Questions about C2

[Dave85]

Hi Guys

Few questions about C2:

How do bad leaders work? Am I better off leaving my -2 platoon leader in the rear or what?

Does it matter what you do with Company HQ? Obviously Coy HQ communicates via radio to platoon leaders, but is there any benefit to putting them in the line with the troops, if not, there should be. Im thinking about Lt Winters standing upright in the middle of the road into carentam under MG fire and physically dragging the men up, there's a good chance if he'd of been in the rear, the company would have remained pinned and taken heavy casualties.

Is verbal contact better than visual contact? again, it should be in terms of spotting.

If a platoon HQ is knocked out, is there any benefit to bringing the coy HQ close to them?

If the LT is killed but platoon sgt and radioman survive does this effect morale?

And another question not really related....

Why are all Lt's first Lt and not second Lt, what was the role of a second Lt?

Any advice would be much appreciated

cheers guys

[GreenAsJade]

A commander up the line can offer C2 to lower units.

So for example, if you split a squad and have the platoon leader go with one half, and that platoon leader's boss go with the other half, both halves with show as "in command".

GaJ

[Erwin]

It's a good question re whether it's worth replacing a -2 platoon HQ with a better Co HQ like one would in CM1. Can one create "super platoons" like this?

Also note that in Campaigns, if you have a Platoon HQ KIA, its Company HQ will not give C2 (ever), nor will the Platoon HQ be replaced (ever). You will have leaderless platoons for the rest of the campaign.

Hopefully, this will be fixed in Commonwealth.

The good news is that C2 is so much more subtle in CM2, that one can function with leaderless squads a LOT easier than one could in CM1.

[Wreck]

If the LT is killed but platoon sgt and radioman survive does this effect morale?

Not directly (outside of the HQ unit itself, where taking the casualty will obviously cause morale damage). However, casualties in an HQ unit will often knock down its leadership bonus, and that will be bad for morale. I do not think bad leaders affect morale negatively, but they fail to affect it positively.

I also would like to know if having a -2 leader HQ in control is better than being alone. My hunch is that leadership is always better or at least equal; perhaps -2 is a leader that adds nothing. But I don't know.

[Splinty]

Why are all Lt's first Lt and not second Lt, what was the role of a second Lt?

That's actually a good question. Most Platoon Leaders in the US Army are 2LTs, in most cases 1LTs are Company Executive Officers. The most common exceptions to this are 1LTs who were promoted before an XO slot opened up, or in some cases elite units (such as the Rangers or Airborne) only wanted experienced junior officers to lead their platoons. I can't speak for CW forces on their situations however.