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 QRF 6-pdr Medium AT Gun – Metal
- Universal Carrier (including passengers) – Plastic
- Churchill Tank Mk. III, IV, V, VI, NA 75, AVRE – Plastic
The Bren Support List
| Generic Reinforced Platoon | |
|---|---|
| Officer | |
| 1st Lt (Rifle) – Reg – 75 x1 Buddy (Rifle) – 10 | 85pts |
| Forward Artillery Observer – Reg – 0 | 0pts |
| Medic – Reg – 23 | 23pts |
| Infantry | |
| Regular Infantry Section (Mid/Late War) – Reg – 9 men – 90 | 90pts |
| Regular Infantry Section (Mid/Late War) – Reg – 9 men – 90 | 90pts |
| Regular Infantry Section (Mid/Late War) – Reg – 9 men – 90 | 90pts |
| PIAT Team – Vet – 40 | 52pts |
| Medium Mortar Team – Reg- 50 Spotter – 10 | 60pts |
| MMG Team – Reg – 50 | 50pts |
| Artillery | |
| Med. AT Gun – Reg – 75 Gun Shield | 75pts |
| Armored Car | |
| Universal Carrier (Late War) – Vet – 72 Forward Facing MMG – 5 Forward Facing Pintle LMG – 10 Open Topped Turn on the Spot | 87pts |
| Tank | |
| Churchill AVRE – Regular – 290 Armor 10 Petard Mortar (Heavy Howitzer) w/ Coax MMG Forward Facing MMG Slow | 290pts |
| National Characteristic – Rapid Fire | |
| Total – 12 Order Dice | 992pts |
Breakdown
- Rifle – 30
- LMG – (1)
- MMG – 1 (3)
- PIAT – 1
- Medium Mortar – 1
- Med. AT Gun – 1
- Heavy Howitzer – (1)
(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.
I’ve already posted two army lists using British & Canadian Army (1943-45) Starter Army but both are Canadian, this time, we are making a British list. This army list is built on a core of three nine-man Regular British Infantry Sections, all armed with rifles to make full use of Rapid Fire. These 27 infantry are supported by serious AT (PIAT Team, Med. AT Gun) and HE (Med. Mortar, AVRE) plus an MMG for long range Pins and an up-gunned Bren Carrier to move up a flank and suppress with both an MMG and LMG.
This list is more defensive and turtle-y than I typically play. But we gotta make use of what we have in the Starter Army. Honestly there isn’t much close combat punch, you are going to need to whittle down your enemy at range. Get those 27 riflemen into position and blast away with your Rapid Fire extra shots. You get 1 additional shot per 3 rifles firing. That’s 12 shots per 9-man squad if they don’t take any losses early.
The aspect of this list that I am most excited about is the Universal Carrier (Late War). This little open-topped vehicle is from Campaign: Italy: Soft Underbelly and is allowed in Generic Reinforced Platoons. Please note, it is not a Transport. It’s an Armored Car. The unit entry starts as a Transport but by adding the additional pintle LMG and upping the forward LMG to an MMG it loses the transport capacity and moves into the Armored Car slot of the Platoon. Although the Universal Carrier lacks wheels it has Turn on the Spot so it’s much more agile than your typical tracked vehicle.
This list has strong AT, strong HE and a solid core of Infantry. These three aspects rarely exist in a Starter Army Box. With 12 Order Dice you should be comfortable against most opponents, especially considering that one of those 12 is a 290pts Heavy Tank
What’s Next?
Considerations for next steps and expanding your Canadian collection:
- Get a howitzer – The AVRE brings all the HE support you can ask for, but, if you don’t want to invest in a 290pt tank, you’ll need something else to drop HE. You can never go wrong with the Light Artillery. It packs 2″ HE and (unlike other Light Arty) has the option for a Spotter. Or, go all out with a Land Mattress! We shouldn’t allow German and Soviet players to have all the fun with Multiple Launchers. If you like HE and a bit of chaos, the Land Mattress is for you.
- Swap the AVRE for another Tank – If you remove the 290pt Tank currently in this list it opens up a host of options. You can go with another, smaller tank in addition to an Armored Car. Or add more support teams (Sniper, Flamethrower, etc) and a whole mess of infantry.
– Andrew
Chicago Dice 
This is incredible. I didnt think it was possible to fit such a balanced army with a 290pt tank. I might have to pick this starter up and give this a go.
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Cheers! We aim to do just that!
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