Achtung! The State of My German Army

Fighting for the Fatherland, your 2015 German force:

Because they fight both my Soviets and my US troops, and because Ultimate Soldier/Forces of Valor/21st Century toys vehicles tend to be available every now and then for very cheap, they are by far the best equipped of my 1/32 armies.

They are the only force with an engineer (flamethrower in the picture below) and two HMGs ready to go (the US has one already, and a second awaiting painting, whereas the Germans have one waiting assembly and that's it). 

The right-most is the CTS HMG team from their older German infantry set, and the left team is from CanDo (1/35 pre-painted figures from Dragon).

The mortar crews are Ultimate Soldier  I believe. Well, one of those companies - I actually have 3 mortars for the Germans, but until I pant the Italeri gun crew for the PAK 40 (below), I have assigned them to serve the gun.

All of my armies have been based in the same way:  2 figures to a base, except for leaders and other special figures. The Waffen SS (W. Britain, behind Unit "Airfix") , I left singly based, since they will see use primarily in very small 1:1 scenarios against my British paratroops.

Finally, unlike the US with only one vehicle capable of moving personnel, and the Soviets, who have one awaiting assembly, the Germans are in rather good shape here (CTS and Ultimate Soldier) thanks to the Morsermannschaft  which came with the mortar crews (I gave the third one to my son. These things are models, not toys, and it was quickly destroyed, although he still loves to play with it.)

The kubelwagen (Britain Deetail) can transport an officer if necessary, but is usually used in a scouting role.

The figures are a mix of Matchbox, Airfix (which are my favorite), CTS, Ultimate Soldier and Britain. 

In the queue is the crew for the pictured PAK 40, as well as a 2nd PAK 40 and crew. I also have a King Tiger model to assemble, but I'm terrified of it and will start with something easier and work up to it. They will undoubtedly be the first of my forces to be able to meet any configuration Neil Thomas's scenarios throw at me.

10 Games, 10 Times: Iron Ivan's Disposable Heroes / Coffin for Seven Brothers

Soviets try to get their tanks across the table in a later game in the series.

i had played DH/C7B a handful of times before, initially not really digging it, but later coming to decide that it might well be my favorite set or 1:1 WWII gaming, for squad to a platoon per side. Yet, I hardly played it thereafter, and when i did, it was primarily infantry only conflicts, hence its inclusion on my 10 Games, 10 times challenge list.  

The first few games were straight up infantry affairs to help me shake off the cobwebs and figure out where I was forgetting rules.

Backing up, for those who don't know, DH/C7B is a 1:1 set of WWII skirmish rules, where the basic unit is the fire team. It's recommended for up to a platoon per side, with support, although you can extend it further if you have time or multiple players.

My sole gripe with the rules is the use of markers for tracking activation, pinned, acquisition status (for armor), and # of armor penetration hits. You also need some way of tracking the number of destroyed units for each side, as these, plus the # of currently pinned units effect the initiative score.

So many markers. The white cards are blinds - I used Platoon Forward for many scenarios, along with its enemy force generation method. This is from one of the last games I played in the series - after I had mounted the figures to 3 inch squares.

However, so many games require markers, that it seems like short of an all or nothing approach to hits, or off table tracking (difficult in a 1 figure = 1 man game with more than a handful of figures per side), there really isn't a better option.

So, other than that, the game has a lot going for it although it took me 5 or so games to really see how good they were, as I kept forgetting rules in the early games or situations just didn't come up:

• The Guts score - it effects both initiative and morale, including the ability to rally. It's a mix of quality and motivation.
• simplified movement
• if one figure reaches cover, the whole group does
• move one figure, then place the rest around that figure, rather than measuring for all
• terrain does not effect movement rates of infantry
• Movement rate determines what additional actions a unit may perform and any penalties
• Snap (opportunity) fire is restricted to one enemy unit.
• Using grenades to supplement a charge is abstracted and works quite smoothly
• Taking fire, regardless of result, triggers a Guts check - this seems right to me, but surprisingly few systems I have played incorporate it
• It is difficult to score a hit on a target in cover - based on what i've read about the expenditure of ammo in WWII to hit a target, this too seems right to me.
• The way it handles armor.

I wanted to really go big,both because i wanted to see if it made a big difference in my enjoyment, and also as a way to see if I could at some point eliminate a table and the space it takes up. Playing on the floor was loads of fun but no more so than a table, as it turns out.

