Mortar crews are equipped with small ballistic shell launchers, making them a useful minor on-board artillery piece. These important units are capable of reaching enemy units at long distance from secure positions.

 

Traits  Heavy Infantry Weapon
Movement 4
Armor Value -
Suppressive Attack (RANGE / FPR) 8 / 4
Normal Attack (RANGE / FPR) 8 / 2
Limited Choice of Actions A squad containing a heavy infantry weapon, such as a mortar crew figure, may not take a Fire and Movement action or an Assault action.
Area Attack Unlike other figures, mortars do not fire upon a target enemy unit, but rather they target an entire hex and all units therein with an area attack. Unlike other figures, the strength of mortar attacks is dependent on whether it is engaging in normal or suppressive fire. On the player reference sheet, note that the combat value table of the mortar figure is not divided in the normal vehicle/infantry values, but instead whether the mortar attack is engaging in a suppressive or a normal attack.
Suppressive mortar attacks are significantly more effective than normal mortar attacks.
The attack dice rolled from a mortar crew’s area attack succeed on results of “5” and “6.” If firing at long  range, the area attack succeeds on dice roll results of “6” only.
Ballistic Fire A mortar crew does not need to trace its own LOS directly to the target, as its ballistic attack can fire over blocking terrain.
If a mortar crew does not have direct LOS to a target unit, it may use the LOS of another non-fatigued friendly unit. See the “Mortar and Machine Gun Crews” diagram for an illustrated example of this. This simulates a coordinated attack by radio communication between the mortar crew and the friendly unit that is contributing the LOS to the enemy unit.
Mortar crews cannot fire if they are located in a building hex or a pillbox, or if no LOS can be established.
Minimum Distance A mortar crew cannot attack or support an attack against enemy units in an adjacent hex, nor can a mortar crew contribute firepower during an assault against its own hex.
No Opportunity Fire A mortar figure cannot participate in opportunity fire (even if other figures in its squad are doing so).
No Mixed Fire Due to the nature of its area attack ability, a mortar crew may not attack with other figure types, even other figure types in its own squad. For example, if a mortar crew is in the same squad as two regular infantry, and an enemy unit is within LOS of the squad, the owner of the squad must decide whether to attack with the two regular infantry, or the mortar crew.
If a squad consists of two mortar units (a common composition), the squad could fire in a single activation with both its figures.
Also, a mortar crew may support the concentrated attack of another mortar crew.



THE MORTAR CREW’S ATTACK TABLE

 

Mortar crews are special in that they can attack any unit within line of sight of non-fatigued friendly units (as long as the target unit is also within range of the mortar crew).

  1. Adjacent Enemy: Squad A is not a legal target because mortar crew figures may not attack adjacent hexes.
  2. No Line of Sight: Although the American squad 1 is within LOS of Squad B, the American squad is fatigued, and can therefore not establish LOS for the mortar crew.
  3. Line of Sight: Non-fatigued American squads 2 and 3 have LOS to squad C, so the mortar crew may attack it.
  4. No Line of Sight: Squad D is not a legal target for the mortar crew, because no friendly units have LOS to it.
  5. Line of Sight: Squad E is a legal target because the mortar crew itself has LOS to the target squad.

 

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