Script for Company Challenge: UK Armoured Infantry (Patreon)

Could have gone better, but the Brits have got a very exactly-what-it-says-on-the-tin company here. It's an infantry company. So you get infantry... and that's it.

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CC25 UK Armoured Infantry

Welcome back to the Company Challenge where we are going to chuck the Brits at our farm. This is going to be interesting at two levels.

First, the individual weapon for a British soldier in this period is a battle rifle. The US and Soviets we’ve been dealing with so far are armed with assault rifles- M16s and AK74s. These fire an intermediate cartridge and are capable of automatic fire. The Brits are using the L1A1 SLR, a variant of the FN FAL, which fires a more powerful rifle cartridge but only in semi-auto.

On paper, this means that the Brits can reach out further and hit harder, but they might struggle to put enough fire down at closer ranges. We’ll see.

Second, the British Armoured Infantry Company feels very much like a building block for combined arms formations rather than something that is supposed to operate entirely on its own. The basic American mechanised infantry company had organic AT vehicles and mortars, even the BTR company had a weapons platoon armed with ATGMs and machineguns.

The Brits just have rifle platoons. Now, that doesn’t mean that British infantry companies in the Cold War were intended to operate without attached ATGMs or mortars. Those assets exist at battalion level where they are supposed to be doled out as necessary. But in the context of our pure out-of-the-box testing here, it puts the Brits at a bit of disadvantage.

The individual platoons do have machineguns and antitank options. Each section has a GPMG and a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle, which we could say are broadly analogous to the US M60 and the Soviet RPG-7 if we wanted to keep things simple.

They also have a light mortar attached to the platoon HQ, with HE and smoke bombs.

If this all looks familiar, the main difference between the Brits as modelled in the BAOR module and the Brits in the WW2 titles is that the infantry sections have lost two men and gained an antitank weapon. Presumably the British Army didn’t see a need to change things up that much.

Plus, obviously, we’re mechanised now. Each section and the Platoon HQ with the mortar team ride about in FV432s. These are basically M113s- because there’s only so many ways you can make a box on tracks- though they are less heavily armed. They have GPMGs instead of .50 cal M2s. The gunners are also less well protected, lacking any kind of gun shield, except for the platoon commander’s vehicle which has a little baby turret.

The FV432 is absolutely a battle taxi, those MGs are for self-defence only, it’s there to cart the infantry around the battlefield and drop them off so they can do the fighting.

Plan

Of course, the M113 is in a similar position it’s just arguably a little better equipped to carry it out.

So overall, now that we’re on our fifth playthrough and the ‘good’ plan has solidified, I don’t see any reason to change the broad scope of the plan. The dead ground on the right still offers the best opportunity to close the distance on the farm, which takes us to Alpha.

What I don’t have is any mortars or artillery to support the attack, so I’m going to send one of my platoons into the wood to provide some fire support. I don’t think this will be that effective, but the infantry’s GPMG’s should be able to reach out to that distance and maybe the SLRs will join in as well. There is at least plenty of ammunition in the FV432s, so I can let loose.

Kick Off

The first thing to do then is get 3 Platoon into the wood. I want them in position before I make a move- I probably don’t need to, given the defender’s abysmal record engaging anything crossing from my deployment zone to the right, but there’s always a first time.

3 Platoon opens fire on Turn 5. The good news is that the SLRs join the GPMGs is engaging at that distance, so there’s a little deliberate fire mixed in with the MG. The bad news is that the section anti-tank gunners turn their Carl Gustafs on the target buildings as well.

Obviously that makes for some good effect on target when they hit, but they also get a lot of shots off and that’s depleting valuable antitank ammunition I might need later. It’s a particular problem for the Gustafs because they have no extra ammunition stowed in the vehicles.

As a result, I take them down a notch to target light on the next turn. It probably made no difference because the entire rest of the company got across without any problems.

From here, events progress in the usual style. 2 Platoon comes up on line, suppresses the outside edge of Alpha and then punches its 3 section up. 2/3 disembarks outside building A1 and finds a few enemy soldiers on the ground floor.

Luckily, they’re well suppressed and 2/3 are able to mop them. Bringing 2/1 up and occupying A8 as well as A1 reveals an enemy ATGM team in A5. These guys are massively outnumbered and go down to a Carl Gustaf round and a burst from a GPMG. Over the next turn or so, the rest of 2 Platoon comes up and occupies Alpha.

