World at War issue no. 8 Game Title: Arriba Espana
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| World at War issue no. 8
Game Title: Arriba Espana Date of Publication: September 2009 Decision Games, PO Box 21598, Bakersfield, CA 93390 Decision Games hereby grants permission for its customers to download and/or print copies of this file for their personal use. Discussion folders for this game are located on Consimworld.com's discussion board. These “eRules” were first posted on 1 September 2009. They contain 8,804 words. Arriba Espana: The Spanish Civil War, 1936-39 Contents 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Components, Definitions & Abbreviations 3.0 Sequence of Play 4.0 Random Events 5.0 Political Rules 6.0 Strategic Phase 7.0 Organization Phase 8.0 Movement 9.0 Combat 10.0 Recovery 11.0 Supply 12.0 Turn Inter-Phase 13.0 How to Win 14.0 Set Up 15.0 Optional Rules 16.0 Arriba Espana Designer’s Notes
© 2009 Decision Games, Bakersfield, CA. Made & printed in the USA. 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Arriba Espana (AE) is a low-to-intermediate complexity simulation of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39. The game is for two players, one representing the left-wing coalition government of the Spanish Republic (the Government player), and the other the alliance of right-wing forces that rose in revolt against it (the Rebel player). 2.0 Components, Definitions & Abbreviations 2.1 Map
The map is divided into regions, each with its own name. A region may be in one of three states: government control, rebel control, or contested (meaning neither player controls it). Getting and maintaining control of regions (see 12.0) is important for keeping your units supplied (11.0) and for gaining a high political support level. Each region is subdivided into one or more areas, usually corresponding to that region’s component provinces. All areas within a region are the same color. Within each area is a city (usually the provincial capital), marked by a box and a name. The counters representing a player’s military forces move from area to area on the map (see 8.0). The position of a player’s units within an area is important to this extent: if they’re placed on top of the symbol marking a city, they’re considered to be occupying that city. That’s important for determining control of a region (see 12.0) and for combat (9.0). 2.1.1 Terrain Features. Some cities are also ports, signified by an anchor icon next to the city symbol. Ports are important for air/naval transport (see 6.7). Some areas contain mountainous terrain, and are indicated by a small mountain icon inside the area’s borders. That aids the defense in combat (9.0). 2.1.2 Geographic Areas Out of Play. Spanish Morocco is a colony represented by a holding box on the map. Government units may not travel to it. Rebel units (only) may be created or rebuilt there, but must then be transported to the playable area of the map by air/naval transport (6.7). Units of either side may not move into or through Portugal or France. 2.2 Counters There are 264 counters in the game. Most of them are counters representing military units; however, their scale is abstract (each generally represents groupings of two or more historical regiments, brigades or divisions). Generic markers used for game functions are colored white. Military units are marked with a single number, their combat factor (CF), and colored by faction or nationality.
