Question about German Builds

[Wolf]

I have been poking around these forums for awhile now, reading after action reports, and looking at a lot of the great design and thought that went into this game.

So, I have a question about the German builds:

Why no Light Armor?  Say, 3+3, 5*/4, representing Panzer III's?

I realize the German chart is already Armor heavy, with Panzers, Hvy Panzers, SS Panzers, Stug's, etc et al ad nauseum...

Was the decision made to represent the "Shock and Awe" of the early Blitzkrieg?  Or did you just not want to deal with swapping out Panzer IV's for Panzer III's?

As a History buff and game designer myself, I am genuinely curious.

Wolf 

[John D.]

I'll defer to Mark on this. I recall a discussion that the values also reflected relative effectiveness, organization, tactics, etc

[Mark]

Missed this post - sorry.

The armor unit ratings are not so much about the type of tank as they are about the organization, tactics and leadership.

For example. many French tanks were superior to German tanks for the invasion of France - and many of the French tanks were heavier that German tanks and had a heaver armament.  But, the Germans organized and used their armor much more effectively. 

So, a "medium armor" unit really reflects a more effective use of armor and combined arms than is does tank type.  "Light armor" represents a less developed organization and less developed tactics for the use of armor formations.

Early in the war, the majority of German armor formations were made of of tanks even light than PzKw III's - there were many PZKW II's and 38-t's (a Czech tank aI believe) that made up German panzer divisions.  Taken individually, they were inferior to many of the French, British and Russian tanks they encountered.  However, taken as a formation, they almost always defeated French, British and Russian formations early in the war.

This is why German armor formations (called "Medium armor" for simplicity) are given a rating of 6-5 right from the start of the game and most other nationalities, yet to develop and implement better armor organization and tactics, are given a rating of 5-4 for their armor.

[17russia]

I am under the impression that the units (Panzer) in this game are divisional level with attached supporting units. Generally making the equality of a Korps or a slightly lesser size unit. The Mark III was a tank model (Several over time) so it is a component of a formation; like a Panzer division of the time of June 22nd, 1942 was pretty lucky to have a complement of 80 of these tanks in the entire division. Some panzer divisions in the 1st pz Group (Later Army) were heave on the old pz mark II. So in short the panzer units that can be built are a grouping of tanks. The more powerful ones being heavy in Mark IV, V's with good embedded leadership that came with such a command.

[Mark]

That is right.  Each piece represents really about two divisions in scale (with some units representing one elite division with supporting units) - or their equivalent in brigades or regiments. 

While the Germans had many lighter tanks in their formations in the first few years of the war, the reason the German panzer units in the game start with a 6-5 combat value (as opposed to the 5-4 combat value of the early war armored formations of the French, British and Russians) is due to their organization, communication, and tactical superiority - not a reflection on the type of tank that was in their armored divisions / brigades.