Update on my Fire and Move - Infantry rules

11 March 2021

I have been working on getting the Company Organisations set-up. This will allow me to visualise the units when they are in action, list out the compositions of the forces that will be involved and the figures you will need to build them.

The Infantry Company

The core force in the game will be the Infantry Company. It may have access to a number of mission assets, which may be called up in the game if the scenario allows to help with a mission or scenario objective.

These units will be made up as follows in this example, some company organisations may vary in size and composition:

Company Headquarters

These are generally split into two groups. There is a Leader group and a Rifles group. There are a lot of small variations in the make-up of the company headquarters, however in the main they are minor considerations in terms of the rules.

Company Headquarters (2 Groups, 2 of 5 men, 10 Figures)

Leader Group (1 Leader, 4 Riflemen)Rifle Group (5 Riflemen) 

Mission Assets

Company HQ’s may also have access to several mission assets. These are special bases that can assist the company in completing scenarios or missions. They are attached in the form of individual groups and represent heavier Mortars, larger MG’s, Engineers or other assets.

These allow for special rules to be added as either mission specific special rules or when creating any scenarios where they are presented as a part of the rules for each scenario.

Mission Assets (3 Groups, 2 of 3 men and 1 of 4 men - 10 figures)

81mm Mortar Group (1 Mortar & 3 Crew) HMG Section (1 HMG & 3 Crew)Engineer Section (4 Engineers)

Platoon Headquarters 

There are generally 3 or 4 Platoon Headquarters and they are generally split into two groups. A HQ group and a Support group of a mortar of machine gun. There are some exceptions to this like the Japanese where the Platoon HQ is a single small group. There are however many variations of platoon headquarters but again in the main they are small differences in terms of the rules.

Platoon HQ (2 Groups, 1 of 5 men and 1 of 3 men - 8 Figures)

Leader Group (1 Leader, 4 Riflemen) Mortar Group (50mm Mortar & 3 Crew )Platoon Sections

Platoon Sections are generally split into two groups. A Leader group and a Rifle group. There are some exceptions to the naming of these, like the British who had a Gun group and a Rifle group.

The Japanese were again different where there are 4 Squads of two Groups, the fourth being a grenade discharger group. Again, there are many variations of sections, but they tend to be naming conventions or are small differences in terms of the rules.

Platoon Sections (3 Sections of 2 Groups, 2 of 5 men - 10 figures)

Leader Group (1 Leader, 1 Deputy, 1 Rifleman, 1 LMG & 2 Crew)Rifle Group (5 Riflemen) Scouts

These bases represent those brave men on point that are volunteers or chosen volunteers that go out in front of a platoon, squad or group to search the area, find the enemy and report back. They are only on the board when the section is patrolling forward.

Scout Base (1 Group of 2 Riflemen)Each force will have their own table of organisation make up in the rules to use as a base. But please do remember that each country had its own way of fielding units and there was a large use of ad-hoc units who were brought together for specific circumstances and tactical needs. These rules can cover most of your needs, but you will have to research the forces used in your scenarios.

What follows is a British Company TOE for the game:

British Company Organisation

1 Company Headquarters, 3 possible mission assets, 3 Platoons HQ’s with 3 Sections each.

Company Headquarters

  • Leader Group (1 Leader, 4 Riflemen)
  • Rifle Group (4 Riflemen)

“Possible” Mission Assets

  • 3-inch Mortar Section (1 Mortar & 3 Crew)
  • MMG Section (1 MMG & 3 Crew)
  • Engineer Section (4 Engineers)

1st Platoon

  • Platoon HQ
    • Leader Group (1 Leader, 3 Riflemen)
    • Support Group (2-inch Mortar & 3 Crew)    
  • 1st Section
    • Rifle Group (6 Riflemen)
    • Gun Group (Bren gun & 2 Crew, 2 Riflemen)
    • 1 Scout Base (2 Riflemen)*
  • 2nd Section
    • Rifle Group (6 Riflemen)
    • Gun Group (Bren gun & 2 Crew, 2 Riflemen)
    • 1 Scout Base (2 Riflemen)*
  • 3rd Section
    • Rifle Group (6 Riflemen)
    • Gun Group (Bren gun & 2 Crew, 2 Riflemen)
    • 1 Scout Base (2 Riflemen)*

2nd & 3rd Platoons as per 1st Platoon above
*Scouts are deployed only when required

I hope that is a good overview of the organisations I am going to field in the game. It is also important to note that these will rules will not cover armour at the time of release as I want to play and focus on infantry vs infantry games. I hope in the future to release either a connector between the Fire and Move sets or a supplement of special rules that will include instructions on how to bring in armoured support.

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