Posts made by Der Leiter

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 Tiger

Panther Platoon
5x SS Panther G

Panzer Company w/ HQ
6x Panzer IV G
2x Panzer III F
2x Elite Panzer IV D
7x SS Panzer F2

We 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).

Our D-Day game was done on 25 maps (5x5) and was roughly 3,000 points and done in 2 days.
Kursk was done on 24 (6x4), and was perhaps 4,000 points - though mostly armour and also took 2 days…
Battle of France on 20 (5x4), and was closer to 2,000 points and took only 1 day.

I have many, many AAM ‘war’ stories:

• In the Battle of Kursk game the armies were divded between two Russian Players (Left Flank, Right Flank), and three Germans (Army Group West, Centre, and East).
  Army Groups West and Centre (Me) struck the Russian lines in force; my Tiger Company (that’s 8 Tiger Is and 6 Veteran Tigers) was unstoppable; though mainly because the Russians forces weren’t coordinated too well).

However, many of the Russian units were apparently well dug in; a T-34/76, despite shots from my Veteran Tigers (each one which would have destroyed it), managed to hold up the Germans for 2 turns. A Russian ZIS-2 survived the entire game even though it had taken fire since turn 1, and at one point looked like it was about to be overrun by german Panzergrenadiers. Perhaps most amusing of all though, was that the Russian’s Right Flank managed to hide one of their tanks in the middle of a Panzer IV Battalion.

• There’s been quite a few cases of a single unit holding out against all odds; they just keep making cover rolls. A Ha-Go was being hit by a half-dozen bazookas to no real effect (until they managed to get into close assault range).

• Our D-Day campaign was also quite an epic, with many acts of bravery (and it’s opposite). Turn 1 the Allied airforce decides to knock out 88 positions (again I was the Germans; Gold, Sword, and Juno beaches). I knocked out HALF his airforce with my units. My ally on Omaha and Utah beaches only managed to take out a single plane.  The casualtieson the beach were horrendous, with MG fire pouring down onto the unloading higgins. Despite this, sheer numbers got the Allies to the Germans’ positions; with engineers blowing up several bunkers. Behind the beaches the paratroopers had landed, siezing several villages and towns with the aid of La Resistance; SS reinforcements purged several cities while their tanks raced ahead. However I have the shame of saying, one of the Tetrachs managed to destroy my SS Panther after it was hit by aircraft. By the time the Shermans and Churchills were over the atlantic wall our King Tiger and remaining SS-Panthers were already in position, the Allied Airforce had suffered severe attrition (to the point where our pathetic luftwaffe was a match for it), most of the cities were back under German control, but the Allies had establisahed their beachhead - only a few german strongpoints remained, and they were surrounded.

• When playing sealed games, a had opened a Veteran Rhino, while my opponent had a Guards T-34/85. We were joking that the white stripe was just a target; well when the tanks finally engaged each other his completely missed (even with the re-roll), and mine rolled all successes; damaging it that turn and destroying it the turn after. In one of the other games I was watching a Te-Ke managed to actually disrupted a King Tiger! It was prompty destroyed, and the KT didn’t suffer any more damage - but we were all impressed.

Rangers are strong competitive piece, though unless they get new (non-improved) indirect fire units the Spotter SA is mostly just thematic.

(Edit)Here’s my full review:

As the opening salvo says, “its inevitable that it will be compared to the Axis workhorse, the SS-Panzergrenadiers.” Quite true, though thankfully the Rangers have enough differences to keep them from being just carbon-copies.

The Lead the Way SA is interesting in that it’s once per turn, not per phase (or during movement and/or assault), so be careful when you use it; unless it’s to grab a last minute objective, re-rolling a movement roll isn’t too important, though thematically it’s nice.

Spotter is again nice, if not too useful. The M1 81mm Mortar doesn’t need a spotter, nor do spotters enhance them, and the open back M7 105mm Priest is an easily neutralized unit. I suppose you could save 1 point and use the Russian mortars instead if you really wanted to. Also, lacking the Spotter SA they can’t enhance aircraft.

