Blockhouse Talk 101

***Also if ports offer naval protection that may be why there are going to be no block houses. See IL problem solved.

Well problems solved for warships. Not problem solved for 20 invasions of france, Karelia, and Caucasus each game. For that we need some defensive unit with teeth.

Their is so much talk of blockhouses lately that I think it needs its own topic.

@Imperious:

Well problems solved for warships. Not problem solved for 20 invasions of france, Karelia, and Caucasus each game. For that we need some defensive unit with teeth.

yes you are correct as always.

Blockhouse: attack 0, defend on 4 or less, move 0, cost 6 IPC

This fit right into the A&A line of simple units. No mumbo jumbo of opening phase fire or targeting specific units. Thank you.

Blockhouse: attack 0, defend on 4 or less, move 0, cost 6 IPC

This does nothing but just roll at one time 4 or less. It has no teeth. Would you not buy a tank instead?

How about treating blockhouses as we treat anti-aircraft guns, only for land units. One shot at 1 equal to the amount of landunits invading.  Also, place them during set-up where they were located historically (can’t be purchased). Only fired during opening round of combat, can’t be destroyed.

@Imperious:

Blockhouse: attack 0, defend on 4 or less, move 0, cost 6 IPC

This does nothing but just roll at one time 4 or less. It has no teeth. Would you not buy a tank instead?

Not if I was strictly in a defensive mode.

@Adlertag:

@Imperious:

Well problems solved for warships. Not problem solved for 20 invasions of france, Karelia, and Caucasus each game. For that we need some defensive unit with teeth.

yes you are correct as always.

Blockhouse: attack 0, defend on 4 or less, move 0, cost 6 IPC

This fit right into the A&A line of simple units. No mumbo jumbo of opening phase fire or targeting specific units. Thank you.

Blockhouse: attack 0, defend 3 or less, move 0, cost 5 IPC, support artillery to defend on 3 and for each artillery it support angainst an amphbious assualt that artillery may counter shore bombard at 3 or less.

How about that?

Blockhouse: attack 0, defend 3 or less, move 0, cost 5 IPC, support artillery to defend on 3 and for each artillery it support angainst an amphbious assualt that artillery may counter shore bombard at 3 or less.

How about that?

I am not sure how a blockhouse would help artillery in any way.

And if they only defend at 3 then a tank would be a better buy.

@Brain:

Blockhouse: attack 0, defend 3 or less, move 0, cost 5 IPC, support artillery to defend on 3 and for each artillery it support angainst an amphbious assualt that artillery may counter shore bombard at 3 or less.

How about that?

I am not sure how a blockhouse would help artillery in any way.

And if they only defend at 3 then a tank would be a better buy.

blockhouses are made to protect artillery peices, with out artillery blockhouses would lose alot of usefulness.

in a static situations these would be a better buy than tanks, because of the support and the lower cost. In most situations however mobile units like tanks would be a better buy, which is historical and better for gameplay.

Oh, the Guns of Navarone type blockhouses.

@Adlertag:

Blockhouse: attack 0, defend on 4 or less, move 0, cost 6 IPC

This fit right into the A&A line of simple units. No mumbo jumbo of opening phase fire or targeting specific units. Thank you.

This is quite a bit worse than two infantry.  For the same price, the only advantage of the blockhouse is that it averages slightly more hits against a single attacking unit.  The two infantry have the advantage that they absorb twice as many hits, and can actually move and attack!  Any devoted defense unit would have to be substantially better than its attack capable counterparts from a strict cost vs combat value analysis (giving consideration to hit absorption).

@Imperious:

…we need some defensive unit with teeth.

Do we though?  Remember the Gamemaster edition?  Infantry on defense was the more efficient by far than any unit on attack.  This lead to very long games with huge walls of infantry such that neither side could attack.  Since then we’ve seen the innovations of artillery pieces and the 3/3/2/5 tanks, much to the game’s improvement.

When it’s more efficient to build a defense force than an attack force, you require a much bigger economic advantage in order to successfully invade.  This can lead to long lags of all building and no fighting, or worse yet a complete stalemate.  I do not wish to see a strong defensive unit.

This can lead to long lags of all building and no fighting, or worse yet a complete stalemate.

This is your central point. It will definatly lead to fewer invasions where double collection occurs which causes both sides to buy more units, hence more dice rolling, hence longer game.

With the blockhouse people will make sure they have enough to take the spot from counterattack, which leads to a quicker result, rather than piecemeal attempts to secure the same territory over and over again with NO RESULT. I feel the game will have a quicker result.

Please play it out and come back to the table.

Blockhouses 0-4-0-6 and if you want more teeth add this rule:

Defending blockhouses fire first before attacking pieces and casulties are immediately removed and thus get no attack roll.

There is no limit to how many blockhouses you can place in each territory.

How is that for teeth.

Its like having a defending shore shot from a BB.

So its one roll and if you got the blockhouse and 2 infantry vs. 5 infantry and 5 tanks landing you got no any difference to mention.

Its just one roll and it may miss. It will not scare anybody away.

But to have the potential of one roll free at 2 or less for each INF and ART , MAY prove a method to thwart the enemy from double collecting.

it may or it may not. Thats kinda nifty right?

Don’t you like the idea that it can scare the enemy away?

Thats what Hitler intended to make of his Atlantic wall.

How about treating blockhouses as we treat anti-aircraft guns, only for land units. One shot at 1 or 2 or less equal to the amount of landunits invading.  Also, place them during set-up where they were located historically (can’t be purchased). Only fired during opening round of combat, can’t be destroyed.

6 ipcs for a Blockhouse that fires 1 out of 6, and 6 more ipcs to upgrade to one that fires 2 out of 6.  so that is 12 ipcs for the full version.

1 hitpoint and can not be captured (just dies if the controller loses that territory) [could also do zero hitpoints, just like AA gun, and still would not die unless territory is lost]

fires a 1 or 2 out of 6 (depending on normal or upgraded) before combat begins on all attacking land units, up to a maximum of 10 land units more than the total number of defending units (just like shore bombard, the casualties may fire their casualty shots)

once in place, it is pointing at a certain territory border and only defends against attacks coming from that border (the border can be land or sea, and therefore does not matter if it is amphibious or regular assault)

is built in place, but can only be built in territories that contain an IC or are adjacent to a territory that contains an IC.  Only one blockhouse per border.

yes thats it. play that.