One thing that has flummoxed me about some other systems at the 1:1 scale has been armor: either they are too simple, and the type of vehicle does not matter, or too complex to the point of having to use calculus to understand the tables. DH/C7B's system for attacks by and against armor sits somewhere in the middle and I rather like it. It has enough flavor to get a feel for the period and the differences in equipment, but not so complicated that every rivet matters.

I had to fudge any vehicle that wasn't a tank, since no stats are included in the core rules beyond a vehicle or two per army.

One  downside is the mix of roll low/roll high is somewhat annoying - you want to roll low always -to acquire a target, to hit, to pass a Guts check, but  when you're rolling for armor penetration, then you want to roll high. 

It's hard to see, but the PZ. IV had just made it onto the table when one of the T-34s brewed it up on a single hit This is less frequent an occurrence than my pictures might relate.

The other is that the core rules, which contain the "big four" nations, do not include much in the way of vehicles for these. As such, I had to fudge a bit on anything not remotely covered. The force supplements contain the desired data but those are additional purchases.

The core rules do, however, cover tank riders!

Once again, the 10 Games, 10 Times Challenge comes through, and I have a new understanding and appreciation for this game. That said, I also have come to realize, that i prefer 1:1 games with 3-5 figures, rather than squad to platoon sized engagements. 

As a bonus, I suspect these rules could work well for that - treating each figure as their own fire team and disregarding the man-alone rule and the "only 1/2 figures per unit can shoot" rule. I may try them in that respect at some later date, but Five Men in Normandy awaits first.

Hot Chow! Rapid Play WWII

Posting has been a little light lately, to say the least. That doesn't mean I haven't been gaming though - I've played Hold the Line twice, and I've played a few scenarios from One Hour Wargames several times. 

Scenario 5: Bridgehead - Stand off at the hill. Missing crew on PAK 40 due to laziness.

As I mentioned before, I'm using my own rules for One Hour Wargames, but using many of Mr. Thomas's ideas as their foundation.

Below are the current draft of my WWII rules, "Hot Chow!" (I watched half a dozen or so WWII movies in the last month, and I swear, that line was in every one.). They are very much in the "playing with toy soldiers" tradition, and owe a debt to almost every rule set I've ever read. 

Hot Chow!

Rapid Play World War II

Table size: These rules are designed to work well on small tables, such as a 3’ x 3’ table, as used in Neil Thomas’s One Hour Wargames. The largest force fielded in those rules, and in these rules, is 6 units, or a reinforced company, although on a larger table, battalions should be feasible.

Figure scale: Unit frontage matters, not figure size or ratio of figures to real soldiers. 1 unit of infantry = 1 platoon and that is the basic unit for movement and combat.

Basing:  An infantry unit (platoon) should have a 4”-6” frontage. Depth is about half of width, but whatever looks right is acceptable. Vehicles and heavy weapons do not require basing.

• For the record, I use 5 or 6  figures to the platoon (I use 1/32 figures). Weapon crews are 2 figures. 6 figures really makes more sense at 2 per section, but I don't have enough figures to do that for all platoons.
• I've tried using bases 6" x 3" as well as figures without a base. I think the best compromise might be platoons of three 2" x 3" bases with each hit removing a single section.

Ground scale: If you must know, it’s 1” = 25m. This gives a platoon a frontage of 100m  - 150m which is about right for WWII platoons in the attack.

Tools: two six-sided dice, a ruler or measuring tape, pencil and paper or hit markers if necessary, toy soldi

Basic Unit Data

Unit	Movement/Turn	Combat Points	Attack Range
Infantry Rifle Platoon	6”	3	12”, 6” for vs armored vehicles
Infantry SMG Platoon(2)	6”	3	6”
Tanks	9”, 12” on road	n/a	24”
ATG	6”	2	24”
Mortar	6”	2	48”
HMG(3)	6”	2	48”

• 1 infantry unit represents 1 platoon
• 1 tank model represents about 3 vehicles
• 1 ATG and crew represents about 3 guns and crew
• 1 mortar and crew represents about 3 mortars and crew
• 1 HMG and crew represents about 3 HMGs and crew

Movement is how far a unit can move per turn. Regardless of the number of elements that make up the unit, all move together.

Combat Points are how many hits a unit can take before removal from table. It represents both actual losses and morale. This can be tracked with markers, stand removal, figure removal, etc. It also represents the number of dice a unit rolls in combat - as the Combat Points are reduced, so too are the dice thrown.

• Tanks and other vehicles don’t have Combat Points but instead utilize a method I’ve stolen borrowed from Featherstone.
• EDIT: When originally posted, I forgot to include how many dice tanks roll to attack. I usually have them roll 3 dice against other tanks, and 2 dice vs everything else, although I have had them roll only 1 die on occasion. I justified the later as a trade off for getting to survive longer than any other unit, on average.

