Lutz's Web Pages: Ambush! and Battle Hymn Hints Page

Ambush! & Battle Hymn Hints

Ambush! and Battle Hymn Hints and Reminders

These hints have been taken from the "Purple Heart" Rules and Paragraph booklet; they have also appeared with other modules:

If you need to remember a specific paragraph, write down the paragraph number and a few words describing it, such as: Victory Conditions: 666. When you are instructed to look at a paragraph at a certain time, make a note of the paragraph number and situation that must exist before you can look it up. This could save you from an enormous amount of wasted time and frustration later in the Mission, especially in Purple Heart which has some very complicated paragraphs.

When you purchase weapons for your squad, remember that each weapon comes with one round of free ammo. This ammo still takes up one Ammo Box, however. A soldier cannot carry 6 rounds of ammo and "one in the weapon". Note also that a pistol and a round of ammo for it each take up an ammo box.

Don't forget to conduct grenade/satchel charge PC Checks! Both German and US soldiers (not in a vehicle) have the chance to fall prone and/or throw the thing away (see 10/2 of the Ambush! rules).

Bazookas are a squad's best friend. Not only are they vital for such difficult tasks as blowing up tanks, but they are often extremely helpful when attempting to take out the odd machinegun nest hidden in a building. Remember that any stone or wood wall hit by a non-dud bazooka round is automatically destroyed, and any soldiers behind the wall are hit and take damage as if by semi-automatic rifle fire.

Move soldiers in a crouched position during Operations. This can mean the difference between life and death for your men. (Not a very sporting attitude. ed.)

Use your commanders to give turns to soldiers with good Weapon Skills. (We have seen Private C move into a German's hex, assault to kill, fail, assault again, fail again, and finally succeed before the German had a chance to respond.)

Although there is no right way to attack a bunker or occupied building, crouching next to one of its windows may be the safest (unless the crafty German stands up!).

Once a crew weapon has been set up in a hex, any soldiers in that hex may fire it, without spending an action to set it up again.

If a wounded German is instructed to enter a hex that he will never be able to (due to his halved Movement Point Allowance), move him into the hex anyway. Otherwise he will spend the rest of the Mission trying to get out of that one hex.

Place Event markers every time the word Event appears on the Mission Card as a result of a Paragraph Check, even if a subsequent die roll indicates No Event.

Since a wounded soldier has no free stance change, a prone, wounded soldier would have to make a charge assault to get up and attack an enemy in his own hex.

When firing a mounted MG from a jeep, there is no -2 modifier for firing soldier inside a car. Any other unmounted weapons in the jeep do suffer the -2 modifier.

Panic for a wounded US soldier is determined by the initiative die roll result, regardless of the fact that he can receive only one turn. For example, an out of command wounded soldier with an IN of 2 still panics on a roll of 3 or 8, even though his marker would be place in the 1 -turn space.

If two walls on a second story are destroyed, the first floor collapses as well.

Opposing soldiers on different floors in the same building hex are considered to be adjacent, and use "interior through aperture adjacent to firer" modifiers for all fire, grenade, and satchel charge combat they perform against each other.

All equipment in a bunker or building hex is destroyed if the hex is reduced to rubble.

Artillery landing in a hex will eliminate a minefield.

A campaign veteran does not become a commander if that soldier reaches an IN of 4 or 5.

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, last change 2011-03-12