This article is born out of a recent game. In the game, my opponent took a Bounding First Fire shot with the AAMG on his M36 GMC and moved on to a new hex. Reaching the new hex, he attempted to shoot the MA. Of course, we can’t do this. He and I spent some time reviewing the rules so he could play it properly in the future. While conversing, I took notes as I thought the discussion would make for a good post here. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
A Brief Examination of the Rules
The applicable rules for this discussion are D3.3, D3.32, D3.5, and D3.51. Let’s look at them in some more detail. When reading the examples, some may find it helpful to review my previous article “Infantry Target Type and Critical Hits” as it gives background on how I personally announce my shots.
First, let’s look at D3.3. Here we learn a vehicle’s shot in the MPh is called Bounding First Fire (B1F). This seems to be pretty obvious, but it has ramifications missed by some. In my recent game, my opponent wanted to shoot in the MPh. He announced his ITT shot as an 8 +2 to Hit. I asked him why not +4 and he replied only Case B applied since he had not moved to a new hex. I pointed out Case B specifically applies in the AFPh, not the MPh. We then looked at D3.3 to see it was a B1F shot. Lastly, I showed him the Case C choices, pointing out how C through C3 are all applicable to B1F. Once I showed him, he agreed it was all rather obvious.
Next, we’ll look at D3.32. The important bit is this: “if the vehicle did not exhaust its Multiple ROF during its MPh, and did not fire any other weapons (including PRC) during its MPh, it may fire that Multiple ROF weapon (only) again once (C5.3) during its AFPh.” From this we learn, if the AFV fires any weapons other than a ROF capable weapon, they may not use the ROF in AFPh. This puts the decision on the ATTACKING player to decide if they will use the MG’s or forgo them for another ROF shot in AFPh. Given a vehicle cannot place an Acquisition in B1F, waiting to shoot the MA in AFPh to place Acquisition is not a bad option. You may say “but I don’t want to give up my MGs. Now what?”
For that answer, we hop down to D3.5. First, it tells us a vehicle’s armaments are limited to one fire attack per player turn unless it’s the vehicle’s MA with a specific multi-ROF capability. It further states mandatory Fire Grouping applies. It then goes on to state a vehicle must fire all of its weapons/PRC from the same hex or forfeit their non-CC attack opportunities for that phase.. A vehicle may fire its weapons multiple times and in multiple Locations under two circumstances: if conducting multiple Overruns; a MA which maintains ROF.
The last relevant rule is in the exception at the very bottom of D3.51. It repeats the options for shooting from multiple hexes first noted in D3.5. Noticeably, it is even more succinct about an MA’s eligibility to fire from a different hex if it gets ROF.
This is a lot of complexity to break down so let’s look at some examples.
Examples
Ex 1: This M4 has moved to L6 and Stops, having spent 5 MP’s. It now wants to fire its weapons at the German Infantry. A standard M4 Sherman has 2/4/4 MGs under the turret counter. It elects to fire them all. The IFT shot is a 4+1 since the MG firepower is halved in B1F. After shooting the MG’s, the AFV is marked with a B1F counter. Recognizing he couldn’t fire the MA in AFPh, the American player decides to shoot the MA as well. A +4 TH DRM applies [+2 Case B, +2 Case C, +1 Case Q, -1 Case L]. Assume the American AFV makes an Original TH DR of 1,4 giving a Final TH of a 9 which misses. The Sherman does have ROF even though it would be marked with a Bounding Fire Counter.
Ex 2: Refer again to Figure 1. In this example, the Sherman instead fires it’s MA first. Again, it rolls an Original TH DR of 1,4. This is still a miss. This time, the American commander has some considerations to give before simply shooting the MG’s. Is there a reason to wait and shoot the MA in AFPh, perhaps to gain Acquisition? If he opts to shoot the MA in AFPh he would forgo any opportunities with the MG’s. He could elect to shoot the MG’s as B1F, but he must do so from his current Location despite maintaining ROF on the MA. If he shoots the MG’s, he may fire the MA again from this Location or any other reachable Locations as B1F during the MPh.
