21. Artillery and Air Support¶
21.1 General¶
Artillery and air support represents off-board artillery batteries (including naval guns) and fighter-bombers that provide fire support missions for on-board units. Artillery and air support are provided by a scenario's OOB.
21.2 Availability¶
The scenario will indicate the type of support available to each player, and the number of fire missions each type of support will provide. When a scenario indicates a player receives support, he places a number of Light Barrage, Heavy Barrage, or Fighter-Bomber markers for each support mission, as denoted in the OOB section of the scenario, on the table in front of him.
21.3 Spotter¶
An unpinned, friendly unit must act as a spotter for an artillery support mission, and must have LOS to the target hex. Any number of available artillery support missions may be used each turn, but the player must have a friendly, unpinned unit with LOS to each target hex. A spotter is not necessary for fighter-bombers; the fighter-bomber has LOS to all hexes on the board.
21.4 Using Support Missions¶
| Die roll | Effect |
|---|---|
| ≤ 4 | Hit |
| 5 | 1 hex scatter |
| 6 | 2 hex scatter |
When a player uses a support mission he places the appropriate marker in the target hex during the Command Phase. All support missions a player wishes to use are placed before resolution. A die roll is made for each artillery support mission, and if the roll is 4 or less the support mission hits the target hex. If the die roll is a 5 the support mission scatters one hex from the original target hex, and if the die roll is a 6 the support mission scatters two hexes from the original target hex. The player rolls a die and consults the Artillery Scatter diagram to determine which direction the support mission scatters, and moves the support mission's marker one or two hexes (depending on the original die roll) in that direction. Any mission which scatters off the board has no effect, but still counts as having been used. No resolution roll is necessary if the artillery mission scatters off the board, or if there are no units in the target hex. The attack is resolved if there are any units in the target hex, including friendly units.
21.5 Resolution¶
Each support mission must be resolved separately. A support mission affects all units in the target hex. Terrain modifiers in the target hex apply to the support mission's attack dice roll. Hexside hindrances around the target hex, such as walls or hedges, do not affect the support mission's dice roll. If a hex contains infantry, vehicle, or Gun units, a dice roll is made and cross referenced with the support mission's APFP on the AP Combat Table to obtain a Casualty Point number, which is then applied normally to all eligible targets. If an AFV is located in the hex the support mission must first roll to-hit on an 8 or less, applying cover modifiers to the to-hit dice roll. If an AFV is hit, the support mission's strength is cross-referenced with the AFV's rear armor rating on the Armor Elimination Chart to obtain an Elimination Number. A dice roll equal to or less than the Elimination Number eliminates the unit.
21.6 Air Bursts Versus Infantry¶
Casualty Points from an artillery strike applied to infantry units in woods and jungle hexes are doubled.
21.7 Smoke Barrage¶
A player may use an off-board artillery mission to place smoke, in lieu of attacking a hex. Fighter-bombers may not be used to place smoke. Using off-board artillery to place smoke does not expend a support mission marker, but the player must have an available artillery marker (either Light or Heavy) to place smoke. If a player has no artillery markers available he may not place smoke with off-board artillery. As with a regular support mission, the player must check to see if the smoke lands in the target hex, and if not he must determine where the smoke round lands using the Artillery Scatter diagram and procedure outlined in section 21.4. A Smoke 2 marker is placed in the final target hex, and the player deducts two smoke factors from his smoke supply.
21.8 Single Use¶
Each support mission may only be used once, and when used the support mission's marker is removed from play.