Sunday 14 February 2021

Very Simple WWII Rules

Tradgardmastare expressed a passing interest in my WWII rules. I said I'd post them on here. I can't see how to add a document so I've shared them as a post. These are not quite back of a postcard but do fit on to one side of A4 paper (in Helvetica Neue, 10 so genuinely readable). They mainly fit such a small space because they are SIMPLE and probably have gaps that will leap out at you a mile off, but don't jump out at me. The idea was that they were specifically written for small scale actions in the Finno-Soviet conflicts of WWII, hence the title (Metsäsota '44: Forest War '44). But there's no reason why they won't be equally bad for anywhere else.

I wanted to get a game on the table quickly without having to acquire and read through several different WWII rulebooks to decide what I want to do. The second reason for the simplicity was because at the time of the first draft the hope was that I would get my small girls interested on the flimsy basis that their great grandfather fought in each of Finland's three wars from 1939-44. The toys sat in a box for years and I don't have a cat in hells chance of getting the girls interested now. They're also simple because I frankly do not know much about this period.  I finally got a game in last year after painting some more troops.

I play them with 10mm figures mounted on 3cm square bases. Usually there are 3 figures on a base except for heavy weapons which usually just have two men on them. A dozen bases a side works well. I could adjust the firing slightly if a section were all armed with SMGs, e.g. tank riders, (shorter range, but more dice) but otherwise they're considered built into a rifle section. Hitherto I haven't tried them with any AFVs so that section could well be written - in any case it is extremely simplistic!



Metsäsota ‘44


A base represents:

1 infantry section (rifle/SMG/mortar or MG); 1 artillery piece; 1 armoured fighting vehicle; 1 leader (HQ section - can be in vehicle or on foot).


Movement (in cm per turn):

If not under fire 20; fire & move: 10; under fire but not pinned 10; Pinned 0.

Woods, buildings, rocky ground half move. Swampy ground 1/4 move

Vehicles can only move through woods/swamp/cross river on road


Firing (ranges in cm; line of site, ‘LOS’, unless stated otherwise):

Roll 1 dice/base except L/HMG which can roll 2 dice but ceases fire next go or can keep 1 dice per turn. Consult table below for effect.

Cannot fire if pinned.

Woods, buildings, hills, vehicles block LOS and troops hidden unless they fire. Firing at these - 2 from dice. Prepared defences -3.

Artillery and aircraft: estimate co-ordinates (centimetres Eastings and Northings) and dice for fire effect on each base within 5cm of the spot for artillery and a strip 20 long x5cm wide for aircraft.

Bases will fire at nearest visible enemy base in range unless prevented from doing so by leader.

Bases already pinned are automatically wiped out if fired on by infantry within 5cm, otherwise deduct 2 from firer’s dice throw. 

Bases panicking are automatically wiped out if fired on by infantry within 10cm, otherwise add 1 to firer’s dice throw.


Firer type

Direct Fire

HMG

Indirect Fire*

Target Infantry/Artillery crew

Target vehicle (+2 to dice if target is not armoured)

Infantry

40

50

N/A

1, 2 No effect, 3,4 pinned, pinned, 5 panic, 6 wiped out.

Close Assault <5cm 4,5,6 wiped out

1-4 no effect; 5 pinned; 6 immobilised (Armour must be within 10 of firer).

Artillery/mortar/tanks

80 main arm.

50

Unlimited

1D6 for effect: 1, 2 No effect, 3 pinned (half tank’s fire effect dice), 4 pinned, 5 damaged (immobile), 6 blown up

Aircraft*

Unlimited

1,2,3 No effect; 4,5 pinned, 6 wiped out.

* providing the leader has troops in LOS of target and within 20cm of leader


Command and control:

1 leader base per side/player

Leader has N** Leader Points (‘LP’) to allocate. Leader under fire but not pinned: -1 point. Leader pinned - 2 points.

Can save points from turn to turn.



What you can do with Leader Points

1 leader point

Move 2 bases; get base to fire at nominated target; stop firing at target; retire from pinned location (can move normally again next turn)

2 leader points

Advance or shoot with pinned unit;

3 leader points

call off board artillery or for on board indirect artillery/armour fire

4 leader points

call air strike (Soviets only) - same procedure as off board artillery

Soviets with Commissar <20 cm

To advance from pinned roll 1-5 on D6. 6 = base wiped out.


** vague because different scenarios would suit different allocations. Usually I roll a dice each turn to determine how many Leader Points a side has. The type of die can be adjusted to suit different scenarios.



14 comments:

  1. This fortuitous as yesterday I started working on some Finns in 20 mm ( Strelets, plastic, good value and well animated) as well as the 54mm ones for Christmas. The 54mm Finns will fight as Continuation figures with the twenty mm ones taking on Winter war Russians ( pack of Stelets on order) and tanks. Needing to organise and see what is the most representative Russian tank to get. Will use the 20mm with Portable Wargame rules too . I do like the way your bases turned out.




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  2. My comment went funny as my iPad is playing up this morning, may have cut off half my comment! I was saying that simple rules have a great deal going for them and give as realistic results as complicated ones, in my humble opinion. I wonder if a way in for your girls might be by terrain making and the chat that ensues . For years l tried to,interest my daughters in history to no avail only to find that they absorbed it through the horrible history songs! They have memorised many of them and even now, in their twenties, the songs are a reference point for chats we have when going to galleries etc or watching films.

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  3. Interesting to see these rules, which have some neat ideas. BKCII continue to be my rules of choice for WWII, with Bolt Action II looking intereting for skirmish level games.

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  4. Nice work sir! I really like these rules! Personally, I enjoy WW2 games where a stand = squad/section. I'd like to try these although for eastern front actions ca 43 or 44.

    How would you treat armored fire against evenly matched AFVs or perhaps un-evenly matched AFVs? Steve

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    1. Thanks Steve. There’s a tank v tank section on the firing chart - same row as artillery then read across to the final column ‘Target Vehicle...’.

      To reflect different strengths of armour and/or power of gun (and efficacy of projectile) I would have plus or minus on the dice roll. That would be my first thought.

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  5. Interesting, very interesting. Now if you were Charles Grant, the next chapter would be 'let us now see the rules in practise, in The Action at Twin Farms'... Just a small scenario, in a move-by-move account?

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    1. I’ll have to buy a cardigan first.

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    2. yes, and a pipe ( for pointing at things with the stem ), and recruit at least a Lieutenant-Colonel (ret'd), and your son (who happens to be a student at Sandhurst) to be the players.. the picture of him in his war-gaming room was quite something to my young mind !

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    3. I’m a failure on all of those. My son was a geography student, I wear a fleecy jumper, point with my expanding ruler, and my mate was only a Lance-jack in the RM and thinks I’m mad playing toy soldiers.

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  6. Looks simple and effective...And great looking figures!

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    1. Thanks Phil. Having seen your models that is a great compliment.

      The rules do produce fast turns, which is what I wanted.

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  7. Interesting rules, I like simple! I'm halfway through an Italian wars game with my teenage daughter, who had a go at me for not playing with her,I thought she had no interest, she's beaten me and her boyfriend so far,the only figures she has painted have been for him,still little steps!
    Best Iain

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    1. Your French gendarmes fashionista parade makes even more sense now!

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