OB15 Autralia and New Zealand - comment

[Mobhack]

AMF/CMF Coys formations 260 262 &264
The pre 40 units AMF did not reflect the then British structure. The AIF and NZEF reformed to reflect the British structure late Dec 39/ Jan 40 when they arrived in Egypt. Prior to that they had the same structure as the militia, (AMF for Australia).
This was:

Coy HQ
2 Offr, 17 ORs
Inf Pls x 4 as:
Pl HQ
1 offr 5 Ors
1 x 2” mor (when issued if available)
Rifle Sect x 2 as
7 OR – rifle
LMG Sect x 2 as
7 OR
1 x LMG (Lewis gun)

In 1939 the 2 inch mor was more of an establishment value item than actually an issued one as there were none till the AIF/NZEF landed in Egypt

There may be a case here for these being treated as a WW1 type formation of 2 large half-platoon lumps of 16-17 men (like the Poles are for example) with 1 mg per half-platoon division.

The 2 inch mortar can be ignored. (I know we ignored ours and left them in the armoury along with other useless junk like 9mm browning pistols)

Cheers
Andy

[TDR]

That is a possible approach. The organisation in early 39 was still based on the WWI approaches to some degree.
The 2 inch mor was on establishment but since there was none about it was a paper piece and hence if left out would not make much of a difference anyway.
So since it did not really exist you could not leave it in the armoury.

Frome some of my readings it seems that the 2 inch mor did not arrive in quantity even in AIF units till into 1940 so it is a minor item

Originally Posted by Mobhack

There may be a case here for these being treated as a WW1 type formation of 2 large half-platoon lumps of 16-17 men (like the Poles are for example) with 1 mg per half-platoon division.

The 2 inch mortar can be ignored. (I know we ignored ours and left them in the armoury along with other useless junk like 9mm browning pistols)

Cheers
Andy

[TDR]

Armoured cars.
Possibly a pedantic point and may not be really necessary on the implementation stage. So possibly treat it as comment/query/historical point more than a must have request change

In the OOB the Rolls Royce AC is listed as from Jan 1930 to Mar 1942. The only units that I know of that were using this vehicle to any great extent were the RAF units.
This vehicle was not used by the Aust Div Cav Units, or the NZ Div Cav Unit. These were the only armoured units from Aust and NZ in North Africa and Middle East.
The Rolls Royce AC was not part of AS or NZ home defence either.

I realise the vehicle can be considered as being “British manned” for scenario use.

The initial Aust Div Cav Regt, 6 Div only had Bren gun carriers and at best some 8/15 cwt Morris vehicles and several 4x2 general vehicles. Also the number of carriers was only sufficient initially for one Sqn.

The NZ Cav Regt was a bit better and had carriers and MK IIIs
Before going to Greece the NZ Div Cav were reissued carriers, (that worked fully), and new Marmom-Harrington ACs.
When the NZ Div Ca returned to Egypt after Greece and Crete they were issued carriers and Mk VI’s tanks.

Simple question, would it be possible to include the Marmom-Harrington ACs in the ANZAC OOB to cover this period?

These would be either the Marmom-Harrington II or III ACs.

Part ref:
“Divisional Cavalry “, Loughnan, R. J. M.; Historical Publications Branch, 1963, Wellington : Part of: The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945

“To The Green Fields Beyond - The story of the 6 Division Cavalry Commandos”, S O’leary, 1975