German Company Level Kampfgruppe?

[Mobhack]

Yes, because if you search the historical records you will eventually find some cobbled-together force that suits your purchased collection of odds and ends!

Heck, the Brits in the desert agaist the Italians threw all sorts together to form "Jock columns" but this apparently wasnt very effective against the Germans when they arrived on scene, and so were never termed "combined arms battle groups" or suchlike by the post-war pundits for some reason. Even though they usually had recce, cruiser tanks and lorried infantry with some towed ATG and a battery of towed arty in the mix. But when the Germans threw some bits and bobs together, suddely its a wunderbar kamfgruppe!

The main takeaway really is that combined arms warfare takes some joint training and words written in the tactical manuals of the day so everyone is on the same page, which the Germans definately were on, the Brits not so much as Jock columns were rather "come as you are" parties, until much later in the war. But the Jock colums did do OK against the Italians who hadn't really thought about combined arms much at all one supposes.

It would really take a set of rules like one used to get with the cardboard-shuffling old grognard games where slapping a British tank platoon under command of a random infantry captian as part of a "company team" got it significantly less "command points" than it would have had under its own regiment. But most end users avoid command and control rules, e.g. they had some in SP3, they were optional, and from what I gathered in the newsgroups of the day - 99% of players switched it off as it was "difficult" and "got in the way".

But rules that focus on the command aspect, so say a French 1940 player has pretty much to make a detailed plan at the start and stick to it (which takes pre-game planning, no jump right in and get straight to the pew-pew) whereas his German opponent (who pays more points for his unit leaders!) can switch his line of attack, move reserves to a threatened flank more easily etc, and only have a basic outline idea of a plan as such are really the only way one can actually reflect the WW2 reality.

And it was the C&C aspect that the Germans had in spades over the "grand battle plan" type of armies that gave them the winning edge. It was certinly not uber-panzers, as they were in 1940/1 fighting against heavies (for the day) with itty-bitty little light tanks, and winning more by avoiding the enemy armour if possible and biffing up the rear line supply and fuel columns, catching somuas at petrol stations and so on. Which isn't really of much consequence in the tactical level SP type game where you arent worrying about where your fuel, bullets and beans will be coming from this evening when you laager up, but is more for the operational level game where a battle plays over several days and cardboard counters are one per company at least, more usually a batallion. But those games are for the 1% grognards, not the 99% casual gamer who just wants to shove units around and play "top tank trumps pew-pew".