Vathailos
Posts: 346
Joined: 5/13/2003
From: In a van, down by the river.
Status: offline
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As much as it pains me to do so, I’m going to have to agree with RB ;) in his overall assessment that air should count toward your artillery assets. But not for the exact reasons he posts.
Army (US) Air is a separate branch, granted. It’s not officially part of the “Artillery”. However, as a ground-pounder, when briefing an OPORD, my “indirect fire assets” portion included both whatever arty they told us we’d have and what air assets. All were classified as indirect fire support. Of course your FO (if you’re lucky enough to have one of these guys assigned to you, it MAKES a mission IMO, ok, so I’m not so fond of having to call it in myself :p) is the best person to coordinate the actual call for fires, once you plan your original targets, and determine where you need it once you’ve made contact.
When purchasing arty, despite the fact that they’re listed on the “Miscellaneous” page, I’ve always included any air strike elements (bombers/fighter-bombers/ground-attack aircraft) in my Artillery totals. What I do NOT include are air transport assets.
Reason I don’t agree wholly with RB is because I don’t particularly dislike air assets. I don’t find them as a huge crutch for opponents, as my core force usually contains some AA assets anyway (because of what they do to infantry *shudders*). I think their use is limited for all their well-known flaws (shooting up friendly AFVs/troops, collateral damage), but personally I’d love to call in some BF-110’s (IIRC) to take out a battery of Russian rockets parked on an ammo dump. The splash damage is great against massed infantry as well, or ATGs.
And if I had a vote, I’d say that Airborne are not “infiltrators”, as someone asked above. They’re infantry, and if you’re playing with “C&C” on, I don’t see why anyone would limit even the number of air-droppable units. If you mis-drop these guys, it’s easy to get them routed and cleaned up in short order, and they’re kind of pricey ;). Don’t most players keep a “clean-up” or “reserve” force in the rear to handle any partisans or airborne troops? “Infiltrator” troops are those that you can assign infiltration missions to in the set-up phase with the command button (Special Ops, Partisans, Rangers). I do find it odd that you can air-drop non-airborne units. The only consequence seems to be high suppression when they land. I’d prefer to see a change where engineer or ski troops which are air-dropped have a high chance of incurring damage to each squad (broken ankles/legs/arms, or tree landings) to discourage such historically inaccurate tactics. Sure, glider them in, but don’t drop them.
And I’ll also respectfully disagree with Frank W, in that most people want fun, not realism. I disagree with the premise that they’re mutually exclusive. I think if you stay somewhat realistic (not buying a force that’s made only of Air, ATGs and infiltrators for example), a “well-rounded” force makes a battle both semi-historical and fun.
Limits? Other than remaining relatively realistic (which includes no pre-laid mines in a meeting engagement), I’m not big on them if it’s a “random” setup. If the other fellow spends 50% his points on arty, and any of it is on-board, wouldn’t a well-placed infiltrator or 2 enable you to effectively counter-battery/nullify his arty advantage? And eventually, OB assets run out. I’m yet to play a huge PvP battle against an enemy using tons of arty, so I guess I’m naïve there. My ground infantry are typically mech though, and Arty’s only horribly bad if you’re sitting still, unluckily crossing one of his pre-planned targets, or he’s the U.S. with those insane response times ;). I will usually purchase one section of large, long-range guns specifically for counter-battery fire. And if you’re playing “random” settings (weather/TOD?) then Air shouldn’t be an issue anyway. If a guy wants to roll the dice that he’ll be able to fly and buy a ton of air, let him. Could work out in your favor. But if your battle time-frame is in late ’44, and you’re playing the U.S. against Germany, if your opponent must have night, or poor weather (negating your air) and an artillery limit (again, removing your historical advantage) then that’s BS, IMO.
Bottom line: I don’t mind “creativity” in force composition, but within a somewhat historical/realistic context.
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