Secret Weapons Scenario Preview III
November 2013

Our scenario preview for Secret Weapons concludes today, with a preview of the scenarios that showcase British super-tanks plus the German X7 anti-tank missile.

Scenario Nineteen
Slow but Steady
August 1945

The United Kingdom had fielded slow tanks with thick armor from the earliest days of the Second World War, and so had no excuse for the ponderous A39 Tortoise super-heavy assault tank. While not quite as slow as the Maus or the American T28, it was almost as sluggish. In action it would have been used against enemy fortifications, a serious concern during its design phase.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge, boards from Road to Berlin, pieces from Beyond Normandy and strongpoint pieces from Airborne. Only use German leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion

By the end of the war in Europe, the British Army was running short of infantry replacements and even disbanding some formations to keep others up to strength. The "funnies" of the 79th Armoured would have been a very welcome means of keeping casualties low while maintaining Britain's role as a major ally in the struggle against Nazism. The ponderous Tortoise would have fit right in.

Commentary

Here the British have a huge firepower advantage and superior morale and numbers, but the Germans are holding a line of hills and have plenty of defensible terrain and some powerful AT guns. This includes the 128mm, whose AT values of 8-12 will keep most British AFVs far away and will even have a chance of penetrating the Tortoise’s armor. The British don’t have airpower or overwhelming offboard artillery, so they need to send their infantry out ahead of their tanks to pin down the German AT guns in assaults, and then let their tanks move up to join them for combined-arms assaults to take the hills.

Scenario Twenty
Guards Counterattack
September 1947

By the end of the Second World War, the British Army had tested the tank that would become a mainstay of armies for the next several decades, the Centurion. While it fought enemy tanks on battlefields across the globe, it never served as intended, on the North German Plain against masses of Soviet armor.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Road to Berlin and Elsenborn Ridge, pieces from Beyond Normandy and Iron Curtain, and Soviet truck pieces from Eastern Front.

Conclusion

Designed as a main battle tank, the Centurion frame went through numerous improvements during its long service life. The first model still did not truly combine the roles of infantry and cruiser tank, and the newest Soviet machines held significant advantages. But British tank crews were used to fighting against better machines.

Commentary

Here the Centurion I goes up against the Soviet T44 in a quick slugfest, with the two sides entering from opposite sides of a narrow board and fighting for control of the towns there. The two sides are pretty evenly matched, so victory will go to whoever is able to maneuver their tanks into crossfire positions to take out more armor than the enemy.

Scenario Twenty One
Roast Beef of England
October 1947

Renewed war against the communist world would have been disastrous for the United Kingdom, already on the brink of economic ruin. But there's little doubt that the British Army would have stood alongside its allies in a struggle against communism (or last-ditch defense of imperialism, as one prefers), even though the U.K. could not afford the latest armaments in the same quantities as her enemies.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Road to Berlin, and pieces from Beyond Normandy.

Conclusion

Money for modern tanks was hard to come by in many armies after the Second World War, with huge stocks of surplus weapons rusting away at various military depots. Had the Cold War turned hot in its first years, the opposing armies would have by necessity supplemented their newest weapons with older, tried-and-true models as well.

Commentary

Here the Centurions try to clear a road held by a Soviet division equipped with the old Lend-Lease M4A2 tanks from America. The British armor has a huge qualitative advantage, so the bar's set high for a British victory while the Soviets can use their numerical superiority to cut behind the British and deny them a victory by re-occupying the road.

Scenario Twenty Two
North German Plain
September 1945

The lumbering Maus tank would have been nearly useless on the battlefield, but the slightly-better-balanced Tiger III (often known by its project name, E100) would have been a formidable opponent. Not much faster than the Tiger II, it sported even thicker armor and a gigantic cannon. Against tanks designed to stop the previous generation of German armor, its flaws might not have been noticeable.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Road to Berlin and Elsenborn Ridge, and pieces from Beyond Normandy. Only use German leaders from Road to Berlin.

