From Command#31 Tiger of China An Alternative History Variant for When Tigers Fight by Daniel A. Hazuda and Ken Speirs 16.0 Tiger of China 16.1 The Situation. By early 1952, World War III had seen Albert Speer's prophecy (made prior to Operation Triumph of the Will) come to pass: the greater industrial might of the Third Reich was slowly making itself felt as the Japanese were beaten back from their 1948 gains in the Caliphate (Iraq) and the Aryan Empire (Iran) to the eastern edge of the Indian sub-continent. The Japanese, realizing the Nazis were winning the economic war, chose new methods to try to reduce German industrial capabilities. In early 1952, the Japanese launched a stunning blow that managed to achieve what Operation Sublime Peace had failed to do: using airfields in Meng Chiang (China) and Japanese Free India, they were able to send a sufficient number of bombers to incapacitate German factories in Ostmarck as well as major oil fields in the Middle East. The atomic weapons delivered in these strikes were only the first wave of Kikusui attacks the Japanese had planned for that year. Hitler, enraged, ordered an immediate offensive to capture enough airfields to block further efforts by the Japanese to win the economic battle he and Speer had seen as already won. The Japanese, while retreating in Manchukuo and Azad Hind (western India), had mobilized additional replacements and were planning their own counterstroke from Chosen (Korea) across the Yalu River to surround the Germans in Manchukuo. Toward that end, they reduced their garrison in Meng Chiang to lure in the Germans. This kind of double envelopment had worked once before in St.Louis (the Japanese propaganda pictures of Von Paulus and his 6th Army staff surrendering had made Hitler apoplectic) and the "Tiger of China," General Yamashita (who had greatly improved the Japanese position in Africa by masterminding the campaign that restored Haile Selassie to nominal power in Ethiopia) was put in charge in the new theater of operations. A new formation of "The Emperor's Loyal Hebrews" armored force was raised and Yamashita hoped those fine troops would provide an excellent mobile reserve. The German troops available for the offensive were limited due to the ongoing fighting in the Western Hemisphere, but Hitler had three things on his side: 1) he had gained a small, well-motivated force of Indian troops raised in his liberation of Azad Hind; 2) he had planned a revolt in Meng Chiang he hoped would give the Japanese in Asia as many headaches as he had in Africa; and 3) due to the successful implementation of airmobile forces during the Triumph of the Will Operation, each of the armed services had raised additional airmobile jagdcommando units to deploy for infiltration attacks all along the line, Also during Triumph of the Will, thanks to Otto Skorzeny, the young Emperor of Manchukuo, Henry Pu Yi, had been captured and eventually convinced to switch his allegiance and lead an anti-Japanese revolt at a time deemed expedient for Berlin. That time is today, 1 March 1952. 16.2 Choosing Sides. Prior to set-up, each player secretly writes down the number of Japanese steps he thinks he could remove at the beginning of the game for redeployment to Chosen and still succeed as the Japanese commander. The highest possible bid is 240, the lowest is zero. Reveal the bids: the player who wrote down the higher number is awarded command of the Japanese side for that match. In case of tie bids, repeat the process. The German player moves first each turn. 16.3 Scenario Length. The game lasts 10 turns, from March to December 1952, but may be shortened any number of turns down to two if both players opt for a shorter game. 16.4 Initial Set Up. Japanese. Use all Japanese and Japanese Empire Puppet ground units from "When Tigers Fight," adding the 3 ELH units from this issue's countersheet. Remove the number of steps bid earlier, then place the remaining units, reduced or full strength, anywhere allowable on the game map, observing stacking linits. For Game Turn 1 only, no Japanese units may start on the West edge of the map (hexes 10xx) or the North edge (hexes xx00). All five air units are in play on Game Turn 1. German. Use all Chinese Untried Units, the German Units from the "When Tigers Fight" (issue 26) counter mix, the six "Tiger of China" German units from this issue's counter mix, and the seven Indian 9-11-7 divisions from "When Tigers Fight" (2, 5, 7, 17, 20, 23,and 26 Indian), which now make up the recently reformed non-S.S. elements of the Azad Hind armed forces. On Game Turn 1, units of S.S. Azad Hind and the seven aforementioned non-S.S. Azad Hind divisions must enter the map from the west edge (hexes 10xx), paying normal movement costs to do so. The remaining German units may enter from the West edge also, or may choose to enter via the north edge (hexes xx00), or be held off map temporarily for entry via airlanding or naval movement (see 16.6 and 16.7). 