Crusader II

Unit Card:

Crusader_II_Base_Set_AAMeditor_120113210543.jpg

UK, Vehicle - Tank, 1941

ATT inf 5/5/4
ATT veh 9/8/6
Cost 11 points
Def 4/3
Speed 4

Vanguard
After both armies are deployed, this unit can move at speed 4 before the first turn begins.

Prone to Breakdown
This unit can’t move while damaged.

Set - Rarity - Number

Base Set - Rare - 9/48
North Africa - Rare - 13/60

Historical Background:

The second most common British tank after the Valentine, over 5,000 Crusaders of all models were produced. However many Valentines were actually sent to the USSR, making the Crusader likely the most common British-built tank in British service. Both the version 1 and version 2 models really ought to have been uncommon.

Design
The Crusader was designed as a cruiser (or cavalry) tank. As such it was given relatively thin armor and high speed.
A slight change was made on this basic model, however, as the company producing the Crusader developed it as a "heavy cruiser." The Crusader was thus given armor roughly as thick as a light infantry tank: designed to stand up to antitank rifles and light antitank guns. To help disperse the added weight, an additional pair of wheels were added.
Unfortunately the air filter and engine fan were not suitable for battlefield conditions, which is the penultimate cause of the Prone to Breakdown ability given to the tank in AAM.
Additional armor was added to the Crusader II, and the auxiliary turret w/ MG used in the Crusader I was eliminated.
From 1934 to 1938 the UK had produced a variety of cruiser tanks, but Britain had adopted a policy of appeasing Hitler (most notably at the Munich agreement) in hopes that another "European War" might be averted. As a result, the military was not able to enter into full scale production of cruiser tanks until the war had already broken out.
Production of the Mark VI cruiser tank, the Crusader, began in 1940. The Crusader made it into combat in North Africa in 1941.
As the defining British tank of the North Africa campaign, the Crusader was used everywhere the British were fighting Rommel. Although the tank itself was mostly satisfactory in combat, the tactics employed in using it and the mechanical problems it suffered caused the tank to perform poorly overall in North Africa.
In its designed role of attacking the unprepared flanks and rear, the fast Crusader performed yeoman-like work. But Rommel usually did not concentrate his tanks for a major battle and as a result did not present a flank for the British to attack. Instead he fought a long series of ambushes, fighting withdrawals and surprise attacks.
One tactic in particular was the bane of the Crusader: Rommel's tankers would withdraw behind a screen of hidden antitank guns. The gunners would then open fire on the relatively poorly armored Crusaders and cause heavy casualties.

Reviews:

Johnny_Thunders
Luckily the British player does not need to worry about ambushes of that sort in AAM. However the Crusader will still face two formidable opponents in a 1941 battle: early models of the StuG III and Panzer IV, as well as the Carro Armato M13/40.
The Crusader is outgunned at all ranges by the StuG III D and Panzer IV E. This effect is particularly noticeable at long ranges, where an exchange of attacks will likely leave the Crusader disrupted with no effect to the German AFV.
Moreover the Crusader II, with its lone under-performing MG, has pathetic attacks vs infantry. Even at close range against 3/3 defense units the Crusader has only a 50-50 chance of scoring a disruption.
The upside to this is that the Crusader II is cheap and fast. You will have four Crusader II's to three Panzer IV's or StuG III's, which helps even things out considerably. The combination of low cost and high speed should allow you attack the weaker rear armor of opposing tanks.

Akela152
Fast and cheap. These are the two things you need to know about this unit. Now the catch is the prone to breakdown negative SA. I try to take either 4 Crusader II or none. Then, bring two of them as fast as I can to a spot where they can get cover and see an objective. Then, have an other Crusader II near each of them, on standby. When an enemy vehicle gets on the objective, harass it with the tank under cover and try to flank it with the tank in reserve. If you played your card right, you should now have at least one tank hitting the rear armour of the enemy tank in the assault phase, which is only 3 on most of the Panzers.

Plastic Figure Notes:

This unit is available in both scale. The rescalled Crusader II is to say the least, very poor. Not much details and the unit is very bland. The original is better made.

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