WHY?
Ditto that question…inquiring minds want to know :-D
War stories
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Unfortunately (for the Axis) the Rangers are also out, and are quite a match for the SS-PGs. They may not be ruthless or have the raw Firepower but their re-roll is extremely useful.
I’m hoping to do a scenario using perhaps a company of them… most liekly in a pacific setting; we haven’t done anything large-scale in the Japanese theatre.
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@Der:
The Russian tanks were slaughtered but there were a few reasons for this. Firstly it was our mistake to put one new player, and one relatively unexperienced player on the Russian side while the Germans had three experienced players - we had assumed the Russians would be able to hold their own despite this but we were wrong. Secondly, perhaps because of their experience, the Russian player (West) refused to commit his tanks and concentrate his firepower. Consquently his forces were destroyed piecemiel; he held most of his T-34s in reserve. He also had several very unlucky rolls.
The Eastern Russian player just rushed all his tanks into battle, often going to point-blank; which is actually fairly historical. Left against the Panzer Company he might have even defeated them, however since the Western player wasn’t actively opposing my Army Group Centre I was able to swing around with a platoon of Tigers and decimate him.
However we knew in the beginning that the Germans had the advantage in armour; the game wasn’t based on points but capturing several objectives which the Germans (just barely) failed to do.
We used the equivalent of a Regiment for each side, and found that it left enough room to comfortably maneuvre units. Here’s the main elements of the SS Panzer Regiment used:
Tiger Company w/ HQ
8x Tiger I
6x Veteran TigerPanther Platoon
5x SS Panther GPanzer Company w/ HQ
6x Panzer IV G
2x Panzer III F
2x Elite Panzer IV D
7x SS Panzer F2We don’t always play games of this size, in fact we often find small 50 point infantry platoon battles to be just as fun (and a little less time consuming).
Im just randomly interested with what was the make up of the soviet army in ur huge krusk battle…
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1 Rifle Battalion
- 12x Mosin-Nagants
- 6x PPSh SMG
- 6x PTRD-41
- 8x KMT MG
- 2x Fanatical Sniper
- 2x Cossack Captain
- 1x Hero of the Soviet Union
- 1x Commissar
1 Assault Gun Company
- 4x Su-85
- 8x Su-76M
1 Katyusha Battery
- 3x Katyusha (w/ Indirect Fire)
- 2x Red Army FO
1 Air Support
- 3x Sturmovik
- 3x Spitfire
TANK BATTALION
2 Light Tank Companies
- 16 T-70s
1 Tank Company w/ HQ
- 8x T-34/76
- 8x Soviet Grenadier
2 Heavy Tank Company, 1x HQ
- 8x KV-1
- 8x Soviet Grenadier
2 Guards Tank Platoon
- 3 Guards T-34/85
1 Sherman Tank Platoon
- 3 M4A1 Sherman (Lend-Lease)
1 Lee Platoon
- 3 M3 Lee (Lend-Lease)
3 ATG Batteries
- 9 ZIS-2 57mm
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Lets keep this thread alive. Im hoping I can get a large match in next week at my local comic book shop. If I do attend, I will tell of my war experiences in this thread afterwards. :-D
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I’m organizing a large (approx 3000 pt per side) game of Battle of the Bulge on Sept 28th. Probably going to use an all-SS (or at least mostly) force including an SS King Tiger, Pahtner, and Panzer Platoons as well as several sections of Jagd(panzer/panther)s. The Allies will be mostly US and largely Screaming Eagles. They’ll have a company of Shermans (M4A1s with M4 Rhinos as platoon leaders, M4A3(105)s attached) and a platoon of Easy Eights.
We’ll also be using a winter map that I’ll help design and somewhat need to get started on!
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That will be very cool. Please let us know how you do. What about SS stormtroopers (they seem fairly nasty up close).
Regards,
Axis fan
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@Der:
I’m organizing a large (approx 3000 pt per side) game of Battle of the Bulge on Sept 28th. Probably going to use an all-SS (or at least mostly) force including an SS King Tiger, Pahtner, and Panzer Platoons as well as several sections of Jagd(panzer/panther)s. The Allies will be mostly US and largely Screaming Eagles. They’ll have a company of Shermans (M4A1s with M4 Rhinos as platoon leaders, M4A3(105)s attached) and a platoon of Easy Eights.
We’ll also be using a winter map that I’ll help design and somewhat need to get started on!
