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World War II

British & Commonwealth Technical Manual

Author, Editing, Miniature Painting, Layout and Photos

Agis Neugebauer

Creative Consulting, additional Editing and Proofreading

Reuben Molloy

Playtesting

Thomas and Hagen Baumgärtner, Philip vom Hövel, Daniel Kirchner

Additional Proofreading

Grzesiek Rząca

Miniatures

AB Figures (http://www.abfigures.co.uk/), Artizan Designs (http://www.artizandesigns.com/), Bolt Action Miniatures (http://www.boltactionminiatures.co.uk/), Chieftain Models (http://www.chieftainmodels.co.uk/), Dragon (http://www.dragon-models.com/), Ebob Miniatures (http://www.ebobminiatures.com/), Force of Arms

(http://www.forceofarms.co.uk/), Milicast (http://www.milicast.com/), TQD Castings (http://www.cpmodels.co.uk/) and Waffenkammer (http://www.diewaffenkammer.com/)

Special Thanks

to Duncan Hamilton for additional texts; Ruben Torregrosa (http://www.heresybrush.com) for painting the 15mm Cromwell tanks;

Milicast, and Brent Watterson for additional pictures.

Copyright Information

“Victory Decision” and the Victory Decision logo are copyright 2011 of Agis Neugebauer - A.D.Publishing. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden.

“Victory Decision: British & Commonwealth Technical Manual“ © 2011 Agis Neugebauer - A.D.Publishing. Check out our website www.adpublishing.de for more wargaming products; a.d.publishing@agisn.de.

This game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission.

Please note: All markings used, such as the swastikas, are displayed ONLY for historical accuracy and should not be considered as an attempt to glorify war or Nazism. The symbols do not signify or represent the Author’s (and

any other person involved in this project) personal political opinion.

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http://www.artizandesigns.com/http://www.boltactionminiatures.co.uk/http://www.dragon-models.com/http://www.ebobminiatures.com/http://www.forceofarms.co.uk/http://www.milicast.com/http://www.cpmodels.co.uk/http://www.diewaffenkammer.com/http://www.heresybrush.com/http://www.agisn.de/

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1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 5

2 ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS .............................................................................................................................. 6

BRITISH REGIMENTAL SUPPORT 40MM BOFORS LIGHT AA CANNON - 155 POINTS ............................................ 6 BRITISH REGIMENTAL SUPPORT 3.7” HEAVY AA GUN - 190 POINTS .................................................................. 7

3 ANTI-TANK GUNS ....................................................................................................................................... 8

BRITISH REGIMENTAL SUPPORT 2 PDR LIGHT ANTI-TANK GUN – 100 POINTS ................................................... 8 BRITISH REGIMENTAL SUPPORT 6 POUNDER ANTI-TANK GUN - 110 POINTS..................................................... 9 BRITISH REGIMENTAL SUPPORT 17 POUNDER ANTI-TANK GUN - 200 POINTS ................................................ 10

4 FIELD GUNS AND HOWITZER ............................................................................................................... 11

BRITISH REGIMENTAL SUPPORT 75MM PACK HOWITZER - 115 POINTS ........................................................... 11 BRITISH REGIMENTAL SUPPORT 18 PDR HEAVY FIELD GUN – 145 POINTS ..................................................... 12 BRITISH REGIMENTAL SUPPORT 25 PDR HEAVY FIELD GUN – 155 POINTS ..................................................... 13

5 ANTI-AIRCRAFT VEHICLES .................................................................................................................. 14

BOFORS 40MM AA PORTEE – 100 POINTS ........................................................................................................ 14 BREDA 20MM AA PORTEE – 45 POINTS ............................................................................................................. 14 CRUSADER AA MK I – 135 POINTS..................................................................................................................... 15 CRUSADER AA MK II – 105 POINTS ................................................................................................................... 15 HUMBER AA ARMOURED CAR – 115 POINTS ..................................................................................................... 16 STAGHOUND AA ARMOURED CAR – 115 POINTS .............................................................................................. 16

