Halftracks for assault

[zorro]

Is it permissible to make assaults and capture enemy units with Halftracks or Spw ?

[John Given]

Hi Zorro, check the other halftrack thread near the bottom of this page for more info.

Long story short; check with your teammate beforehand. I personally have no problem with it.

[Big Dawg]

Hi Zorro.

Go to the next page & there is a recent discussion on half tracks.

I will quote John, who summarized Leto's post.....

"The general consensus (hashed out during the last debate on HT's) is what Leto came up with:

Empty HT's cannot make unsupported overrun attacks on enemy armor.
Empty HT's cannot be used to deliberately and repeatedly draw enemy opfire (the emphasis on repeated as there are circumstances where HT's may move and unbenownst to them draw fire from hidden enemies).
No empty HT can scout towards hidden enemy positions without being accompanied by its infantry, or being within a 3 hex radius of (its) infantry.
Empty HT's can be used as rearguard sentries."

[McIvan]

Note the repeated use of the word "empty". If you're willing to risk loaded halftracks, they can do anything you like.

Bren carriers and carrier platoon sections.....mmmmmm. One of my favourite units.

[K K Rossokolski]

Zorro - We are talking here about Transport 1/2Ts only

Ivan ....is a bren Carrier a 1/2T?

And so good to see the medals returned

[Mike Abberton]

Technically a universal carrier is not a 1/2 track as their are no wheels in the front, but realistically they are all essentially the armored personnel carriers of WW2 and should probably be considered the same.

[Herr Straße Laufer]

LOL! And, what of the Kangaroo?
Isn't that an overgrown Bren Carrier? :chin:

[McIvan]

A Kangeroo is an undergrown Priest, not an overgrown Bren Carrier :)

No, Rod, I don't think it should be classed as a halftrack for the purposes of the rules, because the Bren's went directly into battle without any passengers rather a lot, as light armour support for the infantry.

But you will find that a lot of opponents don't appreciate the distinction, so generally speaking for the sake of peace the same rules often apply.

Since carrier sections are only 1pt per SP, you are not risking as much using Bren carriers loaded.

And yeah, it was great to see NZ's stolen medals including the Victoria crosses returned....thank goodness they didn't end up decorating the inside of some immoral collector's bank vault, as they could so easily have done.

[Herr Straße Laufer]

LOL! The Kangaroo was also made from the Aussie licensed/knock-off of the Sherman?
Similar to the Bren they were moved into combat as light armor support for their infantry.
I always get a kick out of looking at the pics of the "Shermans without turrets". Telly Savalis would be proud. ;)

I've got historical reference to North African use of Brens, unloaded, that charged Italian AT guns, while their infantry provided covering fire. Good stuff. Opponents beware! :chin:

[John Given]

A Kangeroo is an undergrown Priest, not an overgrown Bren Carrier :)

No, Rod, I don't think it should be classed as a halftrack for the purposes of the rules, because the Bren's went directly into battle without any passengers rather a lot, as light armour support for the infantry.

But you will find that a lot of opponents don't appreciate the distinction, so generally speaking for the sake of peace the same rules often apply.

This is a good reason why I don't mind HT's being used for spotting and recon. Fully-tracked carriers should have the same rules apply, that is, no rules at all. And the Kangaroo has a defense of *eight* so there is some real protential for it to be used as a sturdy spotter, though it still makes a lousy combat vehicle due to horribly weak weaponry.

One thing I never hear about - the usefulness of fully-tracked carriers compared to halftracked. Fully tracked carriers can enter ruin hexes. That can come in darn handy when you're defending a ruined city - the carriers can put large artillery pieces and AT guns in the ruins where the HT's cannot go. :whis: