A lot of forces are
going to be moving in the near future. We need some rules to help us organize
troop movements and supplies as well as a simple mass-combat system, should
units come into contact with enemy units.
Population
Centers & Supplies
In order to simulate
the necessity of spreading out the forces for the winter, we need a simple
logistics system. The same rating system will be used for
recruitment/replacement later. Units themselves will be living off the land on
the move but when they establish a base or cantonment, we can assume that the
local population is asked/begged/forced to help provide for the troops.
Each population
center can provide for a certain number of troops. Housing is not the problem
but food and medical supplies will be. In the following table, a regiment will
represent approximately 1000 men and a company 100. Regiments are equal to ten
companies, Companies to 4 25-man platoons. This is an abstract system and in
reality, the regiment probably represents a brigade or division. Semantics are
not important here since this a
compromise to reduce the necessity of have track the exact number of troops
that can be supported.
|
Population Size Code
|
Description
|
Maximum Supported
|
|
A
|
Major City
|
5 Regiments
|
|
B
|
City
|
3 Regiments
|
|
C
|
Town
|
4 Companies
|
|
D
|
Open/Woods/River
Hex
|
2 Companies
|
|
E
|
Swamp/Hills
|
1 Company
|
|
F
|
Rubble Hex
|
1 Platoon
|
The hex values
represent villages or groups of villages within the hex. It is possible, for
example, to send some companies to establish bases around a city or town. There
they would act to secure the hex and provide advance warning of an attack.
In addition, the
current season is going to have an impact. In Winter and Spring, the maximum
number of supported units is reduced by 50%.
How does this fit
into the world of T2K? The team is currently living with Cav Troopers from
Bravo troop, 1/116 Cavalry in the town of Dobrodzień, Poland. Since it is a
town, they can support a maximum of 4 companies. The current troop strength of
the cav troop is approximately a company after the team returned with the POWs.
We can assume that not all of the POWs returned to duty, so a number of 100 is
a good estimate of the current combat strength.
During the
winter/spring, the maximum number of companies that the town can support drops
to 2. The cav troops can live comfortably in the town, as they are not that
great a strain on the logistics of the town.
The area around the
town can also support a garrison and are rated, based on their terrain type, as
type D.
Recruitment
You need warm bodies
to feed the machine and national distinctions have become irrelevant. Forces
will use local recruiting to fill out their ranks. I imagine the situation to
be similar to late in the Thirty Years War: being part of an armed group was probably
not the safest of jobs but it gave you a better chance to have a full belly and
maybe a bit of booty to boot.
The number of
recruits is not endless though and the city class can be used to determine the
number of recruits available.
|
Population Size Code
|
Description
|
Number of Recruits per year
|
|
A
|
Major City
|
5 Companies
|
|
B
|
City
|
4 Companies
|
|
C
|
Town
|
3 Companies
|
Once the number of
recruits is withdrawn, the population center is "tapped out" and no
more recruits may be gathered for a year. There are only so many people willing
to join the forces in the area. How the soldiers are recruited (rewards, by force,
etc.) will affect the unit morale and increase the chance of revolt. More
information on this is provided below.
Logistics
on the Move
Units moving will
generally have two days of supplies with them during the move. A unit will
receive supplies if they can trace an unbroken line of supply to a friendly
town by road or rail. Supply routes become broken when they pass through hexes
controlled by enemy troops, marauders or any other settlement or force that is
not friendly to the unit. If this supply route becomes broken, the unit is then
out of supply and will exhaust its supply within two days.
Alternatively, a
unit can live off the land and "collect" a number of supplies equal
to the current hex type. In doing so, however, the hex is "spent" and
no more supplies can be collected for a period of two weeks. Living off the land
will quickly cause the land to become exhausted, forcing units to move on.
Captured
Cities and Logistics
Enemy cities may be
captured by driving off the defenders, after which the victors may take control
of the city and use it for a base of operations. If the unit moves on, it must
leave a garrison to ensure the "loyalty" of the population. If no
garrison is stationed in the town, it will revert to being an enemy city.
The minimum size if
the garrison depends on the size of the settlement.
|
Population Size Code
|
Description
|
Garrison Size
|
|
A
|
Major City
|
3 Companies
|
|
B
|
City
|
2 Companies
|
|
C
|
Town
|
1 Company
|
Revolt
If a population
center is treated badly by the occupation forces, a revolt may occur. You
should check once each time the Revolt Factor changes for a population center.
