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So after going through the rules and reading over somethings (especially their ideas on unit coherency) I feel that the range that teams can be separated from their platoon leader should be doubled if not tripled. I say this because most armies (excluding perhaps early war armies and the Russians) used radios in everything. Radios were used for greater mobility and maneuverability in platoons during WW2 and beyond. The furthest I think a team can be away from the platoon leader (highly trained) is something like 6" for infantry and 8" for vehicles. I think this is far to short of range and really takes out the ability for tank platoons to really work together in teams (other than ridiculously small pincer attacks).

What do you all think?

There are three things to keep in mind.

1.) The game table is not "too scale" with the models. If the miniatures matched up with the (sliding) scale used in FoW, then the figures would probably be only roughly 1/10th of their current size. So while it may not look like it, your infantry platoons are actually spread out over quite a sizable distance.

2.) In a mission that has the player edges on the short ends of the table (such as "No Retreat" and "Hold the Line"), your platoons with extra-long command distances are effectively going to reach from one end of the table to the other.

3.) The numbers that you're talking about effectively make the difference in command distances for trained and veteran units irrelevant. As things stand right now, if you've got your tanks spread out 8" apart from each other, then you're probably doing something wrong (or you've found a way to game the system, probably involving Defensive Fire). Modern warfare has two opposing maxims. The first is the need to concentrate your strength in order to maximize your blow against the smallest possible section of the enemy's defenses (so they'll have less to resist with). You're strongest when you've got all of your power focused into a single point. The second is the need to spread out in order to avoid getting torn up by what the game shows as template weapons - i.e. artillery and air strikes. The more tightly you mass, the more vulnerable you are to a lucky artillery barrage.


Also, quite a few of those Soviet conscripts don't have radios...

( I mentioned Russians somewhere in there not having radios X3).

However, perhaps the tank radios need to be changed then. Tank for tank is represented correctly in this game ( I saw you mention scale difference). However, I find it very very ahrd for a platoon of shermans to effectivly out-flank another enemy group because of lack of range.

Avrik_Shasla wrote:( I mentioned Russians somewhere in there not having radios X3).

However, perhaps the tank radios need to be changed then. Tank for tank is represented correctly in this game ( I saw you mention scale difference). However, I find it very very ahrd for a platoon of shermans to effectivly out-flank another enemy group because of lack of range.

I'm not really sure why you'd find it difficult.

The problem for me isn't outflanking tanks that are by themselves. You just drive around them or drive through them (which I did one time using Mark IVs against ISU-122s... but that's another story...). The difficulty comes in flanking the tanks when their flanks are properly anchored by supporting units. And command distances aren't going to help with that.

Also remember that there's nothing prohibiting you from leaving tanks behind. The only rule is that the team commanding the platoon (typically the platoon leader, but can also be the Company Commander) and at least half of the platoon (including the aforementioned command team) must be in command. The other teams can stay out of command so long as they don't move.

Eumerin wrote:

Also remember that there's nothing prohibiting you from leaving tanks behind. The only rule is that the team commanding the platoon (typically the platoon leader, but can also be the Company Commander) and at least half of the platoon (including the aforementioned command team) must be in command. The other teams can stay out of command so long as they don't move.

Oooh, I see now. When I read the rule book I read it as, once the team or commanding unit goes further than 8", the other team seperated from the platoon leader MUST begin moving towards the commander.

Avrik_Shasla wrote:

Eumerin wrote:

Also remember that there's nothing prohibiting you from leaving tanks behind. The only rule is that the team commanding the platoon (typically the platoon leader, but can also be the Company Commander) and at least half of the platoon (including the aforementioned command team) must be in command. The other teams can stay out of command so long as they don't move.

Oooh, I see now. When I read the rule book I read it as, once the team or commanding unit goes further than 8", the other team seperated from the platoon leader MUST begin moving towards the commander.

If they move, then yes, they must move to get back in command. But there's nothing in the rules that forces them to move.

Eumerin wrote:

Avrik_Shasla wrote:

Eumerin wrote:

Also remember that there's nothing prohibiting you from leaving tanks behind. The only rule is that the team commanding the platoon (typically the platoon leader, but can also be the Company Commander) and at least half of the platoon (including the aforementioned command team) must be in command. The other teams can stay out of command so long as they don't move.

Oooh, I see now. When I read the rule book I read it as, once the team or commanding unit goes further than 8", the other team seperated from the platoon leader MUST begin moving towards the commander.

If they move, then yes, they must move to get back in command. But there's nothing in the rules that forces them to move.

So let me get this completly straight. I can have my platoon leader and his team go across the map, while the other section of the platoon simply stays in one place and doesn't move?

Avrik_Shasla wrote:

So let me get this completly straight. I can have my platoon leader and his team go across the map, while the other section of the platoon simply stays in one place and doesn't move?

Yes. The platoon commander can leave up to 1/2 of his platoon in place.

The part of the platoon with the platoon leader must be at least half of the platoon. If you do that, then yes the platoon leader can leave some of his men behind.

But keep in mind that in order to keep moving like that, the platoon leader must keep at least half of the platoon with him. If losses cause the group with the platoon leader to drop below half, then the platoon leader's group can't move until the rest of the platoon catches up.