Chain of Command:The Abyssinian War army lists

[Arlequín]

It did occur to me that seeing one order for the 20mm did not necessarily mean it was the only order that was made... but as you say, surely these news reels would have featured one by accident at the very least if they were fairly common.

That being said, those few photos we do have appear to be of differing periods of time, given that the carriage for towing them varies from the type with the cast wheels with circular holes and those cast with a more 'spoke-like' appearance. Photo quality changes would also seem to indicate that they were used from the Late-20s to the Mid-30s too.

Joining the dots, where it was said that before mobilisation in 1938 Britain only had one and a half operational divisions in the UK, is it possible that the twenty or so Oerlikons were assigned to the units within them. Eight battalions is possible at three apiece.

Conjecture I know, but...

[Happy Wanderer]

British Hussars - 1936

In 1935 the 8th Hussars were selected to be one of the three cavalry regiments in Egypt to be mechanised. They dutifully surrendered their horses to the remount depot following their last mounted parade on Armistice Day (11th November) 1935.

The plan was that the 8th Hussars would become a motorised cavalry regiment capable of keeping pace with other mechanised elements though insufficient vehicles were initially available to equip it properly.

Unfortunately only the 11th Hussars had vehicles, a collection of outdated Rolls Royce armoured cars. The 7th Hussars had not only surrendered their horses, but there were no light tanks with which to equip them. The 12th Lancers were dispatched from the UK however, along with their Lanchester 6x4 armoured cars so adding some punch to the British Light cavalry force in Egypt.

This list is a comprehensive and interesting combination of the many guises of the British Hussars in 1936 during The Abyssinian Crisis. There is alot in this list. It should provide for an interesting gaming force to use in Chain of Command:Abyssinia.

British 8th Hussars army lists

https://abyssiniancrisis.wordpress.com/2015/12/20/chain-of-commandabyssinia-hussars/

[Vintage Wargaming]

Well on the topic of speculation, the 1928 Edition of 'Section Leading' gives a battalion headquarters wing as having a No.2 Group which is labelled 'Anti-Tank Section', which is then modified to an 'Anti-Tank Group' as an edit.

I'm at a loss as to what the anti-tank weapons were that this unit could be serving. As the other three headquarters groups (the HQ itself, a combined AA/RP/maintenance group and the band) are roughly platoon-size, I think we are talking perhaps 16 - 24 men, rather than 8 or so. By extension similar units later are three weapon teams (AT Group 1936), or two sections of two weapons (MG Platoon), so I imagine we are talking a unit of similar size to these. 

I know there were at least 20 or so Oerlikon/SEMAG 20mm autocannon bought for the 'Mobile Force' experiment in the late '20s, but I'm not aware of anything in the quantity needed to outfit all battalions... presuming there wasn't just an expectation of something which never actually appeared.

Jim

I have a copy of what I think is a print on demand book called British Anti-Tank warfare by John Plant. It mainly is concerened with WW11 but has some coverage of WW1 and interwar. I am reluctant to give it too much authority as I haven't seen it reviewed elsewhere, however it does have some interesting snippets of information:

He refers to a passage in the Purple Primer which stated how a "suitable combination of 6 pdr guns and anti-tank mines" backed up by 3" AA guns in the AT role could make various installations "secure against attack by armoured formations". While no notice seemed to have been paid to this it's interesting (a) by envisaging using AA guns in AT role pre Condor Legion and 88s in Spain and (2) mentioning 6 pdrs as AT guns - of course this doesn't mean they existed though as it could simply be an example of a suitable existing gun which could be converted.
(Interestingly he talks elsewhere of a British requirement of 360 degree traverse for at guns which must be what lumbered the 2pdr with its over engineered mount)
He cites Captain Kennedy in his This, Our Army of 1935 of a 1933 exercise where dug in field guns were used in the AT role
Thoughts on AT defence tended to rely on physical (often water) obstacles
He states that the 1926 Infantry Manual really put the entire onus of AT defence on the artillery, stating that the guns should be in the rear of obstacles and there should be tanks available for counter-attack. The 1931 edition accommodated the inclusion in a battalion of an anti-tank platoon of four guns. Plant says at this date the guns had not actually been issued and seven years would pass before this started (1938 - 2 pdrs).The importance was that the infantry were given responsibility for the first line of AT defence and the artillery for the second.
So no indication of any usable AT weapons in the period from around 1931-8. I have seen a mention of 100 3 pdr AT guns but I think that was in Wikipedia with no source given. It would be nice to think these were around and that the picture in the Wonder Book of Soldiers is one of these.You would have thought there wouldn't have been a picture of a one-off or protoype and I am encouraged that you think the gun is a three pounder. The presence of the index/census number does suggest it might be mounted on a stripped down trailer
It would also be nice to think there was a 6 pdr gun as in your photo but these are clearly 1939 or later, so you can't tell if they were a 1940 lash up or bringing out something earlier and obsolescent. The carriage seems to follow the 360 degree traverse rule
So it looks as though there may have been AT crews with no useful weapons, but if you wanted "what ifs" for gaming purposes you could try tracked Oerlikon 20mm, 3 pdr looking like the Wonder book of Soldiers photo, the 6 pdr like your photo, or even the 3" AA gun. So possibly a scratch building programme for Christmas, just from photos and no plans, so anything roughly looking like the pics could be ok.
The 3" is available of course, and also worth noting the Iraqi Army used 20mm Oerlikon AT guns in WW!! and at Habbaniyah.

