Vehicle & Ammo Sharing

[JoMac]

Ok, I know you need a Team to get into a Vehicle in order to acquire its Ammo, or Automagically have Infantry share Ammo with each other when in adjacent squares. 

However, I didn't know you can move a Truck up next to an Inf Squad and start sharing its Ammo...I'm playing a game where I moved a Kubel wagon next to a house with friendly Inf and it shared its 9mm ammo automagically (once the Squads MP40 was low on ammo). 

Edited November 25, 2023 by JoMac

[Brille]

The most practical use of this feature you can see with organic mortars. They usually come with their own Trucks (on map) and some extra ammo in them.

If you then setup your mortar and drive one of these trucks beside him, He will use the loaded ammo too.

This works with all ammo types as far as I know. You just need a unit "in need" next to it.

It can also be used with MANPADS for example.

So instead of loading your soldiers with all the spare rockets, just keep the vehicles that has them close to the operator with the launcherunit.

They will grab another once they are out of ammo.

 

A thing that I Just discovered recently for myself is that ammo sharing between infantry doesnt need both parties to be alive.

I had a PAK 40 and their ammo bearer team next to it. The latter got whiped Out by a stray direct hit of a 85mm shell.

Then I saw that the Pak still got access to the spare AP and HE rounds they were carrying. But once they got Buddy aided the rounds also vanished.

 

So even dead/incapacitaded soldiers can work as some sort of ammo dump.

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Brille

[Erwin]

Unless something has changed due to an update:  Units out of ammo will automatically SHARE one mag at a time from an adjacent unit with the same ammo.  Re mortars, IIRC the mortars have to be from the same formation to share ammo.  Am not sure if the same limitation exists for inf units.

..."ammo sharing between infantry doesnt need both parties to be alive."   After 16 years of playing CM2, there is always something new to learn.  Thanks!  

However, note that this method of ammo sharing only works so long as the units are close to each other.  So, one cannot move an out of ammo unit away from the action to acquire ammo from another leg unit of WIA/KIA.  As soon as the out of ammo unit moves away from a WIA/KIA unit it will be back to "out of ammo".  

Have for years asked that units to be able to voluntarily acquire ammo from adjacent leg and vehicle units with no need to mount the vehicle.  Often one has to split an inf unit in order to mount a vehicle.  Then next turn one acquires.  Then next turn one dismounts and joins the parent unit.  Usually it takes another turn to recombine before one can use that unit.  So, 4 turns/minutes and a lot of clicking and micro-management. 

There should be limitations of how much can be acquired from an adjacent unit. But that already exists.   Maybe a time delay before the unit can again to account for the time to share out the ammo.  But, that shouldn't take mare than 1 minute, not the current 4 minutes..

[PEB14]

23 hours ago, Brille said:

Then I saw that the Pak still got access to the spare AP and HE rounds they were carrying. But once they got Buddy aided the rounds also vanished.

Sounds like a bug… You can use ammos from the neighbouring bodies, but once the bodies are evacuated the ammos disappear?? 

I doubt the extra gun shells went to the medical aid station with the poor ammo bearers…

[Brille]

1 hour ago, PEB14 said:

Sounds like a bug… You can use ammos from the neighbouring bodies, but once the bodies are evacuated the ammos disappear?? 

Well I would not call it a bug. Its just like the game functions, limited as it is.

When buddy aiding, the unit only picks up ammo it can actually use (plus high priority equipment). Anything else will be discarded from the game entirely.

And since in this case the buddy aiding infantry had No PAK40 in their pockets they just threw that away.

Pak Crew(5m away):"hey guys we still need that !"

Buddy aiders: "Sorry there Leutnant, Mülltrennung (waste Separation) comes before all else in the german military !"

 

 

 

[PEB14]

8 minutes ago, Brille said:

Well I would not call it a bug. Its just like the game functions, limited as it is.

When buddy aiding, the unit only picks up ammo it can actually use (plus high priority equipment). Anything else will be discarded from the game entirely.

And since in this case the buddy aiding infantry had No PAK40 in their pockets they just threw that away.

Pak Crew(5m away):"hey guys we still need that !"

Buddy aiders: "Sorry there Leutnant, Mülltrennung (waste Separation) comes before all else in the german military !"

 

You're correct. It's technically not a bug. But it's one of those illogical behaviour caused by the way the game functions. Here it means that it's more interesting NOT to buddy aid.