LOS a Problem Maybe ?

[John Given]

I have played opponents that I swear check every hex on the map for LOS. I don't have the patience or ambition for that.

I do also remember the AI sending a Soviet ATR team behind my lines and parking it so as to have LOS for arty spotting. I had to send valuble forces back to take out the team.

Not sure that it's a problem. Just part of the game. Same with spotting for arty. My arty never does anything anyway, lol

Interesting idea Gordon, you propose a kind of "limit" on being able to see what hexes can see others, save only those currently occupoed by friendly forces. Not sure if the program would support it, but I would! It would make recon units inherently more valuable. Not sure how realistic it would be though - I can see a commander with a map saying, "we need to avoid this area, and that one - the ground is too high there and we would likely be visible."

Junk-2-drive, you say you have lousy luck with artillery? Try these things I do:

1. Blind-shell the enemy. Priority targets include:
a. Objective hexes, especially those near the front, and those of high value.
b. Road hexes, especially surfaced roads, leading from the edge of the board from LIKELY entry routes (i.e. shell arriving reinforcement areas)
c. Areas you suspect contain a lot of units (you saw some loaded trucks in an area last turn but you're now out of LOS? Screw it - blind-shell the area anyway.
d. Get your counter-battery fire set up; switch to 3d extreme zoom-out during the replay...and WATCH for his "muzzle flashes." Now you know where his artillery is! Blind shell the area into oblivion (most artillery units are foolishly set up in clear terrain, and have low defense points).
e. Watch for the retreats! IF you see a graphic or sound of retreating units from an unspotted area during an impact, you just received confirmation there are units of that type in the area (and you quite possibly clobbered a few).
f. Remember: Moderation. Blind-shelling is secondary; spotted units are primary. Also, if you get no retreat or reductions blind-shelling in a given area after say, 3 turns, try hitting another area.

2. Don't use small caliber artillery on built-up areas. By "built up" I mean bunkers, pillboxes, trenches, industrial hexes, and units with high-defense. By "small caliber" I mean 81mm and 60mm mortars, and 75mm and 65mm infantry guns.

3. Try to keep your large caliber guns (100mm +) within 15 hexes of the front, and smaller caliber artillery just out of los, at the front (unless you are in retreat, in which case you probably will have to move well back and set up from a forest hex).

4. Keep your artillery in hard-to-reach areas. If your guns are in forest, surrounded by other forest hexes, the chance of you losing your guns, or having to move them for being spotted is almost nil.

5. Protect your own guns from enemy counter-battery fire:
a. Keep them in forest hexes; cities have better defense but are usually much easier to get to by the enemy. Your choice.
b. Do not overstack - and don't forget to add in wrecks and transport vehicles to the stacking limit for the hex in question. 12 sp's is the limit.

6. Prioritize your targets. HQ's, loaded transports, and spotted enemy artillery are priority targets; infantry is secondary.

Hope this helped you out! :smoke: