Operation Dauntless. Unit Preview: AFVs with Special Combat Characteristics + AFV Fire Control Classes

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1 Operation Dauntless Unit Preview: AFVs with Special Combat Characteristics + AFV Fire Control Classes The playtest counters are always changing. Here are some of the latest, current as of June The new style graphically denotes certain combat modifiers, as described below. Red Boxed CS Values A red boxed Combat Strength (CS) value denotes that CS is halved attacking into close terrain- dense bocage, village and woods. Most AFVs suffer from this penalty, which simulates the inherent difficulty in using motorized/mechanized weapons in these types of terrain. As a general rule, all tanks, armored cars, halftracks and self-propelled weapons have red boxed CS values.

2 Orange Boxed CS Values The exception to the red-boxed CS value AFVs is weapons which fire high caliber HE shells, such as infantry guns. These actually have an orange boxed CS value, indicating that they grant a column shift in favor of the attacker. Qualifying vehicles would include such vehicles as the Brummbär and Grille ("cricket") self-propelled infantry gun, and "Stummel" ("Stump") SdKfz 251/9 halftrack with short barreled 75mm gun. The above are my latest playtest counters for the Stummels of 12th SS Panzer Division. More details on these units are coming in a future Unit Preview. The rightmost counter represents only two Stummels, and it is thus a single-sided unit, meaning it is fragile. Even so, these guys can really give the German player a much needed edge when stacked with German infantry during combats and assaults. Of course they are horribly vulnerable to the British Sherman DD's, Fireflies, and anti-tank guns, so they are at their best when used to support the panzergrenadier infantry in close terrain like villages and dense bocage. Orange Circle RAS Values The orange circle after the Ranged Attack Strength (RAS) value indicates that this AFV does not incur the usual DRM penalty for ranged attacks at distances of 3 or more hexes (-1 at 3 hexes, RAS halved at 4 or more hexes). The reasoning is the same as for the orange boxed CS units high high caliber shells. Units with an orange boxed CS value will also have an orange circle RAS value; the latter is present only as a reminder when making ranged attacks. Note: The panzer counter shown in the banner above is a much older version and does not follow the current conventions.

3 Fire Control Classes "So what's that little minus sign after the Anti-Tank rating for?" Armored units are classified as FC class Poor, Standard, Good or Superior. Sherman tanks are treated as the standard, and have no special FC rules which apply. When making AT Fire rolls, non-standard FC class units may roll additional dice, or reroll a die, according to their FC class. For example, a Panther (classified as Superior) rolls three 10-sided dice instead of two, and then discards the lowest die roll. In this manner, players will quickly come to realize that some units are much better (or worse) than their ratings would otherwise suggest. The minus signs next to the AT value of the carrier platoon below indicates that it is Fire Control class "Poor". Fire Control applies only to direct fire anti-tank attacks. It simulates diverse factors including crew training, experience, morale, targeting systems, optics, stabilizers, rate of fire, and fire control systems, and lends a further nuance to the armor battles by demonstrating that the penetration numbers aren t everything. In the case of the carriers, class "Poor" reflects the extremely short range of the PIATs (Projector Infantry Anti-Tank) with which the unit is armed. Above: The Carrier Platoon of the 4th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment ("Lincolns" for short), representing 13 Universal Carriers. Side Topic: British Carrier Platoons These guys are armed mainly with Bren guns (light machine guns) useful only against infantry and thinskinned vehicles. Their AT Rating is derived from the PIATs carried by their crew, while the CS and RAS ratings are derived mainly from the Bren guns. The minus sign denotes Fire Class "Poor" and the zero AT range means the PIATs can only be used in assaults (same hex combats). In other words, resorting to PIAT attacks is an act of desperation! The British player won't be doing much panzer hunting with his carrier platoons, unless he wants to lose them rather quickly. Note that the carriers do not have a red boxed CS value, unlike most AFVs. This is intentional, simulating the crews' ability to dismount and function as a normal LMG-armed infantry platoon. More info on the carrier platoons is coming in a future Unit Preview. These guys are really interesting units! Unlike the German halftracks, they are not infantry transports. Rather, they are intended to take and hold objectives until the rifle companies arrive - a sort of fast moving, lightly armored cavalry unit - and/or to support the infantry in combat. Properly used, they are of great benefit to the British player. Carriers can also be used to load and transport weapons such as the Vickers machine guns and 3" mortars, or tow the numerous British 6-pounder anti-tank guns. But more on all that later...

4 FC Class "Standard" vehicles have no indicator near their AT Rating. These vehicles include the British Sherman II Duplex Drive tanks. Above: These double-sided playtest counters represents a troop of Sherman III tanks (left) and two troops of 3 tanks each Sherman II DD (duplex drive) tanks (right). The Sherman III's belong to the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, and the II DD's belong to the Royal Dragoon Guards. Note that the Sherman III's are FC class "Standard" while the II DD's are class "Good". In this case, the difference is not due to a difference in weaponry, but a difference in numbers; the group of 6 tanks has a better chance of causing a step reduction than the group of 4 (and a better chance at a Free Shot on a high modified die roll as well). FC Class "Poor" units have their AT Rating followed by a minus sign. These AFVs include outdated or obsolete tanks, some halftracks and armored cars, and most self-propelled weapons.

