Welcome to anther CAOS dev blog! Today we will explore our first multi-national order of battle which will appear in historical/althistorical scenarios and be available to play in custom games! Get ready for hordes of battle-hardened infantry, enough aircraft to blot out the sun, and hardly a tank in sight!
Force Overview:
The Allied Husky order of battle consists of all US, UK, Canadian, and French units involved in Operation Husky, the historical Allied invasion of Sicily from July 9 to August 17, 1943. As Operation Husky unfolded, the Allied armies were amidst a transformation away from the equipment and organizations of the Desert War. Consequently, many of the armored units synonymous with the US/UK 1943 OBs and beyond are absent from the Husky roster. US tank destroyer battalions are still retraining on the new M10 Wolverine. Many British armoured brigades are still in Tunisia replacing obsolete Crusaders, Lees, and Valentines with Shermans, and heavy tank support is missing entirely in Sicily. The Allied Husky OB lacks armored reserves and many of the force multipliers the Allies typically use to even the odds against German armor. However, Allied Husky compensates for its armored fragility with the largest air unit roster in CAOS and a sturdy line of veteran infantry divisions who can offer fierce resistance if properly supported.
Let’s take a quick look at the playstyle and force composition of the Allied Husky OB and then breakdown the strengths and weaknesses of each force category!
Allied Husky Playstyle:
The Allied Husky OB favors a slow and methodical playstyle based on grinding opponents down with battle-hardened infantry and overwhelming air support. This OB excels in defense and dominates rugged terrain, but it lacks the mobility and armored reserves to sustain blitzkrieg operations. In the rugged mountains of Sicily Allied Husky performs admirably, but it suffers severe shortages in armor and mechanization that commanders must overcome to triumph against the armored fists of the standard national OBs in custom scenarios.
Force Composition:
The Allied Husky OB consists of 177 units across 2 armies, 4 corps, and 12 divisions including:
- x1 Armored Division
- x2 Parachute Divisions
- x9 Infantry Divisions
12 divisions may seem small for two armies, these divisions are supported by numerous brigades, regiments, and battalions subordinate to the various corps and army commands, including:
- x3 Medium Tank Brigades
- x2 Tank Battalions
- x5 Engineer Regiments/Brigades
- x8 Commando/Mountaineer Battalions
- x6 Infantry Battalions
- x3 Artillery Brigades
- x1 Anti-aircraft Brigade
The Armored Arm: A Fragile Spearhead
The primary offensive might of Allied Husky rests on the shoulders of the US 2nd Armored Division and three British/Canadian armoured brigades; all of which lack sufficient mechanized infantry support. The 2AD packs a punch, but its single mechanized infantry regiment cannot hold ground and escort the advancing tanks simultaneously. The British armoured brigades (the 4th and 23rd) are incomplete, since portions of both units are still in Tunisia converting to Sherman tanks. The Canadian 1st Army Tank Brigade offers an equally powerful hammer, but it is inexperienced and lacks any integrated mechanized infantry. These potent armored units can achieve local breakthroughs, but they will have to wait for the foot infantry to fill in behind them or risk advancing too quickly and take an irreplaceable chunk of the roster’s offensive power with them if they are trapped. Moreover, the absence of any tanks stronger than an M4 Sherman means any concentration of German heavy tanks will pose a serious threat to Allied Husky armor.
The Infantry Arm – A Solid Shield
Allied Husky boasts a robust and varied infantry arm including elite commandos, veteran infantry divisions hardened by the Desert War, and fresh US/Canadian divisions entering combat for the first time. US infantry divisions enjoy higher combat value per squad, but British divisions are larger, more experienced, and enjoy excellent towed anti-tank support. Unfortunately, the Royal Armored Corps reconnaissance regiments that provide recon and armored car support to UK infantry divisions are in the process of reorganizing and are not available for operations in Sicily. British infantry divisions will have to fight without their eyes and ears. In general, the Allied Husky infantry divisions possess the firepower and reserves to wage a grinding war of attrition against their Axis adversaries provided they do not face concentrated German armor or get outmaneuvered by a mechanized breakthrough.
