Last modified on 21 February, 2000
Alan Emrich, Sal Vasta, and Steven "Kos" Kosakowski
The Pieces
Q: Why do the airdrop units have a 2 or a 3 on their backs beneath the
parachute symbol?
A: I guess we could have made that more clear. As per the italic bit of rule 4.1.1, that's their respective airdrop "ranges."
Q: Where is the German mountain corps?
A: On the back of the combined German-Finnish 20th army.
The Map
Q: How do I trim the map?
A: You trim the WEST map along the right edge. You will be cutting straight down along that long edge right through the middle of both Stockholm and Budapest. That is, you'll be trimming off half a hexrow.
Q: Is the hexside at w3527/3526 a river? It's hard to tell with the National Boundary line right there?
A: Yes, it is.
Q: Is the "Wooded Swamp" an aesthetic device or does it fall under the "terrain effects are cumulative" rule; i.e., does a wooded swamp give 2 column shifts for the defender? If that's the case, then does Demyansk (e4410) and Rzhev (e4310) (with the Valdai Hills) give 3 column shifts to the defender (wooded swamp, plus hills)?
A: No. No matter how much of what type of terrain is in a hex, it if isn't clear, it's only one combat shift. Occam's razor really applies to this game. Whenever you're stumped, look for the simplest solution, and that's usually the right answer.
Q: Switzerland is labeled on the map. May it be selected or activated as a country?
A: Switzerland is on the map for geographic reference. Its hexes are always impassable and thus may not be moved or traced through for any game purpose. It is never considered a country in the game. The only Minor Countries that exist for game purposes are listed in section 12.2.
The Option cards
Q: Mare Nostrum requires that you
discard a War Production card. Can you discard a Limited War Production card or must it be
a (Total) War Production card?
A: Nice try. It must be a (Total) War Production card.
The Charts & Tables
Q: A player achieves a "1C" result on the Soviet Border War Table
and has both an armor and HQ in the disputed Border Region. Shouldn't the first loss have
to be an armor step, if one is available (as per 4.0, Combat)? Or can you take the
step loss from the HQ unit instead?
A: It's the Soviet player's choice. This is not really a "combat," per se, so that combat rule about armor doesn't apply here.
The Reference Booklet
Q: The Soviet set up for scenario A.1. specifies 13 2-2-2 corps
on the map and 10 0-1-2 steps in the force pool. However, the 0-1-2's are the flip side of
the 2-2-2's and there are only 14 of them in the game box. Is the set-up rule an error?
A: No, but I understand where you're confused. Those "two-tone" Soviet armies are Soviet armies. They only assume their "alternate identity" as Ukrainians, Siberians, etc. in a Random Campaign Game scenario when those minor countries are called into being.
The Rules Booklet
1.1.1 Option Card Segment Procedure
Q: Does a player have to play a card from his hand? In other words, can a player
refrain from committing a card during the Seasonal Turn?
A: You have to play a card. To quote the center of page 5, "Finally, the phasing player must select from his hand the card he intends to reveal during his next Seasonal Phase." The word 'must' is the key here.
1.3.4 Axis Additional Seasonal Replacement Steps
Q: Are the Axis allowed to put Axis Minor seasonal
replacements into Axis Nationalist steps before the Anti-Comintern Pact comes
off the turn record track? The rules seem ambiguous on this point.
A: Yes, after you reveal your Anti-Comintern Pact card, you can start taking Axis Nationalists as replacements right away using Axis Minor Steps. You don't receive the special Axis Nationalist replacement step (only) until the Anti-Comintern Pact Marker is in the Strategic Warfare Box.
1.4 Placing Replacement Units
Q: When delay box replacements come on board, do they do so at full
strength?
