Random Kampfgruppes from Desperate Measures by Mark Francis

When Desperate Measures was released I was excited at the opportunity to field a rag tag assortment of German tanks thrown together to face the oncoming forces from the East and West. I also saw this as an opportunity to field some of the tanks in my collection that have been sadly neglected over the last few years. Of course, this also didn’t stop me from adding to my collection in the form of 3 new Jagdpanthers and 8 Hetzers, specifically for the Desperate Measures lists. Of the new German lists in the book, the one that attracted me the most was the Trained Panzer Kampfgruppe. With a choice of 8 different tanks (9 if you count the Jagdpanzer IV and StuG IV separately), backed up by solid support of reconnaissance, infantry and artillery, this list will be able to face any threat the allies can throw at it. The great flexibility of the list is also the biggest drawback for me when making new armies. That drawback is one of choice. I have a hard enough time as it is deciding on a list when given so many options simply because I have a clash of philosophies between what is effective and what just looks cool on the table. I generally opt for the latter, but this doesn’t help when most German kit at this stage of the war looks so fantastic and is all available in the same list. This is when I came up with the idea for the random Kampfgruppe.

I liked the idea of a German force being given a random selection of vehicles that was all that was available to throw at the allies. Gamewise, this also gave me the opportunity to play an assortment of platoons without having to really think about what I wanted to field. I drew up a couple of tables that utilized a D6 and my collection and started rolling for my armies. Based on a few principle rules I noticed the system worked remarkably well and the final list would often resemble a force I would put together anyway. The great thing about the system is you can alter the choices in the tables to fit your own collection.

Principle Rules The force must be legal. An HQ and 2 Combat Platoons minimum. When rolling for your first Combat Platoon, that same tank must also be used for your HQ. You may not add to a platoon size later to fill points, but may reduce the size of one. This represents the fact that you get what you are given by your commanding officer but some teams may be lost on the way to the battle. If you roll the same choice for a platoon that has a limit to the number you can take or you no longer have any more of that model in your collection, simply reroll the die. If you roll a 6, roll on the Support Table. 6. On the Support Table, some options require a second roll to determine exact type of support. This is specified in the table. If your collection is limited, simply ignore this roll and choose accordingly.

Panzer Kampfgruppe Table Panthers Jagdpanthers* Panzer IV/70 A or V Panzer IV or StuG G (late) Hetzer, Jagdpanzer IV or StuG IV Support

*If using the Confident Veteran version of this Kampfgruppe, either reroll any 2 or replace the Jagdpanthers with one of the other options (for example, move Hetzers up to fill that slot)

Support Table Panzer Anti-Aircraft Gun. 1-3 Mobelwagons 4-6 Wirbelwinds. Upgrade to Ostwinds as appropriate Schwere Panzer Platoon. 1-2 KingTiger, 3-4 Tiger I, 5-6 Hetzer. Reconnaisance. 1-2 Panzerspah, 3-4 Tracked Panzerspah, 5-6 Heavy Panzerspah. Infantry. See page 68 for all 6 options. Simply roll for which infantry platoon based on that order Artillery. 1-2 SP artillery. 3-4 Towed artillery. 5-6 Rockets. Luftwaffe. 1-2 Light AA. 3-4 Heavy AA. 5-6 Air Support (including Rudel)/li>

Here's an example: 1650pts Trained Panzer Kampfgruppe

Combat Choice 1. I roll a 1 and look at first table. Panthers. I decide to take a platoon of 3 Panthers for 430 points. According to rule number 2 above, I must also make this my HQ tank. I decide upon a CO Panther but no 2IC. This is another 145pts. Combat Choice 2. I roll a 3. Jagdpanzer IV/70s. I only own the V variant so opt for 3 of those for 340pts. My force is now legal and I have used 915pts so far. I could go straight to the support table but feel like I’d like one more combat platoon choice. Combat Choice 3. I roll another 1, more Panthers! I opt for only 2 this time at 290pts. Now I move straight to the support table.

Support Choice 1. I roll a 4, Infantry. A second roll yields another 4 which is a Volksgrenadier platoon. I opt to add the Panzerschreck for a total of 180pts. Support Choice 2. I roll a 6, Luftwaffe. A further roll of a 4 gives me Heavy AA. I opt for 2 Luftwaffe 88s with extra crew and transports for 120pts. My force total is now 1505pts and 5 platoons, leaving me with 145pts remaining. Support Choice 3. I roll a 5, artillery. I then roll another 5, Rockets. Looking at my choices, I notice that 3 Panzerwerfers with extra crew is 140pts so I take those. Total points 1645. That will work. I now have my 1650pt Kampfgruppe. Yes, it lacks reconnaissance which I prefer to have but it certainly packs a punch with 9 AT 14 hulls, 2 88s and a double width rocket template. I’m having a lot of fun with these Kampfgruppes and I hope to add an AAR to the forum soon with one in action. Feel free to play with the system yourself or even create your own with the other German lists in the book.