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EFS has several types of special units, which adds to EFS's rich historical flavor and chrome.
Engineers in EFS build strongpoints and destroy enemy strongpoints. An engineer unit
in a town in Mud weather can enable air transport from that town. A motorized engineer is necessary to enable
overrun attempts against city, major city, or fortification hexes (fortified lines or strongpoints).
"Engineer Effects" can be declared in combat, see Combat section for info.
Strongpoints can be built by
both sides (as long as the scenario special rules don't disallow it). There can only be a maximum of
one strongpoint in a hex, although a strongpoint can be built behind a fortified hexline. The German player needs
engineers to place strongpoints on the map. The Soviet doesn't, although engineers can speed the placement of
strongpoints by allowing the Soviet player to place a "completed", rather than "under construction", strongpoint
on the map. Strongpoints give a +1 drm to the defender in a strongpoint, along with some other benefits. Strongpoints
can go out of supply and "die" if cut off. Strongpoints can be built in any hex in General Supply, even in enemy
ZOC. Usually the Soviet player will put strongpoints in victory point towns and cities, behind rivers and other
defensible terrain, and cluster them around very important cities like Smolensk or Kiev. Although the +1 drm
may not sound like a big deal, strongpoints also cause asterisk results to be levied against the attacker, greatly
reduces the chance of being overrun, and continues to cause the Axis player problems even after you've abandoned
the strongpoint by blocking roads, railroad conversion, and supply routes until destroyed. To destroy a strongpoint
a division or engineer unit needs to be in the hex with the strongpoint in the Engineering phase, which often
causes the Axis player to slow down or divert their units for fortification destruction duties.
Soviet Engineer - Strongpoints
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Can build a completed strongpoint the turn it is received, via the Replacements Table. Soviet Engineers
cannot build strongpoints of their own free will, they must be supplied from the Replacements Table. Note that
the Soviet player can place "under construction" strongpoints without an engineer present.
The engineer must be in General Supply.
The engineer must not have moved in strategic or rail movement in the turn.
The engineer must not have converted any rail hexes.
If the engineer is in Command Range of a non-op HQ's, it cannot place strongpoints.
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German Engineer - Strongpoints
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Can place a "under construction" strongpoint on the hex they are on.
The engineer must remain in the hex until the next Engineering Phase, when the strongpoint is flipped to its
completed side. If the engineer leaves the hex before then, the under construction strongpoint is removed.
The engineer must be in General Supply.
Note that scenario rules may (probably) prohibit the construction of German strongpoints.
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Bridge units are available to both sides, and really represent engineer units specialized in bridge building.
These bridge units typically provided pontoon bridges across rivers, although they did also repair
conventional bridges, but since bridges can't be "blown" in EFS, the only aspect of these bridge units in EFS
is the ability to provide temporary bridges across rivers and major rivers. A bridge unit at a river negates
the crossing the river cost for that hexisde. Note that the counter has an arrow. It points to the hexside
that gets the temporary bridge. Bridge unit placement is very fast and loose in EFS. Basically you can place
it in any hex in General Supply, regardless of any affiliation marked on the counter. No more than two friendly
bridge
units can be active per map. You can move a bridge unit
at *any time* (once) during each friendly Movement Phase. This means units can use it to cross a river at one spot, then
you can move the bridge unit to another river, and other units can then run across its bridge at the new location. Non-op HQ's
interfere with Bridge units - they prohibit placement of bridges within their Command Range, and bridge units
cannot leave a hex while under Command Range of a non-op HQ's. Bridge units cannot be captured or destroyed
by the enemy. Bridge units cannot retreat. If the hex they are in is entered by an enemy unit, the bridge unit
is moved to off map, then can be placed back on the map in the owner's regular Movement phase.
Both sides had armored trains, although in the current EFS games I think only Soviets are supplied with them.
An armored train travels up to 48 rail hexes per turn (subject to interdiction effects). They can move in either
the Motorized Phase or the regular Movement Phase (but not both in the same turn).
They do not require any supply to move, and do not count
against the rail capacity. They cannot transport anything. German armored trains can only run on converted track,
while Soviet armored trains can only run on non-converted track. They can move into enemy ZOC, but not through them.
They can run on tracks "behind" enemy lines (as long as the track is the proper type for it). They do not possess
any "armor" benefits. Some Soviet trains are NKVD trains, and act as NKVD units for the purposes of the No Retreat
automatic orders for NKVD. They can drive through Command Ranges of non-op HQ's. They do not disqualify attacking
units from getting CAB.
Although weak and lacking ZOC, these little buggers can help out with defending an area you have difficulty getting any regular
ground troops to, as they are rather independent and can go a long ways on a track. They've come through in a pinch
for me several times.
Flotillas are armored boats. They can travel along
rivers, coastal hexes, and even sea hexes, up to 16 hexes a turn. They are subject to air interdiction. They can move into ZOC, but
not through them. Since ZOCs don't extend across Major Rivers, flotillas can freely move along Major Rivers.
When they move along a river you need to indicate the "side" of the river they are on by placing the counter
on the hex on one side of the river or other (you don't place them on the hexlines). Flotillas can be "overrun"
by enemy units on the same side of the river as the flotilla. They can be attacked as if a regular unit, and they
can participate on attacks on enemy units that in an hex adjacent to the river (either side). When moving a flotilla
you keep along the river, no "jumping" over land to continue on a river. Flotillas do not benefit from fortified
lines or strongpoints, by themselves. Axis flotillas are AA Fire capable.
Flotillas are especially useful in swampy areas, as they are not affected by the difficult terrain. Flotillas
often force the Axis player to use up some units to garrison some rear areas that are reachable by river, since the
flotillas are rather difficult to track down and kill in the swamp.
