Intelligence Briefing on the Late WarUnited States Army (1944-45)
The United States didn’t start this war, but now that we arein it, we mean to finish it. Before the start of this war, theUS Army was a small force with very few modern weapons.Since then, the army has increased in size 20 times. This isa modern war, a war of machines; and the US is going towin it using modern practices and machinery. The US Armyis the most advanced on the planet Earth. It is the mostautomated and mechanised army ever.
The fact that the army expanded and become this sophisticatedso quickly testifies to the industrial might of the ‘Arsenal ofDemocracy’, the United States of America. Not only that,but using modern mass-production techniques the US suppliesweapons to all of the other Allied countries. Everyone usesUS tanks; the Limeys, Canuks, and Ruskis, even theFrenchies!
Sometimes you see Nazi propaganda saying US tanks aren’tvery good. Well that’s not true, the M4 Medium Tank, theGeneral Sherman, is a good tank, reliable and it sure getsthe job done. It’s the tank that’s going to win the war for us.Sure, the Krauts have some good tanks. I mean, ArmyIntelligence reckons that each heavy German Tiger tank canknock out four of our M4 Sherman tanks before we get it.Where we win though, is that the Heinies only make 80Tigers a month, while the US is producing ten times as manyShermans. Hey, maybe Adolf should do his sums.
Unlike Hitler’s Nazi supermen, the GI (US soldiers callthemselves GIs, from the ‘Government Issue’ logo stampedon their equipment) is just a normal Joe. The scientificmethods of the army start right from when the US citizen isrecruited. Psychological tests ensure that the brightest andthe best soldiers are sent to the technical branches (like theair force, armor, and artillery) where their skills are mostneeded. Once assigned to their speciality, extensive trainingturns these farm boys, steel workers, and college graduatesinto the best-trained soldiers in the world. Mostly they aren’treally that fired up about the war. Being a soldier is just ajob like any other. It’s not a great job, but someone’s gottado it.
Although the Armored Forces haven’t been around long, thetank units often have proud traditions dating back to theCivil War or further. They still see them selves as the best.Tankers don’t like getting dragged into the slow, meat-grinderbattles of the ground pounders, the infantry. As they see it,tanks are for mobile warfare. They are out to Blitz the Nazi’sall the way back to Berlin. Let them go under leaders likePatton, and they’ll be advancing so fast, the Krauts won’tknow which way to run!
Everything in a US Armored Division moves on tracks, eventhe infantry. No other army in the world has armored half-tracks for all of their armored infantry. With gear festoonedover their half-tracks, the infantry look like a gypsy caravanon the move. A lot of that gear is extra weapons though.They can keep up with the tanks, and pack a serious punch.Working closely with the tankers, the armored infantry makesure that the Heinies keep running, digging them out of anyvillages or woods they try to hide in.
You gotta know though, that the infantry see the tread headsin a different light. The gloryhounds of the Armored Forceswouldn’t get their mobile battles if the footsloggers didn’twin the battle for them first! When the Krauts dig in, theyreally dig in, and only the infantry can dig them back outagain. As for tradition, the Infantry go way back. The tankersreckon that the infantry lack imagination, but when the Krautshold a continuous front line, all there is to do is keep pushingright along the line until something breaks.
Unfortunately, casualties have been unexpectedly high, wayhigher than the brains at HQ thought they would be beforethe war. A lot of units, especially the infantry have a shortageof personnel. It ain’t helped that said brains decided that youdidn’t need any skills to be a rifleman, so they assigned thelowest grade of recruits there, as determined by thepsychological tests. Even the transport corps got bettermaterial!
To make it worse, since they thought so little of riflemen,they figured they were all interchangeable, like cogs in amachine. So they came up with the idea of a ReplacementDepot (or ‘Repple Depple’) where all the spare parts, thereplacements and wounded soldiers returning to battle go.When a unit needs a few new guys, they’ll send whoever’sthere. You don’t get to fight with your buddies, the guys youtrained with for months, you don’t get nothing. Sometimes,sick or lightly wounded soldiers won’t go to the rear forhelp, because they know they’ll never see their buddies againif they do.
Where the infantry win out though, is the amount of firepowerbacking them up. The US Army has the best artillery in theworld, and the US Army Air Force hasn’t been beaten yet.The guns and planes blast enemy positions before the GI’sgo in. If this bombardment isn’t enough for the Krauts, theinfantry have their own machine-guns, mortars, cannon, andtanks to do the job. The US Army likes to buy its victorieswith explosives and steel – not with the lives of its soldiers.
US Company ChoicesYou can base your US force on:• a Tank Company,• an Armored Rifle Company (Mechanised Infantry Company), or• a Rifle Company (Infantry Company).
Motivation and ExperienceThe US Army is a relative newcomer to the war. Its troops are as well trained as they could be and have excellent equipment,but they are still gaining that vital battlefield experience.
Most troops in a US force are rated as Confident Veteran, except for troops in a Rifle Company, which are rated as ReluctantVeteran.
US ArtilleryUS artillery is possibly the best in the world. Flexibleorganizations and high levels of training, combined withplenty of excellent radios, allow even junior officers to calldown massive amounts of fire support.
A US Platoon or 2iC Command team can act as anobserver and request artillery fire in the same manneras a Company Command team.
Under CommandThe Tank and Armored Rifle Companies’ mortar and assaultgun platoons cooperate closely with the combat companies.Constant practice and excellent radio communications allowthem to bring down quick and effective fire.
When calling for artillery bombardments from theircompany’s own Armored Mortar Platoon or Assault-gun Platoon, Command teams do not suffer their normal+1 penalty to range in.
Time On TargetEvery US artillery staff team has a fire control computor ofimmense sophistication. After checking the wind, temperature,and range, the battery staff officer selects the correspondingbook and looks up the settings for every gun. This scientificmarvel allows the officer to compute the flight time for eachshell. By working backwards, they can have every shell landat the same time without warning. With no time to react, troopconcentrations caught in such a ‘time on target’ (TOT)bombardment are smashed before they have time to find cover.
If a Towed or Armored Artillery Battery with a staffteam ranges in on their first attempt, they can fire a TOTbombardment. Every team hit by a TOT bombardmentre-rolls successful saves as they scramble for cover andbatten down the hatches.
US Weapons.50 cal TeamsAlthough the M2 .50 cal heavy machine-gun is a betterweapon than the water-cooled M1917 .30 cal machine-gunsof the machine-gun platoon, it is usually operated by riflemenwho lack the training and ammunition to engage targetsbeyond normal rifle range.
Due to the extreme weight of the weapon and itsammunition, an M2 .50 cal MG is a Gun team, not anInfantry team.An M2 .50 cal MG shoots as an HMG team with aRange of 16”/40cm, a ROF of 3, and an Anti-tank ratingof 4. Like an HMG team, an M2 .50 cal MG has ROF2 if Pinned Down and cannot fire if it moves.
CalliopeThe Calliope rocket launcher has 60 launch tubes. This hugevolume of fire makes a single launcher enough for mosttasks.
