A fresh start....

I've re-opened this page as a way to write out what is happening in my current WW2 East Front campaign in 15mm.

A few words are in order about the rules I am using and some other sundry facts that may make my ramblings make more sense.....

I am doing this in 15mm with a home-brew ruleset on my 3" hex maps.

The figure scale 1:1 (1 figure = 1 man, 1 Vehicle is 1 vehicle, etc) and about 8-12 yards per hex. Most infantry units are multiple figures (with magnets so I can remove losses, re-crew Heavy Weapons, etc) mounted on stands of various sizes depending on their function (a rifle section is 4 rifles for example, while an LMG support weapon is the LMG and 2 figures). Leaders are individually mounted, and represent individuals who are above the normal competency level (and are important to keep your force working efficiently).

I've made the rules comparatively detailed, yet I don't feel overly complex. There is an initiative deck of 13 cards- in this case 4 for each side, 3 blanks an Event card and a re-mix card.

The time scale is abstractly 1 minute per turn, but since initiative is card driven and can end at any time, it is not a fixed scale- some turns you can do a lot, others not so much.

When a card is pulled (or phase) begins, the side whose card is pulled performs actions with the appropriate units (Usually Vehicle or Infantry depending on the card) in each hex one at a time. Leaders can do things in multiple phases, some Heavy Weapons/Guns/Leaders can perform certain actions both phases.

The Germans have 1 Infantry, 2 Vehicle and 1 Any card. The Soviets have 2 Infantry and 2 Vehicle cards. I can vary the class of the enemies by adjusting the card types (the Any card of course is the best, as it allows all activated units to behave as if either kind of card has been drawn). There is also an Either card which can be added to replace one of the others that is not as flexible as the Any card.

If an event card is pulled, an event may occur. If a re-mix is pulled, then the initiative deck is re-mixed. For every 10 cards pulled except the re-mix card, 1 minute has passed.

Infantry units tend to rout instead of die to a man, and vehicles can be immobilized or abandoned instead of destroyed. Vehicles can run out of ammo, break their main gun, or take damage that can affect it other ways than killing it.

I am playing this campaign mostly solo (the rules are integrated with this pretty well but can be run regular as well) and I have a built-in solitaire system for generating a battle. It is very similiar (but not as complex :D) as the ASL Solitaire system. I will have friends from time to time will come over and take over the control of the enemy to increase the variety.

Basically, the board starts out with a number of "?" markers in woods, fields, buildings and any other non-clear terrain. As the game goes on, they become activated either by actions such as moving close enough to them or firing at a target near them. A ? marker may have nothing under it, or it may be a T-34. It varies with how and how far it was activated and how far away from the friendly force.

Events can occur that range from friendly Off Board Artillery strikes, Friendly reinforcements, to a full blown enemy counter-attack along a board edge. Currently there are missions for Clearing the Road, Recon in Force, and Hold Your Positions. I'll be developing more as I go along.

Another feature I built into the system (which I can do solo or not as desired as well) is that I have a personal leader in this game- he can improve when he does good things, devolve when he does bad things and even die ! It is similiar with the old-school Squad Leader Leader Campaign system (an oldie but still a goodie :D)

Other leaders (including armor leaders) can be generated during battle and improve, get wounded etc.

All in all, its a pretty neat system with some things that be left off if that level of detail is not wanted (like special ammo for guns and partial infantry firepower). Its currently in Word format- but has been subject to some changes- indeed that's the point of doing this "excersize" in the 1st place !

It does seem to create a narrative of its own, which I am detailing in a notebook as I play. Hopefully, when I am done with this campaign (or put it in hibernation) It'll be in a form others can use without me around as well to make sense of my ramblings !