Government refers collectively to all units under the control of the Government player, including Popular Army, Anarchist, POUM, International Brigade and Gobernito units. Rebel refers collectively to all units of the Rebel player, including Nationalist, Carlist, Colonial, Portuguese, and Italian units. Unit refers to the counters representing military forces in the game. Units are of brigade (X), division (XX), or remnant (REM) size. A “one-step division” is a unit with a CF of four. A “two-step division” is a unit with a CF of five. 2.2.4 Abbreviations ?d6 means the sum of the roll of one or more six-sided dice, where “?” is the number of dice to roll. +1 marker When one of these markers is placed beneath a brigade or division, it means that unit has an improved cadre level (see 6.41 and 9.12). When one is placed under an AP marker, it means that marker represents two AP, not one. Asset Point (AP) Markers come in three types: air, armor and artillery. They are represented by silhouettes of airplanes, tanks and howitzers. AP represent shipments of foreign military equipment that Spanish industry couldn’t produce. Air AP are held off-map in an Air Holding Box until committed to combat, while armor and artillery AP move about on the map like other units (see 6.5). Battlegroups (BG) are stacks of units on the map. Combat Factor (CF) is a quantification of a unit’s fighting power. Die Roll Modifier (DRM) is a number added to or subtract from the result obtained when rolling the die. Equipment Points (EP) is a quantification of extra arms, ammunition or other supplies provided to your units, as well time spent training, or supplies for a major offensive, depending on the circumstances. See 5.4, 6.0 & 9.11. Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista (POUM) was a small anti-Soviet, Trotskyist revolutionary party. George Orwell fought in its militia in 1937. Political Support Point (PSP) is a quantification of a side’s credibility—meaning political palatability, the commitment of its members to the common cause, and its chances of winning the war—in the eyes of the people of Spain and the world at large. See 5.0, 12.2 & 13.0. 3.0 Sequence of Play The time scale is two or three months per full turn, with longer turns in the winter, thereby yielding five turns per calendar year. Each turn, the two players perform the following sequence of steps (also called “phases”), always in the order presented below. Each phase is described in detail in the following rules. a) Random Events Phase. One player (the eldest or best looking) determines what random event, if any, occurs this turn (see 4.0). b) Political Phase. Both players determine whether there have been any changes to the support of foreign powers for their cause; they may attempt to influence foreign powers, and then make any additions or subtractions to Political Support (PS) levels due to those changes or other political events (see 5.0). Determine which player goes first by die roll at the start of each such phase throughout the game. c) Strategic Phase. Both players place any newly created, rebuilt or reinforcement units on the map within the restrictions of the rules (see 6.0), as well as any armor or artillery AP just purchased. Then they perform air/naval transport (see 6.7). Determine which player goes first by die roll at the start of each such phase throughout the game. d) Organization Phase. Both players organize their military units into stacks (“battlegroups” or BG) of one or more units. Those stacks will move and fight as one entity during the movement and combat phases that follow (see 7.0). Determine which player goes first by die roll at the start of each such phase throughout the game. First Player Turn The player with the higher PS level at the end of the Strategic Phase conducts his turn first. Resolve ties with a die roll. e) Movement Phase. The player’s BG may move from area to area on the map under the rules governing movement (see 8.0). f) Combat Phase. The player’s BG engage enemy BG in the same area under the rules governing combat (see 9.0 & 11.0). g) Counterattack Phase. Within certain limits, BG of the second player that weren’t attacked in the preceding combat phase may now attack the first player’s BG in their areas (see 9.4) h) Recovery Phase. Units belonging to the first player that were disrupted as a result of combat may now attempt to recover (see 10.0). Second Player Turn The players switch roles and repeat phases e through h. i) Turn Inter-Phase. Both players determine control of all the areas on the map and then make any called for adjustments to their PS levels (see 12.0). That concludes one “game turn.” That cycle repeats until one player resigns, or his PS level falls to zero, or the end of the final game turn (April/May 1939) is reached (see 13.0). 4.0 Random Events 4.1 Procedure One player (it doesn’t matter who) rolls a six-sided die twice. Use the first number rolled to represent “tens” and the second to represent “ones.” Thus a roll of a “4” followed by a “6” would bring into effect random event 46. Check the number rolled against the Random Events Table printed on the mapsheet and follow the instructions.
