14 replies to this topic

[Peter M. Skaar]

I just finished hosting another game of Mein Panzer at Imperial Outpost Games in Glendale Arizona.  This time we had 4 players for the game, 2 Russian and 2 German.  Three of our players had played before but only a couple times and one guy had never played before.  I think the game went very well and the players had a great time.

The scenario was set in August 1943 when the Russian Summer Offensive was underway after Kursk.  Originally, I had visions of getting my SU-152s, Tiger Is, Panther Ds, and even some Ferdinands into the game but decided that was too much for the number of players I had.  I had 5 players signed up originally but 1 of them had a family emergency. 

The Russians had 30 T-34/76 M1943 which is a battalion in the July 1942 organization.  The Germans each had a somewhat reduced mixed company of Panzer III L/M/N plus Panzer IVs.  I rated the Russians as regulars and the Germans as veterans to give them a slight advantage in crew quality.

The best German tank in the game is the Panzer IV G/H with an AP value of 12 vs T-34 frontal armor of 9.  The Panzer IIIL/M are all 7AP which is -2 vs the frontal on a T-34 of 9.  The Panzer IIIN has an AP value of only 5 so I gave the German unlimited HEAT ammo for those to compensate.  I also gave the Germans 2 APCR rounds each for the Panzer IIIL/M which boosts the AP value up to 13.

Sideskirts.  All German tanks in the game have these.  I chose to add only +1 to the side armor value of the German tanks due to the thin armor rather than that which is listed.  These were designed to help defeat smaller caliber AT rifle rounds and had some effect against HEAT as well.  Their effect against larger rounds is debatable but I felt a +1 was reasonable.

The T-34 M1943 is a very good all around tank in Mein Panzer and compares favorably with the the German tanks it was facing in this game.  With a Cross Country speed of 6 and Road Rate of 8, it can get places in a hurry and use evasive movement if it needs to.  It also has a decent main gun with an AP of 9 vs 7/8 Frontal Armor for the Panzer III/IV respectively.  The frontal armor is 9 and the side and rear armor are also pretty good.

I decided to give the Germans a pre-game turn before we rolled for initiative.  This allowed the Germans who were defending to arrive at the battlefield first but not able to get to their ideal defensive positions too soon either.

Here are a few pictures of the pre-game turn.









More narrative and pictures coming soon.
 

[healey36]

Those players look deadly serious, my goodness, lol. Nothing like the frequent chortling seen/heard here as one watches his/her Panther battalion shot to pieces.

 

A lovely table with top-rate miniatures, Peter.

[Begemot_]

Pete,

 

Lovely table. Looking forward to more.

 

Begemot

[Kenny Noe]

Pete,

 

Hello!  Great table and write up as always.

 

Question, you mention 'sideskirts' and adding +1 on the sides of the PzIII L/M/N and PzIV G/H.  MPC already accounts for Schüzen German side skirts also known as Spaced Armor.  

 

From MPC WWII Databook.

 

 

 

 

The S DV column has a 3/7 number.  This means that versus AP ammo the S DV is 3 and versus HEAT ammo the S DV 7 (Spaced Armor)

 

All other Pz models didn't have Schüzen armor so their S DV are only 3.

 

Hope this helps.

[Peter M. Skaar]

Thank you all, Healey, Begemot, and Kenny.

Turn 1. The Russians won the initiative and moved first.  The T-34 Battalion sent 2 companies toward the central hill top while the 3rd company peeled off toward the village toward the Northwest part of the map.  The Germans moved to try to shore up their initial defensive positions with 5th Company sending a Panzer III Platoon and a Panzer IV Platoon to defend the hill while the other Panzer III Platoon set up in the village.  The 6th Company sent 1 Panzer III Platoon to the South across the minor river while the other 2 Platoons moved to support 5th Company on the hill.

Note:  We played with the German side having Veteran status and thus greater Command Range in addition to the other benefits.  The Command Range was 18 inches from the HQ to the various Platoons and up to 3 inch spacing between individual tanks within the Platoon.  The Russian Regulars had to maintain the normal 12 inch Command Range and 2 inch spacing to be in Command.

