I think you could just announce that it’s a recon force and which ships would be passing through if it succeeds… maybe put the recon force into the territory for combat and the rest of the fleet could be put on the line between the territories until combat is resolved. If the recon force takes out the blockers in the first round of combat, the ships on the line could then pass through the territory or use their shore bombardment in the territory: but the recon force could not pass through with them and could not bombard with them (they would be out of position, expended munitions, etc.). If the recon force fails to take out the blockers, then the remaining ships may join the combat or they could stay in the previous zone and either way can’t pass through or bombard the shore. The recon force would then have to continue to engage in regular combat or retreat.
Have you heard about the FMG A&A pieces?
-
Guys,
I don’t know how many folks here scan all the boards, but there is a fellow that formed a company called Field Marshall Games, FMG for short. He is making accessories for A&A and is about to release new pieces for the A&A games. The first release will be a complete set of Italian pieces. The other nations will follow and I think this is going to be a great thing. If you have time, check out this thread.
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=13894.0
It is already over 35 pages, so it will take a long time to read. But the essence is he is about to take the next step and take pre-orders for the Italian pieces. I bought a set of special dice from FMG and I am happy with them. He is also selling a dice tower. He plans to add other stuff. I hope he gets plenty of support so he can fund the development of all his projects. Take a look. The set will include some new pieces which may help with your house rules.