INTRODUCTION
These rules are designed to simulate regimental level combined arms combat during World War Two using miniature figures for game play. As a player you represent battalion, regimental or divisional commanders who must maneuver your various infantry, armor and artillery units against the enemy. You may also be faced with elements outside of your control such as heavy artillery support, airstrikes and defensive positions that might show up courtesy of an optional setup system that allows the possibility of both tantalizing mismatches and dead-even slugouts. After all, field commanders are rarely able to work out evenly matched scenarios with their enemies, so be prepared... you never know exactly what's coming next!   Last updated: August 20, 2024.

1.1 Bases & Markers
In order to play 1943, all infantry, heavy weapons, towed artillery and small vehicles such as motorcycles need to be mounted on bases made of thin wood, metal or plastic. Vehicles and tanks at larger scales might not need mounting, although for game play purposes each vehicle is still referred to as a "base" and larger vehicles might still be mounted on a base to improve the game's appearance. Basic infantry combat is conducted with bases, not figures, the number of figures mounted on each base does not matter for combat results. Below is a chart showing some standard base sizes which were used to develop the rules, although most basing is generally optional and does not need to exactly match the sizes shown. It is common to vary the number of infantry figures mounted on the bases to give each unit a more varied appearance.

Scale - Each infantry base represents twenty men, each cavalry base represents ten troopers and each weapon or vehicle base represents two pieces of equipment, except for the following: Light machine gun bases and light transport bases such as bren carriers represent three weapons/vehicles instead of two. Each game turn represents a few minutes of battle time (averaging roughly two or three minutes). The four different game scales which are available; large, medium, small and operational allow all major figure scales to be used for game play. Due to the different scales offered, all distances discussed in the rules text are referred to in yards. The combat chart for each scale converts the corresponding movement and weapon ranges to inches for ease of play.

Game Markers - Game markers are used to track the status of combat units or bases, and may consist of miniatures mounted on single bases, colored wooden cubes or cardboard chits. There are also numerous wargame accessory manufacturers who make great looking plastic tokens of all types that work excellently as 1943 game markers. The following list outlines some of the more common markers that make game play more convenient:

• Demoralized: Black marker cube or single casualty figure on a base.
• Prone: Green marker block, single prone figure on a base or plastic token like a Litko Mecha "Prone" marker.
• Pinned: Yellow marker cube.
• Immobilized (Temporary): Tread segment or wheel on a base, or a chit or clear plastic token with Immobilized marked on it.
• Immobilized (Permanent): Tread segment or wheel on a base, or a chit or grey plastic token with Immobilized marked on it.
• Abandoned: Figure of dismounted crewman on a base or a chit or clear plastic token with Abandoned marked on it.
• Damaged: Small smoke column marker.
• Pass fired: White marker block or single firing figure.
• Destroyed Vehicle: Large smoke column marker (and remove tank turret).
• "No HE" tag: Red marker cube marked with "NO HE" to mark weapons/vehicles no longer able to fire anti-personnel ammunition.
• "No CP" tag: Red marker cube marked with "NO CP" to mark weapons/vehicles no longer able to fire capped (APCP) ammunition.
• "No AP" tag: Red marker cube marked with "NO AP" to mark weapons/vehicles no longer able to fire armor piercing (AP) ammunition.
• "No Ammo" tag: Red marker cube to mark weapons/vehicles out of ammo.
• Artillery Barrage: Red glass "stones" used for role playing games are excellent. A plastic explosion token also works well.
• Airstrike: Airstrikes tend to occupy square spaces, so using the leading edge of an aircraft model base (with plane), or other square marker base that identifies it as an airstrike, and if necessary what type of airstrike (dive bomb, rocket, etc.).
• Minefield: See Bases & Ranges table above, minefield are shown using 60 yard square bases.
• Smokescreen: White "cloud" marker made of felt, plastic or wood.
• Hull Down: A chit or plastic token like a Litko Mecha "Hull Down" marker.
• Dust Cloud: Using tan felt or plastic "Dust Cloud" markers both work. This references the dust cloud thrown up by moving tanks, etc.

« 1.2 Terrain
One of the most common terrain systems in miniature wargaming uses flocked stryofoam that is cut into shapes to create sloped hills. Another common and increasingly popular terrain system uses gaming mats made of mouse pad rubber which portray realistic looking ground surfaces. The latter can be cut into hill shaped sections like map contour lines and stacked to create shallow rises and dips. For game play, each hill section is considered to be one level high. Units within 40 yards of a "hill's" edge (the meeting line between the slope and flat hill-top) may spot and be spotted by those on lower levels, otherwise they are considered to be too far away from the edge of the plateau to establish line of sight. Treating gaming hills as the plateaus they resemble is usually the best way interpret these features. This also creates dead ground along the bases of most hills or shallow rises, which is another realistic effect.

To create roadways and trenchlines, use varying widths of gaffers tape to show main and secondary roads (roads and entrenchments may be tan or brown). Rubber gaming mats of forest, grass and related textures can also be cut into outlines or "footprints" for placement of trees and buildings. Lichen can be used to create hedges or areas of brush.

Each segment of game-board buildings actually represents the outline of a block of buildings. Troops inside these areas are not actually inside a single building, they are actually in a built up area which include everything from fence-lines, plots of land and farms to business blocks, cemeteries and government buildings. Make sure to consult the terrain chart below for general guidance on the game-specific characteristics of various terrain types. Players are encouraged to use this as a basis for creating their own interpretation of basic battlefield features.

