User Guide

Suppression
Suppression represents the effect being attacked can have on a unit’s
strength, other than the loss of strength from casualties. Troops in combat
may become disoriented, wounded, or pinned down, all of which render them
ineffective in combat. During an attack, some or all of a unit’s strength points
may become suppressed. Suppressed strength points are not available during
the attack. Most suppression lasts only for the duration of a single combat,
but tactical bombers can suppress units for the player’s entire turn, facilitat-
ing further attacks on the suppressed unit. Defending units whose suppression
number is greater than or equal to their current strength, retreat, surrender,
or are destroyed.
Note: Defensive Artillery fire suppresses for the attacking unit’s entire combat.
Terrain
Careful analysis of terrain is vital to a well conceived and executed battle strat-
egy. Terrain affects movement, since some types of ground are more difficult
to negotiate than others. See the “Movement Cost by Terrain Type” table on
page 46 for more information. Also, some types of terrain provide greater base
entrenchment, making those areas more defensible, and more difficult to clear
of enemy defenders. See the “Entrenchment” section for details on the effect
of terrain on entrenchment.
GAME CONCEPTS: Suppression 54
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Support Fire
Under certain circumstances, artillery and air defense units near a defending
unit may shoot at an attacker prior to combat. The attacker cannot respond to
this defensive fire because it occurs before combat. If all the attacking unit’s
strength points are destroyed or suppressed by defensive fire, the attack is bro-
ken off immediately. Each time a unit shoots it uses one ammo point.
Defending units can easily use up several points of ammo in a single turn when
defending themselves or nearby units.
Artillery units contribute support fire to nearby ground units, attacked by
other ground units, while air defense units give support fire to nearby
ground units against air attacks. There are two types of support fire given
by artillery and air defense. Units which are directly adjacent to the sup-
porting unit receive close support fire; this means the artillery or air
defense uses its full strength against the attackers. Friendly units which are
not adjacent, but are attacked by enemy units who are within range of the
supporting unit, also receive support fire, but the power of the artillery or
air defense is halved.
The air unit equivalent of artillery support is interception. Fighters adjacent to
defending bombers or ground units may intercept attacking air units, but
fighters may make only one interception per turn, and each attacking air unit
may be intercepted only once per turn.
Defensive fire from artillery and air defense, as well as interceptions by
adjacent fighters, can be powerful tools when used by a careful commander.
However, enemy forces can also take advantage of support fire, to devas-
tating effect on your attacking troops. Always be sure to check the range of
enemy artillery and air defense before launching assaults in their vicinity,
and plan attacks on supported units carefully to minimize damage to your
own forces. The proper use of recon units, to scout out enemy artillery and
air defense clusters, can also prevent you from making a costly mistake,
when unseen artillery two or three hexes away disrupt your assault on an
enemy unit.
53 GAME CONCEPTS: Support Fire