« 3.1 Small Arms Fire
Infantry - Each personnel unit fires as a whole and may execute one fire die roll per fire sequence. Hence, the larger a unit, the more inefficient its fire effect. An infantry unit may fire at full strength if more than two-thirds of its bases have line of sight to any part of the target. Unit bases which do not have line of sight to the target may not fire. This would mean that a six base unit with one masked base would fire full effect, but with two bases masked would fire as two-thirds of a unit. The masked bases may not fire at another target (units may not split their fire, sorry there is a reason for that). Line of sight in all these cases may be maintained through other bases in the same unit, but not through bases of other units or through blocking terrain.

Other - Each machine gun base also fires as a unit, and may execute one fire die-roll on the Small Arms Fire chart when firing at personnel targets. Vehicle mounted machine guns also roll on the same small arms fire chart. Cavalry bases may fire small arms while mounted, but they must use the assault weapon range (even if they do not have assault weapons) with the Moved modifier applied.

Small Arms Ranges - See the Base and Range Chart for a master list of all weapon ranges.

« 3.2 Direct Artillery Fire
Towed cannons, vehicle-mounted cannons and mortars may only conduct direct fire combat. Direct fire means the firing base must have a direct line of sight to its target's position. This on-board artillery fire is conducted using the Direct Artillery Fire chart. Each such artillery base may fire once each turn, simultaneously rolling two hit dice and one kill die (no pun intended). Modify the hit result using the To Hit modifiers, and adjust the kill result using the To Kill modifiers. If the target is a tank type base, use the Anti-Tank modifiers for firing. If the target is a personnel type unit, use the Anti-Personnel modifiers. The To Hit die result box shows whether the modified die roll achieves a hit or a miss. The To Kill die result box shows the K, D and I results explained below, as well as the None results, which of course represent no effect.

Direct Artillery Ranges - See the Base and Range Chart for a master list of all weapon ranges.

« 3.3 Hit Results
Each Kill result (K) will destroy the target base, or one base of a targeted unit. A Damage result (D) will damage the target base, or one base of a targeted unit. If the damaged base belongs to a personnel (infantry) unit which already has one damaged base, combine the two damage hits into one Kill and remove one base of the target unit. Infantry units can never have more than one damaged base each. Damaged vehicle bases retain their mobility, but their fire ability is impaired. Immobilized results ( I ) only happen to vehicles (include towed artillery). Immobilized vehicles may not move until repaired. An immobilized vehicle base must roll for crew reaction using the morale chart. Machine gun and mortar bases are killed when hit. Each machine gun base may be resurrected once by immediately removing the closest infantry base from the same battalion and using that base to reconstitute the machine gun section.

Removing killed bases - In the case of small arms fire losses, the bases removed should be those closest to the firing unit. The exception to this is for units suffering the effect of a packed target bonus. In these cases, the "packed" bases (those within the 10 yard close-range of each other) which are closest to the enemy should be removed first. This is an important distinction because it can result in the thinning of a unit and resulting loss of enemy fire effect even during the course of a fire phase.

« 3.4 Line of Fire
Infantry units may not fire through the bases of other sub-units, but they may fire through their own (i.e. - units may fire to full effect while two or more stands deep). Machine guns may fire through units belonging to their own battalion only if the battalion has great or outstanding training. A mortar section may only fire onto an enemy base which can be directly observed either by the mortar section itself or by a friendly base which is within 120 yards and line-of-sight of the mortar. Towed artillery and vehicle mounted cannon may not direct fire through personnel bases which are erect (e.g. - not prone or rushing).

All units may fire up to a total of 60 yards through full cover (i.e. - woods, buildings, scrub, etc.) if the target unit is spotted. Units in cover are spotted if they: a) Have fired or moved while in cover, or b) Are within 120 yards of an enemy reconnaissance unit, or 60 yards of any other enemy unit. All units which are in the open, firing or moving, are always considered spotted and may be fired upon by any enemy unit with a direct line of sight to the them.

Fields of Fire- Units and bases have the following arcs of fire available to them:

360 degrees: Infantry, Machine guns, Mortars, Flamethrowers, Anti-tank rifles, Main tank turrets.

180 degrees: Field guns, Pillboxes, Secondary tank turrets.

90 degrees: Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, Tank machine guns, Bunkers positions.

All fields of fire are measured off the appropriate front or side edge of a base or model.

Prone Units - Units and bases which are prone cannot fire if they are occupying trenches, pillboxes or bunkers. Units moving through trenches are assumed to be crouching and so they also may not be fired upon. Once halted, they must declare either prone or standing status. If prone, they in turn cannot be fired upon by small arms fire.

