While Squad Leader represents a significant breakthrough in the simulation of tactical combat due to the innovative weapon systems, turn sequence and combined arms interrelationships, it has also left quite a few gamers floundering on the jetties of confusion, wondering how to coordinate all of the diverse and strange weapons and units towards a given objective. Many "old time" wargamers with absolute command over the mechanics and stratagems of the Panzer Blitz series of games have admitted to being totally perplexed with having to prepare an assault on Hill 621, due to a lack of handle on the capabilities and best uses for the assault force at their call in the combined arms context.

In order to bring a modicum of logic and order into the spectrum of Squad Leader's multitude of new, unit capabilities, and enable one to play a "smart" game of Squad Leader without being totally overwhelmed by lack of feel for micro scale tank and infantry forces, a study of unit performance in past games was performed along with an analysis of the game mechanics and statistics. Hopefully, the information that was put together will bring some understanding of weapon and unit limitations, capabilities and optimum use so that the playing pieces can be orchestrated into a mutually assisting effort, where each unit supports the overall goal of the force. The following paragraphs represent a discussion of the most misunderstood units and tactics in Squad Leader, and the part that they should play in the game.

Assault Guns

Squad Leader represents, to my knowledge, the first attempt in either a board or miniature wargame to make a real differentiation between the assault gun and the turreted tank, and the difference is quite significant from a tactical standpoint.

In Panzer Leader, an STG III counter was really no different than the Tiger I or Panther with regard to the mechanics of attack, defense and overruns, and the peculiarities of the assault gun never really came to mind. Even many miniatures rules, which can boggle the mind with the trivialities they incorporate, failed to address the lack of offensive and defensive mobility of. gun fixed on a tank chassis, but in Squad Leader the difficulty of the SP in countering flank threats was identified, and the need to pivot the vehicle to fire on targets outside the covered arc was penalized by a +4 modifier to the dice roll (turreted AFVs., which can rotate the gun while maintaining a stable gun base, only suffer a +2 roll modifier in comparison). The reduced accuracy of the SP in engaging flank targets during the defensive fire phase created a peculiar vulnerability of the vehicle to threats from outside the covered arc, and certainly reduced the overall effectiveness of the weapon system.

In addition, SPs cannot fire after moving to a new hex, which limits its usefulness during armored breakthroughs since rear area enemy units are safe from advancing fire and can reorganize and counterattack in relative safety.

It is a relatively common mistake, however, to forget the severe limitations of the SP in view of its superior armor, usually good speed and powerful weapon and use it as a tank during breakthrough attempts. At Kursk, the Germans completely overlooked the tactical difference between tanks and SPs, and attempted to use the premier SP of that period, the Elefant, in both a support and exploitation role. While the Elefant proved impervious to the Russian anti-tank fire and did manage to create a breakthrough of sorts, when swarms of Russian infantry attacked from the flanks the giant SPs were unable to effectively defend themselves due to the limited traverse of their 88s and a lack of machine guns, and they were destroyed. It's also interesting to note that the Elefants' rearward gun position eliminated any possibility of it carrying and protecting the infantry which are so important to SPs (go that their flanks can be defended against hostile infantry), which indicates a very poor SP design.

While SPs are very cheap to construct due to the elimination of the turret, and they formed the nucleus of Germany's tank destroyer force (more STG IIIs were built than any other tank or SP), they us not tanks, and should be relegated to a support role where their armor and guns can be utilized in relative safety. Breakthrough duties should be reserved for the more flexible tanks, which are better suited for survival in a hostile environment, and can more fully exploit the sudden sweep into the enemy's rear areas.

Turreted AFVs

As previously indicated, the "textbook" roles of the SPs and tanks are fairly distinct and identifiable, and the tank is primarily the tool for exploiting to the utmost any openings in the enemy's defensive line. This should be carefully noted especially when forces are being selected in "scratch" games so that a balanced force can be obtained. SPs can cause breakthroughs, but tanks provide mobility and improved survival behind the lines.

In addition to forming the spearhead of offensive actions, tanks also can greatly assist the SPs when a defensive posture is required by helping the infantry to guard the flank approaches to the workhorse SPs, who should be in the thick of things.

