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Indirect Fire
By Justin "LooseCannon" Riggir c.1999
email: riggir.justin@xtra.co.nz

Introduction
I am an electronics technician and received my training in The New Zealand Army, where I cross-trained as a battery surveyor (the technical side of gun laying). However, that was over twenty years ago and the memory does indeed fade with time, for which the readers' indulgence is asked.

Gunfire
Gunfire (as opposed to riflefire) is predominantly used for large targets such as the breaking up an an attack, destroying a road convoy etc. It may be used to cover an advance or retreat and smoke can be used to silhouette targets.

Methods
In the 'Dawn of Aces' sim gunfire is called by the bearing and distance to target. In my opinion this is a poor method as it requires an accurate plot of both your and the targets' position, a compass and calculations to transpose the compass magnetic bearing to a grid bearing allowing for magnetic variation (from the maps' issue date to the date you want your gunfire). The prefered military method, for anyone other than a trained observer and even then, is to use grid references or features to identify the aiming point. As the ' wwiionline' map, its' features and artillery batteries are likely to be AI driven this should be well within the game engines' capabilities.

A grid reference should be self explanatory and thus will not be . Features are fixed landmarks to your immediate frontage, for example a road junction, a building or dominant relief feature (a hill shaped like the 'Sphinx' perhaps or designated Hill 101 on a map). These features are then fired at by the battery until hit and then registered with bearing, azimuth and range details and given a simple name, using the examples above, crossroad, church, Sphinx, hill 101 etc.

The Fire Mission
When calling for a fire mission you should identify the target and target size , this ensures the battery (usually six guns) can use the correct ordnance for the target, air bust for infantry etc. The number of targets will determine the size of the final salvo of ordnance when the target is aquired. The next step is correction of fire, during which you time the delivery so you can lead a moving target, (and take it from me, being on the receiving end of artillery fire is a very good incentive to move and continue moving). Followed by the final step, destruction of target.

In the example below I have used the 'Warbirds' form of grid reference.

LC; "Battery this LooseCannon fire mission over"
Bty; "LooseCannon this is Battery fire mission go ahead over"

Once communications and intent are established callsigns can be dispenced with.

LC; "Target infantry platoon advancing in open Grid 1.3.3. over" or
"Target infantry platoon advancing in open reference sphinx left 100 (yards) over"

Bty; "Target infantry platoon advancing in open Grid 1.3.3. shot over" or
"Target infantry platoon advancing in open reference sphinx left 100 shot over"

The batterys' use of the word "shot" tells me when the round is fired so I can time until fall of shot and commence correction.

LC; "Up 50 left 50 over"
Bty; "Up 50 left 50 shot over"

This goes on until the target is bracketed then I simply half the last correction and

LC; "Up 10 one round fire for effect over"
Bty: "Up 10 one round fire for effect shot over"

At this stage each gun in the battery fire one round on the same settings as the ranging gun and we have a barrage that falls in the same pattern as the battery is set up, or if I had wanted to target a road convoy each gun would fire on different settings (calculated by the battery on initial target identification). Dependant on the size of the target you may for example, use "three rounds fire for effect" each gun then firing three rounds.

At this stage the target is destroyed.

LC; "Target destroyed over"
Bty; "Target destroyed out" or...

LC; "Target destroyed new target over"
Bty; "Target destroyed new target go ahead over" etc.

If by some miracle the target survives the fire for effect (six rounds of 105mm or 25 lb air bust makes short work of an infantry platoon in the open), it is a simple matter to get another six rounds to exactly the same position.

LC; "Repeat over"
Bty; "Repeat shot over"

This is why in the military if you do not understand a radio message, you use the phrase "say again" and never "repeat".

Conclusion
The favourite military acronym, KISS, "keep it simple stupid".