Help on 15 minute off-board artillery please.

[ravells]

I never seem to get this right as a defender and always seem to end up with loads of unspent artillery by the end of the game.

A typical example would be the game I'm playing at the moment (The Eerde Sand Dunes what if...). As the Americans, I have batteries of howitzers of 4 guns each and two TRPs. I put the TRPs in a (in retrospect) ineffectual place.

Then the Germans start to come, but I can't seem to anticpate where they are going to be in 15 minutes time to lay down new target points for the howitzers.

I tried this:

1. Pick a target area/line on the field very early on where the attacker might be in 15 minutes time.
2. Set an artillery fire order so the shells start dropping there before the attacker gets there (using, say 1 gun on intermittent).
3. Once the enemy are about 3 minutes away from the target zone, use the 'adjust fire' to change the order from 1 gun to 4 and from intermittent to, say, medium. The problem is that the 'adjust fire' command only lets you change the target points, not how many guns or how heavy the fire. (Unless I'm using it wrong).

Another thing: I've never seen the use of the 'delay' command (I feel I'm missing something). Invariably I need the artillery ASAP rather than in the future.

At least as an attacker, the enemy is relatively static and you have the option of waiting for the barrage before you move, but as defender, the targets are almost always moving. Is there a tutorial somewhere about this or some sage words you can help me with? I'm pulling my hair out.

Many thanks in advance

Ravs.

Edited February 17, 2023 by ravells

[chuckdyke]

This guy may give you some ideas what you can do. I understand he also plays CMPE.

[PEB14]

As a newbie, I have similar issues to use offboard artillry with 15 minutes + delivery delays.

Based on advices I picked here and there (and especially in this forum), if scenario length is less than 1 hour, as an attacker I start an artillery barrage right from the start (0 time delay) in harrass mode and maximum delivery time, all guns, on a likely enemy position. As game processes, I advance my spotters to a place where I can adjust the fire on other targets as required. It works pretty well. In this case, the delay command is pretty useful, when you are not sure to reach a good spotting point in time.

On the defense, I think you can pretty much do the same? You set a harrass mission as far away as possible, in direct view of your observer (as you are less prone to move it than on the attack), and you use delay if you estimate that the enemy won't reach this place in time?

Anyway, I understand that artillery on the defense is more an interdiction tool than a destruction tool: you fire on places you DON'T want your enemy to go, not necessarily on places he's likely to be.

I confirm that I found no way to add (or remove) guns to an artillery mission, nor to change the rate of  fire.

It is worth to notice that Usually Hapless, an experimented player, mentions in one of his excellent YouTube AAR that, on the attack, the time to get FFE is so long that by the time he gets it he usually has found another way to solve his problem...

[chuckdyke]

11 minutes ago, PEB14 said:

As a newbie, I have similar issues to use offboard artillry with 15 minutes + delivery delays.

You need to specify the game and the scenario. Soviets is very much pe planned what works in SF2 doesn't work in RT. Soviet WW2 Mortars need 9 minutes call in times using a Mortar Mission anything else will be denied even for Regimental HQ. Starting a scenario analyze the situation, often the Mortars don't have a FO. You need a HQ Unit to act as spotter. Use a Preplanned Mission and Move the Spotter HQ to an observation area. You need to secure this first. From there the spotting HQ can adjust the fire mission. Hypothetically he can communicate with a field telephone. 

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

One of the forum members did a video on Youtube about how best to use such things in CM.

MMM

[ravells]

Thank you both. Very helpful information.  I found a good video here too (although he doesn't really go into delay except just to mention it as 'useful for coordinating).  So to me it looks like this (at least for American troops):

Status                                                                                                     Options at this point:                   Delay | Cease Fire | Adjust Mission

Spotter Calling for mission:                                                                                                     Y       |        X             |        X

Receiving:  The spotter is contacting the arty asset.  :                                                                     X        |       Y              |        X

Spotting:    arty starts firing spotting rounds:                                                                        X        |          Y            |        Y

Preparing:  Seems to apply to offboard arty only (not to on-board mortars)                      X       |         Y             |        X?

Firing:  arty fires for effect.                                                                                                     X       |           Y            |        Y

Edit: Thank you Monty! Looking at the video now. Looks like just what I'm after.

Edited February 17, 2023 by ravells