12. BARRAGE
12.1 A Barrage is a type of OBA Fire Mission (C1.7), and is available to a player if he is allowed one or more Pre-Registered hexes27. A Barrage uses all the normal rules for OBA except as modified below. A rocket OBA battery cannot be used for any type of Barrage.
12.11 CONFIGURATION: A Barrage FFE Blast Area is one hex wide by nine hexes long, and must lie along a Hex Grain or Alternate Hex Grain. Thus there are six possible Barrage alignments per Pre-Registered hex. A Barrage counter is placed four hexes away from the FFE counter in each of the two outermost hexes of the Blast Area, with the arrow on each Barrage counter aligned to point "through" the other Blast Area hexes to that FFE counter.
12.2 SETUP: Prior to setup, all Pre-Registered hexes are recorded on paper normally. However, for each Pre-Registered hex that the player wishes to also have available for use with a Barrage, he must at this time also secretly record two Barrage Blast Area hexes that are adjacent to that PreRegistered hex but not adjacent to each other. These two Blast Area hexes set the Hex Grain of all Barrages from that OBA battery, and make that Pre-Registered hex "Barrage-capable". All Pre-Registered hexes assigned a Barrage option from the same OBA battery must use parallel (Alternate) Hex Grains.
EX 4H6 is a Pre-Registered hex. Its owning player decides to give it the option of also being used for a Barrage between hexes H2 and H10 inclusive, so where he has recorded "4H6" he also writes "(Barrage: H5-H7)". Now assume the player is also allowed a second Pre-Registered hex, for which he chooses C6. If he decides to make C6 Barrage-capable too, the only Hex Grain he can record for it is C5-C7 (i.e., the Hex Grain parallel to that of his other Barrage-capable Pre-Registered hex).
[If, instead of the H5-H7 Hex Grain, the player had chosen to designate for his first Barrage the Alternate Hex Grain that comprises J3, J4, I5, I6, H6 (the Pre-Registered hex), H7, G8. G9, and F9, he would have written "(Barrage: I6-H7)" - and he would have had to record "(Barrage: D5-C7)" for his second Pre-Registered hex.]
12.3 PLACEMENT: A FFE:1 counter being used for a Barrage can only be directly placed (C1.731; i.e., a SR may never be flipped over to become a Barrage FFE), and only in a Barrage-capable Pre-Registered hex. If a player wishes to use a Barrage Fire Mission, he must place the two Barrage counters onboard at the same time he places the FFE:1.
12.31 ALIGNMENT: A Barrage, regardless of where it actually lands, must always have its Hex Grain parallel to that of its Pre-Registered hex(es).
EX: Continuing the first part of the previous example, when the Barrage FFE:1 counter is placed in H6 one Barrage counter will be placed in H2 and one in H10, with the arrow of each pointing through H3 and H9 respectively; thus the Blast Area of this Barrage will consist of the nine hexes H2 through H10 inclusive. However, assume that when the player directly places the FFE:1 counter in H6 it errors to D4. The Barrage will now be centered on D4, and the only Hex Grain alignment it can have is the one parallel to that of H6 (and C6). Thus the Barrage counters are placed in D0 and D8, with their arrows pointing through D1 and D7 respectively.
[If he were instead using for his Barrage the Alternate Hex Grain that comprises J3, J4, I5, I6, H6 (the Pre-Registered hex), H7, G8, G9, and F9, when the FFE:1 counter were placed accurately in H6 one Barrage counter would then be placed in J3 with its arrow pointing through J4, and the other would be placed in F9 with its arrow pointing through G9.]
12.4 CORRECTING: An onboard Barrage (i.e., a FFE:1 or FFE:2 counter, and its associated Barrage counters) can be Corrected only onto or adjacent to (i.e., by placing the AR [as per C1.4] in or adjacent to) a Barrage-capable Pre-Registered hex [EXC: when the FFE counter is in or adjacent to a Pre-Registered hex, it cannot be Corrected to another hex that is adjacent to that same Pre-Registered hex]. 12.31 still applies to a Corrected Barrage.
