Soviet Vehicles of World War II
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Taking the brunt of German aggression¸ the Soviet Union reeled under the onslaught for the first years of the war. After finally holding the enemy back at Stalingrad¸ the Soviet war machine was finally able to flex its muscles and struck forward¸ carrying the war into the heart of Germany. In many ways¸ the clash between Germany and the Soviet Union was the Second World War¸ and became the source of the most desperate fighting and vicious battles. This supplement for Traveller introduces many vehicles that formed the fighting arm of the Soviet Union in the Second World War¸ and provides full details of each¸ allowing them to be used within games. The weapons unique to the Soviets are also covered¸ along with enough information for you to use them in your own games and own vehicle designs.
Uses in Traveller
The vehicles found in this book could potentially form the basis of a campaign set in the Second World War. They may also be of interest to those who are simply curious as to how real-world vehicles can be implemented using the Traveller vehicle design system. However¸ we suspect many more players will want to actually use them in their games¸ even on planets far in the future and hundreds of light years away! We have provided game mechanics for many vehicles¸ from the armour-crushing KV-2¸ to the legendary Katyusha but¸ at the end of the day¸ a Katyusha need not look like a Katyusha if it were built to these specifications on an alien world. It could end up looking very different but have the same characteristics listed in this book. By this token¸ what this book provides is a solid set of military vehicles available at Tech Level 5. A referee can use them to fully flesh out a military force on a Tech Level 5 world and provide interesting variations on themes in order to give his world more depth. For example¸ a referee creating a military force for a new world may simply design a single main battle tank for it before moving on to the artillery piece¸ the fighter plane¸ and so on. With this book¸ he can present a military force that has a defined timeline with the development of its vehicles¸ so there is not just one main battle tank but several¸ each a replacement of the one before though with all still in service¸ with the very best units getting the latest generation of tank. Players can have fun with this book as well¸ especially if they are engaging in paramilitary actions or running their own mercenary force. What this book will provide them is a list of Tech Level 5 vehicles that¸ while outmatched by more sophisticated enemies¸ will be perfectly serviceable (and at a cheaper price!) on more primitive worlds and will be capable of standing up against infantry from higher Tech Levels - at least¸ until plasma weaponry and missiles become prevalent.