1. If German troops are in a Sdkfz250 for example are they able to fire from it? If so do they use their normal FP? Same for MG platoon?
Yes – the stats are used whenever the platoon fires. Whether mounted or dismounted the platoon gains the benefit of half-track weapons. The stats use the combined abilities of the infantry and half-tracks.
To model the unique nature of armoured infantrry, mounting/dismounting is ignored when using armoured infantry, simply move them and use the platoon stats when firing
Stats
The SdKfz 250/1 is treated the same as the 251/1. It holds a section as opposed to a squad, but in a platoon game, it works out at roughly the same number of troops firing. Using the same stats as the 251/1 gives the platoon FP: 6D.
This is similar for the MG platoon which gets FP: 7D. FP: 6D for the platoon, plus 1D from the half-tracks.
2. As we stand the unit in a Sdkfz 250 gets 4 reaction dice. A Russian infantry platoon in a truck gets the same. Plus some light armoured vehicles have 4 Reaction Dice. Struggling to get my head around the similarity here.
The 250/1 platoon and the Russians both have 4D (Firepower targets). Light AFVs can have 3D or 4D RD (Anti-tank targets).
The Light AFVs cannot be hit by Firepower, and so are safe from infantry Firepower. They are vulnerable to anti-armour machine-guns, but these fire with greatly reduced effect.
The SdKfz 250/1 adds 1 RD to the infantry’s base of 3 RD. The platoon remains a Firepower target as anti-tank fire is less of a threat to an armoured infantry platoon than small arms fire and HE. The platoon also moves at Average speed and gains +1D FP from the half-track.
The Russians are also 4 RD. So how come they are tougher, but don’t benefit from armoured transports? It’s because they’re harder to disrupt and suppress than other infantry. I went with 4 RD to reflect the more dogged nature of the Russians in the late war period. The 4 RD means that they can hold for a bit longer than other troops.
Training
All the above assumes that the units are Regulars. If the German 250/1 platoon were Veterans or Enthusiastic Regulars they would gain an extra +1RD for a total of 5 RD. Making the Germans Veteran makes them a formidable opponent that’ll keep coming in the face of heavy firepower. If the Russians were Conscripts, I’d drop them to 2 RD to represent their flaky morale.
Reaction Dice are a mix of amour, morale and training (or the threat of being shot by your own side in the case of the Soviets). Morale is a major part of it and allows for some fine tuning of different units.
In summary, there are two types of fire and the Russians are more difficult to shift (higher morale).
