Editing Ostfront/Tactics/Wehrmacht

==Why play the Wehrmacht?==
'''Pros'''
*A good selection of strong Mid War vehicles
*Very wide selection overall
*Wide selection of assault guns
*Many iconic vehicles
*Impressive roster of heavy vehicles
*Plenty of specialized vehicles
*3+ AA gun that can fire at ground targets
*Ridiculously fast half-track
*2+ towed gun in mid-war
*Generally load check-free
*A wide variety of guns
'''Cons'''
*The vehicles tend to be expensive.
*Their tanks are on the slow side
*The selection might leave you lacking in all-rounders
*That wide variety of guns means you need to mind all the unusual range/power combinations.

The Wehrmacht seems very good and well-protected on paper, but their vehicles are also very expensive and slow. Sure, they have fast things, so they can bring assault infantry in halftracks towards the objectives, but their other capping option is usually too slow to get there fast enough. Since they have so many strong vehicles, it's very easy to be stuck with a selection of heavy-taxed vehicles and a shortage of the humble medium tank. The Wehrmacht is actually a little stronger on the defence than offence due to this mobility hiccup. Even though there are a lot of pros to Wehrmacht, their cons can be devastating.

===Units===
====Light Vehicles====
'''Sd.Kfz.251 Hanomag''': A very fast half-track. Pretty much the most viable option for taking ground with its cargo while the tanks slowly approach. Of course, it also happens to be very vulnerable, so bear that in mind.

'''SdKfz 222''': Brings a cheap autocannon to the field. Squishy, but it can solve some infantry problems.

'''Kubelwagen''': Your basic jeep. Slightly faster than the Hanomag, so it's more likely to see use when you rush for the scout cards.

'''SdKfz 231''': Slightly better than the 222, as it's not open topped. In a pinch can fulfill the role medium tanks do in combat in Fall Weiss, though it can't actually cap anything.

'''SdKfz 234/2 Puma''': A remarkably dangerous vehicle, a very cheap 3+ platform, if limited by range. That's somewhat compensated by the ridiculous speed, making it very much like some of the best American TDs.

'''SdKfz 234/4 Pakwagen''': It's also an assault gun, but a very speedy one. Sure, it's squishy and needs to stop, but it's a legit 3+. If used wisely, it can provide decent area denial. 

====Light tanks====

'''Panzer I B''': A fluffy choice, at best. Cheap and can cap, but it only has machineguns, so don't expect to use it against anything other than infantry or light vehicles. 

'''Panzer II A''': Slightly better armour than the 231, can cap, but is nowhere near as fast. 

'''Panzer 38(t)''': Probably the most viable German light tank in the early war, it shows their philosophy: tough for the class and a bit slow.

'''Fall Weiss'''

'''Panzer II Flamm''': Take them alongside the regular PzIIs and you suddenly have an absolute terror against infantry. Notably, unlike the PzIII, they are not more expensive. The downside here is that they ''are'' vulnerable to machineguns.

====Medium tanks====

'''Panther''': a 48"-range 3+ gun makes it a very nasty opponent, and its Heavy 2 front makes it very viable for long-ranged combat. It's also unusually speedy for a German tank. It does, however, have a significant flaw: it's expensive. That's more than 2 PzIV Gs expensive mid-war, though the price gets a little better late war. Unfortunately, the 3+ gun is not quite the same terror by then, even with all the consequences of its range. Another downside that pretty much forces it into sniping would be its weak armour everywhere that isn't the front.

=====Panzer III=====
The Panzer III family is very likely to do the heavy lifting for you. They're not fast with their 4" speed and their guns are usually somehow underpowered, but they're cheap. Which goes a long way, considering how everything else is expensive. Their sides may be vulnerable, but their rear is Medium, just like the front! Just remember that they're sort of baby mediums, with 24" range rather than the usual medium tank's 36".

'''Ausf. A''': A Fall Weiss version. It's... not so hot. This is before it gets the M/L/M armour scheme, so you're stuck with L2 all around, and a short-ranged 5+ gun that isn't an autocannon. But in comparison to the PzII C, it ''does'' get two machineguns and they cost the same.

'''Ausf. E''': Fall Weiss again. A straight upgrade to the Ausf. A, it's still 50% more expensive. It's no longer vulnerable to machineguns, though.

'''Ausf. F''': Functionally identical to the Ausf. H. Now, bear in mind that this makes it one of the nastier options in Fall Weiss, and it's indeed a little on the expensive side for the period - in fact, the Wehrmacht only has one more expensive vehicle there. 

'''Ausf. H''': A great workhorse Early War. Bear in mind that its low caliber means no HE bonus and it has a rather low 24" range.

'''Ausf. J''': The mid-war flavour is still cheap, still short range, still no anti-infantry bonus... and it's 3+. This makes it a good brawler and it's still very much a great workhorse.

'''Ausf. N''': The late-war flavour is still cheap... but it gets the short 75. It's no longer 3+, but it now has a respectable threat range and that HE bonus, so it suddenly becomes a very solid 4+ medium.

'''Flammpanzer III''': It may force you to take some other PzIIIs, but that's not really bad, since you probably want them anyway. And with a flamethrower, you can absolutely demolish any dug-in infantry.

