Self-propelled artillery...Call in?

[Crushingleeek]

I wonder if I've been missing something since day one... Why can't you call in artillery fire from on-map self-propelled artillery (eg M7 priest)? Or can you?

I can only get them to direct fire, which doesn't sound right

[SnakeTheFox]

I want to preface this statement by saying that I don't fully understand the real-life workings of artillery and specifically the kinds you can find on-map (self propelled howitzers like the M7), however:

At the sizes of most maps (e.g. 1km or so), would it even be possible for an M7 to indirectly fire at anything? I understand it's a howitzer, but it's still not a mortar; it likely requires targets to be a bit farther away to elevate its gun sufficiently to achieve "indirect" fire via the shell falling over terrain features and such. And so, all targets that you could engage on-map are probably so close that the M7's howitzer must be pretty much in-line with the target to fire on it anyway, and so it has to be a "direct" shot.

That's my theory, though I'm probably wrong.

[Ranger33]

Yeah, I'm gonna guess that is the case. Some maps are probably big enough for it to be realistic, but most are not. You can use infantry guns for direct and indirect fire though I think. I haven't ever tried it but I remember seeing it as an option.

[Crushingleeek]

I haven't been able to use the infantry guns for indirect fire either. bummer. but your explanations make sense.

[YankeeDog]

The gun on the M7 was the 105mm howitzer, but the way it was mounted on the vehicle meant that it could only be elevated to 35 degrees, as opposed to the ground mount, which could be elevated to 66 degrees.

So given the shallow angle of fire possible, practically speaking on most CM maps, indirect fire with the M7 is unlikely to happen -- either the target will be in direct LOS, or it will be off the map.

Also, bear in mind that the SPG crew has to get out of the vehicle and carefully survey its own location before it can engage in indirect fire; there is no GPS in a WWII-era vehicle to give it the precise location it is firing from, a critical component for any indirect fire calculations.

[Crushingleeek]

but what about infantry guns like the leIG18? They should be able to indirect fire right? But they don't seem to be able to

[YankeeDog]

but what about infantry guns like the leIG18? They should be able to indirect fire right? But they don't seem to be able to

You can call in indirect fire from the leIG18 in the same way you do for on-map mortars. All of the rules regarding C2 etc. apply. But bear in mind that, while the leIG18 is a howitzer and is capable of higher angle fire than a field gun, it is not capable of the kind of really high-angle fire that a mortar is capable of. So depending on the location of the the gun and the terrain, there may be significant portions of the map that the gun cannot hit with indirect fire.