Infantry - What Do You pick?

[Charles22]

It has occured to me that when discussing long campaign forces we generally talk about how much infsntry we picked, but never about what kind, at least not to the degree that we mention what they do. IOW, what do you desire them to carry into battle?

For my part, if I can get it, I like to reflect in my infantry, just what my entire core force represents, a force which can at least handle anything the AI can throw up against it. What this means, for me, is that generally they not only have some sort of LMG, but also have a dependable anti-tank weapon. If that anti-tank weapon can also double for being very useful against infantry, such as flamethrowers, so much the better. I also like the team to have "2" LMG's if possible, but this is very rare. The German Brandenburgers, for example, have 2 LMG's and they can be quite devastating at times. You're talking a mere 3 unit platoon with the LMG firepower of double their size and their satchel charge equipment makes them very hard to beat. Their being elite isn't terribly important to me, however it's another factor that helps in their effectiveness, but they are terribly expensive. The Brandenburgers, like a lot of infantry types also have a lot of weapons versatility, for example, they could use sniper rifles as their 4th weapon slot instead of satchel charges if you wanted to.

You will see something of the extremes in my force. I will carry the absolute best German infantry in the Brandenburgers, but also the worst which are the Schgerungs or whatever they're called. The same goes for equipment the forces will carry. I don't think it makes for terribly interesting play if my entire force is equipped to the hilt, so some won't have the best equipment just for some struggling sake.

So my core infantry basically consists of 2-4 basic or worse infantry, 2 engineer platoons (one platoon with flamethrowers, the other more anti-infantry, with 2 rifles per squad), 1-2 elite infantry (in the German sense 1 Brandenburger and 1 SS inf platoons [possibly substituting mountain, ski, or pnzrgrndr for SS]). I don't think mentioning scouts, unless one "fights" with them a great deal, is really worthy of discussion here.

Also, I almost never will have them equipped with whatever grenade launcher they may have available. Not only because I don't have much call for using them due to their lack of range (I fight quite a lot of battles either VERY close or far, such that the intermediate range fo the grenade launcher is hardly ever used) but also because they're not very effective, though for what little I have used them in the latest campaign, they do seem fairly effective. The fact that grenade launchers are often in the 3rd or 4th weapons slot aften makes them fairly useless as well, just because if you are close enough to use them, then a good deal of the time the target is lost before that weapon fires, due to the prior guns knocking the target into retreat.

So my ideal infantry, not that I would equip them all that way anyway, would be 1 rifle, 2 LMG's, and a flamthrower. Later, it's probably better to substitute 1 LMG for a bazooka type weapon, but for the units I want to be equipped to the hilt, that is my idea of their best equipment.

One last little thing about engineers. I'm not too sure what every country carries, but most (excepting the USSR marine engineers) engineers don't come with LMG's, so you suffer generally against infantry with engineers, however, in the German case anyway, they can come with one unit that has 3 LMG's, largely making up for the lack of anti-personnal ability in the platoon.

I also will carry a sniper; the best I can get. I would be curious to hear if people who use sniper rifles in regular infantry, which are usually in the 4th weapon slot, have much success with them, at least more than you typically get out of an LMG. They at least would extend infantry range, but they don't have half the effectiveness of the really concentrated sniper unit, due to not having the fire control and range finder ratings of any worth.

[m113apc]

Interesting question.
I use infantry in support for my amour, not the other way around.
But that’s because I’m a tanker, I prefer tanks and supporting armored vehicles.
I like to play big battles in my campaign, with a full core, most of the time I have a core of 200. Playing SPWW2 I have up to between 10-15000 points.
Since I have fewer Infantry units; I pick elite units.
I also use SS in my panzer units.

As an example, I can go through the long campaign I’m playing now.
It’s Germany vs. USA/GB/Canada, June 44-May 45.

I always choose company formations, but I reduce them in size.
The reason is to have a chain of command, when it comes to rallying my troops.
1 company consisting of 2 platoons of Panthers, 1 company consisting of 1 platoon of Tiger, and 1 company consisting of 1 platoon of Tiger II.
Each platoon carries 1 platoon of Brandenburgers mounted on vehicle. These will supply close combat support to my tanks in built up areas or in areas with dense vegetation.

I will have 1 coy of Stug and Stuh, with 2 platoons of Stug and 1 Stuh, in support they will have 3 to 4 platoons of SS Panzergrenadiers mounted on Sdkfz 251/1, but here I choose my platoon without the Sdkfz, and buy them in the misc section. That way they are independent from my troops.

My third formation if you will it’s the Pionier, here I also go for a crack formation like the FJg, and I also mount these units on 251/1. In support I pick 2 to 4 flamethrowers and a section or platoon of Stuh. Since these units also play a defensive role in my play, I may support them with 2 to 3 AT guns or 2 jagdpanzers.

