Panzerfaust and MG42 question

[Omi]

Under which circumstances do German soldiers use panzerfaust in the game? Is it visible? Because I have never witnessed it.

Also, when you are on the attacking side, what's the best way to use MG42s? Is it better to leave them behind or slow your infantery advance in order to keep the machine gun close?

I just played "Arnaville Bridgehead" as the Germans and even though I won with a major victory, I feel like I made a poor use of my 7 or 8 MG42 gunners. Those I left on the German side of the valley seemed too far away to cause any damage, and those I send walking across with the infantery never made it in time.

[Dandelion]

Omi,

Sadly, machineguns are not portrayed as such in CMBO. There are no firelanes, no sustained fire effects, nor any comparative firepower reflection. Thus you cannot really use them in a accurately realistic manner. What you do have however is long range firepower.

Realistically, the German attack typically deployed machineguns on the flanks, cutting the path of counterattacks and suppressing mutually supportive positions. Deployed on both flanks of an attack, the effect was a little akin to a drill. In case things went awry, the mg's switched to crossing firelanes in front of the retreating assault force to cover their retreat.

I've met opponents who've found mg's so pointless in CMBO that they use them for scouting and mine-trampling. It seems to be a ladder gamer thing. Personally I hold them in higher regard than that. If the scenario time limit will allow it, I always bring them along. Its not necessarily a long wait. Routes of advance need be scouted and secured, and that usually takes some time anyway. Also, one won't normally want ones troops exhausted before reaching jumping off point, so most of the guys will be marching rather than running, making it easier for the support to keep up.

But for sure, some scenarios are designed in a way that makes it patently impossible to make any use of support, simply because one is forced to run from turn one, due to time shortages.

Machineguns are highly useful for tying enemy troops down, denying him freedom of movement (especially with thinskin vehicles) and of course to suppress enemy infantry in objective areas. They're also useful for protecting flanks, and in general for defending recently taken terrain.

As for panzerfausts, the men will fire them at very close range targets, but in my experience they need to be in pretty good shape in order to do it, and I'm not sure I've ever seen any Green troops fire fausts. I think the men uses them against non-armoured targets too, such as enemy squads. At any rate, don't count on them. Their prime use is that the enemy has to stay clear of them.

Regards

Dandelion

[melb_will]

As to the faust question I have seen them used quite a bit.

Generally if they are in range of a vehicle, remembering the range of the faust developed over the period, and you make the squad target the vehicle then they will fire.

Will

[Beta1]

Fausts are used quite often especially in the 44-45 periods. To get a decent chance of a kill you need to be inside half the range of the faust (making faust 30s pretty useless). In one recent game I took out a jumbo with a squads with faust-100s (although the range was probably only 30m or so).

They are very usefull weapons in the later stages of the war as a squad with 2-3 faust-100s is a pretty good, hard to spot/kill AT asset of you can get them to a chokepoint

[Code13]

My squads seem to use their fausts at every oppertunity, even in skirmishes with other infantry rather than saving them for armour.

[Howard R]

If you can, mount a MG tean or two on a vehicle. Clear a path with infantry and then bring the MGs forward on the vehicle. They can provide suppressing fire first, then mount, if you feel the need. Best to ue them on the flanks, if possible, although a couple of MGs and a platoon of good infantry makes a tough nut for the enemy in the center, too.

As for the PFs, well, imagine the nerve it must have taken to be 30-50 yards from a fire spitting steel monster and then to RAISE UP, AIM, and FIRE a Panzerfaust. Nice to know that they are there, don't count on them.

[JasonC]

The German HMGs are very effective if you use them right. Much more so than any other MG in CMBO (all of them are more effective in CMBB). They have a large ammo load and good firepower out to long ranges. They are slow on foot, and as with all infantry firepower they aren't terribly effective against men in good cover at longer range. Those are their only real weaknesses.

To move them around, vehicles help over the long safe stretches. Pick a spot of cover you intend to use them from, and drive up to the back side of it, staying in the dead ground the cover creates behind it. Dismount the HMGs and send them through to the front side of the cover. Send the vehicle elsewhere, on its own mission.

You can only afford to make small repositionings on foot, unless you know the enemy has no units with LOS to the route, you have plenty of time, or the entire route is within good cover (scattered trees or better).

They work best when led. Limited numbers of HQs often makes it effective to use them in pairs, sometimes with a single 81mm mortar, sniper, or FO assigned to the little fire group as well. Plus combat ratings are obviously very useful. Besides weapons HQs, you can use a company HQ, or turn over the men from a line platoon to a company HQ and assign that platoon HQ to heavy weapons command.

A key point about using them is to exploit their basic resilience under fire, once in place. An HMG hits just as effectively with 2 men left as with all 6. Their own ammo load is nearly endless. They soak up a lot of ammo, particularly at long range and from ordinary squad infantry enemies.

They can afford to fire at ranges where other infantry would be wasting ammo. So have the HMGs handle the long range stuff, while saving e.g. your SMG heavy squad ammo for closer range. To make the most of fire at those ranges (200-400m, typically one body of cover farther from the enemy than your forward squads), you want to cover areas of open ground. At long range and inside cover themselves, essentially only HE weapons are going to hurt them.

Enemies in light cover - trees or light buildings - you can pin but not hurt seriously, unless they approach nearby. You can also use them to "pursue by fire", meaning assign one HMG to an already broken enemy to prevent rally. (This works especially well with a sniper or mortar doing the initial "breaking" work). Covering open ground let them pick their own targets. But against men in cover, concentrate their fire (2 or more at once, with a plus combat leader if possible) and then move to a new target when you see the first go heads down.