Spearhead Winter rules - final (ish) version

So after playing the winter scenario, here's my stab at a definitive set of additional rules for winter combat for WW2.  Comments welcome obviously.  

WINTER WARFARE RULE ADDITIONS FOR SPEARHEAD

1. Weather roll

At the start of the battle, and at the end of each turn – after order changes and rallies from suppressions - (or hour for operational games) weather is rolled for on a d6.  

On a 1-4 there are no adverse weather effects.  

On a 5, air assets are deployed the following turn (or hour) on the discretion of the player / C in C – see Air Assets below.  

On a 6 there are no air assets available for either side for an hour (operational games) or a turn (scenarios).  

Also, if a 6 is rolled, all movement for all nations is done with an additional -1 modifier for that turn / hour.  If the result is a 0 (i.e. a 1 is rolled) then there is no movement for the battalion for that turn.  In addition, spotting is reduced by 3” for all nations for the duration of the turn / hour.

"Some idiot rolled a 6"

2. Order change modifiers

All nations except Russians make order changes at a -1 modifier during winter scenarios 

No modifier baby!  Go Russki!

3. Variable movement

In the movement phase, each battalion rolls a D6 with the following cumulative modifiers:

Modifiers

Movement on roads* : +2

All Russian battalions : +1 

Poor weather (see above) : -1 

Cavalry battalions : +1

Result 

0 – no movement

1-2 : 1/3 move

3-4 : ½ move

5+ : normal move

*This accounts for the fact that full movement on roads is not always possible given adverse weather. 

Ski troops are assumed to be unaffected by variable movement.  They are SMG armed and can only be spotted at 3”.  They can operate as Recon so operate up to 24” away from the HQ.

Tank borne infantry have variable movement based on the move of the tanks they ride on. Armoured infantry move at the variable move of the vehicles they travel in.  

Trucks may ONLY move on roads / tracks.

Tracked vehicles move half speed on hills (roll on the table above then reduce by 50%)

Woods are impassable to all vehicles 

Artillery deployment in winter

Note that in order to place artillery larger than 75mm or equivalent and if towed by a truck then such artillery can ONLY be placed in a location adjacent to a road / track and CANNOT be placed in location that a truck cannot access.  Artillery can therefore be placed on a hill IF towed by a tracked vehicle.  No artillery larger than 75mm can therefore be placed in a wood.  

4. Air assets

For scenarios, the availability of air assets is determined by the rules of the scenario.  If a 5 is rolled for weather, before the subsequent turn players will write down Yes or No on a slip of paper.  At the end of the movement phase in the turn, both players reveal their option to deploy or not deploy their air assets that turn.

For operational games air assets are available on the hour / half hour.  At the start of the battle and for each hour, weather is rolled for.  On a 5 players will determine if they are going to use (or not use) their air assets that turn by informing the referee before any other action takes place.

In both instances, a roll is made for each aircraft committed at the end of the movement phase of the subsequent turn.  On a 4+ the plane is lost for the remainder of the battle.  

Great flying, Yuri! 

If a 6 is rolled, no air assets are available to either side for the duration of the turn / hour. 

For operational games the side holding the airfield will not be able to deploy aircraft on the half-hour and the planes will be parked on the airfield for the duration of the hour.

5. Combat modifiers

To account for adaptability to winter conditions, all nations except Russians make combat rolls at a -1 modifier.  This includes all shooting, calling in artillery etc.  

If a battalion is out of supply, they fight at an additional -1 penalty.

Why has my shooting got worse?  Because I've been lying in the snow for 3 hours.

6. Crossing frozen rivers

Scenarios can dictate whether a river is frozen and crossable.  For operational games a more random element comes into play.  

When coming to a frozen river, all units wanting to cross the river roll against their DEF factor +1 on a d6.  

A natural roll of 1 means the unit is lost irrespective of modifiers.  The lane on which the unit was crossing is deemed uncrossable for the remainder of the battle. 

 Any unit killed by direct or indirect fire while crossing is also deemed ‘lost so that point becomes uncrossable.  A marker will be deployed to denote where they were lost and any subsequent crossing cannot move over that marker.

A modified roll that is >1 but less than the target number means the unit is Suppressed.  It cannot be passed or leapfrogged and so blocks the ‘lane’ until unsuppressed or killed. When unsuppressed it must roll again against the DEF +1 number to move.  Place the Suppressed unit half-way across the river in the direction they were crossing and place a Suppression marker on them.

All infantry types count as a DEF of 2.  All towed guns count as a DEF of 3 

All units move across frozen water at an additional -1 modifier. 

Engineer units can provide additional modifiers (see below)

Cavalry units and amphibious units do not need to roll for crossing frozen rivers 

Example : A BT-7 tank attempts to cross a frozen river.  Its DEF+1 factor is 4.  The player needs to roll a 4+ on the dice to cross.  Normal move is 12”.  The variable move roll is a 4 (half move) but as he is Russian he gets +1 to a 5 (normal move).  So his move is restricted to 6” which is enough to get him over the river.  He rolls a 2.  The tank is Suppressed. It is moved half way across the river. 

I TOLD you your DEF value was too high!

Use of engineers for frozen river crossing

If an unsuppressed Engineer stand is deployed next to a frozen river for 2 turns and is not under direct fire, they can reduce the opportunity for subsequent units to cross by +1 (essentially binding ice with branches, identifying weaker points etc).  

This creates a ‘lane’ one stand wide which grants a +1 modifier for units crossing at that point.  

Russian engineers when so deployed grant a modifier of +2 (reflecting greater expertise in crossing frozen water).

An additional engineer stand deployed alongside an existing ‘lane’ provides an additional +1 modifier but the Engineer stand must be stationary, adjacent to the original ‘lane’, un-suppressed and not under direct fire for a further 2 turns before the modifier takes effect.  No units may cross at either point while the second engineer stand is being deployed.  When complete, this creates a ‘lane’ 2 stands wide granting a maximum +2 (+3) modifier.

Example : Another BT-7 tank attempts to cross a frozen river where a Russian engineer stand has been deployed.  Its DEF+1 factor is 4 but this is now reduced to 2.  Any roll but a 1 means the tank gets safely across

Note that some larger vehicles will not be able to cross irrespective of the Engineer modifiers.

Multiple engineers can therefore create multiple ‘lanes’ but once a unit is lost in a lane, that route is deemed impassable and another one must be created. 

7. Supply

For operational games, the rules for supply will be determined by discussion.  The issue for winter battles is that supply must generally come by trucks or by air.  Therefore the battalion must have access to a road leading to their rear to be ‘in supply’ OR be supplied by air drop.  If supplied by air, supply movement is dictated by variable movement rates and half speed.  Players can choose whether to pick up supplies by foot or vehicle.  Foot will be spotted at 3”, vehicles subject to normal spotting rules.  The vehicle must be suitable for the task (e.g.. an APC and integral to the unit).

Where are these bloody supplies?