The Rangers have slightly improved defence and a re-roll over the similar Veteran SMLE Riflemen; the only time the Australian unit is, well when you can’t take Rangers (eg Pre-1942 game). By themselves the Rangers are at the high end of 5 points, but compared to the Garand they perhaps should have been 6; as is they make the Garand fairly useless. Sure the Garands can have the same dice, without a re-roll, but that requires more points for an adjacent commander, and is -1/-1 defence.

A great unit that I’m sure will see a lot of use both in casual and competitive games: 4.5/5

http://www.freewebs.com/onlinedm/T-35.jpg

   The T-35 is particularly useful in earlier war scenarios as an alternative to the T-26; it’s vastly improved defence makes it harder (if not impossible) for many infantry units to penetrate the front armour.  It of course still has a weak rear, coupled with a slow movement; which normally would make it susceptible to infantry attacks. However even there the T-35 has some protection due to its overlapping fire and high AI values.  For extra protection use infantry to help protect it - the Cossack Cavalry is especially good at this as it can move the same speed, or move farther ahead to take out infantry threats.

   It has slightly better AT than the T-26 (+1/+1/+1). Though this won’t make too much difference against early war vehicles with 2/2 defence, in mid-war games it becomes more of a factor.  Try to position the T-35s to get the most out of their multi-turreted SA (though don’t unduly expose their rear); use them as “clean up” - your heavier tanks score the initial hits, and the T-35 moves in for the kill, keeping your other tanks at a safe distance. However, its slow speed and poor suspension make it a poor companion for those more modern and faster Russian vehicles such as T-34s, T-70s, and the Su series, meaning you can’t rely on this tactic too often. Try to keep T-35s on the road while moving into position.

While it’s a decent tank for 1939-1940 scenarios such as the Winter War, the (early) Russian-Japan conflicts, and the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, this is far too restricted for many players, and the piece isn’t too useful mid- or late-war. Not as bad as a Panzer II C, but not quite useful enough.

I give it 2/5 (Limited use, Casual piece)

No problem.

I do like the idea of forested mountains with some sort of ‘camoflauge’ built in for a Monte Cassino or Japanese scenario.

1. I see no problem with only non-artillery soldiers being able to enter them, but the whole “if they do, then they cannot move OR attack in the assault phase” seems clunky.  What’s wrong with a simple movement roll? If you want it to be harder to get up just put a -1 on the roll.

Another item I might think about is not allowing units with “Thin Wheels” and/or Soldier-Motorcycles to ride up the side of mountains.

2. Except as noted for 1, seems fine.

3. Exactly what type of mountains are you picturing here? If anything they might be even more exposed on the mountains and not hidden (Again all depending on what you’re picturing). Unless you’re thinking of more forested mountains; in which case a ‘camoflauge’ type ability might work (or +1/+1 defence, +1 cover, steely resolve etc etc).

For playability this could skew things a bit, though that can simply be handled by where you place the mountains.

4. If infantry are so hard to spot, why are vehicles completely exposed? It’s still very likely they have places to hide, go hull down, or even be on the other side of the mountain, etc etc.

I also like the idea that being on a mountain gives you better LOS, though I’d want to keep it simple like Superior Optic on the Nashorn.

My suggestion would be:

Mountain Hex

• Provides cover
• Requires a movement roll with a -1 penalty (ie 5 or 6) to enter.
• Double movement for soldier-artillery to enter.
• Units which count as vehicles for the stacking limit, and units with thin wheels, may only enter mountain hexes along a road.
• Units on a mountain hex may ignore the one non-mountain hex blocking their LOS.

If the transport is destroyed anything it is carrying is lost as well.

Nashorns are terrible, I wouldn’t waste money on them.

No.

Terrain doesn’t block LOS to/from an aircraft means only that. It doesn’t allow units to fire without LOS.

