play

In the early to mid 30's German planners had a clear vision of how they intended the Panzer Divisions to be armed and operate. The light Panzer I and Panzer II were put into production while preparations were made to secure a Main Battle Tank (the Panzer III) plus another tank (Panzer IV) that would provide fire support for the panzer arm.

In 1936, five firms were invited to submit designs for the main battle tank. This was to be a 15 ton vehicle capable of 25 mph (40 km/h), housing a 50mm gun with a Co-Axial machine gun, with a second machine gun in the hull. The tank was to have a crew of five, each being able to dedicate themselves to a specific role, driver, commander, gunner, loader and radio operator / hull machine gunner. Of the three prototypes produced, the one from Daimler-Benz was chosen and the first models rolled off the production line in 1937.

Early in the program, a decision was made to use the readily available 37/45 gun instead of developing a suitable 50mm gun. The compromise involved an agreement to make the turret ring large enough to take a 50mm gun should a future upgrade be required. This single decision would later assure the Panzer III a long and useful life in the German army. The latest technology provided the five man crew with access to both internal and external communication systems, giving a Command and Control advantage that would serve them well five years later on the Russian front.

Initially, the design of the suspension caused problems and this continued through the pre-production models Ausf A – D, it was only finally resolved upon changing from a 5 wheeled to 6 wheeled system on the Ausf E.

By this time, inadequacies in the armament and armour of the Pz III had started to show as it encountered the British Matilda tank in the North African desert, followed by the appearance of the superb Russian T-34 and KV-1 tanks on the eastern front.

The gun / armour race was on. Nicknamed the 'doorknocker', the Panzer III's 37mm gun was incapable of penetrating the front armour of the newer Russian tanks and it was only the superior German Command & Control and tactical mastery of the battlefield that enabled them to continue scoring victories during that year.

German upgrades of the Pz III included thicker armour (including spaced armour), the fitting of a 50mm gun and the addition of a more powerful engine. Initially, the shortage of 50mm guns meant that the shorter barrelled 50/42 gun was used but gradually this was replaced by the much more effective longer 50/60 gun.

The modifications enabled the Pz III to continue it's intended role of 'main battle tank' a little longer. In the Desert, the tank was now proof against the British 2 pounder gun and on the eastern front, the lighter Russian tanks proved little problem. However, the reprieve was short lived. Unable to carry a bigger gun, the increasing numbers of Russian T-34's and KV-1's on the battlefield and the arrival of allied Shermans and Grant's in the Desert, once again made the life of a Pz III crew more perilous.

Substantial numbers of Pz III's were still in use at the time of the Kursk offensive (Russia - July 1943), which included 60 (of the 100 ever built) Pz III's that had been converted into flamethrowing vehicles. It was now serving alongside, and overshadowed by, the Pz IVH which carried the long 75mm gun and the Pz VI (Tiger I) with it's 100mm frontal armour and 88mm gun. The high powered Pz V (Panther) had also started to arrive on the battlefield in greater numbers. In August '43 production of the Panzer III stopped.

With a total of 5664 machines built, the final model, the Ausf N, cleverly extended the tank's life just one more time by having the old short 75mm gun fitted, this was useless as an anti tank weapon but very good at providing High Explosive fire support. Effectively, the Pz III and Pz IV had now undergone a role reversal, with the Pz IV now being the main battle tank.

In the Panzer Regiments, a new partnership had developed between the Pz IV and the 'new kid on the block' the Pz V (Panther), with the regiment having a battalion of each (on paper at least).

As production of the Pz III ceased, the capacity was switched towards increasing the production of the cheaper assault guns (StuGs). These used the chassis of the old Pz III but because they were turretless, they could house the long 75mm and 105mm guns. For the remainder of the war, StuG production made a major contribution to firepower in the panzer formations with over 1100 StuG 105s alone being produced.

The Pz III was a true workhorse of the German army. With modification, it stayed in the gun / armour race long enough for the next generation of tanks to take their front line place. Laid down in 1936, this machine helped secure those early German battlefield victories of the 'blitzkrieg' era while it's chassis lived on to provided what arguably could be described as the most successful family of assault guns of the entire war.

It looks like the Ausf F vehicles in this game, have the 37mm Gun (they would later be re-fitted with 50mm guns), giving them an Anti-Tank value of 2.

In game terms, Ausf G and H are the same vehicle and their Anti-Tank value of 3 reflects the vehicle being up-gunned to the short 50/42 gun.

The Ausf J carries the long 50/60 gun, which increases the vehicles Anti-Tank capability to a value of 4. The Ausf J also has it's armour value increased from 3 to 4, though there is a cost to the vehicle's movement allowance, which falls from a value of 8 to 7.

The Anti - Tank rules in PG are a most elegant part of the system. The mechanics are easy to remember and apply, while the results feel just as accurate as any 'complicated' system that I have previously used. When comparing raw hardware, like for like, the Pz III can often look outclassed or at best, on equal terms with the opposition, yet historically, the panzer formations were repeatedly able to out perform enemy tank units with their superior tactical ability.

This is beautifully (and simply) reflected in the game by the fact that in the early war years, the Germans AFV platoons are virtually alone in that they each have inherent tank leaders, giving them superb flexibility on the battlefield. This allows their tank platoons to disperse and seek good firing positions to set up crossfires. Crossfires are created when the attacker fires on the target from two different directions. Getting a crossfire allows the firer to modifiy the attack die roll by +2, making a hit much easier to get. In contrast, the early war allies are short of tank leaders and so their tank platoons tend to bunch up, making it harder for them to setup crossfires. Simply put, the better German leadership makes it more likely that they will out manoeuvre their enemy.

The Germans also have an advantage that full strength units can fire twice in a turn. Combined with crossfires, this can help highlight German tactical mastery of the battlefiled even when they are disadvantaged in terms of hardware comparisons or numbers. The earliest that the Russians can claim double fire is in 1943 and even then, that only applies to guard units.

Without looking at other modifiers, the system essentially requires a player to roll more than '9' on two dice to flip an armoured unit to it's weaker side (or eliminate a flipped unit). The die roll is modified by the differential between the firers gun value and the defenders armour value, making it easier to hit if the gun is better than the targets armour and vice versa.

So to hit, the Pz III would need to roll at least 11 (because the -1 DRM would drop the 11 to the 10 that is the minimum roll needed for a hit) to cause a kill, there is an 8% chance of doing this. If the Pz III could claim a crossfire ( DRM +2), it would only need to roll '9' or more, which would increase the chance of hitting the T-34 to 28%.

The return fire from the T-34 would be 5 gun points against 3 armour points giving a differential of +2 DRM. The Russians therefore would only need to roll an '8' or more with that +2 modifier, to get the score of '10' or more that they need for a kill. Although they only get 1 shot (2 if they are guard units from 1943), the Russian crew do have a 41% of getting that kill. If the Russian player had been able to also claim crossfire, a die roll of 6 or more would be sufficient to hit the Pz III, there would be a 72% of doing this.

It's only full strength units that can claim double fire, so if the Pz III took a hit and flipped, it would lose this major advantage and so would need crossfires with other tank units just to hold it's own with the Russian tank. Without them, retreat would probably be the best option.