Anti Tank Guns and the AI

[Der Alte Fritz]

A proverbial problem is that the AI opens fire far too soon with its AT assets.

Here are a couple of ideas that I have used to get AT guns focussed on a small patch of ground to replicate the fire control done by human players.

1) Put a terrain "hump" just in front of the gun. As it cannot fire over it, you can position it to fire round the side and hence get a cover arc.

2) place the gun in a gully of 2 heights depth but with a slope to the front of 1 height depth. Again cannot fire to the side but can fire down the gully.

Does anyone have any other methods?

cheers

[George MC]

Hi Daf

You can give the guns a battery commander i.e. a platoon HQ with a stealth and command bonus. This helps keep the guns under control a bit better I find. Not foolproof or AI proof but makes a differance. You can also give the battery commander a combat bonus which makes the guns fire more effective.

When setting up PAKs in scenarios I always give the guns a battery commander where appropriate i.e. if deploying several guns in close proximity.

Like your ideas which I have also used (notably on Panzerkeil Am Mius)to good effect. Guess the winning plan is a combination of all those. Then you have players complaining your PAK fronts are too effective

Cheers fur noo

George

[MikeyD]

You hear different theories on how to best use anti-tank guns. One theory says you should stay under cover and hold your fire until a 1st or 2nd round penetration is guaranteed. An alternate theory says multiple guns should rain down fire on a distant opposing tank in the hope of breaking something (tracks, optics, etc.) long before the enemy can get close enough to hurt you. Tiger commanders in Tunisia complained bitterly about this technique when used against them by the Americans. Of course when you're talking Tigers it doesn't make much of a difference - long range or short you're not likely to penetrate anyway!

And yes, hooking up your AT gun with a decent commander does make a difference.

[Redwolf]

I think the initial poster was talking about guns controller by the programmed opponent, and ordered to open fire by same.

Except limiting visibility with terrain features or possibly fog there isn't much that you can do about it.

In human-to-human play as a gun-owning defender I think it is most important to play psychological. You never open fire with all your guns. You always have one more nasty surprise that pops up later. You need to frustrate the attacker in that every time that he thinks he fought down the long-range defense shooters there is another one the moment he starts moving again. Of course this goes directly contrary to the more mathematical defense theories which tell you to form a killsack and then open up with everything you have in the same moment. But I guess that makes wargaming interesting

[Black Max]

I usually follow Geroge MC's guideline concerning the use of a commander with the following additions.

1. Rotate gun away from where the enemy will attack. It will take an extra turn to rotate and fire.

2. Hide the gun. (Note that this has had mixed results and does depend on the quality of the gun and its commander)

Hope that helps.

Good luck!

[RockinHarry]

Originally posted by George Mc:

Like your ideas which I have also used (notably on Panzerkeil Am Mius)to good effect.

I very well remember Panzerkeil Am Mius! :eek: Had to overcome these nasty AT gun nests cleverly placed in keyholed, enfilading positions with lots of infantry and artillery! Leads to a further issue; protect the AT guns with at least light MG vs. enemy infantry and don´t put the guns in any sort of woods! Tree bursts kill everything, even when placed in trenches. Another thing to consider is placing the guns far enough (30-50m) from any friendlies who open up fire on the enemy sooner (IE. supporting infantry, LMG ect.)to avoid colateral damage from enemy return fire. Enemy fire aimed at a friendly which is very close (below 30m) also makes the gun oftenly turn toward the enemy firer, ignoring set covered arcs in bad moments.

Adding section or abteilung HQs to AI guns in an AIP Defense scenario is always a good idea, as GeorgeMC states. Not sure if the stealth HQ bonus is used though, since the game assumes the guns (and other units) to be camouflaged (unless moved from initial setup position) anyway. Do the bonuses sum up, can anybody confirm?

TRP´s also seem to encourage the AIP to make more and better use of any its guns (both direct and indirect).