Shells
Six shells, each with its own job. Two of them do damage; the other four hide, light, stun or feed.
Old Marta carries six kinds of shell. You pick one from the ammo rack on the gun deck with 1 to 6, and the crew carries it to the breech. Two of the six do damage: HE breaks trenches and depots, and shrapnel stops soldiers in the open. The other four hide your diggers, light the night, stun a sector or carry supplies to your own side.
The six shells
| Shell | Effect | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| HE | Large crater, heavy trench damage | Collapse trenches, destroy depots and guns |
| Shrapnel | Airburst over soldiers in the open; no crater | Stop charges, suppress the enemy during digs |
| Smoke | A screen that lasts 45–60 s | Cover digs and your own side's charges |
| Star | Lights a 200 m circle at night | Night fighting, showing up raids |
| Concussion | Stuns a sector: no damage, but morale drops | Force a surrender |
| Supply canister | Drops supply into a cut-off friendly sector | Rescue isolated trenches |
HE
High explosive is the heavy hammer. A direct hit on a trench segment takes 30 to 60 off its fortification, out of 100, and at zero the walls cave in. Heavy HE stamps a real crater into the ground. Craters fill with rainwater over time, and advancing infantry can use them as cover. See Trenches and Terrain that remembers.
Shrapnel
Shrapnel bursts in the air and hits soldiers in the open. It leaves no crater. Use it to stop a charge in no-man's-land, or drop it on the enemy trench now and then during a dig to keep their heads down. See Digging a new line.
Smoke
A smoke shell lays a screen that lasts 45 to 60 seconds. Across a dig site it hides the diggers from the enemy, and the dig only goes on while the smoke holds. See Covering a dig with smoke.
Star
A star shell lights a 200 m circle at night, for night fighting and for showing up raids. Sometimes it is also a promise.
Light up the sky on the 14th so my son can see it. He is in the line at Velde and he writes that the nights are very dark there.
Anna Halloran
See Letters.
Concussion
A concussion shell stuns a sector. It does no damage, but the sector's morale drops. Use it to force a surrender. Non-lethal shells you fire, and surrenders you allow, count toward mercy, one of the hidden values that decide how the war ends. See The campaign: four seasons.
Supply canister
The supply canister drops supply into a friendly sector that has been cut off. Supply refills ammunition, replaces casualties and pays for digging. Use it to rescue isolated trenches. See Supply.
Getting more
The campaign brings shells in over the seasons. Smoke arrives in winter, with the first dig operations. Star shells and other special ammunition come in summer, when night fighting begins. Special shells are resupplied faster in the hot zone. See The hot zone.