"It is an American tank!.. so small, no?"
The 16.SS-Panerzgrenadiers-Div-Reichsfüher was an SS Division raised in Germany and staffed largely by your quinessential blue eyed, blonde, Heil-Hitlering soldier. The division fought at the Anzio beachhead and delivered constant, desperate and merciless resistance as part of the German 6th Armee (Italy). The 16th SS was responsible for some of the worst war crimes of the Italian front, including the massacre of an entire regiment of Italian troops after Italy withdrew from the war, and the murder of at least 400 innocent civilians at Marzabot by the 16.SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung and 700 or more men, women and children (some as young as 20 days old) at Sant'Anna di Stazzema by the 35.SS-Panzergrenadiere Regiment--the terrible events there inspired the Spike Lee movie 'Miracle at St. Anna'.
The SS was, as most everyone knows, a fanatical organization; the paramilitary arm of the Nazi Party, and at it's roots, Hitler's personnal bodyguard. As is mentioned in much of the UI I've added, the Wehrmacht Heer (regular army) was better trained, and (on a 50/50 basis) better equipped than their opposing Allied unit. The SS was even more so, with applicants required to be at peak physical and mental levels. The officers and NCOs of the SS were ruthless in combat, but led their men well and were quick on their feet--much quicker than their counterparts in the Heer, who largely relied on sheer discipline to rally their troops, rather than comradery and wit. From a purely military standpoint, the SS was an outstanding formation roughly equivilant to modern-day NATO--many nations conquered by German sent men to join its ranks. Looking back, this seems obsurd, but in that day and age, almost all of Europe was terrified of Communism, and most countries eagerly wanted to erase the threat in the East. Although rare, Americans, Frenchmen, and Britons were all members of its military ranks among at least 20 other countries.
In Operation Avalanche, the 16th SS will play the part of the Terror Doctrine--if a player selects Terror Doctrine as his choice, the majority of his units will be replaced by an SS counterpart. Infantrymen will no longer don Feldgrau (field gray) Heer or black Panzer uniforms, but will wear the SS' destinctive woodland-splinter camouflage (e.g., will appear as Stormtroopers). Tanks' crews will appear as Stormtroopers and NCOs/Officers will appear as Knights Cross Holders. Statistically, the SS units will focus more on the attack and raw damage output than their Heer bretheren--indeed the SS Divisions were trained in aggressive and often casualty-rich tactics and largely ignored field recon. The SS suffered a pitifully high casualty rate at the outset of the war, a fact that left Wehrmacht troops relatively unimpressed. Your average SS soldier (in-game) will hover around 60 heath per man--equal to your average Volksgrenadier. With veterancy, however, your Stormtroopers will gain their vCoH health pool of 95 health, allowing them to tank enemy units and win through sheer hitpoints. SS units will also be unique in their veterancy, focusing less on the 'finesse' use of units that all other doctrines and factions face, and again focusing on raw attacking power. SS units will cost significantly more to purchase and reinforce, and their upkeep is higher, but at high veterancy levels your units will be far more deadly than any allied or enemy units. For comparison, here is your average veterancy table, for infantry and for vehicles, and for non-SS and SS units. More 'elite' units (Grenadiers, Airborne, Fallshirmjager, the Combat Team, Rangers, most SS infantry) require the higher XP values (12/24/44) for their veterancy levels. Normal units such as Riflemen, Volksgrenadiers, Infantry Sections, Italian Infantry, and the like require the lower XP values (8/16/24)
Infantry (non-SS)
Vet1 (8-12 XP)
- Received Damage 0.85
- Health Regen 0.022-0.035 (roughly equivilant to vCoH Wehrmacht Vet1 healrate)
Vet2 (16-24 XP)
- Weapon Accuracy 1.15
- Sight Range +10
Vet3 (24-44 XP)
- Weapon Reload 0.85-0.75
- Weapon Cooldown 0.85-0.75
- Health 1.1-1.2
Infantry (SS)
Vet1 (8-12 XP)
- Received Damage 0.85
- Health Regen 0.022-0.035 (roughly equivilant to vCoH Wehrmacht Vet1 healrate)
Vet2 (16-24 XP)
- Weapon Accuracy 1.15
Vet3 (24-44 XP)
- Weapon Damage 1.2
- Health 1.6 or more (sets health equal to 95)
Vehicles (non-SS)
Vet1 (12 XP)
- Received Damage 0.85
Vet2 (24 XP)
- Weapon Accuracy 1.15
- Speed 1.15
- Sight Range +10
Vet3 (36 XP)
- Weapon Reload -1 second (main cannon)
- Weapon Penetration 1.2
Vehicles (SS)
Vet1 (12 XP)
- Received Damage 0.85
Vet2 (24 XP)
- Weapon Accuracy 1.15
- Speed 1.15
- Weapon Reload -1 second (main cannon)
Vet3 (36 XP)
- Weapon Reload -1 second (main cannon, stacks with Vet2 bonus for -2 seconds total)
- Weapon Penetration 1.2
- Weapon Damage 1.2
An added effect of the new patch is weapons range--each and every weapon has had its range increased by 10 meters (in-game units). Infantry weapons and handhelt AT now have a range of 45, tank cannons a range of 50, and heavier units such as the Tiger and Tank destroyers a range of 55. The Panther outranges many unit with a maximum engagement distance of 57.5 meters, and the (soon to be replaced by the statistically equivilant Achilles) Firefly an outrageous range of 65. Anti tank guns now have a range of 70, as does the Geschit(utz)wagen and Marder III. Snipers have jumped from 60 to 70 meters as well. Although range has been increased, the change isn't radical. For example, Blitzkrieg mod's range increase extends out to 60m for most infantry weapons at the very least!
The final effect of the patch is ballistic weapon performance--tank cannons, mortars, howitzers, and handheld AT have all been adjusted to more accurately reflect history. An unfortunate side effect of this change is that, as was true in WWII, you need a tank to counter a tank. The 57mm that is the core of vCoH American AT was historically the same weapon used by the much-hated Churchill Tank. The PaK38, the same weapon as the Puma 50mm. While these weapons weren't just nerfed to match their crappy counterparts (a balanced, relatively historically accurate middle ground was found), your 57mms won't halt a Panther in it's tracks--which reminds me, the Panther was exceedingly rare in Italy, and has swapped places with the Tiger (from the Panzer Kommand to a doctrine call in, and vice versa for the Tiger) and has jumped doctrines to the Terror Doctrine. Don't worry, statistics have been shifted so that Allied players won't be shafted as soon as a Tiger hits the field. Bullet and shell velocity for all weapons has been increased to match historical values (which, as far as I know, wasn't done in 'ultra realistic' BKmod!). Shell damage is based on caliber, as follows:
20mm - 80-75
37mm - 87.5 (vCoH Sherman and P4 damage, for referance)
40mm - 97.5
50mm - 107.5
57mm - 117.5
75mm (Sherman) - 137.5
75mm (Panzer IV, Cromwell, Pak40 (Marder, Geschutz) 147.5
3in (M10) - 147.5
76mm M1A1c (Hellcat, Sherman Ace, Jumbo w. Upgun) 157.5
75mm (Panther) 167.5
88mm (Tiger, FlaK 36 AT/AA) - 187.5
90mm - 187.5
88mm (King Tiger, Jagdpanther) - 197.5
90mm HVAP (Pershing w. Upgun upgrade from the Tank Depot) 197.5
