Embankment Railroads

A lot of people have been playing Hatten in Flames, a super fun campaign game published by Multi-Man Publishing and designed by Andy Rogers. A lot of these players soon turn to ASL forums looking for help on how to play the Embanked Railroad (EmRR) running down the southern side of the map. For this article I have chipped off a small piece of the Hatten map featuring the EmRR. We will examine which LOS are clear, which are not, and where you can find this in the rules. 

First, EmRR are treated as Hillock hexes for LOS, COT, and TEM purposes (B32.12). We are not concerned with TEM or COT so I will leave those for another article. Also, the Hatten EmRR has no Hillock Summit so I will ignore those as well. It is also worth noting the whole Embankment RR is one giant Hillock. As big as it is there is still only one Hillock on the map. For the rest of this article, we will refer to the EmRR as a Hillock. 

Determining LOS

First we need to understand “adjacent”. Referring to F6.4, a unit is adjacent to a Hillock if the LOS crosses/touches a hexside/hexspine common to both a hillock hex and that unit’s hex. The 8-3-8 is “adjacent” along each of the three LOS in the example. LOS which cross the DD26/EE26 hexside would also qualify for adjacent. 

 Units ON a Hillock are ½ level higher than the Base Level of the underlying terrain (on the Hatten map that is at level ½). They may see over THAT Hillock and the NEXT Hillock. The may also see past a third Hillock to any non-entrenched/non-Emplaced units adjacent to that third Hillock. Units on a Hillock may also see over any wall/hedge whose top-most height is strictly less than the height of the Hillock. Units on a Hillock also have a LOS over the first wall/hedge whose topmost height is equal to the Hillock’s along that LOS. They may also see past the second such wall/hedge but only to units adjacent to the second wall/hedge.

Non-entrenched/non-Emplaced units “behind” and adjacent to a Hillock can see units past that Hillock–effectively as if that Hillock did not exist. They may also see units ”behind” and adjacent to the next Hillock along that LOS. 

We must keep the concept of reciprocity (A6.5) in mind. If unit A can see unit B then unit B can see unit A. It is often easier to determine if the unit closest to the Hillock has LOS to the other unit and then apply reciprocity.  

Lastly, we need to consider that Hillocks are Inherent Terrain per F6.2. While the rule is very clear, this has been further clarified by Q&A. ¹ Let’s look at some examples.

Examples:

Refer to Figure 2. Let’s start with the easiest one. The 6-6-7 is ON the Hillock and at level ½. It can see all German units. As it is ON the Hillock, it can see over the first Hedge to units beyond. It can also see past the first hedge to units behind and adjacent to the next hedge. Being ON the Embankment RR (i.e., being ON the Hillock) it can see over that Hillock. If the LOS is otherwise open, the Hillock will play no part in LOS determination regardless of how many times the LOS crosses from one side of the Hillock to the other.

The 5-4-6 and 7-4-7 can see the 5-4-8 and the 8-3-8. Each of the German units are adjacent to the Hillock. As such, each of those units can see–and be seen–by any units beyond the Hillock along an LOS establishes adjacency. In each instance, notice the LOS crosses a hexside shared by both the German units and a Hillock hex. If either German unit were entrenched the LOS would be blocked. If either American unit were entrenched the LOS would still exist. The LOS from the American 5-4-6 to the German 4-6-7 is blocked because neither unit is adjacent to the Hillock along that LOS. Were the 5-4-6 in CC16 the American unit would be adjacent to the Hillock and the LOS would be clear.  

The 6-6-6 can see the 5-4-8, 4-6-7, and the 8-3-8 as they are adjacent to the Hillock and can see over the Hillock to the units beyond. The 6-6-6 can also see the 4-6-7 behind the hedge. As it is not ON the Hillock it cannot see past that hedge to the 4-3-6. The hedge along the C22/B22 hexside blocks the LOS.

Pay particular attention to the LOS between the 8-3-8 and the 5-4-6. Even though the LOS appears to leave the Hillock hexes passing along the left side of the Hillock before finally crossing over the LOS is clear. Remember, the EmRR is effectively one large Hillock. The Hillock rules say a unit behind and adjacent can see past THAT Hillock. No matter how many times this LOS crosses from one side to the other, the LOS will be open. If one unit is adjacent along that LOS it is often easier to imagine the EmRR does not exist.

Refer to Figure 3. Notice how the LOS passes through DD18, DD19, and DD20 via one of its vertices. On its face, this LOS looks clear but recall that Hillocks–and by extension EmRR–are Inherent Terrain. Like any other Inherent Terrain, the terrain in a Hillock runs out to the hexsides. As such, this LOS passes over the Hillock and units not adjacent to the Hillock may not see over the intervening LOS. This LOS is blocked. 

Refer to Figure 4. Recall again Hillocks are Inherent Terrain. As the Hillock is Inherent terrain it fills the hex to each hexside and rises ½ level above. This makes the Base Level of this Location ½ . All units except the 4-3-6 are behind and adjacent to the Hillock. Each unit can see all the other units in the figure. LOS between the American and elite German units is hindered by Smoke in DD18. LOS between German units is not hindered by Smoke. As the Smoke is drifting from level ½, LOS between the American unit and the German Conscript unit is unaffected by Smoke. 

Conclusion:

First and foremost, I hope it’s clear that Hillock rules are not a great fit for EmRR. In my opinion, the rules as written don’t make a lot of sense in all cases when applied to a long, thin terrain feature. This is best exemplified by the LOS in Figure 3. If you run into trouble I encourage you to open to the F6 example and find the situation you’re facing and see what the example says. I find this example invaluable when trying to make heads or tails of Embankment Railroads or Hillocks in general.

If you’re playing Hatten in Flames for the first time remember there is only ONE Hillock. A lot of the Hillock rules don’t apply. Any LOS establishing a unit adjacent to the Hillock can effectively ignore the Hillock for LOS purposes unless the either unit is Emplaced/entrenched. Emplaced/entrenched units may see units ON the EmRR but not “behind” the EmRR. Any unit ON the Hillock can also effectively ignore the Hillock for LOS purposes. Units ON the Hillock can see over hedges and walls (and Rubble, see F6.412).  

As always, I hope this helped. If you find an error in here or would like to see additional examples please let me know and I will fix the issues. If you have any topic you would like to see covered, please let me know and I may take you up on it. — jim