Sturmtruppen and Entire Contents Copyright © 2001 Chris Keeling
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$9:7297:5503 Tactical Miniatures Rules for the Second World War By Chris Keeling Illustrated by: Adrian Rose Playtested by: Wes Fensky Alan Mitchell Chris Thompson Craig Walder Technical Editing by: Todd Merrill Matt Toms Sturmtruppen and Entire Contents Copyright © 2001 Chris Keeling. All Rights Reserved. First printing June, 2001 This game should include: This Rulebook 2 Player Reference Cards Counters (scissors required) Range Rulers (scissors required) can be found on the internet at http://www.marsgames.net For questions or comments, contact us via e-mail at [email protected] or by mail at: Mars Games 16 Peppermill Court Naugatuck, CT 06770 Printed and bound in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including, but not restricted to, photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system - except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper or published online - without written permission from the publisher. Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or inconsistencies. Any slights of people, places, or organizations is unintentional. Neither the author nor the publisher support fascism, socialism, nazism, or communism in any way. There is no political agenda or intent to this document, nor should one be inferred from the topic. 2>=C4=CB Introduction 5 Other Actions 55 Glossary 7 Rallying 55 Specialists 56 Beginning Play 13 Creating Sturmtruppen 59 Your First Game 13 Game Size 13 Organization 59 Terrain Setup 14 Troop Grade 63 Purchase Troops 14 Specialist Abilities 65 Deploy Troops 14 Squad Abilities 66 Preliminary Setup 15 Side Abilities 69 Sequence of Play 16 Equipment 70 Moderated Play 17 Vehicles and Crews 71 Examples 72 Fire 19 Victory Conditions 76 Direct Fire 19 Weapons and Equipment 77 Indirect Fire 28 Explosive Weapons 28 Small Arms 77 Hand to Hand Combat 28 Heavy Weapons 84 Fight or Flee 31 Artillery 92 Vehicles 33 Vehicles 109 Battlefield Conditions 39 Equipment 145 Maneuver 41 Scenarios 147 Movement 41 Meeting Engagement 148 Cohesion 43 Sniper Hunt 148 Vehicles 45 Attack and Defend 149 Battlefield Conditions 47 Clash of the Titans 149 Break Out 150 Fire Missions 49 Stalingrad 151 Campaign 151 Artillery 51 Rocket Artillery 52 Appendix A: Designer’s Notes Airstrikes 52 Appendix B: Charts and Tables Scatter 53 Index 4 5 8=CA>3D2C8>= Sturmtruppen is a game of small-unit tactical warfare between Germany and the Soviet Union during the Second World War in late 1942 and early 1943. It is set generally in that part of the war which takes place after the German invasion of the Soviet Union has slowed down, but before the Allies have taken the initiative and begun to counterattack. Further supplements will cover different armies, additional rules, theaters of operation, and periods of World War II, however, in the interest of simplicity and ease of play, this ini- tial body of rules is limited to the time and place mentioned. To cover the entire war in detail on this scale would require several thousand pages of text! To cover the majority of the war in the most important theaters, as will be done in these rules and future supplements, will still take at least several hun- dred pages altogether. Scale Each counter, figure, or model represents one individual soldier, vehicle, or piece of equipment. One turn represents from several seconds to about a Range Rulers minute of real time. Because of the fluid and chaotic nature of combat, it is not realistic to model time too accurately. Ground scale for commonly used Three range rulers have figures and vehicles is shown on the chart below. Individual figure bases been provided to assist should be no more than 1.5 meters (to scale) across and hexagonal (for ease of you in measuring move- determining 60 and 120 degree arcs), although round or square bases can also ment and short-range be used. The included troop counters are drawn to 25mm scale. Note that attacks. Use a tape ground scale, vehicle scale, and figure scale do not always match accurately, measure or yardstick for longer range measure- but reflect a general usage on the part of the miniatures wargaming commu- ments if necessary. nity as a whole. Do not mix scales within the same game. Choose one scale or standard and stick to it. If exceptions are made, make sure that they are noted as being out-of-scale to the