Stuka and Pinning

[jrv]

Per E7.403 a Stuka that attacks with its MGs in the first hex of a point attack clearly Pins its target.

If the Stuka declines to attack (or perhaps is unable due to malfunctioned MGs) in the first hex of a point attack, is that target Pinned?

No.

If not, after declining in the first hex does a MG attack in the second hex of a point attack Pin the target?

If not, after declining the MG attack in both the first and second hexes, does the bomb attack Pin the target if it scores a hit? If the bomb does not hit?

No to both.

....Perry
MMP

 

[jrv]

Comments: if I am parsing this right (it has negatives of negatives I think), only the first MG attack by a Stuka automatically Pins the target. Neither the second MG attack nor the bomb attack (nor the mere presence of a Stuka) will Pin automatically. If a target is, for example, infantry non-assault moving or moving in the open, it might make sense to decline the first MG attack so as to get FFMO/FFNAM on the bomb TH DR (and the second MG attack). That does create a possibility that both the second MG attack and the bomb might miss, allowing the target to scamper away, but it might greatly increase the chance of an effect, including a CH.

This is a literal reading of E7.403. I will guess that had this been pointed out at the time of writing, any attack would have resulted in an automatic Pin. But I have no way of knowing that, and it is well past the point of progression. A.2.

JR