I believe I'm interpreting the rules correctly with regards to firing multiple weapons: "By default, when a miniature attacks it may use all of its weapons in the attack.." (p.22) So this means a Ranger Weapon Squad can fire 3 M1 Assault Rifles and 3 UGL's in the same shoot action.

My question is how realistic is this? For example, is it possible for a soldier to fire a StG 47 and quickly switch to a Panzerfaust? (Sturmpioniere)

bjornserkr said:

You are dealing with an abstract engagement between two combat units. Each attack could easily represent several minutes of actual fighting.

I don't mean this to be snarky, but don't think too much. Over thinking can get in the way of having a good time playing a game.

Along with the two really good answers above, I'll add these tidbits…

In your first example, UGLs are very easy for a trained soldier to operate in coordination with the rifle they are attached to.

Your second example is rather historically accurate as well. When the order to open fire is given, the first thing fired off would be the panzerfausts, which now spent are dropped (hence the reload rule - they have to get new ones out of their packs or left lying nearby). While the enemy is momentarily stunned by several nearby or direct hit explosions, rifles get shouldered from readied positions and a hail of lead goes down range in hopes of wiping the enemy out while they're still stunned.

Too often, gamers when given this rule, think it all happens literally simultaneously; questioning if the designers think soldiers have octopus arms, and forget it's a running chaotic battle where lives are on the line, and the will to survive along with training dictates you're going to throw the kitchen sink at the other guy trying to kill you.

In both my work as a CQB trainer for the military, and as a LEO, weapon transitioning training and practice is a mandatory survival trait. Often it's as quick or quicker to draw a secondary weapon as it is to replace a spent magazine.

ItsUncertainWho: This does make perfect sense; I had never thought of it like this. Not snarky at all! Most of the wargames I've played have only allowed one ranged weapon to be fired each turn.

Shadow4ce, thanks for the excellent description. This is exactly the type of explanation I was looking for. I don't know a lot about real-life fighting so it's fun to have some historical context.

Happy to help, and as I mentioned, Felkor & ItsUncertainWho both gave excellent answers. All I did was flesh those answers out with some real world experiences to draw upon. Happy gaming!

bjornserkr said:

During the course of a short firefight, its **** likely you'll go through everything you got.

Switching weapons is not only possible but there are actually competitions like 3-gun that use multiple weapons in a course (Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun) and you switch between them during the timed course. You would be surprised how fast you can go from one to the other and not miss a beat.