SMOKE

A smoke screen may be laid by indirect fire in phase 5.1.4 by any artillery battery equipped with smoke rounds.

If wind speed is over 5kts, the screen covers twice the area of the beaten zone for the battery firing. The additional area is placed downwind, adjacent to the beaten zone, and the whole of the area is then twisted to line up with the wind. The half of the initial fire zone upwind of the POA is partial only.

Unless the wind is weak or very strong, the rest of the screen is partial for the first period after laying. It is then full for two periods followed by a period of partial screening before dissipating completely.

Deviation from the point of aim is tested as normal for a smoke screen. The mission will only be for one period of fire, so adjusting onto target will not be an option.

A full smoke screen completely blocks vision, though an element inside the screen and touching the edge can see out and be seen from outside. Both count as seeing through partial smoke and the unit inside as being in cover.

If an element leaves a smoke screen in the open it does not count as being in cover even if it spends more than half a move inside, as it will be silhouetted against the smoke.

Elements inside a smoke screen can only see each other if they are in base contact.

Wind speeds affect smoke screens as follows, the speed being decided before the game or controlled by the umpire.

Wind speed	Effect
0-5kts	Partially covers beaten zone only, lasts one extra full period
6-15kts	Normal
16-30kts	Only lasts one full period, beaten zone only partial
31kts+	No effective smoke laying possible

Rain will cause BE smoke to develop more quickly, becoming full in the same period. WP smoke will stay closer to the ground, behaving like BE smoke.

These are fired at the beginning of a movement phase and lay a screen touching the front of the firer if hull-mounted, or any face of the firer if turret-mounted.

The screen is 50m wide by 25m deep and is an instant full screen lasting until the beginning of that element’s next movement phase.

Smoke dischargers can only be used if under direct fire, or to escape impending fire from a previously located enemy.

Smoke dischargers take one full period to reload, during which the vehicle must be stationary, not suppressed or neutralised and not firing.

2” smoke mortars and German smoke grenade launchers are treated similarly to smoke dischargers, except that they lay a screen 75m wide by 50m deep between 50m and 200m away from the firing vehicle. They are reloadable from under cover and take no extra time for this.

The German grenade thrower may also be bought anti-personnel projectiles, which may fire at infantry who moved to within 50m of the vehicle, in the first fire phase after enemy movement. This is conducted as infantry direct area fire with a FN of 5.

If bought for an infantry section, smoke grenades may be used to form a screen adjacent to it.

Like vehicle SD, they are thrown at the beginning of the movement phase and are 50m wide by 25m deep and count as full until the beginning of that element’s next movement phase.

An issue of smoke grenades may be used only once.

Vehicle and other guns capable of firing smoke may do so as direct fire against any acquired enemy element or position, which may mean aiming in front or to one side of the element, checking for a hit as if using HEAT rounds. Any apparent miss is assessed for half the artillery deviation with a +2 modifier.

The area covered is as for 2” smoke mortars, 75m wide by 50m deep.

Burning buildings or other cover will produce smoke similar to the screens produced by smoke rounds, based on the area of the building.

The smoke is partial for any periods in which the fire’s FN is 6 or less. It is full when the fire is at its fiercest with a FN of 7-10.

The smoke is triangular with its apex on the fire, stretching downwind for twice the length of the fire and to a width twice the size of the burning area or model building.

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