Below you will find the sixth in a series of designer’s notes articles from The Last Hundred Yards series designer Mike Denson. In this segment he will discuss platoon leaders in LHY. You can also find this article on his ConsimWorld Community page. Enjoy! -Rachel

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Platoon Leaders

Combat leadership at the tactical level, such as in LHY, is a distinctly important and honorable responsibility. This is what General George C. Marshall wrote about it:

When you are commanding, leading [soldiers] under conditions where physical exhaustion and privations must be ignored, where the lives of [soldiers] may be sacrificed, then, the efficiency of your leadership will depend only to a minor degree on your tactical ability. It will primarily be determined by your character, your reputation, not much for courage—which will be accepted as a matter of course—but by the previous reputation you have established for fairness, for that high-minded patriotic purpose, that quality of unswerving determination to carry through any military task assigned to you.

The George C. Marshall Foundation. (2018). What George C. Marshall said about leadership. Retrieved June 17, 2018, from https://www.marshallfoundation.

However, life as a platoon leader was extremely risky. A good platoon leader leads from the front, and the enemy can easily spot him due to his actions. This naturally led to high casualty rates. Therefore, it was common that the enlisted men in the platoon usually didn’t bother to inquire much about their lieutenant until he had been around long enough to demonstrate high skill and good luck. The sad fact is that most platoon leaders weren’t lucky enough to have time to develop their skills.

In LHY, a platoon leader counter represents the officer, usually a second lieutenant, a platoon sergeant, a radioman, and a couple of runners to assist a platoon leader in directing the actions of his platoon. The combat leadership functions of the platoon leader are expressed in rules relating to Initiative, Reaction, Spotting for Mortar Fire, Small Arms and Mortar Fire Resolution, Assault, and Recovery.

Maintaining the Initiative: Initiative is the enabler and sustainer of momentum for combat actions in real life and in LHY. When things start to fall apart in combat, due to occurrences such as heavier than expected enemy resistance and/or casualties, soldiers tend to halt in place and look to their leader for direction on what to do next. If the platoon leadership is incapacitated for any reason, even temporarily, this results in a halt in actions and the ceding of initiative to the enemy until leadership is restored. In LHY, a platoon leader unit must be in play (not removed from play as result of a casualty) for a player to be able to roll the die to gain or maintain the Initiative. Otherwise, the units of the platoon leader’s platoon can only react to the enemy’s actions until the platoon leader returns to play and establishes the ability to gain and maintain the Initiative.

In Reaction: In a combat situation, it’s difficult for a platoon leader to control his squads when they are dispersed. This is also true in LHY, especially for the player without the Initiative because his units are generally limited to reactions against enemy actions within their view. In fact, those units without visibility to enemy unit actions cannot react at all. If you are the player with the burden of attack, losing the Initiative and having your units frozen in place can be debilitating. Your ability to conduct an assault is diminished, and any effective defense can be compromised as defensive positions become vulnerable to flanking or enfilade tactics. Platoon leaders can help mitigate losing the Initiative and can help units that have become disconnected from the battle that cannot react themselves. Units stacked with, and in some case adjacent to, a platoon leader may always react even if no enemy unit conducted an action in their view. When on the offensive and not in view of enemy units, it is recommended that all units of a platoon, including the platoon leader, stack and maneuver together. With his platoon concentrated, the platoon leader can more effectively react—issuing orders (actions) to his squad leaders as needed. However, once his platoon comes into visual contact with the enemy, it is critical that a platoon leader disperse his squads; otherwise, they risk inviting mortar fire. When on the defensive, units with no visibility to the enemy should be stacked with their platoon leader, allowing them to react by reinforcing friendly units under assault or threatened by an enemy flanking maneuver.

