Purpose and use of MG/mortar bearers?

[MisterMark]

Not sure how these units are to be used in game... they don't seem to carry any ammo that I can tell. If they are near their respective MG or mortar team do those teams get some sort of performance bonus?

Any thoughts, opinions or facts are graciously welcomed.

-Mark

[Ranger33]

They should be carrying ammo if you check their gear. Might want to take a closer look.

As long as they are near their MG/mortar team, they will transfer the ammo automatically. Other than that they just provide supporting fire AFAIK.

[noob]

The amount of ammo thats displayed in the info box of a gun or MG increases when an ammo bearer is near it.

[luckyhendrix]

I've noticed that a lot of ammo bearer team don't carry any ammo, especially in the german army, I've bought several types of troups with ammo bearer in the QB editor and most of them did not have any ammo. For instance : none of the german mortar ammo bearer carry 81mm mortar rounds, same goes for the AT guns or leIG.

[noob]

I've noticed that a lot of ammo bearer team don't carry any ammo, especially in the german army, I've bought several types of troups with ammo bearer in the QB editor and most of them did not have any ammo. For instance : none of the german mortar ammo bearer carry 81mm mortar rounds, same goes for the AT guns or leIG.

I dont play QB's, only scenarios, so i tried buying some mortars in a test QB and you are right, the ammo bearers for the Axis 81mm mortars do not add ammo to the mortar, they are just two riflemen.

[Statisoris]

Before I started playingwith mostly human opponents I too thought ammo bearers were useless. In long battles where your forces take lots if casualties they become more useful. If the main team is knocked out or has sufficient ammo I use the bearer teams to treat casualties, collect special weapons and equipment from downed soldiers, aquire AT weapons and act as tank hunter teams and also as basic scouts if its needed.

[Sgt Schultz]

From what I have gathered, ammo bearers and XO teams are very useful for all those things stated above... medic/acquiring weapons/ad hoc AT teams/etc. Their primary design purpose is shuttling back and forth from a supply point, such as a truck or hannomag. Since we don't have ammo crates(yet), we have to find jobs for the fellows.

Once all the ammo bearers and crews are outfitted with the best gleanings the battlefield has to offer, they can be matched with an XO or high-end HQ as a mobile reserve. Vehicle crews can be outfitted as dandy LMG teams. They can keep their fragile selves back and still contribute.

Nothing like the end-game swarm of the ammo bearers.

"Fragile but Fierce-Looking" is their motto.

[MikeyD]

If you look at ammo bearers in the editor or before game start they seem useless because the ammo hasn't been portioned out yet. Before game start the ammo count all falls on the mg/AT gun team so you can view the total wthout needing to add it up. More than once during a game I've seen my 88 knocked out and scampered my survivng ammo bearers over to the next gun. No ammo bearers means that ammo would've disappeared.

[luckyhendrix]

so it's normal that the german mortar team carry in total 28 rounds, while US mortar team carry around 80 rounds divided between the ammo bearer team and the mortar it self ?

[akd]

I dont play QB's, only scenarios, so i tried buying some mortars in a test QB and you are right, the ammo bearers for the Axis 81mm mortars do not add ammo to the mortar, they are just two riflemen.

All ammo is located with the weapon team in QBs. No ammo is lost, it is just not divided between the two teams. The only time ammo is lost is if the unit has a vehicle with ammo that is either deleted or already removed in the TO&E (e.g. Dismounted Panzergrenadiers).