Navy Leaders in Third Reich,
Great Pacific War and Second World War
By Cory Wagner
April 2013

A few years ago, William Sariego gave us variant rules for Army Leaders in Third Reich. This article adds Navy Leaders for use in Third Reich, Great Pacific War and Second World War.

Only Britain, Italy, Japan and the United States have Navy Leaders. Some Navy Leaders may begin play on the board, and others may be purchased from the force pool and placed on the board during Production Phases (3.13). There are numerical limits on how many Navy Leaders each nation can have on the board at the same time (any number can be in the force pool). Each Navy Leader has two Skill Ratings that increase the number of dice rolled in combat by the unit he is assigned to.

All Navy Leader counters are downloadable here.

Order of Appearance

Each Navy Leader goes into the force pool of his owning nation at the beginning of the Production Segment of the turn listed for him below (3.11). If a scenario begins on or after the listed turn, the Navy Leader begins the game as part of the owning player’s at-start forces (not in the force pool) and can be assigned to any naval unit the owning player desires (see Unit Assignment below):

BRITAIN

Cunningham: Summer 39
Somerville: Summer 40
Vian: Summer 41
Phillips: Winter 41
Crutchley: Summer 42

ITALY

Campioni: Winter 40
Iachino: Spring 41

JAPAN

Nagumo: Fall 39
Yamamoto: Fall 39
Ozawa: Fall 40
Takagi: Fall 41
Mikawa: Summer 42
Kurita: Summer 42
Koga: Spring 43

UNITED STATES

Halsey: Summer 40
Fletcher: Fall 41
Spruance: Summer 42
Kinkaid: Fall 42
Lee: Fall 42
Barbey: Spring 43

Unit Assignment

Each Navy Leader must be assigned to a specific SURF or CV unit of his own nationality, and is considered part of that unit for all purposes (he moves with it and participates in combat with it). When a Navy Leader is purchased during play or placed on the board at the start of the game, the owning player must immediately assign him to an individual naval unit by stacking him on top of it. Keep that naval unit and the Navy Leader piece assigned to it separate from other naval units for tracking purposes.

Each Navy Leader can be reassigned to a different naval unit during the Operations Segment if desired (3.7), in any impulse when the unit the Navy Leader is currently assigned to and the new unit the Navy Leader wishes to be reassigned to both activate (4.3). Both units must occupy the same hex at some point during the same impulse for the transfer to take place. No more than one Navy Leader can be assigned to the same naval unit at the same time. Navy Leaders may not be assigned to SUB, LC or Fleet Train units.

Skill Ratings and Combat

Each Navy Leader has two numerical values. The number at the lower left is his Surface Combat Skill, and the number on the lower right is his Carrier Combat Skill.

Each time a SURF unit to which a Navy Leader is assigned rolls dice in any kind of combat, it rolls an additional number of dice equal to the Surface Combat Skill rating of the assigned Leader. Each time a CV unit to which a Navy Leader is assigned rolls dice in any kind of combat, it rolls an additional number of dice equal to the Carrier Combat Skill of the assigned leader.

Example: Admiral Halsey has a Carrier Combat Skill rating of 2. If he is assigned to a United States 4 CV unit, then when that unit participates in Sea Control Combat it rolls 4 + 2 = 6 dice in the Naval Air Battle Phase. It also rolls 4 + 2 = 6 dice in the Naval Combat Phase, minus one die per hit it took in the Naval Air battle phase (see 6.31).

If a Navy Leader’s Surface Combat Skill is zero and he is assigned to a SURF unit, he adds no dice in combat. If a Navy Leader’s Carrier Combat Skill is zero and he is assigned to a CV unit, he adds no dice in combat. If a Navy Leader’s Surface Combat Skill number exceeds the number of SURF factors in the naval unit he is assigned to, he can only add a number of dice equal to the SURF factors of the unit. The same applies to Carrier Combat Skill and CV units. So for example, if Admiral Halsey is assigned to a 1 CV unit, the unit rolls 1 + 1 = 2 dice in combat. If Admiral Ozawa is assigned to a 9 SURF unit, it just rolls nine dice since Ozawa has a Surface Combat Skill of zero.

Purchasing Navy Leaders

Navy Leaders are purchased with BRPs, just like units (15.0). During each Production Segment (3.13), each player may purchase Navy Leaders who are in his force pool and/or may remove Navy Leaders from the board and put them back in his force pool as desired. The BRP cost to purchase a Navy Leader is equal to his Surface Combat Skill plus double his Carrier Combat Skill. So for example, the cost to purchase Admiral Yamamoto (Surface Combat Skill of 1 and Carrier Combat Skill of 2) is 1 + (2 x 2) = 5 BRPs. If no friendly SURF or CV units are on the board, the owning player must purchase a SURF or CV unit for each Navy Leader purchased (Navy Leaders cannot be purchased if there are no naval units to which they may be assigned). If all friendly SURF and CV units on the board are eliminated, all on-board Navy Leaders who are not killed or captured (see below) must be placed in the Force Pool (they can be purchased again later).

Navy Leader Limits

The maximum number of Navy Leaders which each eligible nation may have on the board at the same time is as follows:

Italy: 1
Britain: 2
United States: 3
Japan: 3

Any number of Navy Leaders may be in the force pool at the same time.

Navy Leader Restrictions

Navy Leaders cannot be assigned to SUB, LC or Fleet Train units. No more than one Navy Leader can be assigned to the same naval unit at the same time. No more than one friendly Navy Leader may occupy the same sea zone during each Sea Control and Raiding Segment (3.5).

Navy Leader Losses

If a Navy Leader’s assigned naval unit is eliminated in combat or withdraws from Sea Control combat at the end of a round (6.31), the owning player must immediately roll two dice for that Navy Leader. He then consults the applicable Navy Leader Loss Table below to see if the Navy Leader rolled for is killed, captured or relieved of command.

British and U.S. Navy Leader Loss Table

Japanese and Italian Navy Leader Loss Table

Subtract one from the dieroll if the Navy Leader’s assigned unit was eliminated in combat.

If a leader is killed or captured he is permanently removed from play. If a leader is relieved of command, the owning player places him in the force pool and can purchase him again later if desired. If the result is No Effect but the Navy Leader’s assigned unit was destroyed, place him with any friendly SURF or CV unit that is in the same sea zone at that time (it can be at sea or in port per rule 6.1). He is automatically reassigned to that unit. If there is no such unit, place him in the Force Pool instead (he can be purchased again later).

Order Great Pacific War right here