The Great Metcalf Gap Turkey Shoot

A Headless Body Production 
Location:  Garth's Basement

Event:         Providence Gamer's Game Knight
Game:          All Quiet on the Martian Front
Scenario:     Intro to the Overseer Tripod
Players:       Phil Gardocki, Scott Landis,  Jenny Parker: Texas 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Armored Brigades.
                    Garth Parker and Mark McConnahay: Mobile forces of Pod 14, Hive 1 (फली 14, हाइव 1)

The Scenario:
Martian reinforcements from the clan research hive are rushing to save Pod 19, Hive 4.  Their route takes them through the narrow confines of Metcalf Gap.  The humans hope to surprise them as they emerge, but the Martians have a surprise as well.  

The Forces:
Texas forces: 5 platoons of Mk II's, 4 platoons of Mk III's, 3 Mk IV's, a Flame Thrower Tank, 1 company of motorcycles,  5 companies of infantry, 2 companies of heavy infantry, 2 companies of heavy machine guns.  A battery of Mobile Artillery, the Tesla Gun, an Anti-tripod gun, a Battery of field artillery, and a command unit.
They have 28 units, and are demoralized if 14 are destroyed.  About 3,900 points. 

फली 14, हाइव 1, A total of 14  tripods,  An Overseer, 7 Assault Tripods, 3 Scouts, 1 Grenadier, a Slaver, and a Scientist.  Supported by 12 drones.
They have 18 units, and retreat if 9 are destroyed.  About 3,900 points

The House rules are at the end of the battle report.

Deployment:

The Fort Worth defenders are concentrated in a salient bordered by the meandering West Fork of the Trinity River.  They are well dug in with most units camouflaged and not visible on deployment. The zone within 3" of the river is considered trenches, offering +4 defense and +2 armor to infantry. 

The Martians start in the upper west corner of the board.
Using the Scientist's special ability, Marvin's heat ray has been upgraded to an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator, with a range of 40 inches.

Victory Conditions:

Nothing subtle here.  The Martians win if they defeat the Fort Worth Defenders.  

Our story so far:

The Southern Front has gone to hot war.  The Martians have lost the battle for Fort Worth, and with that, the plans to take Dallas.  The Martian commander orders his successful forces from the Tyler to retreat and protect the hive.  

General Funston is not going to give the Martian time to regroup.  The Texas 1st and 4th Armored Brigades are in immediate pursuit, while the 2nd Armored, currently defending Dallas, is ordered to pursue as well.  The 3rd Brigade is having it's material losses made good by recent shipments from the east before following up.  General McCook, the hero of Fort Worth, was given the task of the pursuit.

General McCook surveyed the hive walls.  His orders are clear, he was to assault the hive as soon as 2nd Brigade arrives.  The Comanche scouts report that all ways into the hive are beset with boxes that set off heat rays.  But, they have not seen a single Martian.  However, emanating smoke from the hive said that someone is home.  "Either that, or they have elected a new War Leader", he thought.

He had never seen a hive before, but it looked just they way they were reported elsewhere.  Steep and soft.  Climbable by the steam tanks, but just barely.  If the defensive traps are strong enough to penetrate the tank armor, then tomorrow was going to be a bad day.  If he had the artillery, and the time, he would try to level the berm before the assault.  But General Funston wasn't willing to give the Martian time to prepare.

"And I can't say he's wrong there." thought McCook.

He handed his binoculars to Huupi-Pahati, the Comanche put the glasses to his eyes and stared for a long time.  He handed the glasses back to the General.

"Huupi-Pahati, what do you think?"

"A lot of green coats are going to die tomorrow."

"There are no other ways in?"  

"No, I have lost too many men trying to get closer.  We have learned not to touch strange objects on the ground."

The General gave the Comanche a respectful nod.  He turned to his Brigade commanders.  "All right, we are going to do this by the numbers.  First Brigade on the left, followed by second, third with the  fourth on the far right.  The area is full of death traps, so leading with the infantry is out.  Mk II's in front to act as scouts, Mk III's too provide overwatch until they are at range, then follow up.  Infantry will follow up, hopefully the tanks will have run over enough of these heat ray boxes to break up the patterns."

"Any questions?"

"How come the command tanks are painted white?"

"That was an oversight at the factory, and we didn't bring any olive drab to paint them.  But in the Texas sun, we may keep them that way to stay cooler."

"No more questions?  Very well, inform your men, we attack at 0500, Dismissed."

