Tank Morale
These morale rules apply only to fully Armored Fighting Vehicles: Tanks, Assault Guns, Tank Destroyers, Armored Cars and Self Propelled Guns. Armored vehicles that are infantry oriented, halftracks, jeeps and trucks, do not follow these rules. The drivers of such vehicles are considered part of the squad that is attached to them and follow all morale rules associated with infantry. The crew of the tank fight and maneuver together, therefore they have a collective morale rating. This rating is a single number between one and twen- ty indicating the experience and devotion of the crew. If there is a Tank Leader present then the crew always tests their morale on his number; otherwise the Tank Morale number is always used.
Morale Checks
A Morale Check for a tank crew is similar to the Morale Check for infantry. There are combat results that can force the crew to take a Morale Check. A Tank Morale Check is made with one roll applying to the entire crew using the Tank Leaders morale if one is present, otherwise using the morale of the crew. To make a Morale Check, roll a d20. If the die roll result is higher then the morale rating the check is failed. The crew must Bail-Out.
Immobilization At any time a tank gets an immobilization
result then they must pass a Morale Check. This check is caused because the crew of an immobilized tank are far more vulnerable to enemy fire and may decide not to wait around for the shot that kills them.
Crew Loss If one of the crew members of the tank die as a
result of a penetrating round then a Morale Check is made for that tank. The loss of a crew member to a penetrating shot dis- pels the illusion of safety for the rest of the crew who may decide to seek cover elsewhere.
Main Gun Loss If the tank’s main gun is knocked out the
crew is subject to a special Morale Check. This check is made exactly like a standard Morale Check. If it is passed then the vehicle may fight on with its secondary armament. If it is failed the crew will not abandon their vehicle but instead will drive it off the field by the most expedient route, exposing themselves to a minimum of risk.
Craven Cowards If a tank crew rolls an unmodified 20 on a
Morale Check they become Craven Cowards, abandon their tank, and will leave the board with no chance of Rallying.
Heroes If a tank crew rolls an unmodified 1 on their Morale
Check they are driven to heroics, roll on the chart below to see what type of hero they become.
Note: Craven Cowards and Heroes are only created by unmodified die rolls of 1 or 20 and only on a morale check, never a Skill Check, Gut Check or Rally.
Small Arms Morale Checks Anytime a vehicle crew is
forced to take a Morale Check because of enemy small arms fire the crew will always button up but suffer no other ill effects. If an exposed crew member is KIA or wounded by small arms fire no Vehicle Morale Check is required. The vehicle is forced to button-up, but the crew will not abandon their vehicle because of the loss.
Bail-out
If at any time a crew member fails a Morale Check made caused by a combat result (other than small arms) then the crew must abandon their vehicle immediately. This abandon- ment is refered to as a bail-out. Each crew member is Broken exactly like a Broken infantry figure. The crew will now be subject to all infantry rules including Morale and Rally rules until they re-enter their tank. Vehicle crews who Rally may choose to re-enter their vehicle unless it is brewed up. Crews may voluntarily bail-out of any vehicle at any time.
Tank Leaders
Tank Leaders are exceptional tankers that typically lead a pla- toon of tanks or AFVs. They are rated just like infantry lead- ers, having a morale rating and a modifier. Any crew led by a tank leader always checks on his morale. In addition the Leadership Modifier of the leader can be applied to any To Hit die or Hit Location die.
Tank Platoon Integrity Check
Every turn each side must check the willingness of their armored forces to fight on. At the start of each turn count the number of tanks and AFVs that are remaining on each side.
easy eightÕs Battleground World War II
Armored Combat
3
Stud Hero Hero Normal Hero 2-3 4-5 11-20 6-10 Common Hero Medal of Honor Iron Cross Hero of USSR 1Never Checks Morale. +1 Morale. Becomes Elite 1 free action immediately. Ignore any penetrations results that are 16 or higher. Never forced to button-up.
Never Checks Morale. +1 Morale. Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately. Never forced to button-up. +1 Morale. Becomes Elite.
1 free action immediately. Never forced to button-up. +1 Morale. Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately.
Becomes Elite. 1 free action immediately.
Hero Type
Die Special Abilities
Green Regular Veteran Elite 10 12 14 16 8 10 12 14 12 -0 14 -1 16 -1 17 -2 10 12 14 16 Quality
Crew Quality
Morale Command Range Command Range Typical Leader Crew Morale75% Check If 75% or more of your tanks are destroyed or
are out of action each of the remaining tanks must take a Morale Check. Broken crews and abandoned tanks count toward the 75% for this rule.
50% Check If 50% or more of your tanks are brewed up
then each of the remaining tanks must take a Morale Check.
Results of the Tank Platoon Integrity Check
If a tank has failed the Morale Check, roll a d20 to determine the behavior of the vehicle. Refer to the Results of the Tank Platoon Integrity Check chart.
“Sweat poured off Ferrell as he loaded yet another 75mm round. The commander called a target and Ferrel heard BANG as the round sped away. ‘Loader-AP, Driver - Forward’ came through his headphones. As Ferrell pushed another round home he called ‘AP’ and prayed for a break.” The typical Armored Fighting Vehicle crew consisted of sev- eral men, each with a different task, all working together to achieve the common goal of destroying the enemy. Because there are several men in each tank, one tank may perform
many tasks at once. For example, the loader could be loading a new round in the main gun while the gunner fires the co-ax gun. At the same time the driver navigates the tank while the radio operatior fires the hull machine gun. All of this is going on while the commander is looking for a new target. Each crew member is allowed two actions per turn exactly like infantry. Vehicles move on a card draw just like infantry, as described in the Core Rules.
Unbutton Takes one action for the crew to open all of the
vehicle hatches and vision ports.
Button-up A vehicle may button-up at the beginning or end
of any action for no cost.
Fire main gun It consumes one action to fire the main gun.
This is performed by the gunner.
Aim main gun The gunner may spend extra time lining up a
shot for extra accuracy. This action may not be the action the gun is being loaded or an action in which the vehicle moves. The gunner may not spend an action of Aim Main Gun with- out the direction of the commander.
Direct Fire A commander may spend an action directing the
fire or aiming of the main gun. Any Fire Main Gun action taken without the direction of the commander suffers the No Commander penalty. A tank leader may only use his leader- ship modifier on a main gun shot if he is directing fire in that action.
Fire Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun An exposed figure in the
commander’s cupola may fire the AAMG if there is a gun present.
Fire Hull Macine Gun The radio operator can take an action
to fire the hull mounted machine gun
Fire Co-ax Macine Gun The gunner may fire the co-ax
mounted machine gun if he is not taking an action to fire or aim the main gun.
Launch Smoke It takes one action for the commander or the
loader to launch vehicle mounted smoke.
Load main gun It takes at least one action to load the main
gun of a vehicle. See the Vehicle Chart and the Gun Rules for more detail.
Exit Vehicle It takes an action to exit any vehicle. The vehi-
cle may not move during this action.
Enter Vehicle It takes an action to enter any vehicle. The
vehicle may not move during this action.
Other Actions Anything a player can think of can be an
action for his crew, if the GM allows or both sides agree. Repairing a track, firing a pistol or digging out a bogged tank are all examples. For actions that may be difficult or danger- ous, see the Gut and Skill Check rules of the Infantry section.
Simultaneous Action
Each crew member is allowed to perform two actions per turn. All crew members must complete a first action before