Module:Moscow Embattled, 1941: the Minigame

Publisher	(Self-Published)	Era	WWII
Year	2015	Topic	Eastern Front
Players	2 to 2	Scale	operational
Length	50 minutes

Files

Filename	Filetype	Size	Date	Compatibility
MosEmbVassSetupOct41.vmod	Moscow Embattled map and pieces	2 KB	2015

Module Information

Maintainer	Lou Coatney
Contributors

Comments

http://www.CoatneyHistory.com/MoscowMicro.htm Game webpage, with rules in .rtf.

MOSCOW EMBATTLED, 1941 - THE MINIGAME - Revised Rules Revised 7Jul19 - A4 Landscape Configuration 6,6,10,6mm margins Copyright © 2015 Louis R. Coatney Russian Replacements and Siberian Reserve (Gamble): At the start of each of his player-turns, during his Replacement and Reinforcement Phase, the Russian player (Zhukov) receives 1 replacement infantry/rifle army and/or front, plus for the first 2 turns either 50. Army or Kalinin Front. Siberian ground units cannot be replaced, but the Siberian air unit can be. If eliminated, 16.A/Rokossovsky returns to the game as a bonus reinforcement 2 turns later. Any Russian unit may (in the Russian replacement phase) be voluntarily eliminated by Zhukov to be immediately brought back as a replacement unit. Replacements enter the game Disrupted on any Russian-controlled - last occupied by a Russian unit - city or town in supply (even if adjacent to a German unit and not occupied by a Russian unit) or on any eastern mapboard edge hex not occupied by a German unit. Zhukov receives his (eliminated) tank unit per turn, except that it is not Disrupted, and it is placed on the Eastern mapboard edge or Moscow. Previously knocked out Russian air units may return to the game now, if due to do so. Siberian ground units cannot be replaced, but the Siberian air unit can be. The Germans receive no replacements. The Siberian Reserve: In the 4th turn, Zhukov receives 1. Shock Army and the Siberian air unit reinforcements which are Undisrupted - immediately active - anywhere in Russian supply or on an eastern mapboard edge hex not occupied by a German unit. In the 5th turn he receives 4. Shock. The Siberian Gamble: Zhukov may start the Siberian reinforcements early, but at the end of every turn prior to turn 4 that they are in the game, he must roll a die against a 33% chance - fatal numbers chosen by "von Bock" - that the Japanese invade the Far Eastern Military District and he loses the game! Disrupted units (faced toward opponent) may not move - except to retreat after a battle round - and may not fire, on offense or defense. They remain Disrupted until, if in supply (from the mapboard edge, not just Moscow or Tula), their recovery phase - note the different locations of those phases for different units. Disrupted units do still get any defensive terrain bonuses. A unit absorbs a hit with its Disruption - 2-factor units can absorb up to 2 in any one battle round. 1 more hit on any Disrupted unit destroys it. If a hex is cleared of defenders in just 1 round, by retreat or elimination, the battle is over. Fortification: An Undisrupted German infantry/field army or Russian front unit - in supply or not - may be fortified if it is not moved - indicated by being turned upside down. At the cost of its loss, fortification absorbs 1 hit, but the de-fortified unit is not Disrupted or eliminated, unless by additional hits. Operational Movement: Panzer/tank units may move 2 hexes and attack. German infantry, Russian Siberian Shock, and Rok. 16. armies may move 1 hex and attack. Other units must already be adjacent to an enemy unit to attack. During Blitzkrieg, German Operational Movement is 1 hex less, and in Mud, German Panzer units, like infantry armies, may not move before attacking, unless advancing up the Moscow Road. Operational Movement Bonus: All units moving but not attacking receive a bonus of 1 additional hex per phase, regardless of unit type or weather, and are not Disrupted. Road Bonus: Any unit can move 1 additional hex along the road (and possibly attack). Airpower: A German fliegerkorps attacks with 2 dice, either once per phase independently - with a result no worse than defortification/Disruption - or in each ground combat round supporting attacking German units in supply in the initial operational combat phase. It attacks only with 1 die in the Blitzkrieg combat phase . They can be used together in the same attack; however, air support dice cannot more than double the number of ground-attacking dice. Each Russian air unit can add 1 die to a Russian attack, but only during the initial operational combat phase, and they cannot be combined in the same attack (or interception/defense). Both sides' air units can be used in each phase, but the defending player's air units can only intercept. A German air unit's effectiveness is affected by weather.