McCook read a message handed to him.  His eyes widened, he looked up, then shouted to the retreating commanders, "Gentlemen, come back, there has been a change in plans.

  

3 days earlier:

"We have a message from the hive 1, आपका भविष्य!"  The technician looked at the foil and then summarized, "We have followed your plight, and due to the strategic nature of your location, we will send forces to repel the human invaders."

Hive 1?  आपका भविष्य! hadn't heard anything from them in cycles.  Their main function is research, and he didn't know they had any mobile forces to deploy.  It would be good to see any help coming, but it was embarrassing, It was Hive 4's mission to protect Hive 1, not the other way around.  आपका भविष्य shuttered.  There will be consequences.

Deployment:

The foot hills of the Palo Pinto Mountains.  In this area there are a few passes,  The transcontinental rail-line used to transit the Metcalf Gap, but the Martians have taken the areas to the west and that rail line now stops somewhere in the mountains.  To the east of Metcalf Gap is Sugarloaf Mountain, where there is a less suitable gab in the mountains.  The Brazos River meanders in the area, with small lakes forming in depressions.  The town of Brad is to the west and must be protected by the scenario rules.  The humans can deploy anywhere in their half of the board.  The Martians come on the board on turn 1.

Using the Scientist's special ability, One tripod has their heat ray upgraded to an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator, with a range of 40 inches.

There are 18 hidden movement markers on the board, masking 9 actual units.

Because Martians win an overwhelming number of games, we are costing the humans to 80% the list value.  This is the second battle where we have done this.

The coaling station at Brad, Texas.  Mad Omar is at the switch of the train. 

There are special house rules regarding the train and the towers.  The train moves at random down the track, running into anything that is on the tracks.  Even tripods have to respect 70 tons of screaming metal at 50 mph.

The Towers have rules regarding arc of fire, and which turret gets damaged when hit.

Metcalf gap to the left, Sugarloaf to the right.  The headwaters of the Brazos river meandering.

First Brigade deployed.  The triangle cardboard pieces represent defensive works of berms and trenches.  The humans have had years to prepare this position.

Second Brigade deployed between 2 lakes.  Off in the distance is the First Brigade.  The Gap has numerous towers surveying it.

On the right side, are 3rd and 4th Brigades.  Covering the passes around Sugarloaf mountain.

Heavy Infantry deployed as hidden unit counters.

Facing the 1st and 2nd Brigades, tripods appear.  Some big, some small.

And what do my wondering eyes do appear, an Overseer, and 4 full sized tripods in full gear.

More tripods swarming out of Sugarloaf pass.

Queue sound effects.  The Overseer unleashes it's primary weapon, the Sun Ray.  Range, infinity, Terrain, ignores, Targets, all that are in line. 

For a second time, the sun rose today, once in the east, once in the west.  The sun gun clips a Mk II, but only scored the hull, shoots through the tower, taking out all the guns, and through the flame-thrower tank, which, mercifully, did not explode. 

4th Brigade takes one hit, and routs.  Losing only one tank is pretty lucky for the first strike.

3rd Brigade also takes a single hit, and routs.

Heat rays sweep to and fro around the First Brigade, but with no hits.

First Brigade replies, scoring 6 hits on the first tripod.

A Mk IV's gun brings down a tripod, its power plant explodes!  Due to the terrain, the Martians cannot spread out as they would like and collateral damage results.

 The reader may have noticed the title of this entry and thought, "spoilers", and you are right.

The routing Mk II's rally at the cost of a command point, and retaliate with 2 hits, and another sunrise in the west.  If you are counting, this is the 4th for the day.

Follow on shots by the Mk III's on overwatch chip away on the Assault Tripod.

Mad Omar ties down this switch, and accelerating his train towards the "Big Un", before bailing out.

A barrage from the field guns brings down a third tripod on turn 1, and cleans off a unit of drones.

 Turn 2:
There seems to be something wrong with our bloody tripods today -- आपका भविष्य

With 3 fully armored tripods destroyed on turn 1, and a unit of drones, the Texans have a +7 on the initiative roll.  They roll a 9, just to make sure and elect to go first.

A fusillade of 4" shells score 4 hits, adding 3 to the damage roll, another tripod explodes to the point where it looks like it wasn't even there.

The Tesla Gun fires.  And I am at a loss to supply a different metaphor, but for the 5th time today, the sun has risen in the west.  The lightning arcs through one tripod, into the train, the Overseer (1 mobility hit), and finally grounding in a scout, which collapsed to the ground.

