Line of Sight (LOS) is critical in tactical games. It must be realistic, meaning that the historical battle must be possible without any “this hex is special” rules. But LOS must also be quick to calculate – to paraphrase Einstein, “LOS has to as quick as possible, but no quicker.” A simple wedding cake model won’t recreate the historical situation at Anzac Cove. Performing rise-over-run calculations rapidly becomes tedious, and is also inaccurate around Anzac Cove and the salient in Mons. The Rifle and Spade LOS rules, combined with the Hiding and Us vs Them rules recreate the historical situations at Anzac and Helles. At Mons, the inaction of the British Royal Artillery cannot be explained without understanding the effect of giant slag heaps and the willow beds.

All of this is explained with examples from Gallipoli and Mons in this youtube video:

The Rifle and Spade series games (Mons 1914 and Gallipoli 1915) use a novel approach to LOS. All abrupt slope changes, “Military Crests,” are marked on the map because they are the only contour changes that block LOS. Ordinary contour changes are smoothly rising slopes and so do not block LOS.

Rifle & Spade has three grades of LOS: Open, Partial, and Blocked. The first and last have the usual effect in tactical games. Partial LOS allows a shot, but with penalties – after all it is a partial view.

LOS tells you whether a spotter in one hex can see another hex. However, the target unit in the hex could choose to Hide and not be visible. Hiding protects you, but it comes at a cost – you cannot fire. A common tactic is to use your artillery or long-range machine guns to force the opponent to make the hard decision to hide, clearing the way for an assault.

The LOS rules are written formally so that there no holes, but that style is difficult to learn from. Therefore the series rules include numerous examples and an informal explanation. This chatty summary below also explains the intent, which is the fastest way to learn. The case numbers are the same as in the series rules.

The LOS rules are written as a series of points. You work down the list, checking if any applies. As soon as you find one that applies, you stop. If you get to the end then the LOS is open.

• A lack of light due to night or the weather can limit LOS to your own hex, or the adjacent hex.
• You can always see adjacent (assuming there is light)
• You can’t see over tall contour things like hills
• You can’t see over tall terrain like willow beds and slag heaps
• If you are looking down hill then LOS is blocked into any hexes just below the military crest, extending downhill through all contiguous tangled terrain hexes.
• If you are looking down hill then LOS is partial into any contiguous tangled terrain hexes just below the contour.
• In Mons, if you are on a hill you can see into the first screening hex, partial into the second, and blocked thereafter.

“Tangled terrain” in Gallipoli is the mess of scrub and tiny gullies that surround Anzac Cove. In the rules it is referred to as “Down-Slope Blocking” terrain. Screening terrain in Mons is Farmland, Villages, and Willow Beds. Theses hexes have trees and buildings that block LOS on the level, but a spotter on a hill can see some distance into it.

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Previous Articles:

Faster Fire Resolution for Mons 1914 and Gallipoli 1915

Faster Assault Resolution for Mons 1914 and Gallipoli 1915