AAG40 FAQ

[gamerman01]

Page 30
Transports:
Unit Characteristics
No Combat Value:
Even though a transport can attack or defend, either alone or with other units, it has a combat value of 0.

Looks to me like a lone empty transport can actually establish a retreat route by itself, but still waiting for word from Krieghund….  thanks

[Young Grasshopper]

@Vance:

Looking forward to the rematch this Spring!

Me too.

[Krieghund]

@Gamerman01:

Can a transport establish a retreat route?

Yes, but remember that there must be at least one unit with an attack value participating in the attack.

[gamerman01]

OK, cool!

That adds another page to our playbook…  Too bad all my opponents read this FAQ…

[Kaiser Wilhelm IV]

I’m Axis, my bro is allies.  I stupidly left Norway and Finland vulnerable while pursuing an all out rampage down south through Ukraine to Stalingrad.  My bro has a transport in the Arctic Sea.  He also still has his cruiser and sub off the Leningrad coast in Baltic Sea.

USSR turn: the Arctic transport does an amphib assault on Norway’s north coast while he brings his lone cruiser off Norway’s south coast.  He wants the cruiser to get an off shore bombardment shot.  I say no, it has to be in the same sea zone as the transport (which I think is more in the spirit of how to play whether or not it’s “legal”; but I still think it’s not legal).  Who’s correct?

Question #2:  If any nationality sub can go thru the Straits of Gibralter (it’s in the rules, I checked), why can’t any nationality sub go thru the Danish Straits?

My bro want to move the above mentioned Soviet sub off Leningrad into the North Atlantic
thru the Danish Straits and even though I agree it should be allowed (with or without my permission) it seems that the rules say no.  (And I do know that if it was a Soviet surface war
ship the Allies would have to be in control of Denmark but they’re not).

[Gargantua]

ONLY the straight of Gibraltar allows anything through.  The danish straight was so heavily mined, and patrolled, unless you were authorized, and knew the route, you weren’t getting through.

As for the cruiser bombard, in other versions of the game, you were allowed to bombard from different sea zones, so long as an amphibious assault was happening in an adjacent territory, I believe that’s still the case - but I could be wrong.

[Krieghund]

@Gargantua:

As for the cruiser bombard, in other versions of the game, you were allowed to bombard from different sea zones, so long as an amphibious assault was happening in an adjacent territory, I believe that’s still the case - but I could be wrong.

A ship must be in the same sea zone with at least one offloading transport in order to bombard, in all versions (except Guadalcanal, of course).

[Kaiser Wilhelm IV]

Subs of any nationality can go through the Strait of Gibralter no matter who controls Gibralter. Does the same hold true for the Danish
Straits no matter who controls Denmark? I would think so.

Also, a Soviet transport does an amphib. assault on Norway off the north coast. Can the Soviet cruiser off the south coast participate in the amphib. assault by doing an off shore bombardment even though it’s not in the same sea zone as the transport? I say no.

[gamerman01]

No, enemy subs cannot go through the Danish straits unless the owner gives permission.
Krieghund is the official answers guy, and he just said that a ship must be in the same sea zone with an offloading transport in order to bombard.
In addition, the rulebook says “the number of ships that can make bombardment attacks is limited to one ship per land unit being offloaded from the transports in that coastal territory.”

This means that if you offload 2 infantry from Z112 onto Norway and 2 infantry from Z113 onto Norway and you have a battleship and 2 cruisers in Z113 at the end of the combat movement phase, the 2nd cruiser does NOT get to roll an attack because only 2 land units offloaded from Z113.

Edit: The italicized is incorrect.  The 2nd cruiser can bombard because the rule is supposed to mean that you count the total number of offloading ground units.  As long as each bombarding ship is accompanying at least one offloading transport in one of the sea zones, all ships may bombard up to the limit of the total number of offloading ground units.

[Krieghund]

@Gamerman01:

This means that if you offload 2 infantry from Z112 onto Norway and 2 infantry from Z113 onto Norway and you have a battleship and 2 cruisers in Z113 at the end of the combat movement phase, the 2nd cruiser does NOT get to roll an attack because only 2 land units offloaded from Z113.

