20. PRISONERS

20.1 VALUE: Every unit which surrenders or is captured and still under guard at the end of a scenario is worth double its normal Victory Condition value.

20.2 CAPTURE: Berserk units can neither take prisoners, nor be captured. Otherwise, units can be captured in any of three ways.

20.21 RtPh: Any broken Infantry unit during its RtPh that is both ADJACENT to Known, Good Order, armed enemy Infantry/Cavalry and unable to rout away from it or only able to rout while being subject to Interdiction or resorting to Low Crawl (regardless of how it actually routs or if the possible unconcealed interdictor is Known to it), will surrender to that enemy unit as its prisoner instead, (captor's choice of unit receiving surrender if more than one unit qualifies) after first abandoning all its SW [EXC: if pinned; 10.53 & G5.5]. A stack of broken units in a Location surrenders simultaneously and must be accepted or rejected (20.3) as a stack. If there are not enough Guards for all such surrendering units, the excess (captor's choice) are freed as Unarmed (20.5). Surrendering units are not subject to FFE or minefield attacks. If the only adjacent enemy unit is in-Melee/Berserk/vehicular, the broken unit must rout away (even if Disrupted) or be eliminated for Failure to Rout - such elimination does not incur No Quarter penalties. If the broken unit is also Disrupted, Encircled, or surrendering due to a Heat of Battle DR (15.5), it will instead rout to that enemy unit as its prisoner even if it had a legal rout path not requiring Interdiction or Low Crawl. Partisans (25.24), Gurkhas (25.43), Commissars (25.22), SS troops facing Russians (25.11), Fanatics (10.8), and Japanese never surrender via the RtPh method; they always use Low Crawl or risk Interdiction to avoid surrender. If unable to do any of these, they are eliminated rather than surrender. (Version 2) Q&A

20.22 CCPh: Any non-vehicular, non-berserk unit attacking anything but a manned AFV in CC may predesignate its CC attack as an attempt to take prisoners by adding a +1 DRM to its CC DR. If the Final CC DR is < the CC Kill Number for that attack, all defending units are captured; if the Final CC DR is equal to the CC Kill Number for that attack, one defending unit of the defender's choice is captured (one HS if the defending unit is a squad; the other HS remains uncaptured). The +1 DRM for a capture attempt is instead a -1 vs Inexperienced Personnel (19.35).

EX: A German 5-7-8 attacks two Russian 4-2-6 squads and 447 squad in CC at 8-12 (1-2) and a announces he will attempt to Capture them. If the Original CC DR is a 3, the Russian 4-4-7 is exchanged for two HS (one of which is captured) and the two 4-2-6 squads are captured. The 4-4-7 squad is not completely captured because the +1 capture attempt DRM applies to it.

20.221 Whenever any side in a CC or Melee Location is completely eliminated/captured in simultaneous CC, any unit it had captured during that phase is unchanged (i.e., all of that side's Capture attacks resolved in that Location during the phase are treated as ineffectual). If all opposing non-prisoner units in a CC/Melee Location completely eliminate or capture each other in their simultaneous CC, all remaining unarmed prisoners remain in that Location but are exchanged for Green/Conscript units as per 20.551, regardless of the number of units eliminated in that Location or what units eliminated them. Should this leave opposing, newly armed units of both sides alone in the same Location, they all remain in Melee. All SW in such a hex are considered abandoned.

20.23 MOPPING UP: See 12.153

20.24 Whenever a unit surrenders or is captured, it first abandons all its SW. Those SW must be Recovered normally to be possessed by the captor.

