By
Alan R. Arvold
It has been some years since Avalon Hill has published any Errata or Questions Boxes for UP FRONT, BANZAI, or DESERT WAR. With the demise of Avalon Hill and the GENERAL there will most likely be no further updates. This has left it to dedicated UP FRONT players to come up with their own answers to rules questions. I have been one such person. Over the years I have collected rules questions and their answers. Some questions were to Avalon Hill and answers were received back from them but those answers were never published in the GENERAL. Other questions were picked up from other publications (such as the now defunct UP FRONT newsletter RELATIVE RANGE) and kept on file as references. Finally there were questions which were listed in UP FRONT articles published in the GENERAL but never put into the Question Box. Back in the fall of 1998 I decided to put these questions and answers in an article for all to read. Since that time I have updated this article seven times and this is the eighth edition of it.
The answers to these questions are considered to be “UNOFFICIAL” and only refer to the Second Edition UP FRONT game and its expansions. In some cases the answers to certain questions disagree with those of the Official errata by Andrew Maly. I believe that UP FRONT players have a right to see both mine and Mr. Maly’s answers and decide for themselves who is correct on those particular questions. Also there are questions and answers in this article, some of which deal with rules loopholes that have existed in the game for years, which do not appear in Mr. Maly’s errata. This article provides a reference for those loopholes and unanswered questions. Players will note that some questions that were in previous editions have been removed from this edition. This is because they are covered in the Official errata and have the same answers as in this errata, thus they are no longer needed here. Also the questions and answers in this article do not pertain in any way to the rules in the upcoming Third Edition UP FRONT game. (As it is, the rules in that game are supposed to be reorganized and renumbered with all errata included, not to mention some minor changes to the rules, thus making both mine and Mr. Maly’s errata for the previous editions superfluous.) In closing, I just want to say that if Mr. Maly and I disagree on the answers to certain rules questions, it’s because we approached them from different perspectives, and players have the choice to use whichever rules interpretation they want in their private gaming. With that out of the way, here is the collection of these missing questions and their answers.
3.1 In Mr.Maly’s errata he has a table of historical match-ups between the Major Powers. Are there any other historical match-ups?
A. Yes, the following historical match-ups can also be played.
*Note: two of these involve partisans.
1. Italy vs. Italy - Axis Italians fighting Italian partisans in northern Italy 1944-45.
2. Russia vs. Russia - Russian army fighting Ukrainian partisans in the Ukraine 1943-52.
3. France vs. France - Free French forces fighting Vichy French forces in Syria 1941.
*Note: that these match-ups supplement those in Maly’s table.
4.25 During which actions listed in this rule can a player switch the positions of his Personality cards in a group?
A. Successful weapon acquisition attempts and changing the crew assignments of crew-served weapons (both crewing and un-crewing a weapon). Note that a group may also change the positions of its Personality cards as its sole action for that turn.
5.51 Is a Movement card with a red RNC required for all retrograde movement or just those retrograde movements from Range Chit 0 to and between the red negative Range Chits?
A. Only those retrograde movements from Range Chit 0 to and between the negative Range Chits require a Movement card with a red RNC.
7.32 Say a group starts in a Gully and plays 2 Movement Cards in the forward direction, thus are moving in the open, and have a Terrain Card played on them which they reject.
a. Are they considered to be back in the Gully for Line of sight purposes?
b. If the second Movement Card was played in a sideways mode, are they considered to be back in the
Gully?
A. In Case A they are not considered to be back in the Gully (a Movement Card in a sideways mode would have taken them out of the Gully normally). In Case B they would be considered to be back in the Gully.
7.33 Say a group moving in reverse has a Terrain Card discarded on it that it must reject (Example: A Marsh Card on an AFV), and there is an opposing enemy group directly behind it at Relative Range 5, thus
preventing it from rejecting the Terrain card in accordance with Rule 7.32. What happens in a case like this?
A. In a case like this the Terrain card may not be discarded on the group as the ability to reject Terrain takes precedence. If the Terrain Card is discarded on it anyway it is place in the Discard Pile for no effect.
8.22/45.4 A Japanese group is in a Gully with a one Movement Card on top of it. If a Movement Card is placed sideways on the group in order to declare a Banzai, does this place the Japanese group outside of the Gully and in the open?
