Box Contents

The Afrika Korps Starter Army is a mix of plastic and metal models containing:

• x6 Afrika Korps Infantry sprues (36 Infantry) – Plastic
• Afrika Korps 8.8cm Flak 37 (Plastic) with 7-man crew (Metal)
• Afrika Korps MMG Team – Metal
• Afrika Korps 81mm Medium Mortar Ream – Metal
• Panzer III (Ausf. J, L, M or N) – Plastic

The ‘So You Want AT?’ List

Breakdown

(x) denotes a vehicle-mounted weapons.

Notes and Analysis

The objective of this list is two part – 1) use as many of the components from the Starter Army as possible and 2) make a List that work at a competitive level. Please in mind, this List was written using only the content of the Starter Army.

Right off the bat you will notice that is 1,000pt List only has 9 Order Dice. Although this breaks the universal rule of 1 Order Die per 100pts, we gotta work with what we have and what we have is an 88. Let me repeat that, this list contains a 8.8cm Flak 37 Super Heavy AT Gun. We had to sacrifice some Order Dice to allow the King of the Battlefield to dance. With the 88 as an anchor for your army, the rest of the list is created to support it. If you want AT, this is the army for you.

This list (built to maximize the contents of the Starter Army) packs serious AT capability. The Flak 88 is a Super Heavy AT Gun and the Panzer III brings a Medium AT. I also tossed in an AT Rifle Team to make use of the option that comes with each DAK sprue (and you have six of those). With the powerful AT you also have excellent HE. A Medium Mortar combined with the 88 is nothing to sneeze at. That’s a 2″ and a 3″ HE Template each turn. And with the Medium AT on the Panzer III you’ll have plenty of opportunity to use the 88 as a Medium Howitzer.

The approach to using this list is rather simple, let them come to you. You need to be cagey with this army. Although it’s almost all Vet, you still need to be careful. You only have three Infantry Squads and only 9 Order Dice overall. Because your indirect fire support is Reg, they should be deployed behind cover / out of line of sight. With that in mind, I’d give the LT and his buddy rifles. No use in having them hold SMGs that they won’t get to use.

When you are building this army, you’ll also want to use all your extra bags, pouches, equipment and goggles for the Pioneer Squad. The DAK Infantry sprue comes with great extra bits to make your Pioneers looks the part. Especially the googles. Don’t forget those. You also need to build two men to be Spotters. One for the 88 and one for the Mortar. Using caps, binoculars and / maps will do the trick.

So there we have it. A more specialized list than we typically see with these Starter Army Boxes but I’d happily give this army a go.

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What’s Next?

If you want to keep the 88, you need to:

• Get a Tow – As MegaPikaKeroro pointed out in the comments, without a Tow, you could be in real trouble. The 88 is a massive gun, and as such, is unable to move without a Tow. There are several popular Bolt Action mission types that require First Wave and do not allow deployment. If you play a mission like that, your 88 will not have a way to make it onto the table. And you’ll be down an Order Die and 170pts before the game even starts. Not a good look. So, first priority, pick up a Horse-drawn Limber or an Artillery Tractor for this big ‘ol gun.

If you’d rather not run the 88, consider these changes and additions:

• Drop the 88 – Removing the 88 opens up a whopping 170pts in your army. With all those extra points to spend I’d consider a fast movement element of some kind – MMG Motorbike, a Truck for the Pioneers, maybe an Armored Car. Along with a Light Howitzer to keep your HE.
• Add More Infantry – You could use another squad. I’d play around with the weapons and squad sizes to get another squad in the list. You’ll have the point for it if you drop the 88.
• Speed, You Have None – Get something quick into the list. A MMG Motorbike immedatly comes to mind but an open-topped Armored \Cr would work too. Something like the Sdkfz. 222.

– Andrew