Armored Car

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Half-track

German

SPW 251/1 (Schützenpanzerwagen 251/1)

Early on in the creation of their armoured forces before the war, the Germans recognised the need for some form of infantry transport that could both keep pace with the tanks across country and provide a certain amount of protection for the passengers. This gave rise to the Schützenpanzerwagen. The SPW 251 came in many variants, the most common of which was the 251/1 – the basic carrier for the armoured infantry squad. It had a good turn of speed both on and off road and could carry a squad in relative safety – if not comfort.

While it carries marginally more armour than the Soviet BA-64, it is still very vulnerable to anything but small arms fire. However, it still makes the perfect battlefield-taxi!

Assault Guns

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Light Tank

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Medium Tanks

German

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Pz IV Ausf F1 (Panzerkampfwagen IV)

The Panzerkampfwagen IV was designed as the German Army’s infantry support tank. It was relatively heavily armoured and equipped with a short 75mm gun, much like the early StuG. While it was a good design that would serve right through the war, the short 75mm was no real match for the heavier Soviet armour. Once again, the Germans were forced to use their tactical expertise to overcome the enemy.

Pz IV Ausf F2 (Panzerkampfwagen IV)

Unlike the Pz III, the Pz IV had a turret large enough to be upgunned to a longer-barrelled 75mm gun. The Ausfuhrung F2 was the first of these Pz IVs and, with the new gun, it suddenly became a match for the Soviet armour once more. However, it was still relatively lightly armoured.

Any Soviet players need to be sure they spot the longer gun barrel!

Soviet

T-34 M41

The T-34 had begun its design history before the war, with its suspension actually “borrowed” from the American designer, Christie and its Soviet-designed armour layout. It was also equipped with the 76.2mm gun, that was quite capable of destroying any German tank on the battlefield in 1941. The T-34 came as a nasty surprise to the Germans in 1941, as it was almost invulnerable to their tank guns from the front.

Luckily for the Germans in 1941, the layout was flawed, with the 2-man turret and most of the ammunition stored on the hull floor, making the loader’s job a nightmare. It still requires some thought for the early German armor to take it out!

T-34 85

The base T-34 went through a number of design modifications, especially to the turret layout, in its massive production run. By 1943, the Soviets were looking to provide the T-34 with more strike power and upgunned it to carry the very successful 85mm Zis-S-53 main gun. The armour was also improved in some areas, although the extra weight slowed the tank down marginally.

The T-34 85 saw out the war and then went on to equip a large number of Soviet “client” states after the war finished. Some are, miraculously, still operational to this day.

Medium-Heavy Tanks

German

Pz V Ausf G (Panzerkampfwagen V “Panther”)

The Panzerkampfwagen V “Panther” was one of the most famous tanks of the war. It started into the design cycle almost as soon as the Germans first encountered the T-34 in 1941 and incorporated many design innovations from the Soviets – especially the well-sloped armour. It is often rated as the best tank of the war, quite justifiably.

It was relatively fast and carried a very long 75mm gun, which turned out to be about the most effective tank gun of the war. It had few deficiencies, apart from being overly complicated to manufacture and maintain, but was vulnerable from the sides and rear

Soviet

KV-1s (Klimenti Voroshilov 1s)

The Soviets had introduced the heavy “Klimenti Voroshilov” tanks in 1940, with the early KV-1. For the time, it was a very heavily armoured tank, mounting a good gun. However, deficiencies in the design soon came to light and, by 1942, the Soviets had improved the turret design, issuing the KV-1S.

The KV-1 had reasonable cross-country capability, but a relatively slow turret due to the weight. It is a formidable opponent for any early-war German armour but, by the end of 1943 was really obsolete – although the Soviets kept it in service until the end of the war.

Heavy Tanks

German

Watch this space!

Soviet

IS-2 (Iosef Stalin 2)

As the Red Army went more and more onto the offensive, they required a new heavy tank to support the infantry assaults. The Iosef Stalin series was born, with an early conversion of the KV, before the IS-2 was introduced in late 1943.

This was a very modern design, with sloped armour and modern turret layout and carried a massive 122mm main gun. However, this was a converted howitzer and was primarily designed for action against enemy fortifications. The ammunition was very heavy – and had to be loaded in two parts (projectile and then the charge). This made for very slow reloading, even if it did pack a massive punch.