A. No the Japanese group is still in the Gully. The Movement Card that was played to declare a Banzai serves no other function as mandated by Rule 45.4.
10.4 Can you play a Hero Card on a Personality Card for no effect in order to get it out of your hand?
A. No, it must be played to unpin a Personality Card, double its firepower, improve its To-Hit number, or to suspend the effects of a Wound for one turn.
10.45 Say a Hero Card is played on a Personality card to double its firepower and the Fire Attack that this firepower was applied to is later cancelled, is the play of the Hero Card considered to be of no effect?
A. No its play would be considered to be valid as the increased firepower was used to put the Fire Attack into play. The resolution (or not) of the Fire Attack has no effect on the previous play of the Hero Card.
10.5 Can a Hero Card be played on an un-crewed crew served weapon that is under a Wire Card?
A. No.
11.1 Can more than one crew-served weapon be in a group?
A. Yes, however no more than one crew-served LMG or MMG may be setup in a group at the beginning of the game.
11.11 Can a man be an assistant crewman to more than one crew-served weapon in a group?
A. No, a man may only be an assistant to one crew-served weapon at a time.
11.2 Can a man who is armed with a crew-served weapon be the assistant crewman to another crew-served weapon in the group?
A. No, however if the man has a malfunctioned weapon or is unarmed due to his weapon being removed because of repair failure then he may be an assistant crewman as per Rule 19.4. Note that Rules 45.6 and 50.7 prohibit only those men who carry or crew the specific weapons mentioned in those rules from being crew members to other crew-served weapons.
11.2 Can a man who is carrying a secondary weapon be an assistant crewman?
Yes, but he may not fire or use it while being an assistant crewman. He may give the secondary weapon to another man in the group as per Rule 18.21. Note also that an assistant crewman to an Italian MMG or ATR may not carry a secondary weapon at all as per Rule 50.7.
13.2 Can a player play a Smoke Card on a group containing an unpinned SL or ASL who is also part of a
crew-served weapon crew in that group?
13.2 Which AFV’s can place smoke on themselves?
A. All American, German, and British AFV’s can place smoke on themselves. Also Elite French and Italian AFV’s as well as First Line French AFV’s. In other words AFV’s have the same ability to place smoke on themselves as the infantry of their respective Powers.
(This smoke placing ability not only represents smoke producing devices such as Smoke Pots, Smoke Mortars, and other mechanical dispensers mounted on the vehicles but also hand held smoke grenades, the same type the infantry carried, which AFV crews carried for signaling purposes and for emergency smoke screens.)
13.2 Which AFV’s with an anti-armor Effect number of 4 can place smoke on other groups?
A. Only those American, German, British, Elite Italian, Elite French, and 1st Line French AFV’s that have an anti-armor Effect number of 4 can place smoke on other groups. (The Italian Semovente M41 (Card #34) certainly can as it did have smoke rounds. However Smoke rounds (and grenades) were scarce in the Italian army outside of the artillery units and this scarcity is represented by the fact that only Elite units can use them. The French historically did not have any smoke rounds for any of the vehicles in the game and so their use here is a-historical. However as by the printed rules the French Char B1-bis (Card #34) can place smoke on other groups. I would suggest that if playing an historical scenario that the French not be able to place smoke on other groups with the Char B1-bis, but when playing an a-historical scenarios such as CITYFIGHT 501 IN FOUR then the French Char B1-bis be allowed to place smoke on other groups.)
13.32 Can a crew served weapon under Wire, which is fully crewed and non-moving, use a Hero Card to double its bracketed firepower?
A. Yes.
14.2 When is the RPC draw done to determine the Personality Card in a multi-man group to be attacked by a Sniper, before or after the resolution of the Sniper attack?
A. Before the resolution of the Sniper attack.
14.6 Does a “0” in the 0r column represent 10 in all RPC draws?
A. Yes!
15.1 How many SL’s and ASL’s can a player have in his force during the game?
A. Normally one of each. However a player may have more under the following circumstances:
1. He receives ASL’s through Random Reinforcement.
2. He receives SL’s and ASL’s from transfer from a neighboring game when using the Team Play rules in Rules Section 41.
3. The Special Rules in a scenario allow him to have more than one of each in his force.
In all three cases these SL’s and ASL’s act as auxiliary leaders and can replace the original SL and ASL when they are lost so that a player will not suffer a one card reduction in his hand.
16.1 When Terrain cards which are scenario designated to be removed from the game upon discard or RNC/RPC draws are played face down as Open Ground Cards, are they removed from play when returned to the Discard pile due to normal play?
A. No, they are put in the Discard pile.
16.2 When the Discard pile is reshuffled at the end of the deck may Terrain Cards which were scenario
designated to be removed from the game be removed then?
A. No, they stay in the deck and may only be removed as per Rule 16.1.
16.4/44.7 A Bren Carrier is removed from the game due to rout. How many Victory Points are received for its removal?
A. 10 Victory Points. Yes it is a special vehicle due to its rules but it is still a vehicle none the less.
16.42 Can an AFV card count as one the required Personality Cards for reaching a certain range chit or Relative Range and occupying “which will reduce the Fire Strength of an attack against them” for the Victory Conditions?
A. Yes. (Although some types of fire against AFVs are not affected by the TEM of the Terrain Card, others are and so the Terrain can be considered to have reduced the Fire Strength to a certain extant. Note that the AFV being Hull Down would also count.)
17.3 Suppose a friendly group moves from RR5 to RR4 past an enemy group, placing both groups under natural flanking fire, the necessary opposing groups being in place. If on the next turn the friendly group has a Terrain Card played on itself, does it cancel the natural flanking fire against it, but still retain flanking fire against the enemy group?
A. Yes it does.
17.4 Does a normal group flanking an AFV get double firepower for purposes of attacking the AFV commanders and pinning the AFV (or force it to button up)?
A. Yes.
17.6 May both opposing groups attempt to encircle each other, assuming that the conditions have already been met for natural flanking fire?
A. Yes.
17.62 The rule states that when either opposing group which are comprising the Encirclement are at Relative Range 1 or less the Encirclement is broken. Does this imply that both opposing groups must each be at Relative Range 2 or closer to the encircled group as part of the requirements for Encirclement?
A. Yes, both opposing groups must be at Relative Range 2 or closer to the encircled group in order for it to be encircled. Note that this only applies to Encirclement; it does not apply to Lateral and Natural Flanking Fire.
17.7 Can a Wire Card be discarded on a group engaged in a Lateral Group Transfer?
A. Yes, but then the owning player will either have to play a Movement Card to get rid of the Wire, thus delaying the completion of the transfer, or play an Open Ground Card thus completing the Lateral Group Transfer but still being under the effects of the Wire Card.
17.7 If a Lateral Group Transfer is cancelled, does the transferring group return to its starting Terrain?
A. Yes. However if Wire was discarded on it during the Transfer, then it must return to Open Ground, not its starting Terrain.
17.8 When a man does an Individual Transfer to another group, where is he placed in the receiving group when the transfer is complete?
A. He is placed in the rightmost (highest numbered) available position in the group. In the case of multiple Individual Transfers the men are placed in the rightmost (highest numbered) positions available in any order the owning player wishes. (This was the answer sent to me from Avalon Hill back in 1989, long before Andrew Maly ever became the official errata man for UP FRONT.)
17.8 Group B has one Personality Card, Group A sends an individual transfer over to Group B. Before the transfer is complete, may Group B initiate an individual transfer over to Group C?
A. Only if the transfer from Group A to Group B is completed before the transfer from Group B to group C is completed. If for some reason the transfer from B to C is completed before the transfer from A to B then the transfer from A to B is cancelled as you can not create a new group with just one PC.
18.22 Can an assistant crewman to a crew-served weapon who is carrying a Secondary Weapon retain it if he acquires sole possession of the crew-served weapon?
A. No, he must abandon it along with his own weapon.
18.22 If a fully crewed crew-served weapon is in a Stream or Marsh and the principle operator is killed or panic killed, does the assistant crewman automatically acquire the weapon or is it lost in the water?
A. It is lost in the water, it can not be acquired.
19.14 A group with a pinned LMG is in a Stream. It makes a Fire attack. Does the LMG malfunction if a red 5 or 6 is drawn or if just a red 6 is drawn? Reason for this question is that if the LMG is pinned then it would not be firing.
A. It would function on a red 5 or 6. Even if the LMG is not firing, it can malfunction for other reasons.
20.23 An MMG Personality Card abandons his weapon and crew status to infiltrate. When does he actually lose his weapon and crew status, before the morale check, after he passes the morale check, or after he resolves a successful infiltration?
