• Official Q&A

    @TimTheEnchanter:

    I have a (hopefully) quick question about the defenseless transports rules.

    If an attacker in a naval battle gets down to the point that he has units going against defenseless transports, is it required that the transports all be auto-sunk, or does the attacker have the option of rolling the battles, with the intent of retreating from the sea zone before the last trn goes down?

    For example:  Say a battle is down to a damaged BB and DD against DD, 5 trns.  The attacker gets 2 hits and the defending DD gets one hit.  The hits would sink the two  DDs and 1 trn, leaving BB vs. 4 trns.  (1) Can the attacking BB retreat at this point, even though only defenseless trns are left in the zone?  (2) could the attacking battleship engage the trns for several more rounds against ONLY the defenseless transports and then retreat from the zone once they are down to a single trn?

    Once at least one side is out of combat units, the battle is over, so retreat is no longer possible.  You can’t retreat from transports only.  The only exception is when both sides have only transports remaining, in which case the attacker may either retreat or stay in the sea zone.


  • This seems a bit inconsistent.  If the combat is over when there are no combat units left, why can the attacker withdraw when he’s down to just trns, but not when the defender is down to just trns?  It seems that if you are saying trns are not combat units, then the attacker should not be able to withdraw.  If the trns are combat units, then the attacker should have the option of whittling them away and then retreating from the fight while trns are left.

    I’ll accept the decision at its face - I’m just trying to understand the reasoning.  Thanks

  • Official Q&A

    You’re right.  It’s a bit more complicated than what I stated.  I should have said “once at least one side that can’t retreat is out of combat units, the battle is over”.

    What clouds the issue is the possibility of a situation in which the attacker can’t retreat for some reason.  That’s why I said “at least one side”, as the battle would be over if the attacker were out of combat units in such a situation (and the attacking transports would be lost if there were still defending combat units).  However, I should have qualified my answer as I did above to cover that situation properly without disallowing the possibility of the attacker’s retreating only transports under normal circumstances.

    The irony of the situation is that it’s really a moot point for purposes of your question, since it obviously requires that the attacker be in a position where he/she can retreat.  Sometimes trying to give an answer that goes beyond the scope of the question gets me into trouble if I don’t consider all of the angles.  On the other hand, other times people generalize what I say and apply it to situations beyond the specific question being asked.   :|

    Good thing there are sharp players to keep me straight!  :-)


  • A couple scenarios im still a little fuzzy on if you could clarify for me

    Paratroopers and blitzing tanks.

    A tank blitzes Territory A into territory B. Bomber picks up infantry to fly the same route as the tank. Are they requried to stop and attack Territory A since it was hostile before the tank blitz, or does the blitz allow the paratrooper & bomber to continue into territory B to attack since the territory became friendly by the tank?
    Destroyer and transport attack Destroyer and transport.

    Scenario A: Attacking destroyers hits, defending destroyer also hits, both transports survive.

    Scenario B: Attacking destroyer misses, defending destroyer hits. Does the attacking transport have the option of retreat if a valid sea zone is available?

    Scenario C: Attacking destroyer hits, defending destroyer misses. Does the defending transport automatically die or are the attackers allowed to retreat since they only scored 1 hit on the defending destroyer? (General combat, step 5 page 19 of the rulebook)

    Ive been up late and my head hurts. Thanks tho!

  • Official Q&A

    Welcome, Trujew!

    @Trujew:

    Paratroopers and blitzing tanks.

    A tank blitzes Territory A into territory B. Bomber picks up infantry to fly the same route as the tank. Are they requried to stop and attack Territory A since it was hostile before the tank blitz, or does the blitz allow the paratrooper & bomber to continue into territory B to attack since the territory became friendly by the tank?

    The blitz makes Territory A friendly as soon as the tank enters it, so the bomber can keep going.  Note, however, that if Territory B were also unoccupied, the bomber could not keep going into Territory C.  Since Territory B is not “blitzed”, it doesn’t become friendly until all combat movement is completed.

    @Trujew:

    Destroyer and transport attack Destroyer and transport.

    Scenario A: Attacking destroyers hits, defending destroyer also hits, both transports survive.

    Correct.  The attacking transport now has the option of either staying or retreating.

