Armoured Transport Use

The dual capability of halftracks that are transports and also AFVs with firepower has me a bit puzzled.  

After an Armoured Panzergrenadier Platoon dismounts and continues their attack on foot, how do other BGK players utilize the platoon's three SdKfz 251/1 (MG)s and the SdKfz 251/10 (37mm) in the rest of the game?  Since they have an inherent driver & gunner they have significant firepower, yet are labelled transports initially purchased as part of their platoon.

Assuming that the enemy armour and AT threat is minimal so the empty halftracks stay on the table to contribute their firepower to the battle, is it normal practice to give them orders to use their firepower to continue to mainly support their own platoon's dismounted infantry?  Or once unloaded does their allegiance to their platoon expire and they are able to freely roam across the tabletop and be given orders like any other independent armoured unit?

Any information from others on how you handle empty armed halftracks would be appreciated!  

A Merry Christmas greeting to all!

I play US Armored Div exclusively and have learned that the half tracks are very easily disabled from small arms (suppression) and mortars. Something that I use against others very effectively.

So I use to run them up close disembark and keep close to give fire support. But this always presents a target rich environment. Something you don't want. Seriously one or two artillery/mortar barrage can be devastating.

Now I put them on reserve move , rush them up before the last order is given, then my turn I disembark then run them about 15-20 inches back, in case Arty drops. After that I just do constant suppression fire to support the Infantry and to suppress any artillery spotting units.

But to answer a little more directly to your questions.
Yes, they are independent units and can act freely.
Others argue this, and you can check other posts here about transports and half tracks.
There is a post and thread about this stuff by tua1850 and others. I would check those out, a lot of good points from all involved.

As Nino says, the half tracks can act freely without any restriction.
It is not enterily "historic" to act that way, but otherwise it would complicate things.
Have in mind that half-tracks are vulnerable, and each one lost is a BR counter taken.

If you find this freedom too much, you can implement some house tweaks like:

- declare that halftracks are very valuable assets, and each one lost costs you 2 BR counters (instead of one). Reflecting how severely reprimanded you would be for risking high value assets.
- Let half-tracks act only in support of their transported infantry (but that could result in very subjective decisions)

Best regards,

Diego

I concur with the tactics mentioned. If a designed army, list I tend to leave them behind and bump the Grenadiers to veteran, but they are a good as AA cover if they are left to the rear.

Yep, they are mortar magnets and a great way to pile up BR chips. Playing 'Rat Patrol' with them is up to you, but these rules make you pay heavily for using unhistorical tactics

One of the rules to remember is that a unit that is only 25% visible can not be targeted. So taking a half track and getting them set up in positions that make them hull down, like behind a wall or hill gives a lot of survivability.

A friend did that to me hiding his 251/10 behind a destroyed tank and all I could see was the top of it and had positioned other hanamags behind a large wall and a building. I could not get any shots on them and had to resort to mortars.

He destroyed me with those half tracks. So they can be valuable under the right conditions.

And I just realized I posted on this thread once before lol.

I'd call cheese on anyone who played that way. The rules do state you must be able to see 25% or more of a target, but also says you expect the same back from your opponent. So if you can't target him, he can't target you! Also, per those same targeting rules you also could have hit him with area fire and easily pinned those open topped vehicles. So you wouldn't have had to rely on only mortars to deal with them anyway.

Nino Kano wrote:One of the rules to remember is that a unit that is only 25% visible can not be targeted. So taking a half track and getting them set up in positions that make them hull down, like behind a wall or hill gives a lot of survivability.

A friend did that to me hiding his 251/10 behind a destroyed tank and all I could see was the top of it and had positioned  other hanamags behind a large wall and a building. I could not get any shots on them and had to resort to mortars.

He destroyed me with those half tracks. So they can be valuable under the right conditions.

And I just realized I posted on this thread once before lol.

If he claimed that he can fire at you from those same halftracks, you can see enough to fire back at him. Anything else feels extremely skewed towards abusing the system. Otherwise, area fire has no % requirement and would have pinned him easily, even with vehicle HE.