A. He loses both before he makes his morale check (or plays a Movement Card to avoid a morale check). Note that if he fails his morale check, he has still lost both his crew status and weapon.
20.6 Can a Personality Card shed Secondary Weapons when he enters Close Combat in order to avoid the -penalty?
A. No, he can not. He may only shed the Secondary Weapon(s) when he makes an infiltration attempt or as a separate action.
20.8 If the captured Terrain Card has any Wire and/or Smoke Cards on it, do they stay on the captured Terrain Card if it is accepted by the capturing group?
A. No, they are discarded when the captured Terrain Card is accepted.
20.8 Is it possible to capture the Defending group’s Terrain Card if both the last defender and last surviving infiltrator are both killed in the final Close Combat?
A. No the Terrain Card can not be captured if there are no survivors on both sides.
20.8 If the last defender is killed in close combat, is the Terrain Card still captured if any or all infiltrators have lost their infiltration status as a result of the Close Combat?
A. Yes, it is still captured. Infiltration status or loss of it after Close Combat has nothing to do with terrain capture.
20.8/45.422 Can a Terrain Card be captured as a result of Close Combat brought on by a Banzai charge?
A. No, it can not.
20.91 What happens when there are multiple Berserkers from the same friendly group attacking the same enemy group?
A. The attacking players determines which defending Personality Card in the defending group each Berserker attacks, in any order that he wishes. He then resolves each Close Combat attack in the same order as he determined them. In the case of multiple Berserkers attacking the same defending Personality Card, the first Berserker is the attacking Personality Card, any further Berserkers merely add a +3 modifier per Berserker to the Close Combat.
20.91 What happens when there are multiple Berserkers from different friendly groups attacking the same enemy group?
A. The attacking player first determines and resolves the Close Combats resulting from Berserkers from one friendly group, then determines and resolves those from the next friendly group. Attacker’s choice on which group of Berserkers he resolves first.
20.91 Can terrain be captured as a result of Close Combat with Berserkers?
A. No!
20.91 What happens to pending Berserker Close Combats when the game ends or one of the squads breaks?
A. They are ignored as the game is over. If the game ends during the resolution of a Fire attack that creates a Berserker, or during the Berserker Close Combat itself, the Berserker Close Combat is resolved, after which the game ends.
23.3 Is it legal to Individual Transfer a man into a group with a Pillbox if that group already has three men in it, even if there is a man from the Pillbox group that is simultaneously doing an Individual Transfer out of it?
A. No it is not. The Pillbox group must have only two men in it for an outside man to Individual Transfer in.
24.4 A player's group is in a minefield with one Movement Card on top of it. He plays a Terrain Card on the group thus initiating an immediate Minefield attack on each man in the group. Does the Terrain card just played have any effect on the Minefield attack?
A. No it does not. Even though the Minefield attack is resolved after the Terrain card is laid, the Minefield attack actually occurs before the Terrain Card is laid. Thus any modifiers that the Terrain Card may have has no effect on the attack and any Weapon left by a man KIA by the attack is lost back in the Minefield.
25.2 When resolving the Fire attacks of two or more different pieces of ordnance from the same friendly group against the same enemy group, are the Fire cards for each piece play simultaneously?
A. They are played simultaneously.
25.2 Can the defender play a single Concealment Card against all ordnance attacks from the same attacking group?
A. No, the Concealment Card may only be played against one of the ordnance attacks.
25.8 What other AFV’s can place smoke on other groups?
A. British, Elite Italian, Elite French, and 1st Line French AFV’s with an anti-armor Effect number of 4 or more can place smoke on other groups.
(Okay the French ability is a-historical but the written rules allow it.)
25.8 The AFV’s with flamethrowers (German AFV’s #38 and #41, Russian AFV #36, British AFV #33, and Italian AFV #32) have an anti-armor Effect number of 4 or more at Relative Range 5 (also at Relative Range 4 for German AFV #41). Can these AFV’s place smoke on groups at those relative ranges to them?
A. No.
(However when you stop and think about it, smoke may well be a byproduct of the flame attacks these vehicles make.)
