Versus Match M1 vs. M2 vs. M3 vs. M4

[Husky_Khan]

Based on this post.

It'll be a four way reinforced platoon Versus matchup. All vehicles/weapons teams come with their own crews equipped similarly to the infantrymen as practical.

M1 Platoon:
40 Infantrymen: 31x M1 Garand Rifle, 4x M1 Super Benelli Shotguns, 4x M1 Thompson Submachine Guns, 1x M1 Flamethrower, 40x M1 Underwater Defense Pistols (as sidearms).
1 Mortar Team: 1x M1 81mm Mortar
1 M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank (circa 1979)

M2 Platoon:
40 Infantrymen: 35x M2 Carbines, 4x M2 Hyde Submachine Guns, 1x M2 Flamethrower, 40x Mauser M2 Pistols
1 M240 Machine Gun Team
1 Mortar Team: 1x M2 60mm Mortar
1 M2 Half Track Car: 1x M2 Heavy Machine Gun mounted on it
1 M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle

M3 Platoon:
40 Infantrymen: 20x M3 Super 90 Benelli Shotguns, 20x M3 SMG's "Grease Guns", 4x M3 MAAWS (84mm Carl Gustavs), 40x M3 Fighting Knives
1 M3 Halftrack based Howitzer Motor Carriage equipped with the M3 105 mm howitzer.
1 M3 Stuart Light Tank
1 M3 Lee Medium Tank
1 M36 Tank Destroyer

M4 Platoon:
40 Infantrymen: 36x M4 Assault Carbines, 4x Super Benelli M4 Shotguns,
1 M4 Sherman Medium Tank
1 M48 Patton Main Battle Tank

Scenario One:

Team Deathmatch! (random starting locations in the four corners of the map, Best of Five)

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Scenario Two:

Escort the Payload (Whoever Escorts the Payload based on Three Metrics) wins. Map is Junkertown.

1. The Quickest Amount of Time
2. The Least Amount of Casualties
3. The Amount of Enemies Killed

Attackers will be waves of an assorted mix of post-apocalypti ranging from including Psychos from Borderlands and Supermutants from Fallout.

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Scenario Three:

Search and Destroy

Each Platoon simultaneously storms Castle Wolfenstein during WW2. No Nazi Reinforcements. Whoever does so successfully in the shortest amount of time wins. They're working together, but bonuses are being issued for Nazi killin and being able to raise their platoons flag at the top first.

 

[Zachowon]

The Abrams is basically invincible to all but the Carl Gustav

 

[Husky_Khan]

The Abrams is basically invincible to all but the Carl Gustav

Team M2 has a Bradley IFV with TOW Missiles as well.

 

[Zachowon]

Team M2 has a Bradley IFV with TOW Missiles as well.

The Abrams has range advantage

 

[PsihoKekec]

Depends on the terrain, but in scenarios 1&2 my money would be on Abrams over Bradley in 99,5% of cases. In clearing out Castle Wulfenstein I think the M4 platoon would have the advantage.

 

[Husky_Khan]

I chose the Fortnite map because it is exceptionally hilly, amongst other wildly divergent terrain features as well.

 

[Free-Stater 101]

A lot of people are talking about Tanks. But the fact is that a single tank isn't going to be all that devastating compared to mortars in a four way fight consisting primarily of infantry.

What matters most here is small arms, and which terrain each team is dropped into. For an example team M3 is screwed in long range engagement's due to only having SMG's and shotguns, they would get devastated in the open. Team M1 meanwhile would dominate in the mountain corner of the map, due to having M1 Garands which proved extremely reliable in the cold of the Korean War.

I will reiterate tanks don't matter as much as you would think here on a small Island where there is nowhere to pump fuel that isn't exposed.

 

[DocSolarisReich]

Team M2 has the best overall equipment mix. Two belt feeds and a mortar, plus the chaingun on the Bradley. The 240B/FNMAG is a bit heavy for a GPMG in dismounted use, but it's a fair sight better than nothin'.

 

[LordSunhawk]

Team M3 should also have an M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicle

 

[DocSolarisReich]

Team M3 should also have an M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicle

That would help, but the rest of their mix is all over the place. Now, if they dismount all those m1919 30 cals from those tracked targets, then they would be in business.

