The upcoming release of the D-Day: British book has me looking over some lists I’ve never really thought about running before and the Churchill force, in Late War, is definitely at the top of that list. Looking at it, I’ve no idea why it’s never appealed to me in the past – the tanks have great armour, a reasonable gun and have that tendency to strike fear into their opponents.
A Churchill Armoured Squadron can field plenty of Churchills, and at 18 points per platoon, or 20 if you upgrade one to a (late 75mm) version, you can easily fit 4 platoons in a Force whilst still having a few points left over for some supporting elements. I’m thinking that in this particular case that is a bit of overkill and I’ll just paint two platoons, I can always paint up a 3rd one later after I’ve played a few games. This also means I have plenty of points available for a full-strength HQ platoon along with a couple of Churchill CS (95mm) tanks, and one Churchill (late 75mm).
With so many models of Churchills available in the list, it’s easy to get confused what each one is for…. The CS tanks give me some light artillery and can also still knock out Panzer IVs and guns with direct fire. The Churchill (late 75mm) tanks in the HQ and platoons have the advantage of 2 extra points of front armour taking the tanks up to FA11 – my whole plan for these is to try and move hits over to these tanks where possible, thereby minimising casualties, hopefully. There are also Churchill (75mm) tanks and Churchill (6 pdr) tanks – these are the same tank, they just change their guns – the 75mm gives AT 10, FP 3+ and Smoke, whilst the 6 pdr has an extra point of AT, but drops the Firepower by a point and looses smoke. I’m going to paint up one of each in my platoons mainly for looks, but how I choose to field them will be something I need to figure out after playing a few games.
Inside the Formation I’ll also take Stuarts and Crusader AA tanks. They are both useful, cheap and help fill out the Formation making it a little more durable. Rounding out the army will of course be M10s (don’t leave home without them!), Carriers (gives me another Scout and Spearhead unit, and I only just finished painting them!) and a Rifle Platoon (hold your laughter, I am going to get around to them!).
On paper I feel like this list has a bit of everything, it can defend (if forced too), should be strong on attack, can deal with infantry and tanks and has enough models to let it hang around even once it starts taking a few casualties.
If I feel like adding more Churchill based goodness to the force, I can always drop out the infantry, M10s and Carriers, and replace them with some Crocodiles and maybe even AVREs!
~Chris
*Fear Naught Qui s’y frotte, s’y brule (Touch me, and you burn) – the moto of the 9th Royal Tank Regiment