6 ARMOURED CARS .................................................................................................................................... 17

AEC MK I ARMOURED CAR – 135 POINTS ......................................................................................................... 17 AEC MK II ARMOURED CAR – 140 POINTS ........................................................................................................ 17 AEC MK III ARMOURED CAR – 150 POINTS ....................................................................................................... 18 DAIMLER ARMOURED CAR – 95 POINTS ............................................................................................................. 18 DAIMLER DINGO SCOUT CAR – 75 POINTS ........................................................................................................ 19 HUMBER ARMOURED CAR – 105 POINTS ........................................................................................................... 19 HUMBER MK IV ARMOURED CAR – 105 POINTS ................................................................................................ 20 HUMBER LIGHT ARMOURED CAR – 70 POINTS................................................................................................... 20 HUMBER SCOUT CAR – 60 POINTS ..................................................................................................................... 21 MARMON HERRINGTON ARMOURED CAR – 75 POINTS ...................................................................................... 21 MARMON HERRINGTON BREDA REMOUNT ARMOURED CAR – 60 POINTS ........................................................ 22 STAGHOUND MK I ARMOURED CAR – 150 POINTS ............................................................................................ 22 STAGHOUND MK II CS ARMOURED CAR – 145 POINTS ..................................................................................... 23 STAGHOUND MK III ARMOURED CAR – 145 POINTS .......................................................................................... 23

7 LIGHT TANKS ............................................................................................................................................ 24

LOCUST LIGHT TANK – 130 POINTS.................................................................................................................... 24 MK II TO V LIGHT TANK – 70 POINTS .................................................................................................................. 24 MK VI LIGHT TANK – 75 POINTS ......................................................................................................................... 25 MK VIC LIGHT TANK – 90 POINTS ....................................................................................................................... 25 M3 / M3A1 STUART “HONEY” LIGHT TANK – 155 POINTS ................................................................................. 26 TETRARCH LIGHT TANK – 90 POINTS ................................................................................................................. 27 VICKERS 6-TON MK E TYPE B – 80 POINTS....................................................................................................... 27

8 CRUISER AND MEDIUM TANKS ........................................................................................................... 28

CHALLENGER (A30) – 360 POINTS ..................................................................................................................... 28 COMET (A34) – 250 POINTS ............................................................................................................................... 28 CROMWELL MK I CRUISER TANK MK VIII (A27ML) – 175 POINTS ................................................................... 29 CROMWELL MK II, III – 155 POINTS .................................................................................................................... 29 CROMWELL MK IV, V – 160 POINTS ................................................................................................................... 30 CROMWELL MK VI CS – 130 POINTS ................................................................................................................. 30 CROMWELL MK VII – 175 POINTS ...................................................................................................................... 31 CRUISER TANK MK I (A9) – 150 POINTS ............................................................................................................ 31 CRUISER TANK MK I (A9) CS – 145 POINTS ...................................................................................................... 32 CRUISER TANK MK II (A10) – 115 POINTS ......................................................................................................... 32 CRUISER TANK MK II (A10) CS – 110 POINTS .................................................................................................. 33

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CRUISER TANK MK III (A13) – 110 POINTS ........................................................................................................33 CRUISER TANK MK IV (A13 MK II) – 120 POINTS...............................................................................................33 CRUISER TANK MK IV (A13 MK II) CS – 115 POINTS ........................................................................................34 CRUISER TANK MARK VIII CENTAUR (A27L) ......................................................................................................34 CRUSADER I CRUISER TANK MK VI (A15) – 105 POINTS ...................................................................................34 CRUSADER I CRUISER TANK MK VI (A15) CS– 100 POINTS .............................................................................35 CRUSADER II CRUISER TANK MK VIA – 105 POINTS .........................................................................................35 CRUSADER II CRUISER TANK MK VIA CS – 100 POINTS ...................................................................................35 CRUSADER III – 110 POINTS ................................................................................................................................36 CRUSADER III CS– 105 POINTS ..........................................................................................................................36 M3 GENERAL GRANT MEDIUM TANK – 215 POINTS ...........................................................................................37 M3 GENERAL LEE MEDIUM TANK – 200 POINTS ................................................................................................37 RAM MK I – 165 POINTS ......................................................................................................................................38 RAM MK II – 170 POINTS .....................................................................................................................................38 SENTINEL MK I – 160 POINTS ..............................................................................................................................39 SHERMAN I, II, V – 175 POINTS ...........................................................................................................................40 SHERMAN III – 205 POINTS..................................................................................................................................41 SHERMAN III A – 225 POINTS ..............................................................................................................................41 SHERMAN I / II B– 155 POINTS ............................................................................................................................42 SHERMAN IC / VC “FIREFLY” – 200 POINTS .......................................................................................................42

