River Defense

[J6A]

First, a possible rules contradiction (4e).  The rules say that units assaulting across a major river have a -2 column modifier, while the TEC doesn't limit it to major rivers.  Which is correct?

The second is more of a practical question.  I'm playing a scenario from First Axis that has the Slovaks set up "on or west of the river."  Does this mean they can set up in river hexes, and are assumed to be on the west side, or do they have to be in the hexes behind the river?  It seems like setting them up on the river lets them (possibly, depending on the question above) benefit from the column shifts against the attacker in an assault, while defending behind it gives them the +1 column for shooting at units crossing a river.  However, I'm a bit confused.

Oh, I guess related would be whether the -2 column applies to a unit assaulting from a river hex to a non-river hex.  If that's the case, then it's pretty obvious that units would want to be behind the river.

[Matt W]

They can set up in the river hex but are assumed to be on the west bank. If they are assaulted they receive the benefit of the bonus. The assault bonus only matters when the assault is IN the river hex. Once the assault moves to a dry land hex that assault is no longer crossing the river the attackers have already crossed.

[J6A]

That's the way I interpreted it. So I wonder what's better. Getting the +1 DF for firing at them as they cross or the -2 for the assault.

[vince hughes]

That's the way I interpreted it.  So I wonder what's better.  Getting the +1 DF for firing at them as they cross or the -2 for the assault.

Josh,

Which scenario is this? Is it the one with a horde of Soviets attacking and I think a town area by the river on the Slovak left flank. If so, I had a cracking game with Alan Sawyer with this one. As I recall, and my AAR might assist, my troops were not on the river but back one. This meant the Soviets had to take time crossing whilst being shot at hopefully from adjacent hexes.

If its the one v Hungarians, I played that ftf with Daniel in another exciting battle. In that one, I think the Slovaks can forget about most VC's because if they hedgehog and hang onto some objective or other they win anyway.

[J6A]

Vince - It's that one where they have to defend the bridge. I have the Slovaks more spread out than that, and they are falling back to defend the bridge. I'm only 2 turns in (I'll knock out a few more today) and the Hungarians are still massing to approach the river and maybe mess up the defenders with OBA. On both of the 1st 2 turns the Hungarians haven't moved all of their units because of FoW.

[Matt W]

That is a great one. I've played it about 3 or 4 times now. You need some good luck on the lower direct fire columns but the low morale of both sides means that demoralization will take a unit out of commission for quite a while.

[vince hughes]

Vince - It's that one where they have to defend the bridge.  I have the Slovaks more spread out than that, and they are falling back to defend the bridge.  I'm only 2 turns in (I'll knock out a few more today) and the Hungarians are still massing to approach the river and maybe mess up the defenders with OBA.  On both of the 1st 2 turns the Hungarians haven't moved all of their units because of FoW.

I think you mean "Ignorant Armies" scenario 3. If so, this was a fantastic skype game with Daniel, our first at the time, and my AAR states that at turn 23 of 24, all 5 results were still possible. The AAR from the Slovak side (that I was playing) also says its all about the bridge. Keep that and the Hungarians can not win no matter what happens. Its the keeping it where the difficulty lies of course. We both rated it a '4' and I notice it has a 6:7 split in wins, so definately balanced despite what some other writers may have suggested.

[leonard]

First, a possible rules contradiction (4e).  The rules say that units assaulting across a major river have a -2 column modifier, while the TEC doesn't limit it to major rivers.  Which is correct?

The second is more of a practical question.  I'm playing a scenario from First Axis that has the Slovaks set up "on or west of the river."  Does this mean they can set up in river hexes, and are assumed to be on the west side, or do they have to be in the hexes behind the river?  It seems like setting them up on the river lets them (possibly, depending on the question above) benefit from the column shifts against the attacker in an assault, while defending behind it gives them the +1 column for shooting at units crossing a river.  However, I'm a bit confused.

Oh, I guess related would be whether the -2 column applies to a unit assaulting from a river hex to a non-river hex.  If that's the case, then it's pretty obvious that units would want to be behind the river.

And you could use the new "riverbank" counters to indicate the side of the river they are on.

[J6A]

That is a great one.  I've played it about 3 or 4 times now.  You need some good luck on the lower direct fire columns but the low morale of both sides means that demoralization will take a unit out of commission for quite a while.

It's wild.  The Slovaks have demoralized a bunch of Hungarians with low rolls and killed a few steps.  However, lucky Hungarian fire demoralized the Slovak leader at the bridge and one of the 2 platoons there.  The other one was disrupted, giving the Slovaks a whopping 3 points for assault. The only thing going for them was the first fire from being dug in...and they rolled boxcars to stall the Hungarian attack.  Unfortunately, the Slovak leader who could have sent in reinforcements got disrupted and was 2 hexes away, so who gets initiative next turn will be important.  The map is scattered with demoralized units.  Heck, the Hungarian 11 morale leader even rolled boxcars on an M check...of course, he quickly recovered.  The Hungarians still have fresh troops to keep up the attack, and who knows how long that will last.  I'm only through 7 turns, so the Hungarians do have some time to pull back and try a second assault if it continues to go wrong, while the Slovaks who get demoralized aren't coming back soon, especially because there aren't enough Slovak leaders to run back and gather them up.

The next scenario is 4 maps, in one long row.  If you look at my records, I don't generally play 4 map scenarios.  And I'm having so much fun with these Hungarian/Slovak battles that I'll make an exception.

[J6A]

Here's where things stand currently.  There's a 37mm AT gun off screen to the left.