This is significant because Smoke Screen is not terrain and does block LOS to aircraft.

Just remember that unless your playing with house rules obstacles do count against the unit limit.

Terrain never blocks LOS to or from an Aircraft.

I generally think that the Base Set is the best to start with as it has many of the basics (M4A1 Sherman, SS Panzergrenadiers, etc).  However it also depends on what all you’re looking for - are you interested in a particular nation? (eg Don’t buy D-Day if you’re trying to build up your Russians or Japanese). As well, aircraft are only available in the last two sets.

How many boosters are you looking at getting? If you’re getting a few I wouldn’t recommend all base set, but a decent mix. Each set has some decent contributions.

Only artillery with the Indirect Fire SA can fire indirectly (assuming the spotter is within 4 hexes and has LOS)

I’ve posted my Air Combat URRs under variant rules for those that are interested.

They make for some pretty fun games.

The War Above

These rules cover air combat games, and aren’t designed to work with standard rules.

Game Map:

Larger maps are recommended for these games due to the speed of the aircraft and lack of hindering terrain. Unless you are playing with very few aircraft a 2x2 isn’t recommended; use at least 3x3.

Movement

Aircraft have a facing, and may only move forward.

During the movement phase an aircraft must move a minimum of two hexes.

During the assault phase an aircraft must move a minimum of two hexes if moving. If attacking it moves two hexes (no more, no less) after the attack.

Once per phase an aircraft my Sideslip instead of turning - treat it as a turn but the facing does not change.

Disruption reduces an aircraft’s speed by 1 instead of stopping it’s movement.

Standard Scenario:

Both players select aircraft on a 1:1 basic (suggested 5 for a regular sized game).

Players score 1 pont for each enemy aircraft they destroy.

Each side has unlimited reserves.

Whoever scores 10 points first, or at the end of the 7th turn whoever has the most points wins. If scores are tied play extra turns until one player has more.

Assault Scenario A:

Attack selects 6 aircraft, the defender 4 (For large games use ratios of 3:2). The Attacking player may not use AA Batteries or Vehicles.

Each side has reserves equal to their starting units.

The defender chooses the map setup, but the game map must have at least a number of town hexes equal to enemy aircraft.

The attacker’s objective is to score 20 points (or 5x the number of defending aircraft). Points are earned from damaged town hexes (2 points) destroyed town hexes (+3 points), or destroying enemy planes (1 point).

If the game reaches turn 8 or the defender destroys all the attacking aircraft (including reserves) the defender wins.

Assault Scenario B:

In Assault Scenario B both players are attempting to protect their cities while bombing the opponents’.  Players select 6 aircraft (or any other number agreed upon). Both players may use AA Batteries and Vehicles.

Each side has reserves equal to double their starting units.

AA Units may be rebuilt in an undestroyed town hex, but cost 1 reserve to do so.

The objective is to score 24 points (or 6x the number of defending aircraft). Points are earned from damaged town hexes (2 points) destroyed town hexes (+3 points), or destroying enemy planes (1 point).

If the game reaches turn 10, or at the end of any turn a player scores 24+ points, the game ends.

Town Hexes

Town hexes have a defence of 5/5, and are attacked and damaged as vehicles.

Face-up disrupted counters are not remove from town hexes.

Damaged town hexes are worth 2 points.

Damaged/Destroyed town hexes are worth 5 points instead.

Reserves

Each player has reserves equal to the number of starting aircraft. At the beginning of that players movement phase he rolls a D6 for each destroyed aircraft he has; for each 4+ rolled he can move one aircraft of his choice onto the map from his starting edge.