25.8 Can an Assault Gun AFV place smoke on other groups when it is hull down?
A. No. This would include the Italian Semovente M41 and the French Char B1-bis. However an Assault Gun AFV which is hull down can still place smoke on itself providing the Major Power it belongs to is capable of playing smoke cards.
25.8 Can an AFV place smoke on other groups when its main armament is malfunctioning or broken?
A. No. However it may place smoke on itself if the Major Power it belongs has smoke capability.
26.3 Does a mortar require an assistant crewman in order to employ its small arms firepower at ranges beneath the minimum range of the mortar?
A. No, it does not. A mortar may employ its small arms firepower with or without an assistant crewman present.
26.3 Can a mortar card employ its small arms firepower when it is malfunctioning?
A. No, it can not.
28.52 How can an AFV reject a Stream or Wire card?
A. It can not. Only the Gully and Woods cards can be rejected. When the AFV has a Wire or Stream card played on it, it must immediately check for Bog, after which the Stream card would remain with it as per Rule 8.5 but the Wire card would be removed to the Discard pile as per Rule 13.35.
28.52 What happens when an AFV has both a Terrain Card and a Wire Card discarded on it at the same instant?
A. The AFV would check for Bog with the Terrain Card first and then if it passed that Bog check would make a second Bog check for the Wire Card which would be discarded regardless of the result. If it fails the first Bog check the second one will not be necessary. If the AFV rejected the Terrain Card it would then have to make only one Bog check for the Wire Card.
28.53 What happens to an AFV that becomes bogged because of a Wire Card being played on it while it is in the process of moving?
A. The AFV’s Movement Card is immediately either flipped over to its Open Ground side or is discarded with the previous Terrain card taking its place as per Rule 28.441. On the owning player’s subsequent turns after that he may attempt to remove the Bog chit from the AFV.
28.53 What happens to an AFV that has a Wire Card played on it while it is moving and it does not become bogged?
A. The AFV retains its Movement Card.
28.53 Does an AFV in terrain that has Flanking Fire on an adjacent opposing group lose the Flanking Fire when a Wire Card is played on it?
A. Yes it does.
28.7 Are there any other errors in the example below the rule besides the typographical error with the number “6” in the third sentence which is mentioned in the Official errata?
A. Yes there is. In the fifth sentence it should read; “in the second RNC draw against the AFV itself; if they drew a red 1, a 0, or any black RNC they would destroy the halftrack, and if they drew a red 2 RNC they would either immobilize or stun the halftrack depending on the color of the next RNC drawn.
28.7 Does an Unarmed Man have an inherent boxed firepower of 1 at Relative Range 5 against an Open Topped AFV?
A. Yes. (The boxed firepower represents the use of hand grenades against Open Topped AFVs.)
30.6 ATRs which are entitled to Flanking Fire have a minus one (-1) to their To-Hit Numbers (6 becomes 5, 5 becomes 4, etc.). What happens in the case of the Japanese ATR which has To-Hit Numbers such as 0, 0-1, and 0-2?
A. Rule 30.6 clearly states that an ATR entitled to Flanking Fire improves its To-Hit Frequency by one. In the case of the Japanese ATR, the minus one (-1) becomes a plus 1 (+1) for those particular To-Hit Numbers. (0 becomes 0-1, 0-1 becomes 0-2, and 0-2 becomes 0-3.)
33.3 When a wounded principle operator of an ordnance weapon or a machine gun trades weapons with his assistant crewman, how many actions does it take and is the exchange automatic?
A. It takes one action and the exchange is automatic.
33.6 When a Personality Card carrying two weapons becomes wounded, when does the abandonment of one of the weapons becomes effective?
A. The second weapon is abandoned immediately. The owning player has the choice of which weapon to abandon.
33.8 Does an opposing player receive Victory Points for both a Wound and a Rout if a wounded man routs out of the game?
A. No, he only receives the one Victory Point for the rout. The one Victory Point for a Wound only applies for those wounded men still present at the end of the game. The same applies for a wounded man that is KIA, except that two Victory Points are awarded for the KIA.
34.7 If an IG is attacked in Close Combat by multiple attackers, can each man in the IG’s inherent three man crew be attacked individually or is the IG attacked by one attacker, with each additional attacker adding a +3 to the attacker’s CCV?
A. The IG is attacked by one attacker (owning player’s choice) with each additional attacker adding a +3 to the attacker’s CCV.
