The Mediterranean Option
An Axis & Allies Variant
Original published in the Canadian Wargaming Journal
by Norm Zinkham
Stacking and Movement
1. Stacking Limits: Change the stacking limits to 8 land and/or air units per land area but leave it unlimited in sea areas. Areas with units overstacked (due to retreats) must be corrected before combat on the player's next turn. Excess units are lost (owner's choice).
2. Units have a movement allowance before and after combat.
3. One land or air unit may move strategically, instead of after combat, any number of contiguous land areas, inclduing one just captured in combat.
4. Air units may not land in an area area owned before combat (except on a rebase or strategic move, and then they must not have moved before combat).
5. Ships are deemed to move before air, hence carriers may move, then fighters on board may fly missions from the new location.
Unir | Combat Value | ' | Movement | ' | Loss Choice |
Attack | Defense | Before Combat | After Combat | ||
Infantry | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Inf,Arm,Air |
Armor | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Inf or Arm, Air |
Fighter | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Any |
Bomber | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | Any |
Battleship | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | BB,Ay |
Carrier | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | CV,BB,Any |
Submarine | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Any ship |
Transport | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | TR,CV,BB,Air |
Bombardment | 4 | Inf,Arm,Air | |||
AA | 0 | 1 | |||
- Fighters rebase at 4
- Bombers rebase at 6
- Any - die roller's choicse of Inf, Arm, Naval (any ship) or Air loss
- Air loss - Loser's choice of Ftr or Bmb
- Die Roller has choice of loss type, loser has choice of specific unit
Combat
1. There is now only 1 round of combat. All battles must be predesignated. Note that units have revised combat capabilities.
2. Sea Battles: Attackers moves into area but must retreat if any defending unit are left in the sea area after combat. Naval combat is simultaneous as before. Prior to naval combat, a player must pre-specify each aircraft that whill shot at subs. If they do so, their attack value is reduced by 2. Excess hits can still be applied to other targets. Shore bombarment occurs before defensive land fire.
3. Land Battles: Units attack from adjacent areas, following pre-combat movement. There is no advance after combat but there is movement following combat. The defender fires all his units first, extracts casualties and then the attacker fires.
4. Institute a retreat on a die roll of 6, with the following effects:
- Defender: retreat into an open are or area containing a friendly alliance unit, but not an area where a battle has been designated.
- Attacker unit may not advance after combat.
- Naval unit retreat into an adjacent area not containing an enemy unit and an area the attacker did not come from.
5. Kills/retreats are rolled by type: First of all air units roll with losses and retreats are extracted; then Naval,Arm and Inf in the order.
6. Heavy bombers only get 2 die rolls.
7. FLAK: Roll once per air unit; a 1 or 6 retreats the air unit to base. Flak only applies to air units attacking an aera in combat.
8. Air units must fly into the area under attack; they do not attack from adjacent.
Builds
1. Lost battleships, carriers, subs and transports are rebuilt at half ocst. Be sure to keep track of these losses.
2. Factories cannot be built.
3. Each player may designate one of his origional territories as a Secondary Production Site. He may place 2 units of production of Inf, Arm or naval rebuilds each turn at this site. The site may be designated at the end of any turn. The site is immobile once designated and can't be used by other players. If lost, resumes production the turn following recapture.
4. Fighters can be built on or with carriers that are adjacent to a production center.
5. A player may place up to 1 Inf unit of production per intially owend territory held at the start of the current turn (in addition to 3).
Special
1. The USSR or Japan must pay 5 IPC for a declaration of war on the other. Only the first one to do this needs to pay.
2. Each neutral has 1 infantry unit as a garrison. It may not move.
3. The USSR may not stack in the same land area at the US or UK and vice-versa. They may not enter land area owned or originally owned by the other, until at some point that player has no units remaining on the map.
4. If your capital is lost, you have 1 turn to recapture it. If you fail to do so, you must give your opponent half your IPC's after collection of that turn's IPC's. This occures each time your capital is lost any you fail to recapture.
5. Omit the CinC rules.