How do I minimize losses from arty/mortars?

[Perturabo]

Any ideas?

[Dimmu]

Got pretty much same question..

Ive have gotten a pretty good hang of the game, but so far most of the casualties still come from an enemy mortar fire.

I try to do the best i can, for example by trying to move a unit after it fire upon an enemy to avoid the incoming barrage.. But most of the time they get caught in it when they are moving and the results are far more disastrous.

Also, i have an other question.. Is there any way to spot the enemy mortar positions and counter fire on them? Like for example i WinSPMBT where you can see a "smoke" cloud over a possible enemy mortar location?

[Veitikka]

Is there any way to spot the enemy mortar positions and counter fire on them?

It's not possible without a LOS, at the moment firing does not create smoke at all.

In AB all smoke/dust created by enemy vehicles and smoke generators is not automatically spotted, the detection distance depends on the obscurant density and general visibility.

[Perturabo]

Non-mechanic based spotting of stuff like smoke, muzzle flashes, corpses, etc. was probably the worst "feature" of Close Combat series.

[kbluck]

If anybody has any brainstorms, be sure to alert the Pentagon. They'd love to hear any new techniques. The fact is, artillery is deadly and historically causes by far the most casualties of all fire systems, so having lots of troops killed by artillery is entirely realistic.

The best defense is to not be in the impact zone. I know, not a stunning insight, but nevertheless true. One way to accomplish that is to not let the enemy know where your forces are, so they're likely to miss if they fire at all. Another is to keep your forces moving faster than the enemy can update their targets. In game terms, try to keep your forces out of sight and reposition often via concealed avenues. You might consider using smoke to hide your own positions and movements even on the defense.

The next best defense is to be underground. Simple holes work very well against impact-fuzed artillery; even just being prone greatly improves your chances of survival. For artillery fuzed to detonate in the air, however, a simple hole won't help much; you'll need overhead cover. In game terms, when not moving try to arrange the best cover you can. But if the enemy dials in your position for a serious bombardment, you're going to have casualties. There's no impregnable fortifications.

Preventing the enemy guns from firing is the last major option. Direct suppression/destruction of the guns or their fire control works, as does preventing them from getting supplied with ammo. Sad to say, however, dedicated counterbattery is well outside the scope of this game. In the US it is handled at brigade and higher; most nationalities coordinate it at division or corps echelons. It's certainly possible for front-line troops to call fire on enemy guns like any other target, but all the fancy radars, sound-ranging, and SIGINT assets are operated at higher levels; at battalion level and below you'll have to use plain old eyeballs. Odds are if you can't directly see the actual guns, you won't have a target accurate enough to call fire. Triangulation of the flash is theoretically possible, but I've never heard of anybody actually doing it without specialized training and equipment.

--- Kevin

[Perturabo]

Counterbattery fire could represented by a random possibility of the battery getting "silenced" some time after firing the first salvo. It could be turned on or off in the scenario generator.

[kbluck]

Counterbattery fire could represented by a random possibility of the battery getting "silenced" some time after firing the first salvo. It could be turned on or off in the scenario generator.

To be fair, that probability would have to be influenced by how demanding a consumer you are. If you're willing to let your artillery reposition frequently (making themselves intermittently unavailable in the process) then the chances of their being permanently silenced goes way down. Also, in general the more they fire the more likely they are to be stonked.

--- Kevin

[Perturabo]

Sounds cool .