Staff Early War Armies - Mike Haught’s Escadron de Reconnaissance

Biltzkrieg Logo Early War Staff Armies:
Mike Haught’s Escadron de Reconnaissance

We continue our feature on the Battlefront staff members Early-war armies by taking a look at Mike’s Escadron de Reconnaissance.
Being a reconnaissance man and a bit of a Francophile, I was immediately drawn to the French recon lists in Blitzkrieg. I was pleased to have all sorts of armoured cars to choose from, but the one that stands in front of them all is the Panhard AMD-35.

With the Panhard as my focus, I looked for a historical unit to base my force on. When reading about the Panhard, I discovered that the first unit to have them was the 6ème Régiment de Cuirassiers from the 1ère Division Légère Mécanique (1DLM, or Light Mechanised Division). They were deployed in Holland, and as a reconnaissance unit, were among the first to encounter the German spearheads. They defended the critical bridges near Nijmegen. Their battlefields would become famous yet again four years later during Operation Market Garden. They received the first batch of Panhards in 1936 and the men took to them like ducks to water.

See all the Staff Early War armies here...

See more of Mike's army here...

One of Mike's Panhard AMD-35
One of Mike's Panhard AMD-35 The Panhard is large, even by late-war standards, and it packs a lot of punch. They have a four-man crew, which is more than some French tanks! There are two drivers, one forward and one reverse. Two men are in the turret to man the 25mm gun and command the vehicle. This means I don’t have to worry about trying to operate one-man turrets, but without a proper coupla, they still have limited vision. The 25mm gun is heavy enough to knock out German tanks, should I encounter any on my patrols. The cars’ co-ax machine-guns will deal with any infantry that I might run into.
Always present with the 6ème Régiment de Cuirassiers was the motorcycle troops of the motorcycle squadron. With the new motorcycle rules in Blitzkrieg, I had to make sure to include them. They are perfect for a recon guy like me. They let your infantry get up into the fight quickly and then dismount to hold ground. I then gave them some excellent weapons platoons, such as mortars and heavy machine-guns, to help them defend against infantry. The cars’ 25mm guns should keep enemy tanks honest and away from my motorcycle guys. One of Mike's Panhard AMD-35
One of Mike's Panhard AMD-35 For support platoons, I included some Somua S-35 tanks from the 1DLM to help blast through any enemy gun nests and dug-in infantry. These tough tanks should be all I need to bust open a small gap in the enemy’s lines large enough for the Panhards and motorcycle troops to sneak through.

I also included a small battery of the ubiquitous 75mm mle 1897, as I believe no French army is complete without one! It’s a great gun and, if push comes to shove (as often is the case in recon armies), they will provide an excellent base of fire to fall back upon.
The French Escadron de Reconnaissance Organisation Diagram
The French Escadron de Reconnaissance Organisation Diagram
Mike’s Escadron de Reconnaissance Army List

Headquarters
Company HQ - 35 points.

1 x Panhard AMD-35

One of Mike's Panhard AMD-35
One of Mike's Panhard AMD-35 Combat Platoons
Deep Reconnaissance Platoon - 135 points.

4 x Panhard AMD-35

Deep Reconnaissance Platoon - 135 points.

4x Panhard AMD-35

Deep Reconnaissance Platoon - 105 points.

3 x Panhard AMD-35
Weapons Platoons
Fusiliers Motocyclistes Platoon - 165 points.
(at full strength)

Fusiliers Motocyclistes Platoon - 165 points.
(at full strength)

Fusiliers Machine-gun Platoon - 105 points.
(at full strength)

Fusiliers Mortar Platoon - 100 points.
(at full strength, with trucks)

One of Mike's Panhard AMD-35
One of Mike's Panhard AMD-35 Support Platoons
Medium Combat Platoon - 415 points.

4 x Somua S-35   

All Terrain Towed 75mm Artillery Battery - 290 points.

4 x 75mm mle 1897 guns

Total: 1650 points.

Painting
   
I couldn’t help myself and painted the Panhards first. The 6ème Régiment de Cuirassiers used a cool green-on-green hard-edge camouflage pattern. I base-coated the armoured cars in Russian Uniform (VP924) and then applied the dark green camouflage colour using German Camouflage Dark Green (VP979). Then I outlined the dark green with black to match the official camouflage scheme.

With those done, I’ll move onto the infantry next followed by the gun teams and finally to conclude with the Somuas as a reward.

So that’s it, my army in a nutshell. Now, I just have to get some practice games in to learn all of the new Early War recon tricks!

~ Mike.

One of Mike's Panhard AMD-35
Some of Mike's Panhard AMD-35
Some of Mike's Panhard AMD-35
Some of Mike's Panhard AMD-35
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