panda124c
Posts: 1692
Joined: 5/23/2000 From: Houston, TX, USA Status: offline
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quote:
Originally posted by fat slob: I found them difficult to use in an offensive role. If I understand correctly, any Arty 50mm or smaller assigned to a platoon can only be plotted by the platoon leader. And if they don't have radios then they have to be within 3 hexes of the platoon leader.
Due to the shorter ranges, they have to be moved close to the action, which can be a fair distance. But if you move them, they lose the use of the tube for that turn. So you get them up where the action is and then try not to move them, but then you're losing the use of the leader's squad 'cause he's got to be within 3 hexes!
It's a nice catch 22. Am I missing something here?
Is there an effective way of using these things? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Not to toot my own horn but(toot, toot)
Tactical use of the 50mm Mortar Squad (German, 5cm Granatwerfer 36) in Steel Panthers World at War (Ver. 6.1). First a little history, there are basically three classes of mortar. The first is the Platoon support weapon usually assigned at Company level in a separate Heavy Weapons Platoon. The second is a Company support weapon usually assigned at Battalion level in a separate Heavy Weapons Company. The third is (what I call) the Battalion support weapon usually assigned at the Regimental level in a separate Artillery/Mortar Battery. These usually consist of the Heavy Mortars 120mm, 4.2 in, etc.
Examples of the first two classes are as follows:
Platoon support weapons: (1)
Country : English Mortar : 2" Mortar Range : 500 yards Weight of projectile : 2.25lb
Country : US Mortar : 60mm Mortar Range : 1,985 yards Weight of projectile : 3lb
Country : Italian Mortar : 4.5cm Model 35 Range : 550 meters Weight of projectile : 1lb
Country : German Mortar : 5cm Granatwerfer 36 Range : 500 meters Weight of projectile : 2lb
Company support weapons: (1)
Country : English Mortar : 3" Mortar Range : 1600 yards Weight of projectile : 10lb
Country : US Mortar : 81mm Mortar Range : 3,290 yards Weight of projectile : 6.87lb
Country : Italian Mortar : 81mm Model 35 Range : 4,430 yards Weight of projectile : 7lb
Country : German Mortar : 81mm Granatwerfer 34 Range : 2,400 meters Weight of projectile : 7.07lb
As you can see the Platoon support weapons, with the exception of the US 60 mm Mortar, have a very short range for an indirect fire weapon. The reason appears to be that these mortars were developed in WWI where the battles lines were static and were mainly used for direct fire. The purpose of the mortar is to provide infantry with it's own artillery that can be quickly applied to a target. Mortars were used to suppress strong points such as machine gun nest. In WWII the increase in mobility made many of the Platoon support mortars oboslete. To quote Ian Hogg:
"In the German army the mortar was widely and effectively employed, though since their standard designs appeared to satisfy them there was little attempt to improve the performance. The 5cm Granatwerfer 36 was less and less used as the war became on of movement, and indeed by 1942 it was virtually obsolescent. It was generally replaced with a shortened version of the 81mm, the Short Model 42, popularly called the Stummelwefer (stumpy mortar). This fired the same bombs as the standard weapon to 1,200 yards, weighed only 62 lbs complete, and became a particular favourite with airborne and SS troops."(1)
Please note that Mr. Hogg appears to mix his English and metric units.
In Steel Panthers World at War the 5cm Granatwerfer 36 (5cm LeGW36) has the following characteristics in the OOB: Weapon: 040 Range: 5cm LeGW36 Weapons Class: 02-Secondary Infantry Max Range: 44 (11 Hexes) Max APCR: 0 Accuracy: 8 Warhead: 3 HE Kill: 4 Pen. AP: 0 Pen. HE: 12 Pen. APCR: 0 Pen. HEAT: 0 Weapon Sixe: 2
The 50mm Mortar Squad characteristics in the OOB: Unit: 133 Class: 80-Light Mortar Crew: 4 Speed: 8 Avaiable: Jan 1936 to 1949 ROF: 9 Rounds HE: 40 FC 0 Target: 0 RgF: 0
As noted above the 50mm Mortar Squad has limited usage as an indirect fire weapon because of its range. However it does have some tactical use in heavily wooded or built up areas such as cities where its limited range is not a factor since the mortar can be placed close to the target and still be concealed. If you are firing over a line of woods (that can not be seen through) at a MG nest in the next line of wood then it is excellent as a suppression weapon. Placed just behind the crest of a hill supporting a platoon dug in on the other side during low visibility or as a weapon to be used close in to the individual Squads of the Platoon. Remember that even though the FO can call in fire from the 50mm Mortar Squad it can not shift the fire, only the Company or Platoon commander can shift the point of impact as well as call in the original fire mission. In direct fire mode the 50mm Mortar Squad suffers from it's short range since it can not fire on a unit from outside that units firing range. Fortunately the unit is small and hard to spot. Early in the war the armor penetration of 12 is useful since many of the light tanks, Armored Cars and Personal Carriers of the time were only armored against rifle and MG fire. Thus it provides a very valuable anti-armor capability for the German Platoon, which is sorely lacking. Upgrades: unfortunately there is no Stummelwefer in the game and the standard 81mm Grwefer can only be purchased as a section not as individual mortars. One of the better solutions is to replace the 50mm Mortar Squad with a second MMG squad. This gives the Platoon no indirect fire support weapon but does give a tremendous boost to the Platoons firepower. If you expect to encounter a large number of light armored vehicles then German ATG may be a better selection.
These guidelines also apply to any country that uses Platoon support Mortars with limited range.
(1)In each country different models of the caliber have slightly different characteristics. All data is from Grenades & Mortars by Ian Hogg, Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century weapons book no. 37
[ September 24, 2001: Message edited by: pbear ]
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