Advanced Artillery

[Grumm]

Just for fun, I thought it would be an interesting thought exercise to see how much historical detail you could add to the off-table bombardment rules. I do not actually recommend using the following house rules in an actual game... Panzer Grenadier is not meant to be as complicated as ASL or other games with reams of rules. That said, the simplicity of PG makes it easy to house rule and modify and so I thought I'd do this as a thought experiment for kicks.

9.6 Advanced Artillery Rules
Under the advanced rules, there are three categories of artillery. Organic artillery includes all of the units capable of bombardment that appear on the map board according to the scenario. These follow the normal rules described in the rules above. Off-Board Artillery, as given in the scenario description, are divided into further types and use the additional rules below. The two types of Off-Board Artillery are Direct Support and General Support. Compare the Off-Board Artillery fire values with the highest-ranking leader in the scenario to determine the artillery types, as described below:

Lieutenant (LT) or Lower: All are General Support.
Captain (CAPT): Fire values of 12 or lower are Direct Support. Higher values are General Support.
Major (MAJ): Fire values up to 18 are Direct Support. Higher values are General Support.
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) or Higher: All are Direct Support.

9.61 Artillery Availability
At the start of each turn, each side must roll to see if General Support is available that turn (Direct Support is always available). Make a leadership roll for the highest-ranking leader in the scenario. If the test is passed, that side may call upon General Support batteries. Otherwise, they are not available this turn. Once Off-Board Artillery has depleted its ammunition stores, all Off-Board Artillery (including Direct Support batteries) is unavailable for that side (see 9.63). Occasionally, a scenario will have its own rules for artillery availability, which should supersede the rules here.

9.62 Off-Board Artillery Ammunition
As an optional rule, if both players agree, ammunition may be limited for Off-Board Artillery support. Determine a number, five or less, that will serve as the Artillery Ammunition Level for all Off-Board Artillery on a side. This can be determined by carefully reading the scenario description for the larger operational context of the forces or otherwise it can be set to a standard number (we recommend a base 3 plus 1 for every 10 full turns of the scenario). Some guidelines are below:

Artillery Ammunition Level
5 - Represents approximately 3 and a half hours of sustained artillery fire.
4 - Represents approximately 2 hours of sustained artillery fire.
3 - Represents approximately 1 hour of sustained artillery fire.
2 - Represents approximately 30-45 minutes of sustained artillery fire
1 - Represents less than 20 minutes of sustained artillery fire.

9.63 Ammunition Depletion
Every turn that Off-Board Artillery fires (regardless of how many batteries are used), the player must roll one die. If the result is equal to or less than the current Ammunition Level, then there is no change for the Ammunition Level. If the result is higher, then the Ammunition Level is reduced by 1 for all future rolls. Once the Ammunition Level reaches 0, that side has used all of their ammo stores and their Off-Board Artillery becomes unavailable. Optionally, for longer scenarios, the players may agree to allow a resupply. If this is the case, roll 2D6. That side's Off-Board Artillery Ammunition Level will be restored to its original scenario default in that many turns.

9.7 Calling Artillery Support
There are three ways to call Off-Board Artillery support in the advanced rules. Attacks may be made either using registered target points, using undemoralized infantry leaders with line of sight to a spotted enemy hex or with an undemoralized Forward Observer with line of sight to a spotted enemy unit.

9.71 Registered Target Points
At the start of the scenario, the defending player may secretly register a number of target points equal to their starting initiative by writing down any hex number on a piece of paper. These target points can be used to make any indirect fire attacks, regardless of whether the hex is spotted or there is a leader with line of sight to the hex. Bombardment attacks against target points do not cause friendly fire and gain the +1 column shift modifier for "target is spotted by firing unit." They cannot be changed after they have been registered.

9.72 Leader-Observed Fire
As per the normal rules, undemoralized leaders on the game map may call in Off-Board Artillery strikes on a spotted enemy hex. Any leader may call upon Direct Support artillery, but only the highest-ranking leader on the side may call upon General Support (for an exception, see 9.73 Forward Observer, below) and only if it is available that turn (see 9.61). This rule assumes an "average" national artillery doctrine for WW2; for better or worse artillery doctrines, see 9.74, below.

9.73 Forward Observer
At the player's option, he or she may choose to designate a single leader as a dedicated Forward Observer at the start of the scenario. This leader no longer counts as an infantry leader, cannot activate nearby units and no longer provides fire or morale modifiers to units in its hex or any benefit to attack columns. Instead, the Forward Observer may call upon Direct Support or General Support to make bombardment attacks, just like the highest-ranking leader, although this requires its entire activation. Off-Board Artillery bombardment attacks called by the Forward Observer do not cause friendly fire and gain the +1 column shift modifier for "target hex spotted by firing unit." The Forward Observer retains its individual Leadership value and can move and be destroyed like normal leaders and does count in other respects as a leader (for example, for the purpose of initiative loss).

9.74 Artillery Doctrine
Different nations at different points in the war had more or less flexible artillery doctrines than what is implied by rule 9.72, above. Before 1944, European nations other than Germany and Great Britain can be typically assumed to have a more restrictive doctrine, whereby only the highest-ranking officer on the side as well as a Forward Observer (if present) can call for Off-Board Artillery fires of either type (Direct Support or General Support). Conversely, the Americans and British forces from 1944 on have a more flexible doctrine that allows any undemoralized leader to call upon General Support, assuming it is available that turn. If the leader is neither the highest-ranking leader on that side nor a Forward Observer, however, they must first pass a successful leadership roll each time they call upon General Support to see if they are able to successfully communicate with the General Support batteries.