Re-roll misses, even when only a single launcher isfiring. If multiple launchers fire, place a template foreach as if they were separate batteries. A Calliope rocketlauncher may only fire one bombardment in a game.Calliope rocket launchers are one-use weapons. Removethe tank once it has fired its rockets as it returns to therear to reload.
Light Mortar TeamsThe 60mm M2 mortar packs a good punch for its small size,and will often be called upon to get the company out of tightspots. Sometimes the mortar crews will get quite close tothe enemy and direct pinpoint fire on individual enemypositions. Other times they will stand back and firebombardments like medium mortars.
US 60mm light mortar teams can choose to fire asnormal Light Mortar teams, but with ROF 2 andFirepower 4+, or as a close-support mortar firing anmortar bombardment at up to twice their usual range.
LMG TeamThe Browning M1919 .30 calibre light machine-gun is belt-fed and mounted on a tripod like a heavy machine-gun.
An LMG team fights as an HMG team with a Range of16”/40cm and a ROF of 3. Like an HMG team, an LMGteam has ROF 2 if Pinned Down and cannot fire if itmoves.
Marching FireThe US Army is equipped with the M1 Garand self-loadingrifle and the Browning automatic rifle (B.A.R.). Theseweapons allow US infantry to advance and still maintain ahigh rate of fire. When using this ‘marching fire’, the infantrywalk forward pumping slugs into the enemy positions. Thisisn’t very accurate, but fire enough rounds and you are goingto hit something sooner or later.
A Rifle/MG team using marching fire can:· fire its weapons at ROF 2, but· adds a penalty of +1 to the score needed to hit.A Rifle or Carbine team using marching fire does notsuffer the usual +1 to hit penalty for firing a ROF 1weapon while moving.A team can choose not to use Marching Fire and fire atthe normal rate if you prefer.
PioneersCombat engineers are equipped with explosive charges fordemolition work. They are equally effective against tanks.
Pioneer teams have an Anti-tank rating of 3 in assaults.
Poor HEThe 57mm and 3” anti-tank gun is a good anti-tank gun, buthas poor high-explosive (HE) rounds limiting theirperformance against infantry, guns, and unarmored vehicles.
Reduce the Firepower rating of 3” anti-tank guns to 4+against unarmored targets and that of the 57mm to 5+.
Self-defence Anti-aircraft Guns.Many US vehicles carry machine-guns for self-defenceagainst aircraft.
Self-defence anti-aircraft guns can only shoot at aircraftthat are attacking their own platoon.
SPECIAL RULES
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
US VehiclesArmored Car DismountsThe crew of an M8 Greyhound armored car can dismountto scout on foot or occupy defensive positions when necessary.Many crews carry an extra scout on the back of the car tokeep their dismount strength up.
You may dismount the crew of an M8 Greyhoundarmored car at the start of the Movement step byremoving the armoured car and replacing it with eithera Carbine team or an M2 .50 cal MG team.
Awkward LayoutThe M12 GMC carries a 155mm ‘Long Tom’ gun on amodified M3 tank chassis. The gun is so big that the crewhave to dismount to load it.
Due to the danger to the driver when firing, vehicleswith awkward layouts cannot shoot their main weaponif they move more than 2”/5cm in the Movement step.
Light TankThe M5 Stuart light tanks have powerful radial aircraftengines allowing them to move at very high speed.
Light tanks move 16”/40cm when moving on Roads orCross-country.
Mortar CarrierThe M4 Mortar Motor Carriage is a specialist mortar-carryinghalf-track. Normal practice is to fire the mortar from thevehicle, but if necessary, you can dismount the mortar andsend the half-track to the rear.
You may dismount the mortar by removing the half-track and replacing it with an M1 81 mm mortar team.
No Power TraverseIn order to fit the 105mm howitzer into an M4 Sherman tankturret, the power traverse and stabiliser have been removed.
105mm-armed Sherman tanks count traversing theirturret as movement due to a lack of powered turrettraverse.
OverloadedThe M4 Sherman Jumbo assault tank is seriously overloadedwith 6” of armor on a standard M4 Sherman chassis.
M4 Sherman Jumbo tanks bog down on a roll of 1 or2, rather than the usual 1, and can not move faster than8”/20cm.
RonsonSherman tanks had a terrible reputation for burning whenhit. Their crews referred to them as "Ronsons" since in thewords of the advertisement they "light first time”. TheGerman nickname was simpler, "Tommy Cooker”.
The opposing player re-rolls any failed Firepower teststo destroy an M4 Sherman tank.
Sandbag ArmorThe arrival of the Panzerfaust, a German Bazooka rocketlauncher made US tanks extremely vulnerable to infantryattack. The crews responded by covering the outside of thetank with a layer of sandbags.
Any US tank can have sandbag armour fitted for+5 points. The sandbags must be modelled on the vehicle.When a tank that is protected by sandbag armor is hitby an infantry team’s shooting or Panzerfaust launchersin assaults and fails its armor Save, roll a special 4+save:• If the save is successful the sandbags protect the
tank from damage.• If the save is not successful the shot penetrated as
normal.
StabilizersUS tanks are the first in the world to be equipped withgyrostabilisers as standard equipment. A stabiliser is a devicefitted to the tank’s gun that keeps it pointing at the targetwhen the tank is moving. With the assistance of thegyrostabiliser, the gunner can stay on target while the tankis moving.
A moving tank fitted with a stabiliser can:• fire its weapons at their full ROF, but• adds a penalty of +1 to the score needed to hit.A tank can choose not to use its stabiliser and fire atthe normal rate if you prefer.
Tank DozerThe US Army pioneered the use of tank dozers—tanks fittedwith bulldozer blades. Tank dozers allow Tank Companiesto clear away obstacles and breach barriers that wouldotherwise impede their advance.
A tank fitted with a dozer blade can spend a turn clearingand breaching an obstacle rather than moving. Roll aSkill test for the tank dozer.• If the tank passes the Skill test, the tank clears one-
tank wide gap in an obstacle rated as Difficult Going,or reduces an obstacle rated as Very Difficult Goingdown to Difficult Going over a one-tank width gap.
Very SlowBulldozers are built for power not speed.
Bulldozers move 6”/15cm on Roads or Cross-country.
Wide-tracksThe improved suspension and wider tracks of the M4A3E8‘Easy Eight’ model of Sherman tank give it excellent cross-country performance.
If a M4A3E8 ‘Easy Eight’ tank becomes Bogged Down,roll again. On a roll of 4+, the tank immediately freesitself and continues moving.
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
Firing Machine-guns From TransportsMost US transport vehicles were only crewed by a driver,making it possible to fire their weapons only when passengersare mounted in the vehicle.
Jeeps, trucks, and M2 and M3 half-tracks can only firetheir machine-guns if a passenger team is mounted.Passengers cannot fire their own weapons unless theyare in a jeep. If a passenger team is firing a jeep’smachine-gun, it cannot fire its own weapons.
