Overview 

This article is about the application of vehicles in the Second World War in war games with miniatures.  This article will describe the aspects of vehicles as they are used in games and how players can understand which vehicle is suited for which purpose.   By no means and in absolutely no way, am I speaking here from any level of authority on this subject because as war gamers, we ALL believe we have the knowledge necessary until someone else comes along to prove us wrong, so there's no point is assuming I am speaking accurately about how to employ vehicles in a battle.  I am only speaking here as a military historian just like you, and gamer just like you.  

Designed for Specific Use

Before and during the Second World War, all the forces involved adapted as soon as they could to changing technology, tried new ideas and dispensed with obsolete ones. Nowhere is this more obvious than with the series of German tanks known as the "Marder."

Assault Guns and Self-Propelled AT Guns

Frankly, in war games with miniatures these are the goofiest machines you can have in your arsenal.  The reason is, as we all know, the "dang things got no turrets." In a game with miniatures, based on how you're playing of course, these vehicles are nearly pointless- and that's an interesting pun:

SP guns have to be pointing at their target with their whole body and if no target presents itself, the entire vehicle has to turn to find one.  Normal tanks simply turn the turret to find a target. If no target walks into an SP guns view, the tank's survival is dubious because frankly if an enemy DOES present itself, it's probably a ruse to keep it pointed straight while a bazooka is working it's way to the vehicles rear already, and it has no idea because all it's attention is forward.

Hence the reason in Hex Command Mechanized, for instance, a vehicle like this CAN react and turn itself based on a movement of the enemy, but getting a shot after it turns is nearly impossible.  Frankly, in real life once the crew saw an enemy, if they couldn't shoot it they'd probably get out and run, especially if they saw they were flanked. Why?

Because the tank has, or in the above case, has NOT, fulfilled it's design intention. Essentially the SP tank, like so many times in miniature games, has lost it's element of surprise which is 99% of this kind of tanks reason for being.

So Why Were These Tanks Designed This Way?

These tanks were designed to lay in waiting, though the Russians used their vast quantities as a mobile wall of pikes and in fact were more infantry transport than useful tank. So these tanks look good on the table, but in reality, in the actual war, they were not effective vehicles.  We, as modelers, simply glom onto them because they look cool and mean, but in truth, they were pussies.

Except of course, this: The JadgTiger. Obviously, like the SU-152, this is "self-propelled gun Pornography," or, the concept taken to the obscene because it was an enormous waste of meager resources. 88 of these tanks were produced in the last months of WWII.  The monsters have the world's best (128mm) gun, albeit slow in rate of fire, it kills everything it hits.  Seeing videos of these machines does cause a fright, and it's a very good thing that their engines were not powerful enough.  Also, trying to turn these vehicles quickly is not going to be easy. 

Use in a Scenario

Well obviously, the range on the game table makes these things practically killing everything.  Check out the rules Hex Command Mechanized for details on how these machines are affected by the reality over the wish of how we LIKE to see them used.  The fact is, they were big, heavy, ridiculous and underpowered.  A simple track hit would make this machine a big metal box sitting on the battlefield, abandoned.  Which is exactly how 99% of them ended up.