In this article I introduce my plucky little platoon of British riflemen (2nd Bn. Rifle Brigade), spring 1941.

The Models

The models are all 15mm scale and by Battlefront. The very handy thing about those is that they are pretty much universally available due to the popularity of their Flames of War game and that you get your whole platoon in one blister. This is your core force for Chain of Command, all in one blister, for GBP13 or 14.

That’s hard to beat. Suppliers for 15mm WW2 models are numerous, amongst them of course Peter Pig, Forged in Battle, Plastic Soldier Company, Old Glory, and many more.

At first I wanted to use the multi-bases supplied with the models, but after one game of Force on Force (which we used for WW2 gaming prior to the release of Chain of Command. Force on Force is another great set of rules I will take a closer look at in the near future) I realized that I’d have to rebase my fellas for meaningful gaming.

Force Composition

So I ripped them off the multi-bases and instead used 1 Euro cent coins for regular infantry bases, 2 cent coins for NCOs and officers, bigger ones for models lying flat on the ground. Along with rebasing the guys I also gave the paintjob a bit of a makeover. You can see the results below:

1. Platoon HQ (2nd Lieutenant Deaglan Fitzpatrick [Irishman who joined the British army to fight the Good Fight], Platoon Sergeant Callum Graham (a barrel of a Scotsman) and a runner
2. 2″ mortar team (an invaluable asset to the platoon)
3. platoon anti-tank team with Boys Anti-Tank Rifle (hopelessly outdated and much more of a last-resort thing than anything else)
4. Three rifle sections of 10 each (including NCOs [Corporals Ben Dover, Edward Miggins and Percy Appleton] and Bren Gun teams)

In the back behind the rifle section you can see some surplus models I got: A forward artillery observer team, a sniper and three more all-purpose guys. Always handy to have some surplus models to depict POWs or other objective-related fellas.

Way in the back on the plateau you can see two more Boys anti-tank rifle teams I also had left. In this platoon blister you get more than a full platoon even.

Thanks for having a look. I really like my little platoon and so far they performed really well on the battlefield. Coming up next is another battle report and after that we’ll take a closer look at the shinier toys:  support choices.