TO&E

[teramaze]

I am new to the game and still reading the Rules.  IF make a squad based on the To&E would unbalance the game.  For Example a late war British Infantry section would have 8 to 10 men being  1 Corporal with sten, 1 Lace corporal with MK4SMLE. 2  privates with Bren Guns, 2 privates with MK4SMLE as assistants to the Bren, And 2 two 4 Privates with MK4SMLE for the whole and no Rifle grenade.?

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

The Lists are historically accurate. The British didn't assign grenade launchers and used PIAT guns in support. You can sub out an American Grenade Launcher for a British Rifleman. The game is set on historical accuracies not balancing by points, etc. But you can alter it to fit so feel free to do whatever works for you. You can even increase squad sizes if you like as the Russians have smaller squads. A more balanced way play would be when you resolve an enemy squad roll 1d6.
1 or 2 = One less figure than your Squad.
3 or 4 = Same number as your Squad.
5 or 6 = One more figure than your Squad.

Hope this helps.

[stryderg]

If you are just starting out, I would suggest that you take 2 minis out for a test drive. One star and one grunt. Scout out a table, resolve some PEFs (keep them down to 1-3 minis) and try to make it back to your lines. That will give you a feel for the reaction system and the flow of the game without overwhelming you in details to remember. Once you do that a few times, you'll have the shooting tables and movement rates down so you can start bringing in the res of your squad.

Welcome aboard!

[hindsthw]

The WW2 British also had the 2" mortar, which could fire smoke or HE. According to the TO&E below, it was at platoon level, so I suppose your section (squad) could have it assigned if you wanted, in the same manner as assigning a PIAT. The 2" mortar was laid "by eye", and weighed only about 10 lbs.

www.battleorder.org/uk-rifle-co-1944

I'm still using the older "Final Version" (version 3 I think), so there are no stats for this weapon, but one could easily throw some together. It was more powerful than a rifle grenade.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

LOIL, yeah, final version. Wish I would have known gamers would have been changing and I wouldn't have called it that. 8 years ago, things have changed.

[hindsthw]

Reason I know this is I acquired every possible 1/6 scale accessory for my Nuts character (star), including said 2" mortar. He hasn't used it yet in a game, but who knows?

[teramaze]

Aug 23, 2022 0:57:44 GMT hindsthw said:

The WW2 British also had the 2" mortar, which could fire smoke or HE. According to the TO&E below, it was at platoon level, so I suppose your section (squad) could have it assigned if you wanted, in the same manner as assigning a PIAT. The 2" mortar was laid "by eye", and weighed only about 10 lbs.

www.battleorder.org/uk-rifle-co-1944

I'm still using the older "Final Version" (version 3 I think), so there are no stats for this weapon, but one could easily throw some together. It was more powerful than a rifle grenade.
I know the Motor Detachment is part of the Part of the Platoon HQ the PIAT are given out by the Company HQ.  THE extra in the Bren Guns IN the late war Section.  Came from the fact the British removed the Machine Gun Section then gave each section additional Bren Gun.  My reference comes from the British Army Handbook 1939 - 1945 by George Forty

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Interesting. I have played and stopped playing rules that said their info was concrete and that's how you have to play it. But in THW, when conflicting info comes up you can mix and match as desired. It's your game. 

[raider4]

Everything I've ever read about British infantry sections in WW2 breaks them up into a 7 man 'rifle' group - also seen this described as the 'assault' group - and a 3 man 'gun' group.

The 'gun' group only has 1 Bren gun assigned, although the two privates in it are described as 'Bren 1' and 'Bren 2'. Only 'Bren 1' has a Bren gun.

Maybe that's where the confusion is?

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Aug 24, 2022 20:32:28 GMT raider4 said:

Everything I've ever read about British infantry sections in WW2 breaks them up into a 7 man 'rifle' group - also seen this described as the 'assault' group - and a 3 man 'gun' group.

The 'gun' group only has 1 Bren gun assigned, although the two privates in it are described as 'Bren 1' and 'Bren 2'. Only 'Bren 1' has a Bren gun.

Maybe that's where the confusion is?

Could be. I've seen so many variations on TO&E over so many periods - Naps is a good example - that's why I went with sub as you like.

[hindsthw]

Aug 24, 2022 20:32:28 GMT raider4 said:

Everything I've ever read about British infantry sections in WW2 breaks them up into a 7 man 'rifle' group - also seen this described as the 'assault' group - and a 3 man 'gun' group.

The 'gun' group only has 1 Bren gun assigned, although the two privates in it are described as 'Bren 1' and 'Bren 2'. Only 'Bren 1' has a Bren gun.

Maybe that's where the confusion is?

That is a good point, and corresponds to my sources (My favorite source is "The World War II Tommy" by Brayley and Ingram, aimed at collectors and re-enactors).  This has "Bren 1" as the gunner, and "Bren 2" as the assistant, so only 1 Bren gun in the standard infantry section.  In that book, they do point out that "In battle individual circumstances dictated the soldier's clothing, task, armament and load more than official scales of issue".  This would appear to correspond to Ed's "do whatever works for you" flexibility. 

Incidentally, after reading your comment, it occurred to me that I may have misinterpreted the OP.  I thought he was concerned about the NUTS British lacking a rifle grenade, while it may instead have been about the number of Bren guns.