“I want to impose on everyone that the bad times are over, they are finished! Our mandate from the Prime Minister is to destroy the Axis forces in North Africa...It can be done, and it will be done!.” |
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The British Crusader Armoured Squadron includes: • Six Plastic Crusader tanks |
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The light squadrons of the armoured regiments embody the dash and daring of the British cavalry. Fast and manoeuvrable but not as heavily armoured as the enemy panzers, they use speed and cover to protect themselves. They are often relegated to scouting or protecting the flanks of the regiment while their heavy cousins, the Grants, take the fight to the enemy. |
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When the up-gunned Crusader III entered service just prior to the Second Battle of El Alamein, it was eagerly welcomed by the crews. The new tanks are shared out among the squadrons, giving each troop much-needed extra firepower. |
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British armoured regiments were delighted to receive the new American-made M3 Grant tank, which gave them a tank with a gun as good as those on the German panzers, with armour to match. Rushed into service to meet the urgent need for a heavy 75mm-armed tank it took the Germans by surprise. Its thick armour and powerful 75mm gun are superior to most of the German panzers. Its only real downside is its height, which makes it a conspicuous target in the desert. The placement of the 75mm gun makes it difficult to conceal the tank in a hull-down position behind terrain. At Alam el Halfa, with time to prepare a static defence, the British were able to partly overcome these difficulties by carefully choosing the placement of each Grant. |
The early models of the Valentine had a small, two-man turret that required the overworked commander to act as the loader as well as doing their own job. The Valentine VIII had a larger turret, but crammed a big long-barrelled 6 pdr gun into it, requiring the removal of the co-axial machine-gun despite the larger size. These were shared out as they arrived to give each troop greater anti-tank capability. |
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The Churchill had been rushed into production in the dark days after the evacuation from Dunkirk. The early versions were so mechanically unreliable that they were barely usable. The Tunisian campaign was supposed to be the Churchill's swan song, both its first and last battle. Instead, by doing everything asked of it and more, the Churchill proved that it had overcome its initial teething troubles and had matured into an outstanding tank. Designed for a refight of the First World War, the tracks of the Churchill I ran along the top of the hull, and it had a 3-inch howitzer in the hull for tackling bunkers as well as a 2 pdr (40mm) anti-tank gun in the turret. The Churchill III that made up the bulk of the tanks in Tunisia was armed more conventionally with a 6 pdr (57mm) gun in the turret and a hull machinegun. Only a few of the original Churchill I tanks were retained as CS (Close Support) tanks in the company HQ for artillery support. |
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In the ongoing race between tank armour and anti-tank guns, even the 6 pdr would not be powerful enough for long. The answer was the huge 17-pounder. The barrel was ready by May 1942, but the carriage still needed work, so in an effort to rush the gun into service to deal with the arrival of heavy German panzers like the Tiger, a temporary hybrid solution was created by mounting the gun on a 25 pdr carriage. The resulting 17/25-pounder, codenamed the ‘Pheasant’, first saw action at the Battle of Medenine in March 1943. |
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The Daimler armoured car was the latest model to be fielded by the British in the desert. Armed with the same 2 pdr anti-tank gun as the cruiser and infantry tanks, the Daimler was more than capable of dealing with enemy armoured cars. |
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The little Dingo scout cars that operate with them led the advance, poking their noses into potential trouble spots and ambushes, covered by the guns of the bigger armoured cars concealed and waiting behind. If the enemy took the bait, shooting at the Dingo, it would race back while the armoured cars tackled whatever it stirred up. |
Contact the customer service team at customerservice@battlefront.co.nz if you have issues with any components. |
Flames Of War 4th Edition Mini Rulebook (x1) |
Quick Start Guide (x1) Click here to download the pdf (Right click save as)... |
Plastic Crusader Sprue (x6) |
Plastic Grant Sprue (x3) |
Plastic Valentine Sprue (x3) |
Plastic Midwar Churchill Sprue (x3) |
Plastic Daimler and Dingo Sprue (x2) | |
Plastic 25 pdr Sprue (x4) | |
Plastic Gun Crew Sprue (x4) | Tank Commander Sprue (x1) |
Plastic Bases |
Decal Sheet (x2) |
Unit Cards | |
British Force Card (x1) | Grant Armoured Troop(x1) |
Crusader Armoured Squadron HQ (x1) | Crusader II Armoured Troop (x1) |
Crusader II & III Armoured Troop (x1) | 25 pdr Field Troop (x1) |
Valentine II Armoured Troop (x1) | Valentine II & VIII (x1) |
Churchill III Armoured Troop (x1) | Daimler Armoured Car Troop (x1) |