Prime Mover Peeve

[Montana Grizz]

I'm playing a test game where I have 60 prime movers.

I'm finished with their usefulness and have to move 60 units every turn to keep my opponent from finding and destroying them with some minor, but effective unit(s).

Or, I have the option of centralizing the Prime Movers and defending them with units with offensive capabilities? My problem with this situation is that it could create a "Battle for the Prime Movers" and create a game within a game!

I like the general idea of each scenario; either attack or defend point specific locations and gain or lose points based upon attack or defense results.

I'd like to play a scenario where one could exit the Prime Movers, but gain no point advantage by having done so.

Just an idea,

Pat

[Digger]

When faced with this number of prime movers most do shudder, I would recommend working out how many you need to keep to move stuff around and then just exiting the rest off the map at the nearest map edge.

I tend to keep enough trucks to ferry about stuff that can't move and I generally keep them close by in the same hex for artillery as a quick exit is often required. For infantry riding in trucks it depends on the scenario, I never load up infantry when there is too much artillery about. I do like to keep a pool of transport though for rapid relocation of troops. Which means I keep around half to a third of transport. Depends on the scenario length and whether on attack or defense. Up to you to decide what you want to keep on map.

[Cam]

Hi Pat
I agree with Digger
In Constellation Overloon we will remove all transport from the board as Montgomery likes a tidy battlefield :)
Cam

[K K Rossokolski]

The idea of moving units off the board - except at a designated exit hex - has brought up ethical questions in the past, and doubtless will in future. It is for instance often specifically covered in Tournament ROE The difficulty being that the destruction of transport units is a legimate operation of war, and that by dropping them off the edge of the world(having presumably benefited from their use) you are depriving your opponent of the points benefit of destroying them (capture and re-use not being an option).

Certainly, having vast numbers of trucks, landing craft etc tucked away in far corners, yet popping up as one cycles through to the next unit to move, can be a real pain. One way to avoid this is to agree with your opponent on this issue prior to starting a game.

Club executive(s) are invited to comment on this issue.

Cheers
KKR

[Nort]

And if no ROE regarding removing units from the board was raised prior to the game start, by all means, move your units off the board as that is anticipated by the game engine and an appropriate tactic to protect your units from destruction.

[Mike Abberton]

I wouldn't have a problem with an opponent moving transport units off "his" side of the map after they unload his cargo. I would equate that with sending them back to the rear for protection. That would particularly make sense for trucks carrying infantry in American forces, since the trucks they used generally came from a central transport pool, i.e. they weren't typically organic to the platoon/company/whatever.

While it could be considered unfair to move a truck "off the edge of the world", it probably isn't realistic to force a transport driver with no means of defending himself to stop at the edge of the world because someone decided that combat operations wouldn't require additional room to manuever. After all, once they move off the map, you can't get them back even if you really wish you could later when you counter-attack.

[Von Earlmann]

Get rid of them...along with all the artillery battalion hqs.....too much emphasis on points in these games........remember the idea is to have fun.

[John Given]

I'd like to mention that using the "cycle to next unit" command is a real pain, and greatly adds to the amount of checking you're doing.

A much easier way is to check the display+highlight+moved units. This way, you can go back late in your turn and see what units you forgot to move. Any you did not move will not highlight. It's a huge time saver.

The best place to put transport is forest hex 3 or more hexes from an objective. Forest is difficult to reach for an assault, and enemies will sometimes blind-shell objective hexes - the fire sometimes drifting up to 2 hexes. As a bonus, forest reduces enemy fire factors.

Remember, never overstack your transport - 12 sp's maximum. Just put them in a rear forest area and forget about 'em once their usefulness has ended.

My 2 cents.