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PARATROOPERS
PARATROOPERS
The units listed below can use the Combat Jump rules, even when they were simply chosen as part of a normal
Reinforced Platoon. They can do so even if they are chosen as part of an Armoured Platoon, in which case you
cannot purchase a transport vehicle for them, much like cavalry and motorbike units.
*You can use this entry to also represent the Polish paratroopers of the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
AIRBORNE PLATOONS
To represent the various support units that were part of the airborne divisions, you can pick one or more platoons from
the Airborne Platoon selector below. All units in this platoon have the ability to deploy using the Combat Jump rule.
However, the entire platoon (or platoons), must deploy through combat jump. Also, all units must be chosen at
Veteran level, or at Regular if a Veteran option is not available. Inexperienced units cannot be included in this platoon.
0-3 Airborne infantry squads (chosen from the list of Airborne units above)
0-1 Captain or Major
0-1 Medic
0-1 Forward Observer (either Artillery or Air)
0-1 Machine gun
0-1 Sniper
0-1 Flamethrower
0-1 Anti-tank team
0-1 Mortar (light or medium)
0-1 Light anti-tank gun, light anti-aircraft gun or light howitzer
One of the first and most successful raids by air was the attack by German Fallschirmjäger on the Belgian Fort of
Eben Emael. The German parachute was particularly problematical as the paratroops dropped separately from their
weapons. So the delivery method of choice on the Eben Emael raid was the DFS 230 glider.
Gliders were nearly silent and very accurate, normally landing within one hundred metres of the target. They also
delivered a concentrated squad with their equipment in the same package. The primary problem with a glider landing
was finding a large flat area of land clear of obstructions near to the target to act as a landing zone.
Gliders were designed to drop steeply into the landing zone but the length of landing roll was always problematical. At
Eben Emael the DFS 230s were equipped with a spike that ploughed into the ground as a break. The British Airspeed
Horsa I glider used for the Pegasus Bridge raid was modified with rear mounted parachutes to kill speed on landing.
The main problem with gliders was that a hard landing could cause injuries to the troops on board, even rendering
them unconscious or killing them. The breaking parachutes were a largely untested innovation that tended to tip the
glider’s nose down.
0-3 Airborne infantry squads (chosen from the list of Glider Landing units above)
0-1 Captain or Major
0-1 Medic
0-1 Forward Observer (either Artillery or Air)
0-1 Machine gun
0-1 Sniper
0-1 Flamethrower
0-1 Anti-tank team
0-1 Mortar
0-1 Light or medium anti-tank gun, light or medium anti-aircraft gun, or light or medium howitzer
0-1 Jeep (any type, Allied armies only)
0-1 Tetrarch light tank (Allied armies only)
GLIDER LANDING RULES
Units that choose to, or have to deploy through Glider Landing are left in Reserve (even in scenarios that do not allow
this). When a unit transported in a glider becomes available, instead of entering the table from the player’s table edge,
use the Glider Landing procedure below.
1. The landing and roll distance: the player controlling the glider places a marker on the table with a directional arrow
to indicate where the glider touches down and the direction in which it is travelling. The opponent gets to change the
direction of the arrow by up to 45º clockwise or anti-clockwise. The player then rolls two dice. The sum of these in
inches is the distance the glider moves before stopping. Move the marker or glider model accordingly.
2. Breaking parachute: after observing the glider’s roll distance, the player can choose to deploy a braking chute. Roll
a die. The number in inches is the reduction in roll distance. However, the use of a braking parachute adds +1 to the
landing impact die roll.
3. Placing the glider: when the final position of the marker has been established, place the glider model (if you have
one) with the nose on the marker and the tail pointing back towards the direction of entry. The glider counts as a soft-
skinned transport vehicle that cannot move. If you don’t have a glider model, use a 12”-long, 3”-wide rectangular
marker, or alternatively you can simply place the models lying down in an equivalent area on the table and/or mark
them with a token that identifies them as ‘inside the glider’.
4. Activating units in the glider: After the glider has landed, all units inside it have their order dice taken out of the bag,
assigned to them and turned to Down for the turn. All units are assumed to be in the glider, extricating themselves
from the fuselage, counting as units embarked onto a soft-skinned transport.
From the following turn, when you intend to give an order to a unit in the glider, first roll a die for that unit to see if it
exits safely. Add any modifiers and apply the result from the landing impact table. At the start of each following turn
roll again for any units still in the glider (same modifiers apply).
5. Exiting sections leave the glider as if dismounting from a transport vehicle.