Ex 3: Note in example 1 the Sherman maintained ROF. The MG’s cannot fire again since they limited to one attack per player turn (D3.5). The MA can fire again but it too, has limited options. Per D3.32, a vehicle which has fired only it’s MA and maintained ROF may fire that MA only in AFPh. Since the MG’s have fired, that is not an option. What could the Sherman do? Well, if it has remaining MP’s, it may elect to delay 1 MP and shoot again at the N5 squad depicted in Ex 1. Since it may move to another Location and shoot the ROF weapon only, it could elect to move on and shoot from a second Location. Assume it elects to move on.
In L4, it fires the MA at the 4-6-7 in M2. This time the total DRMs are +5. An attack on the ITT would need an Original DR of <= 3 to hit. If the Sherman gets ROF on this shot, it could continue to shoot up to the limit of its MP’s. Furthermore, it could elect to shoot either squad with this next ROF shot. To shoot at N5 it would have to make a TCA change on the Delay MP. The Case A DRM for this CA change would be NA (D3.51) to the B1F shot. The AFV is marked with a Bounding Fire counter once exhausting its fire options or opting not to use them.
Ex 4: For this example, refer to Figure 1. For this, assume instead the Sherman did not get ROF on the MA. The Sherman does have one more trick up his sleeve should the American player be desperate enough: Intensive Fire (IF). Unlike ROF, IF is restricted to the original hex per Q&A.12 As such, the AFV could not move and elect to fire from L4 as it did in example 2. It may only IF from L5.
Ex 5: The American tank shoots its MGs in B1F and breaks the German Infantry. Sensing an opportunity the American player would like to move the Sherman into position to get a shot on the Panther now. He starts and moves to M5 before stopping and declaring a shot on the Panther. It is there he learns he has violated D3.51.
In order to shoot the MA from a second hex, it must shoot from the first hex and maintain ROF. Q&A further supports this.3 To properly do this, the Sherman would have to shoot the MA from M7–probably at the broken unit–and hoped to maintain ROF. If it did so, it could then move to M5 and attempt to shoot the Panther in the rear. The Sherman’s Gun Duel DRM are halved. This is indicated by the white ROF background. It would win any potential Gun Duel with the Panther. For more information on Gun Duels, see my previous article “Making Sense of Gun Duels.”
Conclusion
One of the greatest strengths of vehicles is their ability to shoot and move. Clearly this is too complex a topic to cover all options in a short 3 pages. There is enough presented here to form a solid foundation for mobile warfare. From these short examples, I hope I conveyed the capabilities and limitations of AFV combat and how to properly execute B1F shots. Just keep in mind, this has been a discussion of the mechanics of B1F shots and not the tactics.
As always, I hope this article helps in some small way. If you have questions, corrections, or suggestions for another article, let me know in the comments below. Until next time. — jim
In its MPh, an AFV Fires its MA and loses rate. It also fires all of its MGs from the same Location in accordance with D3.51. May the AFV declare an Intensive Fire (IF) shot? If so, may that IF shot be used to fulfill the EXC in the last sentence of D3.51 and fire that IF shot in another hex or would the IF shot limited to the Location which it has already fired from?
A. Yes. Limited. (That is, you can IF in BFF but not from a different hex.)
In a Friendly Mph, can a vehicular MA fires using Bounding First Fire, loses its rate of fire, move to another hex and then intensive fire?
A. No.
If a vehicle fires its MG armament, but NOT its MA, as Bounding First Fire, does one consider the MA to “maintain ROF”, so that the vehicle may move to another hex to fire its MA? Or MUST one fire the MA from the same hex as the MG, just hoping the ROF is maintained, so that the vehicle may move further and fire its MA from another hex?
A. No. Yes
Wow .. gotta think very very carefully before shooting my AFV MGs in Bounding First Fire ..
This is a brilliant article that has shown me that I have been playing bounding first fire wrong for over thirty years. I never appreciated that you couldn’t fire MA in the AFPh after using MGs in the MPh. It deserves a wider audience- I only visited after you got a shout out on Illumintating Rounds. Have you thought about submitting it (and indeed other articles that are equally good on this blog) to MMP for possible inclusion in a Journal?
