ARTILLERY - INDIRECT FIRE

[Pip Roberts]

This is the main use of Artillery
In war, the guns fire on targets nominated by their Forward Observation Officers. In the CS one can highlight all spotted units so targeting seems easy but there may be onlY one CRITICAL spotting unit (the real FOO.)
If he is lost during the enemy's turn the shells will fall at random. If possible place him in an improved position or in a tank with some protection against distant artillery fire. In broken country many spotters will be needed
Desirable targets are those which are stuck in position such as - unloaded guns (where the first shells may have hit their transport), enemy artillery (if you can see it), objective hexes (which may contain a stack of infantry and even HQ's) or disrupted units likely to stay put.
Don't fire artillery until all your other units have moved and fought or you may hit your own men.
Long Range Artillery Rockets, Ships' guns and fixed units should fire as soon as the FOO's spot targets. Some players use interdiction fire onto choke points, roads etc where the enemy is likely to stop after his turn but he will soon learn not to do so. Always remember that your shells arrive last so he has time to move past spotted points. Blind firing without spotting is wasteful.
Artillery Movement Guns without ammunition or firing orders should consider moving. For maximum effectiveness move smaller guns up closer to the front early into positions which cannot be spotted by the enemy. Check the paths they will take and avoid any hexes that could be exposed to spotting and Opfire while they are moving. Your guns loaded onto transports make lovely targets. Tractors are too slow so load them onto trucks or half tracks.

[McIvan]

Blind firing without spotting can in certain circumstances be extremely rewarding....sometimes useful against loaded transports, but often DEVASTATING against tank riders, motorcycle riders, mounted troops since by a game mechanic that is not properly understood these troops tend to die under any firepower at all.

In one game dropping blind light/med mortar fire into a depression that it was rightly suspected a bunch of T34s and tank riders would move into resulted in the loss of an entire company of Russian infantry in a single turn.....from 1 strength mortar fire.

In another game I was on the receiving end....a single blind 1 strength round from the enemy wiped out 12SP of German motorcycle riders.

[Ivan]

I have had similar experiences to McIvan. Sometimes traffic gets funneled because of poor terrain and these funnel points can be good targets for blind indirect fire. Sometimes, even though you can't see a target, you might know where it is as you observed it moving to its position. If this is a high value target it's worth risking a few shells just to shake things up and even if you don't damage a HQ you might spook it into moving which makes it vulnerable and is disruptive to your enemy's supply.

[Pip Roberts]

Thanks McIvan and Ivan (any relation?) for your contributions.
I started the 4 threads toin the hope of obtaining ideas which we can all use
and hope that we get more

[Mike Abberton]

I tend to relate my indirect artillery usage to the ammo levels. If the ammo levels are high (say 75 or higher), I try to fire every gun every turn whether I have good targets or not because I know that most if my arty will be ready again next turn if good targets show up. That might mean clearing the hexes in front of my infantry, speculative fire on roads (in LOS) that the enemy might be using, or blind fire where I think the enemy might be.

As the ammo level in the scenario drops and my arty becomes more precious, I will try to save it up and use it for mostly valuable targets. That might even mean not plotting arty for several turns for instance, if I know that I want to launch a counter-attack in a few turns with good arty support.

[McIvan]

Thanks McIvan and Ivan (any relation?) for your contributions.
I started the 4 threads toin the hope of obtaining ideas which we can all use
and hope that we get more

You are to be applauded for doing so, Pip :) Hopefully more contributions are to come.

[McIvan]

Oh and btw no relation to Ivan :)

Unfortunately I can't give you the positive rep you deserve, but the sentiment applies.

[Pip Roberts]

Thanks a bunch Panther Bait-- a very valuable contribution and just the sort of wisdom I was hoping we might get. I must admit I have never considered the ammunition level just been surprised when I wanted to fire and could not !!

[McIvan]

As the ammo level in the scenario drops and my arty becomes more precious, I will try to save it up and use it for mostly valuable targets. That might even mean not plotting arty for several turns for instance, if I know that I want to launch a counter-attack in a few turns with good arty support.

I have never noticed that ammo levels actually drop during the course of a scenario.....is that what you meant? Or just the number of available guns dropping because they have not resupplied due to the low ammo level in the scen?

[John Given]

Hey Jim, per your request, here's a copy and paste of my comments from the "direct fire" thread:

"Pip, don't forget that one should only use SPA's (self propelled artillery) for scoot and shoot if you are CERTAIN there will be no op-fire from the enemy. SPA's have poor armor.

Also, in many cases, indirect fire will cause more damage. Only if you see enemy units loaded, or in open terrain, is scooting/shooting warranted, and even then, only sparingly. Most of the time, it's simply not worth the risk. Also, your opponent will quickly become aware of the presence and TYPE of guns when you scoot and shoot with SPA's, especially if he hadn't been watching earlier for unspotted hex "muzzle flashes." I.E., attacking this way leaves no doubt at all in the mind of your opponent as to what kinds of enemy artillery are in that area. Deception should be a big part of any player's strategy.

Hell, you might even want to load up non-mobile artillery (when they become low on ammo is best) and move them closer to the action, particuarly if the front is moving further from the guns. I say this not only because attack factors are higher when the target is closer, but also becuase some players (like me) look for "muzzle flashes" in "3D extreme zoom-out" (view 3) mode. This is done so as to enable me to start blind-shelling enemy artillery locations. These places usually have unarmored transports nearby (their carriers) and HQ's as well, so it's always good to keep your enemy guessing as to where your artillery assets are. When you do set up your artillery, try to set up in places that give a good defensive value - city, village, forest, and wadi are good spots."

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You mentioned in the other thread about sounds. Sound is very important to me when it comes to artillery. Many types of enemy artillery can be distinguished by the characteristics of the sound file that plays when the gun is fired. For example, 105mm's make a distinctive blam-blam-blam sound, while 150mm's sound like a distant explosion (all artillery over 150mm seem to use the same sound file). Small-caliber mortars make a three syllable tap-tap-tap sound, while heavy mortars make a lower pitch, two syllable "thump...thump" sound, and so on. Learn to recognize the different sounds the guns make, and you'll have a better idea about what's being used against you, which can help you in your advance.

For example, if the incoming sounds/rounds are light mortars, your infantry will likely take few casulties. But if the sound of the incoming is the hissing sound of rockets, you'd better watch it.

Also watch for shell holes. If the attack factors of the artillery are high, the hex will have the heavily cratered look after only a single impact. This is a good way of telling 150mm guns from corps artillery (german 170mm K-18 guns or U.S. 8-inch guns), since there's no difference in the sound these weapons make in the game, but a BIG difference in the attack factors in most cases.

If the rounds are making no shell craters, it usually means the shot has drifted beyond maximum range, therefore zero attack factors went toward that attack (some light mortars also will not make a crater after only a single impact, but it will after two, *if* it hits in the same hex). If the hex is already heavily cratered, then this method won't work, for obvious reasons.

I'd like to add that these experiences are with the Talonsoft version of the campaign series - I do not have the Matrix edition as of yet, so if these things I've discussed are handled differently in the new version, I can't be of any real help.

Just my 2 cents. :)