Ammo sharing troubles

[axxe]

I am in the setup phase of the third CMBN mission "Link Up". One of the squads in the setup zone has very little ammo. I place another squad from the same platoon in the same action square and let both squads sit there for two turns (2 minutes). No ammo sharing occurs. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

I'm only allowed to upload 500K, so the image with other squad I will put in a reply.

[axxe]

[Baneman]

You have misunderstood the concept of ammo sharing.

They do not pass it around so that the numbers shown on the UI even out - it is a function of nearness that teams low ( or out ) of ammo will get ammo from adjacent teams - ie. they can continue to fire, but the adjacent squad will have its ammo reduced - they pass it across as required. So even if they have 0 ammo of a type, they can continue to fire those weapons so long as their nearby mates have ammo for it.

I believe that the low-ammo squad's RoF drops as it takes time to get the ammo passed across, but I've rarely seen it in action, so can't state that one 100%.

[axxe]

Ok, thanks Baneman. I guess I'll need to keep this squad close to someone with ammo if I want them to do any fighting.  Or else I now have 3 additional scout teams!

[axxe]

I did an experiment - had the low-ammo squad area-fire into a field, and indeed, whenever their ammo got down around 50, they received 20-30 rounds from neighboring units.

[A Canadian Cat]

Just in case...

If you have any trucks, jeeps or half tracks you would be able to load the squad (or a team) into the vehicle and use the Acquire command to get more ammo for them. In the case of a jeep just load up a team that fits and acquire what you wand then let the teams recombine into a squad again - that will spread the ammo out.

[axxe]

Yes, I'm hoping some of the coming reinforcements bring a truck with them!  I used the scout ammo-bearer trick in the prior scenario to grab a bit of ammo from a jeep. Worked great, except for the jeep having hardly any ammo!  250 carbine and 100 .45 if I remember correctly.  I'm using that much up every minute :-o

[General Liederkranz]

If you aren't already, using Target Light can help slow the rate of small arms ammo consumption. 

[General Jack Ripper]

As a rule of thumb, any time you have access to vehicles with ammunition, pass out a bunch of the ammo, especially SMG ammo, during the setup phase.

It's better to have too much, than not enough.

[A Canadian Cat]

1 hour ago, SLIM said:

As a rule of thumb, any time you have access to vehicles with ammunition, pass out a bunch of the ammo, especially SMG ammo, during the setup phase.

It's better to have too much, than not enough.

I mostly agree but there are limits - use common sense. If you load up a squad with 1000 rounds of 9mm on top of extra other stuff they are going to tire quickly because of the additional load.

[General Jack Ripper]

10 hours ago, IanL said:

I mostly agree but there are limits - use common sense. If you load up a squad with 1000 rounds of 9mm on top of extra other stuff they are going to tire quickly because of the additional load.

Well, if you have enough lying around to give every squad 1000 rounds, then ammo is not an issue

[Bulletpoint]

15 hours ago, axxe said:

250 carbine and 100 .45 if I remember correctly.  I'm using that much up every minute :-o

I remember being new at the game and playing the same starter campaign and also running out of ammo quickly  The trick is that you often don't need to give target orders. You just get your guys in position and let them shoot when they spot the enemy. you only use target orders to suppress the enemy while you maneuver. So yes, it chews up ammo fast to do area fire orders, but you should only need to keep them active for a minute or two.

[Michael Emrys]

9 hours ago, Bulletpoint said:

So yes, it chews up ammo fast to do area fire orders, but you should only need to keep them active for a minute or two.

And there is also the Target Briefly command. I find myself using it more these days, and sometimes it is enough to just shoot for 15-30 seconds.

Michael

[Bulletpoint]

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Edited January 18, 2017 by Bulletpoint
mistake

[General Jack Ripper]

10 hours ago, Bulletpoint said:

I remember being new at the game and playing the same starter campaign and also running out of ammo quickly  The trick is that you often don't need to give target orders. You just get your guys in position and let them shoot when they spot the enemy. you only use target orders to suppress the enemy while you maneuver. So yes, it chews up ammo fast to do area fire orders, but you should only need to keep them active for a minute or two.

You're exactly right here. If you are constantly running out of ammo, you're doing it wrong.

Yes, I think the basic loadout of SMG ammo is criminally small, which is why I endeavor to pass out an extra 100 rounds or so to every squad that has one.

[Bulletpoint]

1 minute ago, SLIM said:

Yes, I think the basic loadout of SMG ammo is criminally small, which is why I endeavor to pass out an extra 100 rounds or so to every squad that has one.

I agree, and unfortunately even when doing a "target light" order, they still seem to use their SMGs.

[General Jack Ripper]

Just now, Bulletpoint said:

I agree, and unfortunately even when doing a "target light" order, they still seem to use their SMGs.

The best advice I can give is to heavily restrict your use of target commands at ranges of 250 meters or less, unless you're deliberately assaulting a position, in which case your SMGs should be in your maneuver team, not your base of fire team.

[Bulletpoint]

2 minutes ago, SLIM said:

The best advice I can give is to heavily restrict your use of target commands at ranges of 250 meters or less, unless you're deliberately assaulting a position, in which case your SMGs should be in your maneuver team, not your base of fire team.

It's sound advice, and it's also what I usually do. However, when moving in close and doing a pre-assault target order to throw grenades (as per Bil's tactical manual), I often waste a lot of SMG ammo shooting at the ground. And sometimes then get caught reloading.