A: There seem to be a few discrete concepts mixed together in this question. This may help sort them out:
Replacements are expressed on the cards in types of steps and are always placed on the map as 1-step corps units of the appropriate type from your Force Pool -- they don't go through the Delay Box;
Reinforcements are often multi-step units, and often have to go through the Delay Box. From the Delay Box they go to the Turn Record Track. From the Turn Record Track they go to the Force Pool. Once in the Force Pool they are available to be built on-map from one-step corps units that are already on-map -- you can build them to the desired strength by taking the appropriate number of one-step units out of the hex.
So, Reinforcements never put steps on the map -- only Replacements do that. Reinforcements put units in your Force Pool (often via the Delay Box) that you can then build with steps on the map using the Organization procedure. Any unit coming into the game via the Delay Box/Turn Track procedure goes to your Force Pool.
Q: Something seems weird about my Barbarossa replacements. Since you must place them as 1-step corps units, and since you must place them in home country cities, most of these replacements will be unavailable to participate in the first turn of Barbarossa as big army units since only Königsberg and Posen are in close enough to the Soviet border for newly formed armies (made from these replacements) to reach it. Was that your intent?
A: Yes. You must prepare for a Barbarossa attack on the Soviet Union by getting all of your HQs, Panzer Armies, and 6-6-3 infantry armies into play near the Soviet border. It would help to have some corps stacks on your Eastern Front when you reveal the Barbarossa Card (so that you can build some of it's multi-step units right there), and you'll certainly want to have Posen and Königsberg clear for receiving all the Barbarossa replacement corps they can hold... if you intend to hit Russia with the Axis' historical weight.
Remember the time scale, here, too. You have the entire May-June 1941 turn to represent the first week of Barbarossa, followed by the June-July turn that still contains part of that first week. Don't worry, you have the steps, space, and time to get the "right" armies to the right places by the right time.
Q: I'm not sure on the placement of British reinforcements in the Commonwealth or US/Canada Boxes. Can I take non-Commonwealth steps in these boxes?
A: Yes, but you may only place one British Seasonal Replacement step there per Season (rule 1.4.1, second bullet). It doesn't matter how you take that British Seasonal Replacement step (as a British or Commonwealth unit, see the next question, below), and Conditional Replacements are always okay to take in these box without limitation.
Q: Also, can I take British steps as Commonwealth steps, or are Commonwealth steps only available via the Commonwealth Mobilization card?
A: You can always take British steps as Commonwealth steps (but not vice-versa when playing the Commonwealth Mobilization card).
Q: If you can only take Commonwealth steps via the Commonwealth card, then how do you ever get the NZ mech corps into play (it comes in on a different card, which historically was played later) and why the note that Commonwealth steps can materialize on top of the 15th Army HQ (which also comes into play on a later card.)?
A: Commonwealth steps can be taken with regular British replacement steps, so the New Zealand mech corps can be taken by the Western Allied player instead of a regular British armored corps any old time it’s available. And, rather than bringing it in on the Commonwealth Box (where it usually goes), if the 15th Allied HQ is open, you can bring it in straight there and save yourself a little time getting it into play.
2.3 Air and Naval Segment
Q: It would seem that rule 2.3.2: Interceptors (second paragraph) contradicts
rule 2.3.4: Placing Support Units in Naval Zone Boxes. Specifically, the 9th paragraph of 2.3.4
says "Bombers and Interceptors may not be placed in Naval Zone Boxes." I have
always allowed Fighter Command to contest in the North Sea and North Atlantic. Have I been
screwing it up completely?
A: No, not at all. Those interceptors aren't being "placed in" (by definition of rule 2.3.3 and 2.3.4, Placing Units in Specific Hexes/Naval Zone Boxes) these locations. They are "contesting" there (2.3.1). Heck, if you look in 2.3.2 Interceptors, it even says they can contest at sea, and need a port to do so! So, you've been playing it right. Don't worry.
Q: Now that the Indian Ocean has been changed to a Naval Zone (see the official errata), can the Axis place their U-boats there and, in doing so, cut off overseas supplies through Suez and Basra via the Indian Ocean?
A: Yes.
