Mortar fire
Do mortars, which can see the target, fire using the indirect charts?

Haven't seen the rules but as morters shells go up then down on to the target I think they would do.Can't see how they can do direct fire with a morter. Kutusov :)

Simon, Any medium or heavy mortar battery will always use the indirect fire procedure. Light mortars, for simplicitys sake, are treated as direct fire infantry support weapons and do not use the indirect fire procedures, (though there is nothing to stop you using the indirect fire procedure if you prefer). DB

Dave Thanks for the reply. On a similar topic what are you representing with artillery missing the target? I realise that aircraft could miss the target, but I'm not too sure about artillery. My understanding of artillery fire requests are that the observer makes the request and the battery fired ranging shots until the observer was satisfied that the rounds were on target. He then requested that the battery fired "for effect". I can't see how a battery can miss under these circumstances. I understand if he were using pre registered fire then he called out the wrong request code or the gunners misunderstood the request. Under those circumstances I can understand. Thanks Simon

Simon, Arty fire can miss for all sorts of reasons, even when the FOO has called for Fire for Effect. Remember it is a somewhat stressful enviroment to work under for both FOO and battery plus radios/telephones that were not that good, (actually they are still not that good these days!). Thus there is no such thing as a guaranteed hit. Your suggestions such as wrong codes or requests are spot on, combine that with wrong grid references, poor line of sight, obscured target due to smoke or misinterpretation of spotting round positions due to wind conditions, or smoke again, etc, etc, right down to the poor FOO/gunners not having slept for a few days! Mistakes are easy and often the norm as opposed to what one would expect. (I still use radios for work these days and its amazing just how unpredictable the equipment is, esp. when combined with human error/stupidity.) DB

Dave Thanks for your thoughts. Simon

Simon, Ref your faith in the artillery - did you ever wonder why they are known as drop shorts? Seriously its nasty stuff but so easy to go wrong. The radio is also not the most reliable form of comms and as for landlines... Certa cito :)

I have played three games so far. I have found that the artillery is too (in my opinion) inaccurate. The only time I could imagine a whole battalion firing on the wrong place is if the observer has called out co ordinates and requested immediate fire for effect. On most occasions the observer will ask for ranging shots. When these are on target, then he will call for effect. Even if the guns are on target ( 1/3 chance), then the next move they can still miss (50% chance). I don't think that this was the case whilst in action. Regards. Simon.

I'll throw in my two bits: the artillery rules as I understand them give you a bonus to hit, but this only amounts to a +1 if you've hit the target once (or if it's pre-registered)? Simply make it +1, stacking, for every successive turn that you hit the target. But you always deviate on a natural roll of a 1.

oopse

S, On most occasions the observer will ask for ranging shots. When these are on target, then he will call for effect. This is far easier said than done and it’s easy to fall prey to perhaps unrealistic wargame expectations found within other rule sets. I know it can feel frustrating but that is the idea. First - there are many examples of fire falling short, long or whatever - so it can not simply be a case of the observer will ask for ranging shots. When these are on target, then he will call for effect. They got it wrong regularly! There's a good account of I think Alamein, where a two day artillery barrage fired short for the entire two days! And I'll not forget my old man getting his promotion to the giddy heights of Lance-Bombardier as he cancelled a regimental battery shoot that was targeting its own troops and that was in training! DB

It all very much comes down to the luck of the initial die - which in a sense reflects reality quite nicely. You can get lucky on your first barrage and hit, and thereafter it becomes easier to hit (with a reduced chance to miss, I should say). Artillery has proven an indispensable part of all forces I've fielded in the ruleset - generally 25pdrs (partly because I don't have any 3-inch mortar models atm, but primarily because they have a good deal of versatility in terms of switching to the direct fire role). I've not yet managed to get them firing smoke effectively (sods law says the smoke always deviates exactly where I /don't/ want it to).