I appreciate the sentiment. However, if I had written this for publication, when do you think you would have seen it? I have nothing against publications. They are the life blood of the game, I just don’t like their time to market. In some ways, I am sure it is a catch-22. Publications are waiting on articles so they can print but people aren’t willing to wait for the print time so they don’t submit articles.
For me, I also print very rules-centric articles. One thing I learned the hard way: mistakes can and will happen. When they happen, I want to be able to correct the mistake and acknowledge it. Once an article has been published in print media, that’s it. It is nearly impossible to fix it no matter how hard you try. By publishing my articles here, I control the time to market and I control the contents. I can fix them as needed.
I am not opposed to seeing these in a published format, but I do insist on being able to also print them here and having a link to the original article. That way, I can update the article as needed to account for mistakes, clarifying Q&A, or errata posted after my original publication.
Could you not do both? Your blog could be the “dry run” and the readers could suggest whether anything might need to be amended before it gets sent off elsewhere. As you say, the Journals are so infrequent that the blog should be the initial point of publication.
That’s not up to me. As I said, I am more than willing to allow someone to take my work and publish it.
Hi Jim,
I really appreciate your insight and understanding of the ASL rules – and your willingness to share it on this blog.
To that end, I keep reading D3.5 but can’t see where you have inferred: ” It then goes on to state a vehicle must fire all of its weapons/PRC from the same hex or forfeit their non-CC attack opportunities for that phase.”
Best regards,
Peter
I get that they must fire in the same phase or forfeit their non-CC fire opportunity
Jim,
Take it all back – the rule is in 3.51 “Once any vehicular weapon fires, its other weapons may fire in that phase only from that same hex”.
Please ignore previous.
Best regards,
Peter
I am glad you found it. Just keep in mind, if you fire the MA and get ROF, you must fire the MG’s from the original ROF hex or forgo their fire. If you chose to fire them, you then forgo any ROF you could have utilized in AFPh. Should you opt to shoot the MGs, you can opt to take the ROF shot as B1F from another Location. It gets a little complicated but once you get it, you get it. — jim
Found your blog as I’m getting back into ASL after a long hiatus. Your insight and writing is great!
I have a question about B1F and IF. You gave one example of using IF in the same hex after exhausting all ROF in that hex, and note Q&A that supports being unable to IF from a different hex.
Is there a rule that supports this interpretation? I suppose it’s that IF is not included in the EXC at the end of D3.51?
Suppose the MA maintained ROF and then moved to another hex, e.g., moving to L4 as in Example 3. If it fired again, exhausting ROF, could it IF after a delay MP? Is it affected by whether MGs were fired on the original shot in L6?
And again, what rules support this?
My guess is that D3.51 only limits the IF shot if the MA is its “other weapons”. So the IF shot is not allowed if the MGs were fired (limiting the MA), but is allowed if only the MA fired (because its the same weapon).
The rule says only an MA with ROF may fire from a second Location. Intensive Fire is not ROF, nor is it a substitue for ROF. Ergo, you can declare IF from the same hex ROF was exhausted in if you have MPs remaining to fulfill the action.
WRT the rest of your question, I am no rule book handy, meeting my grandson for the first time. I am not sure how to answer your question. I will see if I can get a friend to answer it for you. — jim
Thanks. Enjoy the time with your grandson!
>Suppose the MA maintained ROF and then moved to another hex, e.g., >moving to L4 as in Example 3. If it fired again, exhausting ROF, could it >IF after a delay MP? Is it affected by whether MGs were fired on the >original shot in L6?
Don’t think this situation is covered by the rules or the Q&A – you might have to send MMP a new Q&A.
> Suppose the MA maintained ROF and then moved to another hex, e.g., moving to L4 as in Example 3. If it fired again, exhausting ROF, could it IF after a delay MP? Is it affected by whether MGs were fired on the original shot in L6?
My original answer was wrong so I am changing it here. Klas pointed out this Q&A:
C5.6, D3.3, & D3.51 In a Friendly Mph, can a vehicular MA fires using Bounding First Fire, loses its rate of fire, move to another hex and then intensive fire?
