Rapid Fire – The Road to Carentan

Description

Rapid Fire – The Road to Carentan. this is a 36 page, fully illustrated A5 booklet providing four scenarios for actions involving elements of the American 101st Airborne Division (The Screaming Eagles). It covers the period from D-Day to the initial stages of the battles to capture the vital town of Carentan. And thus link up the landings at Omaha and Utah Beaches.

Normandy battles

D-Day and the Normandy battles of June to August 1944 have always been popular with WW2 wargamers and they have always been a big favourite here at Rapid Fire.

This book tackles something a little different in that it features four ‘connected’ scenarios based on the exploits of elements of the American 101st Airborne Division (The Screaming Eagles) on the days that followed the parachute drops and glider landings on 6th June.

By the very nature of the fighting that took place the scenarios do not feature fully formed ‘battalion’ units that most Rapid Fire players are familiar with but, in the case of the Americans at least, they have hastily assembled formations seeking to secure key objectives at the beginning of the campaign.

The normal Rapid Fire figure/vehicle ratios have been suspended and instead each game has representation of the forces engaged with a figure ratio of approximately 1:5 and a vehicle ratio of 1:1.

Each game is designed to be played on a 6′ x 4′ or a 5′ x 4′ table top. And is suitable for 2 to 4 players. A game can be played to a successful outcome within three hours. We’ve included a ‘What do I need to play the game’ section at the end of the book.

Much has been written about the 101st Airborne Division, and their main adversaries in this book, the 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment (The Lions of Carentan). But the inspiration for these scenarios (and this book) came from four programmes from Paul Woodadge’s excellent, and highly recommended, WW2TV YouTube channel.

The titles of the four programmes are:

• Scenario 1: Angels of Mercy Angoville-au-Plain
• Scenario 2: Feed ’em Beans and Mark ’em Duty
• Scenario 3: Dead Man’s Corner
• Scenario 4: Purple Heart Lane

Rapid Fire – The Road to Carentan

• Rapid Fire – The Road to Carentan
• The Screaming Eagles on D-Day
• Scenario 1 – Angoville-au-Plain (D-Day)
• Scenario 2 – Vierville (D-Day+1)
• Scenario 3 – Saint-Côme-du-Mont (D-Day + 1)
• Scenario 4 – Purple Heart Lane Breakout (D-Day + 4)
• Reducing an Intact Building to a Ruin (playing tip)
• Assembling the Forces to Play the Games
• Vehicle and Gun Statistics

Acknowledgements

Our thanks to Howard Greenwood, Andy Hamilton, Dale Rawson, Alan McCoubrey, Don McHugh, Mark Piper, Chris Leach. And all the gamers who took part in playtesting these scenarios and proof reading.

Thanks also to Jean-Michel Girard for the cover paratrooper artwork. Steve Goodhand for the figure painting and Chris Woofenden for creating a sheet of downloadable signs to accompany this book.

Finally a special mention for the late Dave Howitt of Britannia Miniatures whose figures ar used extensively throughout for playing these scenarios.

There’s a dedicated Facebook group for Rapid Fire – The Canadians in Normandy supplement.

To view the entire Wargaming Rules catalogue or the full Rapid Fire Rules and Supplements catalogue.