The Commander Series Forum

This is probably a rehash, but I can't find the answer. The rules are 1 stand equals 1 platoon, 3-5 tanks, but the hits don't work out to the same ratio as the number of vehicles. I am building my 1st battle groups for late 70s to early 80s European Central Front. 1 stand per TOE platoon gives the Soviets a significant numeric advantage. A T-64 company is 3 platoons, 10 tanks including the cmd tank, and takes a total of 15 hits, while a US pre-Division 86 company of M48/60s is 3 platoons of 17 tanks including the cmd tanks, but also takes a total of 15 hits. 70% more tanks take the same number of hits on the same number of stands.

What is the thought process behind the # of hits per platoon? 1 per vehicle? 2? Ignoring the cmd tanks doesn't make sense. Yes, the command and control is represented by HQs, but those tanks are intended to fight. For a US battalion, the command tanks equal 2 platoons of combat power. Using 1 stand per 3 tanks makes sense, but then a US company would have 5-6 stands. I would prefer keeping 1 stand per TO&E platoon to build correct units and use real doctrine, but that means adjusting the hits per stand.

How do others handle this?

I also had the same problem -so i just use 1 tank to represent a platoon. US tanks are much better than soviet ones, superior in armor/range/firepower/hits, so they don't need any changes. I'm not sure, but I think 4 tank 'platoons' in a US coy is a good balance, representing the needs of re-organisation or something on the battlefield..

the game scale needs some abstraction -but in 3/6mm you can play like 1:1 ratio, and call it "company level" the number of supporting units can be reduced to company level, so a tank coy (with 15 tanks if you like) supported by not a battery, but by an artillery platoon of 3-4 guns, and have 1-2 squads of Recce, not 1-2 platoons, etc.. use your infantry as a squad, not a platoon, and that's all. Not a big change i think

I want to run battalion/regiment games, but also want to identify the vehicles on the table with my old eyes. 1 stand per vehicle/squad solves the hit ratio problem, but do you know how many 10 mm vehicles that takes for a regiment? I would become Dave at Caliver Books' best friend. And divorced.

point taken. That's the reason why I use 3mm. And because I really want to finish a wagame army finally! I switched to pico-scale because of the lack of space, but I went crazy, and bought too much stuff.. In terms of CWC, it's like 25 -30.000 points /side.

(now I have 2 soviet TR, 1-2 soviet MRR, some divisional assets, like an Artillery regiment, AD rgt, tactical rocket bn, and an AT bn -a planned soviet division, with transport/combat helos, and some CAS.. almost 400 bases.

form the US side, a full Mechanized infantry brigade (Bradley +Abrams), an USMC brigade, and a half of an "old" mech inf. bgd (M113 +M48/60). Some Black Hawks, AH-1, Apache, and some MLRS /M110. About 300 bases.)

Back in the pre-Command Decision days, in 285th I had an entire 1:1 MMR division with T-62/BTRs in the motorized regiments and T-72s/BMPs in the tank and mechanized regiments, with 2 full US brigades, 1 M60/M113 and 1 M1/Bradley, to oppose them. No one has ever accused me of half measures. Sometimes I wish I had never sold them, but then remember I couldn't see the infantry.

After all, mechanized warfare is not an infantry-friendly enviroment, so who cares about them?! It's enough if you have plenty of tanks/APC's!

The other thing, about basing -you have to do it in the same manner as your opponent! Same size of base, same number of minis on a base.. It's much easier to collect two opposing armies in the same time.

"After all, mechanized warfare is not an infantry-friendly enviroment, so who cares about them?"

I know some ex-grunts who might to umbrage at that. Crunchies always served a useful purpose, like pulling security so us tankers can get a decent night sleep.

I always collect both sides for any game/period. Been caught more than once with "If you buy one side, I'll buy the other" that didn't happen. When I run a game at a club or con, the only thing anyone else should need to bring is good sportsmanship and a desire to have fun.

Of course, all this does nothing for my vehicle to hit ratio at platoon level question.

Then to summarize: Try it with 4 platoons with 4 tanks each. This represents some reaction to the battlefields needs, like the company's dcom is leading a few tanks to battle, or something.

I mentally assume that a model represents 4-5 real tanks, and adjust my mental map of what the opposing forces represent accordingly - so that six Sov tanks plus HQ is indeed a battalion, but the four NATO models opposing them are about a Company, or a battle/maintenance reduced half a battalion under the senior Company Commander whilst the actual BHQ has the others on the other side of the table etc.

Insomnia can be useful at times (yeah, right). At about 3 this morning, I decided to use 1 stand per 5 vehicles. That makes a Soviet tank battalion 6 stands. To make the ratios work, I will give BMPs the ability to carry 2 infantry stands and roll a number of hits for each plus suppression when they are killed. Yes, that will increase the infantry casualties, but heavier casualties bailing from a BMP matches real life. Whoever had the bright idea of putting the fuel tanks inside the back doors should be shot.

They're *supposed* to be use first on the approach match and be empty at contact, or Even filled with sand, so I'm told and act as *extra* armour. In practise, not so much!

They used it the same way as in the tanks -first the external fuel tanks, than the internal one. The soviets plan was to go forward, than a little bit more forward, not to show the back of their vehicles

And the external fuel tanks were nice, when they made some home made vodka

btw the BMP can transport a full mechanized infantry squad, the same as a BTR. the difference between the transportable 1 or 2 statnds is just for the game mechanics (IFV vs APC), not as in real life!