5 FC Class "Good" units have their AT Rating followed by a plus sign. These AFVs include the British Firefly tanks and German Panzer IV's, as well as groups of 6 or more AFVs functioning as a single counter. Below left: The 24th Lancers are known to have been among the last regiment to organize their Fireflies into the soon to be standard 1 Firefly to 3 Shermans configuration. At the time of Operation Dauntless, it is possible that the Fireflies still functioned as a troop. In any event, this configuration gives them added tactical flexibility. Lacking any hard evidence to the contrary, I chose to portray the 24th Lancers' Fireflies in this manner. Below middle: A Firefly enhanced Sherman unit of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY). These guys have one of the superior Firefly tanks (with 17-pounder gun) to two normal Sherman II tanks in each troop, and the double-sided counter represents two such troops (6 total tanks). The Fireflies give the Brits an opportunity to take on German Panthers and Tigers on nearly equal terms. The problem, for the British player, is that the Fireflies are scarce. Above right: Panzer IVh tanks of 8th Company, II. Battalion, 12th SS Panzer Division. These guys have relatively weaker armor than the British Shermans, but their long barreled guns more than make up for it. Thus the overall penetration to armor ratio is more favorable for a Panzer IVh firing at a Sherman II DD than the other way around. Luckily for the British player, all of his Shermans are available for immediate use, unlike the Germans who have only one company of panzers available and must then sacrifice valuable Victory Points to reinforce with other panzers/panthers/tigers from other (off-map) sectors of the front. These types of units are termed "Variable Reinforcements" (VRs). VRs apply mainly to the German player, although the British also get a number of VR units including specialist "funny" tanks, Crocodile flamethrower tanks, etc.

6 FC Class "Superior" units have two plus signs following their AT Rating. This class is limited to the German Tigers and Panthers. A Side Note on FC Class Designation: I initially tried using color coding to denote the different Fire Control classes, but it was too confusing. Color is already used to denote a variety of things, including parent formation, combat bonuses or penalties, and movement type. I was worried that using symbols might clutter the counters, but I think it looks okay. Please keep in mind that these are only playtest counters! The tiny text which denotes the type and number of vehicles per counter will probably go away in the final versions. It's too hard to read on the printed versions of the counters, and I really only put it there to help remind me what was what when playtesting whether combat results seemed logical based on the numbers and types of AFVs involved. Update and Errata. Since the time I wrote this article, we've improved several aspects of the British AFVs' representation in the game. Special thanks go to David Hughes in this regard. For one, we have determined that it is more accurate to represent the 24th Lancers' Fireflies as integrated, instead of as separate troops. For another, we've determined that all British tanks should be in groups of four's, not threes. The OOB we were previously using was apparently from pre-d-day, and the 3-tank troops had yet to receive their allotment of Fireflies. Here's a peek at the newest playtest counters: Note once again that we have three types of tanks here: Sherman II DD (the famous duplex-drive amphibious tanks, or "swimming Shermans"), Sherman III, and Vc Firefly. The Sherman II and III currently share the same icon. These homemade counters are for playtesting purposes only.

7 "Infinite Range" Some units with long range weapons are abstracted in Operation Dauntless, being handled as off-map units. These units have only a Ranged Attack Strength and Range printed on their counters. Their range is indicated by an "infinity" symbol, meaning they can strike an hex on the map. Here are the latest counters for the Sextons offmap artillery units available to the British player in most scenarios. The judicious use of these self-propelled 25-pounder guns can spell the difference between victory and defeat. While the range of these SP guns is certainly not really infinite, it might as well be within the narrow confines of the Operation Dauntless map, with its 425 yard hexes. Assault Bonuses. Some AFVs receive a favorable bonus in Assaults (same hex combats). These AFVs have their CS displayed as a yellow numeral; the superscript numeral to the upper left of the CS box is the CS value used during Assaults. Additionally, such AFVs grant a favorable column shift (1R) in Combats vs. strongpoint or Dug-In hexes. Above: Various "funnies" of 79th Armoured Division. Note that in the case of the AVREs, the CS is doubled in Assaults. In the case of the Crocodile flame-thrower tanks, it is tripled. The Sherman Crabs are useful for clearing mines; they can also be used as standard Sherman tanks against enemy armor threats. Historically, only the AVREs were used during the capture of Fontenay le Pesnel. However, the Crabs and Crocodiles were nearby, so they might have conceivably been used during Operation Martlet on June 25th if the going had been too difficult. I have opted to make them available to the British player as Variable Reinforcements so that he can explore this option, should he choose.

8 Above: A Churchill AVRE engineering tank. The bundle atop it is a "fascine" used for crossing trenches. Below: A Churchill Crocodile in action. The trailer behind the tank carries the gelled petrol for the flamethrower. Next time: British Armoured Support Units, including the Centaur and Achilles. And in the article after that, we'll do a comparison of a British Rifle Battalion and German Panzergrenadier Battalion. You'll see the units compared and contrasted in photos, game stats, counters, and supporting assets. Thanks for looking!