Updated West German Panzer & Panzergrenadier Division Battlegroup List

It started as a simple exercise.  Having recently finished the Fallschirmjager list, I needed to finalise the West German Jaeger Battlegroup list.  For one thing that list was close to being finished and I needed to get it done.  For another thing the FJ list only allowed Armour to be taken from the Jaeger list - and with no list, no armour!

So I dove into the Jaeger list and the more I read the more I realised it actually needed to be two different lists - otherwise it just became too complicated.  The first list would cover the two Heimatschutzebrigaden (HSB 51 and HSB 56) that were permanently committed to the Field Army.  They were better equipped than more "standard" Heimatschutzebrigaden, including Leopard 1s and in the case of HSB 56 Marders and Jaguars.  The other list would cover remainder of the '5th series' HSB and all of the '6th series' HSB for reasons that will become obvious when you see the lists.

Somehow I ended up down a rabbit hole about Marder Platoons and I became worried that my original West German Panzer/Panzer Grenadier lists might be wrong.  Fortuantely they were correct as to the number of dismounts in a Marder Platoon, but I found they could be made more accurate.  So I decided to change them.  Then I started fiddling with the rest of the Panzer/Panzer Grenadier list until I had basically pretty much revamped it.

I've added a FHQ unit and removed the GSR Team to the Recon units.  I've adjusted the Marder platoon with additional options for each squad, including upgrades to the Marder 1A3.  I deleted the SF MG3 team from their platoon support options.  I adjusted the M113 Pzrgren platoon, deleted a couple of artillery options, added a couple of recon options and made som,e simple changes, made a couple of minor changes to engineers and logistics and upped the size of the Jaguar teams from 2 to 3.  I also introduced the Redeye as the standard MANPADS with the Stinger as an upgrade.

You can find the new West German Panzer/Panzer Grenadier List here and it will replace the V2 list in the NATO Lists TAB above.

As always I'm seeking any constructive feedback, so fire away.

Finally, doing all this made me want to revisit my ideas from a few years back for a complete revamp of the way army lists look & work for AirLand Battlegroup.  So in addition to the V3 Panzer/Panzer Grenadier List and the two new Jaeger list, I'm also working on a AirLand Battlegroup 2 Panzer/Panzer Grenadier sample army list to see what you all think of a new approach.

Thanks for looking

Richard

F-5 Freedom Fighters - W-I-P Part 1

 Just a quick update today.  Back in March I finished a Hasegawa Norwegian F-5 which you can see here.  I was so chuffed with the little guy, that I decided to start on the 2 other F-5s I had in my stash.

They are another ancient (1975) Hasegawa F-5A kit

and an almost as ancient (1991) Matchbox CF-116 (F-5B) kit

These are as I've said - older kits, and have mostly raised panel lines and odd issues like no cockpit - which I was a little surprised at.  The Hasegawa kit comes with a pilot but a very basic chair, while the Matchbox kit has no crew figures and the ejector seats look like comfy Lazy-Boy chairs.  No other cockpit details are provided so I had to make them from scratch.

For the Matchbox kit this included adding such fundamental things as the cockpit floor!

Anyway - their built now and look like this prior to undercoating:

The Matchbox F-5B (two seater) is the white one on the left and it will be painted in Canadian colours and armed with 4 AIM-9 Sidewinders.  I'll be using some very nice looking Hasegawa sidewinders from one of their weapons sets.

The Hasegawa one is in grey - it will be in Dutch colours and armed with 4 AIM-9 Sidewinders, 2 bombs and a central fuel tank.  I like the idea of this one being totally loaded for bear.  Not to far to fly to engage the enemy so it can afford to have every station armed.  I hope the Dutch F-5 to eventually look something like this:

I really like this simple, subtle scheme in the right timeframe for what I'm doing.  All these scheme's come from the 1/48 scale Kinetic Models F-5s plans.

The Canadian one is a bit different.  I don't want to paint it in the standard scheme Canadian Air Force scheme but rather paint it up as an Agressor aircraft, that been drafted straight into action with no time for a repaint.  I have options for this one and am stuggling with which to choose.  Here are the choices:

This is probably my least favourite option

So this is probably the easist one to paint - I do like my greys...

I probably think this one is the coolest - but also likely to be the hardest to paint.

So I'm struggling to decide what to do.  Throw your 2 cents in and help me decide!

Thanks for looking

Richard

US Speculative Armoured Fighjting Vehicles

Hi everyone.

Today I'm uploading a set of AFV Data cards of Speculative Weapon systems of the US Army. This set combines some of the cards previouisly seen in the USAEUR set and the 9th (Motorized) ID set into one and adds a few new vehicles. These come from a range of sources - from Twilight 2000 to a model kit company to the US Armor magazine.

You can find the cards here or in the Cards Tab above.

So you can now field this from Twilight 2000:

This from Magic Factory Model Kit Company (in 1/35th scale I'm afraid)

and this from US Armour Magazine(July-August 1996)

or this - straight out of real life:

The last two have so many weapon systems I had to make extra large cards!