34.7 If an IG is attacked in Close Combat, does each man in its inherent three man crew defend individually or does the IG defend as one man with a +6 to its CCV?
A. The IG defends as one man with a +6 to its CCV for the two additional men in its inherent crew. Note that an IG with a Commander Killed chit on it would receive a +3 to its CCV and no crew modifier if it had a 2 Commander Killed chit on it.
36.3 Can a group entrench in a Minefield?
A. No it can not. Even though the rules say that the Minefield is a specialized form of Open Ground, it is a separate type of Terrain and thus can not be entrenched in.
39. May Elite troops use the discard capabilities of First Line Troops as well as their own discard capabilities?
A. Yes.
39.7 What is the case of IGs with Second Line forces?
A. IGs are treated just like AFVs in that they comply with the DYO point cost modifications, and ignore the Morale Value contradictions. They keep their printed Morale Values even when in Second Line forces.
40.1 Can a player receive artillery support if the unpinned SL, ASL or Commissar are part of a crew-served weapon crew?
A. Yes, providing they are not carrying the radio when they are part of the crew, the radio would have to carried by another man in the group who is not part of a crew-served weapon crew.
41.59 Can opposing groups be on the same LOS Divider card at the same time?
A. No! Only one group may be on the LOS Divider card at any one time. A transferring group can not move onto the LOS Divider card until the opposing group on it has either moved off or has been eliminated.
41.59 When a winning player from a scenario transfers enough of his men to a neighboring scenario to “break” his squad, does his victory become a loss?
A. No.
41.91 When playing the Campaign Game in conjunction with Team Play, can a player concede victory and withdraw his groups in accordance with Rule 42.6 instead of merely removing his forces from the game?
A. Yes, however he may not transfer any of his men over to the neighboring game.
41.91 Likewise when playing the Campaign Game in conjunction with Team Play, can a player who wins a scenario because his opponent is withdrawing his forces pursue them in accordance with Rule 42.7?
A. Yes. A winning player may even transfer some of his forces over to the neighboring game while in pursuit of the defeated forces in his own game. However if he transfers over enough men that his squad “breaks”, then the pursuit ends at the moment the transferring group is moved onto the LOS Dividing card and his game is over.
42.2 During the course of a long campaign, many of the PVT’s and PFC’s have risen to NCO rank through promotion. What happens when their PC numbers are called for in a scenario, do they act as auxiliary leaders to replace the original SL and ASL when they are gone or do they function as normal troops?
A. They function as normal troops unless they are filling the SL and/or ASL positions due to the absence of the originals from the roster. However if they meet one of the three criteria set forth in Rule 15.1 as described earlier in this article then they can function as auxiliary leaders.
(Historically when Privates got promoted to the NCO ranks, they either filled a vacant leadership position in their own unit or were transferred out to fill a leadership position somewhere else. The Campaign game in UP FRONT does not provide a mechanism for replacing excess leaders except by getting them killed off. Normally this not a problem as most campaigns only last ten to twelve games and at most two or three privates will get promoted to Corporal. However in extended campaigns of 30, 40, or even 50 games the rosters tend to become clogged with NCOs due to promotion. This had led to the unrealistic practice of cramming the squad full of NCOs each game in a deliberate attempt to circumnavigate Rule 15.4. This ruling is designed to eliminate this practice.)
42.42 What happens if a wounded man routs from the game?
A. He suffers the consequences for both results. (Loses all Elan points and takes loss of 1 to either his Morale or Panic Level, then sits out the next three scenarios in the campaign for the wound.)
42.42/42.44 Each rule states that a man can not have a PANIC Value which is less than his MORALE value when making adjustments to those values due to Rout and Elan during a campaign. What about the Italians who have several men in their roster with PANIC values which are less than their MORALE values?
A. Italian PCs may have PANIC values which are one less than their MORALE values but no more as per Rule 50.41.
42.43 May a player play a Hero card on a man for no effect in order to give him free Elan points.
A. No, the Hero card must be played on the man in order to unpin him, double his firepower, or to suspend the effects of being wounded for one turn in order to earn Elan points for it.
42.44 In Rule 45.32 it says that for the Japanese the Rout Number is always two higher than the Panic value. This implies a direct relationship between the Rout Number and the Panic value. Does a man’s Rout Number change when his Panic Defense Value changes due to improvement from turning in Elan points or because of the effect of routing from a game as described in Rule 42.42?