2.4.4 Combining Units and 2.4.5 Breaking Down Units
Q: A British two-step 2-3-3 army wants to break down. Must it be flipped over to
its 1-1-3 side (and another corps placed in the hex), or can you remove the unit entirely
and replace the unit with two 1-2-2 corps?
A: Rule 2.4.5, p13, center column, says that breaking down reverses the process of building up (and Example 4 illustrates this very well). Therefore, the British 2-3-3 must flip to its 1-1-3 side when breaking down, just as the 1-1-3 had to be there when the unit was built up. You can not remove a 2-3-3 and replace it with two 1-2-2 corps!
Q: If the above case is allowed [it isn't], would it also allowed when taking combat losses? I.e., if a 2-3-3 must take a step loss, can it be replaced with a 1-2-2 corps, or must it be flipped over?
A: No. A, a full-strength multi-step unit's first loss or breakdown step must be a "flip" to its reduced-strength side (if it has one). "If a unit has a reduced strength on its back, its first step loss must be taken by flipping the unit to its reduced strength side."
Here's a trick you can use: Remember, first you build up, then you break down. So why not combine two Italian 0-1-2 infantry corps into a 1-2-2 army, then immediately break it down into a 0-1-2 and a 1-1-3 EX infantry corps (assuming the latter unit is available in the Axis Force Pool)? Likewise, you can build up a Soviet Cav-Mech army with a 1-1-3 tank corps and then break it down and receive a 2-1-3 tank corps from it during that same Organization Segment.
Such "conversion" and "shuffling around" of non-elite, one-step corps units is possible and allowed.
Designer's Note: Obviously, this is not the main feature of the unit breakdown system. But if you do want to stack two 0-1-2's together in order to turn one of them into a 1-1-3, then what you're doing is precisely what the Segment title says you're doing, Organization. That is, training and equipping, cross-attaching units, and employing some low-level replacements below the scale of the game's Replacement System. I honestly don't see this as a problem.
The real feature of the unit breakdown system is to move corps quickly from one front to another and then combine them into army organizations that have some serious striking power. Krieg! was designed as an army level game--the multi-step armies are the "real" units you should be playing with. The corps level units wear many hats: You use them as garrisons, they're what's left of army units that take losses, they can serve as utility units, and so forth. I also designed this game such that a "pipeline" of corps headed to the front represents supply lines -- you've got to keep those resources headed for the fighting or the armies there will attrition away. Corps are fast on the transport lines and naval transportable, but you can't get a lot of steps or attack factors in a hex until you combine them into effective armies (and HQs).
3.9 Amphibious Movement
Q: Amphibious Movement seem rather easy. Say I'm the Germans; I leave a stack of
tough units in Calais during the invasion of France. One turn during my summer blitz, I
have Air Support units handy and the Western Allies don't. So, I...
place my convoy in supply mode in the North Sea. Then I...
place my air-unit in 3818 (north-east of Calais, next to Antwerp and Holland) and create a bridgehead. Then I...
jump on that hex during the Operational Movement Phase with a full stack of units from the various land hexes on the Continent adjacent to it (all movements points required, as this is a strait) and move a full-strength HQ into Calais. During the Blitz Combat Segment, I...
advance onto British soil in hex 3917, just east of London. (A German dream come true!). Then, during the Regular Combat Segment, I...
attack the English unit in London. I have an 8-6-4 panzer army, a 6-6-3 infantry army, and a 2-2-4 panzer corps -- all backed by and a 4-4-3 HQ in Calais. Total odds are 20-3 (assuming an average strength of British defenders in London), or 6-1, with one shift left for the city and one shift right for the HQ. Then...
Poof! London's mine. The two British steps there automatically buy it at those odds.
Did I make an error somewhere? This seems too easy.
A: Sounds like you got it perfect to me. That's exactly how it's done!
If you made an error, it was not in understanding the rules, but in understanding the implications of that move. We were very careful to make everything a trade-off in Totaler Krieg!. So, what's the down side to this German "dream" situation? Let's see, if it occurred in the middle of your invasion of France, then...
