Flames of War Desert Starter Set - Kasserine (US vs Germany)

Flames of War Desert Starter Set - Kasserine (US vs Germany)

Kasserine is the ultimate Mid-War starter set and contains a Complete A5 Rulebook, as well as an American Army (4x M3 Lee tanks, 3x M4 Sherman tanks, 5x M3 Stuart tanks) and German Army (6x Panzer III tanks, 3x Panzer IV tanks, 3x 5cm guns). In the build-up to entering the war, US Army planners knew they would need a 75mm-armed tank to overcome the latest German panzers. Of the proposed designs which could be produced quickly, none had a turret big enough to hold a 75mm gun. As a temporary solution, the hull of a pre-war M2A1 medium tank was modified to take a short M2 75mm gun in a limited traverse sponson in the right front of the hull, while retaining a 37mm gun in the turret. This odd, ungainly vehicle was far from perfect, but it was nevertheless an effective tank that filled a much-needed role at a crucial time.

M4 Medium Tank

The M4 Medium Tank best known by the nickname ‘Sherman’ given to it by the British is the most famous American tank, operated in large numbers by the US and their allies across all theatres. Over the course of the war there will be numerous variants, changing the engine and suspension, adding more armor and bigger guns, but all with the same tall, solid shape.

M4A1

The M4A1 model, recognizable by its distinctive rounded single-piece cast upper hull, is the first Sherman variant to enter combat with the US armored forces. Most of the initial production run of the original M4 variant, with its sharp-sided welded upper hull, was supplied to the British through the Lend-Lease program.

M3 Light Tank

As well as serving with US armored divisions in the light battalions of the armored regiments, thousands of M3 Light Tanks were supplied to Britain and the Soviet Union. The British codenamed the tank ‘General Stuart’, after the famous American Civil War cavalry commander, and the name caught on with US troops as well.

M3 Stuart

The M3 Stuart was mechanically reliable, and even though it had lighter armor and a smaller gun than the latest German panzers, its small size, and high speed made it well suited to probing enemy defenses and fighting a free-wheeling and tactical style of moving battle.

Panzer III

The Panzer III is Germany's standard tank, making up over two-thirds of their tank strength. It has good mobility, is well armored, and is armed with an effective 5cm (2-inch) gun. Manned by veteran crews that are confident in their abilities and Germany's eventual victory, they are capable of defeating just about any tank in the world. As the Allies built bigger and better tanks with more powerful guns, the Panzer III began to lose its advantage. The Germans responded by fitting an additional 20mm plate in front of the driver's plate and on the gun mantlet. This restored its effectiveness, but pushed the tank's weight up, almost to the limits of the chassis.

Panzer IV

As the war progressed, the biggest problem the panzer troops faced changed from being hidden anti-tank guns, for which the short-barrelled Panzer IV was the answer, to increasingly heavily armoured enemy tanks. Fitting the Panzer IV with a long-barrelled anti-tank gun was the answer to this new problem. At the start of the Battle of Gazala, the growing numbers of these powerful tanks started making their presence known as they started knocking out British tanks at long range. The Panzer IV equipped one company in each tank battalion. Its role is to provide heavy fire support for the lighter Panzer III tanks of the other companies.

PaK 38

After the Spanish Civil War, the German authorities started to think that a new anti-tank gun would be needed, even though the 3.7 cm Pak 36 had proven to be very successful. They asked Rheinmetall-Borsig to produce a new and more capable AT-gun. The 5 cm PaK 38 was approved for mass production in 1939. Armor-piercing projectiles fired by this gun were known to pierce the armor of British infantry and cruiser tanks as well as that of U.S. light and medium tanks. The gun proved especially effective in jamming tank turrets by hits at the junction of the turret and hull. These hits fuze the metal of the two parts together and immobilize the turret.