GURPS WWII Classic: Iron Cross
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Additional Material by Hans-Christian Vortisch Lead Playtester John L. Freiler Edited by Steve Jackson with Loren Wiseman Playtesters GURPS System Design ≈ Steve Jackson Michele Armellini, Managing Editor ≈ Andrew Hackard Thomas L Bont, GURPS Line Editor µ Sean Punch Brandon Cope, Line Editor Gene Seabolt Peter V. Dell’Orto, GURPS WWII ≈ Shawn Fisher, Project Administrator ≈ Monique Chapman Martin Heidemann, Design and Production ≈ Gene Seabolt Erik Manders, Print Buyer ≈ Monica Stephens Phil Masters, GURPS Errata Coordinator ≈ Andy Vetromile Kenneth Peters, and Sales Manager µ Ross Jepson Robert Prior. GURPS, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. WWII, Pyramid, and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. GURPS WWII: Iron Cross is copyright © 2002 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Some art based on photographs copyright www.arttoday.com. Some art based on photographs from the National Archives and Records Administration. ISBN 1-55634-593-3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STEVE JACKSON GAMES CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . 4 Hausfrau . 51 About the Author . 4 MAJOR PERSONALITIES . 52 About GURPS . 4 The Generals . 55 1. GERMANY 4. THE GERMAN AT WAR . 5 ARMORY . 56 RINGED BY RIVALS . 6 PERSONAL GEAR . 57 THE FORGING FLAMES . 7 SMALL ARMS . 60 THE WEIMAR YEARS . 8 German Small Arms Table . 60 The Nazis Form Ranks . 8 Weapon Descriptions . 62 False Watershed . 9 VEHICLE DESIGN . 65 BIRTH OF THE THIRD REICH . 10 NEW CHASSIS OPTIONS . 65 Hitler Ascendant . 10 Powertrains . 65 A Brutal State . 10 New Weapons . 66 CASE WHITE . 11 The Lost Campaign . 25 Weapon Modules Table . 68 THE WESTERN LULL . 11 THE REICH IN RUINS . 26 Vehicular Weapons Table . 68 Plentiful Plots . 11 The Bulge and Beyond . 26 New Components . 69 CASE YELLOW . 12 Retribution’s Hordes . 26 Panzerautomaten . 69 Costly Naval Gambit . 12 Aftermath . 26 THE MOTOR POOL . 70 Smashing Victory . 12 Vehicles Key . 70 A More Forceful Hand . 12 Artillery . 71 FATEFUL INTERLUDE . 13 2. THE GERMAN SdKfz 2 kleines Ketten-Krad . 72 Sea Lion . 13 ARMY . 27 Volkswagen Kübelwagen . 72 Krupp-Protze “Boxer” . 73 THE REICH AT ITS HEIGHT . 14 THE HIGH COMMAND . 28 Barbarossa . 14 Organization . 28 Opel-Blitz 4×2 . 73 A New Chivalry . 15 The Generalstab . 29 SdKfz 10 leichter Zugkraftwagen . 74 SdKfz 7 mittlerer Zugkraftwagen . 74 Falling Short . 15 ARMS OF THE WEHRMACHT . 30 SdKfz 251 . 75 THE JEWISH QUESTION . 16 The Heer . 30 SdKfz 222 . 75 ANEW ENERGY OF ATTACK . 17 THE WAFFEN-SS . 31 SdKfz 231 (8-Rad) . 76 The Soviet Sledge . 17 The Luftwaffe . 32 Panzerkampfwagen I . 77 The African Anvil . 17 The Kriegsmarine . 33 Panzerkampfwagen II . 78 A German Lake . 17 THE LANDSER LIFE . 34 Panzerkampfwagen III . 79 Home Front Harassed . 17 From Cradle to Rifle . 34 Panzerkampfwagen IV Variants . 80 DECIDING MOMENTS . 18 Among the Soldiery . 35 Stalingrad Slaughter . 18 Panzerkampfwagen V Panther . 81 WHAT THEY CARRIED . 36 Panzerkampfwagen VI Königstiger . 82 Desert Debacle . 18 What Carried Them . 36 WINTER OF DISCONTENT . 19 Hetzer . 83 Varieties of Uniform . 37 Ar 196 . 84 Bitter Revival . 19 ARMOR ALLOCATION TABLE . 38 Too Much, Too Late . 19 Fw 190 . 85 PANZER ENCOUNTER TABLE . 39 Ju 52 . 86 THE BEGINNING OF THE END . 20 ACTION DIGEST . 40 Sicily Sliced Away . 20 Ju 88 . 87 The Killing Stroke . 20 Bf 110 . 88 Me 262 . 89 HOLDING ACTIONS . 21 3. CHARACTERS . 41 S-Boot . 90 Dniepr Stand . 21 CREATING A CHARACTER . 42 U-Boot Typ VII . 91 Booting the Italians . 21 Female Roles . 42 U-Boot Typ XXIII . 92 PLAYING OUT THE HAND . 22 ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, KMS Bismarck . 93 Broken Wings . 22 AND SKILLS . 42 Uprisings in the Reich . 22 Advantages . 42 Prelude to the Storm . 22 Disadvantages . 44 5. INSIDE THE THE HORROR UNVEILED . 23 Status . 45 THIRD REICH . 94 THE WESTERN FRONT ERUPTS . 24 Volkssturmmann . 46 D-Day and After . 24 Hitler Youth . 47 GERMANY AT A GLANCE . 95 The July Plot . 24 Eastern Front Experte . 48 The People . 95 Operation Bagration . 25 Submariner . 49 The Land . 95 Wunderwaffen . 25 Gestapo Agent . 50 NATIONAL SOCIALISM . 96 2 CONTENTS Old Soldiers and March Violets . 96 THE GREATER REICH . 104 A Measure Above . 113 The Führer Myth . 97 THE POW CAMPS . 106 The Aryan Elite . 114 The Winking Way . 97 By Germans . 106 Faceless Foes . 115 Kultur vs. Zivilisation . 97 For Germans . 106 The Luftwaffe Aloft . 116 THE POLICE AND COURTS . 98 THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS . 107 Wolfpacks and Woe . 117 A Knock on the Door . 98 Eating Their Own . 107 A WEHRMACHT TRAVELOG . 118 The Verdict Assumed . 98 Messy Methods . 107 The City of Blacked-Out Light . 120 A Savage Semblance . 98 Mixed Efforts . 107 ALTERNATE CAMPAIGNS . 121 LIFE INSIDE THE REICH . 99 Worked to the Bone . 107 Wonder Weapons . 121 Economic Squeeze . 99 Desperate Bids . 107 PAH Mk I . 122 Salaries and Costs . 99 BATTLEFIELD GERMANY . 108 The V-1 . 123 Doing Business . 100 The West . 108 The V-2 . 123 Keeping the Old Faith . 100 The East . 108 The Other 988 Years . 124 Kinder, Kirche, Küche . 101 The Aftermath . 109 The Polish Question . 125 The Next Generation . 101 The German Titanic . 109 Keepers of the Keys . 102 High Society . 102 REFERENCES . 126 The Arts . 102 6. CAMPAIGNS . 110 A Moral Exhaustion . 102 CAMPAIGN STYLES . 111 INDEX . 127 BERLIN . 103 The.