I still think somewhere there should be an authoritative source stating what was available in this period, clearly there were some 20mms, possibly some 3 pdrs but we don't know for sure what they looked like, and less likely some 6 pdrs. or possibly nothing - if we can have aircraft carriers without aircraft for ten years in the 2010s I guess we could have had AT platoons without AT guns for seven years in the 1930s

[Arlequín]

I can find no fault in that summation Clive... indeed I can see the 'anti-tank group' as weapon-less and indeed in the 1934-41 period there are a lot of formations pretending they were something else; the 4th Hussars spring to mind, I guess it was hard to determine whether they were horse-less cavalry, or a tank-less tank regiment after they surrendered their mounts... it was two years before they received any vehicles and the remount depot had already passed the horses on.

I'm pretty sure (95%) that the gun in your photo is a 3pdr. The bolted cap for the recoil mechanism seems to have been replaced by a welded blank (or a screw cap?), so I wonder whether it was actually operational, or a dummy for training purposes. The bevelled muzzle profile is spot on for the 'short' 3pdr though.

The more complex of the two 6 pdrs actually looks like it's on one of the two types of 360° mounts for the 2 pdr (the Mk. I ?). I guess they had more mounts and 6 pdr barrels than they did 2 pdr barrels in those dark days of the latter half of 1940... although judging by the other photo, not as many mounts as 6 pdr guns.   

Hopefully someone will come along with the answer at some future point... but for now it's maybe, might've and possibly. 

[Happy Wanderer]

...the last of the British army lists gents...

6th Battalion Royal Tank Corps was created by amalgamating, two of the RTC’s independent armoured car companies in 1934. ‘Armoured car company’ was a misnomer as only one unit actually had armoured cars, which were subsequently surrendered for re-deployment. The other company had Vickers Light Tanks Mk.II, which were to be the only vehicles with the battalion until late 1935.

The Abyssinian Crisis saw 6th RTC equipped with additional light tanks and the arrival of its Medium Tank Mk. IIs. The two companies of the battalion were now organised into mixed companies. Company headquarters consisted of a single Medium Tank for the company commander, a single Light Tank for the second in command and a reconnaissance section of two Carden-Loyd carriers, each mounting a Vickers gun and led by the adjutant. There were two light tank platoons, each of three light tanks and two medium platoons, each of two medium tanks.   

Despite tentative experiments from the Late Twenties, there was no actual doctrine for combined arms in the British Army in 1935. No artillery observers were attached to tank units, nor were there any motorised infantry units in existence, let alone attached to tank units. When they were eventually attached, it was as ‘security’ units to allow re-fueling and re-armament and they were never meant to fight alongside them.

This list is specifically intended to form a wholly armoured force, as detailed in Big Chain of Command. This list is therefore somewhat different to the typical infantry-based list in Chain of Command, in that it is almost entirely composed of armoured vehicles.


Chain of Command British Royal Tank Corps army list
http://wp.me/p6mUyQ-w0

[Happy Wanderer]

Gents,

With this post we commence the last army to be included in The Abyssinian Crisis - the French. France had a huge army in 1936 and many commitments in managing her vast overseas empire. From these troops were drawn the forces to serve in Abyssinia in 1936.

Zouaves, Chasseurs d’Afrique, Legionaries, Tirailleurs sénégalais, the list goes on. The Player collecting a force for the French in the interwar years in Africa will find plenty to choose from and will be provided many unique modelling or repurposing opportunities for the French forces.

Liberty, equality, fraternity...we bring you some xmas cheer with the French.

