Narvik (NV)

Question:

On the first turn German units are allowed to exploit 1 hex if they land in a hex occupied by Norwegian units that retreat before combat. In order to use this capability did ALL the Norwegians have to retreat or only 1 Norwegian retreated.
Example: Trondheim and Oslo both contain 2 Norwegian units. If one stands and the other retreats before combat what can the Germans do in their exploitation phase?

Answer:

All Norwegian units must retreat from the hex in order for the German
units there to get the 1-hex exploitation move. (If even one Norwegian unit
remains in the hex, all Germans units there engage in combat with it
instead.)

Source:

Answer posted by John Astell at Yahoo Classic Europa mailing list on 16.07.2013 23:40.

Question:

The rules are fuzzy on when general supply is traced. I am assuming this is done after reinforcements are placed, and only at this time. An airdropped German supply depot would not provide General supply until the beginning of the next Norwegian player-turn. Correct? Also assuming all units in staging boxes/at sea are in general supply. Correct?

Answer:

I see no rule that requires general supply to be traced at one time and only one time per player turn. Instead, unless I am missing something and am not recalling my playings of the game correctly (both are possible), general supply is traced as needed. If you are about to do something with a unit, you check its general supply status. For example if you are about to move a unit in the movement or exploitation phase, you check its general supply
status at that time. If you are about to attack an enemy unit, you check its general supply status at that time.

This situation is similar to attack supply. Note that a German depot airdropped in a turn can be used for attack supply. It is also available for general supply. Note that since the air phase comes after the movement phase, air dropping a depot won’t help put German units into general supply during the movement phase. However, if the depot is still present during the exploitation phase, then German combat/motorized units could use it for
general supply.

Also note that Rule 11 specifically gives an example of a British unit going out of general supply DURING a German player turn (presumably as a result of German actions in the turn).

Finally, note that going out of general supply has no effect on a unit until its second [game] turn of being out of general supply. Thus, the only practical consideration here is if a unit that is already out of general supply gets back into general supply in a turn. Example: A German c/m is in its second game turn of being out of general supply. During its movement
phase, it has its movement rating halved per Rule 11. However, it moves so that it ends its movement phase in general supply. During the exploitation phase, if this is still the case, the unit is now in general supply and has its full movement rating for exploitation movement. (There is a gray area here: When the c/m moved back into a region where it could trace general supply during its movement phase, did it regain its full movement rating? Answer: No.)

Question:

Are airdrops and transport missions subject to AA? In one place the rules seem to indicate airdrops are, in another place it only talks about AA against bombing missions. For example, the Germans hold Trondheim. The Allies placed an interdiction marker (8 AA) and 2 CLA (5 AA each). If the Germans try to airdrop or air transport a supply depot into Trondheim would all 3 naval units fire AA, only the CLAs, or none?

Answer:

Spot checks of Rule 12A (air sequence) and Rule 14 (AA Fire) indicate that AA fire occurs against mixed waves, with the restrictions that 1) naval units may only fire on mixed waves bombing ships, ports, or supply bases and 2) AA units may fire on any mixed waves except those bombing ships. Air transports on air transport or air drop missions will be in mixed waves (per 12E1) and thus can be fired on by AA units but not ships. I think this is clear and do not wish to take the time to read through all of the rules to see if one says AA can ONLY be fired against aircraft on bombing missions. If you can list any specific rules that says AA can ONLY be fired against bombing missions, I will review this.

Source:

Answer posted by John Astell at Yahoo Classic Europa mailing list on 16.07.2013 23:40.

Question:

Can the Germans trace general supply across the Swedish border to the
captured supply depot that they get in Sweden on turn 2 or must that depot
be in Norway to act as a supply source?

Answer:

No German unit at all can trace supply TO any depot anywhere at all! See Rule 11B1, 1st paragraph, 2nd sentence: You trace supply FROM a depot TO a German unit. Perhaps the question was phrased fuzzy? ;-)

The German player may trace supply FROM the special “captured” depot to German units, even if this depot is in Sweden. (Historically, the depot in effect always remained in Sweden and thus was crucial to the Germans holding out: they ended up sitting in the mountains at 25B:1010 next to both Narvik and Sweden and thus had guaranteed general supply, since the Allies were not going to violate Swedish neutrality to try to cut the supply flow.)

Source:

Answer posted by John Astell at Yahoo Classic Europa mailing list on 16.07.2013 23:40.

Question:

Per rule 11.B.1 German supply depots must be transported to Norway. But
where do they originate? Can they appear (in unlimited numbers) in Denmark
(either on or off map)?

Answer:

Depot reinforcements appear the same as German ground unit
reinforcements.

Source:

Answer posted by John Astell at Yahoo Classic Europa mailing list on 16.07.2013 23:40.

Question:

Rule 13B (last sentence) says German air units may not start the game on Danish airbases. It doesn’t mention German ground units. May German ground units enter Denmark from the reinforcement chart in the ground movement phase? May they carry depots when doing so? May they use the Danish city as a port to enter the staging box?