 A ground-attack-supporting Russian air unit attacked by an intercepting German air unit is knocked out of the game during the rest of the current turn and the entire next turn on a roll of 5-6, or it is just prevented from completing its air support mission on 3-4.  A ground-attack-supporting German air unit is intercepted for the rest of the current game-turn (but not knocked out for the next gameturn) by an intercepting Russian air unit on 5-6 or shoots down the Russian if Zhukov rolls 1-2.
   Up to a range of 2 hexes, a German air unit may instead be used to supply German units in a hex during the German Supply Status Determination Phase, but it is subject to Russian interception then too.  2. Fliegerkorps is withdrawn from the game (to the Mediterranean, as historically), end of Turn 1.

Weather: See the turn track for the weather for that turn. If October turns out to be Mud then November is automatically Hard Frost, and if October is Good then November is automatically Snow. See Opnl Combat below. "Stacking": There may be any number of units - of one side or the other, not both - in a hex. Operational Combat: There are up to 2 rounds of combat in an operational combat phase, unless is eliminated in the first round or withdraws after it. Any hex containing an Undisrupted German unit and adjacent to any attacking Russian units must also be attacked.

 In each round of combat, 2 (6-sided) dice are usually rolled for each German panzer/armor unit and 4. Army on both attack or defense.  Russian Siberian shock armies have 2 firing points (dice) in the first round of operational combat but always only 1 otherwise, attacking or defending.  1 die is rolled for each other unit otherwise.  The respective dice and their effects are rolled/determined simultaneously by the attacker and defender.
 No more than 2 units may attack across a hex-side (except 3 with the Russian tank Reserve).  Only one of those may be a panzergruppe or front.  A 4-6 on a die makes 1 hit - 50% hit rate.  In Mud or Snow, German units only get a hit on 5-6 - 33% hit rate - unless they are defending in any city or town, in which case it is a normal 4-6.  Furthermore, for all units the die roll is (further?) reduced by 1 on both attack or defense, if the firing unit is cut off from supply.

Retreating and Advancing after Combat: At the conclusion of any battle round, one or more of the defending units may retreat, and are Disrupted. A unit may not retreat into an unoccupied hex adjacent to a hex it was attacked from. It may always retreat onto a hex occupied by friendly units, as long as those aren't under attack by attackers at least equal in firing strength to them. If a hex is cleared of defending units, surviving Undisrupted units at least equal to the defender’s basic strength must advance into it, and if that hex is a road hex, panzer or tank units may advance 1 hex on up the road, if that is not occupied by an enemy unit. Other attacking units may advance into the hex adjacent to the attacked hex, if it is not a forest or major city hex and if there is no enemy unit in it. All units except German panzers - but not for panzers in Mud - Rokossovsky's 16. Army, and Russian Siberians are Disrupted if/when they are tactically advanced after combat. German Blitzkrieg (in Good and Hard Frost weather only) and (in Snow) Russian Shock Army Deep Battle Movement and Combat: All Undisrupted German and Russian shock army units may again attack adjacent enemy units for 1 round. All eligible units may still have/use the 1-hex Operational Movement Bonus, instead of attacking. German air units add only 1 die. Terrain: Even a Disrupted unit, having no firing power itself, receives its defensive firing bonus from advantageous terrain. However, each defending unit's maximum defense terrain bonus is only 1 additional die. And in Snow, rivers freeze over and have no effect on combat.

 For all units, for each river hex-side being attacked across, the defenders in a hex may receive up to 1 additional die, the total for all river and defense line hex-sides no greater than the total number of defending units eligible to receive the bonus(es).
   A German panzer unit attacks into a forest with only 1 die, unless attacking up the road.  Any defending infantry/rifle/front/shock unit receives an extra firing point.  A German air unit's dice are reduced to 1, unless supporting any units attacking up the road.  Any major city occupied by an infantry-type unit may absorb 1 hit per battle round before any others.  Tula is/has a kremlin/fortress which also absorbs 1 hit and has its own defensive factor, until taken by the Germans.  Moscow has a defensive firing die/factor of its own and adds 1 each to up to 2 infantry-type units.  It is just a major city for defending Germans.  Cities and fortresses themselves cannot be Disrupted, but do not get terrain bonuses.

Supply: Undisrupted units out of supply in their Supply Status Determination Phase are Disrupted. Out of supply Disrupted units are eliminated, except any one such unit can indefinitely survive isolation Disrupted, if it is in any city (not just a town), and any 2 Russian units can so survive out of supply in Moscow. A supply line is any line of hexes from the owning player's (west or east) side of the board which are not occupied by an enemy unit or containing a city last under enemy control or is not an unoccupied hex adjacent and accessible to an Undisrupted enemy German army or enemy Russian front. The firing points of out of supply attacking and defending units are halved, with fractions rounded down and up respectively. See also the Airpower rule.