5.1 Political Support (PS) Levels Each player has a PS level, figured independently of the other player’s PS level, at all times during the game. It’s measured in PSP, and is openly kept track of, on the PS Level Track printed on the mapsheet, and is always some number from 0 to 99. 5.11 High & Low PS Levels If a player’s PS level reaches 0, the game immediately stops; his forces surrender and he has lost the game. If a player’s PS level is 20 or less, all his attacks on the Combat Results Table (CRT) suffer a one-column leftward shift. It also becomes less likely his units will recover from disruption, and he will recover fewer EP from eliminated units. If his PS level is 80 or more, all his attacks on the CRT benefit from a one-column rightward shift, and his units have an improved chance of recovering from disruption. A player’s PS level may not go above 99; those excess PSP are simply lost. 5.2 The Republican Government There are six minor factions in the government forces that also have representation in Spain’s civilian government: Anarchist, POUM, and the four separatist Gobernitos. Each faction has a capital city, marked by a star symbol on the map, as follows: Anarchist, POUM & Catalonia: Barcelona Asturias: Oviedo Basque: Bilbao Santandero: Santander
5.3 Foreign Aid Getting and keeping material support from foreign powers is crucial to surviving the war. There are six foreign countries represented in the game: BRitain, FRance, GErmany, ITaly, POrtugal and the USSR. The position of each country’s marker on the Foreign Power Track defines its attitude toward the two sides in the war and the level of support each is willing to give a particular side. A given country will give support to a player when its marker is in a box on the Foreign Power Track marked “S” on the end of the track that is “pro” that player (left for the Government, right for the Rebels), intervening for a player when the marker is in a box marked “I,” and neutral when the marker is in n box marked “N.”
Procedure: the player selects a target country, pays two PSP plus any extra PSP to modify the die roll if he wishes, rolls 1d6, and adjusts for any DRM that apply: +? if you pay ?d6 more PSP to affect die roll (may not get more than +3, therefore may not spend more than 3d6 PSP). +1 if a country opposed to the target country was supporting or intervening for the enemy player at the beginning of the phase. Germany and Italy are opposed to the USSR, which in turn is opposed to them. -1 if the target country was supporting or intervening for the other player at the beginning of the phase. Move the affected country’s marker one box away from your end of the track (left for the Government, right for the Rebel) on a final score of one or less. Move it one box toward or away from your end, as you choose, on a final score of six or more, and two boxes on a final score of nine or more. 5.4 Effects of Foreign Aid There are two levels of foreign aid, support and intervention. The effects of foreign aid depend on the country involved, and are determined after the player completes all his influence attempts (5.31). 5.4.1 Support. a) The receiving player may create one-step divisions or convert them from brigades, may buy air, armor or artillery AP at a variable price abroad, and adds 1d6 PSP to his level if any country is supporting him (no additional effect if more than one country is doing so), each turn. b) If GE, IT or the USSR are supporting him, he receives 1d6 EP from each providing country, as reinforcements from abroad, per turn. (c) If BR, FR or PO are supporting him, he receives one EP from each, per turn. Also, PO or FR may act as sources of supply (see 11.0) for his units. 5.4.2 Intervention. Same effects as support plus the following. a) Receiving player may convert one-step divisions into two-step divisions, and adds 2d6 PSP if any country is intervening for him (instead of the 1d6 for support, not in addition to it). b) If GE, IT or the USSR are intervening, he receives 2d6 EP (rather than 1d6) from each country intervening for him. In the first turn ITaly intervenes, it will send its Corpo di Truppi Volontari (Volunteer Corps, Italian units marked CTV) as a reinforcement, the whole corps of three divisions and one brigade arriving in any friendly-occupied port on the Mediterranean coast (no port, no troops). If Italy’s attitude ever changes to neutrality, all Italian units are removed from the game and may not return. In the turn Germany intervenes, one air and one armor AP in German colors (representing the Condor Legion) arrive as reinforcements (see 6.7.3). If Germany becomes neutral later in the game those AP are removed. If the German AP are eliminated in combat, the Rebel player may buy them back with EP (see 6.5). c) If BR or FR are intervening, he receives 1d6 EP from each, per turn. If PO is intervening, he gets one EP per turn. Further, in the turn PO intervenes, it will send one division, arriving as a reinforcement in any area adjacent to Portugal. The division has a cadre level of 0, and may be rebuilt but doesn’t generate replacement EP. It may form BG with other Rebel units. If Portugal’s attitude ever changes to neutrality, the unit is removed from the game and doesn’t return. d) If German or Italian support becomes neutral, and then later it again becomes intervention, the Italian and Condor legions don’t come back into play.