 That's 6 tripods and a drone unit destroyed.

The from tower hill, a bombardment from the mobile artillery knocks out the scorpion drones.

With the number of Martian units destroyed set at 8, technically the Martian force is still not in retreat.  But the Overseer has a mobility hit, and another tripod has a weapons hit.  It's over.  The human losses were 2 units in rout, both of which were rallied and still in play, and one flame thrower tank, which was recovered immediately using American industrial might and rolled successfully to be on the board.

"What the hell just happened?"
"Sir, General Weston is asking permission to pursue."
"Sir, General Young is pursuing, and is asking for support.
"Sir, Message from 4th Armored, enemy retiring."
McCook rubbed his eyes, "I can't see anything", he thought, nothing but black explosions on his retina, with bright tripods in the middle of them.
"George, can you see?"
"Nothing sir, I'm blind."
"CAN ANYONE SEE?"
"I can sir", it was a young voice, one of the messengers.
"And me sir."
"And me too."
"All right boys, you are my eyes now.  Look to the north and what do you see?"
"I see tanks chasing a couple of Martians, and they're gaining on them.  Sir."
"And in the Gap."
"That big one is running away sir, but not too well, he seems to be bumping into the walls of the gap and dropping lots rock. SHIT, that rock just crushed one of the little tripods!"
"And south?"
"I don't' see nothin sir, no tripods and just a couple of our tanks standing still."
"All right, tell First Brigade to pursue.  Tell Second brigade to follow First."
"Tell Third and Fourth to hold their ground. and watch their passes."

General Funston reread the casualty list.  McCook had pulled off another miracle. He was in the midst of organizing an attack, had to pull out, drive 30 miles to intercept the Martian counterattack, and won!  And such a win, he actually took the time to be eloquent.

General Funston, here is the casualty report for the encounter against the Martians near Brad, Texas.

That on the field lie destructed, 6 tripods.
Of Drones and automated tripods,
a full 13 lay destroyed or captured.

Of Tank Commanders Lieutenants Edward and Ketly from York and Suffolk.
Of Non-Com's, Corporal's Richard Neeley and Davy Gam, both artillery loaders.
Of privates, their names to follow, some five and twenty.

=====================================================================
House Rules:

Refined Line of Sight Rules (a work in progress):

We will start to use some refined rules for defining Line of Sight.
Unless in ambush (to be defined by the scenario) all units can see each other if within 6” of each other.

Beyond 6”, Human Infantry, Artillery, Motorcycle, BEF vehicles, and Martian Drones and Lobototons are not visible if deeper than 2” in the woods (dense or light)
Beyond 6”, Human Steam Powered vehicles are not visible if deeper than 4” in the woods (dense or light).

Beyond 6” Martian Tripods are not visible if deeper than 2” in or beyond Towering Ruins and Dense Woods, and any terrain type designated as a “Hill”.

            Note: The above is does not count if the hidden units have fired their weapons this turn or last.

The clamp tank does not count as a unit for the purposes of human demoralization.

The Towering Ruins are passable to human vehicles, at half speed, but remain impassable to Martian Tripods.
Humans in Towering Ruins have their defense against heat rays and shock canisters improved as follows:
              Infantry +5/+3, Artillery +4/+2,  Vehicles +2/+2

Humans in Towering Ruins have their defense against green gas  and black dust improved as follows (wind tunnel effects):
              Infantry +2/+2, Artillery +2/+2,  Vehicles +1/+1

When in assault combat, the defenders do not get a bonus for terrain advantages for the "to hit" roll, but do get the terrain armor advantage, if any.

Macadam roads give a movement bonus to tripods. 

Dirt roads give a movement bonus to humans only.

The cost of a Land Ironclad is increased to 1,500 points. 

The Battle for Fort Worth

A Headless Body Production
 Location:  Gamers Heaven, Phoenixville, Pa
Event:         Providence Gamer's Game Knight
Game:          All Quiet on the Martian Front
Scenario:    Just crush them
Players:       Phil Gardocki, Scott Landis, Bruce Potter: The 36th Infantry Division, Texas 1st and 4th Armored Brigades.
                     Garth Parker and Mark McConnahay, Jim Thompsom: Mobile forces of Pod 19, Hive 4 (फली 19, हाइव 4)

The Venue

Gamers Heaven is a wonderful store located in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  About 25 miles Northwest of Philadelphia.  They are huge, with table space for 4 miniature tables, 8 or so board game sized tables, dozens of 1-1 sized tables, and about 2 dozen computer stations.  Food is offered in shop, and is cooked to order. 