Wire Entanglements - There are two types of wire entanglements: Heavy fence and Medium coil. Heavy fence blocks the movement of all but foot troops, who can only move at one-quarter speed across the entanglement (a half-inch wide heavy entanglement base costs two inches of movement to cross). Medium coil is not as heavy or secure to the ground, and can be crossed by foot troops and fully tracked vehicles (tanks). The passage of a tank base across a line of wire entanglement will destroy one wire segment at the point of passage (wire should be used in segments roughly equal to a tank width). There is a risk of tanks become temporarily immobilized when crossing medium entanglements, see the movement modifiers on the combat chart's Move table. Each barrage roll of a natural 6 will, in addition to other damaged inflicted, destroy one segment of wire if any are present within the barrage zone.

« 1.3 Unit Types
There are three types of combat units available to the player; personnel, tank and aircraft. The distinctions are important to game play and should be remembered. Long range heavy artillery support from off-board is handled abstractly and does not require the building of units.

Personnel Units - These units are numerous but fragile. They are most susceptible to small arms fire and high explosives (Anti-personnel fire).

Infantry - The bulk of any army is the infantry. Rifle and grenade armed troops directly supported by light machine guns, light mortars, anti-tank rifles, bazooka's and sometimes even flamethrowers.

Heavy weapons - These extra fire-support bases allow the flexible concentration of additional firepower. Heavy, medium and light machine guns, light and medium mortars, anti-tank rifles and flamethrowers are the most common types.

Assault Weapons - These lethal, short-range heavy weapons are used in three different ways: 1) As dedicated infantry sub-units. 2) As attachments to sub-units. 3) As individual heavy weapon bases. In all cases they have the special ability to fire on the move while participating in an assault. Assault capable weapons are: Light machine guns, flamethrowers, submachine guns and (rarely) assault rifles. Assault weapon range is 80 yards.

Field Artillery - Usually some kind of towed cannon or mortar for use as direct infantry support, direct anti-tank missions or some combination of the two. May also include heavy mortars and towed rocket launchers.

Cavalry - By 1939 cavalry was mostly relegated to scouting and partisan use but nevertheless remained on the field.

Transports - Lightly built vehicles such as trucks, jeeps, wagons and horse teams, they were used for moving infantry and heavy weapons. They had little or no protection and were not voluntarily exposed to direct enemy fire. These may include "portee" vehicles which are trucks with small cannon bolted to the open bed.

Tank Units - Tanks and their relations are heavyweight units which combine various levels of mobility, firepower and protection. Their most common shared feature is armor or other protection which shields against shrapnel, small arms fire, and other battlefield hazards. They are most vulnerable to direct fire armor piercing rounds and shaped charges (anti-tank fire), and are least vulnerable to small arms fire, high explosives and indirect barrages.

Tanks - Tracked vehicles with their main weapon(s) mounted in a revolving turret. Their primary role is to destroy other tanks and help maintain the tempo of an advance.

Tank destroyers - A tank chassis with its main weapon mounted in the hull or a light turret. It is designed to standoff and ambush more valuable tanks while not exposing itself.

Self-propelled artillery - Tank chassis with a shielded cannon mounted on top of the hull. Mostly used for antipersonnel fire, some are called "assault guns" and use dual purpose cannon for both anti-tank and antipersonnel fire.

Armored cars - Fast, lightly protected and armed, these wheeled vehicles are used mostly for reconnaissance.

Half-tracks - Tracked "battle taxis" used to carry infantry and their support weapons into combat areas while giving them some protection against antipersonnel fire. Half-tracks move on roads as if they are tracked, but they are affected by other terrain as if they are wheeled.

Emplacements - Pillboxes and bunkers were heavy structures used to protect infantry and heavy weapons. They were usually made of concrete or logs re-enforced by earth.

Aircraft - The ultimate expression of speed and firepower (in 1943). An air attack could not occupy ground, but when properly executed it could paralyze and terrify the enemy. During game play, the margin by which a player wins control of the air over the battlefield may affect the number of air attacks available for close ground support. No anti-aircraft is dealt with during the game, its resolution is folded into the air superiority and support die rolls. However, the presence of aircraft on the board (or more precisely, the use of airstrikes within a turn) may distract ground based AA guns away from conducting fire on ground targets. For more information see Command Control and Direct Fire Special Rules.

«1.4 Game Units and Formations
Bases and Units - The bottom two levels of organization used for game play are bases and units (also called subunits). Each infantry base is composed of several figures and each unit is composed of several bases. These two non-historical components, bases and units, are used to create the other historical formations used in the game.

Personnel subunits always number either one, three, six or nine bases each. Each of these units may conduct a single attack roll on the Small Arms Fire Chart each turn. Hence, formations with their strength divided into smaller subunits will have greater functional firepower, and formations composed of fewer, larger units represent less effective firepower.

Like infantry formations, all-vehicle formations are composed of subunits. Unlike infantry formations, these vehicle units are always composed of three bases, each of which may move and fire independently of each other (vehicle bases also fire individually, not as units like infantry). Vehicle units must follow the same command and morale procedures as infantry units.

Formations - There are two types of formations used for game play; combat formations and command formations. Combat formations are composed of subunits, and command formations are composed of groups of combat formations. The most common combat formation is the battalion, which is usually composed of several units. The most common command formation is the regiment, which is usually composed of several battalions. Either formation type may also have additional support bases attached to them (see below). The Infantry Units and Formations and Armored Units and Formations pages include selections of various historical formations accompanied by the numbers and types of bases, units, formations and support base types to be used for game play. Players are encouraged to conduct their own research in order to create their own favorite units along the lines of those shown.