 

[Zachowon]

Team M2 has the best overall equipment mix. Two belt feeds and a mortar, plus the chaingun on the Bradley. The 240B/FNMAG is a bit heavy for a GPMG in dismounted use, but it's a fair sight better than nothin'.

M240B is the dismounted version the Army uses already, it is not THAT heavy of one

 

[DocSolarisReich]

M240B is the dismounted version the Army uses already, it is not THAT heavy of one

LOL, compared to what? It's lighter than an M2, sure. But it ain't lighter than an MG3.

MG3

Mass	11.5 kg (25.35 lb)

M240B/FNMAG

Mass	11.8 kg (26.01 lb)

 

[Zachowon]

LOL, compared to what? It's lighter than an M2, sure. But it ain't lighter than an MG3.

MG3

Mass	11.5 kg (25.35 lb)

M240B/FNMAG

Mass	11.8 kg (26.01 lb)

By a pound.
That is not that bad.

 

[DocSolarisReich]

By a pound.
That is not that bad.

Not bad, no, it ain't the end of the world. But I've humped an 240 and a spare barrel and a belt and the MG3 load. I like the MG3 better.

A pound matters after the tenth klick or so, especially uphill.

EDIT: The stats I gave are the base FN-MAG, the porky M240B version has this listed. It's the extra crap tacked on, like the accessory rails.

• 27.6 lb (12.5 kg) (M240B)

 

[Zachowon]

Not bad, no, it ain't the end of the world. But I've humped an 240 and a spare barrel and a belt and the MG3 load. I like the MG3 better.

A pound matters after the tenth klick or so, especially uphill.

It still is not that bad of a weapon. Better then the other option we bad

 

[DocSolarisReich]

It still is not that bad of a weapon. Better then the other option we bad

Eh, it's better than not having a belt fed at the platoon level. I'm not convinced we shouldn't have just adopted the MG3 and been done with it.

 

[PsihoKekec]

There was attempt to make USA version of MG-42 at the end of WWII. Conversion from metric to imperial system was done poorly though, rendering the resulting weapon useless.

 

[Zachowon]

Eh, it's better than not having a belt fed at the platoon level. I'm not convinced we shouldn't have just adopted the MG3 and been done with it.

I rather like the look of the M240B.
It honestly is a pretty good weapon, especially here compared to some of the other machine guns invovles

 

[DocSolarisReich]

There was attempt to make USA version of MG-42 at the end of WWII. Conversion from metric to imperial system was done poorly though, rendering the resulting weapon useless.

Yep and so instead we smushed together the gas system from the FG42 and the belt feed from the MG42 and christened the resulting frankenstein as 'M60'.

But by the time we were adopting the M240, Rheinmetall and the Bundeswehr had already done the conversion to NATO spec ammo for us.

 

[Spartan303]

Team M2 has a Bradley IFV with TOW Missiles as well.

I'm going to relay a story that was infamous in Iraq when I was downrange. I've heard multiple versions of this story but they almost always play out the same way. But I think it was 3rd Infantry Division during their drive on Bagdad when they walked right into an ambush and an M1A1 (might have been an A2) was essentially mission killed when its tracks were taken out. The tank was cut off from reinforcements or any aid. The crew continued to fight and essentially went black on ammo (ammunition depletion). They were recovered safely but the tank couldn't be recovered before the enemy overan their position. They stripped the tank of what they could salvage (radios, maps and the BLUE-FOR Tracker) and then made the call to scuttle the tank. Several Bradley's with TOW missiles hit the tank and failed to penetrate the armor. I think they hit it with 3 or 4 of them. They then called in an Apache to hit it with Hellfire missiles. It emptied its entire remaining rack of 6 Hellfire missiles into the tank and called mission complete.

By this point the unit had to pull back where they rearmed and refitted and then counter attacked. They retook their position and reclaimed the tank. Post battle analysis showed that while the Hellfires trashed the armor, they absolutely failed to cause a catastrophic penetratrion kill. The tank was sent back to the states for more studies by the Pentagon but was then repaired and returned to its unit where it remains to this day.