HMG vs light mortars

[poesel]

The threads about MG efficiency and the brixa mortars made me think what happens when we pit them against each other. I've done a test but I think it got a bit lost in the long thread.

TL;DR: the HMG fare miserably at ~650m against a light mortar

Setup:

German HMG vs US light mortars, all regular/fanatic, unled, no orders, 12 teams per side, flat grassy terrain, 12 lanes separated by high walls

1. Test

Distance ~650m

Although the mortar team had usually two man kneeling it took often several minutes for the HMGs to spot the mortars. But even then they would not engage (even with covered arcs) until ordered so.

The reason for this I found out later: the MG fire had next to no effect! The shots usually went wide. As soon as someone was wounded (yellow) or became a casualty the team would duck and the HMG would loose the contact. After 7 minutes and ~5 engaged teams there was a total of two kills.

I then tried to get the mortars spotted and ordered them to fire somewhere. Unfortunately - now freed from the ca - they started to fire on the HMGs instead and of course wasted them in short time.

HMG does not fire

2. Test

Distance: ~680m

The mortars are now on a slope. Spotting is now much better for both sides. Problem: due to the raised positions the walls do not block LOS anymore.

Now the HMG will engage the mortars without order. Reluctantly but still. Result is 11 casulties for the mortar teams after 7 minutes. IMHO still much too low.

On the slope

3. Test

same as above but no covered arcs for the mortars. The mortars fire very reluctantly. After 6 minutes of nearly no action I give target orders to both sides. 2 minutes later half of the HMGs are suppressed, another 2 minutes and half of them destroyed.

During the whole time no mortar team was suppressed.

4. Test

same as 1 but terrain is now all sand. The HMGs manage to suppress one(1) mortar team but the rest is the same.

Overview

I'm no history buff but I have fired the descendant of the HMG42 the MG3 in a LMG configuration. The HMG should have suppressed and destroyed the mortar team especially in the sloped test. The mortars need about 2 minutes for ranging and doing damage. The HMG should be much faster at that but they continue to miss and never seem to get better.

Maybe that's the problem here: the mortars adjust their shots until they are on target. The HMGs seem to use the same randomization for every shot but the interval doesn't get smaller.

I hope that gets tweaked/fixed. I don't think HMGs are useless. Up to 400m they do their job quite well but beyond that they fare miserably.

Scenarios:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/8811801/006%20Mortars%20vs%20HMG%20at%20650m.zip