20.3 NO QUARTER: The captor may opt to reject a RtPh surrendering unit at the instant of its capture and eliminate it instead, but if he does so all other enemy units will subsequently always use Low Crawl or risk Interdiction to avoid surrendering - even if Disrupted. A rejected surrendering unit does not count toward the Battlefield Integrity Casualty Tally. Q&A

20.4 MASSACRE: Only SS, Japanese, Partisan, Russian, or berserk troops - if not in Melee - may eliminate an unarmed unit not in the act of escape. They do so in their fire phase by declaring the prisoners as their target, which automatically eliminates them. Any berserk unit in the same Location with prisoners, whether guarding them or not, will decline its charge requirement and eliminate those prisoners (and its berserk status) in the next fire phase instead. If not in the same Location with prisoners, a berserk unit will ignore them in determining the closest enemy unit to charge. Should a Massacre occur, the ELR of all enemy units in that scenario is increased by one (once only) to a maximum of 6, in addition to the application of all the penalties of 20.3. Q&A

20.5 GUARDS & UNARMED UNITS: A Personnel unit is captured as (i.e., exchanged for) a white unarmed counter of the appropriate size, and is placed above the unit that captured it (captor's choice if more than one capturing unit). An unarmed SMC must be noted on a side record, but maintains its normal morale and leadership levels. All unarmed units have a FP factor of "(1)", which can be used only in CC vs Personnel. The captor unit becomes the Guard until relieved of that task during any friendly RPh/APh in which the prisoners - if not involved in Melee with the Guard - are either transferred above another guarding unit in the same manner as a SW (4.431) or abandoned. Such transfer does not penalize either unit's APh/RPh capabilities. Any armed Personnel unit (even a broken SMC or Cavalry) may act as a Guard. Only one unit per Location, the one directly beneath the prisoner unit(s), is the Guard. Should no Guard unit be beneath them to maintain possession, any unit above them in the same Location immediately assumes the Guard position. Should no enemy unit be in that Location, the unarmed units are no longer prisoners and may be moved normally by their previous owner except that unarmed units may not enter a location containing a Known enemy unit. If the only Personnel unit available to assume Guard duties is insufficient, it guards all those units it can handle (20.51) and the remainder may be moved by their previous owner as if there were no Guard unit present in the hex. An unbroken Guard squad can Deploy into HS automatically at any time, regardless of nationality or leader requirements. A guarded prisoner does not affect rout. A Guard can force any prisoner to attempt entrenchment (B27.11), or clear rubble/Flame/roadblock (B24.7). Q&A

20.51 STACKING: A single Guard unit can guard prisoners with a total US# up to five times its own US#, and can automatically exchange two prisoner HS/crew for an Unarmed squad and vice versa. Unarmed units lose all previous armed identity and classification (i.e., a crew becomes an unarmed HS). Overstacking penalties never apply to prisoners, although they apply to their Guards if the captor side (excluding prisoners) is overstacked. Q&A

20.52 GUARD FP: A Guard may not attack or Interdict any unit other than its prisoners except in CC [EXC: a Guard whose US# is ≤ the total US# of its prisoners does not have its FP, attack, or Interdiction capabilities restricted by those prisoners]. A Guard's FP is halved for attack (but not defense) purposes when attacking non-prisoners in CC.

20.53 MOVEMENT: All prisoners move at the foot rate (not the Cavalry rate) of their accompanying Guard as one combined stack, and are moved during the captor's MPh/APh at the direction of the captor. Prisoners do not rout while guarded unless their Guard routs - in which case they accompany the Guard. Guards abandon their prisoners only by choice and only by leaving those prisoners behind as they exit a hex. Abandoned prisoners are still subject to the protection of 20.3-.4 (i.e., an abandoned prisoner subsequently eliminated by the side that abandoned it causes the No Quarter rule to take immediate effect). Abandoned prisoners are represented by Unarmed counters and the rules applicable thereto. Guards may escort their prisoners off a Friendly Board Edge without the Guards being considered eliminated for Victory Conditions. Unless defined otherwise by SSR, a Friendly Board Edge is one from which that side's forces entered the game. If a side's forces set up on board and have received no reinforcements, its Friendly Board Edge is any side it was allowed to set up in front of with no enemy units between its forces and that board edge and through which no enemy units have entered. Q&A

