Campaign Game Rules (Rough Draft)

[Rokossovski]

I am presently running (ie, serving as referee) for a Combat Missions campaign game set in Italy in the August of 1944. There are two human players who are moving the units strategically, and fighting out the battles on maps of my devising. The rules are deliberatly rather simple in order to ease the process. I wish that I knew how to post a copy of the strategic map here, but the general idea is that units move around the mapboard, each zone of which represents a pre-created Combat Missions tactial map. When there are contacts between opposing forces, they fight out the battles using CMAK.

Posted below is a copy of the rules, still in rough draft form. The campaign we are playing is fairly small, to allow us to spot problems in the rules system, and allow for later refinements. I would appreciate any comments and feedback from you on the rules as the presently stand. Thank you.

Reid Hay (Rokossovski) 1/3/2004

COMBAT MISSIONS CAMPAIGN RULES

(ROUGH DRAFT)

Introduction

These Combat Missions Campaign Rules are designed to provide an operational context in which Combat Missions battles are played out. It functions similarly to previous campaign designs in which operational map contacts have been played out using miniatures. These rules, however, are somewhat more structured, and consequently in some respects more limiting. The compensating advantages are in comparative ease of bookkeeping, battle preparation (most of the work is “front-loaded”) and resolution.

The game is resolved in a series of “strategic turns,” in which units are moved about on the “campaign map.” Players plot out their orders each strategic turn, and hand them in to the referee. (Hence at least two players and a referee are required to play.) The referee conducts all movement simultaneously, and contacts on the strategic map are played out as tactical battles using the Combat Missions computer wargame. Units the players have held in reserve may come into the tactical battles as reinforcements, and artillery that is within range on the strategic map may be employed in the battles as well. After a battle, the defeated side must retreat from the strategic map “zone” where the fighting took place, and both force’s casualties are (to the degree possible) precisely calculated and removed from future play.

Sequence of Play

Each strategic turn of the game proceeds through a series of phases in the following order:

1. Reinforcement Phase

2. Plotting of Moves

3. Simultaneous Movement Resolution

4. Dug-in Status Check

5. Trivial Combat Resolution

6. Allocation of Artillery and Reserves

7. Combat Resolution

8. End Phase

1. Reinforcement Phase

During the Reinforcement Phase, all units that arrive from off-map for the use of the players are brought on. In some circumstances, actual arrival on the game map may wait until the Movement Phase when the forces are moved on-map by the controlling player.

2. Plotting of Moves

(A) Zones. The Campaign Map is divided into a number of “zones.” Any number of units may exist in a given zone, and unit locations are tracked by reference to what zone they occupy. Each zone is given a letter/number code by which it may be identified.

( Plotting Movement Between Zones. All units may, at the election of the controlling player, move from its present zone into one of the adjacent zones. All players secretly record their moves on paper, and then turn them in to the referee. (Example: “2/1 Panzergrenadier Company and Recon Detachment ‘Schmitt’ move from M6 to M3; 120mm Mortar Battery in M3 fall back to M5.”) Out of kindness to the referee, it is recommended that formations not be split any smaller than platoon size for movement purposes. (Exception: Armored and anti-tank gun platoons may occasionally be split up without aggravating the referee.)

© Construction/Demolitions. A player controlling a zone may order construction or demolitions to take place in that zone over the course of the turn. Usually, such construction or demolitions require the presence of specialized engineering troops. Outside events that take place during the turn (such as hostile troops moving into the zone) may disrupt the construction or demolitions planned.

(D) Digging-In. Units that are not “reserves,” do not participate in construction or demolition, and do not attempt movement from one zone to another during the plotting phase, are normally considered to use the time “digging-in.” If such units come under attack later in the turn they obtain the benefit of beginning the battle entrenched. [Exception: Armored units typically require additional time or resources to fully dig-in.] Otherwise, units are not entrenched at the beginning of a battle.

