Question:
At what point is a phasing player using air for GS committed to battle? Here is example of a problem: A phasing player sends 30 air units for GS. The phasing player has 20 REs in hexes adjacent to the hex being attacked, but is not using all 20 REs in the battle of course the Allies don’t know that. After AA 20 air units are left. My question: Is the attacking player required to use 20 REs of ground units or can he use any number of units and ignore all the extra GS in the battle? If a battle is lost or if I wish to try and deceive my opponent can I use 1 unit and make a 1 to 4 odds attack?
Answer:
First of all, combat is not mandatory, so any number of air units could be flown on GS and this would not “force” an attack, in and of itself.
However, once the phasing player initiates combat resolution for a particular hex, then combat resolution must proceed.
Any units that fire AA are automatically included in the attack, since firing AA is, per earlier rulings on this, part of resolving combat. Beyond this, however, there are no requirements that anyone attack. So yes, if you decide to begin the combat resolution for a particular attack, you are free to declare that of the x number of units available to participate, only one will do so, and if so, then GS calculations are governed by what attacks, and not by what is available to attack.
To be quite clear, the number of air units flown on a mission such as DAS and/or GS has nothing to do with how many may participate; one is always able to fly as many air units as desired and possible, the limitations are only in effect once the combat is to be resolved. Even flying the GS mission doesn’t mandate combat, as the rules make plainly clear (last paragraph, 20G.2.b).
Source:
TEM 59/60
Source:
Errata published at http://www.hmsgrd.com/Files/Europa/Second Front/Second Front.pdf