environment and the other forces in play. Scale Figure Scale Vehicle Scale Ground Scale 15 - 20mm 1/100th 1 centimeter = 1 meter 25 - 28mm 1/72nd - 1/48th .5 inch = 1 meter 54mm 1/35th - 1/32nd 1 inch = 1 meter 6 Dice Where the text refers to a D10, roll a single ten-sided die (a "0" is a ten for a result from 1-10). To be successful, most rolls in this game (for example, the Hit roll, Fight or Flee roll, and Jam roll) must total greater than 6 (7, 8, 9, 10, or more), after all modifiers have been applied to the roll. Where a D6 is referred to, use an ordinary cubic six-sided die. Where the text refers to a half-die (D3 or D5), roll a single six- or ten-sided die and divide by two, rounding up (for a result of 1-3 or 1-5). Six- and ten-sided dice are available at most hobby and game shops. Miniature Wargaming Sturmtruppen is a miniatures wargame, but it may be played without the min- Miniature Scale iature figures by using the included cardboard counters to represent troops. If you have never seen or played miniatures games, ask about them at your local Each scale has advan- hobby shop. Ordinarily, they are played with metal or plastic figures which tages and disadvan- are painstakingly painted, on fields of lush terrain specially made for minia- tages. 15mm - 20mm tures wargaming. All of this is expensive and time consuming, but it provides figures and vehicles are such a visual spectacle of the game as it is played that it is all worth it. To see the least expensive, and if this is something you want to get involved in, play Sturmtruppen. This good for large battles, but tiny. 54mm models game comes complete with cardboard counters which can easily be replaced are highly detailed and by 25mm figures (or smaller or larger figures - but the included counters are give a more personal drawn to 25mm scale) if you so desire. Terrain can consist of boxes and stacks effect but restrict the size of books, arranged to represent buildings and hills, which can be replaced by of the battle. 25mm - model terrain and scale buildings as you become more involved in the hobby. 28mm troops are in between on both counts. Plan your play several days in advance. This will allow players time to select their forces and plan time for playing. A small game can usually be played in two to four hours, but plan on longer to allow time to set up the playing area and put away the game afterwards (and possibly for a meal as well). At this time, the place and size of the playing area should be determined, to give the players an idea of what to purchase. The night (or day) before the game, who- ever is responsible for the playing area (e.g., the kitchen table) should clear it and get out some suitable terrain pieces, be they boxes and books, or scale trees and buildings. Some arrangement should also be made in advance with respect to food; that is, will you be ordering pizza or bringing snacks? A sup- ply of pencils, paper, and dice should be available to the players, as well as one or more copies of these rules. If this is your first time playing, you might want to set aside time for a quick firefight with two or three soldiers per player, to familiarize yourselves with the mechanics of the rules. In addition, it might be a good idea to go over the rules together briefly so that all of the players have a basic knowledge of the game system and are not left totally in the dark as to how their units may move and fire. This will reduce frustration greatly for players who are new to miniature wargaming. Even if all of the players are experienced wargamers, you should still go over the basic concepts of the game for clarity. 7 Glossary 2T - Halftrack. A lightly-armored vehicle which has its back wheels replaced by a set of tracks for better cross-country mobility. AA - Antiaircraft. A weapon (usually some sort of machinegun or automatic cannon) designed to attack low-flying aircraft. Usually it can also be used against ground targets. AB - Automatic Burst. A fully-automatic weapon that fires very slowly (300 rounds per minute or less) or has a built-in device to limit the size of auto- matic bursts, usually to three rounds at a time. AC - Armored Car. A four-, six-, or eight-wheeled vehicle, lightly armed and armored, and generally used for reconnaissance or liaison. Active - This is the normal Morale Level for troops at the start of the game. This level may go up or down based on the results of FoF and Rally rolls.