As an aside, it has been observed that Squad Leader’s game system has sidestepped the problem of command control and unit communications, which puts all of the different armies' tank and SP units on a fairly equal tactical footing, in addition to having tanks with essentially the same characteristics (armor and gun effectiveness). Since the Russians went through almost the entire war without the widespread issuance of radios to their tankers, it would be interesting to add some mobility and coordination penalties to the Soviets with regard to maximum unit separation distances (WRG recommends fifty meters for the spread of non-radio AFVs from one another, 200 for all others). Such a rule would add tremendous realism and complexity to the Russian player's task, and would depict the advantage in mobility, flexibility and tactics that the panzers held over the Soviet tank units.

While the discussion of tanks and SPs may sound like a rigid system for governing their use, flexibility and judgement are still necessary in order to respond to new and unforeseen situations, and to make do with whatever resources are available. If an assault supported by tanks and exploited by SPs seems feasible and feels right, forget what I said and blitz away.

Flamethrowers and Bazookas

While at first glance the two weapon units indicated above might seem widely disparate, their proper application in Squad Leader is greatly misunderstood and a general lack of results stands out above the confusion.

Due to the general misconceptions and myths which have been propagated by television, Sergeant Rock adventures and other sources, bazookas and flamethrowers are felt to be the ultimate in infantry operated light and mobile anti-tank weaponry, and a force that tanks will shy away from. But it just isn't that way in Squad Leader, and the statistics paint a rather different picture.

Contrary to our cultural gut feeling, a hit with flame or a bazooka rocket at point blank range will only destroy a Mark IVf1 from the front 8% of the time, which is certainly not enough to anchor your defensive perimeter on, let alone assure the survival of the units operating the weapons (keep in mind that the Mark IVf1's frontal armor is only 1.8" thick, since we'll get back to the problem of penetration later).

Historically, flame was used to ignite the really vulnerable parts of tanks (at Kursk, the nozzles were inserted into the ventilation and exhaust openings of flanked vehicles) which primarily exist along the flank and rear areas, and those are the places which Squad Leader identifies as the softspots of the tanks. However, even flank and rear hits with flame only get kills 17 and 28 percent of the time, so a vanguard of close-assaulting infantry to help out better be around or a failure to burn the tank may result in a very angry tank crew on the prowl. Flame by itself is terribly inadequate, and is best used as a support to primary efforts by infantry and ATGs to stop tanks.

The bazooka is also an unsatisfactory weapon for tank hunting, since point blank shots against T34-class frontal armor will only obtain a kill a lacklustre 6% of the time, with probabilities of 12 and 21 percent against the flank and rear profiles of tanks. Any kill of an AFV by either flame or the bazooka is to be regarded more as a lucky occurrence than part of the overall defensive strategy.

The two weapons find their place in the scheme of things when a good, mobile weapon to attack halftracks, trucks and jeeps is considered. Flame will fry a halftrack and its occupants at least 71% of the time if they dare to approach within the two hex range of the weapon, and the bazooka's effectiveness against the flank of the halftrack rises to a stupendous 43%. And with flame and bazookas, the enemy's lighter vehicles can be picked off from the relative safety of a trench or building, without the need of exposing 4 or 5 units to the vagaries of close-combat morale rolls which might leave them stranded in the open.

Used in conjunction with roadblocks, infantry and an anti-tank gun or two, flame/bazookas can realize their ultimate purpose in the destruction of those vehicles which are lightly considered but of primary importance in mobile warfare, the transport units.

As briefly mentioned earlier, the inability of the bazooka projectile to consistently penetrate 1.8" of armor is fairly suspicious, and other sources have listed the penetrating capability at 80 to 100mm (3.2 to 4.0 inches), so perhaps our opinion of the weapon's lethality is correct, but its effectiveness has been downplayed in the game for the sake of play balance (or an early model is represented).

Panzerfausts and Demo Charges

After visiting the "poor cousins" whose line of work is picking on the lighter transport vehicles and assorted stragglers, we come to the "blue bloods" of the family, starting with the panzerfaust.

While the panzerfaust really is limited to a two-hex effective range, its existence can change the enemy's plans to a significant extent. This weapon is highly accurate (41% hit probability at two hexes), is relatively plentiful despite its one-shot character, and packs the armor piercing power of a 75/76mm tank-gun shell. Arm your infantry with them and overruns become past fears.

Place a squad guarding an opening in the woods with 4 of them, and a detour will be sought. And a squad that has them with an excellent leader calling the "shots" will earn everybody’s respect.

