The Maple Leaf Forever
Expansion set for War Plan Crimson
© 2002 Bruce McFarlane
SEPTEMBER 3RD, 1929
MacKenzie-King adjusted his glasses momentarily, just to make sure he was seeing the printing correctly. "War with the United States?" He knew that Col. Brown was a might eccentric when he appointed him Chief of Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces back in 1923, but this was absurd!
"With the complete demise of Imperial Germany, a European War seems unlikely in the immediate or medium future. A war, if it comes, is most likely to emanate from the growth of an American trade and commerce empire which would rival the Imperial stature of Great Britain and its empire. The United States Navy (USN) could hope to contest the world's seaways against the Royal Navy, of course. However, the possibility of an American invasion of Canada cannot be discounted."
The Prime Minister looked at the cover of the military report again. "Defense Scheme No. 1" it read. Col. Sutherland Brown was suggesting a preemptive strike into the United States to delay an invasion until British troops could arrive in Halifax or Quebec City. "Flying Columns" he called them. "Mobile Supply Trains," "Tankettes," "Armoured Buses?"
The Prime Minister shook his head. Soldiers.... Thank God the world didn't need them any more. MacKenzie-King put the report aside for his secretary to file and turned to the letter from the Western Farmers' Grievances Committee.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Maple Leaf Forever is an expansion set to Brain Train's War Plan Crimson. The Maple Leaf Forever trys to intigrate the Canadian plans to counter the American invasion of Canada as outlined in Sutherland "Buster" Brown's (I'm not making this up) Defense Scheme No. 1. All the rules of War Plan Crimson are used except where noted below. Gamers will note that The Maple Leaf Forever does not interfere with War Plan Crimson, but rather adds a section to the beginning of the game (usually four or five extra turns) which represents the days before the American invasion. It was this period that "Buster" Brown calculated would be critical, if Canada was to resist an American invasion.
2.0 GAME COMPONENTS
A complete game of The Maple Leaf Forever is composed of:
2.2 Map
The mapsheet provided consist of two maps. The coloured one depicting upstate New York State and eastern Vermont. It should be connected to the south edge of the West map. The hex numbers are continuous with those of the West map, to facilitate this connection. The black and with map depicting sections of North Dakota and Minnesota, directly south of Winnipeg, Canada. The North Dakota map is about 1200 miles west of Montreal and will be referred to as the Far West map. Travel between the west map and the Far West map is possible for both the American and Canadian forces. The scales of the maps are the same as the original War Plan Crimson maps.
2.2.1 Map Features: All the map features are the same as those in War Plan Crimson. See Terrain Effects Chart. One new feature has been added. The dark brown areas on the Lake Champlain map represent mountain tops and are impassible for all units.
On the War Plan Crimson map there should be a rail line from Rouses Point (hex 1817) to hex 1918 and then on to Hex 1919. The rail line exits hex 1919 via the southwest edge so as to connect with the rail line on The Maple Leaf Forever map, hex 2019. On the same War Plan Crimson map there should be a branch line (rail) from hex 1815 to hex 1914. This line exits hex 1914 via the southeast edge so as to connect with the rail line on The Maple Leaf Forever map, Hex 2014
2.3 Counters
78 new counters have been added to the force pools. The CW counters have red on a black background. These counters will be referred to as Flying Column counters. Defense Scheme No. 1 called for specially trained troops to infiltrate the northern United States and disrupt the American build up of weapons and troops. In the west, Col. Brown envisioned the use of remnants from World War One cavalry regiments, as well as some mounted RCMP units. In the west, as well as south of Montreal, Brown called for troops to be carried in a wide variety of civilian vehicles: Soldiers in Ford Model Ts - blitzkrieg, Canadian style.
It can be presumed that American police forces, civic leaders and veteran associations would not stand idly by while Canadians disembarked from Greyhound buses and overran the country. The US counters have blue print on a black background and represent these ad hoc units. These units would act under local authority and would attempt to defend their own town and surrounding countryside. Therefore, they cannot be attached to any US HQ unit. When called upon to draw one of these Civil Defense units, the American player may opt to draw a cavalry Civil Defense unit or an infantry Civil Defense unit.
2.4 Player's Aid Sheet
The Maple Leaf Forever adds and additional players aid sheet to War Plan Crimson. This play aid sheet will be used to track the progress of each country's mobilization and transit between the West map and the Far West map.
3.0 TERMINOLOGY
As per War Plan Crimson.
