Air attacks against "hidden" units

[Brett Nicholson]

Can air-strikes be made against hexes suspected of containing enemy units? Rule 15.11 states that "Aircraft may attack any HEXES on the board", note that is hex, not necessarily unit. In the 'Guadacanal' scenario book it says that fire against "hidden" units is reduced by one column for DF and bombardment, whether the hex is actually occupied or not. Aircraft fire is conducted on the DF table so it seems that they would qualify. I didn't see anything in the annotated rules mentioned as to whether or not this can be done. Inquiring minds want to know!

[enrique]

Can air-strikes be made against hexes suspected of containing enemy units? Rule 15.11 states that "Aircraft may attack any HEXES on the board", note that is hex, not necessarily unit. In the 'Guadacanal' scenario book it says that fire against "hidden" units is reduced by one column for DF and bombardment, whether the hex is actually occupied or not. Aircraft fire is conducted on the DF table so it seems that they would qualify. I didn't see anything in the annotated rules mentioned as to whether or not this can be done. Inquiring minds want to know!

In my opinion an air-strike cannot be made against a hidden unit.
According to the special rules of Guadalcanal, the location of a Japanese hidden unit is especially difficult for infantry (it is not automatic, it is necessary to roll a die and a modified result of "six" or more). So much the worse for an aircraft.

[Brett Nicholson]

Sounds good enough to me Enrique. This is my first time really trying to play a solo game with "hidden" units along with a lot of new situations with 'Guadacanal'. I'm kind of just winging it through the first scenario very slowly. If these were B-52s or whatever randomly dropping napalm in Vietnam or Cambodia then I guess that would be different but in this case, likely the aircraft are strafing the ground with machine gun or cannon fire and the chances of a few bullets actually finding soft targets randomly like that are probably slim to none -thanks!

[wkenney53]

I think the rules do not allow Air craft to attack unspotted units. Section 15.1 first paragraph state that Air Craft have Direct Fire Value unless modified by scenario rules. Section 10.0 first paragraph states that direct fire can only occur against spotted units. Hope this helps.

Walt

[Brett Nicholson]

I think the rules do not allow Air craft to attack unspotted units. Section 15.1 first paragraph state that Air Craft have Direct Fire Value unless modified by scenario rules. Section 10.0 first paragraph states that direct fire can only occur against spotted units. Hope this helps.

Walt

Thanks Walt, it does help but there was some grey matter with one sentence from the PG rules stating aircraft can fire on any hex as opposed to unit and in the 'Guadalcanal' booklet something about DF capable units able to shoot into questionable hexes that may or not be occupied but with a (-1) DF modifier. But I will go with what both you and Enrique concur. 'Guadalcanal' is going to require a lot of patience and just trying to sort out a few quirks before I get too far into the first scenario. These 38 turns of the first scenario will likely take a week to get through, and will likely have a lot more questions concerning this one -thanks again -Brett N.

[thomaso827]

I'm working up to Guadalcanal, too, so this is very interesting. There was an AAR on Boardgamegeek that mentioned recon by fire/DF into potential locations of hidden units but I hadn't had a chance to read the rules yet when I saw that. I'm sticking to BoB for a bit while I get the basics sorted out, but hope to start Guadalcanal and Jungle Warfare scenarios soon.

[Brett Nicholson]

I'm working up to Guadalcanal, too, so this is very interesting. There was an AAR on Boardgamegeek that mentioned recon by fire/DF into potential locations of hidden units but I hadn't had a chance to read the rules yet when I saw that. I'm sticking to BoB for a bit while I get the basics sorted out, but hope to start Guadalcanal and Jungle Warfare scenarios soon.

I started with BotB about ten years ago in 2003, before this site existed and was my first PG game. Now after having played a few other games ten years later I think that it was pretty good for a starting game but my game then had the 2nd edition rulebook with it and a lot of the rules were vague and not clarified so much. I just got back into PG again a year back and found that I misinterpreted a lot of things that weren't made clear with 2nd edition rules. I don't know which edition rulebook came with your game but the 3rd edition, annotated rules here at the site have been a great help. I would definitely stick with a few BotB scenarios first before moving on to Guadalcanal or Jungle Fighting. I still have a lot of questions brewing concerning 'Guadalcanal' and am moving very slow with it, only two turns completed today; there's a lot going on and to keep track of. Maybe a little more complex with the SSRS and the maps but best wishes with your PG ventures regardless!

[thomaso827]

Thanks. I have the 3rd edition, and found the annotated rules via BGG even before finding this site. Great stuff. I've gotten interested in the Guadalcanal battles first in miniatures for air, land and sea, and had somebody point out the PG game on it, so ended up with it for Christmas. Solo play with reference and re-reading of the annotated rule book is helping as I go, and I see that I will likely not be ready for Guadalcanal until I have some face-to-face play time in with BotB, hopefully soon since I find there is a PG player not too far away.

[armyduck95]

3rd edition rules are clear in 15.11 - Aircraft can attack hidden units because they are special units that can attack any hex. This means, empty hexes, hidden units, and spotted units.

1. Remember - Aircraft are UNITS, and specifically per 15.11 Air Attack. "Aircraft may attack any hexes on the board. Each aircraft may attack one hex per turn. The owning player selects the
target hexes and places at least one aircraft in each target hex

2. Aircraft are units, once placed on a hex they have their own spotting ability in the same hex.

3. This rule models the unique aspect of aircraft is that they can conduct "reconnaissance" and "deep strike" on units without being controlled from the ground for close air support.

4. I believe the -1 column mod for hidden units is a fair rule to represent the counter measures of cover/camouflage by a hidden unt.

[armyduck95]

I think the rules do not allow Air craft to attack unspotted units. Section 15.1 first paragraph state that Air Craft have Direct Fire Value unless modified by scenario rules. Section 10.0 first paragraph states that direct fire can only occur against spotted units. Hope this helps.

Walt

Read 15.11 - Aircraft are units and can attack any hex on the map - empty, hidden units, or spotted units