Questions about SPW 251/1

[GerryCMBB]

Hello:

Have a few of these in a mission. When I dismounted the infantry I noticed that some of them seem to just have a driver. So the MG goes unused. If I put a team back in the vehicle, will they automatically man the MG?

Also I received some more as reinforcements and now I see that some of them have a Driver and Gunner. Others just have a driver. Is that normal.

Thanks in advance,

Gerry

[winkelried]

Hello:

Have a few of these in a mission. When I dismounted the infantry I noticed that some of them seem to just have a driver. So the MG goes unused. If I put a team back in the vehicle, will they automatically man the MG?

yes. you can also split a scout team - they will do the job too.

Also I received some more as reinforcements and now I see that some of them have a Driver and Gunner. Others just have a driver. Is that normal.

yes

[womble]

I use HQ teams, XO teams, "HQ Support" teams and orphaned (whether deliberately or through combat losses) crews to man the MG on my half tracks when they don't come with a full crew (or have lost their gunner to enemy action).

Be cautious, though. The gunner is a very popular target and easy to hit from anywhere but dead ahead and level, so you can lose a lot of personnel if you're too aggressive with your grenadiers' rides.

[GerryCMBB]

Appreciate the answers. A follow-up question:

I have quite a few of these SPWs with loaded infantry starting off in the mission and more arriving as reinforcements. No separate infantry. Based on Womble's comment I wondering am I using them right. The mission is set in bocage country. So I have been dismounting the infantry to scout. It just seems too dangerous to ride off into the unknown with a loaded SPW. Am I on the right track here, especially in bocage country? And is the most I can get from these SPWs is some MG fire support for the infantry advancing?

Thanks,

Gerry

[womble]

Appreciate the answers. A follow-up question:

I have quite a few of these SPWs with loaded infantry starting off in the mission and more arriving as reinforcements. No separate infantry. Based on Womble's comment I wondering am I using them right. The mission is set in bocage country. So I have been dismounting the infantry to scout. It just seems too dangerous to ride off into the unknown with a loaded SPW. Am I on the right track here, especially in bocage country?

Absolutely. The halfies are very vulnerable, and if you bump into anything armed with more than rifle-calibre weapons, you'll lose entire squads at the same time as the half track. If you even run into an MG that can lay plunging fire on your formation, you'll soom have a half track full of corpses.

Dismount your infantry, keep the half tracks behind them. Preferably behind the next layer of cover. Once you're sure there are no unsuppressed anti-armour threats you can bring the half tracks out to supplement your suppression.

And is the most I can get from these SPWs is some MG fire support for the infantry advancing?

That and lots of lovely bullets for your footsloggers. Once you're sure there are no tanks, AC or ATG in the area, you can use the halfies as mobile MG nests to supplement your MG teams, so long as you keep them out of ATRocket range, or the ATRs suppressed.

[mjkerner]

Doctrinally, HT's were used to get infantry to where they were needed with some protection from mortar splinters and small arms fire...dump the load, then get back out of harms way, until needed again. I'm sure they were used as often as was prudent in an agressive role...but those prudent moments were probably be few and far between.

[Baneman]

Concerning these, I posted some info in this thread : http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?p=1271224#post1271224

Unfortunately the questions raised were never answered by BF.

The thread wandered off topic. Still hoping for a definitive answer.

[winkelried]

Concerning these, I posted some info in this thread : http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?p=1271224#post1271224

Unfortunately the questions raised were never answered by BF.

The thread wandered off topic. Still hoping for a definitive answer.

didn't see this one i checked the KStN #1108a (the German TO&E) for the Panzer-Grenadier Batallion a (gepanzert). The version dated 1.11.43 (and 1.11.44) has one 251/3 and one 251/8 (Ambulance - not in CMBN) for the Batallion HQ - it's not clear who rode those - and two 251/3 for two backpack radio teams (making 5 men per 251/3) each and two 251/11 (telephone SPW) in the HQ Coy making a total of 6 251s for the HQ and the HQ Coy. So to give the batallion HQ one single 251/1 as in CMBN is probably an error. There should be 3 251/3s in the game on this level.

then in the KStN #1114c "Panzergrenadierkompanie (gepanzert)" (1.11.43) there are two 251/3 and one 251/17 (not in CMBN) for two tank hunter teams in the Coy HQ as CMBN correctly has. Each platoon has one 251/17 (which replaced the 251/10 - and since CMBN does not have AA vehicles is substituted by a 251/1) and three 251/1s all these have one driver and one co-driver (Kraftwagenbeifahrer zugl. M.G. Schütze) for the MG. The heavy platoon has again a 251/17 (see above) with a gunner, four s.M.G. on two 251/17 (with gunner) in two s.M.G. squads, two 251/2 (the MG is handled by a member of the mortar team), and two 251/9.

There were lots of changes to these TO/Es (eg the 251/17 were substituted by 251/1s, the tank hunter teams on Coy level disappeared) until the end of the war, so the CMBN TO&E probably represents a good approximation of the actual situation. Just a pitty the AA vehicles are missing, since they would add quite some punch against ground targets.