GEV-WWII

GEV Rules for WWII Micro-Armor
Last modified: 09/07/2005

GEV is a science-fiction game, pitting two armies of identical units against each other. But with a few additions, the rules work well for WWII battles. What's more, Steve Jackson Games offers a large, colorful hex map to go with the miniatures version of GEV, and this map makes a fine WWII battlefield.

Armed with the GEV rules and map, this booklet, and the tanks and infantry you already own, you're ready to rumble. These rules don't require you to re-base your minis, or to have them on bases at all. If you prefer free-form movement to hex-based movement, you can use the Ogre Miniatures rules instead of the standard GEV rule book.

This rule set should be accompanied by a spreadsheet, GEV_WWII.XLS, and by a sheet of markers, GEV_WWII.GIF.

I. Defining Units

This rule set comes with a spreadsheet, GEV_WWII.XLS, which automates the assigning of point values, and defines the vehicles commonly used in the war and available in 1/285 or 1/300 scale. The spreadsheet includes its own instructions. All you need to know about a vehicle is the size of its main gun (in millimeters), the thickness of its main armor (also in mm), and its maximum speed (in mph). Range and Moves are given in hexes. A separate page of the spreadsheet defines the INF and HWINF units. Note that foot soldiers in this game are a lot slower than in GEV.

2. Additional Rules

1. Terrain. All vehicles follow the terrain rules for Light Tanks, except they double their Defense in Forest hexes. Infantry cannot enter Water hexes. Tank guns cannot fire through any part of a Forest or Town hex to hit a target beyond that hex (but artillery can). Non-amphibious vehicles can cross rivers only on bridges or in hexes adjacent to Swamp hexes. Amphibious vehicles can cross any River hex according to normal GEV rules. They can enter Water hexes at a rate of one hex per turn, regardless of their speed. They cannot attack while in a Water hex, and if disabled there, they are destroyed. If a vehicle with a Defense of 4 or more tries to cross a bridge, roll a die. If the result is less than the Defense, both bridge and vehicle are destroyed.

2. Heavy-Weapon Infantry (HWINF) never run out of ammunition, except for Panzerfausts which get one strong anti-armor shot and then become normal INF.

3. Infantry Casualties. An infantry unit is assumed to represent 3 squads. If it takes casualties, mark them by slipping a casualty marker under the soldiers' base. Casualty markers are in the file GEV_WWII.GIF, for marking infantry units with 2 or 1 INF remaining. The "Single Shot" markers are for one-shot units like Katyushas that haven't fired yet, and for headquarters units that haven't influenced a battle yet (see "Useless vehicles" below).

4. Vehicles Carrying Infantry. A normal-sized truck or halftrack carries 3 INF; medium and larger AFV's can carry one, and smaller vehicles carry none. Soldiers cannot attack while riding a vehicle, except in overruns (where they forfeit any defense bonus from terrain). It takes an INF's entire move to mount or dismount from a vehicle.

5. Assault Guns, and other vehicles that must shoot straight ahead (they have a 1 in the FRONT cell on the spreadsheet), can move in any direction, like other units. But the direction of their last move determines the three-hex arc into which they can shoot. For example, if an assault gun's last move was to the north, then its arc of fire for that turn is limited to the north, northeast, and northwest hexes. (In free-form movement, this means the frontal 180° arc.) A vehicle can use a move unit to turn in place when it is done moving. Such a turn can cover any number of hex faces, and isn't affected by terrain. Face the vehicle in the direction it last moved, to keep track of its arc of fire.

   For vehicles that fire backwards, like towed guns, the reverse is true -- they can shoot only into the three-hex arc opposite the direction they last moved (see "Towed guns" below).

6. Short Guns treat Destroyed results as Disabled, even if the target is already disabled, when the target is an enclosed armored vehicle. This also applies to group attacks where one or more attackers have Short guns, but does not apply to overruns.

