Arty vs. buildings

[rocketman]

If trying to take out a unit on the ground floor of a two level building, would/should you:

1) Aim arty (point/81 mm) at house and hope for the shell to penetrate the roof and 2nd level, to get to the unit?

2) Aim one action point in front of the house, hoping for shrapnel to penetrate the walls, to get to the unit?

[Vencini]

Destroy that house :-) It will be an easy target, the unit who is inside will be pinned (may be they retreat) and the house defenses less effective to procect their occupants.

[John1966]

You know, I was playing last night and got a Sherman to fire 6 rounds or so (90 seconds of firing?) of HE into a house and ran some guys in seconds after the final shot.

I was gobsmacked to see two very unsurpressed occupants shooting up my guys right at the door....

There was even a bloody great hole in the wall and it had started to make those "about to fall down" noises.

[Dave85]

You know, I was playing last night and got a Sherman to fire 6 rounds or so (90 seconds of firing?) of HE into a house and ran some guys in seconds after the final shot.

I was gobsmacked to see two very unsurpressed occupants shooting up my guys right at the door....

There was even a bloody great hole in the wall and it had started to make those "about to fall down" noises.

Those two guys were fresh back from the eastern front. Dont expect them to shy away from a few pesky HE rounds

[Sgt Schultz]

If you are using a single on-map 81mm mortar, then directly targeting the building may be your best bet.

This is where knowing which building is which type comes in handy.

A 2 story independent building may be quite weak compared to a 2 story modular.

This effect is increased if it is a multi-tile building.

Some structures will come down in a few lucky rounds, while others stand up to every round the team has.

If the building didn't come down, expect resistance of some sort.

Direct-fire HE in calibre 75mm or better is always the best way to negate structural targets.

[Statisoris]

I don't think direct artillery shell penetration of structures is modeled, only fragment penetration. I have never seen an internal explosion in many many CMBN games played. This is unfortunate since it would be a very useful tactic/game mechanic.

In my last PBEM match, 150mm infantry gun rounds hit building tops multiple times and always exploded on the roof. Same with 120mm mortars & 81mm mortars.

[Sgt Schultz]

If a modular building loses its roof, through either action or designer placement, then mortar/artillery penetration can happen.

I have seen the visual effect of, and taken casualties from, 105mm penetrations through an upper story... to the troops on the ground floor.

It is a case of lucky direct hits I think. Maybe BFC put a 'critical hit' roll in there somewhere. Once the roof is breached by a barrage, then following hits tend to gnaw the structure down rather quickly.

Three story multi-tile modulars, connected to other modulars, will take about 60 rounds of concentrated 105mm in a heavy linear barrage across the structure to bring most/all of it down.

I would not use 60mm on any structure that still has a roof, unless the targeted units are in a dormer. 81mm will hurt smaller independent buildings. 105/120mm should wear down anything three stories or less, given the right concentration.

The tall(4+) modular buildings usually have to be chopped down floor by floor using direct fire HE, or successive lucky strikes from large calibre artillery. It is a tedious ammo wasting task that is rarely needed. Once the Hummel and Wespe come on board, both sides will have mobile building killers.