September 2021: Lionheart

 As summer gives away to autumn and the final few months of the year, perhaps a good time to announce a project I've begun which I hope to have finished before the year's end. It's a supplement for Cold War Skirmishes that I hope to release via the Savage Worlds Adventurer's Guild on DriveThruRPG and may form the general format for CWS related products going forward. 

Oh and SWAGtember III: Return of the SWAG Bundle is how out. Check it out to find a ton of great community created content and my Operation Thule adventure.

 What is Lionheart?

 Lionheart is a supplement for my Cold War Skirmishes line that covers the British Forces during the Cold War period. The name references both Richard the Lionheart from English history and also the big NATO exercise Lionheart that took place in 1984.

As stated, the supplement's focus is on the British military during the Cold War era which I'm defining to be from the end of the Second World War in 1945 through to the start of the First Gulf War in 1991. This gives a time frame of some 46 years during which the British Forces saw constant action whilst undergoing changes in organisation, equipment and tactics. What this means content wise is an overview of structure and gear in the form of both weapons and vehicles with the focus on the British Army, though there will be a mention or two regarding the RAF and the Royal Navy.

Vehicles are going to be the bulk of the content and there is a surprising amount even going with what was actually used, so I'm going to focus on what was used on the frontline and thus more likely to be used by player characters. Aircraft wise, I'm probably going to restrict it to helicopters and light aircraft just to keep myself sane.

I'm including a draft below, which is far from finish due to stuff needing to be added along with the formatting needing to be sorted and pictures/artwork needing to be sourced. Though I am curious what level of detail people would like me to go into? Aka what years stuff was in service, etc?

Thoughts, comments and feedback muchly welcomed.

*Lionheart Draft*

Cold War Skirmishes SWADE Update

This week we’re heading back to Cold War Skirmishes, mainly going over some stuff and updating them to SWADE. Recently released an adventure through the Savage Worlds Adventurer’s Guild called Operation Thule; Set during the 1982 Falklands Conflict and featuring some Weird elements to showcase the potential of what came be run in the…erm…’setting’. This post builds upon Operation Thule by providing extra gear and vehicles to broaden the scope for a British military based game during the Cold War period. Do intend to cover the other powers and nations such as the Soviet Union and USA; I know more about the British military, which makes it a better starting point for me. 

Gear

Clothing

Camouflaged uniforms provide a +1 bonus to Stealth rolls when wearing the appropriate camouflage for the environment (ie. arctic, desert, woodland, etc).

Armour

During the Cold War period, four different type of helmets were issued to British forces. The standard issue British Army infantry helmet was the Mk V ‘Turtle’ helmet, itself a development of the Mk III first issued in WW2 to replace the Brodie Helmet. Depending on stocks, the Parachute Regiment had the choice of either the WW2 era Mk.II Paratrooper or the Glass-Reinforced Plastic M76 Para helmet (direct forerunner of the later Mk.6). The Navy and the Royal Marines used another WW2 era helmet, this time the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) helmet. Though, the Royal Marines would also receive some of the Mk V helmets when there were limited stocks of the RAC helmets available.

The British didn’t really use body armour outside of Northern Ireland, even then it was a Flak Jacket based upon the ones used by the Americans during the Vietnam War. The initial batch of Flak Jackets acquired by the British at the start of the Northern Ireland Troubles came from American stocks, in some cases second- or even third-handed from Vietnam.

Flak Jacket (torso); Armor: +3; Min Star: d6; Weight: 10

Steel Helmet (Head); Armor: +4; Min Str: d6; Weight: 4

Weapons

Pistols

Browning Hi-Power (9mm)

The Browning Hi-Power was used as the standard sidearm by British forces.

Range: 12/24/48; Damage: 2d6; AP: 1; RoF: 1; Weight: 2; Shots: 13; Min Str: d4

Rifles

EM-2 (7mm)

The EM-2 was a late 1940s British attempt at creating a bullpup assault rifle, influence by experience and extensive studies during WW2. The rifle,a dn its ammo, was briefly adopted in 1951 but fell foul of a desire for NATO standardisation.

Range: 24/48/96; Damage: 2d8; AP: 2; RoF: 3; Weight: 8; Shots: 20; Min Str: d6

L1A1 SLR (7.62mm)

The L1A1 ‘Self-Loading Rifle’ (SLR) was a semi-automatic version of the FN FAL and the standard rifle used by British (and Commonwealth) forces during the Cold War period.

Range: 30/60/120; Damage: 2d8+1; AP: 2; RoF: 1; Weight: 9; Shots: 20; Min Str: d6;

L2A1 "Site Unit, Infantry, Trilux" (SUIT)

The SUIT was an optional scope for the L1A1 SLR and was issued to designated marksmen, though it was not designed as a sniper scope. It was unusual that that it used an inverted sight and thus used allowed very rapid target re-acquisition by leaving a clear sight picture under the inverted pointer when the rifle's barrel was raised by the rifle’s recoil. Additionally, it used tritium-powered illumination so that it could be used in low-light conditions.

