John,
I wasn’t suggesting changing MG ammo load-out from 90 to 30. I agree with you that perhaps 60 would be more sensible, which would still allow a single MG to fire twice a turn for 30 turns, or non-stop for 10 turns.
MG Cost
A German double MG42 currently costs 25 points. If that unit went from 180 to 120 ammo, my guesstimate is that it may cost about 21 or 22 points; which is hardly a great savings over the current price. And anyway, purchasing limits are much easier to regulate/agree to, than weapon usage.
Ammunition Conservation
I don’t see ammunition conservation for crew weapons in SP as “micro-management”.
Mortars and artillery guns already have very limited ammo supply. Mortars have only 5 turns of ammunition. Why should the similar crewed (tri-pod) MGs get a free ride with 15 turns of ammunition? Though, I understand that 14 or 15 boxes of ammo weigh about 260 lbs compared to 320 lbs for 40 mortar bombs.
SP is a wargame that - to some extent - models ammunition supply. One of the major problems and limitations for MG crews was ammunition. They had to learn to husband it, particularly when your weapon can potentially fire off 4 or 5 boxes of ammo (weighing about 80 lbs) in one minute.
I think the current climate of firing off tons of MG ammunition in z-fire would certainly be reduced by a more limited ammo supply.
Encouraging gamers to sometimes think about husbanding MG ammo - like they already have to with artillery - will only enhance the game.
It’s probably all academic anyway. But a good discussion none the less…
Cross
Re: Suppression: HMGs verses Artillery and Infantry
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