Colonel William O. Darby & Ranger Platoon (US883) Rangers are specially trained light infantry raiders. They are America’s answer to the famous British Commandos. US Rangers are a very flexible force and they are lightly equipped for raiding operations allowing them to hit hard and fast. Rangers are some of the toughest soldiers available so they get the most dangerous missions.

When they need it Rangers have plenty of support. The Ranger Force had the 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion, their own self-propelled anti-tank platoon with M3 75mm GMC tank-destroyers, and even a borrowed armoured field artillery battery under command in Sicily! Darby was an artilleryman and wanted his Rangers to have plenty of firepower, so every squad has its own light machine-gun! This gives them a considerable punch for a light infantry force.

Rangers in Flames Of War Rangers are well-motivated, tough volunteers, but heavy casualties, rapid expansion, and the shorter training time of the newer members has diluted the combat experience of the older survivors. A Ranger Company is Fearless Trained.

I Shall Never Fail My Comrades Ranger units are close-knit organisations. In order to fit into landing craft for raiding operations, each company has only two small platoons. These companies are too weak for independent operations, but the rangers’ comradeship allows them to work closely together.      A Ranger Company never has to take a Company Morale Check for being below half strength as long as there are at least as many Ranger Platoons on the table as have been destroyed so far in the game. They still take Platoon Morale Checks as normal, but the surviving Ranger Platoons fight on.

Once the number of Ranger Platoons destroyed exceeds the number still on the table, the ranger player must roll a die at the start of each turn. On a roll of 3+ the force fights on, heedless of its losses. On any other roll, the shattered survivors retreat from the field of battle and the game ends. If there are no surviving Ranger Company Command teams, this roll is automatically failed.

Colonel William ’Bill’ O. Darby Captain William Orlando Darby had been an artillery officer for eight years when appointed as aide-de-camp to General Hartle. This led to promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in charge of forming the first Ranger battalion. ‘El Darbo’, as he became known, hand picked his officers and men before submitting them to the Commando Depot in Scotland for rigorous training. Soon after, they boarded ship for Oran in Algiers for their first assault landing. This success was followed by more when they moved to southern Tunisia to raid Sened and then take part in the battle of El Guetar.

Darby’s Team     Their achievements earned the Rangers a position in the first assault wave in Operation Husky. In preparation, Darby’s Rangers as they were known were quickly expanded to a three-battalion Ranger Force before landing at Licata and Gela. Ranger Force then took part in Operation Avalanche where they took the vital Chiunzi Pass and held it against all comers. Once again, Darby’s love of being right up front was noted, with one officer recalling approaching a Ranger on the beach and asking ‘Do you know where I can find Colonel Darby?’ The Ranger grinned and replied, ‘You’ll never find him this far back.’

Ranger Force continued its tradition of being first ashore in Operation Shingle, the landings at Anzio. However, here they suffered a disaster at Cisterna where the 1st and 3rd Rangers were wiped out. Ranger Force was disbanded and Darby returned to the United States as a Colonel to train new units. Darby soon wangled a posting back to Italy as deputy commander of the 10th Mountain Division only to be killed days before the end of the war. He was posthumously promoted to Brigadier General.

Darby in Flames Of War Darby is an Infantry team, a Warrior and a Higher Command team rated as Fearless Trained. He is armed with an M1 Garand rifle rated as follows: Range: 16”/40cm, ROF: 1, Anti-tank: 2, Firepower: 6, with the Automatic Rifle special rule. Darby can join any Rifle, Ranger or Parachute Rifle Company for +50 points. Special Rules Red Leg: Darby’s artillery background showed in the amount of firepower his Rangers amassed. He does not suffer the usual +1 to hit penalty for being a Command team rather than an Observer team when ranging in artillery. All mortar platoons ranged in by Darby count as Veteran when firing bombardments. Keep Moving: Each turn one platoon that is not Pinned Down and is within 6”/15cm of Darby may attempt to move at the end of the Movement step after all other movement. Roll a die. On a roll of 4+ the platoon may move a further 4”/10cm. All of the normal rules apply for this movement. The platoon may still shoot after making this extra move.

Ranger Platoon Command Team Leader Of Men: Darby leads from the front with total disregard for his own safety. If Darby is hit by the enemy, immediately roll a die. • On a score of 5+ he is uninjured and ignores the hit. • On any other roll, determine the effect of the hit as normal, including rolling the usual 3+ Infantry Save. Designed by Evan Allen Painted by Jeremy Painter