18. Obstacles & Engineers

As well as infantry and supporting weapons, the battlefields of the Second World War saw specialist troops and equipment take to the field as never before. The Engineers were ubiquitous across all battlefields, carrying out specialist tasks under fire.

18.1 Obstacles

The following obstacles may be deployed, usually as Support Options selected for the Mission.

Minefields

Minefields are 6" square. They are a mix of anti-vehicle and anti-personnel devices. They cannot be crossed by any Units or vehicles unless they have been cleared.

Barbed Wire

Fully tracked vehicles can cross barbed wire, treating it as Soft Ground, with a risk of becoming immobilised. If a fully tracked vehicle successfully crosses a section of wire, it is removed and replaced with an area of Broken Ground 6" by 2".

Barbed wire is a linear obstacle in sections 6" wide by 2" deep. It cannot be crossed by infantry, wheeled or halftracked vehicles unless it has been cleared.

Roadblocks

Roadblocks fully block roads of any width and are 2" deep. They prevent all vehicle movement. Infantry treat a roadblock as a Minor Obstacle.

18.2 Engineering Tasks

Engineers carry out specific tasks. They do not operate as infantry Teams. They do not fire or throw grenades and only fight in Close Combat if they are attacked by an enemy.

An Engineer Team activates on a Command Dice roll of 1 or with an Order from Leader. The Team can undertake tasks without penalty providing at least one Team member is present.

18.2.1 Clearing Minefields

To clear a Minefield the Engineer Team must be activated when in contact with it. They roll 1D6, on a roll of 5 or 6 the Minefield is clear at the end of that Phase. On a roll of 1 to 4, the Minefield remains an obstacle. The Engineers may attempt to clear the Minefield in subsequent Phases, increasing their roll by +1 with each attempt.

18.2.1.1 Clearing Mines in Verges

Allied Engineers may check road verges for unmarked German mines. To do so they roll 1D6 when activated moving that distance in inches and clearing the verges along both sides of the road for that distance. Any vehicles moving across that area of road verge cannot be affected by Mines in Verges.

18.2.2 Clearing Barbed Wire

To clear a section of Barbed Wire the Engineer Team must be activated when in contact with it. They roll 1D6, on a roll of 4 to 6 the Minefield is clear at the end of that Phase. On a roll of 1 to 3, they do not clear the wire section. They may try again in subsequent Phases.

Engineers may also use an Explosive Charge to clear wire.

18.2.3 Explosive Charges

An Engineer Team can clear an area of Barbed wire, Minefield or Road Block by using an Explosive Charge, if selected as a Support option.

An Engineer Team detonates an explosive charge when activated whilst in contact with the obstacle they wish to clear. The Engineer Team rolls 1D6, clearing the obstacle on a roll of 2 to 6.

On a roll of 1, the charge detonator is faulty. The Team can roll again when next activated. If the detonator fails on the second attempt, the charge is faulty and is discarded.

When clearing a Roadblock with an explosive charge, they roll 1D6. On a roll of 4 to 6, the roadblock is cleared and may be crossed as though Broken Ground. On a roll of 1 to 3, the Roadblock is partially destroyed, counting as Broken Ground but vehicles must move cautiously when passing it.

18.2.3.1 Mouseholing

An Engineer Team can use an explosive charge to blast a hole through a wall into a building or a connecting wall between two buildings. One explosive charge allows Mouseholing to be done twice.

When in contact with the wall, they roll a D6 when activated, succeeding on a roll of 2 to 6. They fail on a roll of 1 and that charge is lost.

An Infantry Anti-Tank Team, or a Unit armed with a Section Anti-Tank weapon, may also create a "mousehole" by using one round or one single shot weapon. A Senior Leader must use one Order to get the Unit to do this. They roll 1D6, as above. They ignore the restriction on back-blast weapons.

Where a mousehole is created, this can be moved through as though a normal size door.

18.3 Engineer Casualties

Where an Engineer Team is killed or Breaks, a Force Morale roll is made for the loss of a Team. An Engineer Team may leave the table by contacting a friendly JumpOff Point. They are removed immediately with no Force Morale Test.

18.4 "Having a Go"

Where no Engineering Team is available, any infantry Team can attempt to clear minefields or barbed wire.

When activated adjacent to the obstacle, they roll 1D6, clearing it on a roll of 6. On a roll of 2 to 5 they fail but can try again when activated. On a roll of 1, they fail badly. One figure is killed and the Team takes one point of Shock.