Operation Mjölnir: German Grenadier Battalion

German Grenadier Battalion

When people think about the Wehrmacht of World War 2, they often think of blitzkrieg, tanks and mechanized infantry. The truth however is that the Wehrmacht was never fully motorized and the vast majority of German soldiers were foot infantry, who walked to get around.

The second battalion of the German campaign force is a regular Grenadier Battalion and looks like this:

• Base
• 1x 8cm Mortar Platoon
• 1x 12cm Mortar Platoon
• 1x Heavy MG Platoon
• 3 Grenadier Companies each with
• 3x Rifle Platoons
• 1x Panzerschreck team

12 Platoons and 3 Panzerschreck teams of the Grenadier Battalion

Comparing this to the US Infantry Battalion, two big differences jump out: firstly the Germans have a lot more mortar firepower, with the impressive 12cm Mortar Platoon. Secondly the anti-tank capability has been concentrated in anti tank teams rather than spread out among the rifle platoons. How this difference work out in real life I do not know, but in game terms I find the German setup to be superior. To make the quality even more pronounced, the Grenadier Battalion has been given "Excellent" quality for this campaign, meaning Quality Checks at 3+ a +1 modifier to to-hit and a +1 ROF. Having been on the receiving end of these units before, I can say that they are extremely tough.

Stats

Stats have been repeated for convenience and as always quality bonus has been added to the stats

Grenadier Battalion (Excellent Quality: 3+; Cohension: 6”)
Unit	Move	ROF	Rng	AI	Notes				Points
Rifle platoon	4	3 / 5	4	+2	AT-Rifle grenade/Panzerfaust				41
Heavy MG Platoon	4	(4 / 5)	6	+2	Improvised/Panzerfaust				41
Panzershreck Team	4	1 / 3	4	+1	Improvised Panzerschreck				28
Unit/Equipment	Move	Armor	Pen	ROF	Rng	AI	AV	Notes	Points
8cm Mortar Platoon	2x	s	-	-	-	-	-	Indirect/24	10
12cm Mortar Platoon	2x	s	-	-	-	-	-	Indirect/60	28
Improvised	-	-	2he	2	C	-	+1		-
AT-Rifle grenade	-	-	4h	2	C	-	+1		-
Panzerfaust	-	-	8h	2	C	-	+1		-
Panzerschreck	-	-	8h	4	2	-	+1		-