Willard's 10 Maxims on Use of Artillery

[Willard]

#10 - Organization of the artillery is essential - especially for the Union forces and an effective strategy. Below are my recommendations on how best to organize in support of the Union army:

-Dispersal of artillery in the OOB is very bad for Union troops. If the artillery is dispersed under division/brigade infantry commanders, those commanders will use the artillery to support local forces and not focus on the “big picture.” I generally don't play games with custom OOBs were the player spreads out the artillery amongst brigades as this favors the Reb player by eliminating the greatest Union counter: the strength of the artillery and ability to concentrate that at the decisive point.

-I would highly recommend that artillery be consolidated into one formation of multiple batteries with the artillery commander reporting directly to the corps commander. If/when an army expansion occurs to multiple corps formations those corps should have their own organic artillery formation. Requests for artillery support should go to the corp commander first and, if approved, from the corp commander to the artillery commander. Ultimately it is the corp commander's responsibility to balance competing requests for resources as he is running the battle, not the artillery commander.

-Each artillery formation should consist of 4-6 batteries for maximum flexibility. Anything less than 4 batteries won’t pack the punch and anything more than 6 batteries are too much to handle.

-Batteries should contain 4-6 guns each. My preference is 6 gun batteries but resources may dictate otherwise. Anything greater than 6 guns appears, in my experience, to bog down the AI movement pathfinding and slow down response time to orders.

-Batteries should be organized by ordinance type. I would strongly recommend not mixing guns in the batteries. Life is much easier in tasking batteries when you know that all the guns are the same and you can task to a mission appropriate for their strengths. This is a particular weakness when commanding rebel players. I would recommend checking the gun types in your batteries before deploying.

-When at all possible, it is recommended to keep a reserve battery and not deploy everything on the line. You never know when you need to send the fire brigade out! Additionally, decisions will be need to made when to withdraw the artillery from battle. Unfortunately, SOW MP game play doesn't lend itself to that type of thinnking because there is no "tomorrow" so there is a tendency to throw everything out there. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to rotate your batteries. Just a few game time minutes of rest for your battery dramatically improves there morale/fatigue levels, allows for re-supply, and dramatically improves their performance.

-Finally, artillery formations should have batteries with an appropriate mix of ordinance. If we have six batteries, resources permitting, 2 batteries of each ordinance is a good well balanced mix. The big key is that I would strongly recommend a maximum of one 3inch battery in a 4 battery formation and two 3inch batteries in a 6 battery formation. The rest should be a good mix of 10 and 12 pd batteries. The key is balance and flexibility – we want our force not to be too heavily weighed towards counter-battery or towards close support.

[Willard]

In closing, use what works best for your style of play. It is a basic overall fact in game that Rebel artillery isn't as good as the Union guns. However that is something that is historically accurate about the game. I know alot of players change this with the custom OOBs but I don't think they realize that this nuanced difference does affect delicately balanced gameplay.

Admittedly, this qualitative difference does impact the game in that the Union player does have a greater margin for error than the rebel player. Does that mean it is impossible for the rebel player to take on Yankee guns? No, but it does mean more care is required in ensuring you have optimally and efficiently are directing your batteries. It also means that time isn't your friend. It is very difficult for the Rebel player to sit back too long, especially if you are up against me. Given enough time, I will carve up and suppress your batteries and give my infantry a much better chance when assaulting a position.

[MrSpkr]

Very nice, Willard. I still mark it as a badge of honor that I was able to capture a battery of your guns the other night. You are very good in your use and deployment of artillery (and, frankly, I wouldn't have gotten those guns had your co-commander not moved his infantry out of the way while you were concentrating on another part of the battle!).

Steve

[Ephrum]

Great insight Willard, and very informative.

Thank you for taking the time to post and share all of that information. B)

[Braxton Bragg]

I can vouch for willards guns!, those damn guns of his :woohoo:

Braxton Bragg

[Rich Mac]

Nice post Willard.

I haven't seen anyone on the battlefield deploy and effectively use artillery as well as you do.

I also agree with the assessment of OOB organization, it is extremely damaging to the Union forces when their batteries are broken up amongst brigade commanders.

[J Canuck]

Willard, I just read your excellent treatise on artillery tactics. I have now come to appreciate artillery’s nuances (Little Powell are you reading this?! > nuances) in the game, which can dictate a battle’s success.Considering your superb tactical expertise, would you mind commenting on the use of artillery ordinance within the construct of SOWGB?

Could you also address the issue of having to take command in order to force the AI selection of shot, but which creates the problem of TC automatically forcing individual guns to remain stationary, hence eliminating their ability to aim directly at a moved enemy unit? I understand (but I may be incorrect) the construct of the game dictates the more accurately one’s guns point directly at an enemy unit’s flag, the greater damage one’s fire inflicts.

Furthermore, which is better: allow the AI to select a gun’s type of shot and target repositioned enemy units; or, TC to force shot selection and freeze the guns thus stop fatigue caused by moving?

[Little Powell]

J Canuck wrote:

(Little Powell are you reading this?! > nuances)

So where were we on that? It would be a good time to get some of these nuances in the manual before the official patch is released. I can't even remember what the last nuances you and I were discussing... :laugh:

If you want to take this over PM, send me a PM and refresh my memory about any nuances you have discovered that you think should be covered in the manual.

[J Canuck]

Touché .... I’m much too busy coming up with make work ideas for other people to work on. Actually, if you continue focusing on enhancing this great game (I love the possiblity of a campaign), I’m sure I can struggle through discovering the plethora of nuances for myself.

[Little Powell]

J Canuck wrote:

Touché

I was being sincere. Not jerking your chain or anything.

I would like to see the manual have all of the details as well. It's just that we count on you guys to bring them up. I'm so used to the small nuances in the game, I don't notice them anymore.