2017 64pgs - FOFRules2017
2017 64pgs - FOFRules2017
2017 64pgs - FOFRules2017
1.1 Concept
1.0 Introduction You use the following items to play the game: two decks of cards
Welcome to Fields of Fire (a Terrain Deck and an Action Deck), counters representing the
elements of the company and enemy units, and various mark-
Fields of Fire is a solitaire game that gives you the opportunity to
ers. The Terrain Deck forms a map on which to play a mission
command an infantry company in three different conflicts. This
(1.2.1). The Action Deck is used to generate events and resolve
means you make all the decisions for your units. Fields of Fire
various actions throughout the game, such as giving command
is a diceless game. Instead of dice, decks of cards are used to
and control capacity, resolving combat, etc.
generate the battlefield, to resolve combats, to provide possible
outcomes for your decisions, and to control the appearance and 1.1.1 Scale
activities of the enemy. This volume is completely standalone.
Everything you need to play is included in the box. There have A. Ground Scale
been a few changes to the base rules that are fully compatible Ground scale is abstract. Each Terrain card represents a geo-
with the first edition of Vol I but that smooth the edges without graphic area where company leaders can reasonably exercise
changing the core rules. command and control of their units through voice and hand
signals. The size of this area depends on the terrain, ranging
Volume I looks at a US Army rifle company from the 9th Infantry from 10-20 meters across in close terrain to 40-100+ meters in
Regiment in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Volume II is built more open terrain. Accordingly, Range and Line of Sight are
around a US Marine Corps rifle company from the 5th Marine abstract as well.
Regiment in the same three conflicts.
B. Time Scale
Fields of Fire is a complex game without being a complex game
The time of a turn is abstract, too, and typically represents 5 to
system. The basic components (movement, combat, orders,
30 minutes. Missions last a given number of turns, normally
communication, etc.) are very straightforward. Within each
10, but some may have more turns or fewer turns depending on
component there are multiple activities to choose. Each activity
the historical situation. The turn limit represents the cumulative
will have an outcome, some favorable and some not. The interac-
effect of fatigue and consumption of small arms ammunition.
tions created by your choices mean you always have decisions to
make. Each decision must be made for the game to continue. You C. Unit Scale
will constantly be prioritizing choices because of a continuous Infantry units have between one and four Steps with each Step
shortage of necessary resources. It will be these choicesyour representing two to four men (four step units appear in Vol. II,
choicesthat determine whether or not you emerge successfully With the Old Breed). Units with two to four Steps are called
from your mission. Thus the complexity lies in the interactions squads, and units with a single Step are called teams. A vehicle
created by your choices, not in game mechanics. Also, the game or aircraft unit represents a single vehicle or aircraft.
is heavy on actual military terminology and history. I encourage
1.1.2 Campaigns
you to familiarize yourself with the terminology and historical
notes. It will help you understand what is going on. Volume I of the game contains one campaign from World War
II, two from the Korean War, and one from the Vietnam War.
Your role in Fields of Fire is that of a company commander.
The choice of campaign dictates what units and equipment are
Your command will include three platoons, consisting of three
available, and which missions are to be completed. The corre-
squads each, plus supporting Weapons Teams (assigned either
sponding Campaign Instructions in the Briefing Booklets detail
to the platoons or directly to you). Additionally, you may also
friendly forces and equipment, as well as enemy forces that
have off map artillery. A Company Executive Officer, Company
may be encountered. Playing a campaign gives you the broader
First Sergeant, and Company Gunnery Sergeant will be present
experience of balancing mission accomplishment with sustaining
to assist you. Your task in Fields of Fire is to successfully guide
sufficient strength for the next mission.
your company through a campaign of a number of missions.
Before each mission you will have to formulate a plan of action 1.1.3 Missions
and allocate your limited resources. During the mission you will Each campaign has several missions that can be played stand-
issue orders to your units and choose the tactics to accomplish alone or in a series as part of a campaign. The Mission Instruc-
your objective. Your orders will win or lose the mission. After tions in the Briefing Booklets provide the rules and charts specific
the mission you will raise your Experience Levels and incor- to each mission. Playing a mission involves two distinct parts:
porate replacements for your casualties in preparation for the preparation and implementation. Preparation includes setup and
next mission. planning of the mission. Implementation is the movement and ac-
tion portion that is played in a series of game turns, each divided
into a sequence of phases. While playing a turn your command
elements receive Commands, which in turn are exchanged for
Actions. This process of gaining Commands and expending
them for Actions is the core engine of the game. Enemy forces
enter play automatically as governed by the rules and mission
charts, and Activity Checks guide their Actions. The sequence
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
Fields of Fire | Rulebook 3
of play differs slightly depending on whether you are attacking Cover & Concealment
or defending. Dark Border blocks LOS & gets higher Cover & Concealment
Clear Border doesnt block LOS & gets lower Cover & Concealment
1.2 Components
There are several types of components used during play. This
section provides the orientation and location of information on
the components, and the following sections detail how they all Special
work together. Instructions
Area
Volume I of the game contains the following:
This Rule Book
Two Briefing Booklets
One Normandy Terrain Deck (55 cards) Terrain
One Korea Terrain Deck (55 cards) depiction
One Vietnam Lowlands Terrain Deck (55 cards)
One Action Deck (55 cards)
Four two-sided hint cards and one reshuffle card
Urban
Five sheets of 5/8" counters & markers (total of 880) Cover
Six Player Aid Cards:
One 11"x17" Charts & Tables card
One 8.5" x 11" Enemy Activity card B. Trafficability
One 8.5" x 11" Force Packages card A tank icon with SLOW or NO on it indicates the card has
One 8.5" x 11" Vehicle and AT Weapons Chart limited trafficability to all vehicles. SLOW means a vehicle
One 8.5" x 11" Helicopter Control Card must stop moving when it enters that card. NO means a vehicle
One 8.5" x 11" Command Display may not enter the card (7.3.1).
One 8.5" x 11" Mission Log Pad SLOW GO or NO GO
SLOW: Vehicles must stop when entering
1.2.1 Terrain Cards NO: Vehicles may not enter
Each campaign has a specific Terrain Deck that represents terrain
typical to that area. During Play, you randomly lay out Terrain
cards in a grid of rows and columns as indicated for each mission
to create the map on which the game is played.
Incoming
A. Cover & Concealment VOF
Modifier
The number in the circle in the upper left indicates the intrinsic (1.2.1H)
defensive value of the terrain on the card, and benefits all units
that occupy that card.
Some cards have two values. Direct fire across a dark border Terrain
uses the higher Cover & Concealment value. All other fire uses depiction
the lower value (including fire originating from within the card).
Note that the higher number is in larger font, above and to the
left of the lower number (1.2.1C).
Number
of Cover
markers
possible
Number of draws
for Cover allowed
card diagonally adjacent. Use the dashed area on the appropriate 1.2.2 Action Cards
side when fire enters from a card orthogonally adjacent. Action cards are used in all campaigns. They serve the purpose
Terrain Type that charts and dice serve in many traditional war games.
Card Number
LOS
Borders Contact,
Activated Cover, or
Commands Rally
Special
Instructions Spotted,
Area Initiative Concentrate
Commands Fire,
Grenade!,
Call for
Terrain Fire, or
depiction Combat Infiltration
Resolution Area
Anti-tank
Number
Hit Effect
Random Area
Number
D. Hills Section
You place other Terrain cards on top of Hill cards to raise the Higher HQ Event
elevation of the top card by one level. Multiple hills may be
played on top of each other, each one raising the level by one. A. Command Section
It helps to offset a Terrain card slightly from the underlying Hill This section at the top left of each card has two numbers, a large
card so it is easily recognizable (5.2.2). one in a helmet on the top left, and a smaller one in a US star
symbol below and to the right of the first number. The number
E. LZ Potential in the helmet indicates how many commands are available to
In campaigns where helicopters are used, a helicopter icon indi- an HQ when it is Activated (operating under the command of
cates the card may be used as a Landing Zone (7.3.2). its Higher HQ, 3.3). The smaller number in the star symbol tells
F. Potential Cover how many commands are available to an HQ that has not been
Potential Cover is an abstraction of finding and using specific lo- activated (operating on its own initiative, 3.3).
cations within a card that incrementally add to the intrinsic Cover B. Action Attempt Section
of the card. On the lower left of each card is an icon (usually a The whole upper right quadrant of the cardin the darker
tree or a building) containing a number. That number indicates rectangleis the Action Attempt Section, and the items in that
the maximum number of Cover markers that can be found on the section (such as Contact, Spotted, Higher HQ, and Anti-
card. On the lower center of each card is an icon of cards, also tank Number) are described elsewhere in the rules.
containing a number. That number indicates how many cards to
draw when attempting to locate a Cover marker (5.2.3; 1.2.4D). C. Combat Resolution
This section appears along the left side of the card and vertically
G. Elevation /Multi-Story lists numbers from 4 to +6 and HIT, PIN, or MISS. The number
Some cards have an icon in the upper right that indicates if the is the net modifier for Volume of Fire plus Cover & Concealment
card contains elevation differences (plus or minus one level) or and various other conditions. The words HIT, PIN, or MISS
a multistory building (5.2.2). indicate whether the target has taken effective fire.
H. Incoming VOF Modifier D. Hit Effect Section
If a card has a Burst icon on it, apply the number in that icon as This section is just below the Action Attempt section and is used
a modifier to any Incoming Volume of Fire (VOF) (6.2.2). when an infantry unit is HIT to determine the effect of that hit
I. Capacity based on the Experience Level of the target unit (Veteran, Line,
Though it is not printed on the cards, every card has a maximum or Green).
capacity for any one side of 16 Steps and 4 vehicles. As long as
Steps are embarked on the vehicles they do not count against
this limit.
E. Random Number Section (R#) less rifles. Weapons teams that are larger than one Step are
Along the bottom of the card is the random number generator. treated as squads
Many game functions require that something be determined E. Vehicles /Aircraft
randomly among a variety of options. The top number is the
Each of these units represents a single vehicle or
number of options and the bottom number is the result to use.
aircraft. Additional information for vehicles and
For example, you may need to determine which of 3 options to
aircraft that would not fit conveniently on the coun-
use, so you draw a card, find the 3 column, and see a 2 under the
ter is located on the Player Aid card.
3. In this case, you would use option 2.
F. Limited Action Teams (LATs)
F. Drawing Cards
These units are one Step units labeled as Assault,
To ensure the Action deck is randomized sufficiently to give the
Fire, Litter, or Paralyzed Teams. They are created
proper distribution of results, most activities require a number
during the course of play by combat or by command.
of cards be drawn. Always draw the full number to determine the
Each has its own set of limitations (4.2.5).
result; do not draw until a result happens and then stop short.
If you encounter the reshuffle card, finish drawing the cards, G. Casualties
reshuffle all cards, including the reshuffle card. Note that the These are one Step units that represent soldiers killed
reshuffle card does not count as one of the required card draws. or injured enough to be hors de combat. These units
have no capability. They exist only to be poten-
1.2.3 Units
tially evacuated or captured. They do not count
Any non-vehicle unit is an infantry unit and has a unit identifier, against card or cover capacity limits.
a unit symbol, possibly a Volume of Fire (VOF) Rating, a number
of Steps, and a Range Rating. H. Staff
These are one Step units that assist the Company
A. Squads
HQ or the Higher HQ. For the Company level these
A squad is a unit of two or more Steps and is the primary infantry are the Executive Officer (XO) and the first Sergeant
combat unit of maneuver in the game. (1st Sgt). For Marines there is the Company Gunnery
Unit ID Sergeant (GySgt). The XO is the second-in-command, the
Volume of Fire Range 1stSgt is the senior enlisted advisor to the Company Com-
S = Small Arms P = Point Blank (same card) mander, and the GySgt is the senior enlisted tactical advisor to
A = Automatic Weapons C = Close (adjacent card) the Company Commander (Note: For game purposes, the
G! = Grenade L = Long (second card)
S! = Sniper V = Very Long (third card) 1stSgt and GySgt are functionally equivalent). At the higher HQ
level the term Staff encompasses the Regimental or Brigade
Steps Commander (Rgt/Bde Cmdr), Battalion Commander (Bn Cmdr),
or the Battalion Operations Officer (BN S-3). The two levels,
B. Headquarters (HQs) Company and Higher, function differently in the course of the
These are one Step units that function as the com- game. All Battalion Level Staff and higher HQ units are consid-
mand elements of the Company. They have no VOF ered to have an Experience Level of Line.
or Range Ratings listed on the front. This is its
command side, used when the unit commands itself I. Runners
and other units to perform actions. The reverse side is its Fire These are one step units with no ratings. They allow
Team side that has VOF and Range Ratings. The Fire Team side the Company HQ to communicate with a Platoon
is used when the unit engages directly in combat. An HQ on its HQ when no radio or telephone network is available.
Fire Team side can no longer command other units, only itself
(4.1.4). 1.2.4 Markers
C. Forward Observers (FOs)/Spotters Fields of Fire uses a variety of markers to reduce both paper
These are one Step units whose purpose is to call in record keeping and the amount of information the player needs
indirect Fire Missions from mortars, artillery, or to to remember.
control close air support. They have no VOF or A. Combat (VOF, PDF, Concentrated Fire, Crossfire)
Range listed on the front, which is the observer side. Use these to help determine the Net Combat Modi-
On the back is the Fire Team side that has VOF and Range Rat- fier (NCM) when resolving combat (6.2 and 6.3).
ings and is used when the unit engages directly in combat. Such
a unit cannot call in fire when it is on its Fire Team side.
B. Exposed/Pin
D. Weapons Teams Use the front side of these to mark units Exposed
These are one Step units that represent the crew that during movement. Use the reverse side for units that
operates specific crew-served weapons such as are pinned during combat. Each side has a modifier
machine guns, rocket launchers, mortars, and recoil- that is part of the Net Combat Modifier (NCM) for
any marked units.
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
6 Fields of Fire | Rulebook
Chain of Command: Military units have rigid structures so gains Experience Points, which increase the Experience Level
they can function in the chaos of combat. All units belong to of surviving units for the next mission.
a particular Headquarters (HQ) at the beginning of a mission. Fire Support: Off map firing units, like field artillery, mortars,
Units can only receive Commands to perform Actions from their etc. that are available to provide heavier fire than that typically
HQ or an HQ higher in the chain. For game purposes, the chain produced from within the Rifle Company on the game map. Dif-
goes down from Regimental/Battalion HQ (which is usually off ferent organizations (called firing agencies) are often available.
map) to Company HQ, then to Platoon HQs. Each HQ can only When their fire is requested, it is referred to as a Fire Mission.
issue Commands to subordinate units and HQs, and to itself. For Mission Instructions list what fire agencies are available, the
example, a unit of the 1st Platoon receives orders from the 1st types of Fire Missions they may fire, who the eligible observers
Platoons HQ. The 1st PLT HQ is subordinate to the CO HQ. are, and the number of Action Cards to draw when requesting
The CO HQ is subordinate to the Battalion HQ, which is subor- a Fire Mission.
dinate to the Regimental HQ and so on. This means that a unit
of the 1st Platoon can receive orders from the 1st PLT HQ, CO Good Order Unit: This is any Infantry unit that is not a Limited
HQ, Battalion HQ, Regimental HQ, or their Staffs, but it cannot Action Team and not Pinned.
receive orders from the 2nd PLT HQ. Limited Action Teams may Illuminated: A Terrain card lit by illumination devices.
receive orders from any HQ or Staff unit. Infantry Unit: Any unit that is not a vehicle is an Infantry unit.
Combat Units: Combat units include any Good Order units, If the term unit is used in the rules, assume it is an Infantry unit.
Assault and Fire Teams, Vehicles, and any other unit with a Occupied, Unoccupied, Cleared, and Secured Cards: A Ter-
printed VOF value. rain card is Occupied if there is at least one unit on the card. De-
Commands and Actions: HQs exert command and control pending on the unit(s) present, the card can be friendly-occupied,
through the use of Commands. The more Commands held by enemy-occupied, or jointly-occupied (i.e., with units from both
an HQ, the greater its ability to direct its units in achieving their sides present). A Terrain card is Unoccupied if there is no enemy
objective. You get Commands for an HQ by drawing an Action unit or Potential Contact marker on the card. A Cleared card is an
card and consulting the Command Section of the card (1.2.2.a) unoccupied card that previously had a Potential Contact marker
to determine the number of Activated or Initiative Commands and is being counted for the purpose of achieving a mission. A
received. HQs then expend Commands for Actions, causing Secured card is a card that is both friendly-occupied and cleared.
units to perform various activities such as moving, firing, and Ignore any enemy casualties or VOF markers on a card when
rallying (4.0). determining if the card is unoccupied or cleared.
Convert: To convert a unit means to change a units ability as Primary Direction of Fire (PDF): A marker which indicates
the result of combat and Actions. You convert Steps, Teams, and the direction to a given units VOF marker. A PDF marker is not
Limited Action Teams into various Limited Action Teams as you placed if you engage an enemy unit on your same card (Point
play out a mission. Blank, 1.2.7). Spotting for Fire Missions does not place PDF
markers.
Current Activity Level: An indication of the relative intensity
of the situation during a mission. The Current Activity Level Reconstitute: To reconstitute means to make a battlefield promo-
affects the ability to command, as well as controlling the rate at tion of a Good Order unit to replace (between missions) the CO
which enemy forces come into play. There are four levels: No HQ or a Platoon HQ that was removed from play OR to put a
Contact, Contact, Engaged and Heavily Engaged (9.1). squad back into play (during a mission) from 2 or 3 teams (10.2).
No Contact: No VOF or PDF markers are on the map and Removed from Play: Remove from the map any unit replaced
no enemy units have been spotted. by other counters, such as a squad that drops below two Steps
Contact: One friendly- or enemy-occupied card is under a and becomes a Fire Team or any team that is converted to a Litter
VOF marker, and/or there is at least one spotted enemy unit Team, Paralyzed Team, or Casualty. A unit removed in this way
on the map. can only be returned via reconstituting (10.2).
Engaged: Two or more friendly- and/or enemy-occupied Special VOFs (these require an attempt): Sniper, Incoming,
cards are under VOF markers. Mines, Grenade, Demolition Charge, and Flamethrower. Special
Heavily Engaged: Two or more friendly- and/or enemy- VOFs have specific conditions governing their use.
occupied cards are under VOF markers, and at least one card Staging Areas: Off map areas that are an abstraction of areas not
has both enemy and friendly units on it. directly involved in the combat. Units move to and from Stag-
Engaged: A unit projecting a VOF marker. ing Areas during the course of a mission. These areas are never
directly involved in combat.
Experience Level: A units experience governs its chances of
Steps: A step is the common measurement of unit size in the
successfully completing Actions. Experienced units are more
game. Units have between one and four steps, with each step
likely to complete Actions successfully. All Infantry units have
representing between two and four men. Units with two or more
an Experience Level of Green, Line, or Veteran. Units start a
steps may break down into different units during play, either
campaign at the Experience Level prescribed by the Campaign
voluntarily or as a result of combat. Because these units have
Section in the Briefings Booklet. During a mission, the Company
various weapons, a diagram is provided at the end of the rules 1.2.7 Common Abbreviations
to show how various units break down.