Setup and Special 1st Turn Rules: Zhukov sets up first and all frontline hexes must be occupied. Operational Group Rzhev must be on Rzhev and Bryansk Front (unfortified) must be on Bryansk. Western Front (unfortified) and Reserve tanks must be on the front line. Zhukov may position 16. Army anywhere behind the front line. German units must start on hexes A1, B1, and D1. (C1 is a Russian frontline hex.) 2. Panzergruppe and 2. Armee start in D1. 3. Panzergruppe starts in B1/Smolensk, and 4. Panzergruppe and 4. and 9. Armee(n) start in A1 or B1. Once set up, German units may not move during the operational movement phase of the first turn, but may do so thereafter. Victory and Length of Game: If, during any German Victory Determination Phase, the cities of Smolensk, Orel, and Moscow are in German supply and were last occupied by German units the German Player wins. If, after turn 4, during a Russian Victory Determination Phase or at the very end of a (4- or 6-turn game, the cities of Kalinin, Rzhev, Moscow, Vyazma, and Orel - or just Moscow and Smolensk at any time - are in Russian supply (and were last occupied by Russian units) the Russian player wins. If both players agree to play only the German assault, turns 1-4, the Russian Player wins at the end of Turn 4 if the German Player hasn't. GAMETURN SEQUENCE: ⦁ A. German (von Bock's) Player-Turn ⦁ 1. Operational Phase: ⦁ a. Independent German Air Strikes (if chosen) and possible Russian Interception, Operational Movement, and Ground Attack Allocation with Air Support from unused Air Unit with possible Russian Interception. ⦁ b. Recovery from Disruption of Russian units not being attacked ⦁ c. German Ground Combat Resolution - 2 battle rounds - and Immediate Tactical Advances. ⦁ d. Recovery from Disruption of attacked Disrupted Russian units in supply and not re-Disrupted by the attack. ⦁ 2. German Blitzkrieg Phase (for all Undisrupted German units in Good and Hard Frost weather only): ⦁ a. Independent Blitzkrieg Air Strike - 1 die - with possible Russian Interception, Ground Attack Allocations with possible Air Support (and possible Russian Interception) or Bonus Movement. ⦁ b Blitzkreig Operational Movement - 1 less than for normal Operational Movement ⦁ c. Blitzkriege Ground Combat Resolution - only 1 battle round - and immediate Tactical Advances ⦁ 3. German units' Supply Status Determination. ⦁ 4. Recovery of German units in supply from Disruption. ⦁ 5. Russian Victory Determination ⦁ B. Russian (Zhukov's) Player-Turn ⦁ 1. Russian Replacement and Reinforcement Phase ⦁ 2. Operational Phase ⦁ a. Independent Russian Air Strikes (if chosen) and possible German Interception, Operational Movement, and Ground Attack Allocation with possible (and interceptible) air support. ⦁ b. Russian Ground Combat Resolution - 2 battle rounds - and Immediate Tactical Advances ⦁ 3. (Undisrupted) Russian Siberian (white) Reserve (units') Deep Battle Phase (in Snow weather only) ⦁ a. Siberian Ground Attack Allocations - no air support - or Bonus Movement for non-Siberian units. ⦁ b. Siberian Ground Combat Resolution - 1 battle round - and Immediate Tactical Advances ⦁ 4. Recovery of Rokossovsky's 16. Army from Disruption ⦁ 5. Russian units' Supply Status Determination ⦁ 6. German Victory Determination Alternative Combat Results Tables (for those not having - or not having a 4 yr old wanting to throw - hordes of dice): Full Firing Strength - 50% hit rate Die Roll Firing Strengths: A B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Hits: 1 6 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 2 5 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 3 4 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 4 3 - 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 5 2 - - 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 6 1 - - - 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11

Firing Strength Reduced 1 Level - 33% hit rate Die Roll Firing Strengths: A B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Hits: 1 6 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 2 5 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 3 4 - 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 4 3 - - - 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 5 2 - - - - - 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 6 1 - - - - - - - 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6

Firing Strength Reduced 2 Levels - 16% hit rate Die Roll Firing Strengths: A B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Hits: 1 6 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 2 5 - 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 3 4 - - 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 - - - - 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 2 - - - - - - 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 6 1 - - - - - - - - 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3

Players

• Some Guy