The only areas in which German armour remains superior in the 39-41 period are those of radio equipment and turret layout, especially when compared to the French. Most scenarios or SASL play will see the German player received light tanks of some description armed with 37L or smaller weapons and with an armour factor of 3 or less. The Pz I and PzII, for example, are both lightly armed and armoured and no match for any gun-armed French or British tank, while even the early Pz IIIs and Pz IVs fare poorly in the armour stakes.

At the same time it should be noted that despite the panzer legend, early war German tanks were actually inferior in armament and armour to their opponents. Leadership throughout the period remains good, with a LG# of 4.

It is true that the predominant German squad, the ubiquitous 1st line 4-6-7, has a better range than any of the early war enemy squads, and that the early war ELR of 3 or 4 dependent upon date compares favourably with the British (about equal) and is normally higher than the French, Allied Minors or early Russians (most of these latter nations having an ELR of 3 or 2). Looking at the Germans in ASL game terms we find that the picture is slightly more complicated. Put crudely, a lot of gamers still seem to view the Germans as the most attractive side to play, dare I say it, even the 'sexiest'? This is no doubt due to a mixture of the Germans' reputation for battlefield prowess, the legend of the panzers (including of course the Panthers and Tigers) and a certain romanticism that has crept over the German soldier.

He still has material on the site and (I believe) runs group campaigns should you wish to participate. Rick kept the torch burning for SASL for some years between the 1st and 2nd editions, including a wealth of different nationality table before the 2nd edition covered these. Mention should be made of Rick Lubbens, webmaster of the GSASL website. Also, while most tactical game systems normally allow you to play Germans, Russians or Americans, fewer give you the British, Italians or French, and fewer still the Finns, Poles, Hungarians, Japanese or Chinese. Yet it is true that these traits also serve to give the game much of its flavour and make it interesting. The ASL Rulebook itself admits that in one sense these nationality traits are an unfair oversimplification, and so they are: after all, in their own words, every army has its share of heroes and cowards. The following is a quick guide to the various nationalities represented in Advanced Squad Leader and their various traits according to the game system. ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER NATIONALITIES 3Last updated 8 January 2007: updated Finnish section.

Advanced squad leader desert scenarios