It's all just to add a bit of fun to the game system. I really like these speculative systems which allow you to manipulate history in anyway you want to turn your imaginary Cold War conflict into anything you want.

Some of these vehicles are available to purchase or print, others can be converted by mashing a couple of things together. If interested I'd be happy to post up ideas and options for the models.

I'd be interested to know what you think about including these sorts of systems in the game. Are you a:

• Purist that thinks if its not fielded in 1986 (for instance) I'm never going to stick it on the tabletop, or
• Pragmatist that wonders what would have happened if country X had continued pursuing an idea or had put a particular peice of euipment into production.

I mean we are playing a game about a war that never happened so it will always be 100% a "What If" kind of game.

Please let me know what you think!

Draft Unguided Rocket Playtest rules

Unguided Rockets can be fitted to many of the CAS aircraft and helicopters used by both NATO and WARPAC forces.
 
Unguided rockets are fired from pods installed on CAS aircraft or helicopter, typically on wing hardpoints.  If 2 pods are carried, one will be on each wing.
 
When triggered, each pod fires 2 rockets.  All pods on the CAS aircraft or helicopter must fire an equal number of rockets at once.  So, a CAS aircraft or helicopter with 4 pods would fire a minimum of 8 rockets a turn.  Note, multiple salvoes can be fire at once.  The total number of rockets per pod is shown in the Sample Unguided Rocket table below.
 
Unguided rockets always attack the Top armour of targets.
 
Unguided rockets use a unique variation of the Indirect Artillery Fire rules.  They work as follows for CAS Aircraft:
1.       Place the CAS Aircraft on the table approximately 20” from the target.
2.       Give the CAS Aircraft the Roll-In & Attack order and determine the number of unguided rockets that will be fired.
3.       Roll an Observation Check to observe the target.  If successful, place a point-of-impact marker on the target.
4.       Draw an imaginary line from the CAS Aircraft to and through the point-of-impact marker.
5.       Roll 1D6 on the Unguided Rocket Accuracy Table
  

Unguided Rocket Accuracy Table – D6

D6           Result

1-2          Drop Short.  The pilot fires the unguided rockets from too far away and they drop short of the target.  Roll 2D6 and move the point-of-impact marker the indicated distance down the imaginary line towards the aircraft.  This is where the unguided rockets will hit.

3-4          Hit!  The unguided rockets are accurate and impact centred on the point-of-impact marker.

4-6          Overshoot!  The pilot has been flying too fast and the unguided rockets overshoot the target.  Roll 2D6 and move the point-of-impact marker the indicated distance down the imaginary line away from the target.  This is where the unguided rockets will hit.

6.       Use the Artillery Barrage Accuracy Table to determine misses, potential pins and hits.
 
Helicopters
The only difference with helicopters is that Helicopter must be given the Manoeuvre and Fire order and end its movement in the 20”-30” range band away from its target.
 
Forward Air Controllers and Unguided Rockets
If using a FAC, he can place the point-of-impact marker using the Request Close Air Support order for a CAS Aircraft or Helicopter strike.  This means the pilot does not have to roll to observe the target
 

 

 

Could you please have a read or even better a playtest! Do the rules as written make sense? Do you think they reflect the reality of 1980s unguided rockets? Are they confusing? Do they break Battlegroup?

I am worried that these rules make rockets too powerful, so feedback on that is also welcome.

Let me know what you think.

I've also uploaded a PDF of these rules here and in the Rules tab at the top of the page.

Thanks

Richard

Unguided Rockets

 There has been some recent discussion on the AirLand Battlegroup Facebook page on the rules for Unguided Rockets - meaning these:

Originally the Cold War rules for these very much reflected the rules for nnguided rockets in WW2 - as in these:

Obviously things have changed in the 40+ years since WW2 and some people think the current rules make unguided rockets into poor precision weapons rather than what they were in reality - more of an area effect weapon.

On Facebook I provided some updated rules for unguided rockets along these lines:

"The Unguided Rockets rules are exactly the same as Battlegroup WW2 Rockets rules with the following exceptions: 

Unguided rockets are fired from pods installed on aircraft or helicopter hardpoints.  When triggered, each pod fires 2 rockets.  All pods on the aircraft or helicopter must fire an equal number of rockets at once.  So, an aircraft or helicopter with 4 pods would fire a minimum of 8 rockets a turn.  Note, multiple salvoes can be fire at once.  The total number of rockets per pod is shown on the table below. 

Unguided rockets and targeting systems have become more accurate over time.  They always hit on a 5 or 6.

Unguided rockets attack the Top armour of targets."

These rules basically conform to the Battl;egroup WW2 rulebook, but give the unguided rockets a better chance of hitting the target.

Then on Facebook I put up a poll - which is there now if you go for a look - which gives a couple of options.  Option 1 is to leave things as they currently are with the new update.  Option 2 is to change the rules to allow use of the Artillery Barrage Table to better reflect the area effect of the rockets impacting on the target area.

I decided to test out both options - which I have now done,

I’ve decided to use a Sepecat Jaguar GR.1 as the attacking aircraft.  It is equipped with 2 SNEB rocket pods (one on each wing with 6 rockets in each pod).  

