Tanks Vs Hidden or Concealed Infantry

[Nate Forte]

Hello Scott, in a recent game with Chris H. we had a rules conundrum that to me at least makes no sense.  We were using the COI level of rules.  So when at Tank fires at Hidden infantry in HIP the procedure as best we can tell is this:  1. Use the TO HIT table using one of the lines of Infantry that applies (i/e Inf in Woods or Bldg).  2. No other case applies  (other than range gun type modification, or button up status etc..  Case K does not apply because the target is not ? concealed but HIP.  IF a Hit is made, then the effect on the Infantry Fire Table is Halved for Area fire.  So far so good.

Now for the Conundrum.  Same situation as above but now the infantry is under ? Concealment.  So now the firing procedure is this:  1. Use the TO HIT table for Infantry as it applies to terrain feature, but this time also add case K for Concealment which will make it that much harder to hit especially if the tank is buttoned up.  IF a hit is made, then now is the actual conundrum.  The tank was just penalized for attempting to score a hit on concealed infantry, but now according to all the rules that we could tell, we ALSO have to halve the Firepower of the TANK gun on the Infantry Fire table.  This did not make sense to me, but I could not find any errata that stated otherwise.

So If this is true, then its actually harder to hit and inflict damage on a Concealed Infantry unit than it is firing at a HIP one?  Does this makes any sense to you? Did we do the procedures correctly? Did we miss some kind of errata about double penalizing a Tank firing on a concealed target?

Help Please.

Nate F.

[Squad Leader Tournament & Ladder]

1) Concealed and HIP targets use AREA fire with a +2 To Hit DRM.  HIP is supplemental to the concealment rules (42 preamble), and follow Q&A below.  AREA fire applies when there is no LOS to the target, such as concealed, HIP, and Penetration through Wheatfields, Brush, Orchards.  There are plenty of cases that support applying it to HIP even if not explicitly stated.

2) Both are resolved on the IFT as AREA fire (34.5).

Q&A

34.5 Do both the TO HIT DRM case K (Target
Concealed) and the provisions of Area Fire (1/2 x)
both apply to a concealed infantry target? A. Yes,
but Area Fire would not apply in the case of an
armored target. {COI4-68}