Other Abbreviations
Team: A Team is any 1-Step unit. There are several varieties of
Teams used in the game. BDE Brigade
BN Battalion
FO Team: A forward observer unit that provides fire support
from off-map agencies such as artillery, mortars, and aircraft. CAS Close Air Support
Weapons Team: A unit composed of a particular weapon and CO Company
its crew, including machine guns, automatic rifles, recoilless FA Field Artillery
rifles, and mortars. FAC Forward Air Controller
Limited Action Team (LAT): A unit created by Commands FD Fire Direction
or as the result of combat during the Combat Effects Phase. FM Fire Mission(s)
As their name suggests, they have limits on their abilities. FO Forward Observer
LAT is a collective abbreviation referring to the four types HQ Headquarters
of LATs: LAT Limited Action Team
Assault, LOS Line of Sight
Fire, LZ Landing Zone
Litter, and MTR Mortar
Paralyzed Teams
NCM Net Combat Modifier
Command & Control Team: All HQs, Staff, and runner NET Network (Phone or Radio)
units. PDF Primary Direction of Fire
Vehicle: Vehicles include helicopters and tracked, half- PLT Platoon
tracked, and wheeled vehicles (7.0).
RCL Recoilless Rifle
Volume of Fire (VOF): Volume of Fire represents the type of
RGT Regiment
fire that affects the occupants of a Terrain Card. It is used to
RKT Rocket Launcher
determine the Net Combat Modifier for resolving combat. See
Basic VOF and Special VOF. Sgt Sergeant
Sqd Squad
TCM Tactical Control Marker
TM Team
VOF Volume of Fire
XO Executive Officer
2.3 Organize Your Company Many tactical controls are unique to certain types of missions.
Consult the Mission Details to determine the type of mission
2.3.1 Fill Out the Mission Log and where and how to place the appropriate Tactical Control
All of the information that you need to fill out the Mission Log markers (TCM).
before start of play can be found in either the Campaign Instruc- A. Offensive Mission TCM
tions or the Mission Information. Note the Experience Level and
Offensive Missions use the following linear TCM: Right and
ammunition for all available units and record information about
Left Boundaries, Line of Departure (LOD), Phase Lines (PL),
available fire support.
and Limit of Advance (LOA).
2.3.2 Distribute Assets The Line of Departure represents the official starting line for an
The Campaign Instructions may specify how some assets must attack. It runs horizontally across the map. Unless the Mission
be assigned. Apart from that, you will have leeway in assigning Instructions specify otherwise, place it between the Staging Area
assets to Platoon HQs, Company HQ, Company Staff, or other (2.4.2) and Row 1.
units as you see fit. For HQ and Staff place assets as desired Phase Lines are used to coordinate advancing units. You can
among the appropriate holding boxes on the Command Display place up to two PLs, and they must run horizontally across the
for convenience, otherwise stack the asset with the unit that map. You can use them to key Actions with Pyrotechnic signals.
will carry it.
The Left and Right Boundaries are fixed boundaries that your
2.3.3 Note Attached Units, Assets, and Pyrotechnic units may not cross at any time. Place these vertically, along the
Signals on the Mission Log left-most and right-most columns of Terrain cards. Important:
In addition to your three infantry Platoons and your command though your units can never cross these boundaries, enemy units
Staff, you will also have at your disposal a variety of other may be placed outside them when Random Contacts are resolved.
units, including weapons teams, vehicles, and off-map mortar/ They also may move outside those boundaries during the Enemy
artillery forward observers (FO). Before the mission starts, you Activity Check Segment. In such cases, your units may fire across
will have to designate the command relationship for each on the a boundary line, but may never move across it.
Mission Log. Design Note: In real life combat situations, Left and Right
On the Mission Log, note how you have decided to assign units Boundaries would prevent adjacent companies from wander-
given to your Company in the Campaign Instructions but not ing across your companys front, and you from wandering
assigned to a particular HQ. Units that are assigned to you in the across their front.
Mission Instructions automatically have an Experience Level of
The Limit of Advance marks the line beyond which you may not
Line. They do not gain experience over the course of a campaign,
advance during this mission. Place it horizontally, along the top-
unlike units listed in the Campaign Instructions as part of your
most row of Terrain cards. As with the Left and Right Boundaries,
Company. A unit attached to a Platoon is considered part of that
enemy units may enter play and move beyond the LOA; your
Platoon for all purposes for the duration of the mission. A unit
units may fire across it but never move across it.
may not be reassigned to a different HQ or Company Staff during
the course of a mission. In short, the linear controls form a box outside of which your
units may not move during a mission, although enemy units may
You should also assign specific instructions to your Pyrotechnic
appear, move and fire at yours from beyond those boundaries.
signals (4.3.6), since the whole point of using such signals is that
everyone understands in advance what they will mean when they Offensive Missions use the following point TCM:
are used on the battlefield. Attack Position (AP),
Primary Objective (OBJ 1) and
2.4 Determine Tactical Reference Points Secondary Objective (OBJ 2).
Before you begin a mission, you receive from higher up the chain The Objectives represent physical locations that you must oc-
of command strict geographical limits within which your Com- cupy. The Attack Position is your last covered and concealed
pany can operate. Within that area, you will also have to point position before you reach an objective. Players generally have
out specific objectives for your own reference. These controls some leeway in placing Objective and Attack Position TCMs,
exist to coordinate maneuver and fire support, and also to prevent but must adhere to any restrictions in the Mission Instructions.
friendly fire. Commanders draw these controls on their tactical
A Tip: It is best to designate an AP that is adjacent to both
maps; they are represented here by Tactical Control markers.
Objectives, and if possible you should place the Objective
2.4.1 Place Tactical Control Markers TCMs on cards with high Cover & Concealment ratings so that
There are two types of tactical controls in Fields of Fire: Linear you can defend them relatively easily once you occupy them.
and Point. Linear controls follow the seams between rows or
columns of Terrain cards. Point controls are placed on a card
and are specific to that card.
B. Defensive Mission TCM A Line of Sight exists for communication purposes between all
Defensive Missions use only one Linear TCM: the Main Line cards in the Main Staging Area. This means that within the Main
of Resistance (MLR). This represents the line before which the Staging Area, you may automatically use all radios that require an
enemy advance must be stopped. In a Defensive Mission, you LOS between units. All cards in the Staging Area are connected
may set up your units between the Staging Area and the Main by phone lines. Thus Telephones used within the Main Staging
Line of Resistance. The Mission Instructions will tell you where Area do not need to be connected by wire.
to place the MLR. B. Helicopter Staging Areas
Defensive Missions may also allow you to place a Combat Some missions in the Vietnam campaign require Staging Areas
Outpost (COP) Point TCM. A Combat Outpost is a position for helicopters: the Pickup Zone, Inbound, Outbound, and Loiter
set up in front of your MLR in order to confuse and break up Areas. Do not treat these as being adjacent to the map, like the
an enemy attack. You may place units from a single Platoon up Main Staging Area. Therefore, units may not use normal move-
to the stacking limit in a COP. You may also have two other ment to enter the map from a Helicopter Staging Area. A card is
Point TCM available to you: Final Protective Lines (FPL) and provided to keep track of helicopter staging areas, with one side
Final Protective Fires (FPF). These are prepared defensive fire for Army and the other for Marine helicopters. There is no prac-
schemes, and they are covered in detail in the combat rules (6.4.2 tical difference between the two beyond the historical pictures.
and 6.7.2, respectively).
No Line of Sight may be traced into or out of a Helicopter Stag-
C. Combat Patrol TCM ing Area.
Combat Patrol Missions use one Linear TCM: the Main Line
2.4.3 Air/Amphibious Assault Planning
of Resistance, which marks the point from which the patrol sets
out from friendly lines. Some missions begin with an Air or Amphibious Assault, in
which your units enter the map by helicopter, amphibious tractor,
Otherwise, Combat Patrol Missions use Point TCM. Use the or landing craft. In these missions, the transportation available
Primary Objective (OBJ 1) to mark the farthest point from the may have to make multiple trips to bring in all of your units. In
MLR that the patrol is supposed to reach. You will also have such cases you must create a Landing Plan before play begins,
to designate Route Points to mark out the path that the patrol in which you specify the order in which your units will be trans-
must follow. This route may cross or come back on itself, so it ported to the map (7.4.5).
is possible for a single Terrain card to have more than one Route
Point marker on it. Note: Amphibious assault rules will appear in Vol II: With
the Old Breed.
D. General Purpose TCM
Several different Point TCM may be available to you if circum-
stances warrant, regardless of mission type. Some of them must
be placed before play starts, or they may be placed as the mission 3.0 Sequence of Play
is in progress. These are: Once you have completed your planning and setup, you play out
Landing Zones (LZ; 7.3.2), a mission in turns. Each turn is broken down into Phases and
Casualty Collection Points and MEDEVAC LZs (5.1.7), and Impulses. Note that Offensive Missions and Combat Patrols use
Registered Targets (6.7.5). the same sequence. Defensive Missions follow a slightly different
sequence (see sequence below and Turn Sequence Summary).
2.4.2 Staging Areas
A Staging Area is a designated assembly area in which units
3.1 Friendly Higher HQ Event Phase
prepare for an upcoming mission. In Fields of Fire, the Main
Staging Area is represented by a row of face-down Terrain cards (Starting on Turn 2)
(do not use Terrain cards from the campaign you are playing. Starting on Turn 2, draw an Action card. If the Higher HQ icon is
Use cards from a different campaign). Use the Helicopter Control present, draw another Action card and check the R# under 10
Card to manage helicopter staging areas. In game terms, Staging and compare to the Friendly Higher HQ Events chart in the Mis-
Areas function as off-map holding boxes from which your units sion Instructions to determine what event takes place. For some
enter the map. events you get experience only if you accomplish the event that
Units in a Staging Area may not fire and they cannot be fired turn, but doing so is optional. You may choose to forego the ex-
upon. Staging Area cards have no stacking limits. perience if you feel you have more pressing matters. Commands
required to be spent by an event must come from the CO HQ.
A. The Main Staging Area
Units enter and exit the map to and from a Main Staging Area
by normal movement. Units may move between cards in a Main
Staging Area as if they were moving between Terrain cards and
are not marked Exposed.
3.2 Defensive Missions: Enemy Activity Phase Note: The BN HQ is considered to be on the map if any higher
Note that both Enemy Activity Phases are identical, but its place HQ leader (Rgt/Bde Cmdr, Bn Cmdr, or the Bn XO/S-3) is
in the Sequence of Play may change based on the type of mis- on the map.
sion (3.4).
B. Company HQ (CO HQ) Impulse
3.2.1 Enemy Higher HQ Event Segment If activated by the BN HQ, draw an Action card for the CO HQ,
(Starting on Turn 2) giving it a number of commands this turn equal to the Activated
Commands number (in the helmet) on the Action card, as modi-
Starting on Turn 2, draw an Action Card. If the Higher HQ Event
fied by the Command Draw Modifiers Chart (4.1.2). Then expend
icon is present, draw another Action Card and check the R# under
these commands for Actions (subject to the limitations in 4.13)
10 and compare to the Enemy Higher HQ Events in the Mission
as per the Action Menu (4.2) on any friendly units in play and
Instructions to determine what event takes place.
in communication and have those units execute the Actions. You
3.2.2 Enemy Activity Check Segment may also save the commands up to the maximums (defined by
Except for turn 1, place PC markers on cards or rows as indicated Experience Level and time of day). You may expend previously
by the Mission Instructions. (You dont need to do this on Turn saved commands at this time, too.
1 because PC markers were placed during setup.) Check every You may also activate a PLT HQ or CO Staff this Impulse if it is
enemy unit on the map for activity, keeping in mind any restric- on the same card as a runner in Good Order that was dispatched
tions imposed by a Higher HQ event. on a previous turn. Return the runner to the CO HQ and mark
Draw an Action Card to randomly determine the order in which it Exposed. You may dispatch the returned runner the same
you check enemy-occupied cards. Count the number of enemy- Impulse it returns.
occupied cards, assign each a number, then check under that R# C. Platoon HQ (PLT HQ) or Company Staff (CO Staff) Impulse
to see which card is selected (e.g., you count 6 enemy-occupied Draw an Action card for each PLT HQ or CO Staff activated
cards, so you number them 1-6. Checking under R# 6 you see in the preceding Impulse, in any order you choose, and give it
a 4. The card you had previously assigned the number 4 is se- a number of commands this turn equal to the modified (4.1.2)
lected). On the selected card check enemy units in order based Activated Commands number. Then expend these commands
on their status as shown in the Activity Check Hierarchy tables, for Actions (subject to the limitations in 4.13) on any friendly
starting at the top (9.4). units in play and in communication (4.2). You may expend a
PLT HQ command only on units that belong to or are attached
3.3 Friendly Command Phase to that HQs Platoon. You may also save the commands up to
During this phase you have the units in the Company perform the maximums (defined by Experience Level and time of day).
Actions, including movement- and combat-related activities. You may expend previously saved commands at this time, too.
Units perform Actions when ordered to do so by expending You must finish spending Commands from one PLT HQ or CO
Commands. The sequence in which you activate units within the Staff unit before expending Commands from another such unit.
Command Phase flows down the chain of command from higher
to lower, from Battalion to Company to Platoon. HQs are either
3.3.2 Initiative Segment
Activated by their Higher HQ or they take the Initiative (3.3.2). A. CO HQ Impulse (if not activated)
HQs that are Activated tend to have more commands than those If you did not Activate the CO HQ in the preceding segment,
taking the Initiative. Draws for command points have modifiers draw an Action card for it and give it a number of commands this
based on the HQs Experience Level and its current situation turn equal to the modified (4.1.2) Initiative Commands number
(where it is located, if it is under enemy fire, etc.; 4.1). If you (in the US Star symbol) on the Action card. Expend commands
activate a vehicle unit at any time during the phase, place an (4.1.3; 4.2) or save them just as in the command Impulses during
Activated marker on it as a reminder that it will act later during the Activation Segment.
the Vehicle-Aircraft Phase.
B. PLT HQ Impulse (if not activated)
3.3.1 Activation Segment For each PLT HQ you did not activate in the preceding segment,
A. Battalion HQ (BN HQ) Impulse draw an Action card for it and give it a number of commands this
turn equal to the modified (4.1.2) Initiative Commands number.
If the BN HQ is on the map, automatically give it the maximum
Expend commands (4.1.3; 4.2) or save them just as in the com-
number of allowable Commands: 6 for a daytime mission or 4
mand Impulses during the Activation Segment. You may expend a
for a limited visibility mission. (The number track on the Com-
PLT HQ command only on units that belong to or are attached to
mand Display contains reminders of these limits.) Then expend
that HQs Platoon. You must finish spending Commands from one
the Commands on any friendly units in play and in communica-
PLT HQ before expending Commands from another such unit.
tion, including activating the CO HQ. You cannot save BN HQ
Commands. If the BN HQ is not on the map, and the CO HQ
is in communication with the BN HQ, automatically Activate
the CO HQ.
C. CO Staff Impulse (if not activated) 3.6 Mutual (Friendly & Enemy) Vehicle-Aircraft
Give one Command to each CO Staff you did not activate in the Phase
preceding segment. You may expend Commands (4.1.3; 4.2) or
save them just as you did in the Command Impulses during the You may move and/or fire any activated vehicles in play (7).
Activation Segment (Exception: CO Staff may not use Initia- If both sides have activated vehicles, alternate their move and
tive commands to activate PLT HQs). You must finish spending fire, one at a time, with the friendly player going first during
Commands from one CO Staff unit before expending Commands Offensive Missions or Combat Patrols and second during De-
from another such unit. fensive Missions. Conduct all vehicle combat. Flip each units
Activated marker to its Moved/Fired side when you finish that
D. General Initiative Impulse units activation.
Draw an Action card and expend a number of Commands equal to
the unmodified Initiative Commands number on any unit in play 3.7 Mutual (Friendly & Enemy) Combat Phase
(4.2). You do not have to have an HQ or Staff unit issue these
commands. If the mission is a Combat Patrol, halve that number, Conduct all infantry combat in this phase (6.1). This is an ab-
rounding any fractions down. Do not apply the normal Command straction of the cumulative Action that occurs throughout the
Draw modifiers to this draw. These Commands cannot be saved time covered by the turn.
(General Initiative commands cannot be used to Activate HQs). 3.7.1 Volume of Fire (VOF) Segment
Use Volume of Fire (VOF), Primary Direction of Fire (PDF),
3.4 Offensive Missions & Combat Patrols: Concentrate Fire, Grenade, Grenade Miss, Demo, Demo Miss,
Enemy Activity Phase and Crossfire markers when determining the Net Combat Modi-
Follow the same sequence as Phase 3.2, except do not place new fier (6.3). Adjust these markers as the situation changes on the
PC markers each turn during the Activity Check Segmentuse map in either of the Enemy Activity Phases (3.2 and 3.4), the
the ones placed during the setup for the mission. Implement any Command Phase (3.3), or the Combat Phase (3.7).
Enemy Higher HQ Event immediately. Do not perform any fur- A. Update Fire Missions
ther Activity Checks this turn for units affected by those events. Remove existing Incoming! and Air Strike VOF markers (6.7).
Flip Pending Fire Mission markers to their active sides. Adjust
3.5 Mutual (Friendly & Enemy) Capture & the Current Activity marker as needed.
Retreat Phase B. Evaluate Potential Contact Markers
Paralyzed or Litter Teams are captured if they are on a card with Resolve the Potential Contact for each Terrain card containing
enemy Good Order units, Assault Teams, or Fire Teams, and there both a Potential Contact marker and a friendly unit by drawing
are no other friendly forces on the card (9.13). a number of Action cards based on type of PC marker and the
Paralyzed Teams from either side that are on a card with a VOF Current Activity Level as shown on the Potential Contact Draw
marker and not Pinned or captured must retreat one card. The Chart (9.1.5). Contact is made if one of the Action cards con-
priority is to a card not under a VOF that has better net NCM tains the word Contact! If more than one PC marker needs to be
and is towards the Teams edge of the map or LZ (6.3). In case resolved, do it in al- phabetical order. Resolve multiple markers
of possible retreat locations with equal NCMs, draw an Action of the same letter in random order (9.1.5).
Card and use the R# to determine randomly. Mark a retreating If enemy units are contacted, use the appropriate Potential Con-
Paralyzed Team as Exposed. tact Table (per Mission Instructions) to determine which enemy
Retreat by one card any Litter Team plus one Casualty from package is coming into play. Place the units in that package on
either side that is on a card with a VOF marker and not Pinned. the map according to the missions PC Placement Table and
The unpinned, retreating Litter Team will automatically pick the rules for placement (9.2). Have any eligible friendly units
up the casualty if neither is under a Cover marker or if both are automatically engage the new units by placing any applicable
under the same Cover marker. The priority is to a card not under VOF and PDF markers (6.1.1). Update the Mission Log to add
a VOF that has better cover (i.e., a Terrain Card where the net the new enemy units. If necessary, immediately change the state
cover modifier is higher than that of the currently occupied card) of the Current Activity marker, then resolve the next PC marker,
and is towards the Teams edge of the map or LZ. Mark a retreat- possibly based on a new Current Activity Level (9.1.5).
ing Litter Team as Exposed. The Litter Team does not retreat if
3.7.2 Combat Effects Segment
there are no Casualty steps (Note: Any enemy unit that retreats
off map is removed from play). Any Pinned units not under any VOF remove their Pinned mark-
ers. Determine the Net Combat Modifier (6.3) for every infantry
unit on a card with a VOF marker and then draw an Action card
(6.3.1) to determine if the fire has affected the unit (6.3.2). If the
unit is hit, draw a second Action card to determine the effect of
the hit based on the units Experience Level (6.3.3). Also resolve
any Mine VOF attacks that have been triggered previously this
Activated
number of
Commands
Initiative
number of
Commands
Command Example:
1. CO HQ is automati-
cally activated unless
Higher HQ is in play.