16.5 Deletions and Changes to "When Tigers Fight" Rules. For purposes of playing "Tiger of China," read "German" everywhere "Grand Alliance," "A-A," etc., are mentioned in the WTF rules. Delete sections: 3.3, 3.4 (except "Chinese Cities Attacked Last Turn"), 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.5, 5.3, 5.4, 6.3 (items 1, 3, 4, 5, 7), 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 7.10, 7.14, 7.15, 7.16, 7.17, 7.19, 7.20, 7.21, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.8, 9.9, 9.10, 9.11, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 14.2, 14.7 and 14.8. Changes. 7.11 (add) "north edge of map, naval supply marker, air supply marker." 7.13 (add) "S.S.Thugi, S.S. Joachim Peiper, Kreigsmarine Jagdkommando Donitz, the Brandenburger Brigade, and the Hermann Goring Jagermeister Brigade are all considered to be SF units in all respects." 7.18 (change) "all cities on the game map that can trace an unobstructed line of communications to a city bordering a sea hex." 9.6 (change) "starting at the beginning of Game Turn 2, that player (German) should roll one die and add that number to the number of Chinese cities attacked by the German the turn before." 9.7 (change) "entering Chinese units need riot trace a path of hexes to the cities listed." 14.3 (change) German air units give two shifts to the CRT and must be within 8 hexes of a German controlled town/city in supply in each combat phase that they are used. Unlike the Japanese planes, the German planes may be used up to four times per game turn (German Infiltration Phase, German Prepared Assault Phase, and defensively on the Japanese IP and PA phases). 16.6 German Airlanding/Airmobile Movement & Air Supply. Once per game, the German player may airland the Ramcke or Max Schmelling brigades (12-14-10) on any playable clear terrain hex (including city or town hexes) on the map during the Strategic Movement Phase. The unit is automatically in supply for the entire first turn of entry, may not land atop a Japanese unit, and may not move tactically during the turn of airlanding. The air supply counter may provide supply for all units stacked within one hex (after St. Louis, the Luftwaffe diverted more resources to develop its air transport and resupply capabilities), and is placed during the strategic movement phase. The Hermann Goring Jagermeister, Brandenburger, S.S. Joachim Peiper and. Kreigsmarine jagdkommando Donitz Brigades all are capable of using (besides regular ground movement) airmobile movement. During airmobile movement, the eligible unit may "fly" over each hex at a rate of one movement point per hex, no matter what terrain is below it, but may not end it's turn in the same hex as an enemy unit. 16.7 German Naval Movement and Supply. Once per game, the naval supply and task force marker may land at any coastal hex (define coastal hex as any land hex adjacent to a sea hex) running from 5700 to 3628 with up to four German divisions and the Emperor Henry counter. If there are enemy unit(s) in the hex in question, resolve the battle with a special one-time combat phase exactly as if it were a prepared combat with a +1 odds shift to the CRT for naval gunfire. In the event the attack does not dislodge all the Japanese units from the hex, the task force and all units abort the invasion and are ineligible for any further combat that game. The hex serves as a supply source to all German units within a line of communication to it, may never move, and until eliminated gives all German units in the hex a +1 odds shift if attacking an adjacent hex and a -1 defensive odds shift if the hex is attacked by the Japanese. If a Japanese unit enters the hex (and no German units remain in the hex) the marker is removed from the game permanently (it has sailed away). If the hex receives an