Random Force Generator.

This procedure, developed to be suitable for the Battlefront© WWII rules, was inspired by a procedure published by Britannia Miniatures in their rule set Take Cover© as an alternative to a points system. The Take Cover© paradigm was the best I've encountered for selecting forces, and this is clearly apparent in my development of a system that can be used with Battlefront©.

  1. Agree who will attack or defend and set out the table including field works (trenches, barbed wire etc) however you wish. At the very least the defender should be allowed to start in improved positions or hull-down. This procedure does not cover those aspects. The flow chart is used to determine the composition and attachments for a roughly battalion sized command plus attachments. Each of these commands gets a commander stand. The number of such commands used should depend on the table size. A useful rule of thumb is one command on a 6" x 4" table.

  2. Work through the accompanying flow chart for each command to determine the number and type of manoeuvre elements present.

    3. Random Force Generator Flow Chart

  3. The type of division chosen affects what manoeuvre elements may be selected. The procedure indicates whether company or platoon sized ME's should be used. The owner is free to choose the identity of that manoeuvre element providing it is consistent with the type of division, theatre and year etc. For example, for the infantry companies if a German armoured division is chosen, the owner has the choice between ME-08 and ME-09. If an infantry division had been chosen, then ME-10 would be used. Consult the Battlefront TOE's for the composition of manoeuvre elements.

  4. The infantry BG's support stands (MG's, mortars etc) and attached manoeuvre elements (carrier platoons etc) are not selected using the chart, but are diced for separately. If three companies are present, all of the support stands are used. If only two companies are present a dice roll of 5 or more is required for the stand to be present. If only one company are present a dice roll of 8 or more is required for the stand to be present. Consider a British infantry battalion to include one MG platoon ex-gratia for this purpose.

  5. Infantry gun platoons can be substituted for ATG platoons at the player's discretion.

  6. Support platoons can be selected from any platoon at regiment, brigade, division or corps level appropriate to the division chosen.

  7. A support platoon can also be traded in for aircraft sorties. Give the force a free FAC. For each support "platoon" available, roll one dice then divide by 2 and round up. This is the number of aircraft sorties available.

  8. The discipline rating used should be the "average" for that type of division for the game year and theatre. Typical ratings are given in the rule book or can be found in the supplement section on the web.


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