This is our fifth installment in a series going through the commands and special activities of the recently released COIN Series game, All Bridges Burning, Volume X.

NOTE: All images used below have been captured from the VASSAL module for playing the game electronically. The module was created by Brian Reynolds and can be downloaded and used for free here.

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Attack

The Attack command is one of the more complex actions in All Bridges Burning. The basic principles are, I believe, fairly straight forward. The devil is in some of the details.

To begin with, the purpose of the Attack command is, naturally enough, to remove enemies. It is available in Phase II of the game only and may be used by the Reds and Senate factions.

The cost of the command is one resource per selected space ―plus whatever additional resources the executing faction may wish to spend to increase their attack strength, plus additional resources depending on the number of forces moving into the attack space with a Train. More of each of these aspects below.

The spaces selected as attack destinations must contain the attacking faction’s cells and those of an enemy that may be attacked. Note that the Moderates’ pieces, a non-violent faction that they are, may not be attacked.

Importantly, if there is a Train capability marker among the attacking forces in a space, also an adjacent space with enemies may be selected, provided a railway line connects the two spaces and there is no sabotage marker on their border. This makes Trains a rather attractive capability to have.

If you are attacking using Trains, simply move any attacking cells that share a space with the Train, the Train marker, and any other capabilities desired, into the attack target space. As in the March command discussed in the previous article, each paid resource entitles the attacker to move up to three cells with the Train. Moving four attacking cells would thus cost two resources.

In certain circumstances the attacking faction has some choices to make as to whom exactly they wish to target in their attack. That is, if both Senate and German forces exist in an attack space, attacking Reds choose which of the two, or both at the same time, they wish to target. The Reds and Russians are automatically the joint defender in attacks by Senate and/or German forces.

Similarly, if there are Reds and Russians in the attack space, the Reds may designate the Russians as involved in the attack. Senate, however, does not have the ability to include Germans ―Germans are an independently acting force, save the Senate’s ability to coordinate with Germans, as discussed later in this article below.

Next, we determine the attack strength. The main principle is, starting from zero, attacking pieces and capabilities add to the strength, while defending pieces and capabilities reduce the strength. This table in the rules of play summarizes the impact of pieces and capabilities on the attack strength:

Let me highlight some aspects in this table.

• If the attacking force consists of at least three cells, this yields a +1 to the attack strength. Note that if the attacking force contains, say, six cells, the bonus does not thereby become +2. Note also that a parallel reduction to the strength is not available even if there are three or more defenders.
• Russian troops cubes have a variable impact on attacks, depending on the current level of the Russian Vassalage marker. The German contribution is not similarly variable.
• A Jaeger capability marker yields a +/-2 effect on the attack strength. In addition, Jaeger elevate the effect of any other accompanying friendly capability markers to a +2. In the historical conflict, the jaeger were German-trained Finnish volunteers, often with prior military experience, and could decidedly improve the abilities of the militia forces they were attached to.

After the attack strength has been determined as detailed above, the player of the attacking forces has the option to spend additional resources to increase the attack strength, one level per each resource spent.

Note that if you are executing a German attack, the Germans always attack with at least a strength of two, regardless of the above determinations.

With the attack strength established, it is time to chuck some dice …well, one die. The attacking player rolls 1d6 comparing the result to the attack strength. To begin with, a six is an automatic failure and the attack ends immediately without an effect. Similarly, if the die roll is more than the attack strength, the attack fails and ends immediately.

Otherwise, if the rolled value is less than or equal to the attack strength, the attack succeeds and has the ability to affect enemies as follows.

First, the attacker decides whether they wish to engage the enemy, or whether the enemy is allowed to retreat. Engagement will mean that casualties and potentially prisoners of war will be caused, and polarization will increase as recorded on the polarization track. Letting the enemy retreat avoids the Polarization increase but also does not remove any enemy cells (it still removes Reds administration discs and foreign troops, though).

If executing a German attack, the Germans will always choose the engagement option.

If the retreat option was chosen, the attacking player may relocate the die roll value worth of enemies to one adjacent space and defending troops to available ―troops thus do not retreat. The relocation and removal happens alternately, beginning with cells. Once all defending cells of the selected space have thus been relocated but more could still be removed or relocated, the Reds are the defender, and a Reds administration remains in the space, the administration is removed to available.

If engagement was chosen, the attacker may now remove enemies up to the die roll value. Again, enemies are removed alternating between defending cells and troops. Finally, if further cells could be removed but none remain in the selected space, an administration may be removed. The removed cells go back to the available box and the prisoners of war box, alternatively, beginning with available.

The attacker suffers and one attrition loss if three or more enemy cells were removed. In addition, if any German troops were removed, also one attacking cell or Russian troop, again alternately and beginning with a cell, must be removed for each one German troop removed.

Finally, if any defenders were removed to the prisoners of war box above, one news and one terror marker must be placed in the attack space and polarization increased by one. Note that a terror marker will only be placed and polarization increased if the stacking limit of terror markers in the space ―two such markers, either color― has not yet been reached.

Coordinate

Coordinate is a special activity only available to be used by the Senate player in Phase II of the game.

The purpose of this special activity is for the Senate player to momentarily take control of the German forces during the next German Action Phase, whenever it may arrive.

In All Bridges Burning, the Germans are a system-controlled side that only springs into action when an event card with the the German Action Phase bar at the top becomes the current event card. A separate German action sheet is then used to determine the action they take. It can be useful for the Senate player to be able to sidestep this procedure and direct the German forces where they want to, usually into a hotbed of Reds control readying the Germans for a major attack there later on.

To execute the special activity, simply place the Coordinate marker on the German eligibility cylinder. Next time, when it is the German Action Phase, you may control the Germans. After the action, remove the Coordinate marker. During the next German action, the Germans will act independently again.

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Previous Articles:

All Bridges Burning: Examples of Play to Keep the Doctor Away #1: Rally + Prepare

All Bridges Burning: Examples of Play to Keep the Doctor Away #2: Activism + Political Event

All Bridges Burning: Examples of Play to Keep the Doctor Away #3: Terror + Foreign Relations

All Bridges Burning: Examples of Play to Keep the Doctor Away #4: March + Crackdown