EX: Continuing the first part of the previous example with the FFE counter in D4 and the Barrage counters in D0 and D8, assume that in the subsequent allowable phase the player wishes to Correct his onboard Barrage FFE. He can Correct the FFE counter in D4 only to or adjacent to a Barrage capable Pre-Registered hex, and can Correct it no farther than three hexes (C1.4). Therefore, he can place his AR only in or adjacent to C4 or in G6. If he places it in C6 his initial Accuracy dr, and if necessary his initial Extent of Error dr, will receive a - 2 drm (C1.732). If the player also had another Barrage-capable Pre-Registered hex that was too distant to allow him to Correct the FFE counter to it, he could use it for a Barrage only by calling in a new Fire Mission there.
12.5 RESOLUTION: A Barrage FFE is resolved using the IFT FP column to the left of the column that battery uses for a normal HE Concentration FFE.
EX 80+mm OBA uses 12 FP in a Barrage. 100+mm uses 16 FP, 150+mm uses 24 FP, etc.
12.51 SMOKE: A Barrage [EXC: not Creeping Barrage] FFE may be used to place SMOKE.
12.52 FFE LOS HINDRANCE: A Barrage [EXC: not Creeping Barrage] FFE causes a LOS Hindrance as per C1.57.
12.6 CONVERSION: A Barrage-capable Pre-Registered hex [EXC: one designated for use with a Creeping Barrage; 12.7] may also be used for normal Concentration/
12.7 CREEPING BARRAGE: a Creeping Barrage28 is a type of Barrage that automatically Corrects in each Scenario Attacker PFPh (and possibly DFPh) without using an Observer or radio. A Creeping Barrage may only be used by a Scenario Attacker. All Barrage rules apply to a Creeping Barrage unless specified otherwise. The DYO cost of an OBA battery is increased by 50% if it is to have Creeping Barrage capability (or by 100% if it is also to be convertible; 12.771); indicate this capability on the Roster by recording "CB" or "CBc" in the "P/S" column of the "OBA" section. The DYO cost for the Creeping Barrage's Pre-Registered hex (12.71) is still assessed (H1.53).
12.71 SETUP: Prior to all setup in a scenario that grants a Creeping Barrage to the Scenario Attacker, that player secretly records one Barrage capable Pre-Registered hex (12.2) whose Hex Grain (or Alternate Hex Grain) alignment must parallel the Friendly Board Edge that the majority of his units will enter along on Turn 1, and into which his Turn 1 Creeping Barrage will be directly placed (C1.731). He also secretly records an Aiming Hex, which is any hex that lies along both a(n) (Alternate) Hex Grain of the Pre-Registered hex and the board edge opposite the above mentioned Friendly Board Edge. This (Alternate) Hex Grain, from the Pre-Registered hex to the Aiming Hex (inclusive), is termed the Creeping Barrage Hex Grain, and is the general path the Creeping Barrage's FFE counter will follow as it is periodically Corrected toward the Aiming Hex. At this time he also secretly records whether in each Game Turn he will Correct this Creeping Barrage in each friendly PFPh only, or in both his PFPh and DFPh.29 He also secretly records the Game Turn in which the Creeping Barrage will Lift (i.e., will end; 12.76). Note that the Creeping Barrage begins on Turn 1 (unless its Timing is off; 12.72), and will advance an average of two hexes per Correction. Lastly, he prepares his Battery Access draw pile, including one extra black card/
EX: The Scenario Attacker will enter along hexrow A of board 4, and must capture the buildings in hexrows O and P in six turn with the assistance of a 100+mm Creeping Barrage. Hexrows Q-GG are not playable. Studying the board, he decides to make G5 his Pre-Registered hex and P5 his Aiming Hex - thus establishing as his Creeping Barrage Hex Grain all the hexes with a "" coordinate between G5 and P5 inclusive. He also decides that he will Correct his Creeping Barrage in his friendly PFPh and DFPh; he indicates this by recording "Correct: FFE: 1-2". (If he had wished to correct it only in his PFPh, he would have written "Correct FFE: 1".) Finally, he decides to have his creeping Barrage end after Game Turn 3, so he writes "Lift: GT: 4".
12.72 TIMING: After both sides have set up, but prior to the start of the initial RPh, the Scenario Attacker makes a special Battery Access draw. If it is black, the Creeping Barrage will commence in coordination with his ground attack, and the initial RPh now begins normally. If the draw is red, he must make a Timing dr (halved; FRU) to find how many "Game Turns" the Creeping Barrage will commence ahead of his ground attack.30 He then begins "pre-Game Turn 1". Each "pre-Game Turn" consists only of the Scenario Attacker's friendly PFPh and friendly DFPh, and only so that his Creeping Barrage can be Corrected/
12.73 PFPh MECHANICS: At the start of a friendly (even if "pre-game") PFPh in which the Scenario Attacker has a Creeping Barrage available, he must, in lieu of rolling for Radio Contact, perform step 1 or step 2 below - after which he then performs step 3.
