anti-tank tactic

[900pzpn]

I am new to combat mission, but would like to know if constant machine gun fire at a tank will have any effect on its progress. An old fallschirmjager told me that if they had no AT weapons they used to fire MG's at allied armour in italy and the sound inside the tank would be so intense there was no way the tank crew could continue the attack. They had to withdraw becuase of the sheer noise that the machine gun bullets made when hitting the tank constantly.

[flamingknives]

Other than keeping it buttoned up (limiting it's spotting ability) or possibly getting the commander when he sticks his head out, MGs can't hurt proper tanks.

The line blurs when you get light tanks and heavy machine guns, as in some cases the HMG packs enough of a punch to get through the armour.

[MikeyD]

With the thin-skinned early stuff (8mm side armor types) you might be able to get penetrations with a mg if you're close enough. But CM doesn't model progesssive deterioration (smashed optics, broken radio mounts) that would result from sustained non-penetrating mg fire. Now if you can work an infantry team close enough to start chucking grenades, that's a horse of a different color!

[Monty]

Crew of tanks CAN panic and bail out when the tank is hit and/or have partial penetrations.

Maybe BFC can add sustaining mg fire to the list which cause this behavior (for green units or worse only i think )

Monty

[Ant]

Was this really a valid tactic? Seems to me that if you could scare tanks away by firing MGs at them then tanks would be a bit useless :confused:

Also why didn't the tank just start chucking HE at the MG position instead of running away?

[SteppenWolf]

I wonder what made the tanks really retreat... Normaly tanks without inf cover hate to move into for example wood areas or towns since they are really vulnerable.

So maybe what was more then the mg a scare for the tank crew was the fact that if they continue to advance they end up being hit by a panzerfaust etc.

But on the other hand I never experienced the real affect of one or more mg's firing at the tank and how loud all the ping sounds are inside.

But also I would guess that you can kinda hear from which directions the pings come if it is only one or two mgs and the tank would get a few rounds of in the general direction and would let its own mg fire.

[Redwolf]

In CM, MGs don't have the non-penetration behaviour that non-penetrating gun hits have.

But don't underestimate the MGs. For example, the .50cal can knock out Pz IV and variants (StuG IV, Jagdpanzer IV) from the rear.

[tar]

Also why didn't the tank just start chucking HE at the MG position instead of running away?

Well, for starters, the tank would have to locate the MG position first. Unlike in CM, in real life this is a tad more difficult without the BORG spotting help. This is particularly true if the tank in question is buttoned up.

Of course, unbuttoning when being pummeled by MG fire is likely to be a Bad Idea . Even in CM the tank commander becomes vulnerable to MG fire when sticking his head out.

I would guess that the real reason for pulling back was that resistance was being encountered, and the tank crew had insufficient awareness of exactly what sort of resistance it was. Better to pull back than to risk losing the vehicle.