A. No.
So a return to A is not allowed. D3.51 says the only shots allowed someplace else is “ROF/OVR” so it would seems the AFV has no option to IF, rules as written.
IMO, an IF shot should be allowed in the Location where ROF is lost but there is no rule or Q&A which currently supports that position. You could submit a Q&A to sort it out if you feel compelled. IMO, AFVs are powerful enough in the MPh and they don’t really need another option. — jim
I am adding this as further evidence an IF shot does not fulfill the ROF requirement of D3.51:
C5.6, D3.3, & D3.51
In its MPh, an AFV Fires its MA and loses rate. It also fires all of its MGs from the same Location in accordance with D3.51. Maythe AFV declare an Intensive Fire (IF) shot? If so, may that IF shot be used to fulfill the EXC in the last sentence of D3.51 and fire that IF shot in another hex or would the IF shot limited to the Location which it has already fired from?
A. Yes. Limited. (That is, you can IF in BFF but not from a different hex.)
Thanks Klas and Jim! This Q&A clears up the situation where the MGs were also fired, but not the case if the MGs were never fired.
I think the rules as written allow for an IF shot in a different hex after ROF is exhausted if the MA was the only weapon fired during the MPh. While the Q&A is clear that IF is not part of ROF, it’s not clear that D3.51 prevents IF in the first place, and so it doesn’t need to be part of that exception. But this is getting really nit-picky about D3.51 restricting “other weapons”, meaning it doesn’t apply to the same weapon.
Seems like this might even come up somewhat often as moving to a rear target facing and taking an IF shot might be the safest option for an acquired vehicle that is afraid of surviving to its next turn. I think I would’ve allowed it 20 years ago when I was playing regularly, but I also think I got a lot of rules wrong on Bounding First Fire.
Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Keep in mind that only Gyrostabelized guns can gain acquisition (or maintain and use it) in B1F. So acquisition is rarely a consideration.
When Klas and I were discussing this, a common refrain was “D3.51 isn’t the best written paragraph ever.”
Just to be clear, I don’t think the rules as written or the Q&A allow for an IF shot from a different Location than the first shot taken by that vehicle in its MPh. I think this is not an intended consequence. Sadly, D3.51 IS part of the problem since the EXC is for MA ROF and not MA. Adding that in with the existing Q&A gets us to where we are. A vehicle can’t move and fire the MA after exhausting ROF per Q&A and must fire all weapons from the same Location [EXC: ROF/OVR] per D3.51. Taken as a whole, that removes IF as an option if you leave the Location where the first shot is taken. — jim
I meant if the vehicle choosing to IF is itself acquired by its target and it has no way to move out of LOS may be happy to risk an IF shot (after moving to a new hex) if survival through the opponent’s turn is unlikely.
I reread all the relevant Q&A again and the one you give in footnote 2 covers my exact case that I was still uncertain about. You are indeed right, that IF is always disallowed from a different hex. I still think the as written rules don’t support this, due to D3.51 only restricting “other weapons”, and so if only one weapon is ever fired then D3.51’s restriction never applies (and so needs no exception; the purpose of the exception then is to allow further ROF shots after firing an MG). But I suppose that’s inconsequential.
We can all agree “D3.51 isn’t the best written paragraph ever.” Thanks for the discussion and helping me understand!
D3.51: … Once any vehicular weapon fires, its other weapons may fire in that phase only from that same hex [EXC: OVR; and MA retaining a Multiple ROF may fire again from another hex if the previous shot(s) were Bounding First Fire].
I believe you are reading D3.51 incorrectly. The rules says if ANY weapons are fired from a Locaiton, ALL of it’s other weapons must be fired from the same Location with just a few exceptions. So if you fire the MA, maintain ROF, and move to another Location, you CANNOT fire the MGs in that new Location. Firing only one weapon–regardless of which weapon–is all it takes to trigger this limitation.
Some of this discussion lead me to submit a new Q&A seeking clarification on an issue I saw between the Q&A and the rules. Some of this discussion has been superseded by this new Q&A. A newer blog post covering IF options in B1F is here: https://jekl.com/2022/11/04/the-basics-of-afv-combat-in-asl-intensive-fire-in-bounding-first-fire/