Mounting LMG’s And HMG’s On TransportsMachine-gunners don’t just sit idly in their half-tracks, theymount their machine-guns on the sides and blaze away asthe half-track carries them forward.
LMG and HMG teams that mount a half-track can fittheir machine-guns to the sides of the vehicle convertingthem into vehicle-mounted AA MG’s. When the teamdismounts, it takes its machine-gun with it.
As with all vehicle-mounted machine-guns, only thefirst may fire at full ROF. All additional machine-gunsonly fire at ROF 1.
Vehicle Machine-gunsFields Of FireWhen a vehicle has more than one machine-gun mounted,they each cover a certain arc of fire.
A half-track or armored car with more than one machine-gun mounted will have the .50 cal MG mounted to allowall-round fire.Any additional AA MG’s are mounted one on each sideof the vehicle firing off to the side. A line drawn alongthe side of the vehicle from straight ahead to straightbehind gives the limits of their field of fire.
Dismounting Machine-gunsLots of transport vehicles carry anti-aircraft machine-guns.Normally they’re left on the vehicle, but when the platoonneeds more firepower, they can be taken off the vehicles andfired from a tripod mount.
Any infantry team carried as passengers in a transportvehicle may dismount the vehicle’s .50 cal MG,becoming an M2 .50 cal MG team, or AA MG, becomingan LMG team. A passenger cannot dismount in a turnin which it fires a vehicle-mounted machine-gun.The team must remount the vehicle to replace themachine-gun on the vehicle and return to their originaltype of team.You may not dismount the .50 cal MG or an AA MGunless you have an M2 .50 cal MG or LMG team modelledto replace the infantry team that dismounted it.
Air SupportThe US Army Air Force (USAAF) rules the skies. Enemy aircraft are a rare sight indeed. Before big attacks the 8th Air Forceunloads thousands of tons of bombs on the Krauts, and then the Jugs and Lightnings of the 9th Air Force strafe and bomb themas the attack begins. With the inevitable accidents, some of the guys have taken to calling them the ‘American Luftwaffe’, butmostly, they do a fine job.
You may request Limited air support at a cost of 100 points. Limited air support will provide supporting ground attack aircraftand fighters on a roll of a 5+.
You may request Priority air support at a cost of 200 points. Priority air support will provide supporting ground attack aircraftand fighters on a roll of a 4+.
US RocketsThe USAAF used rockets in small numbers, however they found their 4.5” rockets very inaccurate (even compared with otherrockets) and lacking in punch. However, a direct hit would knock out almost any tank.
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
Tank CompanyA US Armored Division is a balanced combined-arms forceof three tank battalions, three armored infantry battalions,backed up by three artillery battalions. Each battalion is thecore of a combat team, a flexible formation of tanks andarmored infantry, usually named after their commander, suchas ‘Team Cherry’. A tank battalion forms a Tank-heavyCombat Team by swapping one of its companies for anarmored infantry company.
The combat teams do the same job that horsed cavalry oncedid – once the infantry bludgeon a hole in the Kraut defences,the tanks Blitz them. Before the Krauts can figure out whathit them, they’ll be cut off and overrun. It don’t always workout that way, though. Either the tanks have to make theopening for themselves, or Fritz manages to put in a
counterattack and the tanks end up trying to hold on to whatthey already got.
Of course, not all of the tanks are in the Armored Divisions.Nearly half get split up amongst the infantry divisions tohelp them out. The US Army has very few heavily armoredtanks – they can be useful, but tend to slow the attack down.The few Sherman Jumbos that they do have, are used tosupport the infantry, since US armored commanders like torely on speed and daring instead of heavy armor.
The division’s other troops, such as reconnaissance troops,tank destroyer companies and lots of artillery, back-up thetanks and infantry of the tank battalion - ensuring that anyopposition can be overcome.
What Is In A Tank Company?A force based around a Tank Company must contain:• a Company HQ, and• at least two Tanks Platoons.
Weapons Platoons available to a Tank Company are:• a Light Tank Platoon,• a Recon Platoon,• an Assault Gun Platoon, and• an Armored Mortar Platoon.
Support Platoons for a Tank Company can be:• Armored Rifle Platoons, and• Divisional Support Platoons.
You may have up to two Support Platoons attached to yourcompany for each Tank Platoon you are fielding.
Motivation And ExperienceTank Companies are Confident Veteran.
HQ Platoon1 Company HQ
Medium Tank Companies are assigned seventeen M4Sherman tanks under the command of a Captain. TheCompany headquarters includes the Captain’s personalSherman, his second in command’s Sherman and a tankrecovery vehicle (for rescuing damaged or stuck tanks andreturning them to action). If available, a Sherman armedwith a 105mm howitzer may be assigned to the Captain’sheadquarters as well.
Assault gun
PlatoonCompany HQ with:
2 M4, M4A1, or M4A3 Sherman 190 points
Options• Equip 2iC Command M4, M4A1 or M4A3 Sherman
tank with a dozer blade for +5 points.
• Upgrade any or all M4, M4A1 or M4A3 Shermantanks to:
M4A3 Sherman (late) tanks for +20 points per tank,M4A1 or M4A3 Sherman (76) tanks for +25 pointsper tank, orM4A3E8 Easy Eight tanks for +30 points per tank.
The platoon is equipped with the M4 Sherman tank. TheSherman is the standard tank of the Western Allies. The M4has been in service for several years now and is still a goodtank. It is outclassed by the latest German tank designs likethe Panther and Tiger. Nevertheless, when working in closecooperation with infantry, artillery, and tank destroyers theSherman comes into its own. Moreover, once a hole ispunched through the enemy defences, the Sherman’s reliableengine and good mobility means that US combat teams willsurge through the gap, creating havoc in the enemy rearareas!
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Weapons Platoons0 to 1 Light Tank Platoon
The US Army is one of the few that still use light tanks, but,used intelligently, they still earn their keep. Each tank battalionhas a light tank company to keep the Krauts away from theflanks and to help the armored infantry on occasion.
The light tanks won’t take on the big Kraut tanks, but theysure make a mess of Nazi armored cars. They ain’t so badagainst the infantry neither.
Light Tank Platoon
Jumbos Lead The WayThe owning player may allocate hits amongst the Shermantanks of their Tank Platoon as if they all had the same armor.They do not need to allocate hits to the most lightly armoredtanks first (as normal with the Hit The Easiest Target Firstrule), although they must still allocate hits against side armorbefore front armor.
Platoon5 M4, M4A1, or M4A3 Sherman 480 points
4 M4, M4A1, or M4A3 Sherman 385 points
3 M4, M4A1, or M4A3 Sherman 290 points
Options• Upgrade up to three M4, M4A1 or M4A3 Sherman
tanks to:
M4A3 Sherman (late) tanks for +20 points per tank,M4A1 or M4A3 Sherman (76) tanks for +25 pointsper tank,M4A3E8 Easy Eight tanks for +30 points per tank,M4A3E2 Jumbo tanks for +35 points per tank, orM4A3E2 Jumbo (76) tanks for +45 points per tank.
