Flames of War: Paratroopers at Arnhem

I missed the Hobby Slow Grow League but I did manage to get 100 Points built and Painted in 5 days so that counts right?

After a Break i managed to snap these at an amazing price ($50 AUD or 25ish Pounds) from one of my Local Stores (It’s over 2000 Miles away but that’s local here) who had a massive sale.

So after two nights I’ve got 15 Sherman I’s and 5 Sextons ready to go.

Add to that 3 Sherman V’s (I know I have at least one more but can’t find it) and with the spare Turrets I think I can make up some passable Firefly’s.

So working on the assumption that 2000 Points in the Old Money is 100 Points in the New I’ve got my first “50” done for the First Month or at least they’re quite close. just need a Wash and the Camo.

While waiting for some paint to dry I got curious about the 6 Pounder gun so did a quick Google Search and found a Flames of War Article that made me realise I made a mistake.

https://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=341

It turns out the British Paras used a cut down Version of the 6 Pounder Carriage without the front gun shield. There’s not much I can do about the Carriage but that front shield came right off. Bit of basing material and you’ll never know it was there.

The Facebook Page can be found here Colour by RJM

It’s important to take a look at why this war was being fought and since the book had some specific details for Arnhem and the Netherlands I thought I’d share it.

I understand it’s a bit heavy for Tabletop Wargaming but it’s History.

When the Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940 the Government did not destroy their records and so the names, addresses and business details of all 140,000 Dutch Jews fell into the hands of the German Administrators.

Of these 140,000 People;

Six Thousand Managed to Survive in Hiding until the end of the war, almost all of these were very young Children taken in by Dutch Families.

Thirty Four Thousand Managed to be smuggled out of the Country or we killed other than by termination, eg. They joined the Dutch Resistance and were killed, their village was targeted for reprisals or something like that.

One Hundred and Ten Thousand Dutch Jews were taken to Concentration Camps and executed.

In Arnhem alone there were 1700 Jews pre-War and by the time of the British Paratroopers entering the Town less than 200 were still alive.

The Allies aren’t just fighting to take a few Bridges they’re fighting to Liberate a Nation. Half a Million Dutch men had been taken to work in Slave labor Camps where the book claims they suffered worse than anyone else since they went from a very high fat diet of Dairy to an almost fat free diet of a Camp Slave which was extremely hard to adjust to.

The Regular German forces managed to retreat without overly damaging the local population, there’s even stories of German Soldiers selling their loot as they fled.

On the other hand the SS were incredibly brutal. Scorched Earth was the norm and everything with wheels was stolen at gunpoint (including a wood fire powered truck) although since there was no rubber they were either driving on steel or wood. When the residents of a small Dutch town heard the German’s would be retreating through their town they took chairs out onto the street and watched the Regular Army fall back but when the SS came into the town they fired indiscriminately into the crowd.

So back to tiny fighting men but I just thought I’d add these details here to remind everyone just how vital the Liberation of Europe was and even though speed might not be the best Military Strategy, for the people living under German Occupation it seemed like the best thing that could happen

Before I can do anything with a Paintbrush I first have to decide;

A) What Nation I want to do

B) What Type of Force I want to do

C) What Minis I will use

A) British. For D-Day and beyond the Soviet and USA tend to have a lot of stuff already out there and the German’s at this point in the war aren’t really my thing.

I’m a fan of Light Vehicles and Infantry and the German list SS Kampfgruppe Graebner in “Bridge by Bridge” was very tempting with it’s infantry in trucks and very limited light armour but eventually the British won out.

B) I prefer Infantry and light Vehicles as a rule. I really enjoy tanks but when I put units on the table I’m an infantry guy. So when I looked at British Infantry units Post D-Day the Paras were a perfect fit.

C) Unfortunately Battlefront do not sell British Paras anymore so I looked elsewhere and found these at Plastic Soldier Company.

I Picked up two boxes of Infantry and a Box of Heavy Weapons and to finish the force I’ll need Two Mortars and Four 6 Pounders so I’ll have to pick up another box in the next few months.

So what is the List? Using all the updates on building a V3 List for V4 I came up with this

Airlanding Company (Page 38 of “Market Garden”) – 1980 Points

Airlanding Company HQ
Two SMG Bases and Two PIAT Bases

Airlanding Platoon
Five Rifle/SMG Bases, a PIAT Base and a Light Mortar Base

Airlanding Platoon
Five Rifle/SMG Bases, a PIAT Base and a Light Mortar Base

Airlanding Platoon
Five Rifle/SMG Bases, a PIAT Base and a Light Mortar Base

Airlanding Platoon
Five Rifle/SMG Bases, a PIAT Base and a Light Mortar Base

Airlanding Machine Gun Platoon
Four Vickers Bases

Airlanding Mortar Platoon
Six 3 Inch Mortar Bases

Airlanding Anti Tank Platoon
Four Six Pounder Bases

Airlanding Anti Tank Platoon
Four Six Pounder Bases

Airborne Recon Platoon
Eight Jeeps that can be Deployed as Dismounted Infantry which Mine will be

Glider Pilot Platoon (I did not know these existed)
Six Bases