From: Hank Meyer Subject: Re: Battle for Moscow questions Here's my take on the following: >>>1. If a unit begins any sort of movement phase in a ZoC, can it move that >>>on that turn? I'm assuming not. >> >>Didn't say so in the rules, so I assumed yes. >> >Well, that was the consensus of the few other people who responded too. And >I can see that: A Panzer Corps, hindered by mud or not, should be able to >shrug off the ZoC of a tattered Soviet Army, especially given the 2 weeks or >a month time frame. But that's not how I'm playing it. Mentally, I've >mapped the game onto the NaW system (which it most closely resembles as far >as I can tell) and in that system the ZoCs are the ultimate in stickiness. >Playing it this way (super sticky ZoCs) helps the Soviet more than it does >the Axis (I think). My notes in the game say yes. I remember asking Frank if units could always move one hex (ie directly from a zoc into a zoc) and the answer was yes. If that is the case, then units CAN move out of an enemy zoc. Note that the rules in Great Patriotic War (based on BfM) specifically say that "units may leave an enemy zone of control and continue to move, but must stop as soon as they enter another enemy zone of control." I have a note still unclarified as to if the above is also true for Rail Movement. The relevant rule from Great Patriotic War states that "a unit moving by rail may not move through any enemy zone of control." Actually this makes perfect sense - you use normal movement to move directly from one zoc to another, and rail movement to go further, as long as you stop in the first enemy zoc. >>>2. For the Soviets, the rules don't seem to rule out the possibility of >>>first replacing a half strength unit in a friendly city on a rail line, >>>then second, rail moving that unit into an Axis ZoC and then third, >>>attacking in the combat phase. This is how I'm playing it. Am I right? >> >>That's how I played it too. Another use is to let a Russian unit escape >>from being surrounded. I think there should be a rule prohibiting rail >>movement in ZOCs. That's how I see it also. Additionally, I asked Frank if replacements and/or combinations could take place in an enemy zoc, and again the answer was yes. Note that the relevant rule in Great Patriotic War states "The only restriction to rebuilding such units is that they must be in supply...These units may be brought up to full strength even if they are adjacent to enemy units." >>Some of my questions: >>- Are the hexes under the terrain key playable? > >I'd say yes. There was no terrain key on the version of the game that I have. The only thing on the map (10 hexes high by 14 hexes wide) is a compass arrow in the SE portion of the map. So the answer is YES. >>- Is a retreating unit eliminated if it retreats through a ZOC, or is it >>eliminated only if it ends the retreat in a ZOC? The ZOC section means the >>latter, but the combat rules and example implies the former. >I'm playing it that they can't retreat through a ZoC IMO this is answered in the BfM rules in that: "unit must end up two hexes away from it's starting hex and may not enter and may not enter an enemy zone of control" seems to say that you can't retreat thru an enemy zoc. However, note that the relevant rule in Great Patriotic War states "A unit that is forced to retreat through an enemy zone of control must lose another step. If a full strength unit is forced to retreat through two consecutive zones of control, then the unit is eliminated - it must take a step loss for each zone of control." >>- Can I "parcel out" loses for an EX result? E.g. a 8-4 and two 4-4 Russian >>units attack a half-strength 5-4 panzer and gets an EX. Can I eliminate the >>two 4-4s (since they take only one turn to rebuild) or must I eliminate the >8-4? >I think you can eliminate two 4-4s. Any way you want to do it, as long as >you lose as much as the defender does. The relevant rule from Great Patriotic War says "Then the attacking player must lose at least the same amount of strength from the attacking units." IMO this means you can split up the losses any way you want. Hank hcmeyer@uci.edu