The Burma Railway

[Elwro]

I'm convinced that my major victory in this scenario was mainly due to artillery, left in the back, but positioned so that it could fire into 'interesting' hexes. (Always check the ranges!) It's easier to do this if you deliberately give up on the northern objective.

[luisenpc]

I didn't lose any artillery unit and had them in the back in a place where I could use them in both fronts, which I did. I'll try again and try to get the northern objective although it's hard to divide the troops because the allies really start pushing at the west. I'll see what I can do.
Thanks! 

[Elwro]

Sorry if it's a stupid question, but did you remember to use starshells?

[luisenpc]

Well, I have to say no, even though I know they exist, I didn't know how to use them. I should have read the manual but I prefer to learn this by trial and error. Can you explain to me the logic of starshells?
Thanks and please understand my great lack of knowledge.

[1925frank]

Don't worry about a lack of knowledge.  That's one of the things a forum is for -- to get help.  I have a lot of questions too that I'm sure others consider rudimentary, but I consistently get courteous responses.
 
Regarding starshells, on night turns, I believe the firepower is reduced by one-half in the dark.  A starshell puts you back on daylight standing, and the units fire at full power.  If you're shooting enemies in the light, and they're shooting back at you while you're in the dark, you have double the firepower of your opponent, which translates into a tremendous advantage.  The AI will use starshells, though probably not as effectively as you'll learn to use starshells. 
 
To fire a starshell, the unit has to be able fire smoke.  For smoke, I think you push alt and fire.  For starshells, you push both alt and shift and fire.  The starshell won't always work, so if nothing happens, try again.  Eventually one will work.  I don't think there's a delay.  If you try to plot a starshell, you'll know immediately if it worked.  It works like direct fire.

[Arizonus]

     1925Frank has a good summary of the use of Starshells, but I just want to point out that ANY unit with Attack Factors > 0 can fire Starshells, not just smoke-capable units - direct fire units have a range of 2 for this purpose, indirect fire units halve their max range (but are not delayed as normal fire missions are). Leaders improve the odds of successfully deploying a Starshell. Starshells scatter fairly regularly, so direct fire units have a tendency to light up their own positions as often as anything else!
     When deciding who ought to try for a Starshell, I consider mortars and disrupted units best bets - mortars, because they are fairly weak (their firepower won't be missed as much) but can still toss one out behind the enemy so scattering Starshells won't accidently bathe my own troops in light, and disrupted units cuz, you know, what else do they got going in their lives? Disrupted units have a lesser chance of succeeding in their Starshell roll (20% as opposed to 40% for non-disrupted) but like I say, they often don't have anything better to do. Attempting a Starshell does not draw OpFire.
     The most common reason to fire a Starshell is when you want to inflict maximum casualties - choose carefully the time and place, as you are limited in the number you get; don't use them on the off-chance that you might see something interesting! Wait until it's do-or-die time and then light him up. By the same logic, they can be used to forestall an attack, like a denial-of-use weapon. Placing a Starshell in front of your lines may convince the enemy to delay his advance or else get pummelled by your fire, but again, wait until you are convinced your Starshell is needed. Don't toss them out there "just in case" unless you have plenty of them, which is rare....
 
     Good luck!
 
                                                                                                Ariz

[1925frank]

I didn't know any unit can fire a starshell.  I don't know how I managed to miss that one.  Thank you Arizonus.  I'm assuming it's still alt, shift, and fire at the same time for, say, a rifle platoon.  And I'm also assuming it costs the unit's normal points to fire, so, if a rifle platoon has only fifteen action points left, it won't be able to fire a starshell.  I thought they worked just like smoke.

[Arizonus]

     Yup, alt-shift-fire does it for any unit....however, it only costs 20 AP for each attempt, so you can try two or three times and still have AP left to fire with. A Leader must be selected along with the firing unit in order to modify the roll, costing him 20 AP as well; this is different from regular fire in which a Leader automatically modifies the roll whether you want him to or not.
     One of the hardest parts to think about is the pure mechanics of this rule...the Starshell disappears first thing at the beginning of the firing player's next turn (before artillery spotting is resolved, or anything else). So, while your direct fire in the turn of the placing of the Starshell is improved by the Starshell, so is the enemy's direct fire in his upcoming turn; if you pop a Starshell in order to make OpFire better for you in the enemy turn, you may well be illuminating your own guys for the enemy's pleasure to come (OpFire being dicey at best!). A Starshell is best used when you have a lot of direct fire to place into the illuminated zone....
 
                                                                                         Ariz

[1925frank]

I've been playing this game for years and didn't know that.  It's like an epiphany.  It was only by accident while observing a different post that I learned you could put smoke on shallow water.  I'm having a blast learning new things.  Thanks again for making the effort to point this out.

[1925frank]

I don't mind getting corrected, especially when I'm wrong or acting with inaccurate information.  It's kind of like walking around with your fly open.  (Unintentionally.  I'm not going to speculate on why anyone would want to walk around deliberately with a fly open.)  You're usually better off knowing the true score.  I checked my old RS Manual, and it's just like you said.  I can't tell you how many times I've read that thing, and it's never clicked. 
 
 

[luisenpc]

Thanks for such enlighting explanations. Perhaps I can win my battle just by using starshells!.
These forums are great!