NUTS WW2 skirmish rules

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

I think you'll find that the motorised battalions in the Fast Divisions are organised pretty much as the standard infantry, at least up to platoon and company level but with the addition of transport.

A Motorized  Battalion had:
x3 Motorized Infantry Companies
x1 Motorized MG Company
x1 Motorized Support Company with x3 sections of 37mm ATG and x3 sections of 80mm mortars

A Company could often have Battalion assets attached, so the could have an attached MG unit, 37mm AT and 80mm mortars. So that's the likely support that any Platoon may ever experience in a Skirmish level game.

I don't see the recon element listed for the Motorized Battalion, but have read someplace else that they should have a recon Company that consisted of  vz.33 tankettes and OA vz. 30 armored cars.

So from a game standpoint, playing a unit from a "Fast Division" gives a gamer the widest range of support options, which could include tankettes, armored cars and tanks. Plus the Fast Divisions were planned  as a "fire brigade" unit that could move quickly to reinforce where needed, and as an exploit and pursuit force.

[carlos marighela]

I think in 1938 that most of the vz.33 tankettes were dispersed in packets to help against the Heinleinist terrorists.

I'll do a deeper dive and come back to you. Fast Divisions probably do provide the most flexible force for gaming in that they provide tanks but I would argue that they are not the most representative force.

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

I know the most representative force would be a fortification garrison or infantry unit, but a Fast unit gives more gaming options.

Another obscure question -- how widespread was the use of radios by Czech military forces? I can't find a definitive source, but it looks like most tanks and armored cars were equipped with radios. I have found references to the Czechs manufacturing military radios for the Soviet Red Army (all kinds - field radios, tank radios and aircraft radios) so it seems like they had a well-developed radio industry. I also found a link to the Russian Radio Museum (https://rkk-museum.ru/about/about_museum_e.shtml) which includes a mention of a Czech "Vz.35" Field Radio that was used by the Wehrmacht in WW2. Usually, this indicates it entered service in 1935.

So what I can find points to the 1938 Czech Army being decently well equipped with radios, giving them more flexibility and ability to react more quickly to battlefield conditions. What do you think?

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

I'm trying to get a good picture of the balance of forces in 1938 -- it looks like most of Germany's mainstay tanks, for example, were not available in any great numbers for a war in 1938.

• The Panzer IIIA-C tank was still in early production and continued field trials – only 30 or so could have been available for a Czechoslovakian campaign.
• The Panzer IVA tank was still in early production and continued field trials – only 50 or so could have been available for a Czechoslovakian campaign.
• The Me-109A & B fighter plane had only just started production, and only a few hundred of these modern fighters were available.
• Other iconic planes like the Ju87 Stuka were also in limited production, and while the German Condor Legion made extensive use of the 8.8 cm Flak 18 in the Spanish Civil War, those lessons had not been applied to the German Army with deployments of the 8.8 cm Flak 18 in a ground support/anti-tank role.

[carlos marighela]

I know the most representative force would be a fortification garrison or infantry unit, but a Fast unit gives more gaming options.

Another obscure question -- how widespread was the use of radios by Czech military forces? I can't find a definitive source, but it looks like most tanks and armored cars were equipped with radios. I have found references to the Czechs manufacturing military radios for the Soviet Red Army (all kinds - field radios, tank radios and aircraft radios) so it seems like they had a well-developed radio industry. I also found a link to the Russian Radio Museum (https://rkk-museum.ru/about/about_museum_e.shtml) which includes a mention of a Czech "Vz.35" Field Radio that was used by the Wehrmacht in WW2. Usually, this indicates it entered service in 1935.

So what I can find points to the 1938 Czech Army being decently well equipped with radios, giving them more flexibility and ability to react more quickly to battlefield conditions. What do you think?

On balance, I suspect the Czech army was as well trained and flexible as its potential opponents. I doubt there would have been field radios beneath company level but that's true of pretty much everyone at this point.

Czechoslovakia's weakness was the fact that large chunks of the nation were either unenthusiastic and in some cases hostile to its cause. As the national army integrated all ethnic minorities this created some problems in terms of potential morale and desertion. Sudeten Germans, not all of whom were pro Henlein and Hitler, made up just shy of a quarter of the population.

