Machineguns

[narwan]

Pergite said:
I agree with Exel, engaging a tank(IFV or wathever) with small arms is just silly. You dont expose your position to something that can make mincemeat of you in seconds, its just common sense.

If applied to personal survival yes, if applied to formations no. Engaging tanks with whatever is available may distract them enough (through buttoning/suppressing them and drawing their fire) to give your AT assets time make the kills (for example when 3 tanks are moving at an infantry platoon without at weapons and a single antitank gun (or atgm) close behind them has to do all the 'tank killing'). By doing something against common sense they may actually end up saving their own butts!
These are valid tactics (and are used), especially for units lacking the heavy kill capacity (in quality and quantity) of modern and mostly western nations (in past, present and future).

For heavy MBT's to engage other heavy MBT's with both the main armament and coax mg's might not always make sense and sometimes even be counterproductive. I completely agree with that but that's just AI limits I guess. And while firing the mg's might increase the chance of being detected and fired upon, raking the unit with mg fire reduces the chance of them spotting you, so there's a small comfort there.