WW2 - 8th Army in North Africa

 I have no idea when I started this force. The two sections of Infantry and 25 Pounder I might have picked up 10-15 years ago. The manufacturer no longer produces them! I will add some stuff at some point. 

These aren't the only Commonwealth troops I have for the North African Campaign. There are a bunch of Commandos and LRDG/SAS troopers and trucks... but those will be dealt with in another gallery (WW2 Desert Raiders) 

All of my 8th Army in North Africa forces. 

It's not a lot... But it's a start... and to this I would totally, at some point, add a pile of armoured options - probably some Matildas to start (as that's what would have populated the Army Tank Brigades that likely would have been supporting the Australians. I going with them being Australians because... well... half of them are very definitely Australians in their iconic Slouch Hats... and the rest in tin hats could me more sensible Australians! 

Here's what this would look like in Bolt Action:

Rifle Platoon

The Rifle Platoon - Commander and two Sections 

Platoon Commander 

First Infantry Section 

Second Infantry Section 

Honestly I could probably mix and match these to there is an assortment of slouch hats and tin hats throughout the force... If there is just the two, though, having them in different hats makes the two sections more easy to identify!? 

Artillery Battery

Artillery Battery

Artillery Battery Commander

25 Pounder Howitzer (and spotter!) 

2-Pounder Light Anti-Tank Gun

Armoured Troop

The Armoured Troop/Platoon is currently a scratch force of... whatever was available... 

Rolls Royce Armoured Car 

Did Australian Infantry Divisions have Armoured Cars in their reconnaissance units...? I have no idea... It's just what I happed to have (from WW1 gaming!) 

"Auk" - this tank belongs to the commander of A Company, 69th Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment, 37th Army Tank Brigade. 

In Bolt Action, this would all look like: 

Rifle Platoon 

Platoon Commander - 30 points (Regular) 

First Infantry Section - 1 NCO + 4 men (Regular ) 50 points, +5 Men @ 10, + Light Machine-Gun @15, +Submachine-Gun @4 = 119 points

Second Infantry Section - 1 NCO + 4 men (Regular ) 50 points, +5 Men @ 10, + Light Machine-Gun @15, +Submachine-Gun @4 = 119 points

Artillery Battery

Artillery Battery Commander - 30 points (Regular) 

25 Pounder - Light Howitzer 45 points (Regular) + AT shells @5 points + gunshield @5 points, + Spotter @10 = 60 points 

2-Pounder Light Anti-Tank Gun - 50 points (Regular) 

Armoured Troop

Rolls Royce Armoured Car - 70 Points (Regular) + Command Vehicle @10 = 80 points

Matilda II - 155 points (Regular) 

TOTAL: 633 points

Not a lot... I'd need a fair bit more to make this into a viable force... There are staggeringly few makers of metal 8th Army miniatures anymore. I think most of these were produced by Battle Honors...? and it doesn't look like they make their WW2 line anymore. Perry Miniatures and Warlord games have plastic 8th army troops and they're so cheap... it's hard to compete with that, I guess... 

So a part of me feels like maybe that's all I need and this force will predominantly be armour!? 

TO DO

I think I have a second Rolls Royce Armoured car somewhere... so I could actually make a troop of them. 

I have a 6 Pounder Anti-Tank Guns and crew to finish up... 

I also ordered some 3D printed tanks five Matilda IIs and five Cruiser Mk I (A9)

These will potentially add to the force

Armoured Platoon - 5x Matilda II @155, + 1x Command Tank @10  @10 = 785!? 

Adding this to the existing force (and dropping the Rolls Royce!) puts it at 1193 points... I could probably add lorries for the Infantry platoon...? 

OR...

Armoured Platoon - 5x Cruiser MkI (A9) @125, + 1x Command Tank @10 = 635

Adding the Cruisers to the existing force (and dropping the Rolls Royce!) brings it to 1043 points... I could drop the 2 pounder to make it a 1000 point force...? otherwise...? to get it to 1250 points...? 

STILL TO GET

It'll be a while before I can add anything else to this. I went a little overboard ordering things in the first quarter of 2025... and really need to get all the stuff I have (or at least the stuff I recently bought) painted before I go buying anything else! 

Maybe some lorries for the infantry...? 

At some point I might add a weapons platoon with mortars and Vickers machine-guns...? 

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