Since the traditional expertise and greater ability of the Germans over the Russians has not been built into the game, and parity in game tanks exists, the LMG's leaders and panzerfausts are the advantages that the German player must utilize in order to beat back the Slavic hordes.

From a historical perspective, the panzerfaust was truly the "volks weapon," since everybody from the aged Home Guards to women and children became very adept at using them during the Russian sweep into Germany, a fact that was appreciated by the Russian tankers who placed mattress springs on their vehicles as their only defense against the potent stick bombs.

The demo charge, while packing quite a wallop, is pretty much reserved for mass infantry assaults (like the flamethrower) on the offensive, and unfortunately cannot be used for defensive fire (ever try to throw a loaded schoolbag at a passing friend on a bicycle?). As part of a general infantry swarm, or hiding in a building with other soldiers, a demo-charge-carrying unit will usually draw the bulk of the enemy fire, opening some leeway for the close combat troops, and is a very nice diversion device while the main attack forms up. If the weapon is slated to be the primary form of anti-tank attack, better try to work around to the flank or rear, otherwise the point blank defensive fire will spoil your plans (SPs, remember, will only hit a flank target during defensive fire 28% of the time versus a covered arc victim 57%), so try to be subtle. Being in a stone building or trench thoughtfully dug ahead of time also helps.

Howitzers and HEAT

For the Americans, who often must use their howitzers as anti-tank guns due to the inadequacies of the 57mm ATG, HEAT (high explosive anti-tank) provides both an effective anti-tank device and the potential for disaster.

The 105mm howitzer used by Uncle Sam's men is a potent tank buster with HEAT, scoring a kill over 83% of the time when you hit just about any tank. The drawback is that HEAT can dissipate rather quickly, leaving the howitzer with an anti-tank capability of uncertain value (frontal kills only 17% of the hits). Due to the fairly random availability of HEAT after the first salvo, and the poor ATG characteristics of howitzers despite their sometimes high rate of fire (as towed guns), extreme care must be taken when positioning the guns. HEAT should be reserved for sure hits or those targets which must be destroyed in order to hold the line, and some flank shots on defensive fire targets might be engaged with regular HE since they may still be in sight during your next prep fire phase.

Converging fields of fire are more important here than for large caliber ATGs since howitzers have a tendency to miss or hit with little effect, which requires duplication of effort to do the job a reasonable percent of the time.

Infantry

While the tanks of Squad Leader show little real diversity other than their names, the various leaden are fairly similar, and the ATGs really seem the same, the common American infantryman stands head and shoulders above his Russian and German counterparts. Due to his rich cultural background and racial characteristics, the ordinary American soldier is significantly better than his adversaries at close combat (street rumbles), digging ditches (major source of employment in depression-hit America), destroying tanks (stripping automobiles on city streets) and removing mines (stealing hubcaps), as well as using a rifle that greatly outclasses the archaic Russian and German models. While even with a LMG the German squad can utilize 6 factors at six hexes and 4 at eight, the G.I. Joes can match the Germans at 240 meters and can apply 3 factors at 320 meters, such is the power of their rifles (the Germans are slightly more effective when penetration effects are considered).

Due to their firepower and glut of high class officers, taking on American infantry is a task that requires careful planning. On the defense, the Americans will probably already be dug in when you reach them, making them almost immune to overruns and pretty secure against small arm fire (especially with a -2 leader). Close combat efforts (if the units survive the defensive fire) will require every machine gun and officer available, due to the firepower advantage they enjoy, tying up valuable units and buying time for the Joes further to the rear. Don't underestimate the strength of the Americans (despite their slightly greater propensity to break), because an ill-conceived ad hasty attack without the proper preparations may end up in a major defeat in the trenches.

Luckily for the Germans, the outstanding American soldier is supported by inferior anti-tank support weapons (the inadequate bazooka, 57mm ATGs and howitzers), or else the Artillery and HMG together with the US squad would completely outclass the Germans they oppose. Although the Squad Leader game system does not yet address it, the American Sherman (with the 75mmL/40) was, despite its reliability and great numbers, a vastly inferior AFV in terms of firepower and armor (their German nickname was the Ronson, and for good reasons) and the air force/infantry/artillery were more responsible for American successes than the armor (which suffered some bad defeats at the hands of the panzers).

The Weapons and Tactics of SQUAD LEADER, Part 2