OK, here are Dana's answers to a number of questions you have asked. These are OFFICIAL ANSWERS. Ken is recording these and I will publish them as FAQ.
CLARIFICATIONS
Question: At the bottom of 1G setup card (Ammunition Shortage) it says 3 = 10 IF artillery AF points -- should it be 3 = 1? This is also on the bottom of SHEET G2. It makes no sense and does not match the rulebook!!
DANA ANSWERS: On the Ammunition Status Chart in the box on the bottom left side called "Ammunition Shortages (14.7)" it notes that for the period 20 to 25 September the die roll x10 equals the number of AF points of indirect fire (IF) artillery that may not fire. Therefore, when you play HALF of the game for that period (just Scenario #1 or #2), your die roll for ammunition shortages is divided by two and rounded down. If you play Scenarios #1 and #2 together, you do not halve the die roll or round down. But, when you play only Scenario #1 or only Scenario #2, a die roll of 3 is divided by 2 and rounded down to equal 1, which in turn equals 10 AF points of indirect artillery (each die roll point equals 10 AF of IF).
Question: On 1S setup card it shows 6 immobilized units but I have 13 counters with the scenario one setup star on back, should I get 6 or 13?
DANA ANSWERS: The scenario card is correct. The extra immobilized tank units are provided in case any or all of the seven starting armored units are converted into immobilized tank units during the scenario.
Question: On 1S setup card it shows 2 minefields but I have 8 with the scenario 1 setup star on back, should I get 2 or 8?
DANA ANSWERS: The scenario card is correct. The extra minefields are provided since the engineer units of the 13 Tank-Destroyer Brigade and 92 Marine Rifle Brigade can build more minefields during the scenario.
Question: On 1S setup card it shows no fortifications counters but I have 10 with the scenario 1 setup star on back, do I get any?
DANA ANSWERS: The scenario card is correct, there are no Soviet fortifications at the start of the scenario. The extra units are provided because the engineers can build them during the scenario.
CLARIFICATION
Question: I assume that units that were designated in an attack, but became pinned by defensive fire and thus not able to use their AF in the attack, are not spent after the pin markers are removed in phase 6 and are available to attack in the exploit phase?
DANA ANSWERS: Yes, you are correct. Units are not pinned for an entire day. If they did not get to attack in German Movement Phase 3 or German Attack Phase 5 because they were pinned by Soviet defensive fire, these German units may then attempt to attack in German Exploit Movement Phase 7 or German Exploit Attack Phase 8 after the "pinned" marker is removed from them in Simultaneous Bombardment Phase 6. (It also works the same way for Soviet units.)
CLARIFICATION
Question: As I understand the balka terrain rules, balkas that extend across city hexes would also block armored unit movement through that city hex, same as in the clear. That certainly funnels the direction of German armored jabs, especially in the grain elevator scenario!
DANA ANSWERS: You are correct. And, yes, that is exactly what happened historically.
CLARIFICATION
Question: With careful reading I see that engineer and flamethrower units are subject to being the first unit eliminated by DF only if they use their drm capability, but not when they use just their AF. I take it that when using their drm capabilities these units also add their AF if they survive?
DANA ANSWERS: Yes, you are correct. If they use only their AF points, you are not required to eliminate them first if losses are called for by defensive fire. However, if they will use BOTH their AF points and DRM value, then they must be eliminated first by defensive fire.
Follow-up: Seems to be a major difference between the Phoenix version and L2 rules. And one for the better -German engineer units lasted like snowflakes in a fire with the old rules, esp. when DF could target a unit in a stack. What would be the design rationale for these units being "protected" while still being able to use their AF but not their drm?
DANA ANSWERS: If combat engineers or flame-thrower units SUPPORT infantry assaults, they are not at as great a risk compared to when most or all of the entire combat engineer or flame-thrower company is used to LEAD an infantry assault. In the first example, they only add their AF points. In the second example, they add both their AF points as well as their DRM.
CLARIFICATION
Question: Rule 9.22 says The DF points of all indirect fire (IF) artillery units MAY be used only when they fire at attacking enemy units in adjacent hexes instead of MUST.
DANA ANSWERS: A unit is not required to fire defensively, so IF artillery units MAY use their DF points, and only their DF points, when they fire at adjacent enemy units.
CLARIFICATIONS
Question: The example from 9.40:
A unit in Tartar Wall hex 2638 must declare which side of the Wall it is on as it can be fired at from only one side of the Wall.
seems to contradict 9.35:
Do not count the terrain in the hexes of the firing and target units to determine if LOS is blocked.
Is the Tartar Wall an exception to 9.35?
