My two cents...err make that twenty cents...[:D]You get half the normal points for spiking a gun as long as you garrison them with a combat unit, a leader and even a wagon. The occupying combat unit can be disrupted or not, cav or infantry in any formation, and even another artillery piece. If you leave the spiked gun you lose the points though the gun stays spiked and is no good to the enemy. That is the point of doing so to deny them to the enemy's use after, perhaps, you have enjoyed using them against him.[:p] Sometimes if they are left far enough forward you can use them for a few turns before the enemy gets up the courage and the where-with-all to attempt recapture. If you plan it correctly you can get a few bombardment in and still have time to spike them.
Captured artillery do return to the original owner in the next battle of a campaign but they do not return full strength...I believe they return as one tube regardless of their original size and their quality is decreased. Likewise when infantry units are destroyed they come back in the next battle of a campaign at 15% of their original strength.
Wise players have suggested here in the forum a couple of interesting tactics re: capture v.s. spiking and destruction. Capture them and then spike them...you can't move captured guns except to limber, unlimber or turn in place....and move on...you can come back to them as they are often in the rear after you capture them, and occupy them later if you need the points. Or you can come back and bombard them with artillery to destroy them and you will get the points as normally when a gun is destroyed by artillery bombardment. Another option that I employ is taking a disrupted "one tube" artillery piece that is usually not worth a pee hole in the snow for firing and use it to garrison a captured or a spike gun. Of course it isn't much of a defender but in those circumstances when it is behind the lines, it may well last to the end of the game, and you get more points for the spiked gun than any casualties you are likely to take with a disrupted one tube gun. I don't believe from my tests that an uncrewed arty piece can garrison (It might start out crewed as it occupies and if hit by artillery or gunfire it could become uncrewed...or even blowed up [:(] whereupon I doubt it would satisfy occupation).
It is also correct as stated by someone that guns can be recaptured. When recaptured one has to use the normal "recrewing" function....see the manual...but the gun's quality goes to F and is diminished in its fire. The advantage is that recaptured artillery (by the original owning side) CAN BE limbered and <b>moved off </b>to one's own lines. Wouldn't likely mean much in a single battle as far as its effectiveness but it would deny the points to the enemy and if a campaign game, one of its tubes would come back to you. Note too that when you CAPTURE a gun it is actually easier to start firing it than when you have to RE-capture one. When you capture a gun with an infantry unit (or a cavalry unit..if it is a horse artillery piece, the gun can fire on the turn after you capture and occupy it. The inf, cav or arty occupying it can be disrupted or not. It will fire at half strength. However, just as any arty unit, if for example you changed its facing in your movement turn of the following turn it would not be able to fire until the next turn. I say it is easier to get it firing than recapturing or recrewing because of the time and rules required for recrewing.
Also note about points...in all HPS theaters EXCEPT Gettysburg, guns are worth 30 points which means that spiking a gun is worth 15. In GB the guns are worth 60 points (by now there may be other theaters where guns are worth 60 but I am not aware of that...I don't don't own all the games...yet...I lack about three of them.) Note too that when you are talking 15 points, you suffer more casualties sometimes taking them and holding them than worth the trouble. Just spike them and forget it...if nothing else they can't be used against you. I learned that hard way...attempting to rescue hurt guns which you have to recrew...often while you are attempting to recrew...it takes time...you suffer casualties from more bombardment that causes the UNdisrupted unit you send in to recrew to become disrupted itself before you can recrew and move the gun off to safety or begin firing with it. Sometimes it just comes down to math which is admittedly a litte gamey but then we didn't create the rule did we?
Hope this helps. There is more to it but I have gone on enough.
Brigadier General
Tom Ciampa
Commanding Officer
1st Cav Division
XIV Corps, AoC
Games: TS/BG: AN, BR, CH, GB, SH - HPS: AT, CTH, GB, OZK, SH, VK
