Acq is lost as soon as you start.
I don't believe that this is the case:
"
C6.5 CASE N; ACQUIRED TARGET: ...
The target remains acquired until the Gun/manning-Infantry
that placed it leaves its present Location [EXC: Gyrostabilizer; 6.55]—
or the Gun changes its CA without firing on its already-acquired target during the current phase—
or the Gun (or its CMG unless in a separate turret) attacks (including in CC, or Interdicts) a different target—
or the Gun malfunctions or fires SMOKE (6.56), canister or IFE—
or its crew/manning-Infantry are eliminated or not in Good Order, or they no longer possess it, or they fire Inherent FP/SW or use Interdiction, or they (un)limber/dm it—
or the target is no longer in their LOS
after entering a new Location/vertex-(see 6.15) (although in this case the last in-LOS Location occupied by the target will remain acquired; 6.51)."
Merely spending a Start MP does not make you lose Acquisition. You need to
leave your present Location, which means that you can even spend MP beyond the Start MP for certain purposes as long as you stay in your current Location.
Q&A:
"C6.5 & C6.55 - A non-gyrostabilizer vehicle with Acquisition goes into motion without leaving the location or changing CA. Provided the vehicle does not fire, is that Acquisition lost immediately? If no, can the vehicle change VCA if the Acquisition is from a turret mounted weapon that maintains the same CA and still retain its Acquisition? Would your answer be different if the weapon was bow mounted and the TCA was the one that changed?
A. Immediately. NA. No."
Per this Q&A, Acquistion is lost immedtiately when you
go into motion. But under which circumstances is that the case?
"D2.4 MOTION STATUS: Any Mobile vehicle (including a boat or amphibian) which has used its entire printed MP allotment during its MPh, without expending a MP to Stop (2.13) or Delay (2.17) at the end of that MPh, is considered in Motion and covered with a Motion counter. A vehicle may end its MPh in Motion without expending all of its MP only if it has insufficient MP remaining to enter the next hex it wishes to enter.
A Motion vehicle (i.e., one covered by a Motion counter) receives no extra MP, but at the start of its MPh it does not have to pay the one MP Starting cost (2.12) and is considered a moving target during that MPh even prior to entry of a new hex. A vehicle's Motion counter is immediately removed when it starts movement in its next MPh or if the vehicle becomes Immobile. For a vehicle to not end its MPh in Motion status, it must always have one extra MP (beyond the total cost of the final hex entered) to expend as its Stopping MP (even if it means chancing an ESB DR to do so). A Motion tracked vehicle may use ESB but does not have to.
A vehicle is marked with a Motion counter only before or after its MPh, not during it. A vehicle (and its PRC) which starts its Player Turn in Motion may not Prep Fire and must expend at least one MP (even if just to stop) during its MPh. A vehicle may not start a scenario set up onboard in Motion."
So you have to be covererd by a Motion counter which cannot be placed
during the MPh.
"D2.12 STARTING: A vehicle not under a Motion counter must expend one MP to start movement before entering a new hex or changing its VCA during the MPh. Unless Reverse Movement (2.2) is declared, forward movement is assumed.
The Starting MP expenditure is considered to take place in the currently occupied hex (thereby making it subject to Defensive First Fire in that hex although not as a moving target; C.8). A Starting MP expenditure is not necessary if entering from offboard because such units are assumed to have set up in Motion (A2.52).
"C.8 MOVING VEHICULAR TARGET: A vehicle is considered a moving target for To Hit/Effects purposes
only if during the current Player Turn it has entered a new hex, or used VBM (D2.3), or began its MPh in Motion (D2.4), or is currently in Motion. A Stopped (D2.13) vehicle is also treated as moving if during the current Player Turn it has entered a new hex, used VBM, or began its MPh in Motion. Thus a
Non-Stopped vehicle is a moving, Mobile (D.7) vehicle that has not expended a Stop MP (D2.13) since its last Start MP (D2.12) expenditure.
Expenditure of MP for other purposes (such as loading/unloading, Bog Removal attempts, or VCA changes) do not by themselves qualify a vehicle as a moving target although they too allow Defensive First Fire shots vs it.
To be in Motion (which leads to loss of Acquisition unless Gyrostabilized), you have to be considered a moving target. However, spending a Start MP and some other MP expenditures do not by themselves qualify a vehicle as a Moving Target (and thus also do not lead to a loss of Acquisition). If starting the MPh Stopped, you are not covered by a Motion Counter, thus not in Motion. As long as the other reasons for losing Acquistion listed in C6.5 do not apply, you keep your Acquisition.
von Marwitz