Conclusion

British infantry tank design emphasized protection, but even the thickest armor of 1944 would have been as tin foil to the massive 150mm cannon projected for the Tiger III. But weapons alone do not win wars, and the British Army had not pushed the Germans back into their Fatherland purely by luck. The slow Tiger II and Tiger III would have had to rely on their awesome gunnery to protect their flanks from faster Allied vehicles.

Commentary

Another short slugfest much like Guards Counterattack, with the opposing forces entering from opposite ends of the board and vying for control of town hexes. The two sides are well-matched — the Brits have superior numbers but the Germans have greatly superior tanks.

Scenario Twenty Three
Mandated Defense
September 1947

When Kurdish separatists established the Republic of Mahabad in northwest Iran in 1946, many Western leaders feared this would give the Soviets a path to Iraq's valuable oilfields. Britain invaded Iraq in May 1941, and remained in occupation of the kingdom until October 1947. During 1942 the British 10th Army had stood guard against a possible German incursion through Turkey; if the Soviets had invaded a few years later, it would have been the British they met in Iraq.

Note: This scenario uses pieces from Road to Berlin, Eastern Front, Iron Curtain, Beyond Normandy and Elsenborn Ridge, and a map and hill markers from Desert Rats.

Conclusion

Cold War planners foresaw future combat in some unlikely places, but the British did not try to force their way back into Iraq for another 55 years. Under British pressure Iraq signed the Baghdad Pact in 1955 to establish the anti-Soviet CENTO alliance, but the Iraqis withdrew after their Hashemite king was overthrown in 1958.

Commentary

Here’s a big scenario with a Soviet Guards mechanized division taking on a British armored division on a large desert map. The Soviets are on the attack, which is tough since the Brits have lots of excellent Centurion tanks with plenty of infantry to support them. The Soviets do get an aircraft each turn and also two companies of JS-2 tanks (which stack up better against the Centurions than the newer-model T44s).

Scenario Twenty Four
Panzer Grenadier
August 1945

Despite enormous losses on the battlefield and a crumbling economy, Germany managed to put together a large reserve of armored units in the winter of 1944. Once those had been thrown away in badly-considered offensives, the Allies crushed the poorly-organized reserve divisions flung into the front lines in the spring of 1945. Panzer divisions equipped with the new vehicles on the drawing boards might have done better. Or not.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Road to Berlin, pieces from Beyond Normandy and boards from Eastern Front and Elsenborn Ridge. Only use German leaders and SPW 251 pieces from Road to Berlin.

Conclusion

While the Germans failed in their plan to rationalize tank design around a series of common components, the British also pursued wasteful multiple development branches. Each came up with an excellent main battle tank, but while the British vehicle would dominate battlefields for decades the German one never had a chance to show its flaws. The Panther II would remain a blueprint fantasy.

Commentary

Here’s another large scenario where a panzer division with extra heavy tank reinforcements attacks down roads held by a British infantry division. The Germans have Panther II and Tiger III tanks, but the British receive Centurions as reinforcements early in the game. The Germans have lots of speed and an overwhelming firepower advantage, and in particular their tanks have an average +5 AT firepower advantage over the Centurion I’s armor protection. That means they’ll obliterate any tanks they shoot at, but the Brits do get three aircraft each turn. That will force the Germans to keep on the move and will also force their thin-skinned Kugel and Coelian anti-aircraft tanks to stay in the fight and protect the Tiger III tanks (whose thin top armor makes them vulnerable to air attack).

Scenario Twenty Five
Spring Offensive
June 1944

The British army landed in June, 1944 with what it believed to be adequate tanks, but experience quickly showed that the Churchill and Cromwell were badly outclassed by German armor and anti-tank guns. The thickly armored assault tanks discussed in 1943 were needed on the battlefield right away. Had the Tortoise and Black Prince projects been given the same level of effort as the Churchill, heavier tanks could have seen action in Normandy. Whether they would have made any difference is another question.

