Command
Headquarters
units (HQ’s) have a large impact on the effectiveness of other
units in game. There are many different levels of HQ units
represented, the highest level of which is an Army Group. An Army
Group is made up of several Armies and an Army is made up of several
Corps. A Corps is built upon several Divisions and a Division in turn
has several Regiments in it. Each of these levels may potentially
have an HQ represented as a unit on the game map. This HQ unit
performs a number of game functions such as providing Supply, and
assistance in recovery of Disruption and Broken units.
The state of Disrupted indicates a breakdown in Command in a unit. In addition, for Headquarters, the state of Out of Command represents an inability to support subordinate units. Disruption can occur as a result of combat. When a unit must take a Morale Check as indicated by the Combat Results and fails that Morale Check, then the unit becomes Disrupted. If it fails while being Disrupted, then it becomes Broken. Broken units cannot fire or assault attack and cannot spot enemy units in detail, only as Unknown enemy units. Disrupted units suffer effects to their combat ability and their ability to perform special functions.
Headquarters
Headquarters
units are not combat units in a true sense as they and cannot fire on
nor assault other enemy units. They can defend as well as provide AA
fire. Each HQ unit has a Command Range
whose Nominal value (see below) is indicated in the alternate Hex
Info Area values as the HQ value in the Scenario Editor and Main
Program. The Command Range of a unit will vary depending upon the
Nation, the HQ Level (example: Army, Corps or
Division) as set in the Order of Battle Editor by the Scenario
Designer. For example, an Army will usually have a larger Command
Range than HQs under its control, but the Command range itself can
vary from 10 hexes to 25 hexes. A Corps HQ will have a range of
usually 10 to 15 hexes and a Division HQ is normally in the order of
5 to 10 hexes.
Nominal Command Range
The Command Range of an HQ unit as given in the Order of Battle is modified by the Quality of the unit to give the Nominal Command Range of that unit:
- HQ’s of Quality A have 2 added to their Command Range.
- HQ’s of Quality B have 1 added to their Command Range.
- HQ’s of Quality D have 1 subtracted from their Command Range.
- HQ’s of Quality E have 2 subtracted from their Command Range.
- HQ’s of Quality F have 3 subtracted from their Command Range.
The Nominal Command Range is the value displayed in the alternate Hex Info Area as the HQ value.
Modified Command Range
The Nominal Command Range is modified according to certain conditions:
- Disrupted HQ’s have a 1/2 Command Range.
- Broken HQ’s have a Command Range of 0.
- HQ’s in Travel Mode have a 3/4 Command Range.
This modified value is then used in the determination of command and recovery as explained below.
Note: there is no other penalty or automatic loss command status for moving an HQ unit. An HQ unit that moved in the previous turn is treated no differently than one that has not moved, subjected to range modifications above such as HQs in Travel Mode.
Detached Units
When
a unit is beyond the Nominal Command Range of its HQ unit, or that HQ
does not exist, then the unit is considered Detached.
Units that are Detached have their unit name shown in Yellow. In
addition, the Detached option of the Highlight menu can be used to
identify those units currently Detached. When only Detached units
are available to spot for indirect fire or air
strikes, then the attacks are half value.
The Command Test
At the beginning of a player’s turn, a Command Test is performed for all HQ units for that side. The Command Test begins with the highest level HQ units for that side and for that scenario. Given a Global Supply Value of X% for the HQ side, the HQ will be in command if a randomly generated percentage is less than this Supply value.
Example: suppose that the highest level HQ for the German command is a Panzer Corps and that the Supply Value is 80%. There is thus an 80% chance that this HQ will be In Command in any given turn.
The
highest level HQ units are marked as Out of
Command if they fail this test. The Command
Test then proceeds down the chain to the next level of HQ units. For
these HQ units and all others in the test, the HQ has two chances to
pass the Command Test. The first chance is based on the Supply test
previously mentioned. If the HQ fails that test, then it is given a
second chance provided that its superior HQ is not Out of Command.
If the range from the HQ being tested to the superior HQ is R hexes,
and if the superior HQ has a Modified Command Range of C, then the HQ
unit passes the second test provided that a randomly generated number
between 0 and 1 is less than C / (R + C). The Command Test
proceeds from higher level HQ’s down to the next level until
all HQ units have been tested.
Example: We will continue with our example from above where that Panzer Corps passed its Command test. Suppose the process moves down to the HQ of the 3rd Panzer Division where that Division HQ fails the Command Test based on the Global Supply value (which was set at 80% in the above example). Since the Corps HQ is In Command, then a second test is performed. Suppose that the range from the HQ of the 3rd Panzer Division to the 24th Panzer Corps HQ is 10 and that the Command Range of the Panzer Corps HQ is 15. Then there is a 15/(10+15) or 15/25 = 3/5 chance that the 3rd Panzer Division HQ unit will pass this test and thus be In Command.
Disruption Recovery
At the beginning of each player turn, there is a test to determine if Disrupted and Broken units on that side recover. Broken units at Maximum Fatigue cannot recover. The closer a disrupted or broken unit is to its HQ and the higher its morale, the better its chances of recovery are.
For all other units, a preliminary range test is performed for the unit. If the unit has an HQ with a Modified Command Range C that is In Command at a range of R from the unit, then the range test is passed if a randomly generated number between 0 and 1 is less than C / (C + R).
Example: Suppose you have a Disrupted unit at a distance of 12 hexes from its Divisional HQ. This HQ is In Command (not Out of Command) and it has a Command Range of 8. The range test for this unit would be based on the probability 8/ (8+12) or 8/20=2/5.
You can see from the above formula, that if the Disrupted unit was at the limit of the HQ Command range it would have a 50% chance of recovery as if the Command Range were 8 ( C=8 ) and the Range in hexes was 8 ( R = 8 )
C / (C + R)
8 / (8 + 8 ) = 8/16 or 50 %
If the unit passes its range test, it moves to the next test based on Morale. If the unit fails its range test, then 50% of the time it too moves to the morale test and 50% of the time the test ends at this point in failure and no change of unit status.
Otherwise, the current Morale value of the unit is determined based on its Quality and all applicable modifiers. This is converted into a value between 1 and 6 using the mapping A=6, B=5, …, F=1. The unit will pass the test and be recovered from Disrupted or Broken, if a random die roll from 1 to 6 is less than or equal to the Morale value. When Broken units recover, they become Disrupted.
Example: Continuing from our example above, If the range test were to fail, then based on another random determination, 50% of the time the test would fail at this point. Otherwise, if it were to succeed, the test would then move on to the Morale value of the unit. Let us say this unit has a morale of A. Since A=6 in this test, this test would succeed and the unit would be recovered from Disruption. But if the Morale of the unit were a D, and D=3, than there word only be a 50% chance of Disruption recovery.
If a Disrupted units HQ is Out-of-Command or eliminated and not in play, then the unit may still recover, based on ½ the probably of the recovery based solely on the Unit Morale check.
HQ Recovery
Headquarters units that have been eliminated are eligible to be restored on a subsequent turn. This is automatically determined at the beginning of the player turn and reported in the Command Dialog of the Main Program. The probability that an HQ will be restored is based on the Quality of the unit with higher Quality units having a higher probability. An HQ unit that has been eliminated is eligible to be restored on each player turn following its elimination. However, the HQ does not perform its functions on the first turn it is restored. The HQ unit is restored with a randomly determined strength and is Disrupted on the first turn it is restored.