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How to Use Extra HQ Units?


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Been playing a lot of QB and usually do a reinforced US infantry company, meaning I get Battalion S3, HQ support team, battalion xo, etc. 

Besides keeping up comms with on-map support like mortars, how else do you use these guys? XO and S-3 usually doesn’t have radios, so I’m tempted to use them as an extra fire team but am cognizant of the potential morale blow to getting officers wasted. Just curious as to how other players deploy these top-heavy fellows 

I don’t want them chilling in the rear, scarfing down the best rations and dreaming up work details and uniform SOPs for Joes

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In the game the ability to call for artillery fire is not based on having a radio but instead on the authority of the caller.  It is often referred to as the field telephone abstraction.  As an example you will notice if an FO team's officer becomes KIA and the RTO is still alive with a working radio the FO team can no longer call for or adjust fire.  

So the US XOs can call for arty even when they don't have a radio.  As a result I will often have an XO accompany a maneuver platoon.  Then when the platoon needs to call for indirect fire support the XO team will handle leaving the platoon HQ team free to move about keeping the fire teams in C2 and facilitating the sharing of OpFor contact information. 

Also when I have different formations in the same scenario I may use XOs, 2ICs, etc as liaisons.  Example you have an infantry company from 1st Infantry Battalion and a tank company from an tank battalion.  I will put the two Bn XOs in the other Battalion TOC so they will horizontally share OpFor contact information between the two formations.   See the below link for an explanation on C2. 

I also sometimes assign them to the TOC as a TRP officer.  They are responsible for calling in fires in the area of Target Reference Points (TRP)s to support the scheme of maneuver.  They generally have one off map 105mm howitzer platoon I reserve for their use.  They can call for fires from the safety of the TOC to impact in the area of the TRPs which were placed to support the planned Avenue of Advance.  At the appropriate time the TRP officer (XO) will call for a maximum duration, light, low tube count mission which lasts for about 34 minutes.  The XO will adjust this mission between TRPs to support the maneuvering platoons.  I like to have the TRP officer in the relative safety of the TOC because if he is KIA while the maximum duration fire mission is ongoing control of those tubes will be lost and they will fire on the last adjustment until dry (I had this happen once in a PBEM:angry:).   

At times I have also used them as medics.

This should give you some ideas 11Bravo.  Keep swervin and happy hunting!!   

 

     

 

Edited by MOS:96B2P
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On 12/8/2018 at 8:41 AM, Swervin11b said:

Been playing a lot of QB and usually do a reinforced US infantry company, meaning I get Battalion S3, HQ support team, battalion xo, etc. 

You have your answer from @MOS:96B2P which is excellent as usual but how about going a different direction: delete those units. If you purchase a battalion and strip out all but a company then you can delete the batalion command elements. Then you have some extra points to pick and choose some additional support. My I suggest a top notch sniper :)

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9 minutes ago, IanL said:

You have your answer from @MOS:96B2P which is excellent as usual but how about going a different direction: delete those units. If you purchase a battalion and strip out all but a company then you can delete the batalion command elements. Then you have some extra points to pick and choose some additional support. My I suggest a top notch sniper :)

I will do this if I keep solely a company. If I’m attacking I usually keep the engineer platoon and use the anti-tank platoon slot for my armor/mech support, switching out the AT guns for Shermans, Stuart’s, or TDs. If defending I keep both as is.

I guess I could rearrange that and farm out the armor to each infantry platoon or use the weapons platoon slot for them. 

I haven’t used snipers yet...I have run into enemy snipers before in a campaign and they were a world of pain. It’s indicative of their utility I guess haha

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1 hour ago, Swervin11b said:

If I’m attacking I usually keep the engineer platoon and use the anti-tank platoon slot for my armor/mech support, switching out the AT guns for Shermans, Stuart’s, or TDs. 

When playing a Quick Battle PBEM, where I get to choose my own TOE, I often do the same thing.  It works out well.  You seem to be catching on fast to understanding the game.  The more you understand the better it gets.    

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Thanks. One of the chief merits of this game - and it’s a big one - is that you don’t have to learn how to “beat the game” to do pretty well. I’ve been dorking our on military history for a long time on top of serving, so that knowledge has served me well. For the most part you can apply real-life tactical and organizational doctrine with good results.

I’m a huge fan of the historical accuracy of the TO&E. I create something along the lines of a task force, albeit on a smaller scale. I could probably get away with allowing the company commander to have control of the unit as a whole and will try it soon 

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