People in the forums tell me that Assault rifles replaced SMGs, because of more power and accuracy, but why does that actually matter? (Forgive my ignorance). First off, the weapon's power does not really mean much, does it? You are going to die if a guy shoots you multiple times with any gun, right? Automatic weapons shoot very fast,and carry alot of ammo, so I don't see how damage is going to make a difference, if 30 rounds will drop anybody.
Next, is accuracy. SMGs are accurate to 100-200 meters, while Assault Rifles/Rifles are 400-600, Big deal! When will you face a guy +400 meters away? 100 meters is pretty big if you ask me. Playing Red Orchestra, most of the urban infantry combat is below +200 meters, and its mostly close combat.
Also, an MP40 is accurate up to 200 meters, so If I shoot a target 200 meters away with an Mp40, will it be easy to hit it?
A 8mm hole in someone's chest hurts a lot more than a few rounds of .45 or 9mm that barely had any relatively damaging penetration at 200 yards. That is even considering the remote possibility of hitting someone over a distance of 600 feet with a
fixed sight and a pistol cartridge. I have a hard time being greatly accurate with my bolt actions at 100 yards bench rested due to bad habits like improper sighting, but I am on the paper.
That being said, I would not have a problem dropping someone from that distance, probably even 150 yards if I may say so. I may not be spot on accurate, but with a decent sight picture I could take someone out. That would not be the case with a submachine gun. Shooting at 150 yards with a Thompson and MP40 is not going to do you much good. Reason being is that even with a hit the possibility of a knockdown and immediate casualty is pretty low due to the loss of velocity and the delivery of energy to the target. That's even playing with the idea of their being a hit in the first place with a fixed sight SMG that allows for no windage and possibly some elevation adjustments.
'Assault' rifles with intermediate cartridges (were developed to transfer enough energy to a target at a range most seen in combat (200 meters or less) and allow for a higher rate of fire in close and urban combat settings. A bolt-action is worthless in room-to-room/house-to-house fighting because the powerful cartridge is not needed for engagements that are so close, the recoil is high, and the rate of fire is slow. By arming your troopers with an assault rifle you give them the ability to engage targets at a variety of ranges; next door, or four blocks away. Assault rifles pack more punch and are more versatile than submachineguns.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Rifle_cartridge_comparison.jpg
From left to right:
.50 BMG, 300 Win Mag, .308 Winchester, 7.62 Russian Short, 5.56 NATO, .22 LR
The 7.62x39mm and 5.56 NATO can usually get the job done at ranges of a medium distance (200-300 yards), as well as close fighting where rate of fire is necessary. That, and you can carry more of it. The cons of a more powerful cartridge, like the .50, .300 Winchester Mag, and .308 is that there is more recoil, less ammo can be carried, and usually the rate of fire is slower (unless talking about machineguns). The pros of those is that they offer more knockdown power and far greater penetration than any other cartridge.
Think of it in RO terms: The Stg44 is useful in more situations than the MP40m K98, and G43 are or ever will be.