There are so many tips that I am sure that I will forget some of them for this section. The skillful use of artillery is another crucial skill the budding guru needs to master. An infantry unit that is 'softened' up by one or more rounds of artillery is much more likely to be retreated when attacked by opposing infantry. Nearly every single individual unit attack should be preceded by an artillery round. If you have more attacks planned than artillery units, then your artillery should concentrate on those units that need to be retreated in order for your attack to be successful. Attacks that have been preceded by artillery fire are much more likely to result in the retreat of the enemy unit.
In order to be able to mount this assault, you have to set up your artillery successfully. Ideally you will place your artillery in a ridge with your infantry placed a hex or two short of the range of the arty. If the range is 8, the infantry should set up a hex or two short of that if possible. Why? You want your artillery to be able to see and fire on enemy units with impunity. If the infantry screens 6 hexes out, the enemy will be unable to spot your artillery without scouts and even then it may be tough to accomplish. If the enemy brings up artillery, you can fire on those artillery units and the enemy will be unable to see, let alone fire back on your units.
Preventing the enemy from setting up his own artillery in critical places is also very important. For illustrative purposes, let us assume that as a competent Rebel commander, you have captured Cemetary hill on day one of Gettysburg historical. You set up the vast majority of your artillery here and your infantry has advanced about 6 hexes south. Your infantry is in a reverse slope position where the enemy cannot fire on them unless they push artillery up to the ridge a couple hexes further south. Around noon the Yanks come over the hill with an all out assault. They place their arty on the ridge line and their infantry moves up next to your line. The Rebel commander now has two missions. 1. Get rid of the Yank arty. 2. Stop the Yank assault. First things first, get rid of the Yank arty because without it their eventual assault will be weak. You can trade real estate for time to accomplish this. Back all your inf up two hexes from the Yanks or one hex if you occupy woods hexes so that the Yanks cant attack you. Next, fire at least one round at every Yank artillery piece you can see. This will weaken their 'first shot' which is always the most powerful. Next, concentrate all your remaining arty on the strongest Yank arty. Hit this unit because it can hurt you the most in the future. Hit it til it retreats. Then shift to the next strongest unit. Repeat until you run out of arty to fire. Make sure to keep a unit within spotting distance of the Yank arty so that if the Yank commander fires on your arty in his turn, your units will counter battery fire. Next turn you repeat the same process and you should have taken out at least 3 Fed artillery pieces in the process. The following turn he will be within one turn of attacking your arty with his advancing infantry line. Now start attacking his strongest units with your arty fire. Ideally you want to lower all his units below 80 morale so that he will have to expend morale to conduct any charges. Back off once again so that your inf is in the same line as your arty. If the Yanks advance the final two hexes you can smash his assault. The defense section will go into detail about how to do this. If the Yank nerve wavers, (a smart Yank commander with no or little arty remaining to support his attack will probably break off.) you now have at least two turns to fire them up with your arty as they beat a hasty retreat. Follow them up with your infantry to re- establish your line 6 hexes south once again.
Lessons:
1- Properly screen your arty.
2- Dont let the enemy establish his own arty that can fire on your screen, let alone on your artillery.
3- Keep a spotter ( like a CC) within range of enemy arty so that they cannot fire on your arty without being subjected to counter battery fire.
4- Trade space for time to break up the attack.
5- Concentrate your fire to get rid of the enemy arty one unit at a time.
In some battles, your 'screen' can consist of a few forward units to serve as 'spotters' while your inf remain with the arty on a the reverse slope behind the arty. This strat has the advantage of allowing your inf to rest until the critical moment when the enemy finally advances up to your arty line.
If the enemy arty significantly outnumbers yours, think about withdrawing to a more defensible position.
