Hull down?

[the mysteron]

Are there any Hull down rules for AFVs? In my game last night I added a -2 to hit modifier, which made my opponents sdkfz 222 near impossible to hit…I wish I had gone for a -1.

[Nat]

normal cover rules apply to vehicles… so -1 for light cover (hedges and such) or -2 for stone walls & buildings

[Nigel Heather]

Can’t say anything about the rules but it gives me a chance to have a little rant about one of my pet hates – the KwK30/55 2cm AutoCannon. Or to be precise how it is portrayed in various wargaming rules.

In two recent rulesets (not BA) it came out as some sort of super weapon, long range, high penetration, gets to fire first, gets to fire twice. Result was 222s being practically invincible against soviet BT-5s and T-26s, the Russians totally outclassed.

Anyway back to topic. To be fair, if a 222 is truly hull-down there is very little left to aim at.

Mind you the AutoCannon on the 222 had very little depression so unlikely it could shoot at anything when hull-down. Of course rules gloss over that in the interest of simplicity which brings me back to the 222 super AFV.

Cheers,

Nigel

[the mysteron]

Yes I agree Hull down can be problematic. I’m told tank crews are trained to look for hull down positions, and in the good old days of micro tanks every time they reached a hill top they were hull down. I can’t help thinking it could be difficult to do so, not every hill allowing this opportunity.Perhaps this is outside the scope of a skirmish game.

[Nat]

Ok let me put this another way… hull down IS in the rules just not as a separte rule

If you are more than 50% hidden you are in cover irrespective of what it is thats hiding you.. so if you are hull down then 50% at least of the vehicle is hidden from the unit that is shooting your tank. As its rather solid you take the hill (for example) as heavy cover so apply a -2 to hit.

pg 56
Targets Obscured by Terrain or Other Models: If at least 50% of the shooters in the firing unit can draw a clear line of fire to at least 50% of the model

Page 105
When you work out whether a vehicle is in cover or not, you consider the entire vehicle, and not just the facing the firers are targeting. So, only if 50% or more of the entire vehicle you are firing at is behind cover, then the relevant cover modifier applies.

[the mysteron]

Sorry for troubling folks with my original question. But I note there are some very good Hull down rules in the Western Desert Campaign book…page 161. Which do involve some effort on part of the crews through order tests and finding a position.

[Author]

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