6.1 Equipment Points (EP) In the Strategic Phase a player first determines how many EP he has from foreign and domestic sources. He then uses those EP to create, rebuild or improve his military units or to acquire AP. Finally, he places his new units and AP on the map. Each player openly keeps track of his EP total on a piece of paper. There are three sources for EP: foreign aid, the domestic economy, and replacement EP recovered from eliminated units. Foreign aid and domestic EP may be saved from turn to turn, but replacement EP (see 6.1.1.) may not be saved. The amount of foreign aid EP changes each turn according to political circumstances and the roll of the dice. The amount of domestic EP received depends on the date and control of particular cities (see the Turn Record Chart printed on the mapsheet). Foreign EP arrive as reinforcements by sea (see 6.73).
6.2 Creating New Units You may place your newly created units in any city occupied by friendly units (see 6.6 for additional restrictions that may apply). You may disregard normal BG stacking restrictions during such placements (see 7.0), but the situation must be rectified by the end of the Organization Phase. Divisions may not be created or converted unless a foreign country is supporting (for one-step divisions) or intervening (for two-step divisions) for your side (see 5.4). 6.3 Rebuilding & Replenishing Units Military units previously eliminated in combat may be rebuilt and placed on the map like new units. A “2” CF REM (remnant) counter on the map may be replenished to a “5” CF two-step division if it’s in supply at that time. Simply pay the EP and flip over the REM counter so its full-strength side shows. A REM counter that’s disrupted when replenished is replaced by a disrupted full-strength division. 6.4 Improving & Converting Military Units 6.4.1 The cadre level of any brigade or division that’s currently in supply may be improved by one level (maximum) by paying the indicated EP cost. Place a “+1” marker underneath the unit. If the unit is eliminated, or if an improved brigade is converted to a division, the improvement is lost. 6.4.2 Brigades may be converted to one-step divisions, and one-step divisions may be converted to two-step divisions, by spending the indicated EP per unit converted. Simply substitute one counter for the other on the map. This may be done only if an appropriate counter of the same type is available, if the unit is in supply (see 11.0), and if a player is allowed to create divisions (that is, if a foreign country is supporting him, or intervening in the case of two-step divisions). 6.5 Asset Points (AP) Air, armor and artillery AP may be bought from abroad with a varying number of EP. Air AP are simply placed into the player’s Air Holding Box. Armor and artillery AP arrive as reinforcements by sea (see 6.73), and are placed in any port occupied by friendly units. When a player declares his intention to buy an AP, he rolls 1d6. The number rolled is the price of that particular AP. He rolls the die to determine the price each time he buys an AP. He may continue to buy that type of AP until the first time he rolls a price he can’t afford, or refuses to pay, at that price (including the first roll). He then may no longer buy any more AP of that type until next turn. 6.6 Restrictions Rebel colonial units may be created or rebuilt only in Spanish Morocco. They must be transported to Spain by air or sea to actively join the game. Italian units may only be rebuilt, not created. International Brigade units may not be created on the first turn of the game. No more than two EP may be spent on creating or rebuilding Colonial, Italian, Portuguese or International Brigade units in any one turn (that’s two EP per force). Government minor faction units appear “at large” in the areas containing their respective capital cities (see 5.2), and Carlist units appear in Navarre. 6.7 Air/Naval Transport A limited number of units may be transported by air and sea in the Strategic Phase, in a kind of pre-movement-phase movement. Cities marked with anchors are ports. The Mediterranean coast is defined as anything to the east of Malaga, inclusive.
7.1 Battlegroups In this phase, all your units in a given area may be formed into stacks of one or more units called “battlegroups” (BG). Each BG will move and fight as a single entity during that turn’s following movement and combat phases.
