Soapbox and Pot Stir.....Bunkers and Pill Boxes

[K K Rossokolski]

:soap::stir:
I don't mind digging up old bones from time to time...and throwing some ideas in. This one's an old chestnut, but interesting and important, and we have plenty of new people, and are in an era of change.
This topic has nothing to do with the new JTCS...it came with East Front.....although a small change has been made(when?) in values.

Bunkers (abb. Bs) and pillboxes (PBs) ....are they realistically depicted in the game?...and I don't mean the nice icons.
How does one deal with them in attack?

Now I'm a bit reluctant to quote the Manual in the present climate, but the following facts are germane to the discusssion
A. Only non-vehicle units can receive the defensive benefits. Which means, I think, that your horses are safer inside, but your horse and cart ain't.
B. Eligible Units get 10 (was 20 before the change) added to their defense factor, and attacking units get their firepower cut by 25%. This applies to both Bs and PBs
C. PBs are concrete, so everything inside is deemed a hard target.
D. Only one B/PB can go in one hex

REALISM: Up to a point,and if used properly, a level of realism exists. But there are some real issues:
1. ALL bunkers and pillboxes have 360 degree all round visibility for at least one hex, even if surrounded by jungle. In real life, to reduce vulnerability, they are built with vision and firing slits of a size consistent with the tactical purpose of the fortification. I have seen, in the Solomons, Jap PBs with maybe 60 deg vision
2. All Bs and PBs are the same. You can fit in a machine gun section, or the biggest bit of artillery we have. (or both). You can tow it in, keep the tractor there, hitch up and tow it out. The thing can still fire indirectly, which means we can shoot through the roof. If we put an AA gun there, it still works...so no roof. Which means my arty should work wonders on the contents, but somehow it never does.
And if you want to, and the bunker is on the railway line...at least two armoured trains fit in. My little TEST scn only has two trains, and I couldn't be bothered adding any more...

So I opine we have big problems here of realism.

ATTACKS ON Bs/PBs
Ouch!

The questions I'm posing are:

A: Are bunkers and Pillboxes realistic in their current form?
B: If not, can anything be done? If it can, should it?
C: How do you attack them?

I won't propose my ideas at this stage, merely setting the stage for the debate. I will put in my two bob's worth at the appropriate juncture, in the fullness of time, when the moment is ripe, as Sir Humphrey Appleby would say.
Let's keep it clean and focused, noting that related issues will almost inevitably arise. I will try, if necessary to moderate the flow of argument in the sense of staying on topic.