Support Bases - Some units or formations may have extra heavy weapon or transport bases attached to them. Most common are heavy weapon bases, which can each conduct one fire attack roll per turn (some transport bases do not have weapons and therefore may not fire). Heavy weapon bases may operate anywhere within their parent formation's deployment zone as dedicated detached bases or, if they are machine guns, anti-tank rifles or flamethrowers, they may be attached directly to any base within any sub-unit belonging to the formation (label the bottom of host infantry bases to track the presence of attached support bases). The advantage of detached operation is the ability to initiate assaults or maneuver to flanking positions. The advantage of attaching is the relative cover offered by mingling with the infantry. Attached weapons may still fire independently of the host infantry bases.

Transport bases must always operate as dedicated (detached) bases and will rarely have any fire capability. Transport bases are allowed to standby by seeking cover anywhere within the combat zone, even if doing so exceeds the allowable base interval for that unit or formation. Transports which assume a standby position are not considered stranded, but before moving they must roll successfully on the command chart with the Withdrawn modifier and any other applicable modifiers.

Command Bases - Every bottom level command formation must begin the game with a command base which abstractly represents its command infrastructure. A bottom level command formation is the first formation of any chain-of-command which is composed of combat formations instead of subunits (this will usually be a regiment). Command bases cannot be attacked by direct ground fire or assault and they may not be used for friendly spotting or attack purposes. Command bases may be attacked and damaged – but not destroyed – by enemy barrages and air attacks. The attackers must score an unmodified D or K result on the Area Weapons Chart in order to damage a command marker. Each K hit inflicts one full damage point to the command base, each D hit inflicts one-half of a damage point to the command base. Due to their special nature, command bases do not benefit from being entrenched or otherwise protected, although there is no limit to how many times they may be damaged. Each damage point scored against a command base will lower the command die rolls of all subordinate units by one point.

The most common bottom level command formation is the regiment, usually composed of several battalions accompanied by support bases. In some armies of this period the bottom level formation is the brigade (i.e. - Great Britain and Commonwealth) which is why the rules do not simply refer to all bottom level command formations as regiments. Also, there were many specialized assault formations which enjoyed unorthodox command structures that were clearly separated from those formations around them. Only bottom level command formations are required to have command bases. Formations above this level are assumed to be large enough to maintain communications within their fronts.

Intervals and Deployment - All member bases of each unit must remain within a certain range of each other during game play. This range is known as the base interval. The maximum allowable base interval is limited by the unit's training level as shown in the Base Intervals chart at right. The entire area occupied by and immediately surrounding all of a formation's component units is referred to as the deployment area. This includes areas between bases as well as a border zone surrounding the formation equivalent to the allowable base interval.

Example: An average trained unit at medium scale may separate its individual bases by as much as four inches from base edge to base edge. A machine gun attached at regimental level may move anywhere within this area, but it must remain within four inches of at least one supported base belonging to a unit from the same regiment.

« 1.5 Troop Quality
Every unit in game play is assigned a morale level and a training level. These levels affect virtually every aspect of unit performance, and have a profound effect on the outcome of a battle. Below is an outline of these troop grades, and a short description of the conditions for each.

Morale Grades
• Fanatic: These thoroughly indoctrinated men will obey virtually any order and can suffer the most appalling casualties while remaining operational. They are usually rather overconfident and hence have poor reconnaissance and perimeter security practices. These later habits set them up for major disappointments if defeat actually does come, and so fanatic units tend to disintegrate far more dramatically than other more stable troop types.
• Reckless: Usually highly trained specialists who are supremely confident in their abilities, these men are truly dangerous and they know it. They will take apparently suicidal risks in the daily pursuit of their job and come back ready for more the next day. Some reckless troops lack professional training, and draw on religious or ethnic grievances to fuel their actions. The later type tend to have extremely low training levels.
• Brave: Good, old-fashioned crack troops, firmly indoctrinated in the traditions of their particular service. Brave troops are more numerous than reckless troops, and do not have the same disregard for personal safety. But you had better pay them the respect they deserve, otherwise they will be eating dinner in your dugout tomorrow evening.
• Steady: The result of most armies of the world, average, steady troopers are capable of dishing out plenty of punishment and absorbing a lot in return. They will however, eventually give way if put in too difficult of a situation.
• Unsteady: The weakness of their officers makes these men nervous, because they aren't sure what's going to happen. They may be fighting an enemy they would rather not fight. They also may be new, poorly trained troops who know their immediate higher-ups are just as green and vulnerable as they are, compounding an already nervous and panicky situation.
• Mutinous: A breakdown in confidence has occurred between commanders and their men. The men believe that their lives will be (and probably have been) wasted in futile engagements. A famous real-life example would be the many Italians who surrendered in the African desert rather than watch their aristocratic officers dine comfortably while the enlisted men starved.

Training Grades
• Outstanding: Mere extensive drill and practice is not enough for these guys. They are usually practitioners of the latest tactical theories, and have an intricate familiarity with all weapons needed for the task at hand. Aggressive, strong and smart, their actions are almost always well coordinated with those of other supporting units, including artillery and other nearby specialists.
• Great: The best training available for large formations. Great training comes with time and a generous commitment of equipment and resources for the task. Formations with great training have a much better chance of springing back from adversity than other less fortunate units.
• Average: Again, the world norm for drill and equipment usage. Average troops will usually have a good idea what to do next, and they will always have the basic tools to do the job, coupled with the knowledge needed to use those tools.
• Marginal: These guys are trying to do the right thing, but their own government is conspiring to prevent them from doing it. They probably do not have enough equipment to train with, and maybe even not enough to fully outfit their units. There also may be other factors, such as a multinational force which suffers from major language or class barriers and which constantly interferes despite the best marginal efforts of everybody involved.
• Poor: A truly unfortunately situation. Poorly trained troops have been thrown into a situation about which they probably know nothing. They are usually illiterate, under-equipped and poorly supplied. Their own government barely manages to arrange for them to be fed and clothed, and their officers are too few and too unprepared to cover the tasks at hand. In fact, the poor training of their officers may even be the main reason entire units are sunk to such a low level.