By the end of 1944, roughly one tank per platoon was armedwith a 76mm gun. By the end of the war this had increasedto as many as three tanks in a platoon in some units.
The up-armored M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo assault tank wasinitially issued to battalions assigned for infantry supportoperations. However, the heavy fighting at the end of theyear saw armored divisions demanding some as well. Whenavailable the point tank of each platoon would be the heavilyarmored Jumbo.
Platoon5 M5 or M5A1 Stuart 260 points
4 M5 or M5A1 Stuart 210 points
3 M5 or M5A1 Stuart 160 points
5 M24 Chaffee 505 points
4 M24 Chaffee 405 points
3 M24 Chaffee 305 points
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
The Recon Platoon is equipped with jeeps to allow it to getin, get the information, and get out again before the Krautscan respond.
The Recon platoon scouts ahead to locate any Nazi ambushesand stop their reconnaissance troops from gaining informationabout the combat team’s movements. The recon platoon isn’tthere to fight, it’s there to survive and report. Sometimes theRecon Platoon just have to shoot their way out, though, so,the jeeps are often fitted with .50 cal heavy-machine-guns.
Recon Platoons are reconnaissance platoons may usethe Reconnaissance rules to avoid enemy fire.
Historically, the Jeeps of the Recon Platoons only carry adriver and two scouts each. A team of four scouts is splitover two Jeeps. In Flames Of War, you can model a scoutteam’s transport as either one or two Jeeps, but either waythey count as a single transport team they must always remaintogether and count as a single target for shooting. If one isdestroyed, they both are destroyed. You may choose to basethe two vehicles together to show this.
Page 7
0 to 1 Assault Gun Platoon
The Assault Gun Platoon can fire right at targets, unlike themortars. The M4 Sherman (105) assault gun’s big high-explosive shells smash Fritz’s bunkers real well. The onlydrawback to this direct fire is that the tanks have to exposethemselves to Fritz’s return fire. If this is a problem, though,they just sit back and lob the shells in like artillery. Realversatile piece of equipment ain’t it.
Some battalions are experimenting with M4 Sherman tanksfitted with 4.5” T34 Rocket Launchers (known as ‘Calliope’after a steam organ). Each of these tanks has the firepowerof an entire division, even if it is just for one shot! Blastingthem Krauts with all 180 rockets really makes a mess oftheir day.
M3 half-trackwith .50 cal AA MG
M2 half-trackwith .50 cal AA MG
Jeep teamJeep team
CommandRifle team
PlatoonHQ Section with:
2 Recon Squads 95 points
1 Recon Squad 70 points
Option• Add Bazooka team for +20 points.
• Arm any or all Jeep teams with an AA MG for+5 points per Jeep team.
Your force may not contain more than one ReconPlatoon, even if it has more than one Armored Rifleor Tank Company.
PlatoonHQ Section with:
3 M4 or M4A3 Sherman (105) 325 points
2 M4 or M4A3 Sherman (105) 225 points
3 M4 Sherman Calliope 225 points
2 M4 Sherman Calliope 160 points
3 M7 Priest HMC 245 points
2 M7 Priest HMC 175 points
3 M8 Scott HMC 240 points
2 M8 Scott HMC 170 points
Your force may not contain more than one AssaultGun Platoon, even if it has more than one ArmoredRifle or Tank Company.
The Sherman (105) took some time to enter service, so untilD-Day, many Assault Gun Platoons were equipped withM7 Priest HMC self-propelled guns. Tank units generallyreplaced these before going into battle, but the armoredinfantry kept the M7 Priest HMC throughout. The light M8Scott HMC was considered too light for the role by the timeit entered service, and generally only appeared in the assaultgun units of the reconnaissance troops.
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
In the Mortar Platoon, the company commander has a smallbut deadly artillery unit. The mortar platoon is equipped withthe standard 81mm medium mortar mounted in an M4 MortarCarrier. Putting the mortars in armored half-tracks allowsthe mortars to operate at the pace of the tanks and armoredinfantry. The weapon is mounted ready to fire in the back ofthe half-track. Without the need to dismount and set up themortar, they can hit the Heinies immediately they show up.
M3 half-trackwith .50 cal AA MG
Page 8
PlatoonHQ Section with:
3 Mortar Sections 155 points
2 Mortar Sections 110 points
Option• Arm any or all M4 81mm MMC half-tracks with a
.50 cal AA MG for +5 points per half-track.
Your force may not contain more than one MortarPlatoon, even if it has more than one Armored Rifleor Tank Company.
M4 81mm MMChalf-track
M4 81mm MMChalf-track
M4 81mm MMChalf-track
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
The ‘armored doughs’ or ‘blitz doughs’, as the armoredinfantry are known (it’s a reference to the doughboys, theinfantry of WWI), ride in armored half-track personnelcarriers. The blitz doughs have every imaginable weapon:machine-guns, mortars, bazookas, anti-tank guns, andhowitzers. You name it, they’ve got it. That don’t includethe stuff they ‘found’ neither.
Mostly they trade a company with a tank battalion and graba tank destroyer platoon to form an infantry-heavy combined-
arms combat team. The combat team packs nearly as muchpunch as it is a mouthful to say too. With all that firepowerand armor, the blitz doughs can handle most anything thatthe Krauts can put up.
If Fritz digs in, the armored doughs dismount and dig himright back out again. They’ve got the firepower to do it. IfFritz keeps moving, the blitz doughs just run rings aroundthem.
What Is In An Armored Rifle Company?A force based around an Armored Rifle Company mustcontain:• a Company HQ, and• at least two Armored Rifle Platoons.
Weapons Platoons available to an Armored Rifle Companyare:• an Anti-tank Platoon,• a Machine-gun Platoon,• a Recon Platoon,• an Assault Gun Platoon, and• an Armored Mortar Platoon.
HQ Platoon1 Company HQ
Armored rifle companies are mounted in M3 half-trackpersonnel carriers. The half-tracks can keep up with thetanks, and have enough armor to get the infantry right upclose to the Heinies before they have to dismount. They haveplenty of machine-guns, mortars and bazookas too, so whenthey do get out, the Krauts better look out.
You don’t get to lead these guys by being stupid. You gottado well in the psych tests to get into the armored infantry.You gotta be darn good, ‘cause there ain’t many slots.
Support Platoons for an Armored Rifle Company can be:• Tank Platoons,• Light Tank Platoons, and• Divisional Support Platoons.
You may have up to two Support Platoons attached to yourcompany for each Armored Rifle Platoon you are fielding.
Motivation And ExperienceAn Armored Rifle Company is Confident Veteran.
M3 half-trackwith .50 cal AA MG
Anti-tank Platoon
PlatoonCompany HQ 45 points
Option• Add Bazooka team for +20 points.
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
The blitz doughs of an Armored Rifle Platoon pack five .30cal light machine-guns, no less than two .50 cal heavymachine-guns, five bazookas, and a 60mm mortar, as wellas their personal weapons.
