SASL: Some Suggested Extra or Optional Rules

It is inevitable with such a complex game as SASL, where inevitably some things must be left to the player's judgement (and conscience) as to what is in the best interest of an ENEMY unit or side as a whole, that there are times when some things are not so clear cut. Also, due to the all-encompassing nature of ASL combat which covers virtually every facet of WWII tactical combat, some situations arise which were possibly not considered for SASL. With that in mind, I offer some completely unofficial suggestions for a few house rules covering more unusual situations. Frozen Rivers
German Vehicle Listings
Mud or Deep Snow in Variable Ending Scenarios
Cavalry

Frozen Rivers

The following situation arose when playing in a winter scenario with a frozen (and Flooded) river (Board 8). A JgPzIV/70 received a Move Command to head for the nearest (in MP) Friendly-held VPO Location. It so happened that the AFV was near the south-east bank of the river, and the only Friendly-held VPO Location was a four-hex building on the opposite bank. To have used the bridge would have been a very long way round. As the JgPzIV/70 weighed a surprisingly modest 26 tons, I decided it was in the ENEMY's best interest to risk it. Unfortunately it just failed the Ice Collapse DR and was removed from the board. To avoid such head-scratching in future, try these rules:

1. Any ENEMY vehicle weighing less than 5 tons may cross Ice as required or appropriate.
2. An ENEMY vehicle weighing greater than 5 tons may cross Ice provided it first passes a normal Crew TC. There is a +1 to this DR for every multiple of five tons (FRU) in excess of 10 tons. [This will obviously reduce the chances of heavy tanks attempting such a foolhardy adventure!]

German Vehicle Listings

While on the whole the designers have done a good job on the very difficult task of the G5 tables (Random Selection of German AFVs), there are a few idiosyncracies. Perhaps the most telling is that the G5x tables do not seem to take North Africa into account. No Czech-built tanks (ie PzKpfw 38(t) and PzKpfw 35(t)) were used in North Africa, although Marder-type vehicles on their chassis were. Also, a company of Tiger Is was present in Tunisia from 1/43 onwards, and similarly took battle in the crucial Kharkov battles of 3/43, yet they are not available in the 1-6/43 column.

Another possible quirk seems to be that armed halftracks (SPW 250s / 251s) seem to proliferate in the same period, only to disappear later. Also there is no selection for the Jagdtiger (admittedly a rare beast with only 48 produced), the Wirbelwind or the Ostwind.

For the purists, PzIVA and PzIVC are listed in the German Vehicle Listings for 1940 but do not appear in the 1940 column.

One possible solution would be to rejig the table columns to add these rarer vehicles. The main difficulty would be squeezing yet more German AFVs into the later periods without forcing out the more common vehicles. I have had the germ of another idea, but I will have to test it before putting it on these pages.

In the interim, should you wish to include Tigers in your Tunisian SASL scenarios, I suggest the following. Should a DR be called for on the G5 table, first make a Tiger DR. If the DR is 2 or 3, Tigers are chosen: otherwise roll on the G5 table as normal. This rule could also be applied to Russian scenarios in 1-6/43, where if anything they were more common.

Vehicle Listings - apparent errors or suggestions for improvement

British Prime Movers Table

The following is an optional method for choosing transport for guns should ordnance be rolled up on the RE table:

Mud/Deep Snow in Variable Ending Scenarios.

It is virtually impossible for most vehicles in the ASL Armoury to cross three boards of Open Ground during Mud or Deep Snow scenarios within 10 turns, and many would be pressed to do it within 12 or 14 turns. This is especially true of Desert scenarios during those months where Mud often appears, since there are few other terrain features to provide firm ground: even the Overlays are mostly Open Ground for the purposes of Mud. Therefore in scenarios where the Prevailing Attitude of the ENEMY side is Advance (eg Tank Attack!), a +2 drm should apply to any dr made for possible Game Turn End. Even with this I still consider the odds during such a scenario tilt towards the defender since the attacking AFVs will be slowed, possibly to the point where they become vulnerable to FRIENDLY infantry, and furthermore some will inevitably be Bogged, Mired or Immobilized.

Cavalry

Cavalry was still a fairly important service in many armies in WWII, especially for Poles, Russians and Germans. ASL addresses this very well but at present there is no chance of using Cavalry in SASL under the official rules. The following are an attempt to redress this.

XC1 Should any Elite MMC [EXC: Elite or 1st Line if Russian] be received, either by S? Activation or RE, make a further DR to determine whether these are Cavalry:

Any SMC received as part of the same RE/Activation-dr are also considered Cavalry.

XC1.1 Should the Cavalry MMC be received as part of an RE required to enter from offboard, or was Activated as an S? in the ENEMY MPh, or the ENEMY Attitude is Advance, then the appropriate-sized Horse counter is received as follows:

• If the MMC was Activated during the ENEMY MPh, or enters onboard as part of an RE, it is placed as a Rider on the Horse counter. Any Leader received at the same time is placed with the MMC and is considered a Rider.
• If the MMC was Activated during any other phase, the MMC is placed under the Horse counter.
• If the MMC is in a hex that would prohibit entry of a Horse unit, the Horse counter is placed in an adjacent hex in the following order of priority: highest TEM: unit(s) of same side in hex: out of LOS of FRIENDLY unit(s): any non-prohibited hex (make Random dr in the event of a tie). If no such hex is available, the Horse counter is forfeit.

XC2 CAVALRY AUTOMATIC ACTIONS: All normal SASL rules for ENEMY unit automatic actions apply except where stated below.

XC3 CAVALRY FIRE: All normal SASL fire rules for ENEMY units apply except where stated below.

XC4 CAVALRY MOVEMENT: All movement rules for ENEMY units apply except where stated below.

XC4.1 ENEMY MOVEMENT TABLES: ENEMY Cavalry units use the A4 Tables except as noted below:

• Hold Attitude
  • For "Assault Move" (Move Command 2, 3, 4, 5), read "Dismount". If the Cavalry unit is not within LOS or within range of any FRIENDLY MMC/stack with > 4 FP it may then carry out the rest of the command, otherwise it stops.
• Advance Attitude

Back to SASL | Back to ASL | Back to Games | Back to Home Page