Adapting Bob Mackenzie’s Scenarios to TacWWII

These notes are largely for my own purposes. I don’t think there are very many people using TacWWII these days, which is a shame as they’re a nice set of rules.

Table Size

Bob’s scenarios assume 50 metre per inch scale. To convert to Tac’s 40m per centimetre, simply halve the linear dimensions. Thus a 12’ by 6’ table becomes 6’ by 3’.

Orders of Battle

Obviously the terminology between the rules is different - an “infantry stand” will usually become a “Rifle platoon” in TacWWII. A “command stand” becomes a “command rifle platoon”. Staff stands can be ignored. Any company level "command stands" simply appear as fighting platoons.

Note that any “stand” marked (+) by Bob becomes a high firepower rifle platoon in Tac. I treat German “weapons stands” as either MMG platoons or medium mortars usually determined by the availability of models.

Bob often shows headquarters broken down into the HQ and the HQ Company (Stab and Stabs Kompanie for the Germans) and treats these as separate companies.  I’m in two minds as to whether to follow this (thus increasing the number of small companies floating around) or to merge them into a single HQ company. Note though that where the separate HQ company is designated as “recce” you should keep them as a separate company if you wish to take advantage of Tac’s special rule about Mode changes (page 20).

Tac doesn't allow for companies to start the game with just one element. Because I am mostly playing late war scenarios where the Germans are often fielding small numbers of tanks, I ignore this rule.

Battalions and companies are handled differently in Tac. Battalions have written orders while companies have Modes.  I’d advise being flexible as to what you treat as a battalion. Some Soviet tank Brigades can have fewer than half a dozen models at Tac scale. In these cases I treat the brigade as a battalion in Tac terms and its component two-model “battalions” as companies.

Any independent companies floating around in the OOB should be treated for morale and communications purposes as part of a battalion they are designated to support or at a pinch organised into very small battalions of their own.

I like to have typed up orders of battle available while I play.  My convention in formatting these is as follows:

Bold type, not indented - higher level formations not represented on the table but possibly appearing on the communications net (see below).

Underlined, not indented - any formations treated as battalions under the rules. This can include small headquarters of brigades or Kampfgruppen as well as actual fighting battalions (or small brigades or regiments that are being treated as battalions).

Normal typeface, indented one space - anything being treated as a company.

Communications Net

I write battalion orders on the backs of old business cards. Tac suggests that you have a single Company - Battalion - Brigade - Division track to mark the transmission of orders and support requests. I’m experimenting with something that looks more like a communications net and shows who’s supporting whom.

Soviet communications net - 37th Mechanised Brigade HQ
needs to make a Tac roll to transmit the order to get
1st Tank Regiment's stalled attack moving again!

Morale and Tac

Both TacWWII and Command Decision rate units separately for morale and for their technical proficiency. Morale is dead easy:

Command Decision Morale          TacWWII Morale

10                                                      Excellent

9                                                        Good

8                                                        Average

7                                                        Poor

6                                                        Shaky

Converting CD’s Troop Quality into TacWWII’s Tac score is more involved as the former has six grades while the latter has only five.  

CD Force Quality                         TacWWII Tac Rating

Elite                                                 4

Veteran                                            5

Experienced                                    5 or 6

Regular                                            6 or 7

Trained                                            7

Green                                               8

Where there's a choice I'll be guided by scenario specific considerations. I'll certainly go with the higher of the two numbers for units with outdated kit or using SP guns rather than tanks.