I'm a little unsure of what the Assets Available tables are at the end of each army's troop types.

For example, can the late war Soviet army have up to eight artillery units (at 'x' points each), which then have to pay 10 points for each time you want to use them?

In this instance Assets are the ability to schedule strikes from your off-table artillery.
You need to buy off-table artillery pieces - as per the army list.
These can be commanded by on-table FACs as per the Artillery section.

However, you can also use these guns to delivery pre-scheduled strikes and barrages. To do that you  pay 10pts per gun. You nominate a target and specify a game turn and these assets (guns) will deliver a strike or barrage at that time and on that target. No FAO Command role is required. There is no deviation. But you cannot change that Asset, other than to cancel it ahead of it firing. In the game turn that the asset is used, the guns assigned to it cannot be used for any other purpose - Commanded fire or Counterbattery.

Does that help?

Ambushes are also classified as Assets, as are Air-strikes, that operate in the same way (e.g. you must buy the aircraft from your list, and then buy the asset separately).

Thanks Big Insect, it makes sense now.

I'm afraid I'm very rusty when it comes to modern warfare. Apart from a recent dabble in WW2 using Iron Cross, which has none of the complexities of weapons such as artillery and aircraft, I've not played for over 25 years, since the heady days of WRG Infantry Action and armoured warfare, so I've a growing list of questions!

Chris

Not a problem at all - fire away.
My replies might be slightly delayed occasionally as I am in the midst of writing new army lists for Cold War Commander II, so please don't feel you are being ignored - I will get to you in the end 

One other point regarding assets - this might be obvious - but once you use an Asset it is expended. So if you buy all 8 artillery assets for your Soviets, that's your lot as far as pre-planned strikes goes. But you can combine large numbers of guns into a single strike.

Also do check out the 'Mother Russia' optional artillery rules - in the free download section of BKC section of the forum.

Cheers
Mark

Still slightly confused (easy at my age!). Is the asset figure listed per gun or aircraft or is it the total overall?

For example, say, my Late War Germans (asset quantities 2/1/2) have four off-table artillery pieces can all of them fire a preplanned barrage twice or only half of them once?

Chris

Ok - might be helpful to use an example.

You have bought 2 off-table guns (of the same calibre)

You have also bought 4 scheduled artillery assets

Each asset allows a pre-planned artillery strike or barrage for any number of pre-designated guns.
A barrage increases in size based on the numbers of guns used.

So each asset can use one or both of your off-table guns (you must specify that when you plan your strike/barrage and be specific - e.g. one gun on this move, 2 guns on that move and the one gun again etc.)
You can mix different calibre guns and mortars together, but not Rocket Launchers (as they use a different template). So if you had bought an artillery piece and a Rocket launcher and want to hit the same target on the same turn, you'd need to allocate 2 assets (one for each).

A gun that is not used in a game turn when you use an asset, can be ordered separately (as Commanded fire) by an on-table FAO (& in some instances by a CO or HQ).

Once all 4 of your scheduled assets have been used - that is it. Your assets are used up. But you can continue to use your guns in commanded fire.

You will need to specify the ammunition you are firing when using an asset, and that might mean you need to buy separate assets to deliver different ammo on the same turn. For example, so you can deliver Smoke and HE on the same target in the same turn, or Illumination and HE.

Hopefully that makes sense?
Thanks
Mark