Direct fire is carried out by anti-tank weapons: for infantry and direct-fire HE see section 12 on Direct Area Fire.

An element may fire a maximum of twice in one period, once in each of the fire phases, and each is considered to be a number of rounds fired or a burst from an automatic weapon.

The exception to this is infantry anti-tank rocket launchers, which fire only one round per phase: see 11.7.4.

The target must first be acquired. Acquisition for phases 5.2.2 and 5.2.5 may take place at any time during the target’s immediately preceding movement phase and fire is considered to be at that point of acquisition. Acquisition for phases 5.2.3 and 5.2.6 are at targets visible at that point in time.

To fire, an element must not have moved more than half speed in its immediately preceding movement phase.

If a target is acquired, fire is resolved using the Direct Fire Table, cross-referencing the type of weapon, its calibre length and the range in metres to the target. The fire number is modified according to the conditions, actions of firer and target and for any special ammunition used.

A D20 is rolled with the following possible results:

The die roll is 2 less than the modified fire number, or worse = all shots missed.

The die roll is 1 less than the modified fire number = target has been near-missed or a glancing blow suppresses it (hatches are closed down).

The die roll is equal to or up to 4 more than the modified fire number = 1 hit on the target.

The die roll is 5 or greater more than the modified fire number = 2 hits on the target by any but automatic weapons or infantry section anti-tank rockets.

If a target is hit it is always at least suppressed.

If a hit is made, refer to the appropriate penetration for the weapon and ammunition used. The type of ammunition must be specified at the time of acquisition.

To resolve whether a vehicle has been penetrated and disabled, take the armour value for the aspect of the vehicle that has been hit and compare it to the firing weapon’s penetration factor. The amount by which the penetration exceeds the armour determines the result on the following table, using a D10.

Penetration results table

Penetration minus armour	Neutralised	Disabled
-1	10	-
0	9-10	-
1	2-10	1
2	3-10	1-2
3	4-10	1-3
4	5-10	1-4
5	6-10	1-5
6	7-10	1-6
7	8-10	1-7
8	9-10	1-8
9	10	1-9
10	-	1-10

API and APHE rounds modify the die roll for penetration result by +1.

High explosive anti-tank rounds were in their infancy during the Second World War and were not very efficient. A HEAT round must always roll, using a D10, even if penetration is 10 or more greater than the armour. On a 9 fails to penetrate and only suppresses, on a 10 it only neutralises. Test as for area fire using the gun’s HE FN if this could give a better result.

If the aspect of the vehicle hit has spaced armour, denoted by ‘s’ on the vehicle data table, the HEAT round fails to penetrate and suppresses on 7, or neutralises on 8, 9 or 10.

The damage caused by automatic weapons is dependent on the number of rounds in the burst hitting the target and +1 per barrel is added to their penetration for each 2 scored on the hit die above the score required to hit, to a maximum of +6. This is also applied to infantry sections, snipers and LMGs using AP rounds.

Through most of this period these were of limited use, both in effect and range. However, they may be fired in addition to a section’s small arms, with the appropriate penalty, and are of four types.

ATK grenades and other thrown weapons. See Direct Area Fire 12.5.5.

ATK rifles are treated as for other direct fire weapons using the fire number given on the national vehicle and weapon lists. ATK rifles are not effective against any armour value higher than 4, even if they appear to penetrate it, due to the low residual value of the round.

ATK rocket launchers are fired as for other direct fire weapons using the values from tables in the national lists. They may only score 1 hit per phase and the limitations of HEAT rounds apply.

Disposable ATK rocket launchers are fired as above, but in a volley and thus may get one or two hits as for other direct fire weapons. This may be on the same target vehicle or on two different vehicle that are within the same range bracket (only one needs to have been acquired, but the other must require the same acquisition number). Only the German Panzerfaust and Soviet RPG-1 copy are in this category. An infantry section so equipped may fire up to three volleys in a game unless resupplied.

Infantry anti-tank weapons' characteristics

Weapon	HEAT penetration	Range in metres
PIAT	10	8	12	18	-	-
Bazooka	20	6	10	16	20	-
Panzerschreck	21	6	10	18	-	-
Panzerfaust K	12	10	-	-	-	-
Panzerfaust 30	18	9	-	-	-	-
Panzerfaust 60/100	18	9	14	-	-	-
Panzerfaust 150	20	9	14	19	-	-
37/50mm sticky bomb	14	5	7	10	16	20
150mm sticky bomb	18	5	6	9	14	18
Petard	16	8	15	-	-	-
380mm rocket	28	6	10	14	18	20
57mm RCL	16	5	8	12	16	18
75mm RCL	18	5	8	10	14	17

Other HEAT and ATK rifle penetration values are on the O&E sheets for each nation.

The diagram shows whether a vehicle is hit on the front, side or rear armour, with angles measured from the line of the hull rear.

Non-turreted weapons with limited traverse are denoted by ‘f’ on the vehicle data charts. They have an angle of fire of 22½° either side of their centre line, within which there are no fire modifiers specifically for the gun mount. If the target is outside this arc but within 90º, it may fire but counts the limited traverse modifier, which also applies if the vehicle moves in the immediately preceding move phase, in addition to the movement modifier.