That’s not correct, Gamerman.  The limit to the number of ships that can bombard is based on the total number of land units offloading into the territory, not the number of units offloading from the sea zone with the bombarding ships.  In your example, the limit of bombarding ships is four, and they may be in either sea zone 112 or sea zone 113, so all of the ships in 113 may bombard.

To sum up, a ship must be in a sea zone from which at least one land unit offloaded for the amphibious assault (and no sea combat occurred) in order to bombard, and the total number of ships that can bombard is limited to the total number of land units that offloaded, regardless of which of those sea zone(s) the offloading transports and bombarding ships occupy.

[Witt]

Thanks you three for bringing and clearing  that up for us all.

[gamerman01]

@Gamerman01:

In addition, the rulebook says “the number of ships that can make bombardment attacks is limited to one ship per land unit being offloaded from the transports in that coastal territory.”

OK, that’s good to know - wow that sentence is easy to misunderstand.

I almost posted my argument, but then I realized it says “coastal territory”.  I was thinking sea zone along a certain coast.

The rulebook sentence says the transports are in the coastal territory!  That’s why I was thinking “coastal territory” was a sea zone.  Do you see what I mean?

[Krieghund]

@Gamerman01:

I almost posted my argument, but then I realized it says “coastal territory”.�  I was thinking sea zone along a certain coast.

The rulebook sentence says the transports are in the coastal territory!�  That’s why I was thinking “coastal territory” was a sea zone.�  Do you see what I mean?

Yeah.  I guess it should say “one ship per land unit being offloaded from the transports into that coastal territory”.

[boldfresh]

was it the same way in aa50?  if so i have been playing it wrong for years.  this is very good to know

[boldfresh]

@Boldfresh:

was it the same way in aa50?  if so i have been playing it wrong for years.  this is very good to know

just so i have this straight, you could offload 4 units from z112 and bombard with 4 cruisers from z113 right (no bombarding ships in z112)?

[Witt]

No; one Cruiser would have to be in SZ 112 if all the units were unloading from just that one SZ, then the other 3 in 113 could fire too. 
See Krieg’s reply 3237 one page back.

[Krieghund]

@Boldfresh:

was it the same way in aa50?  if so i have been playing it wrong for years.  this is very good to know

Yes.

@Boldfresh:

just so i have this straight, you could offload 4 units from z112 and bombard with 4 cruisers from z113 right (no bombarding ships in z112)?

No.  At least one transport needs to offload from sea zone 113 to enable ships there to bombard.  If one unit offloaded from 113 and three offloaded from 112, all of the cruisers would be able to bombard (assuming no sea battle in 113).

@wittmann:

No; one Cruiser would have to be in SZ 112 if all the units were unloading from just that one SZ, then the other 3 in 113 could fire too. 
See Krieg’s reply 3237 one page back.

You’ve got it backwards.  See above.

[Witt]

Thanks again Krieg and thank you for getting in before I misled Boldfresh.
Simply stated,  to Bombard from a SZ there must be an amphibious landing from that SZ.
Makes sense.

[boldfresh]

@wittmann:

Thanks again Krieg and thank you for getting in before I misled Boldfresh.
Simply stated,  to Bombard from a SZ there must be an amphibious landing from that SZ.
Makes sense.

ah that makes it crystal clear.  20 land units could unload from z112 and 1 land unit from z113 and you could have 1 cruiser bombard from Z112 and 20 cruisers bombard from Z113.

sweet, very good to know!

[gamerman01]

@Boldfresh:

@wittmann:

Thanks again Krieg and thank you for getting in before I misled Boldfresh.
Simply stated,  to Bombard from a SZ there must be an amphibious landing from that SZ.
Makes sense.

ah that makes it crystal clear.  20 land units could unload from z112 and 1 land unit from z113 and you could have 1 cruiser bombard from Z112 and 20 cruisers bombard from Z113.

sweet, very good to know!

Right, now you guys got it.