20.54 ATTACK EFFECTS: Fire into a hex containing prisoners or unarmed units from outside the hex affects both the Guard and the prisoners/unarmed units as if they were combatants in Melee, except that prisoners are never broken and do not take the LLMC/LLTC usually required for the elimination/breaking of a leader in the same Location. A prisoner/unarmed unit which falls a MC is not broken; it suffers Casualty Reduction instead. A CC attack against a Guard does not affect its prisoners. Prisoners/Unarmed units eliminated by fire from their own side still count double for Victory Conditions. The Casualty Reduction portion of a "K/#" result can affect either the Guard or the prisoners as determined by Random Selection. Similarly, the unit(s) eliminated by a "#KIA" result are chosen by Random Selection. Unarmed units are not an obstacle to movement, and can be recaptured normally by CC or by any Infantry/Cavalry unit entering their hex and engaging in an immediate CC during the MPh. If they fail to eliminate or recapture those unarmed units during the MPh, they are considered in Melee thereafter and may move no farther. Place a Melee counter on the stack to indicate their status. A non-prisoner, unarmed unit may not enter a Known enemy-occupied hex. Q&A

20.55 ESCAPE: Unless a Melee exists in the Location, prisoners must pass a NTC before they can attack their Guard. This attack can only occur during the CCPh and only if the Guard is broken. Once a Melee exists within the Location, prisoners may, during the CCPh, attack without passing a NTC. Prisoners must eliminate their Guard before they can attack any other units in that Location unless they attack their Guard and other units in the same Location as part of the same CC attack. Once Melee exists with a Guard, prisoners may attempt Withdrawal from Melee in a subsequent CCPh. Prisoner CC attacks are sequential in that the prisoners may make all of their CC attacks before they can be attacked in turn by the survivors and any other enemy units in that Location. Escape is successful only if there are no enemy units in the same Location (other than prisoners) or by successful Withdrawal from Melee (11.2) or Infiltration (11.22), in which case the former prisoner unit has freedom of action thereafter until recaptured. Prisoners eliminated in an escape attempt do not incur any penalties upon the captor, and are still counted (although not doubled) for Victory Condition purposes (20.1). An escaped prisoner does not count at all toward Victory Conditions, unless subsequently eliminated or recaptured. Italians, Japanese, and non-Finnish Axis Minors [EXC: Hungarians in Hungary; see 25.8] will not attempt escape unless abandoned.²⁷ Q&A

EX: A German 2-4-7 HS and a broken crew are in a hex with three prisoner squads that are all stacked above the crew, which is the Guard. Only two prisoner squads pass their NTC and are allowed to attack in CC. They can attack their Guard at 1-1(2-2) with a -2 DRM (vs broken unit), or both the Guard and HS both at 1-2 (2-4). The broken Guard cannot attack but the HS can, and elects to attack both of the prisoner squads at 1-1(2-2). The non-participating prisoner squad is not involved at all and remains under control of the Guard. Neither side is successful in CC, but now all the units are in Melee and the stack is so marked with a Melee counter. During the next CCPh, none of the prisoners need to pass a NTC to participate. One of the squads elects to withdraw from CC while the other two engage the HS and broken Guard at 1-2 (2-4). If the HS tries to stop the withdrawing unarmed squad alone at 2-1 it gets no CC DRM (2 [standing units] -2 [CC Withdrawal DRM] = 0) so the German player elects to attack all three prisoner squads at 1-2 (2-3). The German player knows that unless his HS is eliminated by the Prisoner's CC attack, he will succeed at least in keeping the other two prisoner squads in Melee even though the withdrawing squad will probably escape.

20.551 REARMING: One attacking Unarmed friendly unit of equal or smaller size is rearmed immediately for each armed enemy unit eliminated/captured in CC (or by any other means if no other enemy unit is currently in the same Location), but the unarmed unit is replaced with a Green or Conscript squad/HS of its size and nationality. An unarmed unit in the same Location with an armed enemy unit that surrenders to a friendly armed unit can be immediately rearmed as per the preceding sentence. Q&A

20.552 SCROUNGING: Small arms capable of rearming any one Infantry counter may be scrounged from any non-water/marsh hex occupied by the unarmed unit at the end of a MPh in which it has expended all of its MF in movement (not necessarily in the same hex), and is able to roll a 2 on a Scrounging DR (Δ). There is a limit of one Scrounging DR per hex per MPh, regardless of the number of units contained therein. The unarmed unit is replaced with a Green or Conscript squad/HS of its size and nationality as per 20.551. Scrounging wrecks (D10.5) offers a better chance of success. Q&A