Splitting machine gun squads

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dirk bracke
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue May 12, 2020 11:52 am
Location: Gent - Belgium

Splitting machine gun squads

Post by dirk bracke »

Hi,

are you always allowed to split machine gun squads? And how do you do this?

The US has 9-men machine gun squads with 2 M-60's. These will give an extra die to other squads for 5 dice?? Do you add all 9 men to 2 other squads (thereby greatly augmenting their capacity to withstand casualties or do you each give them 2 or 3 men)?

Cheers

Dirk
dirk bracke
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue May 12, 2020 11:52 am
Location: Gent - Belgium

Re: Splitting machine gun squads

Post by dirk bracke »

Hi all,

This seems to be a difficult one. Anyone has already done this in the past?

cheers

Dirk
Archdukek
Posts: 5741
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:49 pm
Location: Linlithgow, West Lothian, UK

Re: Splitting machine gun squads

Post by Archdukek »

Sorry Dirk, missed this first time round.

If you check the list for an in country US Rifle Company on page 94 you will see that splitting the MG squad up and distributing its MGs to the 3 rifle squads increases their size from 8 men to 10 and gives them each an extra firing dice; an increase of 2 men per squad having scrounged an extra MG from somewhere. So giving them a modest lift in resilience and better firepower for the loss of tactical flexibility of having a 4th squad.

John
dirk bracke
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue May 12, 2020 11:52 am
Location: Gent - Belgium

Re: Splitting machine gun squads

Post by dirk bracke »

Hi John,
My response apparently went astray in the mist :-). Based on your comment we agreed that full squads could not be upped to super squads of 14 or 15 men with a whooping 5 dice (but only 4 action dice).
Cheers
Dirk
Archdukek
Posts: 5741
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:49 pm
Location: Linlithgow, West Lothian, UK

Re: Splitting machine gun squads

Post by Archdukek »

Hi Dirk,
Personally if a player wanted to field a full strength US Rifle platoon as per the TOE on page 93 then I’d oblige him to stick to the squad structure in that TOE and keep a separate weapon squad. That’s the structure they were trained in.
The option to split the weapons squad across all 3 rifle squads as shown on page 94 is an in-country adaptation adopted in the light of experience to boost the firepower of squads already depleted by casualties.
John
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