Example #1: A player with two air presence points rolls a 1 on the black die. The player may only pull one airstrike marker and roll the activation number for it. He should also reduce his air presence number from a two to a one.

Example #2: A player with five air presence points rolls a 3 on the black die. He may place one, two or three airstrike markers off to one side of the table as this turn's request group and rolls one activation die for the group, placing the small die showing the activation number on one of the airstrike bases. Keep them together as a group, where they will set until next turn when the player will roll for that airstrike group's activation (and resulting arrival). The player will also reduce his air presence value from five down to two (presuming he used all three available points).

Command Chart Modifiers
• Each consecutive maneuver move: Add one point to the command die roll for each consecutive maneuver move which that unit has previously conducted. This modifier helps to emphasize that once a unit starts moving, it is easier to keep it moving.
• Flexible command: Add one point to the command die roll if the unit nationality and type's (infantry or tank) command rating is Flexible (flexible command doctrine gives local commanders broad discretion in handling unexpected conditions).
• Rigid command: Subtract one point from the command die roll if the unit nationality and type's (infantry or tank) command rating is Rigid (rigid command doctrine - if any doctrine exists at all - discourages local commanders from showing initiative. Unexpected conditions or sightings of any type, even imaginary, can bring units to a halt).
• Over the top: Subtract one point from the command die roll if the unit is within small arms range of enemy troops and attempting to move into the open by exiting solid or hard cover, or emerging from prone.
• Each command (HQ) hit: Subtract one point from the command die roll for each damage point presently on that unit's regimental command base.
• Each consecutive assault move: Subtract one point from the command die roll for each consecutive assault move or assault move attempt which that unit has previously conducted. Note that units do not need to contact an enemy in order to conduct an assault move.
• Pinned or withdrawn: Subtract two points from the command die roll if the unit withdrew during the previous turn and/or is currently pinned down.
• Demoralized: Subtract four points from the command die roll if the unit is in a demoralized state.

« 3.2 Infantry and Cavalry Movement
Infantry and cavalry movement allowances are indicated on the Movement portion of the combat chart, and are subject to the modifiers shown. Each allowance indicates the total distance which each unit may move during the course of one turn. Infantry and cavalry bases may move forward, sideways or backwards as part of their normal movement rate. They may not move sideways or backwards into assault contact with enemy bases (e.g. - units may only initiate assault contact using the front edges of their component bases). Definitions of the infantry movement categories are as follows:

Prone - Troops are laying down and using local terrain to create extra cover. A unit may go prone or stand once during each of its own movement phases; meaning that a unit may not stand from prone, move and then go prone again. Prone units may assault move (and move into assault contact) while remaining prone. Prone engineers may clear minefields while remaining prone, but no prone units may dig field entrenchments (foxholes, hasty dig-in, etc.) while prone. Mortars and heavy machine guns may not move or fire while prone.
Manhandling - Any towed cannon or mortar being moved without the aid of motorized transport.
Walking - Normal movement rate for infantry. Troops are considered to be moving upright, at a brisk pace.
Rushing - Troops are considered to be alternating between prone, and bursts of running, usually in a leapfrog pattern with some portions of the unit supplying covering fire. Units may not use rushing movement to establish assault contact with an enemy unit.
Heavy Weapon - Maximum movement rate for heavy weapon bases such as machine guns and light mortars.
Cyclist - Rate of movement for bicycle mounted troops. Note that cyclists are considered wheeled troops, and so their cross country performance is poor compared to their road performance, which is the mode for which they were designed.

Wagon/Limber - Even though they are horse powered, wagons and limbers count as wheeled transport, and are subject to wheeled transportation movement modifiers. Like cyclists, their best mode of travel is by road.

Cavalry Functions - Cavalry units may not use assault movement if they will enter woods, water obstacles, or buildings during the turn. They may mount/dismount their horses at a cost of 1/4 of their move on any turn in which they have not conducted assault movement. Dismounted status is indicated by adding separate dismounted troop bases to the game board adjacent to the horse bases. One base should be withdrawn to function as "horse holder." The original cavalry bases are then employed as markers to show the location of the horse herd while the cavalry troopers are dismounted. While herded together, dismounted cavalry's horse bases count as packed targets. Dismounted cavalry trooper bases operate in all respects as infantry.

If horse herd bases are lost while their cavalry unit is dismounted, the dismounted bases may continue to operate on foot, but may not remount unless a corresponding number of dismounted bases are lost. (I.E. - Remounting bases must match the number of horse herd bases). Cavalry units may not abandon dismounted bases which do not have remounts available, although such immobilized units may be reassigned to local formations in order to allow a higher cavalry formation to maintain its mobility.

« 3.3 Vehicle Movement
Vehicles may only move forward or backward (they may not move sideways), driving forward is considered normal movement and represent the default movement direction for speeds provided in the Vehicle and Equipment Values pages. They may change facing at no movement cost in order to change their direction of travel. Vehicles must move a minimum of 100 yards in order to be considered to have moved. Vehicles which move less than 100 yards in a turn are considered to be tactically stationary, and may be fired upon as if they were stationary. Vehicles may also move backward at a reduced speed, with some chance of being immobilized (due to running into ditches, becoming stranded on obstacles, etc.). Vehicles may also drive using an assault movement speed bonus over open ground, also with some chance of being immobilized for the same reasons.

