ORDERS

The requirement for orders
All units must be given orders otherwise they will not move or fire unless fired at.

All battlegroup and battalion HQs should be given general orders at the beginning of the game outlining their general operations.

Companies and independent platoons or sections must be given tactical orders.

These orders should specify the type of mission the unit is on, its objectives and routes. Any attachments or detachments should be specified and artillery nets designated.

All orders should contain a mission, method of execution and details of command, support and other coordination as required. The execution should specify movement (or holding), location and actions. E.g. “advance to and attack village A”, or “move to hill B and set up a flank support for unit A’s attack on village A.”

Orders may be conditional, such as “conduct recce of village C, if not held move on to hill D and if threatened, hold until relieved, then await new orders.”

The following are set types of orders that a unit may be given. Others may be agreed by the umpire to cover particular circumstances. A unit can have a movement order and an action order, or a number of action orders, which may be concurrent or contiguous according to their nature.

Reconnaissance. Move between points A and B at any speed. May not be given attack orders, should avoid engagement except to fight for information where specified. May not advance to nearer than 200m from a located enemy.

Advance. Move tactically between points A and B at up to half speed ignoring the effects of roads or tracks (but not steppe or hard sand). May be given attack, hold or support orders.

Move. Move directly between points A and B at a minimum of half speed, roads and tracks may be used. May be given attack, hold or support orders.

Attack. Must attack and attempt to occupy the designated location and clear it of the enemy, or destroy an objective such as a bridge.

Hold. Must remain at or within 200m of the designated location, defending it or covering approaches with fire.

Support. Follow at a given or appropriate distance, or set up in a designated position, so as to support another unit’s actions by either observing for indirect fire or carrying out direct fire.

There are two types of support order: direct support of a unit in an attack or defence of a designated location, or flank support where a unit is set up to protect another from enemy fire or attack from another location or direction.

A unit in support must be given arcs of fire, which may not be within 500m of a designated attack location for the unit supported if in flank support. Units in direct support may not be given arcs beyond 500m from a designated attack location for the unit supported. Fire may be given outside these arcs against an enemy directly threatening the support unit.

While orders are fairly rigid, units in direct communication, by being within command radius, may have them changed at any time. Rigid battlefield discipline is necessary to avoid firing on friendly troops. Failure to have or adhere to orders is an opportunity for the umpire to assess the possibility of friendly fire and carry it out to a reasonable, limited extent.

Once a unit has come under effective enemy fire its movement orders can be ignored, except for reconnaissance units being restricted to approaching no nearer than 200m from the enemy. Action orders must still be complied with, if of company size, but independent platoons and sections may always change them to halt. A unit with a move order must however advance at least half speed in its next movement phase.

Artillery must be under one of five levels of control, each of which has its own abilities.

Under command. Usually mortars of a company’s own support platoon or HQ, those attached from battalion, or a battalion's support company ordnance under Bn HQ. These may have fire brought down in the next period, or after 3 periods if converged pattern is used. Fire may be requested by a battalion FOO or MFC, by any radio-equipped element on the same net, by any element within 100m and in sight of the fire support unit, or with the delay of time taken by a runner or vehicle from any other element in the same command.
Soviet on-table artillery (usually but not only self-propelled) can be used in this way, but doctrinally it was mostly used for direct fire on targets observed by the vehicles or guns themselves. In this way they behave like any other on-table element and not as artillery at all.

FOO dedicated. Higher level artillery with FOOs and fire control centres, using good maps and fire control techniques. Specifically, this means British and American artillery from 1942. These may be called down by a designated FOO only, to arrive in the next period, or after 3 periods if converged or other special pattern is used. A battalion HQ element can radio or telephone the FOO for fire with one period’s delay; any other radio-equipped HQ can do so with two periods’ delay. Runners and vehicle-borne requests may be sent from HQ elements only. A FOO can call other batteries of the same regiment or different regiments with the same delays.

FOO on call. These must have a FOO controlling them and any fire requested will arrive after a delay of 6 periods. Further delays are as for FOO dedicated fire. All forces use this method up to 1941, and later too unless otherwise noted.