An Action card is drawn
and the number of com-
mands is in the helmet/
larger number in the
upper left.
2. 3 PLT HQ is in the same card and not under a cover marker. The CO
HQ expends one command to activate 3 PLT HQ.
3. In the Activated Staff/PLT HQ segment, 3 PLT HQ draws a single
Action card and receives the number of commands in the box on the
upper left.
4. 3 PLT HQ expends one command to order 1st squad/3rd Platoon to
move.
5. The CO HQ could have ordered 1/3 directly but as a company has 9
squads and weapons teams, it is inefficient for the CO HQ to do so. It is
4 best to use the chain of command as much as possible.
3 5 6. The CO HQ is in communication with 2 PLT HQ in the next card
via SCR536 radio. Radios, phones, pyrotechnic signals and runners all
2 work to extend the ability of an HQ to command units in other cards. A
6 command is expended to activate 2nd PLT HQ.
7. 2nd PLT HQ then expends a command to order 2nd Squad/2nd Platoon
to do something. Note: The CO HQ is unable to command 2/2 directly
1 7 as the squad does not have a radio.
If neither PLT HQ was activated, it would draw for initiative and receive
the number of commands indicated in the square/smaller number in the
upper left of the Action card.
HQ, CO HQ or Staff, Battalion HQ or Staff, but it cannot receive the helmet icon) is the number of available Commands. This
orders from the 2nd PLT HQ. Limited Action Teams may receive number may be modified by the conditions in 4.1.2. Subject
orders from any HQ or Staff unit. to the limitations in 4.1.3, CO HQ/PLT HQ/CO Staff Initiative
Commands (including saved Commands) may be expended on
4.1 Commands any friendly subordinate units in play and in communication, or
they may be saved.
During the Friendly Command Phase HQs receive Commands.
The sequence in which you activate units flows down the chain General Initiative Impulse
of command from higher to lower, from Battalion to Company Draw an Action card. The number in the star icon is the num-
to Platoon. HQs are either Activated by their Higher HQ or they ber of available Commands. If the mission is a Combat Patrol,
take the Initiative. HQs that are Activated by their Higher HQ halve this number, rounding down any fractions. Do not apply
tend to have more commands than those taking the Initiative. All the normal Command Draw modifiers to this draw. You do not
Commands must be used or saved during the Impulse in which need an HQ or Staff unit to issue these Commands. Being in
they are received; i.e. a CO HQ Command cannot be used during communication is not required. Expend the commands on any
the PLT HQ Impulse. You choose the order that PLT HQ or CO units in play. General Initiative Commands cannot be saved.
Staff draw for Commands in the Impulse they are activated or
in the Initiative Impulse. When an HQ or Staff draws for Com-
4.1.2 Modifications to the Command Draw
mands it must use, save, or lose the excess before another HQ When drawing for Commands, whether in the Activation Seg-
or Staff draws. ment or the Initiative Segment (but never in the General Initiative
Segment), modify the number on the Action card as follows:
4.1.1 Obtaining Commands
A. If the HQ or Staff is
Battalion HQ Impulse Pinned: 1
If the BN HQ is on the map, automatically give it the maximum Green: 1
number of allowable Commands (6 for a daytime mission or 4
Veteran: +1
for a night mission). Expend these Commands on any friendly
Under a Cover marker (including Fortifications): +1
subordinate units in play and in communication, including acti-
vating the CO HQ. You cannot save BN HQ Commands. B. If the HQ or Staffs card has:
Note: The BN HQ is considered to be on the map if any higher A VOF of Small Arms (S): 1
HQ leader (Rgt/Bde Cmdr, Bn Cmdr, or the Bn XO/S-3) is A VOF of Automatic Weapons (A): 2
on the map. A VOF of Heavy Weapons (H), Sniper (S!), or Incoming!:
3
CO HQ Impulse C. The Current Activity is No Contact: +1
When the BN HQ is not on the map and the CO HQ is in com- An HQ activated by a higher HQ gets a minimum of one Com-
munication with the BN HQ, automatically Activate the CO HQ. mand regardless of the modifiers. When drawing for Initiative,
Draw an action card. The number in the helmet icon is the number however, the modified total of Commands may be zero. Do not
of available Commands. This number may be modified by the modify the General Initiative Draw for Offensive and Defensive
conditions listed in 4.1.2. Subject to the limitations in 4.1.3, CO Missions. When performing a Combat Patrol Mission, halve the
HQ Commands (including saved Commands) may be expended General Initiative Draw, rounding down any fractions, as only a
on any friendly subordinate units in play and in communication, portion of the Company is being used.
or they may be saved.
4.1.3 Command Limitations
Note: The CO HQ cannot be activated if it is not in commu-
nication with BN HQ. During a daytime mission the maximum number of Commands
that any HQ or Staff can expend in one Impulse is six. In any
PLT HQ/CO Staff Impulse mission with Limited Visibility (i.e., the Visibility Modifier is
Draw an Action card for each Activated Platoon HQ/CO Staff. greater than +1) the maximum is four.
The number in the helmet icon is the number of available Com- HQs and Staff may save Commands for later use based on their
mands. This number may be modified by the conditions in 4.1.2. Experience Level, as follows:
Subject to the limitations in 4.1.3, PLT HQ/CO Staff Commands Green: Three for Daytime and two for Limited Visibility
(including saved Commands) may be expended on any friendly Line: Six for Daytime and four for Limited Visibility
subordinate units in play and in communication, or they may
Veteran: Nine for Daytime and six for Limited Visibility
be saved.
Track saved Commands on the Command Display with the appro-
Initiative Segment priate HQs Saved Commands marker. Use an HQs Commands
If not activated during the Activation Segment, the CO HQ, marker to track Commands expended during a given Impulse
PLT HQ, and CO Staff have an Impulse in the Initiative Seg- by adding the Commands drawn and adjusting it on the track as
ment. Draw an Action Card for the CO HQ and PLT HQ (but they are expended, subject to the limitations listed above. Then
do not draw for CO Staff). The number in the star icon (beneath
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
16 Fields of Fire | Rulebook
flip it to its Activation Complete side when it has completed its 4.1.4 HQ and Staff Fire Teams
activation for that turn. An HQ or Staff unit on its Fire Team side may only issue Com-
There are some actions that always require an HQ/Staff to be the mands to itself. It cannot be activated by a higher HQit must
originator, even if attempted under General Initiative. These are: draw for initiative. Any HQ converted to an Assault, Litter, or
Exhort, Reconstituting the CO HQ or a Platoon HQ, Creating/ Paralyzed Team cannot issue Commands until it is reconstituted.
Dispatching/Dismissing a Runner, Designating a New Tactical CO Staff cannot be reconstituted during a mission.
Control, Attempting to Reconstitute a Squad, and Firing an FPF
or FPL 4.2 Actions
Example: B. CO HQ Impulse. Draw an Action card (refer to The complete range of possible Actions is broken into four class-
Action Card in example above on page 14). es. This is for ease of reference only. Not all units can perform all
The card drawn lists 4/2 for commands, so the CO HQ receives Actions; the limitations are listed below and summarized on the
four Commands because it is Activated (it uses the left most Action Menu Player Aid card. The Actions are listed by name,
numberinside the helmet illustration). Note that if the HQ cost in Commands, the type of Command (automatic or attempt
had an Experience Level of Green, that 4 would be modi- required), originator (the unit whose Command must be spent),
fied by 1, for a result of 3. So we get a final result of 4. permissible recipient units, and the specific details.
The CO HQ uses two of these Commands to activate the 1st A unit may perform more than one Action in a given Impulse,
PLT and 2nd PLT HQs and decides to save the other two Com- but it may perform only one Action of any named type in that
mands for a later turn. We update the Command Display by Impulse, except for movement within a Card (4.2.2.f). For in-
moving the CO HQ Saved Commands marker to the 2 space. stance, a unit could be ordered to Repair a Cut Phone Line and
Action Menus
The number of cards drawn is modified by +1 for Veteran and 1 for Green based on the recipient experience for Movement and Combat
actions, and originator experience for Rally actions. All Command & Control Actions are automatic; they require no Action Card draws.
using phones, to communicate on the BN TAC Net. Only Phone Line in the following Command Phase by performing
the CO HQ and the BN HQ (and the BNs Staff) may an Action to do so. If a Phone Line marker is on a card with a
communicate on this network. (Reminder: If the CO HQ is Good Order enemy unit but no Good Order friendly unit, there
not in communication with the BN HQ, the CO HQ cannot is a 2-in-3 chance that the enemy will discover the line and cut
Activate.) it during the Combat Effects Phase.
3) ARTY FD (Artillery Fire Direction Network): This is used If the last or only step of a unit with a phone becomes a casualty,
for control of artillery Fire Missions, and it allows the Arty there is a 1-in-2 chance that its phone will be destroyed. Select
FO to communicate with artillery units that are providing fire an Action card, noting the result in the 2 column of the cards
support to the Company. The Arty FOs RT must connect to Random Assignment Area. If the result is a 1, the phone is
the Staging Area, if using phones, to communicate on the destroyed; remove it from play. If the result is a 2, place the
ARTY FD Net. Only the Arty FO may communicate on this Phone marker on the map. You can have another unit pick it up
network.
and use it if commanded to do so (4.2.2h).
4) MTR FD (Mortar Fire Direction Network): This is used
for control of mortar Fire Missions, and it allows the Mtr FO 4.3.5 Radios
to communicate with off map mortar units that are providing Radios allow communication with units in other cards, or be-
fire support to the Company. The Mtr FOs RT must connect tween units in cover and those not in the same cover (with some
to the Staging Area, if using phones, to communicate on the exceptions). The Mission Instructions dictate the available types
MTR FD Net. Only the Mtr FO may communicate on this of radios. Put radios in the proper boxes of the Command Display.
network. Radio technology determines the effectiveness of the radio. The
5) AIR CTL (Air Support Control Network): This is used following types are used in various eras:
for control of air support missions, and it allows an FAC
to communicate with aircraft providing fire support to the A. Early Handheld Radios (SCR536)
Company. The FACs RT must connect to the Staging Area, Because of its limited broadcast strength, the SCR-536 allows
if using phones, to communicate on the AIR CTL Net. Only radio communication only within Line of Sight (as if Daylight,
the FAC may communicate on this network. and ignoring smoke). The SCR-536 does not work from under
a Cover marker.
4.3.4 Field Telephones
B. Man pack, VHF-FM Radios (SCR300, PRC25, PRC77,
You may have units with field telephones communicate with units PRC119), and Vehicle Radios
on other cards, or with units off map, or with units in different
These can communicate anywhere on the map with other radios
areas (different Cover markers) of the same card. Field phones on
in the same network, unless the Mission Instructions indicate
the CO TAC Net automatically connect to the CO HQs phone,
otherwise. (Some campaign-specific terrain is more drastic and
if calling from the same card with the CO HQ, or from a card
interferes with radio traffic.)
adjacent to it. Field Phones on networks other than the CO TAC
Net automatically connect to their respective off-map agencies, C. Advanced Handheld Radios (ICOM, PRR, PRC148, PRC152)
if calling from a card adjacent to the Staging Area. When these squad radios are in use, not only are the PLT HQs in
Field telephones must connect via an unbroken string of Phone communication with the CO HQ, the squads are in communica-
Line markers when they are more than one card apart. As you tion with their PLT HQ throughout the same and adjacent cards.
move units, you may have them lay down one Phone Line marker If the last or only step of a unit with a radio becomes a casualty,
per card. This does not require an Action and occurs automati- there is a 1-in-2 chance that its radio will be destroyed. Select
cally when a laying unit leaves a card. To use its phone, a unit an Action card, noting the result in the 2 column of the cards
with a phone does not need a Phone Line marker for the card it Random Assignment Area. If the result is a 1, the radio is
occupies, but it does need one for each intervening card between destroyed; remove it from play. If the result is a 2, place the
it and the CO HQ (for the CO TAC Net) or the Staging Area (for Radio marker on the map. You can have another unit pick it up
the other networks). You can have a unit lay a Phone Line only if and use it if commanded to do so (4.2.2h).
the unit is carrying one. Note that there are only eight Phone Line
counters available to the Company. Any number of phones and 4.3.6 Pyrotechnics
phone networks may be supported by a given Phone Line marker. Pyrotechnic devices have three basic purposes: Signaling, Illumi-
You must assign Phone Line markers to units at the beginning nating, and Concealment. The Action of deploying a Pyrotechnic
of the Mission as you do with any other asset. device is the same regardless of the purpose for which it is being
used. Aerial rocket devices, such as colored flares and illumina-
During the Combat Effects Phase on cards containing both In-
tion, may be placed on the same card as, or any card adjacent to,
coming! VOF and Phone Line markers, there is a 1-in-2 chance
the unit deploying them. Non-aerial devices can only be placed
of cut phone lines. To find out if a phone line is cut, select an
on the same card as the deploying unit.
Action card, noting the result in the 2 column of the cards
Random Assignment Area. If the result is a 1, flip the Phone Signaling devices are either colored smoke or colored flares.
Line marker to its cut side. You may not use that Phone Line for The campaign instructions assign Pyrotechnic devices to the
communication until the line is restored. You can restore a cut Company. You then assign specific Actions from the Action
Menu to each color and type of device, noting the relationship General Pyrotechnic Options in Missions with Helicopters
on the Mission Log. All units with a clear LOS to the signal
or Airstrikes
will perform or attempt to perform the particular Action when
seeing the device. Command Mission Log Entry
You can use a Pyrotechnic to initiate the Actions listed on the fol- Mark Landing Zone LZ (colored smoke LZ
lowing chart, assuming these criteria are met: 1) the unit with the option only)
device must be the one ordered to Deploy the Pyrotechnic, 2) only Mark friendly positions (colored smoke Mark
one Action is associated with the device, and 3) the prerequisites or WP only)
for performing that associated Action are met (e.g., each unit has
the necessary LOS to the device, is in the required state, etc.). A. Colored Flares
The chart lists the Actions by mission type (offensive, defensive, Colored flares are visible from anywhere on the map regardless
or patrol) and the shorthand to put on the mission log. You may of LOS. There are four types of colored flares available for sig-
also develop a standard operation procedure (SOP) for signals naling: Red Star Parachute (RSP), Green Star Parachute (GSP),
you prefer and use it to save time between missions. Red Star Cluster (RSC), and Green Star Cluster (GSC). (While
handheld illumination devices are in reality flares, they are not
Offensive Mission Pyrotechnic Signal Options used for signaling but are used during night missions to mitigate
Command Mission Log Entry the effects of darkness on combat; 8.1.)
Cease Fire CF B. Colored Smoke (Non-aerial)
Shift Fire SF Colored smoke is for signaling only and has no screening effect
If Adjacent to PL#, move across that PL XPL# on LOS or combat. Colored smoke appears only at the level
If Adjacent to Primary Objective, move M2PO where it was placed (it does not billow upwards to any significant
to it degree), and units must be able to trace a normal LOS to that
level in order for it to be used as a signal. There are four types
Infiltrate from Attack Position to Pri- InfAP2PO
of colored smoke available for signaling: Red, Green, Yellow,
mary Objective
and Purple.
If Adjacent to Secondary Objective, M2SO
move to it C. Smoke (Non-aerial)
Infiltrate from Attack Position to Sec- InfAP2SO You can use either Smoke or WP (White Phosphorus) smoke to
ondary Objective provide concealment. The campaign instructions list available
smoke devices. Smoke and WP smoke provide the defensive
If Adjacent to signal, move to it M2S
concealment printed on the marker. Units in a card with smoke
cannot fire out of the card, but can fire within the card. Smoke
Defensive Mission Pyrotechnic Signal Options
appears at ground level, and units must be able to trace a normal
Command Mission Log Entry LOS to it in order for it to be used as a signal. Smoke blocks Line
Cease Fire CF of Sight at all levels as it does billow up in significant quantity.
Shift Fire SF WP smoke has a combat effect as well as a screening effect. You
Fire the Final Protective Fires (FPF) FPF can deploy WP smoke like any other Pyrotechnic device, or you
If Adjacent to signal, move to it M2S can deploy it during an Attempt to Make a Grenade Attack Action.
When part of a grenade attack, conduct the attempt normally,
Patrol Mission Pyrotechnic Signal Options but place the deployed WP marker in addition to any results of
the grenade attack. WP Smoke may also appear as part of a Fire
Command Mission Log Entry
Mission for screening or as a prerequisite to an air strike (see
Cease Fire CF Indirect Fire Missions). WP Smoke may also be available as
Shift Fire SF ammunition for Tanks, Recoilless Rifles, or Rocket Launchers
If Adjacent to Route Point #, move to it M2RP# per the mission instructions.
If Adjacent Primary Objective, move M2PO D. Tear Gas (CS, Non-aerial)
to it CS gas has a combat effect as well as a screening effect. US units
If Adjacent to signal, move to it M2S have gas masks that negate the combat effect. The screening
effect is identical to Smoke. In the Enemy Activity Segment,
all enemy units in a card with CS that are Good Order units are
immediately converted to Fire Teams. All units then check to
see if they fall back with 2-in-3 chance of falling back. Units
that fall back are marked Exposed and move one card with their
first priority being a card that is out of LOS of all US units. The
next priority is the card with the highest Cover & Concealment
value. If more than one of the allowable cards fits the priorities,
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26 Fields of Fire | Rulebook
determine the card randomly. Those that remain are Pinned. CS 5.1.3 Exposed Units
gas can be deployed in handheld pyrotechnics, like a Smoke or Moving in a combat environment entails a degree of risk that is
WP Grenade. It may also be deployed with 40mm Grenades or represented by Exposed markers. All movement which is not a
a CS Projector. The 40mm Grenades and CS Projector allow successful Infiltration (or between Adjacent Bunkers, Pillboxes,
CS to be deployed at Close Range. The 40mm Grenade can be Trenches, or Attached Buildings [12.7]) will gain the moving
used by any G! capable (40mm Grenade Launcher equipped) US unit an Exposed marker. A unit marked Exposed cannot move to
Squad. The CS Projector is an Asset that cannot be fired from another card, but may move within the card, including Seeking
inside a building. Cover. A unit remains Exposed until the marker is removed in
the Clean Up Phase.
There is a Staging Area of notional cards adjacent to the bottom
5.0 Infantry Movement & Terrain edge of the map in most missions. Do not mark units Exposed
when moving between notional cards in the Staging Area. Thus,
5.1 Movement
it is possible to move units between multiple notional cards in the
You move your infantry units on the map in the Command Phase Staging Area during a Command Phase as long as Commands
by using Commands to purchase movement Actions (4.2.2). are available to do so.
Physically move each unit as soon as you purchase its Action.
