The Status Phase consists of several important steps, but at its heart is a “clean up” phase that readies the game for the next Action Phase. Each step of the Status Phase must be taken in the following order:
- Draw Strategy Cards
- Remove Tokens
- Place Units in Op Fire Mode
- Squad Transfers
- Scenario Reinforcements and Events
- Advance the Round Marker
These steps are described in detail below.
1. Draw Strategy Cards
In order of initiative, each player draws one Strategy card from any one of the Strategy card decks in his HQ area. The drawn card is placed faceup in his HQ area, and depending on the card, may be activated during the next Action or Command Phase.
If the first card drawn contains a “+” symbol, the player may immediately draw one additional Strategy card from any one of the decks in his HQ area. No additional cards are drawn this round, even if the second card also contains a “+” symbol.
Note that the “+” symbol only has an effect when cards are drawn during this step. (For example, a player does not draw an additional card during game setup when a card with a “+” symbol is drawn.)
If a player has no cards left in his Strategy decks, he skips this step.
2. Remove Tokens
During this step, do the following in the order listed below:
- Remove all activation tokens from the game board (including activation tokens from squads being transported by vehicles and located by off-board indicator tokens), placing the tokens back in their respective HQ piles. All units are now considered “fresh.”
- Remove all condition tokens from pinned squads, placing the tokens back in their HQ pile.
- All disrupted squads now become pinned (flip the condition token). Exception: If there is an officer in the same hex as a disrupted squad, the condition token is removed and placed back in
the HQ pile instead of being converted to pinned condition. - Remove any markers that expire (such as smoke).
3. Place Units in Op Fire Mode
In order of initiative, players may assign any number of their units to Op Fire mode. This will prevent them from being activated during the upcoming Action Phase, but will allow them to react to enemy movement from the very first action of the next round. If desired, it is possible for a player to place all of his units in Op Fire mode during this step.
4. Squad Transfers
In order of initiative, players may now move figures between friendly squads occupying the same hex. There is no limit to the number of figures that may be moved between squads in this way. See the “Squad Transfer Example” diagram for how a player may wish to transfer units.
The following restrictions govern squad transfers:
- A player may not transfer figures to or from a squad with a specialization (such as a medic squad, or an anti-tank squad).
- A player may not transfer a specialization token to another squad.
- Players may not transfer figures to or from pinned or disrupted squads, or to or from squads being transported by a vehicle.
- Players may not transfer infantry to or from squads that are in entrenchments or pillboxes.
If a transfer leaves a squad base empty, remove the squad base from the game and place it back in the box.
5. Scenario Reinforcements and Events
In order of initiative, players now receive any reinforcements provided by the scenario (if any), and resolve any special events for this round, as indicated by the scenario.
Note that scenario reinforcements differ from reinforcements provided by Strategy cards, which are placed on the board while resolving that Strategy card, and not during this step.
Placing Reinforcements
Whether granted by a Strategy card or because of a scenario special event, reinforcements may only be placed in a nation’s reinforcement zone. In the Scenario Guide maps, the hexes of a nation’s reinforcement zone are marked with the letter “R.” The American reinforcement zone consists of all the hexes with a green “R,” and the German reinforcement zone consists of all the hexes with a grey “R.”
- A player may not place reinforcements in a way that would exceed a hex’s stacking limits.
- A player may not place reinforcements in a hex occupied by enemy units. If all a nation’s reinforcement zone hexes are occupied by enemy units, the player unable to receive the reinforcements. Even if such hexes are later freed of enemy units, any reinforcements missed in prior game rounds remain lost.
See pages 2-3 of the Scenario Guide for more details on scenario reinforcements.
6. Advance the Round Marker
Now advance the round marker on the round track. If the scenario has more than ten rounds, when the eleventh round is reached, record this by flipping the round marker to its “+10” side and placing it back on the “1” space of the round track.
If the round just completed was the last round of the scenario, the game is now over, and a winner is determined. For example, a scenario that is 8 rounds long would end immediately upon the round marker advancing to the “9” position.
A New Round!
After advancing the round maker, this round is over, and another round begins with a new Action Phase.
Squad Transfer Example
During the Status Phase, the German player wishes to transfer figures between squads in the same hex.
He may not transfer any figures to or from the top squad because it has a specialization token. He instead decides to transfer one single figure into the eligible squad, and then removes the empty base from the game board.