OOB07 British anti-tank guns 1939-mid 1940

[blitzkreig]

After doing some reading I disocvered the following:

1. The BEF fielded a 25mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun (bought from the French) during the Battle of France in addation to the 2pdr. The 25mm was issued to brigade anti-tank batteries and was manned by the infantry. The 2pdr was issued as a Divisional assesst and was manned by men of the Royal Artillery.

2. I presume the 25mm towed version has the same stats as the 25mm portee version in the TD section of Orbat 007 fielded at the same time - 25mm SA43 L/72.

3. All of the 25mm weapons appear to have been lost during the Dunkirk retreat/evacuation.

4. This has implications for the naming of some of the British anti-tank formations and possibly their start dates. The 2pdrs wouldn't have been found in the Support company formation at this time (formation 016 + 013 - See my last thread under British Mech Infantry). The 25mm should also be used in greater numbers by the player and the AI than the 2pdr during the Battle of France.

"Thus once the panzers had evaded the heavy British Artillery, and other guns controlled by the British Divisional Commanders the 25mm guns-on-wheels deployed by the Brigade's anti-tank plts represented the British Army's best chance of stopping them." chp 2 p 7-8

Sources:

Dunkirk: Fight to the Last man by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore published by Penguin ISBN:0-670-91082-1

www.bayonetstrength.com

[DRG]

1/ OK... WHEN were they bought from the French ? I will assume for the same time period as unit 216 ( 3/40 - 6/40 )


4/ Let's put it this way. The patch is built and will be sent to Shrapnel this weekend. We are not going to be tearing apart British AT formations and altering picklists ( and tracking down all the problems that can arise from doing that ) to accomodate an AT gun that saw, at most, a very few short weeks of use.I can, however, make the 25mm guns more common than the 2 pdr for the time period they were used when the AI buys them. It's up to the players to decide what they buy

Don

[blitzkreig]

Don:

1. They were seem to have been bought some time in 1939 following the BEF's move into France following the outbreak of war. Should have said in the first place, sorry, I'm still quite new to this.

2. Great news to hear the patch is going out! Can't wait to get my hands on it. I (as I'm sure do many others) really apprecate all the work you guys do to keep the game updated.

3. I didn't know the patch was ready and certainlly was "demanding" inclusion on what as you say is a limited piece of kit. You guys are after all are the ones who have to make the historical accuracy v game playability decisions. However I think highlighting the issue does improve the game to an extent and makes it even tougher for the Brits against the Germans during the battle of France. Would it be worth highlighting it in the units info screen so players can decide on historical accuracy or game payability for themselves? Pherhaps some time in the future when any subsquent mod comes out.

Thanks for your attention and keep up the good work.