Sedghammer's "Hell on Wheels" Armored Division

Sedghammer's "Hell on Wheels" Armored Division

Attention Private! - France has been liberated, but we still have a long trek to Berlin. Our battle plans are based on artifice, guile and liberal use of our armor reserves. It involves hitting the enemy hard with light vehicles as a red herring - making him over-invest in anti-tank efforts, when there is little on the field. What's all this about a red herring, you ask greenhorn. Jesus, didn't they teach you anything in Alabama?

This strategy was developed for 1vs1 and utilizes a strong T1 - you're going to field an M20 (largely for 2 mines and the bazooka that comes with the vehicle crew) and a AA halftrack. If you'll remember, High Command (Relic) sent out a pamphlet about how our army has the most manpower next to the Soviets. Most greenhorns laughed at the thought, but we're going to show them how wrong they were when we show Jerry what it means to be "Hell on Wheels".

Regardless of the map, here is the build order -

Build Core- RE, RE, Rifleman, Rifleman, LT, AA Halftrack <--> M20, Weapon Rack, Captain, Stuart

Rule of Engagement #1 - Think of your light vehicle crews as a manpower asset. After placing a couple of mines and forcing a retreat or two with your M20, pull it back to base and evacuate the crew. Leave the M20 unmanned in base unless you need to plant more mines. We're saving it as a spotter and flanker for later on. You now have a couple of mines for bait and a bazooka to cover your AA halftrack. Note - you can get a halftrack first, as fuel allows, to give space for your M20 to place mines in better positions.

Now get that weapon rack and equip your infantry with those BARs, and maybe a few Bazookas! Even those vehicle crews could use one, Private. We're flexible, pay attention to what the enemy is fielding and equip accordingly.

As soon as the Stuart hits the field, put your AA crew into the Stuart. You should now have a vet 1, or close to vet 1, Stuart crew that can stun enemy armor. At this point, this should be your only vehicle on the field, the others are unmanned back in base leaving the vehicle crews to support your infantry.

Key Concept: Damage potential and Timing - Ask yourself if the vehicle been cost effective in the first engagements. Is the risk of keeping this vehicle on the field worth it? If you think there is sufficient enemy AT on the field, simply pull back and keep the vehicle in reserve. This is the red herring I was talking about earlier, greenhorn. Jerry can't kill what isn't there.

Commander Choice (Armor Company) - Because we've invested in a strong light vehicle component and have a doctrinal tank destroyer and tank, there is no need to field a Major. Your M10 crews will become Thompson totting terrors, to be replaced by those RE's you fielded earlier. Utilize veteran crews or infantry to give M10's HVAP rounds, or Bulldozer Shermans a head start to those juicy vet 2 bonuses.

Rule of Engagement #2 - Once your M10 hits the field, rotate out the crew with the Stuart and keep the Stuart in reserve. Until you start fielding M10s or Bulldozer Shermans, you're going to want to keep that M20 and AA halftrack reserve in store for one hell of an armor push. If you've put enough pressure on with your BAR equipped infantry and light vehicles, this push could come as soon as those M10s unlock, or it could come later with the Bulldozer Sherman, your choice.

The Final Push -By this point you've got a hell of a lot of infantry between the RE's and Vehicle crews on top of a suite of vehicles in reserve. Now re-man the M20, AA halftrack and Stuart, gather your M10s and Shermans, and show Jerry what the 2nd Armored Division is made of - Hoorah!

-Sedghammer

Thanks for the tip .Very good.

+1. A Thompson vehicle crew blob is terrifying.