If the Luftwaffe is playing in the North Sea, it isn't pounding the French.
If all that German equipment is in London, it isn't hitting Paris. If you played the traditional Case Yellow card and don't close the deal by forcing France to collapse during that card's limited window of opportunity, you'll have a long road to hoe taking every city in France and French North Africa in order to get France to finally surrender!
For all those forces in England, it's a one-way trip. You'll need every step you sent there just to garrison the country, assuming you go on to occupy it completely (in order to really collapse England). You'll quickly feel like you're fighting with your left arm tied behind your back when it comes time to slug it out with the Russians if you occupy England. Don't believe me? Try it and you'll see...
And speaking of the Russians, beware their Stalin Challenges Germany option when you're tied up in England. That really is the worst possible time to be hit with that one.
4.1 Blitz Combat Segment
Q: If the current Option card is a Blitz card, is
there a Blitz Segment during Mud or Snow turns?
A: Yes. Blitz Segments do take place during these turns. What is specifically allowed by that faction during the Blitz Segment may be limited, however. For example, airdrops are allowed (and landings where the water is calm), but combat may not be allowed depending on the units involved (like Western Allied units, for instance)..
4.2.1 Combat Parameters: HQ Units
Q: If an airborne corps Airdrops on an enemy HQ unit during the Blitz
Segment, does this count as an "attack" on it and, thus, prevent that HQ from
providing ranged support to other units during that same Blitz Segment?
A: No. An "attack" means going through the whole Attack Sequence (4.2.2).
4.2.2 Attack Sequence: Terrain Shifts (re: the Terrain
Effects Chart)
Q: If you Airdrop your airborne corps onto an enemy stack, does its presence there
negate any terrain hexside shift(s) that the defender might be entitled to? According to
the Terrain Effects Chart, "if all attacking units are attacking across terrain
hexsides" is the rule. If all of the actual ground units are attacking across,
say, a river, can an Airdrop unit (or possibly even an Air Support unit) negate these
hexside terrain shifts for the defender when they're positioned across it?
A: Excellent question! No. Your logic isn't bad, but that's simply too much of a benefit for the attacker. The shift provided by attacker's Airdrop and/or Air Support units does, in effect, cancel out hexside terrain benefit for the defender, and that should be enough. So, you need a real ground combat unit (the kind with three numbers on the bottom), not just an Airdrop or Air Support unit, attacking across a non-terrain shift hexside in order for the defender not to receive the terrain shift benefit.
4.2.3.3 Retreats
Q: What happens in the following situation: three unit are attacking from three
different hexes at low odds and get an Ar1 result; one attacking unit has no hex to
retreat to except a hex currently occupied by another attacking unit (which must also
retreat). Is the attacker allowed to retreat sequentially, such that the unit with no
other retreat goes first and is able to retreat to the friendly occupied hex, or does this
mean no attacking units retreat?
Here is a picture of a situation like this:
...A1
D1..A2..D2
...A3
A1, A2, and A3 are attacking D1, and A2 has no place to retreat to except the hexes occupied by A1 and A3 due to the ZOC of D2.
A: Here's the short answer: A2 cannot retreat to either A1 or A3 because "units must move one hex further from the hex that was the target of the attack with each hex they retreat" (2nd paragraph under Retreats), and neither A1 nor A3 is any further from D1 than A2 was originally. Since this one attacking stack cannot retreat, the entire attacking force cannot retreat, and must therefore convert its retreat result into a step loss.
10. Supply & Friendly Ports
Q: How does one invade a hex more than two hexes from the nearest friendly port
[and still be in supply]? For example, how would the Allies carry out the invasion of
Sicily in its historical form (i.e., invading the southeasternmost hex, then going north
and northwest from there)?
A: Easy, you set up a beachhead in hex w-1923. A friendly beachhead is, by definition, also a friendly port (see 10.4). Thus, you can trace supply two hexes to it. That will get you far enough to capture Palermo, which will give you a real port.
