Question: Damaging Fortifications

[RetLT]

On several occasions I have killed crew members of fortifications with small arms fire and HE fire that lacked the penetration to pierce even the fort's lowest amour rating.

Obviously this is as the designers intended but I am curious how this is calculated (less damage vs more heavily armored forts or just random)as well if this also works vs AFVs. I have never spent enough time shooting at AFVs with rifle fire to see if it works against them too.

Anyone have any info on this?

[scorpio_rocks]

Small arms fire (stuff with no penetration) will not kill AFV crew - but will cause suppression. It can , I believe, occasionally force internally carried troops to disembark (it usually causes externally carried troops to dismount).

[jp10]

According to the game manual it depends on the shell size/armour thickness ratio and the survivability rating of that vehicle. I guess it can also cover 'spall' when the interior surface of concrete/steel 'flakes' off from a near penetration hit and has a shrapnel effect.

[Cross]

Originally Posted by RetLT

...as well if this also works vs AFVs. I have never spent enough time shooting at AFVs with rifle fire to see if it works against them too.

Anyone have any info on this?

Small arms can kill crew of open topped AFVs, but only if the shooter is at a higher elevation than the target. I believe you must achieve 'top hits' IIRC...

Cross

[Mobhack]

Fortifications happen to be a particular unit class. That is the differentiation.

That unit class is treated as a little bit permeable to HE fire, unlike tank type steel armour. So crew casualties can occur in concrete fortifications, even if they are a "tank turret" icon. Splinters are assumed to go through embrasures or whatever. That has been the design philosophy for concrete forts since SP1.

Less concrete means more chance of leakage, larger shell size has more chance.

There are no deep fortifications that are effectively impervious to fire, such as the German WW1 deep trench bunkers. So a "Somme type" week long bombardment in the SP universe would eventually clear all defenders. But that is not the focus of this game.