Crews for MGs and Light Mortars

sswann

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Yes, If you check your history, you will find that in almost every army of WW2 heavy/special weapons teams were specially trained troops (usually with a higher education level).
BUT! On many scenarios I just provide the crew counters... it is up to the player to decide how to use them.
Sometimes I do require it, depending on the action being enacted.
I have seen the extra crews used as scouts to strip Concealment and/or to search location with less risk.
And sometimes I design without crews for SW.
In every case it depends on what I am attempting to simulate.
 

Paul M. Weir

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In ASL the exact same crew can man a 2cm FlaK 30 just as well as a 8 cm GrW 34 (MRT) or 150mm sFH 18, despite those weapons having totally different purposes and ballistics and in reality should not happen. While unrealistic and possibly unsatisfactory, ASL just differentiates between the fairly competent and the quite clueless. In practical terms I think it's about the best we can do without labelling each crew with its weapon type or category.

EDIT: To account for different types of training you would need AUTO (anything with IFE, mainly light AA), HAA (Heavy AA), MTR, AT (and light IFN<65mm) and ART (including INF>=65mm) separate crews. Far too much hassle to my mind.
 
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stuh42asl

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Realistically , most heavy support weapons have a dedicated crew, with platoon members carrying the extra ammo for the support weapons. So I always include a crew for each support weapon, even a PSK , ATR, Bazooka have dedicated teams.
 

Tooz

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Yes. I always throw in a few more crews than guns in the OB with the idea to use these crews for MGs or light mortars. I give the player the option to do whatever he wants to do with these extra crews. My regular opponent likes to send crews out as suicide scouts. If they break out in the middle of no man's land they have a good chance of rallying. To each his own.
Personally, I like using crews for light mortars and HMG/MMG especially if I do not have enough leaders for all of my MGs. They will still cower but seem to rally quicker than Half squads with their reduced broken morale level.
The Japanese however, MUST have the appropriate amount to man their MMG/HMGs in my designs.
 

von Marwitz

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If you generally intend to require Crews to man ltMTRs, MMG, and HMG for unpenalized use, I am all against it.

HoB has tried this many years ago and failed.

If you think adding an extra Crew or two for more flexibility of an OoB, that's fine with me.

von Marwitz
 
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