POLISH INFANTRY AND CAVALRY FOR THE GEAR KRIEG TACTICAL WARGAME

An unofficial Gear Krieg resource by Scott Lynch

Infantry Units
Platoon HQ Section
Mortar Section
Rifle Squad
Machinegun Team

Cavalry Units
Saber Platoon HQ
Saber Section

Infantry Platoon HQ Section
1. Lieutenant
2. NCO
3. Observer
4. Runner
5. AT Gunner
 Pistol
Pistol
Rifle
Rifle
Anti-Tank Rifle
Default Threat Value: 23

Infantry Platoon Mortar Section
1. NCO
2. Mortarman
3. Mortarman
4. Mortarman
5. Ammo Handler
6. Ammo Handler
7. Ammo Handler
8. Ammo Handler
9. Ammo Handler
10. Ammo Handler
 Rifle
Light Mortar
Pistol
Pistol
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Default Threat Value: 45

Infantry Platoon Rifle Squad
1. NCO
2. Rifleman
3. Rifleman
4. Rifleman
5. Rifleman
6. Rifleman
7. Rifleman
8. Rifleman
9. Rifleman
10. Rifleman
11. Rifleman
12. Rifleman
13. Rifleman
14. Rifleman
15. Rifleman
 Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Default Threat Value: 75

Infantry Squad Machinegun Team
1. Gunner
2. Spotter
3. Loader
4. Loader
 Medium MG
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Default Threat Value: 21

Saber Platoon HQ Section
1. Lieutenant
2. NCO
3. Trooper
4. Trooper
5. Trooper
 Pistol
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Default Threat Value: 46
Modified Threat Value: 41*

Saber Section
1. Lance Corporal
2. NCO
3. Trooper
4. Trooper
5. Trooper
6. Gunner 		Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
Rifle
LMG
Default Threat Value: 62
Modified Threat Value: 55*

Infantry Deployment Notes

The MG Teams listed above were technically part of each rifle squad (giving them a total of 19 men), but are listed separately for ease of use with the GK system. Thus, each rifle squad should (barring disaster, misdeployment, and casualties) always be paired with one.

A Polish infantry platoon consisted of:

  • 1 Platoon HQ
  • 1 Mortar Section
  • 3 Rifle Squads
  • 3 MG Teams

    A Polish rifle company mustered three such platoons and a Company HQ. You can treat this as a double-sized Platoon HQ, and you can give them horses if you wish. The OB this information was drawn from says that each company was also equipped with a field bakery section, which is not listed here for what I hope are obvious reasons.

    Cavalry Deployment Notes

    The Polish cavalry mustered Saber Companies and Rifle Companies, which were organized somewhat differently. To create a Rifle squad or platoon, simply take the infantry units described above and mount them all- the OB was nearly identical for both infantry and cavalry.

    Saber Platoons (three of which plus a command HQ made up a Saber Company) were made up of four Saber Sections and one Saber HQ Section. Typically, two Saber Sections would carry LMGs as described above, one section would carry an AT rifle, and the fourth section would be all rifles.

    Cavalry Variant Rules and Notes

  • Vulnerability While Mounted
    To reflect the fact that mounted cavalry are easier to hit and disable than regular infantry, I recommend applying a -1 modifier versus weapons without the Anti-Infantry perk rather than the customary -2. Also, mounted cavalry should not be able to dig in save in specially prepared positions.

  • Mounting/Dismounting
    This action should cost 1 MP. In a turn during which a cavalry unit is mounting or dismounting, it should receive the full -2 modifier versus weapons without the Anti-Infantry perk (When using cavalry in a scenario, prepare a few simple markers with the word "MOUNTS" to keep track of where a dismounted cavalry unit leaves its horses. Assume that the horse handlers assigned to each unit for this purpose are present, but need not be accounted in the TV rating or the unit roster).

    Realistically, cavalry units on the battlefield of 1939 would have used their great mobility to place themselves for attack on foot in preference to openly charging an enemy armed with automatic weapons (though they did do so, recording spectacular successes and equally spectacular failures). The LMGs carried are modified Browning Automatic Rifles, and can be fired while mounted. AT rifles, mortars, and other heavy weapons can only be fired after the soldiers in question dismount and set them up.

  • Saber Charge
    Here's the fun part. Mounted cavalry that enter the same hex as an enemy infantry unit may declare a charging attack, which can demolish and scatter an entire line of foot soldiers if successful. Infantry units that suffer a charge must make an immediate Morale test against a threshold of 6, or lose their actions for both the current turn (if not already taken) and the next turn. A cavalry unit making a successful charging attack (rolled normally, as though with the weapons carried by the unit) adds a +2 modifier to its Margin of success for damage calculation.

    Dug-in infantry have the difficulty of their Morale Test reduced to 4. Furthermore, charging cavalry successfully attacking a dug-in unit may only apply a +1 modifier to their MoS.

    Cavalry may not make charging attacks in woods or swamp terrain.

  • *Modified Threat Values
    If you use the increased vulnerability rules for cavalry units, I recommend compensating for this by calculating their TV as though they were infantry multiplied by 1.75 rather than 2.

    Other Resources

    Polish Armored Fighting Vehicles for the GK System (onsite link)
    Lance Pennons of the Polish Army
    Polish Cavalry Equipment

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