General de Brigade

Simon Alderson · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2003 7:16 pm Post subject: Mortar fire

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

Kutusov · Joined: 27 Aug 2002 Posts: 188 Location: Scotland

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 Smile

DCRBrown · Brigadier Joined: 05 Oct 2001 Posts: 1031 Location: UK

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

Simon Alderson · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2003 8:41 pm Post subject:

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

DCRBrown · Brigadier Joined: 05 Oct 2001 Posts: 1031 Location: UK

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

Simon Alderson · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2003 3:52 pm Post subject:

Dave
Thanks for your thoughts.

Simon

certacito · Joined: 22 May 2003 Posts: 1 Location: South Coast

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 Smile

Simon Alderson · Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 8:46 pm Post subject:

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.

Alexb83 · Joined: 27 Sep 2007 Posts: 95

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.

Cacadores · Joined: 28 Apr 2005 Posts: 75

oopse

Cacadores · Joined: 28 Apr 2005 Posts: 75

DCRBrown · Brigadier Joined: 05 Oct 2001 Posts: 1031 Location: UK

S,

Alexb83 · Joined: 27 Sep 2007 Posts: 95

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).