Q: What is the status of hexes in conquered minor countries? The rules don't seem to classify them in any way, except to say that their units are removed. Does this mean that ports in conquered Allied minors remain friendly to the Allies, if ungarrisoned by the Axis? And the Allies can just ship corps into those ports at will? That would mean that it takes 5 corps for the Axis to properly garrison Norway, which seems a bit excessive.
A: Only ports in an active friendly home country are friendly when they're not garrisoned (see 10.4). And, if I recall correctly, the Germans really did have 15 divisions in Norway! (Personally, I think you can get away with a lot smaller garrison than that until the time the Western Allies can mass up a pretty good size army.)
Designer's Notes on Supply: In practice, the out-of-supply restrictions we included do all we need, and any additional combat shift rule added verbiage with no payoff. I took my cue from several old GDW "classics" -- I played many of their simpler games in the good ol' days. In many of those, you looked in vain for expected rules, but when you actually set the pieces in motion, "Hey!, all the effects came out right." James Dunnigan had an acronym for this: COW, which stands for Comes Out in the Wash. So I understand what some of you are looking for in a more elaborate body of supply rules, and why you're looking for it, but I think you'll find that supply and attrition work well within the movement and organization sequence and the combat mechanics. The biggest effect of "supply" on combat is that, if you're cut off, you probably don't have a retreat path.
12.3.1 Vichy France
Q: Paris is the capital of Vichy?
A: Granted, Paris is not part of Vichy territory (as stated explicitly in this rule). It is the capital of Vichy for one purpose only -- if conquered (not collapsed), the Allies can re-activate it by forcing the Germans out of Paris (see 18.2.1). At the time, I thought this was an elegant way to create this effect, but I can see how easy it might be to trip over.
12.7 Partisans
Q: If there are Partisan units in a conquered Western Allied Minor Country when the Reich Annex
Marker (16.21) is placed in the capital, may they then enter the "original" Greater Germany?
A: Oh, man, you are Eeeevil. Here's the "spirit of the rule" answer: No. Those guys are local nationalists, so they'd stay within what used to be their national boundaries (presumably attempting to get their capital back and undo the annex).
14 Policy and Truce Restrictions
Q: Is Germany at war with anyone at the beginning of the game?
A: In game terms, all Soviet and Western Allied units are "enemy" units to the Axis (as well as to each other) from the very start. Germany is a belligerent to them at the beginning of the game, but the Nazi-Soviet Pact and Appeasement Policy restrictions give the Germans some security while they are in effect. Germany need not "declare war" on the Soviets or Brits -- all Germany has to do is take an action that "lifts" a Policy or Truce Restriction (14.1, 14.2, or 14.3) to go into a "hot" war with either opposing faction and its allies. Now, Germany is not at war with any neutral minor countries at the beginning of the game (only active minor countries, like France, which is covered by its Faction's Appeasement Policy at the beginning of the game remember) -- you don't know whose side a neutral is on until it's activated (and how it's activated is the key determining whose side it's on).
14.1 Nazi-Soviet Pact
Q: It is the first turn of the Standard Campaign Game and the Soviet player begins
by revealing his Polish Border Dispute card. Axis first turn is an Ultimatum (or Treaty)
on Hungary. Can the Germans move into Eastern Poland from East Prussia and/or Hungary
while Poland is neutral?
A: While a minor country is neutral no one can move into any of its territory. The only exception concerns Soviet Border Regions. In their case, while a Soviet Border Dispute card is showing, the Soviet Player (and only the Soviet player) may move its units into the Border Region designated on that Option card. For all other circumstances, that Border Region is considered part of the neutral country and may not be entered.
14.4.1 Command/Supply Failure ZOC Restrictions
Q: When this rule refers to "units" not being able to enter enemy ZOCs, does that include Air Support units?
A: No, it means only ground units.
