Mixing outdated tanks with infantry

[Number 7]

Seeing as daniel revealed that cool mechanic where you can choose what equipment goes to a division, for example garrisons getting only outdated infantry equipment

Would it be a viable strategy to assign the older generations of tanks (panzer 2 for example) in as infantry support to INF divisions in the form of a single battalion?

Although the stats will definitely be quite watered down once its averaged across the division

 

[Baron Jukaga]

I hope so, it always bugged me that in previous games upgraded divisions would throw out all their old tanks/guns and such.

 

[JerkyJerry]

Why don't you like your soldiers?

I'm a tech dood. Well not in real life. There I'm just a dood. But in war jazz stuff, yeah tech me up! Even when playing 3 the moment I unlock medium tanks I upgrade all my light tanks. I don't use light tanks.
Light tanks are lady tanks. Small, easy to park at the malls. Can wear a dress or a skirt and still feel comfortable getting in and out of her lady tank. Small tracks so it does not look to fat. You know, lady tanks!

 

[RolandRahn]

Light tanks are lady tanks. Small, easy to park at the malls. Can wear a dress or a skirt and still feel comfortable getting in and out of her lady tank. Small tracks so it does not look to fat. You know, lady tanks!

Nope. They are the spearheads that move deep behind enemy lines. Getting supplies and fuel airdropped because they can't wait for the medium tanks to catch up.

 

[JerkyJerry]

ah ah ah no air drops in 4

Spearhead? You mean arrow head?

I only use light tanks to crush uprisings. Because those tanks are fast and I hate those annoying tedious uprisings.
Then again I play weird. There are a lot of things that the majority of players do that I don't. Militia & garrisons? Not on my battle field. Anti-aircraft guns? Never built one nor researched a tech ever. German navy? The definition of oxymoron.

There is nothing wrong with lady tanks. Don't get me wrong. I use them to crush annoyances. I never really thought of using them in the field against medium and heavy tanks that's all.

 

[Number 7]

ah ah ah no air drops in 4

Spearhead? You mean arrow head?

I only use light tanks to crush uprisings. Because those tanks are fast and I hate those annoying tedious uprisings.
Then again I play weird. There are a lot of things that the majority of players do that I don't. Militia & garrisons? Not on my battle field. Anti-aircraft guns? Never built one nor researched a tech ever. German navy? The definition of oxymoron.

There is nothing wrong with lady tanks. Don't get me wrong. I use them to crush annoyances. I never really thought of using them in the field against medium and heavy tanks that's all.

i have a feeling they might be a bit more viable in hoi4 if they bring a reasonable amount of soft attack too. Because in hoi3 they were super limited by forcing you to take a full brigade of them, which usually was 1/4th of a division which always meant there were frankly better choices. in HOI4 being able to stick a support company (possibly?) or a battalion size of anti air might actually make them worth it if you know you're up against nations with considerable air forces.

definitely not worth in hoi3 though

 

[Frosted Vert]

That's an interesting question. In reality, the Wehrmacht provided the infantry with Sturmgeschütz and Panzerjäger based on outdated AFVs. I would hope that surplus equipment returned to depot can be converted to SP/TD/SPAA instead of having production lines needlessly building new vehicles. Old tanks might be useful for cavalry and infantry divisions as well. Of course there is also giving them to allies who cannot build their own AFVs as Lend-Lease.

 

[ComradeCommissar]

ah ah ah no air drops in 4

Spearhead? You mean arrow head?

I only use light tanks to crush uprisings. Because those tanks are fast and I hate those annoying tedious uprisings.
Then again I play weird. There are a lot of things that the majority of players do that I don't. Militia & garrisons? Not on my battle field. Anti-aircraft guns? Never built one nor researched a tech ever. German navy? The definition of oxymoron.

There is nothing wrong with lady tanks. Don't get me wrong. I use them to crush annoyances. I never really thought of using them in the field against medium and heavy tanks that's all.

Light tanks aren't to use against other tanks (if you are, all i can say is you're doing it - wrong). They're for exploiting and creating the Котел's that everyone likes (Котел = kessel/pocket in Russian).
Role specialization > jack of all trades in the right times. I can't tell you how many times my ass was saved using light tanks to cut off the enemy (which medium tanks can still do, but slower.. which means the enemy has time to evacuate the hole and move troops to chew up your spearhead). It can mean the difference between a giant encirclement, medium one, or none at all.

