I recently blogged about Assaulting Bunkers in Crossfire – Possible House Rules. But I don’t think I was sufficiently clear on my final recommendation. So I’m having another go at explaining it. Short story is I want to make bunkers (and hard points) much tougher to assault. I’m intending to add this to my Balagan House Rules for Crossfire.
Balagan House Rule
I’m not happy with bunkers (and hardpoints) in Crossfire. In normal Crossfire you just have to wait for the garrison to No Fire and then close assault. I think bunker should be harder to assault. This house rule gives troops with flame throwers, demolition charges and big guns – direct fire from High Explosive (HE) weapons – an advantage against bunkers.
I don’t distinguish bunkers and hardpoints (unlike standard Crossfire). So in my house rule bunkers can have open sides.
Each of the four sides of a bunker are one of these types:
- Protected side, closed
- Protected side with door
- Protected side with firing slit and door
- Protected side with firing slit
- Open side
Bunkers provide cover to indirect fire. Protected sides offer cover to direct fire but open sides do not. Closed sides provide the most cover from direct fire, then doors, then firing slits. Firing slits and open sides allow direct fire from defenders and FOs to call in indirect fire. Doors and open sides provide access to the bunker for both the defenders and close assaulters. Close assaulters can also attack via a firing slit but cannot enter the bunker via a firing slit.
| Bunker attribute | Protected side, closed | Protected side with door | Protected side with firing slit and door | Protected side with firing slit | Open side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Fire | |||||
| Defenders have LOS so can direct fire | No LOS | No LOS | LOS | LOS | LOS |
| Defenders get cover from direct fire by Squads and HMG | Cannot be target | Cannot be target | -1d6 and 6 to hit | -1d6 and 6 to hit | No cover |
| Defenders get cover from direct fire by HE | -1d6 and 6 to hit | -1d6 and 6 to hit | 6 to hit | 6 to hit | No cover |
| Indirect Fire | |||||
| Defenders get LOS including FO | No LOS | No LOS | LOS | LOS | LOS |
| Defenders get cover from indirect fire | -1d6 and 6 to hit | -1d6 and 6 to hit | -1d6 and 6 to hit | -1d6 and 6 to hit | -1d6 and 6 to hit |
| Close Combat | |||||
| Defenders get bonus in close combat | Cannot be target | +1 | +1 | +2 | +0 |
| Movement | |||||
| Stands can move in/out of this side | None | In/Out | In/Out | None | In/Out |
And the same information as a graphic:
Balagan Bunker for Crossfire 1
The first example is the Crossfire classic: a firing slit at front and a door at rear. Like all the examples it has a two squad capacity, with commanders going free.
The closed sides provide the best protection. Squads or HMG cannot target the defenders via a closed side. Direct fire HE suffers the full cover, -1d6 and 6 to hit. There is no LOS from a closed side so the defenders cannot direct fire and an FO cannot call in indirect fire. No close combat is possible via a closed side and stands cannot enter/leave a closed side.
The firing slit is on a protected side. Defenders have LOS so can direct fire from this side and FOs can also call in indirect fire if they have LOS. Squads and HMG suffer -1d6 and 6 to hit when direct firing at the defenders. In my house rules direct fire HE weapons don’t suffer the -1d6 cover bonus, so the defenders only get 6 to hit cover bonus on this side. If enemy attack in close combat via this side the defenders get +2 in the melee. Stands cannot move in/out of this side.
The door provides good cover but is a weak point for close combat. Like a closed wall a wall with a door blocks direct fire from Squads and HMG. Direct fire HE suffers the full cover, -1d6 and 6 to hit. There is no LOS from a closed side so the defenders cannot direct fire and an FO cannot call in indirect fire. But stands can move in/out of this side so the close combat modifier is only +1 if the attackers are coming via this route.
Defenders get full cover, -1d6 and 6 to hit, from indirect fire regardless of where the enemy FO is.
Balagan Bunker for Crossfire 2
The second example simulates “many German Westwall bunkers [which] had limited fields of fire and were blind on three sides. However, the double set of heavy steel doors were located in the front and covered by the bunker’s machine gun.” There is a both a firing slit and door at the front.
That protected side, with a firing slit and door, is a mixed blessing.
In some ways it is like a protected side with firing slit … Defenders have LOS so can direct fire from this side and FOs can also call in indirect fire if they have LOS. Squads and HMG suffer -1d6 and 6 to hit when direct firing at the defenders. In my house rules direct fire HE weapons don’t suffer the -1d6 cover bonus, so the defenders only get 6 to hit cover bonus on this side.
In some way sit is a like a protected side with door … Stands can move in/out of this side so the close combat modifier is only +1 if the attackers are coming via this route.
Balagan Bunker for Crossfire 3
The third examples has a firing slit on three sides and a door at rear. This is not a valid bunker in standard Crossfire; a standard bunker can only on a firing slit on a single side. But Bruce Stewart has an Italeri kit with this configuration and asked what to do with it.
Aside from the unusual, for Crossfire, configuration, all the rules mentioned above apply.
Balagan Bunker for Crossfire 4
Example four is what standard Crossfire calls a Hard Point. It has a firing slit at front and is open at rear.
An open side is, well, open. The defenders get LOS from this side, but so do the enemy. It provides no cover to direct fire weapons. Stands can move in/out of the open side and it provides no bonus in close combat.
But the open side does not change the protection for indirect fire. Defenders get full cover, -1d6 and 6 to hit, from indirect fire