Together we stand

Having sat and listened to the XLBS chat regarding periods of history that they would like personally to build an army for, I decided to take my first steps into the world of historical gaming.

I’ve always been fascinated by World War II but in particular the conflict in North Africa. Its often overlooked in comparison to the European fronts, but this was for the majority of the war the main theatre for commonwealth troops.

It truly was a “World War” with troops from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, Poland, Czechoslovakia India, Nepal, Canada and Greece allied against those from Germany, Italy, Vichy France and its colonies on the other.

As well as a myriad of options for a rich variety of troops, its also a great period for a variety of landscapes. Terrain varies massively across North Africa from Desert to Mountain, to coast line. It all makes for an abundance of options for a wargamer!

One of the best books I’ve read on this aspect of the war comes in the form of “Together we stand” by James Holland, well worth a read for those who haven’t picked it up.

The other theme I enjoy is the concept of man verses the desert, not just soldier verses soldier. This probably stems from films such as Ice cold in Alex and Sahara and both also touch on the multinational nature of the conflict

One of the things I wanted to portray was the multi-national nature of the troops fighting during this period.

In choosing how to portray this on the table top and trying to “theme” my army I’ve decided to try and base my force on the 4th Indian Division.

This particular group of troops were involved in many of the decisive moments fought by Commonwealth troops from 1940-1945

From Operation Compass, the conflict in East Africa, Cyprus, Tobruk, both battles of El-Alamein, and then onto Italy and Monte Casino, they give numerous options for getting your models onto the table.

I’m going 28mm so that also opens up weird war II in the guise of Konflikt 47 too!

Always a fan of getting as much bang from your buck as possible.

This division had a mixture of troops from around the Commonwealth, not just “India” giving scope for throwing in a wide range of models.

Of note not all “Indian” troops are Sikhs in turbans, something I’m keen to get across on the gaming table…..even if it does upset some historical “sticklers”