"This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Winston Churchill, 10th November 1942 If the years 1939 to 1942 had been the years of Blitzkrieg, with German arms triumphant on all fronts, the dawning of 1943 saw the first signs of weakness in the armour of the Third Reich. In November of 1942 a British and Commonwealth force had inflicted a major defeat on the joint German and Italian forces at El Alamein obliging them to withdraw a thousand miles to Tunisia, abandoning entirely the Italian colony of Libya. In Stalingrad the German Sixth Army was surrounded and on the point of surrender. Across occupied Europe the first beams of the sunlight of liberation could be seen to shine through what had previously been a dark sky. Before Stalingrad Germany had considered herself to be the superior to the Soviets in every sense; socially, politically, racially, and militarily. The reverses of the winter of 1941 could, with the spring thaw and the successful summer drive into the Caucasus and to the Volga, be glossed over as the effects of winter rather than a coherent and effective Soviet resistance. This was now to change. In Germany these reversals brought the realisation that the possibility of defeat was real, and brought an immediate response from Reichsminister for propaganda Josef Goebbels. “Now, people rise up, and let the storm break loose!” was his cry at the Berlin Sportpalast, as he exhorted the German people to make greater sacrifices for the war effort. It was no hollow promise, for Stalingrad was a turning point from where there could be no return, a fact which the failure of the Kursk offensive served only to confirm. From now on Germany and her dwindling band of allies stood with their backs to the wall, involved in a battle for survival against foes on all sides. July 1943 saw the invasion of Sicily. In Rome Mussolini was conspired against by members of the Grand Fascist Council, and even his own son‐in‐law. Hitler was unsure where the Allies would go next, Greece, Italy or Sardinia and Corsica in preparation for landing in the south of France. For the Allies 1943 saw them reach a critical juncture, and were equally unsure, or at least divided, on what their next more should be. Roosevelt was in favour of landings in Northern Europe, working on the simple principle that the shortest way to Berlin was a straight line from the British Isles, and that should be done with maximum force brought to bear at the critical point. Churchill, on the other hand, was keen to chip away at the edges of German controlled territory, applying pressure wherever possible, thereby tying down German troops vitally needed in Russia. TooFatLardies 2 Battle for Liberation What emerged was an uncomfortable compromise whereby the British saw their plans to attack Italy approved, but with very limited resources. The campaign that followed spanned two years, and saw the Allies, generally outnumbered, tie down ever increasing numbers of German Divisions but still succeed in pushing their enemy back from the toe of the Italian boot to the Swiss border. There could, however, be no avoiding the fact that if Germany was to be defeated then an invasion of Fortress Europe must take place. Stalin had long been calling for the opening of the “Second Front”, and Roosevelt was equally convinced that this was the way to bring the war to an end in the shortest possible time. Churchill was less convinced, but never slow to take the war to the enemy wherever he may be found, he fell in line. The Invasion of Normandy on D‐Day in June 1944 was to lead to a hard and desperate struggle in Normandy which was seen by the Germans as the ultimate battle for the survival of the Reich. Were they able to throw the invaders into the sea then their belief was that the Eastern Front could be held by reverting to the trench warfare and defence in depth of the Great War. The ferocity of fighting in Normandy shocked even those veterans of the Eastern Front, and it took a protracted campaign with horrific loses on both sides before the defences were finally breached and the hell‐for‐leather drive towards the froontier of the Reich, the West Wall, began. This seemingly unstoppable advance was to end in heroic fashion with Allied airborne forces attempting to take the Rhine bridge at Arnhem in what could have spelt an early end for Germany. Instead the Germans stunned the Allies by launching Wacht am Rhine, resulting in what is commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge ‐ the final gamble designed to divide the Allies and save the Reich. This was indeed a notable comment on the inevitability of the German defeat, that the German army was reduced to such risky ventures that, in reality, had