Uncontrolled. This is pre-planned fire from batteries unable to respond to calls other than defensive fire (DF) or pre-arranged contingency missions, as they have no FOO on the table. These batteries (more usually, battalions) will fire on targets to a previously arranged programme using any pre-arranged pattern and alignment and then on set barrages or interdictive points for the remainder of the battle. All of this is arranged before the game. Any force can use this method, but it is doctrine and therefore required for Soviet forces from late 1941.

Counter-battery. Artillery dedicated to locating and engaging enemy artillery only, they will not fire any other missions. Fire falls in the period next after spotting the target, or after 3 periods if converged pattern is used.

All fire is requested in phase 5.1.2 and arrives in phase 5.1.4 of the next or subsequent periods, depending on the delay.

FOO on call missions will always be preceded by a number of ranging shots at one per period prior to the mission being fired for effect. This procedure starts in the fifth period after the mission is requested (fourth if Japanese), and can be continued past the time the effective fire is available if corrections have not brought it onto target.
The same procedure can be used for FOO dedicated artillery if desired and written in the artillery fire mission request.

A FOO is an individual, usually together with a radio operator, who is either attached to an infantry command section or vehicle, becoming part of that element and sharing its fate if a battalion FOO, or deployed individually with his own transport if an artillery FOO. If he is deployed individually, he must still be linked to a unit for command purposes. Due to the bulkiness of long-range radio equipment an artillery FOO may not leave his vehicle and still control artillery fire unless he remains touching the vehicle or is in a prepared position such as found in an attack/defence game. Note: if he is deployed on a contour his vehicle can be touching and still count as out of sight.

A FOO must belong to one specified battery. All other batteries are subject to additional fire mission delays, even if they are part of the same battalion (he would still have to get permission for their use).

Exception: a FOO may be given control of additional regimental or brigade batteries of the same battalion, acting as the FOO for all of them, provided all are bought as FOO dedicated. There is an additional cost for the radio link and section 6.6.4 below still applies.

A FOO may request more than one battery to which he is linked at the same time but their fire must land on the same target point, with any appropriate delay.

A FOO may move and request fire, but must keep the target point in sight the whole time. Note: acquisition for artillery requests takes place in phase 5.1.2.

The amount and type of programmed fire is dependent on the type of game being played and the level of control for the battery.

In attack/defence games the attacker will have a number of bounds of pre-planned fire, in which each battery may be used to bring down fire anywhere on the battlefield. The defender may bring down defensive fire (see 13.3) on the number of points listed per battery. He may also plot interdictive fire.

In an encounter game both sides may plot a limited number of pre-planned missions, which may be interdictive.

Programmed fire table

	Pre-planned	Interdictive	Defensive
Attacker: Under command FOO dedicated FOO on call Uncontrolled	5 periods 4 periods 4 periods Unrestricted	- 8 periods 8 periods Unrestricted	- - - -
Defender: Under command FOO dedicated FOO on call Uncontrolled	- - - Unrestricted*	- 2 points 1 point Unrestricted*	3 points 2 points 1 point -
Encounter: Under command FOO dedicated FOO on call Uncontrolled	- - 2 periods 4 periods	- - 4 periods 6 periods	- - - -

An order or request for artillery fire, or fire mission, must include the following:

Target location. This can be a map coordinate, reference to a terrain feature, an existing and recorded target or variation from the immediately preceding mission by up to 400m in any direction.

Volley type. Either a spotting round (for missions not on recorded targets, DF, programmed or interdictive, but not necessarily for FOO dedicated or under command artillery) or immediate fire for effect (FFE) and the type of ammunition. Spotting rounds can be HE, but on a busy battlefield where other explosions are frequent smoke should be used. FFE must have the ammunition to be used stated, ABHE (which includes ricochet fire), GBHE, smoke or WP (rarely: illum or other special rounds).

Pattern or "sheaf". By default, an open pattern will be used. Point targets should be engaged with a converged pattern, more open areas with a regular pattern. Parallel patterns are quickest for the guns but require more working out for the wargamer. Extended patterns may also be worked out to cover larger areas at reduced effect. British doctrine was to use only open sheafs.

Direct area fire by artillery in sight of their targets does not require a fire mission order, but is restricted to non-ABHE ammunition.

Rocket launchers will not have a volley type or sheaf instruction, always firing a regular pattern. Their rate of fire is so low that they will also only fire

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