Happy W

https://abyssiniancrisis.wordpress.com/2015/12/24/chain-of-commandabyssinia-french-infantry/

[James Morris]

Just had a full read-through of the lists: incredible work, Rolf & Jim! A huge amount of research and enthusiasm has clearly gone into these. Quite a few extra special rules too. I'm looking forward to trying them out in the new year. Wish this had all been around in 2009 when I started gaming Abyssinia; what a great resource.
Well done chaps.

[Happy Wanderer]

"Just had a full read-through of the lists"

...that must have taken a while!  

Thanks for your comments James, much appreciated. It's been a sold effort to try and track down the details as best we can but an enjoyable enlightening experience along the way....fun to!

We shall all look forward to seeing your collection back in action and make sure Scrivs takes a good many pics to post on his excellent blog - a great (best) source of inspiration for all Chain of Command players IMHO...

...it's been a while since we've seen a sold Italo-Ethiopaian battle reports posted and CoC-ified will be certainly interesting with experienced players at the helm. Naturally enough I'll be leaning into a few myself...KAR on the paint table!

Cheers

Happy W (R)

[Happy Wanderer]

..the next list for the French takes in one of the three mounted formations depicted in Chain of Command:Abyssinia, this one being the French Spahis.

The role of cavalry in French doctrine was that of reconnaissance and maintaining security of the flank and rear of the infantry. Infantry divisions in France each had a groupe de reconnaissance de division d'infanterie (GRDI) and terminology aside these were simply half of a cavalry regiment. In colonial formations the Spahis and their semi-mechanised counterparts, the Chasseurs d’Afrique, fulfilled the same function and would also find their selves divided in like manner.

Grab the Chain of Command:Abyssinia French Spahis list from the Two Fat Lardies blog or directly from the The Abyssinian Crisis blog using the following link.


Chain of Command:Abyssinia French Spahis army list

http://wp.me/p6mUyQ-vy

[Arlequín]

Just had a full read-through of the lists: incredible work, Rolf & Jim!

Thanks James. 

I have to confess I was a bit lukewarm about the project to begin with, so the bulk of the enthusiasm came from Rolf and he deserves the credit for that. However once we got going, the potential for the scenario won me over... colonial warfare with tanks and everythng else the Thirties has to offer, what's not to like?

 

[El Grego]

Lardy Rich should provide both of you with a bonus - I just purchased Chain of Command (just could not resist the sale currently running)     

[Happy Wanderer]

...French Cavalry are up next...


The mounted counterpart of the Zouaves and Colonial Infantry formations, the Chasseurs were formed from settler conscripts and career French volunteers and officers. While the intention was that at some future point the units would be mechanised cavalry, complete with light armour and trucks for their infantry element, by 1935 the formations were hybrid formations, typically composed of two horse-mounted squadrons, two of motorised cavalry and two armoured car squadrons.

...read about the Chasseurs d'Afrique at The Abyssinian Crisis blog

http://wp.me/p6mUyQ-vC

[Happy Wanderer]

The French had been using camel-mounted troops in North Africa for some time. With typical patrol areas equivalent to travelling from London to Naples and back (2,500 miles), they had proven ideal for ‘flying the flag’ in the remote desert areas of the Sahara and Maghreb. With similar large areas to cover it was natural that they should raise similar units in the Côte française des Somalis.

This Chain of Command list is more in line with Lawrence in Arabia being wholly unlike any conventional force in the Horn of Africa. Camel mounted Méhariste, an armoured car or two and the odd French plane in support...what's not to like!

Chain of Command:Abyssinia Méharistes army list
http://wp.me/p6mUyQ-vA

[Happy Wanderer]

...with this list, the French Foreign Legion, we complete the full suite of army lists for use with Chain of Command:Abyssinia.

The Légion Étrangère (Foreign Legion) are perhaps the most well-known French infantry formation. The Thirties had seen them relegated to the role of garrison and construction troops and their glory days at the head of French expeditions were now behind them. Nevertheless they were still a volunteer force and composed of men on long-service contracts. Man for man they were still the formations with the most combat experience.

In this list we have combined a number of different elements to reflect the Foreign Legion using Chain of Command. For those wanting a more detailed discussion of the French Foreign Legion army list and its development and use in Chain of Command there is an article in the soon to be released Two Fat Lardies xmas special, out very soon, authored by your esteemed administrator Arlequin, the principal author of the FFL list.

Get them both!

https://abyssiniancrisis.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/chain-of-commandfrench-foreign-legion/