Over long Arty call

[BradLats]

In a PBEM game I have a vetran 210 mm russian arty spotter. A handy assest I figured. Until I went to use it. The delay time.. 27 mins. I have seen some long delays, but 27 mins for a vetran. Not much use in a 30+ turn game.

[Sergei]

The command level of artillery has a great effect on the delays. The said 210mm arty is probably Corps or Army level. Such are of any use only with planned fire missions. In Meeting Engagements even this can't be used, though. If you want artillery that can react, pick only battalion or regiment level spotters. Division level stuff is useful too. As a defender you can of course use TRP's.

Until 1944 Soviets also suffer from an extra delay, so that a veteran spotter will act like a regular. Good to keep in mind.

[Bone_Vulture]

What is the actual effect of the spotter experience level to the fire mission delays? It seems quite cosmetic to me.

And BradLats - A good rule of the thumb is that if the spotter's organization level is anything above battalion or regimental, you might want to pre-plan its fire mission. Only certain heavy artillery assets, like the German 105/150mm sets are swift enough to be ordered on the go.'¨

Oh yeah, an exception to this rule is when you're targeting TRPs, obviously.

[securityguard]

Originally posted by Bone_Vulture:

What is the actual effect of the spotter experience level to the fire mission delays? It seems quite cosmetic to me.

The difference between regulars -> elite is very little. An 81mm regular spotter has about 1:30 with LOS, and an elite has about 1 minute. Personally its not justifiable, because an HQ'ed regular goes a little faster. Just save your money and buy regulars.

However, conscript arty has huge delays. 81mm has about 3 minutes or so with LOS. Buy conscripts when you plan on doing a first turn strikes, or plan on using only TRP's. It'll save you money.

[Bone_Vulture]

I know, I know.

I do consider it to be somewhat non-kosher to use conscript spotters to fire pre-planned fire missions in order to save purchase points.

There is another important factor, however: if your planning to order fire mission on the move, the spotter team experience is a serious factor. A conscript team can hardly have a clear LOS to enemy fortifications, as it'll panic once the first stray shell lands nearby. Also, exposing the team to enemy fire for even seconds when, say, streaking from one patch of woods to another is impossible with risking the morale of the spotters.

[eichenbaum]

Stalin had the opinion that if a FO was good & quick in calculating pinpoints for artillery he/she should be working for an airoplane factory instead of being killed on the field.

In CM it's better to use pre-planning for Russian artillery. Many times I have seen the grenades falling more then 200 meters off target after long waiting for an area target.

[Hawtin]

I had a munchkin rarity-off-5000pt-ME-fest with a friend. Did some testing about the arty delays as a Soviet.

A veteran spotter without a los had 27t delay with army level artillery, about 14t with core level, 7 with division level and 6 t with regiment level.

Heavier arty pieces are definetly of a very limited use. On the other hand, in our 60+ turn battle, my 305mm soviet artillery proved to be surprisingly efficient(lucky guestimation with 2 tons of luck.)

[Bone_Vulture]

Not that I want to steer this discussion off topic, but people really shouldn't be shy about using pre-planned fire missions.

You'll be able to time the bombardments with your other maneuvers, and they always fall with excellent precision, without the need for spotting rounds or LOS. The key to success is good foresight: the ability to see the battlefield from your opponent's point of view, and figure where to plot your fire missions.