1944 Order of Battle Updates:
At first glance, the British military seems to be at the zenith of its World War 2 power on the eve of the Normandy landings. British armoured brigades are powerful battering rams. British infantry divisions remain substantially larger than their allies and adversaries alike. Their anti-tank guns are among the finest in the world. Meanwhile, the RAF can challenge any opponent on equal or better terms in the skies above. Britain, and the Commonwealth generally, has come far since the dark days of 1940. Yet…a crisis brews beneath the surface. Years of total war from Malaysia to Tunisia have bled Britain dry. The Italian theater consumes manpower in hard-won bloodbaths like Anzio and Monte Cassino, while the fighting at Caen and the triumph in the Falaise Pocket inflict their own heavy price. By mid-August 1944, only 1,100 trained infantry replacements deemed ready to reinforce 21st Army Group remain in Home Forces. British infantry training levels stand on the precipice of a sharp decline. As fighting rages on in the Low Countries, Italy, Greece, and the Pacific, the demand for fresh infantrymen continues unabated. Britain must adapt, but the path forward is fraught with challenges.
Adapting to the Crisis:
Britain’s manpower inefficient infantry divisions posed a serious challenge as the replacement crisis deepened. British infantry divisions were large, upwards of 18,000 men, and lacked the battalion-level firepower common in contemporary armies. British commanders were hardly blind to these deficiencies and forces in the field engaged in a wide variety of local adaptations. The 5th Infantry Division hoarded an impressive 40 4.2” mortars, distributed at division and brigade levels. The 49th West Riding Division converted roughly half its rifle sections to SMG sections from July onwards. 51st Highland Division organized scout/sniper platoons in most battalions. In the summer some divisions in the Mediterranean started converting rifle battalion AT companies into mechanized infantry. By September some units were eliminating the anachronistic 4th rifle company per battalion entirely, and embracing a 2-LMG per squad organization. Ad-hoc combined arms columns were assembled from divisional anti-tank batteries to create quick reaction forces incorporating mechanized infantry, mortars, and tank-destroyers. Divisions in the field were skillfully adapting to the manpower crisis and deficiencies of their organizations, but the War Office did not institutionalize these adaptations army wide. Instead, the War Office focused its efforts on the equally important tasks of dissolving excess units and squeezing manpower out of other arms with merciless efficiency.
Playing UK 1944
UK 1944 primarily models the British army at its height between April and July. As such, the deleterious effects of the growing manpower crisis are perceptible, but they are not yet critical. Many infantry divisions now have variant organizations. Some excel in close combat, others enjoy superior AT capabilities, some buckle under the weight of mounting attrition; each has its own niche to fill. Britain enjoys substantial advantages in flexibility and mobility over past years, especially if commanders utilize creative battle-grouping. Mechanized MG and recon units, 4.2” mortar, M10/Achilles, and self-propelled AA companies, provide an excellent basis for combined-arms battlegroups. Use these battlegroups as cheap and effective combined arms support for your infantry brigades. The massive proliferation of 17pdrs, mounted in Shermans, M10s, Challengers, or even simply towed, presents a serious threat to enemy armor. The proper employment of 17pdrs means life or death against enemy tanks as the PIATs and 6pdrs controlled by infantry brigades will not defeat concentrated armor assaults. In defensive battles the British army in 1944 remains one of the most capable orders of battle in CAOS. Always keep your infantry properly supported, immobilize your opponent, harass their artillery from the air, and once they have lost momentum, unleash your powerful tank brigades in a decisive counterstroke.
UK 1944:
Infantry:
- Implemented variant MTO and Northwestern Europe infantry division organizations and tables of equipment. Units in Northwest Europe typically employ more mechanization and primarily use Stens as SMGs. MTO units are more likely to use Thompsons, incorporate MMGs down to the battalion level, and use more older 6pdr AT guns, or sometimes eliminate AT units entirely.
- Added the 2nd New Zealand Division in its July 1944 organization, just after its post-Monte Cassino reorganization.
- Added the 10th Indian Infantry Division in its April 1944 organization, immediately after arriving in Italy.
- Added the 43rd (Lorried) Independent Gurkha Brigade, a motorized brigade formed from Gurkha battalions that served as a fire brigade style reserve unit serving with Indian divisions in Italy.
- Added the 17th Indian Infantry Brigade, a veteran brigade detached from the 8th Infantry division in Italy.
- Added the 233rd Infantry Brigade, a 2nd line security unit based in Malta, and the 162nd Infantry Brigade, a line of communications unit under the command of 21st Army Group before Operation Overlord.
- Re-organized the 59th Staffordshire Infantry Division to its early August organization, reflecting declining training levels, and just before the division was disband.