- If it is the PFPh of Game Turn 1 and his special Battery Access draw was black (or if it is the PFPh of "pre-Game Turn 1"), he must place his Creeping Barrage's AR counter in its Pre-Registered hex and then "directly place" its FFE:1 counter as per C1.731-.732; or,
- If his Creeping Barrage's FFE:C counter is onboard, he must exchange it for a FFE:1 counter and then Correct that FFE:1 as per 12.74 [EXC: if it Lifts; 12.76].
- Once the FFE:1 counter is in its final placement hex for that PFPh he resolves that Barrage's attacks and then exchanges its FFE:1 counter for a FFE:2.
12.731 DFPh MECHANICS: At the start of each (even if "pre-game") DFPh in which the Scenario Attacker is the DEFENDER and has a Creeping Barrage FFE:2 counter onboard, he must perform one or both of the following actions in lieu of rolling for Radio Contact:
- If he had recorded his Corrections as "FFE:1-2 ", he must first Correct his FFE:2 counter as per 12.74 [EXC: if it Lifts; 12.76]; and/
or, - Regardless of whether he had recorded "FFE:1 " or "FFE:1-2" for his Corrections, and if the Barrage did not Lift in step 1, he resolves that Barrage's attacks and then flips its FFE:2 counter to the FFE:C side.
12.732 ADJUSTMENT: If, in the Scenario Attacker's Turn 1 (or "preGame Turn 1") PFPh, the Creeping Barrage FFE:1 counter's final placement hex is not its Pre-Registered hex, then on his side record he must cross out that Pre-Registered hex's coordinate and substitute that of the FFE:1 counter's present hex. He must then also cross out the coordinate he had recorded for the Aiming Hex and replace it with that of a new Aiming Hex. These two newly-recorded hexes must form a new Creeping Barrage Hex Grain that retains the exact alignment and configuration of the original Creeping Barrage Hex Grain.
12.74 CORRECTING: Each Correction of a Creeping Barrage FFE counter is of two hexes, and must be attempted to (i.e ., the AR [as per C1.4] must be placed in) a hex in the Creeping Barrage Hex Grain that is closer (in hexes) to the Aiming Hex than the FFE counter's present hex. If this cannot be done, then the Creeping Barrage must Lift (12.76). Each Correction is subject to a normal accuracy dr, and if inaccurate is also subject to a direction of error dr and a subsequent error of one hex.
EX: continuing the previous example, after all setup the Scenario Attacker's special Battery Access draw is red. Therefore he makes a Timing dr that is an Original 3, which means his Creeping Barrage will attack for two "pre-Game Turns" before the actual Turn 1 RPh begins, so for the "pre-game Turn 1" PFPh (step 1 of 12.73) he places his AR in G5 (his Pre-Registered hex) and rolls for accuracy, which he fails to achieve (even with the -2 drm for a Pre-Registered hex). It errors to G6, so he places the FFE:1 counter there, places a Barrage counter (12.11) in G2 and in G10, and then crosses out "4G5 (Barrage: G4-G6)" and writes "4G6 Barrage: G5-G7)" He also changes his Aiming Hen from "P5" to "P6". (Note that P6 is the only hex that can serve as the new Aiming Hex, given both G6 as the FFE counter's hex and the requirements of 12.732. In essence, the FFE's inaccuracy has caused the Creeping Barrage Hex Grain to change from "all hexes with a coordinate of '5' between G5 and P5 inclusive" to "all hexes with a coordinate of '6' between G6 and P6 inclusive".) After this he proceeds to attack hexes G2 through G10 (inclusive) with 16 FP each, and then exchanges the FFE:1 counter for a FFE:2 (step 3 of 12.73). Now he begins the DFPh of "pre-Game Turn 1", in which he must Correct the FFE:2 counter (step 1 of 12.731) two hexes to a hex that is both in the new Creeping Barrage Hex Grain and closer to the new Aiming Hex. His only choice can be I6, so he places his AR there; however, his accuracy dr is a 3, so he makes a direction of error dr which as per the AR's alignment results in the FFE:2 counter erroring one hex (12.74) to H6. After repositioning his Barrage counters he resolves all Barrage attacks vs hexes H2-H10 inclusive, and then flips the FFE:2 counter to its FFE:C side (step 2 of 12.731), thus completing "pre-Game Tum 1".