(E) Reserves. During the “Plotting of Moves” phases, units may be designated as “Reserves” by the owning player. During the “Allocation of Artillery and Reserves” phase (see “Allocation of Artillery and Reserves” at § 6) units so labeled may be moved into adjacent zones where the initiation of combat has been announced by the referee. Units moved during the Allocation of Artillery and Reserves Phase are not present at the beginning of the battle to which they are committed, but typically arrive around turn 20 (see “Commitment of Reserves” at § 6(F)). Reserves are not eligible to be “dug-in.” Reserves may not move during the Simultaneous Movement Resolution Phase on the same turn that they serve as reserves, and they may not participate in construction or demolition.

3. Simultaneous Movement Resolution

(A) Generally. After the referee receives the players’ movement orders, he moves all units simultaneously. If units end the turn occupying the same zone as hostile forces, combat may result later in the turn. (See “Combat Resolution” at § 7.) If one side began the turn in control of the zone where combat takes place, the controlling side (see “Control” at § 7() is the “defender” and the side seeking to gain control of the zone is the “attacker.” The defender begins battle with control of the “flags” (see “Control” at § 7() and may be dug-in (see “Digging-In” at § 2(D)). The attacker may be coming from more than one adjacent zone, or may include amphibious landings and/or Paratroop landings. Contacts are not resolved during this phase, but the referee determines what movement takes place, what contacts between opposing forces exist, and which contacts should be resolved as “Trivial Combats” (see “Trivial Combat Resolution” at § 5) as opposed to requiring full tactical battle resolution (see “Combat Resolution” at § 7).

( Meeting Engagements. If opposing troops in adjacent zones each move forward into the other’s zones, then any combat deemed necessary will take place as a “meeting engagement.” The referee may use any map he deems suitable on which to resolve the combat, including a “quick battle” map. Neither side is dug-in at the beginning of the battle, and the flags are placed near the middle of the map, between the opposing forces. The battle would take place during the “Combat Resolution Phase,” or may be more simply resolved during the “Trivial Combat Resolution Phase.” The side that wins the battle by controlling the field at the end of combat may be permitted by the referee to continue on its plotted movement path that was interrupted by the enemy contact – possibly resulting in a second battle during the same turn.

4. Dug-In Status Check

During this phase the referee notes which units under rule § 2(D) are eligible for dug-in status, and which are not.

5. Trivial Combat Resolution

Not all contacts are worthy of resolution as full battles. For example, where forces are extremely small, or there is an enormous disparity of strength, it may be more efficient for the referee to resolve the battle by any suitable means, i.e., common-sense, a die roll, divination from goat entrails, etc. The referee will then report the results to the players with a level of accuracy that may vary. (For example: “The rifle platoon you sent into M4 encountered heavy resistance from at least two companies of infantry, supported by Panzers. Your force swiftly withdrew, suffering a half-squad worth of casualties.” To the other player: “Your reinforced Fusilier Battalion at M4 reports that an enemy patrol attempted to infiltrate their positions. With the assistance of your Fusilier’s attached Armored Cars, the enemy was driven off.”) [Comment: The ability to send trivial forces forward into enemy held zones and then withdraw them to safety would produce a “gamey” tactic if it were permitted to cause the other player to misallocate artillery assets and reserves. (See § 6 below.) However, such an “attack” could also be meant as a “diversionary attack,” which is legitimate and should be allowed. Because the decision of what attacks are “trivial” and which are not is at the discretion of the referee, it is recommended that the player secretly alert the referee if a “low odds” attack is “diversionary” and the player genuinely plans to press forward with enough vigor to draw off enemy assets. This may convince to referee to designate a “trivial” combat as a full battle. If, however, the diversion turns out to be half-hearted, the referee may decide to allow the defending player to reallocate reserves or artillery after-the-fact.]

6. Allocation of Artillery and Reserves

(A) Generally. During this phase, the referee privately informs each player in what zones combat has been initiated by full (non-trivial) contacts (including meeting engagements, see § 3(). The referee also informs players of any enemy moves (possibly not resulting in contacts) about which they should reasonably know. The players then allocate any eligible artillery assets to assist in these potential battles, and commit any eligible reserves (see “Reserves” at § 2(E)).

