Panzer Leader Posted March 22, 2001 Share Posted March 22, 2001 Okay, here they are: One, what were the Volkstrum? Two, what was in your avereage US Armor company in spring, '45? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Petersson Posted March 22, 2001 Share Posted March 22, 2001 One: German home defence units. Quickly trained to do some defensive fighting, equipped with light weapons. Two: Tanks. (Medium tank companies would have Sherman tanks, someone probably have exact numbers, but I'd say - Three platoons of five tanks, one or two of them with 76mm gun. - Company HQ with two Sherman(75) and two Sherman(105). A few of the tanks (0-3?) in the company could be Jumbo(75). Light tank companies had all Suarts. Typical mix was one light and two medium companies in each batallion. There might be some recon element in the HQ as well, but I don't know about those...) Cheers Olle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve McClaire Posted March 22, 2001 Share Posted March 22, 2001 According to the US TO&E info I have, the various vehicles would be: For a medium tank company: Co HQ with 2 Jeeps, 2 Shermans, 1 Sherman 105, 1 ammo truck w/trailer, 1 M3 Halftrack, and 1 M32 ARV (armor recovery vehicle). Three tank companies each with 5 Shermans. Light tank companies were the same, except that they had M5 stuarts (or possibly M24s by 1945) instead of M4 Shermans, and no M4 105 in the Co HQ. There were three medium and one light tank companies per tank battalion. In addition the battalion had 3 more M4 105's in an assault gun platoon, 3 M21 mortar halftracks in a mortar platoon, and 5 MG jeeps in a recon platoon -- any of which could have possibly been in support of a tank company, in addition to whatever was available from the higher unit the tank battalion was part of (Usually attached to an infantry division, if a separate tank battalion, or part of a combat command w/ armored infantry, if in an armored division). If you mean "What specific types of M4 tanks where in an armor company?" I can't help as much. My understanding is that usually one Sherman per platoon was armed with a 76mm gun (and occassionally these would instead be combined into one platoon of all 76mm Shermans, rather than parceling them out) and that the M4A3 models were more prevalent at this stage of the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted March 22, 2001 Author Share Posted March 22, 2001 Thanks fellas, that's just the info I was looking for. MikeD -- I can see how you thought that, I misspelled average as "avereage". [This message has been edited by Panzer Leader (edited 03-22-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mikey D Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 I had misread your question, I thought you asked the average AGE of US soldiers in 1945! To answer the question you didn't ask: mid-30s. The ages of soldiers have been dropping steadily from war-to-war. The average Vietnam war G.I. was DISTRESSINGLY young! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted March 23, 2001 Author Share Posted March 23, 2001 How about a little more info on the Volkstrum. Their firepower rating seems to be pretty good considering their size (7 men) and the fact that they are more civilian than soldier. What gives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 Originally posted by Mikey D: I had misread your question, I thought you asked the average AGE of US soldiers in 1945! To answer the question you didn't ask: mid-30s. The ages of soldiers have been dropping steadily from war-to-war. The average Vietnam war G.I. was DISTRESSINGLY young! I've seen the figure given elsewhere as 26. I think for rifle companies this would be closer to accurate - if you are counting the entire army, the older fellows tended to go to non-combatant arms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakalwe Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 Originally posted by Panzer Leader: How about a little more info on the Volkstrum. Their firepower rating seems to be pretty good considering their size (7 men) and the fact that they are more civilian than soldier. What gives? Check out their weapons mix. They are armed with a lot of automatic weapons. They are very nasty at close range, but their firepower drops off rapidly with the range. Also, the fact that there are only seven men makes them very brittle. Finally, when designing scenarios or buying troops for QBs, Volksturm units should be Conscript or Green. Buying Regular or better Volksturm platoons might be considered gamey by some members of the CM community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted March 23, 2001 Author Share Posted March 23, 2001 Yeah, I wasn't considering them for a QB, that would just be -- weird. I am actually thinking of using them in a scenario I am designing where a platoon of Volkstrum oversee the evacuation of a convoy of trucks off the map edge. From what I've read, they would be PERFECT for this task. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deejaykaotic Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 Originally posted by Zakalwe: Check out their weapons mix. They are armed with a lot of automatic weapons. They are very nasty at close range, but their firepower drops off rapidly with the range. exactly, Hitler was big on automatic weapons by the end of the war in order to increase the firepower of his ever dwindiling supply of troops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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