You gotta think a bit to make use of all this hardware. Yourrifle squads are easy. These are your assault group. You usethese to take the fight to the Krauts up close and personallike, shooting from the hip as you go like a bunch of cowboysin the movies. Your fourth squad, the 60mm mortar, is yourartillery. It ain’t much on its own, but it does keep the Kraut’sheads down. Your real firepower though, is in the fifth squadwith its .30 cal light machine-guns. Stick them way outfieldon a flank to keep Fritz interested while you make an assault.They’re also the big guns when the Nazis counterattack.
You gotta be careful with your half-tracks. So long as Fritzain’t shooting much, they’ll keep you safe. The .50 cal’sreally help too. You gotta watch it, though. Give Fritz halfa chance and you’ll be walking to Berlin. Mostly you’rebetter off sending ‘em to the rear when you get out.
The 57mm M1 anti-tank gun is way better than the old 37mmM3. This baby will punch a nice big hole in any Nazi tank.At least that’s what they told us back Stateside. It don’t domuch to Panthers and Tigers though. Still they always giveus a mess of tank destroyers for that, so a lot of the companieshave given up on the 57mm and used the doughs as riflemento make up numbers. They can be handy though, against thelighter Kraut Mark IV’s.
Armored infantry Recon Platoons are organised the same asthose of the tanks. The organisation is shown on page 7.
0 to 1 Recon Platoon
Your force may not contain more than one Recon Platoon,even if it has more than one Armored Rifle or TankCompany.
See the Tank Company for the platoon organisation on page 7.Many (if not most) Armored Infantry Battalions used M7Priest HMC’s as assault guns rather than Sherman tanks.
0 to 1 Assault Gun Platoon
Your force may not contain more than one Assault GunPlatoon, even if it has more than one Armored Rifle orTank Company.
Armored infantry Mortar Platoons are organised the sameas those of the tanks. The organisation is shown on page 7.
0 to 1 Mortar Platoon
Your force may not contain more than one MortarPlatoon, even if it has more than one Armored Rifle orTank Company.
Page 11
0 to 1 Machine-gun Platoon
While every platoon has an LMG squad, it still don’t givethem the long-range, sustained firepower they need in a bigfight. The heavy machine-guns of the Machine-gun Platoon,though, completely dominate whatever they can get theirsights on. It’s impossible for a Kraut to even twitch out there.
When an armored rifle company attacks, don’t put theMachine-gun Platoon behind the doughs, cause they’ll getin the way of your shooting. They should be out on the flank,where they can shoot up them Krauts, right till the doughspile right into them.
The infantry are the largest part of the US Army. The GIs,‘dogies’, or ‘dogfaces’ as the riflemen call themselves, areno strangers to hard fighting. When Krauts need a licking,the infantry regiments always draw the short straw, especiallywhen it’s a town or forest where the armored boys don’t liketo go. It’s always the infantry that get to do the bloody house-to-house fighting, driving the Heinies out with grenades andbayonets. Of course, once the fighting’s over, the infantryare get left holding the line, while the tanks pull back intoreserve. Then the Krauts shell, probe, and raid the poor dogfaces every day.
As you’d expect, casualties are high, way higher than theyfigured before the war. They reckoned two-thirds of thecasualties would be in the infantry; well it’s actually nineout of ten. The way replacements are sent up means that
units always get new guys they’ve never seen before, and ifyou’re wounded, you could end up anywhere, except Statesideor back with your unit. There’s always a lot of fresh facesthat no-one knows, and no-one wants to know, not till they’vebeen around long enough to survive leastwise. After all, whowants to buddy up with some new sap that won’t last theweek?
There ain’t much hope of getting home, so the dogies justkeep their heads down and keep going. It’s slow, it’sdangerous, but it’s the US infantry who are at the front lineday in day out, doing the dirty work, always obeying ordersand giving everything they’ve got for their country. It’sworking too, the Krauts are pulling back, they know they’velost, and some day it’ll be over and the GI’s can go back tobeing ordinary Joes in ordinary jobs.
What Is In A Rifle Company?A force based around a Rifle Company must contain:• a Company HQ, and• at least two Rifle Platoons.
Weapons Platoons available to a Rifle Company are:• a Weapons Platoon,• an Ammo & Pioneer Platoon,• a Machine-gun Platoon,• up to two Anti-tank Platoons, and• a Mortar Platoon.
HQ Platoon1 Company HQ
The Captain of a rifle company has 193 men directly underhis command. This includes both combat troops andsupporting soldiers (such as cooks and supplies personnelin the company headquarters). Riflemen, machine-guns, anti-tank gun, mortars and howitzers all have a specific job to doduring a firefight and the Captain needs a cool head and agood plan to coordinate these weapons into a battle-winningforce.
Support Platoons for a Rifle Company can be:• Intelligence & Recon Platoons,• Cannon Platoons,• Chemical Mortar Platoons,• Tank Platoons, and• Divisional Support Platoons.
You may have up to two Support Platoons attached to yourcompany for each Rifle Platoon you are fielding.
Motivation And ExperienceA Rifle Company is Reluctant Veteran.
Weapons Platoon
PlatoonCompany HQ 20 points
Option• Add Bazooka teams for +15 points per team.
Rifle Platoon
Rifle Platoon Rifle Platoon
Rifle Company
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
The Rifle Platoon is the backbone of the company. All otherweapons are there to support its actions. Heavy weapons canblast the Kraut positions for days, but it’ll take the GI’s goingin with grenades and bayonets to kick them out.
Unusually, in the US Army flame-throwers were theresponsibility of the chemical warfare officers rather thanthe engineers. As a result, few units used them in action, andwhen they did (as on D-Day, in Brest, and against the SiegfriedLine), they were used by rifle companies rather than thecombat engineers.
Option• Replace one Rifle/MG team with a Flame-thrower
team for + 25 points.
Weapons Platoons
Page 13
CommandRifle/MG team
Rifle/MG teamRifle/MG team
Rifle/MG team
Rifle/MG teamRifle/MG team
Rifle/MG team
Rifle/MG teamRifle/MG team
Rifle/MG team
Rifle Platoon
CommandRifle team
0 to 1 Weapons Platoon
One of the first things they teach you as an officer cadet isconcentration; concentration of troops, and concentration offire. Instead of scattering your heavy weapons all over theplace, they are concentrated in your Weapons Platoon. Inyour Weapons Platoon, you’ve got both mortars and machine-guns. The machine-guns keep the Krauts head’s down, whilethe mortars pick off their strongpoints.
Before the game begins you may detach sections fromyour Weapons Platoon to reinforce Rifle Platoons. Thedetached teams are no longer part of the WeaponsPlatoon, but become part of the Rifle Platoon they areattached to instead.When working out whether a platoon is below halfstrength for Platoon Morale checks, the attached teamsdo not count towards the number of teams in the platoonthat are capable of fighting, however if they are destroyed,they do count towards the number of destroyed teamsin their adopted platoon.The Weapons Platoon must retain at least one sectionunder its own command.