( Artillery. Artillery (which includes mortars of at least 76mm) may be employed on the tactical game map, or used indirectly from a different zone. In order to be shown directly on the tactical battle map, the artillery must be present in the same zone in which combat takes place. They may instead be represented on the tactical battle map by a spotter only if the artillery itself is in a different zone from where the shells are landing. Mortars typically must be located in a zone adjacent to the one into which they are represented by a spotter, but other varieties of artillery may have longer ranges, allowing shells to cross additional zones. If artillery is allocated from one zone to fire in support of a battle in another zone, a spotter unit is placed on the tactical battle map. The location of spotters is not separately tracked on the campaign map, and the loss of the spotter does not mean the loss of the artillery except for the duration of the tactical battle. Spotter casualties are deducted from the infantry strength of a suitable friendly unit. (See “Artillery Spotters” at § 8((3).)

© Naval Gunfire Support/Off-Map Artillery. Naval Guns or other artillery assets may be located off the campaign map but nevertheless be able to fire indirectly into on-map zones. As with other indirect artillery, it would be represented on a tactical map only by a spotter.

(D) Preliminary Bombardment. A campaign may provide for one-time-only artillery assets that are not a regular part of a player’s force. If given for “Preliminary Bombardment” it must all be targeted on the first turn of the engagement for which it is provided, although there may be built-in delay.

(E) Air Support. A player may be given a number of air support missions to allocate. These may be for a certain number of air missions per turn, or perhaps a set number that may be used over the course of a campaign. As with artillery, Air Support missions may be allocated during this phase to support an expected tactical battle. A player may also be permitted to bring in air attacks on zones in which he is not expecting combat, simply in order to attack from the air whatever hostile forces he suspects may be found there. The referee (if he allows this) may elect resolve it as he would a battle, or as if it were a trivial combat.

(F) Commitment of Reserves. Units that were designated as “Reserves” during the Plotting of Moves Phase (see § 2(E)) may be moved to reinforce any adjacent zone, provided that the zone being moved into began the Reinforcement Phase under friendly control (see “Control” at § 7(). Reserves may also be committed to counter an attack into the zone in which the reserves already occupy. When reserves are committed (even if the reserves began in the same zone they seek to reinforce) they do not begin tactical battles on the tactical battle map, but instead enter part way through the battle, typically around turn 20. The timing and location of their entry is at the discretion of the referee. (For example, reserves that are fully motorized or who begin in the same zone may arrive more swiftly.) If the zone they seek to reinforce is overrun before the reserves enter or are able to affect the battle, the reinforcement move may be cancelled or otherwise altered by the referee. Reserve units that begin in the same zone may be committed separately, or together, or not at all, at the election of the owning player.

(G) Announced Withdrawal. Before combat resolution, if a defending player is already aware that he will be choosing to voluntarily withdraw from combat (see “Voluntary Withdrawal” at § 8(A)(2)) he may announce this to the referee, thus saving the trouble of generating a battle setup or resolving a combat. The referee may decline the announced withdrawal if he calculates that the fight should be played out. (For example: if the withdrawing force may be unable to make a successful retreat.) A force may only opt for an announced withdrawal if the zone it occupies is being entered by opposing units. The withdrawing force must retreat to a friendly zone that is not itself under attack. [This can save a great deal of time if the defender does not intend to stand and fight, but it is possible that even a defender who ultimately intends to give up possession of a zone wishes to bleed his opponent with a fighting withdrawal. In such a case, full tactical battle resolution may be more appropriate.]

7. Combat Resolution

(A) Battle Setup. When opposing forces simultaneously occupy a zone or cross movement paths creating a meeting engagement, (see § 3() and the contact is not judged to be “trivial,” (see § 5) the result is a tactical battle that is played out during the Combat Resolution Phase. The outcome of the battle is decided by having the players face off using the “Combat Missions” computer game system. (Most likely “Barbarossa to Berlin” or “Combat Missions: Africa Korps.”) For each zone of the campaign map, a corresponding Combat Missions tactical battle map has been created. Unless the contact is a meeting engagement (see § 3() the tactical map created for the zone where the engagement takes place is the setting for the battle. The referee determines what forces are present at the beginning of the battle, their setup zones, which units are dug in, and when and where any eligible reserves will arrive. The referee will also determine the weather, ground conditions, flag locations, and any other necessary conditions or limitations. The attacking player (in a non-meeting engagement) will generally select the time of the attack (morning, mid-day, dusk, or night). Within the given setup zones, the players will place and move their forces as desired.

