Questions regarding the use of German SPA units

[Guest Heinz 25th PzReg]

Hello everyone

I have a couple of questions regarding the German Self Propelled Artillery units like the Wespe, the Hummel and the Stuh42.

1. Can you only use them for direct fire?

2. Does the Hummel and the Wespe operate different than the StuH42?

The reason I want to know this, is because I dont think the Germans would use the Wespe and the Hummel in direct fire roles. I know that they used the StuH42 in direct fire roles a lot, but that is because the StuH42 is a totaly different unit. It was often assigned into Assault Gun Brigades, and they operated closely with the infantry. The Wespe and the Hummel were long range artillery units,and they were self propelled. I thought these vehihcles would be stationed further behind the front line since they were assigned to artillery units.

And these vehicles must have had a minimum firing range when shooting indirect. I would really like to know the minimum and maximum firing range for these vehicles.

Many thx,

Heinz

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"To subdue your enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

[Jochen2]

In June or July 1944 the legendary "Panzer-Lehr-Division" lost a lot of their Wespe and Hummel SPAs, cause they were attacked by allied ground combat troops.

This was not planned, but happend.

In my opinion you are right - those SPA were part of the artillery units of divisions, not part of the combat units. But, a war is, the situation happend, that they were used as "direct fire" guns against troops.

The scale of CM doesn´t allow to use these units as indirect fire support units - in reality they stood several kilometers behind the lines.

But i think it´s still funny, to play scenarios with the SPAs in the "Alertsituation" to use them as direct fire support, better armored as the sIGs (Infanterieguns).

Greetings from Germany

Jochen

[Guest Heinz 25th PzReg]

Hi Jochen

I am sure these vehicles saw actual direct fire engagements a couple of times during the war. But if I were commanding a battery of Hummels, and I knew enemy units were close, I would get the hell out of there!! These units were so valuable, and using them in direct fire roles just seem like a waste too me. I realize that these vehicles are just in CM for the fun. Because if they had been placed off-map, they would not have been that entertaining. Or would they??

I would rather have a Hummel placed a couple of kilometers to the rear (off-map), and be able to use it in a indirect fire role. But I might be wrong, cause I havent tested it ingame yet. Does anyone else have any experiences with these vehicles yet?

Best regards,

Heinz

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"To subdue your enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

[Cueball]

I don't have the game yet, but use of the Hummel in a direct fire mode intrigues me. I mean, it's got a 150mm gun! Need a house leveled? Plop it (carefully) in LOS to the house...BLAMMO! No house. .50 cal on a hill bugging you? BOOM!

It has it's uses. Just beware of marauding tanks and armored cars.

[Dar]

The Americans used a SP 155mm gun in Aachen towards the end of the war for bunker-busting. I don't see why you wouldn't want to use the Wespe or Hummel for the same thing? Sure, it's not as well-armored as the StuH42, but it's got a bite!

If you want indirect fire, though, better stick with your FOs.

Dar

[Guest Heinz 25th PzReg]

To Dar

Sure, its got a bite, but its so damn vulnerable!!

Using them in a direct fire role, would just be wasting some real excellent artillery units. I would rather have them safe in the rear, supporting me with indirect fire.

But I am sure they can be quite fun to use in the game though

Heinz

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"To subdue your enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

[Dar]

Heinz:

I guess it's something to experiment with, but I wonder if they have enough armor to protect them from small arms up to .50 cal? If so, they could be good for knocking down buildings if you do any urban fighting!

That's what I hope to get some M7 Priests for, myself.

Dar

[Fionn]

A 0.5 cal HMG can kill a HUmmel from the front. Anything less can't. Unfortunately vs US troops the odds of running into a 0.5 cal is pretty high.

[Guest Big Time Software]

The Hummel is vulnerable to the .50 caliber, but not really to anything smaller. But there always seems to be a .50 cal MG lurking around somewhere!

Charles