DANA ANSWERS:
Yes, VEHICLE units on Tartar Wall hexes, and only TW hexes, must announce what side of the Wall they are on. And, yes, this is the only exception to 9.35 that you ignore the hex that the target unit is in when you fire at it. Dismounted and non-vehicle units on Tartar Wall hexes do not announce what side of the Wall they are on – for LOS purposes you ignore the terrain (the Wall) in the non-vehicle target unit's hex.
CLARIFICATIONS
Question: I know that only armor units can use Breakthrough Movement, but I don't see anything in the rules that says Breakthrough Attacks can only be undertaken by armor units. Can non-armor units adjacent to enemy units in the movement phase conduct Breakthrough Attacks on their own or in conjunction with armor units?
DANA ANSWERS:
Yes. All infantry units, and direct fire artillery units (such as AT and AA guns), may make Breakthrough Attacks by themselves or in conjunction with armored units if they start that phase adjacent to enemy units. Mortars are the only type of IF artillery units that may participate in Breakthrough Attacks.
Question: With opportunity fire can a non-phasing unit fire as many opportunity fires as they qualify for or are they limited to only one opportunity fire in a particular movement phase? I have a vague memory that in the earlier version of the game, once an enemy unit moved adjacent the non-phasing unit could no longer opportunity fire. For example: an AT unit with a range of 3 is being approached by an armor unit. Can the AT unit fire at the armor unit at 3 hexes, if no result fire again at 2 hexes, and if no result then fire one last time as the armor unit moves adjacent?
DANA ANSWERS:
No, it may fire only ONCE per phase as opportunity fire.
CLARIFICATIONS
Question:
Scenario 1 --
Bombardment --
The II/2 and I/53 Nebelwerfer Battalions are attached to the 94th Infantry.
If the 94 OP Spots for these units, are the NW's considered to be 'in their command' to get the -1 DRM?
Or, is it only the LI OP that could Spot for them to get that -1?
DANA ANSWERS:
See rule 14.35. The 94 OP may spot for these independent units if they are stacked with the 94th's division-level IF artillery units.
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Question: Rule Book page 25 under the 'May CROSS' side - Hex 0969 should be 0869. Correct? (World's smallest SOS typo)
DANA ANSWERS:
You are correct.
Question:
Don't players have to remember what side a motor unit entered a Balka hex from turn to turn if they ended a movement phase in that hex?
DANA ANSWERS:
Possibly, if it isn't clear. The hexes are large enough that you should be able to place the motor unit within the hex toward the side that it entered from.
Question: Could a motor unit move from 0970 to 0971 to 0869?
DANA ANSWERS:
No, a motor unit may not move across hex 0970 to 0971.
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Question: Opportunity Fire --
The Combat Sequence Table for Opportunity Fire - Bullet 7 --
This bullet has a reference to rule 9.14, which says that each hex may only be attacked once per Phase. I don't see anything listed in the rules for Section 11 Opportunity Fire that would override it.
9.14 says, "Each hex may only be attacked once per phase"
Does this really mean that if a defender shoots at a certain hex with Opportunity Fire that subsequent movement by attacking units through that hex is immune from Opportunity Fire because previous attacking moved through the hex and were shot at?
DANA ANSWERS:
The second bullet overrides 9.14 – only MOVING enemy units are vulnerable to opportunity fire (11.1), so you can fire at specific moving units in that hex and not at any other non-moving units in that same hex. Also, if different moving enemy units enter that same hex later that phase, these moving units are vulnerable to opportunity fire even if other previously moving units already entered that same hex and were fired at.
QUESTION: I have two counters for the Soviet AMMO table that have TWO colors on them with the 10's and 1's on the face. Is this an error?
ART ANSWERS:
NO. I did this INTENTIONALLY. Why? We had NO room on the counter sheets. I will correct these to look the PROPER WAY when we publish the Gamer's Guide. No problem. They are functional the way they are, albeit, a bit weird looking. It was the best I could do with counters falling in-between two colors.
This is a not erratum.
ERRATA
Rob Davis discovered a hex on the map that is still incorrect. This is simply enough to make me kill someone. But, life is short and the mistake is minor. All I can do is shrug.
Check hex 1635 (Hill 115.4). It is labeled 1235, not 1635. It should be 1635. Impact to the game is ZERO. It does have an EXTREMELY HIGH annoyance factor due to the fact we scraped one map at a cost of $4,500 only to end up with this minor, pain in the neck mistake.
We went over the map 3 times!! 3 different people with colored markers. I am going to check the control sheet one more time when I dig it up just to see what happened.
Sorry folks. DO NOT MARK YOUR MAP OR ATTEMPT TO FIX THIS IN ANY WAY. JUST BE AWARE OF IT. DO NOT MARK YOUR MAP!!