What is the M3/75 in La Campagne de Tunisie?

[Blackcloud6]

McNair was a proponent of the towed tank destroyer, his reasoning being that they were inexpensive and could conceal very well.  Bruce wanted a highly mobile, light armored but heavily armed TD that could shoot and move to a new position before enemy artillery fell on the position they fired from.   This conflict continued until McNair gets killed in Normandy and by late 1944 it is decided to stop fielding the towed battalions and convert the existing ones to have GMCs.  That was not completed by the end of the war.

The M3, M6 and M10 were officially designed as "expedient" vehicles.  Bruce did not like any of them, even the M10 he considered too heavy to properly conduct the "shoot & scoot" tactic.  Hunnicut's book on US Destroyers shows the various concept vehicles that were tested and even some went into low-rate production but were not fielded.  There is also a book called "Tin Cans" that shows these vehicles.  It is quite fascinating to see to what extent the development took.  And yes, the M18 was what Bruce wanted all along and it was quite a successful vehicle.   They were made in Flint, MI by Buick.

I agree, the US TD units in the game should always have efficiency due to their training.  Which brings us back to La Campaigne de Tunisie.   I think Phillippe Leonard get is right by simply treating them as 'tanks," using the PG definition of such, not our common usage of the term.  Coupling that with the SR that gives US tanks effect, the M3/75s get it and thus work as they should.  The curious thing, to me, is why they were not classified as "open top."  Maybe he considered the large gun shield as adequate protection or that the crew was trained to fire and move and thus use mobility as protection against indirect fire.   Or it was an oversight, but I play by what the designer writes until he says otherwise.

As to optional rules, I would consider giving US TDs efficient move and fire as this would help replicate the tactic they were trained on from the very start of their existence.

As to infantry support.  The TD doctrine did call for infantry support as a secondary mission.  It even called for use of indirect fire from the TDs although their elevation and lack of a fire direction center inhibited such use somewhat.  In Italy, the TD battalions were used greatly to support infantry as there were not many German tanks, comparatively, to fight.  Tere was a great article a long time ago in Armor magazine on the effective use of M10 TDs in city fighting in Aachen in late 1944.  The infantry would walk a block or two ahead of the TDs which were paired and station on the sides of the street.  When encountering resistance, the infantry would signal to the TDs and indicate the target, and the TDs would blast the bad guys with the excellent 3-inch gun.  The open top nature of the turret was a benefit in that the entire gun crew could be up and observing.  As the war was drawing to a close, the TD Command was testing and writing doctrine for use of the TDs in the Pacific.  

One thing about the USMC M3A1's used later in the Pacific, they should have an increase in direct fire in the game as they had two machine guns installed for close in defense.