Medic! Help Me Fix My Bolt Action German Army!
March 28, 2014 by brennon
For you the war is over...
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...
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
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.
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.
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...
- 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.
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.
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"
I’m no expert but I’d have thought that fewer, larger units would work well.
Sniper, HMG, mortor, artillery or even Panther to pin/harrass people in the open. Larger Veteran units to get in close and clear/hold buildings through assaults, probably in transports.
It might be worth taking only 1 extra man with your officer. It gives you the advantage of being a small unit. Use the points saved to get more man in other units.
I play Germans and I’ve found that there as good as any other army. If I were you id drop the panther. That’s a lot of points for 1 units and it will be a bullet magnet. Germans have some great Recce vehicles that will do the same job for a whole lot less points. (E.g.Puma).
Small units are ok but I find 8 is the magic number for Germans. Panzerfausts are a must. A unit of Assault rifles or even smg’s will do the same as the Americans.
Forgot to mention that Flamers are a game changer, so much so that if no one plays with them at your local I’d think twice before opening that pandoras box. As soon as any one sees what they do to there precious veteran infantry in buildings they will all want one. Flame tanks are 100% worse. 😉
That said the thing about BA is there is a always a way to counter enemy units.
Flamers and heavy mortars are an amazing work horse for BA try them you will not regret it
I have to agree that 8 man squads are better and there are I think more practical armour or mechanized units. As far as flamers, I think it is a little unbalanced and there are a lot of people who don’t play them because it’s basically an automatic kill. I am a real believer in just experimenting with your units and developing tactics that work well if your type of army. In reality no army is the same or even as another.
I’d ditch the panther or switch it for StuH42 and/or Puma and use the saved points for a flamer (or a platoon of sturmpioneers with flamer http://www.warlordgames.com/downloads/pdf/BA-additional-units.pdf ). At the moment heavy armor just isn’t worth its cost in Bolt Action. Squad sizes of 7-8 men seem to work with veterans, but feel free to test larger squad sizes, but remember that larger squads tend to mean less order dice. You could most likely use one SMG/AR loaded infantry squad without the LMG as an assault element. Have couple of bullet spong… um… riflemen along to soak up the casualties… Read more »
Thanks drowningharvey that was really helpful for me too 🙂
Time to review my setup…..
Interesting stuff drowningharvey, thanks. I am new to BA, just about to pick up 500pt German and British army sets. Looking ahead for a 1000pt German army, I was thinking about this set up. 2nd Lt + 1 Medic + 1 Art fwd officer Heer vet squad (NCO + 7; SMG and LMG) Heer vet squad as above Heer reg squad (NCO + 9: SMG and LMG) MMG team Med mortar team Sniper team Flamethrower team Med howitzer SdKfz 12 Command Dice 1000 pts. What do you guys think? I wanted some tough core (the vets) some cannon fodder, some… Read more »
I’d say it looks like a like a solid starting point. Bit light on the anti tank department, but that can be fixed later, if needed. After few games you should have idea what elements in your list suit your style of play and trim the list accordingly (if necessary).
3 x 5 men are to small units.
Better bring 2 units at larger size.
The Panther is an expensive vehicle, you coudl get a cheaper one and use teh extra points?
Get and extra solider with the Observer and Medic if possible. They serve as meat-shields.
Airforce observers are better value vs tanks. You could change your arty guy to that and skip some panzerfausts? It shoudl leave you some points to spend again.
A german machinegun MMG is pretty nice in defence or in a bulding near the front etc.
Teh MMG covers and leave you infantry free to move.
Thanks for all the words of wisdom folks! I am going to take them on board 😀
BoW Ben