Rules: Scope (providing the normal +2 to Shooting at Medium range or higher), halves Dim and Dark Lighting conditions (round down). Grants an additional +1 to Shooting in the round after the shooter fired an Aimed shot long as the shooter fires at the same target.

L42A1 Sniper Rifle (7.62mm)

After WW2 the British Armed Forces retained many Lee-Enfield rifles that had been adapted as sniper rifles. When the L1A1 SLR was adopted as the main British infantry weapon, a number of these Lee-Enfield sniper rifles were converted to 7.62mm NATO. It remained in service until it was finally replaced in the 1990s.

Range: 30/60/120; Damage: 2d8+1: AP: 2; RoF: 1; Weight: 10; Shots: 10; Min Str: d6; Notes: Bolt-Action, Scope, Snapfire

M16A1/Colt Commando CAR-15 (5.56mm)

The M16 family of rifles saw use by British special forces units, though the variants used did not have the ‘burst’ fire mode.

Range: 24/48/96; Damage: 2d8; AP: 2; RoF: 3; Weight: 8; Shots: 30; Min Str: d6

Submachine Guns

Sterling SMG (9mm)

A submachine gun of British design, that first saw use at the end of WW2, used as a support services weapons (i.e. tank crew, engineers, artillerymen, etc). The suppressed version was used by special forces such as the SAS.

Range: 12/24/48; Damage: 2d6; AP: 1; RoF: 3; Weight: 6; Shots: 34; Min Str: d6

Suppressed Variant: -4 penalty on listen based Notice rolls to hear weapon being fired.

Support Weapons

Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rilfe

An older and heavier version of the AT-4 (use same stats but change weight to 31lbs) that is still in service today. Reported used by Royal Marines against an Argentine warship during the Falklands Conflict.

GPMG (7.62mm)

The British GPMG is a licensed version of the Belgium FN MAG 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun, typically used at squad level.

Range: 30/60/120; Damage: 2d8+1; AP: 2; RoF: 3; Weight: 26; Shots: 250, belt-fed; Min Str: d8; Notes: Bipod, Snapfire

L4 Bren Gun (7.62mm)

Conversion of the WW2 era Bren Gun to fire 7.62mm NATO rounds. It was preferred over the GPMG due to its lighter weight and was withdrawn from British service in the 1990s following the adoption of the 5.56mm NATO round.

Range: 30/60/120; Damage: 2d8+1; AP:2; RoF: 3; Weight: 22; Shots: 30; Min Str: d8; Notes: Bipod, Snapfire

M79 Grenade Launcher

Issued at various times to British units as a close infantry support weapon.

Range: 24/48/96; Damage: 4d8; RoF: 1; Weight: 6; Shots: 1; Min Str: -; Notes: MBT

Vehicles

Saracen APC

Wheeled APC introduced into British service in the 1950s, some versions were also used by the Hong Kong, South African and some American police forces.

Size: 6 (Large); Handling: 0; Top Speed: 45 MPH; Toughness: 20 (6); Crew: 2+9

Notes: Heavy Armor, Four-Wheel Drive; Weapons: Med MG (Turret), Med MG (Open Turret)

FV432 APC

Tracked APC that first saw service in the early 1960s, remains in service to this day after receiving upgrades.

Size: 6 (Large); Handling: 0; Top Speed: 32 MPH; Toughness: 20 (5); Crew: 2+10

Notes: Heavy Armor, Tracked; Weapons: Med MG (Pintle Mount Front), 2x Smoke Dischargers (Fixed Front)

FV438 Swingfire

Another member of the FV430 series, the FV438 Swingfire were basically FV432 APCs converted to carry Swingfire anti-tank missile (capable of making a ninety-degree turn immediately after firing) launchers. The FV438 carries a double missile launcher with 12 more missiles in the hull. The launcher can (unlike that of the Striker) be reloaded from the inside. An interesting feature of this vehicle was that it could be fired remotely by a crewmember located up to 100 meters away from the vehicle, allowing it to stay completely hidden while firing.

Size: 6 (Large); Handling: 0; Top Speed: 32 MPH; Toughness: 20 (5); Crew: 3

Notes: Heavy Armor, Tracked; Weapons: Med MG (Pintle Mount), 2x Smoke Dischargers (Fixed Front), TOW Launcher

Centurion MK.1

The Centurion, the first main battle tank developed by the British during the latter half WW2 and considered one of the most successful post-war tank designs. First saw combat in the Korean War and was later used by the Royal Australian Armoured Corps in Vietnam, also the only known tank to have survived a nuclear blast. Variants are still in service with Israel and South Africa.

