RockinHarry
Posts: 2963
Joined: 1/18/2001 From: Germany Status: offline
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A working tactic for thin skinned Panzer-Jagers (and AT-guns in general) would be to find a "keyholed" defense position, or IOW, a position/hex that provides you with a very limited field of fire that enables you to shoot at the enemy (preferably flank shots), with less danger of more than the targeted enemy unit beeing able to shoot back at you. If you´re lucky the first shot hits and destroys the enemy unit without detecting you and the enemy alway needs to move his units into your field of fire one at a time. It´s also good to know back-up positions, when the initial position is neutralized by flanking moves or smoke. That can be done in the deploy phase of the game, or later by moving (thus testing) less visible units (infantry scouts ect.) to possible new "keyholed" positions. Re Jagdpanzers vs. Tanks: I think it would´ve been best if Guderian would´ve had complete control on tank development and doctrine, but the inter army rivalties between SS, army and air force simply did not allow it. As long as guys like Goring or Himmler could march out and order any stuff they see fit directly from the industry independently, it was no wonder that german war efforts were scattered as they were. Also Hitler had his own "ideas" for what might be good for "his" army, so what could someone like Guderian do about it at last, also considering that Hitler didn´t really trust him? Was just the same as with other german military "professionals" like Manstein, Rommel, ect. They were all most capable military professionals, but more and more not allowed to do their "job" properly. The standard "halt at all costs" orders in the second half of the war surely favored the development of less mobile turretless combat vehicles, but IMHO this was just a logical adaption to the general faulty strategy, when it would have been more suited to allow for the mobile and flexible defence hat the german "professionals" were so good at when facing superior odds. Here the turreted tank surely would´ve been much better and flexible. Off course it didn´t quite work anymore properly in the west (and italy) in 1943/44 onwards due to western allied air supremacy. Without any sort of air cover, any movements/attacks at daylight are extremely hazardous, so I would say it doesn´t matter much whether you move/attack with a Jagdpanzer or a turreted tank in this regard. Thus I would say the early Marders ect. were an emergency measure to deal with superior russian armor in 1941/42 until tanks were upgraded with better guns, while the later Jagdpanzers were an adaption to a wrong strategy (static/hold at all costs vs. elastic/mobile defense)
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