Take some pictures of the event!! Id like to see the madness of having 6000 pts worth of units being on the board. :-D
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SS-Stormtroopers are terrible, we might use them for a late game but not this one as SS-Panzergrenadiers actually fit the theme. They’re marginally better up close, but the difference between 8 dice at range 2-4 and 6 dice at range 2 is pretty big. I’ll also have close to 100 SS-PGs available; though probably won’t use nearly that number.
I managed to get pics of Kursk and the Battle of Britain previously, but not D-Day. Should hopefully get some of this as well.
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I’m gonna have to join my local store’s A&A club - the owner has been talking to me about such events. (although I don’t think he’s mentioned using 20-25 map tiles, or fielding 5000+ points of forces :-D) Anyway, as soon as I get my bins of units back in my possession, I shall become more of a regular at these things. :wink:
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@Der:
I managed to get pics of Kursk and the Battle of Britain previously, but not D-Day. Should hopefully get some of this as well.
Post them ASAP!! Id like to see them.
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End of turn 4: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Big Battle.JPG
German Reinforcements: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/German Reinforcements.JPG
Russian Reinforcements: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Soviet Reinforcements.JPGThe Russians are coming! http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Guards.JPG
Dogfight; each player placed his planes in initiative order to make it more interesting: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Dogfight.JPG
The last major air battle: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Last Major Air Battle.JPGBring out your dead! http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Bring Out Your Dead.JPG
German Panzer Company approaching the Russian cities: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Panzer IVs.JPG
Russians defending against the Panzers: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/City Defence.JPG
The Panzer assault continues: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Panzer Assault.JPG
Russian PTRD manages to actually disrupt an SS-Stormtrooper: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - PTRD vs SS.JPG
Panzers overwhelming, but something’s wrong: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Something Not Right.JPG
The meatgrinder: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Brutal.JPGPanthers overrunning Russian defences in the West: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Panther Attack.JPG
88s deploy: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - 88s Deploy.JPG
Tigers take up position: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Tigers.JPG
Tigers unleashed: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Tiger Attack.JPG
Tigers breakthrough the middle: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Tiger Breakthrough.JPG
Death of a Tiger: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Death of a Tiger.JPGAxis bombing the heck out of the last Russian town: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - Air Raid.JPG
End Game: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/AAM - End of Game.JPG
You can see on the End Game / End of Turn 4 on the middle map, second one in, the ZIS-2 ATG at the edge that survived the whole game; never moving, underconstant fire, and generally being a nuisance.
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RAF Forces: 3x Hawkers Hurricane, 3x Spitfire, 3x Bofors AA.
Luftwaffe: 3x Stuka, 5x Messerschmitt Me110, 6x Messerschmitt Bf109 (Some Zeroes were substituted for '109s)
SETUP:
RAF Setup: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - RAF Setup.JPG
Luftwaffe Setup: http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Luftwaffe.JPGRAF disrupts a few planes, but Luftwaffe shoots down a Spitfire:
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Turn 2 Combat.JPGEarly combat with the aircraft was awkward as players got used to it; planes would often overshoot each other or end up in awkward positions:
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Early Dogfight.JPGMe110s and Stukas slipping past the forward defences to reach the large cities behind them.
An Me110 damages the town and takes out the Bofors defending it:
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - The Blitz.JPGAn Me110 is destroyed, but Luftwaffe reinforcements are still coming:
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Bomber Down.JPGmORE Me110S in trouble:
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Cut Off.JPG
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Me110s in Trouble.JPGRAF tries to stop the Me110s from reaching the cities, but there’s too many Me109s guarding them.
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Dogfight 2.JPGBombers are approaching the main cities with the RAF in hot pursuit.
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Battlefield.JPGTwo of the outlying towns have taken major damage, but at high cost to the Luftwaffe.
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - The End.JPGThe end is near - both sides are out of reinforcements, and several cities are burning:
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Battlefield 2.JPGLuftwaffe bombers flatten the last city, winning the game:
http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/Air Battle - Blitz 2.JPG -
Dude, sweet pics man! I especially enjoyed the dogfight pics. They were epic. :-P
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WOW amazing battles! Great job!
Krusk is my favorit WW2 battle… once my friends and i get enough tanks we will run it… but not so many Tigers as u had just to give the soviets more of a fight… and I think i’ll divide it have germany come from the north and south and russians defending in the middle. hehehe I cant wait!
