Supertanker

OK, the Russians can be in CM2 (now that Big Time has my permission , but when can we expect the Pacific Theater? How about an expansion set to CM1? Compared to the Russians, there aren't that many models to create (hope, hope). Brad "Supertanker" Wohlenberg

It might be an error to simply state that tanks physically running over infantry either did or did not happen all of the time. Different war, different place, but in Tank Sergeant (IIRC), by Ralph Zumbro, he described numerous times where the US tankers in Vietnam would drive their tank onto a spider hole or a log bunker and do a neutral steer on top of it. This would simultaneously kill the occupants and destroy the fortification. With this in mind, my point is that it depends on circumstances as to whether or not this is a valid tactic. If soldiers are out in the open, it seems unlikely you could move the tank quickly enough to actually run someone over. If they are in certain types of fortifications, physical overruns perhaps might be a valid tactic. Zumbro also describes another close assault tactic of driving up to a bunker and inserting the 90mm (I think these were M48 tanks) into the firing slots of the bunker and firing an HE round inside. Very effective, from both the round and the expanding propellant gases.

Actually, both situations probably involved a unit employing a little-known piece of German equipment called the "Dratipizzedmishortzenwaffe." First deployed in the summer of 1944, it was intended as a last-ditch defensive device if troops were being overrun. Essentially, it was a set of boxer shorts impregnated with an incendiary explosive that lacked only one ingredient: urea. Casualty analysis by the Germans showed that troops in the midst of being overrun would, obviously, have their hands full doing other things (shooting, reloading, etc.). Because of that, they were unable to draw a weapon at the last second in order to at least take their attacker with them and, the high command would hope, blunt the attack. Therefore, the Germans began to develop weapons that did not require the use of the hands. Some were immediate failures, such as the panzeroffnung (a.k.a. mouthzooka), while others (including the dratipizzedmishortzenwaffe) showed promise and saw limited deployment. The dratipizzedmishortzenwaffe was at first beloved by the troops, especially on the east front. This is because the other ingredients of the explosive made the dratipizzedmishortzenwaffe take the form of a pair of warm, quilted boxer shorts. In order to facilitate the transmission of urea into the dratipizzedmishortzenwaffe, the interior was even lined with some of the depleting stocks of flannel! The love affair soon ended, as in a shocking oversight, the Germans had apparently forgotten that there were many, many things on the battlefield which could cause the user to initiate an accidental deployment of the dratipizzedmishortzenwaffe. Some historians suggest that the oversight was known, but simply ignored because of the increasing desperation of the strategic situation. The lucky users experienced a form of misfire that merely made them seem extremely flatulent. Soon after deployment, several counteroffensives stalled in a frenzy of exploding pants, and the dratipizzedmishortzenwaffe was quickly withdrawn from service. That was not the end of the dratipizzedmishortzenwaffe, as the Allied forces found abandoned crates of the devices as they moved deeper into German territory. The "liberation" and deployment of the cozy, but deadly, undergarments is an understandable mistake, and likely explains the end of your mortar crew. It sounds to me like some incoming fire came uncomfortably close to your crew (wearing captured dratipizzedmishortzenwaffe), and that obviously triggered an accidental deployment. Kudos to Big Time for the incredible level of detail and obscure historical research that led to the inclusion of this hated but innovative device! Brad "Supertanker" Wohlenberg

Fionn wrote: "I'm sure what happened is that the crew strolled into the objective while all the enemy units were busy duking it out with infantry units on either side.." Fionn's right, I used these guys as simple warm bodies. They would not have made it into the town except for the fact they were covered by about eight squads of veterans and regulars and the two remaining tanks. There was no duking left to do, the Germans were either dead or had run. Well, I would never assume they are completely gone, hence the need for the crew. Imagine my best gruff noncom voice: "Hey, tankless wonders! Quit yer whinin' about the 88s and go check the bodies in that rubble. We'll cover you. Watch out for booby traps and try not to trip on all the rifles those Volksgrenadiers dropped." I admit there is a gamey aspect to this. I purposely used the crew as "scouts" rather than risk a valuable unit like a rested veteran infantry squad. If someone is going to be cut down in an ambush, I'd rather it be a unit I already wrote off. This is an old trick, going back to at least Jr. High games of the original Squad Leader. Half-squads with crappy 6+1 leaders, surviving crews, Kubelwagens, I've always made them do the really risky stuff rather than wait in the back. Think of it as the mirror image of recon by fire. Brad "Supertanker" Wohlenberg

You (and the instructions) are not kidding about the luck factor. I just finished my first game, attacking the town as the Americans. I lost one Sherman to the veteran 88 on the hill (first shot, didn't even see where it came from), but the crew survived intact and even took a victory location later. The next Sherman, a regular, spotted and engaged that 88 in a duel at over 800 meters. When the first 88 round bounced off, I figured these guys were charmed. The Sherman lost a tread, but forced the abandonment of the 88. After the other 88 was knocked out by a combination of small arms and 105 area fire, I knew the two remaining mobile Shermans made the game mine to lose. Perhaps overly careful infantry screening of the tanks resulted in a slow but Total Victory at the end of turn 30. Now, of course, I'm scared to play again because I know nothing will go right