9 INFANTRY TANKS .....................................................................................................................................43

CHURCHILL I INFANTRY TANK – 280 POINTS .......................................................................................................43 CHURCHILL III/IV INFANTRY TANK – 255 POINTS ................................................................................................44 CHURCHILL IV NA INFANTRY TANK – 265 POINTS ..............................................................................................44 CHURCHILL V CS INFANTRY TANK – 245 POINTS ...............................................................................................45 CHURCHILL VII INFANTRY TANK – 285 POINTS ...................................................................................................45 CHURCHILL VIII CS INFANTRY TANK – 265 POINTS ...........................................................................................46 CHURCHILL CROCODILE INFANTRY TANK – 280 POINTS ....................................................................................46 MATILDA I INFANTRY TANK – 120 POINTS ...........................................................................................................47 MATILDA II INFANTRY TANK – 135 POINTS ..........................................................................................................47 MATILDA III CS INFANTRY TANK – 130 POINTS ...................................................................................................48 MATILDA FROG INFANTRY TANK – 115 POINTS ...................................................................................................48 VALENTINE I/ III/ IV/ V INFANTRY TANK – 160 POINTS........................................................................................49 VALENTINE II INFANTRY TANK – 180 POINTS ......................................................................................................49 VALENTINE VIII/ IX INFANTRY TANK – 120 POINTS .............................................................................................50 VALENTINE X INFANTRY TANK – 145 POINTS ......................................................................................................50 VALENTINE XI INFANTRY TANK – 155 POINTS.....................................................................................................51

10 SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY AND PORTEES ...............................................................................52

2 PDR. PORTEE – 55 POINTS ...............................................................................................................................52 6 PDR. PORTEE – 60 POINTS ...............................................................................................................................52 BISHOP – 120 POINTS ..........................................................................................................................................53 DEACON – 70 POINTS ..........................................................................................................................................53 PRIEST – 100 POINTS ..........................................................................................................................................54 SEXTON – 100 POINTS .........................................................................................................................................54

11 TANK DESTROYER....................................................................................................................................55

ACHILLES TANK DESTROYER – 160 POINTS .......................................................................................................55 ARCHER TANK DESTROYER – 155 POINTS .........................................................................................................55 M10 "WOLVERINE" TANK DESTROYER – 135 POINTS ........................................................................................56

12 TRANSPORTS AND SOFT SKINNED VEHICLES ................................................................................57

BREN CARRIER – 60 POINTS ...............................................................................................................................57 HEAVY TRUCK – 50 POINTS .................................................................................................................................57 JEEP – 65 POINTS ................................................................................................................................................58 LIGHT TRUCK – 40 POINTS ..................................................................................................................................58 M3 / M3A1 HALFTRACK – 85 POINTS .................................................................................................................59 M5 / M5A1 HALFTRACK – 90 POINTS .................................................................................................................59 MEDIUM TRUCK – 40 POINTS...............................................................................................................................60 PRIEST KANGAROO – 80 POINTS .........................................................................................................................60

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QUAD PRIME MOVER – 30 POINTS ..................................................................................................................... 61 RAM KANGAROO – 105 POINTS .......................................................................................................................... 61 WASP FLAMETHROWER VEHICLE – 55 POINTS .................................................................................................. 62