Size: 9 (Large); Handling: -1; Top Speed: 22 MPH; Toughness: 34 (16); Crew:4

Notes: Heavy Armor, Tracked; Weapons:17pdr cannon (76mm Tank Gun but Range: 80/120/320, AP Damage 4d8 & AP 15 - Turret), Med MG (Fixed Front/Turret - coax)

Centurion Mk.5/1 (Australian)

This is an Australian modified version of the British Centurion MBT, these saw extensive service in the infantry support role during the Vietnam War.

Size: 9 (Large); Handling: -1; Top Speed: 22 MPH; Toughness: 36 (18); Crew: 4

Notes: Heavy Armor, Tracked; Weapons: 20pdr cannon (88mm Tank Gun - Turret), Medium MG (Pintle Mount - commander's cupola), Medium MG (Fixed Front/Turret - coax), Heavy MG (Fixed Front/Turret - ranging gun)

Chieftain Mk.3
A development of the Centurion, the Chieftain was the main British battle tank from the 1960s until replaced by the Challenger I in the 1990s. Some versions remain in service with other nations. Though the tank was notorious for having engine problems and breaking down, this was addressed in later models.

Size: 9 (Large); Handling: -1; Top Speed: 30 MPH; Toughness: 48 (30); Crew: 4

Notes: Heavy Armor, Tracked, Unreliable; Weapons: 120mm Tank Gun (Turret), Medium MG (Pintle Mount - commander's cupola), Medium MG (Fixed Front/Turret - coax), Heavy MG (Fixed Front/Turret - ranging gun)

Cold War Skirmishes: Flashpoint Belize

Continuing on with taking a look at other settings and products that Utherwald has in the works. This week it is the turn of Cold War Skirmishes and we'll be taking a look at a potential conflict that almost erupted in Central America during the early 1970s. As ever the post will feature a overview of the military situation, offer adventure ideas and suggested NPC stats.

A Latin American Oddity

Unlike most of Latin America, the area that became Belize (known as British Honduras 1862-1973) did not fall under Spanish control. This was partially due to the decentralized society of the Mayans, who inhabited the area, and its lack of resources. There was some attempt at Spanish settlement, but English pirates proved to have greater success. Spain did attempt, a number of occasions, to expel the British settlers but grudgingly allowed them to remain after suffering an embarrassing defeat in the Battle of St. George's Cay.

The 19th Century saw pressure from the United States, under the Monroe Doctrine, for Britain to relinquish its holdings in Central America. Though whilst Britain did yield in some areas, it produced in 1854 a formal constitution for what became the Colony of British Honduras in 1862. There remain a strong American reluctance over the existence of the British colony, one that would last well into the 20th Century.

Unfriendly Neighbours

From 1821 the neighboring country of Guatemala has claimed part or the entirely of what is now Belize. This territorial dispute saw frequent flare-up of tensions, passions and tensions do run high in Central America as was proven by the 1969 Football War between El Salvador and Honduras. A treaty was signed in 1859 where Guatemala agreed to recognize British Honduras in return for Britain to build a road connecting the two. The dispute was then largely forgotten until the 1930s when Guatemala started claiming that the 1859 treaty was invalid because Britain had failed to uphold its end of the deal by not building the road.

In 1948 Guatemala threatened to invade and forcibly annex the territory, Britain responded by deploying two companies of troops. But the invasion threat never materialized, though Britain decided to permanently station troops in the colony. Guatemala would periodically mass troops on the border, but nothing further would develop. 1958 saw pro-Guatemalan Belize Liberation Army fighters cross the border, plant the Guatemalan flag and exchange fire with British troops before being arrested.

Attempts were made in the 1960s to negotiate an agreement, the US was asked to mediate and President Lyndon Johnson drafted a treaty that would give Guatemala effective control over the territory. British Honduras responded with riots. Talks would continue on and off as tensions flared and Guatemala threatened to invade, particularly as British Honduras made move towards independence. 1975 saw Britain, in response to the massing of Guatemalan troops on the border once again, deployed a large number of troops supported by artillery and fast jets which defused tensions. Guatemala suffered from troops desertions at this time in addition to an earthquake which put paid to its attempts to annex the territory.

Opposing Forces

The British

Britain typically kept a company of troops in British Honduras, though this would be reinforced with additional forces during times of tension. Additionally, a pair of frigates would be on station in the Caribbean as part of the Royal Navy's West Indies Station. The carrier HMS Ark Royal would be deployed in 1972 to deter Guatemalan aggression and a flight of Harrier Jump Jets would later be established. Whilst the British forces were a well-trained, equipped (for the early '70s) and professional force, they only maintained a small garrison and it took time for reinforcements to cross the Atlantic.