Dangerous Terrain - The Wheel and Track column in the movement section of the combat chart indicates dangerous terrain or movement types which may cause immobilization. This is indicated by an i and a die roll range shown on the line for the corresponding terrain type. A vehicle must roll two six-sided dice (2D6) for each turn that it moves into or within one or more of the listed dangerous terrain types. A result within the range shown causes immediate immobilization. Vehicles passing through more than one dangerous terrain type must roll for each one as it is encountered.

« 3.4 Transport and Towing
Transporting Infantry - Infantry stands may be carried inside vehicles so designated in the vehicle charts. Infantry bases pay half of their movement for the turn to mount/dismount a vehicle. The vehicle also pays half of its turn's movement for the unit to mount/dismount. Infantry stands share the fate of their transporting vehicle; if the vehicle is damaged/destroyed, all stands being carried by the vehicle are damaged/destroyed.

Example: A truck which can carry two infantry bases is damaged. Both infantry bases will also be damaged, resulting in one being lost as Killed upon dismounting.

Infantry as Riders - Each tank class vehicle listed as large target may transport one stand of infantry on its hull so long as the vehicle does not move into a building or water obstacle, or into woods not along a road. Russian T-34 tanks and related vehicles may also carry infantry in the same fashion. The cost for infantry to ride a vehicle is 100 yards of normal movement allowance to mount/dismount, and 200 yards of the vehicle's movement allowance for the turn.

As noted above, infantry share the fate of the vehicle on which they ride. If a tank carrying riders suffers immobilization as a result of combat, the riding infantry is attacked on the Area Weapons Chart and, if they survive, they immediately dismount next to the tank without cost to movement. Russian infantry may become riders in any game set in 1942 or later; all other nationalities may become riders in scenarios set in or later than 1943. Riders and passengers in half-tracks (only) may fire from the vehicle by using the moving modifier on the Small Arms Chart (exception: MG/mortar stands may never fire while being transported).

Towing weapons - Weapon sections which require towing (see Formation and Equipment) need jeeps, trucks, tractors or prime movers for their mobility. Those vehicles capable of towing weapons will have that fact noted in the transport vehicle lists along with the largest gun class which that vehicle is capable of moving.
The limbering and set up time for each gun class is shown below. Limbering and unlimbering costs the towing vehicle a certain portion of its movement. Once unlimbered, a transport vehicle may then depart (if under fire it will want to do so quickly) and leave the gunners to set up their pieces. Weapons may not fire on any turn in which they expend all of their time limbered or being set up. If half or three quarters of a turn is spent setting up, a weapon will suffer the Moved modifier. If less than a half turn is expending in unlimbering and set up, the weapon does not suffer the Moved fire modifier.

A towing vehicle may move at only three quarters of its original maximum movement rate and will have all terrain movement penalties doubled. No gun type may fire while limbered, the only exception to this being the German 88 flak gun which may fire while limbered (if stationary) with the Moved fire modifier.

« 3.5 Defenses
Digging-in - Infantry units and heavy weapon bases which do not require towing may expend their movement allowance to prepare their own fieldworks (defenses). Units preparing defenses count as having moved and take six turns to complete a hasty dig-in or 12 turns to complete foxholes. An engineer base may dig-in infantry, heavy weapons sections or towed heavy equipment in half the time listed above (three and six turns respectively for hasty dig-in or foxholes.

The digging in of tanks and vehicles must be done using available Setup Sheet defenses at double normal usage. For example: A vehicle with a 40 yard frontage would consume 80 yards of trench-line in order to be considered entrenched.

Minefields- Minefields are shown on the battlefield using empty square bases that have generic/open terrain on them. They are placed before game play (see Game Setup) and remain in position throughout the game unless cleared. All minefield bases are considered to contain a mixed-attack deployment containing both anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. There are two ways that a minefield base can cause damage:

a) Approach within 60 yards of the edge of any minefield base. Entering this "danger zone" forces a base to roll on the area weapons table, with the danger zone counting as a blind barrage modifier. No other modifiers are applied. The moving player may not pre-measure to make sure they remain slightly more than 60 yards away from the minefield base edge, they must visually estimate and stop the combat base at its closest point of approach to the minefield base so the other player (the minefield owner) can measure the gap.
b) Pass directly over any portion of the minefield base itself. For each base which passes through any portion of each minefield base during its movement, roll for loss or damage on the same Area Weapons Chart as artillery barrages, only applying the Minefield modifier and no others. If the base in question was already going to move directly over any part of the minefield base, there is no need to roll for the danger zone just noted in section "a".

Minefield Results - If a base receives a Pinned result, it remains pinned down in the minefield until next turn. On its next movement, it will have to roll again on the minefield table. If it survives, it may move away.

An engineer base may clear a minefield base by moving onto it and rolling on the Engineering Actions table to clear mines. The engineer bases conducting mine clearing may do so while prone or standing.

Infantry - The infantry target type covers foot troops, cavalry and other related bases.
MG/Mortar - The machine gun/mortar type covers man portable heavy weapon bases including machine guns, light and medium mortars, anti-tank rifles and other related base types (a flamethrower base is an infantry base).
Vehicle - The vehicle target type covers tanks, tracked carriers, halftracks, trucks, cars, armored cars, portees and towed artillery. Heavy mortars also count as vehicles if they are wheeled/towed.
AA Auto - The AA Auto type is not a target type, it covers bases firing fully automatic cannons greater than heavy machine gun class (typically anything greater than 0.50cal or 12.7mm HMG). Each gun barrel rolls one kill die on the firing roll and the results represent either hits to personnel base types or tank base types. Note that the To Kill modifiers as applied to this column are designed to be most dangerous to personnel bases when the cannon fire is from light guns and more dangerous to tank bases when the auto-cannon fire is from relatively heavier guns. Most auto-cannon will tend to be anti-aircraft (AA) guns temporarily firing on ground targets (see direct fire special rules).

