Formerly Babra Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 I've just started a couple of buy-your-own QBs for PBEM and I'm wondering what others have found to be effective purchases. What ratio of armour to infantry tends to work best? How much arty? What proportion of support units and specialized vehicles? Only the mighty and victorious need reply ------------------ It's a mother-beautiful bridge and it's gonna be THERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 I've always found Hetzer's to be very cost effective. There are other vehicles that I like but I need to keep some secrets. ------------------ And if we abandon any platform, I can assure you it will not be the Macintosh. -Steve My website! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Captain Foobar* Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 Babra, buy a whole lot of Hotchkiss vehicles, and then send me a setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted August 7, 2000 Author Share Posted August 7, 2000 I'm not speaking of what's cool and what's not. I'm speaking of what ratio of different kinds of assets make up a good, balanced force capable of fulfilling multiple missions. (And I happen to like the Hotchkiss, thank you very much ) ------------------ It's a mother-beautiful bridge and it's gonna be THERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 1:StuH42's. Takes out infantry with it's nice 105mm cannon. I perfer it to the Hummel and Wespe because it is not opentop and has some AT capability. 2: Small, fast vehicle with good AT capibility. Unforunetly slow ROF but that's not usually a problem. Either you're using it in ambushes at close range and you don't miss or your at long range and the Amis shells simply ricochet off into the distance or miss completly due to the small profile. This is a niche vehicle. Sometimes you get lucky. Use it smartly and it will pay off. 3: Tiger I's. Nothing like a good ol' MBT to round off your armor complement. Good armor. Good gun. This tank fits many roles. I don't like the fact that the PzIV is weakly armored and the 75mm just isn't big enough. The Panther is more expensive and just doesn't seem to resist shells as well. This tank can be used in an AT role or an AP role. Just my Canadian 3 cents. ------------------ And if we abandon any platform, I can assure you it will not be the Macintosh. -Steve My website! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacestick Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Formerly Babra: I'm not speaking of what's cool and what's not. I'm speaking of what ratio of different kinds of assets make up a good, balanced force capable of fulfilling multiple missions. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Formerly Babra Your posts look vaguely familiar, what was your handle before you became known as Formerley Babra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted August 7, 2000 Author Share Posted August 7, 2000 ummm.... I forget. Big Joe called me Barbara or somethin'... To rephrase my original question, let's work with some real numbers: Assuming I have one platoon of armour (doesn't matter what nationality or type), how many platoons of infantry should ideally accompany, how many FOOs, how much support? The resultant force should be capable of both offensive and defensive operations. Some tend towards the ratio of 2:1 armour vs. infantry, while others prefer 1:2. ------------------ It's a mother-beautiful bridge and it's gonna be THERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 Thats a good question. It comes down to your preferance and tactics.Everyone plays differently. I love having lots of armor,but realisticly if you have lots of infantry with anti tank capabilities they can devestate armor. Just try a few and determine what works best for you.But if you must know,I usually use roughly 2 tanks per infantry company and 2 or 3 spotters regardless of the size of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarmo Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 One of my PBEM opponents always buys a load of arty. I hate it! As soon as I show up it starts raining and it just goes on and on. Effective, but I still prefer direct fire. ------------------ Now, would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking slowly towards the enemy sir? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil the Dill Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jarmo: One of my PBEM opponents always buys a load of arty. I hate it! As soon as I show up it starts raining and it just goes on and on. Effective, but I still prefer direct fire. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Would that just happen to be me Jarmo? -PHIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 A force mixture that has worked for me so far is a ratio of one company of infantry for each platoon of tanks. A close support support tank or two is nice if you can afford it. As for infantry close support weapons, whatever comes with the company is about right, though you might want to throw in an extra machine gun or two. In terms of artillery support, I like a couple, one for the battalion mortars and one for a battery of divisional arty. This is just a general sketch. You have a lot of leeway in tailoring your battlegroup. If it's wide open terrain, you might want to buy more tanks, although I still like the idea of having a complete company of infantry. But in this case, put them in halftracks, as otherwise they get cut up too bad walking across those wide open spaces. You might want to employ a bit more off-map arty too, unless you have reason to believe that your opponent is fielding a force that is subtantially smaller than your own. Also, if he has an armor-heavy force, you can cut back on the amount of infantry in your own force. Go for tanks and other weapons that can score long-range kills (arty again). And as Loki said, the best mixture is the one that works for you and your style of play. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
von Lucke Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 I try to maintain a 1 tank for 1 infantry platoon ratio, one of which should be of the infantry support (93mm - 105mm gun) variety. If points allow, I usually try to throw in at least one Arty observer and a fast AC as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatAWilson Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 I generally like to have at least one armored platoon available. Halftracks are great for getting folks to a hot spot in a hurry. just make sure that you have cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarmo Posted August 7, 2000 Share Posted August 7, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Phil the Dill: Would that just happen to be me Jarmo? -PHIL <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Actually no. You use arty too, but it's not like having 3 or 4 observers simultaneously open up in the same position! ------------------ Now, would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking slowly towards the enemy sir? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guachi Posted August 8, 2000 Share Posted August 8, 2000 I echo the above comments. One platoon of tanks 9or other armored vehicles) to one company of infantry. Preferably at least one the tanks has a powerful AT gun. I almost never buy vehicles if I can get away with it. If you play Americans, a 76mm armed tank or TD is a must. You won't need to buy support weapons as a US infantry Coy already has the bazookas/MGs/mortars. British units need to purchase MGs and Germans need to purchase schrecks. The Americans and Brits have one bazooka/PIAT per platoon but given the cost of the schreck, I would go for 1 per 2 platoons. Toss in a cheap FO (81mm or 3in). The power of these isn't high but the shells arrive quickly even for low quality and they are the best for smoke screens. I'd go for someting REALLY big as a complement if I had the points. If I was on the defense, I'd take all infantry and go for as many on-board guns (AT and howitzers) and support weapons as possible. Weapons platoons and weapons companies are your friends. Reduced point cost for buying in formation as well as inherent HQs. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Smith Posted August 8, 2000 Share Posted August 8, 2000 It really depends on the mission objective - in a meeting engagement I go for a nice balance - in assault I go heavy armour and mobility and in defence 1 or 2 big units and lots or Arty and AT guns with a heavy amount of Infantry. For a 1000pt battle I usualy use the following as a basis and build upon it (lets assume its a meeting engagement) Recon - (lots) 1 or 2 Puma's or 234's with 75's to provide a measure of respect and 1 or 2 251/9's with a 20mm as anti infantry Infantry - Armoured Mech - the benefit of a HT over a truck as a mobile gun platform is worth it's weight in Gold - and their speed differential across country often means the difference between sucess and failure. Armour - 2 or 3 Stug III's, IV's or Stu42's as they give good bang for buck and if the period suits then perhaps a Hetzer if I can afford it (with the turret rotate speeds of German tanks and the cost difference a Mk IV is not as cost benificial as a Stug within the game - IMO - perhaps points need to be looked at?). Support - A battery of 81mm or 120mm mortars with 2 FO's and finally a 50mm and 75mm AT guns with tractors. Obviously this set up changes with the time period but it works for me more often than not. With US forces the same force structure works but replace Stugs with Hellcats or Wolverine's. hope this helps mate. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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