The two basic forms of movement for infantry are movement 5.1.4 Infiltration
within a card and movement to another card. Infiltration is movement under enemy fire. Any Good Order unit
(or LAT in certain cases) not marked as Exposed, and that does
5.1.1 Movement within a Card not have an A & an arrow symbol or an H VOF rating, may at-
Possible Movement Actions are 4.2.2e, f, and g. tempt Infiltration. Either the origin card or the destination card
The rules for moving within a card are: must have a VOF marker on it in order to purchase this Action. If
so, draw two (+/) Action cards and check for the Infiltrate icon.
Mark any unit that moves, unless it successfully infiltrates,
If it is present, then the attempt succeeds: move the unit to the
with an Exposed marker.
adjacent card but do not mark it as Exposed. If there is cover on
You may not have a unit under a Cover marker Attempt to that card, you may place the unit under a Cover marker. If there is
Seek Cover. no Infiltrate icon present, the attempt fails and becomes a regular
A unit may move within a card an unlimited number of times Move to an Adjacent card Action (it still costs a Command and
in a given Command Impulse or phase even if already marked an Exposed marker is placed on the unit[s]). Infiltration within a
Exposed. card requires that the card have a VOF marker (4.2.2.g). In Ur-
If multiple Trench, Bunker, or Pillbox markers exist in a given ban Terrain (12.0), it is impossible to infiltrate from an adjacent
card, you may move units between them without having to card using the inherent cover of buildings (exception: Attached
mark them as Exposed. Buildings, 12.7) due to the requirement (per 12.2) that a Move
Pinned and LAT units may be limited (4.2.5). to Cover Action be used, unless there is a Breach (12.6).
5.1.2 Movement to Another Card 5.1.5 Stacking
Movement is to an adjacent card, including diagonally. Possible Stacking is having more than one unit on a card. You may have no
Movement Actions are 4.2.2a, b, c, and d. more than 16 Steps and four vehicles per side on a card (1.2.1I).
The rules for moving to another card are: Steps embarked on vehicles do not count. The number of Steps
Mark any unit that moves, unless it successfully infiltrates, under a cover marker may affect combat (5.2.3). Casualties do
with an Exposed marker. not count against card capacity limits, nor do Brewed Up or
Wrecked vehicles.
You may not move a unit that is marked with an Exposed
marker to a new card. 5.1.6 Transportation of Items and Units
When entering another card that has an unoccupied or friendly Having a unit or a vehicle perform a Pick Up, Load, Unload, Em-
occupied Cover marker, the moving unit may move directly bark, or Disembark Action allows that unit to acquire or offload
under the Cover marker. assets, casualties, ammunition, and/or passengers. You can use
If Trench, Bunker, Pillbox, or Attached Building markers this Action in three different situations: to have a unit pick up
exist in two adjacent cards, units may move between them or drop off items, to have a unit embark on or disembark from a
without being marked as Exposed. vehicle, or to have a vehicle load or unload items.
Pinned and LAT units may be limited (4.2.5).
A. Transport Capacity
Although diagonal movement is generally allowed, Infantry
units (Friendly or Enemy) cannot move through a PDF when A vehicle can carry an unlimited number of assets. The transport
moving diagonally. capacity of infantry units, however, is limited per the chart below.
In addition to assets, a unit or vehicle may carry any one type of
the following: casualties, prisoners, one type of ammunition, or,
for vehicles only, Infantry unit Steps. Each Step of an Infantry
unit has a transport capacity of one (an Infantry Step is equivalent D. Loading and Unloading Vehicles
to a transport point). The transport capacity of each vehicle is A unit, whether Exposed or not, may load items onto a vehicle
listed on the Vehicle and Anti-Tank Weapons Chart. or unload items from a vehicle, up to the vehicles Transport
When a unit becomes a casualty it loses its ability to transport Capacity. You must give the unit a Command to load or unload.
and drops any it currently carries on its card. Mark both the vehicle and the unit involved in either loading or
unloading as Exposed.
When a unit that is transporting casualties or assets becomes
Pinned or Paralyzed (neither can perform a Pick Up, Load, 5.1.7 Evacuating Casualties
Unload, Embark, or Disembark Action), it does not drop what You can gain Experience Points by successfully evacuating
it is carrying, but it will not be able to transport the casualties friendly casualties from the map. If a casualty is transported and
or assets any farther until rallied to a status that will allow it to dropped off at the appropriate point, that casualty is considered to
do so (when carrying casualtiesonlyLitter Teams are the be evacuated by a notional ambulance or by helicopter. Remove
exception to this; 3.5). the casualty in the Clean Up Phase. Place any evacuated casual-
Each point of transport capacity can carry one of the following: ties in the appropriate holding box on the Command Display
for ease of calculating Experience Points earned and number of
Item Vehicle Infantry Step
wounded returned to duty for the next mission.
Friendly Casualty 1 1
For WWII, Korea, and Volume II Vietnam (Hue City) missions,
MG Ammo 6 6 you must designate a Casualty Collection Point Tactical Control,
MTR Ammo 2 2 either prior to the mission start or after the mission begins (if
RCL or RKT Ammo 3 3 after the mission begins, you must use a Designate a New Tacti-
Flamethrower (2 Shots) 1 1 cal Control command).
Demolition Charge Unlimited 2+Any other For Volume I Vietnam missions, you can evacuate casualties one
Ammo and Assets of two ways: either by helicopter from any LZ to the Pick Up
Infantry Step 1 N/A
Zone as per 7.4.5, or by dropping off a casualty at the MEDEVAC
LZ Tactical Control on a card containing an HQ or Staff unit (to
Assets (Radios, Phones, Phone Unlimited 6+Any other
direct operations). You can designate an LZ as the MEDEVAC
Line, Pyrotechnic, Rifle Grenades) Ammo
LZ either before or after a mission begins, or switch it during
Example: A demolition Team (1 Step) can carry 2 demolition a mission, but there can only be one in play at a time. You may
charges + 3 RKT Ammo + 1 Smoke + 1 WP Smoke (2 of 6 use an LZ as both a regular LZ and the MEDEVAC LZ in the
Assets); A CO HQ (1 Step) can carry the BN TAC Net Radio same turn.
+ CO TAC Net Radio + 4 Pyrotechnic devices + up to 2 De-
molition Charges. 5.2 Terrain
Each campaign will have a deck of Terrain cards which will be
B. Picking up and Dropping off Loads used to build a game map. The Mission Details will tell how you
A unit, whether it is marked Exposed or not, may pick up and many rows and columns of Terrain cards you need to build the
drop off items up to its Transport Capacity. You must give a unit map. Columns indicate the number of cards to lay vertically left
a Pick Up, Load, Unload, Embark, or Disembark Command to to right; rows indicate the number of rows to lay horizontally
pick something up, but you can have a unit drop something off away from you.
without a separate Command. Mark any unit that picks something
The Mission Instructions also indicate whether to lay the Terrain
up as Exposed; you do not have to mark a unit as Exposed if it
cards face up or down. This reflects the accuracy of the maps
merely drops something off without otherwise exposing itself. If
used historically. When placed face down, reveal the cards to
you want another unit to acquire and use what was dropped off,
the extent of the LOS of units actually on the map, not in the
such as ammo, then you must order the second unit pick it up.
Staging Area. During play, reveal a hidden card when a friendly
C. Embarking and Disembarking from Vehicles non-aircraft unit has an LOS to it. If the hidden card is a Hill,
A vehicle, whether it is marked Exposed or not, may embark or draw other cards until you get a non-Hill card.
disembark a unit up to the vehicles Transport Capacity as per
5.2.1 Line of Sight (LOS) and Range
7.4. You must give the vehicle a Pick Up, Load, Unload, Embark,
or Disembark Command to embark a passenger (which happens Line of Sight (LOS) is traced along the eight straight lines (only)
in the Command Phase), but you can have a vehicle disembark a from a card to the eight adjacent cards and beyond. (Thus, you may
passenger (which happens in the Vehicle-Aircraft Phase) without not trace a LOS left/right over two cards and up/down/diagonally
a separate Command. Mark both the vehicle and the unit involved one.) You may automatically trace a LOS into all adjacent cards.
in either an embarkation or disembarkation as Exposed. A LOS is blocked past another card if either border being traced
through on that card is dark. LOS can always cross a dark border
on the originating card, and it can always cross a dark border on
the target card. Thus, the LOS must pass through light borders on
both the entry and exit sides of a card to trace to a card beyond it.
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28 Fields of Fire | Rulebook
During normal visibility, the maximum LOS is three cards C. Terrain with Elevation
(Very Long Range), not counting the starting card. During Lim- Some Terrain decks have the elevation printed directly on the
ited Visibility the maximum LOS range is reduced to adjacent card. In this case the terrain represented is so hilly or mountain-
(Close Range). Being on higher elevation does not increase the ous that using Hill Cards is not practical.
observers range. Line of sight is reciprocal; every card your card
can see can also see your card in return. (Exception: Cards with 5.2.3 Cover
Smoke, Incoming!, or Air Strike on them. Units from outside a Cover is a terrain feature below the detail found on standard
card with Smoke, Incoming!, or Air Strike can see into the card, tactical maps, and is often called micro-terrain. Cover provides
but units in such cards cannot see out; 4.3.6C.) On standard protection from fire and is incremental to the Terrain cards
Terrain cards, buildings and Urban Cover markersincluding basic Cover & Concealment value. Each Terrain card indicates
Multi-Story markersdo not block LOS at any level. On Urban a maximum number of Cover markers it can contain. A Cover
Terrain cards, the LOS is much more restrictive and is detailed marker represents a distinct location within the area of the card.
in 12.0. Once discovered, a Cover marker remains in place for the rest
of the Mission. Unless specified on the marker, there is no limit
Note: See the LOS example on pages 45 & 46.
to the number of Steps that you can place under a given Cover
marker, but only units of one side can be under a given Cover
5.2.2 Elevation
marker at any one time.
Elevation is a relative measure in Fields of Fire. The base eleva-
tion is level 1 for all missions. Hills and Upper Stories add +1 Note: Ignore any casualties under a Cover marker when de-
to the base elevation. A single hill is level 2. An Upper Story termining if the Cover marker is occupied.
(5.2.2B) is at level 2. An upper story on a hill is level 3.
However, putting too many troops under the same Cover marker
Higher elevation allows units to trace an LOS over blocking increases their vulnerability to indirect fire and grenades. For
terrain at lower levels. Higher elevations see over any lower every Step above three that is under a Cover marker, each unit
elevations despite intervening dark borders, i.e., units at level attacked by a Grenade or Incoming! VOF receives a 1 modifier.
2 see over level 1 Terrain cards. Same level terrain blocks LOS
to any lower level terrain, i.e., a level 2 terrain cannot see over Example: Five Steps under a Cover marker would all receive
another level 2 Terrain card to a level 1 Terrain card beyond it. the benefit of the covers +1 modifier, but if attacked by Gre-
nade VOF they would also receive a modifier of 2 because
A. Hills there are two Steps over the three-Step limit. The net modifier
Hill cards raise the elevation by one level. They do not provide would be 1. This also applies to preprinted cover as found on
Cover & Concealment modifiers. Upon drawing a Hill card, draw the urban Terrain Cards to units of each side. It is not cumula-
another card and place it on top of the hill to show the terrain on tive between both sides (12.8).
the hill. There can be multiple Hill cards under a Terrain card,
Urban Terrain cards have the cover printed on the card instead
each raising the elevation by 1 level. If a face down card is a hill,
of a marker (12.1) as it would be impractical to have every unit
when that card is revealed draw another Terrain card to go with it.
in some sort of Cover marker. The Cover marker areas in an
There is no limit to the number of successive Hill cards a player
Urban Card can be occupied by units from both sides, unlike a
can deal, each raising elevation by one level, before dealing a
standard Cover marker.
card containing specific terrain. Multiple hills do not change the
ability to move in or out of a card, but only provide additional If a Terrain card has a VOF marker on it, that card confers on its
LOS benefits. The dark LOS borders on the Hill card supersede occupants its basic Cover & Concealment value as part of the
any light borders on the non-Hill Terrain card. Net Combat Modifier. Some cards have two Cover & Conceal-
ment values, separated by a slash with the higher value on the
B. Multi-Story left. Use the higher value when the PDF crosses a dark border,
Terrain cards marked with the words Multi-Story designate and the lower number when it crosses a light border. (Notice that
urban areas containing buildings taller than one level. A unit the borders are such that they cover the corners appropriately for
discovering a building (cover) on a Multi-Story card can move diagonal PDFs.) Use the lower value for Grenade, Incoming!,
to the buildings upper floors, increasing the units elevation by same card VOF, and Air Strike VOF markers (1.2.1A). If a card
one level. Place an Upper Story Cover marker atop units that has a Burst icon (1.2.1H) on it, add the value in that icon to any
move to the upper floor of a multi-story building. When you find Incoming! VOF in addition to the cards Cover & Concealment.
cover on a Multi-Story card you get both the Upper Story Cover
marker and a regular Cover marker (5.2.3C), which represents the There are four types of Cover markers:
first floor. Consider these separate Cover markers for purposes A. Basic Cover
of commands, combat, and movement. Units can move between This marker adds one to the Net Combat Modifier. It counts
the two Cover markers or directly to and from no cover and the against the Terrain cards Cover Potential.
Upper Story Cover marker.
A Church Tower marker is special type of Upper Story Cover
marker, you may use it only on a Church Terrain Card. Note there
are specific rules for the urban terrain decks (12.0).
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Fields of Fire | Rulebook 29
B. Field Fortifications
The Mission Instructions list available field fortifications. They 6.0 Infantry Combat
include Foxhole, Trench, Bunker, and Pillbox markers. They do The two basic components of Infantry Combat are Volume of
not count against a Terrain cards Cover Potential. Bunker and Fire (VOF) and Primary Direction of Fire (PDF). These indicate
Pillbox markers hold a limited number of Steps; this number is how much and in what direction a unit is firing.
in parentheses on those markers. In addition, they have a limited
Infantry Combat is a two-part process. First, during the course
firing arc as depicted by the arrow on the marker. This arrow must
of a game turn friendly and enemy units engage each other by
point in the same direction as the Bunker or Pillbox markers
placing Volume of Fire (VOF) and Primary Direction of Fire
orientation. Orient a Pillbox or Bunker marker for US forces
(PDF) markers. This may happen:
(when available) as desired when placing them at the start of a
mission. For enemy Pillboxes or Bunkers, point the arrow on the automatically by rule,
counter toward the unit that made contact. You cannot change by a friendly unit being given an order or,
the orientation of the marker, and units under (inside) the marker through an enemy Activity Check.
may fire only in the indicated direction. Units in Pillboxes and Second, during the Combat Effects Phase all engaged units
Bunkers may not fire at Point Blank Range (the same card), but resolve their respective combats.
may be targeted by units in the same card. Activity checks may
call for the enemy units to exit the Bunker or Pillbox and engage The Basic Combat Principle.
in Point Blank combat, but in so doing they lose the benefit of Infantry combat by units with Basic VOF capability is automatic.
the Bunker or Pillbox marker. It does not require Commands or Actions. With each on-map
C. Urban Cover activity, all friendly units must be checked to see if they are eli-
gible to open fire. If not already engaged, your units with a clear
Use these markers on cards with urban cover symbol, such as
LOS and range to a spotted enemy unit will immediately open
Farm, Village, Multi-Story, and Church. These markers count
fire. Any activity during the course of a turn may result in units
against a Terrain cards Cover Potential. (Exception: An Upper
engaging. This applies equally to enemy units. Any non-Engaged
Story or Church Tower marker does not count against a cards
enemy units will open fire on your friendly units as soon as your
Cover potential.) The result from the Urban Cover Probability
units become spotted in range of enemy Basic VOF.
Table lists for each campaign which of the various Cover mark-
ers to use. Each campaign will indicate the chance of basic The resolution of all this activity is consolidated in the Combat
cover (representing rubble), light buildings, and strong buildings Effects Phase. Combat is directed at a card and all its occupants.
when cover is found on an urban Terrain card. If a result is Light
Building or Strong Building and the card contains a multi-story 6.1 Engaging/Opening Fire
or church indicator, you get an Upper Story or Church Tower
In game terms, you have units open fire by placing a Basic
marker (respectively) in addition to the indicated building marker
VOF on the target card and placing a PDF marker pointing from
(5.2.2B).
the firing unit to the target (if the target card is not also the firing
D. Caves units card), and/or by issuing an order for a special VOF, passing
Cave entrances come in four varieties: small, medium, large, an attempt check, and placing a Special VOF marker.
and armored. Each has a capacity limitation in Steps based on
the size indicated by the number in parentheses on the marker.
6.1.1 Opening Fire
In addition, they have a limited firing arc as depicted by the ar- A non-Engaged unit opens fire (becomes Engaged) with its Basic
row on the marker. Point the arrow on the counter to the card VOF when it has a spotted enemy unit within range and LOS.
that made the contact. You cannot change the orientation of the This is automatic and mandatory. This may occur due to:
marker, and units under (inside) the marker may fire only in the Movement of the friendly unit,
indicated direction. Units in caves may not fire at Point Blank Spotting revealing a previously unspotted enemy unit,
Range (the same card), but may be targeted by units in the same Movement of the enemy unit (enemy activity checks), or
card. Activity checks may call for the enemy units to exit the Placement of a spotted unit on the map while resolving a
cave and engage in Point Blank combat, but in so doing they potential contact.
lose the benefit of the Cave marker.
If multiple spotted enemy-occupied cards come into view at the
same time, a unit engages according to the following priorities:
1) Closest card
2) Card projecting the highest VOF
3) Randomly
A unit does not automatically engage an enemy unit on a card in
LOS that contains both friendly and enemy units. However, once
units are Engaged, they will not cease or shift fire without Com-
mands, even if the target card becomes jointly/friendly occupied.
If a unit enters a card where there is firing already going on 6.2.1 Basic VOF
(i.e., it is occupied by enemy units and friendly units or has Basic VOFs are the VOFs printed on the unit counters. They
a PDF marker pointing away from it), the entering unit joins usually require no Commands or attempts to implement.
in the existing fire. You may need to adjust the VOF marker,
however, depending upon the VOF rating of the unit that just
entered the card.
6.1.2 Continuing to Fire
An Engaged unit will continue to fire at the same card until: All Pinned: (+2)
Ordered to cease fire, Small Arms (S) NCM value: +0
Ordered to shift fire, Automatic Weapons (A) NCM value: 1
Ordered to move to another card, Heavy Weapons (H) NCM value: 3
An Incoming! marker is placed on the firing units card Assault Rifles (A/S): 1/+0*
Smoke is placed on the firing units card or along the PDF, * Units with a VOF rating of A/S are equipped with assault rifles and
or generate an Automatic Weapons VOF marker at Point Blank Range
(same card) and a Small Arms VOF marker at any other range.
An enemy unit enters its card.