« 4.3 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). Vehicles immobilized due to direct fire are immobilized for the remainder of the game, even through combat lulls. It is an unrecoverable condition as far as game play is concerned. An immobilized vehicle base must roll for morale reaction during the Casualty Morale Test phase. 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.

« 4.4 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 destroyer main armament (cannon), other hull mounted tank cannon, self-propelled artillery, tank machine guns, bunker positions.

All fields of fire are measured off the appropriate front or side edge of a base or model. In cases of some tanks with multiple secondary turrets, this may force measurement based at a 45 degree angle to the tank's centerline (British A9, Russian T-35, etc.).

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.

« 4.5 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.
• Pinned - The firing unit is currently pinned.
• 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. As noted below, gun shields do not count as cover against direct artillery fire.
• 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.
• +/- 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.

« 4.6 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.

Hit Die Modifiers
• Large target - Target is a large category tank
• Joint fire - A unit able to conduct joint fire (see troop reaction profiles) is able to use their radios to coordinate fire. Add a plus one to the To Hit die roll. Applies to fire onto different targets by each base in the unit, or fire onto the same target.
• Outstanding/Poor Firing - Firing base has Outstanding or Poor training, or has weapon elements to it (optics, fire control, etc.) that are outstanding or poor. The outstanding fire modifier is a +1 to the hit die roll, the poor modifier subtracts a -1 from the hit die roll. Note that these modifiers can be cumulative; a tank with Outstanding training and a Hit Mod of Poor will experience no hit die modification for these modifiers (they cancel each other). If a tank has Outstanding training and an Outstanding Hit Mod, it will receive a +2 on the hit die roll.
• 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 open cover do not protect against mortars (see terrain section). Gun shields on field guns do not count as cover against direct artillery fire.
• Over 1000 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.
• Under 200 yards range- 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.

Kill Die Modifiers
• 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 - For direct artillery weapons with a value of one or greater (1+), closest point of target unit is within 400 yards of closest point of firing unit. Machine guns (zero rated small arms) do not receive this bonus. Note that in the combat chart this range is quoted in inches according to the game scale for the respective chart.
• At thin rear - Target base which is fired at in rear sector (see figure at right) is flagged in the vehicle values lists as having thin rear protection (Xr value under "Armor Class").
• At flank or rear - Any part of firing unit is within the flank or rear sectors of the target base. See figure at right.
• 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 Equipment & Vehicles 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.

« 4.7 Direct Fire Special 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.

Heavy and medium machine guns may fire on tank targets including armored cars, half-tracks, etc. at a zero (0) AP rating (see Vehicles & Equipment listings for machine gun details). When doing so they are subject to most standard modifiers shown on the Direct Artillery Anti-Tank section except the following: The Under 400 yards modifier which applies only to direct fire artillery weapons with a value of one or greater, and the Firing HE modifier which never applied to machine guns. Machine guns must use the Weapon Differential modifier, which will often render them ineffective. 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. See the Vehicles & Equipment pages and the combat chart's Ranges table for more information about specific mortar attack and range values.

Secondary Ammunition - Many vehicle and equipment 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 Ammo column (see the Vehicles & Equipment 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 is rolled on the To 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 that are moving. Units which pass fire must be marked and may not fire during their next fire phase. Target 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.

Smoke - Smoke capable units which have not previously fired during the turn may support friendly units with smoke cover by announcing the firing of smoke at the start of their movement step. 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 30 yard diameter for each shell size point of the weapon itself (i.e. - a five rating covers a 150 yard diameter, etc.). All mortar sections may use smoke, as can vehicles with an S weapon code. All bases firing smoke (including mortars) are subject to the secondary ammunition rule.

Pillboxes & Bunkers - A pillbox base gives hard cover to two machine gun bases or one infantry base. A bunker gives hard cover to three machine guns, two infantry bases or one towed cannon base not larger that a 57mm gun. Large bunkers which hold more than this should be covered in special scenarios.

AA Ground Fire - If AA weapons want to fire on ground targets, they must pass a Command die roll on the AA Engage column (shared with the Assault Movement command column). If the attempt occurs within one turn of any airstrikes (friendly or enemy) taking place on the battlefield, the Busy AA modifier applies. If the AA base was attacked directly by aircraft this turn it may not fire on ground targets at all. Against personnel targets, AA machine guns will roll one small arms fire die per gun barrel, with all dice firing on the same target. For AA auto-cannons (weapons heavier than HMGs) use the direct fire artillery table, see direct fire instructions above.

« 5.2 Morale Roll Modifiers

• Hard cover or better - Half or more of the unit's bases are in hard cover
• Scenario Defender - Unit belongs to the player considered to be the scenario's defender.
• Weak unit - Unit has lost at least one-third (1/3) of its original bases.
• Damaged tank unit/base - The tank base (for bailout rolls) or unit (for standard unit tests) is damaged. In the case of a tank unit, all bases must be damaged in order for the unit to count as "damaged"
• Unsupported - No friendly infantry units or tank bases are within 240 yards. Note that in the combat chart this range is quoted in inches according to the game scale for the respective chart.
• Demoralized - Unit is already demoralized at the time of the die roll (before the die is rolled).
• Remnant unit - Unit has lost at least two-thirds (2/3) of its original bases.
• Attacked by tank or flamethrower - Unit is being assaulted by one or more tank bases, or has been fired upon by a flamethrower.

