The idea of a Railhead facility has been around for a while and people have recently been talking about it again. I am going to throw out another idea for handling Rail, but this one doesn’t require a new kind of facility and should not allow rail movement to get ridiculous and upset the game.
Rail movement between Industrial Complexes.
It is assumed that rail networks exist in industrially developed regions and that these rail networks may be used to transport ground units. During Noncombat Movement phase, units in a territory with an Industrial Complex may move to another territory that also has an Industrial Complex and that is no more than two territories away. Both territories with ICs, and a territory that is connected to both of them, must have been controlled since the start of the turn by the same side, but not not necessarily by the same power. For example, Infantry units could be moved from the IC in Russia to the IC in South Ukraine if Bryansk is allies controlled, but they could not move not to Novgorod because it is 3 territories away.
The number of units that can use this special rail movement is equal to the number of units that could be mobilized at either IC. For example, 3 units could be moved from Russia to South Ukraine if both ICs are undamaged, but only 2 units could be moved if the South Ukraine IC has 1 damage point or the Russia IC has 8 damage points.
Implications:
An IC in Romania would be useful for Germany because they could move artillery units to the Southern front quickly by rail and match them up with mechanized infantry. Likewise, USSR could move units Westward in similar fashion following a sea lion, potentially advancing up to 6 units by rail with an IC built in North Ukraine.
In either case, strategic bombing of ICs potentially reduces both production and rail movement if the SBR damage is not repaired.
A nice KISS ruleset, I like it.
I assume Rail Movement is during the NCM only? And only between territories that you have owned since the beginning of your turn?
yes that’s what I was thinking. You had to own all 3 territories at the start of your turn and it’s just in NCM. I edited clarifications in italics above.
This would generally benefit Germany, except in those less common games with sea lion. Another place it might possibly change things a bit is along the coast of China if Japan puts ICs in Manchuria and Shantung. Notice that in order to take advantage of this, Germany has to cough up $12 for the IC and it can be bombed.
Cool idea, but I kind of like the dedicated Railhead idea discussed in the “ANTI-TANK” thread. It suggests a seperate facility that could be SBRd. Of course, you would have to buy at least two of them to make it work, plus own all territories in between to use them.
