This article will examine a very narrow section of the rules. In it, we will explore when and how to apply Wall TEM to an AFV in a couple of different circumstances. For some, this is likely old news but for some others, this may help to shed some light on this section of the rules. Let’s get started.
A Look At The Rule
A vehicle targeted by Direct Fire ordnance is Hulldown (HD) when receiving Wall TEM. B9.36 covers this. So far, this seems pretty straightforward.
Map Overview
Once again, we return to board 4, the home of almost every example I have ever posted. All the subsequent examples we will see here today will come from this piece of the board. For those who may wish to set this up on their own, note that I have changed the board to make Grain out of season. This makes the examples much cleaner and easy to follow. I include this here to make it easier to see some of the following examples. Refer to this if you are having a hard time visualizing the terrain in the examples.
Example 1: Not So Simple
The Sherman is in the P8 building when the PzIV shoots the Main Armament (MA) at the Sherman. The Sherman is behind the Wall and thus capable of receiving Wall TEM and thus, HD to incoming Direct Fire.
But the Sherman is ALSO in the building and capable of receiving +2 TEM. How do we resolve this? B9.36 resolves this conundrum. The player receiving fire may choose which TEM he elects to receive AFTER the shot declaration but BEFORE the actual TH DR is made.
There are some situations and TEM combinations where it might be better to receive “in-hex” TEM rather than Wall TEM. I leave the discovery of those as an exercise for the reader. It is also worth noting that PRC cannot qualify for Wall TEM (B9.3).
Bypass LOF
This one may be a little subtle. I know I have seen this misplayed many times. I have also explained this many times. Is the Sherman in LOS of the PzIV? Is the Sherman in the PzIV’s TCA?
If you answered YES and NO, congratulations. If you answered YES and YES, then you have missed C.5B. These are the “dot” rules at the beginning of most chapters.
Per C.5B, the complete hex containing the target must be within the CA to be considered IN the CA. Having a vertex or hexside is not sufficient.
Refer to the diagram at the right. I have removed the vehicles for clarity. The red line demarcates the left edge of the PzIV’s TCA/VCA. The Sherman’s Covered Arc Focal Point (CAFP) is at the P8-O8-P7 vertex. While the vertex is within the PzIV’s TCA, the Sherman itself is not because the whole of the hex it occupies–P8–is not. To shoot, the PzIV would need to change its TCA one hexspine counter-clockwise to fire on the Sherman.
Hulldown In Bypass
In a previous article, I talked about the pedantry of specifying which hex the unit is actually in when bypassing an obstacle. Once again, that will help us here. Recall, to qualify for Wall TEM–and thus be HD to incoming fire–the LOF must be traced “through” a Wall hexside. The Sherman here is IN P8. The LOF necessarily must cross the wall to reach the vertex in P8. Yes, the vertex exists simultaneously in three hexes, but the only one that matters is P8 and LOF to that hex crosses the wall. For those who still remain in doubt, this is further clarified in B9.42
Contrast the previous example with this one. Again, the Sherman is in Bypass of P8. The Wall along the P7 / P8 hexside still exists, except this time, the LOF from the PzIV does not go “through” the Wall hexside. The Sherman does not qualify for HD status. Again, if you still have doubts, I refer you to B9.42. Many long time players may find this rule new to them. It is a relatively recent addition.
Conclusion
It is August, the traditional month of vacation in most countries. This is no exception for me either. I will probably stick to my original short form article for a bit while I ride out the heat and malaise that comes with it. Additionally, I am quietly working on a larger article in the background but I am not sure what I will do with it yet. I am quite excited to present it to you but I have some logistics and outside considerations that I must weigh before publishing it.
I hope this article finds you and yours in good health. Until next time. – jim
I keep learning……………many thanks Jim.
I was asked this question on Discord and thought I would share my answer here.
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Q: So the interesting question is what if the Sherman is at the CAFP P8/P7/Q8 with the Pz IV in S6? Is the Sherman Hull Down? What about if the Pz IV is in R5 (not in bypass) or O6?
A: The answer is in B9.42. The answers here are more complicated and probably worth another article. I tried to avoid this section as it is more difficult than the easier cases.
The green arrow represents the Sherman as you asked. The other three arrows represent LOF in question. Those in BLUE are HD along that LOF. The other in RED is not. If the LOS from R5 was from an AFV in bypass along the R5/S6 hexside, at CAFP R5/R6/S6, the LOS would be “below” the vertex in P8 and thus NOT/NOT HD for that LOF. If it were instead in bypass along the R5/Q5 hexside at CAFP R5/Q5/Q6 the LOF would be “above” the vertex and WOULD be HD for that LOF.
The second paragraph in the B9.42 example clarifies this. I have to work to get my head around this when it comes up during gameplay.
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I hope this helps answer someone else’s question. Have a good weekend all.
Perhaps this image will help to clarify this some. Assume the bypass is at CAFP P8/P7/Q8 (in hex P8). Further assume there is some LOF which has LOS. Every incoming LOF bound by the blue angle–INCLUDING THE YELLOW LINES–is HD. Every incoming LOF covered by the red angle–EXCLUDING THE YELLOW LINES–is NOT/NOT HD.
I hope this helps to see what I colloquially referred to as “above” and “below” in my previous post.
Excellent article, thank you! The HD thing when in bypass is one of the ASL rules easy to understand but difficult to explain with words.