Equipment

L1A1 SLR
Sterling SMG
Bren 7.62mm
General Purpose Machine Gun
81mm mortar
Wombat Anti-tank
Harrier Jump Jet

The British also had access to F-4 Phantoms and Blackburn Buccaneers from HMS Ark Royal in the early 1970s. Though their only viable weapon against Guatemalan aircraft was 2-inch unguided rockets.

The Guatemalans

Guatemala had an army that was well trained by Latin American standards, its elite troops were even trained by the US military, but alot of its equipment dated from WW2. The Guatemalan military did enjoy support from both the CIA and US Military Assistance Programme.

Equipment

The Guatemalan Army used virtually the same infantry weapons as the US Army did in Vietnam, though its a little unclear on precise vehicles used. The M8 Greyhound armoured car and M113 APC are confirmed to have been in Guatemalan service (and still are), there was supposedly tanks and the best fit I can find is the M3 Stuart. Walker Bulldog light tanks were given to Guatemala in the early '80s.

Air assets included the Huey, P-51 Mustangs and Lockheed T-33s.

Adventure Ideas

If actual war had broken out, most battles would probably be squad or platoon sized skirmishes with perhaps one or two company level battles. The British, to begin with, would be at a disadvantage with having to wait on reinforcements which could be held up if the US denied use of its airspace for troop transport flights (which it did). The Guatemalans enjoyed greater mobility and potentially, if things went far enough, widespread support in the Americas. There probably would've been pressure from the US to end the fighting, but its difficult to say who's side the US would've backed as the US would've had to chose between allies.

Local British commanders, given lack of resources, planned to harass Guatemalan forces in hopes of buying time for reinforcements to arrive. Though if the sole international airport fell, the British would've resorted to guerrilla warfare in the jungles of Belize. There would be plenty of scope for squad level actions which would probably have been the mainstay of the conflict.

For the Weird Wars aspect, the region is riddled with Mayan ruins amidst the thick jungles with unknown creatures lurking among them. This potentially could see both British and Guatemalan patrols battling each other as they are in turn stalked by unseen sinister foes. Another angle could be British desperation in the form of trying to enlist the aid of an army of undead pirates to fight the Guatemalans.

Stats

The Experienced Soldier stats in Savage Worlds Deluxe would be a good basis for both British and Guatemalan soldiers as both were roughly equal in training and professionalism. Though due to the British Army's focus on marksmanship, it is recommended that British soldiers have the Marksman Edge.

Cold War Skirmishes: Blackburn Buccaneer

This week we're doing something a little different for Cold War Skirmishes, we're gonna try and stat up an aircraft.

Our candidate is the Blackburn Buccaneer, a British carrier-borne attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy to counter a new generation of Soviet warships. Used by the Fleet Air Arm, RAF and South African Air Force seeing combat action in both the Gulf War of 1991 and the South African Border War. They also put in appearances at the US' Exercise RED FLAG from 1977 through to 1983.

The Blackburn Buccaneer

The Buccaneer (or 'Bucc' as it was nicknamed) was designed from the outset to fly at low-level in order to approach enemy ships' below their radar horizon, keeping the engagement to less than a minute before quickly flying out of range whilst its weapons struck. Following the demise of the Royal Navy's fleet carriers in the 1970s, a number of Buccaneers were transferred to the RAF where they were used in the maritime strike role as well as the overland strike role with RAF Germany. In 1972, Buccaneers of 809 Naval Air Squadron operating from HMS Ark Royal took part in a 1,500 miles (2,400 km) mission to show a military presence over British Honduras (now Belize) shortly before its independence, to deter a possible Guatemalan invasion. Other missions include supporting British peacekeepers in Lebanon in 1983 and then operations against Iraqi forces in the 1991 Gulf War, the latter conflict saw the aircraft being fitted with designator pods for laser-guided bombs.

The only other operator of the Buccaneer was the South African Air Force which acquired 16 aircraft in 1963, though further orders were blocked by Harold Wilson's Labour government in the late 1960s. The South African Buccaneers, like their British counterparts, were used in both the maritime and overland strike roles. SAAF Buccaneers saw active combat service in the 1970s and 1980s during the South African Border War, often flying close air support missions. Its ability to carry heavy loads over long ranges, in addition to being able to loiter far longer than other aircraft, made it ideal for the CAS role.

The Buccaneer featured a large internal bomb bay, capable of carrying a wide-range of conventional and nuclear weapons, plus four external weapons mounting points. The bomb bay itself rotated as traditional bomb bay doors could not be safely opened into the air stream at low levels and high speeds. Additionally the bomb bay could be configured to carry a fuel tank and many Buccaneers were used as 'buddy tankers' to refuel other aircraft. The hard points could carry bombs, missiles, rockets, fuel tanks or other equipment like flares, later development introduced electronic warfare and laser designator pods. 