( Control.

(1) Generally. At the end of a battle, one side will be deemed to control the zone, and any remaining hostile forces will be removed or (in rare circumstances) destroyed by the referee (see “Forced Withdrawal” at § 8(A)(1)). Unless otherwise instructed, a battle will last 50 turns, “variable.” At the conclusion of the battle, control of the “Victory Flags” placed on the map will determine control of the zone as a whole. Normally, there will be three flags, and the attacker must have control of at least two of them at the end of the battle in order to gain control of the zone. Otherwise, the defender retains control, and the attacking units return to their starting zone(s). If the battle is a meeting engagement, one player must control at least two of the three flags to prevail. If neither player does so, then both sides return from whence they came.

(2) River Zones. If the contested zone is bisected by a river, dual control of the zone is possible. The referee may set up control flags on both sides of the river, allowing one force to control both sides, or only one side, with an opposing force left controlling the other. In such a situation, each player may be allowed to retain units in his part of the zone rather that requiring one side to withdrawal. (See § 8(A).)

8. End Phase

(A) Withdrawal From Combat.

(1) Forced Withdrawal. After trivial combat or a tactical battle, one side or the other is left in control of the contested zone. (Possible Exception: see “River Zones” at § 7 ((2).) The force no longer in control of the zone is removed in the manner directed by the referee, at the referee’s discretion. (A player may be consulted for his preferences as well.) In general, retreating attackers are returned to the zone(s) they occupied at the beginning of the turn, and defending forces are pushed away from the attacker’s axis of advance, hopefully back in the direction of friendly lines or sources of supply. In certain circumstances, such as if a force has no friendly held zones in which to retreat, the referee may judge it to have surrendered or been destroyed.

(2) Voluntary Withdrawal. Both attacking and defending units may retreat off the tactical map during tactical battle resolution. As directed by the referee, retreat off certain map edges may represent a retreat out of the zone, or perhaps within the zone, but out of the immediate battle area. Different map edges may also represent routes to different zones. By retreating all units off an appropriate map edge(s) an attacking or defending force may retire from the battle before time has expired. After a battle has ended, the referee decides which zones voluntarily withdrawn units occupy. Under certain circumstances voluntarily withdrawn units may be deemed to surrender or be destroyed. (For example: if the zone to which the withdrawing units sought to retreat is itself overrun by the enemy.)

( Casualty Assessment.

(1) Infantry Casualties. At the end of a tactical battle, the referee uses the information provided from the map that accompanies the Combat Missions After Action Report to assess casualties. Infantry casualties are generally aggregated and result in units being removed, with the maximum possible number of formations left at full strength. (For example, if two infantry companies lose 40 men between them, with losses spread fairly evenly through the various rifle squads, the referee may delete one entire platoon from one company, and perhaps a half-squad from a second platoon in the same company. This would bring one company up to full strength, with a second company short one platoon, and a half-squad missing from another of its platoons.) [Comment: The Combat Missions game editor does not allow for squad strengths to be customized, for example, by removing one or two men from a squad to show prior losses. Using “casualty percentages” when creating units in the editor has proven to be an inadequate substitute. As a result, losses are aggregated, and units are “tidied up,” which also significantly reduces bookkeeping.] Naturally, only similar units have their losses aggregated, (for example losses to a crack paratrooper outfit are not satisfied by removing troops from a green rifle unit) and the units must be in the same zone.

