Typical allied Oob 1500 points Appui-Feu

Navy a écrit : "September 1943 is without any doubt the most balanced period in CMAK because there is a good chance for the allied to win... So here is a typical allied OoB at that date based on the following parameters :
Points : 1500
Map : small or medium
Land : town or village
Relief and wood coverage : medium
Damages : none or light
Inter armies : yes

OoB proposal

1 M7 105mm veteran

1 M10 76.5mm regular

1 Sherman M4A3 regular

2 Howitzers M2A1 105/23 (1 veteran, 1 regular)

1 US infantry company 1943 regular

1 British infantry company 1943 regular

1 Half-track M3 regular

3 US BAR (2 veterans, 1 regular)

Let's detail a bit this choice
1. Tanks
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I always start by choosing the tanks in my QB's even if I have to change afterwards This allows my to fine-tune their experience levels ( from regular to veteran usually ) With 1500 points, the allied have 412 points to spend in nice tanks ...
Here is the choice I'm used to do :

1 M7 105mm veteran cost 146 points

Generally, the M7 ( priest ) comes with 3 to 5 HC ( hollow charges ) which is excellent against almost all the axis tanks. Choosing it veteran insure a time saving in shell reloading of about 15 to 20% , allowing to shoot at least 2 times before exploding, that , in a duel, finally happens often .... But this is not its primary usage It is there to deadly shoot at infantry, its 105/23 gun being magnificently efficient for this job ...

1 M10 76.5mm regular cost 111 points

The M10 is the lethal weapon against every vehicle with big armor plates. It's 76.5/53 gun does not need to prove anything anymore. Nevertheless, it is a tank destroyer and for this reason, the number of HE ( high explosive ) shells is limited ...And as everybody knows, it's armor is perfectly incapable of resisting to the german zoo ...

1 Sherman regular M4A3 cost 130 points

Ahhh, the Sherman. This is the ideal tool for the small-scale general in campaign, its front armor is honest, no more, its 75mm gun is limited, but it can pierce everything it is surprising from flank... Add to this a good anti-infantry capacity, the Sherman M4A3 will do services if you do not expose it to much to enemy tanks ....

That is a total of 387 points spent... It is possible to increase the experience level of the M10 or the Sherman, but it's better to save the excess of points for further purchases
2. Artillery
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Again something I'm used to do, it's to choose the support weapons just after the tanks ...I've been looking for a while to a efficient reply to the german 150mm that devastates the poor allied infantry... The purpose here is not to destroy that gun, although... ( mortars, with a good firing position, are excellent for this job ) but to have the germans suffered the same as you suffer, no more, no less... Well, what's this wonderfull tool you're going to ask me ?
The howitzer M2A1 105mm/23

1 howitzer M2A1 105/23 veteran cost 61

This one, with its additional cost of 10 points, will have a double task.... First, as explained before, it has to hurt the nasty germans that want those so pretty flags .... Secondly, and that is what justifies the extra cost, it should be able to shoot to a little bit too fiery tank with its 2 or 3 HC from the box ...

1 howitzerr M2A1 105/23 regular cost 51

This one has a demolition task, to destroy in fact as faster as the german 150 gun all the houses where our friend, but anyway opponent, troops might be hiding

I never choose planes nor "off map" artillery, moreover I've never been confident in US pilots, and I think that points are better spent for howitzers ( and less costly ), and most of the time, better employed
3. Infantry
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One interesting option is the ability to mix US and British troops in order to benefit from their respective advantages... This has to be negotiated with your opponent, but usually, if not restriction is set, why not mix units ?
With the remaining 900 points, it's possible to purchase 2 companies... But this has to be balanced....

1 US regular infantry company 1943 cost 557

It has the advantage to combine a good infantry, a .50 HMG ( to bust half-tracks ), 2 MMG's to pin enemy advance and 3 60mm mortars to knock out guns and fix infantry... 3 Bazookas are also available ( 66mm ) that can do services

1 British regular infantry company 1943 cost 365

Less expensive because it does not include MG's, the 9 squads of this company will be used to hold the ground for a lower cost... Additionally, I've always prefered the PIATs ( 77mm ) to the Bazookas

This gives us a total of 729 points among 900 available
At this point of time, it is needed to think about how to use the remaining points the best way possible
4. Vehicles
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Usually I like to choose a mechanized infantry platoon to have 5 or 6 half-track. But there I cannot afford to Then I choose a regular M3 half-track for 36 points to be able to move a least one howitzer if the map is too disadvantageous... This is a risky bet but usually this is always possible to find out a position with advantageous LOS ( line of sight ) where to place guns/howitzers... In this case, the vehicle will be used to carry the MG's or a squad more quickly to a victory flag in order to slow down enemy advance.....

5. OoB completion
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Need to complete the OoB with the 23 remaining points.... For me, I often choose some LMG's. Even more in this case as only 3 MMG/HMG's are available Then I choose 3 BAR's ( US ), 2 veterans and 1 regular, to complete my firepower and titillate enemy at medium range....

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Obviously, this OoB can be used for other time periods ( in 1944 as well ) and can be adapted... It is also possible to play with modified unit experience levels ( tanks as veterans instead of regulars for example ), or by choosing a motorized platoon instead of the British infantry company... All options are possible, just need to adapt a bit the choices...
Here is a list of games where this OoB ( or near variants ) was used :

Draw between Tipy1980 and Madmann (20/08/2005)

Tipy1980 Tactical victory v/s Bearcat (21/04/2005)

Tipy1980 Minor victory v/s Saptech (12/12/2004)
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Le bar d'AF