Spanish Civil War for NUTS! – Part One, Small Arms

Grenades and More

I’m almost afraid to cover grenades.  Grenades were made by several Spanish factories and even in the field.  The accounts I’ve read, you’d have to be nearly insane to trust one.  Some of them had reputations of malfunctioning fuses and some – the ones made at the front, were often just tin cans filled with black powder, pebbles, tacks, screws and broken glass with a short fuse.

In the Republican militias, particularly in the mining areas of the country, there were men who were experts at handling dynamite.  They were often put together in squads and served as a type of combat engineer.  They also often threw bundles of dynamite like grenades.  There are even accounts of a few using slings to hurl the dynamite.

Both armies also had men and women skilled in the use of Molotov cocktails.

Anti-Tank Guns

While there were scores of different manufacturers of the small arms used in the Spanish Civil War, there were only about a half dozen ant-tank weapons.  The most common one used by the Nationalists was the 37mm German PAK 36.  The Republicans’ most common guns were the 37mm Soviet M30 (a copy of the PAK 36) and the 45mm Soviet M32.  The 37mm guns performed well against tanks in the Spanish Civil War, but later fighting in France where the British and French had heavier armor, the 37mm guns earned the nickname “door knocker.”  Artillery pieces, such as the FLAK 18 and the Schenider 70, were also used as direct fire anti-tank guns, these guns will be covered in the artillery section.

Anti-Tank guns can’t be used in any game which takes place before July 1937.  Though wheeled, the anti-tank guns can’t move and fire, and they can not engage in indirect fire.

So, to repeat, the charts for small arms only includes those that were common and those modelled in 20mm, which will make their way into my games.  If your character is armed with a weapon not in this list, then search Nuts! for the one with stats that are closest to it.

Comments Please!

I have not played much Nuts! and I haven’t played with any games with vehicles. So, if you notice anything in the charts which look incorrect or a little off, please let me know.

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