Two Arty problems

[RedDevil]

Hello guys,

I have looked up the reference manual but did not find an answer to the following two questions.

1. I have some arty units attached to the organic superior, and order the HQ to move forward. Now the arty is deployed in such a way as to cover the advance, but in some occasions I would like to order the arty to move with the HQ. Are there some settings that allow you to do that or do I need to detach the arty units and issue a separate move order?

2. Again the same arty (this time mortars) attached to an HQ. I order the HQ to rest, however the arty keeps performing fire missions and they get completely knackered to the point that when I order the HQ to move, they slow down the advance because the fatigue bar is almost completely red. Is the only way to make the arty units rest to detach them and issue a rest command?

These problems became really annoying while playing the charge of the centaurus as the Axis since
a) the fitness and training of the Italian units is so poor that after a couple of km they have to sit down and rest so managing the fatigue is extremely important.
b) there are 100+ units in this scenario and by detaching too many the orders delay goes through the roof (I like to play with painful realistic delays).

Cheers,

RedDevil

Off Topic [X(] (yes I know, it is my thread so it is rather strage to go OT so early, but I am too shy to open another one): I cannot use the search function in this forum. I have the feeling that Arjuna the Great [&o] has allocated the same TT ID to two different requests but any attempt to perform a search resulted in a "not found"

[MarkShot]

See page 2, post #36:

tm.asp?m=554121

Additionally, a lot of good stuff about arty usage in and around that general area in the HTTR Mini-Guide.

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I always dettach my arty. It's too valuable and critical to the outcome not give it your full attention. Additionally, I believe that the order delay command load penalty for a dettach battery is less than say a dettached infantry company. Check the COTA manual for exact costs and calculations.

I hope that helps.

[MarkShot]

RedDevil,

See the last post at the bottom of page 11 of the COTA Mini-Guide Thread. You can follow the same technique if you are concerned with command load and arty fire bases.

[RedDevil]

Hello Mark,

THanks for the prompt reply.

In HTTR I usually managed 1/2 to 2/3 of my medium - heavy arty personally. My "strategy" was I was subdividing the arty in two firebases per sector, (if there was more than one sector) placing one group on call and the other under my direct control and switching the roles before the first group ran out of ammos (normally at 10:00am[:D]). I found quite useful to have some of the arty on call especially on large battlefields where it is difficult to keep an eye on every unit. I still have some concerns over large scenarios where overloading the map boss can be catastrophic. I have checked page 142 of the reference guide and you are right on the cost of attaching arty though.

Back to the questions! [:)]
Unfortunately the post you from TZar007 indicated confirms my fear that in order to move a firebase of say 3-4 arty units, I have to give an order to each of them separately.

Regarding the second point, I am afraid I haven't been very clear. My problem is as follows:
a) I have an HQ which has among line units 3 mortar units.
b) I order the HQ (and the subordinates) to rest (Z)
c) while the line units actually try to rest (provided they are sufficiently far away from the enemies), the mortars remain on call and their fatigue level remains extremely high.
d) after some hours (15-20) I order the HQ to move, but while the line units have more or less recovered, the mortar units' fatigue is still sky high.

So my question is: is the only way to rest the mortars to take them under my direct control and order them to rest?

Cheers,

RedDevil

[GoodGuy]

If I remember correctly, they do rest either if being switched to "undefined" (note:all units will move to the rest area), or "in-situ"...i forgot which one.

[MarkShot]

Generally, you should have at most three arty fire bases per scenario. However, in many cases, a single fire base will suffice. So, I don't find the creation or relocation of a fire base to be particularly tedious. Of course, it would be nice if there was as option to have guns move as a group to the task marker as opposed to having n-1 units cover unit n which arrives at the marker. But Dave has bigger fish to fry when coding these days ...

Regarding your second point: if the mortars are not resting with the rest of the force, then it sounds like this may be a bug based on the semantics of the REST order. Do the mortars have direct LOS to what they are firing on? (meaning are they under threat)

You might try checking the arty direct support only box and seeing if that makes a difference.

[Arjuna]

ORIGINAL: RedDevil
1. I have some arty units attached to the organic superior, and order the HQ to move forward. Now the arty is deployed in such a way as to cover the advance, but in some occasions I would like to order the arty to move with the HQ. Are there some settings that allow you to do that or do I need to detach the arty units and issue a separate move order?

I agree it would be nice to override the default handling here, which is to deploy arty into separate firebases.
TT2965 - AI - UI - Add Ignore Firebasing checkbox option to task settings

2. Again the same arty (this time mortars) attached to an HQ. I order the HQ to rest, however the arty keeps performing fire missions and they get completely knackered to the point that when I order the HQ to move, they slow down the advance because the fatigue bar is almost completely red. Is the only way to make the arty units rest to detach them and issue a rest command?

Agree again.
TT2966 - AI - UI - Add Ignore On-Call-Spt option checkbox to task settings for Rest Orders

[Golf33]

Workaround for the resting is to make sure "Rest after bombard" is checked, then give them a bombard order targeted on the unit itself. They won't fire and after the 10 minute bombard period they will go to sleep. It does detach them from command, though.