From: "Ronald J. Wright" Subject: Operation Typhoon/Victory in the West System World War II gamers, This is an after action report concerning an ongoing game of Operation Typhoon by SPI. After the aar are variant rules I have devised for this game, as well as for the games in Victory in the West series. Five of us are playing the campaign game of Operation Typhoon--three German players vs. two Soviet players. We are just over a third of the way through, and after a _very_ slow start the Germans are finally making some headway. Third and Fourth Panzer Armies in the north have broken the line and are threatening Klin. Fourth Army in the center went "all out" two turns ago with two supplied corps and use of "accelerated assaults" all along the line. Several Soviet units were destroyed or reduced, and the Germans are slowly advancing towards Moscow--more importantly Fourth Army's success is pulling Red Army troops away from the flanks, making more difficult a defense of Klin and Tula. Speaking of the latter location, Second Panzer Army has had the worse of it. The Soviet line is holding here, Tula is secure, and the Germans have taken grievous casualties--_all_ of the panzer battalions in the Second Panzer Army have been destroyed. The Soviets still have a line across the map, but there are several dangerously weak points--in front of the German Fourth Army there is even a hole (absence of zones of control), but wisely the Soviet players left this breach in a position away from the two panzer divisions of the Fourth Army. The Soviets have literally no tactical reserves backing their positions. Their hope lies in releasing the operational reserves in the two armies near Moscow and, of course, their reinforcements. The weather in the game has been remarkably mild--clear skies and warm ground conditions; ironically, this has hurt the Germans because the warm ground conditions slow their mechanized formations and the clear skies are a two edged sword, because the Soviets have the bigger airforce. We are playing with the following rules I have devised for this game and for the Victory in the West series, i.e., Patton's Third Army, Operation Grenade, and Sicily. Below are the variant rules for your consideration. I would appreciate any feedback concerning them. Victory in the West/Operation Typhoon variant rules: 1. Chit draws. After the phasing player announces an attack, both sides (attacker first) roll a die. If a player rolls a 5 or 6 then he places all chits under units involved in the combat in the chit pool and draws new ones. Note: These special draws are accomplished after markers are pulled from the pool for units that are involved in combat for the first time. Option: If the players do not mind the extra die rolling involved, they can roll for each unit involved in a combat to see if a unit's chit is changed, rather than making a single die roll of all of the involved units. 2. Stacking. Allow four units to stack together if they are part of the same panzer division (two armored battalions plus two mechanized infantry regiments). Exclusive Operation Typhoon variant rules: 1. Panzer battalions. These units must remain stacked with mechanized infantry units of their division. 2. Headquarters. These units may not retreat before combat. If they are destroyed they reappear at the beginning of the next friendly movment phase stacked with any unit in their command. 3. Support points. The German player receives a variable number of support points every fourth turn according to the following table. All other rules concerning the use of support points remain in effect. VARIABLE SUPPORT POINTS TABLE Die Roll Support Points 1-2 10 3-4 11 5-6 12