7. Multiple Guns. A vehicle with more than one kind of gun can fire only one per turn. This includes machine guns -- either fire the main gun or the MG, but not both. Machine guns on vehicles get the same benefits in overruns as HWINF machine-gunners. Vehicles with more than one of the same gun, such as AA tanks, get a second attack (in normal combat, not overruns) if the first one causes no damage.

8. Towed Guns normally cannot move unless stacked with a vehicle that can tow them. This usually means a truck or halftrack, although light guns (Moves = 1) can be towed by jeeps, kettenkrads, and similar small vehicles. Such guns must obey "backwards" assault-gun rules for firing arcs, and they cannot change facing unless a towing vehicle is in the same hex. Guns on 360° mounts, like the German 88 on the cruciform AA mounting, can change their own facing at will. Light guns can also change their own facing.

   It takes one move unit for a towing vehicle to start towing a gun, to leave it in a new location, or to change its facing. A vehicle cannot carry INF and tow a gun at the same time. Towed guns cannot move and fire in the same turn. Vehicles towing guns lose any second move they might be entitled to.

   Guns are very small targets. Any time you attack a towed gun, you must make two attack rolls, and use the lower roll. This does not apply to overruns.

9. Artillery and mortars have their Offense reduced by -2 (never less than 1) against enclosed armored vehicles. Only artillery fire and "short" tank guns do spillover attacks; other guns hit only their target (and any foot soldiers riding on it).

10. Combat. Tank guns with a maximum range of 2 or more get +1 Offense if the target is an armored vehicle in an adjacent hex. Short guns do not get this +1, but they do ignore the disable-only rule if the target is in an adjacent hex. These rules also apply to overruns.

    If any attacker's adjusted Offense is less than the defender's normal Defense, treat combat results of Destroyed as Disabled, even if the defender is already disabled, and Disabled results as "no effect." This is called a weak attack. This does not apply to overruns.

    Example 1: an American M4 Sherman tank (Offense=3) attacks a German Panther (Defense=4) at a range of 2. Its odds are 1:2, so it would normally destroy the Panther on a roll of 6 or disable it on a 5. But because its Offense is less than the target's Defense, it gets only a 1:2 weak attack (Disable on a roll of 6, no effect otherwise). However, at a range of 1, the Sherman gets +1 Offense. Now it has 1:1 odds against the Panther, and because its adjusted Offense isn't less than the Defense, it gets normal 1:1 combat results.

    Example 2: a British infantry platoon with two INF squads and one antitank rifle (Offense= 1+1+2 =4 against tanks) attacks an Italian L6/40 light tank (Defense=2); the odds are 2:1. But because at least one of the attackers (the INF squads) has an Offense less than the target's Defense, they get a 2:1 weak attack. They'd be smarter to let the two INF's make a 1:1 weak attack first, then let the AT rifle try to finish it off with a normal 1:1 attack.

11. "Useless" vehicles such as radio trucks, motorcycles, and the like, serve as headquarters vehicles. Once per game, each such vehicle can allow one adjacent friendly combat unit to reroll its attack die. The second roll is final. A vehicle is not useless if it is armed, can carry troops, can tow guns, or plays a role in a scenario (such as a truck convoy that's going to be ambushed).

12. Wrecking Terrain. Spillover fire cannot harm a road, bridge, or town. Recovery vehicles have an Offense of 4 when "shooting" such features in the same hex. They can also "shoot" at a wrecked map feature in the same hex to fix it, with an Offense of 2; a "Destroyed" result repairs the feature to its original condition. A bridging tank that stops on either side of a river becomes a bridge across that river for as long as it stays there.

13. Special Units. German units based on the Panther, Pzkw IV, or smaller vehicles do not crush bridges, even if their Defense is 4 or more. A Russian Katyusha rocket launcher can fire only once per game, but it attacks everything in its target hex and all six surrounding hexes at full strength (not spillovers). A Russian T-35 tank can fire its main gun (3/3) and both smaller guns (2/2) in the same turn, but both small guns can't shoot at the same target. Antitank rockets are at -2 Offense if the target vehicle has added side skirts.