Strontium Dog Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 I'm designing a scenario set in March 1945 and I've included a bit of 8" artillery for the US force. I was wondering how realistic this is. Any information on the rarity of this calibre and/or the role it was generally used in would be very useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mud Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 Erm... aren't those naval guns, in which case that rather limits how far the battle can be from the coast (in March '45, no less...)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offtaskagain Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 Originally posted by Mud: Erm... aren't those naval guns, in which case that rather limits how far the battle can be from the coast (in March '45, no less...)?Nope. The U.S. Army had Army and Corps level battalions of 8" howitzers and guns. There was a fairly large number of howitzers around by March '45, but guns weren't as common. They still weren't anywhere near as common as 155s and 105s, but it isn't that gamey to use them, unlike 240mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maj. Battaglia Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 panzerwerfer42 is quite correct about the 8" and 240mm guns/howitzers. According to Forty's US Army Handbook, 139 M1 8-inch guns were built by the end of the war. He gives no figures for the M1 8-inch howitzer and M1918A1 155mm gun although, for comparison, he says 4,000 M1 and M1A1 155mm howitzers were produced. Heavy artillery is unlikely (though not unheard of) to be used as close support during a battle. If CMBO had CMBB's pregame bombardment, it would be a candidate for that. That would even hold true, but to a lesser extent, for 155mm as well. But it is fun to use. . . . If you include it for yourself and want to be realistic, use it early and at suspected or slightly revealed targets toward the rear of the map (i.e. not 100-200 yards ahead of your own troops). Also don't ramp up the number of rounds (the defaults are good). If your map and the defense have a lot of depth it would be more apropos. Also, for the corps or army to assign its use, it would have to be a priority battle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strontium Dog Posted December 2, 2002 Author Share Posted December 2, 2002 Thanks guys. It sounds like their use wouldn't be too out of place and I've limited the available ammo to less than the default so whilst they're pretty devastating you still have to play well with the rest of your units to win. However, saying that I think I'll try the scenario out with different calibres to see if they work OK too. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby33 Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 I'm in the middle of playing Strontium Dog's scenario that he references, and it is excellent! He and I were pondering the historical accuracy of using 8" artillery as part of a "hasty" attack by a company-size combined arms force. I had wondered if a couple 81mm mortar spotters would be more historically accurate. (But - the 8" stuff is a lot of fun to use, and it makes a big mess!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 Originally posted by Scooby33: ... 8" artillery as part of a "hasty" attack by a company-size combined arms force ...Historically speaking, 8-in has no place in such a battle. It is a) too small, and corps and army level arty takes longer to arrange than provided for in a 'hasty attack' situation. The fun aspoect is a whole 'nother matter though Regards JonS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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