7.2 City & “At Large” Stacking Note there may never be more than one friendly battlegroup in any one city at any one time. That restriction doesn’t apply, though, to the number of battlegroups you may have stacked “at large” in the countryside of an area.
8.1 Ground Movement Procedure In this phase you may move your BG from area to adjacent area. BG move one by one, as far (or less than) is allowed by rule 8.2. BG on the move may “drop off” units to make new, smaller BG, but they may not “pick up” additional units while moving. A BG in an area is either occupying a city, in which case it’s placed on top of the city symbol on the map; or it’s “at large” in the area, in which case it’s placed anywhere in the area other than atop the city symbol. 8.2 Movement Restrictions A BG must stop moving when it enters an area containing enemy units. It may leave such an area if it began that movement phase there, but it may not enter another such area until it has passed through at least one area free of enemy units. No BG may move directly from one enemy occupied area to another.
Anarchist, POUM & Gobernito: -1 in 1936, 0 thereafter International Brigade: 1 Popular Army: 0 Rebel Units Nationalist, Carlist, Portuguese & Italian: 0 Colonial: 1
9.2 Combat Results Each result on the CRT consists of two letters or numbers, separated by a slash. Results to the left of the slash apply to the attacker, results to the right apply to the defender. Use the key below to interpret the results, and apply them to the units in the affected BG. Place all eliminated units to one side in aid of determining how many PSP each force will gain or lose in that combat phase, and therefore how many replacement EP each side will get in the next strategic phase (or you may keep running totals on paper). (#) = the number of CF in the BG the indicated player must remove. Eliminating a brigade, armor or artillery AP, or a fortification counter, satisfies one CF loss. A 2 CF REM unit is replaced with a brigade for a loss of 1 CF. A one-step division is replaced with a 1 CF brigade, while a two-step division is replaced by being flipped over to its 2 CF REM side, for a loss of three CF. If a brigade counter of the right type isn’t available, or on the case of an E (Elimination) result, the entire unit is eliminated without making any substitution. Finally, either or both involved BG may be disrupted (see 9.22). X = Escalating Exchange. The attacker removes from his BG units worth one or more CF (removing one armor or artillery AP counts as one CF loss). The defender must then remove units with at least as many CF as the attacker removed. The attacker may then repeat the process, the defender at least matching him each time, until the attacker stops or one side completely runs out of units. The side that lost more actual CF is disrupted (9.22). (E) Elimination = remove all involved units of that side. 9.2.1 Required Losses. If the attacker benefited from a DRM or odds shift for cadre level or armor AP, at least one CF of any losses he incurs must come from the unit or armor AP used to generate it. Also, any time a “natural six” is rolled on the die in combat, one air AP is lost by each player who used one or more of them in that battle (if any were used at all). 9.2.2 Adjusting CF Losses. The defender’s result is decreased by one for each notional column to the left of the 1:3 odds column; so an attack at 1-4 odds would generally result in no losses to the defender. The defender’s result is increased by one, or the attacker’s result reduced by one (attacker’s choice, and may be a combination) for each notional column to the right of the 5:1 odds column; so an attack at 9:1 odds would see the defender’s result increased by three, or the attacker’s reduced by three, or two on one side and one on the other. The attacker’s result is reduced by one if it attacked a BG made up entirely of disrupted units. 9.2.3 Disruption. After taking all CF losses, the BG that lost the most actual CF is disrupted. Flip over disrupted units to show that status. Disrupt both BG if they lost an equal number of CF. AP within an otherwise disrupted BG are never themselves considered to be disrupted. Disrupted units may move but may not attack until they recover (see 10.0). Disrupted units aren’t further affected by subsequent disruption results, but a BG that attacks a BG made up entirely of disrupted units will reduce its total losses by one CF. 9.2.4 Advance After Combat. If a BG is attacking a BG in a city, and all units in the defending BG are eliminated, the attacking BG may move into the newly vacant city after taking any losses. 9.3 Breakthrough Attacks If all units in a defending BG have been eliminated and the attacking BG includes armor AP, the attacker must decide immediately if he wants to follow-up his success with a “breakthrough attack.” If so, all armor AP in the attacking BG, plus one brigade or division for each such AP, may immediately form a new BG and then carry out a second attack on another enemy BG in that same Area. A maximum of one air AP may be added to support that attacking BG, if available. (For a variation on that, see the Variable Doctrine optional rule, 15.5.) Breakthrough attacks don’t require an EP be spent on them. 9.4 Counterattack Phase In the counterattack phase, any enemy BG in an area that aren’t currently occupying a city and weren’t attacked in the preceding combat phase, may attack enemy BG in their area; however, they may only attack those BG of the enemy player that conducted attacks in the combat phase. Counterattacks don’t require an EP to be spent on them.
