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RE: Multiple Assaults in one hex
Since considering this, I have completed two JF scenarios to try this out further. These weren't scenarios that were well tuned for this to work, as troop density was such that each hex in the perimeter could be stuffed 3 deep. I felt like when opponents were 2 or less deep, it was almost always to the Japanese benefit to multi assault. It was kind of hit or miss at 3. If the Americans had a triple machine gun stack with first fire though, you were likely dead either way.
(As an interesting aside for those who haven't read or played the original jungle rules in a long while, you used to not be able to examine opposing stacks in the Jungle unless you could spot them. Because it was not uncommon in the Guadalcanal/Jungle Fighting scenarios to have a dozen LTs on your OOB, the game included a meta element where the Japanese had to feel out the American lines to find and avoid the HMGs. That huge stack could be 3x HMG or just 1x MAR and 4x leaders. You didnt know until you poked them.I quite liked the effect, although its hard to simulate solo).
After reflecting on the results of these scenarios, I still think these are legal via gaming the optional combat rules, but not really the intent of the game design. Why do I feel that away about the intent of the design?
The top level summary of Assault from the beginning of the rule book states:
"Assault: Units starting their activation adjacent to enemy units can move into the enemy units' hex if activated by a leader. This initiates an assault, in which both sides fire with all their units in the hex. Each player adds up the direct fire strengths of his units in the hex, finds the correct column, adds any column modifiers and rolls one die for the results. Results affect all enemy units in the hex."
Obviously this does not talk about optional combat at all, or an existing assault, but as a top level statement it paints the all or nothing picture of assault.
Bearing that in mind, I'm going to house rule against multi assaults via intent in my solo games. If I intend to assault with a unit in a given turn, I will do so together.
On occasion, multi assaults may occur when the original assault has already fired and new entrants trigger optional combat, or if the original assault so badly mauls the defenders that an unused unit that I had not not intended on using in assault suddenly looks like a promising option.
But no more purposely splitting up my 3x Japanese INF already in the stack into 3 assaults because the rules dont say I cant.
Horribly murky and unenforceable in a shared game of course. But I can police intent just fine in a solitaire game and am at peace with my own ruling on it.
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