Over its service life, the Buccaneer carried a range of self-defence systems. Early systems included chaff and flare ejectors, but later on ECM pods and radar warning receivers were fitted. Sidewinder missiles were another later addition, typically appearing on at least one aircraft in a 'Battle Formation' of up to six aircraft. A truly unique defence system for the Buccaneer was known as 'retard defence' which came about by accident. During an early Ex RED FLAG a Buccaneer was being pursued by a particularly determined F5 at low level and the Buccaneer pilot decided to drop one of his practice bombs, which proved enough to scare the F5 off. Post-sorted video analysis showed that if the bomb had been a real bomb, then the F5 would've been blown out of the sky by the debris. It quickly became standard practice for Buccaneers to carry four retard bombs in their bomb bays for 'air defence', which was called 'Retard Defence' and had the advantage that these weapons could be used if a target of opportunity was spotted whilst on a mission. 

Acc/TS: 20/322; Toughness: 17 (5); Crew: 2; Climb: 3; Notes: AMCM
Weapons: 4x 1,000lb bombs (internal)
4 × Matra rocket pods with 18 × SNEB 68 mm rockets each (external)
2 × AIM-9 Sidewinders for self-defence or 2 × AS-37 Martel missiles or 4 × Sea Eagle missile (external)
Up to 4x bombs (external)

Further Information

Wikipedia Article
Blackburn Buccaneer: The Last British Bomber
RAF Buccaneer - 12 Squadron Training Film - NATO OPEN GATE - 1978

Cold War Skirmishes: Sterling SMG

This week we take a break from Frozen Skies and do a Cold War Skirmishes installment.

We'll be taking a look at the Sterling SMG, the British Army's submachine gun that served alongside the L1A1 SLR for much of the Cold War period. It was used by a number of other countries in a number of different conflicts (including both sides of the Falklands War). Star Wars fans may recognize the Sterling as being the basis for the blaster used by Imperial Stormtroopers in the Original Trilogy.

As ever, brief overview of the weapon and modifications/variants.

Sterling SMG

The Sterling SMG was developed during the latter years of WW2 as a potential replacement for the famous Sten Gun and was even used in combat by British airborne troops before the end of the war. However, it wasn't until 1951 that it was decided that the Sterling would be adopted as the new SMG of the British Army.

There would be a number of different variants of the Sterling, though model changes were minimal throughout its development life. Variants include a suppressed version and a version chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO rounds intended to be used as an emergency standby weapon in case of attack during the Cold War. Canada, Chile and India produced their own licensed versions of the Sterling, the Indian versions are still in production for use by the Indian Armed Forces.

The Sterling also could fit a bayonet of similar design as that of the SLR, though it was rarely employed other than for ceremonial duties. The bayonet stats in the Savage Worlds rulebook would work just fine.

Sterling SMG (12/24/480, 2d6, RoF 3, 34 shots, Min -, Notes: AP1, Auto)

Suppressed Variant:- -4 penalty on listen based Notice rolls to hear weapon being fired.

7.62 NATO variant (24/48/96, 2d8+1, RoF 3, 30 shots, Min Str d6, Notes: AP2, Auto)

Cold War Skirmishes: The EM-2 Rifle

Short post this week given I'm a bit pressed for time.

We take a look at the British EM-2 Rifle, an experimental assault rifle designed in the late 1940s to replace the Lee-Enfield. It proved to be short lived due to the politics of the time and the SA80 is considered its spiritual successor due to their similar appearances.

The Cold War Rifle That Never Was

The EM-2 was born out of a desire by Britain, like many other countries, to develop their own assault rifles in the aftermath of WW2. The British Army had actually wanted to replace the .303 round before the First World War, but were forced to keep it for another 30 years due to time and financial constraints. With these constraints finally removed they were free to develop the .280 round and a rifle to use it, in addition to a new machine gun (the Taden gun).

Belgium company Fabrique Nationale expressed considerable interest in the round, and started development of their own rifles based upon it. The Canadian Army also expressed interest in the new round, both to maintain commonality with the British and to modernize their forces. Two similar rifles, the EM-1 and EM-2, were developed. Both were bullpup-style weapons with the magazine and chamber placed behind the pistol grip and trigger. The two rifles did differ internally and only shared the same sight, but ultimately the EM-2 was selected as the better of the two and adopted by the British Army in 1951 as the Rifle, Automatic, Calibre .280, Number 9.

