WW2 help!

[ianjgow]

That's the plan..... but what happens to any plan on contact? One more bit of guidance. The rules say to treat on table Artillery as AT equivalent. Net says 5.5" guns were medium but that means I'd have to treat 25pdrs as light - is this right as far as the rules go or should I adjust upwards?

Cheers!

i

[toxicpixie]

I'd go with what feels right for you?

You'd be very unlikely to see 5.5" Medium Guns on table, they were for counter battery mainly (or thickening up high value shoots), and unlike 25pdrs would be well back. I'd go with 25pdrs on table if you want on table guns and treat them as Light or Heavy depending on theatre, role and need - e.g. in 1940-2 as part of the BEF or against Italian or the earlier German tanks in the desert I'd definitely rate them as Medium Guns for AT fire. In late war Europe in '44 I'd probably only rate them as Light.

Abteilung (like most PP sets) is quite flexible with that sort of thing

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

5.5" guns were rated as medium simply because anything bigger than 6" is traditionally heavy artillery. 25 pounders are rated as medium too...

[toxicpixie]

It's also down to how the game classifies them, Lemmy - Abteilung drops into Light/Medium/Heavy for guns which doesn't necessarily cross over directly into what the British Army calls their pieces

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

5.5" would be heavy (immobile, divisional or corps level support), 25 lbs would be medium (battalion/regimental level)?

[toxicpixie]

I think we're talking at cross purposes (the joy of the internet and it's blunt instrument-ness...). It's not "what did the Army call the gun/where it fitted into the force structure and what was it used for" but  what model to use if Ian wants some on table Commonwealth arty?

The game treats any on table gun the same, just divides up effectiveness into Light and Medium (or Heavy for the really nasty ATGs IIRC), so - should he use the 25pdr or the 5.5"? And what should they class as when shooting at people in game terms? I'd suggest the 25pdr, as it was often used as a direct fire, pseudo-ATG up to the end of the Desert campaign, and in game terms (not in "doctrine"/army organisation & nomenclature terms) treat as a Light gun for effectiveness late on, but a Medium one early on (in game effectiveness terms).

Clear as mud

[Hertsblue]

I agree with TP. The Germans in the Western Desert reckoned that their captured 25prs were as good, if not better, than their 88s for knocking out tanks. But obviously effectiveness dies off as better protected vehicles become available to both sides.

[julesav]

There are several instances I can think of in the Far Eastern theatre where Brits used 25pdrs and 5.5" guns for direct fire infantry support weapons. In both cases I've heard of the guns were used singly to blow a specific bunker and a set of fort gates (to allow Gurkhas access). If you are doing early war these types could be Blacker Bombard (used in the Desert by Indian units) and maybe even examples of the 'Smith Gun'. Abteilung is pretty abstract so it's down to personal choice really, sorry about that!

[ianjgow]

Thanks TP, that's exactly what I mean. So, gaming 1944 I'll treat on table 25pdrs as Light A/T & won't need to model anything bigger as it's all in the off table Artillery Command.

Cheers all!

i