Steel Panthers Arsenal: Meet The Team

Captain: Bryan “Marauder” Melvin 

Members: Brent "Grenadier" Richards, "Wild"Bill Wilder, Massimo Rocca, Federico “Resisti” Doveri, Fredrik "Gunner" Ohman, Don Doom, Simo "Mosh" Kukko, Dr. Klaus "HORRIDO" Mueller-Buschbaum, “Rockin Harry” Zahn, Stuart Millis, and Ken “Orzel Baily” Baran

All of these men are experienced gamers and will work hard to enhance your gaming pleasure. Welcome to all!

WELCOME TO THE ARSENAL!

The SP Arsenal site is dedicated to the Steel Panthers Series. We at the Arsenal will continue on the tradition started by “Wild” Bill Wilder: to provide the best SP scenarios, maps, and articles for Steel Panthers.

Updated: Thursday, January 15, 2004 19:58

Arsenal News: Headliner: TIPS, TACTICS & HINTS

8.0 OOBs

Yes, the 8.0 oobs are out and along with that came the discovery of the old Ordinance maxum was true: what was tested on the proving grounds will need adjustments on the battlefield. Same truth holds true for the 8.0 oobs. There was discovered, much to my embarrassment, an HMG bug that caused Tanks to become easily disable after being fired upon by HMGs. This is now been fixed and another update will be forth coming soon.

As with any project, updates will be necessary and there was planned another 8.0 update even before the current one was released. The next 8.0 oob update would be built around what you, the players of spwaw, wanted to see in the game. This was part of the plan as you, the gamers, are the best testers around! Your can post findings, complaints, compliments, on the current 8.0 oobs at the Matrixgames forums. This will aid us in the forth coming 8.0 update based on what you say!

Finally, to help you explore some of the current 8.0 changes made, a new scenario was designed for you: The Paw of the Tiger. In this scenario, you will discover how deadly the big cats can be!

 

That’s it till next time! If you have some insightful tips you would like to share then please email them to me at - shmelbr@aol.com or resisti64@hotmail.com

Paw of the Tiger

In the summer of 1942 the Wehrmacht still held its siege lines around the city of Leningrad in hopes of forcing the city to fall. An operation to storm the city (code named "Northern Light") had been considered by OKW in the early spring, but that plan was postponed and then eventually cancelled as the main German offensive to the south ("Fall Blau") began to require more and more of the Wehrmacht's resources.

However, the Leningrad Front did not stay quiet during this period of time. Throughout the summer and fall of 1942 the Soviets launched several attacks in the effort to break the strangle hold that the Germans had on the city. All of these were met with stiff German resistance and none were able to achieve the goal of smashing through the siege lines.*

The continuous fighting around Leningrad did, however, have a two-fold effect on the German war effort. First of all it limited the number of units that the Germans could withdraw from the Leningrad front to use in their drive to the Volga and the Causasus region. Second of all, it slowly sapped the strength of the units that were left holding the lines around Leningrad since nearly all replacements and reinforcements were flowing to Von Paulus's Sixth Army.

By the winter of 42'-43' the collapse of their Front to the Soviet counterattack at Stalingrad (operation "Uranus") meant that even more German units were drawn away from all sectors of the Eastern Front, including the already thinned Army Group North. Whatever could be spared was rushed south to fill the gapping hole that had been torn into the line and to form new defensive lines.

All the while the Soviet Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts continued to pressure the German lines around the city. Eventually the German units that remained holding the siege lines were forced to develop what could best are described as a "trip wire" defence, so as to make the most of their meagre reserves. In most cases an outer "skirmish" line of foxholes and rifle-pits were set up along the fringes of the main defensive line. These, along with small tank-hunter groups and infantry squads, held the high ground where trails and roads passed through the swampy, hilly terrain. These "outer" forces were in place to detect and then delay any Soviet attack, hopefully even weakening it, so that the main defensive line (made up of Anti-Tank gun positions and heavier Machine Gun nests) had enough time to be reinforced by a local armoured "Fire Brigade".

Once called upon these "Fire Brigades" would move into pre-selected firing positions just behind the main defensive line (usually on hills over-looking a small clearing) and take on whatever Soviet forces managed to penetrate the front. It was a tactic that served the Germans well, until the overwhelming flood of Soviet manpower and equipment finally broke the German siege the following year.

On January 12th, 1943 a full battalion of the Soviet 122nd Tank Brigade launches an attack against the German lines south of Leningrad.

As the Soviet force moved through the hills and frozen marshlands, they were detected by the first, "trip wire", defending German units. Even as the first firefights break out, the call goes out to Regimental HQ alerting them of the oncoming storm. The fact that the Soviet force is "armour heavy" requires that a "Fire Brigade" be dispatched to cope with any possible Russian breakthrough.

The nearest "Fire Brigade" is made up of elements of the 1st Company of the 502nd Tiger Battalion, which includes ace Panzer Commander Captain Hans Bolter. Within minutes the crews man their panzers and are on the move, heading down the frozen roads towards the threatened sector. It is yet another call to duty in the un-ending struggle to stem the Soviet onslaught and the question is the same: Can they pull off the impossible one more time against overwhelming odds?

The two Tigers and their three support panzers (2 MkIII's and a MkIV) arrived just in time to bolster the crumbling defensive line. The trip wire defences had succeeded in delaying the attack and causing enough losses that the Soviets could not deliver a quick and fatal blow to the German line.
Though heavily outnumbered the Tigers were able to deal with those Soviet tanks that did breakthrough the main defensive line. By the end of the engagement the attacking battalion of the Soviet 122nd Tank Brigade had been virtually crushed, it's burning and wrecked tanks littered the landscape while the survivors turned tail and withdrew.

The combination of the Tigers massive armour and firepower with Bolter's superb leadership and gunnery skills had made all the difference.

PAW OF THE TIGER is originally from Avalon Hill's popular Squad Leader Series (Scenario #14), which I grew up on as a teen. Although the scenario was always a classic to me, it took some time to get it into a playable format for SPWAW. I hope it does service to the original and I hope that all who play it find it enjoyable and interesting.

To find out more, click (here) to get directly to the (“In the Spotlight”) section of the Raider’s Arsenal Page.

Red Hot Scenarios!

Due to current work on many projects as well as work on the 8.0 OOB update, the full load of Raider scenarios has been somewhat delayed again. However, we have Orzel Baily’s excellent Paw of the Tiger scenario as well as another great spwaw scenario for you entitled, “A Stab in the Back”. This scenario is set during September 1939 and involves the Russian attack on Poland. Can you hold against the Russian hoards?

To find out more, click (here) to get directly to the (“In the Spotlight”) section of the Raider’s Arsenal Page.

The Wargamer Scenario Depot is running full blast. When is the last time you visited? This is your chance to find some real top-notch recreations of 20th Century warfare in a variety of formats for all the Steel Panthers games. Click here

You’ll find new scenarios for all of the Steel Panthers game that have been posted since our last Raider Issue. Please head on over and stock up by clicking (here).

The Map Depot up and running! (Click Here) Visit this section for all your SP series Map needs as well as the scenario depot.