Posts made by General Di Caro

U-S .30 caliber machine gun team:  versus infantry 9/8/7 with double shot and suppressive fire.

More German Panzer Mark III’s and IV’s that were used in 1940 and 1941.  These would have to be researched… depending on what kind of gun(s), armor and mobility each one had.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_armoured_fighting_vehicles_of_World_War_II#Panzerkampfwagen_IV

German MP-40 or MP-42 submachine gun.  Versus infantry 10/6 with limited range 2.

American Thompson Submachine gun.  Versus infantry 11/6 with limited range 2.  I’m just a guessin’ here.

American Howitzers and German .88’s with long ranges and devastating effects against infantry.

The German .88 was used for everything-- anti-tank guns, anti-personnel, anti-air.  This would be a very versatile unit.  It should have a range of at least 15 hexes or so.  And that begs the question of LOS with artillery.  Maybe an artillery spotter could go along with this piece for use against infantry at long ranges so as not to need LOS.  I have no idea what it’s attack values should be.

British Paratroopers.  Similar to U-S paratroopers.  Defense 5.

British Commandos.  Ability to blow up bridges and “hide” in cover like snipers.  Defense 5.  High close assault value and Hand to Hand

German Mountain Units… elite infantry.  Same as British commandos…  ?

And maybe some Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, or Indian units??  Thousands fought and died in the war.

I favor the A-Bomb unit… Attack values versus infantry and tanks 1000/999/998.    :?

After reviewing defensive fire rules… since each enemy unit (unless otherwise stated) can make only one defensive fire attack per phase, there is a good chance some of your banzai charging Japanese infantry will get through without opening themselves up to defensive fire.  For istance, if you rush two infantry into a hex containing one enemy unit, you are guaranteed one will get through to Banzai!!

That is really a great special ability.

I believe the Wermacht Oberleutnant can send his men into such a frenzy, also.

Here are the d-fire rules…

Just keep it simple…  when you move a unit… from one hex to another… if both those hexes are adjacent to an enemy unit, then that enemy unit can try to disrupt you.

Adjacent means same hex or bordering hex.

In some cases, you are forced to use defensive fire while the moving enemy unit is in a particular hex.  For instance, if an enemy tank tries to move out of a hex containing one of your soldiers, if you choose to use defensive fire, you would likely have to do so while the tank is in the first hex (your hex).  That’s because once the tank is in the next hex (one hex away), most soldiers attack value at Range 1 can’t result in enough successes to match the defense of the tank to disrupt it.

Provoking Defensive Fire: A unit provokes defensive fire when it moves from one hex adjacent to an enemy unit into another hex adjacent to that same enemy unit. The hex a unit is in counts as adjacent to that unit.

Soldiers and Vehicles: Soldiers don’t provoke defensive fire from Vehicles. They can move around an enemy tank or even enter its hex without getting shot at by that Vehicle. Soldiers can exploit enemy Vehicles’ blind spots to move safely around them, but enemy Soldiers see them just fine.

Defensive-Fire Limit: A given unit can make only one defensive-fire attack per phase. For example, a US bazooka team fires defensively against a German tank in the Axis player’s movement phase, but when a second German tank moves into the bazooka team’s hex in the same movement phase, the bazooka team can’t use defensive fire—it’s already fired defensively this phase. During the Axis player’s assault phase, the bazooka team will be able to use defensive fire again.

Optional Defensive Fire: You aren’t required to use your defensive fire if you don’t want to. For example, if your opponent moves a weak unit to provoke defensive fire from one of your units, you can choose to “hold your fire” and let the weak unit pass in order to be able to use defensive fire against a more dangerous enemy moving later in the phase.

Multiple Defensive Fire: If more than one unit has the option to take defensive fire, you can make one unit’s attack before deciding whether the other units also attack.

Here they are right from the rules.–--  And a reminder for all you nuts who, like me, think about these rules during the day, you can download them to a PDF document from the Avalon Hill homepage and check them out.  Glossary is especially helpful.

Stacking

A unit can only end its movement in a hex if there’s room for it in that hex.

Stacking with Friendly Units: You can only have two friendly units in a single hex, and no more than one of those units can be a Vehicle.

Stacking with Enemy Units: A hex can contain up to two units of each army. Only one of those four units can be a Vehicle.

Stacking While Moving: The stacking limit applies only at the end of each unit’s move. In other words, you can ignore the limit while moving a unit, and drive or move through full hexes as long as you end in a hex that isn’t overstacked.

Breaking Stacking Rules: Your unit can’t be forced to stop in a hex where stopping would break the stacking limit. For example, if your Vehicle is disrupted by defensive fire before it can move out of a hex containing a second Vehicle, stopping in the hex would break the stacking rule. In such a case, retrace the unit’s path and leave it in the last hex where it can legally stop.

