Combat Mission Help - How to Get Half Tracks to Use Their 30 Caliber

[cplkrotz]

Hello:

I need advice so the following does not happen in the future. I cannot figure out how to get my half tracks to use their 30 caliber machine guns.

I created a mechanized unit for a game I was playing. They came with half tracks. As the battle started, there were crews of two men (a driver and his assistant), which were not demoralized. They had ammunition including armor piercing ammunition, but they did not fire their guns when they had a clear line of sight at the enemy.

Instead, they did nothing but wait stupidly to get blown up by an enemy tank. I tried acquiring ammunition for the half track so that the half track possessed some ammunition and the halftrack's hold (the place where you acquire ammunition), possessed some ammunition of each type (such as armor piercing), but it was to no avail.

Would you please you tell me what I did wrong and what I am supposed to do in order to get them to fire?

Thank you.
Sincerely,
William

[A Canadian Cat]

By default HT crews stay seated out of harms way. As you can see by looking at them the Allied HT gunners are very exposed so they die fast. They are safer inside the HT. If you wanted to just move troops around and by default the guns were manned then as the gunner goes down another passenger would take over and die rinse and repeat until empty :-)

To get them to use their MG use the Open Up command. Select the vehicle and look on the Special menu tab - or is it the Admin tab. I forget which.

You can multi select a formation and issue the command to all HTs in the formation.

Be aware HT gunners are very vulnerable so keep them back as far as possible. Those MGs can still give supressive fire at 400, 500 even 600m and they will take less return fire.

Or you can use them as they were historically and keep them 1000m away from the action and only use them as transport from point A to point B - all back from the fighting.

[cplkrotz]

By default HT crews stay seated out of harms way. As you can see by looking at them the Allied HT gunners are very exposed so they die fast. They are safer inside the HT. If you wanted to just move troops around and by default the guns were manned then as the gunner goes down another passenger would take over and die rinse and repeat until empty :-)

To get them to use their MG use the Open Up command. Select the vehicle and look on the Special menu tab - or is it the Admin tab. I forget which.

You can multi select a formation and issue the command to all HTs in the formation.

Be aware HT gunners are very vulnerable so keep them back as far as possible. Those MGs can still give supressive fire at 400, 500 even 600m and they will take less return fire.

Or you can use them as they were historically and keep them 1000m away from the action and only use them as transport from point A to point B - all back from the fighting.

Cat:

Thanks. It was the open up command! I wish I knew that. I did not see that in the rule book.

The half tracks were not in close quarters. I was using the half tracks to storm the objective and provide covering fire and, if necessary, provide AT fire while the men dismounted. I think my plan was good, were it not for this SNAFU.

The problem was they were not firing and providing cover.

Now I know. I thought they acted like tanks and thus automatically provided fire. I did not know I needed to click on the open up button. Hence my problem.

To further this question, why was the half track allowed to acquire ammunition using the acquire command? Would this take away from the weapon's ammunition, or am I supposed to have the half-track acquire ammunition?

Thank you.

[A Canadian Cat]

A rushed assault with HTs is tough to pull off. Usually you are better off with the infantry on foot and letting the HT gunners provide covering fire from back. But hey it is loads of fun and you will learn plenty so go for it... :-)

If you select the HT and invoke the acquire command then what you are doing is giving ammo and supplies to the crew. And Yes, the vehicle will not use ammo that has been acquired by the crew or any passengers. If you chose to dismount the crew and send them to fight alongside their platoon mates you could have them acquire the Bazooka or any Panzer Phausts. Personally I let the passengers have the HT AT assets and let the crew man the MG.