EW 1390 Tournament - German List

By "Dirty Jon" Baber

Early War seems to be my jam this past year. With another tournament coming up at the awesome Huzzah Hobbies, I had to take a look at what I might play. The tournament will be 1390 Early War and open to everything. I decide pretty quickly that I will play Germans - my only other option is the Finns, and I am a bit tired of them.  Plus, why change something that is working!

I have a ton of options for lists, but at a low point total and taking into account that ANYTHING could show up, I go for a list that has all the options - Czech Panzers from Blitzkreig. I considered a couple of other lists, but at this low point total, I think this is the best at handling all comers.

HQ & 1st Platoon

Two Panzer 38(t)Bs in the HQ and five more in a platoon  I did not even consider the 35(t).  First of all, I don't have the models. Second, I don't want to pick up Unreliable for only a savings of 5pts per tank. The 38(t) is a great EW tank at a cost of ~88pts each.

In EW, this tank is likely to stick around and be pretty effective. First of all, it is Veteran and this makes it both hard to hit (especially at range) and also gives me a good chance to make Stormtrooper checks. The FA of 2 is not fantastic, but it makes me immune to MGs and gives a good chance to bounce AT 5 and 6, which is fairly common in EW. The platoon is 5-strong, which means it can take a ton of abuse and still stick around. Last - and certainly not least - having Protected Ammo is just fantastic because there is a TON of 5+ Firepower out there.  Three quarters of the time, my tanks are re-mounting. This is a huge advantage in the relatively low lethality of EW.

The 38(t) also packs a good amount of firepower. The two MGs is great for shooting up infantry and soft-skinned vehicles - I like having this in Defensive Fire as well. The main gun is good, but not great. AT6 is fine and the 4+ FP is not bad at all. I think this tank can handle the light and medium tanks I encounter by having an ok gun, but sticking around quite well and just finally letting the survivability give me the dice rolls I need. One weakness of the 38(t) is that it cannot pierce some of the heavy tanks that can be out there. I will have to add something in to deal with any of the big French or Russian tanks I might see.

Second Combat Platoon 

Due to the small points-level, I just cannot afford to thrown in more 38(t)s.  It is already looking like a four-platoon Company for me, so I have to throw in something cheaper, but effective. Enter the Panzer II C (late). From a defensive perspective, it is exactly the same as a 38(t). The main issue with the Pz II is the armament. We lose a Hull MG, which hurts us in fending off an assault, shooting up soft skins and infantry, etc. We also go down to a 16" Range, AT 5 and 5+ FP. We do pick up an extra shot when sitting still - this is of limited use, but it is great when we take shots from the enemy, stay alive due to being Vets, 2 FA and then get back in our tanks thanks to Protected Ammo.

I generally use the Pz IIs to run around and shoot up soft skinned stuff or to lure a platoon of three or four light tanks into a gun duel at short range. Generally, the toughness of this little tank and the ROF 3 give me the edge.

Weapons Platoon

I am feeling pretty good about shooting up armor. I have twelve tanks that will have a good chance against light/medium tanks. I am worried about fighting an infantry horde, so I want to add in an option for dealing with infantry and/or light skinned vehicles. At this point, I also need to conserve some points, so I go with a Light Panzer Platoon. This platoon is fairly flexible, as I go ahead and pay the points to upgrade to two Panzer II C (late) - six AT 5 shots is not something to be ignored. I also like having some MG boxes, and the Panzer I really helps out with the Twin MGs.

This is also my Assault force. Any box with a MG is as good as anything else in EW, so when called for I can just shove this unit in the face of some infantry.

This little unit is deceptively effective, and if ignored by my opponents can cause some problems.  

Support

With not a ton of points left, I need to pick up another platoon. I love 8-rads in just about any situation, and EW is no different. Weighing in at about ~48 points, I think these guys are a fairly good value. Repeat after me: 8-rads are NOT tanks. If these are used as Recce - remove GTG, prevent ambushes, charge toward unprotected objectives - then they will be fine. These should not be used as supplemental tanks, though the gun is not bad when forced to return fire. Use the Jeep mobility to be annoying to your opponent.

Air

Did you guess that this was on my mind? You probably did. At the low point level, it is very hard for the Germans to get an effective weapon system for addressing heavily armored French and Russian tanks. The AT assets are expensive, weird or cost too much in expensive tanks. Priority Air with a Stuka and a Schwerpunkt is a decent solution that I have used very effectively in the past.

The opponents usually get a price break on their huge tanks, with them being of poor Morale, Skill or both. That being the case, I would think that I will see some heavies, even with the low point levels. Is Air reliable? Nope, but it at least gives me a chance to take out some of there monsters - or at least scare the crap out of them. If I don't see those tanks, I have no problem bombing AT assets into oblivion.

So, that's the list. I have run this before, and I hope I do well with it again. I am probably not THAT great against an infantry horde, but I do have some MG boxes. We'll see!

What do you use for 1390 EW? Tell us in the Forums.