For the sake of the experiment we’ll make 3 attacks against a Soviet tank column with the centre T-72A being the target point in each attack.  In the first attack the Jaguar will be firing 4 rockets, the second attack will be with 8 rockets and the final attack with 12 rockets.

Option 1 – the current updated rules.

In this option the player chooses to use Aimed Fire with HE shells. He successfully observes the Soviet tank column and chooses to target the centre T-72A.

First attack – Rolling 4D6 I score: 2,3,6,6 = two hits on 1 tank

Second attack – Rolling 8Dg I score: 1,1,2,2,3,3,5,6 – two hits on 1 tank

Third attack – Rolling 12D6 I score: 1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5,6,6,6 – six hits on 1 tank

AP 6 vs Top Armour 2 = need a 5 on 2D6 to penetrate. 

1^st – 8, 3 = 1 penetrating hit = dead tank

2^nd – 2, 4 = 1 immobilising hit. 1 glancing hit = 2 morale tests and the tank isn't going anywhere

3^rd – 5, 4, 9, 5, 4, 7 = 2 penetrating hits = doubly dead tank.

Option 2.  Place the target point on the target - which will be the centre tank.  Any enemy unit within 10” of the target point has a chance of being hit.  Roll for each rocket fired on the “Artillery Barrage Accuracy Table”. On a 1, the rocket simply misses. 2-5 are potential pins. 6 is a hit. Allocate pins and hits using the Indirect Artillery Fire rules. If a successfully hit target is armoured, use its Top armour. Follow the standard HE rules.

Same rolls as previous example

First attack – 2,3,6,6 – two hits, two potential pins – 2 tanks are hit, same 2 tanks are potentially pinned as well.

Second attack – 1,1,2,2,3,3,5,6 – two hits, four potential pins, two misses – 2 tanks are hit, all 3 tanks are potentially pinned, with the centre tank is potentially pinned twice.

Third attack – 1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5,6,6,6 – six hits, four potential pins, two misses – all 3 tanks are hit, all 3 tanks are potentially pinned, with the centre tank is potentially pinned twice.

Roll for hits first AP 6 vs Top Armour 2 = need a 5 on 2D6 to penetrate.  For the sake of this example I need a HE size for the rockets and I decide to classify all rockets as Medium, except for S-13 which I'll classify as Heavy.

1^st – For the hits I roll - 8, 3 = 1 penetrating hit = 1 tank KO'ed.  2^nd tank must make a morale test. I roll a 2 on the suppressing fire effect table so the tank is not pinned (unless it is already pinned from the morale test).  

2^nd – For the hits I roll - 2, 4 = 1 immobilising hit and 2 morale tests.  For my pinning tests I roll badly and none of the tanks are pinned (unless they are already pinned from the morale tests - which may have led to the crew abandoning the immobilised tank).

3^rd – For the hits I roll - 5, 4, 9, 5, 4, 7 = 2 penetrating hits = 2 KOed tanks.  The surviving tank must make 2 morale tests.  Once that's done it tests to see if it's pinned (let's assume it only has 1 potential pin).  I roll a 5 and it is pinned.  Depending on the results of the 2 morale test this may lead to the abandonment of the tank.

So using the Artillery Barrage Table and rules option makes unguided rockets significantly more powerful.  More powerful than bombs even!

That's something to think about...

More on this shortly.

Thanks if you made it this far!

Richard

S&S Models TPz Fuchs

 A while back a mate sent me a couple of S and S Models Fuchs to paint up for him.  A good while back...  So, rather than be embarrassed any longer with how with how bad a friend I am, I recently pushed these to the top of the ridiculously long paint queue and now they're done.

Here they are:

It's a good solid model which comes with a wide selction of stowage options - I've only used a few of those options here - and I think it comes up really nicely.

I also decided to try something different when painting them.  I airbrushed on the base NATO Green colour and then used make-up sponges to add in the NATO Black and Brown.  I think it came out quite well and was pleased with my first attempt at sponging a NATO cam pattern.  I think because they are fairly hefty/solid models, the sponge works well.  I'm not sure I'd use it on a plastic Revell Fuchs though.  I don't think it could stand the punishment of the way I sponged these.

Anyway - that's it for now.  Thanks for looking

Richard

Final UK Para Figures

Because I recently published a list for using UK Paratroopers in AirLand Battlegroup - my unofficial Cold War Battlegroup variant - I decided to finish off my remaining old Liberation Miniatures Paratroopers.  There wasn't many and they had been sitting half finished for probably a year or more, so if there was any time to do it - it was now.

Here they are:

Pretty sure the guy with the Blowpipe is not a Liberation Miniatures figure - maybe Platoon 20? - but he got a bit of an update as well.  Poor bloke probably has 3 different beret colours going on there!

Here's all my LibMin Paras together now:

If I add in a few standard BAOR infantry to the mix, a basic Para Platoon looks something like this:

And when you add some platoon support options it might look a bit like this:

So that's it for today.  A double dose of posts.  Next time I might go through the various Para Section and Platoon TO&Es for AirLand Battlegroup.

Thanks for looking

Richard