A. Yes, the Rout Number on a man’s card will change by the same amount as the Panic Defense Value. Note that for the Italians who can have a man with a Panic Defence Value of “0” while having a Morale Defense Value of “1”, a man with a Panic Defense Value of “0” automatically routs unless he is KIA.
(Given the additional paperwork that this rule would generate in a long campaign, I would have to consider this rule to be optional.)
44.2 The second sentence says that the British may use a Radio card only if it is usable by both the Americans and the Germans. Exactly what does this mean?
A. The British may use any German Radio card.
44.9 In the Official errata the American BAR and all LMG’s in the game are listed as to which Hero Cards they may use to double their firepower. What about the LMG’s of the Minor Powers listed in Jim Burnett’s article “Cold Front” and any new LMG’s that are introduced in other variant articles?
A. As a rule a Minor Power’s LMG’s in Jim Burnett’s article would have the same capability as the Major Power whose Personality Cards they are using. However since many new variant Personality Cards are being created for just about every Minor Power in the Second World War I would have to say this:
a. Any new LMG with both regular and bracketed Firepower numbers on its card may use both Hero Cards to double its bracketed Firepower.
b. Any new LMG with only regular Firepower numbers on its card may only use the Hero Card with the black RNC to double its Firepower.
45.7 Do the Japanese use Russian Radio cards since the cost of their radios are the same as the Russians?
A. Yes, the Japanese may use any Russian Radio card.
45.8 Please clarify the abilities of Japanese SNLF (Second Line) troops.
A. SNLF troops may not play a Movement Card without it counting as both an Action for the Group in question AND as an Action prohibiting making a discard that turn. (In other words they lost their Free Movement (45.11) ability.) SNLF Troops may still freely discard any printed or scenario-defined Cower Card.
45.8 Please clarify the abilities of Japanese Samurai (Elite) troops.
A. Samurai troops may take one Action that does not involve the use of a Movement Card, plus any Free Movement Actions (45.11), and may still discard up to two cards, plus any free Cower Card discards.
46.4 During the course of the game, may a BAR, LMG, or MMG make an Individual Transfer to another group which contains another BAR, LMG, or MMG?
A. Yes, however this transfer can not occur until all other men in the starting group have already transferred out of that group. The BAR, LMG, or MMG may be functional, malfunctioning, or broken (in which case the man is unarmed) when the transfer is made. When the transfer is completed, the starting group’s chit is removed from the game as per Rule 17.82.
(Rule 46.4 does allow for the massing of these automatic weapons in one group but makes the process of accomplishing this task so time consuming and risky that it is usually not worth the effort to do so. I have found no written rules stating that the weapons have to be broken, or in other words the man has to be unarmed, in order to be transferred.)
46.4 Can more than one crew served weapon be set up in or transferred to a group?
A. Yes! With the exception of the automatic weapons listed in the previous question more than one crew served weapon may be set up in or transferred to a group. Again these crew served weapons may be functional, malfunctioning, or broken (meaning an unarmed man) when the transfer is made or they are set up. (This is implied by Rule 25.2 which has rules for multiple crew-served weapons in the same group making ordnance fire attacks using one fire card for all of them at the same time.)
47.3 Jungle Cards are treated as the equal of Woods Cards according to Rule 47.2. Thus a mortar or artillery attack should not be affected by the TEM of the Jungle Card. But in Rule 47.3 is says that all Fire attacks have their fire strength reduced by 1 regardless of the terrain cards in play. How are mortar and artillery attacks affected?
A. Mortar and artillery attacks would have their fire strengths reduced by 1 by virtue of the effects of being
in the Jungle as per 47.3 but would not be affected by the TEM of the actual Jungle Cards.
48.1 It appears that random reinforcements cost 50 points per deck no matter which deck you purchase them for. Is this correct?
A. Yes. Normal deck multipliers only apply to reinforcements purchased at the beginning of the game where the cards in the reinforcing group are known. Random reinforcements receive a flat rate of 50 points per deck due to the fact that the cards in the reinforcing group are unknown until you roll for them upon entry.
