Bean965
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Tapping the collective wisdomI'm working on my "Wittmann's Last Battle?" scenario.
I was playtesting it last night with 2 friends. The playtest was good - it highlighted some issues - but left the question of play balance between the two forces unanswered becase halfway through the play test we realized that my original idea for victory conditions wasn't working and we switched to a "points destroyed" system, which was not the goal that the Germans were originally playing toward.
So, I thought I'd use the educated asessment of the community to help me judge.
Played on the attached map, what do you think the outcome would likely be, in terms of points destroyed for each side, (you can express your guess in general terms if you want) of a battle between these two armies:
Axis
[17 units, 249 pts] (set up in bottom 2/5 of map):
Michael Wittmann's Tiger I (SAs: Initiative +2, If 4 or more 6s are rolled in an attack roll, this unit scores an extra hit)
Tiger I
Panzer IVG x2
Jadgpanzer
Flak 88 w/ Gun Shield
Nebelwerfer
sGrW 34 81mm Mortar
Sd Kfz 251
Sd Kfz 250
Opel 3 Ton Truck
Disciplined Spotter
Panzergrenadier
Panzerfaust x2
Mauser KAR x2
Allied
[20 units, 257 pts] (set up on top edge of map)
Sherman VC Firefly x2
Sherman x6
17-Pounder Antitank Gun
6-Pounder Antitank Gun
Bedford QL 3 Ton
Universal Carrier
Ram Kangaroo x2
Humbar Scout Car
Vickers Machinegun Team
Canadian Infantrymen x4
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Snippersly
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The forces are balanced. With the Tiger and Jadgpanzer matched against a couple of Fireflys and a Sherman swarm, the battle could go either way.
What were your original victory conditions you were trying to achieve? I'm not familiar with this battle, so I'll do a bit of research as time allows. It looks like a cool battle as is. Interesting map arrangement too!
Good work Mr. Bean.
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Bean965
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Snip,
The Canadians had just achieved significant advances with their Operation Totalize night offensive. They'd shot past the first line of German defenses.
The next day the German commander went out to see what was going on. He went up on the hill NE of town (the hill in the middle of the map) with his binoculars and saw a huge # of Canadian tanks from the 4th Armored Division staging for another attack. (In fact, he didn't know why they hadn't already attacked - the answer was that they were waiting for pre-arranged airstikes)
He knew his forces (12th SS Panzer) couldn't defend against an attack, so, being an SS officer he did what any fiery young SS officer would do and ordered an immediate pre-emptive attack by his outnumbered forces, led by Germany's #1 tank ace, Michael Wittmann. In reality, Wittmann was killed in this battle when his Tiger was disabled by a shot from a Firefly and then swarmed by Shermans (which, coincidentally, is exactly what happened in the playtest)
So, what I was trying to create in the original victory conditions was an incentive for the Germans to attack. As you know, in AAM, where the map limits maneuver, where units don't really get "cut off," where there is often an objective and where there's an articificial time limit there's usually a benefit to playing defensively - manuvering to stay out of site then making a bold move at the end - not to attacking.
To try to create a situation where going on the attack was important to the Germans, I experimented with a set of victory conditions whereby victory would be determined by how far down the map the Canadians advance, measured by an average of the positions of all the units at the end of the game. But this in and of itself does not create an incentive for the Germans to attack, so I tried adding a rule whereby the Canadian units cannot advance any units more than one row beyond the German unit furthest north, so long as there was another German unit in the same row or either of the next two rows south - sort of an "offsides" rule.
It quickly became apparent that this was not going to work - German manuver often put the Canadians "offsides," with no reasonable way to resolve the situation.
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general Hoth
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It does look good and balanced. 
Really like the map too.
If i could say: Have you heard of the rumours that Wittman (what an Ace!) might have been hit and killed by a typhoon? Maybe include a rocket firing plane to underline the allied air supremacy?
Cant wait to see the final draft.
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Sharpe
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If the Germans exit a tank off the Canadian side of the map, they automatically win, no matter what the Canadians do.
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general Hoth
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| Sharpe wrote: | | If the Germans exit a tank off the Canadian side of the map, they automatically win, no matter what the Canadians do. |
Nice One.
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Sharpe
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Merci.
I stole the idea from you, mon general.
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general Hoth
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LOL.
I really find "the Brits/ Commonwealth" to be an interesting Army. Especially when pitched against the germans.
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Sharpe
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The shame is that the UK infantry is so generic. I wish the SMLE and Canadian had more personality. I suppose that applies to a lot of units.
My Canadians have SA's against the SS so the battles are very interesting, especially when you use the Hitler Jugend card for the SS.
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general Hoth
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Like the one you did for the SS Wallonie squad.
Great card!
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Bean965
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| Sharpe wrote: | The shame is that the UK infantry is so generic. I wish the SMLE and Canadian had more personality. I suppose that applies to a lot of units.
My Canadians have SA's against the SS so the battles are very interesting, especially when you use the Hitler Jugend card for the SS. |
I'm long overdue on ordering a copy of the legendary Sharpedia.
Don't you think, with Tigers Is, that exiting a tank would be fairly easy for the Germans?
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Bean965
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| general Hoth wrote: | It does look good and balanced.
Really like the map too.
If i could say: Have you heard of the rumours that Wittman (what an Ace!) might have been hit and killed by a typhoon? Maybe include a rocket firing plane to underline the allied air supremacy?
Cant wait to see the final draft. |
I had not heard that. The book I read presented as definitive, that Canadian Trooper Elkins disabled Wittmann's Tiger with a shot from a Canadian Firefly, but its just one book.
I HAVE considered adding a typhoon or other reasons, namely Allied air superiority. What do you think that would do to balance? It makes the German artillery much more vulnerable to attack...
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Sharpe
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| Bean965 wrote: | | Sharpe wrote: | The shame is that the UK infantry is so generic. I wish the SMLE and Canadian had more personality. I suppose that applies to a lot of units.
My Canadians have SA's against the SS so the battles are very interesting, especially when you use the Hitler Jugend card for the SS. |
I'm long overdue on ordering a copy of the legendary Sharpedia.
Don't you think, with Tigers Is, that exiting a tank would be fairly easy for the Germans? |
I don't think so, but you should playtest it. I think having two ways to win would give the players lots of choices and make for a more exciting scenartio with more replay value.
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