Other formations are recon forces mounted on 251/1, SPAA, SPA, ammunition vehicles and arty off board.

Sometimes I have a fire brigade also, existing of a mixed formation of tanks and infantry.

This game, which I have described here, is for pure fun, sometimes I play it as realistic as possible.

I remember many years ago, playing SPII, I built up my former armored battalion with its supporting elements in defense against a Russia motorized infantry regiment, all by the book. I stopped them, but it was an expensive battle. Back then, we didn’t have the Leopard 2 MBT, but the Leopard 1 with its 105mm, and we didn’t have the CV9030N IFV with its 30mm cannon, but the NM135 (built on the M113 APC) with 20mm cannon.
It was my NM142 TOW (built on the M113 chassis also) and ground mounted TOW units that saved me from the hordes of T-72 and T-80 MBTs.

I guess this was maybe a little bit outside your question, but I had to put my choices in a context.

[Charles22]

Thanks for your response. I guess there were two main things I was looking for a)what sort of infantry people get, and, more importantly b)what do people equip them with. That's why I described in some detail what I want mine equipped with, such as how many LMG's, grenade launchers, mortars, flamethrowers, what have you.

[iCaMpWiThAWP]

I personally like heavy infantry, something like slots: 1.rifle 2.SAW/BAR/LMG 3.Hand/rifle Grenade(GL or mortar maybe?) 4.satchel, flamer, rocket, bazooka...whatever is heavy enough to blow tanks and bunkers with,EDIT: HA! MOLOTOV! it rocks tanks

[Charles22]

Originally Posted by iCaMpWiThAWP

I personally like heavy infantry, something like slots: 1.rifle 2.SAW/BAR/LMG 3.Hand/rifle Grenade(GL or mortar maybe?) 4.satchel, flamer, rocket, bazooka...whatever is heavy enough to blow tanks and bunkers with,EDIT: HA! MOLOTOV! it rocks tanks

So that's your ideal unit? You wouldn't rather get another LMG in slot 3 if possible? I guess that's pretty much what your 12-13 man squad consists of, one rifle and one LMG, although even those can be different, like the SMG units having SMG instead of rifle, but your main area of choice ends up being usually in slots 3 and 4.

[m113apc]

Originally Posted by Charles22

Thanks for your response. I guess there were two main things I was looking for a)what sort of infantry people get, and, more importantly b)what do people equip them with. That's why I described in some detail what I want mine equipped with, such as how many LMG's, grenade launchers, mortars, flamethrowers, what have you.

Well in that case, I look for one thing.
Do those in at least one of their slots have a weapon that could knock out a tank?

The rest of the slots are, do they have enough punch to decimate an infantry unit.

[iCaMpWiThAWP]

Originally Posted by m113apc

Well in that case, I look for one thing.
Do those in at least one of their slots have a weapon that could knock out a tank?

The rest of the slots are, do they have enough punch to decimate an infantry unit.

GLs, mortars and flamers can knock out tanks, (HE pen of at least 1 CAN penetrate tankettes and most italian early war armor)

[m113apc]

[/quote]
GLs, mortars and flamers can knock out tanks, (HE pen of at least 1 CAN penetrate tankettes and most italian early war armor)[/quote]

Yepp.
What I really would like to have the capability to do. Is to have some options to choose the armament for my infantry myself.

The need for different weapons can vary from time to time, dependent of the mission you want them to have.

But my guess is that this would take a lot of time to get in to the game.

[Charles22]

It depends on the GL, of course, but AFAIK there are no dependable mortars or grenade launchers intrinsic to an infantry type squad, that knock out a tank enough to count on it. I have been through 2 battles against the Polish GL's, maybe having tanks hit between 50-100 times, and not a scratch. It's only the armored cars and half-tracks that have anything resembling consistent trouble from them. Needless to say, if the GL firer were on a hill, he might have some damage hitting a top portion of a tank. They're just entirely too unreliable in anything but the very lightest armor to think of them as being anti-tank.

[Charles22]

Originally Posted by m113apc

Well in that case, I look for one thing.
Do those in at least one of their slots have a weapon that could knock out a tank?

The rest of the slots are, do they have enough punch to decimate an infantry unit.

That's how I look at it early in the war as well (though you often can't get any weapons that are really anti-tank capable early on), but later, you're probably better off with slot 3 being as a ranged anti-tank weapon like a bazooka. So you would half for tanks and half for infantry. I guess, if it were possible, to have a bazooka type weapon as your lone anti-tank weapon, that might be sufficient, since it is ranged to some degree.