From: Peter.O'Sullivan@dao.defence.gov.au Subject: ETO: campaign game suggestions Dear Alan, If its OK with you, I'd like to add more material to that I've sent you. It begins: Grand Strategic rules for "WORLD WAR II, European Theater of Operations" (ETO), 1990 edition, by TSR BACKGROUND 1. If you are like me, you want your Grand strategic WWII games to reflect a generally historic pattern of the war. The following suggestions are meant to allow players the chance to recreate the struggle of WWII through playing the Grand Strategic scenario of ETO. With my rules amendments, the Axis is largely attacking until the end of 1942, and then defending from this point. Both sides get an opportunity to attack and defend, which I believe is a more satisfying game for both sides. With the changes I propose, there is no intention to allow Germany to "win" by conquering Europe. Historically that was never going to happen (if you need a second opinion, then I recommend two books: "Brute Force" and "World War II Databook", both by John Ellis, and available through Amazon books on the internet). The victory conditions have been modified, so read para 20. 2. By no means do I think I have "the answer" to playing ETO. But I do love the game, and I recommend it highly. The intention behind my suggestions is to keep the relatively historical nature of the war, without denying a player historical variants. If for example you decide that the Axis player has heavily garrisoned North Africa, but left Italy relatively unguarded, and you decide to "Torch" Italy instead of French North Africa, so be it. Similarly, if Norway is not sufficiently protected by German air and ground forces, and you want to occupy a coastal hex to inflict EP losses through interdiction of the iron ore route, then do so. 3. These rule suggestions are based on the 1990 edition of ETO. Players are recommended to read another short note I wrote for grognard as this contains many naval rules amendments I recommend. Those amendments have not been reflected here. AXIS MINOR PARTNER ARMOURED UNITS 4. Treat the Italian armoured units as representative of the Axis minor allied contribution to German mechanisation (in other words, when you stack a German and Italian armoured corps together under a general, the Italian tanks are representative also of the Czech and Rumainian armoured forces which of themselves are not included in the games countermix). THE HOME GUARD 5. I treat forts, and coastal fortifications in particular, as representative of militia forces such as the Home Guard. As an example of using fortifications as a home guard, Britain generally finds she has an excess of EPs early in the war, but a shortage of troops in North Africa if she keeps lots of forces in the UK when there is the threat of a German invasion of the British isles. Coastal fortifications (CF) should be built in all ports in the UK (including Glasgow and Belfast, because the Germans can land there). In addition, to reflect the 350,000 British troops tied up garrisoning the Levant region throughout the war, and not available to 8th Army, build CF in ports in Egypt, Palestine, Cyprus and Vichy Syria (when captured). As an amendment to the amphibious invasion rules, only allow either side (Axis or Allied) to amphibiously assault coastal hexes containing a CF that is within range of friendly land-based fighter/fighter-bomber aircraft. Germany is allowed one amphibious assault on Narvik as an exception to this rule. POLAND 6. The temptation with Poland for most players is to fiddle with the Polish deployment. I recommend you do not. Deploy the Poles and the Germans as per the example of play. Polands function early in the game is to inflict Germans losses (the Germans lost the equivalent of an infantry step and an air step, and had the equivalent of an armoured step break down or get destroyed). Poland is not there to rip up the Germans on turn one. Remember this is the first of 69 game turns, and this early in the war the Allies are more concerned with leaflets than bullets. SCANDINAVIA 7. Denmark offers a player two main choices. Historically they never actually declared war on the Germans, they just decided not to fire back when the German bombers arrived over Copenhagen (this is not to suggest the Danes were cowards; just practical in the face of overwhelming force). With Denmark, I prefer to make the Germans attack in the Autumn or Winter of 1939/1940. While costing the Germans an offensive, it closes the Baltic to the royal navy, and puts the Luftwaffe in place for the Norwegian campaign. 8. Norway. The following are recommended rules to use both during the German invasion, and later during the German occupation: a. Historically, the Norwegians deployed their 4 strength infantry at Oslo, and 2 strength infantry in the vicinity of Stavenger, Trondheim and Narvik. We tend to stick to that deployment, with the destroyer unit being free to deploy anywhere in Norway. b. Bring the Norwegian air unit on the month AFTER the Germans invade. Bring it on in any city resource hex held by the Allied player (if Germany invades in April, it arrives in May). c. As the German, you generally find you have by the Spring of 1940 seven armoured units and four generals (one general therefore has only a single panzer corps). I recommend sending a general and a single armoured corps to Norway. It will allow breakthrough or exploitation attacks, and speeds the conquest of the country; vital if you intend to prevent a permanent Allied lodgement (with