Machine guns revisited

Machine guns have long suffered from an inherent weakness in our rule system. As it currently stands an element firing a machine gun at multiple targets must divide it's dice and combat factor total between the targets. The original reason for why this was adopted was because we didn't want to make machine guns too powerful in 28mm games where one element could conceivably eliminate half the opposing team in a single round, and yet in reality, when machine guns were used logically they were extremely powerful. In some examples, heavy machines in static mounts were perfectly capable of killing large numbers of advancing enemy infantry. Currently in Bayonet_10, this cannot be done.
In yesterdays game, we also encountered the same problem with regards to two P-16 fighter aircraft strafing a mortar position with good a dice roll but to no credible results. Granted, a strafing aircraft might miss it's target, but that really should be expressed by a poor dice roll, and not the contrary. So, now its time to go back to machine guns and 'make them great again'.

In Bayonet_10 we make distinctions between machine pistols, submachine guns, light machine guns and heavy machine guns. MPs, SMGs and LMGs are essentially infantry weapons, and may be carried by General Infantry, or Irregulars, etc, where as HMGs are static or vehicle born weapons. A static HMG is classed as a Heavy. This distinction should extend the lethality of the HMG as opposed to SMGs and LMGs.

Examples;

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From left to right; M712 Schnellfeuer. Thompson SMG. MG-34 LMG. Maxim HMG.
Further examples are provided in the Armoury.

Machine pistols and submachine guns are generally characterized by smaller ammunition fed from magazines. Whilst some SMG's can be equipped with high capacity magazines neither of these weapon types can provide the extensive fields of fire offered by belt fed machine guns.

Light machine guns may be either magazine or belt fed. In the case of the former, they are often described as 'support weapons' rather than machine guns, see for example the Browning Automatic Rifle. Unlike Heavy Machine Guns, LMG's and similar support weapons are generally carried by individual infantry and used for mobile fire support. In this capacity they can provide short bursts of fire over a limited arc. Extensive use of an LMG will result in the need to change a barrel lest the weapon over heat. Some LMG's can be attached to a static mount in which case they become HMGs. 

Unless vehicle mounted, Heavy Machine Guns are generally characterized by being static, belt fed weapons, often with some form of cooling system to allow the weapon to function for longer periods of time. HMGs generally fire larger calibre ammunition, and in some cases may even employ armour piercing ammunition. An HMG will generally inflict more damage than an LMG.  

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The combat modifiers remain the same as before.

Machine pistol: +4 [+3] Shooting. 8 LOS. SMG: +4 [+3] Shooting.18 LOS Light machine gun (MG). +5 [+4] Shooting. 36 LOS. Heavy machine gun. +6 [+5] Shooting. 48 LOS.

The suggested change to the rules means a machine pistol, an SMG or an LMG may now engage two or more targets in base contact with eath other, depending on the quality of the element employing the weapon. Each target rolls against the same attacking roll without any division of the total.
Heavy machine guns and LMGs in static mounts may engage all viable targets with a 90 degree forward arc - much like a field gun. Supporting rules remain the same, so if two HMGs are firing over the same field of fire for example, one supports the other and the targets suffer a -1 penalty against the die roll.

Die roll + combat factors, as described in the rules for all infantry-borne weapons: MPs, SMGs & LMGs.

Inferior:  may target one element. Ordinary:  May target two elements in base contact with each other. Superior:  May target three elements in base contact with each other. Exceptional: May target four elements in base contact with each other.

 

Die roll + combat factors, as described in the rules for Heavy.

May engage all viable targets within 90 degree forward arc.

I have run a few tests and these adaptations appear to make sense. A static HMG all but annhilated an infantry charge across open terrain with four infantry elements defeated and two suppressed. A Superior LMG in the same sitaution was able to suppress two infantry elements and defeat a third.

Machine guns on aircraft will subsequently be dealt with in the Aircraft catagory of Bayonet_10.

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https://www.lonesentry.com/manuals/german-infantry-weapons/mg34-machine-gun.html