![]() |
Amendments to Rapid Fire for Late WW1 and the Inter-war period. |
|||||||||
| Home
|
Rapid Fire is a popular rule set for WW2, and a rule set I tend to play the most. It has some quirks, but gives a good game. Like all wargamers I fiddle with the rules. The Objective here is to give some ideas for using Rapid Fire with earlier conflicts. The Infantry and Artillery side of the Rules works quiet
well, however the side of the rules that deal with armour are quiet weak,
and the most specialised to ww2. Here I offer some suggestions for using
these rules to cover the era of Late WW1 and the conflicts that followed
that war, with a special eye on the Russian Civil War and Russo-Polish
War, but equally applicable to the Warlord era in China. Armour. This is the most difficult and most different element. However I thing by re-grading things I may have cracked it. Speed. Rated as (Cross country speed/Road speed in inches). Tanks were developed originally to move at walking pace, and this is taken as the "Base Speed", Later the British developed their Whippets which were intended to keep up with Cavalry, and later still some faster tanks came on the scene like the Italian Fiat 3000 and British Mediums 'D' onwards, although these were too late to see service in the war, they would have been available in later conflicts. Base Speed: 6 inches CC, 12 Road. Basic speed at no extra cost. Horse Speed: (9/18) is +10 points cost and reflects the post was vehicles that could keep up with cavalry and were faster than 'walking pace' Fast Speed: (12/24) is available at
+20 points. Armour: This was the start of the armour/anti-armour race. Armour can be 'Bullet proof' which is about 10mm. Steel cored rifle bullets were developed to defeat this armour, so armour increased to around 15mm to resist this menace so there is a category of 'K-Bullet Proof'. Later still the Anti-Tank rifle arrived, capable of punching through 20mm of armour. The French FT was armoured to 22mm to protect against this threat specifically. Also there is a threat of trench guns, the 37mm weapons of France, Russia, Austria and Germany. So I re-classify the ratings thus:- C Class, (30pts) A/T Rifle and Cannon proof, approximately 25mm D Class, (20 pts) K Bullet Proof, Approximately 15mm E Class, (10 pts) Bullet Proof , Armoured F Class, Softskins. Note A and B class is ignored entirely as only two tanks with that scale of armour were ever developed, The British 'Elephant' and the German K Wagon. Both only got as far as prototype.
Anti-Armour. Often troops did not have anything to stop armour more effective than harsh language and a prayer for the blessed thing to break down. There are many reports of whole battalions in the Russian civil war simply withdrawing when a tank approached them. I would suggest that any infantry within 9 inches of a moving tank, and without artillery support of some kind (like at least infantry guns) or anti-armour weapons should I feel have to make a moral check to stand. Militia should always make such a check regardless of support. Professional soldiers from the US, UK, France or Germany have no need make checks as they have seen them before. This has to be tested when a tank approaches to less than 9 inches of the testing unit. Anti-Armour. K-Bullets. Heavy steel cored bullets, these grew out of the sniper duels and the need to defeat the 'gun shields' that started to be used by snipers on the western front. When tanks appeared, these were found to be useful against them and most German soldiers in the front line were issued with between 5 and 15 rounds (1-3 clips). The British and French had to increase the armour of their tanks to counter their experience of these bullets in 1916. Available to Infantry/Machinegun units of the German Army or German supplied forces in 1916. All Major Powers from 1918 onwards. If the whole fire group (1 Medium MG or at least 5 figures) fires as one on an AFV, Treat as a class 6 weapon, no movement penalties for the firer and can only light or heavy damage the target. Cost, 5pts per MG or company sized unit equipped, 3 shots. Anti-Tank Rifles and Heavy Machine Guns. Count as class 6 weapons and as per the normal rules. Heavy Machine Guns are all 10mm or larger calibre, examples include the Hotchkiss 11mm anti-balloon Machine Gun, or the Browning .50 cal. Trench Guns. The light door knockers intended to provide a direct fire support to infantry, count as a class 5 gun. The French (who supplied the Americans with them), Austrians and Russians all had 37mm weapons, the Germans developed a 37mm but never used it in numbers (if at all). Infantry and Mountain Guns. Light and handy pieces often about 75mm in Calibre with a handy shell, but that shell is often lighter than field guns, should be considered a class 4 vs. armour. -1 to hit as not a dedicated anti-tank piece. Field Guns should be considered class 3 in DIRECT FIRE ONLY. -1 to hit as not a dedicated anti-tank piece.
