US Field Artillery Battery

Playing a Rifle Company, artillery is more or less essential in my opinion. I use the M2A1 105 mm Howitzers to keep the points cost down, although I could definitely see myself using the 155 mm version in the future.

Artillery like this is immobile, which means that initial deployment is absolutely vital. If possible, I like to stick the guns behind terrain to keep the enemy from drawing a line of sight. This is to enable the guns to keep firing and not having to deal with pinning and getting blown up. As long as you keep a distance of at least 10 cm to any piece of terrain you want to be able to fire over, you're good to go. If no such terrain is available, or if what terrain is available would keep my guns from firing in any important directions, I stick them out in the open. If you dig them in, at least they'll have bullet proof cover from all sides, and if not, they still have their gun shield.

Artillery in the open is a magnet for enemy fire - both counter battery fire and aircraft. Some sort of  protection for the artillery is pretty useful if you want to be able to keep firing. I tend to place my Bofors 40 mm AAA close by to ward off errant planes, and if possible with a clear field of vision towards the artillery to be able to take pot-shots at closing tanks and infantry. Having the two platoons covering each other would normally prolong their lives, but as I've seen in past games, that doesn't always work.

The best way for a defensive formation like a Rifle Company is to integrate your defense. That means every platoon that isn't about to advance on the enemy should support the other defenses as much as possible. I place my artillery, AAA and anti-tank guns with this in mind, trying to construct an impenetrable wall of fire which the enemy must penetrate to snag my objective. This is easier said than done, and I'm still working out the kinks.