Generic Arty Spotters

[Dar]

Just curious about how realistic this is and what potential it could have, if feasible and realistic, for inclusion in future releases of CM:

Currently, when you get an artillery observer in CM, he is tied directly to one battery and is useless after that battery has expended its ammunition. What I would prefer to see and understand to be more realistic is that there should be "generic" FOs able to call any of the available batteries on a target. In other words, I shouldn't have 1 81mm mortar FO and 1 155mm FO, but two observers that could call in a barrage from either (or both!) batteries on a location. Obviously, a battery currently engaged against a target would not be on call to another FO until its fire mission is over.

Does this make sense and is it realistic to you readers with a more advanced knowledge of artillery practices?

Dar

[Mikeathome]

AFAIK this system is close to that used by most nations in WW2.

The US used a little more "general support" artillery available to everyone, and the Brits, famously, had a scale of target priorities ("Uncle" targets) that allowed any observer to call in an entire corps' artillery on one target!!

However for the scle of CM it's right IMO.

Mike

[Berlichtingen]

I was in the USMC on a mortar FO team. We used the same basic methods as were used in WW2. It is unlikely that a mortar FO would call in artillery. There are differences in the method, and the artillery would be operating on a different radio frequency. On the flip side, if you had two mortar FO's, they would likely be calling the same battery. One thing that does seem a bit unrealistic to me is the fact that all fire missions are what we called "immediate supression" (fire for effect without any spotting rounds).