Medic! Help Me Fix My Bolt Action German Army!

March 28, 2014 by brennon

For you the war is over...

French Town

I have been playing Bolt Action since before Christmas last year now and my German force has grown to around 1000pts. I managed to do all of this using the miniatures from the Assault on Normandy set, a few extra sprues thanks to a friend of mine, and a Panther tank. However here is the crux of it. I am sitting here looking at my Germans and every mission I fight I end up doing so to a draw. That's fine with me I suppose but it would be great to actually start winning games. So I turn to you faithful community to help me patch up my Germans and get them ready for combat!

What Troops Do We Have Sir?

As it stands here is the run down of troops that I have been using throughout most of my games...

Medic!

Oberleutenant Veteran (90)
2x Men (26)
SMG/Rifle/Assault Rifle
= 106pts

Medic Veteran (30)
Pistol
= 30pts

Artillery Observer Veteran (90)
Pistol
= 90pts

5x Veteran Infantry Squad (65)
1x Additional Man (13)
LMG (20)
SMG (3)
Panzerfaust (5)
= 106pts

5x Veteran Infantry Squad (65)
1x Additional Man (13)
LMG (20)
SMG (3)
Panzerfaust (5)
= 106pts

5x Veteran Infantry Squad (65)
1x Additional Man (13)
LMG (20)
SMG (3)
Panzerfaust (5)
= 106pts

Sniper Team Veteran (65)
= 65pts

Panther Tank Veteran (426)
= 426pts

Hold the Wall

Of course when I use this in battles I switch things around to make it fit into the points limit but I have just over 1000pts worth of stuff. I upgraded each of the infantry squads into Veterans because I feel that 5+ is better than 4+ and of course the smaller numbers mean they need that extra protection when they get shot (you would think it helps but alas it seems to very little).

I always end up bringing the Medic because it ends up being a nice 'screw you' to someone who thinks they can shoot your squad and the Sniper is perfect for picking people off and making sure Russians won't be moving anywhere with their green horns. I managed to make an entire squad of Russian soldiers sit at the back of a battlefield off one sniper shot in one game.

Advancing

The Artillery Observer has made himself worth the points in practically ever game he has played bar one. Yes he might have accidentally called in a shot on my own men once or twice but more often than not he hits his target and makes sure they feel the pain.

At the tail end of things, and my newest addition to the army, is the Panther Tank. He generally sits there and blows stuff up and rarely moves. I try to forget the first game I played with it where a T34 managed to blow it up in one shot. In the second game it managed to rinse an entire unit of men and send that same T34 packing.

Protect the Beer!

As I mentioned though my army tends to always find themselves sitting there and absorbing the enemy before moving a little bit and claiming a draw by the end. I have won one or two objective games but more often than not it is simply a case of standing there and taking it, passing morale checks and then unleashing Hitler's Buzzsaw.

Here Is The New Plan...

What I might consider doing to change things up is this...

Covering Fire

  • Take my units up to 10 men each to make sure the casualties aren't so crippling.
  • Add in a Mortar Team to start pounding dug in positions.
  • Grab a Machine Gun Team for making sure I control lanes of fire.
  • See what Flamer Throwers do to those blobs of men?
  • Possibly take an Armoured Car or Half-Track to start controlling things and moving quicker across the board.

These are some of the things I've been wondering on as well as possibly changing the weapon options for the squads entirely. I have seen the value of Assault Rifles and Submachine Guns in watching others play but I don't know if this could have just been a one off thing.

Panther Tank

My problem with all of this is that my Germans always feel totally underwhelming versus pretty much any other army. My local gaming store is convinced that Germans have got a raw deal when it comes to their special rules and such. I fear advancing towards objectives simply because I know that the Americans have much better shooting up close (and more possibilities for movement) and the British can bring a lot more firepower to bear with their orders.

Leader in Cover

Am I missing something integral to the way Germans play? Should I be doing what I was doing previously and sitting tight behind heavy cover before sending a hail of bullets the opponents way?

Bring on the lesson folks. I want to learn!

"I try to forget the first game I played with it where a T34 managed to blow it up in one shot"

"My local gaming store is convinced that Germans have got a raw deal"

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