« 5.3 Morale Failure Effects
Pinned - Infantry units with half or more of their bases either in the open or open topped cover (walls, berms, etc.) will go prone and remain stationary through their next movement phase. Units in all round cover (woods, buildings etc.) are not affected. Any personnel class vehicles operating with the pinned unit will withdraw. Mounted cavalry which receive a pinned result will also withdraw. Tank class vehicle bases or units which receive a pinned result will halt at their current location for one turn.

Withdraw - Infantry units move one normal move directly away from enemy, facing the enemy. Units unable to comply due to obstacle restrictions (rivers, cliffs, ocean, etc.) will move directly away from the enemy as far as possible while staying under cover (if available) and assume a Pinned stance. For example, a unit forced to withdraw back past a seawall and onto a beach will seek cover behind the wall rather than stand around in the surf! Units which cannot withdraw without passing through enemy bases will surrender. Vehicle bases or units must withdraw a minimum of one-half of available normal move unless immobilized, in which case they will be abandoned (mark base as abandoned). Withdrawing vehicle bases may withdraw either facing the enemy or turning around and driving directly away from the enemy.

Rout - Infantry units will conduct one assault move directly away from the enemy, facing in their direction of movement. Assume a pinned stance at completion of the rout move. Other rules applying to blocked movement for withdrawing units also applies to routing units. Vehicle units will move their full available movement away from the enemy unless damaged or immobilized, in which case they will be abandoned (crew bailout reaction) and removed from play.

Surrender - Infantry unit surrender to nearest enemy. If friendly troops are present between the unit and the enemy, the "surrendering" unit will break-up instead.

Charge - True to the tradition of the inspired fanatic (or at least their commanders), the only solution to the current problem is a good old-fashioned bayonet charge. All affected units and base types assault the nearest enemy unit, regardless of the unit type being assaulted.

Break-up - All affected bases are removed from play.

« 5.4 Demoralization
A unit automatically becomes demoralized when it routs or loses an assault. A demoralized unit suffers substantial minuses when rolling to move, fire, assault or check morale. It will lose its demoralized status if the controlling player rolls a morale test for the unit on any turn following the one on which it became demoralized. A morale result of pinned or better will rid the unit of its demoralized status, although it must still obey a pinned result if that occurs. A morale result of withdraw or worse (rout, break-up, surrender) will result in the unit keeping its demoralized status, as well as causing it to suffer the additional results of the morale test. The morale testing of a demoralized unit is optional. A player may choose to allow a unit to be demoralized through the remainder of a game rather than risk the results of a risky morale test.

Example: A unit becomes demoralized due to being voluntarily routed during the Attacker Move phase. It may not attempt to recover during the next casualty morale phase, because that is in the same turn as the occurrence of demoralization. The unit must wait until the casualty morale phase of the following turn. If it then rolls an R B result, half of the unit will rout, and half of the unit will break-up (be removed from play). The surviving routed half retains its demoralized status and may not attempt to roll again for demoralization recovery until the next turn's casualty morale phase.

« 5.5 Special Rules
Voluntary rout - Units may be extricated from assaults by being voluntarily routed. To conduct a voluntary rout, the player must roll a morale test for the unit. If it passes, then the unit may immediately rout one full assault move to the rear, becoming demoralized in the process. If the unit fails the test, then it will suffer whatever results are called for on the morale chart. This may result in the surrender or disintegration of the unit. Voluntary routs are conducted either during the movement or assault phases. Units which are pinned and units which initiate assaults may not voluntarily rout.

Local Heavy Weapons - Heavy weapon bases which are within the deployment zone of a unit which has failed a morale test will also be affected by the same die roll. Machine guns are assumed to be one morale grade higher than the adjoining troops and react accordingly. Other supporting heavy weapon bases are considered to be the same morale grade as the adjoining troops and react in conjunction with them.

« 6.2 Personnel vs Personnel
To conduct an assault which involves only personnel type bases, each side in the assault (not each unit) rolls 1D6, with the loser losing the difference in bases. This is done for three rounds or until one group is eliminated, after which the overall loser of the assault (the side to lose the most number of bases) becomes demoralized and must check morale. Overall ties lose an additional stand each and are pinned for one turn. If a side wins all three assault rounds and eliminates all assault opposition, they breakthrough and may occupy any uncontested positions within one assault movement.

Heroic fight - In some cases the only surviving side of an assault may also be the side which lost the most number of bases. In this instance, the surviving unit becomes pinned for one turn.

Cavalry - Assaults involving mounted cavalry units have their number of die roll rounds reduced from three to one or two. Involved units must still take morale checks as required by the turn sequence, and are subject to other fire restrictions and modifiers. Cavalry units may not assault tanks or armored cars, nor may they assault troops in buildings, bunkers, pillboxes, trenches or other enclosed cover.

Cavalry vs Infantry: Assaults involving mounted cavalry versus other non-mounted personnel units only have two die roll rounds, with the cavalry receiving a +1 to each of their assault die rolls. If the cavalry wins the assault, they have the option of either dismounting in place or using their remaining movement to reposition themselves.

Cavalry vs Cavalry: Assaults involving only mounted cavalry units versus other mounted cavalry units will only have one die roll round. The results are then calculated after the single round and the loser reacts accordingly.

