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Introduction to Rapid Fire.
by
Richard Mc Clean

This Article is written by a complete stranger to the Rapid Fire System of W.W.II Wargame Rules. Within it I shall describe my likes and dislikes (very few) about the Rules and the problems I faced when gathering up my Forces. To finish it off I will roughly describe my first Battle between my hard pressed British and Simon Thompson’s Germans. I hope that those of you who are just starting out on W.W.II will find it helpful. Please accept my apologies if I seem to meander in this Article but it is now over 20 years since I played W.W.II and like you, I am just a Novice to this Period.

In the Beginning: About ten years ago I sold off all my 15mm Armies and terrain. I then made myself a promise to keep to the one scale, 25mm. This was because with the different scales I needed piles of buildings and terrain pieces suitable for 15 &25mm. In future all my Games would be in 25mm. Then 10 years later along came my daughter. Rebecca has this thing about German Tanks. So by some astute swapping, she acquired some vehicles and about a dozen infantry figures. My life was plagued by her constant complaints that she had no one to fight with in the house. In the end I gave in. Luckily two friends were starting off in Napoleonics and by sheer coincidence they were getting rid off masses of W.W.II German & British/American Forces. From their over generous exchanges I sorted out what I needed to keep and the rest were sold off at the NDW Auction. What follows is the build up to my first Game with Rapid Fire.

The Rules: A complete set of the Rapid Fire Rules and been left with me for the NDW Auction. After reading them I then purchased from Platoon 20 (Tony) the Rules plus the two Supplements. These cover Western Europe 1944 to 45 and the War with Russia 1940 to 45. What I like about these Rules is that at my age I can no longer be bothered to spend long hours researching Unit Formations. I much prefer to spend my time Wargaming. But more about the Rules later on.

The Armies: This was dictated by what kits we had available. I bought from Platoon 20 an entire British Motorised Infantry Btn (less the H/T & Bren carriers) as described in the Rules and made up Rebecca’s figures to form a Motorised Panzer Grenadier Btn. We lacked a lot of the vehicles to carry the infantry (especially for the British) but a few astute purchases soon solved this problem (but not unfortunately for the British).
I had been given for the Germans the 88 Half Track (H/T) but no 88. I put the H/T with the Infantry as I had decided at the beginning that I wasn’t going to be able to field all the correct vehicles as described in the Supplements. I bought another H/T and 88 and built the 88 as if in action. I will buy another one and build it in the towed position. This leaves me with an extra H/T, this will be used to carry one of the German Rifle Companies.
I excuse this unusual make up of the German Forces (I use H/Ts not described in the Rules) by saying that once the Invasion had started the Germans would have used any vehicle available to move their troops about. As for not keeping to the Army Lists, stragglers would have tagged along with larger friendly Units for safety. For example the German Motorised Pz Gren Btn has an Opel Blitz Truck towing a 75mm Gun.

If I was starting out from scratch, I would have built up both Forces according to the Supplements but I had been given too many Kits and ready built vehicles to ignore or discard. As long as both sides agree there should not be a problem. In fact for the Battle the Germans had 4 points more than the British but as the Germans were attacking, I asked Simon to bring along a Panther and a Mk IV Tank to aid the Germans. This was my first big mistake.

The Terrain: I am lucky to have a permanent 8 x 6` Table but for this Game we used an area of 6 x 4` which should be more accessible to most Gamers. Now as I have said previously, I have only Terrain and buildings for 25mm figures. The problem with W.W.II is that you need to have a cluttered Battlefield (unless you are in the desert) otherwise it turns into a shooting match. However I was able to use the trees, hills, roads and rivers that I already had in my collection. My roads are 60mm wide with a 5mm grass border on either side. These made fine 20mm roads, wide enough for even the widest Tank. The rivers became more of an obstacle in 20mm (or 1/72nd) and I was surprised to find that the bridges all fitted in as well.
One point about the roads, if you cut 3mm ply to a width of 60mm and do not put any grass borders on them, you will be able to use these roads for the 20th Century and earlier. Paint one side a mixture of various browns for pre-asphalt periods and paint the other side grey. 60mm will be wide enough for four 25mm Napoleonic Infantry Figures (as well as most other “Elements”) and at the same time be capable of taking the widest AFV.
One final point about making your own roads, cut the lengths to 8” with one or two of 2, 4 & 6”. This will ensure that your roads will match the size of your table. Most Wargame Tables are measured in old fashioned feet and inches. Make sure all T Junctions and Cross Roads conform to the 8” Rule.

The one thing I was short of was buildings. I was determined not to get involved in scratch building in this scale as I was too busy doing other projects. I bought a few model railway kits, nothing too big, coal yards, garden sheds a W.W.II bunker. I intend to get off Platoon 20 several of the Hovels Buildings and to spice them up with the garden sheds and to base them all on 3mm ply. For those who are able to attend, the North Down Model Railway Show that is held in Bangor Leisure Centre every Easter, has several Trade Stands all offering second hand trackside buildings for sale. I only wish that I had decided to take up W.W.II before this show and not after it.

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