Fire
Team - Squad action rules for WWII
Following
various attempts at WW II small-scale actions using commercial rules this is an attempt to develop a set of rules to our own taste. The rules are designed to
support multiple players each controlling a platoon and to emphasise
fire-and-manoeuvre tactics over the firing-squad approach in some games. Combat
is deadly and risky, but a sure way to evict a stubborn opponent.
Combat Rules
Turn Sequence
1.
Actions.
2.
Firing.
3.
Pinning and Morale.
4. Movement.
5. Assaults.
Troops capabilities
|
Pins
|
Expertise
|
Movement
|
Raw
|
1
|
6+
|
3D6
|
Average
|
2
|
5+
|
4D6
|
Veteran
|
3
|
4+
|
5D6
|
Initiative
Shooting
is simultaneous. Actions and Moves alternate, attacker moving first. Throw at
the start of the battle for the attacker or its determined by the scenario
played.
Actions
Over
Watch: Units on over watch do not shoot during the firing
phase. Instead they may fire during the enemies movement at enemies who move
into view. If pinned the enemy stops moving immediately. Note this means they
will not fire unless enemy moves into view so you may miss the chance to fire
at previously located troops.
Go to Ground:
Units who pass an expertise may count cover as one category higher so long as
they don't take any action e.g. shoot or move.
Deploy:
All units begin off table and must deploy from a Jump Off Point or a road
entrance. Troops may deploy within 6" of a JOP but do not fire that move. A
maximum of 2 units may deploy from a JOP each turn. Vehicles must enter from a
road entrance at a table edge in your half.
Firing
Targets
are nominated before shooting commences, starting from the attackers right. Infantry
crew-served weapons fire forwards, with turrets all round and tanks with fixed
guns in a 90o arc.
Shooting
is based on the concept of a "Fire Team" which can be a crew-served
weapon or a number of riflemen. Initial hits cause Pins, but once you have
passed the "Pin score" the rest are Kills. E.g. when shooting an average unit the first two hits are Pins and the
third is a Kill.
Throw
1D10, add any factors, and consult the appropriate cover line
D10
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
| |
Target
| |||||||||||||
Soft
cover
|
No effect
|
1 hit
|
2 hits
|
3 hits
|
4 hits
|
5 hits
| |||||||
Hard
cover
|
No effect
|
1 hit
|
2 hits
|
3 hits
|
4 hits
| ||||||||
Open
|
No effect
|
1 hit
|
2 hits
|
3 hits
|
4 hits
|
5 hits
| |||||||
|
Small
FT: -1
Large
FT: +1
Enfilading:
+1
Pinned:
-2
|
Small
fire teams
LMG
& 1 crew
5-9
riflemen*
Small
gun / mortar
HMG
& 1 crew
|
Fire
teams
LMG
& 2-3 crew
3 - 6
SMGs
Medium
gun/ mortar
|
Large
fire teams
HMG
& 2 - 5 crew
7 -
10 SMGs
Large
gun / mortar
Multi-barrels
| |||||||||
*
4 or less riflemen have no fire effect
Weapon
|
Range
|
Notes
| |
Personal Weapons
| |||
Rifle
|
24"
|
| |
Assault
Rifle / BAR
|
12" / 24"
|
Counts
as an SMG <12"
| |
SMG
|
12"
|
| |
Sniper
Rifle
|
48"
|
| |
LMG
|
36"
|
| |
Support Weapons
| |||
HMG
|
36"
|
| |
Rifle
Grenade
|
36"
|
| |
Flamethrower
|
6"
|
Always
pin if hit, ignore cover
| |
Heavy Weapons - always pin with hits
| |||
AT
Rifle
|
36"
|
HMG
|
Do
not auto pin
|
Bazooka
|
24"
|
Med
|
Do
not auto pin
|
Light
gun
|
N/A
|
Light
|
3"
blast radius
|
Medium
gun
|
N/A
|
Med
|
4"
blast radius
|
Heavy
gun
|
N/A
|
Hvy
|
5"
blast radius
|
Light
mortar
|
48"
|
|
3"
blast radius
|
Medium
mortar
|
N/A
|
|
4"
blast radius
12"
minimum on table
|
Some guns have no HE so may
only attack vehicles as noted in the army lists
When
shot by heavy weapons any hits automatically Pin
Troops
may fire to suppress troops they believe are a threat to them. If troops in
cover that were previously engaged, or have shot, withdraw outside the 1"
visibility range they may still be targeted if they remain within the same area
of cover and within 4" of the edge. Such hits may only cause Pins. Note this prevents gamey play where you hide
back from the edge of a building invulnerable to fire then suddenly pounce at
just the right time. This is more realistically portrayed through the
deployment rules.
