Newbie Questions

[rubisco]

Hi!

This is my first CC title and I have a few of questions:

What's the best course of action when infantry comes under mortar fire? Is it best to stop and dig in, crawl out of the barrage, run out of the barrage or something else?

When using mortars, HE seems to arrive almost instantaneously, but smoke takes a very very long time to arrive. Because of this, I have a lot of difficulty coordinating mortar-fired smoke with infantry. Any tips?

What's the best way to deal with those moments of absolute panic when I wish the game was real-time-pausable? I mean those circumstances where you're advancing to contact and you hear a lot of noise and lots of your men are becoming casualties, but you haven't spotted the enemy and you have no idea where the fire is coming from?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[jadam12]

For me as well it is my first CC title, so I'm not expert but maybe I can be of your help.
When I come under mortar fire I try to find some cover. In that case mortar cannot really hurt you. Only thing you should avoid is fire contact with direct fire enemies (e.a another enemy infantry squad) because mortar fire suppresses your men.
For the smoke, I don't know any way to increase the speed at which it is deployed. But the smaller the caliber of your mortar is the faster its rate of fire, so I prefer light mortars for smoke screening.
For your last question, it was hard for me as well to get used to it, but if you arrange your troops well in the deployment phase, you should not take that high casualties in such a short amount of time. I try to hide my precious squads in the woods, in (or among) houses or other places and set them to ambush. This way I can dictate the flow of the battle, they wont be taken out by enemy AT/arty/tanks instantly after the start and I have reserves to play with when needed.
Also try to take some high ground places with cheap infantry (snipers or recon infantry) to gain info about enemy troop layout and to monitor troop movement. For me it makes a lot easier to plan my attack/defense.

[mavraamides]

I'm no expert but I have made it all the way through the main campaign as both sides so I've learned a few things...

1) When infantry is under mortar fire, run for cover ASAP. If the units become panicked or otherwise suffer morale loss, get them within a leader's range ASAP. As already stated DO NOT ENGAGE THOSE UNITS IN A FIREFIGHT WHILE UNDER MORTAR SUPPRESSION. Use smoke from other units for cover if necessary or (RISKY!) bring up a tank to provide support during retreat.

2) Smoke from mortars does take a long time. No way to speed it up. Plan your smoke fire early and keep infantry in ambush mode close to their target until smoke starts to arrive so they can immediately rush in.

3) Its best to avoid this scenario of course! But when you're getting hammered from parts unknown, the best strategy is an organized retreat. Make sure to keep tanks facing the enemy while retreating! Once you are out of site, get your units in range of a commander, regroup and come at the enemy in a different way so he isn't just waiting on you.

Remember ABS:

Always Be Sneaking!

To be seen, is to be killed. Be patient, use cover and move in organized groups so when you do encounter the enemy, you will hopefully have overwhelming firepower at the point of contact.

Keep spotters in ambush mode in areas with good visibility so you see the enemy before he sees you.

I like to get 2 commanders and split my forces into two groups. Stay behind hills and 'peek' over the top so if you get in trouble, you have an easy retreat out of enemy LOS. By keeping 2 separate groups on either side of the map, you make it hard for the enemy to rush either position because of support fire from the other group.

Also, always assign indirect fire weapons to shortcut keys (CTRL-1, CTRL-2, etc.) When you encounter enemy infantry, you can hit '1' (to select unit 1) 'V' (for fire) and then click on the enemy unit. While he's suppressed, try to bring direct fire weapons to bear on his cowering troops. I usually let 4 or 5 shots go with the mortar then hit 'm' (ambush) to make it stop and conserve ammo. Mortars are better for suppressing and you don't want to run out of ammo when you need it most!

Hope that helps!