« 3.5 Small Arms Fire Modifiers
The Small Arms Fire Chart is used for infantry and machine gun fire against personnel targets. It is also used by infantry bases attempting to assault armor. All chart modifiers are cumulative, and are defined as follows:

• Hmg - Firing base is using a belt-fed heavy machine gun of .50 caliber/12mm size.
• Lmg - Firing base is using a clip-fed light machine gun of .30 caliber or less.
• At prone - Half or more of bases in the target unit are prone.
• At packed target - The unit being fired upon has any bases which are within 10 yards of each other at the time the die is rolled. All "packed" bases in question must lie within the line of fire of the firing unit. Groups of horses for dismounted cavalry are also considered to be packed targets.
• At rushing - Half or more of bases in the target unit used the rushing mode of movement during their last move phase.
• At soft, solid or hard cover - Half or more of the target is in corresponding cover type. Each tank chassis gives solid cover to any one personnel base behind it, and field gun shields offer solid cover protection to their gunners (e.g. - guns with shields count as solid cover personnel targets). Note the cumulative effect of cover; a shielded field gun which has been entrenched receives a solid cover bonus for having a gun shield, and also a hard cover bonus for being entrenched.
• Weak or Remnant unit firing - If not all bases in a unit are able to fire because they are masked (blocked) or killed, the unit must suffer one of the following modifiers: A unit with two thirds or less of its bases available fires as a weak unit and suffers a minus two to its die roll. A unit with one third or less of its bases available fires as a remnant unit and suffers a minus four to its die roll. A unit with more than two thirds of its bases still available fires as full strength.
• +/- Weapon differential - For Infantry attacks on tank targets. Add or subtract difference between anti-tank value of infantry (See organization lists) and defense value of target.
• Moving-Firing Personnel - The firing unit moved or will move during the current turn. Note that if the defending player fires his units without adding this modifier, those units may not move during their pending movement step.
• 400 to 1000 Yard Range - The closest point of the target being fired upon is 400 to 1000 yards distant from the closest point of the firing unit. Note that in the combat chart these ranges are quoted in inches according to the game scale for the respective chart.
• Demoralized - The firing unit is demoralized

« 3.6 Direct Artillery Fire Modifiers
These modifiers apply to the Direct Artillery Fire Chart, which covers the firing of tank guns, towed cannon and mortars. It also applies to heavy machine guns which fire upon lightly armored vehicles. Use the anti-tank section when firing at a tank class target and the antipersonnel section when firing at a personnel class target. Note that you may fire H.E. in an anti-tank role but that you must use H.E. in an antipersonnel role.

• Large target - Target is a large category tank
• Outstanding/Abysmal Unit- Firing base has Outstanding or Abysmal training. Outstanding units receive a +1 to hit, Abysmally trained units receive a -1 to hit.
• At stationary in open - Target base is not moving or behind any sort of cover. Sitting duck.
• At packed Infantry - An infantry unit being fired upon has any bases which are within 10 yards of each other at the time the die is rolled. All "packed" bases in question must lie within the line of fire of the firing unit. Groups of horses for dismounted cavalry are also considered to be packed targets.
• At solid or hard cover - Target base is in cover. Note that some types of cover do not protect against mortars.
• 1000 to 2000 yard range - Closest point of target unit is 1000 to 2000 yards from the closest point of the firing unit. Note that in the combat chart these ranges are quoted in inches according to the game scale for the respective chart.
• Small target - Target base is classed as small.
• Moving target - Target unit moved five or more inches during its last move phase.
• Moved - Firing unit has moved during the last movement phase.
• Damaged - Firing base is damaged.
• Range Under 200 yards - Closest point of target unit is within 200 yards of closest point of firing unit. Note that in the combat chart this range is quoted in inches according to the game scale for the respective chart.

• APCP Under 600 yards - Firing unit is using capped armor piercing rounds at less than 600 yards range. Available according to equipment chart, firing unit may run out each time it is used. Note that in the combat chart this range is quoted in inches according to the game scale for the respective chart.
• Range Under 400 yards - Closest point of target unit is within 400 yards of closest point of firing unit. Note that in the combat chart this range is quoted in inches according to the game scale for the respective chart.
• At flank/rear - Any part of firing unit is within the flank or rear sectors of the target tanks. See Fig.
• Over 1000 yard range - Closest part of target unit is within 1000 yards of firing unit. Note that in the combat chart this range is quoted in inches according to the game scale for the respective chart.
• Firing H.E. - Lowers kill effectiveness when high explosives (from mortars or field guns for example) are fired at a tank target.
• Weapons differential - Add or subtract the difference between the value of the weapon being fired and its targets's defense value.
• Shell size: - Modifies the To Kill die roll for antipersonnel fire according to the shell size being fired. See the Artillery Size Key and the Equipment Listings for references to individual weapons.
• Medium MG - Firing base is a medium machine gun attempting to fire in an anti-tank role. Subtracts two points from Kill roll.
• Heavy MG - Firing base is a heavy machine gun attempting to fire in an anti-tank role. Subtracts one point from Kill roll.