The Scenario:

The Southern Front has gone to hot war.  The Martians are focusing their efforts to taking the city of Dallas, and to do so, first they plan to surround the city.  They have launched a double pincer movement.  General Funston has set up defenses in the east at Tyler, and west at Fort Worth. The defenders of Tyler were defeated in a pitched battle before the armored counter attack could rescue them.  All that is stopping the Martian from surrounding Dallas is the 36th "Lone Star", Infantry Division, supported by the 1st and 4th Armored Brigades, and one of those new-fangled Tesla guns.

  

The Forces:
Texas forces: 4 platoons each of Mk III's, and II's and a platoon of Texas Tanks, 2 companies of motorcycles,  5 companies of infantry, 2 companies of heavy infantry, 2 companies of heavy machine guns.  A battery of Texas Tea Tossers, the Tesla Gun, an Anti-tripod gun, a battery of field artillery, the clamp tank, and a command unit.
They have 26 units, and are broken if 13 are destroyed.  About 2,400 points.

फली 19, हाइव 4, the mobile forces of Pod 19, Hive 4: A total of 11  tripods,  6 Dual armed Assault Tripods, 2 Grenadiers, a Slaver, a Scientist, and a Scout.  Supported by 15 drones.
They have 16 units, and are broken if 8 are destroyed.  About 2,370 points

The House rules are at the end of the battle report.

Deployment:

The Fort Worth defenders are concentrated in a salient bordered by the meandering West Fork of the Trinity River.  They are well dug in with most units camouflaged and not visible on deployment. The zone within 3" of the river is considered trenches, offering +4 defense and +2 armor to infantry. 

The Martians start in the upper west corner of the board.
Using the Scientist's special ability, Marvin's heat ray has been upgraded to an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator, with a range of 40 inches.

Victory Conditions:

Nothing subtle here.  The Martians win if they defeat the Fort Worth Defenders.  

Our story so far:

Captain Boone joined the cluster of officers out side of General McCook’s tent.  Two guards were stationed at the flaps.  About 30 feet away, a solder was standing on a propped ladder, sending signals with his flags. 

The tent flap opened and an Indian stormed out.  He trotted to an unbridled horse, quickly mounted and rode away. 

From the tent came the command, “Come on in boys!”

A dozen men entered the tent, Captain Boone overheard one say, “Hoo wee, Squanto sure was pissed.”  Followed by some laughter.

General McCook sat at his tent, scribbling off a note.  “Lieutenant Quinn, His name is Huupi-Pahati, and if that is too much of a mouthful to say, you can call him Tall Tree.”  He handed the note to a messenger, who rapidly left the tent with it.  “I will not hear any derogatory remarks made of our Indian allies.” 

The temperature of the tent, not quite 90 degrees, cooled noticeably.  “I’ll make this short.  I know we have never gotten along with the Comanche, but they are excellent scouts.  And for everyone one of them scouting, saves me a fighting man for the front.”

“But can we trust them?”, came a shout from the back.

The General stood up.  “The Comanche knew before we did that the Martian fed off us humans, and they understand that there is no living with them, so until every last Martian in Texas is killed, we can trust them.”

“And why was he so angry?”

“He was angry because I refused to give him any rifles.”

There were mummers of approval among the officers.

“Do you know why I am not giving any rifles to the Comanche”, asked General McCook?

“Well, yeah, so they won’t shoot us in the back!”

The General shook his head mournfully.  “I have got to get a better crop of officers”, he thought.  "Be careful what you wish for, after what happened in Tyler, I can only expect there to be a lot less of them.”

“I did it for the same reason I took the sabers away from the dragoons.  If you give a man a tool, then he will use it.  If I gave the scouts rifles, they’ll shoot at the Martians instead of hiding, and then be toasted for their efforts, and we won’t get information from dead scouts.  If I would give them anything, I would give them dynamite, something they can ambush with.”

“Gather around the map, this is what we know.  Some 11 or tripods are here”, he pointed to one corner of the map, “They have a cloud of those smaller tripods with them, and are heading our way.  We are going to use the west fork of the Trinity river to divert them to the artillery firing lanes, here, and here…”

Unofficial Rule Change:
We were going to change the turn sequence to one side moves a few units, then the other, throughout the turn, but that quickly got cumbersome in marking units that had moved and shot.  And it was dropped.