The Germans on the other hand had already shown how chronically ill-prepared for war they were. The unopposed march into Austria earlier in the year was a litany of broken down vehicles and slow, uncoordinated movement. Had Austria resisted Anschluss it might have been messy and that was only 6 months prior to the Muncih Crisis. It's worth noting how far from the image of Blitzkreig, the German army is in 1938.

[carlos marighela]

I'm trying to get a good picture of the balance of forces in 1938 -- it looks like most of Germany's mainstay tanks, for example, were not available in any great numbers for a war in 1938.

• The Panzer IIIA-C tank was still in early production and continued field trials – only 30 or so could have been available for a Czechoslovakian campaign.
• The Panzer IVA tank was still in early production and continued field trials – only 50 or so could have been available for a Czechoslovakian campaign.
• The Me-109A & B fighter plane had only just started production, and only a few hundred of these modern fighters were available.
• Other iconic planes like the Ju87 Stuka were also in limited production, and while the German Condor Legion made extensive use of the 8.8 cm Flak 18 in the Spanish Civil War, those lessons had not been applied to the German Army with deployments of the 8.8 cm Flak 18 in a ground support/anti-tank role.

The operable tank strength in August 1938 was pretty much limited to Pzkpfw I with a smattering of Pzkpfw II ,of which there were about 125 in existence in September 1938. As you have pointed out the numbers of Pzkpfw III and IV were tiny. It hardly needs to be pointed out that Pzkpfw I was not much of a threat to the LT vz.35s of the Czech army. On the other hand all the Czech AT weapons, on  could handily despatch any of the German tanks then fielded. While the LT vz.35 was hardly a wunderwaffe itself, it was certainly good enough to soldier on with the Germans until 1942 and a real overmatch for any German light tanks.
For my own scenarios, I'm contemplating adding one of the five or so Neubaufahrzeug vehicles for breakthrough scenarios, purely cos it's cool looking and one of the few non -light tanks available. They did see limited service in Norway after all. Gamey but fun.

Air support? Bf-109s were in relatively short supply, The C model was only just coming online at the time of Munich. That meant that greater reliance would still be placed on Arado 68s, which was still the main fighter at least numerically in 1938 supplemented by the He-51. Either of which woud have struggled to maintain parity with the Czech's Avia B-534 and would have been at a distinct disadvantage in terms of range, with the Czechs being closer based to any potential targets.

Under 300 Stukas of all types by late 1938 and many woud not be operational. That's rougly on par with the 250 odd Hs-123 biplanes then in use. Given it was the more mature technology, it likelypwould have seen more use, possibly supplemented with He-51s which had moved into the fighter-bomber role in Spain.

The rest of the Luftwaffe wasn't really that awe inspiring. They had plenty of Do-17s mostly early E models and a goodly number of early model He-111 but it's hardly an overwhelming force. The other thing worth noting is that if Munich doesn't go ahead, then the Luftwaffe has to keep a goodly portion of its strength available for potential use against France and possibly Britain. The whole thing is a lot more evenly balanced than it initially appears and that's without pulling in Romanian and even Soviet intervention in the absence of a Munich settlement.

I quite agree, the use of 88s was by no means a doctrinal thing, even in 1940, more of an expedient. So really, the Germans are reliant on their 37mm AT guns and whatever field pieces are handy at the time as they mostly were, historically, until 1942.

Now, on a sidetrack but one where the Germans are not roughly on par but somewhat up against it have you ever thought about doing the German reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936? An opposed version with mid 1930s French against mid-1930s Germans? That's got some fun kit and potential scenarios too.

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

Good point about aircraft used by either side. I think the Czech fighters were easily as good as the primary German fighters, but the Czechs had - astoundingly - better bombers. They had about x100 Avia B-71 bombers, which is based on the Soviet Tupolev SB monowing bomber with a 1000kg payload at 450kph and 2300km combat range, and the Aero A.304 monowing bomber that could carry around 500kg of bombs at 350kph and 1200km combat range.