Another Charlie Nightmare

Consolidating on Alpha uncovers the next enemy position. One of the FV432s posts up on the corner of Alpha facing Charlie and gets a speculative burst from C12.

There’s no sign of enemy activity in the closer Charlie buildings, but we’ve already established that grabbing C1 through C5 doesn’t really help me actually attack Charlie. C1 and C5 might be of some benefit if I wanted to storm Bravo, but the main threat there is still flanking fire from deeper in Charlie.

So I decide to use the same plan as the last few runs: go out wide and roll Charlie up from the right.

Leaving 2 Platoon on Alpha, I bring 1st Platoon up onto the slope, debus and move up to act as a base of fire, while I remount 3 Platoon, restock them with 7.62 and send them round to make the assault.

By the time they arrive, 1 Platoon has taken fire from C8, up the middle Charlie block, and from C12 and C13. They’re returning fire from where they are and I leapfrog them with 3 Platoon, hooking in to storm the Charlie corner.

This is going fine right until the moment when 3/2 and 3/3 start to take a few potshots from C14. 3/3 pops smoke and I halt both of them to dismount, but 3/3’s vehicle takes an RPG before they can get out. It’s a total loss- both the FV432 and everyone inside.

I’m able to concentrate fire on C14 in response- both from the vehicle’s MGs and from 3/2, who managed to dismount, but the blooming smoke is drifting across the front of my base of fire and blocking their line of sight.

I don’t want to move up without any suppressive fire, so I bring 3/1 and the platoon HQ forward behind the smoke, shuffling the FV432s about a bit to get into better positions when it disperses.

Once it’s gone, we’re back on: C14 starts getting filled in. A few bursts come back, but it looks like the suppressive fire is working and enemy teams in both C12 and C14 start to cower while 3/2 bounds forward to close the distance.

3/2A, however, strays a little too far to the right and comes under fire from B13. There’s an enemy team in there that manages to take out their GPMG gunner past the corner of C14. That instantly steals 3/2’s momentum, so I send the platoon’s FV432 PEAK out right to suppress B13 and get things moving again.

It’s able to get some bursts off and it looks like things are getting back on track… right until the FV432 eats a missile.

In the same turn, one of 3/1’s men on the left is hit from Building C11. It’s a very narrow angle, but it’s obviously no less deadly for that and it looks like enemy positions in depth have created a funnel that I have to attack down.

At least C12 and C14 seem to have gotten the message. 3/2 closes in after already losing 3 men, but although they get up to the hedge they struggle to seal the deal.

Two of the three casualties were the machinegunner with the GPMG and the antitank gunner, who carries a Sterling SMG. These are the only two automatic weapons in the section, so we actually get an SLR-only assault.

3/2 spends thirty seconds pumping 7.62 rounds into the building before they manage to score a kill, which apparently upsets one of other cowering Soviets to the point that he decides to shoot back and instantly evens the score. The SLRs return fire while he reloads, but whether it’s because they’re struggling to penetrate the building or conducting the area fire I ordered instead of actually aiming at the enemy they seem distressingly ineffective.

They do eventually get him, but the assault is progressing agonisingly slowly. With the enemy team in C14 out of action and more defenders in C12 trying to surrender, I need to go forward and exploit.

3/2 storms into C14 and immediately gets wiped out by enemy in C15. The Platoon HQ is hot on their heels, while 3/1 try to get their act together outside and follow-up.

The HQ manages to establish a foothold by firing an L1A1 LAW into someone’s face, but there are- of course- more defenders across the way in C13.

That’s a building I can at least concentrate fire on and by the time 3/1 storm into the adjacent C12, they’ve had a change of heart.

That’s the Charlie Corner secure, but 3 Platoon is definitely out of action. They haven’t just suffered heavy casualties, including two vehicles and their platoon leader, but their morale is shot. Pushing them to the front of C13 and C16 to get eyes on the other side of Charlie, they start attracting fire from B13 again.

This is enough to break a couple of teams- they try to run off in the map-designated friendly direction, which is the east… which results in them running out into open in front of C11 and getting themselves massacred.

The C/Atk Arrives!

Despite that, I can now start clearing through Charlie. I still have 1 Platoon downslope and I can start remounting elements of 2 Platoon in order to bring them over from Alpha. Chewing my way through the blocks might be painful given the Brit’s performance at close quarters so far, but I can’t think of a better way to tackle them. Especially since the attack on the corner has taken far longer than I would like- we’re already up to Turn 36.

As a casual reminder that time is limited, another one of 2 Platoon’s FV432’s explodes. The counterattack is here.

