I've previously shared this article on the CoC FB page so it may be familiar to some.
I’ve spent some time looking at the MMG support option in
British and German use and thought I would pen my thoughts. (The caveat being I
am neither a rules nor maths expert).
The British Vickers MMG and German tripod mounted MG-42 both
cost three support points and come with a crew of five and an entrenchment for
the team. This entrenchment is in addition to the maximum of two that can
otherwise be purchased as support units.
Both MMG command 10 Fire Power dice, but neither qualifies
for the Storm of Steel bonus as purchased.
As a team the MMG is activated on a DR of 1 but can also be
activated by a SL on a DR of 4 provided all other requirements are met. In
addition, for the Germans, activation by a SL can allow for the use of the Maschinengewehr National Characteristic and this increases the number of FP dice to 12 or 13 depending
on whether 2 or 3 Orders are used and means Storm of Steel is in effect.
Close range is up to 24”, effective range 24”+
A MMG has to be reduced down to just one crew member before
any penalty is felt, with the number of FP dice being reduced by 2 at that
point.
In addition MMG’s can fire suppressing fire at an area with a
continuous frontage of 9” or at two teams with 4” of each other.
To understand better how they actually work on the table I
ran a quick exercise for both the British and Germans (20 separate fire for
effect dice rolls for each side) which suggest the following. *
Across the 20 rolls for the British (and Germans without the
benefit of Maschinengewehr ) the best burst of fire produced 7 hits at close
range and 6 at effective range. The worst 3 and 1 respectively. The average was
4.8 hits at close range, and 3.35 at effective range.
British Data
For the Germans with Maschinengewehr in effect (two Orders used
for 12 FP in this example) the best result was 11 hits at close range and 9 at
effective range. The worst being 4 and 2, with an average of 7.75 at close
range and 5.2 at effective range.
German Data
To take the numbers a little deeper I then rolled the hit
effect dice based on the best, worst and average number of hits at close
range.
With a target in the open this saw 3 shock and 1 kill
achieved for the British, and 4 shock and 3 kills for the Germans using Maschinengewehr.
Other results can be seen on the data image.
In summary with the addition of a SL for the Germans the
tripod mounted MG42 becomes fairly potent producing shock and kills in most
results. The downside however is that this option really needs an extra SL for the Germans to
work given they only get one with their core platoons (exception being the Fallschirmjager) and so the cost for the package of the gun and SL is now 5 support points.
For the British (or non SL lead Germans) the MMG is a more
steady option seemly causing shock in most instances.
The entrenchment gives hardcover regardless of where set up
and with close range going out to 24” vs the 18” for rifles and LMG it seems
this is where you will get the most bang for your buck. A base of fire allowing infantry sections to manoeuvre appears to be their optimal role in game which reflects their use on the real life battlefield. Put out rounds at 18-24 inches range while well protected against any return small arms fire and allow infantry sections to move freely.
Let me know if I have anything wrong and I’d welcome people’s
thoughts on how you utilise the MMG.
*Yes I know 20 rolls is nowhere near enough for a decent
statistical finding but I’m not that sad
