Tag: Forces

D-Day: German Counter List

with Lonnie Mullins (Battlefront US)

The Germans are coming and, not being a German player, I’m planning on beefing up my American D-Day Forces to counter the Panzer IVs, Panthers, and Tigers (oh my) that I hear Brian talking about and expect to be dealing with.  I expect to be dealing with somewhere between 9 and 17 tanks so I’ve got to be smart about what I’m taking.
I love the Armored Rifle Company but I just don’t have the time to paint that many infantry up fast enough for our league, having let my “paint figure quickly” skill atrophy over time.  I don’t relish being hit on a 3+ so my plan is for a complete Veteran M4 Sherman Tank Company.

My force consists of 23 Sherman Tanks of various configurations and 2 support vehicles and is broken-down as follows:
My 76mm tanks are going to be the biggest threat to any German armor I encounter and are thus, the most likely targets of enemy counter fire.  That being said, all of the smoke that I can lay down with the 75mm and 105mm Sherman Tanks should be sufficient to protect my boys from too much steel coming their way and hitting them until they get into range.
My hope for my screen of M5 Stuarts is that they get ignored until I’m able to exploit some weak points along the enemy lines; get enough of ‘em along the flanks of some Panzer IVs and there’s gonna’ be a lot of dead Panzer IVs (hopefully).
The standard 75mm Sherman Tanks, when they’re not casting smoke down-range, are more than sufficient in knocking out Panzer IVs but really need the flank shots to have a hope of pinging any Panthers or Tigers; they’ll be operating mostly in support of the 76mms unless I see an opening I can exploit.

I’ve never used 105mm Sherman Tanks before but I’m eager to get them in the field.  The idea of knocking out German Tanks with a Sherman from artillery fire at 48-inches from the top makes me giddy.  And their anti-tank for direct fire isn’t too bad either.
Lastly, just in case someone brings some aircraft, I’ve got a small contingent of AAA to handle that eventuality.