Anzio Beachhead

Rules

The rules of the game are available from the Help menu. It may take a little while for your PDF viewer to pop-up after selecting the menu item Show rules. Be patient.

Setup

Optional rules

You will be greeted with a dialog window in which you can select which optional rules to play with. Select the optional rule you wan to use, and then lock them using the lock button.

Notice there are several tabs, and each tab has to be locked individually.

The choice of optional rules will in most cases affect how the module behaves. For example, if the Allied demoralisation optional rule is in use, then the module will automatically resolve this, and apply the necessary adjustments to the calculation of battle odds.

The optional rule Loaded dice uses a non-standard loaded dice when resolving combats (see below).

The optional rules window can be brought back up by pressing Alt-O or .

Note, once the game has started proper, changes to these options are ignored. This prevents users from changing options mid-game, even if the options are not locked.

Initial deployment

Initially, units are set-up in their starting position, including Allied units on their "landing vessels". The Allied units must move on to the correspondingly coloured beach hex in the first impulse of the first turn (1A) at a cost of 1 MF.

Turn track

Use the Turn tracker in the menu bar (Alt-T to move forward), to keep track of the turns, impulses, and phases.

Note that game turn and impulse marker cannot be moved by hand. Only the turn track interface will allow movement of the game turn marker.

Movement phases

All impulses (A through F) have a movement phase. In this phase, the faction in turn may move all or some of it's units. As the faction in turn alternate with the impulses (A, C, and E are Allied impulses, B, D, and F are German), so does who is allowed to move.

Reinforcements

If the preference Automatic Reinforcements is enabled in the module preferences (File→Preferences→Anzio Beachhead tab), then reinforcements are automatically placed on the board.

 Allied reinforcements are placed in the "landing vessel" hex next to Anzio, and may land in either Anzio or Nettuno and no MF cost.

If the Allied Close Air Support (CAS) or Naval Artillery Support optional rules are in play, then available CAS or NAS units are placed in the sea next to Anzio.

Support units are automatically returned to the Allied OOB at appropriate points during the game.

In D impulses, the Allied faction must allocate any desired defensive CAS or NAS before the German faction moves any unit. See more below.

 German reinforcements are placed in the sea west of Anzio, and should be placed on a land edge hex (with some restrictions) at no MF cost.

The movement history should be cleared once the German faction has deployed its units along the edges, but before moving the units.

Note that the optional rule Restricted German Reinforcements is not enforced by the module.

If the Automatic Reinforcements preference is not enabled, then each faction must pick up the reinforcements from their Order of Battle (OOB) window. Press Alt-B or to see them.

Movement restrictions

Note that movement in phases B and E are limited to half of the units Movement Factor (MF), and units may not enter enemy Zone of Control (ZOC).

Important: The module does not enforce movement rules. It is up to the factions to be vigilant and monitor for possible mistakes. Turning on Movement Trails () and moving one MF at a time can be helpful.

Control

When a unit moves through or occupies a hex, then that faction controls that hex. Some hexes on the map are more important than others, and have a control marker in them.

Select the control marker and press Ctrl-F (or Flip from the context menu) to switch control of the hex. If the control marker is obscured by other markers and units, use the layer menu () to temporarily make those other units and counters invisible.

Judicial use of the control markers is paramount to the automatic calculation of victory.

Combat declaration

The faction in turn should have declared all combats by the end of the movement phase.

To declare a combat, select all attacking and all defending units and press Ctrl-X (). The module will add battle markers to all units engaged in the combat.

If the module preference Calculate Odds on battle declaration (File→Preferences→Anzio Beachhead tab) is enabled, then the module will also calculate the battle odds and place an odds marker on one of the defending units.

Select defenders and attackers Declare combat Ctrl-X

The module knows how to calculate odds, including terrain and feature effects.

If the Calculate Odds on battle declaration is not enabled, then by right-clicking a battle marker, one can assign battle odds.

A battle can be cancelled by selecting a battle marker (any battle marker) and pressing Ctrl-C, , or via the right-click context menu.

If the optional rule Allied morale can break is enabled, then it is especially important that all combats are declared before entering the Combat phase.

In that case, the module will determine how many CF's the German faction has declared as attacking to see if the CF≥30 requirement is fulfilled. If the requirement is fulfilled, and the preference Resolve battles automatically is enabled, then the module will automatically roll and die and determine if the Allied units are demoralised. Should the Allied faction be demoralised, then the module automatically applies an odds-shift, in favour of the German faction, to all declared combats and replace odds markers with the new odds.

Normally, combat can only be declared in A and D impulses. However, if the optional rule Enable combat in impulses C and F is enabled, then combat may also be declared in the C and F phases.

Note, the rules stipulate that attacking units that started their C or F turn in enemy ZOC (engaged), may not attack during those phases. Only attacking units that move up to defending units may attack. Attacking units may attack from the same hex has non-attacking, previously engaged, friendly units.

If the optional rule Enable automatic victories at odds 7:1 or better is enabled, then combats with odds 7:1 or better will be marked with a marker. Otherwise it will be a marker.

Defending units subjugated to an automatic victory (AV) do not excerpt a ZOC, and friendly units, not involved in the AV, may move past these defending units. Friendly units, not involved in the AV, may also move through the hex or hexes of the defending units with an additional +1MF cost both upon entering the hex or hexes, and when leaving such hexes.

Again, movement rules are not enforced by the module.

If either the optional rules Naval Artillery Support (NAS) or Close Air Support (CAS) are enabled, then NAS or CAS should be taken into account when declaring a combat:

 Allied attacker in impulse A:

The Allied faction should place one or more CAS or NAS markers on the defending hexes, and include those markers when selecting the attacking and defending units. The module will automatically factor those in when calculating odds.