Pinning and Morale
Units
exceeding their pin quota are Pinned. Can't move that turn and suffer reduced
fire to next turn. You must be pinned afresh each turn.
Units
loosing figures suffer morale impact. At 30% casualties units are permanently
pinned and may not shoot or move but will fight if assaulted. At 60% simply
remove them.
Movement
Units
who did not shoot may move. Movement is randomised to add an element of
unpredictability to the game. Units must move in a straight-line in a
designated direction or following cover you began the move in contact with, but
may stop at cover along the way. Troops must remain with 1" of someone
else in their unit or 2" of their crew-served weapon. You may choose to
move part of a unit provided it did not fire.
Throw
3D6 (Raw), 4D6 (Average), 5D6 (Veteran) and pick the best 3 dice, moving that
many inches. You lose 6 inches per obstacle crossed and loose 1D6 if moving
through woods etc.Note: There is no
moving and firing. The concept of marching-fire was never highly successful and
so the rules encourage a base-of-fire from a stationary group and movement from
a manoeuvre group.
Cover
Troops
are visible if they are on the edge of cover, touching linear obstacles or
within 1" of the edge / linear object. In other cases they may not be
targeted. There is no dead ground behind cover for troops on a higher
elevation. Flanked troops do not count cover from linear obstacles.
Combat
Assaulters
dash into combat with only figures in contact fighting. Defender may then also
move in figures within 4" from the targeted unit. Both roll verses
expertise to kill, no pins.
Assaulter
= +1
|
Pinned
troops suffer = -1
|
In
cover = +1
|
|
The
side suffering the most casualties if the loser and immediately withdraw
12" and count Pinned. You should withdraw towards your base edge.
Vehicles
and Artillery
Indirect
Fire
Indirect Artillery must be called-in by an
on-table AOP or by designated command teams as noted in the army lists. The AOP
designates an aim point that they can observe and rolls a pairs of differently
coloured D6.
·
Roll for length: 1D6 is +ve and 1D6 -ve
·
Roll for sideways:1D6 is left and 1D6 is right.
·
Centre the temple on the new target point.
·
You may keep the target point next turn or readjust getting -1 off the result per
turn of observed fire.
If
the template covers any part of the fire team then throw for hits as usual, but
counting cover as 1 level lower.
If
allowed, you may instead fire smoke which forms a clump the size of the blast
radius. Throw at the end of each turn, the smoke vanishes on a 4,5,6 on
1D6.
Direct Fire
Direct
fire against infantry or weapons teams is done using the normal shooting rules
with weapons counting as large, normal, or small fire teams depending on their
size/rate of fire. Any hits cause a Pin.
Anti-Tank Fire
This
is shooting against vehicles or bunkers/strong points. Vehicles with turrets
may fire all around. AT guns and assault guns 45 degrees each side, counting as
moving if they adjusted aim last turn.
Role
1D10 needing 6+ to hit
| |
Target
moved: -1
Shooter
moved: -1
Target
concealed: -1
Damaged
gun: -1
|
Shooter
pinned (armoured): -1
Shooter
pinned (gun team): -2
2nd
shot: +1**
3rd
shot: +2**
|
**
At the same target neither having moved
Damage
dice: Roll the following D10 if you hit
| ||||
Vehicle
|
Light
|
Medium
|
Heavy
|
Bunker
|
HMG/auto
cannon
|
1
|
0*
|
0
|
0
|
Light
|
2
|
1
|
0*
|
0
|
Medium
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
0*
|
Heavy
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
1*
|
*
= 50% chance to Pin
1:
Must halt and return fire
2:
Pinned & radio damaged
3:
Pinned & -1D6 movement
4:
Pinned & turret jammed
5:
Weapon damaged
|
6:
Panic*
7:
Panic* and miss next shot:
8:
Immobilised
9:
Brew-up**
10:
Brew-up**
|
*Retreat to cover or out of sight ** Passengers roll for hits as artillery
Artillery verses Armour
If
the artillery touches the centre of the model the tank may be impacted - this
is adopted as the models are massively over-scale. Only guns/mortars of medium
/ heavy may affect armoured vehicles:
·
Light / open topped vehicles = normal effect
·
Medium vehicles = -1 on damage dice
·
Heavy vehicles = -2 on damage dice
Vehicles Movement
Vehicles
move 3D6 if slow, 4D6 if medium speed, and 5D6 if fast. They are allowed two 90
degree turns, one must be at the start but the second can be at any point. You
lose 1D6 if 2nd turn made or obstacle crossed. Vehicles may move and
fire but there are some restrictions on the actions of vehicle crews:
·
The commander counts as busy if the AAMG is
fired.