« 3.7 Special Fire Rules
Machine Guns - Machine gun bases may not fire on the same turn that they have moved. They may not fire upon enemy machine guns if enemy infantry/cavalry targets are closer. During the small arms fire roll, any 1 result causes that machine gun to immediately roll for a jam. If the second roll is also a 1, the gun jams and can be repaired on any following turn on a roll of 1 (one roll max. per turn, machine gun base must remain stationary while trying to un-jam). If firing in an anti-tank roll, any 1 result on the Kill die roll will also result in a check for jamming in the same manner as for small arms fire.

Heavy and medium machine guns may fire on tank targets (including armored cars, half-tracks, etc.). When doing so they are subject to all standard modifiers shown on the Direct Artillery Anti-Tank section. This includes the Under 400 yards kill bonus as well as the Medium MG or Heavy MG modifiers respectively. Machine guns must also use the weapon differential modifier, which will often render them ineffective. Note that light machine guns may not fire in any anti-tank capacity.

Mortars - Medium and light mortar bases assigned as heavy weapons may not fire on the same turn they have moved. When firing, they use the Direct Artillery Fire Chart, and may only use HE and light smoke ammunition types, with light smoke counting as secondary ammunition. Minimum firing range for mortars is 120 yards, maximum firing range is 1800 yards.

Secondary Ammunition - Certain base types use weapons which can fire more than one type of ammunition. In such cases, there is always a primary ammunition type which is considered to be available in an inexhaustible supply, and a secondary ammunition type, which is considered to be available in a limited supply. Any ammunition type listed first in an armored vehicle's gun code column (see the vehicle lists) is assumed to be available in unlimited quantities. Ammunition types listed after that are considered to be secondary ammunition and are subject to exhaustion without warning. If an unmodified 1 or 2 is rolled on the kill die while firing any of these secondary ammunition types, the firing base is considered to have run out of that particular ammunition. Bases with depleted secondary ammunition should be marked to show their inability to fire any more of that ammunition type for the duration of the game.

Passing Fire- This occurs when a unit fires at enemy units conducting their movement phase. Units which "pass fire" must be marked and may not fire during their next fire phase. Enemy vehicles must move more than 120 yards in order to be eligible as a passing fire target. Enemy infantry may be pass fired upon if they move more than 20 yards in view of an enemy unit (e.g. - infantry crawling along the bottom of a trench may not be fired upon, etc.).

Rapid Fire Reward- Any weapon which rolls a natural 12 (boxcars) on the hit dice for the direct artillery chart is immediately allowed to fire a second time. It may fire at the same base as before or select any other valid target.

Flamethrowers - Units equipped with flamethrowers may fire on and destroy any one enemy base each turn. This occurs regardless of the target's protection and does count as a fire attack. This means that a qualified base must fire either its small arms or flamethrowers, but not both. A flamethrower must roll 1D6 whenever used, if a 1 or 2 is rolled, that base has "run out" of fuel for the rest of the game or until a lull allows it to refill and re-activate. Flamethrowers are considered to be assault weapons, and share all standard assault weapon features and abilities.

Light Smoke - Smoke capable units which have not previously fired during the turn may support friendly units with light smoke cover by announcing the firing of smoke at the start of their movement step. Light smoke prevents passing fire on units within or behind the smoke screen. The smoke screen does not last beyond the movement phase, and covers a one-inch diameter for each shell size point of the weapon itself (i.e. - a heavy mortar covers a five inch diameter, etc.). All mortar sections may use light smoke, as can vehicles with an S weapon code. All bases firing light smoke (including mortars) are subject to the secondary ammunition rule.

Pillboxes & Bunkers - A pillbox gives hard cover to one machine gun or infantry base. A bunker gives hard cover to two machine guns, three infantry bases or one towed cannon base. Large bunkers which hold more than this should be covered in special scenarios.

Air Strikes - Air strikes are conducted during the controlling player's fire phase. They inflict casualties using the Area Weapons chart in the same manner as on-call artillery fire, except that they do not remain on the board. To conduct an attack, place the attacking aircraft base at the desired position on the game board and roll for all enemy bases fully or partly within the 600 yard zone directly to the front of the leading edge of the attacking aircraft base. Air strikes are removed immediately after use and are not reusable.