Okay first of it exists APC and it exist IFV. Not the same thing. Not used the same way.
Secondly, to be blunt most of you guys don't know proper mechanized infantry tactics and believe that the whole army concept is to protect the worst combat unit, the infantry man. In real life it totally the opposite, the infantry supports the IFV which supports the tank. Tank always have highest priority, not the lowly infantry man.
Consider here that the IFV is a combat unit that can instantly engage enemy light and heavy armor with an automated cannon and lots of ammo. It has high speed and can move large distances operationally and tactically while still being light enough to cross troublesome terrain and not get stuck. It is armored and will defeat small arms fire and HE ammunitions. Has a reasonable price.
Then we have infantry. Slow, lowly armored, often take time to setup to engage armor and is very static while engaging, will suffer casualties to anything, very cheap.
Yes i totally see the logic of the IFV being their to support the infantry and giving them a comfy ride...
ghost-recon wrote:Back in .87 were good times when I still played on my "ghost-recon" account.....................
But on-topic, I really, really hate APCs. They never respond to my requests for transport or fire-support. And when playing against them, it is just not right. We were defending a building, were in a heavy firefight with a enemy squad. A LAV drives by, starts shooting HE all over the place and everybody was dead. Luckily I am very skilled in driving bombcars, and taking out enemy armor. (I took out a merkava once from above with a bombcar, that was hilarious)
But luckily there are still some good old crewmen to support me, so I am not sure if hate it or love it.
Well i don't even.
First off a LAV is an IFV. This is facts, checkout US Army classification. Thus it is not an APC. So an IFV killing of an entire squad with it's superior autocannon (compared to a tank that can only fire once every 3-5 seconds compared to the IFV that can fire up to 30 rounds in the same amount of time) with HE ammunition to kill you is doing exactly what it should be doing.
Again the main objective with IFV is to kill enemy infantry and other threats to tanks, not to ferry grunts, the grunts is simply an assets that the IFV has at its disposal.
I will repost and old post of mine since it is relative here.
"Okay i see a lot of uninformed unsupported opinouns thrown around here, so i will try to clear something out.
1. There is a difference between an APC and an IFV and their respective uses. The first one is a mobile bunker with an added machingun the other one is a minitank with completary support infantry.
2. Mechanised infantry does not equal IFV supporting infantry, it equals the opposite which is infantry supporting the IFV. That is a very big difference.
An APC squad should use the APC as a mobile bunker and fast taxi vehicle, in engagment it should only be used to cover with its HMG from afar out of engagment range from enemy LAT. Actaully i would be in favor of using APC as dedicated ferry vehicle with ability to recover infantry from hotzones which a truck can't, also that it got offroad capability. This is more inline of what the avreaged Joe picture of mechanised infantry is.
An IFV on the other hand is a offensive weapon with a respectable main automated cannon that has it's irl streangth of being nimbler, which means that it can move more agile in broken terrain like forrest compeared to a tank, and got their completarry infantry. In my military service my Platoon Leader (rank Lieutenant) estimated that atleast 50% of the targets they spooted where spotted by the infantry in open hatch mode and atlesat only 50% was spotted by the vehicle crew. This is actually one of the primary mission for the mechanised infantry, observe enemys and report in to the Crew chief in open hatch mode.
A main use if IFV in mobile warfare is that it's smaller size and being more agile allows it to cost effective fight mainly infantry, and tanks in forrest by ambushing and moving around. Do not interpert ambush as defensive, you can be very offensive and still use ambush, or more like manouriver around the enemy and getting in the flanks and behind them, Here the infantry should be used as observers or as a stationary firepoint, the infantry dismount move forward with their LAT ready and act as a mobile firebase that can report target and kill targets of oppertunities.
The paradox here is that the actuall biggest threat to a IFV is infantry with LAT in broken terrain (since IFV has armorue that is vounrable to LAT even in front compeard to the heavy amroru of a tank), then the IFV needs dismoputed infantry support. By dismounting it's infantry and having them move infront of the IFV to spot and kill enemy LAT gunners or camoflagued AFV.
So in short IFV infantry uses are:
1. Observer from unhatch mode and report targets to the wagon cheif.
2. Clear out dangerous broken terrain from enemy threats to the IFV (includes urban terrain).
3. Act as a anchor defence or a anchor offensive fire unit that the IFV can swarm around and using it's mobility while the infantry provide security in their firesector.
Use of IFV is to assaulting on a big scale and having the capability to deal with threats that tanks have problem with, like broken terrain, forrets, urban terrain, and being cost effective. For really big infantry duties you have APC and heavy motorised infantry to use, not IFV infantry, since theres a big difference in endurance between a standard 12 man squad and the smaller 6 man sqaud that usually is standard in IFV.
So the wording. dtacs: "No, they can not. I tend to find that with the increased firepower the Bradley and BMP on maps like Silent Eagle tend to become fire support vehicles or tankhunters instead of their infantry-carrying nature (plus on Kashan, mechanized doesn't work because there isn't cover which infantry need after they dismount)."
Is wrong since the poster has misunderstood the nature of mechanised infantry warfare for IFV.
To prove my point i was a Squad leader over a IFV squad, one driver, one gunner, me Officer, and one LAT + rifelmens. And when we were in danger i orderd dismount, then we the ifnantry moved coutuisly infornt with LAT fire ready and the IFV 50 meters behind us. We saw a tank, called halt on the IFV, the tank charged from right ot left never saw us. And then our IFV came up and killed it in the back.
And for the critizism i am going to recive i would like that you present evidence in some form, i have 11 month mechanised infantry training so i won't accept that some convertet vanilla bf2 just say "nuuohh you re wrong!!one!"."