·
The commander counts as busy if calling in
artillery.
·
You may not move and fire the bow or rear MG.
·
The gunner counts as busy if the coax MG is
fired.
Deploying
Fire Teams
All the members of a
fire team must be within 1" of another member and a maximum of 2 ranks
deep. Illegal teams always count as small for shooting. Generally this will
lead to teams being fairly compressed to avoid artillery but does allow
compatibility with people who have squad basing schemes.
Battles and Scenarios
Patrol Phase
This
is used to determine starting points for the battles and also allows an element
of hidden movement.
Both
sides receive 4 patrol markers plus one for each additional platoon after the
first. These are laid-out initially as determined by the scenario played.
Players move markers alternately starting with the attacker. They must remain
within 12" of each other. If they come within 12" on an enemy marker
they are both locked and may not move again.
When
all patrol markers are locked then both sides alternately deploy 3 or 4
jump-off points as specified in the scenarios. JOPs must be within 12" of
a patrol marker, in cover, out of sight or on a table edge and to the rear of
an imaginary line connecting the enemies patrol markers.
Army and Vehicle Lists
Name
|
Type
|
Speed
|
Weapons
|
Notes
|
Hannomag
|
Light
|
Medium
|
LMG
|
|
M3
halftrack
|
Light
|
Medium
|
HMG
|
|
Tiger
|
Heavy
|
Slow
|
Heavy
gun
Bow
MG, Coax MG
|
|
StuG
|
Medium
|
Medium
|
Medium
gun
Coax
MG
|
Fixed
gun
|
Hetzer
|
Medium
|
Medium
|
Medium
gun
Coax
MG
|
Fixed
gun
|
Panzer
IV
|
Medium
|
Medium
|
Medium
gun
Coax
MG
|
|
Marder
|
Light
|
Medium
|
Medium
gun
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
KV-1
|
Heavy
|
Slow
|
Medium
gun
Coax
MG
Bow
MG, rear MG
|
|
T-34/85
|
Medium
|
Medium
|
Heavy
gun
Coax MG
|
|
SU-76
|
Light
|
Medium
|
Medium
gun
|
|
BA-10
AC
|
Light
|
Fast
|
Light
gun
Coax
MG
|
|
BT-7
|
Light
|
Medium
|
Medium
gun
|
Counts
light for AT
|
| ||||
75mm
ATs
|
|
|
Medium
gun
|
|
50mm
ATs
|
|
|
Light
gun
|
|
50mm
long ATs
|
|
|
Medium
gun
|
|
Recoilless
rifles
|
|
|
Light
gun
|
|
Soft
skinned vehicles count as slow off the road and fast on the road. They and
their occupants count as a section / weapons crew for shooting.
Vehicles
/ weapons with multiple barrels throw for each separately for AT shooting but
simply count large for infantry fire.
Fallschirmjager (Veterans)
HQ:
CO (SMG), 2IC (SMG)
Squads:
2 - 3
Squads
(2 points)
·
FT1: LMG + 2 crew, SMG, Rifle*2
·
FT2: LMG + 2 crew, SMG, Rifle*2
Receive 1*single shot RPG / FT
The CO may act as an AOP
|
Russians'42 onwards (Average)
HQ:
CO (pistol), 2IC (SMG), Commissar
Squads:
2 - 4
Weapons
section: 0 - 1
Squad
(1 point)
·
FT1: LMG+ 2 crew, SMG
·
FT2: Rifle * 7
Weapons
section (1 points)
·
FT: HMG + 4 crew
·
FT: AT rifle + 2 crew
·
FT: Lt mortar + 2 crew
Any of the infantry sections may be SMG
|
British and Commonwealth (Average)
HQ: (1 point)
·
CO (pistol), 2IC (SMG)
·
FT: RPG + 2 crew
·
FT: Lt mortar +2 crew
Squads:
2 - 3
Squads
(1 point)
·
FT1: LMG+ 2 crew, SMG
·
FT2: Rifle * 7
The mortar is direct fire only
|
US Infantry (average)
HQ:
·
CO (pistol), 2IC (rifle)
·
FT: RPG + 2 crew
Squads:
2 - 3
Squads
(1 point)
·
FT1: LMG+ 2 crew, SMG
·
FT2: Rifle * 7
Weapons
section (1 points)
·
FT: LMG + 2 crew
·
FT: RPG + 2 crew
·
FT: Lt mortar + 2 crew
The CO may act as an AOP
|
Finns (Veteran)
HQ:
CO (pistol), 2IC (SMG)
Squads:
2 - 3
Squads
(1.5 points)
·
FT1: LMG+ 2 crew
·
FT2: SMG * 2, Rifle * 5
|
|
Reinforcements
The
number of picks will depend on the Scenario being fought
Fallschirmjager (Veterans)
1. Medium
tank / Assault gun (2 points)
2.
