Another question about "Core Forces"

bchapman · Post by **bchapman** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 2:39 am

Capt. Chris,
Were you going to post the charts? They sound very useful.

Capt Chris · Post by **Capt Chris** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 5:27 am

If I had an electronic copy I would. All I have is the paper ones and I don't have a scanner.

I have been searching the web but have come up empty so far...

Just an FYI, CD only covers Europe. No Japanese or US Marines.

Irinami · Post by **Irinami** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 6:02 am

Dude. PM me, I'll see what I can do to hook you up with a manual.

Or you could download the big distribution from Matrix.

robot · Post by **robot** » Fri Jun 27, 2003 6:15 pm

About 2800 for start point core force 1939 germans. This is how i start out. I start with green troops as i am a new commander. The fuerer likes me but not enough to command an elite force.
Four sections recon teams
Two sections 221s
Two sections Light tanks
Two compannys of panzer grenadiers (3 pla. inf. 1 pla engineers)
2 sec. atr (1 attatched to ea pla inf)
8 sig 150s (4 to ea co.)

2 pak 37mm TD (1 Pak to ea co)
8 81mm mortors (4 to ea co)
1 sec 221 attatched to ea co (converted to stugs when available)
4 pzv (2 ea co)
4 sp aaa (2 ea co)
Left and right flank is as follows.
1sec motorcycles
1 sec light tanks
1 pla. of special forces
1 pla of pzIII
HQ command consists of following
Command truck supported by following.
4 sec 221 ( 2 secs conveted to sp td later on)
All or part are ther to be changed to better units as war goes on. All transport is purchased with support points. Some are all of core force is downgraded at start if need be. Such as pzIII to PZ 35s if have to. I limit myself to 2 pla of off board arttillery and 3 if on an attack. Almost forgot in my core is also 2 fos. If on an attack will buy more engineers sometime. Always set AI to hard by the way.

fullmetaljacko · Post by **fullmetaljacko** » Fri Jun 27, 2003 9:35 pm

I did one someone suggested for a 1939 Core Force of 1 PzG Mot Co. and 1 Light Recon Co. and although tough without true armor those recon vehicles actually ate up the Polish "armored" vehicles. Then next battle I switched 2 of the um forget which recon vehicle to some Pz 38(T)'s and they are pretty snazzy vs infantry.

1939 is a big difference from 1944. I had never killed anyone with the smaller mortars but those 50mm's more than make up for it, if you keep them close.

Irinami · Post by **Irinami** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 7:45 am

Originally posted by fullmetaljacko
I did one someone suggested for a 1939 Core Force of 1 PzG Mot Co. and 1 Light Recon Co. and although tough without true armor those recon vehicles actually ate up the Polish "armored" vehicles. Then next battle I switched 2 of the um forget which recon vehicle to some Pz 38(T)'s and they are pretty snazzy vs infantry.

My suggestion--glad you liked it!! I literally stumbled on the Light Recon Co.; it was just what I wanted in my first core force.

Your SdKfz 231 8-Rad's (and to a lesser extent your 6-Rad) are about an equal match with the Polish armor. They're roughly equally armored, are weaker-gunned than the Polska A/T car, but due to their higher speed they are usually a little harder to hit. Makes it a real challenge.

Originally posted by fullmetaljacko

1939 is a big difference from 1944. I had never killed anyone with the smaller mortars but those 50mm's more than make up for it, if you keep them close.

There are amazing lessons to be learned by working your way from the bottom. ^_^

rbrunsman · Post by **rbrunsman** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 11:21 pm

Originally posted by Irinami

There are amazing lessons to be learned by working your way from the bottom. ^_^

Absolutely! Too many newbies just jump right into the big Katz and such and fail to learn all the valuable lessons learned by having to play with the inferior equipment found early in the war.

The Germans sure didn't win in 1939 and 1940 because they had the best equipment. They had the best tactics and best trained men.

Irinami · Post by **Irinami** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 1:56 am

Originally posted by rbrunsman
The Germans sure didn't win in 1939 and 1949...

Umm? '49? I must be a little fuzzy on my early Cold-War history.

