MP infantry scale (1 stand=squad) not right
#1
Posted 22 November 2007 - 11:05 AM
#2
Posted 22 November 2007 - 03:38 PM
Most WWII halftracks carried squads, unless they were special purpose vehicles.I play 6 mm scale. Mein Panzer's latest revision says one unit = 1 squad (about 10 people). Their recommended base at 6 mm is 1/2 inch square. This doesn't seem right for several reasons. First, suppose I have a small half-track (like SdKfz 250). It can carry a half-squad. I would have to have two HT for each stand of soldiers.
At 1"=50yds, ten men would have 562.5 sq.ft. each if they occupied 25yds of space. Not squished.Second, isn't this a small size for that many soldiers? They'd have to be squished to about parade-ground spacing. And a round of HE gets them all.
You can have an LMG detachment and just a rifle squad, but at this game scale, they would be operating together in support, as they did on the ground. German practice was to have the squad support the LMG, so they did not usually detach.Third, a typical squad (well, typical for WW2 Germans, anyways) has a LMG with support rifle people. That is 2-3 people for the MG, a leader or two, and 5-6 rifle men. That easily breaks into two elements (half-squad), like the previous MP rules had.
Much to the chagrin of the Allies, it seemed like almost every maneuvering German stand had a machine gun. There are penalties for moving and firing, which tend to make the stand static, but the Germans had a goodly number of MG42's.Fourth, this means that each squad-level stand is always a MG stand. Not what I'd think for maneuvering infantry.
You should try using either a larger stand (see the MMG AAR's for ideas) or three figures.Fifth, the stand *looks* wrong. Try putting 4 figures, 6mm sized, on a 1/2 inch stand. It looks like a people forest, or a stand of 7-years-war line infantry.
It is always dangerous to reference other games, since they may be perpetuating errors of their own. However, most games using 1"=50yds are not "armor skirmish," i.e., they tend to have one platoon = one stand. And then they equal 1" frontage for a platoon. It is unfortunate that Jon just archived many of the threads, because there was a very good discussion with primary sources on this very topic some time ago. As for reference works that are widely available, the two Osprey Press books on small unit tactics are very good. For books not too widely available, the German Infantry Handbook and the US Military Field Manual are useful. Some of the items that did not make the transition, at least not yet, are all the websites we have accumulated. Here is one on small units, where it talks about defense and offense. The recommendation here is that a squad on defense could optimally hold between 30-40 meters, and attack on an axis of 20-30. Giving it a base size the equivalent of 25yds seems close enough, since theories are always optimistic.Thanks for your comments, and feel free to adjust the game to your liking if you so desire.Cheers,GregoryOther games of this scale say that 1-inch stands cover the front, etc., better. How about comments on this?
#3
Posted 22 November 2007 - 09:33 PM
#4
Posted 25 November 2007 - 03:46 PM
#5
Posted 09 December 2007 - 09:54 PM
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