(2) Crew-Served Weapons. If crew-served weapons are listed as “destroyed,” they are permanently lost by the owning player. If they are merely “abandoned” during tactical combat, then they may be considered to survive the battle, provided the owning play controls the zone in which they are lost when fighting has ended. If the crew of a crew-served weapon suffers combat losses, the crew may be brought up to full strength using accompanying infantry – with the infantry taking a corresponding loss. This may result in a drop in crew quality. (For example, if a regular crew to a 57mm anti-tank gun looses three of its five members as combat casualties, they may be replaced by men taken from a handy veteran rifle platoon. Because the riflemen, although veterans, are new to servicing anti-tank guns, the referee may choose to reduce the anti-tank gun’s experience level to “green.”) In a similar fashion, crews that have lost their assigned weapons may be re-employed as infantry. In many instances, however, highly trained crews should be removed from the line (and hence the game) on the theory that skilled crewmen should be saved for later use. All of these determinations are made by the referee.

(3) Artillery Spotters. Artillery spotter units are created (they essentially spring out the ground) when artillery occupying another zone are assigned to provide support during the “Allocation of Artillery and Reserves” Phase (see § 6(). However, if members of a spotting unit are lost in combat, the losses may be assessed as casualties from an infantry unit in the same zone. [This is to prevent spotters whose artillery battery has run out of ammo from being used recklessly as “free” scouts.]

(4) Vehicles. Vehicles that are listed in a tactical battle as “knocked out” are permanently lost. Those that are shown as “abandoned” or “immobilized” at the end of battle may be recovered and repaired if the owning side controls the zone. “Gun hits” may also be repaired. The speed of repair is determined by the referee, and may require several “strategic” game turns. Vehicle crews are treated similarly to “crew-served weapons” crews (see § 8((2) above) with the proviso that vehicle crews are even less likely to serve as infantry or to be adequately replaced by infantry.

9. Supply

The provision of supply is at the discretion of the referee. In general, units that are unable to trace a line of supply through a chain of friendly controlled zones to a supply source, or who have no other source of supply, may suffer ill effects that are likely to grow more severe the longer they are unsupplied. These effects may include reduced ammo loads, a lower fitness level, or being compelled to surrender to the enemy.

[Rokossovski]

I am now shamelessly bumping my own posting.

[Zarquon]

You might have a look at the rules PDF for the Onion Wars IV campaign (www.onionwars.net). In essence it's fairly close to what you describe but has evolved over several campaigns to a format that is both detailed and manageable for about a dozen players on each side.

<shameless plug>

Or you could join a team to see how it actually plays out.

</shameless plug>

If you have only two players then 50 turns might be playable and result in more realistic fights. For a larger number of players 50 turns (probably mostly played by PBEM) take too much time, as you need to keep things moving. Same goes for the possibility of two battles in one turn.

What's most important IMO is the GM's interpretation of orders and the scenario map design. Both of which must be left to the GM's imagination; you can only have some very rough guidelines about them.

BTW, do you actually need victory flags? I think it creates artificial limitations on tactical options. In my campaign experience, at the end of a game it was nearly always quite obvious who controlled the map and who was beaten.

[Rokossovski]

(1) I'll check out the Onionwars. That might prove very useful.

(2) In general, I prefer larger maps and longer tactical battles which allow for the situation to develop. This is especially true for a campaign game where force preservation (ie, avoiding a mad dash for the victory flags) takes on added importance. You are, however, correct that long games mean paying a price in speed of resolution. On the bright side, the battles thus far have ended in well under 50 turns, but the possibility that they could last that long removed much of the possible time pressure.

(3) You have a great point about the potential for ditching the victory flags entirely. One of the nice things about having a referee is that even if the players disagree about who "won," the referee is there to adjudicate the issue. So why bother with victory flags? I discussed this issue with one of the players for the campaign I am running now, and he really wanted victory flags. The liked the "objectivity" and clarity they provided. Of course in real life, there was no such clarity. Perhaps for one or two of the battles within the campaign we could leave out the flags and see what transpires. A flagless game might result in pieces of terrain being valued purely for the tactical advantages they would have provided in real life -- not for an artificial bonus of having a "victory flag."

Thanks,

-- Rokossovski

[Rokossovski]

Another self-serving bump, since I am hoping that there is enough interest to merit additional feedback. Thanks.

[86smopuim]

Originally posted by Rokossovski:

A flagless game might result in pieces of terrain being valued purely for the tactical advantages they would have provided in real life --

another onion wars player here

Flagless does indeed to turn games into tactical advantage of oposition. I think thats more realistic