S3 #53 - The Ardennes Wargame - Winter 1944/45

Game Settings

• USAAF/RAF Players(green) - 88 est
• LW Players(gold) - 84 est
• Icons – d24 friendly, d18 range, d6 enemy plane
• Winds – none
• Clouds - heavy overcast FR1-3, light overcast FR4-5; no puffy clouds
• Radar – 40 miles, grey dots, inflight arrow. Minimum alt is 300 ft.
• Flak - all Flak is limited to 12,000ft(heavy overcast) or 25,000(light overcast).
• USAAF/RAF Airfields(purp) - England, France and Belgium
• LW Airfields(gold) - Germany and Holland
• Fuel Multipler - set at 0.85 for all planes.
• Rebuild Time - 300 mins
• Game Length – 180 mins
• Lives – 1 life per frame
• Game Scale - 1 squad = 1 historical unit and 1 frame = 1 week of operations.

Basic Rules

Initial Format - subject to change before the first frame.

Start Times - each frame uses the following schedule;

• T-10 - Pre-dawn - Luftwaffe enabled if Bodenplatte declared
• T+0 - Dawn - flight enabled for all a/c
• T+30 - Full light
• T+160 - last surface attacks completed all a/c must disengage ASAP.
• T+180 - Near dark, all squads must be in tower or on final.

Operational Restrictions - each side may only conduct operations in the area outlined in the game map.

Altitude Restrictions - none

Airfield Basing Restrictions - before the series begins each side must break up their available a/c steps and base them at airfields on the map. From that allocation the Frame CO may then assign squads to those fields. Each side may only field a specific number of steps at each airfield depending on that fields size. Larger squads may break up their steps and assign them to more than one airfield. Squads must fly the a/c assigned to airbases(see airmap)

• Tac fields = 2 steps
• Small fields = 3 steps
• Medium fields = 4 steps
• Large fields = 5 steps

Air Force Ops Areas - the Allies must base at least 4 squad steps in 2 TAF/9th TAF while the Germans must base 4 squad steps in NorthWest and West Front. The only time the Allies must base units in 8th AF is if the Germans declare a Big Blow. All bomber and strike squads must fly heavies if this occurs.

Target Hardness - factory complexes are very difficult to damage heavily. Bombers must salvo large bombs onto the major factory buildings to destroy them. All targets are tougher and all bombs have smaller blast radius so large bombs do more damage than small bombs.

Aircraft Roles - some a/c like the P51 and 109s cannot carry ord while others must be flown by dedicated bomber or strike squads. Check out the a/c step chart for info.

Bomber/Strike AI - no AI allowed

Scoring - both sides score points for air combat and ground results.

• Fighter step shot down = 1 pt
• Strike/Twin engine bomber step shot down = 2 pt
• Four engine bomber shot down = 1 pt
• Fighter step destroyed on ground = 0.5 pt
• Strike/Twin engine bomber step destroyed on ground = 1 pt
• For every supply depot damaged = 1 pt
• For every supply depot captured/recaptured = 10 pts
• For every break(no ZOC) in the enemy frontline remaining after movement = 2 pts
• For every ground battle resulting in a victory(D1+ result) = 3 pts
• For every Corps forced to surrender = 5 pts

Victory Conditions - Victory conditions are cumulative and a winner is declared only after all the frames have been run. The total points for both sides are compared after 5 frames;

• 0-5 point difference is a draw
• 5-10 point difference is a minor victory for the side with the greatest number.
• 11-20 point difference is a victory for the side with the greatest number.
• 21+ point difference is a major victory for the side with the greatest number.

S3 Clarifications - the S3 staff reserves the right to make a ruling on questions or game situations not answered completely or missed by the rules. For further clarification please post on the S3 forum or email Jabo.

[ Aircraft - Series Map - Player Rules ]