My own private Mortar Park....

[Dogface21]

I've often found mortars an effective on-board arty asset, but the smaller calibre variety lack any real oomph, instead they annoy and pester with occasional treebursts and smoke.

I dont know how most people here use thier mortars, but in the defensive role, what I like to do is this: Place a HQ unit in a good observation spot, like an FO, and place mortar crews in defilade around him, so he can ident and target for them. If you have enough mortar crews, you can place three or four (or five or six..) with each HQ, making each one like a mini-FO. A concetration of light mortar fire can actually halt, or at least drasticly slow, on oncoming assault. Even the 2in. morts used in groups can give infantry a good wedgie. It just seems that the power\effectiveness of small calibre mortars increases a good deal when used in numbers. Single mortars may be good for laying smoke in a isolated corner, but only tickle infantry. You can also mix n' match, have half lay down harasing button-up fire, the other smoke. This is good to blind a group of tanks and have an AT gun open up on a lone tank, without fear of being shot up by the others.

Now, Im not saying this is the best way to use mortars, but its worked OK for me. So, what do you think? Is this a good use, or is it too risky to have most of your mortars in one area? How do you use your MortarMen?

[Ex Bellator]

As I usually play Brits I get the superb 3" mortar which I usually pick at least 3 of, and group them around a decent commander who spots for them as you describe. They are lethal and can ruin an infantry companies day, also great for smashing down suspect buildings very quickly.

I tend to leave the 2" with their platoons and pretty much write them off as dead meat or a distraction to the enemy at best. I have seen them take out AT & AA guns single handed, but usually they are too slow and arrive too tired to be effective. Also they draw enemy fire like crazy.

I guess your way of grouping them could well be better, but in my smallish TCP games I never seem to have enough commanders to go around. I'll be interested in others mortar tactics as well as I'm sure I have more to learn.

[tools4fools]

Using a HQ unit and 3-4 mortars as mentioned above I had success in taking out open topped vehicles as well. If the vehicle is not moving I simply target it right away, if it is moving I aera target a spot which might be likley in the vehicles path next turn. The fast incoming mortar rounds in quantity of several mortars often kills the vehicle when it's crossing the aera target the mortars are firing at. This takes a bit of guessing, but in aeras where the path of a vehicle is rather obvious (like in a village or a road in a forest) it worked for me sometimes.

[Brewmeister]

I use this method all the time when playing with a company of American infantry.I use the company CO as my spotter and use a bunch of halftracks to ferry the whole group around. The added bonus is using the halftracks as a local defense against an infantry rush. It works wonders for suppression and taking out AT guns.

[rlh1138]

I've also been using this technique on defense, but lately have been trying it for meeting engagements, and last night, attack. I'll buy 3-5 81mm and use the Co. CO as the spotter. When the terrain allows me to find a suitable position for them it's very effective. As my advancing troops encounter the first dug in enemy, I use the 81s for supression and even driving troops out of their foxholes. I've killed open top vehicles, as posted here. However, I've also had some terrain where I spent the whole game trying to get this slow moving group into a decent position. But there is nothing like targeting 2 or 3 mortars at the same time on that pesky MG position that is holding up the advance!

[Cameroon]

I've actually grown to like the small caliber mortars as long as the map isn't just a big open plain. While one won't likely stop an infantry advance, they're great against annoying MGs, ATGs and "staging areas" (e.g. that last bit of cover before the open ground where all those troops keep coming from ). You can't let the mortar be in LOS of anything though, or as has been said, they draw lots of fire.

My biggest complaint is not their speed of movement but the rate at which they become slow moving, defensless targets. I love the delivery rate of their rounds, but wow does it go through those fast.

[acrashb]

The tactic you describe - clustering them - works well against the AI. Against a human (at least against me and a few others I've played), the cluster is an iresistable target for counter-battery fire.

They're easy to spot: the oval-patterned impacts point directly back to the mortar. The human has then to only look down that line for possible hiding spots (defilades, clumps of forest, large buildings) and either do some speculative bombardment or send a couple of squads around to deal with the teams.

[Equinox]

A quick Q. Ive seen solo mortar teams with LOS to a target and harass enemy infantry/support units that they see, targeting them as they move.

However, I dont remember ever seeing a mortar team using a command team's LOS do this. Would I be right to guess that this isnt done? If so, its a shame, because I prefer what Ive seen the with LOS mortars do compared to what Ive been able to do with them using CC LOS. Whenever I use an HQ unit to target the result is a stationary area target. Maybe Im just not doing it right, I dunno.

[Silvio Manuel]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Rex_Bellator:

As I usually play Brits I get the superb 3" mortar which I usually pick at least 3 of, and group them around a decent commander who spots for them as you describe.