its associated EP cost) in Narvik. The general and corps are only marginally important in a conquest of France (some players like to get eight corps into France, declare war with the Italians, and stack the Italian armour with the general and the seventh German panzer corps). d. After conquering Norway, deploy at least one German infantry corps in Narvik, and another in Oslo, and leave them there. Ignore any partisan unit. If the Allies assault Trondheim, it is relatively easy to move forces via the Baltic to Oslo, and retake Trondheim via a land assault. An enemy occupied Narvik involves attacking troops in mountains on a one hex front if the allies push south to build a buffer zone. e. Deploying German air in Norway/Denmark is more complex. I believe a player should deploy at least one 4-6-1 German fighter-bomber in Denmark where it can intercept any Allied bombers that try to sink STPs needed to send sea supply to Oslo to keep your Norwegian forces supplied. Alternatively, you can place two ATPs in Stettin, and resupply Norway via air, but this only works on turns when air can fly, and while you only have just two land units in Norway, and no planes or ships. Being paranoid about the Allied ability to interdict the Iron ore route I generally find myself deploying a 4-6-1 fighter-bomber in Denmark, and a second at Trondheim. By 1942 I also tend to deploy a German 6-12 bomber in the Oslo area as well; it can bomb ships trying to interdict Narvik. The Trondheim fighter-bomber unit can intercept any Allied naval force moving to interdict the Norwegian iron ore route, and it protects any German ships anchored in Trondheim which are positioned to sortie onto the North Atlantic convoy routes. German ships in northern Norway tie down British battleships on Atlantic duty. These battleships otherwise would be pounding on the Italians. Remember too that once the Allies position a 4-5-2 Fighter at Scapa Flow, they can provide fighter cover for any bombers thrown at German warships trying to move from Germany to either northern Norway or the Atlantic. Once Germany heads into Russia, the British can easily deploy a 4-5-2 fighter in Scapa. The final advantage of Trondheim is that the German battlecruisers and heavy cruisers with a speed of 42 can reach the Atlantic on one turn, and use the initiative to return on the next naval and air phase. But they are vulnerable to carrier and land-based air attack, and need fighter cover. FRANCE AFTER VICHY 9. Disposal of French naval forces. William Sariego has written quite extensive rules on Vichy and Free French forces and their deployment after the Fall of France. These are on the grognard site, and I use all of his suggestions. Regarding the French Fleet, be aware of the interception restrictions imposed on the ALLIES under rule [7.6]. Split up the named French cruisers and battleships as much as possible between Casablanca, British Middle East ports and the Northern Ireland/west Scottish ports (keep them away from German land based fighter cover, particularly that deployed in occupied France which can cover ports in southern England). I generally find some French ships go Axis. Any axis ships will find themselves deployed in port hexes, but outside the port, when Vichy is declared. If they want to get back to Axis ports using naval movement during the endphase, I believe that under the conditions of rule [7.6] those axis French ships have to have more gunnery factors than any British ships deployed in position to intercept them. The way I interpret rule [7.6], a stack of British surface ships in the dark blue sea area west of Gibraltar for example can prevent Axis French ships returning to axis ports if the British stack has more gunnery factors than the Axis French ships at Casablanca. As the axis French ships are in a sea area with a hex pattern, if they move a single hex they can be intercepted by British ships. Therefore they cannot move in the endphase. In this case, the Axis French ships remain in the port hex, but outside the port. The Axis player must either pay EPs for each stack, in which case in the naval and air phase of the next game turn they move normally and can be intercepted. Or if he doesn't pay, they are marked out of supply and have to return by the most direct route to an axis port. The British player must plan for the possibility of French ships going axis, and must have ships with good gunnery factors positioned to prevent their return to base, and EPs to pay to keep British vessels at sea in the sea areas where they are blocking axis movement during the endphase (otherwise the axis may escape by moving first in the next turns naval and air phase). 10. To prevent the French stripping France of combat troops just before France surrenders, try this rule. France can only move land and air units from its colonies to reinforce metropolitan France. No French forces can leave mainland France once deployed there, except to invade Italy, Germany or German conquered territory. William Sarriego has provided sufficient Free French forces under his modified French rules to account for forces taken off in June 1940 by the royal navy. BALKAN POLITICS 11. A major failing of ETO is that there is no incentive for the Axis to attack the Balkans, in which case, if May is fine, Germany is better served attacking Russia. Balkan politics significantly affected Italy's involvement in the war, and the contribution made by the axis Balkan partners. Modify the deployment of forces as follows: a. If either Greece