Attack range is the maximum distance at which a unit may attack an enemy. (1)

Turn Structure:

1. Initiative
2. Morale Phase (side A) if necessary
3. Action Phase (side A)
4. Saving Throws (side B) if necessary
5. Morale Phase (side B) if necessary
6. Action Phase (side B)
7. Saving Throws (side A) if necessary

Initiative

Each side rolls 1d6. High score wins initiative, winner is side A, loser is side B. Re-roll ties.

Action Phase:

Sides may activate their units in any order. Units may either move or fire, but not both in the same turn. Units are not required to take any action, however see Sitting Duck rule under combat.

Movement

• Units may move in any direction as long as the terrain is passable, up to their maximum movement rate.
• When attempting to enter difficult terrain, roll a d6, on a 1 or 2, the unit stops at the terrain’s edge and can re-try next turn if desired. On a 4-6, the unit continues moving into the terrain\ at their normal movement rate. (4).

Combat

• Unit must have LOS to target, or in case of mortar, target must be in LOS of friendly unit.
• Units have 360 degrees of facing.
• Woods, forests, bocage, unharvested fields, buildings, hills, mountains, etc. block LOS to units on the opposite side of those features, but  not units occupying those features.
• That is, units inside woods, fields, etc. are in LOS.
• And yes, units in buildings are in LOS.
• Attacker rolls 1d6  per Combat Point remaining. Hits are scored per the following table(5):

Unit	vs. Infantry	vs. Heavy Wpn.	vs. ATG	vs. Tanks
Rifle	5-6	5-6	5-6	6
SMG	4-6	4-6	4-6	6
HMG	4-6	4-6	4-6	5-6*
Mortar	4-6	5-6	5-6	5-6**
ATG	6	6	6	4-6
Tank	5-6	5-6	5-6	4-6

*Subtract 1 from Tank Saving Throw result  **Subtract 2 from Tank Saving Throw result

• If target in cover, -1 on attack roll
• Sitting Duck Rule: If attacking same target as previous turn and target has not moved, +1 to attack rolls.
• For each hit, the target unit loses 1 Combat Point.
• Base to base contact negates cover bonus.

Saving Throws

Only tanks have saving throws

Roll 2d6:

• 9 - fall back 1 move
• 10 - fall back 2 moves
• 11/12 - destroyed:

Optional (and untested):

Assign each infantry unit a quality of: Green, Average, Veteran, or Elite

Elite units roll 1d6 per hit, on a 4-6 (3-6 in cover) the hit is negated

Veteran units roll 1d6 per hit, on a 5-6 (4-6 in cover) the hit is negated

Green Units roll 1d6 per hit, on a 1-4,, the attacker can re-roll the hit die, and if it hits again, the target unit loses an additional Combat Point

Morale Check: (Optional)

If a side is reduced to 1/2 of their starting units or less, on their next Morale Phase, roll 1d6. If result is greater than units remaining, roll 1d6 per unit.  Other than a result of “No Effect”, the result counts as the unit’s action for their next activation.

Optional: If using unit quality, adjust as follows: green -1, veteran + 1, elite + 2

<=1 - roll a saving throw, for infantry remove if failed. for armor, treat 10+ as fall back 2 moves. If passed fall back 1 move.

2 - fall back 1 move

3 - no action next turn  

4 - No effect

5 - No effect

>=6 - fire at nearest enemy, if none, then advance to close

No further morale checks are needed until the force loses an additional unit, at which point, they will check morale on their next Morale Phase (6).

Another play of Scenario 5 - That Sherman has no luck. Figures are placed on cardboard sabots.

(1)Please note that it is shortened to make play feasible on smaller tables. 12” represents some 300m, when in fact, an M1 Garand, for instance, had an effective range of 457m according to some website or other. I’m willing to sacrifice simulation for game play. Similarly, a panzerfaust 100 should have a range of 4”, a bazooka around 6” and panzerschreck around 12”. Tough luck.
(2)In One Hour Wargames, Neil Thomas limits forces to infantry, mortars, ATG and tanks. However, my Soviets wanted their SMG companies to get some kind of recognition. Who am i to resist the Red Army?
(3)As mentioned above, HMGs are not included in the OHW force lists. I allow an HMG to replace a mortar. 

(4)This is taken from the Wally Simon 70% rule.
(5)This table is based on Morschauser mixed with Neil Thomas's WWII rules

(6)This approach to morale owes a debt to G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. but also, if I recall, Tony Bath's campaign rules had something similar.