 

[Bronterre]

Yep it would and it would be well worth it, saves them being useless to your own forces. Germany and to an extent Russia used this method of infantry armour support so it's historically accurate as well.

I plan to go the British and French route and have dedicated infantry and cavalry tanks using the variants system.

 

[Dalnar]

Isn't it better to use old tanks for on-map training before replacing them with newer ones in division ?

 

[MarcoRossolini]

Light tanks are lady tanks. Small, easy to park at the malls. Can wear a dress or a skirt and still feel comfortable getting in and out of her lady tank. Small tracks so it does not look to fat. You know, lady tanks!

Excuse me, but... WTF?

 

[Loke]

... Anyway...

When the Allies landed on Sicily they met quite a few French tanks in the hands of the Italians.

 

[MarcoRossolini]

... Anyway...

When the Allies landed on Sicily they met quite a few French tanks in the hands of the Italians.

Same as at Normandy in fact.

 

[Doctoxic]

Why don't you like your soldiers?

I'm a tech dood. Well not in real life. There I'm just a dood. But in war jazz stuff, yeah tech me up! Even when playing 3 the moment I unlock medium tanks I upgrade all my light tanks. I don't use light tanks.
Light tanks are lady tanks. Small, easy to park at the malls. Can wear a dress or a skirt and still feel comfortable getting in and out of her lady tank. Small tracks so it does not look to fat. You know, lady tanks!

you seem to have entirely missed the point of Number7's original post

There is nothing wrong with lady tanks. Don't get me wrong. I use them to crush annoyances. I never really thought of using them in the field against medium and heavy tanks that's all.

again missing the point - the OP never said anything about using them against medium and heavy tanks, just to use old/spare equipment to boost his infantry divisions, which seems like a very good idea to me

 

[Victor Cortez]

There are two points here:
1) What to do with old ARM equipment
2) Should INF have tank support

Old equipment should have plenty of use. Less critical theatres, allies, training...
For infantry support light tanks don't make too much sense, as you're completely missing their purpose, but a Churchill-like heavy would be cool

 

[Lither]

In the context of the game, it's not a bad idea.

Taking, say, the Panzer II (a pre-war light tank you'll probably not use much during the war), you'll add what's basically a mobile machine gun and autocannon platform resistant to machine guns, rifle rounds, that requires somewhat specialised gear to knock out. That's not a bad thing to mix in to an infantry division when fuel costs and spare parts are abstracted away. Only drawback I can think of is if tanks have a lot of supply weight added to the division.
Also, Pz.IIs were used as recon units, so I hope to see armoured recon support companies sometime in the future

 

[Viktor_Vertex]

Would be interesting if adding tanks to an infantry division gives more 'breakthrough' and mobility than just their averages. Infantry did 'hop on' to tanks so they can move faster to where they need to be.

 

[Number 7]

Would be interesting if adding tanks to an infantry division gives more 'breakthrough' and mobility than just their averages. Infantry did 'hop on' to tanks so they can move faster to where they need to be.

depends if speed is averaged, or if it's equal to the slowest battalion in the division. If they do get sped up, Outdated but fast light tanks might have more synergy than it seems. Although it wouldn't be a major change unless you were devoting huge amounts of tanks or divisions were quite small

 

[Viktor_Vertex]

depends if speed is averaged, or if it's equal to the slowest battalion in the division. If they do get sped up, Outdated but fast light tanks might have more synergy than it seems. Although it wouldn't be a major change unless you were devoting huge amounts of tanks or divisions were quite small

I was actually thinking about combat mobility, if that is a thing represented by breakthrough values...

 

[JerkyJerry]

Light tanks aren't to use against other tanks (if you are, all i can say is you're doing it - wrong). They're for exploiting and creating the Котел's that everyone likes (Котел = kessel/pocket in Russian).
Role specialization > jack of all trades in the right times. I can't tell you how many times my ass was saved using light tanks to cut off the enemy (which medium tanks can still do, but slower.. which means the enemy has time to evacuate the hole and move troops to chew up your spearhead). It can mean the difference between a giant encirclement, medium one, or none at all.

Thanks for the information! I guess I'm from the ___________ school of war. Bigger is better!
Blank because I have no idea if there is even a name for it.