atomic bomb strike, after removing normal casualties, roll a die; if a 3 or less, the naval supply and task force marker continues in play (after all, these are 37.2 mile hexagons). Otherwise,the marker is eliminated. In addition, up to three units per game turn may utilize naval movement from Chittagong or Akyab to the naval supply and task force marker (or vice versa, but no more than three units, total, in both directions). It goes without saying that if the Japanese drive away the naval task force, naval movement ends for the duration of the game. Note that while the Germans have been winning the war on this front, the Japanese have more than enough naval and Kamikaze attack capability to stop all but heavily protected convoys from the Bay of Bengal to the South China Sea. 16.8 Atomic Bombs & Nuclear Winter. Each New Units Phase, the German and Japanese players roll for one (1) atomic bomb that may be played during the Prepared Assault Phase (they are delivered by missiles fired from off map). No target of an atomic bomb strike maybe attacked by another prepared assault during the game turn. On a roll of 1, the player gets to commit a bomb that has the following effect: select an enemy stack, then roll a second die and remove that many steps from it. (Exactly which steps are removed is the choice of the player being bombed.) 16.9 Emperor Henry Pu Yi and Meng Chiang Revolt. During the game, it's possible for the puppet Emperor Henry Pu Yi to proclaim a free China on Germany's behalf. This occurs when Emperor Henry enters any city in Meng Chiang (China) and has the following effects: 1) each turn thereafter the German player rolls for Chinese reinforcements, but with the difference that German attacks upon Chinese cities are tracked instead. These units enter on or adjacent to any German controlled city, observing stacking limits; and 2) Chinese units trace supply to any German supply source in Meng Chiang (no circuitous trails to Azad Hind for Chinese units). The Emperor (and his entourage/SS bodyguards, etc.) have no stacking value and should they be victim of an atomic bomb strike survive on a roll of 4 or less if other steps are not available to satisfy the called for step losses (the young emperor's entourage include a number of Albert Speer's best mobile bomb shelter fabrication crews). 16.10 Banzai & Fanatical Combat. During each Prepared Assault Phase, the Japanese player may launch Banzai attacks and defenses with the following results: 1) each unit involved in the Banzai has its combat factor doubled, but must then lose one step for halving banzaied (and that lost step does not in any way satisfy the coming battle's combat result); and 2) the Japanese player announces which of his units are banzaing after the German player has indicated which of his units are attacking. Only Japanese ground combat units may banzai (ELH and Japanese puppet units are ineligible), but the Emperor's Loyal Hebrew units, SS and stormtrooper units may engage in "fanatical combat" with the following result: all combat results are doubled for both the attacker and defender. The intention to engage in fanatical combat must be declared before the die is rolled. Fanatical combat may be offensive or defensive and the units engaging in it must be the first units reduced and/or removed in order to satisfy that battle's combat result. A battle may not be declared to be fanatical combat unless at least half the steps involved in it are of units eligible to declare such combat. Neither player may use banzai/fanatical attacks or defenses during Infiltration Phases, only the Prepared Assault Phases. And, yes, it is possible for a given battle to have both banzai and fanatical combat. 16.11 Victory Conditions. The German player wins the game if he is able to control any nine of the 14th Air Force and /or ATC bases on the map board (there are 16 on the map). The Japanese player wins by pre- venting the Germans from achieving their victory conditions. 16.12 New Unit Abbreviations B - Brandenburger ELH - Emperor's Loyal Hebrews HQ - Hermann Cbring Jagermeister Kommando KJD - Kriegsmarine Jagelcommando Donitz MS - Max Schmelling SSJP - SS Kampfgruppe Joachim Peiper NB submitted by John Kula (kula@telus.net) on behalf of the Strategy Gaming Society (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/~sgs), originally collected by Andrew Webber (gbm@wwwebbers.com)