Absurd design challenge: Wisna

[Cannonshop]

For the inspiration for this; the Battle of Wisna.

I'm looking for light infantry here; the toughest, longest ranged and hardest hitting platoon builds you can come up with for a hypothetical game scenario where said infantry unit is outnumbered and out-technologied to a significant degree.

How significant? figure at minimum the BV will work out to as mismatched as possible on the other side.  we're talking Inner Sphere vs. Clan here as a baseline.  I want non-WoB light infantry that can give Elementals a lousy day.

The scenario is defensive, with the conditions being that the defenders must hold at all costs for as long as possible.

[Daryk]

Now THIS is up my alley! :)

Ok, first up, my favorite configuration:  5 Auto-Rifles and 2 Intek Laser Rifles per squad with cheap Divisor 2 armor (either the Lyran or Davion pre-clan vests will do).  It gets them 3 points of damage at 3/6/9 range with no movement penalty (since the Inteks aren't support weapons).  Solar rechargers are very cheap, and Inteks are the most efficient laser rifles around, even before you customize them (they start at 2 points per shot, and can be dropped to 1 per shot for triple the cost).

Second, a higher damage configuration: 6 Auto-Rifles and 1 Auto-Grenade Launcher (or Heavy if you can get them), again with the Divisor 2 armor from above.  It's 5 points of damage per squad at 1/2/3 range and no movement penalty.

Third, the REALLY high damage configuration: 7 Auto-Rifles per squad, again with the cheap Divisor 2 armor, but now LAW Rockets for everyone!  Of course, it's only one shot, but it's a very bad day for any 'mech on the receiving end of it, and it's still 4 points of damage per squad even after they've fired the LAWs.  AND it's all without a movement penalty!

The really long range stuff (e.g., Heavy Support Lasers) is probably out of your price range, so I'd stick with the above...

[Andras]

What's the timeframe?
3x10 man squads with 8 M42Bs and 2 M61As reach out 2/4/6 with 0.97 damage per guy. Add Armor 2.0 for 2.4mcb per platoon. BV196.

[Ruger]

Since this is a defensive battle for these, should not they not have some field guns? Say either LAC/5’s, AC/5’s or AC/10’s?

This would also better replicate Poland’s forces at Wizna.

Ruger

[Daryk]

If you're going for field artillery, they should have actual Thumpers or Snipers.  Those can do a number on BA...

[boilerman]

Bunkers. Need bunkers.

[RunandFindOut]

Bunkers, trenches, minefields, field guns, and lots of ammunition. 

[Daryk]

I forgot to mention... appropriate camouflage uniforms will get them another +1 to be hit for only 25% of the cost of the base armor.  AND that stacks with the +1 for squad deployment.  The only way it gets better at that point is with the Foot Cavalry SPA.  That removes the movement penalty for two Support Weapons per squad, AND gives them another MP...

EDIT: Fixed the cost... it's still cheap, but not quite that cheap...

[Daryk]

If you're willing to fiddle with squad sizes, the Auto-Rifle/Intek combination also works at the six-trooper level (4 and 2 still yield 3 points per squad, just barely) and gets you another squad per platoon.

Conversely, looking at the Wizna wiki page, it seems they mostly had heavy machine guns.  Two of those ("Support" MGs) per (normal sized) squad with Auto-Rifles for everyone else only gets you 4 damage (due to rounding), but it's at 2/4/6 range with the Heavy Burst special.  Dropping to 6-trooper squads would keep the damage at 4 (same range and special), and get you one more squad per platoon.  It seems the Poles at the time used 19-trooper squads? ???  I really have no idea how to model that in BT rules, though...

[RunandFindOut]

I'd have to look at it since I never paid much attention to Polish in WW2 but you could model each squad as a platoon.

[Daryk]

Except that 19 is a prime number, and doesn't divide evenly into squads...