That’s a problem, because I am definitely not in a position to repel it. Luckily, it looks like the T72 and its attendant BMPs have decided to go left instead of right where they would be able to massacre 1 Platoon out in the open.

Putting down a load of smoke to cover the gap between the Charlie blocks- there’s still enemy in C8- I punch 1 Platoon in to hit the middle block and reinforce what’s left of 2 Platoon on the corner.

1/2 and 1/3 storm through Buildings C6 to 9. They mop up an enemy MG team in C7 without any problems, but 1/3 gets decimated trying to exploit. 1/2 is clearing along the upper floor though and is able to bypass the enemy and shoot them through the floor… something that would have been much more impressive if I had noticed they had already thrown down their arms and started trying to surrender.

Getting all the way to C9, 1/2 gets into an oblique firefight with C11. The enemy get an RPG in, which ruins 1/2’s day, but they’re really just serving as a distraction. Taking advantage, 1 Platoon’s mortar team crosses over from C13, gets into C10 and hits C11 in the flank, prompting them to give up.

That just about clears up Charlie. There’s still a desultory firefight between 1 Platoon and the enemy in B13, but that gets pretty firmly ended when the enemy gets an ATGM in.

Meanwhile, 2 Platoon is busy back in Alpha failing to deal with the counterattack. The tank and IFVs have taken up a position in the middle of the fields about 250m away, but 2 Platoon just can’t hit them.

They only have two Carl Gustaf’s available- the other is with 2/1, which I sent over to Charlie to clear the close block- and although they’re taking potshots, they’re not able to connect and the repeated shots are giving their positions away.

It takes a few minutes for 2/3’s Gustaf number 2 to get his eye after the actual AT gunner was killed, and he manages to take out the BRM-1. No good deed goes unpunished of course, so he’s deleted by the T72 on the next turn. 2/2’s Carl Gustaf, meanwhile, misses with every shot.

We’re now about 40 minutes in and we’ve reached a bit of an impasse. My immediate AT capability in Alpha has been used up and after the casualties and ammo expenditure in the other platoons I’ve only got two more Gustaf teams I can use.

On the other hand, Bravo appears to be totally clear. I’ve been quietly probing it with no resistance, so I decide to bring my two remaining AT teams up into Bravo where they’re going to be as close as they can get to the enemy armour.

Unfortunately, they still fail to score any hits and the enemy shoots them up in return. Combined with the persisting enemy contact in B13 and a dose of 120mm mortars on the Charlie Corner- which somehow fails to cause and casualties- I decide this battle has run its course.

Endex

Ceasefiring, I’m in control of Alpha and Charlie, while control of Bravo is contested. There is just an ATGM team left in B13 though- I suspect they would have given up if I had tried to close with them, but I really didn’t have the appetite for that.

Overall, the Brits took 49 casualties and lost 3 FV432s, while the enemy lost 36 men and a single BRM-1.

Obviously, the key difference between this and the other runs is the survival of the enemy counterattack. We’ll get to that.

Break-In

First though, the break-in was pretty standard. No major problems on the surface, but we’re also seeing a trend here where Alpha is generally not heavily defended. There were only two enemy teams in the objective this time. One was in A1 where it was effectively suppressed and then mopped up by the infantry, the other was a two man ATGM team in A5 which honestly probably shouldn’t lasted as long as it did against two full sections.

The interesting part is the suppressive fire. We had the usual contribution from the vehicles, though this was pretty lacklustre thanks to them mounting MMGs instead of HMGs, the big change was 3 Platoon getting stuck in from the wood.

If we go back and see what they were shooting at, the enemy team in A1 was actually their FO. They were suppressed pretty much straight away and then got schwacked with a Gustaf round, which would help explain why they didn’t put up that much resistance later on.

So evidently 3 Platoon’s fire was actually quite effective. That’s probably mostly due to the GPMGs, but the riflemen were also getting stuck in with their SLRs, which are likely to be much more effective than M16s and AK74s past 300m.

Unfortunately, they also spammed off 2/3rds of their Gustaf ammunition in one minute, which would have come back to bite me if any of them had survived.

Aside from that, getting 3 Platoon into position as the base of fire took time- about five minutes- and while that’s not that long, it did delay the whole attack by five minutes. In combination with the counterattack turning up a little early, it could easily have contributed to an even worse performance had the c/atk gone right and caught 1 and 3 platoons in the open.