4.0 SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Seven turns are added to the beginning of War Plan Crimson, so that the full The Maple Leaf Forever/ War Plan Crimson, will take 17 turns. To start the game and continuing until one or both players reach Full Mobilization, the sequence of play is as follows:
4.1 Canadian Player Phase
4.1.1 Canadian Movement Phase
4.1.2 Canadian Combat Phase
4.1.3 American Counterattack Phase
4.1.4 Canadian Mobilization Phase
4.2 American Player Phase
4.2.1 American Movement Phase
4.2.2 American Combat Phase
4.2.3 Canadian Counterattack Phase
4.2.4 American Mobilization Phase
Note: There are no random events, reinforcements or recovery phases in The Maple Leaf Forever, until at least one player has reached full mobilization.
5.0 RANDOM EVENTS PHASE
There are no random events in The Maple Leaf Forever, until at least one player has reached full mobilization and War Plan Crimson begins.
6.0 POLITICAL RULES
There are no political rules or morale rules in The Maple Leaf Forever, until at least one player has reached full mobilization and War Plan Crimson begins.
7.0 REINFORCEMENT/REPLACEMENT PHASE
There are no reinforcement/ replacement rules in The Maple Leaf Forever, until at least one player has reached full mobilization and War Plan Crimson begins.
7.4 Building up and Breaking down Units
The new units that The Maple Leaf Forever introduces to the game cannot be built up or broken down. Units provided by the War Plan Crimson game can be built up and broken down as usual, even before the War Plan Crimson part of the game has been initiated by full mobilization.
7.5 Disbanding Units
Play as per War Plan Crimson rules
7.6 Asset Points (AP)
The Maple Leaf Forever adds a new asset point type. "Buster" Brown in his Defense Scheme No. 1 referred to using tankettes - one or two man tanks armed with turret-mounted machineguns. These tankette AP counters acts exactly as Armour AP counters, with some exceptions. Tankettes may move into and out of woods hexes. Tankettes have movement points equal to the Flying Column die roll rules (see 8.0). Tankettes add a column shift to combat when assisting both an attack or a defensive combat. Finally, if a tankette is in combat with an American force that contains at least one armour AP the tankette is destroyed and removed from the combat before the combat odds and combat are calculated. The American armour AP is not removed from the map, so the American Player may decide to use the AP marker in the coming combat, or not, as usual.
8.0 MOVEMENT
All Canadian regular, NPAM, volunteer and BEF units as well as all American units move as outlined in the War Plan Crimson movement rules. All Canadian Flying Column units (black background) get Movement points equal to a die or dice rolls, depending on the turn of the game.
8.2 Rail Movement
American units have unlimited movement on American-controlled rail lines, south of the Canada/US boarder, on the West map. In addition, American units have unlimited movement on American controlled rail lines on the Far West map. To move between the West and the Far West maps, however, American and Canadian units have to follow the usual transit-box procedure. A 1 to 3 must be rolled to exit the Transit Box instead of the 1 to 4 needed in War Plan Crimson.
Civil Defense and Flying Column units can never use strategic movement.
8.5.2 Shifting Ground Units: Canadian units can shift between the East and West maps as per War Plan Crimson. In addition, both sides can shift units between the West map and the Far West map, using the same procedure.
8.6 Cavalry Units
The Maple Leaf Forever introduces new cavalry units to the game. Cavalry units obey all the rules for units outlined in War Plan Crimson, except that they cannot enter Woods hexes and they move 2 MPs more than are usually allowed. In other words, Cavalry move 6 MPs on usual War Plan Crimson turns and Canadian Cavalry units move a number of dice dots plus 2 (?D6 + 2) during The Maple Leaf Forever turns.
9.0 COMBAT PHASE RULES
The Maple Leaf Forever uses all the combat rules as per War Plan Crimson.
The cadre levels for the new units are as follows:
No morale levels of modifiers are used in The Maple Leaf Forever, until at least one player has reached full mobilization.
10.0 COUNTERATTACK
The Maple Leaf Forever uses all the counterattack rules as per War Plan Crimson.
11.0 RECOVERY
The Maple Leaf Forever uses all the recovery rules as per War Plan Crimson.
12.0 SUPPLY
Units provided by War Plan Crimson obey all the supply rules from War Plan Crimson. American Civil Defense units are in supply if they are within 3 hexes of the town they were originally deployed in. Canadian Flying Column units are in supply if they are within three hexes of a Flying Column HQ that is itself within 3 hexes of a supply base or mobile supply unit.
