From Strategy & Tactics#115 Abensberg & Echmuhl Questions & Answers By Keith Poulter The following represent errata, clarifications, and further thoughts on my part. Q. After reading the designer's notes to Abensberg (S&T #113), I wondered if players could eliminate both the skirmish counters and the overrun rule, thus simplifying and speeding up the game. Would this adversely affect the accuracy of the simulation? A. Yes. Q. (16.7) Do units have to be in command control to deploy or recombine skirmishers? A. No, Q. (15.7 Abensberg) Where does unit #155 set-up? A. Hex 2429. Q (15.2/15.3) These paragraphs perhaps imply that the road movement rate is 1/2 MP per hex. But the Terrain Effects Charts states 2/3 MP. Which is correct? A. The Terrain Effects Chart is correct. Q. Can a disrupted unit enter enemy ZOC? A. No, unless forced to do so during movement after combat. Q. What is the movement allowance of a unit towards the enemy, which is both disrupted and out of command control? A. 2 MP's maximum. (The fact that it is out of command control adds no further restrictions to its disrupted movement). Q. (13.7) What is the command radius of replacement corps commanders? A. Good question! Their command radius is 4 hexes (irrespective of nationality). Q. Are rule 11.35 and Melee Table Note 4 cumulative? A. Yes. Q. (13.2) Does this mean that in order for Corps Reserve artillery to be in command control, the whole corps must be in command control? A. Dumb Question! No, Q. (12.3) Do rally DRM's apply to morale checks? A. No. Q (5.3) Does "formation" mean corps? A. It means both corps and division. Players decide which corps they wish to move, then move the units of each of the corps' divisions in turn. That is, all movement of each division must be completed before commencing movement of the next; and all movements of a corps must be completed, before commencing the next. Another good question! Q. (8.0/13.2) Do CZOCs block command control or not? A. They do not. Q. If 2 artillery units are stacked together, may both fire? A. Yes. Q. (5.12) In determining overrun odds, are column shifts taken into account? A. No. Q. Can the non-phasing player's cavalry, which are within enemy Z0C, change facing immediately prior to the owning player's defensive fire phase? A. Yes. Q. Can cavalry "retreat from combat" to avoid an overrun? A. Yes, unless the overrunning units include undisrupted cavalry. Procedure: immediately the phasing player announces that he has achieved odds of 25:1, and provided he has no cavalry among the overrunning units, his opponent retreats the threatened cavalry unit one hex (according to the usual rules of retreat before combat: see rule 9.5). If a cavalry unit which is threatened by overrun, retreats, normal movement costs apply thereafter to the hex from which it retreated (i.e. phasing units do not have to pay an additional MP to move through it). Q. (Abensberg 15.3) Which is the first possible turn of entry of the Austrian Ill Corps, turn 2 or turn 3? A. Turn 2. Q. Are overruns allowed in a hex with only a stream in? A. Yes - see the Terrain Effects Chart: streams have no effect whatsoever (though their banks are usually marshy, and the marshes have considerable effect). Q. Does the DRM in 10.34 apply to Cavalry charges (11.6)? A. No - fire and melee combat are distinct, that's why they're in distinct sections of the rules. Q. Is it possible for a cavalry unit to retreat more than once during a single (enemy) movement phase, utilizing "retreat before combat" to avoid two or more overrun situations? A. Yes, though the circumstances will probably arise about once in every one hundred thousand games played! Q. Can leaders give command control to units which are still off map, by being positioned close to the map-edge? A. Yes. Thus for example, Kollowrat's II Corps units which are off-map can be given automatic command control for movement - including entry onto the map, by placing Charles within 5 hexes of Kollowrat, and Kollowrat within 5 hexes of the entry hex. Q. In a couple of instances in the Abensberg game, units are shown as consisting of green troops on the counters, but not on the roster sheets. Which is correct? A. In every case the counters are correct. Q. Which direction on the Abensberg map is north? A. Straight up. Q. There are some ambiguous pieces of terrain on the maps. Can you give us some guidance? A. Yes. The relationship between terrain and rules should be approached with common sense. Here are some specific examples: 1) Q. A unit enters a hex containing two separate parallel tracks. If it entered along one of the tracks, can it exit along the other? In other words can it simply switch at no cost from one track to the other, irrespective of intervening terrain? A. No. In order to move from one track to the other, the unit would have to pay the movement cost of the other terrain in the hex, when first entering the hex. For example if the other terrain were rough/woods, the cost would be 2 mps, and there would be the possibility of disruption. 2) Q. A unit occupies a hex containing both a village and a small separate high/rough area. If the unit is benefiting from the defensive advantage of occupying a village (even potentially), can it also claim to be on high ground for purposes of artillery LOS? A. No. In order to count as occupying the high ground, the owning player must announce that he is not occupying the village. 3) Q. A hex contains a village, and in the northernmost part a separate high/rough area. There is no road or track entering the hex from the south. A player wishes to move a unit in from the south, to occupy the village. Does he pay 1 MP (to enter the village) or 2 MP (to enter a hex containing high/rough)? A. He states that he is entering the village, and pays 1 MP. I hope that players will interpret the occasional ambiguous situation in the spirit of the above, ie with common sense and an eye to the reality being simulated. Q. Does note 8 at the foot of the Terrain Effects Chart really mean what it says? A. Shucks, no. In line 2, change the word "entered" to read "leave." Add a new sentence: "Note that a unit meleeing from a marsh hex to a marsh hex, not using road or track movement, runs a risk of disruption in each hex. Q. Can Charles give commands to all units of the Reserve, or only to a maximum of two? A. He can give command control for movement purposes to all units of the Reserve, including the Pontoon train, which are within his command radius of 5 hexes. For combat purposes he can at most give command control to two subordinates/units, ie two Corps, one Corps and one unit, or two units. He gives command control to Reserve units individually for combat purposes. 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)