More for OpSquad

A collection of thoughts regarding weapons not included in the rulebook that perhaps should be:

Rifle Grenades:The rifle-grenade fires, using a bullet-catching device, an explosive charge over long distances, giving infantry squads a handy extra 'punch' in combat. As such, the following stats may be used to represent this:

Rifle Grenade: Short +1d6, Normal +1d6, Long -, Extreme N/E, Rate of Fire 1, 5(A),
Single Shot
The rifleman may alternatively use his rifle as a standard weapon of its type, e.g. a Kar 98K or an SMLE.


Shoulder-Launched Anti-Tank Rockets: There are two significant types of man-portable anti-tank rocket launchers; the re-loadable Panzerschreck or Bazooka, and the single-shot Panzerfaust. As such, they really require two different statlines:

Panzerfaust: Short +2d6, Normal -, Long N/E, Extreme N/E, Rate of Fire 1 10(A), One Shot, Bunker Buster

Bazooka (etc): Short +2d6, Normal +1d6, Long -, Extreme N/E, Rate of Fire 1, 10(A), Single Shot, Support Weapon, Cumbersome

One Shot: May only be fired once per game.
Bunker Buster: -1d6 from any cover.

Incendiary Weapons: By which I mean Molotov cocktails, flamethrowers, and WP grenades.

Molotov Cocktails, WP Grenades: Short +1d6, Normal/Long/Extreme: N/E, Rate of Fire 1, 5(A), Minimum Range 10, Incendiary
Flamethrowers: Short +3d6, Normal +2d6, Long/Extreme: N/E, Rate of Fire Special, Incendiary, Cumbersome

Incendiary: Any figure hit by an incendiary weapon will be set on fire. A figure on fire must roll 2d6 each turn, adding one every turn after the first, as though shot (e.g. they can be pinned, wounded or killed). A friendly figure may attempt to put the fire out by spending one turn in base contact with them, and rolling 10 or more on 2d6 + VT.
Rate of Fire Special: Draw a straight line from the flamethrower operator up to a maximum of 50cm. Anyone within 3cm of the line is hit.

And, lastly, Body Armour: Rarely worn, but most of all by Red Army assault squads and combat engineers, WWII body armour comprised sheets of shaped steel. Any figure wearing body armour may roll an extra d6 when being shot at.

I'm sure those will alter as playtesting reveals the kinks and weaknesses, but should suffice for now. In the meantime, I've built the first four Germans for my late-war Eastern Front force, and worked out what I'm getting for my 1944 Western Front stuff - two boxes of Dragon British Infantry, a box of Tamiya British, and a couple of boxes of Tamiya Germans (which I intend to paint up as straight German Whermacht, rather than my late-war W-SS/random squad). So in the end I'll have two German squads, a Russian squad (from Zvezda) and a British squad. Depending on how that pans out, I may splash out and get some US Airborne or something as well.

A New Obsession (Oh Help! Oh No! It's A Wargamerlo!)

Thanks to my commission work, I have rediscovered the joys of 1/35th military figures. So much so, in fact, that I have purchased a copy of Torriani and Del Castello's Operation Squad WWII rules (from work, ahahaha) and some 1/35 Dragon late war Germans to start with. I have on order (from work) a few sets of Russians to oppose the Fascist Vipers, and I intend to do them all with winter bases for games set in the winter of '44-'45. Which allows me access to all the funky toys like StG-44s and Russians with body armour. And, of course, old men and young girls fighting to defend the Vaterland!

Not to mention, of course, the Lithuanians, Spaniards, French, Latvians, Danes, Belgians, Italians, Dutch, Estonians, Russians, Ukranians... etc etc. I'd gleefully paint their national shields but, sadly, all my Panzergrenadiers are in thick winter gear or camo tunics.

Terrain will be fun, too, and I think that I may have to make a few alterations to the rules. Chiefly, increasing all the weapon ranges by 50% and removing the bloody stupid tournament-based points system. Frankly I don't give a damn about points in historical games; I'd much rather do it by scenario requirements.

Should be fun, especially as my dad is going to have his shed wargames-room-ified by the end of the year.

My current thoughts on my German squad org are something as follows:

1iC with StG-44
2iC with MP-40
2 PzGrn with MG42 and G43
8 PzGrn with a mix of K98, G43, MP-40 and StG-44

Leaven with a couple of panzerfausts, stick grenades, etc... job's a good 'un!

Oh - and there'll be another post tonight: WITH PICTURES