The men of the 1st & 29th Infantry Divisions are specifically trained, organized and equipped for the Normandy invasion. With mortars, bazookas, flame-throwers and explosives, these men are ready to tackle any threat.
The Dieppe raid in 1942 taught the Allies many lessons on invading beaches while under fire. Later, after the successes in North Africa, Sicily and Italy the Allies felt they were ready to take on Fortress Europe.
Careful study of the defenses along the coast showed them there were weaknesses inherent in its structure, and, if the men had the right equipment and training, exploiting those weaknesses was possible. Any invading force would have to overcome wire, minefields, and bunkers if it was to be successful. Thus the planners set about to create the perfect mix of men, equipment and training.
Birth of the Boat Section
The US Army now embarked on a program of reorganizing and training the infantry formations that would assault the beaches. After careful study, an organization began to take shape in the minds of the planners.
Starting with the basic infantry company of three combat platoons and one weapons platoon, the force designers sought to create multiple independent organizations.
This organization had to be able to act on its own without further company level support. Furthermore, it had to be able to fight its way through wire obstacles, overcome enemy infantry and destroy enemy bunkers.
However, the most important restriction was the size of the landing craft, which could only hold 31 men in full ‘battle rattle’.
With a standard US infantry platoon being just over 40 individuals it was necessary to change the structure of the platoons to fit in the small boats that would take them to the beach. Thus, the first change was to go from the four large platoons in a normal infantry company to six smaller boat sections in an assault company.
In order to deal with all of the expected defenses, the planners loaded the boat sections up with weapons and equipment.
They gave them mortars from the weapons platoon to knock out machine-gun nests, bazookas from the company HQ to take on tanks, and flame-throwers from the Chemical Branch to silence bunkers. For barbed wire, they gave them Bangalore torpedoes, long pipes filled with explosives to blow gaps for the troops. To finish off bunkers, they had demolition charges, plenty of good old TNT to blow things up. There was no quick fix for minefields though—they simply had to take their chances there.
The men of the boat sections not only needed the weaponry to deal with the defenses and defenders, but they also needed to carry enough supplies and combat gear for three days on his back.
Since a soldier can only carry 70lbs/32kg (at most), working out what to take and what to leave behind was tricky. The planners solved the problem with a ‘belt and braces’ approach and loaded the assault troops up to the limit. Part of their solution was the assault vest (shown on page 31) with pockets for much of the extra equipment.
Training for Combat
Even with equipment, an organisation is incapable of acting without training on that equipment. For months before D-Day, the assault regiments practiced their craft. Mastering the use of explosives, they became proficient at advancing under fire against a stubborn well-entrenched enemy.
Integrating the use of the weapon systems and the new skills they had learned, the infantry platoons become masters of combined arms maneuver at the lowest levels.
With integrated heavy weapons at the platoon level, they were able to suppress the enemy while parts of the unit maneuvered to a position of advantage with which to launch an assault.
Assault Companies In Flames Of War
The boat section gives company commanders a great deal of capability in a small package. It is a jack-of-all-trades, but master of none type organization. With the platoon’s ability to clear wire like an engineer unit, few enemy obstacles will slow the unit down. Combined with the explosives the platoon carries, it can take out bunkers or tanks much more effectively than regular infantry.
Launching a successful assault is far easier with your flame-thrower’s ability to pin down the enemy. Taking a light machine-gun with its high rate of fire will provide the opportunity to pin down the enemy far more easily than with only rifles. Even using your mortar as a one-gun battery provides an opportunity to pin down enemy units and give you a chance to close with and destroy the enemy in the assault.
However, for experienced US players you must be aware that the platoons are slightly smaller and therefore easier to break. While you can take losses, do not throw away your troops without careful consideration of what you are trying to accomplish.
Assault Companies provide the US player with yet another interesting and historical force to play in Flames Of War. Additionally you can field them as a Confident Trained or a Confident Veteran force depending on the division you would like to play. When playing either of these forces all troops must be from the same division but share the corps support troops between them.
See Bloody Omaha for how to field them.
The Box contains:
1x General Dutch Cota
6x Command teams
8x Bazooka teams
4x 60mm Mortar teams
2x LMG teams
4x Flame-thrower teams
16x Rifle teams
4x Czech Hedgehogs
8x Teller mine stakes
This box can be used to make an Assault Company with four Boat Sections.
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