- Re-organized 51st Highland Infantry Division to its June 1944 OB, including scout/sniper platoons attached to each rifle battalion. Additionally, the 5th Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders Battalion (152nd Infantry Brigade) receives the 2pdrs they still had instead of 6pdrs in July 1944. Yes. We were surprised to learn this too.
- Re-organized 49th West Riding Infantry Division to its July 1944 OB, including dedicated SMG assault squads.
- Re-organized Brigade Support Groups in the MTO to their actual field ToE, instead of their official war establishment. This transformation completely removes their AA guns, but increases their MMG and 4.2” mortar allotments.
- Added the Lovat Scouts, a crack independent infantry regiment (battalion strength) specializing in mountain warfare and light infantry combat. They boast both mountaineering capabilities and substantial skirmish combat bonuses
- Issued SMGs to company, platoon, and section leaders, throughout UK 1943 and 1944 MG battalions. Raises close combat value from 1.85/2.5 to 2.1/2.65
- Mechanized UK 1944 MMG sections (in Universal Carriers), where appropriate, primarily applies to units in Northwestern Europe. Close combat 2.65/2.75
- Organization of Independent MG Companies in Armoured Divisions (using the March 1944 Basic Organization No. VIII), updated to reflect the unique tables of organization used by these units.
Armo(u)r:
- Added the Centaur-Equipped Royal Marine Armoured Support Group, in its June 6, 1944 organization. This new addition lends UK 1944 a novel, relatively cheap, armoured regiment that excels in an infantry support role.
- Armoured recon regiments of the Guards and 11th Armoured Divisions re-organized to their July 1944 orgs, complete with Challenger TDs that could not be landed during Operation Overlord.
Anti-Tank, Artillery, and Anti-Aircraft:
- Added 57th Anti-Tank Regiment, composed of 1 battery towed AT, 2 batteries M10s, and 1 battery of 4.2” mortars, specialized for combat in Italy.
- Added 105th Anti-Tank Regiment, composed of 1 towed battery, and 2 self-propelled M10 batteries.
- Added 62nd Anti-Tank regiment, composed of M10 Achilles and towed 17pdrs.
- Re-organized 102nd AT Regiment (50th Infantry Division) to its June 1944 organization, including 2 Achilles SP batteries borrowed from the 73rd AT Regiment.
- Reorganized 74th, 90th, and 124th Field Regiments royal artillery to their June 6th landing ToEs, armed with M7 Priests and Sexton SPGs.
- Issued M7 Priests to 12th Regiment RHA. It was previously erroneously equipped with towed 25pdrs.
- Re-organized 4th Regiment, RHA into its June 6 assault OB with towed 25pdrs instead of self-propelled Sextons. The 4th RHA did not convert to an SP Regiment until September.
- Made the 1st Mountain Regiment, RA an independent unit.
- Reorganized 7th and Guards Armoured Division Anti-aircraft regiments to their overstrength June 6th landing ToEs.
- Added the 93rd Light Anti-Aircaft Regiment in its June 6 assault organization. This is a specialist low-altitude AA unit is armed with towed triple Polsten AA guns and the only field-deployment of the triple 20mm cannon variant of the Crusader AA tank.
- Reduced training level of UK AA units to recruit, except in units that demonstrated particular talent for ground combat.
- Added historical battery names to all Royal Artillery units.
UK 1943 Revisions:
2nd New Zealand Division 1943 Revisions:
- Added Armoured Brigade HQ tanks to 4th NZ Armoured Brigade.
- Added missing scout cars to 18th and 20th Armoured Regiments, 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade.
- Added missing Stuart Vs to 19th Armoured Regiment, 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade.
- Corrected Sherman types from Sherman IIs to Sherman IIIs in 4th NZ Armoured Brigade.
- Replaced Sten SMGs in 2nd New Zealand Division infantry squads with Thompson SMGs more common in the MTO.
System Updates and Bug Fixes:
- Added a drop-down button to swap sides in the editor, instead of needing to end turn to swap sides. You will still need to run the turn at least once to establish the air control grid, or prepare the scenario for saving and uploading to the workshop.
- Added code support for air landing units. Air landing units will play a key role in Operation Sea Lion, but you’ll see them in the general national OBs before then.
- Increased beach persistence by 1 turn in invasion scenarios, this applies to all scenarios.
- Airfield values can now be set per side at the scenario config level. Useful if you want to create scenarios where airfield control is more valuable to one side than the other.
- Fixed a bug that prevented corps HQs from extending port-based supply networks in Invasion scenarios.
- Fixed a bug that could allow armored units to cross under-construction (brown) bridges. Infantry ARE supposed to be able to do this, but armor should not.
- Fixed a bug introduced in the last update that caused minefields on broken terrain hexes to become impassable to all enemy units.