For years, American tank players have had it rough. Though they can field lots of tanks, they’ve never really stacked up against the tanks of other armies, especially the Germans. But all that may have changed with the release of the new Blood, Guts, & Glory book.
Prior to the
release of Blood, Guts, & Glory, American tank armies suffered from
the “jack of all trades, master of none” syndrome when it came to their primary
tank, the M4 Sherman. While a good
all-around tank with descent armor, a good gun, and Stabilizers (allowing you
to shoot on the move at full RoF, but suffering a +1 penalty to hit), the
Sherman gave American players a cheaply pointed tank that could handle almost
anything. Sadly, the only thing it
couldn’t handle was heavy armor, like the German Panther and Tiger tanks. Against these heavily armored and well armed
tanks, the M4 is found wanting, with its only advantage being that it is
cheaper to field, giving you more M4s on the table. But while Tigers were a rarity on the
battlefields of WWII, they are a very common sight on the table tops of
FoW. Because of this and the simple fact
that FoW is designed as an evenly balanced point-based system, it was very
difficult for American players to win games with pure tank companies. American players had to rely on their support
units (artillery, air, infantry) to deal with or delay enemy heavy tanks while
they used their tanks to flank or attack objectives. This left a bitter feeling for many players,
especially those with a historical bent.
While the Panther and Tiger tanks were great feats of engineering, it
could be argued the M4 was more so. German
produced less than 7,000 Panthers and Tiger tanks combined, while the United
States produced over 45,000 M4s. The
Sherman was prized for its mobility, mechanical reliability and the sheer
numbers the Americans could throw at the enemy. But recreating this feeling of overwhelming
numbers is difficult to achieve in a points-based system and as a result,
American tank players got the short end of the stick, with the war-winning M4
shoved to sidelines in favor of better game winning units. Even the release of
the Sherman ‘76’, with a better gun capable of killing those dreaded kitties,
didn’t change the overall game and American tank lists were an uncommon sight
on FoW battlefields.
But
the balance may be shifting. With Blood, Guts, & Glory, the standard M4 is joined by
its much improved and deadly younger siblings.
With the addition of the M4A3E8 ‘Easy Eight’ and M4 ‘Jumbo’, American
tank lists are now more effective than ever.
Packing a late model 76mm gun and a host of special rules, the Easy
Eight brings lethality back to the table for American tank lists. With rules like Detroit’s Finest (movement Distance of 14”/35cm on Roads or Cross-country
Terrain), Smooth Ride (Easy Eight tank does not suffer the +1 penalty to its
score To Hit when using the Stabilizers special rule, provided that it did not
move more than 6”/15cm during the Movement Step and it did not move in, enter,
or move out of Rough Terrain), Protected Ammo (roll all failed Motivation Tests
to Remount Bailed Out vehicles), and Wide Tracks, the Easy Eight is mobile killer.
At the opposite end
of the spectrum is the M4 Jumbo. While
the Jumbo is a Slow Tank (can only move 8” over Roads or Cross-Country Terrain)
and is armed with the standard 75mm gun, it is its 12 Front Armor/8 Side Armor
and Jumbos Lead the Way special rule that make them stand out. Because the Jumbo looks very similar to a
regular M4 but has much heavier armor, American tankers started Jumbos as the
lead tank in their advances, deliberately encouraging the Germans to shoot at
it rather than the lighter M4 Sherman tanks operating with it. This special rule allows American players to allocate
hits to an M4A3E2 Jumbo tank as if it had the lowest armor rating, assigning it
a hit before the lesser armored tanks.
This means those pesky German panzers have a very low chance of killing
the Jumbo on the front, giving the rest of the unit the chance to shoot back without
fearing for their lives.
While both the Easy Eight and the Jumbo have some impressive
abilities, there is a down side. Only a
couple of tanks can be fielded per American tank platoon, limiting the amount
of numbers of these bad boys you can bring to the table. But like everything else, this limitation can
still overcome with good tactics and
through building the right army list combinations.
Overall, Blood,
Guts, & Glory
will breathe new life into American tank armies. The Easy Eights and Jumbos fill holes the
other lists had while bringing interesting new rules to the table top. Combine these new tanks with a Veteran
Skill rating and some really neat Warrior characters (Ole Blood & Guts
Patton anyone?) and you have the making of a well balanced and highly effective
tank army that still has access to a wide array of support choices (remember
that awesome American artillery). While
the Tiger and Panther tanks are still some of the best in the game, the new
Sherman variants from Blood, Guts, & Glory may
seriously challenge the reign of the German panzers as kings of the table
top.
So…will
these new M4 variants shift the balance of power when it comes to armored
warfare? Or will the German panzers hold
onto the title? Only time will tell. Comments
and suggestions are always welcomed!