Both sides have super-heavy artillery. They have significant movement restrictions, common to both Axis and Soviets, as outlined in the Movement
section of this site. Super-heavy artillery are designed for reduction of significant fortifications and cities.
Super-heavy artillery require some setup, and therefore have two sides. A mobile side and a firing side. They can only
flip during the Engineering phase, furthermore - they can only flip to their firing sides if they did not move during
that turn (you may want to mark a super-heavy you intend to flip to firing with some marker so you don't accidentally
move it, and so you don't forget to flip it later). Super-heavy artillery (when firing) contribute their support values to an attack, plus an additional
-1 drm if attacking city, major city, fortified line, or strongpoint terrain. Note that for the fortified line, the
-1 drm only applies if the attacker is being charged a +1 drm for attacking across a fortified line.
Soviet super-heavy artillery
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Soviet coastal defense units and railroad artillery are are treated as super-heavy artillery.
Soviet super-heavy artillery bearing Activated markers cannot contribute their support values to any combat.
Soviet super-heavy artillery DO count towards the maximum of artillery units allowed to participate in a combat.
Soviet super-heavy artillery can add support to attacks and defense.
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Axis super-heavy artillery
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Axis super-heavy artillery DO NOT count towards the maximum of artillery units allowed to participate in a combat.
Axis super-heavy artillery can only provide their supports to attacks, not defense. On defense they only provide
their defense value (typically 1).
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The Soviets began a program of designating Guards units out of battle tested and well performing units
(or grouping survivors into units). They would often get preference in equipment, including
lend lease equipment. These units were more dependable and had better leadership.
The Soviets can activate one Guards unit that is within Command Range of a HQ's without Command point cost.
The HQ's can activate the Guards unit even if its Command value is reduced to 0 due to air interdiction.
Non-op HQ's cancel this though if the Guards unit is in Command range of it. Guards units provide
a beneficial die-roll modifier for surrender die rolls in its hex.
The Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs, known by the initials NKVD, formed special political troops. The feared "NKVD Commissars"
of these units could overrule the decisions of commanders on the ground. A common order would be for the Commissars to demand a defense to the death.
Whenever a NKVD unit is defending in a major city, city, or town hex, it issues a mandatory NO RETREAT
order on all units in the hex - unless the hex is under the command span of a Non-Op HQ. You cannot counter-order this NKVD NO RETREAT order (other than
by moving a non-op HQ to within range of the hex).
You cannot apply step losses to the NKVD unit which issued the NO RETREAT order unless there are no other units available to take losses.
If there are two or more NKVD units in the hex, then only one of them is the "active" NKVD unit - the
others are treated as regular units. The Soviet player chooses which NKVD unit will be the "active" one. NKVD units can only issue the NO RETREAT
order - they never issue an ADDITIONAL RETREAT order.
NKVD units that are not in a major city, city, or town, do not issue any orders on their own, and are just like other infantry units.
There are NKVD train units that are very helpful when you need to get a city hex to mount a stout defense.
NKVD units provide a beneficial die-roll modifier for Surrender rolls in its hex.
Ukreplyonni Raion (UR) units are groups of machine gun units and other fortress defense troops. These units, and
the militia, have untried sides (reminiscent of Panzergruppe Guderian). They are typically placed in an opaque
cup and drawn randomly and placed untried side up. Supposedly their tried sides are supposed to be secret to the
Soviet player as well as the Axis, so you gotta be a little careful in pulling and placing these units. Some may
be placed in the beginning of the scenario, some may come up on the reinforcement chart, and the Soviet player
may expend infantry (type "I") replacement points to pull them out of the cup and place them on the map. In the Replacement
Phase the UR/MG unit(s) are placed on any friendly Soviet city or major city in General Supply, or on any
friendly Soviet fortification hexes in General Supply. They cannot be placed in a hex with a UR/MG unit already
in it, and they cannot be placed in enemy ZOC (remember though that ZOCs do not extend into Major Cities).
These units remain on their untried sides until the moment of combat or when the Soviet player moves them. Any
UR/MG unit that is found to be a 0-0-0 is removed from the map and placed back in the cup.
Militia units are scratch units that were thrown together by the Soviet military. These units tended to be
highly unreliable. The Soviet player cannot move these units further than five hexes from their placement city.
If forced to retreat further than five hexes then they are released from this restriction.
Unlike UR/MG units, these do not get flipped when moved, only when attacked. If, when flipped, they
turn out to be a 0-0-0, they are removed from play. When eliminated, they go to the
Soviet rebuilding chart, not the cup. Militia with infantry or cavalry symbols can be removed voluntarily
from the map by the Soviet player in the Replacement Phase, which
gives the Soviet player 1 "I" Type replacement point. They can only be removed from a hex in General Supply.
This exchange is generally a good idea when you've got valuable
infantry units you want to build back up.
In several scenarios the Soviet player may have some, or many, forces restricted to "garrison duty", which means
they can't move from the hex they start from. These troops were controlled by "higher headquarters", who only
begrudgingly would release them, piece meal, to the front.
All units that are under a garrison marker are deemed to
be garrison units. Other units can enter and leave the hex without being "garrisonned". Once a garrison is released,
all units under that garrison marker are released and can move normally. Non-op HQs that are under a garrison marker can
roll each turn for activation. Non-op HQs and activated HQs still operate as the HQs rules specify - even if they can't move
due to being under a garrison marker.
Garrison units are released when any of these occur:
The hex is attacked.
An enemy unit moves adjacent to it.
It goes out of General Supply.
Is released by a "R" result on the Replacements Table.
is released by a turn specified in the scenario.
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