OF and overrun procedure with GHQ-Rules

[Luca]

This night at our club we played a very nice early Barbarossa game. A full german regiment trying to storming a russian fortified position. Big exchange of artillery fire, big blasts and infantry assaults every where. Big fun in short.

Three questions ensued during and after the game.
1)If a stand practice opportunity fire (OF), and subsequently is the object of a close assault or overrun, does it mean something that he has already fired, or anyway he has tested his capability to respond at the movement of the enemy? I Mean, if the stand fires with succes, maybe he suppresses or disorder the enemy. But this doesn't mean that he actually stops him to make the close assault or overrun. At this point, the attacked unit can roll again to sustain the attack?

2) Improved positions, terrain, smoke, etc, affect the overrun? I know that for the close assault of infantry You don't take in account the terrain and other defensive improvements. But it is the same for armor? It seemed strange to me that a Pz35t could ovverrun without problems a russian infanty platoon in a heavy improved position.

3) I couldn't catch the idea of destroying an improved position. To destroy a medium improved position, You need to score an Eliminated result. To destroy a heavy improved position, it is needed to score 2 eliminated. You calculate this using the die-roll modifiers of the personell placed in the position (usually infantry or ATG at 6**, 5,4 defence value). But it is really possible to destroy the occupant of a bunker, and even the bunker itself, with normal fire? We found more easy to blast the position with fire, blank the enermy FO to deny them the use of artillery, and assault the positions wich at that point where severily suppressed.

Thank You! L.

[microgeorge]

Luca, here are your answers directly from the designer:

1)If a stand practice opportunity fire (OF), and subsequently is the object of a close assault or overrun, does it mean something that he has already fired, or anyway he has tested his capability to respond at the movement of the enemy? I Mean, if the stand fires with succes, maybe he suppresses or disorder the enemy. But this doesn't mean that he actually stops him to make the close assault or overrun. At this point, the attacked unit can roll again to sustain the attack?

Ans: No. Being overrun is a separate event from anything else in the game. To loosely quote the rulebook, "It is a contest of discipline where the attackers must maintain their formation and the defenders must avoid scattering in panic. This must be done despite the chaos that results when a group of armored vehicles careens around in the midst of hostile infantry". No one fires DURING an overrun. A stand might be fired upon during the MOVEMENT PHASE in which the overrun takes place, but not During the overrun itself. The successful fire to which you refer would have taken place during the APPROACH to the overun (i.e. during the MOVEMENT PHASE).

2) Improved positions, terrain, smoke, etc, affect the overrun?

Ans: Only in that the overrunning vehicle must have sufficient movement to pass completely through the defending stand (paying any necessary terrain costs).

I know that for the close assault of infantry You don't take in account the terrain and other defensive improvements. But it is the same for armor? It seemed strange to me that a Pz35t could ovverrun without problems a russian infanty platoon in a heavy improved position.

Ans: The Pz35t in question would have to have started close enough to the Soviets to pass completely over them (within its maximum movement allowance).

3) I couldn't catch the idea of destroying an improved position. To destroy a medium improved position, You need to score an Eliminated result. To destroy a heavy improved position, it is needed to score 2 eliminated. You calculate this using the die-roll modifiers of the personell placed in the position (usually infantry or ATG at 6**, 5,4 defence value). But it is really possible to destroy the occupant of a bunker, and even the bunker itself, with normal fire? We found more easy to blast the position with fire, blank the enermy FO to deny them the use of artillery, and assault the positions wich at that point where severily suppressed.

Ans: Use artillery to suppress the occupants (artillery ALWAYS suppresses, regardless of combat differential); Close in with either an engineer stand or flame thrower (Engineers kill the garrison with concussion, and any stand attacked by flame must fall back if it receives any sort of combaet result); The last way is to use Rule 11.4.4 which says that weapons stands firing at Medium or Heavy Improved Positions may use their AP Value rather than their HE Value. In this instance, Medium improved postions have an armord defense value of five [5], and Heavy positions have a defense value of seven [7]. Example and 88mm Flak.36 has an AP value of nine (9). It would attack a heavy pillbox at +2. Two-four solid hits will take it out, forcing the crew inside to flee or be buried (either wya, they're out of the game. Remember, in game scale, the bunker/pillbox represents 50+ yards of fortifications not just one bunker).

Thank You! L.

You're entirely welcome, Luca. Thanks for the inteliigent inquiry. It's nice to receive technical questions that can actually be answered rather than uninformed criticism.

[Luca]

Thank You for the answers!