I also like to do this w/ 3" mortars, they are absolutely lethal on static MG, ATG, etc. positions.

I tend to leave the 2" with their platoons and pretty much write them off as dead meat or a distraction to the enemy at best. I have seen them take out AT & AA guns single handed, but usually they are too slow and arrive too tired to be effective. Also they draw enemy fire like crazy.

I'll be interested in others mortar tactics as well as I'm sure I have more to learn.<hr></blockquote>

Don't discount the 2" mortars. A nasty use of them would be to do as The_Capt did to me the other day...he picked an SS squad in woods that was shooting at his MG, and aimed 5 hidden 2" mortars and pounded them until they headed fled back towards the local ale tap. It only did 1 casualty- probably b/c i was in woods, but it still "Broke!" them.

I also like to put say, 2x 3" along with the company's 3x 2" with the Captain. The 2" use up their ammo quickly and can be moved away to avoid counter-battery fire.

[ 11-29-2001: Message edited by: Silvio Manuel ]</p>

[Gpig]

I love this tactic, and use it whenever I can.

Finding a great spot for your HQ FO is key.

Once in a PBEM assault, my G.I. mortar park proved quite decisive. I had 5 60mm mortars and a company CO spotting for them.

They provided key smoke drops for my infantry rushes. They took out a 20mm gun. And the next turn, a PSW 20mm rolled out of cover. I targetted it with all 5 of my mortars and the thing was dead by the end of the next turn.

Made things nice and easy for my charging infantry. It's like having a little security blanket.

Gpig

[Dogface21]

I really like the idea of carting them around in halftracks for mobility and defense, good idea.

As far as counter bombardment, if you scoot your 'park' out or around in the next move, it may scatter the impact points enough to not leave an arrow pointing back to the mortars. I dont know how well it would work, since you have to still be in C&C for the indirect fire, but maybe I can find some creative solutions to that.....

[PiggDogg]

At moderate ranges (100 to 300 meters) small mortars (most especially 2 inchers) are great killers of German guns.

Invariably, the 2 inchers will kill German guns. As I have mentioned before, I think that the 2 inchers have magnetic shells that are drawn to the metal in the German gun barrels. :eek: :eek: :eek:

So use 2 inchers to kill German guns.

Cheers, Richard

[CombinedArms]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by PiggDogg:

At moderate ranges (100 to 300 meters) small mortars (most especially 2 inchers) are great killers of German guns.

Invariably, the 2 inchers will kill German guns. As I have mentioned before, I think that the 2 inchers have magnetic shells that are drawn to the metal in the German gun barrels. :eek: :eek: :eek:

So use 2 inchers to kill German guns.

Cheers, Richard <hr></blockquote>

I think the key element of the onboard mortars is accuracy--that's why they're such good gun killers. My experience is that it takes a direct hit into a foxhole to kill an AT gun, and you're likely to get that direct hit with a 60mm or 2" mortar within a single turn, even firing indirectly under HQ command. (On the other hand, I've dropped whole 155mm loadouts on a gun w/o killing it.) Mortars trailing behind the infantry--which is out screening for the tanks--can promptly kill those AT guns w/o risk while the tanks pull back out of LOS. This works better against the AI but can also work against humans if the infantry presses the guns aggressively and forces them out of hiding.

Concentrated "mortar parks" can be good, but there's also a case for spreading out the mortars, alloting one to each platoon. That way you've got help against AT guns or MGs where ever you meet them. It all depends on the terrain.

Accuracy is also why mortars are good at suppressing squads & MGs. A scattered rain of 81mm on an infantry platoon in woods from an FO may not do much, but a concentrated hammering on a squad from an onboard mortar can send them running--or suppress them so your infantry can mop up. You've got fewer rounds than with an FO, but more of them land in the right place.

[Chad Harrison]

ive seen everything from wespe to markIV's knocked out by onboard mortars. but, these shots tend to be one in a thousand hits.

the best on board mortar (the only one that i will actually buy) are the british 76mm mortars. the main reason is they have sooo much more ammo and a bigger punch. these guys are perfect for gun/mg bombardment.

the 60mm/50mm/2in mortars are best for gun/mg bombardment also. i always use them with a HQ (when possible, if they are direct firing they draw a load of fire) and in pairs. two of them can usually take out a gun in a turn or two.

[von Murrin]

The mortar park is good, and I use it a lot. As far as using shot pattern to find it, if you group all your target points within 2m or so (essentially same spot), it's hard to tell where it's all coming from. The only thing to really watch for is random counter-battery fire. I'll do this if I suspect that my opponent has a park (those handy 81mm OBA work well for this). This really amounts to not setting up in woods.

Nathanael