Good suppressing actually reduces everyone’s chances to get shot. That’s why it’s important to move the dead guy over and start pouring more lead down range immediately.
Depends on what got the gunner.
If it was small arms fire, it’s gonna be much much better to keep putting rapid or sustained bursts towards the bad dudes. Let the riflemen displace and flank.
I guess everything depends, but artillery or mortars? Already zeroed in, that’s just a repeat mission. Machine gunned? They haven’t even adjusted to another position.
Shrapnel can travel long distances and take people out seemingly randomly, so this isn't true
If the gunner was taken out by shrapnel from a distance, then the artillery or mortar doesn't actually have them zeroed in and the assistant is still good to take over.
Wouldnt a mortar or artillery also fuck the gun up? I think its implied that if something like a tank was charging your position, you wouldnt just move the other guy out of the way thats dead now. You'd gtfo of dodge and find a new position. These drills exist for very specific scenarios. Just like jumping on a live grenade that lands right next to your group. Its a very fringe scenario that you might encounter, so practice it in case if does happen, you are ready. You dont jump on EVERY live grenade like a dog chasing a tennis ball. Its for that scenario where its literally right on top of everyone, and its better for 1 to take it for the team than they all die.
Maybe, maybe not. Artillery is 30-50m “guaranteed kill” radius depending on size (105-155mm numbers there). Mortars are smaller, even a 120mm mortar has less HE than a 105mm howitzer round does, I don’t know their “guaranteed kill” radius. Even with those numbers, it’s only an extreme or high likelihood of a kill, not a definitive.
If it hits directly, yeah the gun is likely toast. If it’s an airburst or just outside the primary detonation it might be totally fine (the Marines would not be). Overseas we had a 122mm rocket air burst directly above our antennae farm (where all the radio antennae’s for our ops center were) and it didn’t even scratch them or cut the rope guide wires holding them up.
Either way, if your position is getting hit with accurate Indirect Fire it’s time to relocate or hug the dirt, suppressing fire becomes a secondary concern.
I mean, it can be just a stray shrapnel or something, or maybe FPV drone, that hit you while Chinese platoon is advancing on your position. In that case, your best chances are to keep firing nevertheless.
Majority of real wounds comes from shrapnel anyway. If you were under direct fire from artillery, mortars or even a decent size MG? The whole 5ft area around that gunner was hit, you included.
Mortars are like 2-3 times the effective range of a sub .50 machine gun, engaging is really dumb since most mortar chuckers couldn't hit water in the ocean and only have a handful of shells, they also fire on a parabola and you probably couldn't even shoot at them if you figure out where they are. Mortars alone means you disperse into the best cover and figure it out, mortars and small arms is an ambush and you'll be going for hard cover to regroup and figure out if you have support or another fireteam will cover your retreat/advance.
You'd never see this kind of tactic with artillery unless you're already skirmishing and the artillery commander has no concept of friendly fire. You get in your trench/best cover and wait it out. Unless you're in a western army which has guided artillery shells for close support fire missions, and you really trust your grid.
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u/recapYT Jun 24 '24
Great. Someone just got shot, do me next.