The points for the humans was dropped to 80% the published values.  This was an attempt at game balance, as our record for Martian wins seems to be 80/20.

Deployment

The view from the West side of the board.  Sorry for the mismatched mats.

The West Fork of the Trinity River, bulges northward and around Fort Worth.  To the south and off board is the rail line that needs to be defended or West Texas will be cut off.

The Trinity River is impassable to humans.  It slows tripods to 4", and drones to 3".  Drones that cross the river will short out and be lost with a die roll of 1 or 2 on a d10.

Most of the American forces are dug in deep and not visible.  All those white squares are hidden movement counters.  18 are dummies.

The view from the east.

Turn 1:
The initiative roll is 1 to 3, so the Martians have it.

The Texas Tea tosser throws steamer trunk full of dynamite down range, and receives an immediate response. 

This is followed by a Texas tank in the 1st Brigade.

Turn 2:
The initiative roll is 1 to a 9, so the Martians continue to move first and shoot.

The 4th Brigade advances to effective shooting range.  The Tesla crew throws off their  cammo netting and readies to fire.

Target, the red crested tripod, code named "Huey".

A 700 yard long lighting bolt strikes the tripod and grounds to the moist Texas soil.  With all of it's circuits and occupant fried, the tripod collapses to the ground.

The Martians spread out on the west flank.

Destroying another tank. 

The Martian drones swarm the woods.  They get the benefit of cover so the humans need an 8 to hit them.

The Machinegun Company is revealed, and they shoot up the woods, destroying a number of drones.

Field guns put down a barrage, destroying two Scorpion drones.

4th Brigades Mk III's let loose, and score a lucky hit on "Dewey", which explodes with an earth shattering kaboom.  The 2nd Mk III platoon picks off 3 more drones.

The Humans have the advantage here, the score is 4 (out of 8 required) Martians destroyed, to 3 (out of 13 required).

Turn 3:
The humans roll 6 with a +5 for initiative, and will move first.

Machine guns continue to heat up their barrels, and destroy another set of drones.

There were two routing units on the human side, but "Order" points were spent to rally them in place.  A fusillade brings another tripod down.  In the pile of wreckage, another Assault Tripod takes a weapon hit.

I don't know when the Scientist Tripod picked up a pair of hits.

The Martians are down 6 units, and they can see there are a lot of human units, yet to be revealed.

Downtown Fort Worth.  In anticipation of pursuit, orders were issued, and two companies of Motorcycles start their engines, moving at full speed crossing the Trinity River, then turning north to go around the bend in the Trinity.

The view of the Martian line from the north.

The clamp tank was in hiding to the north of the bend in the river, surrounded by a swarm of dummies.  It was hope it would be ignored as another dummy, until in range for a clamp attack.  But Marvin has seen this tactic before, and picked it off with his Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator at very long range.t

With their drone swarm depleted, the The Martians push their controller tripods forward into the woods to get into position to sweep the ridge line free of the Machine Gun Company.

The Machine Gun Company was well protected by the trenches (+4 defense, +2 armor).  The medium heat rays of the Slaver and Scientist prove ineffective, the Machine-gun company and responds by picking off the last Scorpion Drone, bringing the count of Martian units destroyed to 7.  Then the Mk IV unleashed it's 4 and 5 inch guns into the damaged tripod, bringing it to 2 points left.  The remaining Mk III scored two more hits, and it too crumbled to the ground.  Putting the Martian forces into retreat.

General Funston stared at the casualty report in disbelief.  5 steam tanks, one gun, mostly repairable, 72 men killed including 3 officers of low rank, and 36 Comanches that were caught in a blast wave.  He flipped the page over, and there was the complete list of the men lost, including the Indian names, and their translations. Unbidden, his eyes drifted to the half inch thick pile of paper that was the list of casualties from the Tyler debacle. 

He picked up the second sheet of paper in the report from General McCook. It recommended acquiring more Tesla Guns.  "Well, that is not going to happen" he murmured to himself.  McCook also wished to provide the Comanche more robust tools like steel pry-bars and cables and explosives.  (See addendum).

The next page was something new, a list of captured equipment.  The list included 3 undamaged drones, and 4 full sized tripods.  

Funston paged forward another 3 pages before getting to the addendum.  It contained a list of men to receive Badges of Military Merit, and Citation Stars.  The first 7 names were the men who manned the Clamp tank in an attempt to trap Martian in range of the guns.  "We may have to rethink that tactic," he thought. Then he got to the 8th name, "NO," he exclaimed!

