NEW RULES FOR PANZER 44

by

Alan R. Arvold

The following rules were sent into SPI in the mid Seventies for

consideration. They were never published. Here they are for your

enjoyment.

Sighting (Line of Sight): If the Line of Sight passes exactly

through the corner of a hex at the intersection of a blocked

hexside and an unblocked hexside then consider the Line of Sight

to be blocked. If the Line of Sight passes exactly through the

length of a blocked hexside then consider the Line of Sight to be

blocked. If the Line of Sight passes exactly through the length

of a hexside of a blocked hex then consider the Line of Sight to

be blocked. In all cases the defender gets the benifit of the

doubt.

Indirect Fire: Any indirect fire that is placed on the same hex

for more than one consective turn may have the odds of hitting

the hex increased by one each turn. Example: A player must roll a

one in order to hit on the first turn, a one or two on the second

turn, a one, two, or three on the third turn, etc.. These turns

must be consecutive turns or else the procedure begins again. The

hex must always be spotted by a friendly unit, though not the

same one from turn to turn. The same on the board and/or off

the board indirect fire units must continue to fire at the same

hex though. Preplanned artillery and counterbattery fire may also

use this rule provided the target hex is spotted. If the target

hex is hit then it is considered to be automatically hit for any

further indirect fire missions using these rules. Also a target

hex is considered to be automatically hit on the sixth

consecutive turn and any beyond it.

Combat While Mounted: Infantry units may fire while mounted on

APCs/IFVs. When they fire in this manner their attack factors are

halved prior to range attenuation. Infantry units may not use

close assault tactics while mounted on any type vehicle. If an

APC/IFV unit which is transporting an infantry unit makes an

overrun attack, the infantry unit may add its halved attack

factor to that of the vehicle unit's. The defending unit may only

counterattack the overruning vehicle unit. Infantry units may

ride on tanks (vehicles units of the 300 series) but must follow

the same rules as those for riding on an APC/IFV. When riding on

a tank unit, infantry units may be attacked separately from the

tank unit that they are riding on. They are treated as a soft

target when riding on tanks and do get the benifit of terrain.

However when the tank unit is overrunning an enemy unit the

defending units gets two counterattacks, one against the tank

unit and one against the infantry unit riding on the tank unit.

In this situation the infantry unit riding on the tank unit does

not get the benefit of the terrain. Infantry units which being

transported by truck units may not attack in any manner.

Plotting: Units which plot DF no longer have to plot a target hex

or unit. Units which plot OF no longer have to plot a line or

area of fire. However when performing their respective fire

missions units must still follow the rules pertaining to Line of

Sight/Line of Fire and to those rules pertaining to Panic.

Transporting Units: It no longer takes the whole turn to mount or

dismount infantry and other special units. It takes three

movement points to mount and two movement points to dismount an

infantry unit. The transporting unit may move before or after

performing either operation or even both. The unit being

transported may not move in the same turn in which it mounts or

dismounts. The following units may mount and dismount in this

manner; infantry, machine gun, engineer, and anti-tank platoons

(Mech War 77). All other dismounted units such as artillery and

anti-tank guns still tank a whole turn to mount or dismount. A

transporting unit may not perform both mounting and dismounting

operations during the same turn.

Infantry Close Assault: The doubling of an infantry unit's attack

factor at one hex range only simulates the increased effect of

the unit's firepower. It does not however simulate the close

assault tactics that infantry units use to dislodge enemy

infantry units in well prepared positions nor the real close in

fighting where hand grenades and hand to hand combat are

possible. This rule will simulate the use of close assault

tactics upon any soft targets. In order to close assault a soft

target an infantry unit must be in an adjacent hex to the enemy

unit. The enemy unit must be in one of the following type hexes;

covering terrain, hilltop, a hex with an improved position marker

on it, a hex that is directly adjacent to a slope or crest

hexside which is inbetween the attacking and defending unit, or

any combination of the above. The close assaulting unit does not

double its attack factor but instead uses its basic attack

factor. The code CA(I) is used when plotting this task. The

attack is resolved normally. Terrain in the defending unit's hex

does not modify the combat result in any way. An improved

position does cause a minus one modifier to the die roll. A

combat result of pin or delayed panic are treated normally. A

result of D-4 means that the defending unit is taken off of the

board and the attacking unit may move into the hex of the

deceased defending unit. A result of the other levels of

disruption means that the defending unit takes the result and

must also retreat out of the hex one hex in any direction

(defending player's choice) but must follow the rules for panic

movement. If the defending unit has a movement factor of 0 then

it is eliminated, it can not retreat. The attacking unit still

moves into the vacated hex. The defending unit does not get any

defensive fire unless it was plotted to fire at the close

assaulting unit on that turn. If more than one unit close

assaults the same unit then each unit makes their attacks with

the cumulative results then being applied to the defending unit.

One of the attacking units may move into the hex if it is

vacated. If two opposing units close assault each other on the

same turn, neither may retreat nor advance regardless of the

results of the combat. If there is more than one unit in the hex

to be close assaulted the defence factors of each defending unit

are combined into one total and it is from this total that the

combat differential must be determined from.

Halftrack Machine Guns: The US M3 Halftrack and the German SPW

usually had a machine gun mounted on the vehicle for self

protection and fire support of their occupants. Yet in the game

these vehicles have no attack factors at all. To remedy this

situation do the following. Give the American halftrack an Attack

Factor of 3, a Weapon's Class of M, and a range of 5. Give the

German halftrack an Attack Factor of 3, a Weapon's Class of R,

and a range of 3. (The Americans used a .50 cal machine gun and

the Germans used an MG42 7.62mm machine gun.) Halftracks may now

participate in overruns using the Overrun rules.