In the recovery phase, you roll 1d6 for each of your currently disrupted units (not one die per BG, one die per unit). A unit recovers on an adjusted roll of five or more. See the Recovery Table printed on the mapsheet for applicable modifiers (use all that apply in each situation). 11.0 Supply 11.1 Out of Supply Units need supply to function at their full capacity. Generally, to be “in supply,” a given BG must be located: a) in a friendly controlled region or; b) in a contested region, but the city in the unit’s area is occupied by friendly units or; c) in a contested or enemy controlled region, but it’s adjacent to an area that fits (a) or (b) above. If Portugal or France is supporting or intervening for the side to which the BG belongs, that country can serve as the adjacent friendly controlled region. 11.1.2 When to Judge Supply. Supply status is judged any time it matters (for example, for an attacking BG at the moment of combat, or in the recovery phase). A BG not in supply attacks at half its total CF (round up any remainder), and is less likely to recover from disruption. Units are never eliminated due to being out of supply, but they may not be converted, improved or replenished when out of supply. 11.1.3 Gobernito Supply. If Rebel units are occupying the capital city of a Gobernito faction, all units of that faction are out of supply. Otherwise, they are in supply no matter what the circumstances. 12.0 Turn Inter-Phase 12.1 During the Turn Inter-Phase, the following events occur in the sequence given below. 12.2 Control Determination Both players examine each region on the map and determine which are controlled by one player or the other, and which are contested. Control of a region is judged anew each turn, as follows: if only one player has units in a region, he has control there and a marker of his side is placed in that region. If units of both sides are in a region, that region is contested, but one side may have “effective control.” Each player counts how many cities in that region he occupies and doubles that number. Both players then roll 1d6, trying to get a result equal to or less than their number. If one player succeeds, he gets control. If both or neither succeed, that region is indeed contested and no marker is placed. 12.3 Political Support Adjustment Both sides now adjust their PS levels as directed in the Political Support Level Adjustments Summary Table printed on the mapsheet. A region is considered to have “left” friendly control if its status changed from friendly control to contested or enemy control in the control determination process described above. Spanish Morocco is always under Rebel control, but never counts for PS adjustment purposes.
If either player’s PS level ever falls to 0 during the game, that side collapses and the game immediately ends in the victory of the other side. If the Government side hasn’t collapsed by the end of the game (the end of the 14th turn, April/May 1939), the Government player wins. 14.0 Set Up 14.1 To set up the game, both players place the number of brigades indicated in the areas containing the cities listed on the Set Up Chart printed on the mapsheet. Both players may then form BG as they please before the game starts. Place the markers for the six foreign countries on the corresponding Foreign Power Tracks in the “At Start” boxes indicated for each of them. Both sides start with a PS level of 50. Randomly determine the first player for the first game turn. 14.2 Game Turn 1 During Game Turn 1, the following special conditions apply. a) The Random Events Phase is skipped. b) Players may not attempt to change the attitudes of foreign countries in the Political Phase, though they do get any foreign aid EP and/or PSP to which they may be entitled. c) The Government Player may not create International Brigade units. d) The normal Rebel air and naval transport limits are doubled. e) All units of both sides are in supply all during the first game turn. f) All regions are considered contested until the Turn Inter-Phase.
