TANK BATTLE AT PROKHOROVKA 12 JULY 1943

A SCENARIO FOR 6MM ARMOR FIGURINES

RULES OF PLAY

The game-system is based on “TANKS!” which appeared in Vae Victis Magazine, # 30, jan-feb 2000 but considerable changes were made.

You’ll need several different types of dice : 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-sided. A die-roll is noted as : 1dx with x the type of die. E.g. 1d8 means one die-roll with a 8-sided die. A 0 is read as a 10.

You’ll also need some markers to indicate certain properties of units. Colored beads are best for this. Black cotton might come in handy to mark destroyed tanks.

Sequence of Play

Per Turn :

  1. Check number of movement-points
  2. Draw Action Card
  3. Fire units OR move units OR Recovery
  4. Repeat 2 - 3 until all Action cards are drawn

The number of turns depends of the scenario.

Conventions

Each stand has a front and backside formed by an imaginary line running directly through the middle of the long edges of the stand. See the figure.

Gameplay

Each player has control over a formation in the game (usually a division or corps). Each formation consists of a number of 6 mm tank-stands. This can vary between 8 to 15 per formation. A stand has a long side of 1 inch and a short side of 0.5 inch. (Command Decision)

The scenario rules give the composition of the formations an the characteristics of the different types of tanks.

Each type of tank is rated for the following characteristics :

-Class of Mobility : 1,2 or 3 with 3 being the fastest

-Armour : light, normal, heavy, very heavy

-Rate of Fire : 1, 2 or 3 with 3 the highest

-Fire die roll : type of die rolled while firing : 1d6, 1d8, ….

-Range : A, B, C, or D with D the representing the greatest range

Each tank is always in one of two movement modes : moving or at standstill. Standstill is marked with a green bead near the tank.

TURN Phases

1. Check number of possible movement-points

For each formation roll a 10-sided die subtracting one for each tank eliminated. This is the number of movement-points (MP) a formation receives for the whole turn. (keep track with the 10-sided die) The minimum of MP’s received per formation is 2.

Each time a tank voluntary changes movement mode (from moving to standstill and vice versa) a movement-point is expended. Once all points are expended no unit may change movement mode for the duration of the turn. No MP’s may be transferred to other formations. A tank can be put to standstill by enemy fire. This costs no MP’s.

The movement mode is indicated per tank by a green bead with a green bead present meaning that the tank is at standstill. A tank in movement mode has no green bead.

2. Draw Action Card

Game mechanics are determined by the consecutive random drawing of 6 Action Cards : 3 German and 3 Allied. On each card is indicated which tanks with which Class of mobility can move and which tanks with which Rate of fire can fire. All units of the side of the Action Card may take a recovery-action. Note that a tank may only do one of the three.

For example in the card below German units with Class of Mobility 2 and 3 may move and tanks with a Rate of fire of 2 and 3 may fire. All German tanks may recover.

The image on the Action Cards is for esthetic purposes only.

Once the six cards are drawn and all players have finished their actions proceed to the next phase (beginning with the optional A & AT phase) until the victory conditions are met or the foreseen number of turn are completed..

Thus, a tank with a Mobility Class of 2 and a rate of Fire of 3 can move two times per turn and/or fire 3 times.

Movement

At the start of the game all tanks may freely be put in movement or at standstill.

Change in Movement Mode may only be put into effect directly after the drawing of an Action Card permitting the tank a movement action. Changing modes of all tanks in the formation has to be done before any actual movement or fire. (this means that a unit CAN change movement mode AND fire, it just cannot actually move and fire)

A tank in movement mode is not obliged to move.

A tank can move 20 cm on a road and 15 cm on other terrain. If a tank combines off and on road movement, use an average number of cm (use common sense here) Note that many terrain features are impassable for tanks (forest, marsh) so there is no need for special movement rates is other terrain than flat country. Changing facing is entirely free but can only be done if movement is allowed.

Fire

To fire, state the target, measure the distance to the target and roll a die of the type as indicated on the Fire die roll class of the firing tank. A line of sight (LOS) must exist between firing tank and target. Details on the LOS are given in the scenario.

Depending on the Range of the firing tank, the tank will be firing at short, Medium of Long distance. If the distance is greater than number of cm on long range the shot is lost. Cross reference the range with the type of armour of the target and find the hit number. Use the following table (all distances are in centimeters) :

Range Table / : distances in centimeters
Type / Short / Medium / Lang
A / 5 / 30 / -
B / 10 / 20 / 50
C / 15 / 45 / 80
D / 25 / 60 / 100
Hit at (*) : / 2/3/4/5 / 3/5/6/7 / 4/6/8/9
(*) : target light/normal/heavy/superheavy

Apply the following Die roll Modifiers :

-target in movement mode : - 1

-firing tank in movement mode : - 2

-firing crew is veteran : + 1

If the modified die roll is equal of bigger than the hit number the target must make a saving die roll. This dr is always a 1d8. It is modified by the following DRM :

- non frontal impact : - 2 (all fire coming from the back of the target)

The effect of the Saving Die Roll is:

2 or less :target destroyed, mark the tank with some black cotton

3 – 4 :target immobilised, mark with a red bead

target may no longer move for the rest of the game but may fire

apply the effects of stunned also (put yellow bead near target)

5 or more :target is stunned, mark with yellow bead

target is temporary stopped, mark green bead if not yet present (movement can

resume if Movement Point is expended later)

target may not fire but still can move as long as the yellow bead is present

stunned can be removed by recovery.

A tank can suffer more than one stunned result (and thus have several yellow beads on them) but when an already immobilised tank suffers an additional immobilised result it is destroyed.

Example of Fire

A Tiger Tank at standstill (range D, fire 1d10, veteran crew) fires at a moving T-34 (armor class normal) on the front side at a distance of 62 cm. For a Tiger this means he is firing at medium distance. The fire roll with a 10-sided die is 6 which is modified by +1 (because of the veteran Tiger crew) and – 1 (because of the moving target) to yield a 6. The hit number at medium distance for a medium armoured target is 5 so the Tiger scores a hit. The Russian player then rolls a saving die roll (8-sided die) of 4. The T34 is immobilised and a red and yellow marker is put neat is. It can no longer move but it still can fire once a recovery action takes away the yellow bead.

Recovery

Each time an Action card of your side is drawn all tanks with yellow beads can remove ONE yellow bead in stead of movement. (remember, as long as a yellow bead is present a tank can not fire)