[Rules] 6.72 Decapitation (Now voting for clarification! Come make yourself heard!)

[campsawyer]

Thanks Shad

[campsawyer]

Looks like the "can only happen once" has a 2-1 advantage, so that will be added as a clarification.

[Michael Murphy]

As I said earlier, the response that I got several years ago (semi-official) is that the XO becomes the CO and his loss triggers another decapitation. I'm good with that ruling, but will play it as "clarified" if I should by chance play against another person. It isn't that big of a deal as it only happened once in my many playings. Needless to say, that side lost the scenario.

[larry marak]

Sniping leaders is universal military tactic, but being able to identify the leader's location in this time period (except in a command vehicle with antennas instead of weapons) would be very difficult, and bombardment is not a sniper's weapon.
For those reasons, and because Avalanche created leader decapitation as a step down from batallion HQ decapitation, I voted once per game.

[Shad]

I like your logic, Larry.

[vulcan558]

I'm on the side of multiple decapitation - although I've never seen it happen yet. While it may seem a bit gamey, it also prevents the use of another gamey tactic, namely putting an uber-LTC or MAJ up front to lead your infantry into the trenches. My understanding, from my reading on the period, is that battalion commanders personally leading their men into action became a relatively rare event after WW1. The decapitation rule discourages the use of super-leaders as 'firefighters' to tip the balance in critical assaults. Would a LTC really dart from spot to spot along the battalion front rallying the troops and leading them into the trenches? I suspect he would be a little way behind, holding the chain of command together and directing his reserves, to be honest...

[Blackcloud6]

I like Vulcan's logic. It puts a modicum of risk into the mix for the player to consider.

[vulcan558]

Thanks blackcloud! In my mind, the risk factor seems to mesh with some other design decisions - for example, the attackers bonus for firing into a hex with three combat units in it. If that and decapitation didn't exist, wouldn't you just get 3 HMGs/engineers/etc and put an LTC in charge for the assault? I definitely would! Gamey as heck, but the defender would have to be in the Maginot line to survive it. In all, decapitation and fire bonuses add up to a good mechanism to push players towards a historical, combined-arms approach, rather than building uber-stacks and throwing them into assault after assault.

[vince hughes]

Vulcan

I agree too and can give a 2-player game example.

In a game I played, a certain leader on the enemy's side was 'peacocking' up and down the line (behind it has to be said, but always adjacent to his men). Having seen enough of this parade ground activity and the resultant morale bonuses, I bombarded him on a 30 or 42 column OBA.

An X result soundly got rid of him much to my opponents accusational misery. hehe !

Was I gamey ? ... I guess.

Was the lone super-leader up and down the line gamey ?.... I guess so too.. lol

(Quid Pro Quo)

[Drachma]

I believe that if there were two (MAJORS) then you would need to distinguish DATE OF RANK to see who is the highest. However to have the decapitation happen each time the highest ranking officer is killed seems a bit far fetched when you get down into the rank of Capt. or Lt's. After all, brand new Second Lieutenants are almost considered as cannon fodder. Thank goodness for the Senior NCO's.