no chance of success. It was though typical of the tough battles inside Germany itself that took place in 1945 as a nation imploded as resources simply ran out. This supplement is designed to allow you to refight the battles of 1943 to 1945 in Western Europe, from the invasion of Sicily to the fight through the heart of Germany itself. The forces listed within present a far wider range of options than previous embodiments of the rules, with far more options for armoured forces than before. The lists have been compiled using a broad range of sources but, as with all such projects, can only represent a snap‐shot of some of the forces that were involved in the conflict. Organisational structures changed with use and with the development of new weapons and equipment, and they were also subject to more pragmatic modification within front‐line units. Undoubtedly the gamer will find variations on themes that differ from those presented here. Good. I Ain’t Been Shot Mum is a flexible enough system to allow you to field any variations that you wish in order to represent specific units in action. What is included here may be considered a starting point for your own research. If you find that a Regimental history suggests a differing structure for a battle you wish to refight then do use that rather than the general “official” variations here within. TooFatLardies 3 Battle for Liberation 2 Introduction 56 German Forces 3 Contents 57 Grenadier Kompanie 5 Using this Handbook 59 Volksgrenadier Kompanie 6 British & Commonwealth Forces 61 Panzer Kompanie 62 Panzer Grenadier Gepanzerte 6 The Rifle Company Kompanie 11 The Reconnaissance Squadron 12 The Tank Brigade Squadron 63 Panzer Grenadier Kompanie 14 The Armoured Division 64 Aufklarungs Kompanie 17 The Motor Company 65 Panzerspah Kompanie 19 The Parachute Company 66 Fielding German AFVs 20 The Airlanding Company 67 Luftwaffe Jager Kompanie 22 The Commando Assault Troop 68 Fallschirmjager Kompanie 22 79th Armoured Division 69 Volksturm Kompanie 70 Gebirgsjager Kompanie 23 Rating Your British Forces 26 British Armoury 72 Rating Your German Forces 74 German Armoury 28 British Weapon Rules 76 German Weapon Rules 31 United States Forces 80 Italian Forces 32 The Rifle Company 35 The Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop 81 Compagnia Fucilieri 36 The Tank Company 82 Camice Nere 38 The Armored Rifle Company 1943 83 Corpo Italiano di Liberazione 39 The Armored Rifle Company 1944 83 Compagnie Fucilieri 1944‐45 40 The Ranger Company 84 Esercito Nazional Repubblicano 41 The Parachute Rifle Company 86 “Quattro Divisione” Compagnia 42 The Glider Rifle Company 87 Partigiana “Brigata” 87 Antipartigiana Compagnia 43 Rating Your US Forces 45 United States Armory 88 Rating Your Italian Forces 90 Italian Armoury 46 US Weapon Rules 91 Italian Weapon Rules 49 French Forces 50 Compagnie de Fusiliers‐Voltigeurs 93 Death from Above 50 Compagnie d’Infanterie Portee 96 Smoke with the 2” mortar 51 Escadron de Chars 98 Supply in Airborne Operations 51 Escadron de Reconnaissance 99 Creidits 52 Commando du Choc 53 Goumiers Marocain 53 Milice Centain 54 French Forces of the Interior 54 Rating Your French Forces TooFatLardies 4 Battle for Liberation This section provides a brief introduction to the unit concerned This darker shaded box is still a battalion support option, These boxes in a but its darker box light shading are tells is that it is the core of your likely to be company. A full located off‐table. company will field Next we have the all of these Regimental support platoons. These are less likely to be This darker shaded present than the box is either an battalion support information box, units, but they are like this one, or an still a possibility. off‐table support option. Finally we have the Divisional support Here you have platoons. Again, The battalion these are less likely support platoons. to be present These are the most than the battalion likely supports to or Regimental be present for your support units. company. These ones are light in colour telling us that they are on‐table options. Now see top right to see the other green box. I Ain’t Been Shot Mum is all about using our model soldiers and vehicles to refight actions based on historical events, this means that any of the support units shown can be called upon to support out basic force, be that in an infantry company, a tank squadron or a reconnaissance force. However, it is worth remembering that in general your force is much more likely to have support from Battalion than Regiment or Division. That said, for dice generate scenarios such as the ones offered in the main rules, there is no reason why you cannot choose from any support listed for the force of your choice.