Add the factors that apply from the table below and roll a D6. If the number
rolled is equal of less than the Revolt Factor, a revolt occurs.
|
Factor
|
Description
|
|
+1
|
Local population
forced into military service
|
|
+1
|
Military presence
in the population center is greater than the maximum number that can be
supported
|
|
+1
|
Local population
treated badly by the military force
|
|
+1
|
Military Garrison
is too small for the population size
|
If the population
center revolts, generate a revolutionary force of the same size as the number
of recruits for the population center, even if the maximum number of recruits
has been called up (a few that were hiding come out to defend their home). This
is an additional force and should be tracked in your campaign as a separate
force.
Units
Large units and
their movements will be followed on the map. Factors such as their morale,
leader competency, etc. need to be tracked in order to allow us to track the
units reactions. The units strength and equipment will help us determine their
combat power and movement speed.
Unit
Card
Unit Cards can be
used to track the relevant information about the unit. I have made an example
below:
|
Unit Code
|
Unit Name
|
Faction
|
Morale Factor
|
Mutiny Factor
|
Commander
|
CCR
|
No. of Men (x morale)
|
No. of AFVs (x10)
|
Combat Strength
|
Travel Mode
|
Notes
|
|
SOV-129-01
|
129th
MRD
|
Soviet
|
4
|
12
|
LT
Valeriy Zhukov
|
3
|
60
|
2
|
266
|
Foot (2
hexes/shift)
|
|
|
US-116-01
|
B
1/116th
|
US
|
4
|
12
|
CPT
Molly Warren
|
5
|
65
|
9
|
360
|
Motorized
(6 hexes/shift)
|
|
You can adapt this
to fit your needs and the needs of your campaign.
Leaders
& Commander Competency
Each unit has a
leader and they should be assigned a Commander Competency Rating (CCR). Like
the unit morale (below), the scale moves from 1 to 6 and the following table
can be used to help you pick a rating. Alternatively, you can roll a D6 for a
random CCR.
|
CCR
|
Description
|
|
1
|
Inept
|
|
2
|
Inexperienced
|
|
3
|
Average
|
|
4
|
Average
|
|
5
|
Excellent
|
|
6
|
Superb
|
When a commander is
replaced, roll again for the next commander. A great commander may be replaced
by one of his inept staff officers. Such are the winds of war.
Combat
Strength
The size of a unit
and the number of vehicles has an effect on the combat power but morale and
leadership also play a big role. The formula for the combat power is:
- Number of Men x Morale factor
+ Number of AFVs x 10 + CCR x 2
I assume that the
units are equipped with small arms and support weapons, including mortars and
ATGMs. The category AFV is to reflect all armored vehicles, including tanks,
APCs and IFVs as well as self-propelled artillery and such. It is abstract, but
it works.
You can adjust the
combat strength as you see fit to reflect the situation. For example, if the
defenders were in prepared defenses, it may be appropriate to multiply their
combat strength by 1.2 to reflect their increase defensive capabilities.
Small units with
good morale and leadership with a great number of vehicles may have a greater
combat strength then a larger unit with poor equipment, leadership and morale.
Unit
Morale
No one is going to
fight to the death, the war has been going on too long for that. The suicidal
types have already had their chance to die. Each unit should be given a morale
rating from 1-6. This can be determined randomly using a D6 or use the chart below
as a guideline:
|
Morale Factor
|
Description
|
|
1
|
Civilian
population pressed into service
|
|
2
|
Newly raised
troops without combat experience
|
|
3
|
Experienced
militia troops with some combat experienced
|
|
4
|
Average mixed
combat unit of experienced soldiers and locally raised troops
|
|
5
|
Regular troops
with an experienced core of veterans
|
|
6
|
Elite force of
battle-hardened veterans
|
At the start of your
campaign, generated a rating for your units and use this rating for the entire
units. As new recruits are brought in or other units merged, average the
experience of the unit. Use can use this, for example, to track the morale of
units at a company level or so and personalize those units.
Morale
& Losses
As units take
losses, their morale will begin to be affected. Use the table below to
determine how the unit will react:
|
Morale Factor
|
10% losses
|
20% losses
|
30% losses
|
40% losses
|
50% losses
|
More than 50% losses
|
|
1
|
Fall Back
|
Retreat
|
Flee
|
Flee
|
Flee
|
Flee
|
|
2
|
Fight On
|
Fall Back
|
Retreat
|
Flee
|
Flee
|
Flee
|
|
3
|
Fight On
|
Fight On
|
Fall Back
|
Retreat
|
Flee
|
Flee
|
|
4
|
Fight On
|
Fight On
|
Fight On
|
Fall Back
|
Retreat
|
Flee
|
|
5+
|
Fight On
|
Fight On
|
Fight On
|
Fight On
|
Fall Back
|
Retreat
|
If the result is
Fight On, the unit maintains good order and continues the struggle. If the
result is Fall Back, the unit uses fire and maneuver to break contact,
employing all means at its disposal to disengage. Wounded and heavy equipment
will be recovered and transported with the force. Retreat means the unit will
leave the field as quickly as possible, abandoning heavy equipment and wounded
if necessary. On a result of Flee, the units drops everything and runs for the
hills.
