Some questions about France '40

[Archijerej]

Hello Archijerej,

In regards to the unit compositions (German recon battalion), I use the compositions from the stock game -- I don't rework the entire OOB if I can help it because the stock OOB is always generally very good in this regard. Sure, someone can nit pick it to death, but as far as I am concerned the organization is good for me. ;)

In regards to the infantry hard attack ratings, no, when you factor out exactly how few AT guns were available to support an infantry battalion, IMO it doesn't warrant any range 1 HA ratings. Instead, these AT guns are factored into the range 0 and assault ratings instead, making them purely passive/defensive weapons. If it were any other way, then the infantry units would likely have more overall power than the AT gun units equipped with the same. It also forces the commander to better protect his infantry from tanks by stacking them with more AT guns, assigning tank support to them, and/or digging them in. I have never been convinced that these few integral AT guns would provide anything other than defense in the assault.

Of course you are welcome to tinker with the ratings all you want. :)

Thank you for reply. I understand your reasoning about AT guns, but I'm not quite sure I can agree. I'll try to illustrate my point on an example. I'm trying to hold an important village crossroads along an axis of advance of a Panzer division. I fortify the village of course and I establish a support point in the nearby woods. The village is defended by one battalion with support of divisional AT guns, the support point in the woods by a second battalion of the regiment. Now, a regimental commander (both French and German) has at his disposal 12 organic AT guns. He obviously places the bulk of them in the woods. What happens next? First the Germans destrupts my AT guns with an air strike before they open fire, destroying some of them (out of 8). Then the mighty 50 armored car recon battalion goes in being opportunity fired by 5-6 instead of 16-18 (divisional+regimental+battalion) AT guns. He destrupts my infantry in a village in turn one. There is a good chance that during my turn I won't be able to distrupt him (or even won't try, fearing his powerfull opportunity fire) or he recovers (good quality). He then fires next turn, disrupting my infantry holding the woods, and, if he's lucky increasing more casualties on defenders in the village. Then comes a motorcycle battalion and a Panzer I/II company. One company and panzers are sent to draw opp fire from defenders in the woods and make sure they're distrupted, two companies assault and take the village. Germans have breached my main line of resistance without even deploying. Is it historical? I doubt that.
To be clear, I fully appreciate your comments on tactics, I just feel that a ranged AT fire from a lone, wandering infantry company away from the Schwerpunkt would be much less irritating then the above example. Even 1/1 hard attack for infantry would be an improvement (with perhaps slight adjustments to tanks defense and assault ratings, or penalty for assaulting a covered terrain). The infantry still would remain hopeless in the open (and rightfully so), and players will in any case often restrain themselves from using their AT fire from fear of opportunity fire response. But it would force the German player to think, scout, search for the flanks, commit heavy companies and protect light. He would need to use historical tactics, do what the German commanders did. Right now, he often doesn't have to.