when to fire back

[PatG]

czerpak said:
Smersh,
use your weapon to your advantage. It is a question of having more accurate fire from closer range, or having bit less accurate fire but from safe position. If we are talking mg's here I'd rather check enemy max range and put my mg's 2 or 3 hexes beyond. <snip>
cheers
Czerpak

Same for IGs - just outside of rifle range - or mg range depending on what you're going after. The big advantage to armour is you can get a lot closer safely.

[narwan]

Smersh said:
this is related "when to fire" question. . I usually have my machine guns fire around 500-600 meters from the enemy in support of infantry squads. since infanty combat seems to be more deadly compared to mbt, enemy squads tend to kill my mg crews by rifle fire from around 500m. am I just too close to the enemy, when firing? how far away should an mg be to be safe and still effective? too me 500-600meters is the limit.

I usually keep my HMG and MMG units set at max range with the rifles turned off. Their main job is to harrass the enemy at long range and keep their infantry far away. At those longer ranges they are also likely to stay unspotted.

Narwan

[Smersh]

from what I remember max range for these units can be something like 1000-2000 meters away. is it historically accurate to use them at these ranges?

I'll try out the scout suppersion technique.

[czerpak]

PatG said:

I don't disagree with what you are saying - in fact that is exactly how I use my scouts. However, I have found that, when the tactical situation warrants it, a scout unit can usually take one or two shots at a unit and remain unspotted. This can add enough supression to make your assault go through.

Note that I tend to play Japanese with one scout per platoon as purchased. This is a higher ratio than some other armies and the scouts represent a significant chunk of the platoon's firepower. The much more expensive "recce platoon" boys need to be treated more gently.

sure, as I said before it depends on tactical situation, force composition, time limits etc., exactly what you are saying.
At the end of the day, if our litlle conversation helps some less experienced players pick up few ideas and improve their game, we made our point, right ?

And yes, it did happen to me to use very valuable reckon unit to shut down annoying gun. Question of priorities and risk taken.