The Troops Assemble: "Battalion Attack" (Mk I)

A small but perfectly formed little game:

The troops needed for the WWII infantry (rural battalion attack) have been assembled (see below), nineteen infantry stands in all:

The Attackers: A British Infantry Battalion (circa 1944):

• 'A' Coy (3 Platoons)
• 'B' Coy (3 Platoons)
• 'C' Coy (3 Platoons)
• 'D' Coy (3 Platoons)
• HMG Support Platoon
• 81mm Mortar Support Platoon (Off Table)

The Attacking Stands:

'A' and 'B' Coys (see below):

'C' and 'D' Coys (see below):

HMG Vickers Support Platoon (see below):

Note: The attackers have a 2:1 numerical advantage, an indirect mortar attack per turn, a static "indirect" HMG shoot plus an initial artillery barrage (that can 'suppress' but not 'kill'). The latter factors could be thought of as a 'column shift' making it approximately equivalent to a 3:1 attack requirement. The defenders are also in "hasty defenses" rather than permanent fortified emplacements and subject to an improvised battalion attack on a spotted weakness on the enemy front line before it gets reinforced.  

The Defenders: Two Understrength German Infantry Companies (circa 1944): 

• '1st' Company (3 Platoons)
• '2nd' Company (3 Platoons)
• 81mm Mortar Support Platoon (Off Table)

The Defending Stands: 

'1st' Company (see below):

'2nd' Company (see below):

All the above figures come from Skytrex's Action 200 range (1/200). The above British OoB can be made up from 4 x British Infantry Packets (A010) + 1 x HMG Packet (A013), while the Germans OoB can be made from 2 x LMG (A031) Packets. In total (excluding P&P) it would be under £13.65 by their website, so for a "game" it is a fairly cheap affair in terms of toys.

My Figures: 

I just gutted the infantry companies from a 1940 Infantry Battalion I had set up for a Spearhead/BGC organisation and quickly painted up (and I do mean quickly) a Vickers MMG stand. The Germans were just LMG's I had 'surplus' from my "early war" 1939-41 1/200 "German Panzer Division" project I have (a bit like a DBM army spawning many a little DBA army).1/300 would be equally attractive for the "small squad" look (though each stand is supposed to represent 40 troops).

Likewise 15mm or 'old fashioned plastic' 20mm (in 3's or 4's) would be an equally attractive representation, maybe on slightly bigger bases. To bulk up the counters to represent the platoons into "four squads and leaders" (just for visual appearance sakes) I have my eye on using piles of my old Squad Leader counters (though I might have to use the "Russians" rather than the British counters as I don't remember 'Crescendo of Doom' having an excess of British units).