Possibility of creating a Panzer 38(t) campaign

[Kyth]

Just to reassure you guys, at the beginning of July '42 the 22nd Panzer still had an official strength of 114 Panzer 38(t)'s and I guess sometime in June they got bolstered with a company of Panzer III's and Panzer IV(lg).

So the Panzer 38(t)'s weren't exactly 'phased out in flames' in this operation  Cheer up!


In summary, about tank strengths in the Kerch Peninsula:

- Almost none of the Panzer III or T-34 
- Some KV-1. Some Panzer IV(kz).
- Plenty, plenty of light tanks: T-60, T-26, Panzer 38(t), Panzer II.

[whukid]

Just to reassure you guys, at the beginning of July '42 the 22nd Panzer still had an official strength of 114 Panzer 38(t)'s and I guess sometime in June they got bolstered with a company of Panzer III's and Panzer IV(lg).

So the Panzer 38(t)'s weren't exactly 'phased out in flames' in this operation  Cheer up!


In summary, about tank strengths in the Kerch Peninsula:

- Almost none of the Panzer III or T-34 
- Some KV-1. Some Panzer IV(kz).
- Plenty, plenty of light tanks: T-60, T-26, Panzer 38(t).

Thank God! I wasn't looking forward to battling masses of KV-1's in my puny 38(t)

[frinik]

In a Panzer 38(t) even a T-60 is scary ...Don't forget to include T-70s Kyth I kind of like thme and they were actually , overall, the most widespread Soviet tank.

BTW just emailed you the Best_poly map.

[Kyth]

Incidentally, StugIII assault guns (75mm L/24) from 197th and 249th battalions were known to be involved also,

[Mistwalker]

So the Panzer 38(t)'s weren't exactly 'phased out in flames' in this operation  Cheer up!

I suspect that division had received reinforcements to boost it's strength up to official for Stalingrad offensive. 38(t) still produced in that time. According to the Soviet side they knocked out no less than 128 German tanks and spgs from May 9 to 14. That may be overstated and many of those were repaired, but's i think it's highly improbable that division hasn't lost any of its 38(t).

Thank God! I wasn't looking forward to battling masses of KV-1's in my puny 38(t)

Well, there was a real battle, where 229 tank battalion (11 KV) defended against German tanks, knocked out 28 and lost 5 KV. 
It's all up to Kyth though if he'll want to recreate this single episode or not. 

In a Panzer 38(t) even a T-60 is scary ...Don't forget to include T-70s Kyth I kind of like thme and they were actually , overall, the most widespread Soviet tank.

Actually 38(t) has the same armor as Pz. III, only gun is weaker. So T-60 is not a problem. Also no T-70 there (it went in production 1.5 months before the events). Only 60 T-60 and 79 T-26.

[frinik]

What about the BTs Mistwalker?Any present?Any T-28s still being fielded?

[Kyth]

Well, there was a real battle, where 229 tank battalion (11 KV) defended against German tanks, knocked out 28 and lost 5 KV. 
It's all up to Kyth though if he'll want to recreate this single episode or not. 

Always a possibility    Although I tend towards 'semi-historical' scenarios,

[frinik]

Every time the Germans were up against KV-1s fighting in a defensive posture they suffered heavy losses.

[lockie]

I'd like to note that commander tank 38(t) "bef" doesn't has a gun. It was fixed by me in mission "find the fords", though historically it's not correct. So, as my point, there's a problem, coz as a user I'm not inspired to have under my control a tank without gun. Of course, it's only my opinion.

[Kyth]

I'd like to note that commander tank 38(t) "bef" doesn't has a gun. It was fixed by me in mission "find the fords", though historically it's not correct. So, as my point, there's a problem, coz as a user I'm not inspired to have under my control a tank without gun. Of course, it's only my opinion.

I'll try to include the tech_cfg changes in my mission downloads,

And I would suggest one further improvement, to reduce the 'vis_factor' value from '2' to '1.5'

It does have a significant impact on the AI. The '1.5' value places the Panzer 38(t) somewhere between the Panzer II and Panzer III in terms of size and height, hence it's visibility.
It really is quite a small tank 

[frinik]

I agree entirely with Lockie the Befehlspanzer is userless.No gun, the turret has no traverse it's T34 bait as far as I am concerned.It was the player's tank in one of Deviator's missions and I promptly changed it for a P 38t with a gun!!! No BP please Kyth!Good suggestion for changing the visibility.

[Kyth]

I agree entirely with Lockie the Befehlspanzer is userless.No gun, the turret has no traverse it's T34 bait as far as I am concerned.It was the player's tank in one of Deviator's missions and I promptly changed it for a P 38t with a gun!!! No BP please Kyth!Good suggestion for changing the visibility.

No worries, I won't use that 

I understand the befehlspanzer is for the battalion commander to ride around and bark out orders? Not actually for tank-to-tank action,

[whukid]

I agree entirely with Lockie the Befehlspanzer is userless.No gun, the turret has no traverse it's T34 bait as far as I am concerned.It was the player's tank in one of Deviator's missions and I promptly changed it for a P 38t with a gun!!! No BP please Kyth!Good suggestion for changing the visibility.

No worries, I won't use that 

I understand the befehlspanzer is for the battalion commander to ride around and bark out orders? Not actually for tank-to-tank action,

Ew. That brings back ugly memories of hearing about Regiment CO's who rode around in Helicopters during Vietnam micromanaging the deployment of each
platoon.

[frinik]

Befehls means order in German so indeed the Befehlspanzser is basically the Platoon's Commander's tank which he uses to issue orders.However what differentiate the Panzer (38)t  Befehls version from the other type of befehlspanzers is the absence of a gun.This was corrected with the Panthers and Tigers II which had BPs equipped with a gun although of course they carried less shells than the regular models.

[lockie]

I found another issue vs Pz38(t). AI doesn't want to shoot at the enemy tank, if distance is ~1000m, it starts to shoot from ~700m
It's a very strange, i.e. PzII really doesn't care about distance, AI can shoot from 1km without any problems.

PS
Issue resolved. I didn't pay attention to page 2

[Kyth]

Okay, don't worry everyone,

I'll make it a point to include everything that's needed (tech_cfg files, common_res entries) in my mission downloads,
to make those missions playable and most importantly, enjoyable 

At least until the changes can be included in an update or new version of SPM, one can only hope 

Those missions are coming soon!

[Txema]

Those missions are coming soon!

Great !!!

 

Txema

[Kyth]

You can also make it a longer campaign and actually dedicate it to Otto Carius. Hes first tank was Pz38t. And after a few missions with that you can change to Tiger.

No Tigers! No Tigers! Take your Panzer 38(t) medicine straight. 

And also the possibility of getting the Panzer IVF1 some of the time 

But of course, I'll stick with the Panzer 38(t) for all missions if there's a demand for it 

[frinik]

Kyth switching to the Panzer IVF1 is an excellent idea.That tanmk has largely been ignored in mission making.There are missions for Tigers, Panthers, Panzer IIIs, IIs, VIF2 etc but just a handful for that tank which played a large role in the Panzerwaffe up until 1943.

I am for it!