Note: This scenario uses a map and pieces from Beyond Normandy.

Conclusion

The Tortoise was not designed for the hedgerow country, but grueling, meter-by-meter nature of combat there would have been a perfect environment for the Tortoise to actually thrive. The lumbering beast was too sluggish to be of much use anywhere else. The Black Prince was only slightly faster, but its powerful main armament would have been a welcome addition to British armored strength.

Commentary

Here’s the first of four scenarios in which the British refight the opening moves of Operation Epsom with tanks that are actually up to doing the job. German numbers are somewhat reduced from the original scenario (to give the British a better chance at success), but in return for that they get to place minefields and entrenchments on the board before play begins.

Scenario Twenty Six
Spring Offensive — Northern Flank
April 1945

A British capture of the key crossroads town of Cheux, aided by their more modern tanks, would have forced the understrength Germans to retreat northward and call for reinforcements from Caen. The more open country along the roads northeast of Cheux would have offered the SS men little cover against the advancing British. But the British were not the only ones with secret weapons up their sleeves. German engineers had developed a method for moving reserves quickly and precisely to the point of any Allied breakthrough well before the Normandy landings took place.

Note: This scenario uses a map and pieces from Beyond Normandy.

Conclusion

The arrival of German transport helicopters in hedgerow country would have made life hell for the British. The ability to bring in troops by air and insert them directly onto roads would have allowed even a small German force to slow the progress of Allied forces dramatically. Add the surprise introduction of just a few German anti-tank missiles, and the British would likely have halted their advance to assess this new threat to their super-heavy assault tanks.

Commentary

Here’s a quick 16-turn scenario where the German 22nd Air Landing Division tries to stop a British armored breakthrough by using helicopters to drop troops onto roads and create instant roadblocks. The British have a bit of air support so the RAF can attack the helicopters and force them to drop their troops fast and leave. But the German X7 anti-tank missile units will be able to inflict at least as much damage on British tanks as British airpower inflicts on the helicopters.

Scenario Twenty Seven
Spring Offensive — Counterattack
April 1945

Had the initial attack toward Caen breached the German fortifications, the British battalions on point would have been detailed to secure the first day’s objectives while more tanks rolled up from the landing beaches. They would have been expecting a German counterattack, but not with the speed, power and precision that an unexpected force of helicopters flying at treetop level could bring to bear.

Note: This scenario uses a map and pieces from Beyond Normandy, and pieces from Road to Berlin. Use German SS units and leaders from Beyond Normandy and German Army units and leaders from Road to Berlin.

Conclusion

The helicopter’s ability to insert troops with precision and create instant roadblocks would have allowed a German counterattack to isolate objectives quickly and retake them with overwhelming forces. Whether or not the aeromobile troops could then hold such objectives against renewed attacks by super-heavy British tanks would hinge on their anti-tank missile units keeping British armor at bay until German heavy tanks could arrive.

Commentary

Here’s a much larger scenario with the main strength of 22nd Air Landing Division coming to bear against the British, creating a much more mobile battle than players have been able to fight previously in hedgerow country.

Scenario Twenty Eight
Spring Offensive — Killer Rabbits
May 1945

A successful counterattack by German airmobile formations carrying guided missile units and supported by heavy tanks could have stopped the British advance, at least until British airpower neutralized the helicopter threat. That would give the SS formations time to form a new defensive line between the British and Caen, but it would also give the British time to bring in many more troops and tanks plus air, artillery and naval support. But with hedgerow country giving way to more open ground near Caen, the slow British super-tanks would have become increasingly vulnerable to envelopment and destruction by speedy Panther tanks diverted westward to meet the new threat.

