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Mortars and command and control


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A quick question. Does it make sense to leave the platoon mortar teams (60mm and the occasional 81mm) behind with the xo team (or the heavy weapons platoon hq) in order to provide indirect fire support when attacking. Or is it better to move them forward with their respective platoon hqs. 

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It's dependent on the situation, but generally it seems that the 60mm and under are best used in a direct fire mode - ie: close to the front lines.  But if the player is not careful with them, they are easily targeted and killed. 

Larger like 81mm are best used indirect.

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34 minutes ago, kch001 said:

A quick question. Does it make sense to leave the platoon mortar teams (60mm and the occasional 81mm) behind with the xo team (or the heavy weapons platoon hq) in order to provide indirect fire support when attacking. Or is it better to move them forward with their respective platoon hqs. 

It depends on the situation.  In general, and when possible, I like to use my 60mm light mortars to direct fire.  I use the 81mm medium mortars for indirect work. So my light mortars go with the maneuver platoons and my medium mortars take a relatively secure position with good communications so they can respond to calls for indirect fire.  Also if my XO team has artillery/mortar calling ability I send it with the main effort maneuver platoon.  Then the XO team handles the request for support calls and the platoon HQ concentrates on keeping the fire teams in C2.         

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Radio control in CM2 is one of the great confusing mysteries of our era.  But in the due course of humanity, science will eventually reveal all...

Basically, yes, any unit with a radio should be able to communicate indirect fire orders... (until you find a situation where it doesn't).

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9 minutes ago, kch001 said:

<Snip> It doesn't matter if that hq team is the heavy weapons platoon hq and the mortars are from different platoons?

To fire indirect on map mortars must be within close visual C2 (12 A/S) of their COC or within voice C2 (6A/S) of any authorized HQ, XO or F/O team or within 2 A/S of a radio equipped vehicle. Off map mortars always have their COC & C2.   

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5 minutes ago, kch001 said:

C2 is definitely an area that I have to improve. Do you in general ever let a squad or section go out of c2 (except for the odd recon party)?

I try to always keep troops in C2.  However in the chaos of battle C2 can be difficult to maintain but I do try (which is part of the fun).  

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Yes, MOS's info is invaluable and a "must read".  I had forgotten that one can physically move a unit who has seen a target to another unit to pass along that info via voice, sight or radio:

The distance information can be shared vertically (chain of command).

Voice C2: Up to six action spots, approximately 48 meters.

Close Visual (eyeball) C2: Up to 12 action spots, approximately 96 meters.

Distant Visual C2: As far as the unit’s line of sight.  (In the experiment I had units sharing information vertically with Distant Visual at 40 action spots, approximately 480 meters before I stopped.)

Radio C2: Entire map.  (In the WWII titles If a unit is moving on foot they will drop out of radio C2 during the movement)

 

The distance information can be shared horizontally (directly between teams).

Up to four action spots, approximately 32 meters. (Sometimes a team had to move to within 3 action spots)

 

Can information be shared horizontally between teams from different battalions?

Yes

 

Can information be shared between to different HQs that do not have a common higher HQ?

Vertically: No (With no common higher HQ there is no bridge for the information to pass over) 

Horizontally: Yes

 

Additional useful information on the topic:

Game manual 3.01 page 62 Command & Control.

http://community.battlefront.com/topic/113787-can-somebody-answer-some-questions-on-information-sharing/

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US 60mm mortars are murderously accurate, with a long range - horrific when they're sniping you with direct fire.

I prefer 81mm in direct fire, too. They tend to splat around fairly widely in indirect fire, and they don't have the punch to cause proper mayhem in a wide area.

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8 hours ago, Erwin said:

How do you keep em alive?  I find the 60mm die quickly unless in very specific circumstances - eg: keyholed, or vs an enemy that can't see back - ie: direct fire to just adjacent an enemy.

Range mostly. At least 300m+ to get outside of rifle effective range, but ideally 800m+. Sometimes it's difficult or impossible, especially on bocage maps.

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8 hours ago, Bulletpoint said:

Range mostly. At least 300m+ to get outside of rifle effective range, but ideally 800m+. Sometimes it's difficult or impossible, especially on bocage maps.

That's a problem with the small CM2 maps.  And generally even the big maps seem to be designed for short range firefights. (That's the main reason people can't understand why all units are not equipped with MG's which are overly effective in CM2.  One rarely has long LOS that make rifles the weapon of choice.)   It's rare to get LOS of over 300m.

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2 hours ago, Erwin said:

And generally even the big maps seem to be designed for short range firefights....It's rare to get LOS of over 300m.

Yes, I have been running into this a whole lot. Even on so-called "open" maps, the <300 meter LOS is kind of a plague. If trees don't block an LOS, you can be sure that a hillock or a building will. Where are those firefights at >1000 meters that one hears about? This is especially a problem in CMBS where many weapon systems are quite accurate even beyond 2000 meters.

Michael

 

Edited by Michael Emrys
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