Squad automatic weapons. Rapid fire over looks these in some ways, mainly because they are so standard, that it is simpler to consider these already factored in a units fire power. However, in late WW1 and the 1920's their impact on this period is phenomenal partially because not all forces had them, and their variable quality. There should be 2 types considered, the MG08/17 and all the rest. The main differences between the MG08/17 and the rest, is that all the rest were magazine fed weapons and capable only of short bursts. The MG08/17 was a stripped down, belt fed weapon capable of sustained fire. The MG08/17 was simply a lightened German maxim gun, mounted on a bi-pod rather than a tri-pod. It can move OR fire, 8 point weapon with 2 crew to operate. May Move or fire. Range as per normal small arms (NOT as per MMG/HMG) 5 points cost. Other Light Machine Guns. 6 point weapon with 2 crew to operate. May Move or fire. Range as per normal small arms (NOT as per MMG/HMG). 4 points cost. This includes the Lewis Gun, Chauchat and Madsen weapons.
Minenwerfers and their ilk. Treat mortar types but Rate of fire is only 1 per round, not 2 as per ww2 mortars. Stokes/Brandt Mortars of the British/French forces, treat as normal WW2 mortars as they are the type that became the ww2 mortar.
Specialist assault troops. These are a feature of the First World war, and occur in later conflicts, EG the famous 'big sword', 'Tin Hat' and other named units in the Chinese Civil War. Officers Battalion and Shock Troops of the Russian Civil War, The Russian Dare to Die units, Italian Ardidti, German, Austrian and Turkish 'Storm troopers'. Apart from their ferocity and elan, they did tend to fight close up and dirty, grenades were a favourite weapon, Sub machine guns and other trench brooms were more likely to be in their hands. I rule thus Always Elite, 3 points per figure cost (rather than 2 1/2 points in the normal rules for elites). 1 grenade per figure, opposed to 1 grenade per 4 figures in the normal rules. +1 in close combat always (they are equipped for, and actually seek close combat) 1 Unit may be SMG armed, Lose extreme range, gain +1 at close range.
Communications. This is the tricky, however it is important. I have worked on the following principles. Signals are transmitted on the following principles; personally (messenger/runner), Semaphore, Heliograph. Semaphore/Heliographs needs line of sight. Often a chain between one end and another. Commonly in the situation of Forward observers they need to communicate via at least on other team to the battery. This can done quite quickly (within the turn), but the longer the chain, the more can go wrong. I rule as follows.
Each signal point must have clear sight of the receiver point. Moral must be rolled if under fire or assumed to be taking cover and unable to function as a signal unit (due to taking cover from shrapnel/flying lead). So a Forward observer team with one signaller unit between it and the battery rolls to send the signal. 2 or greater for success. The Signals unit receives the instructions and will pass them on to the battery and succeed on a 3or greater . SO that is 2 rolls for the battery to receive fire instructions that turn.
Radios always fail on a 1 or 2 (they were not that good in this period)
Field telephones, Instant communications from point A to Point B. Costing 5 points. Exchanges can be set up and count/cost the same as Radio Exchange vehicles in normal Rapid Fire. A cable route must be assigned using straightest possible route or along on-board features like a road or field edge (making use of drainage ditches etc) and if artillery shells land in the area of a line, the line is cut on a 6, and must be repaired by an engineer or signal man (1 turn stationary at the break).
I would suggest that signal men be purchased in the points exactly like gunners, for the operation of signal equipment. Certainly they are specialists and must at least be regulars. |
|||||||||