The Commander Series Forum

I haven't yet played a BKC2 game, but artilery AT effectiveness, especially early war, seems to be excessive. Mortars, with 3 attacks per order, can easily take out 1940 tanks. Medium guns as artillery support units have 6 attacks per order, while the average tank can take 3 hits with a 6 save. Firing indirect a 12-gun 25-pr battery with 9 attacks is potentially both accurate (British observer on a hill)and devastating (average 4.5 hits, 3.75 after 1 in 6 save).
How much of this is realistic? Field and medium guns don't have the accuracy or rate of fire of high-velocity AT or AA guns; the only instance of a mortar taking out a tank I've heard of was a freak occurrence.
The most common result I've read about of artillery pounding tanks was to drive them off: if they hung around they tended to accumulate non-penetrating damage. The likely result in BKC is that they'll be killed, either immediately by the artillery or by other troops once locked in position by a suppression result.

Don't forget that AFVs are only hit on 6s...so even getting 9 attacks, you'll do well to get 3 hits out of it.

Why not wait until you've played a couple of games before raising issues that may not be issues at all?

Sorry Dave i can't find in the new book where it says that AFVs are hit only on 6s...please help me

p.140

It's in the box on P.27 "Testing for Casualties".

Oh yes, that one as well

I think you beat me to the draw by 10 seconds on that Pete!

many thanks to both of you!

KD, Doh! : posting in a hurry before taking my daughter to club, and not checking my facts nor remembering artillery indirect was 6 to hit AFV!

Pete, of course I will play some games! As a gamer, I look forward to my French 155mm gun-line blasting those panzers with 18 attacks as they cross the last ridge. As a 'historian', not so sure. Devastatingly accurate AT fire from howitzers at 750M? Admittedly 155mm howitzers are an expensive and vulnerable AT solution but by the time the panzers get into sight they'll have done lots of good work with indirect fire already.
Unless you read the summary on p.140 you might think that mortars and IG indirect (p.24) hit AFV normally.

Back to this point again, the note about 6's only seems to apply to artillery. from what I have understood mortars are not covered by this and kill on 4,5 or 6 if in the open.
Is this correct??

When firing indirect against AFVs it's 5+ or 6+ for the mortars and inf guns , too. Page 140.

iAugustus

Its also very clear on the QRF sheet, I forgot this when we polayed on saturday and destroyed 5 panzers with French artym then when we remembered and re rolled I only killed one.