Reply To: Continued Explorations of Normandy Wargaming

[oriskany 60771xp 0]

Thanks for the reply @jamesevans140

 

Luckily for the Russians the T-60 and T-70 could be built in any factory – yes, they were very common tanks, and the T-70 remained in service until at least mid-1944, possibly afterwards, and that’s not even including the SU-76.

The only issue with the 45mm is the range, which is definitely a problem in games like PanzerBlitz 1941 and 42, and even 43 when the T-70 is still in service in huge numbers at Prokhrovka.  The compression of ranges, and the difference between ranges, I feel is always a problem in miniature wargames involving tanks, artillery, or really any combined arms doctrine.  So I know how poor they were, I know how poor they perform in PanzerBlitz (unless the German player is really accommodating and gets within 300 meters or so).

Then again, against German 3.7cm guns, there’s no issue.  even the 5.0cm L42, the range differential on an open steppe isn’t too bad, if you don’t mind taking “Soviet style” casualties in a rush.  The isolated successes T-70s would have against even Panthers, however, all happen (as you suggest) when the T-70 is in an ambush position.

T-34s are over worked meaning that if you move and fire a tank it has an additional +1 to its score need to hit.  The same rule applies to Crusader IIIs, any tank where there are only two men in the turret and the commander has to act as the gunner as well.  One of the neat small rules about FoW I found at the 2017 boot camp.

The German Army that I have under the command of Paulus – Another issue 6th Army had was it was being stadily drained of panzer formations in favor of Hoth’s 4th Panzer Army and Kleist’s 1st Panzer Army, especially once Army Group South was divided between Army Groups A and B halfway through Blau.  But this might be after the time line in the scope of your project.

My Panzer troop battalion has been collapsed to 2 near strength platoons. A battalion reduced to two platoons?  Holy hell, you really ARE understrength!  😀

You have probably detected words not normally used in FoW but processes had to be added to re-fight this battle. – I dunno, I heave seen lots of players use FoW in intensely historical settings.  I think it’s down to how the players choose to use the system (historical play vs. tournament play), and why I can never completely write the game off entirely.

My only issues come with the interrelationships between range, scale, movement … the “3D physics” of the battlespace in which units don’t behave realistically – unrealistic tactics and methodologies are rewarded – realistic ones don’t work – and even the realistic ones used to be invoked simply by quoting a specially-named rule in an appendix somewhere (Infiltrate, Jumbo, Spearhead, etc).

All that said, big improvements have been made in v4 with not what was included, but what was taken out of v3.  I know we may differ on this, but it was in pruning a lot of this material out that I feel v4 makes the big improvement.  Logarithmic scaling and the new updates to artillery effects help as well.

If he opens up his T-60’s upon my infantry he will be rolling 60 dice of MG fire power turn.  So I guess FoW counts to 20mm autocannon as an MG?  Or can it be used against infantry as a MG and armor as a light cannon?

My infantry regardless of how they are dug in are going to evaporate in very short order. I always beat this drum, I’ll beat it again.  German infantry should have a battery of 7.5cm infantry guns at the battalion level, 15.0cm infantry gun at the regimental level,  My point is, IGs (especially those ugly little 7.5s) are extremely common, almost as common as 8.0cm mortars, and would easily make a direct-fire mess of a little lawnmower like a T-60.  A great unit, and exceedingly historically accurate and plausible as well.  Yet for some reason always overlooked in infantry mini armies.  In service since before Poland and often pulled by a horse team if you don’t want to get too mechanized in a Wave 4+ Infantry Division.

That really interesting stuff about  Timoshenko.  I certainly knew his star was falling in 42, I just didn’t know the details.

A few weeks ago I got @timp764 to sit down and watch the Soviet Storm episode on Rzhev.  There was another Russian documentary on Rhzev by a journalist who took a very hard eye on the topic.  Definitely pre-Putin.  Now the documentary is no longer on available.  Shocker.

I sometimes get a kick out of watching the Russian-language (original) “Soviet Storm” with subtitles, and the English translation videos.  Yeah, there are differences.  The English translation does not match the Soviet one in many places.

Now he is just starting to understand that anything to do with the Eastern Front you get a free upgrade to super sized. Like I used to say in interviews with John and Justin:  “Just imagine the worst battles on the Western Front.  Now add a couple of zeroes to all the numbers …”

That is how he looks at them from a perspective of someone like himself who is trying to take his first serious look at the Eastern Front from a wargames point of view. – It’s going to ruin him for the rest of World War II!  😀 😀 😀