Gun calibre	Length	Range in metres up to
		50	250	500	750	1000	1250	1500	1750	2000	2500	3000
Over 100mm	L55+	8	3	5	6	7	9	11	13	15	17	19
	L30-54	7	3	6	8	9	11	15	16	17	18	20
	Up to L29	6	5	7	9	11	15	18	19	20	-	-
86-100mm	L55+	8	3	6	7	8	10	12	14	16	18	19
	L30-54	7	3	7	9	10	12	14	17	18	19	20
	Up to L29	6	4	8	10	12	16	18	19	20	-	-
61-85mm	L55+	8	3	7	8	9	11	13	15	17	19	20
	L30-54	7	4	8	10	11	13	17	18	19	20	-
	Up to L29	6	5	9	11	13	17	19	20	-	-	-
46-60mm	L55+	7	3	7	9	10	12	14	16	18	20	-
	L30-54	6	4	8	11	12	14	18	19	20	-	-
	Up to L29	5	5	9	12	14	18	19	20	-	-	-
Up to 45mm	L55+	6	4	8	10	11	13	15	17	19	20	-
	L30-54	5	5	9	12	13	15	18	19	20	-	-
	Up to L29	4	6	10	13	15	19	20	-	-	-	-
HEAT APCR, SV HVAP, APDS		- - -	- - -	+1 -1 -1	+1 -1 -1	+2 -1 -1	+2 - -1	+3 - -1	+3 +1 -	+4 +2 -	+4 +3 -	+5 +4 -
Cannon and HMGs	>30mm 23-30mm 20mm to 13mm	3 3 3 3	4 5 5 5	7 8 8 8	9 10 10 11	12 13 13 14	14 15 16 17	16 17 18 19	18 19 20 20	20 20 - -	- - - -	- - - -

Direct fire number modifiers

-2	Second shot at same target
-1	Each subsequent shot at the same target (to a maximum of -5) Well-trained troops
+/-	ROF of weapon
+1	Green or poorly-trained troops
-1 +1	Target size per 3 more than 10 Target size per 3 less than 10
+1 +3 +5 +7 +9	Apparent target movement, as seen by the firer: Target moved up to 150m (7.5cm), or any amount directly towards the firer Target moved 151-250m (up to 12.5cm) across LOS Target moved 251-500m (up to 25cm) across LOS Target moved 501-750m (up to 37.5cm) across LOS Target moved more than 750m (37.5cm) across LOS
+1 +2 +2 +4 +2 +4 +2 +4	Firing element is voluntarily suppressed (closed down) Firing element is suppressed by enemy action Heavy weapons or infantry firing voluntarily dispersed Heavy weapons or infantry firing dispersed by enemy action Firing on the move, having moved up to quarter of a move Firing on the move, having moved more than quarter of a move Firer illuminated by searchlight Firer illuminated by CDL
+2 +1 +2 +2	Firing pivot, cupola, ball or fixed HMG or cannon (not MG) Firing two weapons from the same vehicle (see 12.5.7) Firing at night Target moved into or out of sight

For a second or subsequent shot to count, it must be fired in the next firing phase possible for that weapon.

The quality of troops’ training is not necessarily based on morale. E.g. American troops in Tunisia would be considered green even though they had high initial morale.

The rate of fire modifier (ROF) is given in the vehicle data charts. This represents the higher rate of fire of some guns, one-man or poorly designed turrets, or improved optics.

ATK guns up to 57mm, plus the 88mmL56, have a -1 ROF, but the limited traverse modifier applies for targets outside 22½° unless the gun is on a 360° mount.

Stabilisation. The American M3 Stuart, M3 Lee and M4 Sherman had an early form of stabilisation, which was rarely used by their operators due to the complexity and constant adjustment required. However, well-trained troops may use it and it reduces each of the ‘firing on the move’ modifiers by 1.

The ‘target moved’ modifiers are not cumulative but the ‘into and out of sight’ modifier may be applied twice for fleeting shots at targets moving from cover to cover.

Auxiliary weapons. The firing of cupola or pivot machine guns by vehicle commanders or loaders will affect the firing of the main or co-axial guns due to the distraction, time and effort taken. +1 is added to the score required to hit, -1 being taken from the FN if using area fire. Both MGs and main armament are affected if firing at different targets in the same phase, only the main gun if at the same target.

Example
A stationary SU-85 is firing APCR at a Tiger I, which is moving obliquely towards it at half speed with an apparent movement of 160m (8cm). The range closes to 450m, so the FN for the 85mm gun is 8. The modifiers are:
-1 for APCR
No effective modifier for target size of 11
+1 for the target's movement
So the final FN is 8 and the SU-85 rolls a 7, suppressing the Tiger with a glancing hit.

Next phase the Tiger acquires the SU-85 and fires back using AP. The FN for the 88mm is 7 with the following modifiers:
+2 suppressed by enemy fire
+2 firing on the move up to half speed
+1 for a target size of 7 (3 less than 10)
The Tiger must roll 12 or more to hit the SU-85

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