OR Yugoslavia are Allied or neutral, modify rule [41.2] Home Country Garrison for the axis minor partners. Now 2/3 of their forces must remain in their home country after they join the Axis. b. From 1942, if Greece is neutral, the Allied player may roll one die each MONTH to bring in Greece as an ally. The cost is 2 EPs per roll. It is successful on a roll of six. The following season, if Yugoslavia is neutral, Yugoslavia automatically joins the Allies. c. If Yugoslavia is attacked by the axis, Britain may deploy one corps of infantry in Greece (but NOT Crete), and unlimited air and naval forces in Greece and Crete. In the winter seasonal interphase of the following year (ie if Germany attacks Yugoslavia in 1940, then in the Winter interphase of 1941) the British may stack an unlimited number of land units in Greece and Crete, as well as their air and naval units. Greece however only becomes an Allied partner and deploys her force pool only as a result of a successful Allied die roll, commencing in 1942. See para 13 above. In other words, while Greece will allow Allied troops to operate in Greece, she will not become an Allied partner while neutral until 1942. THE AXIS MINOR PARTNERS 15. These rules are meant to better reflect the role and influence of minor partners, particularly the axis minor partners: a. Rule [34.2], free replacements for minor partners. The axis does NOT receive free replacements for axis minors destroyed outside their home country. Only Axis minor partner units destroyed within the borders of their home country are replaced free under rule [34.2]. b. Axis minor partner losses during attacks. In any attack involving German troops and axis minor partners, if the attacker is called upon to take step losses, the first step lost must be from a German unit (German armour during the breakthrough and exploitation phase, infantry during the combat phase. German armour during the combat phase if the axis forces attacking consist only of German and Italian armour, and only Axis minor partner infantry). c. In DEFENCE axis minor partner units can be used to absorb the first step loss. If they are stacked with a German corps, and the result is a D2 for example, then the German corps must absorb the second step loss. In a D3 result, the axis minor partner can be eliminated. I argue this reflects the Russian habit of targeting minor partner elements during offensives. d. Rule [22.4] allows minor partner countries to launch offensives with stacks involving only their own troops. In such cases, obviously the minor partner countries suffer any step losses incurred by the attacker. e. Axis Balkan minor partners (Bulgaria, Rumania and Hungary) can only deploy in Germany, Poland, the Baltic states, Russia, Turkey and the Balkans (Yugoslavia, Greece and their home countries). No Axis Balkan minor partner can move through, stack with, or cooperate with any other Axis Balkan minor partner. FINLAND, RUSSIA AND THE WINTER WAR 16. The following rules apply: a. As an Axis minor partner, Finnish units will only attack hexes within the original Finnish border. This means the Finns will not assist any German attack on Leningrad. If Leningrad is German controlled, Finnish forces can deploy and attack Russian forces anywhere in Russia or the Baltic states. b. Germany can deploy a maximum of one infantry corps (but never an armoured corps) in Finland. This includes the areas under original Finnish control prior to the Winter War. c. Russia must commence the Winter war prior to the Winter seasonal interphase of 1940. SUPPLY OF SHIPS IN PERMANENT FORTRESS HEXES AND VIA SUPPLY COUNTERS 17. A permanent fortress (ie Gibraltar, Malta etc) can provide supply for one land or air unit. In addition, it can provide supply for as many ships as may legally stack in the port. 18. Ships drawing supply via supply counters must do so from SEA supply counters. AIR supply counters do not provide supply for ship counters. Provided a stack of ships can trace a valid line of supply to a sea supply counter, they are considered in supply and do not absorb the sea supply counter. Any number of legal stacks of ships may draw supply from a single sea supply counter, provided they can trace a valid supply path. MODIFIED VICTORY 19. In a grand strategic game where the Axis knows they will be defending, there can be a tendency to hedge on offensive operations, particularly in Russia. These rules are intended to provide additional motivation for aggressive Axis play: a. At any point in the game, if the Axis control all three of Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad they count this as holding two victory cities at the end of the game. This means that at the end of the May 1945 monthly turn, if Germany has not been conquered and the respective partnerships of the Axis, the Allies and Russia are working out victory, Germany is counted as having control of two city resource hexes even if any of these cities were later recaptured by the Allies or Russians. b. At any point in the game, as soon as Germany controls all three of Stalingrad, Baku and Grozny simultaneously, she counts this as holding two victory cities at games end, even if any of these cities are later recaptured. c. At any point in the game, if Germany controls all three of Malta, Cairo and Beirut simultaneously, she counts this as holding two victory cities at games end, even if any of these cities is later recaptured. 20. The game ends after the MAY 1945 game turn (not June as is stated in the scenario book).