Players may agree to use as many of these optional rules as you wish to vary the game. 15.1 Republican Guerrillas Beginning with the Oct/Dec 1937 turn, and each turn thereafter, the Government Player may choose to pay one EP to conduct a total of one guerrilla attack (in the combat phase) in any contested or Rebel-controlled region in Spain. Place the marker anywhere in the area where the attack occurs, and remove it in the Turn Inter-Phase. He rolls 1d6, and the attack succeeds on a 4, 5 or 6. If it succeeds, he may choose to: 1) “freeze” all Rebel BG in its area, meaning they may not conduct counterattacks that player-turn; or 2) to disrupt one Rebel BG in the area. 15.2 Multi-Player Version Three or four players may play the game. A three-player game has a Rebel player (who controls all Rebel forces), a Republican player (who controls all Popular Army and International Brigade forces), and a Radical player (who controls all Anarchist, POUM and Gobernito forces). In a four-player game, one player will take the Anarchists, POUM and Catalonian forces, while another will take the other three Gobernitos. The Government player and the Faction player(s) are in a competitive alliance. Their units may not fight each other, and the Government player may not purge factions. If the Government PS level ever falls to zero during the game, all players in the alliance lose. If the Government side wins by forcing the Rebel PS to zero, or by lasting to the end of the 14th turn, all players in the alliance win. In that case, the player with the largest number of cities occupied by one or more of his units at the end of the game is the biggest winner within the alliance. 15.3 Fortifications are an additional kind of static AP. Their effect is to shift the odds one additional column to the left on defense. They are exempt from the required losses rule, but may be removed to satisfy one CF loss result, and are automatically eliminated if attacked without any units stacked with them. In the Strategic Phase a player may pay two EP and place a fortification counter on any city he occupies. Only one fortification may be in any one city at any one time. 15.4 Naval Blockade The League of Nations declared an armaments blockade on Spain, and the navies of Britain, France and Italy enforced it with varying degrees of diligence. If a naval power is currently neutral, it “weakly” enforces the blockade against both players. If a naval power is currently supporting a player, it “weakly” enforces the blockade against the other side’s shipments of foreign EP and AP. If a naval power is intervening for a player, it “strongly” enforces the blockade against the other side’s shipments. Procedure: in the Strategic Phase, after a player determines how many EP and purchased AP he has coming from abroad, he rolls 1d6 for each country (BR, FR or IT) enforcing the blockade against him: once for EP coming in, once for AP. If the country is “weakly” enforcing, a six on the die eliminates one EP or AP. If the country is “strongly” enforcing, a five eliminates one EP or AP and a six eliminates two EP or AP.