« 6.3 Tank vs Personnel
To conduct an assault round involving tanks versus infantry, each side rolls on the Small Arms Fire chart. Each tank base in a participating tank unit may use each of its machine guns to "assault fire" on any of the enemy infantry units involved in the assault. Each involved infantry unit opposing the tanks will compare their anti-tank assault value to the armor value of the target tank(s) and use that difference (called the weapon differential) to modify their small arms roll against the tanks. This may result in more than one tank base being killed by one infantry unit. If opposing more than one tank unit, an infantry unit must choose one of the enemy tank units for assault. Units without an AT assault value are not capable of assaulting tanks. Assaulted heavy weapons (mortars, machine guns and towed cannons) do not participate in assault rounds. If unsuccessful in destroying or immobilizing the assaulting vehicles during the movement or fire phases, they are simply overrun and removed from play unless they are accompanied by friendly infantry which is able to destroy or chase away all enemy tanks. Bunkers and pillboxes are not units but they do prevent units occupying them from being assaulted by tanks, which cannot assault bunkers, pillboxes or other tanks.

Armored Overrun - Tank units may resolve assaults against personnel type units during their own movement phase. It costs each participating tank one-quarter of its movement per three-round assault conducted. So long as their morale remains sound, tank units may conduct any combination of movement and assaults until their movement allowance is expended. Also, tanks may continue their move after an assault round even if their enemy is not destroyed or broken. They may simply drive through and keep going.

« 6.4 Mixed Units
Mixed assaults, involving infantry, towed cannon and tanks on both sides should be resolved keeping in mind the following allowances:

• Involved infantry units may only engage one unit type opposing them in an assault . They may not for example, split off bases in order to engage a separate tank base if they are already engaging infantry units.
• Involved tank bases must either use machine gun fire on opposing infantry or fire normally at opposing tanks, not both.
• Tanks do not assault other tanks.
• Involved towed cannon, machine guns and mortars will fire normally during the fire phase and then suffer the fate of whatever unit they are with. If they are not accompanied by an infantry unit and fail to kill all attacking bases, they are overrun and destroyed.

« 6.5 Assault Modifiers
The following die roll modifiers apply to units involved in assaults;

• Pinned or worse - Half or more of involved bases for that side are from units which are currently suffering from negative morale results of pinned or worse (withdrawn, routed, etc.).
• Hit in rear - Front edges of enemy bases are in assault contact with the rear edges of units whose bases make up a majority of defending bases. Limbered artillery bases are always considered to be hit in rear.
• Unit hit on two or more sides - Half or more of total bases involved for that side belong to units which are in assault contact on any two of their four sides.
  • Example 1: The defender has a unit which has enemy bases striking its front and left flank. The defender suffers a minus one on each die roll because of this.
  • Example 2: A defending unit of four bases has enemy bases in contact with its front and left flank, and a friendly unit of six bases has joined the assault. If the unit joining the assault is only engaged on one side, the defender does not receive a minus on the assault rolls because a majority of involved bases are engaged on only one side.
• Prone - Half or more of involved bases for that side are prone.
• In solid cover or better - Half or more of involved bases are in solid or hard cover.
• Outstanding training - Half or more of involved bases belong to units with outstanding training.
• Great/Poor training - Half or more of involved bases belong to units with great or poor training.
• Cavalry - Half or more of involved bases are mounted cavalry engaging personnel targets. Does not apply if the personnel targets in question are armed with flamethrowers, or are inside of bunkers, pillboxes, buildings, trenches or other full cover.

« 7.1 Area Weapons
The Area Weapons table is used to resolve hits for barrages, airstrikes, minefield and other weapons with area effects. Roll 1D6 and modify its result using the applicable modifiers list. Modifiers are cumulative unless otherwise stated. A "K" hit results in a base kill for that base, remove it from play. A "D" hit results in a damage hit, mark the base as damaged. For personnel unit bases, a "P" hit will cause the base and its parent unit to become Pinned through the following turn for artillery, or for the current turn if caused by airstrikes or minefields. Once all barrages have been rolled for, remove all of the markers to the discard pile.

Area Weapon Modifier Descriptions:
• At Prone - Subtract one point (-1) from the die roll if the target base is prone and/or currently in a hastily dug-in position.
• At Solid/Hard Cover - Subtract one point (-1) from the die roll if the 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.
• Blind Barrage - Subtract one point (-1) from the die roll if the target base is within a blind barrage zone (not spotted/under observation).
• Personnel Target - Add one point (+1) to the die roll if the target base is a personnel class target (e.g., infantry, heavy weapon, truck, etc.)
• Minefield - Add one point (+1) to the die roll if the base is rolling for having entered a minefield.
• Dive Bomb - Add one point (+1) to the die roll if the base is under attack by a dive bomber airstrike (limited to one target base per airstrike marker base).
• Rocket/AT Cannon (Air) - Add two points (+2) to the die roll if the base is within the strike zone of a Rocket or AT Cannon airstrike.

Example #1: A player with two fire support points in the pool rolls a 1 on the black die. The player may only pull one barrage marker and roll the activation number for it. Do not modify the fire support pool total.

Example #2: A player with 12 fire support points in their pool has five barrages deployed onto the game board, and two more barrages waiting in a fire support request stack with a "2" value activation die on top of that stack. This means he has seven points usable out of their 12 available fire support points in the pool. If they roll a 5 on the black die, and they roll a 5 on the white die, it is a good time to pile on the artillery barrages because five is a good activation value. The player then pulls five barrage markers, places a small 1D6 on top with the "5" facing up, and sets it next to the other fire request stack. The player now has all twelve of his fire support points in-play. At the start of the next turn's barrage phase, the five barrages on the board will be removed and those five points will be "released" to be requested again - request die roll's permitting.

« 7.4 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 the same minus for having to fire through the barrage effects. See the 1943 Rule Lookup Sheet for an expanded outline of spotting guidance and 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 for the rest of the turn. 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.