    @Trujew:

    Scenario B: Attacking destroyer misses, defending destroyer hits. Does the attacking transport have the option of retreat if a valid sea zone is available?

    Yes.  However, if there is nowhere to retreat, the attacking transport is destroyed.

    @Trujew:

    Scenario C: Attacking destroyer hits, defending destroyer misses. Does the defending transport automatically die or are the attackers allowed to retreat since they only scored 1 hit on the defending destroyer? (General combat, step 5 page 19 of the rulebook)

    The attacker still has combat units, and there are no defending combat units to retreat from, so the attacker doesn’t have that option.  The defending transport is destroyed.


  • i think that krieghund is the official rules question, answerer, i will forward this question to krieghund, or anyone that has the official answer

    there is a game going on at forum, and italy attack’s the u.k. with 3 sub’s, 1 sub hit’s, the u.k. is destroyed,

    have the two fightrer’s that are defending an oppurtunity to fire back at and hit the sub’s

    there are 3 attacking sub’s 1 defending aircraft carrier and 2 defending fighter’s

    some of the player’s agree that the fighter’s can not hit the sub’s

    i have been reading the rulebook, and can not find a reference that states that defending aircraft can not hit sub’s

    all the AA game’s that i have played, fighter’s could always attack sub’s

  • Official Q&A

    Unfortunately, it’s a little muddled in the rulebook, but it’s clear in the FAQ:

    Q. On page 29 it says that your aircraft may hit enemy submarines if you have a destroyer in the sea zone, but it doesn’t say anywhere in the rules that aircraft can’t hit submarines without a destroyer present. Do you always need a destroyer in a battle in order for your air units to hit enemy subs?
    A. Yes. Air units can only hit subs if there is a friendly destroyer on the battle board, otherwise hits made by air units must be applied to units other than submarines. If you’re the attacker, destroyers in the same sea zone belonging to your ally don’t count, since they’re not involved in the battle.

    Since there are no defending destroyers, the defending fighters can’t hit the attacking subs.  Since neither side can hit the other, the battle is over.


  • yeah, that make’s sense, it should have been stated in the rulebook that aircraft can not hit enemy sub’s without a destroyer involved with the attacking / defending force, i suppose that is what errata, and official faq are for


  • At the end of a country’s turn can they decide NOT to place units on the board? Or must they place purchased units down at the end of their turn?


  • Oh and before I forget, if they can choose not to place units on the map do the units stay in the purchased units area to be placed onto the board later in the game whenever the player decides?

  • Official Q&A

    You must mobilize all of your units that you can.  You can only hold back units if you have insufficient production capacity to mobilize them all.  In that case, which units you mobilize and which you hold in reserve is up to you.

    Units held in reserve must be mobilized as soon as production capacity becomes available in future turns.  If your capital is captured while you have units still in reserve, you lose those units.


  • @Krieghund:

    Units held in reserve must be mobilized as soon as production capacity becomes available in future turns.

    If i hold units in reserve turn 1, and turn 2 i build a number of units, which, when added to the number of my reserve units, exceed my production capacity, must i place old reserve units before placing newly purchased units?  the rules seem to imply this is not necessary:

    @Rulebook:

    If you do not place some of your units the turn you purchase them, they are not lost. You can place them on one of your future turns during your Mobilize New Units phase.


  • Krieghund, I think I sunk you.

    On the matter of attacking subs and defending ships/fighters.

    Pg. 29 - Additionally, your aircraft may attack enemy submarines.

    This says nothing about defense.

    Pg. 30 - This special attack only happens once at the
    start of the attacking units fire step. Then, the combat sequence continues normally.

    This says to me, the sub rules are somewhat comparable to the previous versions.  A sub gets a special attack.  A sub may submerge if opting not to attack or defend.  Subs may be ATTACKED when there is a Destroyer to find them.  Ships/Fighters may DEFEND against a sub attack as usual.  A sub is not an invincible unit unless there is a destroyer!

    If this is not understood to be the accurate assesment of the rules, please consider, the alternative is making a pretty good unit (as intended), the sub, into a dominating unit (not intended) and the whole game kinda silly.

    To think otherwise, is like saying, “Oh my gosh, they built one sub, my entire fleet is dead unless I buy a destroyer?” Or “What was that?  A torpedo!  Good thing it missed.  Uh-oh, here comes another one.  What do we do?”


