Hi Jay
Thank you for your reply. The BM-13 is a staple in the eastern front. Do you know of a book or have a source where I can read about them used directly against targets? I have David Glantz's book which is excellent source material so I will start there. I would like to see them as a counter but would need to see their impact before I can put stats on the counter. I can tell you now that the rules have rocket artillery and they are quite devastating. I will run your suggesti0n by Jim Snyder who has helped me with tuning the values used on the existing counters. Please keep the suggestions coming.
Thank you
Sean
Katyusha multiple rocket launchers are a type of
rocket artillery first built and fielded by the
Soviet Union in
World War II.
Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver a devastating amount of explosives to a target area more quickly than conventional artillery, but with lower accuracy and requiring a longer time to reload. They are fragile compared to artillery guns, but are inexpensive and easy to produce.
Katyushas of World War II, the first
self-propelled artillery mass-produced by the Soviet Union, were usually mounted on
trucks. This mobility gave the
Katyusha (and other
self-propelled artillery) another advantage: being able to deliver a large blow all at once, and then
move before being located and attacked with
counter-battery fire.
Katyusha weapons of World War II included the BM-13 launcher, light BM-8, and heavy BM-31. Today, the nickname is also applied to newer truck-mounted Soviet (and not only Soviet) multiple rocket launchers—notably the common
BM-21—and derivatives. the BM-21 counter is found in a couple of the WaW games already I believe.
Like the Nebelwerfer or
BM-13Rocket truck had a short range and needed to be moved up close to the action.
The German Nebelwerfer was more accurate than the BM-13s/Katyusha as they used a different designed rockets.
I read in a number of desperate situations where the BM-13 was use in a direct fire support/defensive role in and around Kursk. I can’t recall where or which book I read these accounts in but you might find some of them in David M. Glantz & Jonathan M House’s book: The Battle of Kursk.
Sorry I don’t have the time to research this more, as I am actually designing other games for another company as well. But feel free to use a BM-13 counter or not, as it is your game design. Either way its all good!