Answer:

The only ways I see that German ground units and depot can enter Danish territory is by air transport or air drop. They cannot even enter Danish territory by naval transport give how “port” is defined in the rules. If you see a rule allowing German units to enter Denmark from the reinforcement chart in the ground movement phase, please cite it so that I can examine it.

In general, the rules tell you what CAN be done and do not list all the things that CANNOT be done, as the latter list is perhaps nearly infinite in scope. Some humorous examples: There is no rule stating that units cannot teleport themselves. However, they indeed cannot do. (If they could, there would be a rule on it.) There is no rule stating that units cannot time travel. However, you still cannot receive all your reinforcements on Turn 1. A more serious example: There is no rule stating that the Germans cannot deliver depots to Norway by submarine and avoid the chance of being sunk. However, even though this was something theoretically within their capabilities in some minor way, they cannot do this.

Source:

Answer posted by John Astell at Yahoo Classic Europa mailing list on 16.07.2013 23:40.

Question:

Are the Shetland Islands in play, i.e. may the Allied player land there and after having done so can the Allies set up a frozen lake airfield there? Can the Germans land on the Shetlands? (I don’t think that would be possible.) Could the Germans bomb the Shetlands?

Answer:

No offense, but I don’t have time to answer open ended questions that require me to read all the rules to cover what I believe may be trivial issues. If you’re willing to cite specific cases, the rules that support the case, and why this is important, I’ll look at it. Off hand, I would suggest you look at the definition of a port and then consider how this affects the
Shetlands.

Source:

Posted on Yahoo Europa Mailing List by John Astell on 16.07.2013 23:40

Question:

Rule 17D does not prohibit British Carriers, interdiction markers and CLAs from operating in the area east of the North Sea line (i.e. between Denmark and Norway), correct?

Answer:

Correct. Having played the Germans several times, in most cases I would particularly welcome any British carrier or interdiction marker operating in this area, where I would typically have maximum air power. Any short term advantage gained by RN here would likely be punished by VP losses due to bombing hits on the RN.

Source:

Posted on Yahoo Europa Mailing List by John Astell on 16.07.2013 23:40

Question:

I am engaged in a PBEM game of Narvik, and a point of contention has arisen between my opponent and I. I am attempting to bomb the airbase outside of Trondheim, and he has stacked a pair of CLAs in the little tiny piece of ocean in the hex, and attempting to fire AA at my bombers. Here is his argument: Per rule 14C

“Naval units may only fire against units bombing ships, ports or bases.”

Does this include “airbases” or only the supply “bases”?

Here is my argument:
Per 11B3: When referring to Allied supply bases, the rules consistently refer to Allied supply bases as a “base” or bases”. This consistency extends to rule 12C3c, where it again refers to Allied supply bases as “bases” or a “base”.  In most cases, when referring to an airbase, the rules either use the term “airbase” or “airfields”. There are a few references to the airbases as “base” or “bases”, however, the most common reference is “airbases’ within the context of the rules. “Base” references include “return to base”, or damage to the “base”.  Rule 14, in it’s example, also refers to an “Allied base”, to me, meaning an Allied supply base.

Answer:

I looked at it from two different ways and both exclude naval units from
firing AA at airbases.

1. Rule 11B3 states

“French, British, and Polish units receive bases from
which they may draw supply.”

Spot checking various other rules shows that the intention reference of “bases” is indeed these bases and not airbases. The occasional use of “base” to mean airbase is in the air rules, where “base” obviously means airbase. (“Return to base” for example is a standard
term used across a number of games and always means return to airbases. I agree in the context of Narvik with its Allied supply bases, it would be clearer if instead of “base” only “supply base” or “airbase” was used. However, rules writing was less strict back then, and I never got a rules questions that questioned the meaning of “base”.)

2. In reading the Antiaircraft Fire rule (14), it is clear to me that the intention is that naval units can fire AA only in the naval “domain”: at sea or at the sea-land interface (ports and supply bases, [supply bases must be placed in ports]). Airbases are typically more inland (sometimes much more so) and are outside the naval “domain.” “Domain” is just a term I am using here to get the concept across and is not used in Narvik.

Not only do I read this as the intent of Rule 14, but as the person who worked on the 1980 edition of Narvik, I know it was the intent of the GDW design team and how we actually played it.

Source:

Posted on Yahoo Europa Mailing List by John Astell on 15.07.2013 07:10

Question:

Trucks – rule 21 says “If all friendly (currently controlling) units are eliminated, then the trucks are eliminated as well. However, trucks never retreat. Thus if the currently controlling units retreat, the trucks are left behind and are captured by the other player.”

Situation: The Norwegian defenders of Trondheim suffered a DD (defender disrupted) combat result and as part of that they must retreat. However, they are surrounded and cannot retreat.

Rule 10D1 says “If a unit cannot retreat without violating these rules, it is eliminated instead.”

What happens to trucks where the controlling player’s units are eliminated by being unable to retreat? We can see this going either way.

Answer:

The trucks are eliminated. In effect, the surrounded status of the defending units cancels their retreat and instead they are eliminated (if a unit cannot retreat, it does not retreat). Since all the defending units are eliminated, the trucks are also eliminated.

Source:

Posted by Arthur Goodwin on the Yahoo Europa Mailing list on 13.08.2013 22:04.