Tale of 2 Cities (Week 2) Steven's US Rifles

In this update I am going to focus on the core of my company: the Rifle Platoons and the Weapons platoon.  I am going to do this week's update in a Q&A format to hit some quick bullet points!  As a reminder, here is my army list:

Modeling
How many figures per base do you use?
I put 4 figures to a medium rifle team base.  My LMGs and Light Mortars each have 3 plus the weapon.  Next, the small bases! Bazookas have 2 figures, and command bases have 3.

What figures do you put on these bases?
For my command bases I put an Officer, a rifleman, and an NCO (guy with an SMG).  On my Medium bases I typically evenly spread out the BAR gunners, and put 1 NCO per 3 bases for the rifle platoons.  Bazookas are simple: bazooka and loader!

How did you paint the US infantry?
For the most part I stuck to this paint guide: http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=110&art_id=444  US field drab for pants, khaki for jackets.  Green grey for webbing & boot uppers.  I used flat earth for rifle stocks & shovel handles, as well as boots.  Helmets are olive drab.

How did you do the bases?
I mostly stuck to my standard method: http://www.wwpd.net/2010/05/fow-basing-tutorial.html Except, of course, I used craft browns for the base/highlight colors and a green grass over the top.

In Use
What are you planning to do with your weapons platoon?
I only purchased 2 LMGs, and intend to attach them both out while keeping the mortars separate.  They give some great flexibility to bolster my rifle platoons' firepower.  If I am only starting with 1 rifle platoon I can attach both, or evenly split them up between the two.  The mortars provide a great base of fire with ROF 2 and direct smoke capabilities.  More importantly they offer a relatively "cheap" platoon to put in reserve in defensive scenarios.

What special rules do the US benefit from that you intend to utilize?

• Automatic Rifles is really the defining characteristic of the US Rifle platoon.  Essentially, they're ROF 1 with no +1 to hit.  Ever.  No matter what.  Period.  You can re-roll misses if you're NOT pinned in defensive fire... which sounds cool but in practice I've only ever done it ONCE.  ROF 1 is kind of a bummer, but the silver lining is you always know exactly how many shots you're gonna get, AND your core troops are inexpensive.  We have 11 veteran teams in our core platoon for 200 points.  These are assault troops.  Your US troops should be getting "stuck in" and only shooting as an after thought!
• Under Command is fairly important in this list.  I tried to keep the number of models/purchases down and so opted to leave the AOP at the airbase.  Note: AOPs are essential to US forces!  Do yourself a favor and get one.  But again, I tried to make the most inexpensive US rifle list that wasn't totally loaded up with armor.  Anyhow, Under Command will allow all of my Platoon leaders to call in fire for both the 60mm mortar battery and/or the artillery in a pinch.
• Finally, Truscott Trot is a useful way to quickly get your infantry moving.  Of course, double moving is always situational, but there's been plenty of occasions where my troops where HERE and I needed them THERE pretty damn quickly.  With good use of terrain it's entirely possible to get your infantry moving as fast as a Stuart!

I hope this has been useful- next time we'll take a look at the core support options and start talking about the force as a cohesive unit.

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