15.2.5 Minor Country Delays
Q: Are the German-Italian multi-national units and the Axis Convoy
Marker affected by this rule?
A: Oh, yes.
15.6 Desert Mud
Q: When using the optional "desert mud" rule, do the Combat Results Table
decreases apply to fighting in the desert? That is, does a D3 become a D2 result, etc. in
desert hexes?
A: Yes, indeed.
15.6 Minor Country Delays
Q: If playing with the optional rule of +1 to all Minor Country delay rolls, are the
two German-Italian units considered German or Italian for the purposes of this rule?
A: In the spirit of 12.6, the Multinational Units rules, they're the worst of both, so they are hit them with the +1 modifier when using this rule.
17.2 Political Events Results
Q: I've noticed that it is possible to activate minors we normally think of as
"Axis" as Allied minors (cf. the Soviet Balkan Pact option). Have I missed
something, or is there no rule preventing Italy from becoming a Western Allied minor, say
from a lucky coalition die roll before the fall of France?
A: No, you haven't missed anything. I've played this game a lot and have never seen Italy join the Western Allies (stay neutral once, join the Axis with a Limited Setup once, but never join the West). However, it could happen in theory. An unfortunate Axis Aggression result with a neutral Italy as the only potential victim will create this particular dilemma for the Axis. However, any Axis player worth his salt would not play so recklessly as to even tempt such a fate (would he?).
Q: Suppose there is a neutrality marker on Rome. The Western Allied plays Colonial Disputes. He gets a tensions escalates result, and the Axis player activates Italy. Does this bring Italy into the war as an Axis minor, or does it just remove the neutrality marker?
A: It activates Italy. Neutrality Markers only do what they say in 17.2.15 and nothing more. The Western Allied Colonial Disputes card isn't about treaties or being nice. It's about declaring war!
17.2.11 Hitler Pressures Neutrals
Q: Question: when a Hitler Pressures Neutrals Political Event
brings the Vichy Fleet unit into play, which are its home country ports? The ports in neutral Vichy (Marseilles, Oran, etc.),
the ports in occupied France (Brest, Bordeaux, etc.) or both? This is important
for placing support units in Naval Zone Boxes (2.3.4).
A: This answer is, "it depends." If Vichy is still a neutral Minor Country, then you'd have to base it out of a Vichy port (Marseilles, Oran, etc.). If Vichy has been activated, then it ceases to exist (it all becomes "France" again, see 12.3), and you can base out of any French port.
18.1 Axis Permanent Conditional Events
Q: Suppose Germany conquers France without ever playing the Case Yellow card, and
then plays it later while occupying Paris. If the effects of that card are interpreted
literally, an already conquered France could then "Collapse," Vichy would come
into existence after all, and the Axis could activate a minor country. Is this right?
A: Yes, it is! Case Yellow represents German political pressure whenever it's played and its conditions are met. In fact, conservative Axis players may wait until they already have Paris in the bag before selecting Case Yellow, just to be sure they don't miss the window of opportunity it provides.
Q: Do 18.1.3 (Occupation of Axis minors) and 12.3.1 (Vichy Territory) taken together mean that Germany can't have a multi-step unit anywhere in France, including the part outside the Vichy border, or else Occupation is triggered? This is rather harsh...
A: This is correct, and it is also very intentional. I mean, we're talking about getting a collapsed France to fight staunchly beside Germany against the Allies! The least the French would demand is observance of the most favorable (for the French) Occupation policy.
18.1.2 Liberation of Soviet Allied Minor Countries
Q: As the Axis on Game Turn 1, I plan to Ultimatum Poland and activate it as a Soviet Allied Minor Country. I'm
concerned about what happens in the event that I am unable to occupy Lvov by the Aug-Sept '39 Axis Conditional Event Segment.
Assuming I don't take Lvov by then, Poland will remain an active Soviet Allied Minor Country.
[A: That's correct. Remember, the Nazi-Soviet Pact will be broken by this.]
