Close support units include mortars, infantry guns and vehicles equipped with howitzers. Infantry guns and close support vehicles may use direct and indirect fire. Mortars may only use indirect fire.

Most close support units have fire statistics for direct and indirect fire.

USA M4 105mm

Type: Medium AFV (Close Support)
Move: Average
Reliability: Good
Reaction: 5D
Weapon: 105L23 howitzer
Direct Fire Range: 9/18/36
FP: 7D AT: 3D
Indirect Fire Range: 9-72
FP: 4D AT: 2D
Notes: High Suppression.

German 8cm Mortar

Type: Heavy Infantry Weapon
Move: Slow
Weapon: Medium Mortar
Indirect Fire Range: 3-30
FP: 4D AT: –
Notes: High Suppression.

Mortars do not have direct fire statistics.

High Suppression

Close support units and mortars are high suppression weapons and cause suppressions when using direct and indirect fire unless the opponent rolls more 6s than the firing unit.

Close Support Direct Fire

Close support units (except mortars) use direct fire the same as other units. Select the target and roll either the unit’s FP or AT depending on the target type.

Indirect Fire

Indirect fire is targeted against one enemy unit.

Indirect fire has minimum and maximum ranges such as 9-72. This shows that it has a minimum range of 9” and a maximum range of 72”.

A unit cannot use indirect fire inside of its minimum range but may use direct fire. Mortars cannot fire within their minimum range.

Smoke missions create smoke screens that obscure LOS. A Direct Support Battery may not fire smoke and perform a fire mission in the same turn.

Effect of Smoke Screens

All firing and spotting rolls passing through smoke screens are made with an additional +2 TN.

The Target Number for short range fire is increased from 3+ to 5+ when firing through smoke.

The TN for long range fire increases to 7+, and causes a loss of 1D, but the firing is conducted with a 6+ TN (see TN of 7+).

Direct Support Smoke Missions

Staff Orders are used to request smoke missions from Direct Support Batteries. Smoke is fired the same as an artillery fire mission. Place a Smoke Marker and roll to see if the smoke arrives this Command Pulse. If it doesn’t, it arrives in the next friendly Logistics Phase.

Smoke Marker: Marks the location of a smoke screen.

Deviation

Smoke missions deviate the same as on-call fire missions.

Smoke Screen Size

A Direct Support Battery creates a 1” wide by 12” long smoke screen centred on the Smoke Marker.

On-Call Smoke Mission

Smoke missions are always single fire missions. The smoke screen remains on the table until the start of the next Friendly Logistics Phase.

Sheaf Type: Smoke

TN of 7+

When a TN is 7 or greater, a unit loses one dice for each TN over 6, but rolls against a 6+ TN.

Available to: Commonwealth and USA Only

Time-on-target was first developed by the British in North Africa in August 1941. Using BBC time signals artillery officers were able to synchronize their watches without relying on military radio networks or telephone lines.

With time-on-target the flight time from each battery to the target is calculated. Each battery then times its fire to land on the target at the designated time.

A time-on-target mission orders two or more batteries to fire using the same Fire Template.

Cost to Call

One Staff Order per participating battery.

Sheaf Type: Regular, Converged

One Comms Check is made for all firing batteries.

If the roll is successful the batteries fire for effect immediately, otherwise they fire in the next Friendly Logistics Phase.

Roll a Deviation Dice – all batteries hit the same location if the mission deviates.

Time-On-Target Fire Dice

One battery fires with its full dice. Additional firing batteries add half their Fire Dice to the first battery.

Gary calls a Time-on-Target mission. He uses three Staff Orders to allocate three 105mm batteries to the mission.

He places the Fire Template over a platoon of Panther tanks and rolls his Comms check. He’s successful. The Time-on-Target mission fires for effect but deviates 6” to the left. Gary moves the Fire Template and is pleased to see although it misses his original target original target it hits another Panther platoon.

If this was a normal fire mission, Gary’s batteries would each fire with 4D. As this is a Time-on-Target mission he uses 4D for his first battery and adds 2D each for the other two for a total of 8D giving him a good chance of suppressing and dispersing the Panther platoon.

On-call fire missions are available during the game. Each direct support battery can be given an on-call fire mission providing it has not previously fired for effect this turn or laid a smoke screen.

On-call missions can be targeted at any unit or location visible to another unit acting as a Forward Observer.

On-call missions may be single or continuous missions.

Cost to Call

A single or continuous mission costs one Staff Order.

Requesting an On-Call Fire Mission

Indicate which unit is acting as the battery’s Forward Observer then place the battery’s fire Template on the table so that the Forward Observer has LOS to the centre of the template. Then make a Comms Check:

Successful Check: The battery immediately fires for effect.

Failed Check: The battery is delayed until your next Logistics Phase (providing a Command Failure isn’t rolled next turn).

Mission Duration

Direct support fire missions may either be single or continuous missions.

Single Fire Mission

One round of artillery fire. The battery fires for effect once and its Fire Template is removed.

Sheaf Type: Regular, Converged

Continuous Fire Mission

Instead of firing once and stopping, a continuous fire mission remains active. After it has fired for effect once, its Fire Template remains on the table. The battery then fires in all subsequent friendly Logistics Phases until successfully cancelled, a Command Failure occurs, or it runs out of ammunition (see Artillery Supply).

Sheaf Type: Regular, Converged

Indicating Mission Duration

To differentiate between single and continuous fire missions, place a counter or dice onto the Fire Template when firing a single mission. After the battery fires, remove the dice and Fire Template.

An initial barrage attacks enemy Blinds. It occurs before the first turn of the game after Planned Fire Missions have been allocated.

Cost to Call

An initial barrage does not cost any Staff Orders.

Batteries in an Initial Barrage

All direct support artillery batteries are used in the initial barrage regardless of whether they have been allocated to Planned Missions.

Initial Barrage Rounds

An Initial Barrage Round is one round of fire by a battery or group of batteries. The table below shows the number of rounds available to the attacker and defender for each mission type.

Each battery fires in each Initial Barrage Round. Initial barrages may use the battery’s Fire Dice in one or more rounds then fire smoke in the last round. Smoke remains on the table until the start of the next Friendly Logistics Phase.

Fire Dice

The Fire Dice of direct support batteries may be used individually or may be combined to increase their effectiveness. Any number of batteries may be combined into one initial barrage. Each battery after the first adds half (round up) its Combat Dice to the total.

Tom is firing an initial barrage at the German positions. He includes three batteries in the initial barrage all with 4D. The first uses its full 4D, the second and third add 2D each (rounded up) for a massive 8D.

Allocating Targets

Each Initial Barrage Round targets a Blind. You can concentrate all Initial Barrage Rounds against one Blind or choose to target different Blinds.

Sheaf Type: Regular or Smoke

No Deviation

Initial barrages do not deviate.

Arrival

Initial barrages fire for effect immediately.

Initial Barrages Against Blinds

Use the rules for Artillery Fire Against Blinds.

Ammunition Supply

Initial barrages are not subject to artillery supply rules.