Difference between Volksgrenadier, German Rifle 44 ...

[mat69]

Hello guys!

I'm a newbie and have some questions:

What is the difference between Volksgrenadier, German Riffle 44, German Sicherung and the other German infantry units (in CMBO and the others)?

I know, that they have different fire power and the squads are differently sized, but is there something else? Do some units panic easier? Is it better to buy units whose squad size is bigger? If this quesiton has been asked before and I'm sure that it has (there are just too many topics that I can't find the correct ones) I would be really thankfull for the a link.

[Sergei]

Units do not have any 'hidden' values to them. If a Zoo Guards squad has the same weapons, men and experience as the Scary Weasels squad, then they are treated the same.

[Aco4bn187inf]

Welcome, Mat 69.

On the squad level it doesn't matter, but when you look at the platoon, company, and battalion level of these different types of units you'll see they come in different structures and with different types of organic (belonging to that unit) support weapons.

Also some of them have their own distinctive uniforms.

If you are playing a historically accurate scenario, the type of infantry you find yourself facing could also be a tip-off to other facts- for example, Volksturm are unlikely to be fit or very experienced at all, Panzergrenadiers may well have a lot of halftracks in the area, etc, etc.

[mat69]

Thank you for your fast answers.

[Zalgiris 1410]

The infantry squads of different kinds of troops (PZG, Jgr, Volksturm, SS, etc) are only treated differently according to their experience level setting only. As Sergei demonstrated above in a fasion, units of different kinds are treated the same in terms of morale no matter what size the squads are or how they are armed and equipt individually. Veterans are all veterans, and your greenies are all just greenies no matter what their uniform, even if a full sized SS mannequin!

However CM largely tries to be historically accurate so the 'Homeguard' Volksturm are not only a less well equipt as a Battalion formation but are more than likely to be of poorer quality both physically and experience. This is because they were the bottom of the barrell, pressganged young boys, old men and the unfit who had still not been good enough for the Volksgrenadiers let alone the regular rifled infantry. So I think Volksturm are only availiable as Conscripts or Green at the most, while other types can be up to Veterans or even Crack.

There are a whole lot of other factors that effect the performance and fragility of infantry squads and teams such as HMG's, Tankhunters, onboard mortars, etc; having troops 'in command' or not of HQ's can be just as important in the game especially HQ's with bonuses. When units are out of command of a HQ they are more volnerable to morale cracks if for no reason more than the fact that when 'in command' of a HQ they are rallied by it more than if they were on their own.

[Slappy]

You also asked about bigger squad size.

There is a bit of a trade off here. A company with 12 man squads will, for the same overall weapon mix, cost more than a company with 8 man squads. You pay for the extra firepower. Bigger squads deal out more firepower and obviously have a somewhat higher life expectancy as they can absorb more damage. They are particularly useful in close combat where numbers are very important.

Of course, for a given number of points you will have fewer squads on the map with larger squad sizes. In most formations, squad members 9 through n are just riflemen. You're not getting high value weapons like SMGs or LMGs, which means that in most situations the increased firepower is not linear with size. Large squads do not also have commensurately better morale. One 150mm round will ruin your whole squads day regardless of its size.

Generally, I prefer to have more squads / platoons of somewhat smaller size. I feel it gives me more options in terms of deployment. If I want to, I can pack a little more densely and concentrate firepower, but it also gives me the option to spread out a little more and lower the force density in some areas.