Close Assaults

[runequester]

yeah, when hte battles get too big, it gets unwieldy. I thought the original game hit it the best. The engine breaks down when you are trying to maneuver 15 different teams or vehicles

[Griefbringer]

Somewhat on topic, here is an movie example of some Finns close assaulting a Soviet flamethrower tank (T-26 variant) during Winter War. Great example for how to do it in SPWAW too:

1.) Drive away supporting infantry and isolate the tank
2.) Use small arms fire to ensure that the tank is buttoned up
3.) Immobilize the tank with a handy log
4.) Lob a nice Molotov cocktail on the engine deck of the now immobilized tank
5.) Gun down the poor bastards (=crew) exiting the tank
6.) Get back into safe position
7.) Smoke


As for the game uses of the close assault, I have spotted that one handy aspect of the close assault is that even if it is not succesful, it causes a decent amount of suppression on the tank in question. Thus isolated tanks driving into your positions can be rendered temporarily harmless by having a whole platoon assault them simultaneously (preferably after first using small arms fire to button up the crew) - even if you don't manage to destroy the tank, there is a good chance that it is reduced to retreating or routed status. And if you managed to immobilize the tank, heavy suppression means that the crew is likely to bail out and try escaping on foot.

[RightDeve]

And if you managed to immobilize the tank, heavy suppression means that the crew is likely to bail out and try escaping on foot.

Well, I haven't experienced this in-game. Is it really possible for the crew to bail out after heavily suppressed & immobilized?

What you listed there is quite good, but I don't think it is commonplace for a single infantry squad. Usually it would take more than one squad (preferably a whole platoon) to successfully launch a close assault against a couple AFVs.

[iCaMpWiThAWP]

Originally Posted by RightDeve

Well, I haven't experienced this in-game. Is it really possible for the crew to bail out after heavily suppressed & immobilized?

What you listed there is quite good, but I don't think it is commonplace for a single infantry squad. Usually it would take more than one squad (preferably a whole platoon) to successfully launch a close assault against a couple AFVs.

Yes it's possible, happens a lot actually, especially after artillery attacks, they usually damage the light armor and supress them heavily.

[gila]

[quote=RightDeve;774390]

Well, I haven't experienced this in-game. Is it really possible for the crew to bail out after heavily suppressed & immobilized?

Actually this very comman occurance,
If a tank is in rout status whether immobolized or not, depends if the crew fails a morale check if they will bail.

[Roman]

Recently, in a PBEM game, a Russian sniper immobilized to a Panther with a close assault. After a few more turns, the crew left the tank. So you do beat the sniper. But not quite. If I remember correctly, the crew killed the sniper and then killed the crew with machine guns.
Crazy.

[Griefbringer]

Originally Posted by RightDeve

What you listed there is quite good, but I don't think it is commonplace for a single infantry squad. Usually it would take more than one squad (preferably a whole platoon) to successfully launch a close assault against a couple AFVs.

Which is why you shouldn't tackle an enemy AFV with a single infantry squad. If you place your infantry well, you can assault an AFV with 2 or 3 squads from different hexes when it enters a certain hex. In a pinch, you could even place two squads in a single hex to get more units to assault an advancing vehicle.

As for how likely a squad is to assault an enemy tank, a lot depends on the experience. Rookie Soviet conscripts and their kin might easily shy off (but you are supposed to have lots of them), but more veteran units can be better relied on pulling an assault on an enemy tank that gets close.

Another important thing is that when the enemy vehicles close in, they should be ideally isolated from each other, allowing your infantry to concentrate on a few individual targets. Clever use of terrain is rewarded here, as is a generous usage of smoke - so before assaulting a target, consider lobbing a few smoke rounds in various directions. Flame-throwers are also handy, besides causing possibly horrible damage and massive suppression, they are also likely to start a fire that will further restrict visibility.

And remember to suppress the target with small arms fire (MGs and anti-tank rifles are handy) before closing in.

And any sort of assault is likely to cause some suppression, regardless of how likely it is to fail. So even scout units and such can be used in a pinch to pull a few assaults just to scare the crews.

And don't forget that the presence of destroyed vehicles causes suppression on units near-by, so once you get enough vehicles destroyed it will get a lot easier to scare any further enemy vehicles trying to enter the area. Never mind that those burning wrecks emit smoke that further cuts on the visibility.

And of course any sort of damage is likely to cause further suppression, so it can be a good idea to continue lobbing grenades and ATR shots on any early war tanks close by - you might just manage to cause the lucky hit that might cause a point of damage and a bunch of extra suppression.

[Firestorm]

Originally Posted by iCaMpWiThAWP

In the game faster=easier to ambush but harder to hit with fire(not assault)
IRL a man can run faster than an old tank for a few seconds, drop grenades on it and run away(or stop and let the tank continue)

Well I was going to make a reference to freight-hopping, but Imp already did that.

I'll just say that if the tank movement is abstracted, then so too is the infantry movement. For all we know, the reason these guys are so good at dealing with fast-moving tanks is because they're throwing grenades down from overhanging tree branches, a position from which they would have been easily spotted by a less hasty crew.

[Imp]

Game wise you should always aim to assault tanks with multiple units even if have AT weaponry, each attack suppreses the tank more meaning the next has a greater chance of success. Thats how you kill them if dont have AT weaponry like early Russians swarm the tank, need to cause several attackers will suffer tank fear & run if all they have is a grenade

[Firestorm]

Originally Posted by Imp

Game wise you should always aim to assault tanks with multiple units even if have AT weaponry, each attack suppreses the tank more meaning the next has a greater chance of success. Thats how you kill them if dont have AT weaponry like early Russians swarm the tank, need to cause several attackers will suffer tank fear & run if all they have is a grenade

I've managed to knock out Abrams tanks with swarms of Palestinian protestors.

If your squad fails an assault but still has firing opportunities left, shoot at the tank. Grenades immobilize once in a blue moon, each shot further demoralizes the crew (making further assaults by other infantry more likely to succeed), and if you're persistent enough the tank will run away or the crew might bail out and get shot.