Combining Fire
Alan and Peter both pointed out it will take two activations to fire all units on the town. It looks like Peter is playing with a common house rule that only applies the -1 column modifier if the target is a hill that is higher elevation than at least one shooter. I do not, so my final fire would be on the 22 column (30 Direct Fire, +2 columns for all attacking units being adjacent to target hex, -2 columns because target hex is a town, -1 column because target hex is a hill).
Assuming the French have 8/7 or 8/6 morale, they have roughly a 31% chance of not being affected at all by the fire; by that I mean, no casualty, disruption, or demoralization. If the Germans win the initiative by 2 or more and use the first 2 activations to conduct Direct Fire, the French are 90% likely to suffer an adverse results.
One other option is to activate the Captain's hex (0411). The Captain activates the the HMG and INF in hex 0512, and the Lieutenant and the INF 0312. The AFV in hex 0411 activates the AFV in 0312, The Lieutenant activates the INF in hex 0313. All to fire. The AFV in hex 0313 cannot not activated. The AFV in hex 0411 adds its Direct Fire to the infantry in 0411, and the Captain +1 Fire Modifiers allows the two foot units in 0512 to add their firepower to the attack. The Germans roll on the 22 Column.
If the French suffer a disruption or worse to one of the two units, the Lieutenant in 0312, the AFV in 0312, and the INF in 0312 and 0313 assault the town. They will be at least on the 18 column (21 Direct Fire Value, +1 column for leader, +1 column for undemoralized closed-top AFV and one infantry of any type except HMG, -2 columns assaulting town, potentially another +1 column if they have higher morale than the French and another potential +1 column if the two French units were demoralized by the Direct Fire). The French will be on the 13 column or less because one unit will not be at full firepower, so less than 13 direct fire value but +1 column for the leader assuming he is not demoralized.
If none of the French units were affected by the first direct fire, the Germans may still want to assault (both sides will be on the 18 column), or hex 0312 may fire on the town on the 11 column (16 FP, -1 column shift with the same exact modifiers as above) and hex 0313 takes a shot on the 2 column (5 FP so 4 column, -1 column shift).
Some players will prefer to tale two activations to use Direct Fire, some will prefer to use just one activation and to do what I described. I don't think there is a better way and best may be to just develop your own style.
Which Target Would You Bombard?
Note that I did not put any French units in the map.
If there is a unit in the town in 0713, bombarding the Lieutenant's may be a high priority. The fact there is also a foot unit in his hex makes this choice more appealing.
If the units are on the march eastward or southward, bombarding the two units in 0914 may be a more attractive option because one leader will likely have to stay behind to help it/them recover.
If the units are on the march westward, bombarding hex 0914 is not as attractive as the previous case because the Germans could try to have the units attempt to self-recover and move the captain in hex 0915 to command them next activation. Maybe bombarding the Lieutenant's hex is better in this case. Maybe.
I hope this helped you better understand the system Maggal. Happy gaming!
