Pete's Place

[Begemot]

"... as sometimes in the real world you bring what you have, not always what you would like to have"

Exactly.

Remember: "No b*stard ever won a war with a full TOE. He won it by making the other poor dumb b*stard's TOE worse than his."



Begemot

[pmskaar]

Thanks very much, Begemot! Yes, it is always better to have more stuff than the other guy even if you aren't able to bring all your stuff.

[Hoth_902]

Pete,

Thanks for the information. Also, to answer your question, it does help. Where ever possible, I plan on putting Tactical numbers on the vehicles, so deciding how to build up my units before applying decals is critical. While I know that I will probably have more than 1 first company, if I am using 3 digit tactical numbers, where ever possible I would like to have the 1st digit to be different between companies.. Now, for the tanks where only two or 1 digit tactical numbers work, then its less of an issue. For the Allies vehicles, the lack of Tactical numbers makes it easier to just build without concern..

As for how they appear in a game, even if the unit is modeled at full strength, I know that it will be rare that I put a full company on the board at one time. However, I would like the flexibility to increase a unit, with additional vehicles and they still have the same Tactical number sequence. Anyway, I am probably over thinking all this.. I am engineer, so its a mental think.

[Tanker Mike]

Thanks for the information. Also, to answer your question, it does help. Where ever possible, I plan on putting Tactical numbers on the vehicles, so deciding how to build up my units before applying decals is critical. While I know that I will probably have more than 1 first company, if I am using 3 digit tactical numbers, where ever possible I would like to have the 1st digit to be different between companies.. Now, for the tanks where only two or 1 digit tactical numbers work, then its less of an issue. For the Allies vehicles, the lack of Tactical numbers makes it easier to just build without concern..

You probably already know this but below is a link for information about WWII German Panzer numbering.

https://bunker3030.blogspot.com/2011/06 ... digit.html

[pmskaar]

Thanks very much for that article, Tanker Mike!

[Hoth_902]

Tanker,

I second Pete's comment. I do have references on the subject, but it never hurts to have more. You never know when an additional reference might provide extra data or explain things in a better way. As an example, I looked through the page real quick and learned something that fast. I learned that the letter in front of the two no digit tactical marker for a Tiger, was the Company's name. Never knew that before.

[pmskaar]

I hosted another game of Mein Panzer at Imperial Outpost Games on Saturday, December 7th.

The scenario was set in Russian in August 1943 right after Kursk when the Russians are going over to the offensive. There is a gap created in the front and the Russians are moving to exploit it. The Germans send elements of a Panzer Division to try to close it. The scenario is called "Stemming the Tide".

There were 4 players for the game with me doing the hosting duties. The 2 Russian players had a 30 tank T-34 Battalion between them and the 2 Germans each ran a reduced reduced Panzer III/IV Company of 13 tanks each.

I gave the Germans Veteran troop quality and the Russians Regular troop quality. I also gave the German Panzer IIIL/M tanks 2 rounds each of APCR in addition to the AP rounds. Having Veteran status gave the Germans a bonus shot. I did this all to try to balance things out a bit as the T-34 is a very good tank for this period with great speed, decent armor, and a good overall main gun.

I started the game off with the Germans having a pre-game move to get on the map before the mayhem officially began on Turn 1.

Here are a few pictures of the German pre-game move.

[Hoth_902]

Pete,
That looks amazing. Side question, what type PZ IVs, are they the Hs? Please post more pictures, it's truly a ready for the eyes!!!!

[pmskaar]

Thank you very much, Hoth! I will be posting more pictures and narrative soon.

The Panzer IVs represent late G and H which at this time were virtually identical. They are identical in Mein Panzer at least.

[PolishGI]

Wow, Pete, great pics. Looks like a lot of fun. What was the final outcome?


I always distinguished the G (late) from the H by whether or not schürzen is present. NOT scientific by any stretch… But the early G had the 75L43 gun… late G had the 75L48… (my thought; internal ailment) was the H had the 75L48 gun with the side plates. Idk

Board looks really good!

[Hoth_902]

I guess, fortunately or maybe unfortunately, GHQ only currently makes the G without side skirts and the H with side skirts. I started doing some light reading and they say the biggest difference Between the G and H is armor thickness and a something to speed up production..

[redleg]

Looks fantastic Pete! I can't wait to get another game in on your terrain!

[pmskaar]

Thanks again very much, Polish GI and Hoth.

I will be posting more on the AAR very soon. I will say that it was a very good game with lots of action.

Panzer IVG and Panzer IVH. I have the Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two that was given to me as a gift by a friend years ago. This book is a treasure trove of all the German armor and armored cars and halftracked vehicles of WWII including experimental models and captured vehicles in German service.

Production of the Panzer IVG began in May 1942 and went until June 1943. The H was produced from April 1943 until July 1944 when the J model came on line. The G and H actually overlapped production by a couple months. The original Gs had the L43 gun which was superseded in later models by the L48. As the Gs were nearing the end of production, they were virtually indistinguishable from the H models both in looks and characteristics.

I think most German tanks in 1943 were either fitted with schurzen or had the ability to be fitted with them. I am pretty sure that many Gs were outfitted with schurzen when they became available or outfitted in the factory later on.

Mein Panzer distinguishes the Panzer IVG1 from the Panzer IVG2. The G1 is the earlier model with the L43 gun while the G2 is combined in the Data Book with the H. The speed of all of these is the same as is the basic armor but the earlier L43 gun is a bit less effective than the later L48.
For game purposes the late G or G2 and the H are the same. Most Gs were originally manufactured with the L43 gun but in March 1943 the L48 was used. I do not know how many of the earlier Gs were retrofitted with the L48 gun.

[Mortis57]

The late Ausf G, H, and J were (for most rule systems) stat-wise virtually identical. If I was going to get models of each of them (at our scale), I'd use the schurzen to differentiate them.

No schurzen = G
Plate schurzen = H
Mesh schurzen = J

That said, I currently just use Ausf Hs! Although I do have a few F2s as OP vehicles and some Ausf Ds (acting as A-Ds) for 21st Panzer Division.

Book-wise as well as the Encyclopedia Pete mentions I also recommend the Panzer Tracts series of books. https://www.panzertracts.com/

[Edit] Found a list of their books on the site: https://www.panzertracts.com/the-comple ... er-tracts/

[Hoth_902]

Pete,

Well, I pulled the trigger on the Encyclopedia you suggested. I am getting one cheap that is in "Good" condition. See how bad it is.. Not expecting much for 20 bucks... but with Free returns, no loss for trying... On a slightly different note, I just ran out of the humbrol Green color I have been using for my tanks.. So time to order more. Plus all the open paint cans that dried up because the lid not sealing right... Ugh.. So before I put my order in, I was wondering if you could tell me what Humbrol Color you use for German panzers that are in the German grey? Also, do you have a picture of some of the vehicles that you might have done in German Grey?