Campaign Rules

Table of Contents
Introduction
Scale
Equipment Availability
Unit Formations
Command and Control
Command Posts
#Supply
Isolated Units
Demolition
Retreating and Pursuit
Satellite Reconnaissance
Strategic Turns
Repair and Salvage of Units

Introduction

These rules were written using the Ogre miniatures rules, to convert to the standard Ogre rules 2 inches equals one hex.

In the Ogre game each armored counter/miniature represented one vehicle, each infantry counter/miniature represented one squad. This scale limits the size of the battles and campaigns that can be run. The major battles of World War II involved hundreds of tanks and tens of thousands of troops. Those types of battles cannot be reproduced using Ogre.

There are two types of campaigns that can easily done. The first this series of scenarios. The campaign Raid on Sheffield is a perfect example of this. The Scenario Series campaign has a large map, enough to have several game boards or maps. The players then fight across the maps. The other is the Condensed version. Years ago I played a World War II miniature game called Command Decision by Frank Chadwick published by Game Designers Workshop. Command Decision released a supplement covering the invasion of the Soviet Union. The invasion involved far too many troops to recreate. So they all the troops used in the invasion, in the actual invasion Germany used over 200 divisions, the scenario reduced this to around 50. An Ogre battle that would realistically involve several divisions could be condensed to several battalions.

The following rules are generic enough to be used in most campaigns. However, some or all of the rules can be dropped if the benefits they provide outweigh the bookkeeping.

Scale
The armies of the Last War were not the massive armies of World War II. There were not hundreds of divisions, hundreds of thousands of infantry, thousands of tanks. The modern tank, and infantry battlesuit were very expensive to produce and maintain. Battalions, not Divisions became the basic maneuver element. Most campaigns consist of several battalions vs. several battalions.

Equipment Availability
To keep your campaigns historically accurate, consult the link below to determine which Ogres were available when. This can make for some diverse scenarios, lets face it, it gets a little boring run Mark V & VI's all the time.

Click on the link below for a timeline of equipment availability
Equipment Availability

Unit Formations:
For ease of movement and record keeping units should be grouped by companies and Battalions. Units will travel by company; it is a lot easier to assign the 1st GEV company to London and the 2nd GEV company to Bristol than 4 GEV in London and 2 GEV in Bristol and 1 in York and 1 in Lancaster. Also it is easier to tack the kills of a unit if it is in a parent formation.

Click on the links below for sample unit formations
Paneuropean Formations:
Combine Formations:

Command and Control:
A command post must available for a unit to participate in an offensive. Units can defend without a command post. A command post can control up to 5 companies.

Command Posts
Command posts control a certain number of subordinate companies. The company must be in supply to issue orders.

Alpha Army level command post (CP): Cost 30 pts. Represents the overall army/theater commander. An Alpha Command Post can command all formation (up to 10 companies) and issue orders to any unit in the theater.
If destroyed, a Beta command post must be "promoted" to an Alpha command post, all units controlled by that CP cannot attack/strategic move and are at a 1 to all die rolls until reassigned to a new command post. All Beta Command posts cannot issue orders to one of their subordinate units until a new Alpha Command post is designated.

Beta Battalion level command post (CP): Cost 15 pts. Represents area commander. Can command up to 6 companies, operational norms are 5 companies. If destroyed, all units controlled by that CP cannot attack/strategic move and are at a 1 to all die rolls until reassigned to a new command post.

Gamma Company Level command post (CP): Cost 10 pts. Command post in charge of a special unit or task force. Can command up to 4 companies, operational norms are 3 companies. If destroyed, all units controlled by CP cannot attack/strategic move and are at a 1 to all die rolls. Exception: Special ops units will move toward extraction points or nearest friendly command post.

Hardened Command Posts An existing command post can be hardened at a cost of 5 points per defense factor.

Transport All command posts come in integral transport and move at Hover Truck speed.

Issuing Orders All command posts have a command point ratting. Command points are required to issue orders to subordinate units. Typically Alpha Command posts have 5 command points, Betas have 5 command points and Gammas have 3. Command points can increase with experience.

Supply:
Supply sources a metropolis or major city connected to at least one other metropolis or major city. Cities with a port are connected to every city that contains a port. Blockading a port. If a port is located inland the port can be blockaded if ground units are stationed along the river/channel that connects the inland port to the open sea. Blockaded ports cannot trace supply by sea, reinforcements cannot be shipped into the city.

Isolated Units:
If a unit or formation is cut off from supply it is isolated. Isolated units have a 1 to the die roll. If the isolated unit has access to a supply depot it will consume 1 logistic point per turn. The number of logistic points contained in a supply depot will be determined prior to game start. Each turn an isolated unit, without logistic points, has a one in six chance of surrendering.

Demolition:
Factories, supply depots, rail lines and bridges can be demolished.

Structures must be rigged and blown in the same order. You cannot rig something but not blow it. This is done to simplify the game, players will want to rig everything to blow, then give an order like "Blow it if it looks like it is going to be captured". Well what does "it looks like it is going to be captured" mean. If 4 GEV enter the board, do I blow it, do I blow it when there are 6 GEV? This is going to cause arguments, plus you will never be able to capture anything.

Retreating off Board Pursuit:
If a unit(s) retreat off board, they may be pursued. The pursuing units must stay within firing range. If a pursuing fail to keep up, the pursuit is terminated.

Satellite reconnaissance:
The number of satellite reconnaissance varies per scenario. Satellites do not stay in orbit for more than an hour, (ground based lasers shoot them down). Satellite Reconnaissance will give a snap shot of a large area of the map. Fixed fortifications are the easiest to spot from space. Formations that are moving are the next easiest then stationary units. There is a small chance that the intelligence section will mistake civilian or non-combat support units for combat units.

Strategic Turns:
Strategic turns are 15 minutes. To get the miles per hour of a unit use the following formula. Each inch of movement = 7.5 mph Inch movement * 7.5 = max speed. A realistic movement rate is no more than 75% of that due to natural contours in the landscape, moving around obstacles etc..

Strategic Road Movement

Strategic Cross Country Movement

Conventional units can move 8 hours per day without penalty, each additional hour of movement there is a 1 in 10 chance the unit will break down. Units that are broke down are treated as destroyed (single X combat result). To repair these units see the repair and salvage rules below.

Ogres can move 20 hours per day without penalty, each additional hour of movement there is a 1 in 6 chance the Ogre will lose a tread unit.

Repair and Salvage of units

Both Combine and Paneuropean Armies salvaged units from the battlefield. In the Last War was a war of attrition, every piece of equipment counted.

Any unit destroyed with a single X result can be salvaged. Units destroyed with XX results are assumed to be nothing more than a greasy spot on the ground.

A destroyed unit can be repaired at the the purchase cost (round down) or by cannibalizing 2 other destroyed units of the same type.

Salvaging of units can be done at factories or command posts. The salvaged units are transported to the repair facilities. To reduce bookkeeping, the facilities should be with in a day s travel of the battlefield and there must be free of enemy control.

Repair companies may also be available based on the campaign. Repair companies could travel to the battlefield if necessary.

Repair facilities can repair a number of points per day.
Factory = 60 points per day.
Alpha Command Post = 20 pts per day
Beta Command Post = 20 pts per day
Vulcan Ogre = 20 pts per day
Repair Company = 20 pts per day

Ogre components can also be repaired

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