Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian61
Small crew served weapons, once deployed, only need two people to fire them (actually can get by with one though rof would drop off). The extra men are mostly ammo bearers, once they drop their ammo loads nearby the weapon, their job becomes observer/close in fire support.
It does bring up a question of why the crews for MGs in particular are so small, an early war german HMG section with two HMGs included 12 men + wagon drivers for example.
|
SP Infantry cannot carry mortar bombs to drop off at the company 60mm, or extra MG ammo. Thus the extra "porters" are irrelevant in game terms - just a section of riflemen who would have to hold back with the HMGs at long range (or they would go out of command control), perhaps useful as close protection of the HMG if the battle came too close - but if that is the case, you are in need of a paddle, anyway
!.
The British used "head carry" portered 3in mortar batteries as artillery in Burma as well. Each battery would be carried in bits on the backs of African porters, using head-strap rigs. So a "head carried" mortar battery would have a
rather large number of useless (in game terms) unarmed porters (who cannot carry the broken down mortars and the accompanying ammo - the real logistical load). Unless you made a "porter" version of an ammo carrier (but you cannot - they are vehicles which can explode), and a similar porter version of the mules... And who would use that after you had gone to all the bother?.
The AI does not understand ammo carriers in any case - it just kamikazes them forwards. What would it do, even if we had the facility to have some infantry lug support weapon ammo?. (Please try to think of an algorithm for the AI that would deal with that!
). The AI would simply advance the platoon of grunts carrying the company 60mm ammo forwards as regular riflemen. (That is why the SP mortar teams have an infeasible amount of ammo, and can
actually move with it BTW - in reality a medium mortar team cam manage the mortar and sights and maybe 2 rounds to bed-in with if manually carried. The ammo lives in the mortar section's light truck, or is grunt-carried by the reserve platoon in a "coolie train").
I think someone added these superfluous porters to the WW2 Japanese support weapon formations, and maybe the SCW ones like the infantry guns. But what would you do with a rifle section tacked onto a mortar platoon?. (The AI adds them to the general infantry advance, and they are thus fragile for rally).
Cheers
Andy