Beyond line infantry divisions, Allied Husky also possesses 2/3 of the US 82nd Airborne Division and half of the British 1st Parachute Division. While each of these parachute divisions are significantly understrength, they can be supplemented by an impressive lineup of 3 US Ranger battalions, 4 UK Commando Battalions, and a French Moroccan Tabor battalion. Through clever use of battlegroups these elite units can move through rough terrain with ease and leverage specialist infantry to gain a significant advantage in skirmish combat. Allied Husky has infantry for every mission in abundance, provided you compensate for their limited mobility, they will serve you well.
The Artillery Arm – Something for Everyone
Allied Husky combines the fire support strengths of both US and UK into a highly effective artillery package. Two British Army Group Royal Artillery brigades (5th and 6th) provide a bit of everything including self-propelled artillery, intermediate range 4.5/5.5” guns that excel at counter-battery, and the versatile 25pdr for general fire support. While the US contributes a full brigade of self-propelled M7 Priests, 3 regiments of 155mm howitzers as short-ranged hammers, and a single regiment of 155mm M1A1 long-guns to remind the enemy how much you hate them from a safe distance. While Allied Husky lacks the sheer concentration of long-range artillery that the US Standard 1943 OB brings to bear, it still possesses guns for every mission and a nearly unmatched concentration of self-propelled artillery for 1943.
Beyond heavy artillery, Allied Husky also commands the massive US 71st Anti-Aircraft Brigade, which fields everything from 90mm anti-aircraft guns to self-propelled M13/M15 Gun Motor Carriages. Since Allied Husky usually has no difficulty dominating the skies, these self-propelled AA guns spend most of their time mincing enemy infantry who fail to bring adequate anti-tank support.
The Air Arm – Unstoppable Death From above
As will be the case for most historical Allied OBs in 1943 and beyond, Allied Husky’s pride and joy rests in an insane amount of air power. The OB includes most of Northwest African Tactical Air Force and Malta Air Command, for a grand total of:
- x20 P-40 Warhawk/Kittyhawk multi-role squadrons
- x19 Spitfire V fighter squadrons
- x9 B-25H Mitchell bomber squadrons
- x7 Boston IIIa or Baltimore IV bomber squadrons
- x6 A-36A Apache strike squadrons
- x5 Spitfire/Mosquito/F-5 Lightning recon squadrons
This overwhelming number of aircraft ensures Allied Husky has little difficulty securing air supremacy, but remember, air supremacy alone does not guarantee victory. Clever adversaries can still create anti-aircraft dead zones which your aircraft can hardly penetrate and all the bombers in the world cannot compensate for a poorly executed ground strategy. Allied Husky’s extreme levels of air power should be used to drive the opposition from the sky, pulverize hardpoints ahead of your ground troops, and recon every square inch of the battlefield, but you still need a competent combined arms strategy to prevail.
A Methodical Juggernaut:
Allied Husky is a powerful order of battle that combines many of the strengths of the UK and US into a potent attrition playstyle. This is not a rush OB suited to smash through an enemy line and drive deep into their rear to create vast encirclements, this is an attrition OB that excels at grinding opponents down across a broad front. Allied Husky rarely reaches its objectives with great speed, but when it does arrive it carpet bombs your hopes and dreams, covers the front line in fire support, and then advances with division after division until enemy resistance collapses.
Development News and Future Dev Blogs
We will be rolling the planned Reinforcements II update into the CAOS: Operation Husky release. Our next dev blog will explore the even more unique Axis Operation Husky order of battle, and after that we will start covering the scenarios coming with the Operation Husky release, including Operation Husky itself, Operation Brimstone (Sardinia), and Operation Firebrand (Corsica). We can’t wait to discuss the scenarios and the scenario variants!