Mutiny
on the Warta
Morale is something
for the short term effects in the game If a unit has a string of very bad luck
and a poor leader, over time the mumbling voices will increase until action is
taken and this usually ends in a mutiny in some form.
Each unit is rated
with a mutiny factor that is three times as high as its initial morale factor.
Circumstances will affect the mutiny factor. You can find some of these
circumstances in the table below:
|
Modifier
|
Description
|
|
-1
|
For each day
unsupplied
|
|
-1
|
Having a
commanding officer with a competency rating of 2 or less
|
|
-1
|
For each defeat
suffered
|
|
-1
/ -2
|
For every 25%
casualties suffered in battle / For every 25% casualties suffered in battle
while unsupplied
|
|
+1
|
For each day
supplied (after being unsupplied)
|
|
+1
|
For gaining a
commanding officer with a competency rating of 3 or more
|
|
+1
|
For each victory
achieved
|
If the mutiny factor
is reduced to 0, the unit mutinies. The table below will help you determine how
the unit reacts:
|
Die Roll
|
Description
|
|
1-3
|
Force disbands and
deserts, creating new marauder groups
|
|
4
|
Force refuses to
move or fight
|
|
5
|
Force begins to
move toward its homeland with the intention of returning home. Roll randomly
for the new commander and treat the force as unaligned.
|
|
6
|
Force joins the
enemy
|
If the unit has not
disbanded (or joined the enemy), the force may be brought back into the fold by
removing the factors that lead to the mutiny in the first place, raising the
morale above 0 again.
Unit
Movement
Each unit has a
movement category which determines the amount of hexes they move per shift. We
can assume two shifts of movement per day. Some will argue that they could move
faster and this is probably true but a tank division will not have everyone riding
in tanks. Some will be on horses, wagons and maybe on foot. Maybe some of the
units need to ferry troops back and forth in the few trucks that they have. In
addition, units will move slow and have to stop frequently. Is there a possible
ambush up ahead? Have some units fallen behind and the rest need to wait for
them to catch up? Has there been a breakdown or is the bridge washed out ahead?
All these things will slow down movement.
Campaign
Events
You should consider
using a campaign calendar. These can be used to record events as they happen or
plan for future events. A simple method is to use an online generator to make a
template for you. I used one to generate a calendar starting in July 2000 and
extending for 36 months:
You can find the
generator here: https://www.calendarlabs.com/customize/excel-calendar/monthly-calendar-01
Randomizing
the Events
You don't want to
cheat yourself of the fun by knowing what a unit will do. Each time a unit
decides to move, attack, etc., write up three plans and roll a D6. One 1-2, the
first plan is enacted, on 3-4, the second plan is used and 5-6 the third plan.
Once the plan is executed or becomes irrelevant due to the situation, make
three more plans and roll again. The units will follow the plans to the letter
when executing them. When the plan is decided for the unit, mark the start of
the movement on your calendar as well as the day the arrive at their
destination.
An
example: the soviet garrison in Kluczbork, Poland has orders to move back to
the division cantonment near Jelenia Gora in order to establish winter
quarters. The unit can move west, through Namyslow, joining another sub-unit of
the 129th. It can move north, through Kepno before swinging west through Sycow.
Alternatively it can move south, through Olesno and then turning west. A roll
of 1D6 (5) reveals that the commander will move through Olesno.
Combat Results
I was considering
using the CGS from Harpoon but then thought that is a bit too complicated for
actions that will be happening in the "background". I decided to use
a simple Combat results table to determine the outcome. The process is simple, determine
the combat power relationships between the defender (round to the nearest
number) and attacker and roll 2D6.