Though the EM-2's service would be short lived as NATO was seeking to standardize on weapons and ammunitions, so weapon designs had to be met with the approval of at least two governments in order to have any hope of adoption by the organisation as a whole. The US put forth several of their own designs that used the 7.62×51mm NATO round, particularly in the prototype T25 and T44 rifles. A shoot-off in 1951 (which saw a Belgium .280 FN FAL being tested) saw the US claiming the British round was underpowered, and the British claiming the US round was too powerful to be used in a rifle in full-automatic mode. Canada make things awkward by declaring that it would only adopt the British .280 round if the US did, though the US had settled on the 7.62x51mm round and selected the T44 to go into service as the M14.

British designers tried adapting the EM-2 to the larger US round but it quickly became clear that it wasn't going to work, plus Winston Churchill had recently returned as Prime Minister and opted for NATO standardisation and had the British Forces adopt the 7.62x51mm round. However, the FN FAL proved to be easily adaptive to the bigger round and the British adopted that rifle as the L1A1 SLR. Though the British would be vindicated when the 7.62x51mm round proved to be powerful to be controllable in automatic mode, resulting in NATO later adopting the 5.56x45mm round after the US adopted the M16 in the mid-1960s.

More info on the EM-2 can be found here; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EM-2_rifle

EM-2 (30/60/120, 2d8+1, RoF 3, 20 shots, Min Str d6, Notes: AP2, Auto)

Cold War Skirmishes: The Gurkhas

The British Army has contained many famous units throughout its long history, ranging from the 95th Rifles of the Napoleonic era through to the SAS. Counted amongst them is the Gurkhas, Nepalese soldiers who have fought alongside the British forces since the first Gurkha unit was raised in 1815 following the Anglo-Nepalese War. This week we'll be covering the British Army's Gurkha units during the Cold War period, featuring an brief overview of their history, training and some role play material.

Pre-Cold War

Prior to the Cold War the Gurkhas had been loyally serving in the British Indian Army for over a hundred years, primarily in the Far East and on the North West Frontier of British India. They also served in both World Wars, but this required a special dispensation known as Pani Patiya. It is believed that crossing the sea means that Gurkhas forfeit their privileges of caste and rights, failing to obtain the dispensation results in heavy punishment. Others who may have unwittingly taken food and water with the transgressor are also placed under the same ban.

The First World War saw some 200,000 Gurkahs fight on the Western Front and throughout the Middle East from the Suez Canal to Syria. The Gurkhas won 26 Victoria Crosses during the conflict but lost twenty thousand men, this includes a battalion of the 8th Gurkhas that fought to the last man during the Battle of Loos by hurling themselves time after time against the weight of the German defences. After the war the Gurkhas went back to being peace-time soldiers on the frontiers of India, though they still took part in many conflicts such as the Third Afghan War and the Waziristan Campaign.

Went the Second World War broke out the Gurkhas once again sailed across the sea to fight for Britain. They fought from Syria through the Western Desert through to Italy and Greece. In the Far East they fought in Malaya, Singapore, the retreat from Siam and throughout the Burma campaign. At war's end they were involved in various peace-keeping missions including Vietnam after the Japanese surrender until the French returned. They had been in the thick of the fighting against the Japanese in Burma, yet when they arrived in Vietnam they found that the Japanese had been allowed to keep their weapons and eventually the two former enemies fought alongside one another against the Vietnamese nationalists.

Partition

By 1947 there were ten Gurkha regiments (some twenty battalions) in the 'old' Indian Army, with the Partition of India these were divided between the 'new' Indian Army and the British Army. Six regiments (twelve battalions) were transferred to the 'new' Indian Army whilst the remaining four regiments (eight battalions) were integrated into the British Army as the Brigade of Gurkhas. The Brigade also consists of The King's/Queen's Gurkha Engineers, The King's/Queen's Gurkha Signals and the Gurkha Transport Regiment.

The Brigade of Gurkhas would see service throughout the twelve years of the Malayan Emergency and later in Brunei and Borneo during the Indonesian Confrontation. Their HQ and main training base was later established in Hong Kong where the Gurkhas were deployed on security duties that included patrolling the border checking for illegal immigrants entering the territory. They were never allowed to be deployed to Northern Ireland nor they were ever assigned to the British Forces in Germany, but they did take part in the Falklands War. The Gurkhas' reputation preceded them in this conflict in 1982 as the Argentines surrendered rather than fight when confronted by the Gurkhas, even if the Argentines were entrenched in strong positions!

Selection and Training

During the Cold War period the British Army needed 400 recruits a year for the Gurkhas, every year there were 8,000 young men eager to join. Old soldiers were sent into the hills to do the preliminary selection and whittled it down to 800 potential recruits who were sent to the depots at Dharan and Pokhra for medical and selection. Most of the Gurkha recruits were subsistence farmers scratching out a living at around 7,000 feet, often travelling barefoot for many miles up and down mountains whilst carrying heavy loads. As a result the Gurkhas all have immensely powerful legs, but they are prone to tuberculosis and one of the first tests they have to pass is a chest X-ray. Living in the mountains, thus away from the population and noise of cities, also means that they have excellent eyesight and hearing.