The Canadian Flying columns start The Maple Leaf Forever with two mobile supply units per HQ. These mobile supply units move as normal Flying Column movement rules (8.0). In addition, every time a Canadian Flying Column unit moves into or through an American city or town a supply base counter is placed on the town/city hex. These supply bases cannot move and if the hex is entered by an American unit the supply base is destroyed and removed from the map.
12.3 Supply Expenditure
At the end of Canadian and American combat phases, if a Flying Column HQ has had one or more units involved in a combat that did not retreat due to that combat that HQ must remove a supply counter within its radius, from the map.
13.0 NAVAL UNITS
The Maple Leaf Forever uses all the naval rules as per War Plan Crimson.
14.0 HOW TO WIN
The Maple Leaf Forever uses all the victory rules as per War Plan Crimson.
In addition, the Canadian player is considered to control the three city hexes of Winnipeg (off the Far West map, to the north), unless the American player is able to exit an American battalion(s) off the north edge of the Far West map. For every battalion the American player exits off the north edge of the Far West map, he takes control of one hex of Winnipeg.
15.0 SETTING UP THE GAME
When a player's mobilization level reaches full mobilization (see 19.0) he then sets up using the War Plan Crimson orders of battle. To start The Maple Leaf Forever section of the game, the Canadian player draws three cavalry Flying Column units, 12 foot Flying Column units, 4 HQ units, 4 tankette APs and 8 mobile supply units and deploys them anywhere, in Canada, on the East and West maps, or on the northern edge of the Far West map. The Canadian is the First Player for all The Maple Leaf Forever turns, until at least one of the players reaches full mobilization and then the player with the highest morale goes first, as per War Plan Crimson rules. If one side has reached full mobilization and the other side has not; the side which has not reached full mobilization has a morale of 0.
19.0 MOBILIZATION
At the end of each player's turn he rolls a die for mobilization. The result of the die roll is added to the mobilization level from the last turn to determine the new mobilization level. (Example: if a player's level was currently 3 and he rolled a 5 the new mobilization would be 8. On the next turn, the die roll would be added to 8 to determine the new Mobilization level). The Mobilization Chart describes which units the player places on the map as reinforcements. Canadian reinforcements can be placed in any Canadian controlled town or city north of the Canada-US boarder on the East and West maps or on the northern edge of the Far West map. American Civil Defense units can be placed in any American controlled city or town south of the Canada-US boarder on the West or Far West maps. All other US units must be deployed in the US Entry boxes on the West and Far West maps.
When a player's mobilization level reaches 14 or higher his country has reached Full Mobilization. He then refers to the War Plan Crimson Set Up Chart and deploys the units listed there, according to the deployment criteria listed in the paragraph, above. Starting with his next turn, he uses all the War Plan Crimson rules for random events, political rules, morale levels, and recovery
19.1 Optional "Fair" Mobilization Rules
Due to the Random nature of the Mobilization Rules, one or two critical die rolls can greatly upset the game balance of War Plan Crimson. This is probably quite historic. Neither side was particularly ready for war in the 1930s and the first to get its act together would win the conflict. However, this does not necessarily make for a great game.
Instead of each player rolling a die for mobilization, only the Canadian Player rolls the die. The American player is then considered to roll exactly the same number in his mobilization phase. This means that each side will get comparable forces and reach full mobilization on the same turn.
20.0 DESIGNER'S NOTES
Brian Train's War Plan Crimson game gave me a perfect platform to test out simulating two hypothetical war plans. Both War Plan Crimson and Defense Plan No. 1 really did exist and the challenge was to fit Defense Plan No. 1 into Brian's game without infringing on Brian's rules or upsetting the play balance of the game. I think the only change I made to the War Plan Crimson game was in adding the rail links to the Lake Champlain map. Once into the War Plan Crimson game it has no rule changes at all. Fortunately, the American planers focused on the events after American mobilization while the Canadians focused on events prior to the American mobilization: taking for granted that Britain would have to fight the real war against the Yanks. The two plans really didn't conflict at all. In that sense, The Maple Leaf Forever is really not a variant game - it changes nothing in War Plan Crimson. The Maple Leaf Forever is really a PRE-game. It is entirely possible that after seven turns of play the two sides will start out exactly as Brian's Orders of Battle dictate. So why bother playing The Maple Leaf Forever? Because the fun is getting to the start of War Plan Crimson, not just setting up and starting the invasion. Besides I was tickled at the mental image of Canadian troops disguised as hockey players pouring into the United States in rickety old team buses.
Bruce McFarlane