An Engaged unit will not stop firing merely because there are no G! Superscript
more enemy units on the target card, or because Smoke appears A unit with a G! superscript is equipped with gre-
on the target card (or along the PDF), or because a change in a nades or rocket launchers in addition to its base
units status has reduced its range such that the target card is now weapon. In addition to having it fire with its normal
beyond its range. However, Smoke along the PDF will block fire VOF Rating you can have it Attempt to Make a
through the card with the Smoke (move the VOF from the target Grenade Attack at Close Range; see Special VOF (6.2.2).
card to the card with the blocking Smoke). All Pinned NCM modifier: +2
Use this marker when all units firing into that card
6.2 Volume of Fire (VOF) and are Pinned. Overrides Basic S, A, or H VOF.
Primary Direction of Fire (PDF) Markers
VOF markers indicate the amount of fire entering a card. The
best VOF entering a card is the only one applied, with a lower Anti-Tank Note: Any VOF in a white circle is a modifier for
number being better than a higher number. The VOF marker a AT Combat (7.6) only. Also, some unit types are listed on the
firing unit generates is based on the firing units VOF Rating. Vehicle and Anti-Tank Weapons Chart as having different Gun-
Basic VOF markers apply to all units on a card, while Special nery modifiers at different ranges. Use the Gunnery modifiers
VOF (6.2.2) apply in various different ways. from the Chart during AT Combat only.
Place Basic VOF markers on targeted cards based on the fol-
lowing procedure:
6.2.2 Special VOF
a. If units are firing into the card from outside the card, then Most of these VOFs are not automatic (those that are automatic
place one Basic VOF marker in the upper left of the card, are notated as such). They always require Commands and special
regardless of how many units or cards are involved. The procedures to be followed before a VOF may be placed. Note
VOF marker will reflect the best (lowest) VOF Rating of they do not create PDF markers but they may need to follow
all units firing. The VOF applies to all occupants of the card a PDF marker to be used. Some of these create a VOF marker
regardless which side they are. while others serve to modify existing VOF markers.
Note: Until you become familiar with the VOF and PDF Grenade (G!) Net Combat Modifier (NCM) value: 4 or 3
mechanics you may want to use a VOF for every firing Place a Grenade Attack VOF marker as a result of
unit being sure to place the best VOF on top. a successful Attempt to Make a Grenade Attack. A
grenade attack applies either to a single unit or to a
b. If units from both sides occupy a card and no fire is coming group of units under a single Cover marker. A target
from outside the card, then place two VOF markers: place can be attacked by multiple grenade VOFs and they are cumula-
the best friendly Basic VOF marker in the upper left and the tive. Do not apply the Rain/Snow, Fog, Smoke, or Current Vis-
best enemy Basic VOF marker in the lower left. ibility modifiers to this VOF. Use the 4 modifier for US and
Primary Direction of Fire (PDF) markers are mnemonic devices German grenades and the 3 modifier for Chinese, Japanese,
to show where a VOF originated. When a firing unit places a North Korean, Viet Cong, and NVA grenades.
Basic VOF marker on any target card other than its own card, a Note: If a unit targeted by one or more successful Grenade
PDF marker must also be placed (6.2.3). Attacks moves out of the card, remove all the Grenade! VOFs
and replace them with a single Grenade Miss VOF.
Example: Your 2/2 PLT (A VOF at L Range) is engaged in its Example #2 from the Advanced Tutorial (page 9): Units from
right-front with an enemy unit two cards distant. 2/2 becomes the 1st Platoon have moved forward
a Fire Team as a result of enemy fire. 2/2s VOF becomes S Because all the moved 1st Platoon units have the spotted Ger-
and its range drops to C. The PDF stays the same (right-front) man Sniper in their range and LOS, they immediately open fire
but its VOF is moved to the adjacent card. on the Snipers card. We place PDFs from both cards, as well
as an Automatic VOF on the Snipers card (its the best VOF of
If a lone enemy unit with a friendly VOF marker on its card moves
all the firing units) and a Crossfire marker on the snipers card
to another card in LOS and along the same PDF, any friendly fire
as it now is the target of PDFs coming from different angles.
against that unit follows the unit to the new card.
Example #3 from the Advanced Tutorial (page 9): and the
If a lone enemy unit on the same card with a friendly unit and fifth command to order the 2/2 squad there to move forward
its VOF marker moves to another card in LOS, any friendly into the Farm to its front. 2/2 is not currently firing, so we
fire against that unit follows the unit to the new card and a PDF check to see if there are any targets in his range and LOS after
marker is placed. he moves. The only possible target in his LOS is the enemy
A firing unit loses its PDF if an enemy unit enters its card. It mortar spotter, and it is still Unspotted, so we place no PDF/
automatically shifts its fire to the unit that entered its card. VOF for 2/2.
A US unit will not open fire through a card containing another Example #4 from the Advanced Tutorial (page 10): Because
US unit. However, a US unit with an existing PDF will continue 2/2 is within range and line of sight of the newly-spotted
to fire at a card even if another friendly unit moves into that card. Mortar spotter and is not currently firing, it now opens fire
on the enemy spotter. We place a PDF from 2/2s card facing
Example #1 from the Advanced Tutorial (page 11): A sniper the spotters card, and place a Small Arms VOF on the Hill/
moves away Farm card.
Note that the US PDFs and VOF into the card the sniper va- Example #5 from the Advanced Tutorial (page 11): A lone
cated are not removed. They remain until the US units either enemy unit (sniper) moves away but still in LOS
move or get a cease fire or shift fire order. Note also that the
We extend the VOF of the US units in the R2C2 Hedgerow/
Pinned marker on the US 2/1 squad remains. It will be removed
Bocage into the Snipers hex. This is the only case in which a
at the end of the VOF Segment as long as there is no enemy
US unit can follow a moving enemy unitwhen the move
VOF on the Village card at that time.
extends within range and along the units PDF. So we place an
Because the sniper has moved to a new card and currently has Automatic Weapons VOF on the Snipers new card.
no PDF/VOF, we must now immediately check to see if there
are any units in his LOS and range upon which he can open
fire. In this case, there is only one such unitthe 1/2 squad 6.3 Combat Resolution & Effects
in the Gully. So we place the snipers PDF facing toward the Calculate the Net Combat Modifier (NCM) for each unit during
gully, and sniper VOF on the 1/2 unit, and a Small Arms VOF the Combat Phase to determine if it is affected by the fire.
on the gully card.
The formula is:
NCM = The best (lowest) VOF modifier from S, A, H, F!,
D!, Grenade, Sniper, or Incoming!.
+ The net modifier due to visibility, illumination, and
observation devices.
+ All applicable modifiers based on the defending
units status and cover.
+ All other applicable modifiers such as Concentrated
Fire, Crossfire, Demo Miss, Grenade miss, and All
Pinned.
In most cases not all the above factors are present and it is fairly
easy to group units on a card by status (Pinned, under cover
etc.). The NCM will be the same for units of the same status.
Remember, some modifiers only apply to certain types of fire or
under specific conditions.
The Minimum NCM is 4 and the Maximum is +6. A NCM of
less than 4 is considered a 4 and a NCM greater than +6 is
considered a +6.
When you resolve combat, draw an Action card for each unit on B. PIN
a target card with a VOF marker. On the left side of the Action Place a Pinned marker on the unit. For efficiency you may stack
card you will find the NCM from 4 to +6 and the result of HIT, multiple units beneath a single Pinned marker instead of a marker.
PIN, or MISS (6.3.2). Find the NCM that applies to the unit to
A Pinned marker is removed when:
determine which result happens. If a unit is HIT, immediately
A unit successfully passes an Attempt to Remove a Pinned
draw another Action card and in the lower center check the Hit
marker order,
Effects section under the target units Experience Level (6.3.3).
Apply all results immediately. All combat resolution is consid- It receives a MISS result following an attack,
ered simultaneous, so do not change VOF and PDF markers (if No enemy VOF is on the card at the beginning of the Combat
necessary) until all combat resolution is complete. Effects Segment, or
The unit is eliminated.
Example: A mortar and a sniper is firing
A Pinned unit generates an All Pinned VOF. If all units firing into
the lowest applicable modifier for this fire is the 3 NCM,
a card are Pinned, place an All Pinned VOF on the targeted card.
generated by either the Incoming mortar fire or the Sniper
(although the Sniper NCM applies to only one unit). It doesnt C. HIT
matter which we use; the base combat NCM is still 3. This Place a Pinned marker on the unit. In addition, draw another card
is modified as follows: to discover the effect of the hit.
+1 Terrain Modifier of card [Note that you use the smaller
6.3.3 Using the Hit Effects Section of an Action Card
number to the right for Incoming Fire on cards that have
split Intrinsic Defense Terrain Values.] The Hit Effects section of the Action Card is grouped according
+1 Squad is under a cover marker to the Experience Level of the unit. Under each level of experi-
ence is one or two letters. Check the column corresponding to
2 Squad has an Exposed marker
the Experience Level of the unit that receives a hit. Each letter
So the final NCM is 3. shows the Limited Action Team to which one Step of the unit
We draw an Action card and 3 is a HIT. Converts. If a unit has only one Step, and the result is two letters,
use only the first letter. If all but one step of a multistep unit are
6.3.1 Combat Effects converted to LATs, the last step becomes a Fire Team.
Resolve all Infantry combat in the Combat Effects Phase. All Hit Effect resolution is a combination of the physical and morale
such combat is considered simultaneous (thus you can choose effects of fire on the unit. Because combat can have a variety of
the order of resolution). You must resolve the effects of combat effects on units, both positive and negative, units can possibly
on each unit on a card containing a VOF marker, and do so for convert into any type of Limited Action Team. For example, a
each unit individually. Paralyzed Team could Convert to a Litter Team, which is an
For each unit, find the Net Combat Modifier (NCM) according improvement in its state.
to the formula in 6.3.1. Once you have determined the NCM, The possible effects are:
draw an Action Card and find the NCM in the Fire Results sec-
C = Casualty
tion along the left side of the card. Next to the modifier, you
Convert the Step to a casualty unit. Casualties last the duration
will find its effect.
of the mission and cannot rally. They can neither move nor fight.
There are three possible results: MISS, PIN, or HIT. If you draw You should have other units evacuate them as soon as possible.
a card with a HIT result, immediately resolve the effect of that Do not resolve combat against casualties.
HIT. Draw another card and refer to the Hit Effect section in
the lower center of the card to find the effect on the target unit P = Paralyzed Team
Convert the Step to a Paralyzed Team. If reduced to the last step,
6.3.2 Using the Fire Results Section of an Action Card remove the original unit from play.
The first column of this section contains numbers between -4
L = Litter Team
and +6 depicting the NCM of the target unit .The second column
Convert the Step to a Litter Team. If reduced to the last step,
shows the result of the Fire, either HIT, MISS, or PIN, and applies
remove the original unit from play.
to combat against Infantry units. The effects of these results are:
F = Fire Team
A. MISS
Convert the Step to a Fire Team. If the Good Order unit has
No effect. But, if the unit is Pinned, remove the Pinned marker
a Fire Team on the reverse side, flip it to its Fire Team side.
(see B. Pinned below).
Otherwise, if reduced to the last step, remove the original unit
from play, and replace it with a generic Fire Team marker of the
appropriate nationality. Some nationalities have different Fire
Teams with different VOF ratings. When a unit Converts to a
Fire Team, it cannot have a more powerful VOF Rating than
its normal capability. (A lower VOF modifier as listed in 6.2.1
makes a VOF Rating more powerful.)
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
34 Fields of Fire | Rulebook
A = Assault Team troops. Machine guns and other units with a Heavy Weapons
If a Good Order unit does not have a Fire Team side on its re- VOF Rating can fire over a friendly unit that is at least one
verse, Convert the Step to a generic Assault Team and remove level lower than the firing unit. Do not place a VOF marker
the original unit from play. If a Good Order unit does have a Fire on the card being fired over. For example, if a tripod-mounted
Team side on its reverse, flip the unit to its Fire Team side. If it machine gun is on a hill at level 2 and a friendly unit is
is already on its Fire Team side, leave it there. adjacent at level 1 and an enemy unit at Long Range is also
on leve1 1 or 2, the machine gun can fire on the enemy unit
Under the results for A = Assault Team, the restriction on not
and no VOF is placed on the friendly occupied card. That is,
Converting a unit to an Assault Team if it has a Fire Team on its
a tripod-mounted machine gun can fire from a level 1 card
reverse side does not apply to a generic Fire Team whose reverse
over a friendly unit on an adjacent level 1 card if the target
side contains another Fire Team with a different weapon type.
is at a higher elevation.
Convert such a Fire Team to an Assault Team when it receives
an A result. Mortars
Mortar fire can come from off map, from on map by a squad of
6.4 Weapon Types and Restrictions two or three Mortar tubes working together, or from on map by
a single tube team. You may never have them target their own
Weapon types and VOF are related, but there are some specifics
cards. You may not have them fire from under a Building, Bunker,
that need to be addressed separately. See the Weapons Capability
Cave, or Pillbox Cover marker, or from a +3 Jungle or Woods
Chart for a summary of the abilities of the various weapon types.
terrain card. They cannot fire at all if marked with an Exposed
Small Arms marker, and they can never use infiltration movement. You must
Rifles, carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles, and magazine- track mortar ammunition. Mortars have no restrictions on firing
fed light machine guns produce a Small Arms (S) VOF. Units over the heads of friendly troops. Enemy mortars may fire over
equipped with assault rifles or large numbers of submachine guns their units in the same way.
may instead produce an Automatic Weapons (A) VOF, but only
Rocket Launchers / Recoilless Rifles
at Point Blank Range, the A/S VOF (6.2.1). You do not keep
Light rocket launchers and recoilless rifles have a Grenade (G!)
track of small arms ammunition.
VOF. Heavy, tripod-mounted versions have a Heavy Weapons
Machine Guns (H) VOF. No RKT or RCL may fire from a Building, Bunker,
These are belt-fed machine guns and are either bipod or tripod or Pillbox cover marker. H VOF RKT/RCL may not fire when
mounted. (An arrow symbol over the A indicates a tripod mount.) marked with an Exposed marker. Panzerfausts (WWII German
They produce an Automatic Weapons (A) VOF. Tripod-mounted AT Rockets) may fire only at vehicles; all others may be used
machine guns have a greater range and are capable of Grazing for both AT Combat and Infantry Combat. Some types of rocket
Fire and Final Protective Lines (FPLs). You also get an extra launchers enter play as ammunition on regular units and are
draw when using them for an Attempt to Concentrate Fire Action expended as such when used, e.g., Panzerfaust and B40/RPG2/7
because of their steadier aiming base and sustained fire capability, rockets. You must track rocket and recoilless rifle ammunition.
but they cannot fire at all if marked with an Exposed marker, and
Hand / Fragmentation Grenades
they can never use infiltration movement. You must keep track
You may only use these on the same card. You do not track hand
of machine-gun ammunition.
grenade ammunition.
Grazing Fire. Normally, when firing along a PDF into
another card, the VOF is exerted into the closest enemy Demolition Charges
occupied card along the PDF and within LOS. However, if Demolition Charges are used to reduce enemy field fortifications,
a tripod-mounted machine-gun unit is firing, it exerts a VOF seal caves/tunnels, and to create breaches in urban warfare. Some
into every card along its PDFand within its LOSas long units receive an allotment of Demolition Charges as an Asset at
as all the cards are at the same elevation. the beginning of a mission.
Final Protective Lines (FPL). You can place an FPL Tactical Flamethrowers
Control on a tripod-mounted machine gun during a Defensive Flamethrowers, whether man-portable or Vehicle-mounted, are
Mission. An FPL is exerted on a diagonal (only) as indicated designed to reduce enemy field fortifications. Man-portable
by the arrow on the FPL marker. Machine guns designated flamethrowers are only effective at Point Blank Range. The
with an FPL control do not open fire automatically. They must more powerful Vehicle-mounted flamethrowers may fire at Close
be ordered to perform a Fire FPF/FPL Action by the CO HQ. Range. You must track flamethrower fuel (ammunition).
Once they start firing they will continue until they run out
of ammunition or they receive a Cease Fire Command. An Rifle Grenades
FPL generates a Heavy Weapons VOF on all cards along the Rifle Grenades have a Grenade (G!) VOF. Some units receive
diagonal PDF, is not affected by Limited Visibility, and uses one allotment of Rifle Grenades at the beginning of a mission
two ammunition points per turn. with no further supply until the next mission. When fired they
Overhead Fire. Tripod-mounted machine guns and heavy are expended (whether they hit successfully or not). They are not
weapons may fire over the heads of intervening friendly transferable among units. These weapons were high angle fire
weapons, so as with mortars, you cannot fire them from under a Armored Fighting Vehicle / Tank
Building, Bunker, or Pillbox Cover marker. Units equipped with All medium and heavy tanks have a Heavy Weapons VOF, which
Rifle Grenades place their normal VOF based upon their VOF is a combination of the vehicles machine guns and cannons. You
rating, but also can be ordered to Attempt to Make a Grenade must track tank ammunition. When their ammunition runs out,
Attack to attack with their Rifle Grenade. remove them from play.
40mm Grenade Launchers (Vietnam and later)
Grenade Launchers have a Grenade (G!) VOF. You may have a 6.5 Grenade, Demolition Charge, and
US 40mm grenade launcher fire from under a Building, Bunker, Flamethrower Attacks
or Pillbox Cover marker because its trajectory is much flatter than
that of a rifle grenade. Since the 40mm-grenade ammunition is 6.5.1 Grenade Attacks
small and light and the standard load is large, you do not have to Direct a Grenade Attack toward a specific unit or Cover marker.
track it. Any unit from Vietnam or later that has a superscript G! You may have any unit with a printed VOF Attempt to Make a
VOF is considered to have 40mm Grenade Launchers. Grenade Attack against enemy units in the same card. You may
have a unit with a G! VOF Rating and a printed Range Attempt to
Make a Grenade Attack out to its printed Range. You may have a
Combat Example: 1. The Cover & Concealment for the card (+2)
Infantry Combat occurs after all the command segments, en- 2. The VOF (+0)
emy Activity Checks, potential contact resolution and volume 3. Any unit status markers (Exposed, Pinned, Cover, Concentrated Fire;
of fire adjustments. in this case, Exposed, so 2)
4. Any card level markers (Crossfire, Grenade Miss) (none)
Here the only Volume of Fire (VOF) in play is the Small Arms
Net is 0.
Fire on the Village card. A VOF applies to ALL units in the card.
An Action card is drawn and the infantry Combat section referenced
Here it is only the 1st squad 3rd platoon. The Modifiers are totaled. according to NCM.
Here are three cards to show the three possible results: HIT, PIN, MISS.
HIT PIN MISS
2
1
HIT
A HIT would PIN the unit and another card is drawn
to see the effect.
PIN
A PIN places a Pinned marker on the unit.
3
MISS
A MISS is no effect and, if Pinned, the Pinned marker
is removed.
unit with a G! superscript above a different VOF Rating Attempt Demolition Charges that are successfully thrown or placed on
to Make a Grenade Attack at enemy units in an adjacent card. a specific Cover marker or field fortification have the following
Grenade Attacks are not automaticyou must perform an At- effects in the Combat Phase:
tempt to Make a Grenade Attack Action. You have a base draw of 1. All occupants become Casualties
two Action cards, modified by Experience Level, when making 2. If the field fortification is a Bunker or Pillbox it is removed
the attempt. (For instance, draw only one card for Fire Teams and replaced with foxholes
because their Experience Level is Green.) The attempt is suc- 3. If the field fortification is designated by the mission
cessful if the Grenade icon is present on one of the cards. If two instructions or force package as a cave entrance it is sealed
or more grenade icons are drawn a Critical Hit occurs and the and removed from play
target loses the benefit of cover (including field fortifications). 4. Standard Cover markers remain in play.
