Spanish Charactertistics & Unit Substitution




Scw 1. All Spanish troops receive a -1 drm in attempts to entrench, reflecting their belief that trenches and foxholes were a mark of cowards. (This belief was not universal but was commonplace enough to create this rule and give a distinction to Spanish troops. Spanish troops serving on the Eastern Front in WW II might also suffer from such a penalty. Moroccan, Basque, International and Italian troops suffer no such penalties. Note that some scenarios award trenches, reflecting that this derision towards trenches and foxholes was not universal and that experience and commonsense during battle overrode machismo.


Nationalist Unit Substitution:

1. 4-5-8/8 (elite) - 4-5-7/7 (1st line) - 3-4-7/6 (2nd line) - 3-3-6/5 (green)
2. 4-4-7/8 (semi-elite) - 3-4-7/6 (2nd line) - 3-3-6/5 (green)

4-5-8/8 counters represent Moroccan and Spanish Foreign Legion troops of the Army of Africa.
4-5-7/7 counters represent the basic Nationalist unit. Losses in the Spanish Foreign Legion and the inclusion of many new recruits drop Spanish Foreign Legion countervalues to this lower number for later scenarios. The 4-5-7/7 counter would also represent 1st line units of the revolution, such as the 1st Division troops at the Montaña Barracks in Madrid, and Civil, Assault and Border Guards that supported the uprising.
4-4-7/8 counters represent Carlist requetés, usually from Navarre. Such troops were highly motivated and have a broken morale one higher than their standard morale. Coupled with fanaticism, which is often awarded to these troops, makes the requetés very formidible.
3-4-7/6 counters represent 2nd line troops such as Falange volunteers. These counters would also represent some regular army soldiers that declared for the revolution early in the war, reflecting the pitiful state of much of the pre-war Spanish army.
3-3-6/5 counters represent green troops; however the Nationalists usually utilized a training program before sending troops into battle and this counter is available only via unit substitution.

Republican Unit Substitution:

1. 4-4-8/7 (elite) - 4-4-7/7 (1st line) - 3-4-7/7 (2nd line) - 3-3-7/6 (green) - 3-3-6/5 (conscript)
2. 4-5-8/8 (elite) - 4-5-7/7 (1st line) - 3-4-7/6 (2nd line) - 3-3-6/5 (conscript)
3. 3-3-7/6 (militia) - 3-3-6/5 (conscript)

4-5-8/8 troops represent specially trained commando units that were used in the Ebro crossing.
4-4-8/7 counters represent the best of the International Brigades. The fact that they were more motivated than they were trained, and that their elite status is reliant on a few key combat veterans, gives the International elites a morale one lower on their unbroken side.
4-5-7/7 counters represent Assault, Border, and Civil Guard units that stayed loyal to the Republic. It also represents the elite portions of the segment of the regular army that declared for the Republic earlier in the war. Otherwise, this counter appears as a degraded commando counter.
3-4-7/7 counters represent 2nd line troops of the Republican regular army and the Basque troops. It also represents superior militia forces.
3-4-7/6 counters represent regular army troops that supported the Republic during the initial crisis of the rebellion.
3-3-7/6 counters represent militia forces which were irregular and had little military worth in most encounters. This counter also represents true partisan guerrillas acting behind Nationalists lines as well as a degraded Republican army squad.
3-3-6/5 counters represent untrained conscripts sent into battle by the desperate Republic, trying to funnel men of any sort into heavilly attritioned units. Unenthusiastic and incapable, they were true cannon fodder.

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