The Commander Series Forum

It's been a while since I played a game that had any HAT (woods aren't that common in the desert!) but my last game the question came up concerning Line-of-Sight (LoS) through High Area Terrain (HAT).
The rules state that visibility into, through or out of HAT is limited to 5cm.
I see the 'through' to mean that the maximum distance between two units within HAT is 5cm if they are to see each other. Simple enough.
What has caused the discussion is whether it also means that if the two units are outside of HAT, say 50cm apart, can they see each other if the LoS passes through up to 5cm of HAT for example the corner of HAT or does the HAT block LoS?
Also, if the LoS does pass through HAT but the target is not actually in the HAT, does it gain any protection, i.e. is it harder to hit? I thought I'd read a thread some time ago where it said yes but that may have been BKC1.

Comments welcomed as always

I find the 5cm rule tricky, especially given the statement on page 6, that "Concealed Troops" - "are concealed when they move to the dege of cover when they were previously out of sight.
By the letter of the RAW, this suggests that if they start 6cm within the wood (ie out of sight)they can move up to the edge and remain concealed, whereas if they start 4cm away they are visible, which seems strange.
We play that troops on the edge of a wood are concealed until an enemy approaches within 10 or 20cm, or they move along the edge, or they fire (all again as page 6. Once spotted they can be fired upon until they withdraw over 5cm into the wood. Other than this situation, we only use the 5cm rule when both units are within the wood. We always rule that woods/HAT blocks line of sight, however deep it is, because in real life it pretty much does.

Yes, I think a BKC3/CWC2 should have the 5cm LOS only applying when BOTH units are within the same piece of terrain. If the observer or target is outside the terrain then LOS should be blocked for any stand not touching the edge of the terrain.

That would make it a *lot* simpler. The current 5cm with the "don't move along the edges, just back and forth" can be open to some interpretation!