If the target is not under a Cover marker then place a second In urban terrain, a successfully placed or thrown Demolition
Grenade Attack marker. Charge will have the following effects in the Combat Phase:
You can direct multiple Grenade Attacks toward the same unit or 1. All enemy occupants of the specific card section attacked are
Cover marker. Grenade VOF is cumulative with other Grenade considered HIT. Immediately draw a card to for each unit to
Attacks, but not with other types of VOF. Remove any Grenade determine the hit effect.
Attack marker in the Clean up Phase. 2. A Breach marker is placed (12.6)
When a Good Order unit, enemy or friendly, has a Grenade Attack
attempted on it (whether successful or not) from the same card, 6.5.3 Flamethrower Attacks
it gets a free Attempt to Make a Grenade Attack at the unit that Man-portable flamethrowers can be used to attack a specific
tried to attack it, unless the attacking unit is unspotted. enemy Cover or field fortification (Foxholes, Trenches, Bunkers,
If a Grenade Attack fails, place a Grenade Miss VOF marker on Pillboxes). Man-portable flamethrowers may only attack enemy
the target card, if one is not already present. All occupants of field fortifications at Point Blank Range. A Flamethrower Attack
the card suffer the effects. Remove any Grenade Miss marker is automatic. When ordered, place the Flamethrower Attack
in the Clean up Phase. If the target of a successful Grenade At- marker on the targeted enemy Cover or field fortification and
tack moves prior to Combat Resolution, the Grenade Attack is expend one of the two available shots per Flamethrower Asset.
treated as Grenade Miss. In the Combat Phase, prior to other combat being resolved, any
targets of a Flamethrower Attack are considered automatically
Example: If a card with multiple units is under Automatic hit, with the hit result being determined normally. Any occupants
Weapons VOF (1 modifier), and one unit suffers two suc- that do not become Casualties are then placed outside the field
cessful 4 Grenade Attacks and one Grenade Miss, the unit fortification or Cover and marked Exposed, at which point they
suffers a 9 modifier, not a 10 modifier (Note after the NCM are then attacked by the general VOF for the card along with all
is calculated the lowest possible NCM is 4). The other units other units. They also remain subject to any Concentrate Fire that
on the card receive the 1 modifier from Automatic Weapons was targeting the Cover or field fortification. If the target was a
VOF and 1 for the Grenade Miss for a final NCM of 2. cave entrance, the surviving occupants retreat into the cave and
are removed from play. Vehicle-mounted flamethrowers function
6.5.2 Demolition Charge Attacks the same, but may attack at Close Range as well as Point Blank,
Demolition Charges (DEMO) can serve several different func- and they carry more fuel. If the target was a Bunker or Pillbox
tions in the game. Mission / Campaign Instructions indicate it is removed from play.
what units are eligible to use DEMO and how many Demolition
6.5.4 Jam
Charges are available. Demolition Charges are Assets and are
expended like ammunition. Demolition Charges may be used to A Weapons Team or squad unit (armed with a machine gun,
attack a specific occupied Cover Marker, reduce a field fortifica- rocket launcher, recoilless rifle, or similar Weapon that has an
tion, seal a cave entrance, or create a breach in urban terrain. A, G!, or H VOF) that draws a card containing the word Jam
when attempting a Grenade Attack at close range or attempting to
Demolition Charges may be thrown or placed. When using a Concentrate Fire has experienced a serious Weapons malfunction.
Demolition Charge in a card with a VOF in play it must be Remove the unit from play and replace the Steps with Fire Teams.
thrown, otherwise it is placed. Placement of a Demolition Charge
is automatic when commanded. When thrown it is treated like
a grenade attack (thus requiring an attempt). If the attempt fails 6.6 Concentrated Fire Attacks
then the Demo Miss VOF marker is placed (2 NCM) and affects Concentrated Fire represents VOF in addition to the Basic VOF
all occupants of the card in the combat phase. Unlike Grenade against specific targets within LOS and along the PDF of the fir-
Attacks, if the occupants of a successful Demo Attack leave the ing unit. It contributes 1 to the Net Combat Modifier. You may
Cover marker, field fortification, cave entrance or urban terrain Attempt to Concentrate Fire with any Good Order unit with an
the attack is not treated as a Demo Miss, the attack will still have S, A, A/S, or H VOF Rating. The target may be a specific Cover
the effects listed below. The Demo Miss VOF is cumulative with marker or a random, spotted, enemy unit. If LOS is subsequently
both Demo and non-Demo VOF on the card. Remove all Demo lost due to Smoke or Incoming! the Concentrate Fire marker
and Demo Miss markers in the Clean up Phase. remains in place.
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
Fields of Fire | Rulebook 37
Draw two cards, modified for the firing units Experience Level The number of card draws is based upon the actual observer. The
(and weapon-type if firing a tripod-mounted machine gun). The card draws for HQs are lower to signify that the process is less
attempt is successful if the Crosshairs icon is present on one of efficient when not handled by an FO.
the cards. If the attempt fails, nothing else happensthere is no
LOS
additional ammunition expenditure or modifiers. If two or more
The eligible observer must have an LOS to the intended target.
Crosshairs icons are drawn a Critical Hit occurs and the target
loses the benefit of Cover or field fortifications. If the target is Communication
not under a Cover marker then place a second Concentrate Fire The eligible observer must be in communication with both the
marker. originator and the firing agency; i.e., an FO who is ordered by
If the attempt succeeds, place a Concentrate Fire marker on the an HQ to Call for Fire needs to be in communication with that
target. If the target is a Cover marker, the Action affects all units HQ to receive the order and to be able to communicate on the
under the Cover marker. Note that a Concentrate Fire Action is appropriate Fire Direction (FD) Net. For example, an Artillery
not a replacement for Basic VOF; you can have a single unit FO may have a CO TAC Field Phone and his Arty FD Net ra-
place both. Concentrate Fire markers are cumulative. dio. The CO HQ may use a Command to have the Artillery FO
attempt a Call for Fire Action via the Phone and then the Arty
If the firing unit tracks ammunition, it uses two ammunition
FO communicates with the Artillery as the firing agency with
points instead of one. Remove Concentrate Fire markers in the
his Arty FD Net radio. When the CO HQ is eligible, he may use
Clean Up Phase (6.5.1).
the Bn TAC Net to communicate with any firing agency. When
PLT HQs are eligible, they use the CO TAC Net to communicate
6.7 Indirect Fire Missions with any firing agency (the CO HQ relays the PLT HQ to the ap-
Fire missions are requests for support from artillery, mortars, and propriate network without the use of any additional Commands).
air strikes, and are collectively referred to as Fire Support. The
6.7.2 Available Fire Mission Types
Fire Support Available Table in the Mission Instructions lists:
a) Firing Agency (the organizations providing fire support) A. High Explosive (HE)
b) Ammo (the available types of Fire Missions) This is the most common type of Fire Mission, intended to cause
c) Mod (the NCM for each Fire Mission) enemy casualties.
d) Draws (the eligible observers and number of cards each is B. Time-on-Target (TOT)
allowed to draw when attempting a Call for Fire Action) This is a more complex Fire Mission where all rounds of the
e) #FMs (the number of Fire Missions available for each type first volley hit the ground at the same time. It is effective, but it
of Fire Mission) takes time and planning.
In order to receive Fire Support you must first make a Call for C. Smoke / White Phosphorous (WP)
Fire Action. First make sure that the prerequisites (6.7.1) are met, A Smoke Mission typically creates smoke for screening the
then select the type of Fire Mission you want to make (6.7.2). movement of friendly forces or marking targets for air attacks.
Finally, resolve the attempt. A WP Mission is a combination of HE and smoke and so has
6.7.1 Call for Fire Prerequisites both blast and screening effects, though neither of these is as
effective as an individual Smoke or HE Mission. WP is most
Target often used to mark targets for air attack. This type of Fire Mis-
You may only attempt a Call for Fire Action on a valid target. sion may target an unoccupied card in order to screen friendly
For most Fire Missions a card with a spotted enemy unit is a forces and movements.
valid target. For Smoke/White Phosphorus intended to conceal
or screen movement, however, it may target any unoccupied card, D. Final Protective Fire
or a card containing unspotted enemy units (6.7.2C). Also called FPF, this is a pre-registered Fire Mission used dur-
ing Defensive Missions. When called, the firing agency fires
Availability the mission at rapid-fire either until told to stop or until it runs
You may only attempt a Call for Fire Action if you have an avail- out of ammo. The intent of FPF Missions is to breakup enemy
able Fire Mission (FM). The # FMs column of the Fire Support assaults. If an FPF Mission is listed as available in the Mission
Available Table in the Mission Instructions indicates how many Instructions, place an appropriate FPF Marker before the mission
missions of each type are available. Mark them on the Mission begins on any card not occupied by friendly forces and within
Log when expended. LOS of an observer.
Eligibility E. Illumination
The Draws columns of the Fire Support Available Table indi- Parachute flares fired to provide illumination during night mis-
cate which units can function as observers; i.e., which units can sions.
attempt a Call for Fire Action. You can use only the indicated
units to Call for Fire. Some Missions allow for CO HQs (and
even PLT HQs) to Call for Fire. They are capable of doing this
via the CO TAC Net or the BN TAC Net (in the CO HQs case).
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
38 Fields of Fire | Rulebook
F. Air Strike Also, like any other Direct Fire, it is subject to the Terrain Effects
For real world commanders, this mission is more complex than a dictated by the card borders that the fire crosses. (Remember that
standard Call for Fire, and is delivered from helicopters or fixed- G!-rated mortar teams must be given an order to fire. H-rated
wing aircraft. This type of FM has the additional prerequisite teams open fire automatically.)
of a mark. A mark is a visual cue intended to aid the pilot in Indirect Lay involves employing indirect fire using an observer
identifying the target. You must first place a mark before you just like off-map artillery and mortars. Only two- and three-Step
can attempt an air strike, thus it takes two Commands. A mark is mortar units (often called mortar sections or Platoons historically)
either colored smoke pyrotechnic placed on the closest friendly may use Indirect Lay. Indirect Lay firing requires someone who
card to the target or a WP Fire Mission on the intended target. is eligible to command the Mortar to spot for him and give him
G. Battalion Fire Mission an order to call down fire. The mortar can either have his own
A variation of an HE or TOT Mission is the Battalion Fire Mis- radio or phone or be co-located on a card with another unit that
sion, which is only available to artillery. If a drawn card contains has a radio or phone (this is considered good enough). There
the 3-Bursts icon and if the Mission Instructions say Battalion is no card draw; he automatically places the H VOF. Note that
Fire Missions are available, then you may perform a Battalion the Mortar will not continue to do this every turnit will need
Fire Mission. Choose two Terrain cards bordering the original to be ordered every time you want it to fire Indirect. When us-
target card; place a Pending Fire Mission marker on these cards, ing Indirect Lay, on map mortars do not have to trace a straight
too. These two cards do not have to be in the LOS of the observer. LOS to the target, but must be in range traced in cards including
diagonally and not including the card the mortar occupies.
6.7.3 Resolving an Attempt to Call for Fire When firing Indirect Lay the mortar does not place a PDF, thus
Draw a number of Action cards, modified by Experience Level, it does not help qualify a card for Crossfire. Also, it is treated
as indicated on the Mission Instructions for the type of Fire the same as Incoming! in regard to terrain effects (i.e., it uses the
Mission being performed. The attempt is successful if the Burst lower number and also the 1 on some cards).
con is present on one of the cards. If successful, place a Pending
Fire Mission marker on the target and expend an available Fire 6.7.5 Registered Targets
Mission on the Mission Log. If not successful, do not place any The instructions for some missions indicate that you can begin
markers and do not expend an available Fire Mission. Flip all the mission with a registered target for off-map artillery (but not
Pending Fire markers to their Active (Burst icons) sides at the mortars). If so, place a Target marker on the card of your choice.
beginning of the VOF Segment. You may also place a Target marker on a card after a successful
One of the inherent dangers of indirect fire is a short round. Fire Mission on that card from either off-map artillery or off-map
The complexity of the procedure coupled with the stress of mortars. You can have no more than one Target marker in play
combat means that from time to time a Fire Mission does not per firing agency. Remove the Target marker if the firing agency
hit its intended target. If a drawn card contains the Burst icon fires at a different target.
with the word Short in it, the Short draw takes precedence Add another card to the draw for an Attempt to Call for Fire from
over any other draw made in that call for fire. The Fire Mission an Off-Map Firing unit (4.2.4i) for any fire by the registered firing
has gone awry. If the firing agency was artillery or mortars, agency on the card containing its Target marker.
place the Pending Fire Mission marker one card closer to the
observer along its LOS, unless the observer is calling in fire on 6.8 Ammunition
his own position (the observer occupies the target card). In this
case, randomly choose a bordering card and place the Pending Managing limited ammunition is a critical aspect of modern
Fire Mission marker there. When a Short is drawn for an air infantry combat. You must track ammunition expenditure for
strike mission, randomly choose a card bordering the mark and units that require it, both friendly and enemy, on the Mission
place the marker there. Log. Whenever any of the following weapons fires, indicate the
expenditure of an ammo point on the Mission Log.
6.7.4 On-Map Mortars Use Ammo markers only when moving ammo around the map.
On-map mortars have two methods of lay, lay meaning how Ammo markers only depict the basic types; in some missions
they engage targets. Direct Lay is when the mortar crew can there are various specific calibers and you must note them on the
observe the target. When they are used this way, they fire just Mission Log as different calibers that are not interchangeable.
like any other infantry unit. One-Step mortar teams may only The number on a marker indicates the number of ammo points
use Direct Lay. A Call for Fire Command can be issued to an it represents.
on-map two- or three-Step Mortar unit that is in communication
with a unit on the proper TAC Net.
When firing Direct Laymeaning that the Mortar is firing at a
card to which it has LOS, whether the H-rated squad or the G!-
rated teamthat fire is treated exactly like any other Direct Fire
(Exception: Mortars can always fire over friendly units). Thus,
it places a PDF, making it eligible to help qualify for Crossfire.
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
Fields of Fire | Rulebook 39
Turn 5 5
Command Phaseactivate Helos.
Vehicle Phasemove to LZ. Cycle
complete.
Turn 1 1
Vehicle Phase1st wave lands in LZ.
Turn 4
Passengers disembark.
Command Phaseactivate Helos.
Exposed to Vehicle combat in the Vehicle Disembark casualties.
Phase and Infantry Fire in Turn 1 Com- Load supplies/reinforcements. 4
bat Phase.
Vehicle Phasemove to Inbound.
Turn 2 2 Turn 3 3
Command Phaseactivate Helos, Command Phaseactivate Helos.
embark casualties.
Vehicle Phasemove to PZ.
Vehicle Phasemove to Outbound.
the Command Phase, you may have the CO HQ activate a vehicle Rocket is Close Range. Place the FAC on a card of your choice
PLT HQ or FLT LDR, just as it would activate any other PLT during the Vehicle Movement and Combat Phase. You do not
HQ or Staff. If not activated by the Company HQ, draw for the fly it from card to card, and so it is only vulnerable to reaction
HQ in the Platoon HQ Initiative Impulse. You may have it save AT Combat on the card where you place it. In Vietnam missions,
Commands just like any other HQ or Staff unit. You may have Attack Helicopters and Airborne FACs are only vulnerable to
only the Company HQ or an individual vehicles PLT HQ or Small Arms, Automatic Weapons, and 12.7mm HMG.
FLT LDR activate individual vehicles that belong to its Platoon
or flight unless you attached the vehicle to a particular Platoon 7.1.4 Fixed Wing Gunships
before the beginning of the mission. You may also activate any During Vietnam missions, gunships fly at higher altitudes and
vehicle that belongs to a Platoon or flight by General Initiative. are not vulnerable to AT Combat. They only fly during night
You may never attach a helicopter to an infantry PLT HQ. missions.
Some vehicles, such as trucks and jeeps, have limited crews and/ Like the FAC, you automatically activate an AC47 by plac-
or no radios and are not indicated in the Mission Instructions as ing it anywhere on the map during the Vehicle Movement and
being part of a vehicle Platoon. Jeeps and similar small vehicles Combat Phase. You can move it to any card each subsequent
have no crew. Whatever unit is embarked on it functions as the turn and can have it loiter for the entire mission once available.
driver. Trucks come with a small crew but do not normally have Once placed, it can place 3 Heavy Weapons VOF and place 3
radios. They must be given a Command to move individually. air-dropped illumination markers in any combination of 3 cards
You can activate a truck for movement using any HQ or Staff that it occupies or are adjacent to it. It does not require ongoing
unit in Visual-Verbal communication or by General Initiative. Call for Fire Action.
There are some anti-tank or anti-aircraft guns that are consid-
ered vehicles for all purposes except they may not move during 7.2 Activating Vehicles
the course of a mission. These are indicated on the Vehicle and In contrast to Infantry, you may activate a vehicle only once
Anti-Tank Weapons Chart under the Mobile column. Certain during a turn. Activate a vehicle during the Command Segment,
aircraft, such as Attack Helicopters, Forward Air Controller and place an Activated marker on it at that time as a reminder.
(FAC) Aircraft, and Fixed Wing Gunships (AC47), are treated Though activated during the Command Segment, do not perform
as special cases. a vehicle Action with the unit until the Vehicle Movement and
Combat Phase. You may move or initiate combat only with
7.1.2 Attack Helicopters
activated vehicles. You may have a non-activated vehicle per-
You call for an Attack Helicopter in the same manner as a Close form combat only in reaction to the fire and movement of other
Air Support Mission. If the call is successful, you have activated vehicles. Move and fire each activated vehicle one at a time until
the Attack Helicopter. Place it directly on a card whenever you its activation is complete. If both enemy and friendly vehicles
wish during the Vehicle Movement and Combat Phase. You do not activate, alternate Actions with the attacking side going first.
fly it from card to card, and so it is only vulnerable to reaction Flip a units Activation marker to its Moved/Fired side when
AT Combat on the card on which you place it. However, check you have finished its Action, and remove all the markers in the
for reaction AT Combat against the aircraft when you place it. Clean Up Phase.
Attack Helicopters are typically deployed in a two-aircraft sec-
tion. The two aircraft counters are called by a single call for fire
7.2.1 Preplanned Transport
at a specific target card. If both are undamaged, you may attack In some missions the transport Vehicles have a preplanned
the target card and any one Adjacent card (if desired) with its schedule. The mission instructions will indicate if the transport
VOF. If only one aircraft is undamaged, you may attack the target is preplanned and what the schedule is for the transport to arrive,
card only. Short fire (6.7.3) also applies to Attack Helicopter drop off your units, and leave the map. Vehicles on preplanned
missions, though only the new target card receives attacks. missions need not be activated. They carry out their schedule
only. They may exert a VOF (if the Vehicle has a printed VOF)
An Attack Helicopter may loiter for an additional turn (a total
while in the course of their preplanned schedule.
of two turns). If you want the helicopter to attack a different
target the second turn, you must go through the call procedure
again. Otherwise, an Attack Helicopter automatically performs a 7.3 Movement
second attack on its original targets, suffering potential reaction 7.3.1 Ground Movement
AT Combat as before.