|
2D6
Roll
|
1:3
|
1:2
|
1:1
|
3:2
|
2:1
|
3:1
|
4:1
|
5:1
|
|
2
|
AE
|
AE
|
AE
|
*30%/-
|
30%/10%
|
*20%/-
|
20%/5%
|
10%/-
|
|
3
|
AE
|
AE
|
*30%/-
|
30%/10%
|
*20%/-
|
20%/5%
|
10%/-
|
10%/10%
|
|
4
|
AE
|
*30%/-
|
30%/10%
|
*20%/-
|
20%/5%
|
10%/-
|
10%/10%
|
-/10%
|
|
5
|
*30%/-
|
30%/10%
|
*20%/-
|
20%/5%-
|
10%/-
|
10%/10%
|
-/10%
|
-/20%*
|
|
6
|
30%/10%
|
*20%/-
|
20%/5%
|
10%/-
|
10%/10%
|
-/10%
|
-/20%*
|
-/30%*
|
|
7
|
*20%/-
|
20%/5%
|
10%/-
|
10%/10%
|
-/10%
|
-/20%*
|
-/30%*
|
DE
|
|
8
|
20%/5%
|
10%/-
|
10%/10%
|
-/10%
|
-/20%*
|
-/30%*
|
DE
|
DE
|
|
9
|
10%/-
|
10%/10%
|
-/10%
|
-/20%*
|
-/30%*
|
DE
|
DE
|
DE
|
|
10
|
10%/10%
|
-/10%
|
5%/20%
|
-/30%*
|
DE
|
DE
|
DE
|
DE
|
|
11+
|
-/10%
|
5%/20%
|
-/30%*
|
DE
|
DE
|
DE
|
DE
|
DE
|
The results in the
table have the following meaning
- AE: Attacking unit(s)
completely Eliminated. Unit is removed from the unit list and has been
effectively destroyed. Stragglers from the unit may be encountered in the
area later.
- DE: Defending unit(s)
completely Eliminated. Unit is removed from the unit list and has been
effectively destroyed. Stragglers from the unit may be encountered in the
area later.
- Intermediate results
(reflected by a slash separating two values): the number to the left of
the slash represents the losses suffered by the attacking force, the
number to the right of the slash represents the losses the defenders might
suffer (losses may result in the dissolution or destruction of sub-units
and/or the overall distance a force may retreat). A dash represents no
effect to the force indicated. A star (*) indicates that force is forced
to retreat and breaks off combat, immediately moving 1 hex away from the
enemy.
Losses taken affect
men and AFVs in the same proportion. If the
unit has 10 vehicles and takes 30% losses, 3 of the vehicles have been
destroyed in the fighting.
Losing
Commanders
The overall percent
of losses for the unit is also the percentage that the commander is killed. If
the unit suffers 40% losses, the commander has a 40% chance of being killed.
Roll a new commander CCR and assign him to lead the unit.
Combat
Example
Let's assume that
the unit of the 129th MRD is attempting to force the cav troopers out of
Dobrodzień, Poland. The cav troops are in defensive positions and their combat
strength is multiplied by 1.2. The Soviets have an effective combat strength of
266 and the cav troopers 360 x 1.2 or 432. This gives us a ratio of 360:432 or
1:1.2. We round to the nearest number and it give us a ratio of 1:1. Next, we
roll 2D6 and get a 4. Cross-indexing the ration 1:1 with a roll of 4 give us 30%/10%. The Soviet suffer 60 * 30% = 18
casualties while the cav troopers suffer 65 * 10% or 6.5, rounded to 7. The
Soviets lose 2 * 30% = 0.6 ,rounded to 1 vehicle while the cav troopers suffer
9 X 10% = 0.9, rounded to 1 vehicle. Both units have a morale factor of 4 and
will choose to fight on. We adjust the combat values and continue on.
Lt. Zhukov has a 30%
chance of being killed in the exchange and Cpt. Warren a 10% chance. We roll
for both and the results are 5, 84 indicating that Lt. Zhukov has been killed
in action. We roll the CCR for his successor and he has a 1. The mutiny factor
of the unit is lowered by 1 because of the fact they suffered 25% casualties
and 1 more because their new commander has a CCR of 1.
|
Unit Code
|
Unit Name
|
Faction
|
Morale Factor
|
Mutiny Factor
|
Commander
|
CCR
|
No. of Men (x morale)
|
No. of AFVs (x10)
|
Combat Strength
|
|
SOV-129-01
|
129th
MRD
|
Soviet
|
4
|
10
|
SGT
Savva Kozlov
|
1
|
42
|
1
|
180
|
|
US-116-01
|
B
1/116th
|
US
|
4
|
12
|
CPT
Molly Warren
|
5
|
58
|
8
|
322
|
Conclusion
Ultimately it is
important to remember this is the background of your world and provides
information that makes your world alive, but these events should not cost you a
great amount of time. No one will thank you for the fact that you played out
the engagement at a 1:1 scale if it does not really affect their characters. It
is not meant as an ultra-realistic combat tool but rather a tool to help you
add fluff to your campaign.
