Ammo Shortage A19.131

plpalmerdvm

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Just played ASL187 Morgan's Stand this weekend at Spreading Fire in Atlanta. The US at-start AFVs are subject to ammo shortage, and there was a discussion about what this means in the way of B#, circled B#, and X#. Here are the applicable rules:

A19.131 AMMUNITION SHORTAGES: . . . Unit replacement does not occur as a result of a 12 To Hit DR, but A.11 would apply because all B# and Ammunition Depletion Numbers are decreased by one during a Ammunition Shortage. All vehicles and Guns are considered to have a circled B# (D3.71) one lower than their inherent B# during an Ammunition Shortage. . . .

So from this I would assume that the M4A1 and M10 GMC that start with an inherent B#=12 would the have a circled B#=11 and B#=12 (meaning that the Gun would still malfunction on a 12 and be placed under "Low Ammo" on an 11. But there's more to consider. Look at A.11

A.11: PERMANENT BREAKDOWN: When a weapon uses a form of fire which increases its Breakdown frequency by decreasing the B#/X# (Sustained Fire, Inexperienced Personnel, Ammunition Shortage, Intensive Fire, Captured Weapons, unqualified crews), it also tranforms the weapon's Original B# to and X# during that use. Multiple causes of Breakdown frequency increase are cumulative."

Now this rule suggests that the B# is already decreased and the B# is now an X#, and if also applying A19.131, would mean that those AFVs would start as: circled B#=10 B#=11, and X#=12.
Now lets look at LOW AMMO B# (D3.71)

D3.71 LOW AMMO B# (circled B#): . . . A Gun with a circled B# malfunctions on an Original 12 To Hit/IFT DR and suffer Low Ammo on any other Original To-Hit/IFT DR >= the circled B#. . . . A vehicle suffering from Low Ammo is marked with a Low Ammo counter, which changes the original circled B# to an X# and creates a new B# one less that the Original B#.

So, what is the correct answer? It made a difference in our game as my first TH DR with the M10 was a 10. We were unable to come to a consensus so did a "dr" to decide. The result was following the 2nd option above, which then meant the M10 was also under Low Ammo and therefore then had a circled B#=9 and X#=10. It all worked out in the game as I never rolled high again, but it did cause me to not take at least one shot.
 

jrv

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I think this helps:

Q&A said:
A19.131 Recent errata in Journal 5 states "€˜A19.131: line 10 replace 'all B#'€ with '€œall SW Original B#/X# [EXC: DC]'"€™. The Index definition of a SW is any weapon depicted on a half inch counter, so a Gun is not a SW.
With this erratum it seems that when Ammo Shortage (A19.131) is in effect, a Gun's B# is not lowered or changed to an X# until an actual Low Ammo counter is placed. Correct?
A. Correct; D3.71.
Example: A Gun has an original B# 11. When Ammo Shortage is in effect, this Gun is considered to have a Low Ammo # (LA#) of 10. The Gun will malfunction (and can be repaired) on a TH DR of 11 or 12, and have a Low Ammo counter placed on a TH
DR of 10. Correct?
A. Yes.
JR
 
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