Though whilst to Western eyes the Gurkhas may all look alike, the Gurkhas belong to a tribal or clan system which has different dialects and differing physical traits. This often meant that the individual Gurkha regiments recruited from specific areas of Nepal. The small, quick-witted Rais and the taller, slower-speaking Limbus from Central East Nepal formed the recruitment pool of the 7th and 10th Gurkha Rifles; on the other hand the 2nd and 6th took Gurungs and Magars from Central West. Though the stated difference between the two was that the Gurungs had finer features.

Those who were accepted were sent via aircraft for ten months training at the Brigade's main base in Hong Kong, something that was often a culture shock for the young Nepalese men. They had to be taught how to live in the modern world and learn English in addition to basic soldiering. The training was tough and maintained a discipline long out of fashion with British regiments. Their accommodation consisted of large wooden huts that were so out of date that for a time the Royal Marines kept one at the Commando Training Centre just to show recruits how rough life was in the old army. Yet the Gurkhas lapped it up and considered it an insult if their training was softened for any reason.

Officers

Historically there were two types of officers in the Gurkhas; regular British officers and the King's/Queen's Gurkha Officers (K/QGOs).

The British officers (of which there were only 17 to a Gurkha battalion) had to attend the two-month Nepalese Language Qualification Course at the Hong Kong training depot and was expected to immerse himself in Gurkha culture and tradition. He was told to never shout at a Gurkha as that would only lower his prestige in the eyes of the Gurkha and he had the responsibility to maintain his own standards, thus develop a mutual relationship of trust with his men. If a Gurkha lost faith in his officer that officer was finished, but once trust is established the Gurkha would follow him to hell and back. The British officers also looked after their men, even going as far as keeping an eye on the men's gambling (which was only allowed during the religious festive of Diwali).

Queen's Gurkha Officer sat somewhere between warrant officers and full commissions, meaning they had no authority over British troops and were technically subordinate to any British officer regardless of rank. Most QGOs were typically old hands who had come up through the ranks and served as either platoon commanders or as deputy commanders of companies. A scheme started in the 1950s introduced Gurkha officers commissioned from the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy who were on par with British officers and had greater promotion prospects (one Gurkha became a Lieutenant-Colonel).

Service and Duty

The main base for the Gurkhas was at Hong Kong, where they were primarily employed on internal security duty (typically picking up fugitives from Communist China), there were other postings and the battalions had a rotation system for these postings. Each battalion spent two years in the UK followed by four years in Hong Kong, two in Brunei and then back in Hong Kong for a further two years before they started the sequence all over again.

There were other postings: to the Jungle School in Brunei, to the Demonstration Company at Sandhurst or the Demonstration Company at the NCO Training Wing at Brecon and four-month long postings to Korea where a large platoon of Gurkhas formed the United Nations Honour Guard. Additionally there was something like a thousand Gurkha soldiers in Nepal at any one time, either working at the Dharan base or travelling to and from their homes on leave.

More details can be found here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigade_of_Gurkhas

Gaming the Gurkhas

Probably the easiest way to use the Gurkhas in Savage Worlds is a bridge campaign between Weird War 2 and Tour of Darkness, covering the post-WW2 period in Vietnam before the French re-occupation and First Indochina War. This would only cover the 1945-46 period but would feature a number of clashes with the Viet Minh, but plenty of Weird Wars elements be can thrown in. For example this would involve trying to beat the Viet Minh to a secret Japanese (or Vichy French) research base located deep in the jungle.

A mash-up of Weird War 2 and Tour of Darkness can, to a degree, also be used to cover the Mayalan Emergency and Indonesian Confrontation. The former saw the use of alot of old WW2 era equipment, though the latter would require some conversions from Tour of Darkness. A Falklands War based game would be a little trickier since the Gurkhas never got to see much action (for reasons listed earlier), but the conflict took place over a large part of the South Atlantic and a forgotten Nazi base in the far south could come into play.

Equipment wise the Gurkha used standard issue British weapons such as the L1A1 SLR and General Purpose Machine Gun (use M60 stats), though they were also issued with the American M16 depending on the mission requirements. Every Gurkha also carried a kukri, a knife that is similar to a machete and is used as both a tool and weapon in Nepal.

Suggest using the following stats for the kukri: Str+d6

Particularly in the Far East the Gurkhas wore Tropical DPM fatigues, this gives them a +1 bonus to their Stealth rolls whilst in a jungle environment.

