CANNON TACTICS
by Lockjaw
lachlan@ci.com.au

I've been playing Empire in WHFB for a long time now and from the very
outset I've used cannons in my armies. Over the years I've managed to refine
my tactics and figure out how to get the most out of my cannons.  Whilst the 
tactics I've described below were developed with an Empire army in mind, much
of what I've said can be used to great effect in a Dwarven force as well.

Cannons are one of the great equalizers of WHFB.  There is nothing that enjoys
a Strength 10 hit doing D6 wounds.  Their presence on the battlefield demands
the attention of your opponent.  There is one great drawback to cannons however:
reliability.  As soon as you start relying on your cannons to do significant 
damage, you're throwing tactics out the window and playing purely with luck. 
Cannons *cannot* be relied on, but they can be used to great effect and when 
things do go right, there is nothing that can withstand them.

The inherent unreliablity of cannons means they need to be deployed in multiples
if you're to stand a real chance of having them perform anywhere near expected.
In a 2000 point game I like to field 3 cannons.  2 will serve well, but just a 
single cannon will not do the job.  Of course, 3 cannons is a significant
investment (300pts) and a wise general will want to protect this investment
as best he can. 

Empire war machines are vulnerable to flyers, fast cavalry and most of all,
psychology.  There are a number of techniques to nullify these short-comings.

My favorite method (and one which I've only developed recently) is to use my
general in a protective role, placing him within a battery of 3 cannons.  I give
him the following equipment: Talisman of Ravensdark, Sword of Swift Slaying,
Van Horstman's Speculum and assorted regular equipment.  This combination 
effectively deals with the three major concerns when protecting your cannons. 
The general is quite capable of dealing with any big flying nasty that drops 
from the skies, his LD is available for the battery to use and it would take
a significant effort for a unit of fast cavalry to over-run the battery.  Of
course, putting your general with the cannons means he cannot lead from the 
front.  However, in an Empire army this is not such a bad thing.  And with the
protection of the battery, it's next to impossible to kill the general with 
missle fire. 

In a 2000 point game it is usually not economical to devote the points towards a
hero in order to protect your cannons, but in 2500+ this becomes quite a good
option, and it allows your general to lend his support to the front lines. 
Talisman of Ravensdark is the key item, and if you're looking to keep costs 
down you don't need a second item, although for a mere 5 pts you can get 
some great protective items (Jade Amulet, Charmed Shield, etcetera).

Whilst a character is the best form of protection for your cannons, it is the
most expensive.  There are other, cheaper methods to keep your cannons alive, 
but essentially you get what you pay for.  Deployment can make or break your 
cannons.  A forest provides protection from flyers and additional missle cover, 
but often there won't be one in your deployment zone and you're wasting valuable
shooting time if you spend the first turn or two moving into one. 

Splitting your cannons up is highly recommended if you don't have a character to
protect them.  This way they can cover each other, i.e., when a flyer drops down
on one cannon, the others can open fire on the flyer.  It also means that if one
cannon is under attack, the others are still free to fire.  And finally, it 
opens up more line of sight.  Would it perhaps be better to buy a fourth cannon 
rather than spend the 130 odd points it requires to protect a battery of 3?  
Often the answer is yes.

Another cheap method of protection is a screen of archers.  You'll need about 4
per cannon.  The idea is to ring the cannon(s) completely with the screen, 
making it impossible for enemies to get in contact.  This will even work against
flyers if you ensure there is no room for them to be placed in base contact with
the cannon or it's crew.  Just remember that when the screen dies, you'll be 
taking a panic test on LD 7. 

If you can control the skies, your cannons will be much safer.  With Empire this
can be a bit difficult, as there are no harpies, war hawks, terradons, etcetera.
The only flyers availible tend to be quite expensive.  A hero or two on pegasi 
can go a long way to bringing the skies under your control and, even in a force
without warmachines, such units have a great deal of value.

Protecting your cannons is one thing, using them successfully is another.  Now
that you have some idea on keeping your cannons alive, lets take a look at how
you can use them to keep the enemy dead. 

First off, let me re-iterate that cannons are *unreliable*.  This cannot be 
stressed enough.  But, with a little planning, you can maximise your chances of
wreaking major havoc. 

Concentrate your fire.  This is true with cannons just as much as it is with all
other forms of missle fire.  It's no use relying on one cannon doing the job, 
you need as many shots as you can muster if you want to stand a chance of doing
what you set out to achieve.

Picking your targets is perhaps the most crucial aspect of using cannons well.
Characters are by far and away the best target.  Cannons make great assasins,
a character on his own is just begging to get slammed.  Even if the character is
in a unit, pick him out.  He'll fail his 'Look out sir' roll eventually and even
if he does pass it, you'll be taking out rank and file in his place.

A cannon can also be used to attack targets cowering behind woods and hedges.
The bounce only gets stopped by buildings and the like.

Some people say that one of the best targets for war machines are enemy war
machines.  I disagree with this.  There are other more effective ways of dealing
with war machines.  Your cannons are going to waste 2 or 3 turns firing
at enemy war machines when they could be pounding on far better targets. 

Here is my prefered order of targets:

Big characters on their own.
Big characters in units.
Chariots, Stegadons, etc.
Heavily Armoured, Expensive units. (Knights, etc.)
Big units.
Anything else.

So now you know what to shoot at, the question is how do you stand the best 
chance of hitting it?

The artillery dice has 6 possibly results: Misfire, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.

Ideally you want your cannonball to land directly on top of it's first target, 
and then have it bounce through everything behind it.  Guessing ranges is a 
skill that can be learnt relatively quickly.  It's worth practising until you 
get on target...  a good method is throwing a pair of dice, or coins, and then 
trying to guess the distance between the two.  After you've guessed, measure it 
and see how close you were.  Repeat this process until you can accurately guess 
the ranges almost every time. 

Now, to stand the best chance of landing your cannonball where you want it, 
estimate the range to your target and deduct 6 from the figure.  When firing 
multiple cannons at the same target, it is worthwhile varying this distance 
slightly from shot to shot in order to cover the odds of a short or large roll.
6" is the average variation, from the artillery dice, on how far the cannon ball
will travel before bouncing, assuming you don't misfire.

If luck is on your side, at least one of your shots should be on target. 
Remember what I said earlier about concentration of fire.  Between misfires and
over/undershooting the target, it can be quite a task to land a shot where it
needs to be.  That's why you need to maximise your chances by concentrating your
fire.

Well, that kinda wraps things up for this installment of my cannon tactics
guide.  I'm sure I will be making some additions when I've had a chance to 
experiment with the new cannon rules (they have not been published in Australia
as yet).  But until then, I hope you've gained a trick or two from this article
and may your cannons never misfire! :)

Lockjaw.