-sharif
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Well the best story I have is. We had a 100 point country specific war. I ended up feilding a japaness army with paratroopers, sniper, 1 tank and a zero. Surprisingly this weak looking army was able to not only defeat a sherman strong us army. But also was able to take out a very strong German army. Mostly the luck was in the dice roll. And the fact I was able to take the objective with paratroopers early and hold out until a full 10 rounds… But the only bad thing, whenever I fielded my Zero it was with out a doubt the one piece I rolled bad dice for…
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I recently had good experiences with the japanese aswell. Because my collection isn´t that big the only japanese tanks I´ve got are two of those amphibious ones. So my friend and I decide to use the maps with the big water area´s (Able 3 and Able 4 if i´m not mistaken). We played with two house rules: The amphibious tanks can carry one soldier and while in the water it has cover on a roll of 4+. My friend played with a russian army with the core being a T34/76 and a T 70. We used a 3 by 2 setup (had the two water maps in the middle with the land sides against each other which formed a small passage) with the objective in the centre of the map. Because my friend (also a new player) rushed down the centre towards the objective I actually managed to outflank him through the water with my amphi tanks and get a nice clear shot in from the rear, which in two turns proved to be fatal for his T34/76. His T70 was killed by my antitank gun. Needless to say he was a bit surprised but we had fun though!
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Im not really surprised that the T-70 got blown up, it doesnt have exactly what you call good defense. However T-70’s are very good when you use them in packs of 3, seeing as how cheap and fast they are, they are good to take out light armor, such as half-tracks, light tanks, and low armored tank-destroyers. The T-70 is perhaps the best light tank in AAM. The T34/76 is okay but id much rather take a KV-1.
Well the best story I have is. We had a 100 point country specific war. I ended up feilding a japaness army with paratroopers, sniper, 1 tank and a zero. Surprisingly this weak looking army was able to not only defeat a sherman strong us army. But also was able to take out a very strong German army. Mostly the luck was in the dice roll. And the fact I was able to take the objective with paratroopers early and hold out until a full 10 rounds… But the only bad thing, whenever I fielded my Zero it was with out a doubt the one piece I rolled bad dice for…
The Japanese have an exceptional army. Their infantry in my opinion beat the hell out of the SS-Panzergrenadiers. However their tanks are like……meh. Not as good as German and Russian armor, but it could probaly take on some regular Shermans. I wouldnt count on Japanese armor taking on anything better than a regular Sherman (like the Sherman "Easy-Eight.)
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T-70s are very very good IF you use them properly. Their undermanned SA requires some consideration. However, as many players will attest they’ve had Tigers (King, Vet, I) taken down by a pack of T-70s.
I don’t agree that the Japanese have better infantry than the SS-PGs, but they have equal too. Japanese tactics against armour require skill and luck. Their best unit against armour has always been the Ho-Ni, though it is unfortunately easily neutralized by aircraft - and thus far Japan has no AA unit save their Zeros; this is generally the only reason I field them now. Alternatively just go all, or mainly infantry.
An Honour-Bound Hero is a must in a JP army.
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Some new war stories from the first half of our Battle of the Bulge game:
We’re convinced that at least some of our spotters have had sniper training; my ally’s spotter killing an adjacent Oberleutnant dead in one shot. My spotter kept directly mortar fire all around him as the SS surrounded and pounded his location (there were cries of ‘Broken Arrow!’).
Best of all though was my Buffalo Soldier who earned some medals that night (though posthumously): His mission was simple - hold the road to delay enemy reinforcements. It was suicide, but if he failed the Germans would overrun the nearby city - if he succeeded he could delay their advance enough to give the US armour a chance to reinforce the cities. A StuG and MG42 are ahead of him; two Panthers closing in nearby.
The MG42 fires twice at point blank range - no effect.
The StuG fires off a round, again at point blank - no effect.
Both Panthers open up with their MGs - one manages to score a disruptionThe Buffalo Soldier was out in the open - everyone expected him to die. Instead the squad held up enemy reinforcements AND managed to retreat into the forest. But the squad wasn’t finished yet. A full SS Panther platoon drove around him, blatantly ignoring him, since SS-Stormtroopers were nearly on top of his position. Again, against all odds the squad not only slipped away from the SS soldiers, but close assaulted a Panther disrupting it with defencive fire, and damaging it in the assault phase.
Unfortunately the combined fire of 4 Panthers, 2 Stormtroopers, and MG42, and a half-track FINALLY destroyed the squad.
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@Der:
Best of all though was my Buffalo Soldier who earned some medals that night (though posthumously):
He was a real american hero. :cry:
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