24-lber Howitzer Foot Artillery

24-lber Howitzer Foot Artillery
Belongs to	Most factions
Type	Howitzer Artillery
Guns	3
Firepower	80
Range	350
Accuracy	40
Reload	25
Morale	3
Tech requirement	None
Produced from	Ordnance Board (most factions), Great Arsenal (Ottoman Empire), Military Governor's Barracks (Ottoman Empire)
Shot Types	Round Shot, Explosive Shells, Carcass Shot, Quicklime Shells, Percussion Shells
Cost	650 SP/770 MP
Upkeep	160
Turns to Train	2
Unit Cap	None

24-lber Howitzer Foot Artillery are a type of howitzer artillery in Empire: Total War.

Description

Foot artillery batteries are the core of an army on campaign: the weapons that win battles and batter down walls.

Howitzers fall somewhere between guns and mortars, the other main artillery types. They have a limited mobility, like guns. Like mortars, they do not fire straight at the target, but send shots high into the air to plunge down on a target (and over anything in the way). By angling the barrel and changing the propellant charge used, howitzers have an impressive flexibility in shell trajectories. Experienced crews can lob explosive shells and incendiary rounds with great accuracy into a “beaten zone”, making life utterly miserable and very short for anyone within it. In close action, they can fire canister rounds directly into enemy formations, like giant sawn-off shotguns.

The term foot artillery applies because the gunners walk into battle alongside the draft animals. Like all artillery, the rating of these howitzers refers to the nominal weight of shot fired; loading the heavier pieces made for strong gunners!

Historically, howitzers – like many other artillery pieces – were far from standardised weapons in the 18th Century. Shells and spare parts made in one foundry did not always fit another foundry’s pieces, even if the calibre was nominally identical and the two guns were part of the same battery in the field. It took a good deal of effort and argument to get foundries to standardise barrels and ancillary equipment, even in a single country.

General Information

Without exception, 24-lber Howitzers are the best type of howitzer artillery available, possessing similar traits to 12-lber Howitzer Foot Artillery with the exception of much better firepower. They are nearly ubiquitous; only Pirates cannot train howitzers.

Ottoman 24-lbers are available far earlier, requiring only Great Arsenals or even Military Governor's Barracks. In addition, they are very slightly cheaper to train.