Your getting into murky waters there if you think all mg's are the same.
German tactics evolved arround using the squad MG 34 or later MG 42 as the
main killer, the riflemen where just there to protect it. Both being the first
general purpose machine guns (GPMG) and having high rates of fire. The MG 42
1200rpm (rounds per minute) or 20 a second, about double the.30cal browning.
[quoted original message omitted]
> On 3/6/03 1:43, "Geoffery Rogers" <geofferyr@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Your getting into murky waters there if you think all mg's are the
I'm aware of the major differences between some of the German and American
equipment during the war (by no means all of it though).
While the German MGs could certainly pour lead in vast quantities they were
still limited to the amount of ammunition they could carry. Have any
idea what the standard load was for a German gunner/assistant gunner?
With that in mind I might increase the impact die for german MGs to D10
to represent the lead-wall it can create. I guess I'll have to try it.
Damond
With that in mind I might increase the impact die for german MGs to D10
to represent the lead-wall it can create. I guess I'll have to try it.
For ease in gaming I'd keep light and heavy MGs in their own impact class.
(and to make life interesting the MG 42 was used as both) The thing that "may"
work (using the German method) all MGs fired from bipods D8 and on tripods
D10. The higher impact attributable to greater stability offered by the
tripod.
The Heavy MGs like the 50 cal and DSK can only be vehicle or tripod mounted
and would count as light auto cannons, they are only a mm or so from that
(20mm and up) classification anyway.....D12 at least.
Just a thought....)
> For ease in gaming I'd keep light and heavy MGs in their own impact
That's what my Squad Leader rulebook says. So it must be the truth.
:)
I like the clarification between bipods and tripods. I'd go so far to say that
the firepower die would be increased because, well, if the Germans had a bipod
setup I'd think they would have a ready reserve of barrels and ammo laying
quite close as well.
So in the end I'll probably just break machine guns up into two classes: light
and heavy. And leave it at that.
Damo
German ammunition came in 200 round boxes with 4, 50 round linked belts. In
fixed positions they would link several belts together and feed out of the
can. On the move they normally would only put one belt in,
reloading as necessary. It's not unusual to see MG's with 2 or 3 cans -
400-600 rounds.
In fixed positions they could have several thousand rounds per MG. Most
vehicle MG's were equipped with 750-1200 rounds per MG.
American tactics were similar to German tactics, but with lesser equipment.
The BAR and assistant gunner was the firebase while 6 riflemen were the
movement base and then had 2 scouts, a squad leader and assistant squad
leader. The problem is that the BAR only has a 20
round magazine and most BAR gunners only had 9-18 magazines or 360
rounds that took several minutes to fire. Browning MG's were Company level
assets so you rarely found them associated with single squads.
The Germans on the other hand pretty much had an MG per squad.
--Binhan
> -----Original Message-----
The MG42 was used in both light a heavy MG roles. In a light role, it was
stripped down for ease of carrying, utilizing a lighter barrel and a
bipod for support. In the HMG/MMG role it used a heavier barrel and was
mounted on a tripod.
Germans used the bipod on everything, including themselves. There are some
great pictures of german MG34's being stabilized on the loader's shoulder and
fired while advancing down the street.
Bipods were light - 3-4 pounds while tripods were usually quite heavy -
as much as 40 pounds. (American ones were lighter) The heavier the better
since you got more stability from it.
There are arguments regarding if the MG42 is a "heavy" MG. It still only fires
7.62mm although a lot of them, but.50 cal can penetrate almost half an inch of
steel, go through walls, multiple people, through trees etc. There is a world
of difference between having 7.62mm smack the stone wall in front of you and
having.50 bullets go through the wall and pass by you.
Really the BAR and MG34 can be classified as LMG's, the Browning and MG42 with
tripod as MMG's and.50 or 12.7's as HMG's.
So you might need to squeeze a d9 in there for Firepower.:)
--Binhan
> -----Original Message-----
For ease in gaming I'd keep light and heavy MGs in their own impact class.
That's what my Squad Leader rulebook says. So it must be the truth.:)
A great tome of wisdom.....)
I like the clarification between bipods and tripods. I'd go so far to say that
the firepower die would be increased because, well, if the Germans had a bipod
setup I'd think they would have a ready reserve of barrels and ammo laying
quite close as well.
Your welcome, the main reason to use a tripod over the bipod is for the
traverse and elevating mechanism i.e. you can set up fire sectors in day light
and shoot in the same without fail at night (a good thing with friendlies near
by). Also they're great for sustained fire on a target. But for rapid movement
and ease of use a bipod is it.
So in the end I'll probably just break machine guns up into two classes: light
and heavy. And leave it at that.
It'll probably work best that way just on the game mechanics end....)
Well, back to the gospel qccording to Squad Leader, that had the.50 as a step
above the HMG.. The HMG in Squad Leader and as discussed below is
distinguished from the LMG by sustained firepower. It can hit more people. It
doesn't hit them any harder, but it might hit them twice. Give a "well
prepared" MG an extra attack [1] or two; where "well prepared" basically means
a prepared position with lots of supplies.
[1] At about this point it will become obvious that all I know about SG2
came from reading the occasional post where mechanics are discussed -
usually either out of boredom or through mischance.
> B Lin wrote:
> There are arguments regarding if the MG42 is a "heavy" MG. It still