Below is the suggested stats for a Gurkha soldier;

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d6+2, Stealth d6, Shooting d6, Survival d8, Tracking d8
Charisma: -2; Pace: 5; Parry: 6; Toughness: 4
Hindrances: Bloodthirsty, Loyal, Small
Edges: Alertness, Marksman, Woodsman

Cold War Skirmishes: L1A1 SLR

Another Cold War Skirmishes instalment, this time a look at a battle rifle that was the standard issue rifle for much of the British Commonwealth during the Cold War period: The semi-automatic L1A1 SLR

The SLR as it was simply known ("inch pattern" FAL in the USA) was a British version of the Belgium FN FAL, and was used in numerous conflicts including the Falklands where it was used against Argentine FN FALs. Fans of Doctor Who may recognise the SLR as being the rifle used by UNIT soldiers during the 1970s.

Includes brief overview of the L1A1 SLR and modifications/variants.

L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle

Doctor Who - Terror of the Zygons

The SLR was in service with much of the British Commonwealth from the mid-1950s and into the 1990s, various small countries still uses it as a combat rifle whilst the Royal Navy and its New Zealand counterpart uses it for line throwing between ships. The British used it for virtually every conflict that fought in during the Cold War, the main exception being Korea which took place before the rifle was introduced into service, and second line British units in the First Gulf War used it.

Below are the stats for a standard L1A1 SLR;

L1A1 SLR (30/60/120, 2d8+1, RoF 1, 20 shots, Min Str d6, Notes: AP2, Semi-Auto)

Two unique optional sights were developed for the SLR over its lifetime, the "Hythe Sight" and the
L2A1 "Site Unit, Infantry, Trilux" (SUIT).

The Hythe Sight was developed for close range, dusk and night use and incorporated two overlapping rear sight aperture leaves, and a permanently glowing (until radioactively decayed) tritium inserts in the front sight post for improved night visibility.

Suggested Rules: Scope that gives +1 to Shooting at Short Range only, also halves Dim and Dark Lighting penalties (round down).

The SUIT sight was similar to the earlier Hythe Sight in that it used tritium-powered illumination so that it could be used in low-light conditions. It was not designed as a sniper sight, but it was still issued to designated marksmen. Primary user was the British Army, though it was also used by the Australians and New Zealanders. It was unusual that that it used an inverted sight and thus used allowed very rapid target re-acquisition by leaving a clear sight picture under the inverted pointer when the rifle's barrel was raised by recoil.

It was virtually copied by the Soviet Union and designated as the 1P29 telescopic sight.

Suggested Rules: Scope (providing the normal +2 to Shooting at Medium range or higher), halves Dim and Dark Lighting conditions (round down), grants an additional +1 to Shooting in the round after the shooter fired an Aimed shot.

A 20 round magazine was standard for the SLR, but Commonwealth magazines had a lug brazed onto the front to engage the recess in the receiver compared to the smaller pressed dimple on metric FAL magazines. Metric FAL magazines could be used with the SLR, but Commonwealth magazines can't fit into the metric FN FAL. The SLR could also take the magazine from the 7.62mm L4 Bren LMG, the bigger capacity of 30 rounds came at the cost of the L4 magazines being gravity assisted downwards feeding and thus unreliable with the SLR's upwards feeding system.

Suggested Rule: L4 magazine increases the SLR's shots to 30 but imposes the Unreliable rule; when the shooter rolls a one on a Shooting roll (regardless of the Wild Die) it means that the weapon has jammed. Repairs required 2d12 minutes and a Repair roll.

Variants

L2A1/C2A1 'Heavy Barrel'

The Heavy Barrel was an automatic version of the L1A1 co-developed by Australia and Canada as a light automatic rifle or quasi-squad automatic weapon (SAW), similar to the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) or the Bren gun. The L2A1 was an inferior weapon to the Bren as the latter was designed from the start for the fire support role, likewise the Bren's barrel could be changed unlike the L2A1.

L2A1 'Heavy Barrel' (30/60/120, 2d8+1, RoF 1, 30 shots, Min Str d8, Notes: AP2, Auto, Snapfire)

SAS L1A1/L2A1 

During the Vietnam War the Australian Special Air Service field modified SLRs and L2A1s by cutting down the barrel length and installing a XM148 40 mm grenade launcher beneath the barrel. Semi-automatic L1A1s were unofficially converted to full-auto capability by using lower receivers from the L2A1. In service with the Australian SAS it was nicknamed after a female dog.

SAS L1A1/L2A1 (30/60/120, 2d8+1, RoF 1, 30 shots, Min Str d8, Notes: AP2, Auto)

XM148 Grenade Launcher (24/48/96, 4d8, RoF 1, Notes: MBT, Single Shot, 1 round to reload)