The Commander Series Forum

Can recce units on foot use a transport? I know recce units can't carry troops but would it work the other way around? I was wondering if it would be possible for Recce Unit(Paras) or Recce Unit (Infantry) to use a transport such as Jeeps or a Half Track to gain some mobility to get to a usefull position faster. So far I haven't found a rule saying they can't do it but I could have missed it.

Not sure why you would purchase a vehicle transport unit for your recce rather than just purchase a recce jeep or Scout car.

The only thing I can think of that makes it not correct to do so, is that a vehicle purchase (Jeep, Halftrack, etc) would be for a full platoon of vehicles (3-5) - which would be too much for a recce unit if I am thinking straight.

Maybe you could use half the points for a purchase of vehicles for your recce, but as I already said, not sure why you wouldn't just use the recce vehicles available.

My thinking is that the recce infantry unit is used in situations where there is no recce vehicle available (i.e. US Paras on D-Day) to your troops. If there were vehicles available, I would just use them for recce rather than mess with a recce infantry unit and a purchase of vehicles for it to ride in.

Terrain Restrictions would probably be the main reason. A lot of terrain types hinder movement for vehicles a lot, if they even allow vehicle movement at all. Troops on foot can cross a lot of terrain that vehicles can not. The main disadvantage of troops on foot is that they are slow, very slow and I want my recces to move into a good position as fast as possible. So if they can use jeep transport or something else they can advance quite quickly early in the game and then proceed on foot afterwards. Build-Up Area or big forests come to mind.

No you can't transport a recce unit.

Thanks for the quick answer.

I have always considered that recce units on foot are 'Listening Posts/Forward Observation posts' deployed in advance of troops in defence to detect enemy troop movements and lines of advance.

I use them a lot in defensive games to do just this particularly with low CV armies

Pete, isn't it the case that you could transport the unit, but it can't do the recce role until it deploys from the transport?

I was going with the same route as Dr Dave...

This is exactly what I was thinking before I started doubting and askjed for Pete's judgement

I play mostly cwc, but in that it's perfectly acceptable to transport a recce scouts unit in a helo! It just can't do any recce things while it's being transported! Simples!!!

If you think about it, how did the recce scouts unit get to the battlefield? They haven't walked from their regt depot! They must have travelled by road at some point!!!!!

"They haven't walked from their regt depot!"

Infantry? WWII? Scouts of a Rifle Division? Well, they might have had a train ride, if they were lucky.

Any good recon platoon should be able to locate a sufficient supply of unguarded jeeps in their own backyard.

Does raise a question, what about infantry in motorised/mechanised recce units who have organic transport, such as the Germans in SDKFZ250, or British Assalt troop in White Scout cars, late war A/Car Sqdns, do they only count as recce is debused ?

IanS

What do you guys think about this:

When you use a recce vehicle as a normal unit you deduct 20 points - a Puma Recce will cost you 85 points when you use it as a not recce it will cost you 65p (page 44)
So Why not turn it around, you can purchase transport for your recce inf but it will cost you 20points extra.
Recce inf 40p + 30p for the jeep thats 70 points.

A very costly thing when you can purchase recce in jeeps for 35points.

In the army list for nw Europe the Germans can use the 250/1 or 10 to transport a recce foot unit. On page 54 the Americans can use the m20,jeep, or white scout car for recce transport
you just need to look harder . , I plan on basing my recon infantry on small fow bases,my normal infantry are on medium bases . Cheers Phil

"They haven't walked from their regt depot!"

You've never been in the infantry, have you?

Nope - never.

Walking? It just seems simply tooooo tiring!

Hello Pete

Pete: "No you can't transport a recce unit."

But from memory doesn't note 16 for the "M3" halftrack in the Late War Brit etc list for NWE say it can transport one recce unit?

Puzzled (increasingly)

... oops, wrong version! Sorry!

See, told you I was Puzzled

So is the consensus then that Recce can only be transported in units which specifically say they can carry recce units.