Clearing

The reality though is that the real issue in this battle was- again- trying to storm the Charlie corner. This is where the BTR Company really struggled. In that run, part of the problem was that the defending American teams were more heavily armed than the attacking Soviet teams and the single BTR platoon I sent didn’t really have the firepower to get the job done.

I think the British experience here has some similarities, but it’s not really the same. I don’t think I really struggled to suppress the enemy effectively here, I think the problem was running into enemy positions in depth and the difficulties in clearing buildings.

In that sense, a better comparison than the BTR company might actually be the American Mixed company. The attack on C12 and C14 mirrors that surprisingly well: the lead attacking element got chewed up pretty badly. The difference is that the Americans had an M60 on hand to deploy the HE problem solver, while the Brits had to keep the pressure up the hard way.

When you look at it like that, the performance isn’t that different, though it definitely seemed like something firing on automatic would have been more effective in close quarters.

And of course, while clearing occupied buildings is a generally chaotic, casualty intensive experience, I did suffer a lot of casualties outside the buildings. And I had the tools and options to avoid those: I didn’t have to spread my attack out wide and expose the infantry to the enemy in depth, I didn’t have to rush some FV432s up to positions where they could get RPG’d, I had a light mortar team already deployed that could have smoked up the approach but I decided I would rather rely on suppression.

In other words, I think this could have gone a lot better if I had made some different decisions. And of course, this kind of experience lines up with what happened to the M113 Company at Bravo and what happened to the BTR Company on the same Charlie Corner. Add in some tanks and some mortars or artillery and it’s a different ball game.

Counterattack

Finally, the armoured counterattack. It turned up earlier than I was expecting. To some extent I wasn’t ready for it, but on the other hand I probably was as ready as I could be.

It’s probably not a coincidence that the only company TOE that does not feature ATGMs is also the same company that failed to deal with the enemy armour.

And it’s really the ‘guided’ part of ATGMs that made the difference. The single shot that landed had no problem whatsoever nobbling the BRM-1, the issue was the other dozen or so shots that missed completely. The weapons were in the right position- though I could arguably have massed more of them- the problem was the accuracy at this range.

The Gustaf isn’t the only AT weapon available to the British infantry companies- they also have the L1A1 LAW, which is the British designation for the American M72 LAW. There are loads of these in the FV432s, so you can really pack sections out with them, the problem is that they’re very much a close range don’t-tread-on-me option and honestly, it might be realistic to suggest that the Carl Gustaf falls into the same category.

Another interesting issue with the company’s AT capability was its distribution and the effects of that. Having an AT weapon in every section has its advantages, but I really missed having a dedicated antitank reserve up my sleeve. Section-level AT is great if the section is in the right place at the right time, it’s a lot less great when you need to start stripping AT teams out to deal with a threat somewhere else.

At least in CM terms, splitting a Gustaf team out of a section takes away 25% of its manpower and a not insignificant amount of firepower. Combined with the infantry’s apparent propensity to splurge 84 HEAT rounds when given target commands, I think we’re really firmly emplacing the Carl Gustaf in that don’t-tread-on-me camp.

In the highly mechanised world of a Cold War gone-hot, that’s a big drawback.

Conclusion

To bring it all together then…

I think the jury is out on the infantry fight. Yes, the sections struggled at times, but so did the US and Soviet squads. I’m not convinced the British infantry is punching at the same weight as the other factions, especially in close quarter combat, but at the same time I don’t think we got any conclusive evidence here that they can’t compete.

The anti-tank fight is another story entirely. Although it has AT weapons, overall it has a very small effective AT bubble and it desperately needs either ATGMs or tanks attached to fix that.

Which is where we get on to a constant issue with tables of equipment and organisation. TOEs do not necessarily reflect how units are organised in the field. They’re almost always aspirational in practice anyway due to bigger scale problems of manning and equipping units, but they also represent a smorgasbord of capabilities that leaders can use to create custom combat teams or battlegroups or whatever that are tailored for specific tasks.

In other words, we could argue that our British Armoured Infantry Company would be unlikely to ever fight on its own. It could be that the Brits have embraced a more administrative TOE where infantry companies exist as frameworks that other assets can be attached to, as opposed to the American and Soviet TOEs we’ve seen so far where integration is built in.

Overall, this company has pretty much performed as expected: it is a pure infantry company in battle taxis and suffered all the attendant problems.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this one and found it interesting. If you’d like to watch these videos early and support the channel, you can do so via Patreon or Youtube memberships. Whether you do or not, thanks for watching and I’ll catch you in the next one.