Well it's not really a question of their quality but rather about their training and weapons (aka their doctrine, even as that was emergent in practice). I have no problem assigning a discipline rating appropriate to the particular scenario, but I need a card or two that would suitably represent the variety of armaments these units had.
Here are my thoughts so far:
Weapon Ratings vs Troops and Guns
The advice on the BFWWII website for making prototype cards would give a unit with mainly pistols and bolt-action rifles these weapon ratings:
T G sV [CC] +1, [2] +1, [5] -1, [10] -3
That said, I think there are a few reasons to drop the 10 range band entirely… firstly, some VS units received weapons like the VG-1 which was only sighted for 100 yards max and the sight was not adjustable (100 yards is only range band 5 in BFWWII). Secondly, some units received very little marksmanship training, which would indicate negligible performance at such long distances as range band 10 (being 400 yards). Thirdly, Volkssturm units often had terribly little ammunition… like five clips for their Carcano rifle. Little ammo means even WW1 veterans who could shoot well would not be wasting precious bullets for very long distance shots. Fourthly, range band 10 really should just represent LMG fire and these units rarely had LMGs. Fifthly, the strategy used with Volkssturm seems to have often been very close-ranged ambushes, and thus long-ranged shots would have probably been discouraged (at least for the rifle sections)… of course, who knows how well these units actually maintained proper fire discipline!
Some Volkssturm units would have received cheap but effective weapons like the Volkssturmkarabiner, which would indicate a better effectiveness at range band 5 (perhaps a +0), but these weapons seemed to have been very limited and there would not have usually been more than a couple in each section even when they were available. I think the appropriate weapon rating for Troops and Guns is therefore:
T G sV [CC] 0, [2] +1, [5] -1
The utility of this is that Volkssturm will not be able to actually destroy an enemy unit outright at range band 5 (without some bonuses, like enfiladed fire, ambush or disordered target). That feels about right. It will also mean that Volkssturm really must be deployed within some amount of concealment in order to have any chance, as they will simply be outranged in the open. In cover, the Volkssturm will not be seen until their weapons are within range (i.e. range band 5).
I think their Close Combat rating should be 0, which means they can win close combat occasionally but they are not as good as regular infantry. Volkssturm did engage in house-to-house combat in several instances and sometimes fought effectively all things considered, which is more than represented by the vagaries of the opposed d10 roll in close combat.
Weapon Ratings vs Vehicles
Volkssturm were famously armed with a variety of Panzerfaust models and supposedly were meant to receive Panzerschrecks as well. The latter seems to be less common… does anyone have further information about that? In any case, it seems that Panzerfausts were both available but also not in limitless supply. Given that many of these weapons were going to the Wehrmacht, I think the guideline in the rulebook OOBs for "up to half of infantry sections" can apply here. Thus in a 12-section Volkssturm Kompanie, you could have up to 6 stands with Panzerfausts. That seems to me like plenty and well-represents the higher end of Panzerfaust supply to the Volkssturm, while allowing the player to take fewer Panzerfaut sections when the scenario calls for that. The Volkssturm had relatively few grenades or close-combat anti-tank weapons, and should otherwise be rated as 0 vs Vehicles when the Panzerfaust is not present.
Thus the weapon ratings vs Vehicles should probably look like:
V [CC] +0, [2] -2, [5] -3
Panzerfaust [CC] +1, [2] +4, [5] -2
So the total weapon ratings would be:
V [CC] +0, [2] -2, [5] -3
Panzerfaust [CC] +1, [2] +4, [5] -2
T G sV [CC] +0, [2] +1, [5] -1
That might be a little too harsh for the rating, since it effectively makes the Kommandeur card a better fighter in all respects other than the Panzerfaust. The last thing I want to do is encourage players to use their Kommandeur as a frontline fighter, so I may revisit these to bring them more generally in line with a regular team/scout type card. I'd appreciate any input!
As far as heavy weaponry, I think that (when these sorts of weapons were available), they could use the standard cards, even though they were frequently outdated equipment of WW1 vintage or captured foreign weapons with relatively little ammo. Most active Volkssturm battalions seemed to be limited to just the regular rifle sections, but they did occasionally have supporting weapons like medium mortars (sometimes trench mortars), various machineguns, and rarely heavier artillery (although I would imagine this was all under the direction of trained soldiers).
