Airborne ATR
Overview & Game Play
From the introduction of the tank in WWI, it was evident that infantry had little recourse if attacked by tanks. Certainly, there were antitank guns (if they happened to be present when the tanks showed up) but in terms of squad-inherent antitank capability, there was little available. One course of development led to the Anti-Tank Rifle. Essentially nothing more than a really powerful rifle firing hardened armor-piercing slugs, they were extremely heavy, hard to use, and only marginally effective against even the early, lightly armored tanks.
Using an anti-tank rifleman in Battleground Europe is about patience and research: Only a few spots on even the lightest tank are vulnerable, and you have to get extremely close to penetrate even those. Even if a shot does penetrate the armor, getting a kill is another matter all together: A little 5-6mm sliver shooting around inside a tank is unlikely to kill a crew member before it buries itself into a seat or the floor. Multiple shots are frequently required which can be difficult to pull off against an alerted foe.
The anti-tank rifleman also has a single shaped satchel charge that, if well placed, can kill any tank in the game. However like using the rifle, you have to get close, place it in the right spot, and even then it's never a sure thing.
The anti-tank rifleman is not in any way an anti-infantry class. The rifle itself can be used as a sniping weapon, but since it has to be deployed to fire, the pistol and combat knife are all that's available at all but the longest ranges. With the pistol having a mere two clips, you can't afford to be around enemy infantry for long: If you're firing your pistol, you had better be ready to evacuate to a safer area as quickly as possible.
The Airborne anti-tank rifleman is equipped with a powerful rifle, a pistol, and a combat knife. They also have four smoke grenades and one HEAT charge.
Equipment
British
The Boys ATR employed the "heavy big slug going pretty fast" approach to producing an Armour Piercing round from a rifle style weapon.
|
| British Airborne Anti-Tank Rifleman |
| Equipment |
| Boys Anti-Tank Rifle |
| Webley .455 |
| HEAT Satchel Charge |
| No.77 Mk I Smoke Grenade |
| Combat Knife |
French
The French received these ATR guns from the British in exchange for French 25mm guns.
|
| French Airborne Anti-Tank Rifleman |
| Equipment |
| Boys Anti-Tank Rifle |
| Pistolet automatique mle 1935S |
| HEAT Satchel Charge |
| Grenade fumigène |
| Combat Knife |
German
The PzB.39 ATR employed the "small, very hard slug going insanely fast" approach to producing an Armour Piercing round from a rifle style weapon.
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| German Airborne Anti-Tank Rifleman |
| Equipment |
| PzB 39 |
| Pistole 08 |
| HEAT Satchel Charge |
| Nebelhandgranate 39 |
| Combat Knife |
