Close assault question

This came up in a game last week.

An Sdkfz 250/1 with a 4 man MG34 team advanced and disembarked within an inch of a building occupied by a pinned US paratrooper squad. The MG34 squad close assaulted the building, passed their experience test, getting multiple kills, although some were saved, but not wiping out the squad. The paratroopers rolled a 6 for morale and passed the Beyond the Call of Duty test, firing twice at the MG34 squad outside the building and wiping it out. Dashed bad luck for the plucky Jerries and very fortunate for the pesky Amis in my completely unbiased view.

The questions arose regarding a couple of things;
1) did we get the sequence right?
2) was the close assault order the only thing the MG34 squad could do in the turn? As they were already within 5 inches of the building, they didn't need to move into the assault and would have liked to fire first, before close assaulting, although the outcome wouldn't have changed given the paratroopers BtcoD test result.
3) having successfully close assaulted the paratroopers and achieved kills, should the MG34 team have been able to consolidate into the building before or after the defeated paratroopers morale test - bearing in mind they were already pinned before the close assault. This one is important in that they would have benefited from a +4 cover save if in the building, as opposed to a +6 cover save in the open outside.

Cheers, Andy

1. Looks like it
2. No, they could do anything, fire, run-off, run-ff+ fire, shoot twice... no requirement to make a close assault. You can;t fire then assault though, with close assaults it's all or nothing.
3. Thee is no rule for consolidating, except in the FotR for urban combat scenarios (nothing stopping you using that though in all buildings). You just got unlucky, but nothing is for grnated in BG, the dice decide! Assaults, especially enemy in good cover, are risky.

Thanks Warwick, good to know we did it right, despite all the pain and suffering! In future, should a similar occasion arise, I might be tempted to order the 250 to shoot and then disembark, then move the infantry for their order to close assault.

Cheers, Andy

Can you shoot and disembark? I thought the disembark order was attached to a move segment only - did I miss something?  Thanks

Yes, the vehicle can shoot and then disembark troops (or vice versa). No Move order is needed.

Went back and re-read that section - you are, of course, right. If the player chooses, the unit can disembark and fire (or vice versa). What it can't do, obviously, is move, fire and disembark.

Thanks

Marc

No, that's incorrect. The VEHICLE issues the disembark order. IT can Move/Disembark, or Fire/Disembark, in any order. The disembarking unit then can be issued an order to do whatever it wishes (although any shooting would then get the -1 for moving).

It was the vehicle I was talking about. So it cannot move, fire AND disembark - it basically gets two out of three.

The infantry unit can please itself :-)

Yes I always like to leave a half track on a road in reserve move hidden away then throw it up the table. Then cover fire and disembark. Faust a tank or two and assault enemy in positions. Always risky but rewarding when it works.

Andy, I read some where, I think on the old forum something about if you kill more in an assault than you loose then you can consolidate in at the end of the whole sequence. Still wouldn't have changed anything for you. As for the reliability of this info I don't know, It may have been a house rule.

Cheers

Owain

It is a house rule.

Owain - do you need 2 reserve moves as the track and infantry are separate units if both are to act?

Steve, I think Owain means the track with passengers uses a reserve move order to move twice in his opponents turn. Then in Owain's turn, the track fires and disembarks as part of a normal order. The disembarked infantry can then shoot panzerfausts at armour or close assault infantry using another order. So one reserve move in his opponents turn for the track and passengers as one unit. Then 2 orders in his own turn for the track and freshly disembarked passengers.

I did this with a 251/16 in the big Arnhem game, using reserve move to get the vehicle to close range, then poured flame on both sides of the street with an order in my own turn. Very effective.

Like Owain, I'm sure I remember reading about consolidating if you win the close assault, but can't seem to find it in the ruleset now. I must be thinking about another rule system.

Cheers, Andy

Perhaps it was the urban rules in Fall of the Reich

You are right Piers, the option to consolidate after an assault is part of the Street Fighting rules, but not the of the normal Close assault rules. To date i did not use the Street Fighting rules much, hence i didn't remember this particulary detail. I ought to change that

Greetings
Wolflord.