Box Contents

The Currahee! US Airborne (D-Day) Starter Army is a mix of plastic, metal and resin models containing:

• x6 US Airborne (D-Day) Infantry sprues (36 Infantry) – Plastic
• x2 US Airborne (D-Day) Officer – Resin
• x2 US Airborne (D-Day) MMG Teams – Resin crew with metal gun
• US Airborne (D-Day) Medium Mortar Team – Resin crew with metal gun
• US Airborne (D-Day) Light Howitzer – Resin crew with metal gun
• US Airborne (D-Day) Medium Anti-tank Gun – Resin crew with metal gun

The We Stand Alone List

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.

Just like with Armies of Germany, a new Starter Army was released alongside Armies of the United States: Third Edition. This time, it’s a new rendition of US Airborne – all in plastic with some additional resin support teams and officers. The US Army List in the Rulebook has been replaced – so let’s dive in into AoUS and see what we can cook up. This 14 Order Dice 1,100pt Army List uses every model in the box and brings forth the full might of the American Paratroopers.

The theme behind this army list is “We stand alone”. True enough for these Airborne. We are bringing not a single bit of outside support. No Forward Observers, no vehicles, just pure Airborne. AoUS added the new Army Special Rule, By Air, Land, and Sea and I wanted to take full advantage of this option. All 14 of the units in the list are either already Airborne or have By Air, Land, and Sea (Airborne). So, we are looking at a fully Vet, fully Stubborn, strike force. Your enemy is going to have to work to break these units. When in cover Vets are damn difficult to shift and with Stubborn, you’ll be rolling 10 or less on any required Morale Checks.

The core of our force is three six-man Paratrooper Squads. These all-rifle squads will advance (under cover) towards objectives and support the main thrust – the five-man Platoon Commander and Pathfinders. Between those two squads we have 10 SMGs that need to get into Point-blank range. Use the Paratrooper Squads as a distraction to take fire away from your assault elements. If your Platoon Commander and Pathfinders can close the distance they can be absolutely devastating.

I mentioned advancing update cover. Providing cover to your infantry are some hefty support elements. Your Paratroopers won’t make it across the table on their own. And that’s where the two MMGs, Med. Mortar, Sniper and Light Howitzer come in. MMGs are solid in Third Edition. And you can really put out some suppression with two of them rattling away. Two indirect HE options. A combo of Med. Mortar and Light Howitzer is potent pair. And you can use the Mortar Spotter for the Howitzer if needed. Focus on any static enemy units (Snipers, MMGs, indirect HE). Your Sniper needs to go after enemy Commanders and Snipers. An enemy Sniper could be devastating against our force. As we only have a handful of Vet infantry, we rely on Cover Saves to keep our force effective. Sniper and indirect HE ignores cover and need to be removed from the enemy’s forces as quickly as possible.

Our big missing is AT. We are rocking a single Bazooka and a Med. AT Gun. We have the option to add more Bazooka Teams in the Heavy Weapons Platoon but I wanted to use every model in the box so dropping a Paratrooper Squad for a Bazooka Team wasn’t an option. With just these two dedicated AT units you may feel on the back foot if you face significant enemy armor. You can always use direct fire from the Light Howitzer in a pinch. Honestly adding a second Bazooka Team is a valid option and one that I would recommend if you are not comfortable with such limited AT.

As for the models, you will want to use the resin Platoon Commander with the SMG as the Platoon Commander for the Rifle Platoon backed up by four additional Paratroopers with SMGs. The other resin Platoon Commander (the one sitting on the stump with a map and pistol) we will use for the Artillery Platoon. You’ll need to model one additional man, also armed with a pistol, to accompany the Artillery Platoon Commander. For the Heavy Weapons Platoon you’ll need two build models, both with rifles, from the plastic Airborne.

I’m a big fan of when we can get a full army list from a single Starter Army. I like this new Airborne box a lot. The infantry have some great options and you could make significant changes to this army list without needing any additional purchases. Swapping from Paratroopers to Glider Squads and going full LMG support is a great option. Ditching both artillery pieces and rocking three Bazooka Team is also a great pick. Adding more Pathfinders for extreme SMG-rush is another way. We don’t always see a Starter Army Box with multiple builds. I strongly recommend this box for anyone looking to deploy US Airborne.

What’s Next?

Thoughts and musings on where to go from here:

• HE Support – A couple Light Mortar Teams would go a long way. You can bring two in the basic Rifle Platoon and not having a Light Mortar on the new D-Day Airborne sprue is a big missing. It’s my one issue with the new kit.
• AT – As written our AT assets are limited. One quick fix is to drop an MMG Team and add another Bazooka Team to the Heavy Weapons Platoon. I like the concept of multiple MMG Teams laying down suppressive fire but you will probably get more milage out of a second (or third) Bazooka.
• Change it all to Reg Gliders – You’ll need to snag more bodies but flipping from Vet Paratroopers to Reg Glider Squads is an interesting idea. You’ll have the option for a boatload of LMGs and if you want to run a more gunline-style army list this, Glider Squads could be the option.

– Andrew