How powerful is Traversing fire? And when can you Support?

[rigolgm]

I always feel like an argumentative grouch when I post on here. But I think you're all cool, so hope you can help.

In my game tonight my opponent was blasting me with a string of rules queries. I think I know the answers to them but, because I feel like I might be deluded, I wanted to ask you a couple of them. Please help! Thanks.

First, re Traversing Target fire (firing at people moving across the front of you). My opponent asserts the two following notions and I wonder if you can tell me if either is right:

- You can Traversing Target shoot an opponent if they move any distance across your front, as long as any of it is directly in front of the middle of your unit. (I disagree - I think their movement has to be across at least half your frontage).
- You can almost always Enflilade your opponent for double damage during Traversing Target shots because you can choose when to shoot and can usually get a shot off into their side. (I'm more on-the-fence about this. It seems too cheesy but I can't find any explicit rules disallowing it, for example ones that might have said enfilading is always based on an opponent's 'final' position or some such).

Second, regarding giving Support bonuses to colleagues within 6" who are in hand-to-hand combat. He says::

- You can only give a support bonus to friendly units if you were specifically ordered to do so in the command phase (I disagree with this ... a lot!)
- You can not give support if you have shot at enemy during the same turn because that means you are engaged in combat with enemy already (I disagree with this because i think the term 'engaged in combat' is clearly defined, on page 56, as meaning already stuck fighting your own hand-to-hand combat ... not shooting).
- You can not give support if you are not facing towards the relevant combat (I disagree again, as there's no mention of this that I can find).

What do you guys think? I'd appreciate your views. I need to make sure I'm not getting overly confident in my rules interpretations!

Really appreciated.

Mike F

[Big Al]

Basically you are right and your friend is wrong on all counts.

Traversing fire can only happen, as you say, when an enemy unit passes across at least half of your own unit's front. It is written clearly in the book, so I don't know how he can get that wrong. Secondly, the enemy unit has to have made this move within 12 inches of the your unit or it can't shoot. Enfilading fire only happens if your unit can get it's shot across the width of the enemy. In other words it is shootong down the flank of the enemy like a long column. If a unit starts it's move 12 inches away frm yours and ends it just outside your front quarter, but has moved diagonally across your unit, it probably won't count enfilading. If the same move was made perpendicular to yours then you would count enfilading. I suppose that you could count firing frontally on a march column as enfilading. The rules don't say you can but it has the same effect.

The second question is also clearly stated in the book. Any unit that is within 6 inches of the combat and behind the line where the opposing units meet, are eligible as support, except a unit that is engaged in combat itself. You can only count a singel unit per flank and one in the rear, but any units in an eligible position would take a break test if your unit lost and broke from combat. Even if it wasn't used for support. There is nothing in the rules to exclude a unit from supporting like the conditions your friend has mentioned. It is all there on page 67 in that seperate box.

[Cubster]

Get better friends.

[Alan Charlesworth]

Mike F

I empathise with your situation. It is often difficult when put on the spot in the middle of a game to find the exact paragraph and the right page that supports your understanding of the rules.

But I agree with Al. You were right and your opponent was wrong on all counts. You might want to suggest he re-reads the whole rulebook

[rigolgm]

Thanks, chaps. I'm cheered by your answers to this thread I started. Good stuff. Sorted.