The Allied faction can use the support allocation feature described below in Allied A impulses. However, since the German faction cannot make any movement between the Movement and Combat phases, it is of less use.

If the allocation feature is used, then the Allied faction should make sure to calculate odds after the support has been moved into place.

 German attacker in impulse D:

The Allied faction declares (in secret) support to specific hexes before any German movement in impulse D.

To do so, select a support unit and press Ctrl-A or (Support→Allocate to ... from the context menu). In the input dialog, enter the hex that will receive the support (e.g., 0703 or 07@03). The allocate hex will be shown next to the counter.

Note, the German faction will not be see the allocation until the following Combat phase. Thus, there's no need to keep side notes of support allocations - the module takes care of that.

The Allied faction should only reveal any allocated NAS or CAS support at the start of the German combat phase.

If the preference Automatic Reinforcements is enabled, then the support units will automatically be moved to the supported hex if it is valid (contains Allied units).

Otherwise, the Allied faction must pick up a CAS or NAS counter (as appropriate) and place it on a defending unit by pressing Ctrl-S or select SupportDeploy from the context menu.

In any case, the German faction should re-declare the combat, including the support marker. To re-declare, first remove the battle markers (Ctrl-C), then select all attackers and defenders, including support, and press Ctrl-X.

Note, NAS can only reach 4 hexes in from the coast line (counting the coastal hex as the first hex), while CAS can be allocated anywhere on the map.

Combat phase

During the combat phase, the attacking faction (or phasing faction), resolves combats in any order.

Combat resolution

If the option Automatic combat resolution is enabled in the module preferences, then select the odds marker and press Ctrl-Y () to automatically resolve the combat. The module will roll a die and report the result by placing a result marker on the combat.

If the option is not enabled, select the combat result from the odds marker context menu after rolling the die and consulting the Combat Resolution Table (Alt-A).

Combat result

In both cases, it is up to the factions to implement the results of the combat before progressing to the next combat or impulse.

To implement elimination, Eliminate (Ctrl-E) from a units context menu.

Retreats are done as normal movement.

Select odds marker and resolve Ctrl=Y Implement result of combat

If either the optional rules Naval Artillery Support (NAS) or Close Air Support (CAS) are enabled, then NAS or CAS units need not be eliminated. They will automatically be moved back the factions OOB.

Victory

At the end of the 7th turn, the module automatically calculates the winner of the game, and reports the result in a dialog box.

Features

Additional interfaces

Loaded dice and combat outcomes

Below are the probability for a given combat outcome given a combat odds ratio, given the kind of die used.

1d6 is a regular fair six-sided die, while loaded is a loaded die which accentuates die rolls of 3 and 4.

Mathematically, the Probability Mass Function (PMF) of 1d6 is a discrete uniform distribution between 1 and 6 (both inclusive), while the PMF of loaded is given by

Loaded dice PMF
Outcome Probability
1 1/12 8.3%
2 2/12 16.7%
3 3/12 25.0%
4 3/12 25.0%
5 2/12 16.7%
6 1/12 8.3%

This PMF has an expectation value (mean) of 3.5, just like 1d6, but a standard deviation 1.4 as opposed to a standard deviation of 1.7 of 1d6. That means that loaded is less likely to produce extreme results.

Thus, choosing to use the loaded dice means that there will be slightly less "luck" in the game.

Outcome probabilities given 1d6
Odds AE AR AX EX DR DE
1:6 83.3% 16.7%
1:5 66.7% 33.3%
1:4 50.0% 50.0%
1:3 33.3% 66.7%
1:2 33.3% 33.3% 16.7% 16.7%
1:1 16.7% 16.7% 16.7% 50.0%
2:1 16.7% 33.3% 33.3% 16.7%
3:1 33.3% 33.3% 33.3%
4:1 16.7% 33.3% 50.0%
5:1 33.3% 66.7%
6:1 16.7% 83.3%
7:1 100.0%

The loaded dice has light-red pips to help distinguish it from the fair dice.

Outcome probabilities given Loaded
Odds AE AR AX EX DR DE
1:6 91.7% 8.3%
1:5 75.0% 25.0%
1:4 50.0% 50.0%
1:3 25.0% 75.0%
1:2 25.0% 50.0% 16.7% 8.3%
1:1 16.7% 8.3% 25.0% 50.0%
2:1 8.3% 41.7% 41.7% 8.3%
3:1 25.0% 50.0% 25.0%
4:1 8.3% 41.7% 50.0%
5:1 25.0% 75.0%
6:1 8.3% 91.7%
7:1 100.0%

Tutorial

The tutorial illustrates most the mechanisms of the game and the module. You step through the tutorial by pressing Page-Down, or the replay forward button in the toolbar.

Generating a tutorial takes not an insignificant amount of time, and it has to be done all over every time something fundamental changes in the module.

The tutorial may therefore be out-of-date with respect to the module and Print'n'Play materials. If that is the case, then that will be noted here.

Issues in tutorial

About this game

This VASSAL module was created from LATEX sources of a Print'n'Play version of the Assault on Sevastopol game. That (a PDF) can be found at

https://gitlab.com/wargames_tex/anziobeach_tex

where this module, and the sources, can also be found. The PDF can also be found as the rules of this game, available in the Help menu.

The original game was release by the Simulation Publications, Inc. in 1969. A game with the same title was published in 1990 by World Wide Wargames. However, apart from sharing the name, these two games have very little in common.

This module implements solely the 1969 game.

Credits

1969 Simulation Publications, Inc. Credits
Game Design:
David Willams
Graphics:
Redmond A. Simonsen

Copyright and license

This work is 🄯 2024 Christian Holm Christensen, and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

or send a letter to

Creative Commons
PO Box 1866
Mountain View
CA 94042
USA