ASL Side Chat – Basic AFV To Kill Example

We’re tackling how to resolve a kill against an Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV), a continuation of this video/article posted a few days ago. We’re breaking the two-hit process into smaller chunks, starting with armored targets because they’re easily the most complicated. Once you wrap your head around AFVs, resolving hits against infantry in terrain or stationary guns is a walk in the park.

The Battlefield

Picking up right where tutorial 25 left off, we have an American 57L AT gun manned by a crew in an orchard, staring down a stationary German Stug IIIG out in a field. In our last session, the American gun took a shot and successfully scored a hit. Now, we need to figure out exactly what that hit actually did to the tank. But once you secure a hit, what happens … what do you need to do. Here’s a summary flowchart of the To Kill process against an armored target (AFV).

Where Was It Hit?

First up, you have to determine exactly where the shell struck the vehicle. This involves two factors: the facing aspect (front, side, or rear) and the structural location (turret or hull). The facing aspect depends entirely on your line of sight and the target’s covered arc. If your line of sight crosses the front hex spine of the target, you hit the front armor. Even if the shot comes in right along the hex spine itself, the advantage goes to the target, and it counts as a frontal shot. In this case, the hit on the Stug IIIG impacts the front of the vehicle per the LOS.

Important! Do not mistake a vehicle’s CA with an incoming aspect hit. They’re two different things. An incoming shot can be outside a vehicle’s CA, but still count as a frontal armor impact per the rules. See the lower right image.

Hit Aspect

CA vs. Incoming Fire

Hit Location

For the structural location, look at the To Hit dice. If the colored TH die is lower than the white die, you hit the turret. If the colored TH die is greater than or equal to the white die, you smacked the hull. Knowing exactly where you hit is crucial, as many tanks feature different armor strengths on their turrets versus their hulls.

Crunching the Numbers

Once you know where you hit, grab the armor factor right off the target’s counter. For our Stug IIIG, the front armor factor (AF) is an 8, regardless of turret or hull hit. Next, you need to find your gun’s Basic TK# on the weapons chart. Looking at the black numbers for the American 57L, we get a Basic TK# number of 15.

From there, you calculate the Modified TK# number by adding any situational modifiers. There are only four main modifiers to worry about: hitting the rear-facing, hitting an aerial target, scoring a critical hit (which doubles your kill number and usually turns the tank into a burning wreck), or firing at specific ranges. In our example, the range is 14, which falls into the 13 to 18 range bracket. That bracket carries a zero modifier, so our Modified TK# number stays right at 15.

The Final TK# number is the easiest math of the day. Just take your Modified TK# number and subtract the target’s armor factor. We take our 15, subtract the Stug’s front armor factor of 8, and are left with a Final TK# number of 7. To cause any damage, our next dice roll needs to be a seven or lower.

Rolling for Destruction

Time to roll the dice and check the AFV Destruction Table (C7.7). In our example, we rolled a TK of 6. This is a “Direct Fire” shot using AP, and since 6 is < the Final TK# number of 7, the Stug is officially destroyed. It is not a burning wreck, however, because that requires rolling less than half of the Final TK#. We also make a quick crew survival roll, but with a roll of 5, the crew doesn’t make it out (the Stug has a CS of 4).

Depending on your roll versus the Final TK#, the destruction table can dish out a wide variety of results. If you roll strictly less than the number, the tank is toast. If you roll exactly equal to your number, you will shock or immobilize the vehicle (depending on the hit location), meaning it can’t move to a new hex, but it can still rotate its turret and return fire. Rolling one over the modified Final TK# will force a crew task check for a possible shock result.

Now get out there and move some steel around!

Academy Out!

GET TO THE CHOPPA…!!!

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