The water-cooled heavy machine-guns of the Machine-gunPlatoon have a sustained fire capability than the light machine-guns of the rifle company just don’t have. The water-jacketsstop the barrel overheating and melting after firing hundredsof rounds of ammunition, but this makes them very heavythough, and clumsy to move.
The infantry’s 57mm anti-tank guns may not be Tiger-killers,but they sure beat Bazookas. Seeing as how there ain’t toomany Tigers out there, they do a pretty good job of protectingthe infantry from Nazi Panzers. If the battalion Anti-tankPlatoon ain’t enough for the job, the regimental anti-tankcompany has several more available.
Don’t badmouth the Bazookas though. The guns ain’t toomobile, so they’re best set up in a good spot and left therewhile the Bazooka teams work their way around the flanksof the Kraut tanks on foot. You get them in a crossfire thatway. Works every time!
The Ammo and Pioneer (A&P) Platoon are the dogsbodiesof the infantry. When they ain’t humping ammunition andsupplies up to the front lines, they get to string up barbedwire and lay minefields, or dig them back up again.
The A&P Platoon gets to lead sometime though, they areright up front in hedgerow and house-to-house fighting,
The regimental Intelligence and Recon (I&R) Platoon is theeyes and ears of the infantry. On foot or in jeeps, they quietlyseek out the enemy; noting their positions, defences andweaknesses. They ain’t there for a shoot out, they’re toovaluable for that. The information they bring back saves toomany lives to waste theirs.
Intelligence & Recon Platoons are reconnaissanceplatoons may use the Reconnaissance rules to avoidenemy fire.
Historically, the Jeeps of the I&R Platoons only carry adriver and two scouts each. A team of four scouts is splitover two Jeeps. In Flames Of War, you can model a scoutteam’s transport as either one or two Jeeps, but either waythey count as a single transport team they must always remaintogether and count as a single target for shooting. If one isdestroyed, they both are destroyed. You may choose to basethe two vehicles together to show this.
Option• Add Bazooka teams for +15 points per team.
Your force may not contain more than one MortarPlatoon, even if it has more than one Rifle Company.
Every infantry company has its own mortars in the weaponsplatoon, but they ain’t heavy enough and there ain’t enoughof them to really hurt the Krauts bad. That’s where thebattalion Mortar Platoon comes in. With six 81mm mortars,the platoon can smother a Kraut position with dozens of highexplosive shells in a very short time.
The Mortar Platoon can split up into three sections, butusually operates as one big unit. That way any officer witha radio can call on the full weight of its fire any time theyneed it.
Lieutenant
Jeep with.50 cal AA MG
Mortar Platoon
Mortar Section
Observerteam
Bazookateam
M1 81mmmortar
M1 81mmmortar
Jeepand trailer
Jeepand trailer
Staff Sergeant
Mortar Section
Observerteam
Bazookateam
M1 81mmmortar
M1 81mmmortar
Jeepand trailer
Jeepand trailer
Staff Sergeant
Mortar Section
Observerteam
Bazookateam
M1 81mmmortar
Jeepand trailer
M1 81mmmortar
Jeepand trailer
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
It’s all very well for the artillery to be way back firing frommaps when things are static, but when things are movingfast, you need guns up front where they can hit somethingpronto. Rather than pulling guns out of the artillery batteriesall the time, the infantry regiment has its own Cannon Batteryfor close support. On the other hand, there’s so many tanksabout now, that they do most of the close-up work, so mostlythe Cannon Battery just gets used as another artillery battery.
Option• Add Bazooka teams for +15 points per team.
• Arm up to one truck in each Gun Section with a.50 cal AA MG for +10 points per truck.
Your force may not contain more than one CannonBattery, even if it has more than one Rifle Company.
0 to 1 Cannon Battery
Staff Sergeant
0 to 1 Chemical Mortar Platoon
PlatoonHQ Section with:
2 Chemical Mortar Sections 210 points1 Chemical Mortar Section 120 points
Option• Add Bazooka teams for +15 points per team.
Chemical Mortar Platoons are rated as ConfidentVeteran.
Chemical mortars were designed between the wars to saturatean area with poison gas. When it turned out that neither sidewas using gas, an HE shell was developed, turning the mortarsinto excellent infantry support weapons.
The crews were superbly trained and considered themselvesas an elite force. They dragged their mortars wherever neededto support the infantry.
The chemical mortars are towed by their crews in handcarts, so they can move at up to 6”/15cm on Road andCross-country Terrain. The crews are well practiced attaking their mortars through the most difficult terrainimaginable. Difficult Going does not hinder them,although they require a Skill test to move through VeryDifficult Terrain.
Lieutenant
Jeep with.50 cal AA MG
Chemical Mortar PlatoonChemical Mortar Section
Observerteam
Bazookateam
4.2” chemicalmortar
4.2” chemicalmortar
Jeepand trailer
Jeepand trailer
Staff Sergeant
Chemical Mortar Section
Observerteam
Bazookateam
4.2” chemicalmortar
4.2” chemicalmortar
Jeepand trailer
Jeepand trailer
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
Destroying Nazi tanks takes a big gun, patience, and lots ofguts. The big anti-tank guns needed for knocking out Krauttanks are just to big and heavy for the infantry and toospecialised to mount in tanks. That’s why they created tankdestroyers.
The tank destroyers are lightly armored, well-armed tanksand their only job is to destroy Kraut tanks so that the infantryand tanks can get on with the job of winning the battle. Withtheir thin armor, tank destroyers stalk their armored prey,using the M20’s like hunting dogs to flush them out. Thenthe tank destroyers close in for the kill, ideally from the flankto guarantee a quick kill.
They don’t hang round though. If the first few shots don’tdo the job, the lightly armored Tank Destroyer Platoon pullsout and tries again from a different spot rather than tradingshots with heavier tanks. They ain’t designed to go ‘toe totoe’ with enemy armor, so they gotta use their brains instead.
If there ain’t any Kraut tanks about, the tank destroyers canplay at being assault guns to support the infantry, but theydon’t get too close since they ain’t got many machine-gunsand one grenade in the open turret finishes them off nicely.
PlatoonHQ Section with:
2 Sections of M10 3” GMC 545 points1 Section of M10 3” GMC 290 points
2 Sections of M18 Hellcat GMC 525 points1 Section of M18 Hellcat GMC 280 points
2 Sections of M36 Jackson GMC 575 points1 Section of M36 Jackson GMC 305 points
Tank Destroyer Platoon
Carbine teamM20 utility Carbine teamM20 utility
Tank Destroyer Platoon
Although not shown on the table, the tank destroyersare lurking near the M20 utilities waiting for their chanceto ambush enemy tanks.As a result, the tank destroyers do count as being ontable and capable of fighting when determining whetherthe platoon is below half strength during Platoon MoraleChecks.
Seek and DestroyUnder tank destroyer doctrine, tank destroyers ambush theenemy from concealed positions, hitting them hard andscooting before the enemy can retaliate. Then they do itagain, sneaking into a new firing position to launch the nextambush.
