Unit Compositions

[Special K]

Hi, I wondered if there is any resource to tell how many tanks make up a given unit, how many ATG's, etc. It's just good to know when doing any DIY stuff. I'm working on ~5 tanks per platoon, but maybe it is sometimes 4? Gun batteries can be harder to pin down, like how many guns are there in the 88mm units, or artillery units.

[plloyd1010]

In the rulebooks, entry 1.1. It is in both the 3rd & 4th editions.

[Hugmenot]

Just be consistent how you do it and adjust downward or upward (if needed) to help scenario balance.

I doubt many players are looking or expecting an exact count of the units which were present in an engagement. A fair representation with difficult victory conditions always make me happy.

[Special K]

I was after something like what Panzer Leader came with that listed number of units, men etc in each platoon or battery.

[plloyd1010]

Little of such precision, which gets rather dubious in the field anyway. You can find some of what you might want in older daily content articles (The Men Behind Counters series) and in some of the older designers notes.The PB/PL notes are generally valid, with a few obvious exceptions. There are also a few very good online gaming and research sites that have that information too.

[zaarin7]

Imagintive Strategist has many articles on unit composistion in the PB/PL system. I imagine that most of those comments would apply to PG as well. The main thing to remember is units almost never met TO&E outside rare instances like the US Army divisions before Normandy.

http://www.imaginative-strategist.layfigures.com/

[leonard]

Hi, I wondered if there is any resource to tell how many tanks make up a given unit, how many ATG's, etc. It's just good to know when doing any DIY stuff. I'm working on ~5 tanks per platoon, but maybe it is sometimes 4? Gun batteries can be harder to pin down, like how many guns are there in the 88mm units, or artillery units.

Yes that kind of info is widely available for most nationalities BUT guns and AFVs were rarely used in exact platoon configuration.
Examples : in 1940, a German light tank platoon was a mix of PzI and Pz II. And a medium tank platoon, a mix of PzIV and III...
French : A B1-bis platoon included 3 tanks only and a S35 tank platoon had 5. So, if the historical action involves just 1 B1-bis tank, I'll include 1 X reduced B1-bis platoon? What do I have to do if just 2 B1-bis tanks were used ? Two reduced B1-bis platoons or just one ?
That's probably where scenario design becomes interesting : balancing...

[Special K]

Imagintive Strategist has many articles on unit composistion in the PB/PL system. I imagine that most of those comments would apply to PG as well. The main thing to remember is units almost never met TO&E outside rare instances like the US Army divisions before Normandy.

http://www.imaginative-strategist.layfigures.com/

Too true, this is a great resource! I particularly like the gregpanzerblitz site as it has the OOB for nearly every offensive in North Africa! Fantastic resource for sure. In fact, it bridges a gap in AK and DR where they appear to be no scenarios for Operation Battleaxe. Yes, Crusader is a more involved offensive, but it would be good to re-create those situations where the Matildas came up against the dug in 88's at Halfaya Pass.

[larry marak]

There are many line diagrams for higher unit organizations scattered throughout the books in the series too. A great tool for building your own scenarios.

[Hugmenot]

Or a waste of valuable space for those who prefer background articles.