Yes, I agree… that is all very plausible.

Limiting the sniper’s attack to disruption might have been a feasible alternative for the game, unless it is shooting at a commander or opposing sniper or tank-head shot.  I have found disruption to be the doorway to death, because it so severly limits the effectiveness of units.  Try killing an SS-Panzergrenadier with disrupted M-1 Garands at medium range.  Not going to happen.

My last game pitted me against the Wermacht expert sniper… It took out several of my units.  With 6 attack dice and +1 each die, the player just needs to avoid more than two 1’s and 2’s to exact some damage on most units.

Seems like the Japanese aren’t so tough.

Well… during the war, the Japanese suffered much much greater casualty totals than the U-S Marines who were charged with eliminating them from the tiny Pacific atolls where they had entrenched themselves.  A recent History Channel special on Guadalcanal and Tarawa illustrated this… as the entire Japanese defense forces were wiped out through overwhelming U-S numbers, fire power (naval bombardments… whew…), and a refusal to surrender alive.  I believe just about all 15,000 Japanese soldiers on Guadalcanal were killed after months of terrible fighting.

The going there for the U-S Marines was especially instructive but very tough, despite the victories.  1000 Marines were killed during the first 4 days at Tarawa.

These kind of battles can’t really be reproduced in this game… there are no jungles of dense hex-to-hex foliage… and the biggest reason is… there are no entrenchments or defensive positions factored into the game.  Yes there is cover… but it’s not quite the same.

As we all know… an assault on a well dug in enemy who has the high ground could result in very heavy casualties for the attacker…

Just some thoughts… We woudl all love to be able to really recreate the conditions… but we are at the mercy of hexes and dice.

How about some conscientious observers?

None of those in the SS.

I continue to experiment on how best to use those big point tanks….

One thing I have discovered as a bad tactic is “hiding” the tank behind cover (behind a blocking hex) and then trying to spring it on other tanks or infantry.  This almost always ends up with my tank getting charged and cornered, because I had blocked my own LOS… and the opposing tanks could get close to me without drawing fire.

I think tanks are best out in the open… on a hill…with a big field of fire to deter opposing units--  and then at the end of the game if need be parking it on the objective… (for tanks with strong rear defense against close assaults).

p.s On a side note-- I am beginning to hate the SS-Panzergrenadier.  Only when I am shooting at it, of course.

I don’t have a problem with dropping them on any turn… there are advantages and disadvantages to waiting, but it was not possible to drop them that accurately, especially at night time.

In the airborne invasion of Crete, the Germans seemed to drop many of their men where they wanted (I’ll have to look it up to be sure), unfortunately for them, Crete’s UK and New Zealand defenders were aware the attack was coming and were waiting to massacre the Germans as they fell out of the air.

It is great stuff, isn’t it?

I am sorry I posted so many confusing messages….

Panther and Tiger… mid-to-late 1943.Â

I was reading one anecdote about a Panzer armored column in 1941 that was delayed for 2 days because a KV-1 was blocking the roadway.  The great Wermacht was stunned at the strength of Russian armor.  Of course, they could always call the Luftwaffe for help.  We can’t.

That is a great example of why there should be a German Mark IV tank that is more powerful than Set II’s Mark III and less powerful that Set I’s 1942 Mark IV, with the 75 mm long barrel gun.

Something that can be used in a 1941 scenario that can compete some with the Russian tanks.

Compared to the Mark IV… there were relatively few Panthers (Mark V), Tiger (VI) and King Tiger (VII) variants produced… the Mark IV was the bread and butter tank of the Wermacht and SS throughout the war.

I got a laugh about reading another story about how difficult it was to damage a Tiger with a frontal shot… reminds me of some of my games.  Unfortunately, the game designers did not include a “Prone to Breakdown” negative special ability for the Tigers. It’s believed more broke down than were destroyed by enemy fire.Â

Call in the P-51s!!

I have stated on these threads that I am not a big fan of House rules, but one dawned on me as I played a 1944 battle Americans versus Germans and I used 4 U-S Paratroopers.

As we know, the U-S or Japanese player can place these paratroopers in any hex he wants (except pond hexes) at the end of his movement phase as long as the unit doesn’t “land” adjacent to an enemy.  This is one reason why the unit is 9 points– this is a great advantage.

To add a little unpredictability to what was by no means an easy task in the 1940s…

At the end of your movement phase, you may place Paratroopers.

For each paratrooper unit, roll one die.

Result of 1 to 5: You may place the paratrooper as outlined in the unit’s special ability as printed on the stat card.

Result of 6.  Miss Drop!

The opposing player places the paratrooper wherever he wants! (except in a pond hex, unless you want to really get crazy and drown the unit, as many paratroopers did in flooded marshes and the Channel during Normandy).

