[Pzt_Crackwise]

While playing the close combat series and also in GJS, I have always seen that the mortar doesn't kill, it only supresses. Ok, it may kill units which are running, but mortar shells should also kill infantry which are in the prone position easier. It doesn't seem realistic, when not a single man is dead after a mortar bombardment of at least ten rounds. Also i'm curious how many mortar teams people are using, i have seen mostly one or two teams but if someone has an interesting strategy and is willing to share it i'd be gladful! [/img]

[Blackstump]

ok his my 2 bobs worth on mortars, if u have no line of site from your mortar team, and your relying on another squad seeing them then only fire when there running, if your mortar team has direct vision u will kill prone men with direct hits, maybe 1 every 4 shots, u will injure and render unconcious others,still an expensive way to use your mortar, my stratergy is, only use more then one mortar, unless in a meeting engagement were u may decide to take up to 3, to use as a blind firing weapon at very begining of game , purpose is to slow down an opposing force so u can gain better ground, start with 2 firing on supposed likely routes they would take, marching the fire out at about the same rate your troops are moving forward. when u here the scream u know your found them ,carpet bomb it in area. by this time your men are reaching 2 storey houses and u may all of a sudden see your opponents men running bring in your final mortar to cause some mayhem,now in a set battle u will still need a single mortar for eg; setting up opposite a likely atg position use rifle fire and mortar on atg then roll tank up to hedge while suppressed, or set up on supply vl with a leader group as last stand , 10 rounds left with the boss lookin over your shoulder, and troops charging you with a min to go..... that combo goes good

[God4Saken]

Hey Crack, the thing about mortars over the normal howitzer type artillery is their trajectory. Mortars fire their rounds, or "bombs", at low speed and very high arc so that they drop very much straight down on their target. This causes the bombs to bury themselves in the ground a bit before exploding. Thus most of the kinetic energy and blastwave is directed upwards, with only a little bit of peripheral blast. So if you were lying prone on the ground near a mortar blast, you have a better chance of survivability than if you were standing/running. I believe that this is a feature that the programmers have put into the CC5 game. If you wanted to take out troops that are lying prone, then you would use a special "Air-burst" type fuse. These are the ones that are designed to explode overhead and shower the target area below with shrapnel fragments. This is probably something that some of the computer experts who play CC5 should programme into the game.

Whilst i'm still pretty much an amateur at Close combat, I'll give you my opinion on mortars. I reckon they are great, can't do without at least two teams, sometimes three. Even if they only kill one or two enemy soldiers, that's affected their firepower and slowed them down a bit. Plus with mortar teams, once their bombs run out, you can use them as secondary infantry teams. But they have limited firepower, can't run fast and tire easily. Pity you can't give them an order to drop their mortar gear and advance with personal weapons only.

Now with regards to the air-burst shell. It was invented in the late 1700's by a British artillery officer, Henry Shrapnel (Hence the term for bomb fragments), who wanted a more effective long-range anti-personnel weapon against charging cavalry. The shell was stuffed with ball-bearings/round-shot, had a timed fuse and would explode in front of and high above the enemy litterally showering with them with high velocity/heated shot and shell fragments. Massed artillery fire using shrapnel rounds was devestating to packed infantry ranks, as was the standard tactics of the 19th century. Wellington used shrapnel rounds at Waterloo and wrote in his memoirs how impressive they were (mind you, he liked anything that would kill the French, he would have used VX gas at Waterloo if he'd had access to it back then).

But injuries from shapnel/fragments are referred to as secondary blast trauma. Primary blast trauma is caused by the pressure wave that exerts outward 3 dimensionally from the source of a blast. This is a sudden rise in air pressure that expands any air pockets it comes into contact with, it's referred to as barotrauma. In the human body, there are 4 air pockets that the body that a blast wave will affect; the ear canals, the sinuses, the respiratory tract and the gastro-intestinal tract. It doesn't take much to rupture any of these areas by dramatically increasing the air pressure within, the eardrum will rupture at about 15 psi (Pounds per Square Inch) and rupturing of the lungs and/or intestines is fatal. Most chemical explosives can produce about a million psi at their epicentre. So even if the fragments miss you, the blast wave will kill you with barotrauma or severe flash burns.

[roonburg]

I use mortars purely as suppressive weapons and any actual kills is a bonus. I just deny the enemy freedom of movement. Anywhere I see a walking or running team I drop 1 or 2 bombs amongst them and they all go prone. Then I leave them alone as they are not worth the ammo.

When your defensive positions are being attacked then the extra time it takes for the enemy to cross open ground or move reserves is all time your MG can use to full advantage.

In regular cc5 they were ATG killing machines but I'm glad thats been reduced. I barely had a gun survive a single battle unless it was in a house.

[Pzt_Crackwise]

Thanks guys you have enlightened me deeply with your explanations and comments. I didn't know about that ammunition thing about the mortars, and how it was found out, so I'd like to thank a lot to god4saken (:

[chocoleibniz]

I think increased kill ratio for mortars would mean they become too much of a battlefield dominating weapon. Their effectiveness is just right IMO.

As for tactics, when I'm entering a new map as the attacker I like to deploy as many mortars as possible and shell the crap out of anything in front of my intended jumping off points, before the real attacks start in subsequent rounds.

Massive smoke screens from 3-4 mortars too are invaluable for shock assaults as you can cover a large area of ground and multiple assault units.