Box Contents

The British & Canadian Army (1943-45) Starter Army is a mix of plastic and metal models containing:

• x6 British / Canadian Infantry sprues (36 Infantry) – Plastic
• British Army MMG team – Metal
• British Army medium mortar team – Metal
• British Army 6-pounder Medium AT Gun – Metal
• Universal Carrier (including passengers) – Plastic
• Churchill Tank Mk. III, IV, V, VI, NA 75, AVRE – Plastic

The Heavy Tank List

A National Characteristic – Rapid Fire
Rifle Platoon
Platoon Commander (Rifle) – Vet – 39	39pts
Forward Artillery Observer (Rifle) – Vet – 90 +1 Extra Man (Rifle) – Vet – 14	104pts
Infantry Section – Vet – 7 men – 91	91pts
Infantry Section – Vet – 7 men – 91	91pts
Infantry Section – Vet – 7 men – 91 x2 LMG – 30	121pts
Infantry Section – Vet – 6 men – 78 NCO SMG – 4 x2 SMG – 8	90pts
Anti-Tank Team – Vet- 33 PIAT – 15	48pts
Light Mortar Team – Vet – 39	39pts
Heavy Weapons Platoon
Platoon Commander (Rifle) – Vet – 39	30pts
Mortar Team – Vet – 39 Upgrade to Med. Mortar – 15	54pts
Medium Machine Gun Team – Vet – 65	65pts
Artillery Platoon
Platoon Commander (Rifle) – Vet – 39	30pts
Anti-Tank Gun – Vet – 65 Upgrade to Medium Anti-tank Gun – 20 Gun Shield	85pts
Armored Platoon
Churchill Infantry Tank (Churchill V) – Reg – 250 Replace the main gun with a Med. Howitzer with co-ax MMG – 20 Command Vehicle – 10 Armor 10 Slow	270pts
Open-topped Armored Car (Recce Universal Carrier) – Reg – 60 Replace MMG with 1 forward-facing hull-mounted LMG, gaining Turn on the Spot – -5 Pintle LMG – 10 Armor 7 Open-topped Recce Turn on the Spot	65pts
Total – 15 Order Dice	1,250pts

Breakdown

(x) denotes a vehicle-mounted weapon.

Notes and Analysis

The objective of this list is two part – 1) use as much of the Starter Army as possible and 2) make a List that works at a competitive level. Please keep in mind, this List was written using only the contents of the Starter Army.

The British & Canadian Army (1943-45) Starter Army is a personal favorite. I just really like the contents of this box and the Late-War British Infantry sprue is one of the best Warlord has produced (especially for Third Edition). The sprue includes one LMG, two SMGs, a Light Mortar, and a PAIT! With the new Platoon options in Third this is a perfect sprue to add extra punch to your Rifle Platoons. Also, this is one of those Starter Armies that survived the transition to Third Edition completely intact. We can (and do) use every single model in the box.

Let’s start our discussion with big chungus – the 270pt Armor 10 Churchill V. Although the tank is Slow it packs a Med. Howitzer and high Armor will keep it rolling again all but the strongest AT. You will have to be more careful with this tank now that any hit from a Heavy Weapon will cause a Pin (yes, even an AT Rifle), but that’s where the Command Vehicle bonus comes into play. No matter what, your Churchill V will grant itself a +1 Morale bonus. You can use this tank to bully enemy infantry and pancake them with a 3″ if any squads wander out into the open. This massive tank also makes excellent moving cover for your own infantry. You can either keep the Recce Universal Carrier close and guard the sides or send it out on a solo flanking mission. With four LMG shots and Recce it can prove an annoying little harassment unit.

The Artillery Platoon is basic. The Starter Army comes with a nice Med. AT Gun so we are going to use it. Don’t forget the AT Gun gets +1 To Hit against enemy vehicles. Being static AT you’ll want to get deployed (preferably in Hard Cover) with an open line of sight. This AT Gun is perfect for locking down a lane of fire. Ambush orders are your friend. This is our most powerful AT asset, use it well. To support the AT Gun we also have the often-overlooked PIAT Team. The 12″ range hurts but Pen +5 can threaten any enemy armor. You’ll have to be sneaky to get within range but getting set up in cover and clever use of Ambush should be enough.

We are making use of the excellent Late-War British Infantry sprue that includes both a Light Mortar and a PIAT on each of the six sprues. It’s not often we get Support Weapons Team options in plastic so of course we want to make use of them. I wanted to keep a solid amount of infantry or else I would have included even more PIATs and Light Mortars. As it stands we are doing a “bit of everything” with this approach.

Now for the Infantry Sections. Four squads, all Vet. Two of seven with rifles, one of seven with double-LMGs and one of six with three SMGs. Bit of a classic model. One squad holds the backline with LMG support fire, and three squads move up under cover. The rifle squads stop at mid-table objectives and the SMG squad keeps going for assault possibilities. I picked Rapid Fire as the National Characteristic but I’m not 100% sold. The Infantry Sections, Platoon Commanders, and Forward Artillery Observer are not optimized for Rapid Fire (we ran out of models). Ideally, each of your Commanders and the FAO would all be in squads of three with rifles – thus granting a bonus Rapid Fire shot. Depending on your playstyle Vengeance might be a better call. As it stands, Rapid Fire only applies to these four Infantry Sections but Vengeance would affect the entire force – Churchill included.

Bringing this list home is a small Heavy Weapons Platoon with a Med. Mortar and MMG Team. Both these Support Team Weapons are included in the Starter Army (and thus must be used) but I’d want them included anyway. MMGs are in a great spot in Third Edition with six shots typically hitting on 4s. The Med. Mortar remains an almost auto-include with how powerful indirect HE is (no Cover Saves). We didn’t give the Med. Mortar a Spotter but you can use the Forward Artillery Observer as one. The Light Mortar can also use the FAO as a spotter (a big boost to the FAO utility).

There it is! A big list with a big tank. Hopefully, the Churchill will distract fire away from your four Infantry Sections while you get them into place to secure objectives.

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What’s Next?

Thoughts and musings on where to go from here:

• Get another box of Infantry – This list leans heavily on the Vet Infantry and Support Weapons in squads of six and seven. Although we have four Infantry Squads, they are just a tad thin for my liking. I think the first addition to this list is more infantry. Now that could be more Late-War Army or you could branch out to something like Commandos or SAS. Both would be thematic in support of a Late-War NW Europe British force and would add some much-needed close assault punch.
• More Light Mortars – Light Mortars are looking solid in Third Edition and I am ashamed to only have one in this army list. Depending on how much AT you need, dropping the PIAT or Med. AT Gun for additional Light Mortars could be the move.
• PIAT Spam – With a single Rifle and Heavy Weapons Platoon you could rock four PIAT Teams. Would this be effective? I honestly have no idea. But it warrants further investigation and consideration.
• Swap out the Churchill – It’s a 270pts tank. She is a big points sink and having that many eggs in one basket is not for everyone. You could either drop the Armored Platoon entirely (and add all kinds of additional toys like a Light Howitzer, more PIATS and Mortars and a lot of infantry) or you could swap it out for a more economical pick. Maybe a Sherman IV or even an Armored Car like a Humber or Marmon Harrington.

– Andrew

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