(For proof, look at Scenario V where the defending sides have Random Reinforcements. Take the point total for each defending side, subtract the point total of all personnel cards in the force, and you will be left with 250 points each time. As the scenario lasts five decks, this comes out to 50 points per deck.)
48.1 When receiving Random Reinforcements can a player receive more than half of the number of PCs of his original starting force?
A. No! While a player may receive several groups of Random Reinforcements during a game, once the total number of PCs received is half the number of PCs in the starting force then the player may not receive any more Random Reinforcements. If this occurs when a player receives a group whose number of PCs puts him over half, he may choose which PCs of that group he will bring in.
48.1 Does a sniper count as a man when figuring up the total number of PCs received through Random Reinforcements?
48.32 If a player receives an AFV PC as a Random Reinforcement that is already in the game or not available due to the time period of the scenario, what can he do?
A. He can substitute an AFV PC that is worth the same or less points as those listed on the unavailable reinforcement and is available during the time period of the scenario. If he can not meet this requirement then he should draw another RNC to determine a new group to receive.
48.42 A player who has both Double and Dual Sniper attack capability loses one sniper due to a successful enemy Sniper Check. What does he lose as a result, his Double Sniper or his Dual Sniper attack capability?
A. He loses his Double Sniper attack capability due to the fact that the extra sniper he purchased for 15 points would replace the sniper who was killed in the successful Sniper Check. Thus he retains the capability to make two attacks per Sniper Card played. When he loses another sniper to a successful Sniper Check then he loses his Dual Sniper attack capability.
50.7 Why are the Italian MMG and ATR the only crew-served weapons where the assistant crewman may not carry secondary weapons?
A. The assistant crewmen of both weapons had to carry additional equipment that was part of those weapon systems, an ammunition oiler in the case of the MMG and a two wheeled cart in the case of the ATR, which precluded the carrying of anything else.
50.9/51.3 How are the French and the Italians played as Partisans?
A. Each would use their own nation’s Personality cards in their groups but would play their hands as Russian (i.e. four card hand) with all the capabilities of Russian troops plus the special capabilities listed in Rule Section 37. They would not use any of their own nation’s capabilities nor would they be effected by their own nation’s detriments.
51.4 In this rule it says that French Reservists (Second Line Troops) must treat all Split Action Cards as Cower Cards. However in Rule 51.5 it says that the French may use any German Radio Card. Three German Radio Cards are Split Action Cards. How many German Radio Cards may French Reservists use?
A. French Reservists may only use three German Radio Cards, those which are not Split Action Cards.
52.11 A moving group has a Minefield and a Wire Card discarded on it. Assuming that the group accepts the Minefield and owning player checks to see if the Minefield is real or fake, does the Wire Card affect the RNC draw to determine if the Minefield is real?
A. No, it only affects the Minefield attack RNC.
Change the black ‘7’ under the ‘9’ column to a black ‘1’ on card #118, not #7.
(Although Avalon Hill has been saying the #7 card for years, I went through the entire deck and found that the card where the number in the ‘9’ column is out of sequence is #118 which is a Gully Card.)
French: The Point Value for Pvt. Lebesque (#24) should be 3, not 4.
In Scenario I, once the German player has enough men on RC5 and does not enough Victory Points to win, both players should start keeping track of their Victory Points at hand, to include aggressive action points, until either the game ends or the Germans get more Victory Points than the Partisans.
In Scenario L, the defender may start his groups in any applicable terrain entrenched and is not subject to terrain placement by the attacking player during Prepare for Play.
Scenario V has a misprint for the Russians (defending), as published in the original Banzai rulebook. Their force point total should be 461, not 471. (This error was corrected in the charts appearing in the DESERT WAR rulebook.)
Also in Scenario V, the Russians and the Italians do indeed have two DCs as attackers even though this is in violation of Rule 21.11. This was done to compensate for their lack of effective anti-tank weapons.
In Scenario W, the defender starts the game with a full hand and then draws down to a reduced hand on his first turn if his squad leader is one of the pinned men in his squad.
The original charts in the DESERT WAR rulebook were so full of errors that to list them all here would be useless. However all of the charts were corrected and posted in the on-line rulebook on Andrew Maly’s Official UP FRONT website. I suggest that players down load these charts and print them out. Not only are all the errors in the original charts corrected but the missing British and Japanese forces for Scenarios A, B, C, and D are posted there as well.