Some Thoughts on Artillery

A couple of thoughts and suggestions on artillery since my last game watching
my "priority on call" heavy artillery battery ignore calls for fire from my
'specialist' Forward Observer for 3 turns.

I havent tried out these yet (next week hopefully) and would appreciate some
feedback.

1) Registered Targets and Final Protective Fire (FPF) All operations are
covered with fire plan overlays and registered targets. Obviously more when
you are in defence or assaulting a position than when advancing to contact,
but obvious defensive positions are registered for rapid engagement. This isnt
really reflected with the current "call for fire" rules in DSII.

Calling Fire onto Registered Targets gains a +2 bonus on the call, with
die types as detailed in DSII rules. Forces receive d4 registered targets in
meeting engagements, d6 when attacking and d6+2 when in a defensive
position.

In attack/defence scenarios, the defending player also gets a FPF
target. This is the "enemy on the wire, save us PLEASE" fire mission. In real
life (as I remember it), this is the absolute priority mission for the Battery
and guns are loaded and layed on the FPF firing solution at all times when not
engaged in another mission. Call for a FPF mission overrides all other calls
for fire (except the guns firing over open sights in the defence of their own
position).

The defender may plot a single FPF target within 6" of one of his main
position (be reasonable about this). Calling for fire on the FPF gains a
+4 die mod.

2) Deceptive Rounds Isn't it annoying that you finally get you call for fire
in and then the unit under the markers simply buggers off? I know that this is
adjusting rounds etc...but I have a cunning plan....

Some guns/tubes/whatever can also send a few errant rounds to try and
deceive the Enemy's combat data systems.

A Battery may utilise one or more of its guns to fire these errant rounds.
Each gun so employed may not be used in resolving the fire mission, but can
place 2 (maybe one?) artillery markers as per a normal mission. When revealed,
these markers do not cause any damage or a "under fire" marker (not enough
rounds). They are used to simply spoof your Enemy as to where
your fire is going to land- he may still work it out though

- Hopefully, these suggestions may make your artillery support more
effective. If not, well the guns might be firing on someone else's FPF after
all!

Happy Fire-planning and thanks in advance for any comments,

> From Paul O'Grady:
[big snip]

The ideas look interesting - if anyone tries them in practice please let
us know the results!
Of course, the battery didn't "ignore" your FO's calls - the die rolls
also represent the possibility that he simply can't get contact with the
battery due to enemy jamming or communications problems. You might want to
modify
things for either landline comms (very low-tech but harder to jam!) or
tight-beam laser/maser, though this would require LOS to the battery OR
a
suitable satellite/ship to bounce a beam off.....

> Isn't it annoying that you finally get you call for fire in and then
You actually had this happen?!? My opponet only called Artillery fire on units
that have already activated. This way they could NOT wander off (unit could
not move until next TURN and artilery fell next ACTIVATION). I was thinking
that there needed to be weakened (that, perhaps, the fire should not fall
until the next TURN for off board artillery).

> On Sat, 7 Mar 1998, Paul O'Grady wrote:

> A couple of thoughts and suggestions on artillery since my last game

This has bothered me about DS2 occasionally as well - one artillery
battery on-table, no other commitments, and one of the half-dozen units
on-table with it can't get it to fire?

> I havent tried out these yet (next week hopefully) and would

So how do you mark RTs? Chits on the table means your opponent avoids the
chit like the plauge - rendering your RTs useless...Marks on a map would
work, but is more open to abuse...best solution could be RT Chits plus twice
that number of Dummy RT chits.

RTs are the only way I can think of to attack areas presently out of
line-of-sight of all of your forces - which is the biggest problem I
have
with using arty - the enemy staying out of sight, or my forces reluctant
to expose themselves to return fire...

> In attack/defence scenarios, the defending player also gets a FPF
marker
> (not enough rounds). They are used to simply spoof your Enemy as to

The Deceptive Fire idea is interesting - most of the time, however, I
don't have the spare arty tubes for it...oh well.

> Happy Fire-planning and thanks in advance for any comments,

> At 16:37 09/03/98 -0800, you wrote:
SNIP

        I suggest using an X-Y coordinate from an agreed table corner,
with each player allowed to do his measuring out of sight of his opponent.
Each player then has to write down his choice of RTs, up to the number
allowed, a
la WRG 1925-50 etc.

It might be an idea to limit at least lower tech forces to RTs
centred on easily-defined terrain features, while allowing greater
freedom to higher tech troops.

Rob