Home Brew - Before the Leaves Fall

 

Home Brew changes to “Before the Leaves Fall”

I like Colonel Wilbur Gray's adaptations of Fire and Fury. However, his adaptation for WW1 doesn't distinguish the period as much as I would like from the Franco Prussian War. I have been reading some of the very good books on tactical level actions on the early stages of WW1 and I have come up with a number of further refinements that i think make the basic rules more representative of the early part of WW1

Figure scale

The proposed figure scale is 360 men per element. For a four Battalion British Brigade at 1000 men per battalion the current rules give this a strength of 12 elements per Brigade. However, at this ratio (4000 ÷ 12 = 333) per Brigade. The same applies to a German Regiment with 1080 men per battalion and 99 men in the MG Company (3339 ÷ 10 = 333). I have therefore decided to round this scale to 330 men per element.

Figure Basing

My 15mm figures are based on 2 figures on 25mm frontage. A fundamental assumption and decision is that I don’t really want to rebase all my figures. I would rather use them to fight battles with!

Ground Scale

Given my element basing I have opted for a reduced ground scale by making 20mm the new inch. I use a pace stick marked of in “inches” (at 20mm per inch) to measure movement and weapon ranges. For a 48in (120cm) square table this approximates to 10km grid square. Ample size for most WW1 battles.

Recalculating Figure Scale

Using this ground scale means that each of my elements is 1.25 wider than BTLF elements than they should be at this ground scale. Hence the figure scale increases to 400 men per element at my figure basing scale and ground scale, and comparable increases for cavalry and Light Infantry to 200 men per element.

With Artillery, given the cost of models and time in painting and being a cheapskate, I have changed the artillery scale to 9 guns per model, or 2 models per artillery battalion (or equivalent irrespective of nationality).

The consequences of this on the fire chart are that, keeping a baseline of the infantry firing as the norm, this means that:

• The MG company firepower is downrated by 0.825 (330 ÷ 400 = 0.825)
• The artillery firepower is uprated by 1.2375 ((330 ÷ 400) × (9 ÷ 6) = 1.2375)

The alternative to changing the artillery to 9 guns per model is to keep it as the current scale, but then reduce the firepower by 0.825, the same rationale as applied to the MG company.

Line Formations

When not in March column or field column there are no restrictions on how many elements should be in the first line or second line of a line formation. However, to count as being supported in charge combat there must be approximately equal elements in the first and second line (plus or minus one element) and these second line elements must be within 1in of the front line they are supporting.

Previous restrictions and movement penalties on moving obliquely, or to the flank etc no longer apply as infantry companies and cavalry squadrons are considered to move independently once deployed in line formations. These restrictions and penalties still apply for all column formations

Introduced a new formation - Open Order

A careful examination of reports and maps from WW1, it seems that brigades covered a greater frontage than the normal line formation caters for under the rules. In fact, a brigade/regiment should almost take up double the width of its line frontage in elements.

I have therefore introduced Open Order as a valid formation of line infantry and dismounted cavalry:

• Open Order is where the elements are up to one element apart from the adjacent element to front/rear or to the side. To be classed as being in open order at least half the elements must be separated by more than half the width of an element.
• To move whilst within Open Order each element moves independently its maximum permitted movement distance for that March Phase.
•  A unit in open order that gets a “STALLED” result in the March Phase can still advance depth elements up to the front line of the formation, but no closer than that to the enemy
  
•  A unit not in open order that has a “CAUTIOUS” result in the March Phase may move out into open order.
  
• Units may enter open order by moving each element independently as described.
• To reform, an element is nominated as the guide and each element moves independently to the new formation. It takes at minimum of a move to reform, in some cases it may take 2 moves to reform, until the unit reforms fully in a column or line it is classed as being in open order.
• Each element in open order has a firing arc of 45 degrees.
• If in more than one rank, the rear rank can fire through the gaps in the front-line elements at targets within its arc of fire.
• There is a -1 factor for the March table. Given the wider dispersion it is more challenging to pass new orders to all the companies or squadrons in the Brigade.
• There is a -1 factor on the firing table for targets in open order
• There is a -1 factor for any unit charging in open order
• There is no negative factor to defend in open order because at point of contact the open order formation is likely to be outnumbered; especially if the attacker is in a standard formation.
• Units in open order cannot benefit from the Shock Infantry bonus in melee

Overhead Fire

In this period the artillery is much more capable of firing over own troops. If there are intervening friends who are not dug-in or within hard cover of the within 4” of the firer or target the artillery may not fire.

The normal overhead rules apply to German MG batteries

Indirect Fire

This is redefined as being solely off-table fire from supporting howitzer batteries or heavier corps support artillery.

• There must be an observer on the table who can direct any supporting artillery fire he has been allocated. Each observer can control up to 4 batterys.
• The observer is moved and deployed by a commander, in a similar manner to the way that a commander moves an artillery battery
• The observer can carry out two of four possible tasks a game-turn: emplace (Set up the equipment and comms), observe, displace (pack-up all the equipment), move.
• If a friend unit within 2” of the observer receives fire and a dice roll of 10 then the observer may be a casualty; resolved using the fallen Generals table. If he is a casualty then the off-table indirect fire missions under his control cease for the game.
• Each battery in support off-table has the following fire points at any range up to 30in from the observer:
• Light field howitzers less than or equal to 105mm - 4
• Medium Howitzers and guns Greater than 1055mm and less than or equal to 155m – 6
• Heavy howitzers or guns greater than 155mm – 8

Artillery Movement Modes

Medium or heavy artillery can only perform one artillery action per turn, and they cannot prolong.

Defilade Fire

This is only possible for on-board howitzers and mortars. It assumes that there is an integral observer, deployed away from the battery observing and directing fire.

• The artillery element can be placed up to 2” behind intervening terrain or a crest of a hill.
• The minimum range for the artillery is 12”
• The indirect fire tables are used to calculate fire points.

The notional observer is vulnerable to fire. If any unit within 2” of the artillery elements comes under fire, then with a dice roll of 10 the observer may be a casualty; this is resolved using the fallen Generals table. If he is a casualty then the artillery cannot fire until the observer is replaced (Replaced in the replacing fallen generals’ phase).

Alternatively, the battery can deploy an observer element as with indirect fire described above, that can move independently from its battery on table. This observer can only control the battery he belongs to.

Counter Battery Fire

Even if a battery is in defilade it may be subject to counter-battery fire as the enemy may spot gun flashes. If an artillery battery or observer has a line of sight to the terrain that is protecting the defilade battery it can engage in counter battery fire. This fire has a modifier of a ½

Digging In

Infantry and cavalry dismounts can attempt to dig in during the March Phase. The maximum cover that can be obtained by digging in during a game turn is 1 point of cover. To successfully dig in and achieve this the following conditions must be met:

• The unit must first pass a test on the March Table that with a result that is better than or equal to “Stalled” to start digging. If digging in, in any form of cover, then subtract 1 from the dice score when the unit rolls on the March Table.
• Digging ceases for the game turn in which the unit moves or fires, is fired upon and is disordered from the result, or receives a charge. Unit’s ceasing digging unit can try again in a following turn by re-rolling during the March Phase.
• If a unit digging does not, fire, move, is fired upon and disordered, or charged it occupies its field defences at the start of its March Phase if it rolls a result better than or equal to “Stalled”. If digging in, in any form of cover, then subtract 1 from the dice score when the unit rolls on the March Table.