So, to get back on topic, if you roll a six when deploying a paratrooper unit, the enemy player decides in which hex it lands.  This can be ANY hex, including one adjacent to an enemy unit.  We all remember St. Mere Eglise. (Adjacent means same or bordering hex).

Once the “miss drop” paratrooper lands, any enemy units may make defensive fire that ignores cover to disrupt the unit, and this face-up disrupted marker doesn’t come off until the start of the next casualty phase.

The miss-drop paratrooper unfortunately falls in on several squads of enemy infantry, who open fire and disrupt him, immediately reducing his effectiveness in the following assault phase.  Of course, all rules for defensive fire apply (one defensive fire attack per phase per unit, no defensive fire by disrupted units, and units with special three 6’s attack can kill the miss-drop paratrooper immediately (ie. Marines M2-2 flamethrower).

If you really want to get nuts, the opposing player can choose to drop the miss-drop paratrooper in a pond and drown him, or you  can “land” the miss-drop paratrooper in a forest hex and disrupt him.  The latter would only apply if you have created a rule re: paratroopers not being able to land in a forest hexes.  Since when can paratroopers land in a forest???

Any thoughts?

This all may be misguided given the unit is worth a whopping 9 points, and you should get your bang for your buck.

But it seems ridiculous that you can land a paratrooper exactly where you want him.

No time to post stats now… but how about…

American .30 caliber machine gun team
More German Panzer Mark III’s and IV’s that were used in 1940 and 1941.
German MP-40 or MP-42 submachine gun.
American Thompson Submachine gun.

And how about some Artillery for goodness sakes?

American Howitzers and German .88’s with long ranges and devastating effects against infantry.

British Paratroopers.
British Commandos.

German Mountain Units… elite infantry.

And maybe some Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, or Indian units??  Thousands fought and died in the war.

Amazing how much research I had to do to find out such a simple answer.  :-(

Okay… finally, I found the answer.  The Panther was introduced in late 1942 as was the Tiger, so for all of 1941 and the first half of 1942, the Germans best answer to the KV-1 and T-34 was the Mark IV.

One more….

The SS-Panther card says “1942” but from everything I have read the Panther did appear on the battlefield until '43.

Again, the Tiger debuted in late 1942 at Leningrad, after the Battle of Stalingrad.

The Tiger was used in late 1942, premiering at the battle of Leningrad.
The Panther was used in 1943 for the first time.

So to follow up on my recent posts…

After checking out all the units, if one were to play a 1941 scenario Germans versus Russians-- the opening battles of Barbarossa-- the Best tank the Germans could take into the battle would be the Mark III Panzer.  This is gap the designers hopefully will fill.

They should create a Panzer Mark IV model before the Ausf. G which is currently the only Mark IV in either set.  Earlier Mark IV’s were commonplace in 1941.

Before Germans saw the T-34, their tanks were used mostly for infantry support-- to blast bunkers and fortifications.

In '42, the Mark IV Ausf. G provided an answer to the T-34, but not until 1943 did the Panther arrive, which has superior fire power to the T-34.

I’d rather have more tanks to choose from than Chinese or Polish units!!!    :-)

From another WWII website–

Maybe the designers can make an early model Mark IV Panzer in Set III?  For use in Barbarossa.  :-)

3. German PzKfW Mk. IV Panzer

The 17.3 ton Mk. IV Panzer tank was introduced in 1937 and used throughout WW II. Early in that conflict it was the dominant tank. Its fast firing, short barreled 75mm gun was ideal for supporting infantry and the Mark IV was used with great effectiveness in German Blitzkrieg attacks on Poland, France, the low countries, and initially in the invasion of the USSR. Top speed was 18 MPH.

There were hull and turret mounted machine guns to increase the Mark IV’s lethality against enemy infantry. Between 1940 and 1945, Germany produced about 9,000 of these tanks, making the Mk. IV far more numerous on both the Western and Eastern Fronts than the later Panther and Tiger tanks. The Mark IV provided a nice balance of protection, firepower, reliability and maneuverability early in the war.

When it was realized that the original, short barreled 75mm gun lacked the muzzle velocity to penetrate the heavy armor of the newer Soviet T34 tank, a long barreled 75mm gun became standard in the Mark IV. This high velocity weapon served for the rest of the war, keeping the Mk. IV a dangerous foe for all Allied tanks, although by then its 30mm armor could be defeated by the front line Allied tanks.

Apparently the Panzer Mark IV was used before 1942, but those models did not have a 75 mm gun as the 1942 Miniature accurately wields.

http://www.2worldwar2.com/german-tanks.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_armoured_fighting_vehicles_of_World_War_II#Panzerkampfwagen_IV