You may move a ground vehicle from one card to another for an
7.1.3 Forward Air Controller Aircraft unlimited number of cards. However, it must stop moving when
A FAC Aircraft does not require commands, and you may have it enters a SLOW trafficability card and you may not have it
it loiter for an additional four turns (for a total of five turns.) enter a NO trafficability card (1.2.1b). A vehicle may not move
Each turn you may have it perform one Attempt to Call for Fire after it fires, but it may move before firing if there is a number in
from an Off-Map Firing unit Action (but only if its Air Support its Move & Fire column on the Vehicle and Anti-Tank Weapons
from a fixed wing aircraft or an attack helicopter) and you may Chart on the Player Aid card (7.5c).
have it mark the target with a WP marker. The range of the WP
Air Assault Planning Staging Area to the Inbound Staging Area. You can have several
A helicopter assault is a complex operation and requires careful more UH1s land additional Company elements with the purpose
planning. This is usually done during Task Organization (2.4.3) of expanding the fire support capability of the LZ. In the ensuing
so the first wave lands on turn 1. Scenarios with mid-game air Vehicle Movement and Combat Phase, the first wave can depart
assaults will allow for a planning phase in the turn before the while the second wave disembarks troops.
air assault arrives.
An Air Assault plan should include the following: 7.5 Vehicle Actions
Designate a Landing Zone as described before. LZs may You may have a vehicle perform one (and only one) of the fol-
span up to three adjacent cards. Consider the number of lowing Actions during the Vehicle Movement and Combat Phase:
helicopters in the first wave and be sure the LZ is large enough A. Fire
to accommodate those aircraft. B. Move
Load/embark the units for the first wave. There is usually C. Move then Fire
not enough room on them to transport all the troops of the D. Reaction Fire, or
Company to the LZ at the same time. Youll need to split E. Spot
some Squads into Assault or Fire Teams, leaving unit Steps
in the Staging Area. The Move & Fire column on the Vehicle and Ranged Weapons
Chart indicates whether a unit can use a Move then Fire Action.
Have UH1 Troop Transports land and disembark troops to
An AT-capable infantry unit activated during the Command
secure the LZ. Landing aircraft are vulnerable to Reaction
Phase also fires during the Mutual Vehicle Aircraft Phase.
AT Combat if the LZ is within range of an enemy unit.
Place the first wave units on the Inbound Staging Area if you A. Fire
intend to land on the first turn. Fire against vehicle and helicopter targets is called Anti-Tank
Use CH-47 Heavy Lift helicopters to bring heavier elements (AT) Combat. A unit allowed to execute such fire is called an
or the remainder of the Company. AT-capable unit (see Glossary, 1.2.6). The only time a unit can
You dont need to land assault waves one after another, and you perform AT Combat is in the Mutual Vehicle-Aircraft Phase.
can build in delays in the Landing Plan by moving the follow Anti-Tank fire is resolved immediately. The target vehicle must
on waves from the PU Zone to Inbound area as needed. In some be in the firers LOS. Vehicle fire against an infantry target (re-
cases, you might feel the LZ is too hot to bring in the helicopters gardless if it is AT capable or is listed on the Vehicle and Anti-
safely. In addition, the assault plan must take into account the Tank Weapons Chart) places a VOF marker which is resolved
maximum capacity of 4 vehicles per card (1.2.1i). If the number in the Combat Effects Segment. Flip the Activated marker to
of helicopters exceeds the LZs capacity at the end of the Vehicle its Moved/Fired side.
Movement and Combat Phase, or if more helicopters try to land in Fire is the only Action available during the Mutual Vehicle Air-
the same turn than the LZ can accommodate, the excess aircraft craft Phase to an AT-capable infantry unit.
immediately abort their landing. If helicopters land on a card
containing a VOF marker, they receive fire prior to disembarking If a unit fires, first resolve any VOF present on the card from
any passengers. Helicopters on LZ cards at the beginning of the which it fires, then resolve the units AT Combat, and finally
Vehicle Phase may take off so that other helicopters may land. resolve any Reaction Fire from AT-capable units that have an
LOS. Enemy AT-capable units ALWAYS reaction fire if in range
Example: Sample Landing Plan (This is optional; there is no and LOS.
obligation to use this):
Note: A vehicle does not have to be activated to fire at infantry
1st Wave: in the Combat Phase (3.7). The purpose of activation is to allow
Three UH-1s (3-Step capacity each) Total of 9-Stepsa full it to fire at vehicles and/or move in the Mutual Vehicle-Aircraft
strength Platoon is 12-Steps. Each Squad leaves behind one- Phase. Moreover, a vehicle that has moved and/or fired in the
Step (if they have the Step to leave, this is annotated on the Mutual Vehicle-Aircraft Phase can still fire at infantry in the
Company Log). Combat Effects segment (i.e., resolve its VOF). Infantry fired
Stick 1 1st PLT HQ [1], 1/1st PLT () [2] = 3 Steps at by a Vehicle that earlier fired at another vehicle does not
Stick 2 Wpns / 1st PLT [1], 2/1st PLT () [2] = 3 Steps have to be in the same card as the targeted vehicle. However,
Stick 3 Wpns / 1st PLT [1], 3/1st PLT () [2] = 3 Steps in the Combat Effects segment the firing vehicle must fire
along any already-established PDF. Pinned Vehicles generate
Designers Note: Troops assigned to an aircraft are called All-Pinned VOFs just like Infantry units do. Additionally, when
sticks or chalks. Pinned they may be activated, but are bound by the restrictions
imposed on Pinned units in 4.2.5.
In the Vehicle Movement and Combat Phase, move the first wave
on the LZ Card from the Inbound Staging Area. Have UH1 Troop
Transports land and disembark troops to secure the LZ. Landing
aircraft are vulnerable to Reaction AT Combat if the LZ is within
range of an enemy unit. Move the second wave from the PU Zone
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
Fields of Fire | Rulebook 45
53 48 33 49
Row 3
13 38 19 44
Row 2
50 16 40 35
Row 1
Off Map
Staging
Area
US unit A: Note also that US unit A cannot see the enemy unit on card 19.
A unit always has a clear LOS to an adjacent card (except if in An LOS can only be traced along straight lines. To see this unit,
Smoke or under an Incoming! VOF), so US unit A can see the the LOS would have to go straight one card and then diagonally
enemy units on cards 13 and 38 regardless of blocking card sides one card (or vice versa), and that is not allowed.
or the spotting units height. US unit B:
In addition, blocking sides of the spotting units card and targets This unit has a clear LOS to both of the enemy units on cards 33
card do not matter, so US unit A also has a clear LOS to the units and 19 because they are on adjacent cards.
on card 33. This unit has a clear LOS to the unit on card 35 because unit B
However, US unit A has a clear LOS to the enemy unit on card can ignore the dark border on its own card [5.2.1].
40 only if it (the US unit) is on the upper floor of the Multi-Story
card it is on. If it is, then you ignore the blocking card sides on
card 38, thus providing unit A with a clear LOS to card 40.
You cannot see out of Incoming, but you can see in. Thus Now that illumination is introduced, the US units can see into
you continue to maintain a PDF into Incoming. You cannot the illuminated area (represented by the lighter background)
see through or over Incoming. but the Germans cannot see out of it. The reciprocal LOS
still exists between row 2, col. 1 and row 3, col. 2.
B. Move D. If the firing unit has a Move then Fire capability and has
Move the vehicle to an adjacent card. Resolve any VOF present moved, add the modifier from the Move & Fire column.
on the card from which it begins movement before movement. E. Finally, add any other applicable modifier listed at the bottom
If it survives that initial attack, move it onto another card. If of the Vehicle and Anti-Tank Weapons Chart.
that card has a VOF marker on it, immediately resolve the VOF The final result is called the AT modifier. Draw an Action card
present on that card. Lastly, resolve any Reaction Fire from any and add the AT modifier to the AT number shown on that card to
AT-capable units that have an LOS. get a final sum. Look up the final sum on the Anti-Armor Table
After resolving any Reaction Fire, and if the activated vehicle under the Anti-Tank Combat Resolution and Modifiers Chart to
survives, you may continue to move the vehicle (if allowed by determine the AT Combat result.
the movement restrictions), resolving VOF and Reaction Fires, If the firing unit has a Quick Shot capability, the target is not a
card by card. helicopter, and the AT combat result is 4, 2, 0, 2, or 4, then the
C. Move then Fire firing unit has obtained a Quick Shot result. You may have a unit
If the Move & Fire column for a vehicle has a number (even a that obtains a Quick Shot result fire another AT Combat. And you
0) in it, you may move such a unit as above and have it fire after may continue to do so as long as Quick Shot results are obtained.
entering any card. However, you must cease moving it after it You cannot obtain a Quick Shot result against a helicopter.
has fired. Follow a different procedure when firing a vehicle or an AT-
Capable unit that has a G! VOF. (Such units have smaller caliber
D. Reaction Fire
weapons like 37mm guns.) In this case, draw Action cards as in
As activated vehicles move and fire, they potentially come under
an Attempt to Make a Grenade Attack (two cards modified by
fire from reacting units. Reacting units are inactive vehicles or
Experience Level). If successful, then follow the procedure above
AT-capable infantry and activated vehicles or AT-capable infantry
(determine the net AT modifier, draw to get an AT number, and
that have not yet fired. You may have such a unit fire in reaction
add them together) to determine the final AT combat result on
to any vehicle that fires or moves within its LOS. You do not
the Anti-Armor Table.
need to expend Commands to fire these reacting units. You cannot
have a unit react to Reaction Fire. If a vehicle is in the LOS of a
vehicle or AT-capable infantry unit when it performs an activity 7.7 AT Combat Results
in lieu of firing (i.e., spotting), that activity makes it vulnerable While you resolve combat against vehicles and helicopters identi-
to reaction fire just as if it had moved or fired. cally, there are different combat results for each. The following
The VOF resolution against moving/firing vehicles is only for general concepts apply to all AT Combat Results:
those weapons which do not have a specific line on the Vehicle/ A Wreck marker provides cover like any other Cover marker.
AT Weapons Chart. Thus, a weapon that has both a VOF and a While such a marker does not count against the maximum
listing on the Vehicle/AT Weapons Chart would not get to attack a number of Cover markers allowed for a Terrain card (1.2.1f),
moving vehicle twice (with both its VOF and its Gunnery Modi- it does count against the vehicle capacity limits (1.2.1i),
fier). It would only attack with its Gunnery Modifier. which also apply to LZs.
After youve completed the movement and combat of all acti- A Burning Wreck marker does not provide cover, but does
vated vehicles, have all friendly vehicles that were not activated count against the vehicle capacity limits, which also applies
receive attacks from any VOF present on their cards. to LZs. The smoke from a burning wreck is not cumulative
with other burning wrecks on the same card. Smoke from a
E. Spot burning wreck blocks LOS.
You may have an activated vehicle that is not under a Pinned The Vehicle and Anti-Tank Weapons Chart lists the size of
marker attempt to spot an unspotted enemy unit in its LOS in lieu each vehicle types crew in Steps.
of firing. Perform the spotting attempt using the same procedure
as for other spotting attempts. Resolve any VOF fire before the A. Combat Results for Vehicles
spotting attempt. Treat the activated vehicle as if it had just fired. 1) Brewed Up
Replace the vehicle with a Burning Wreck marker. Convert each
7.6 Resolving AT Combat crew and passenger Step to a casualty.
Complete the following Steps in order: 2) Knocked Out
A. Determine the firing units Gunnery Modifier by cross- Replace the vehicle with a Wreck marker. Convert each crew
referencing the type of firing unit with the range to the target and passenger Step to a Fire Team and inflict a HIT result on
card on the Vehicle and Anti-Tank Weapons Chart. each. Resolve the HIT as if it occurred during the Combat Ef-
B. Add to this the defensive value of the target vehicle type from fects Phase. Place the teams under the Wreck marker, but mark
the Defensive Value column of the target. them Exposed.
C. Add any Cover & Concealment modifiers present on the
target units card.
3) Retreating
The vehicle crew decides discretion is the better part of valor. 8.0 Visibility
Remove the vehicle and any passengers it is carrying from play Each Mission lists the visibility condition. Normal visibility is
for the remainder of the mission. +0 or +1. When the Visibility Modifier is greater than +1, the
4) Pinned mission takes place under the effects of Limited Visibility. Place
Place a Pinned marker on the vehicle to indicate that it is but- a Visibility marker near the map to note the Visibility Modifier
toned-up. Pinned vehicles have a 1 modifier if targeted in AT dictated by Mission Instructions.
Combat. They may not Spot. They incur a +1 modifier if firing in Note that Grenade, Incoming!, Mines, Claymores, and Booby
AT Combat. Remove the Pinned marker at the end of the Vehicle Trap VOF are not affected by the Visibility Modifier.
Movement and Combat Phase, but only if the vehicle was not
the recipient of any form of attack during that phase. 8.1 Limited Visibility Effects
5) Missed Limited Visibility affects Commands, LOS, and combat.
No effect.
1) Commands:
B. Combat Results for Helicopters (& FAC Aircraft) The maximum number of commands that can be spent by an HQ
1) Shot Down Crashed or Staff unit during Limited Visibility is 4. The maximum num-
Replace the helicopter with a Burning Wreck marker. Convert ber of saved Commands by experience in Limited Visibility is:
each crew and passenger Step to a Casualty. Green 2
2) Shot Down Auto Rotate Line 4
Replace the helicopter with a Wreck marker. Convert each crew Veteran 6
and passenger Step to a Fire Team and inflict a HIT result on
each. Resolve each HIT as if it occurred during the Combat Ef- 2) Line of Sight
fects Phase. Place the teams under the Wreck marker, but mark During Limited Visibility the maximum LOS range without
them Exposed. Illumination or a night observation device is reduced to Close
Range (adjacent).
3) Aborted Damaged
Immediately move the helicopter to the Enroute Staging Area. 3) Combat
Consider it damaged enough to be unavailable to support the The Visibility Modifier (normal or limited) is part of the NCM.
rest of the mission. Return the helicopter and any passengers to Apply the Visibility Modifier of between +0 and +5 to the Net
the Pickup Staging Area in the following turn where the aircraft Combat Modifier (NCM).
lands and is unable to leave. Any dropped passengers may fly in
on another undamaged helicopter. 8.2 Illumination
4) Aborted Undamaged The Campaign Instructions list available illumination. Illumina-
The helicopter aborts the current Action, but is still available to tion is available for any mission that has one or more turns where
support the mission during subsequent turns. Immediately move the visibility is Moon of any value. Illumination can be delivered
the helicopter to the Enroute Staging Area, where you may have from several sources. Use it to mitigate the effects of Limited
it re-enter the map in a subsequent turn. Retain any passengers Visibility at night. Illumination does not help in Rain/Snow
on board. or Fog conditions.
eight markers of letters B and C, mix eight letter B markers and 9.2 Generating Enemy Forces
eight letter C markers, and then randomly place eight of those
16 in play showing their ? sides. If there are not enough PC Upon making contact, determine the type of enemy contact and
markers of one letter, select as many as possible of that letter place it on the map as follows.
and then select an equal number of the other letter or letters. 9.2.1 Type of Enemy Contact
For instance, several Vietnam missions say to place PC markers
For each PC marker where contact has occurred determine the
randomly on 25 cards. In this case, select all 16 A markers, all
type and disposition of the enemy. Draw an Action card and
16 B markers, and all 16 C markers, randomize them, and place
check the random number under 10. Cross-reference this num-
25 of them in play showing their ? sides.
ber under the PC marker letter in the Mission Information to
9.1.3 Placement of PC Markers for Defensive Missions find a resulting enemy force. Check the #/Result on the Enemy
For Defensive Missions, place PC markers on cards or entire Force Package Table in the Campaign Instructions for an exact
rows as indicated by the Mission Instructions during the Enemy description of the enemy.
Activity Checks. Then resolve them normally (9.1.5). Remove The Enemy Force Package Table provides the following infor-
any PC marker not resolved by the end of a particular turn. mation:
9.1.4 Counter Attacks Package Name usually descriptive, but see Description for
exact details.
Some Offensive Missions call for a counter attack on a particu-
lar turn or as a result of an Enemy Higher HQ Event. During a Place VOF/PDF? Determines whether or not the enemy im-
counter attack turn, place a PC marker of the type indicated in mediately opens fire. Enemy forces that do not initially have a
the Mission Instructions on every US-occupied card. This may VOF/PDF will likely automatically open fire the moment the
take place over a number of turns as specified in the event. Some on-map situation changes during subsequent turns.
missions may have a different set of enemy force packages just Unit Spotted? Determines if you can see the new unit or not.
for counter attacks. The sequence of play for the mission is still If Yes, your eligible available units will open fire on it. If No,
that of an Offensive Mission, but the Activity Checks (9.4) are flip the PC marker to its ? side and place on top of the newly
made with Assault tactics for the next three turns or until the arriving enemy as a reminder the unit(s) is unspotted.
mission ends, whichever comes first.
Placement Determines where to place the unit. This columns
9.1.5 Resolving PC Markers information is only used if the Mission Unit Placement table
PC markers are resolved during the VOF Phase. Wherever a US shows Per Package Placement Table. You must continue to roll
unit is on a card with a PC marker, there is a potential enemy on the Mission Unit Placement table to find a direction.
contact. If any PC marker is on its question mark side with a US Description shows the types and number of units to be placed:
unit, flip it to its letter side before resolving it (but not those ? Mines,
being used to mark unspotted enemy units). Incoming (NCM #),
To resolve a marker, check the Potential Contact Draws Chart Sniper,
(also on a hint card) and cross-reference the markers letter with Illumination,
the Current Activity Level. If the cross-reference says Auto, Leaders (choose randomly)
you make contact without having to draw any cards. If the cross- Forward Observers,
reference is a number, you must draw that number of cards. If Teams,
any card drawn contains the word Contact! in the upper center, Squads,
you make contact. If the word Contact! is not drawn there is
Guns/Weapons, or
no contact with the Enemy. In either case remove the PC marker.
Combination of the above.
Adjust the Current Activity marker as enemy forces appear, if
necessary (9.1). Always just place one of any indicated unit type. If multiple
units are listed, place those with a + sign together on the same
If more than one PC marker needs to be resolved, do it in al-
card. Place those separated by a / character on separate cards.
phabetical order. Resolve multiple markers of the same letter in
In that way, a complex contact may occur from multiple direc-
random order.
tions simultaneously. Annotate the back of the Mission Log with
When you make contact, consult the Mission Instructions to enemy unit and ammo information.
determine the type of contact based on the letter of the PC
If the generated package cannot be set up because one or more
marker (9.2.1).
units are not available due to counter mix limits, disregard the
If two PC markers end up on a card due to some event (such as original package and draw additional cards until you generate a
a Counterattack), remove the lower letter (A is highest). package that contains unit types that are all still available.
You can move vehicles through Terrain cards without resolving
their PC markers. Resolve contact only on the card where the
vehicle ends movement.
9.2.2 Location of Enemy Contact case only, Enemy units do place VOFs on cards that contain other
All Mines and Incoming markers are placed on the card where Enemy units. You will find that in most cases, it is still advanta-
the contact occurred; for all others a location must be determined. geous for the Enemy to do so, as their own troops are generally
Draw an Action card and check the random number under 10. in field fortifications. This represents interlocking fortifications
Reference this number under the Unit Placement Table in the firing close in fire to prevent the US from overrunning the card.
