I have put together two officer teams that can be used as the required Lieutenant and a senior officer if required. It also provides the option of either the team armed with rifles or and SMG.
The squad of 13 figures will to cater for all possible options. It has 2 NCO’s one with SMG and one with rifle, a LMG, and 10 riflemen. The squad can only have a maximum of 11 at any one time.
The two NCO’s to choose from.
NCO with SMG.
The NCO’s are differentiated from the OR’s by the caps they wear.
The squad of 13 figures will to cater for all possible options. It has 2 NCO’s one with SMG and one with rifle, a LMG, and 10 riflemen. The squad can only have a maximum of 11 at any one time.
The two NCO’s to choose from.
NCO with SMG.
The NCO’s are differentiated from the OR’s by the caps they wear.
This is the start of a small to medium sized project. Enough Italians just to take on my Early War Greeks at Hill 731 (9th to the 24th of March 1941. The only real “success” ther Italians received during the offensive was to re-arm the Greeks from their battlefield losses.
Hill 731 was named because of its height in metres. Following the pre-assault Italian bombardment where over 100,000 shells were fired, the hill is now 5 meters shorter (it’s called Hill 726)! Sad but true.
They will also fight my Early War French during “The Battle of the Alps” in 1940. Yep they lost both of them!
This is the first of six Infantry Squads.
The squad of 13 figures to cater for all possible sections. It has 2 NCO’s one with SMG and one with rifle, a LMG, and 10 riflemen. The squad can only have a total of 11 at any one time.
Photo showing equipment carried.
NCO with SMG. The NCO’s are differentiated by the caps rather than helmets.
I have been trying to get a hard copy of this for a long time, but in the end I succumbed and bought an e-book version from kindle.
By 1942 the formidable Japanese military had conquered swathes of territory across south-east Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Despite its defeat at the Battle of Midway, Japan remained a potent enemy committed to the creation of a defensive arc to shield its captured possessions in the Pacific.
The capture of Port Moresby would cement the southern border of this defensive arc and sever the vital lines of communication between Australia and the United States. It was the Japanese plan to seize Moresby that would set the course for the Battle of Milne Bay. Situated on the eastern tip of New Guinea, Milne Bay was a wretched hell-hole: swamp-riddled, a haven for malaria and cursed with torrential rain.
It was here that General Douglas MacArthur ordered the secret construction of an Allied base with airfields to protect the maritime approach to Port Moresby. But the Japanese soon discovered the base at Milne Bay and despatched a task force to destroy its garrison and occupy the base. All that stood between the Japanese and their prize was a brigade of regular Australian soldiers untrained in tropical warfare and a brigade of Australian militia with no combat experience whatsoever.
While the Kokoda campaign is etched in public memory, its sister battle at Milne Bay has long been neglected. However the bitter fighting over this isolated harbour played an equally important role in protecting Port Moresby and made a valuable contribution to shifting Allied fortunes in the Pacific War.
About the author
Nicholas Anderson is an historian at the Australian Army History Unit. He holds degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Canberra. In 2012, some 70 years after the Kokoda campaign, he accompanied three recipients of the Chief of Army’s ‘I’m an Australian Soldier’ scholarship to Papua New Guinea as an historical guide. Nicolas has published one other title on the Kokoda campaign, To Kokoda.
I have read quite a few books on the Battle of Milne Bay and this is one of the best. Hard to get a physical copy but is well worth the read.
