Heavy Field Gun Battery

*Heavy Breathing into a gas mask*

There isn't a problem on this Earth that cannot be solved with the suitable application of high explosives and the US Army has become very good at utilizing them. While the standard 3 inch field guns derived from the 75mm french modèle 1897 have proved lethally effective against the fortifications and tripods of the invaders, as the Great Martian War has raged on, a larger gun was greatly desired. As such the United States began actively expanding its inventory of 6 inch Howitzers like the Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 again from France. While these guns pose a significant challenge to the Logicians of the Transportation branch, there awesome power on the battlefield more than makes up for it.

The shells fired by the 6 inch howitzer are too heavy for traditional gun team to load and fire at anything approaching an acceptable rate of fire for the long duration required by modern battles and instead must be loaded by mechanical hoist. The big guns have proved vital to siege operations both against Martian Redoubts and defending the vital cites along the Mississippi river.

In All Quiet on the Martian Front

If you want to bring the boom than there is very little you can find that is better than the Heavy Field Gun. With over twice the range of the standard Field Gun Battery at 150 inches there is no point on the board that the enemy is out of your reach and with a +4 power in a Bombardment 3 Template anything that you take under fire is going to feel the pain. Also as a howitzer you get the BOMBARDMENT special rule. Before the first turn but after both armies have been deployed you may make an attack with any unit with this rule against any target in range. This attack ignores line of sight as the weapons are firing in a ballistic arc, and are made against the targets base defense value. If your guns can range the enemy table edge, and trust me your Heavy Field Guns definitely will, this attack can even be made against units in reserve. If you get lucky this can simply remove enemy units before the game even truly begins.

These big guns do have some downsides though with defense of 5 and armor 5 it won't take much to erase you from existence if the tripods get to close. In addition the FIXED POSITION special rule prevents your guns from even turning to engage threats that have out flanked them. The only way you will be able to move your Heavy guns is by hitching them up to a transport unit, this apply for both general movement and rotating to face new threats. You may still engage threats that are within a 45 degree arc of the front of the base though.

A battery of 3 Heavy Field Guns will cost you 160 points to add to your US Army.