APPENDIX 4: TANK ACE!

A Firefly engages a Tiger, by Howard Gerrard © Osprey Publishing Ltd. Taken from Duel 2: Sherman Firefly vs Tiger.

We conclude this book on armoured warfare with a not-so-serious multi-player mini-game, perfect for killing time at an event or club with a fast paced free-for-all.

In this game players are divided into two teams: the Red team and the Blue team. Each player controls a single vehicle.

GAME PARAMETERS

First of all, decide which vehicles are allowed in the game, you can restrict what is allowed with a maximum Defence Value and/or a maximum Penetration value for the main gun of the vehicles that are taking part. You can do this in any combination, as shown in the chart below – simply tick the relevant box!

Once the limits are set, each player selects one vehicle from his collection within the limit you have agreed. This doesn’t have to be a tank – it can be any kind of vehicle so long as it falls within the limit determined for the game. If a player doesn’t have a vehicle that fits within the agreed limit, he can always borrow one from a friend, or alternatively use a stand-in that is as close as possible to the vehicle that is allowed – just so long as everyone knows.

COST AND RANK VEHICLES

After each player has selected a suitable vehicle, all of the models are placed in a row, starting from the greatest points value at one end and working down to the least points value at the other. This is the vehicle’s ranking.

When it comes to working out rank, vehicles are always Veteran if that option is available for them, and they therefore use the Veteran base points cost adjusted for whatever options are taken. If the Veteran option is not available, use the Regular version and cost where available. If only the Inexperienced version is available then use that. In other words, always use the best rating available for the vehicle you have chosen.

The most expensive vehicle – the one that starts the line-up – is vehicle Number One. The second most expensive vehicle is vehicle Number Two, the next Number Three, and so on all the way down the line. If two or more vehicles have the same points cost, roll a die to decide where they sit in the ranking. It is important that the number of vehicles is EVEN, so if you get an odd number of players, you need to place one extra vehicle in the mix, using any vehicle available to any of the players. If possible, this extra vehicle should be cheaper than the cheapest chosen by any player – an unarmed truck, jeep or similar vehicle will serve well in this role.

Here is an example:

•   Vehicle Number One – Paul’s King Tiger – 666pts

•   Vehicle Number Two – John’s Crocodile – 582pts

•   Vehicle Number Three – Alessio’s Pershing (with optional HMG) – 509pts

•   Vehicle Number Four – Rick’s IS-II – 384pts

•   Vehicle Number Five – Wojtek’s StuG III – 276pts

•   Vehicle Number Six – Mark’s Cromwell – 246pts

•   Vehicle Number Seven – Steve’s Chi-Ha – 162pts

•   Vehicle Number Eight – Ches’s AMD Panhard – 126pts

M3 Grant

Z IS FOR…

The story of Zimmerit, a coating of various substances over German tanks intended to make them less vulnerable to magnetic anti-tank mines, is interesting to study as many people hold differing views on its purpose. Suffice to say that it evolved because the German army had developed the Hafthohlladung, or Panzerknacker, in 1942, a man-placed anti-tank charge with strong magnets that held it on to, for example, a passing T-34 tank. It was a successful, if desperate, weapon and the Germans thought that a defence was needed in case a similar weapon was used against them. They asked a chemical company called Zimmer to develop a paste that could be applied to the structure of any tank that was vulnerable to infantry close assault, which would negate a magnetic charge from sticking to the tank.

The Zimmerit paste was applied in the factories from December 1943 until September 1944, when it was decided to discontinue its use for fears of it catching fire, an odd observation when it had to be hardened by a blow torch in the first place! There were many patterns of Zimmerit used on German tanks and, since the Allies never used magnetic charges, perhaps its greatest benefit to Panzer crews was in helping camouflage them and making light reflections poor.

FORM TEAMS

After ranking all vehicles, the players are divided into two teams – the Red and the Blue team. This is done using the method shown on the chart below, which ensures that the teams are roughly balanced.

•   Vehicle Number One is Red.

•   Vehicle Numbers Two and Three are Blue.

•   Vehicle Numbers Four and Five are Red.

•   Vehicle Numbers Six and Seven are Blue.

•   Vehicle Numbers Eight and Nine are Red.

•   Vehicle Numbers Ten and Eleven are Blue… and so on.

To continue our former example:

•   Vehicle Number One – Paul’s King Tiger – 666pts – Red

•   Vehicle Number Two – John’s Crocodile – 582pts – Blue

•   Vehicle Number Three – Alessio’s Pershing (with optional HMG) – 509pts – Blue

•   Vehicle Number Four – Rick’s IS-1– 384pts – Red

•   Vehicle Number Five – Wojtek’s StuG III – 276pts – Red

•   Vehicle Number Six – Mark’s Cromwell – 246pts – Blue

•   Vehicle Number Seven – Steve’s Chi-Ha – 162pts – Blue

•   Vehicle Number Eight – Ches’s AMD Panhard – 126pts – Red

If there is an odd number of players, the extra vehicle is controlled by the player of the indicated team who has the next cheapest vehicle. So, if the AMD Panhard in the example was an extra vehicle (because Ches had to leave early, but graciously left his armoured car behind), it would be controlled by Wojtek as well as his StuG.

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright. In the forests of the night...

ALTERNATIVE TEAM-FORMING METHOD

There is another way to select teams that is certainly a good deal more entertaining – although we leave it to you to decide whether it produces equally balanced teams. The players controlling vehicle Number One and vehicle Number Two in the rankings will alternately pick one player each to join their team. The player controlling Number Two vehicle gets to pick his team-mate first, to keep things balanced, and then each team selects a further team-mate one at a time.

TEAM COMMANDER

Once the teams have been formed, it’s time to determine who is going to be the Commander. If only one vehicle in the team has the Command Vehicle special rule, that player automatically becomes the Commander. If there is more than one Command Vehicle in the team, then the player with the highest ranked Command Vehicle is the Commander. Finally, if there are no Command Vehicles in the team, the player with the highest ranked vehicle becomes the Commander.

The Commander is the player who makes the decisions for the team, if for example some of the team members start debating what their comrades should do, who should get the next Order Die to come out of the mug, and so forth. This is to keep the pace of the game moving forward without too much time spent in discussion.

If the Commander’s vehicle is destroyed, the next vehicle in the ranking (as stated in the selection process above) becomes the next Commander.

GAME ON!

Once the teams and commanders have been formed, play the Tank Battle scenario from this book (see page 17), or the Maximum Attrition scenario from page 110 of the Bolt Action rulebook. If in doubt, roll a die on the following chart:

•   1-2: Tank Battle scenario

•   3-4: Maximum Attrition scenario

•   5: Red team choice

•   6: Blue team choice

US Marines burst from the jungle