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Rules clarification: off-map mortars & indirect fire


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First, I did search the forum and haven't found a definite answer to this. Maybe my search skills suck. But before I get flamed for not search, understand that I did.

From page 87 of the manual:

"For the sake of this discussion, 'artillery' stands for any form of weapon designed to hurl an explosive charge at a designated target. This includes howitzers, mortars, rockets, and naval guns unless otherwise noted."

...

"Off-Map Artillery

Most of the time, an artillery battery will be represented by an artillery spotter team."

...

"Plotting Artillery Missions

...

When the spotter can actually see the target area, the speed and accuracy of the barrage are greatly enhanced, but it is not required. In other words, you can call in artillery anywhere on the map without having to trace a LOS."

I have found this not to be the case with (at least) off-map 81 mm mortars. In a recent game the CM gave me an 81 mm spotter, and this unit could not target areas that it didn't have LOS to.

Are there more subtle rules that I'm missing that may explain why I couldn't do this, or am I just missing the point?

(I've been playing CM for a month or so and only now am I getting around to reading the manual, so I never noticed this before. I just accepted what was in the game... *grin*)

Thanks for any clarifications that anyone can offer.

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Just a thought, but are you sure it was an FO and not a plain mortar? I haven't had any problems getting 81 mm FOs to fire indirectly. It's not terribly accurate, and so often a waste of ammo, but it does work.

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"Don't lie to me, Gustav! You're a stinkin' Mac user!"

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No, if it said spotter, it should be an FO, not a mortar. If you're right, then I'm not sure why you're having a problem.

Be sure the target line says Area target, you can't target specific units without LOS.

------------------

"Don't lie to me, Gustav! You're a stinkin' Mac user!"

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Ah, you know what? I may have been using the regular target command, not area target (which, in hindsight, was pretty dumb of me... heh.).

Thanks for the whack on the side of the head, I'll see if that was it next time I have one of these units.

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...isn't the "Area Target" command just the regular "Target" command when you're not targetting a specific unit? I am unaware of a special "Area Target" command.

But anyway, yes, any FO should be able to target any spot on the map, in LOS or not, with area fire using the Target or Target Wide commands.

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Leland J. Tankersley

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