Let's say the
Soviet player starts with his Polish Border Dispute card revealed (as per the
Scenario A.1 Special First Turn rules) and, during the Aug-Sept '39 Soviet
Conditional Event Segment, successfully prosecutes his Border War and places his Eastern Poland Ceded Border Marker in the Ceded Border Markers
Holding Box. Eastern Poland, including Lvov, is now a part of the Soviet Union. On the Sept-Oct '39 Axis Conditional Event Segment, Axis ground
units occupy Warsaw, Posen, and Krakow. Is Poland then "Liberated" and an Axis Minor Country?
A: Yes because, at that point, the condition has been fulfilled and, so, Poland is Liberated. It will only consist of its western rump state, so you only need to occupy the cities there in order to Liberate it.
Q: Now, what happens if the Soviets reveal their Polish Border Dispute card but fail to get the Ceded Border Marker? Does the fact that the Soviets have their Polish Border Dispute card up mean that I don't have to take Lvov to liberate Poland?
A: Only if you were conquering a Western Allied Minor Country. You're not. You're Liberating a Soviet Allied Minor Country. That means taking all POLISH cities which, in the above case, Lvov would be. So, if the Soviets don't steal Lvov by getting their Eastern Poland Ceded Border Marker placed on the map, the onus is on the Axis to occupy it in order to Liberate Poland.
Eastern Poland:
A Look at Soviet Border RegionsSoviet Border Regions seem to cause some Totaler Krieg! players confusion. Well, the TK! rules are sound enough and it is possible to find the ramifications of what happens in every Soviet Border situation you can think of. But you might find it easier to use the following as a guide instead of consulting the rulebook.
Since Eastern Poland is usually the flashpoint in these border brouhahas, the following 10 examples use that specific Soviet Border Region as its example. We’ve also considered the situation as it might stand on the first turn of the game – if you are answering the Poland Question later in the game, you may still be able to use this as a guide by finding the most applicable situation.
Situation 1:
What this situation means to the Axis Player:
What this situation means to the Soviet Player:
What this situation means to the Western Allied Player:
Situation 2:
What this situation means to the Axis Player:
What this situation means to the Soviet Player:
Situation 3:
What this situation means to the Axis Player:
What this situation means to the Soviet Player:
What this situation means to the Western Allied Player:
Situation 4:
What this situation means to the Axis Player:
What this situation means to the Soviet Player:
What this situation means to the Western Allied Player:
Situation 5:
What this situation means to the Axis Player:
What this situation means to the Soviet Player:
What this situation means to the Western Allied Player:
Situation 6:
What this situation means to the Axis Player:
What this situation means to the Soviet Player:
What this situation means to the Western Allied Player:
Situation 7:
What this situation means to the Axis Player:
What this situation means to the Soviet Player:
What this situation means to the Western Allied Player:
Situation 8:
What this situation means to the Soviet Player:
Situation 9:
What this situation means to the Axis Player:
What this situation means to the Soviet Player.
Situation 10:
What this situation means to the Axis Player.
What this situation means to the Soviet Player (assuming that Poland is not a neutral Minor Country by the time the Soviet Player performs his Polish Border Dispute; if Poland is neutral, see Situation #8, above):
What this situation means to the Western Allied Player:
18.4 Axis Option Card Conditional Events
Q: The Axis play the Soviet or British Ultimatum card. The Conditional Event
language on them reads, "count the number of so-and-so's Strategic Hexes, role one
die, and if the die roll less than ...a Crisis, if die role greater than...
Paralysis." What if the die role is "equal to" the number of Strategic
Hexes counted? Is that considered "No Effect?" And once the Axis player
successfully causes a Crisis/Collapse, must he continue to roll on subsequent Conditional
Event Segments, risking a high toss and receiving Command Paralysis?
A: Yes, an "equal to" die roll has no effect and, yes, you've got to roll every Conditional Event Segment that is your current card.
