Invasion of Germany:
Survival Kit
By Peter Lloyd
March 2015

Editor's Note: A number of older Panzer Grenadier products went out of print in late 2014. Here Peter Lloyd offers some substitute parts to keep our Invasion of Germany scenario book current for players new to the system.

Introduction

This is the first if what I hope will be a few of what I am calling “Survival Kits.” They are intended to help new players and buyers of the remaining (and perhaps reintroduced) older Panzer Grenadier supplements. A new player might buy an expansion or scenario book, such as Invasion of Germany, play a couple of scenarios, and suddenly say, “But I don’t have…” That is what I am trying to prevent. Not to say the Panzer Grenadier grognards would not find anything useful, but I expect we already have all the counters needed to play whatever we may want.

A survival kit will include errata, should I know of any, and a printable do-it-yourself countersheet. Links back to original Avalanche Press files are inserted when applicable. All countersheets will come with instructions, and very clever alignment and cutting guides. So let’s get on with it:

Counters

• Volksgrenadiers: First download the Volksgrenadier Pieces from Avalanche Press, and mount them. I simply did not have enough space to recreate them here. I have added a Volksgrenadier 75mm Infantry gun and wagons to the included countersheet. That was mostly for aesthetics during play.

• Strongpoints: There were 2 sets of strongpoints used in the Third Edition, the standard mix, and special set from Cassino ’44. On the countersheet the standard strongpoints are designated with an ‘S’ in the upper left side. Strongpoints from Cassino ’44 have a ‘C’ in the upper left side. When a scenario calls for strongpoints to be used, only use the standard mix (marked with S), unless the scenario specifically calls for the use of Cassino ’44 strongpoints. When a scenario does call for Cassino ’44 strongpoints to be used, use all the strongpoints (both S and C). The original standard mix may still be downloaded from Avalanche Press.

• LdShtzn: These are Landesschützen. These are old men and boys formed into militia units. (Just proves, no matter how much you’ve lost, you can always find more to lose.) They only appear in one scenario. If the Volksgrenadiers can have special counters, why not the Landesschützen? I added them to the countersheet, again mostly for aesthetic reasons.

• SPW-250 and SPW-250/7: These are replacement counters for those which originally appeared in Road to Berlin and Cassino ’44.

• M10 Wolverine: This is a replacement counter for those from Cassino ’44. An Army at Dawn has a new iteration of the unit. Until then, this should be adequate.

• Antitank Ditches & Wire: You can still get the download from Avalanche Press, but unless you know where to look, you’ll never find them. Up to 20 of each are needed for Invasion of Germany, so I made it convenient.

Maps

I cannot give you maps here. There are 12 old boards required to play all the scenarios. The boards are 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 20, & 21. You are on your own with this part. The boards were one available in the Spare Parts section, perhaps they will be again someday.

Editor's Note: All of those maps will return, with brand-new artwork in brand-new games.

This wraps up the first survival kit. I hope you enjoy playing it.

You can download the Survival Kit right here.