« 6.1 Type and Availability
Barrages employed in the game represent massed batteries of artillery (land and/or naval based) firing for effect into assigned areas. Air strikes also fall into this category, and they represent available flights of ground attack aircraft being called in on specific targets or hitting targets of opportunity.

Barrages and air strikes are requested using the Artillery Request Chart during the Artillery Barrages phase of the game. During each of these phases, players may place real barrage request chits, air strike request chits and/or dummy chits on the Request box located in the section of the request chart which corresponds to the nationality of their troops. There is no limit to the number of airstrike chits or dummy request chits which can be placed, but only eight barrage request chits may be placed in line on any one turn. Once placed on the request sheet, each chit-stack progresses one box to the right per artillery barrage phase until it reaches the Arrival box, at which time each real barrage chits allow the placement of one barrage or air strike marker each while the dummy chits are returned to the unused stack.

A player may alternate using the artillery request chart in order to keep the enemy confused as to when real barrages are approaching. Occasionally cycling some dummies after several turns of complete inactivity will keep them confused as to when or if any real barrages are about to occur. Note that the number of progress boxes on the barrage chart affects the delay of the barrage arrival. Barrage charts with no progress boxes give a one turn delay for arriving barrages. Barrage request lines with two progress boxes have a three turn delay on barrage arrival.

« 6.2 Barrage and Airstrike Effects
Barrages are indicated on the playing board using the barrage markers discussed in the 1943 Introduction. Markers are placed during the Place Arriving Barrages step of the Artillery Barrages phase. Barrages being called in on points of terrain which are under direct friendly ground observation are considered to be spotted barrages and affect all bases within 140 yards of the center-point marker. Barrages called in on points which are not observed by friendly bases are considered to be blind barrages and affect all bases within 80 yards of the center point. Barrage effects are resolved during the fire phase of the player who placed the barrage. All bases wholly or partially within the barrage area must roll for effects on the Area Weapons Chart. Bases which move into or while inside of a barrage must roll immediately on the same chart, that being the only time those bases need to roll for that particular barrage (e.g. - a unit does not have to roll twice in the same barrage just because they moved). Note that going prone does not count as a move.

Air strikes function in the same basic manner as barrages except that once made available from the request sheet they are saved until the owning player's next fire phase, when they are placed on the board. All bases fully or partly within 240 yards directly to the front of the front edge of the airstrike must roll for effects on the Area Weapons chart. Air strikes are removed immediately after use (e.g. - they are not reusable).

« 6.3 Area Weapon Modifiers
The Area Weapons chart is used to resolve casualties for barrages, airstrikes and other weapons whose effects tend to be disbursed over a large area. All modifiers for the Area Weapons chart are cumulative.

Area Weapon Modifier Descriptions:
• Target Prone - Target base is prone and/or currently in a hastily dug-in position.
• Target in Solid/Hard Cover - Target base is in solid or hard cover. Bases within wooded areas do not benefit from this modifier, even if the woods normally offer cover benefits against direct or small arms fire.
• Personnel Target - Target base is a personnel class target (e.g. - infantry, heavy weapon, truck, etc.)

« 6.4 Special Rules
Visibility and Smoke Effects - Units inside of a barrage are partially obscured by dust and debris. As a result, these areas count as solid cover against direct fire. Units firing from inside of a barrage also suffer a minus for having to fire through the barrage effects.

A player may use up a barrage as a smoke screen. A barrage smoke screen is the same size as a normal barrage of that type (spotted or blind respectively) and will last two turns. No direct fire may be conducted through the smoke screen, which is assumed to be three levels high.

Terrain effects - Each barrage roll of a natural 1 will destroy one each of the closest sections of buildings and woods, if any, within 100 yards of the base being shelled. A 60 yard diameter cratered zone is created at the point that each terrain segment is lost due to barrage fire.

Each barrage roll of a natural 6 will destroy one each of the closest segments of trenches and wire entanglements, if any, within 100 yards of the targeted base. A 60 yard diameter cratered zone is created at the point that each wire segment is lost due to barrage fire.

Combat damaged terrain should be modified only after all barrage die rolls are completed. The terrain modification should occur in areas where a) combat bases were just lost due to barrage die rolls, or b) where there are currently no combat bases present, or c) at last resort, where combat bases are present. In the last case, the combat bases present may immediately be moved up to 60 yards in the direction of the nearest cover.