No combat occurred during this turn as both sides were deploying. 

A few pictures from Turn 1.















 

[W. Clark]

Looks like DATS only.

 

WMC

[Mark Hinds]

Very nice looking table.  If your hosting service allows it, more detailed images would be nice, as these are kind of small. 

 

MH

[Peter M. Skaar]

[Peter M. Skaar]

Another picture from Stemming the Tide.  Checking to see if the enlargement is working.

[W. Clark]

Oh, it's a gorgeous looking table IMHO.

 

WMC

[Peter M. Skaar]

Thank you both very much, W. Clark and Mark!  I appreciate it.

Mark, I am checking out trying to make the pictures a bit bigger.  They really are just a tad small.

[Peter M. Skaar]

One more test photo.  Apparently it is still a bit small.  Hmmmm.

[Peter M. Skaar]

"Stemming the Tide" Turns 2 through 4.

The Russians again got the initiative on turn 2.  The Russians decided to push against the major hill in the center with 2 of their 3 companies while the 3rd Company made its push against the village in the Northwest map area.  The German tanks of 5th Company solidified their defense of the hill with 2 companies including the Panzer IV Platoon while the 3rd Company defended the village.  Meanwhile, the German 6th Company sent 1 Platoon of Panzer IIIs on a flanking movement around the southern map area while the other 2 Companies moved to support 5th Company in the Center.

There was a lot of action on turns 3 and 4 as the Russians in the Center continued their drive to the hilltop.  The Panzer IV Platoon from 5th Company was destroyed as well as 2 of the 4 Panzer IIIs defending the village.  Meanwhile the flanking Panzer III Platoon from 6th Company was able to destroy 1 tank of a T-34 Platoon from behind before the other 2 in that Platoon were able to react.  The 2 surviving T-34s were able to face about and managed to destroy 1 of the Panzer IIIs in return.  The other two Platoons from 6th Company were coming up to support what was left of 5th Company in the Center.

At the end of Turn 4 we called the game for the Germans.  At that time the Germans still controlled all the geographic objectives but were being hard pressed to hold the village and the Center was under significant pressure from the remaining T-34s of 2 Companies.  The Germans had lost 7 tanks or slightly over 1/4 of their force of 26 tanks.  The Russians had lost around 8 or 9 T-34s so still had around at least 20 tanks still in the fight.

If the game had gone longer, I think it would have been very close.  I would have liked to have gotten 6 to 8 turns to completion but a couple of the guys had to go.  The game flowed smoothly and the guys were able to easily resolve any line of sight or flanking issues among themselves.  Ultimately, everyone had a great time and that is a success.

Here are more pictures from the game - Turns 2 through 4.  I apologize in advance if some of them are a bit smaller than I would like.


The flanking move develops on Turn 3.


The 3rd Company T-34s assault the village.  There are a couple losses but the attack presses on.

 

The Germans defending the village have 1 tank suppressed and 1 knocked out

 

Another view of the attack on the village.


The Center on Turn 4.  The Russians have lost several T-34s but are still pressing.  The flanking attack on the Russian left has met with limited success.


The Germans have 1 brewed up tank and 1 knocked out in the village at the end of Turn 4.


Panzer IIIs and IVs of 6th Company move up to support the hard pressed 5th Company in the Center of the German line.

[Begemot_]

Pete - Great AAR. Too bad time prevented the game from running its course to a clear conclusion. Great photos, too. The visual dimension is what miniatures gaming is really all about.

 

 

Begemot

[Peter M. Skaar]

Thank you very much, Begemot, and Happy New Year to you and the rest of the gang here that haunts the ODGW Forum. 

If it were up to me, I think we should have gone about 8 turns to see how everything turned out and I think we would have a more clear idea of the winner.  As I mentioned earlier,  when we called it, the Germans were ahead but with a bit more time, the Russians would have certainly taken the village and the central hill might have been secured by them as well. As it was, after 4 turns, the losses on both sides were pretty close to even with the Germans having lost about 7 tanks and the Russians about 8 if I recall correctly. 

I too love the visual effect on miniature wargaming and that is a great part of the attraction for me.