Concept
I think it's about time for another List Dissection! This time, I'm revisiting my Soviets, but putting a fun "twist" on them. I've decided to go all (well, almost all...) non-soviet vehicles! My initial requirement was that every platoon would contain lend lease vehicles. I got 4/6 lend leased, and another of all captured vehicles. Close enough. I've decided to build to 1780 for Flames of War . So let's get started shall we? We'll start with the HQ, which we're keeping in M3A1 Armored Cars. They're probably the best transports under Version 3. With Jeep Mobility and a .50 cal, they're hard to beat! (Click here to read my thoughts on mechanized forces in V3). I've added a Komissar. At 15 points, he's just damn hard to pass up considering that buys us a warm body to throw at the enemy and another M3A1.
(All Army construction images courtesy of Easy Army)
The Core (1730 remaining)
Nothing to do but buy our 2 combat platoons. I'm going full strength, and sticking with the M3A1s. The Universal Carriers make for an interesting option. Pros: Double MG shots, 1 stand per vehicle (less casualties when you lose a transport). Cons: Half tracked vs jeep mobility, Front armor 0 vs 1, lose the light AT capabilities of the .50 cal as well as the 5+ firepower. Overall I am more sold on the M3A1s so we'll roll with em. I decide to keep one platoon with Rifle/MGs and swap one with SMGs. I also give both units a flame thrower- soviet flame throwers are hard to beat - especially when free!
Armor (1320 remaining)This is going to be our major points sink. The Razvedki have lots of great armor support available to them. In the end, the debate over T-34/85s and Sherman 76s is what it comes down to for me. In this case, I've gone with the Shermans to stick with the theme, but in general I do think they're a great buy. It's that .50 cal! 30 .50 cal shots on the move (assuming you buy all 10 tanks and upgrade all of em) is something glorious to behold. Protected ammo is a pretty good buy, even when fearless. Still, you save 100 points if you go with 10 T-34/85s vs 10 Shermans, which is definitely worth thinking about.
Finally I just can't pass up captured Decoy Panthers. How could I? Not only do they look awesome, they can infiltrate and pack some punch. Being Confident Trained and ROF 1 makes them dirt cheap! Plus, they can infiltrate just about anything in our company depending on the situation. We've sure burned some money on these tanks though!
Other Support (295 Remaining)At this point we're fairly low on points, but only have a few glaring weaknesses remaining. We can deal with enemy armor fairly reliably with 10 Sherman 76s and 2 Panthers. We can deal with enemy infantry with our own infantry and myriad .50 cals (at this point we have 23 .50 cals in the army!). But I see 2 glaring drawbacks: Anti Air and Recon.
Anti-air is a fairly simple solution: ZSU M17s! We increase the # of .50 cals and add to the general theme of the army. Score!
With those last 15 points or so you could add extra MGs to your M3A1s.
The Final List