NOTE - Excluding speed, all aircraft have the same stats and abilities except where noted below:

LUFTWAFFE

Messerschmitt Me 110
Bomber:  When attacking a town hex this unit attacks all non-aircraft units in that hex. This attacks all non-aircraft in the hex.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E
Fighter : This unit has +1 Speed

Focke-Wulf Fw 190A
Fighter : This unit has +1 Speed

Junkers JU 87B

Dive Bomber: If this unit is in a city hex it can attack that hex using 8 dice. This unit cannot otherwise attack town hexes.
Bomber:  When attacking a town hex this unit attacks all non-aircraft units in that hex. This attacks all non-aircraft in the hex.

20mm Flak
AA Battery 3: You may take up to three 20mm Flaks as a single Aircraft choice. AA Guns cannot be brought back into play with reserves.
Fixed Position: Ignore this units Relocate 2 SA.
Inaccurate 1: This unit gets -1 to hit on each attack die.

88mm Flak
AA Battery 2: You may take up to two 88mm Flaks as a single Aircraft choice. AA Guns cannot be brought back into play with reserves.
High Altitude: This unit uses its AT values when attacking aircraft.

Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind
Flakpanzer Battery 2: You may take up to two Flakpanzer IVs as a single Aircraft choice.
Mobile AA This unit may be brought back into play using reserves; each one costs 1/2 a reserve point.High Altitude: This unit uses its AT values when attacking aircraft.
Speed 1: Treat this unit as having a base speed of 1.

ROYAL AIR FORCE

Spitfire
Fighter: This unit has +1 Speed

Hawker Typhoon
Fighter: This unit has +1 Speed
Rockets: This unit can attack an adjacent city hex with 8 dice.

Bofors AA
AA Battery 3: You may take up to three Bofors AA Guns as a single Aircraft choice. AA Guns cannot be brought back into play with reserves.
High Altitude: This unit uses its AT values when attacking aircraft.

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

P-51D Mustang
Fighter: This unit has +1 Speed
Rockets: This unit can attack an adjacent city hex with 8 dice.

P-38G Lightning
Fighter: This unit has +1 Speed
Steady: This unit may sideslip whenever it could turn.

Quad 50
AA Battery 3: You may take up to three Quad 50s as a single Aircraft choice. AA Guns cannot be brought back into play with reserves.
Fixed Position: Ignore this units Relocate 2 SA.
Inaccurate 1: This unit gets -1 to hit on each attack die.
Single Shot: Ignore this units Double Shot SA.

M16 Halftrack
AA Battery 2: You may take up to two M16 Half-tracks as a single Aircraft choice.
Mobile AA This unit may be brought back into play using reserves; each one costs 1/2 a reserve point.
Inaccurate 1: This unit gets -1 to hit on each attack die.
Single Shot: Ignore this units Double Shot SA.
Speed 1: Treat this unit as having a base speed of 1.

IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVAL AIR SERVICE

Japan may use Stuka JU 87Bs and 20mm Flak from the Luftwaffe list.

Zero
Superiour Numbers: Every three Zeros you take only count as two Aircraft choices.
Fighter: This unit has +1 Speed

SOVIET AIR FORCE

Soviets may use Spitfires and Bofors from the RAF List.

IL-10 Sturmovik
(No changes)

The T-35 is in the next set.

I would say that Troopers are just made up.

For example a standard British Rifle Platoon for 25 points gets you a Vickers MG, a Bren, and 4 SMLEs while a 25 point German Rifle Platoon is an MG 42, Light Mortar, and 4x Mauser. There’s no choice of using just all MG42s, etc. You may even have to use units you wouldn’t normally - like the Light Mortar in the German’s Rifle Platoon.

Since there are so many, and they change over time (eg 1943 and after one of those SMLEs would be replaced with a PIAT, or pre-1942 the MG 42 would be 2x Wehrmacht Veteran Infantrymen) I haven’t made a complete list yet. It’s on the ToDoList, which is always getting bigger  :wink:

Russian, Rare

Points 19
Year 1939
Vehicle - Tank

Speed 2
Defence 4/2
Poor Suspension
Overlapping Fire
Multiturreted (Can fire once in front and a second time not in front)

No problem.