to past Ortona play testers

[Michael R]

I have a question. The rules that I received specify to treat Olive Groves as "out of season", which is contrary to the actual rule B14.8 that states they are always "in season". As well, my research found that olive trees do not normally drop their leaves.

If anyone can remember any justification for the Ortona module version of this rule, please let me know.

Thank you.

 

[Carln0130]

I have a question. The rules that I received specify to treat Olive Groves as "out of season", which is contrary to the actual rule B14.8 that states they are always "in season". As well, my research found that olive trees do not normally drop their leaves.

If anyone can remember any justification for the Ortona module version of this rule, please let me know.

Thank you.

Mike,
I was not a playtester of Ortona, but have this question. Was the area, prior to the fighting already heavily bombarded and so the leaves may have been blown off, while still retaining the MF penalties and TEM characteristics? Does the history of the fighting indicate that in any way?

 

[Vinnie]

Olive trees are fairly low growing so they may well have been too close to the ground to block LoS.

 

[benj]

Can you imagine another wargame where we care about the length of the leaves of trees and end up with botanical researches? :laugh:

 

[olli]

Can you imagine another wargame where we care about the length of the leaves of trees and end up with botanical researches? :laugh:

This post a day to late back in the Netherlands and Ortona PT in Scotland

 

[Michael Dorosh]

I have a question. The rules that I received specify to treat Olive Groves as "out of season", which is contrary to the actual rule B14.8 that states they are always "in season". As well, my research found that olive trees do not normally drop their leaves.

If anyone can remember any justification for the Ortona module version of this rule, please let me know.

Thank you.

This photo was taken at San Leonardo on 10 December 1943.

View attachment 51559

And this one at Ortona on 21 December 1943:

View attachment 51560

Graveyard near Ortona in Jan.

View attachment 51561

 

[Michael R]

Mike,
I was not a playtester of Ortona, but have this question. Was the area, prior to the fighting already heavily bombarded and so the leaves may have been blown off, while still retaining the MF penalties and TEM characteristics? Does the history of the fighting indicate that in any way?

I don't remember reading anything like that, but I will be verifying again.

 

[jwb3]

Olive trees are fairly low growing so they may well have been too close to the ground to block LoS.

I had nothing to do with the playtest, but this was my guess too; it might have been discovered that treating them as in-season created way too many blind hexes.

I think MD's pics tend to support that view, though I have no idea what the contours on the Ortona HASL map represent (if they even represent anything remotely measurable).


John