Q: The rules for British collapse say "any British HQ units and Air Support units in play are placed in the Delay Box." My opponent thinks a unit which was just eliminated in the previous turn and, hence, is already on the Turn Record Track, is not, technically, "in play." My interpretation of "in play" means a unit which has been added to the British force pool at some point in the game, as opposed to a unit associated with a card which hasn't been played yet. What is the Truth?
A: Right you are! If it's been introduced into the game, it's in play. This could work to the Allied player's advantage. He gets to re-roll all those Air Support and HQ units that he just placed six turns down the Turn Record Track!
18.5 Allied Option Card Conditional Events
Q: In the Random Campaign Game, the Russians have five ceded border markers
on the map. They play their Comintern card, target Rumania, and roll a '5.'
This result is both "less than or equal to the number of Ceded Border
Markers" and a '5'. Does Rumania become a Soviet Allied Minor Country, an Axis Minor Country, or neither?
(Similarly for a '6,' if the Russians were to have six ceded border markers.)
A: The '5' (and '6') are the controlling results here. Rumania, in this case, would become an Axis Minor Country. With Comintern, the threat of backfire is very real and cannot be reduced.
19.1 Minor Country Setup: Limited Setup
Q: Due to a Diplomatic die roll (Free Passage result), Italy became an Axis minor
(with Limited Setup -- meaning only its Reserve corps is deployed in the capital and the
rest of its units either start in the Delay Box or Force Pool). Naturally, the Brits
quickly drove into the undefended Tobruk. Does this action by the British now give the
Italians their Normal Setup?
A: No. You only setup a country once. In this case, the Axis had some very bad luck with Italy. With a Limited Setup, Italy is really being "set up," if you know what I mean! You'll just have to tough it out. Try to use German units to fill the vacuum created by adding all of that Italian Empire real estate to the Axis cause with no Italian army to defend it. I don't envy you, but those are the breaks.
Scenario C1 and C3 Victory Conditions
In scenarios C.1 and C.3, the Victory Conditions list the potential Soviet Allied
Minor Countries, but Persia isn't included in the list. I assume it doesn't
count, right?
A: Right. Persia would be a "free throw," and we ain't giving the Soviets no free throws.
Axis Setup: Advice?
Q: What is a preferred German setup?
A: A "historical" setup works well. The 1st and 7th Armies in the west (Ruhr and Frankfurt). 14th Army next to Vienna; 8th and 10th at Breslau; 4th by Berlin (or in it so you can add a step); 3rd in East Prussia. I'd put the Army Group North HQ in East Prussia too, because you'll want it in range of Warsaw. Use one air unit between Warsaw and Krakow so it covers both cities with Air Superiority. Use the panzers to help your infantry exploit next to Warsaw in time for the Regular Combat Segment.
As for the Poles. . . well, it's a long game. Minor Concessions is about the only thing that will slow the Germans down. This campaign is really a nasty, brutish, and short tutorial on how combat works. The Axis player should get in some practice on two military principles that will help him out down the road: speed and economy of force. All the Allied player can really do is make the Germans roll the dice and use both Combat Segments to conquer Poland. Success against an Axis player who knows how to play is measured in simple terms -- did you get him to burn a panzer step or not?
Axis Historical Performance: Optimal?
Q: If the game is a reasonable model, the German historical performance was much
closer to an optimal performance than to an average one. Is my analysis correct?
A: Well, it's a reasonable model of my own interpretation, at least! If nothing else, I wanted players to get the idea that the Germans did what they did while walking on a tightrope all the while. Only in retrospect does it look like a cakewalk that failed due to easily "fixable" errors. In Krieg!, it's not too hard to drive the German war machine off a cliff, which is just what the German High Command kept trying to tell Hitler.
Axis Historical Opening: Is It Possible?
To find out how the real history of World War II in Europe plays out in Krieg!,
including a crash course on invading Denmark-Norway and timing the Axis declaration of war
on Belgium-Holland, click here: Totaler Krieg! as
history.