13 PROTOTYPES ............................................................................................................................................. 63

BLACK PRINCE (A43) “SUPER-CHURCHILL” TANK – 335 POINTS ...................................................................... 63 BOARHOUND ARMOURED CAR – 160 POINTS .................................................................................................... 64 CENTURION I (A41) – 290 POINTS ..................................................................................................................... 65 CHURCHILL 3” GUN CARRIER (A22D) – 230 POINTS ........................................................................................ 66 SENTINEL MK III “THUNDERBOLT” – 160 POINTS ............................................................................................... 66 T14 HEAVY TANK – 365 POINTS ........................................................................................................................ 67 TOG 2 TANK – 330 POINTS ................................................................................................................................ 67 TORTOISE (A39) HEAVY ASSAULT TANK – 755 POINTS .................................................................................... 68

14 DESIGN NOTES .......................................................................................................................................... 69

15 BRITISH & COMMONWEALTH ARMOURY ....................................................................................... 70

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Introduction

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1 Introduction Welcome to the British & Commonwealth Technical Manual, the Victory Decision: World War II supplement covering over 75 vehicles and Guns for your British & Commonwealth forces from all theatres and periods of World War II!

This book is the third in a series of dedicated briefings on Nation specific Guns and Vehicles. All our British & Commonwealth infantry army lists reference the Vehicles and Guns of this book. By using this method of releasing our books we can bring out many different army lists without repeating the same vehicles over and over again.

British & Commonwealth Tanks

Despite inventing the tank, the inter-war years saw the British lead in tank development and doctrine gradually disappear to a point where Britain entered the war with armour and tactics which were often outclassed by their opponents, a situation which was never satisfactorily addressed.

The reasons for this are multiple. Firstly, British military planners envisaged that any land war would be in Europe and be a repetition of 1914-1918 trench warfare, therefore requiring distinct assault and exploitation tanks. Secondly, being an island nation with a global empire to police, it was inevitable that the lion’s share of the defence budget was allocated to the formidable Royal Navy and this hampered development of armoured vehicles. Thirdly, and perhaps most subtly, the British regimental system actually worked against it, as the old Cavalry regiments sought to maintain their dashing role and leave the mucky business of foot-slogging to the Infantry and junior Royal Tank Regiment.

Consequently, British armoured vehicles during World War II were developed to fit very specific roles on the battlefield. They were either heavily armoured infantry tanks which lumbered slowly across the battlefield or they were fast but thinly armoured cruiser tanks which would exploit the breakthrough achieved by the Infantry tanks.

Although combat repeatedly proved this doctrine to be deeply flawed, the British persisted with this distinction in domestic tank design until the 1945 Centurion which inadvertently became the first ‘Universal’ or ‘Main Battle’ British tank akin to the German Panzer III, or American Sherman of the previous five years.

That is not to say that British tank design was without its merits. The Infantry tanks were usually excellent in the Infantry support role, and the Cruisers off-road performance was usually far in excess of their contemporaries. On the gaming table, a British commander must think more carefully than most if these unique strengths can be brought to bear.

Finally, as a consequence of policing the vast and often fractious Empire, British & Commonwealth forces also favoured the armoured car more than other nation and built many throughout the war.

How to use this book

This book is organized based on the combat role, rather than the service period of the various Vehicles and Guns used by Britain in World War II. Each unit entry also contains a notation on the year a unit came into use. Victory Decision: World War II divides the conflict into three periods of time and defines these periods as follows.

Early War: From the outbreak of the war to the end of 1941.

Mid War: 1942 to the end of 1943.

Late War: 1944 to the end of World War II.

These deliberate separations also help to balance the playability of army lists. It is strongly encouraged to only play within the same period.

All these separations are only meant as guidelines, nobody is going to stop you to field a Centurion Mk I tank vs. an early war German army (as long as your gaming buddies agree to this) – it is your game after all.

So keep Churchill's words to America in mind: "Give us the tools and we'll finish the job" and may your dice always roll high,

Agis Neugebauer, December 2011

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