From: "Patrick R. Collins" Subject: Q & A for GMT's Silver Bayonet Q&A for GMT's Silver Bayonet Q: Must the steps in the concealment phase be executed in the EXACT order listed?. A: YES Q: Does the NVA/VC player get a "free" pre-game turn in Scenario 12, the Free setup campaign game, like he does in Scenario 11? A: Yes Q: May US Artillery fire from the Pleiku box? A: Yes. Count the range to the target from ANY Pleiku box not occupied by the NVA/VC. Q: May US Artillery units patrol? A: No. Q: May the US Player bombard an NVA hex with B-52's then bombard it again in the same phase with artillery/gunships/airstrikes? A: No. Only one bombardment is allowed against a given hex per phase. Q: May 0 strength units attack? A: Not if they are the only unit(s) attacking. They may, however, attack with other units (whose strengths are greater than 0) and be used to absorb losses. Q: May the NVA Hospital unit or the NVA HQ units enter Cambodia? A: No. The NVA Hospital, the NVA 32nd HQ, and the NVA 33rd HQ must remain on the map so the US player has a chance to find them. The NVA 66th HQ must enter the map as soon as any other unit of the 66th regiment does so. Once the 66th HQ is on the map, it may not return to Cambodia. Q: Which hexes are Chu Pong/mountain hexes? A: The following hexes and the area they encompass comprise the Chu Pong/mountain hexes: 1425, 1526, 1625, 1726, 1826, 1927, 2027, 2128, 2228, 2229, 2130, 2030, 2031, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1834, 1833, 1832, 1732, 1631, 1630, 1629, 1529, 1428, 1427, 1426, 1425. Q: Which hexes are clear hexes? A: Due to a pre-production oversight, all the clear hexs were inadvertently printed as jungle hexes. The following hexes (ONLY!) should be clear hexes: 3211, 3212, 3309, 3311, 3312, 3313, 3410, 3411, 3412, 3511. Q: What is the significance of the hex marked "Anta Village" (hex 2127)? A: None. It is labeled for historical purposes only. It is considered a jungle hex in all respects. Its occupation does not count toward victory conditions. Q: Do US units defending in a Pleiku hex (3702, 3703, 3803, 3804) receive any special defensive benefits? A: Yes, they receive the same defensive benefits as when defending in a Special Forces Base or Firebase hex (i.e. their defensive strengths are doubled in maneuver combat, they may ignore retreat results without penalty, and the terrain value is 4). Q: May US helicopter gunships be used for defensive bombardment in Maneuver Combat or for final defensive bombardment in Assault Combat if the 1st Cav Helo Base (hex 3804) is under ground attack? A: Yes, but they may only be used to defend the 1st Cav helo base hex (just like artillery, helicopters may only fire defensive bombardment in their own hex when it is the target of an enemy ground attack). Q: May US transports fly missions during the Reaction phase if the 1st Cav helo base (hex 3804) is under ground attack? A: Yes. Q: May the US player attempt to maximize the use of his gunships by combining different transport missions in the same phase? E.g. the US player flies two transports and one gunship out of Pleiku as a single group. He first sends them to Plei Mei, where one of the transports drops off its full load of ground forces and returns to Pleiku. The other transport and the gunship then proceed to Duc Co, where the second transport drops off its full load of ground forces. The gunship and second transport then return to Pleiku. A: Yes, such tactics are permitted. Note, however, all helicopters of the same type are subject to any ADF received at each mission hex at which they are present. Q: May the US player send empty transports on missions with loaded transports in order to absorb ADF losses? A: You may send empty transports along with loaded transports. However, in any ADF against a group which contains both loaded and empty transports, STEP losses must be taken from the loaded transports. Q: What effect do NVA attacks on Pleiku have on US units in the "Ground units in Pleiku box"? A: None. Neither an attack against nor an occupation of any or all Pleiku hexes by the NVA affects US ground units held in the "Ground units in Pleiku box" on the player aid card. (The "box" represents a national area in and around Pleiku within which US forces were encamped and could rapidly deploy. It does NOT specifically represent the four Pleiku hexes.) If all four Pleiku hexes are occupied by the NVA/VC, US ground forces held in the Pleiku box may move or react into any unoccupied hex adjacent to Pleiku as per Rule 20. Q: What happens if the NVA occupies the 1st Cav Helo base (hex 3804)? A: All US helicopters currently in the Pleiku box are considered destroyed and removed permanently from the game. Subsequent US helicopter reinforcements are placed on the player aid card as usual, but are considered to be operating out of the off-map US base at An Khe. Helicopter units based at An Khe are limited to one mission per turn and must be placed in the "2 missions" box upon completing their one mission. (they're flying at extended range). Helicopters may NOT be based in An Khe before the NVA player occupies hex 3804. Any time at least FOUR turns after the NVA occupied the 1st Cav Helo base, the US player may declare he has established a new, on map, helo base in either hex 3703 or 3804 (so long as the new base is not occupied by the NVA/VC). The helicopters in the Pleiku box are then considered to be flying out of the new base and resume normal operation. Q: May a US/ARVN unit which is moved out of the Pleiku box into one of the four Pleiku hexes during the reaction phase be transported by helicopter as a reinforcement to another hex in the same reaction phase? A: No. Q: May a US/ARVN unit which is in the Pleiku box when an NVA/VC unit declares a Maneuver or Assault combat against the 1st Cav Helo base be transported by helicopter as a reinforcement to another hex in the reaction phase? A: Yes. Q: Are helicopters subject to possible ADF when they return to the Pleiku box if there are NVA/VC units adjacent to the 1st Cav helo base (hex 3804)? A: No. ADF is permitted only against helicopters in a mission hex. Q: In Maneuver combat, when must an attacker retreat? When must a defender retreat? A: In Maneuver combat, an attacker must retreat one hex when the attacker rolls any result that contains the letter "A" (e.g. A2, AF3, A2F2, etc.) Except when one of the four conditions listed in rule 10.0 is met, a Defender must retreat two hexes when the Attacker rolls any result that contains the letter "D" (e.g. D1, D2F1, D6F4, etc.) Q: Do unconcealed NVA/VC artillery get the ADF modifier when they are among the steps being counted in an ADF attack, or do you only get the modifier when the artillery was concealed at the beginning of the ADF? A: The NVA/VC player gets the artillery ADF modifier any time artillery participates in ADF whether the artillery was concealed or not. Regards, Pat pcollins@prairienet.org If no one expects anything from you, it's easy to deliver. http://www.prairienet.org/~pcollins