FEB: Brazilian Expeditionary Force

[JayTownsend]

Yes, there is a P-47 counters and a L-4H spotter plane or Grasshopper! The 57mm AT guns see some action in one scenario.

[Greyfox]

Most of my information came from Wikipedia, World War 2.net, and the Osprey book. WW2.net gives the Brazilians 13 37mm cannons and 57 57mm guns, along with a bunch of bazookas and grenade launchers. That makes enough 37mm guns for 3 batteries. My guess falls along having 1 37mm and 2 57mm batteries in the regimental anti-tank company, and 1 57mm in the battalion anti-tank battery. No particular information to back that up, but it fits.

I thought about adding in the Brazilian P-47 squadron, but that is hard to fit into the Vassal scheme at this point.

I have a couple projects hanging out there too. Like you, the Italian-Greek War and Sicily battles. My Sicily project has a big Messina component, a PG version of the many Race to Messina campaigns done with miniatures. (I liked the campaign mechanism.) I also have the southern invasion of France and the Syrian Iraqi campaigns. All in various stages of languishing.

Hey,  

      I actually considered trying to design some scenarios for the invasion of Southern France about 10-years ago.  I wrote my first Masters Thesis on Task Force Butler.  I found out that I had one major mistake in the thesis - The Reconnaissance Squadron that made up a significant portion of the Task Force was actually composed of M5 and not M3 Stuart Tanks.
      My thesis was actually used by a couple of recent books on the campaign - one that you might have is the Osprey book on Operation Anvil/Dragoon.  If you are ever interested in enlisting some help developing some scenarios associated with the Campaign, I would love to help.

Mike

[plloyd1010]

Mike,
I was thinking more of the Italian invasion of France. You know, "The hand that held the dagger.." Operation Anvil would be another worthy project. Probably fairly quick too.

[Greyfox]

Mike,
I was thinking more of the Italian invasion of France. You know, "The hand that held the dagger.." Operation Anvil would be another worthy project. Probably fairly quick too.

Peter,

     I know very little about the Italian Invasion of in June of 1940.  That should sounds like to type of really good obscure topic I love. Other good ones would be the Vichy vs Free French in Syria, the Invasion of Madagascar, and the Campaign in Norway are other potentially good topics as well.  A what if on the fight between Germany and Czechoslovakia would also be a potentially good topic.

     As for Operation Anvil/Dragoon - There are a number of great things about this campaign.... Just saying.

1) Troop list is varied -
     a) Germans - Some of really good (11th Panzer) and really bad formations (a number of ost battalionen)
     b) US Army - VI Corps (3rd ID, 36th ID, 45th ID)
     c) French Army - 1st Army - 11 total divisions including three armored divisions organized and equipped along U.S. Army lines.
     d) Unusual units 
          1) 1st Special Service Force (Devils Brigade) a combined U.S. Canadian Force
          2) French Commandos
          3) French Maquis
          4) Jedburgh Commando's (OSS)
          5) ADHOC 1st Airborne Task Force - combined British/American Airborne Division which included a small Nisei Detachment.
          6) ADHOC Combat Command - U.S. Task Force Butler based on the 117th Mechanized Cavalry Squadron - a reconnaissance unit. 

2)  Types of Missions
     a) Amphibious Landings
     b) Airborne Drops
     c) Exploitation/Pursuit (at the operational level)
     d) Seizure of Towns 
     e) Escape (maintaining avenue of retreat) along one major route
     d) several pitched battles (Marseille, Toulon, and Montelimar)

3)     There are a number of good works that can be used to provide background on the campaign -- I own several of primary sources and unit histories in English (almost all American POV). 

4)  A book size treatment might be good with the inclusion of some counters, but a specialty map or two might be good.  For some of the smaller fights I think several of the maps in the inventory would work.  The high ground and the rivers around Montelmar might require a special map.  I haven't really read up to much on the battles of Toulon or Marseille.  That seems like it would be an interesting research project.


Mike

[JayTownsend]

This game will happen, just not anytime soon. Everything is submitted.

[JayTownsend]

Looks like it is now called the Panzer Grenadier: Smoking Cobras.

[JayTownsend]

Look like 2022 Smoking Cobras!
 New for 2022
Panzer Grenadier: The Solomons
Panzer Grenadier: Smoking Cobras
After a slow start, sales of Saipan 1944 caught up with the rest of the series thanks to steady support with expansions - Marianas 1944 and Leyte 1944. So we’re returning to the Pacific with a Mike Perryman design, with the working title of The Solomons (it’ll hopefully get a better one before launch).
 
The Solomons covers Guadalcanal, Tulagi and fighting on the other islands, too, with both U.S. Marines and U.S. Army troops taking on the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Navy ground troops.
 
We’ve been to the Solomons before, with Guadalcanal - eighteen (18!) years ago. That’s a long time. Guadalcanal had “historical” maps of the “actual terrain” and that hampered its sales; while there’s a small and loud cadre who call out for this approach, that’s not what most players want. So we won’t be repeating that mistake.
 
The Solomons has four (or maybe five) geomorphic maps with jungles and jungle-covered hills and jungle-covered beaches and jungle-covered ocean. And of course two brand-new sheets’ worth of Japanese and American units and leaders to brawl all across them. The usual fat set of scenarios with battle games linking them together.
 
Brazil declared war on the Axis powers in August 1942 and began to form an expeditionary force, but the common public held that it would go to the front “when snakes smoke pipes.” The Brazilian Expeditionary Force arrived in Italy in July 1944, and its soldiers named themselves cobras fumantes, or Smoking Cobras (literally “smoking snakes,” but Smoking Cobras is a better game title).
 
Smoking Cobras is a Jay Townsend design, a complete game in Playbook format: 20 scenarios, two maps, 176 pieces (including markers). Everything you need to smoke the Axis - including die-hard fascist Italians - is in there except dice. Jay has a personal stake in the subject and has lavished attention on it; this is going to be a really fine game.
 
This is a cool little game and, best of all, it’s in Playbook format. That’s going to make it much easier for us to bring it to your game table. When we do finally add new games to the schedule, Smoking Cobras should be one of the first choices.

[JayTownsend]

Both look good to me!

[JayTownsend]

Looking Forward to:

Now that it is into July, next year doesn't seem that far off, to seeing Brazilians battling Axis forces in the mountains of Italy and the Greeks and Italians having a bloodbath in the mountains of Albania & Greece!

[Greyfox]

Yeah!!!  Looking forward to both.  

On another note, I don't have Saipan yet.  I am waiting until it is no longer naked.