Tank Destroyer and Towed Tank Destroyer Platoonsuse the Command Distance, Cautious Movement andDisengage rules from Old Ironsides or the website toreflect their stealthy tactics. In addition, since the tankdestroyers select their firing positions with retreat inmind, Tank Destroyer Platoons may disengage if theyfired in their own turn.
Tank DestroyersThe doctrine emphasises the use of stealth to destroy enemytank concentrations. Each Tank Destroyer and Towed TankDestroyer Platoon has its own reconnaissance element totranslate this into reality. The platoon’s jeeps and M20 utilitiesadvance, tracking the enemy finding positions for the tankdestroyers who remain concealed and waiting. At the right
moment, the tank destroyers move forward into their firingpositions and open fire.
The tank destroyers in a Tank Destroyer Platoon andthe guns and half-tracks in a Towed Tank DestroyerPlatoon may either be deployed as normal at the startof the game, or held off-table with only the jeeps andM20 utilities being deployed. If the tank destroyers areheld off-table, you may place the tank destroyers on thetable at the start of your turn so that they are:• concealed and more than 16”/40cm away from all
enemy teams, or are entirely out of line of sight ofthe enemy, and
• within 4”/10cm of any deployed carbine team fromthe platoon.
Tank destroyers placed on the table in this way canmove and fight as normal during the turn they appear.
The platoon’s command team does not have to be presentfor the tank destroyers to deploy. As long as at least oneteam from the platoon is deployed, the tank destroyers thathave been held off-table can join it. However, the usualpenalties for being out of command still apply. If no teamsfrom the platoon are left on the table, any remaining tankdestroyers cannot deploy, and the platoon counts as destroyed.
Tank Destroyers
Most Divisional Support Platoons are rated as Confident Veteran. The only exception is the Towed Artillery Battery fromthe Infantry Division which in Reluctant Veteran.
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
Not all the tank destroyers are self-propelled—lots of unitshave towed guns instead. Tank Destroyer Command is dividedover whether towed or self-propelled guns are best. Thetowed platoons are much easier to conceal when ambushingenemy armor. Once they’ve opened fire though, they can’treally pull out, so they’re pretty much committed to ‘dukingit out’ with the Kraut tanks, come hell or high water.
PlatoonHQ Section with:
2 Tank Destroyer Sections 270 points1 Tank Destroyer Section 145 points
Option• Add Bazooka teams for +20 points per team.
• Add an AA MG to any or all jeeps for +5 pointsper jeep.
Towed Tank Destroyer Platoon
Carbine team
Towed Tank Destroyer Platoon
Although not shown on the table, the anti-tank guns arelurking near the jeeps waiting for their chance to ambushenemy tanks.As a result, the anti-tank guns do count as being ontable and capable of fighting when determining whetherthe platoon is below half strength during Platoon MoraleChecks.
Jeep
M5 3” gun
M2 half-track
Bazookateam
M5 3” gun
M2 half-trackBazooka
team
Carbine teamJeep
M5 3” gun
Bazookateam
M5 3” gun
M2 half-trackBazooka
team
0 to 1 Heavy Tank Platoon
Before the war, the Army’s tacticians reckoned that fast,mobile, medium tanks were best, and that they should beused to support the infantry, and exploit breakthroughs. WhenKraut tanks showed up, the tank destroyers were supposedto deal with them.
Well, it ain’t that simple. The tank destroyers ain’t alwaysthere when you need them, so the M4 Sherman mediumtanks end up fighting the Kraut tanks, they weren’t designedto beat. In December 1944, the Army finally decided to sendtwenty experimental T26E3 heavy tanks to Europe for testing(codenamed ‘Zebra Mission’). These Pershing tanks, as theywere called, were issued to the 3rd and 9th Armored Divisions.
On 20th Feb 1945, 3rd Armored Division had one T26E3 ineach company ready to go. They first fought on the 26thwhen Fox Coy lost FIREBALL to a Tiger I. On the 27th,Easy Coy evened the score with a Tiger and two Panzer IV.
9th Armored Division had fiveT26E3 in a temporary fourthplatoon in Able Coy, 19th Tank Bn, and one in Able Coyand two each in Baker and Charlie Coy 14th Tank Bn. Theyentered battle an 1 March losing one of A Coy, 19th TankBns tanks to HE fire. The only total loss was later in March
Heavy Tank Platoon
Platoon5 M26 Pershing 800 points
4 M26 Pershing 640 points
3 M26 Pershing 480 points
2 M26 Pershing 320 points
1 M26 Pershing 160 points
You may only take a Heavy Tank Platoon as supportfor a Tank Company, not for an Armored Rifle or RifleCompany.
Your force may not contain more than one Heavy TankPlatoon.
Before the game begins you may split your Heavy TankPlatoon amongst your Tank Platoons.If you do this, you must attach all of your M26 Pershingtanks to Tank Platoons. The Heavy Tank Platoon isdisbanded.No Tank Platoon may contain more than five tanks, soa Tank Platoon has to have fewer than five Shermantanks before a M26 Pershing can be attached to it.The M26 Pershing tanks become part of the Tank Platoonthey are attached to in all respects.
when a Hornisse put a round through a 3rd Armored Divisiontank which was then used for spare parts.
In late March, 2nd Armored Division received 22 tanks and5th Armored Division got 18. In April, 30 more went to 11thArmored Division.
The T26E3 Pershing proved such a success that the tank hasbeen standardized as the M26. Some 110 more were assignedto combat units after the fighting ended.
M2 half-track
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
US armored divisions are unique in the whole world; theyhave all of their infantry and artillery in armored vehicles.Fast-moving M7 Priest self-propelled howitzers can keepup when the tanks breakthrough. They’re always up frontand ready to fire.
The eyes of the battery are an observer mounted in an M4Sherman tank. Their job is to go forward with the tanks andarmored infantry, and call in fire from their battery on anyNazi strongpoints holding up the advance.
PlatoonHQ Section with:
2 Gun Sections 565 points1 Gun Section 345 points
Option• Arm any or all M2 half-tracks with an AA MG for
+10 points per half-track.
You may only take an Armored Field Artillery Batteryas support for a Tank or Armored Rifle Company, notfor a Rifle Company.
M4, M4A1, or M4A3Sherman tank
M7 Priest HMC M7 Priest HMC
M7 Priest HMC
M7 Priest HMC M7 Priest HMC
M7 Priest HMC
Field Artillery Battery
The gunners in the infantry divisions aren’t as lucky as theirarmored compatriots; their artillery is still towed by trucks.Unfortunately for them, their guns take a lot more hard workto set-up before they can to shoot. Once they begin firing,though, they are just as lethal as their self-propelled cousins,a perfect blend of stopping power and high rate of fire.
PlatoonHQ Section with:
2 Gun Sections 225 points1 Gun Section 140 points
Option• Add Bazooka teams for +15 points per team.
• Support all or none of your Field Artillery Batterieswith the divisional 155mm battalion for +110 pointsper battery.