=====Panzer IV=====
A somewhat more conventional family, the Panzer IVs are the closest the Germans have to a Sherman. Of course, it's a bit of a stretch, as it's still very much a German tank and in fact, it's the Ausf E that's the closest match for a basic Sherman. Still, this is most likely the reason you'll want them: it's the Panzer IV that's the mainline medium tank in Early and Mid War. Only in Late War does the Panzer III get a variant that takes the role that only the Panzer IV can do in the earlier periods.

'''Ausf. A''': The short 75 is a different animal in Fall Weiss. It can't damage Medium or better armour there, but it is a good anti-infantry option, since it can pound away with an HE bonus with impunity. It's also 5+ in the first place, though it does not have the -1 damage of most 5+ guns. This bad boy costs a bit, so you probably want to keep it away from AT weapons. It's not the most expensive thing in existence, but it is squishy. Also has no hull machinegun.

'''Ausf. D''': For 2 extra points, it becomes the third most expensive Wehrmacht toy in Fall Weiss, gets up-armoured to Light, so it no longer fears machineguns, and it gets that hull MG. It's still probably best held at the rear regardless of that MG.

'''Ausf. E''': A little pricey Early War, but it's the Early War counterpart to the T-34. Unlike the T-34, it needs some positioning, since it has squishy sides and rear. Very much a mid-war workhorse, though the PzIII Ausf. N is more points-efficient Late War.

'''Ausf. G''': The long barreled 3+ variant, available mid-war. A nasty gun in mid-war, it's a good example of German strength in that period - and it comes at a bit of a price, but it's still not particularly overpriced.

'''Ausf. H''': Coming around mid-war, with side skirts, it loses its side armour weakness and gains a Heavy front and a Heavy Turret. It's also 3+, so it's almost a pocket heavy. Actually reasonably priced for what it brings to the table.

'''Ausf. J''': Replaces the Ausf. G in Late War. It retains the Heavy front of the Ausf. H, but loses the Medium sides. It's a little cheaper, so it's a better option if you can keep its sides safe.

====Heavy tanks====

'''Tiger''': Slow, 3+, and with H2 up front and H everywhere else. This comes with a superheavy turret, so the gun is not that easy to blow up. Quite a distraction carnifex that can put down a lot of hurt mid war. Late war it's expensive and the gun is a little underpowered for the class.

'''Tiger II''': A better Tiger. Also more expensive. The front is now H3, and its ''sides'' are H2. You pretty much need to flank it with a 3+ or a 2+ to make an impression, and it packs a long-ranged 2+ gun. A most terrifying distraction carnifex, since it's on the slow side - but boy does it pack a wallop and make a centerpiece.

====Assault Guns====

'''StuG III A''': Brings you a Panzer IV gun early war at a 25% discount. The kicker is... well, no turret. Good for setting up kill zones and other sorts of area denial, but it's in trouble if it gets flanked or otherwise forced to move. It has a short 75, so it can't hurt M+ armour in Fall Weiss, but at the same time it has Medium itself, so it's not too shabby there... even though it ''is'' the most expensive vehicle available to the Wehrmacht in the period.

'''StuG III G''': Just like the StuG III A is a cheaper alternative to PzIVs on the defence, so is the Ausf. G. The issue here is that it's not all that much cheaper mid-war. It becomes more attractive late war, though it does NOT get the PzIV J's armour upgrade.

'''Sturmpanzer IV''': Slow, vulnerable to flanking, needs to stop to fire, has 24" range, costs a lot, features a 3+ load check. Doesn't seem like many ways to redeem it - except the fact that it has a Heavy 2 front and a ''2+'' main gun. If placed correctly, it can make entering a choke point absolutely suicidal - and it gets +2 against infantry, too.

'''Jagdpanzer IV''': Take a Panther, move some of its armour to the sides, chop off the turret and a third of the price and you get the Jagdpanzer IV. Probably the most points-efficient way to bring the long 75 to the table, it's great for defence and kill zones. Just remember that it ''is'' squishier than the Panther.

'''Nashorn''': The cheapest way to bring a full-blown 2+ that you can move if need be. It's open-topped and still suffers from the usual assault gun problems, but it brings more gun.

'''Ferdinand''': An expensive way to bring a 2+ that just won't die... Mid war. It features a ridiculous H4 front, though "only" Heavy sides and rear. Generally needs to be flanked by a big gun, draw a lot of howitzer fire or let infantry grenade it from up close to die. Note that it doesn't have any machineguns, so the grenade thing is not ''quite'' as ridiculous as it sounds.

'''Elefant''': So, remember the Ferdinand? Late war you get a slightly cheaper version, but with that missing machinegun. Just in case you need a permanent kill zone.

'''Marder III''': Basically a cheap way to bring in an additional regular 4+ gun. It may be squishy, but it pretty much does its job as advertised.

'''Jagdtiger''': Remember the Elefant? Now imagine that there's a version with the strongest gun possible. The Jagdtiger has a 1+ gun. It does add a load check to the list of the Elefant's drawbacks, but... ''it's 1+''. It would be a ridiculous distraction carnifex if it moved any faster, but it can turn anything in front of it into mincemeat. 

'''Jagdpanther''': Take the Panther, strip the turret, slap on a 2+ and you get this. It's more expensive than the Panther, though, so you're probably going to want it with a purpose in mind.

'''Hetzer''': A fluffy assault gun, really, since it's only a point cheaper than the Panther, exists in late war, is slower and has a softer rear. Granted, the model should have a very low profile, so it can be situationally useful and do a better job than the Panther in some cases.

[[Category:Ostfront/Tactics]]