CMBN - 4.03 (MG US Airborn): 60mm organic mortar --- what is going on? (warrior)

[domfluff]

The Carrier platoons in the British rifle battalion are a really interesting unit, with multiple roles. They provide a level of mechanisation at the leg infantry level, and therefore can act as a reconnaissance element, a cavalry screen, a base of fire, limited transport or a base of fire - there isn't one single role for it, and there's a lot you can do with it.

Your basic carrier platoon is perhaps most similar to US Cavalry - they punch well above their weight in terms of firepower (the platoon has about as much firepower as a rifle company, including PIATs, 2 inch mortars and the Brens), but obviously suffer badly from any losses.

The machine gun platoons also ride on universal carriers, and these *do* mount a Vickers MMG, which can be fired whilst mounted or dismounted. The Vickers performs well for it's class in CM in terms of putting out suppressive fire at range, and the carrier will provide some mobility, protection, and additional ammunition. One of the downsides to the Vickers MMG with comparison to something like the US 1917 on a tripod, is that the latter has a much larger squad attached to it to carry around the ammunition. This is negated by the carrier.

Those Carrier-mounted MMG teams can't acquire ammunition with the Acquire command, for some reason, but if they are mounted or within an action spot or two they'll use the ammunition anyway.

[Erwin]

5 hours ago, domfluff said:

Those Carrier-mounted MMG teams can't acquire ammunition with the Acquire command

Vehicle-mounted guns can never be resupplied.  However, can these MMG's be dismounted?  If so, I wonder if it could mount a truck and resupply.

[domfluff]

As mentioned, the MMG carriers can be fired mounted or dismounted. They can use the ammunition in the carrier if they are nearby, but they can't Acquire this ammo for some reason. They could be resupplied from other sources, certainly.

[womble]

Here's a question I don't have time to test: since the MG can "ammo share" while dismounted, can it do so from other carriers in the same platoon? As if they were ammo bearers in a leg MG formation. And if that's true, can they share from other carriers while mounted?

Or doesn't it work like that?

[domfluff]

Every infantry unit can grab ("share") ammunition from an adjacent vehicle, regardless of formation. That's important to allow things like the Supply platoons to work.

I don't believe this works whilst mounted, for the same reasons that tanks in the same platoon can't share ammunition.

I do think the Vickers MMG teams should be able to Acquire ammunition from their carrier (it'll be more to do with the way the carrier is set up than the MMG team), but it's a minor point.

Edited July 6, 2021 by domfluff