You may only take a Field Artillery Battery as supportfor a Rifle Company, not for a Tank or Armored RifleCompany.
A Field Artillery battery is rated as Reluctant Veteran.
3/4-ton truck Jeep3/4-ton truck with .50cal AA MG
Field Artillery Battery
2 ton truck½
M2A1 105mm how
2 ton truck½
Bazookateam
Bazookateam
M2A1 105mm how
2 ton truck½
M2A1 105mm how
2 ton truck½
Bazookateam
Bazookateam
155mm Battalion SupportEach infantry division has a battalion of 155mm howitzersthat it uses to support the 105mm battalions as necessary.The heavy shells of the 155mm howitzers make the artillerymuch more effective against difficult targets.
A Field Artillery Battery that has support from the155mm battalion rolls a dice each time it successfullyranges in on a target. On a roll of 4+, a battery from thethe 155mm battalion is available to support thebombardment, making the Firepower characteristic ofthe M2A1 105mm howitzers 1+.If the Field Artillery Battery has three or more gunsfiring when it receives support from the 155mm battalion,treat the bombardment as being fired by six guns,allowing the battery to re-roll failed to hit rolls.
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
With the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) doingsuch a good job, you don’t see too many Nazi planes about.When you do though, the Anti-aircraft Artillery Platoon’shalf-tracks keep them away pretty good. In the meanwhile,the anti-aircraft half-tracks do a great job of assisting thedogfaces. The .50 calibre (12.7mm) slugs are heavy enoughto punch clean through lightly armored vehicles, and therapid-fire 37mm cannon makes Fritz think twice aboutshowing his head above ground.
PlatoonHQ Section with:
2 Gun Sections 200 points1 Gun Section 115 points
Options• Replace all M15 CGMC half-tracks with
M16 MGMC half-tracks at no cost.
• Replace all M16 MGMC half-tracks withM15 CGMC half-tracks at no cost.
Anti-aircraft Artillery Platoon
The while the self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery battalionssupported mobile operations, the towed AAA (AW), Anti-aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapons), battalions protectedthe infantry.
PlatoonHQ Section with:
2 Gun Sections 135 points1 Gun Section 75 points
Options• Replace M2 .50 cal AA guns with M55 .50 cal quad
AA guns for +5 points per section.
• Replace M2 .50 cal AA guns with M16 MGMChalf-tracks for +20 points per section.
• Replace M2 .50 cal AA guns with M1 Bofors gunsfor +15 points per section.
The massive M12 155mm GMC was a long-range self-propelled gun. Although normally kept in the central artillerypark for long-range counterbattery fire, some were used asdirect fire bunker-busters against the Siegfried line.
PlatoonHQ Section with:
2 Gun Sections 200 points1 Gun Section 110 points
Page 20
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
Options• Replace all Pioneer HMG teams with Pioneer Rifle
teams at no cost.
• Replace all 21/2-ton dump trucks with M3 half-tracks for +10 points per truck. All half-tracks haveAA MG except the Engineer Weapons Squad half-track, which has a .50 cal MG.
• Add a Bulldozer for +10 points or a M4 Shermantank dozer for +100 points.
• Add Bazooka teams for +20 points per team.
• Add Pioneer Supply 21/2-ton truck for +5 points.
Combat Engineer Platoons are expected to clear and laymines and build bridges under fire. To enable them to dothis with a minimum of interference, they have their ownmachine-guns to keep the enemy’s heads down.
Option• Replace all Light Mortar teams with M1 81mm
mortar teams at no cost.
Armored Reconnaissance Platoons scout far ahead of thearmored division. The unit displays an immense amount offlexibility in its mission. If necessary, the armored car crewsdismount and scout on foot. In a defensive position, theycan dismount their armored car’s machine-gun for morefirepower.
CommandM8 armored car
M8 armored car
M8 armored car
M8 armored carReconnaissance Section
Intelligence Briefing on the Late War United States Army (1944-45)
InfantryName Range ROF Anti-tank Firepower Weapons And Notes
Carbine team 8”/20cm 1 1 6 M1 carbines, Marching fire.
Rifle team 16”/40cm 1 2 6 M1 Garand rifles, Marching fire.Rifle/MG team 16”/40cm 2 2 6 M1 Garand rifles and Browning automatic
rifles, Marching fire.LMG team 16"/40cm 3 2 6 M1919 light machine-gun, LMG.Light mortar team 16"/40cm 2 1 4+ M2 60mm mortar. Close-support mortar.HMG team 24”/60cm 4 2 6 M1917 heavy machine-gunBazooka team 8"/20cm 1 10 5+ M1 Bazooka anti-tank rocketFlame-thrower team 4”/10cm 2 - 6 M2-2 flame-thrower.Observer team - - - -Staff team - - - - Moves as a Gun team.
Additional Training And Equipment
Pioneer As infantry team Pioneer.
TransportArmor
Name Mobility Front Side Top Equipment And NotesTrucksJeep Jeep - - - 1 passenger.Dodge ¾-ton truck Wheeled - - - 2 passengers.Dodge 1½-ton truck Wheeled - - - 3 passengers.GMC 2½-ton truck Wheeled - - - 5 passengers.Armored Personnel CarriersM2A1 half-track Half-tracked 1 0 0 Various weapons, 3 passengers.M3A1 half-track Half-tracked 1 0 0 Various weapons, 3 passengers.M20 utility Jeep 1 0 0 .50 cal AA MG, 1 passenger.Recovery And EngineeringM31 TRV Fully-tracked 5 3 1 Recovery vehicle.M32 TRV Fully-tracked 6 4 0 Hull MG, .50 cal AA MG, Recovery vehicle.Bulldozer Fully-tracked - - - Bulldozer, Very slow.Turretless M4 Sherman dozer Fully-tracked 6 4 0 Bulldozer.
Anti-aircraft: Anti-aircraft weapons can fire at aircraft.Artillery: Artillery can fire artillery bombardments at up to three times their normal range.Close-support artillery: Close-support artillery can fire artillery bombardments at up to twice their normal range.Close-support mortar: Close-support mortars can fire artillery bombardments at up to twice their normal range.Flame-thrower: Flame-throwers roll a Skill test to hit, and pin down any target they hit. The target does not get any savingroll. Remove the team after it has fired.Gun shield: Teams crewing weapons with a gun shield are in Bulletproof Cover when fired at from the front.Immobile: Bofors anti-aircraft guns cannot be manhandled. They can only move if towed.Mortar: Mortars can only fire artillery bombardments; as a result, they have no ROF rating.Recovery vehicle: Recovery vehicles can tow other vehicles without needing to pass a Skill test.Salvo rocket artillery: Rocket launchers can only fire artillery bombardments, so they do not have a ROF rating. Rocketsdo not suffer ranging-in penalties on to hit rolls.Smoke: Weapons with smoke ammunition can fire a smoke screen rather than their normal shooting.Turntable: Weapons mounted on turntables can rotate to fire in any direction without penalty.