Next, in the PFPh of "pre-Game Turn 2", he must replace the FFE:C counter with a FFE:1 which he must then Correct (step 2 of 12.73) - to I6 in this case. He will then repeat step 3 of 12.73, then step 1 of 12.731, and then step 2 of 12.731. When as per this last step he has flipped the FFE:2 counter to its FFE:C side (thus showing that his Creeping Barrage has completed its actions for another Game Turn - in this case the second and final "pre-Game Turn"), then the actual RPh of Turn 1 will begin.
(If the Scenario Attacker's Correction note were "FFE:1", he would follow the same procedure except that he would not Correct the FFE:2 in the DFPh of each "pre-Game Turn"; i.e., he would not use step 1 of 12.731. He would still use step 2 of 12.731 though.)
Once the scenario actually begins, the Scenario Attacker will handle the Creeping Barrage in each friendly PFPh in exactly the same manner as in the "pre-Game Turn 2" PFPh; likewise, he will handle it the same in each friendly DFPh as he did in the DFPh of "pre-Game Turn 2". These procedures will continue until the Creeping Barrage Lifts (12.76).
(If the Scenario Attacker's Correction note were "FFE:1", once the scenario actually began he would still follow the same procedure except that he would not Correct the FFE:2 in his friendly DFPh.)
12.75 SMOKE/
12.76 LIFTING: A Creeping Barrage is one Fire Mission from the time its special Battery Access draw is made until that Barrage ends. A Creeping Barrage ends (i.e., Lifts) at the beginning of the first friendly fire phase in which it can no longer be Corrected as per 12.74 within the Creeping Barrage Hex Grain, or at the beginning of the first friendly fire phase that occurs after the Creeping Barrage has been used for the number of Game Turns (including "pre-Game Turns") its owner had recorded for it (12.71) - whichever occurs first. When a Creeping Barrage Lifts, its FFE counter is simply removed from the board, and that Creeping Barrage is no longer usable in that scenario.
EX: Continuing the previous example, it is now the beginning of the Scenario Attacker's Game Turn 1 PFPh, and his Creeping Barrage's just-substituted FFE:1 counter (step 2 of 12.73) is in N5 about to be Corrected to P6, which is the new Aiming Hex and the only hex to which that FFE can now be Corrected (12.74). The only possible final placement hex for the FFE counter is P6 or a hex adjacent to P6. If it lands in O6 or Q7 it will not be resolved, since the entire FFE Blast Area will be offboard. If it instead lands in any other of those hexes it will be resolved. However, regardless of where it lands, it will Lift at the start of the Scenario Attacker's next friendly DFPh, since it will then not be able to be Corrected two hexes and still be closer to P6 than its then-present hex.
(If the Scenario Attacker's Correction note is "FFE:1", the same sequence of events will occur but the Barrage will attack the same Blast Area hexes twice (once as a FFE:1, then in his next DFPh as a FFE:2) before being Corrected [or Lifted] in his next PFPh.)
(If this were the end of the Scenario Attacker's Turn 1 DFPh instead of the beginning of his PFPh, the Creeping Barrage would Lift at the Start of his Turn 2 PFPh since he only allotted three Game Turns of use to it, two of which were unfortunately used in "pre-Game Turns".)
12.77 OBSERVER/
12.771 CONVERTING: If a SSR allots a radio for use with a Creeping Barrage, a Good Order Observer may attempt to gain normal Radio Contact and Battery Access (using its present draw pile) in an allowed phase after that in which the creeping Barrage Lifts. If he succeeds, that battery then becomes available for normal (Concentration/
EX: Continuing the previous example, assume that it is now the start of the Scenario Attacker's next friendly DFPh and the Creeping Barrage Lifts. If he has a Good Order Observer available in his next friendly PFPh, or next DFPh, etc., he may at that time use that Observer in an attempt to gain Radio Contact and Battery Access, thereby converting the battery to normal OBA use.