The Spanish Civil War was a theater for the major European powers to test not only new weapons, but also new tactical doctrines. Therefore, at the beginning of the game, each player rolls (independently of the other) 1d6 on the Variable Doctrine Table (VDT—printed on the mapsheet), twice for each of the three types of AP (a total of six rolls) to determine the DRM given by that type of AP on attack and defense. Then he rolls once on the “Breakthrough” column to see what types of AP may participate in breakthrough attacks. A result of “no” means he may not make breakthrough attacks at all. Openly record all results on a piece of paper for reference during play. Finally, roll once under the “Length” column to see how many turns it will be before doctrine may be changed. After the prescribed period, in the Strategic Phase, roll again on the VDT. You may not, however, keep any of the results from the previous doctrine, and must also make over again all the other rolls including the rolls for breakthrough attacks and for how long the new doctrine will last. A player doesn’t have to change his doctrine if he does not wish to. 15.6 Variable Set Up At the beginning of the civil war, the political lines were fairly clearly drawn within the Spanish Army; however, there might have been local variations in the pattern of revolt. As an optional rule, while the game is being set up, examine the Set Up Table for each Popular Army and Nationalist brigade’s area and its associated revolt number. Roll 1d6 for each brigade. If the number rolled is within the range indicated, place the brigade as a Nationalist unit; otherwise it is placed as a Popular Army unit. The units in Spanish Morocco automatically rebel. In cases where units from both sides are present in the same area, determine randomly which side gets to set up occupying the city in the area. (This rule is slightly biased against the Rebel, as it tends to reduce his starting forces.) 15.7 Command Control The first few weeks and months of the war were confused for both sides as they sought to establish controlled areas and coordinate attacks. Many opportunities were missed in the chaos. As an optional rule, in effect only for the first turn of the game, at the beginning of his Movement Phase the active player rolls 2d6 and halves the result (rounding up). That’s the number of BG he may move during that phase. 16.0 Designer’s Notes I’ve always been interested in the area where politics and the military cross paths, and the role ideology plays in starting and sustaining violent conflicts. The Spanish Civil War is an excellent example of that kind of thing: militarily it wasn’t much different from World War I (except for some tactical innovations related to those new weapons, the tank and airplane), but it began as a military power grab and became the first conflict between the new ideologies that had come out of the Great War: revolutionary communism, anarchism, and fascism. It was also the world’s first “radio war,” in that modern methods of broadcasting information were used systematically to conduct propaganda and demoralize the enemy. The simulations of the Spanish Civil War I had played before designing this game were either too tactical in scale for me, or else they were abstract counter-pushing exercises with no political content or context that took far too long to play. So, I decided to create a game of the war that gave due attention to the political aspects of the conflict while remaining a military contest (after all, it was force of arms that decided the issue) that could be played in an evening. That gave me guidance to work out the time, map and troop scale. Each game-turn represents two (in the winter, three) months: during that time a unit could march from one end of Spain to the other, so I didn’t have to worry about movement factors. The map uses areas rather than hexes for the same reason: what is important in the game is who exercises general control of a region, not who holds what end of what bridge (which may be important in a tactical game, but not here). Finally, the unit counters do not have any historical identification; instead, they represent groupings of historical brigades, regiments, and divisions whose strength and effectiveness varied wildly through three years of war. The counter-mix and rules show some of the differences between the two armies: the Rebel forces have more 5 CF divisions and a battlegroup stacking limit of four to represent the fact they have the majority of the military talent (NCO and officer cadres) from the pre-war Spanish Army, while the Government player has a slightly larger but more varied force pool. So what’s important in the game? The only way to win the game is to drive your opponent’s PS level to zero while preventing him from doing the same to you. Look at the PS Level Adjustments Summary Chart. The biggest PSP winners are for foreign aid. Just as important are killing enemy divisions and AP, holding ground and taking ground. Meanwhile, the biggest PSP losers are having no foreign aid, purges, and losing control of regions. Now you have to make some hard decisions about how you can make good things happen to your PS Level and bad things happen to the enemy’s. Expending PSP to influence foreign countries is a loss, but it’s one you can control and represents the fact everything comes with strings attached. Militarily, do you go for building a low-tech mass army or a smaller, more professional force? Where and how do you try to capture ground, by many small attacks or one or two sledgehammer blows? Deciding on those trade-offs is half the fun of the game. Enjoy it!
In the CRT’s 3:2 column, the result for a die roll of “7” should be “1/3” not “10/3.” On the Set Up Chart, “1A” means “one Anarchist brigade.” Add to the Political Support Level Adjustments Summary Table: “-1 PSP for not spending EP on a minor faction during the strategic phase.” Directory: waw -> wp-content -> uploads -> 2012 2012 -> Rampage and Stalingrad Caludron 2012 -> The Greater East Asia War 2012 -> World at War issue no. 27 Game Title: Operation Olympic & Coronet 2012 -> World at War issue no. 29 Game Title: Norway 1940 Download 86.24 Kb. Share with your friends:
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