that you assumed I would only be cackling out loud now, when it's all going off, instead of while watching you plan. Wheeze of the week! Elsewhere, the Jaegers wonder idly if they can enter the Tour de France after the war.  And the cavalry coming into St Croissant does some spotting of its own, as it sees enemy cavalry riding into Clemenceau (I appear to have misplaced the wide shot).  Turn 3: 0800 German initiative Your spotter plane goes up; its report will arrive at General Beste von Polieren's headquarters after it lands. I finally manage to switch Sandman's cavalry on long enough to catch it riding away from Baguette and into St Croissant; and, it seems, not a moment too soon.  First blood to the Uhlan arse hortillery. (The MG which is also in St C is switched off for the benefit of the French, as is the other division's four-square on the other side of town.) Meanwhile, the long march continues; the Jaeger cyclists caught sight of the French cavalry as it rode round towards St C and directly into your welcoming committee; and here's the East:  (yes, that dratted cavalry is in the wrong place; it's to demonstrate where it was when it spotted up onto Cote de Clemenceau.) Turn 4: 0830 German initiative How many brigade headquarters have you counted so far?  The French cav is in the wrong formation because I blobbed on its orders, although it ended up having no practical effect. Speaking of which...  The French cavalry does its bit to shake that unfair reputation everyone sticks them with by attempting to retreat without firing a shot; your arse hortillery claims another kill and the MG earns a suppression. Can you stop the cavalry? Apparently so. Guess you lot had better make a start at running for all presidencies. More tomorrow; now I'm off to bed, where I intend to stay until my name changes to Rip van Tragula. Division HQs arrived at their destinations safely and are now in telephone contact with Corps HQ. Neither of them are eligible to give orders. See you tomorrow. Discuss.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 17, 2017 03:28
|
|
|
Brigades in marching order do not display their attached assets; they are assumed to be in the column somewhere and may not be targeted until the brigade enters battle order. A brigade does not dispatch a runner on sighting (unless it is the Jager Bttn and they are not In Touch with anyone) until it has opened fire. The assumption is that you are expecting to find trouble, and so it is not news; it is news when you open fire. Yes, this is inconvenient when the enemy appears from an unexpected direction; that is by design.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 17, 2017 13:08
|
|
|
Tevery Best posted:What about Sandman's cavalry, then? The cavalry is a semi-autonomous asset executing orders according entirely to plan. If that were core elements of the brigade...
|
|
#
¿
Feb 17, 2017 13:18
|
|
|
Turn 7 has ended. It is 1000. Update to come ASAP. Both divisions, stand by to give new orders pending final adjudication.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 17, 2017 19:10
|
|
|
Units with a red dot on them have been killed and are removed at the start of the next turn. Units with a white dot have been suppressed; they cannot move or fire unless they rally at the end of a turn. Unless, that is, they've been forced to retreat suppressed, in which case they run away for two turns and then are suppressed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9b9UhFe6Eg Turn 5: 0900 German initiative Your triumphant march on Saint Croissant continues unabated.  Here's what you see.  One of the French guns on La Cote has unlimbered itself; it opens fire and picks off a company at the rear of the train. (Not depicted because I have separate blocks for Marching Order, but it will be reflected when the rearmost brigade goes to Battle Order.) Nothing else happens this turn; 13th Division's cavalry has moved back the wrong side of St C, so you can't see where the French cavalry has retired to. Turn 6: 0930 German initiative You take Saint Croissant unopposed! Vital pastry supplies are secured for the German Empire. More of your brigades have arrived at their destinations and adopted Battle Order. And, it seems, not a moment too soon.  The French are coming down off La Cote towards you! Your guns are still limbered! Your machine guns are still moving into place! You'll have to repel this one with rifles alone.  The French return fire and you take casualties in return. Another soixante-quinze battery unlimbers atop La Cote and the two of them take out one of your FKs!  The full-size map. There is a huge gun line moving into position on the Bag Road, but it still seems to be positioning itself, never mind unlimbering.  Turn 7: 1000 German initiative This is not half an hour that any of you will forget in a hurry. Your rear areas are a hive of activity as your gunners rush to prepare for fire; but on this turn, you will just have to do without them. Your arse hortillery does get a couple of shots off, but they're high, wide and handsome. As the 79th moves through Saint Croissant, setting up in the outskirts without being noticed by the French, the 13th Brigade fixes bayonets and launches the game's first bayonet charge!  Those of its opponents who can do so pick a path through to the 13th's second wave and charge it in return. The 16th does so as well, (after I took the screenshot), and then further east a French battalion returns the favour.  Your arse hortillery is again firing duds; the two French batteries atop La Cote have targeting issues, but more guns are appearing up there and beginning to unlimber. It's looking quite worrisome.  Then, across the front, twelve MG/08-armed units all open fire on the French. The western French charge is repelled with heavy losses, but the targeting is not nearly so good in the east and the French close to contact.  It's all a bit confusing after that. Your western bayonet charge also suffers under French firepower. Your eastern one meets with a great deal more success...but so does the French charge! Companies are struck down and trampled, and more flee, retreating suppressed, on both sides. Rifle fire pings across the field, and again both sides suffer.  Runners go screaming back towards both divisions' HQ. A French battalion cuts off the Baguette-Nainville road only minutes after one of your runners passes. The other two who are en route stop at 14th Brigade's HQ to plan a hiking route via the conveniently-placed nearby forest.  All else remaining equal: 19th Division may send out a maximum of three runners when Turn 8 begins and at least one more when turn 9 begins. 43rd Division may send two runners out on Turn 8 and at least one more on turn 9. The soft deadline for new orders is 12 noon next Monday 20th February. Have fun! Next Time: Boom Boom Boom Boom, Boom Boom Boom
|
|
#
¿
Feb 17, 2017 20:41
|
|
|
PS: The Corps commander is reminded that Army-level reserves are available, if he wants to ask for them.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 17, 2017 21:49
|
|
|
Tevery Best posted:I'm afraid we will have to ask for them, then. If they have a spare division lying around, I'd gladly borrow it for a few hours. The General listens in silence to your explanation of the situation, and then launches into a long discourse about the need to protect one's flanks. You listen patiently. You require a lot of patience. At length, he subsides. "Very well", he says. "I shall have the reserves sent to you immediately, and begin moving more in your direction. Fortunately, V Corps was more successful than you have been so far. Look after them. Soon thereafter, his chief of staff contacts you with some details... You may request infantry-biased, artillery-biased, or cavalry reinforcements. You may request 1 or 2 brigades. The reinforcements are Veteran units. They must be assigned commanders, but other players can double up with them. They must be assigned to an on-board division. They may enter on Turn 8 from any part of the map indicated as belonging to you on the telephone diagram:  Choose wisely.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2017 00:52
|
|
|
Tevery Best posted:Call in two inf brigades, assign them to 43rd Division command Very good. Someone now needs to give them orders.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2017 15:13
|
|
|
If you can get them in in the next few hours, and the other brigade gets ordered, and steinrokkan tells me what he wants to do (if anything) with his runners in the next two turns, I'll run two turns tonight. Otherwise, you've got until Monday. edit: if I don't get all of those things by 8pm tonight, which is in four hours, it's too late for me to start doing anything, I've got somewhere to be tomorrow.
Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Feb 18, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2017 15:59
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:15 |
|
|
I will accept orders for the second reserve brigade from a player already in the game if nobody's going to stick their hand up and say "me, sir".
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2017 18:40
|
|