Cover Saves and Artillery Fire

Today the question arose, how to exactly play the cover rule and artillery fire. In our case the center point of the artillery barrage was behind a small stone building, on the other side a tank. Does the tank get the 4+ Cover save, as the center point is behind the building or not, as the barrage is basically coming from above?

No, the center of the strike does not represent where th round/rounds land. It is just the epicenter of the strike. The rounds are striking from above and are hitting directly on the target or are extremely close.  If in area terrain like woods, buildings, fortifications/defenses and infantry would get a cover save.

Tanks (unless dug in) don't get a cover save. Steel armor plate IS cover

If caught in a barrage they will be hit on a 6 in which case use the shell rating against their rear armor, or pinned on a 2 thru 5. No cover save

POTENTIALLY pinned on a 2-5. You'd still have to roll a six (or a 5or 4 if they are big or bigger guns) in order to pin a closed-top vehicle. It never gets any better than that for pinning.

Nazrat wrote:POTENTIALLY pinned on a 2-5.  You'd still have to roll a six (or a 5or 4 if they are big or bigger guns) in order to pin a closed-top vehicle.  It never gets any better than that for pinning.

Indeed: my German commander was griping about just that the other night!

Don't have my book, but if I remember correctly AP rounds are "no cover save". HE rounds "cover save". Artillery fires HE ammo. So cover saves would be given.

The cover saves are caused by intervening terrian. Since the artillery are coming from above then the intervening terrain would be from above. Trees and buildings would provide cover. Just like if you fire an HE round from any other gun shooting at a vehicle in cover.

The OP was asking if the tank could claim 4+ cover save for being somewhere near a church. It can't as the 4+ only applies to dug in vehicles. Cover is defined as:

Soft Cover
The unit has some form of cover that
makes it harder to see them, even if it
wouldn’t be very effective at stopping
a bullet or shrapnel. This might include
woods, bushes or an overgrown thicket,
crop fields (when ripe), or a wooden
fence.

Hard Cover
The unit has good cover that makes it
harder to see them and would stop a
bullet. This could be inside a building, or
behind stone wall. Dug-in vehicles also
count as in hard cover against area fire.

Reinforced Cover
This is improved hard cover, designed
to withstand fire, such as in trenches
and foxholes. It could also represent
a fortified position, such as buildings
reinforced as defensive positions. This
also includes bunkers and strongpoints
constructed of wood.

Hardened Cover
This is the toughest cover, designed
to withstand the heaviest fire, such as
concrete bunkers or reinforced pillboxes.
Units inside will be very difficult to pin.

While the 6+ soft cover save might be appropriate for Jeeps, scout cars and light vehicles, tanks are armored to withstand blast and HE fragments from near misses, so none of the above apply in this case

In your case, a vehicle (AFV or not) will benefit from a 6+ cover save if it is behind a wall. Only dug-in vehicles gian the 4+ cover save.

Against artillery pinning hits (the only ones allowing you a cover save), officially, by the written rules, you benefit from the cover save as detailed above (6+ soft, 4+ hard).

In my group we proceed very much like you said. We measure and allow cover saves depending on where the spotting round fell. So if the spottin round fell behind a wall, your vehicle will not benefit from the 6+ cover save.

Regards,

Diego