  • @Capt.:

    Krieghund, I think I sunk you.

    On the matter of attacking subs and defending ships/fighters.

    Pg. 29 - Additionally, your aircraft may attack enemy submarines.

    This says nothing about defense.

    in the FAQ this was reworded to “Additionally, your aircraft may hit enemy submarines if you have a destroyer on the battle board.”

    There’s a whole section on submarines in the FAQ.

    On the subject of sinking Krieghund:  since I think he has been tasked with writing the FAQ interpreting the rules, the rules pretty much are whatever he says they are. :)


  • @Capt.:

    the alternative is making a pretty good unit (as intended), the sub, into a dominating unit (not intended) and the whole game kinda silly.[…] To think otherwise, is like saying, “Oh my gosh, they built one sub, my entire fleet is dead unless I buy a destroyer?”

    By your own words you offer the answer to prevent subs from becoming dominating units. Just buy a destroyer :)

    “What was that?  A torpedo!  Good thing it missed.  Uh-oh, here comes another one.  What do we do?”

    I think the thing missing there is that while the Surprise Strike ability of the sub does offer an advantage, in order for subs to use it they can’t submerge and are vulnerable to being hit back.

    Subs are not dominating units by themselves but they can be an harassment and a major pain. I particularly like their rules on AA50 because I think that planes are a dominating unit on Revised against fleets.

  • Official Q&A

    Thanks, Tim.

    There’s a lot of unfortunate wording in the sub rules.  The word “attack” being used interchangeably with the word “hit” is a prime example.  As Tim pointed out, the FAQ makes an effort to correct this.

    Captain, I disagree with your assertion that the inability of defending fighters to hit attacking subs without a defending destroyer makes subs too powerful.  It does make subs very powerful, but this power can be largely negated with the purchase of a single destroyer.  IMHO, this nicely abstracts the cost of submarine economic attacks by forcing the power threatened by subs to purchase a destroyer or two just to protect against enemy subs.  Also, fleets without destroyers aren’t completely helpless against subs.  Carriers are really vulnerable (as they should be), but battleships and cruisers can provide a fairly good sub shield for fleets, also.

    @TimTheEnchanter:

    On the subject of sinking Krieghund:  since I think he has been tasked with writing the FAQ interpreting the rules, the rules pretty much are whatever he says they are. :)

    Actually, the rules are whatever Larry and AH say they are. :wink:

    I do write the FAQ, but Larry and the gang approve every entry.  Incidentally, I’ll take this opportunity to thank everyone here for asking all of these tough questions.  You’ll see a few of them crop up in the next version of the FAQ.

  • Official Q&A

    @Stoney229:

    @Krieghund:

    Units held in reserve must be mobilized as soon as production capacity becomes available in future turns.

    If i hold units in reserve turn 1, and turn 2 i build a number of units, which, when added to the number of my reserve units, exceed my production capacity, must i place old reserve units before placing newly purchased units?  the rules seem to imply this is not necessary:

    @Rulebook:

    If you do not place some of your units the turn you purchase them, they are not lost. You can place them on one of your future turns during your Mobilize New Units phase.

    You can mobilize them in any order that you wish.


  • @Krieghund:

    You must mobilize all of your units that you can.  You can only hold back units if you have insufficient production capacity to mobilize them all.

    So if I understand this correctly, the only time this would come into play is when for example; a German player with only the initial german IC on the game board purchases 12 units but can only place 10 units in germany at a time therefore they hold the additional units until the next turn and so on? Correct?

  • Official Q&A

    That would be one example.  Another is that the German player has some damage tokens on his/her IC and miscalculates the number that need to be repaired in order to mobilize the number of units he/she plans on purchasing.


  • This one isn’t really AA50 specific, but humor me anyway.  Let’s say I have an AA gun already on a transport at the start of my turn.  During combat moves, that same transport picks up an inf and the inf captures Territory X.  Can the AA move off the transport into Territory X during NCM because it hasn’t moved yet? Or is it locked into the boat because the trn moved during combat and can’t unload again during NCM?  What if it wanted to unload into friendly Territory Y which is also adjacent to the same sea zone?

    I’ll hang up and listen to your answer. ;)

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