Rallying beside a hedge

[Stéphane Tanguay]

As per the second bullet under 3.0 of the V5 rules, all units in terrain with hexside such as hedge substract two (-2) (if any/all enemy fire would cross the hedge hexside. Here is the situation (in the scenario played, bocage is treated like hedges):



Should the German medic get the the rallying bonus because all fire at him from the British units would have to go through some hedge, even though those attacks would actually be impossible, the British units not having LOS?

If the answer is no, it seems strange that if a unit has LOS to you through a hedge, you get the rallying bonus but not if said unit does not have LOS to you because of said hedge. The second situaiton seems safer to me.

But if the answer is yes, it opens the question as to why a unit standing beside a building in the open but out of LOS of any enemy unit because of said building (or even other terrain feature) should not get the rallying bonus.

 

[Barthheart]

I agree if you are out of LoS of all enemies, you should get the bonus....

 

[Stéphane Tanguay]

Maybe only if you are adjacent to some cover? I would not feel any confort trying to rally in the middle of a road surrounded by clear terrain, even if, apparently, nobody is seeing me

 

[Barthheart]

I guess.... but the hexes are 50 m (100 m?) across so you aren't very near any kind of cover unless yer in the hex with the cover....
Does being adjacent to a hex that has a foxhole count?

 

[Captain Darling]

Just my 2 cents worth.
I would say no to the rally bonus in this instance.
I see the rule like this. If the unit could be fired at across the cover hexside it would be morale boost as it is giving them a benefit but if they are just milling around near a hedge which offers them no cover I can’t see it boosting their morale...

 

[Mike Nagel]

I’m going to have to disagree with you all and opine that they would indeed get the TM for hex adjacency. In this case I think you have to look at it as the modifier always existing unless there’s clear and present danger that the hedge would not cover.

I also consider the guys in the hex to be hugging that hedge for dear life, not milling about the LOS dot.

 

[Dauntless]

My interpretation is that the -2 rally DRM for hexside terrain features is negated if any enemy unit is currently able to fire at the rallying unit through a non +TM hexside. So in the original example, I believe that the -2 rally DRM would apply.

 

[Norm]

The rule can be argued either way, but it does seem that the system is looking for units that can claim actual in hex cover, rather than whether they are in an enemy LOS or not - so looking at other supporting elements of the rules, V5 page 171, right column, this is the extended example of play for the infantry. In the example the medic (yes, another medic!) is in an OPEN hex, though the view to that hex is blocked by other external terrain (i.e. the building at J5) so they cannot be seen by an enemy, but the example clearly states that the medic DOES NOT get a modifier, because it cannot claim cover from the terrain within its hex / hexside.

So my take is that in the OP's example, the unit is in terrain that can by default offer cover (the hedge) and at the time of testing, there are no enemy units that can negate that cover by firing from a position that would enter an 'exposed' part of the hex i.e. fire coming in from behind the hedge - so the unit will be able to claim the cover modifier. but that is nothing more than just a considered opinion.

 

[Stéphane Tanguay]

Talked with Jeff about this. Apparently, the rulebook is in error in mentionning Hedge as granting a rallying bonus, as only hex and hexside with positive TM will give you the bonus. In the case of a hexside feature, you get the bonus only if nobody has LOS to you that does not cross said hexside feature.

As for getting the bonus in, for example, clear terrain, behind a building, with no enemy units having LOS to you, this is still a no-no; your unit is not utilizing the building as a cover so you don't get the bonus.

 

[Barthheart]

Not sure what the error is because that sounds just like what the rule says....?

 

[Stéphane Tanguay]

Here is what can be found in the rules:

All units in terrain with a positive Target Modifier (+TM), including those with hexside terrain like Walls and Hedges (if any/all enemy fire would cross the Wall/Hedge hexside), subtract two (–2) from their die-roll.

Now english is not my first language but it does seems to appear, at first look, that hedges should get the rallying bonus but since they don't have a positive TM, they don't give this bonus to units standing beside them.

 

[Barthheart]

Ah, right... maybe hedges should be changed to bocage...