Smolensk '41 artillery and its effects

[Liebchen]

I can see aircraft picking out targets. But firing artillery from miles away? How can it be anything except area bombardment? J

You don't play Combat Mission, apparently. That game would give you a good idea of the mechanics of it all.

Artillery technology and technique have been refining over the last 150 years. Gone are the days of randomly firing in the general direction of the enemy and hoping to scare the crap out of them, if not kill them. Since at least WWI artillery has been capable of very precise fire, at at a range of several miles. Even in WWI the gunners were capable of firing targeted fire directed by spotters. Sure, they used rolling barrages in WWI, and the Soviets continued that practice in WWII, but it wasn't the norm, as far as I have read.

A spotter with a telephone or radio can direct fire on top of a particular company, let alone on top of a particular battalion. Sure, the fire may scatter, or there may be miscommunication in the target identification or shell placement, but this is not the same thing as having the full set of the fire for effect land evenly across an entire square kilometer area.

So I would argue that the default rule is very realistic (as games go).

Oh, and as for air strikes, in WWII there was almost no communication between the ground-based spotters and the aircraft. So, if anything, is would be the air strikes that would have to be randomized. (Of course, as with the artillery, this would not be the same as a full payload having an effect across the full square kilometer.)

[Dog Soldier]

Oh, and as for air strikes, in WWII there was almost no communication between the ground-based spotters and the aircraft. So, if anything, is would be the air strikes that would have to be randomized. (Of course, as with the artillery, this would not be the same as a full payload having an effect across the full square kilometer.)

Actually, this is not true. Colored smoke was used to identify enemy positions so the aircraft would hit the intended target and not the friendly troops engaged on the ground when a ground support air strike was called in.

Some times the smoke would be mis-placed or the enemy would use smoke to confuse the situation. Sometimes the smoke would almost gone when the planes arrived. Many things could go wrong. My understanding from talking to a limited number of WW2 pilots is it was up to the pilot to abort or press on when uncertain the target was identified. I was told that most pilots would abort, rather than shoot friendlies by mistake. All the same, mistakes could and did happen.

The effect may appear random, but it was not.

Dog Soldier

[Liebchen]

My real point was that IF at specific units is a realistic thing, give the scale of these games.

[Dog Soldier]

Got that Liebchen. Good discussion. Thank you for your insights.

Dog Soldier

[jonnymacbrown]

My real point was that IF at specific units is a realistic thing, give the scale of these games.

Yes, providing the enemy is identified, quite likely in WWI in static situations. My point is that over-loading a hex with multiple unit types, 1000 infantry, 100 tanks and 8 guns should not be routinely allowed without some sort of penalty when the typical unit density in a 1km front in WWII was much less than that except in unusual circumstances. Jonny