WW2 FMA

An esteemed lister said:
Your getting into murky waters there if you 
think all mg's are the same.

[Tomb] True, though the distinction isn't as 
large as it is sometimes played out to be.

German tactics evolved arround using the 
squad MG 34 or later MG 42 as the main 
killer, the riflemen where just there to 
protect it.

[Tomb] Although this is true, lots of rifle 
bullets killed people too. And there are 
plenty of times your MG jams or has a 
temporary stoppage or the MG gunners get 
shot. The riflemen (and even those buggers 
with the SMGs) come in handy then.

 Both being the first general purpose 
machine guns (GPMG) and having high 
rates of fire. The MG 42 1200rpm (rounds 
per minute) or 20 a second, about
double the .30cal browning.

[Tomb] Which is relevant in how many 
rounds it might put into a target, but you're 
still trained to fire in bursts of 3-10 rounds 
and you are still (even today) advised to 
keep your fire in the area of 50-100 rpm. 
That cyclic sounds really great, but if 
you've had to carry the ammo boxes to 
supply 1200 rounds worth of fire, you aren't 
going to love it quite as much. And we still 
(mostly) use rifles. Apparently equipping 
everyone in the squad with an LMG or 
GPMG (or even every second guy) isn't that 
useful or practical. 

[Tomb] As to the proposed stats: I think 
you'll find your rifle impact way too low. 
Given you've already got a fair chance to 
miss if your target is half smart using 
cover, or evading, or whatever, then a D6 
vs. a D4 once you hit (especially since you 
really need to score > 3x the D4 to take 
the guy out) is going to lead to very long 
and frustrating games. I think the rifles 
should have D8 or D10 impact. And the MG 
the same (in some cases, it's the same 
bullets). 

[Tomb] Also, there is a question of multiple 
attacks or suppressing an area or 
establishing fire lanes (danger spaces) that 
are hazardous to cross. Machine guns are 
very apt to do just this, but how does one 
support it in game mechanics? Machine 
guns are excellent in suppressive role and 
this buys the guys with the SMGs and 
grenades a chance to get in close and do 
their work (like the Russians with a heavy 
emphasis on the cheaply produced PPsh-
41). 

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Mr. Thomas Barclay
Software Developer & Systems Analyst
thomas.barclay@stargrunt.ca
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