Directing Mortar Fire Support: Forward Observers (FOs) worked closely with the company and platoon leaders to coordinate indirect fire support for their operations. Most platoon leaders were trained to spot for indirect fire as well, should an FO be unavailable or become incapacitated. To spot for mortar fire in LHY, the FO marker is placed in the hex of a requesting platoon leader or one of his subordinate combat units. For the mortar fire request to be successful, neither the requesting combat unit nor the platoon leader can be disrupted, regrouping, under a mortar fire attack, or in an assault. However, in the tradition of a “broken arrow” type spotting call, a platoon leader in LHY may call for mortar fire into a hex containing friendly units if, and only if, it is an assault hex he occupies!

Leading Men Under Fire: When the shooting starts, good platoon leaders aren’t going to hunker down and blast away. They’ll be running around, giving orders, organizing the fight, and inspiring their men to continue to fight. Although these actions make them vulnerable to fire, their presence increases the Cohesion of their men even when under heavy fire. To represent this in LHY, during the Fire Resolution Phase, the Small Arms or Mortar Fire die roll result is reduced by one if a platoon leader is present, provided the leader’s Cohesion is better than the Cohesion of the best combat unit in the hex.

Leading from the Front: In times of great chaos, someone must steady the men and drive them to engage or resist an enemy at Close Range. It’s the platoon leader’s role in an assault to plan, coordinate supporting fire, and direct his men, making good use of terrain to close with the enemy. Generally, in LHY, it is the platoon leader who assumes the burden of the fight and will push the men forward. Platoon leaders have an influence disproportionate to their number regarding the outcome of a battle. At times the momentum of an assault will stall under heavy fire, especially if it is conducted over open or difficult terrain. In times like these, the platoon leaders move to the front, usually at great risk to themselves, and lead their men into the breach.

Recovery – Rallying his Men: A unit under the pressure of combat will act according to what they perceive is occurring as well as to what is actually occurring. Should they perceive a setback or a significant unanticipated occurrence, they will likely either hold position until things clear up or work back to their last perceived stable position to regroup and await further orders. The presence of a respected platoon leader can help stabilize the situation. Paraphrasing an anonymous veteran commenting on his unit’s leader after the Market-Garden battle in The Netherlands in 1944: “I sensed that he saw us rather than looked at us…that mutual respect was the core ingredient of our discipline and morale.” In LHY, an undisrupted platoon leader provides a favorable die roll when assisting in the recovery of subordinate units in his hex.

Platoon Leader Casualties: Although a leader can become a casualty at any time, it is more likely to occur in Close Range combat situations, such as when attacking or defending during an assault. At Close Range, a leader is an easily recognized target; he’s usually the guy standing while directing his men. Thus, many leaders became casualties during close combat, creating a temporary leadership vacuum in their platoons. In LHY, this will result in many, if not all, of the circumstances explained under the previous sections in this article. That is, the platoon will react to their leader’s casualty and act in accordance with their perception of the new leader and the current combat situation.

In LHY, a platoon leader unit is a one-step unit and can be lost due to fire, a sniper event, or during an assault. A platoon leader casualty lasts for seven minutes of lapsed time, which could be 2-3 game turns, representing the momentary leadership vacuum and the time needed to effectively replace the leader. The leader’s return represents either the return of the original leader (slight wound) or the taking over of leadership by the platoon sergeant or ranking squad leader.

In summary, while the actual fighting is done by the line infantry, effective combat leadership is essential in gaining and maintaining the initiative while inspiring the men to continue their pursuit of the objective, despite the great personal danger they face in close combat. The mutual respect between soldiers and their leader is the key ingredient in maintaining the discipline and morale necessary to accomplish the task at hand. In LHY, the platoon leader units are the counters that can make the difference in a tight situation; some are better than others, so use them wisely!

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Previous Articles:

The Last Hundred Yards Designer’s Notes: Intro & Time Lapse System

The Last Hundred Yards Designer’s Notes: Initiative & Activation Cycle

The Last Hundred Yards Designer’s Notes: Maneuver & Fire Mechanics

The Last Hundred Yards Designer’s Notes: Armor

The Last Hundred Yards Designer’s Notes: Mortars