Mission Information to find a resulting placement. This place- Enemy units placed that are firing through intervening PC mark-
ment indicates the direction and distance of the enemy forces ers along the line of fire cause those intervening PC markers to
relative to the Terrain card where contact occurred. Be sure to be removed if at the same level (the enemy will not intentionally
check the Mission information for any special force or place- fire through its own troops; the enemy will fire over the heads of
ment instructions. its own troops that are at a lower elevation).
If the placement result is Per Package Table Placement, refer to The placement of Enemy forces may cause the map to expand
the Placement column in that campaigns Enemy Force Package past its original configuration by placing additional Terrain cards.
Table to determine whether to place the units on the same card as US units may not leave the original boundaries unless specifically
where the contact occurred, on cards adjacent to the contact card, indicated by the Mission Instructions. This may even cause the
or on cards at the current maximum LOS range from the contact map to extend into the Staging Area. (If so, the main Staging
card. If that column tells you to place the unit on an adjacent Area expands as well to allow US movement off-map per 2.3.5.)
card, or at max LOS, continue to draw on the Unit Placement To expand the map, draw a new Terrain card from the deck and
Table until you get a direction (Front/Side/Rear; Left; Right). place it where needed. If its a Hill card, place it and continue
Note that when placing at max LOS, the enemy unit must never to draw until you get a non-Hill card to put on it. If an enemy
be placed beyond its max range. unit is to be placed at max range, and the Terrain Card allows
The direction is relative to the players orientation to the map for LOS to pass through it, continue to draw Terrain Cards until
(Front is the next row toward the top of the map in relation to the max range is reached for the enemy unit, or a Terrain Card is
player, left is to his left, etc.). The Mission Instructions indicate drawn that blocks LOS through it.
whether or not the enemy is spotted and whether or not it is in 9.2.3 Enemy Cover
cover and the type of cover, if applicable. Do not place a unit
The Mission Instructions list a default Cover Level. Place all
that is listed after a / character on the same card as another
enemy units in that package being placed on the same card under
unit in the same package; continue to check for placement until
the indicated Cover marker unless
you determine a different card.
a) the units package specifically mentions another type of cover,
Whenever placing a unit at max LOS, it must be able to see the
in which case use that one instead, or
unit triggering the contact. This represents contact being made
by the enemy unit opening fire. b) it indicates the unit is Exposed, in which case do not use any
Cover marker.
You cannot place a package on a card where the card is already
along the PDF of another enemy unit; continue drawing cards When an Enemy Force Package makes no mention of Cover,
until a valid location is found. You cannot place an enemy pack- place the Enemy unit(s) in Default Cover according to Mission
age on a card that already contains enemy units. Exception: When instructions. When it says under [fortification type], place the
you receive a + result, those units are placed together. Continue unit(s) under that fortification type. When it says in Cover,
drawing cards until a valid location is found. place the unit(s) under a +1 Cover marker. When it says No
Cover, then no cover is placed for the unit(s). Enemy units
An enemy package may appear on a card containing US units if
placed in Multi-Story building cover are placed on the ground
called for by the Package Tables.
floor, unless otherwise indicated by the package instructions.
Note: If a mortar team gets on a card with your units, they
will, by rule, only be able to engage those on-card units, thus
9.2.4 Enemy Firing (VOF/PDF)
you will need to flip the mortar unit to its Fire Team side in When placed, enemy units will always target the unit that trig-
order for them to be able to engage those units. Enemy forces gered their placement. Exception: In Vol. I Vietnam and Vol. II
may go on a card that still has a PC marker. In this case, leave Peleliu missions only, enemy units can be generated on the card
the PC marker in place. of US units that did not trigger them, thus causing them to open
fire on that card rather than the unit that triggered them. This
An enemy force may not go on a card that currently has an enemy represents the extensive use of tunneling by the enemy in Vietnam
Volume of Fire marker. Continue drawing cards until a valid and the cave and spider holes on Peleliu.
location appears. This applies in reverse, too. That is, you cant If the placement location drawn does not legally allow the enemy
place an enemy VOF on a card with an enemy unit, even one unit to target the triggering US unit, redraw for a different place-
that has not yet been spotted by US units. Exception: When a US ment. Continue drawing until the above requirement is met. If
unit is on a card that contains both an Enemy unit and a PC, if that package cannot legally be placed to comply with this, redraw
that PC triggers an enemy unit that places a VOF, that triggered for a different package. If NO available package could legally
Enemy unit will place its VOF on the card of the triggering unit comply, then discard the contact entirely.
(targeting the US unit that triggered it, per 9.2.4). Thus, in this
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
52 Fields of Fire | Rulebook
9.3 Spotting the Enemy first, then Good Order units, and then any leaders. Draw a card
using the Random Number section appropriate to the applicable
Some enemy units are placed in play automatically spotted as case to determine what Action or attempts, if any, the unit per-
per the Enemy Force Package Tables. Many enemy units come forms. Implement or attempt that Action immediately before
into play unspotted. Unspotted applies to all occupants of a moving on to the next enemy unit.
card. You may not have friendly units engage enemy units on
an unspotted card, even though enemy units on that card may be An enemy unit not otherwise engaged against a friendly unit must
engaging friendly units. Friendly forces are always considered engage (place a VOF marker and PDF marker) any friendly unit
spotted by the enemy. that moves into its LOS; no draw is necessary. Unlike friendly
forces, Enemy units will engage cards that contain units from
In order to spot an enemy unit, a unit must be commanded to
both sides. If more than one occupied card is in its LOS, it en-
make an Action attempt during the Command Phase with a base
gages the largest target in terms of friendly Steps. If equal, use
draw of two cards, as modified by the modifiers on the Spotting
a random selection (1.2.2.e) to determine the enemy PDF. An
Attempts Draw Modifiers Chart. As per the rules for Action
enemy unit loses its PDF if a US unit enters its card; it switches
draws, the minimum draw is always one card. Note some modi-
its fire to the entering unit. Enemy units will not continue to
fiers pertain to the unit attempting to spot, while others pertain
fire into a card where there are no longer any valid targets (any
to the enemy unit it is trying to spot.
non-casualty units). In this case assume the enemy has received
A card can never contain both spotted and unspotted enemy a Cease Fire Command.
units. If one unit on the card is spotted, all units on that card,
Do not make an Activity Check for any unit whose Action is
including those that move in, are spotted. An unspotted enemy
mandated by another rule, such as a unit that is out of ammo. If
unit that moves into a card with a spotted enemy unit is auto-
a result is drawn on the Enemy Activity Hierarchy tables that an
matically spotted.
enemy unit cannot legally perform, and there are no alternatives
An unspotted enemy cannot be purposely targeted. There are listed for that result, or if there is no row that applies to the unit
only two cases where an unspotted enemy unit can be affected in its current state, then that enemy unit does nothing.
by a friendly VOF:
When an enemy unit needs to choose among targets on its own
If you receive a Battalion Fire Mission and one or both of the card, it selects the largest target first, then randomly among equal
adjacent cards you choose has unspotted enemies present. sized targets.
If an unspotted enemy unit ends up on a card that already
has a friendly VOF on it (one example of this would be if Enemy units that move are subject to the same restrictions as
US units are firing into an empty card and a PC placement US units that move. Thus, mark any enemy unit that moves,
result puts an enemy on that card) including one that Falls Back or Seeks Cover, with an Exposed
marker. In addition, certain unit types, as listed in 6.4, cannot
fire if marked with an Exposed marker.
9.4 Enemy Activity Checks
Enemy units that receive a Fall Back result will move away
During the Enemy Activity Check segment of each turn, check from US units into one of the 3 cards to the rear (or two cards if
each Enemy unit individually. Remember first to determine ran- it is on the edge of the map). The first priority for the Fall Back
domly in what order to check each enemy-occupied card, then move is the card that is out of LOS of any US units. Next prior-
within each card to check Pinned/LAT units, Good Order units, ity is the card with the highest terrain value. If more than one of
and Leaders, in that order. Each enemy unit will be checked the allowable cards fits these priorities, then determine the card
only once per turn, regardless what change of status may occur. randomly. If an enemy unit is targeting a US unit on its card
There are three different Activity Check Hierarchy Tables: and it receives a Fall Back result, it will continue to target that
Pinned/LAT, same US unit after executing the Fall Back (unless, of course,
Offensive, and it has Fallen Back onto a card that also contains a US unit). Do
not extend the map if an enemy unit leaves it due to a Fall Back
Defensive.
result from an Activity Check Hierarchy. Remove the unit from
On the Offensive and Defensive Hierarchy Activity Tables, play instead.
there are columns for different enemy tactics (Defensive: Delay,
Note that some Enemy Activity Hierarchy results will call for an
Hasty, Deliberate; Offensive: Assault, Overrun). Find the hier-
enemy unit to be removed and be replaced with a PC marker. In
archy and the tactics the enemy is using for the mission in the
all such cases, place the same letter PC marker that was placed
Mission Details table and then use the corresponding column
on the row at setup. If there is a PC marker already present, do
for all Activity Checks. Check all Pinned and LAT units on the
not place anothersimply remove the enemy unit.
Pinned/LAT table. Note that during a Counterattack the tactics
might change (9.1.4).
For all charts, find the first case that applies to the unit, starting
at the top and proceeding to the bottom of the appropriate tactics
column. Randomly determine the order in which you check the
enemy-occupied cards. For each card, check Pinned/LAT units
9.5 Mines, Booby Traps, and Claymores any US units, the sniper regains its unspotted status. In contrast,
Snipers in field fortifications or caves remain in place if spotted.
Place any Mines VOF marker discovered via Poten-
tial Contact on the same card as the unit resolving If no targets exist on the target card, the sniper will engage the
the Potential Contact. Every unit currently on the closest friendly-occupied card in its LOS. If multiple potential
card, friendly or enemy, must immediately do a mine target cards exist, engage the card with the most Steps. If there
check. As indicated on the marker, draw three Action cards for are still multiple cards possible, determine the new target card
each unit. If any card contains a Burst icon, then the unit has randomly (6.2.2).
been hit; flip the Mine marker to the explosion side as a re- If a Sniper no longer has any eligible targets, leave it in place
minder to implement the hit(s) during the Combat Effects Seg- until another target appears.
ment. For infantry units, the VOF for a mine is 4 and for AT Note that snipers are not governed by the Enemy Activity Hier-
Combat the VOF is 2. archy, but by this section. However, if Pinned or reduced to an
Thereafter, you must have each infantry unit or vehicle, friendly LAT, snipers then will follow the Enemy LAT Activity Hierarchy.
or enemy, that enters or moves within a mined card check for a If a vehicle moves into a card that is being targeted by a Sniper,
mine attack by drawing three cards for each unit and checking the vehicle is subject only to the S VOF from the Sniper, not
for a Burst icon. This applies whether its the same turn that the from the H (the H only affects the specific target). However, if
mine was discovered or a later turn. You do not need to check a vehicle is ON a card when a Sniper is choosing a target, that
for a mine attack when a unit leaves a mined card. You cannot vehicle is part of the target selection process and, if selected,
remove a mine. will then be subject to the H VOF from the Sniper (in this case
Booby Traps appear in the same manner as mines. A Booby Trap the sniper has the time to target the crew).
does not persist, however, but attacks only once. When a booby
trap appears, it automatically attacks one unit with a 4 mine 9.7 Leaders
attack. If multiple units occupy the card, determine randomly When a leader appears via a PC marker, randomly
which one to attack. There are no separate Booby Trap markers; choose a leader. There is no functional difference
use a Grenade Attack marker as a reminder when one appears. between available enemy leaders.
Claymore Mines are available as indicated in the
When an enemy leader is in play, draw an additional
Mission Instructions. Place them at the start of the
card for any Action attempts made by enemy units in Visual-
mission on or adjacent to any US occupied card, no
Verbal communication with the leader. Flip an enemy leader
more than one per card. If an enemy unit enters or
alone on a card to its Fire Team side during the first Enemy
appears on a card with a Claymore, after all enemy units have
Activity Check Segment after being left alone.
moved, the Claymore attacks one unit with a 4 mine attack. If
multiple units could be attacked, determine randomly which one
to attack. Remove the Claymore after it is used once. 9.8 Indirect Fire Spotters
Place an enemy Incoming! VOF marker on the same
Note: Mines, Booby Traps, and Claymores are not affected
card as the unit resolving the Potential Contact that
by Limited Visibility.
created the marker. There is always a spotter control-
ling Incoming! VOF. Draw an Action card to deter-
9.6 Snipers mine the placement of the spotter per the Contact Placement
Table in the Mission Instructions, but always place it unspotted
Upon contacting a sniper, draw an Action card to
at maximum LOS range from the affected card. The initial fire
determine the placement of the sniper per the Con-
happens automatically without the need for a draw.
tact Placement Table in the Mission Instructions.
However, always place it unspotted at maximum Provided the spotter remains in Good Order and has Fire Missions
LOS range from the affected card. A sniper may attack with remaining, it continues to call for fire with the following priority:
Grenades, and it may employ a free Grenade Attack when it is 1. Units in the same card as its Incoming! VOF marker.
the subject of an enemy Grenade Attack. 2. The card within its LOS that has a vehicle.
A sniper remains in play and continues to attack the card that 3. The card within its LOS that has the most Steps.
brought the sniper on the map until spotted. Once it is spotted, 4. If multiple cards have an equal number of Steps, and are at
you must move a Good Order sniper one card away from any the same range, then determine the target randomly.
friendly units during each Activity Check Segment until it is out 5. If no target exists, the spotter does nothing.
of friendly LOS or has exited the map (exiting the map removes
The number of available missions (including the initial one),
it from play). When a Good Order Sniper is Spotted and thus
the Net Combat Modifier, and the number of draws for all fires
following his instructions to move one card away from US units
after the first are included in the mission instructions. After the
until out of LOS, his first priority is the allowable card that is out
automatic Call for Fire during Placement, an enemy spotter
of LOS of all US units. His next priority is the card with the high-
Calls for Fire normally in the Enemy Activity Check Segment.
est terrain value. If more than one of the allowable cards fit the
A Fire Mission is expended only if the Call for Fire draw was
priorities, then determine the card randomly. Once out of LOS of
2008, 2017 GMT Games, LLC
54 Fields of Fire | Rulebook
successful. Remove Good Order spotters from play when they number of captured Steps taken on a given card. The guard Step
have expended all their available Fire Missions. is immediately removed from play along with the prisoners. If the
Like the sniper, Enemy spotters are not governed by the Enemy guarding step is friendly, it is not available for the remainder of
Activity Hierarchy but by their own rules in this section. How- the mission, but returns between missions and retains its original
ever, if Pinned or reduced to an LAT, Enemy spotters will then experience (it is not considered an LAT). Enemy casualties are
follow the Enemy LAT Activity Hierarchy. automatically captured if their card is Cleared by the end of the
Mutual Capture & Retreat Phase. Simply remove them from play
and place them on the Asset Holding Card (10.3.1). Enemy units
9.9 Enemy Ammunition never capture friendly casualties.
Track enemy ammunition and Fire Missions on the
Note: This is a streamline from Vol. I as too much energy was
back side of the Mission Log, or with the markers
expended on what ifs with taking, guarding, and transport-
provided (some players prefer tracking ammo on
ing prisoners when it does not actually happen often, and, in
map). In the Clean Up Phase, remove from play any
reality, is fairly mundane.
unspotted enemy Weapons team that runs out of ammunition.
Have any spotted, Good Order enemy Weapons team that runs out
of ammo attempt to leave the map by moving one card away from
friendly units during each Activity Check Segment until it is out
of friendly LOS or has exited the map, in which case remove it
10.0 Rallying, Reconstituting, &
from play. You must move the enemy unit along the path of great- Experience
est cover and concealment that still takes it away from the closest
friendly units. If more than one allowable card fits the priorities, You may change the state of a unit in a reduced state during a
then determine which card randomly. Enemy Squads that track mission by rallying or reconstituting the unit. You may increase
ammo do not attempt to leave the map when they run out of ammo. the Experience Level of a unit between missions by spending
Experience Points. You may also promote and replace units
between missions.
9.10 Enemy Vehicles
Enemy vehicles may be activated for movement or 10.1 Rally
combat in the Vehicle Phase via an Activity Check.
The Mission Instructions provide the specific ve- 10.1.1 Rallying Pinned Units
hicle priorities for enemy vehicles when activated. Rally is used to remove Pinned markers. Rally Action 4.2.3.a.
When Vehicles from both sides are activated, if the mission is
an Offensive or Patrol mission the Players side goes first, for 10.1.2 Rallying Units from their Fire Team Side
Defensive missions the enemy goes first, and then activations Rally is used to flip units with a fireteam side to their Good
alternate afterwards. Order side (i.e., Weapon Team, FO, HQ). Rally Action 4.2.3.f.
Units that flip back to their Good Order side retain their original
9.11 Enemy Fanaticism experience level.
Campaign or Mission Instructions may designate enemy forces 10.1.3 Rallying an LAT
in play as Fanatic. Fanatic enemies do not Convert to Litter or You may increase the state of a unit from a lower numbered state
Paralyzed Teams when hit. Any hit result that is an L (Litter to a higher numbered state by successfully performing a Rally
Team) is treated like an F (Fire Team) and any P (Paralyzed) is Action on the unit. The unit states are:
treated like a C (Casualty). They are Pinned normally.
1. Paralyzed Team
2. Litter Team
9.12 Enemy Human Wave Attacks 3. Fire Team or Assault Team
Some enemy contacts will have force packages designated as 4. Good Order
Human Wave Assaults. All Hit results are C (and they do not
Use Rally Actions 4.2.3.b-e.
pin). Human Waves are never Pinned.
If a unit has incurred a combat result (6.3.3) that has caused its
9.13 Prisoners original counter to be replaced by an LAT counter (Paralyzed,
Litter, Assault, or generic Fire Team), the unit can never be ral-
Consider any Paralyzed or Litter Teams captured if there are lied back to its original counter. The highest state it can attain
no other same-side forces on the card AND there are any Good via Rally orders during a mission is a (generic) Fire Team or
Order units, or Assault or Fire Teams from the opposite side. Assault Team.
Vehicles cannot take or execute prisoners. If a side does not take
prisoners per the Campaign Instructions, automatically convert
any captured units to casualties (their captors have shot them).
Otherwise, any single step unit with a printed VOF can guard any
Army Skill Name USMC Skill Name Effect Experience Point Cost
NCO ESPIRIT DCORPS One General Initiative Command 2
NCO SEMPER FI Covert a Paralyzed Team to an Assault Tm 2
NCO SEMPER FI Covert a Paralyzed Team to a Fire Team 1
NCO SQUAD TACTICS Spawn an Assault or Fire Team from 4 or 3 Step Squad 1
GOOD TRAINING GOOD TRAINING +1 draw to any Action attempt 1
TRAINED EYE TRAINED EYE Automatically successful Spot attempt 1
USE THE GROUND USE THE GROUND Automatically successful find Cover attempt 1
EXTRA MAGS EXTRA MAGS Automatically successful Concentrate Fire attempt 1
DEER SLAYER DEER SLAYER Automatically successful Infiltrate attempt 1
STAR PITCHER STAR PITCHER Automatically successful Hand Grenade Attack attempt 1