Heavy tank (4 points)
3.
Weapons section (1 point)
·
HMG + 4 crew
·
Panzerschreck
·
Light mortar + 2 crew
4.
Support team #1 (1 points)
·
2* Sniper team
·
2 * Medics
·
Extra AOP
5.
Support team #2
·
Flamethrower team
·
LG40 recoilless rifle + 3 crew
5. Artillery
(2 points)
·
AOP team
·
2 * Medium mortar + 3 crew
6.
Transport Section (1 point)
·
Hannomag x1 (1*FT carried)
·
Truck x 1 (1*FT carried)
7. AT
Battery (2 points)
·
CO (SMG/pistol)
·
2 * Pak 40 75mm + 4 crew
|
Russians'42 onwards (Average)
1.
Medium / Assault gun ( 2 points)
2.
Heavy tank (3 points)
2.
AT battery (2 points)
·
CO (pistol)
·
2 * 50mm long + 4 crew
·
2 * AT rifle + 2 crew
3.
HMG team (1 point)
·
CO (pistol)
·
2 * HMG + 4 crew
4.
Support team (1 points)
·
2 * Sniper team
·
3 * Medics
·
Extra AOP, Flame Thrower
·
Molatov cocktails for 1 section
5.
Artillery (2 points)
·
AOP team
·
2 * Medium mortar + 3 crew
6.
Scout team (1 point)
·
FT: 9 * Rifles/SMG
|
Finns (Veteran)
1.
BT-7 and BA10 (2 points)
2.
Support team (0.5 points)
·
Sniper team
·
2 * Medics
·
AOP
3.
Weapons section (1 point)
·
HMG + 4 crew
·
Panzerschreck
·
Light gun + 3 crew
4.
Artillery (2 points)
·
AOP team
2
* Medium mortar + 3 crew
|
Special
Units
Officers
·
Some may act as AOPs
·
Remove a pin on an expertise roll
|
Commissars
·
Routers remain in the field but count as Pinned as they
are too scared to run, and
·
Remove a Pin on an expertise role (heroic version), or
·
Remove a Pin but swap for a Kill (KGB version)
|
Snipers
·
They are a small FT and always count cover one better
than it is.
·
Shooting effect added to another teams
·
Deploy 12"
from JOP
| |
Medics
·
May attempt to save a hit using their expertise. Kills
become Pins and Pins become nothing.
|
Scouts
·
Always count cover as one better than it is.
·
May automatically GTG.
·
They are veterans
|
Veteran
tank crews
·
Add additional 1D6 and pick the best 3/4/5 as appropriate.
·
May avoid pins / panics on a Expertise role
|
Molotov
cocktails
·
A volley is fired by the section rather than individual
shots.
·
Counts as a medium gun verses armour with an 8"
range.
|
Forward, victory is near!
A WWII Eastern Front campaign for Fire Team.
In this late war campaign, both the Russians and the Axis are seeking to seize a foothold across an important river and then breakout to achieve a strategically important victory.
Turn Sequence
Both the sides begin
the campaign in their respective deployment zones. Each turn you may launch a
single assault move, counting as the attacker. If both sides assault into
adjacent, or the same vacant square, then an encounter is fought.
This
means that each turn will either consist of 1 encounter or 2 attack vs defence
games.
Forces
Both sides receive core units (infantry platoons) and then reinforcements depending on the mission involved. You may vary the amount you allocate to your attacking and defensive games within certain bounds.
·
Core units are always = 8 points (4 per
player assuming 2-a-side)
·
Encounter games = both receive 6 points in
total
·
Attack verses defence = 8 points in total
o
Attacking = 4 - 6 points
o
Defending = 2 - 4 points
Battles
Terrain
and jump-off-points are predetermined
for each battle. To allow battles to begin promptly we are not using the Patrol
Phase rules for this campaign.
The
attacker must win in order to capture or remain in the square, otherwise the
assault has failed. Should neither side win an encounter game then the battle
is drawn and both fail to capture the square.
Casualties
are NOT carried forward from game to game - this is an important sector so the
whole battalion is available to support you.
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