Ok, I'm working up a TO&E for NAC Army units at the Mech Infantry Coy level
and below. I'm really bloody new to Stargrunt so I'm not certain if this is
Kosher or not.
I'm looking at going with an 8 man Section (squad for my fellow Yanks) that is
easily split into two fire teams.
It'd look something like this:
Fireteam 1 (D6 firepower plus SAW or IAVRs and GMS/P)
Section Leader (Corporal or Sgt) SAW Gunner Rifleman
GMS/P
Fireteam2 (D10 Firepower Plus SAW) Teamleader (Lance Corporal) SAW Gunner
Rifleman Rifleman
The basic idea is that in situations where there is armour to ambush the
Section leader would run the Anti Tank op giving one of his
actions to the "Detached Fire Team" to handle Anti-personel tasks.
Its also based on the current form used by the Modern Brit Army with
the exception of the replacement of one Rifleman with the GMS/P
operator.
The general operation procedure would have the second fire team operating
within 6" of the first fire team making transferring that action easy. The
idea with this is to allow for spreading the firepower out a bit if need be
and not stuck with soldiers not having a task to perform.
Generaly how do folks attach a mortar team to a platoon? Organic to the
Platoon HQ section or as a separate team with its own
section/team leader (a Sgt or LCpl?)
One other question regards EW and FO teams of 2 or 1 men. Do these operate as
standard attached units at the Platoon Leader (Lt) level or more often at the
Company Level (Captain), or do they start out as separate and independent
teams with their own activations and actions?
tanks...
> From: Ryan Gill <rmgill@mindspring.com>
> I'm really bloody new to Stargrunt so I'm not
Okay, let's take a look at it...
> I'm looking at going with an 8 man Section (squad for my fellow
> Fireteam 1 (D6 firepower plus SAW or IAVRs and GMS/P)
Well, how you handle the fire teams will dictate how the squad is set up.
The list seems to be split as to whether fireteams should be modelled as
separate "squads", should be modelled as detached units, or shouldn't be
modelled at all.
Tom B. likes to model them as separate squads.
I personally don't think they should be modelled as separate squads in
Stargrunt. The problem, of course, is that the detached element rules make
detaching fireteams a hassle.
Tom and I (okay, mostly Tom, but I had some input) came up with a house rule
(so far, untested, I believe) that would make detached elements more useful.
It also has the benefit of making the "commander in the corner" problem less
likely to happen.
At any rate, you don't need to specify your fireteams in Stargrunt II if you
plan to do detached elements. You can detach an element at any time, and you
can give it any composition you need.
So, your squad would look like this:
1 Leader
1 GMS/P
2 SAWs 4 Rifle Troopers
This is perfectly legal. The rules are hazy when it comes to putting multiple
support weapons in a single squad, but the list has determined that it is
legal (and historically accurate).
> Generaly how do folks attach a mortar team to a platoon?
I haven't really used mortar teams. Not as on-table assets, anyway. If I
did, I'd have them in their own team and not part of the Platoon HQ
"squad".
> One other question regards EW and FO teams of 2 or 1 men. Do these
I've used EW as separate teams, and as attached to the platoon HQ squad. They
are far more flexible as a separate team, but I've used them as part of the
command squad when I've felt like limiting transfer actions as part of a
scenario (of course this REALLY encourages the command squad to go running
into the woods at the beginning of a scenario and not come out until the
battle's over).
The suggested forces at the back of the book put the EW teams as part of the
command squad, though the rules state that it can be done either way. I prefer
to have them on their own. Of course, the EW rules are not clear. They don't
state that activating EW requires an action, nor do they say why one would
want to turn EW off, even though that's an option.
I suggest that if your group allows for automatic EW (doesn't require an
action) you can do whatever you want with them, though I'd probably just keep
them as part of the command squad to keep things simple. If your group (like
mine) requires an action to activate the EW unit, then I would suggest making
it a separate squad.
> At 10:10 AM -0400 6/6/01, Allan Goodall wrote:
4 man squads is a bit small. Really rough when they take a casualty too.
> I personally don't think they should be modelled as separate squads
Oh, I know Stargrunt doesn't require it, but It seemed logical to plan fire
teams for when they were planned on being detached. Plus an obvious figure
that acts as the leader from the start makes sense.
> So, your squad would look like this:
Obviously if you want the MGs to shoot at separate targets then the squad
can't fire. But if you want them to all hose down the same
Eurie squad, then I know thats one action (GMS/P excepted).
Current Brit doctrine has a Team leader, 2 rifle men and a LSW gunner (sort of
a SAW) totaling 8 men. Older Brit doctrine has a 7 Rifleman, a section leader
and 2 Bren Gunners (one gunner and an ammo carrier with a STEN) per section
totaling 10 men.
> > Generaly how do folks attach a mortar team to a platoon?
Yeah, current British infantry doctrine with a two mortar men per platoon in
the CMD track is a bit peculiar. It would seem it would be harder to mass all
three mortars on a target and get them coordinated easily (issue 3 separate
Fire Mission Orders to the mortars as opposed to a mortar platoon leader) like
the US does it, ie the Mortars have their own unit discreet from the Infantry
Coys. The Mortar teams end up taking over as a secondary TOC for US Lt
Infantry companies too.
[snip]
> I suggest that if your group allows for automatic EW (doesn't
Hmm, thanks...
> From: Ryan Gill <rmgill@mindspring.com>
Actually, it's not all that rough. The morale system is too forgiving for it
to be too rough. Especially for veterans and squads with good leaders. But,
yes, it is nastier.
The problem is that 2 four man squads have twice as many actions as 1 eight
man squad. If you put a suppression marker on an 8 man squad, it has one
action left after clearing the marker. You put a suppression marker on one
half of a 4 man squad (the chance of doing casualties or suppressing a unit
has no bearing on its size) and you still have a total of 3 actions left for
those 8 guys.
> Obviously if you want the MGs to shoot at separate targets then the
You can have the MGs fire at separate targets, though. If you want the MGs to
fire at one target, the rest of the squad can fire at another target. Or, you
could have half the squad and one SAW fire at one target, and the other half
and the other SAW fire at a second target.
Of course, if you want the MGs to fire at one target each, and the rest of the
squad to fire at a third target, you can only do that by detaching the MGs
into a detached element. They would get two actions (and, thus, could fire at
two different targets) and the remaining action could be used to fire the rest
of the squad.
> Hmm, thanks...
No problem! Glad I could help!
> At 3:19 PM -0400 6/6/01, Allan Goodall wrote:
But then lessee, an 8 man section (squad, funny here I am the Yank and I'm
partial to the British terminology...course then I'm interested in calling the
Staff Sgt a Colour Sgt....for traditions sake...) that is split into 2 4 man
fire teams (one is detached) gets a total of three actions right?
> You can have the MGs fire at separate targets, though. If you want
Makes sense.
> Of course, if you want the MGs to fire at one target each, and the
Hmm. Now, where to find that NAC Army Sustained fire role MG...
Perhaps a tribarrel on a tripod and 2 ammo bearers/seconds as a
Company Fire Support detachment...?