The Commander Series Forum

can command units move through a mindfield in the endphase without being hit?

Interesting question and I too would like to know the answer.

pg 117? may move over any terrain feature without penalty?

No they can't.

Could you clarify this a little bit more?

Can they move over the minefield, but take hits from it or is it that they can't move over it at all?

I think that minefield is like an impassable terrain and command units cannot move over it.

If a command unit annot pass through a minefield, then as a defender you just need to surround the objective with a minefield and, unless he has engineers or a flail, he is never going to get a command unit to the objective!
But then, if you let them cross minefields you can get some odd situations!
What about crossing rivers, cliffs etc?
If you rule that the command unit cannot cross impassable terrain then you need to consider what type of unit a command unit is because different unit types can cross different types of terrain. Besides, since when has a minefield been impassible?
My suggestion would be to treat the minefield effect the on the command unit the same as any other unit. You move as far as you want, you roll the dice, any hits inflict hits, possibly KOing the unit!
By the way, you can ignore suppression as they come off after the command unit moves.

I agree with Leader:

"treat the minefield effect the on the command unit the same as any other unit. You move as far as you want, you roll the dice, any hits inflict hits, possibly KOing the unit"

But will you hit 6's or 4's?


And wat if Inf marches trough the mine field and gets across unharmed. Is the minefield for that part clean

I recon as commands are always hit on a 6 they are to when they try to cross a minefield?

And wat if Inf marches trough the mine field and gets across unharmed. Is the minefield for that part clean

Only engineers and certain enginering vehicles may clear a minefield. Minefields may contain a large number of mines but there is always a chance someone gets through it unharmed, but getting through unharmed doesn't remove any mines, the mines are still there. Even if a few mines do explode and kill someone, there are still quite a few mines left.

As for Command Units being hit on a 6, that's a very good question. General targeting rules say 6+ for Command units while the special rules for minefields say 4+ for every unit. So 4+ would be equally valid.
I'm inclined to have the more specific rules overruling the more general rules, so I'd go for 4+ as minefields are a very specific case with seperate rules. Rank does not protect you against a mine, neither does camo for recce or things like that.

I guess until Pete clears this up you'll just have to agree with your opponent.

Getting through unharmed doesn 't maybe remove all the mines, but is creates a trail where you can pas trought without stepping onto them or when a vehicle go's throught it you follow the tracks.
Picking in the ground with a bajonet removing the sand around mines making a path for the rest of the Coy.
You should know your an engineer.

Clearing a path through a minefield using bayonets is a very time consuming proces, next to impossible during combat situations. Infantry doing bayonet clearance would proceed at a speed of max 5m per hour, probably slower. Gamewise this would probably be 1cm a turn or less. Good luck crossing 10cm of minefield at that speed. During this time the infantry would be a sitting duck out in the open. Bayonet clearing is therefor only done when not near the enemy and even then only for backtracking, eg when stumbeling into a minefield during a patrol. Under combat situations infantry usually just went straigth through a minefield if they accidently entered one as starting to probe with bayonets was even more dangerous. Infantry (or armour for that mather) knowingly entering a minefield wasn't a very common thing as it is considered to be a very desperate measure only to be used if there is absolutely no other alternative. Even the best commanders will have a difficult time convincing their men to walk/ride into a minefield.
Also clearing mines this way isn't that reliable. The limited size of the bayonet limits the depth mines will be found. Sure you'll find some mines, but certainly not all.
Followinng vehicle tracks is indeed something infantry could do, but usualy only infantry. Not all vehicles have the same track width making it impossible to use for vehicles bigger or smaller than the one that created the track. It also requires very precise steerig, something quite difficult during combat situations and that's not even taking into account the stress from driving in a minefield.

"Picking in the ground with a bajonet removing the sand around mines making a path for the rest of the Coy.
You should know your an engineer."

Was ment as a joke

Where in the same prof. job and yes i know picking a minefield with a bayonet is maybe not opportune. But that leaves us still with the questions.

1. When a unit is across (not engineers), is that piece of the minefield clear?

2. Do we roll 4's or 6's for comd units?

Pete help!!!!!

Ooh, my head hurts! From all this verbage and Pete's concise reply I infer that minefields are not terrain features but 'field fortifications' and therefore the command unit is prone to be damaged by them. The question is, as you rightly ask, is that hit on a 4 or a 6 as this is not from shooting but from mines?

I would think that it is not clear, they might have set some of the mines off but there is no way they could be certain to have got them all.

I would say 6's.


Just my view.

Crossing a minefield unharmed isn't the same as clearing it. The mines or at least most of them are still there. So I'd say no the minefield isn't cleared if a unit somehow manages to get through alive.
Also the rules don't support this. Only engineers and specialized enginering vehicles may clear a minefield as they have the specialized equipement and training to do so.

As for the to hit roll, I'd say 4+. Rank does not protect you against mines. If you step on one, you're toast.

I think I'd go with 4's, as LittlePatton says 'Rank does not protect you against mines'. As a house rule- if a command unit is in a minefield then they are not able to issue commands because they are otherwise occupied, even if they haven't taken any casualties. In other words they become suppressed, to all intents and purposes, for the duration of their stay in the minefield- what do you think?

The only problem with that thinking is that a suppressed unit cannot move, so once it is in the minefield, it is effectively out of the game.

Sorry, I didn't mean to infer they were actually supressed and all that entails, only that they cannot issue orders due to being otherwise occupied.