His aid had just arrived with his coffee, and while startled at the shout, did not spill a drop.  He wanted to ask what was wrong, but that was not his place.  He placed the coffee on the desk, and awaited the Generals acknowledgement.

"No! No! No! No! No!", furiously, the General went down the list of names, flipping the page over when he got to the bottom.

On the back were these words.

May 4th, 1915

During the battle to defend Fort Worth, and by extension, Dallas Texas, the Comanche were employed by the US Army as scouts for the 36th Division.  Unequipped with modern equipment they fulfilled their roles with exceptional skill and elan.  They were well hidden in a woods to the north of Fort Worth, surveying the advance of the Martians in what was about to become a no mans land.  With shells falling and heat rays replying they maintained their position, even after it was overrun by swarms of enemy drones.

A nearby tripod received a fatal blow and exploded, killing 36 of them.  These men I have recommended for the Badge of Military Merit, and have offered a were-guild price to the tribe for their loss. 

The remaining Comanche, enraged by their loss, went on a rampage.  With only stone axes, rawhide ropes and gumption, they hunted and brought down 2 tripods, one slaver, and one of an unknown type.  Opening the machines, they dragged the pilots out, and in accordance with their traditions, buried them up to their heads and left them.  The Tripods we have captured mostly intact, but as to the pilots, Huupi-Pahati would only say, "Ask their gods when they arrive."

It is to these men I recommend the receipt of the Citation Star.  Each and every one.  Signed, "General McCook, Commander, Lone Star, Infantry Division."

Funston put the paper on his desk.  He reached took sip of his coffee, then reached for a pencil.  He wrote, "Approved in entirety, General Funston, Commander, Army of Texas."

After a pause, he scrawled on the bottom, "Give them what they need", he added.

=====================================================================

It is one thing to know your force was defeated, but seeing the tattered remains arrive at the hive is a totally different thing.

आपका भविष्य watched as two, just two, war machines returned.  Both were piloted by the Aberrations.  His other force, though victorious, had suffered badly.  With this loss, his hive was down to 40% their starting forces.  Is it enough to collapse the humans in his area?  He ran the math.  The answer was yes, he had enough, but any more losses would put his hive out of action for a year or more.  And the humans replace their losses with distressing speed.  Causing more harm is not enough, through victory, आपका भविष्य's pod would be undone. 

He issued orders to the ground commander of the victorious wing, who, even now was swinging south of the great human enclave they sought to destroy.  Retreat.  Destroy everything as you go, but retreat.  Take no chances, watch for tricks.

=====================================================================
House Rules:

Refined Line of Sight Rules (a work in progress):

We will start to use some refined rules for defining Line of Sight.
Unless in ambush (to be defined by the scenario) all units can see each other if within 6” of each other.

Beyond 6”, Human Infantry, Artillery, Motorcycle, BEF vehicles, and Martian Drones and Lobototons are not visible if deeper than 2” in the woods (dense or light)
Beyond 6”, Human Steam Powered vehicles are not visible if deeper than 4” in the woods (dense or light).

Beyond 6” Martian Tripods are not visible if deeper than 2” in or beyond Towering Ruins and Dense Woods, and any terrain type designated as a “Hill”.

            Note: The above is does not count if the hidden units have fired their weapons this turn or last.

The clamp tank does not count as a unit for the purposes of human demoralization.
Units brought back using American Industrial Might count as additional units.  Effectively each unit brought back raises the human demoralization level by .5.  They must be successfully brought onto the board for this purpose.

The Towering Ruins are passable to human vehicles, at half speed, but remain impassable to Martian Tripods.
Humans in Towering Ruins have their defense against heat rays and shock canisters improved as follows:
              Infantry +5/+3, Artillery +4/+2,  Vehicles +2/+2

Humans in Towering Ruins have their defense against green gas  and black dust improved as follows (wind tunnel effects):
              Infantry +2/+2, Artillery +2/+2,  Vehicles +1/+1

When in assault combat, the defenders do not get a bonus for terrain advantages for the "to hit" roll, but do get the terrain armor advantage, if any.

Macadam roads give a movement bonus to tripods.  

Dirt roads give a movement bonus to humans only.

The cost of a Tesla Gun is reduced to 175 points.

The cost of a Land Ironclad is increased to 1,500 points.