"Another go with Trench Hammer" Topic

Take a look, same scenario as last time, but a bit different outcome!

link

Much more realistic. Well done.

German (and other) tactical doctrine in this situation was to achieve fire superiority and then attack. The two German left flank rifle squads would not normally move forward until or unless the enemies were suppressed. The exception would be one of the squads having to reconnoitre forward if the LMG recon by fire failed. In the event that a squad does move forward then the second one would stand on overwatch. Anyway, see how you get on with more German attacking forces. Typically commanders had to count on a 3:1 ratio minimum.

Robert

Hey Robert, I am feeling a fresh platoon approaching from the South again and just laying down fire while a couple of Assault Squads flank from the west through the woods. We'll get those pesky British out of their position eventually!

I am also going to fiddle with some scouting rules and allow rifle squads to detach scouts. Here is a VERY rough draft below, just pondering how to incorporate LP/OP's in the defense.

Doing some painting this weekend too, which should provide the attacker with a minenwerfer…

Anyway, here is my rough, rough draft:

Unspotted enemies:
• Any enemy unit that is over 6" away from the firer, in cover or concealment, and has not fired or moved et during the game is considered unspotted
• When firing at Unspotted targets, ignore all firing modifiers, and you will hit on an 11+ only
• A previously unspotted enemy unit immediately becomes spotted and loses the benefit when:
o They fire or move
o They return fire in a firefight (count as unspotted for attacker's firing)
o Enemy unit moves within 6" (Assault range)
Scouts:
• If using the Unspotted Enemies rule, you may optionally also use the Scout rule.
• Certain units may be designated as being able to deploy a scout team forward of their position. Examples include British 1917 Rifle Sections, German Company level scout squads or any other unit you deem appropriate.
• The scout team is represented by a singly based figure.
• The scout team may be deployed as part of an engage order up to 6" from the parent squad, in addition to any other actions the squad takes.
• The scout must always stay within 6" of the parent squad, moves AFTER the parent squad has executed all of it's actions.
• When the scout comes within 12" of an Unspotted enemy, enemy becomes Spotted and roll a d6:
o 1-3: Scout killed by enemy fire, parent squad takes 1 hit immediately. Squad may not deploy a scout again for the rest of the game
o 4-5: Scout hightails it back to parent squad, may redeploy again later in game.

I enjoyed both your posts and Robert comments, many good ideas and a simple interesting set of rules

I can't really comment on the specifics of rule mechanics, partly because it is important to understand them in the context of the whole. From a high level perspective, I wonder if it is better to abstract out the specific rules about scouts.

The problem you are trying to solve is around enabling on-table stands to behave in a more realistic manner, given that the player can see the enemy stands. One option is to modify the way that the rifle squad itself operates, without detaching men as scouts.

The other option is to refine how scouts are used. Specialist scout assets were usually higher level assets, assigned to a function on behalf of a higher-level unit (the whole advance guard) rather than attached to a low-level tactical unit (a rifle squad operating in that advance guard). An officer patrol attached from a cavalry squadron would be one example. If you model scouting functions then you have to model the counter-scout options, such as warning outposts set out in front of the defensive positions. This feels too complex for a fast-flowing set of rules.

Considering modelling 'scouting' at the squad level, it is about penalising units that move forward at normal speed to the point of contact versus units that take a more cautious approach (modelled by the stand moving at 'scouting speed' or some such). A more cautious approach will result in spotting the enemy before physically touching the enemy stand but, more importantly, will make the stand less susceptible to the effects of ambush fire. The key thing is that the attacker must take time and take risks to flush out the defender or else suffer more severe consequences.

Thanks for the feedback, magister.

Robert