I am extremely sorry for the delay in my weekly posting for the Tales of 2 Cities. As you know, we were hit pretty hard here on the east coast by storms. Needless to say I have been out of power for 2 days and had to pack the family up and move to my brother's house until power is restored.
Last week I promised the next two units in my list. We will be covering the M10 tank destroyers and the combat engineers. Some of the pictures are not as good as I like but I was lucky enough to get some before the loss of power and the high heat forced me from the house.
Editor's Note: Week 4 will be delayed one week as well to stay in sync with the Battlefront crew who were interrupted with the Early War Nationals in Texas! -S
| 1 1 4 2 | Cmd Pioneer Rifle team Jeep with .50 cal AA MG Pioneer Rifle team M1917 HMG team | 195 |
First up for review is the Combat Engineers. I wanted to take one infantry platoon with my list for good objective holding as well as being able to push other infantry out of fortifications and buildings. These tough guys are Confident Veterans. Their holding power and ability to "give it back" are great ! The HMG teams alone have a ROF of 6, a total of 12 for both teams. If the HMGs are pinned, each team still gets 3 for a total of 6. Still not shabby at all. It's more than enough to stop an assault and pin infantry. Pioneer teams are rated as Tank Assault 3 which makes any tanker think twice of just running up to them. One more option is the ability to swap out 2 HMG teams for 2 rifle stands before deployment. Also included is the Command Rifle stand and 1 jeep with a .50 cal AA MG. I decided to place 3 figures and 1 engineer "bit" to the 4 main stands. This left me with 6 extra men. I placed 3 figures to the "reserve" rifle stands that you are able to swap out for the HMGs at deployment time. It allows for me to not crowd the stands and make them stick out for movement and accountability. All in all, a great unit for only 195 points !
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| 4 Combat Engineer stands |
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| 2 "Reserve" stands - the ones that can be swapped |
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| HMG stands |
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| All together now |
| 1 1 2 2 4 | Cmd Carbine team Jeep with .50 cal AA MG Carbine team M20 Utility M-10 3in GMC | 320 |
Next up is the M10 Tank Destroyer platoon. First off, I must make it known that they are Confident Trained. But for an AT of 12 to back up the Shermans and 76'ers it will do. You may either place the recon vehicles on the board or the M10s when you deploy. I like using the recon element since they have a great move distance and can cover some ground before placing the tank killers.
The tank destroyer rules are on page 238 of the mini or main rulebook. I won't bore you with quoting rulebook text but I will remind of of some special features. TDs act as RECONNAISSANCE PLATOONS! They also can come on when you deploy ambushes. Just remember to have them the correct distances when engaging the enemy. It is very important to brush up on reconnaissance platoon movement and rules as well as the US tank destroyer rules. The new version 3 rules have cleaned up the deployment and use so don't make a mistake of not maximizing your unit potential. One noob advice I would like to share ... DO NOT get into a shooting match face to face with these M10s. They are not armored enough to handle it. They are good for rear and flank attacks. Use them to push units at other tanks which can duel it out with Germany's armor.
For my final week I will be posting my Shermans as well as the beefy 76'ers. I hope you have enjoyed the articles to this point. Thank you for stopping by ... feel free to ask questions on our forum!
Joe ... aka "Mezz"
