The abandonment of mortars

[Bertram]

In a PBEM I am currently running (Moose don't read this) my troops were being shelled. The shelling isn't very accurate, and widely dispersed (not observed?) so the casualties are light, just 5 wounded in a batalion.

*But* both my mortar crews (american 60 mm)deemed it necesairy to drop their mortars and become just 'crews'. One of the crews had one wounded, in the other crew everyone was just fine. (becoming 'unarmed crews'their morale of course dropped, and they broke and ran for the rear). This sharply contrasts to my MG crewss, who keep happily lugging their MG along, even if one or two of their number become casualties.

My question is: were mortar tubes really that fragile? Where they useless once their crews hit the dirt? Did their crews really break that much faster, and abandon their weapons than the MG crews? As it currently stands the mortars are effectively put out of action by any arty shelll that lands close enough to make the crew take cover. This looks a bit overdone to me.

Bertram

[I/O Error]

I would agree with that statement, as the same thing happens to mortar crews entrenched in a good foxhole.

Ah well, I guess it's all just game balance that they felt was needed.

[Wilhammer]

Based on experience, the game models MG teams as Infantry units with only one weapon, thus following in step with infnantry units taking losses and generally keeping the better weapons.

Mortarts, even light ones, seem to be treated as guns, and from many threads and much experience, they do get abandoned quicker, some say to quick, and I think the problem extends to relative mobility of man versus weapon, by that, I mean if a morale effect makes the unit move out of danger, if the determined rate of movement of the rattled troops exceeds the mobility class of the weapon, it gets dumped.

Since no mobility class of "very slow" for any morale condition exists, guns get abandoned.

For a light mortar, if the morale result forces a panic, the unit will have a fast order. The mortar can only be moved at the speed of a move order, hence it gets abandoned.

Realistic, or so it seems.

1, Should gun teams have some kind of a "cowering" morale effect that is roughly equal to Panic but with much less chance to run.

2, Should abandoned guns be recrewable?

Point 2 has been debated many times, and I favor such an ability, but I would prefer it to be very strict in that only the unit that "owns" the gun can re-crew it.