Tactical Commander

Wargame Rules Review

Tactical Commander Rules for WW2 by Andrew Rathmell.

Tactical Commander wargame rules are designed for World War II skirmish actions involving 1:76 scale figures and vehicles. The rules cover almost every aspect of late World War II battles, with sections on air and naval support, paratroop, glider and beach landings, with a good blend of detail, realism, and playability.

All troops, equipment, and extra ammunition are given values in points. Each player receives a certain number of points before the battle from which to choose his forces. In addition to their cost, machine guns, mortars, radio sets, grenades, anti-tank mines, and other equipment take up certain load spaces inside vehicles, which need to be considered prior to the mission. The vehicle list section shows the load capacity of jeeps, trucks, trailers, half-tracks, tanks, and other vehicles which may be employed in a skirmish scenario. Using these rules, the ¾ ton trailer supplied with the Airfix M5.A1 Half-Track or Hasegawa Willys Jeep finally becomes a valuable wargame asset.

Contents

  • Title: Tactical Commander
  • Period: World War Two
  • Type: Tactical Skirmish Wargame
  • Time Scale: none given
  • Ground Scale: 1:1000 (1 mm = 1 m)
  • Troop Scale: 1 figure = 1 man
  • Basing: single figure
  • Armour penetration benchmarks
    • Sherman vs. Lingèvres Panther: 0 % per game turn
  • Author: Andrew Rathmell
  • Format: 56-page rule book
  • Language: English
  • Publisher: Tabletop Games Ltd., Compton, Great Britain
  • Published: 1982

Chapters

  1. Points Values
    • Weapons points values
    • Abilities
    • Vehicles loads
  2. Movement
    • Vehicles
    • Infantry
  3. Communications
  4. Weather
  5. Actions
  6. Target Acquisition
  7. Armoured Action Example
  8. Cover
  9. Direct Fire
  10. Details of Guns
  11. Hit Scores
  12. Hits on AFVs
  13. Penetration
  14. Effects of Penetration
  15. Armoured Action Example continued
  16. Small Arms
  17. Melee
  18. Artillery Direct and Indirect Fire
  19. Jobs
    • Engineering
    • Defences
  20. Morale
  21. Buildings and Bridges
  22. Supression
  23. Smoke Screens
  24. Air Landing Troops
  25. Aircraft
  26. Aircraft Details
  27. Air Combat
  28. Ground Attack
  29. Naval Landings and Support
  30. Night Fighting
  31. Casualties
  32. Petrol and Supplies
  33. Interrogation
  34. Appendix A – Glossary of Terms
  35. Appendix B
    • Vehicles
    • German Vehicles
    • German Artillery
    • American Vehicles
    • American Artillery
    • British Vehicles
    • British Artillery
    • Russian Vehicles and Artillery
  36. Attack on Reffle – Example
  37. Notes and Scale

Quick Reference Sheets

  • Movement and Morale Chart
  • Small Arms and Gun Fire Chart
  • Armour Penetration Chart

Tactical Commander rules are a valuable resource for wargamers interested in World War Two skirmish games. The amount of detail is amazing, and players may pick and choose which elements they wish to incorporate into their games.

Wargame Rules