Why Your Shells Land Short

A short shot is a range problem. The two usual causes:

  1. Too few powder charges. Under-charging means the round can’t reach the target. Re-check the formula: elevation = range (km) × 12 ÷ charges (see Powder Charges).
  2. Under-estimated range. If your triangulation said 3 km but the target is really 4 km, the shell falls short. Re-plot with the red pencil and confirm the distance.

Why You’re Off to the Side

A sideways miss is a bearing problem:

  1. Wrong turret rotation. The turret angle must match the triangulated bearing exactly.
  2. Bad map plot. If your target sub-square is off, the bearing is off. Redraw from the Iron Nest marker’s ground pin to the target.

For the full plotting method, see the Triangulation guide.

Friendly Fire

Your own artillery can kill friendly units — a blue skull appears on the map when it happens.

  • High-radius shells are the usual culprit — HCHE, CYAN, and especially ATMC can splash far beyond the target.
  • Check your blast radius (see the Ammo Types guide) before firing near friendly positions.
  • Many gold medals require zero friendly kills, so a single blue skull can cost you the medal (see Gold Medals).

Quick Checklist When You Miss

  1. Was the range correct? (re-triangulate)
  2. Was the elevation correct? (re-check charges against the formula)
  3. Was the bearing correct? (re-check turret rotation)
  4. Did the shell hit something but not the target? (blast radius / wrong shell type)