[WarInEur] Yugoslavian partisans

[Hansen]

Kent:
However, in the setup instructions the Axis player has 50 divisions that can
be placed in Yugoslavia.  Once these are placed the Allied player cn place
the Yugoslavian units in any hex not in an Axis ZOC.  However, it requires
less than 40 divisions to completely cover Yugoslavia with ZOC so
theoretically, without even using all of available Axis units they can
compleatly eliminate any chance of Yugoslavian Partisan Cadre placement. 

John:
If the Axis is putting 40 divisions in Yugoslavia for garrison (even
assuming axis minor ally divisions) then the allied player has already
received their reward. I will gladly trade all Yugoslavian partisan
possibilities for effectively taking 40 Axis divisions off the map.

Kent:
1) SPI 31.51 Creation of Yugoslavian Cadre.

Whenever a Yugoslavian infantry division or cavalry division is eliminated
by Axis action (either by Overun, as a result of combat, or the surrender of
Yugoslavia) a Partisan Cadre is placed in the Yugoslavian Cadre Pool.
Beginning with the Allied turn following Yugoslavian Surrender, the Allied
player may place one Partisan Cadre per turn in any hex in Yugolsavia not in
an Axis ZOC.

2) SPI 73.5 Yugoslavian Partisans

Add The numbers of Cadre, Units, and Divisions listed are to be considered a
pool.  If the conditions for deployment do not exist at the start of a
scenario or campaign, they may be deployed one Cadre, Unit, or Division per
turn until all are placed on the map.

John:
CWIE I treated an overrun as an absolute elimination. But going back to the
rules, that seems to be a bug/feature.

23.4 Yugoslavian Partisans.

     Yugoslavian partisans are controlled by the Allied player, but do not
count against the limit of 21 partisans that he may place.  When Yugoslav
units are eliminated they are replaced with Allied Partisan Cadres.  When
Yugoslavia surrenders, all remaining units are eliminated and replaced with
partisan cadres.  The Axis player cannot attack Yugoslavian Partisan Cadres
until the first Yugoslavian Partisan Unit has formed.

     The Allied player converts Yugoslav Partisan Cadres into Partisan Units
the same as with Allied Partisans, except there is a limit on the number of
conversion attempts allowed a turn:
     1939-1940  0 attempts/turn
     1941       1 attempt/turn
     1942       2 attempts/turn
     1943-1945  3 attempt/turn
Each attempt has a 1/6 chance of success.

     Beginning in 1943 the Allied player may attempt once per turn to
convert a Yugoslav Partisan Unit into a 2-5 Yugoslav Partisan Division.
This is done during Reinforcement Phase by clicking on the hex with the
Partisan Unit in it, and selecting the appropriate option.  The chance of
success is 1/6.


So according to the rules, the regular units should be eliminated at a
partisan cadre put in place (wherever that may be). No exemptions for
overrun. I checked the overrun rules and it says the unit doesn't form a
battle group, but nothing about forming a partisan cadre. I suspect that
that is the source of the bug/feature.

Yugoslavia has always tended to be a pretty minor front. A few
Italians/Hungarians keep the rail lines open and don't care about the rest.
If a partisan division shows up (that could do some real harm), deal with it
then. 

I would tend to say keep the rules as is and just implement them correctly
(as opposed to the CWIE I total elimination on an overrun). It makes the '41
set up of 38 partisans make sense. As to where the units are, yes you will
get a lot on the plains. But as the Yugoslavian mover, there comes a point
(relatively quickly in the game) that you leave 3 combat points in Belgrade
for one last turn, and every other surviving unit force marches for the
mountains. This gives me plenty of partisan cadre conversion bait up in the
mountains. 

With attrition, I suspect that the strategies around "mopping" up the random
partisan cadre will change.

If I was going to make any change in the rules, I would let the Yugoslavian
player have the choice between returning any eliminated Yugoslavian partisan
cadre to the board (normal partisan placement rules in effect) or turning a
partisan cadre into a partisan unit as per the rules above.