Es ist Tigerzeit! German Tank Formations D-Day Book

It is indeed Tiger time. The D-Day book for the Germans is out and we look at the armoured formations you can run out of this new release for Late War. No other commander during WW2 made such an impact in a tank as Michael Wittmann.

As a true Panzer Ace, his Tiger took its fight to the allies and he fought until he was finally KIA in August of 1944. Stopping by his final resting place in 2007 in a small cemetery in France was a small highlight of a trip that took me from Arras to Vimy and everything in between.

Before we look at the Heavy Tank formation from the D-Day book, why don’t we start a little ‘lighter’. Let’s have a good look at the Panzer IV Tank Coy, this list will likely be very popular to German tank purists.

 

The workhorse of the German Panzer IV Tank Company is obviously the Panzer IV. 25 tonnes of armored fun for the Allies to deal with, this tank is reasonably priced and has decent armour ratings, anti-tank and crew stats that one would expect at this period of the war. This tank has an AT rating of 11 and is accompanied by a FRONT/SIDE armor rating of 6/3 respectively. Bazooka Skirts and Protected Ammo give you a few more chances to ensure your crew sticks around to fight to the end.

Bazooka Skirts gives you a better chance against the man-packed type AT weapons or other AT ratings that have a FIREPOWER of 5+ or 6. The addition of makeshift armour was common later in the war, using whatever scrap was still available by this time in the conflict. This addition of welded on scrap metal gives you a SIDE ARMOUR rating of 5.

 

Panzer IV HQ will run you 11 points for two Panzer 7.5cm and the additional units will cost you 28/22/16 points for 5/4/3 tanks. Not a bad points balance, but the points levels you will be playing will definitely dictate whether or not you are able to completely beef up your formation with a unit of Tigers. Panthers are also an option as an add-on, note that you can only choose one or the other.

This was likely for game balance, not that it would be very practical nor possible to have both options due to cost. 24 points would get you a two Tiger 8.8cm unit and the Panther option is a little hefty at 33 points for three Panther 7.5cm with the AT 14. Lots of punch, but you pay for it. Big time.

Air protection is important even with the changes to the way air is used in V4. Another use for AA, is to put the ROF to work against Infantry trying to sneak in for an assault or bringing man-packed anti-tank options to bear on your tanks. Again, with decent stat lines, the Mobelwagen AA Tank Platoon comes in at a relative bargain of 10/8/5 points for 4/3/2 vehicles.

You better save your pennies. This next formation from the new book is NOT cheap. It will pack a punch and like in V3, will ensure your every move on the battlefield is carefully scrutinized and your opponents will be very wary of getting in front of this tank and its huge kanone.

The HQ will run you 11/22 points, depending on how you want to go. One or two of these monsters? Decent veteran skills and a very good AT 14 gun with a 3+ FP. Where you are going to feel the pinch and left wondering how many tanks you can get on the table at once will depend on whether you want to max out at FIVE Panthers for 55 points.

Once you see the book for yourself, you’ll find it will take a hefty points-total to allow you to have all your tanks on the table at once. As in the past, the side armour of 5 will prove to be a bit of a weakness and you’ll definitely be watching for side shots or ambush opportunities as an Allied player.

Two of my Panthers looking to hold off a German Tiger in the distance.

Lost one tank on the rail line, the other made two very good rolls to destroy two enemy tanks at short-range during a Canadian Nationals match.

 

The AA options are the Mobelwagen or the capable Sd Kfz 10/4 AA Half-Track, it’s great to have two different options to protect your formation assets.

Again, the protection they provide will allow you to concentrate fire from your Panther 7.5cm guns on the enemy.

No tank commands as much respect in Flames of War as the Tiger. Say what you want about the other tanks either Allied or Axis, this big cat is at the top of most lists when it comes to what people envision when you mention German WW2 armoured fighting vehicles. I’m almost sure this is one of Dennis’ paint jobs, it could also be a Bob McBride model as well (EDIT this is a Bob McBride AKA Luggs tank).

You heard it here folks, a member of a small club in Petawawa Ontario, Bob McBride’s work is fantastic. Either way, it’s a great example to the detail you can get on this tank to make it battle and tournament ready. Forget it, you came here for one thing. Let’s break down the Tiger Tank Company out of the new German D-Day book before we move onto the last formation.

 

Straight forward or what? There are not a lot of options or bells and whistles. Gone are the days of rounding out your lists with a few add-ons here and there. Nowadays you have to really get some thought into which way you want to build your lists. For me, the only real option for the Tiger Tank Company is to run it as a second formation. Sure it will pack a punch, but even at this stage of the war, it’s expensive and the Allies have a few more options when you look at the books side-by-side.

You’ve seen this picture before, but it fits into everything we are looking at. HQ options will be 12 per Tiger, so 24 points for the pair. Sticking with the pairs, that’s the minimum you can run per unit, a maximum of 48 points for four of these beasts.

There are a lot fewer options than most other lists you will field in a V4 formation, there are not many people out there that will run just this list, I just don’t think with the ASSAULT rules this will be much of an option. Dug-In infantry will be difficult to rout, especially in missions where buildings are close to objectives. I enjoy running minimal lists in Flames of War. Sometimes you just feel like pushing around 3-4 models, and this formation certainly fits that description.

 

Veteran To-Hit stats, both decent front and side armour, and the extra top armor point make the Tiger a tougher opponent than most German tanks.

 

Two gun HQ and each of the other platoon options give you from two to four in number.

Tapping into something I knew very little about, this formation almost didn’t make the article. I had glanced a little bit and read up on all the tank formations in this new book. One thing I missed was the Fallschirmjager STUG Assault Gun Company. I’m fairly sure the name threw me off a little bit, who knew the paratroopers of the German Army had support of one of the toughest tanks of WW2? Not this guy.

We’re looking at the cost and abilities to add some ground troops, it’s a well-rounded list that I think is the biggest sleeper in this book.

Taking a quick glance, you can start with a decent base of capable armored options, though not the flash of the Panther or the finish of the Tiger, the German Sturmgeschütz still a force to fear in Late War. Though by this time manufacturing had dropped in being able to produce solid numbers and serviceability was becoming an issue at this stage of the war.

 

The addition of Infantry to this list will make for some interesting combinations. I chose to feature only the Beach Defence group here, I think they are the more ‘flexible’ option over the regular Fallschirmjager platoon. Being able to mix and match here is KEY. Making those changes on the fly is just too good to pass up in this case.

Hope you enjoyed the article. Feel free to comment and interact with us in our forums. Looking forward to more V4 rules and books.

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by your number one source for everything Flames of War and tabletop wargaming!