KG Erwin · Post by **KG Erwin** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 4:38 am

I've spent quite a bit of time on the various core force combos for the Germans in Sept 1939 and the USMC in August 1942. I use the default point totals given in the long campaigns (3100 for the Germans and 4280 for the USMC). The specifics will change with the soon -to-be-released 7.2 OOBs, but generally speaking, I try to stay within historical parameters. The USMC is pretty straightforward: three "D" rifle companies, a "D" Weapons Company, three platoons of M2A4s, three Engineer sections, three recon squads, three Raider platoons (including a "Carlson" 2nd Raiders), a section of Boys ATRs (one attached to each Raider platoon as was done historically), four GMC 75mm armed halftracks, and jeep sections to transport your HQ and your two 37mm ATGs in the Weapons Company. After selecting this core, which is equivalent to a Battalion Landing Team, I pick my assets for the mission (almost always artillery in 1942), and then save it. This is where I really immerse myself in the upcoming campaign: I open up the saved mission using the Chlanda Editor, and then change unit names and commanders to match real-life Marine designations. Now, BLT 17 HQ or 1st Marines HQ or whatever is my A0, with the Companies being designated Able, Baker, Charlie and Dog (weapons) per WWII phonetic alphabet usage, and the platoons/squads are 1A, 2A, 3A or 1B, 2B, 3B and so on. I then insert the names of real commanders from the 1st Marine Div at Guadalcanal (Cates, Hunt, Webb, et al.), and then save this over the previous file. Admittedly, this is a lot of preparation, but if you're going to fight two dozen or more battles with a large core force, it helps if you can identify with the names and designations of the men you're commanding. I picked this up from playing Close Combat, and I'll admit I do get involved in the careers of certain subordinates as they gain experience and choose which are the ones most deserving to get equipment upgrades first. Of course, it's also more painful when a valued unit gets destroyed, and I have to make sure a greenhorn gets blooded not too "bloodied" too quickly. All of these quirks of mine just illustrate that administration of your core between battles is as important as leading them through the carnage to come.

fullmetaljacko · Post by **fullmetaljacko** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 5:22 am

Wow, that's odd yet very cool. If i had the time to do that i might, also the knowledge heh. Recently I've just named a squad leader after me and taken special care of that squad or tank.

Right now i'm just playing as Germans so I mean I wish i had the patience to rename everything like that, would be sweet. Take a company from Das Reich or something, maybe even just a regular infantry but **** that'd take way to much typing.

KG Erwin · Post by **KG Erwin** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 8:24 am

I do the same for the Germans, as my forum name stands for "Kampfgruppe Erwin", which is a fictional organization but uses part of my name. I did some research of the names for various unit commanders of Das Reich, but I don't designate each unit individually. Instead, I've changed the units to German language equivalents, thus a 10-man Motorcycle Squad is now called "Kradschuetzen", or a Scout Vehicle is now called a "Spaehwagen", and so forth. Panzer Leo did all these name changes originally, so it you want to go that far, get the H2H German OOB. I just adapted his method to go with the standard SPWaW German OOB70. It adds a nice touch, if you're familiar with German military terminology. Yeah, it may seem a bit odd, but we wargamers are by definition a somewhat eccentric breed anyway.

PS when you select your 1939 German force, I personally prefer adding a couple of Inf-AT sections (Panzerjaegers) and dumping the 50mm mortars. Put these guys in some Kuebelwagens and add them to your Recon element. The "Aufklarungstruppen" Recon units are great for advance missions with a good road net. I purchase two sections of Sdkfz 221s, two sections of SdKfz 231s or 222s, two MC squads, two MC-MG sections, two Inf Recon Sqds in Kubelwagens, and the added mobile AT teams and infilitrate on either flank to get to the rear victory hexes. In this way, you can encircle the early war AI defenders and massacre the hapless Poles or French with your advancing main force and with artillery. I wouldn't recommend this tactic in PBEM play, as a competent player will be waiting for you to try this, and you'll run into an ambush.

rbrunsman · Post by **rbrunsman** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 5:35 am

Originally posted by Irinami
Umm? '49? I must be a little fuzzy on my early Cold-War history.

I don't know what you're talking about. I clearly wrote "1940" if you check my previous post.

Another question about "Core Forces"

1939 core

Good discussion here

Fullmetaljacko...