Forward observer quality

[MOS was 71331]

Veteran FO teams are more expensive than Regulars. As the blast effect of the rounds doesn't change, what do you get when you 'buy' higher quality FOs?

Faster arrival time?

Rounds landing nearer the targeted impact point?

In two PBEM games, I've had a Kraut 300mm rocket FO with 25 rounds. One was CRACK, the other VETERAN. In both games, the rockets landed all over the place. The CRACK FO didn't have a line of sight to the impact point, while the VET FO could see the targeted building.

The CRACK FO inflicted no friendly casualties; the VET FO team killed itself (on rocket 13, cancelling the last 12 rounds in the salvo). From opponent reports, the CRACK FO team hit three squads, dropping four men in one and one each in the other two, while the VET FO inflicted NO enemy casualties.

As the attacker, if I'm ever dealt a 300mm rocket FO in the future, I think I'll fire it unobserved targeted on a victory flag as early in the game as I can. Firing observed doesn't improve the grouping of the rocket impacts, so why risk having men anywhere near the target?

[Gyrene]

Rockets are just plain horrible for their accuracy, (Real life also, it was definetively the "shotgun" of the artillery world) so FO experience probably gets you faster re-targetting times if anything.

Having a line of sight does help, maybe an experiment is in order.

Gyrene

[Ellros]

Higher quality FO's are better with standard artillery. I generally get slightly faster response times with vets and better. Rockets though? <shudder> Fire them early, and far away from your own forces (even though sometimes that doesn't even matter).

[Michael Emrys]

Rocket artillery is definitely an area weapon. Their use was usually confined to rapid saturation of the defender's positions prior to an attack going in. You really don't want to be firing it close to your own troops unless it is a desperate situation and nothing else is available.

Michael

[Redwolf]

Higher quality FOs deliver their fire faster and they react to move commands faster.

They get the usual high-quality advances:

- Seeing more/quicker, which can be very useful when using the FO from an overwatch position

- Less likely to break. If you loose your artillery because your FO broke when some unaimed shell hit it near the map edge and he fled from the battlefield, higher quality might have saved you.

- On the other hand, mid-map breaking has its advantages, low-quality units are less likely to continue a move into enemy field-of-fire.

The accuracy is the same, though.

[MOS was 71331]

I'm getting the distinct impression that lower quality FOs are the better buy -- particularly for rockets. If their fire is no less accurate (which for rockets means they impact in the same county as their target), buy conscripts or greens and get more or spend the saved points on something else.

[MOS was 71331]

Duplicate entry posted by mistake. Sorry.

[ 05-08-2001: Message edited by: MOS was 71331 ]

[Pak40]

More experienced FOs will only bring the rounds in quicker. There is no change in blast power or round accuracy.

And of coarse a better FO will be harder to break or route.

[Olle Petersson]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MOS was 71331:

I'm getting the distinct impression that lower quality FOs are the better buy ...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I think so too, but with a gradient.

The lighter the arty the more gain with better quality FO. This is because the lighter arty is usually used in reaction to the oppositions moves and a fast response is useful, while the heavy arty is aimed at stationary targets where response time is a lesser matter.

Cheers

Olle

[Vinci]

same here, better FO faster response time - no change to effect or balst area (seems logical to me).

In my view faster response time is an advantage whatever the caliber.

What is interesting though is the importance of the advantage which you get out of it. Generally in defence where you want to react rapidly to oncoming threats it is probably more important than in attck of entrenched positions where you have all time you need to call down a hail of lead on the enemy.

Vinci

[coralsaw]

IMO, Veteran or better FOs are worth their money in gold:

- Faster response. That's a biggie.

- Harder to be spotted, aka as "the living fire magnet".

- Better chance to withdraw without breaking when under fire.

Rockets is a saturation weapon, that's a whole different ball game. Then it's cheapskate land...

coralsaw

[engy]

Rocket pre-bombardment can be terribly effective...

If you're the gambling type as a German defender, buy 3x150mm Rockets, lowest quality possible, and 3 TRP's. Place the TRPs evenly spaced side-to-side in the opponents set-up zone, preferably/hopefully in your LOS. Target the rockets 1 per TRP in Turn 1; if in LOS you'll get about 45 seconds for the rockets to fall, which gives the attacker no time to clear his setup zone.

Typically this will avoid friendly fire casualties because you are targeting the rockets as far as possible from your own troops. You'll get three possible results, then:

1. For the extremely fortunate, you'll kill an enemy arty FO, get a top kill on a AFV, or land a round right smack in the middle of his clumped up reserves hiding behind that hill. If your opponent has never been subjected to this before he will be extremely rattled and you've got the game as well as won.

2. For the less fortunate, you'll kill a couple of guys from a couple of squads and scare the socks off the rest, but by the time they hit your lines the adverse morale effects will wear off.

3. If you're like me, you'll land each and every round on a very empty patch of grass and wish you'd have spent that ~200 points on something different. Furthermore, you'll be facing the opponent-of-the-century who knows that you just blew a whole wad of points and now he's ready to make the kill.

So, it's not for the faint of heart, nor something to try every game, but certainly is fun every once in awhile.

engy

[Redwolf]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by engy:

If you're the gambling type as a German defender, buy 3x150mm Rockets, lowest quality possible, and 3 TRP's. Place the TRPs evenly spaced side-to-side in the opponents set-up zone, preferably/hopefully in your LOS. Target the rockets 1 per TRP in Turn 1; if in LOS you'll get about 45 seconds for the rockets to fall, which gives the attacker no time to clear his setup zone.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It is sad that this must be considered unfair.

It is a very valid tactic, IMHO, to clear the path for an own counterattack and of course you target likely move paths of the enemy. But a counterattack is most effective early in the game and then you *have* to target right before the setup zone of the opponent and he may not like that, in the game sense.

BTW, the reported 45 seconds for the regular 150mm rockets are usually extended to more than a minute in real games where the TRPs lay somewhere and the FO is in a house or so.

[Olle Petersson]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by engy:

Rocket pre-bombardment can be terribly effective...

3. If you're like me, you'll land each and every round on a very empty patch of grass and wish you'd have spent that ~200 points on something different. Furthermore, you'll be facing the opponent-of-the-century who knows that you just blew a whole wad of points and now he's ready to make the kill.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Happened to me in an ongoing PBEM.

I had my rockets split evenly in 15cm and 21cm, two TRPs and one FO of each type targeting each TRP.

My misstake was to overestimate the spread of the rockets. I placed the TRPs about 300m in from the opponents (western) map edge, as well as from north and south.

This resulted in a well saturated area covering nearly all of my opponents half of the map.

Unfortunately there was a strip, some 50m wide, along his edge that wasn't hit by many rockets.

About ten turns into the game my opponents arty start to bear. He use mostly heavy stuff, 8" or 24cm, and blow my static defence to pieces.

It turns out that we've both opted for a low quality arty heavy force. Only my rockets were mostly off his forces while he hits mine.

Cheers

Olle

[Bog]

I would rate it as excellent. Interface is easy to use, updates are regular and posted on the message boards. SuperTed has done a great job.