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Great reply @oriskany.
For the must part I completely agree with how the PL system derives the values for the game from the tangibles. However just like every other system out there it is the intangibles that are hard to put into the game system as every other person will believe what they are and how and by how much they should impact the game and by how much. US infantry platoons in Normandy went to great efforts to ensure that they had more than the standard issue number of BARs. As there was no stock-take done so we have no real guides to just how widespread it was and by how many? How were they used ? More towards aimed fire or was it spray and prey?. No one will agree to how much the platoon attack value be raised. In all likelihood the German player may not wish to see any change at all.
Nerves and shock of a green unit in combat for the first time is another condition that is hard to fairly work out. Some do ok and others not. An extreme example happens in the Winter War. The 5th Infantry Division made up of fresh green troops were being moved up to the front line. A tank turret pops up from behind a ridge line in front of them pointing towards them. Someone yells Russian tanks and the entire division panics and routes. It took the officers almost 10 miles to pull the division up and restore order. Most embarrassing tank turret belonged to an Armoured Car that belonged to the Finns and was returning from patrol. No one expected this. Yet in a weeks time a Russian company of tanks would not phase these young men.
Politics back home caused some trouble for the US in Europe that had some impact that reflects on the stats in many games. The 90mm was an awesome weapon that had its hands tied behind its back as the US only shipped solid shot as the only AT round for it. Things get compounded at around 400M for the solid shot. At this distance it bounced off the front armour of a Hetzer fairly reliably. At longer or shorter ranges it would reliably penetrate the little Hetzer. This problem of German sloped armour was known to the US from experience from the 76.2 gun. The issue was corrected by the APC round and later by the APCBC round.
Yet no such round was shipped to Europe for the 90mm until late May 1945. So many gaming systems write down the 90mm based on this issue, however not all German armour was sloped and not all sloped armored tanks parked 400M from the 90mm. Some feel this is realistic because of this issue, while I am not convinced by the argument.
The 76.2mm actually did have a round that rivaled the 17 pounder and was accurate at long range. It was called hyper-shot. It could reliably penetrate the front of a Panther at any range, as range did not diminish its penetration ability. So you would think the army would issue this round in numbers. The problem was that it did not belong to the army. Until the end of the war US Cavalry was a completely separate arm in the US armed forces. It was their job to destroy tanks, not the army’s and it was the cavalry’s round.
It was issued to the TD units equipped with either the M18 or 76.2 AT guns. Now by the time of the running battles in the Lorraine that crews of 76mm M4 Sherman tanks found out about this round. So when they went to a supply dump they would seek out this round and borrow as many of these rounds they could find for safe keeping. Politics does not stop in war, it goes into overdrive. Given this I have no problems in giving some 76mm M4s and all M18s the same stats as the 17 pounder. It would be fair for any army list that has both the M18 and 76mm M4 in it to raise the stats of the M4. Hyper-shot was standard issue for the M18.
Time after time in the battles of the Lorraine the 75mm M4’s was on the losing end of a unit of Panthers when some M18s would turn up. Resulting in either smoking Panthers or Panthers running away. To be fare the crews of the Panthers were very green. They were taught that the Panther was stronger than the Tiger from the front, yet the Americans had something that could turn their front armour into Swiss cheese. The US 3rd Army in the Lorraine had already given up their M10s for M18s. Some were given to the French but most had been sent State side to be upgraded to M36s.
Tracking down exactly what a Hyper-shot round is had proven difficult. As range does not effect penetration ability, I am assuming it is a HEAT round. Reliably penetrating the front armour of a Panther says it is at least as good as a 17 pounder.
You guys have a great time at the games convention, I have to wait until the 20th for WinterCon.
I too will not be online either for the next few days as the Hex System arrived today. 🙂
