The Commander Series Forum

When using an initiative action to fire, does it have to be against the nearest unit if the unit is unable to hurt that target?
I ask as in our last game we accidentally ended up with a tank being the closest unit with the infantry just a little further away, but still within initiative range, from an infantry unit that didn't have any AT weapon.
Valid tactic or a bit of cheddar?

It is pretty specific that you can only react to the nearest visible unit.

But it also says "provided it is within weapon range". I guess if your weapon does not have any effect on a type of target then it isn't within weapon range and hence you'd be able to fire at the infantry stand if that was within weapon range.

Yes, that's how we played it in the end, 'Nearest visible enemy unit that you can hurt within initiative range'
I've penciled it into the rule book for future use.

Well, just for fun and to play devil's advocate...

Are typical WWII infantry under local command (this is initiative firing) really going to be so cool & collected as to ignore the invulnerable fire-belching metal beast bearing down on them, and calmly blaze away at skirmishing infantry in the distance?

Maybe it's less cheesy than an accurate modelling of the value of combined-arms tactics in the assault?

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Pete

That's the reason the question arose. One of us thought the it made sense to let the unit use its initiative to shoot at something it could hurt, the other thought it was a valid tactic to 'suppress' the unit and shield units moving up for an assault.
The defending unit still gets to fire at whatever target it wants if it gets an order, it's just deciding what action is valid in the initiative phase.
Other views welcomed as I'm still 50/50.

To add my tuppence, although the metal beast bearing down on them may not be pleasant, the infantry will hardly be in the distance as they must still be within initiative range.

Though having said that, if you were within movement distance and wanted to assault using initiative (rather than fire) the armoured unit would be a valid target. Which raises the question can you have different 'nearest units' for whether you're shooting or assaulting?

I did actually intend to be helpful when I set of writing this post. Sorry! :S

And to add another 2 cents (I guess that makes 4 from me now...)

From a game perspective, I tend towards "nearest means nearest" interpretation. The infantry can still fire at the more distant enemy infantry if you order them, so it becomes a trade-off to be considered (do you use up an order attempt here, or save it for over there?) It adds a level of subtlety where the attacker, using existing mechanics, gets an advantage for combined arms tactics, although not as much as an actual suppression. Finally, I don't think it is "unrealistic" (my earlier point, alongside Leader's colleague) although I wouldn't fight to the death over an alternative interpretation.

Cheers,

Pete