Wehrmacht 47 ARV's

[green beanie]

I was thinking that GHQ has all these great E series tanks, tank destroyers, APC's and SPAA vehicles for their German Wehrmacht 47 line but as yet they have not come up with an Armoured Recovery Vehicle to tow the damaged ones off of the game table. I am in hopes that some day GHQ might come up with one, but until then I figured I just might have to try and scratch build one using a Tiger II hull,Jagdtiger Hull or Strumtiger hull for I feel these vehicles were being phased out by the E series and these would be the hulls the Germans might have used for ARV's for the E series. I figured mounting spades in the back of the vehicles and A frame type of cranes up front with lots of stowage. For the Tiger II hull maybe a box like structure like the Panther ARV's had. What are your thoughts?

[Schwerepunkt]

Using the Tiger II, SturmTiger and JagdTiger as ARVs would be a good interim solution for the Wehrmacht. However, the E Series was to be deployed mostly with the SS so the Wehrmacht would need their heavy panzers for local population control, isolated pockets of resistance left behind by the advancing SS panzers and other subordinate functions.

I think the best way for Germany to deploy ARVs is to build special ones for the E-Series, and deploy trailers to carry E100s and E75s both to and from combat areas. German progress in the East would depend on the state of railroads left behind by the Russians. This is where the SdKfz 251/1 and up series would be useful, the PzKw III and IV, and other vehicles for security of the railroad lines.

[6mmwargaming]

I thought the German engineering was so superior in 47, that no break down vehicles were required!

Cheers
Kieran

[Schwerepunkt]

Your sarcasm is not appreciated HerrGaming. All armies, especially mechanized ones require armored recovery vehicles, especially the German 1947 SS groups with such large vehicles. One definite improvement of the E Series was the uniformity of parts so repairs would be easier and supplies easier to maintain.
All vehicles with battle damage need repairs but in the case of Wehrmacht 47 vehicles, will not need to be abandoned if towing vehicles have adequate power. Tortoise and T95 would be rather difficult to get back to Battalion of Depot maintenance in their own right.

[6mmwargaming]

Your sarcasm is not appreciated HerrGaming.

No sarcasm intended, hence the smiley face.

[Schwerepunkt]

...I just thought the comment about the extraordinary nature of the WM47 vehicles would make them immune to breakdown, which of course they would not.
What would have helped the Germans, especially on the Ostront would have been transportation units that could have carried SPGs, STUGs and Panzers to the front. Rail lines would have become even more vital and in need of reinforcement. Vehicles like MAUS would only have been used in defense of vital nerve centers of communications and transporation hubs.
By 1947, tactical SSMs might have been in use, especially hand carried, more powerful than bazookas but more mobile that recoiless rifles. As far as WM47 is concerned, knocking a tread off did not mean loss of the entire vehicle in my opinion.

[av8rmongo]

Your sarcasm is not appreciated HerrGaming.

No sarcasm intended, hence the smiley face.

Some find the sarcasm, intended or otherwise, refreshing.