Note: This scenario uses a map and pieces from Beyond Normandy, and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge. Only use German SS pieces from Beyond Normandy and German Army pieces from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion

The Panther II outgunned and out-ranged the Black Prince and was more than twice as fast as the Tortoise. Only superior British numbers plus overwhelming artillery and air support could have kept the Panther II’s sudden arrival from turning the British armored advance into a bloody nightmare.

Commentary

Here a few German super tanks try to save the SS from being steamrollered by an overwhelming British push toward Caen. The Panthers, Panther IIs and JagdPanthers will smoke most British tanks they shoot at, but the German player will have to be careful to keep them far away from British infantry so they don’t get cut off and bogged down in assaults.

Scenario Twenty Nine
Rugged Defense
August 1945

Though Adolf Hitler held ridiculous dreams of unleashing a massive counteroffensive to sweep his enemies out of Germany and well beyond, the most useful German special weapons were those intended for defense. Armor had become so thick on tanks like the Stalin, Tortoise or Maus that the cannon required to defeat them were too large to use on the battlefield. Something had to replace the anti-tank gun.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Road to Berlin, pieces from
Eastern Front, and boards from Elsenborn Ridge and Battle of the Bulge. Only use leaders from Road to Berlin.

Conclusion

Since the end of the Second World War, military planners have argued that elite light infantry armed with anti-tank missiles can stop an armored advance. Early guided missiles lacked the lethality of modern weapons, but delivered enormous striking power for their weight. With cannon having reached a technological dead end, the missile would provide a potent alternative in the years to come.

Commentary

Here 22nd Air Landing Division starts the game on the ground, holding a couple of roads against an attack by the Red Army 11th Tank Corps and 117th Rifle Division. The Germans have no transport helicopters, but they’ve got four X7 anti-tank missile units that start the game hidden, plus some 88mm and 128mm AT guns. That means that the Soviets will have to lead with their infantry and let them find and pin-down the AT missile units before bringing up the tanks.

Scenario Thirty
Tank Hunters
August 1945

Throughout the Second World War, armies sought a cheap and effective counter to enemy armor. As tanks grew larger and better protected, the small unguided rockets like the American bazooka and German Panzerschrek became less effective. A guided missile with a larger warhead might give infantry the upper hand.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Road to Berlin.

Conclusion

One of the logical problems with any scenario positing Nazi resistance past the summer of 1945 is the severe lack of manpower afflicting the German armies. No matter what new technology might be developed and placed in the hands of the soldiers, the fact remains that the number of those soldiers was rapidly declining. And those who remained were either too old or too young, and overwhelmingly unenthusiastic.

Commentary

Here’s a small scenario where a force from Soviet 11th Tank Corps tries to clear a road thorugh an area held by hidden units from the 309th “Berlin” Infantry Division. The Germans have low morale but also have a nasty surprise in the form of X7 AT missile units. So, the Soviets will have to decide whether to try and clear the Germans out with just infantry, or whether to risk losing lots of tanks to missile units that end up appearing in unexpected places.

Scenario Thirty One
Bitter Woods
June 1945

The anti-tank missile has been a major component of world armories for many decades now, with emphasis on its low cost and portability. But while some proclaimed that it had made the tank obsolete, that prophecy has not come to pass. Even so, the missile gave infantry a far more effective counter to the tank than a vodka bottle filled with gasoline.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Battle of the Bulge, and pieces from Road to Berlin and Iron Curtain. Only use German leaders from Road to Berlin.

Conclusion

Even before the anti-tank guided missile arrived, unguided rockets had begun to even the balance between tanks and infantry. The missile was the obvious next technological step, and it has remained a vital part of arsenals around the world ever since.

Commentary

The last scenario in the book is a quick one where low-morale German marines trying to hold a road against an American advance get some welcome support from an X7 anti-tank missile company. Sherman tanks don’t have a chance against AT missiles, so once again the Americans have to be very sparing with the use of their tanks and hope that their infantry and artillery can do most of the job of clearing the dug-in German force from the road (at least until the X7 units have been silenced).

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