"Free WWII Divisional Level Rules" Topic

Please visit my website to download a Free Playtest PDF of my new Divisional Level Rules … Corps Level Combat Actions CLC.

Feedback Welcome! Enjoy!

ActionsRules.com

Thanks!

Any pics of games in progress?

I'll give them a look when I have a chance.

Hmmm

500m per inch.

So on a 6x4 table I've got 12 x 18km to play with….

I may have some pics of a hobby shop demo I'll look for. I'm really a horrid photog lol. Yes, a 6 X 4 table is, and was meant to be, a very large area. Think Prokhorpovka. Gazala The Cauldron. Operation Goodwood. Kamfgruppe Peiper. All of which we have played. We even stuck several 6 foot tables end to end and did Market-Garden. These are precisely the Battles these rules were designed to play. I'll admit they're not for everyone, but some like playing Large as opposed to Skirmish.

Thanks for the feedback. Enjoy! Lee

1 inch per 500m is 1:19685 scale, so its 15km per foot, or for a 6x4 ft table, 90x60 km, if my maths is correct?

1 inch per 500m. 12 inches or 1 foot is 6 Km. Basically divide Inchs by 2 to get Km so 4 X 6 foot table is 24 X 36 Km.

Also each mini is a Battalion with each SP equal to a Company. So a Division will have a dozen or so minis meaning you can fight a Corps sized Battle with 25-50 minis on each side.

Some battles like Peiper have fewer, some like Market-garden have more. The Playtest PDF includes the Celles-Bulge Scenario with elements of several Panzer Divisions vs the 2nd US Armored with a host of supporting Infantry and Corps Assets in the famous Christmas Day Battle that sealed the fate of The Ardennes Offensive.

Lee

PS a note on play, playtesing … with only TWO of your German Panzer Division units being Tanks, and perhaps a third with JgPz, you quickly realize how important all your OTHER Division Assets are, something missing in most wargames which are usually very Tank Heavy compared to actual history. You can also see Tiger Tanks in their true perspective … as in real life they totally dominate the several Kilometers around their position, but on a table that is 24 X 36 Km it's amazing how little impact a single Tiger Battalion has on the Battle.

Any chance of doing British and Russian army sheets ?

The Published Rules will have sheets for major armies and theaters. During Playtesting I will produce some additional Army Lists as requested. Since Lists are very time/theater specific I'd need specific information, such as British North Africa Gazala, or Russians for Stalingrad. Be happy to help!

Just an FYI, I already have Lists for Prokhorpovka and could publish that Scenario fairly quickly. While Celles tends to be a Battle of Maneuver, the troop/tank densities in any of the Kursk Scenarios are much higher so those games turn into a pure Slugfest pretty quickly and therefore are suited for testing Combat Resolution, but not so much for testing Maneuver.

Cheers! Lee

I dont get it why rules dont use the actual names for typical units, but invent their own names and abbreviations. Why MU and not brigade, why ZOCC and not bataillon (or bataillon card).

Yes, i know, that some armies didnt use these formation names. So what? It is still more easy for me as a player to read the rules and think: ok., a brigade for my germans is sometimes a Kampfgruppe. Then thinking: What the heck is an MU? Where does it say, what that means?

Maybe you could rename your abbreviations?

I had a look through the pdf for the rules.

I liked the scale and the idea for the game as I'm looking at rules for the same thing.

But I question why use the cards?
It seems to make it too regular an area.

I also thought you needed to speak fluent abbreviations to understand the rules.

Otherwise may hold promise.

Hope this helps,

B

Appreciate the feedback. I selected Maneuver Unit because the problem with WWII is that Battalions, Brigades and Regiments could often be the same size depending on what army you were talking about. My preferred term would have been Battlion. Something to consider before final publication. Thanks!

The Cards define a units ZOC. They prevent having to measure moves for individual minis and measure ranges for firing. Which simply saves a ton of time when playing. Also, although rarely depicted in Wargaming, most units stuck to strictly defined op areas to avoid friendly fire incidents. The Cards or ZOCC, are integral to the game, so they cannot be removed.

Keep the comments coming. Cheers!

Ahh well, the first half of my maths was correct, with a scale of 1:20000, but I stuffed up the rest. This makes the ground scale similar to LWRS moderns, which uses an element (or base) scale of company. As your set of rules uses an element scale of Battalion, I assume element (bases) density is reasonably low?

As for the comments about elements and units, I tend to agree with the feedback. Calling an element a battalion, even if the British uses regiment is easier to remember and relate to.

At this scale each element would not represent an actual formation; otherwise you would need a different combat value for each element, but represents a number of men or vehicles which would represent a battalion, perhaps 50 vehicles or 500 men. Calling this generic formation a battalion also makes life easier, if you wish abbreviations just use military abbreviations, such as Bn. LWRS tried to change the name of formations, with combat unit meaning battalion and Battle group meaning regiment, and it just added an unwanted level of complexity.

As mentioned I had originally wanted to use Battalion. I'm weakening lol. My only concern was the purists who would have a glorious time pointing out how WRONG that was for armies like the Brits and Russians. But then again I wrote the rules for gamers not nitpickers lol. Keep 'em coming. Thanks!

PS. The Battalions are NOT generic, check the Army Lists, especially German, and you'll see they differ in stats.

Are these rules still available? The actionrules.com web site link no longer works.

I've been trying to contact Lee for quite awhile without success.

Wolfhag

Back in the 1990s, I released several sets of WW2 rules at the divisional and corps level. These were old style rules with bunches of ToEs for every country. One was Stars and Marshal Baton. The other was Eagles and Crowns.

Are these rules still available? The actionrules.com web site link no longer works.

I think its gone, which is a shame as i did want to look at the rules. I suppose the next best option is assault gun by David Kershaw, also free. I have a list of other battalion equal element scale rules here: youtu.be/1ncBGrunqTk