Phase 5: Command

Lightning War

Order Delivery

At the beginning of the Command Phase, the Referee delivers any orders due to arrive this turn to the commander of the receiving unit. Units that are falling back or routing, and infantry units on foot that are moving cannot receive orders -- they will receive the order as soon as they stop moving.

Rallying

At the end of movement phase, if an unrouted command unit is within 100m of a routed or retreating infantry unit, a rally can be attempted. Retreating units that reach the Rally Point can make a rally check whether they have a leader or not.

To rally, roll again using the Morale Tables, note the modifier to be used during rally attempts. If the result is "Morale Firm", the unit has regained its composure. Rallied units smaller than a company will attempt to rejoin their unit. Rallied units of company size and larger will "forget" their old orders but can be moved according to the normal rules next turn. Units that rout or retreat off the board may not return.

If the result rolled is not "Morale Firm", their state does not improve or worsen and another Rally attempt can be made next turn. Units that have retreated to their Rally Point will stay within 500m (10") of it until formally rallied or they are forced to retreat or rout.

If a commander attempts a Rally, he cannot write orders that turn (though he may receive them).

Orders

In order to move, all detachments must be given written orders.

Orders must be specified on a 3x5-index card or the map. At the top is written the sender of the order, the target detachment of the order, and the turn number the order was written. A commander can send a single set of orders to one or more of the units directly under his control in the chain of command or to one unit not directly beneath him or more than one level away in the chain-of-command. Thus, a battalion commander could send the order "Take Hill 317" to all of the company commanders underneath him, or to just two of them, or to just one platoon that was one of those companies. He could not send a one set of commands to one unit and another set of commands to another; he could not send a single command to more than one platoon of a company (since the platoons are two levels beneath him); and he could not send an order to a unit which is not under his command.

Orders should be fairly brief; a turn is only two minutes long, and there has to be a lot of handshaking and verification between the two units. The Referee may impose delays in the delivery of orders if they appear too complicated.

Units may start the game with a set of orders of reasonable length.

Order Specification

Orders may wish to specify the following:

• Movement -- the objective, speed, and route (if different than a straight line) should be specified. If using a map, this is easy -- draw an arrow that shows where the unit should go. An alternative order is to maintain your position relative to another unit. A delay can be specified, e.g. "move to the hill at full speed in turn eight", or simple conditions can be specified: "if Company C in front, move full speed toward Hill 304" (this would allow leapfrogging if Company C had similar orders). Orders such as "Move to where you have a good shot and aren't flanked" are much too vague and will probably be lost in transmission.
• Formation -- Several legal formations are shown in the Formation Diagrams. The moving player should try to hold the specified formation. A detachment must always move in formation -- either one given or one natural to the terrain, such as "double file, parallel to the creek".
• Rally Point -- where to move if the unit is forced to fall back. If unspecified, the unit will take advantage of cover while moving toward the friendly board edge.
• Buttoned/Unbuttoned -- if a vehicle is "Unbuttoned", the commander has a much easier time spotting enemy units but is much more vulnerable to fire.
• Firing Orders -- Medium Initiative units will always fire at the enemy that poses the greatest threat to them unless given orders to the contrary.
• Detachment -- a part of a detachment can be split off (to form a new detachment). A company commander might assign one platoon to investigate the woods while the other platoons continue their former orders. The split platoon becomes a new and separate detachment.
• Rejoin -- a detachment that is in position to rejoin a larger detachment (such as when the platoon above wishes to rejoin the company) may be given this order and become part of the larger detachment. This order cannot be given if the joining unit is not a regular part of the larger detachment (see Attachment below). The unit must move into position to rejoin the unit before this order can be given.
• Specific Targeting -- a stationary detachment may designate a single point on the board (within range of a Location Search) as the pre-targeted location for its fire. Mark the point with a marker of some kind. The detachment may only fire at targets that pass within 100m (2") of that point, except Discretionary Actions. The unit does not take firing penalties for seeing the target for only part of the turn. The unit must use Location Search to the target point during Observation.
• Attachment -- a unit (including those without a leader) can be attached to another unit of greater size. Attachment orders cannot be given in the same turn as other orders. Only a commander in the chain-of-command for both affected units can issue and Attachment Order. Attaching a unit may cause the resulting detachment to go from Regular to Irregular and may cause a drop in Detachment Initiative.

Subsequent orders may fully or partially override previous orders. For instance, in turn four a unit may receive "Proceed to Hill 407. Rally Point is southern farmhouse." In turn five, the unit may receive "Move instead to Hill 408, avoiding flanking fire from woods to west". The Rally Point for the unit would still be the southern farmhouse.

Order Delays

When orders are written they should be handed to the Referee. The Referee will impose a delay to the orders depending on the Initiative of the receiving unit.

Thus, an order written in turn 10 to a High-Initiative unit would be at the beginning of Orders Phase in turn 11. A Medium Initiative unit would receive the order in turn 12; and a Low Initiative unit in turn 13; a Low Initiative unit who has lost its commander in turn 14.

Orders can be acted upon as soon as they reach the level of the commander of a detachment. Thus, if a company is moving as a detachment, the battalion commander need only send an order to the company commander and the company can begin acting upon it. If the company is split into three separate detachments, the battalion commander sends the order to the company commander and the company commander relays it (perhaps enhancing it) to each platoon commander -- a two-step process. The larger your detachments the fewer levels your orders must pass through.

Direct Command

A unit led directly by the figure representing the officer who wrote the commands can act upon orders with one turn less delay.

Code Words

Before play begins, the players on each side may make a list of up to four code words. A card can be written for each unit (down to the company level) corresponding to each code word. In addition, the following Code Words are always:

• Halt -- stop moving until further notice.
• Continue -- resume former orders after a Halt or a Discretionary Action.
• Retreat -- move in an orderly fashion to the friendly board edge.

The advantage of a code word is that there is no delay -- the Referee will pass the card directly to the target as soon as it is written. The receiver can also pass the code word on to other units. The only difference is that there is no delay in getting the order through: sending the code word does count as sending an order and is subject to the normal restrictions on sender and receiver.

Observation

Infantry Fire