Next time I'll discuss some rules for destruction attacks, harassment attacks, creeping barrages and more!

[Grumm]

9.8 Off-Board Artillery Fire Patterns
Each time an off-board conventional, non-rocket artillery attack is made, the controlling player may opt to employ special fire patterns that use different rules from the standard artillery patterns and concentrations. Unless stated otherwise, each pattern may use any number of available Off-Board Artillery assets to increase the total strength of the attack. These special artillery fire patterns may not be combined with each other or with the artillery fire plans discussed below.

9.81 Destruction Fire
This involves firing at a higher rate of fire (and often concentrating multiple batteries) to destroy the enemy in a single hex area. Destruction fire may only be used if the side has an ammunition level of 3 or higher. The attack may involve any available Off-Board Artillery assets, including General Support, and is resolved by rolling 1D6 on the appropriate bombardment value column, treating a roll of "1" as "2." After the attack is resolved, the side's ammunition level is automatically reduced by 1 (no test is necessary that turn).

9.82 Harassment Fire
With harassment fire, an Off-Board Artillery bombardment can increase its area of effect to a target hex and all six adjacent hexes. The effect of harassment fire is reduced as follows: the bombardment value of the attack is halved and the attack cannot result in more than disruption (ignore step losses other than the required morale check and treat demoralized results from morale checks as disrupted instead). For the remainder of the turn, each time a unit enters a hex covered by harassment fire, it is automatically subject to opportunity fire with the same reduced effect (this always happens even though the battery already fired for the turn—no additional ammunition check is required). Finally, the area of friendly fire is also increased so that any friendly unit within a hex adjacent to the harassment area (or entering an adjacent hex, in the case of opportunity fire) will be subject to the rules for friendly fire (again, with the same reduced effect).

9.83 Standing Barrage Fire
A standing barrage is called as opportunity fire against a spotted unit. The target must either be spotted by a Forward Observer or moving into a target point hex or adjacent to a target point hex. After the initial fire, the attack continues intermittently for the rest of the turn, so that only units activated by a leader may attempt to enter the hex and such units will automatically be subject to a further bombardment table roll immediately upon entering the hex.

9.84 Box Barrage Fire
A box barrage attack is a special artillery fire pattern that surrounds a target area with a wall of shrapnel. The box may be "complete" or "partial" and only a Forward Observer may call a box barrage. With a complete box barrage, all six hexes adjacent to a target hex are subject to a standing barrage (as per 9.83, above). With a partial box barrage, only four contiguous hexes adjacent to the target hex are affected. The bombardment value is divided by 6 or 4, respectively, due to the larger area and a leader is only required to activate units attempting to enter an interdicted hex if the firepower is equal to or greater than the moving unit's current morale.

9.85 Counter-Battery Fire
A forward observer may attempt to initiate counter-battery fire against an enemy Off-Board Artillery assets. This requires the forward observer's entire activation and a leadership check. If the check is successful, the player may use one available Direct Support asset with a bombardment value of 16 or better to target a particular Off-Board Artillery that had already fired this turn. The bombardment is rolled as normal but with no column shift modifiers applied. Step losses indicate the artillery asset is eliminated and any morale failure simply means the asset is not available for the next turn (use the standard morale value for the side to resolve any morale checks incurred by counter-battery fire).

9.9 Off-Board Artillery Fire Plans
Each player may also create fire plans for their Off-Board Artillery. Unlike artillery fire patterns, these plans must be determined before the start of the game.

9.92 Preparatory Fire Barrage
The attacking player may choose to start with a preparatory fire barrage in scenarios involving a deliberate (not hasty) attack and the attacker's starting ammunition level is 4 or better. The Off-Board Artillery assets and target hexes must be selected in secret before the defender deploys (General Support will automatically be available for this preparatory plan and the target hexes do not need to be spotted). Before initiative dice are rolled on the first turn, resolve the preparatory bombardments on the pre-determined hexes. The attacker may lengthen the preparatory fire barrage, thus gaining a +1 or +2 column shift modifier on all attacks. The preparatory barrage does not require an ammunition depletion check (see 9.63), but rather the attacker's ammunition level is automatically reduced by 1 plus any bonus column shifts added to the preparatory fire. The attacker may not make further Off-Board Artillery bombardments on the first turn of the scenario.

9.93 Creeping Barrage
The attacking player may plan a creeping barrage that moves ahead of the attacking forces. Creeping barrages must be planned before the defender deploys and may only make use of Direct Support artillery assets. For each Direct Support asset involved in the barrage, select a hex two or three hexes away from the attacker's starting positions. Write down the speed of the barrage in hexes (between 1 to 8 hexes a turn, typically equal to the rate of travel of the advancing forces) and the direction of travel. Pivots in the barrage direction can be planned with further notation. The planned duration of the barrage (how many turns it will travel) cannot exceed the starting ammunition level of the side, but as this ammunition is pre-allocated, the barrage will continue until its end even if the attacker's ammunition level falls to zero before that point. At the beginning of each turn starting with the first, each of the attacker's Direct Support batteries involved in a pre-planned Creeping Barrage will automatically fire upon every hex the barrage passes through, without requiring a spotted enemy or a leader to call in the attack. Resolve the bombardment with a -1 column shift modifier (-2 if the barrage is moving at a rate of 4 or more hexes per turn).

[plloyd1010]

You may want to look up Eastern Front Artillery. Also check my artillery options and those in APL's Daily Content.