Danish army lists

Hi Sprygsy, wasn't ignoring you, just snowed under.....

Sounds like you have clarified things for yourself and that is the most important thing.

My own take, for what it is worth, is that there are the actual historical fighting (A), troops that were available but for one reason or another did not take part in the fighting (ie because they were knocked out pre-emptively [eg the air force], they surrendered without a fight or because the surrender came before they could engage) (B) and finally (C) stuff that would have been available had the army mobilised. German opponents to be selected accordingly.

We also have varying levels of engagement, ie: (1) platoon level - border clashes (2) company-battalion level (forward garrisons eg Haderslev) (c) divisional level.

For the anally retentive, this begs for a table .

But for an example

1A - historical border clash:
- Bicycle platoon HQ
- Motorcycle platoon HQ
- FPK Motorcycle platoon HQ
- Bicycle LMG squad
- Bicycle tripod squad
- Motorcycle LMG squad
- Motorcycle tripod squad
- Motorcycle cannon squad
- FPK motorcycle LMG squad
- FPK motorcycle tripod squad  

- Pioneer NCO school motorcycle platoon HQ
- PNCOS bicycle platoon HQ
- PNCOS motorcycle LMG squad
- PNCOS motorcycle tripod squad
- PNCOS bicycle tripod squad

1B. Near-historical border clash
As above plus:
Cavalry ready motor squadron (beredskabsmotoreskadronen) with:
- Squadron HQ
- Armoured car platoon
- Motorcycle tripod platoon
- Motorcycle cannon platoon
- Truck-mounted cannon platoon
- Pioneer platoon
Cavalry ready cyclist squadron (beredskabscyklisteskadronen) with:
- Squadron HQ
- 4 cavalry bicycle platoons

1(C) Mobilised army border clash
- Prepared defences - minefields, trenches, road blocks etc
- Cavalry motorised anti tank guns
- Mounted squadron

The cavalry organisation of bicycle and motocycle squads, platoons and squadrons differed from that of the infantry and FPK. I am still working my way through that.

I also found some material on Danish motorised artillery but, alas, it does not answer the main outstanding question ie what pulled the big boys other than the five halftracks. However it confirms what we knew that the light guns were towed by Ford As, Ford BB's and Ford Thames with suitable bodies and that these types (with appropriate bodies) were used to supply the artillery (along with some GS Triangels). I also learnt that a normal Triangel could be easily converted within 10 hours to a haltrack with a track kit so you could argue this for an increase in Triangel half-tracks in a mobilised army.

The artillery preferred Ford V8 Mercurys for its HQs and photos seem to confirm this. Motorcycles were the usual Nimbus. The motorised artillery battalions got 3 Tempos each (of the remaining 8, the cavalry regiments got 3 each (I presume to pull their anti-tank guns) and two remained in reserve).  

Bestest
K

Hi, it’s completely ok, I’m just glad that someone else than me shows interest in the project and with all the help I’ve got from you thus far, I cant complain

I think we(or I) need to find out what the goal of the list is.
Is the goal a list that represents April 9th, 1940, between 0400 and 1000, or is it some other timeframe/setup, like general mobilization, if they were allowed to prepare?
I am leaning towards April 9th, but that limits the list somewhat, but that was the case on the day.
We could do two lists, one 1A and one 3C.
The current implementation of the list is, from my point of view, 3C with historical notes to make it 1A.

The other thing that hangs over me is that I want to do another army list, and historical scenarios for the danes.
Just havent figured out what other armylist to do... Norwegians? Greece? Swedish what-ifs? Balkans? Lithuanians? Some other small country?

What are you leaning towards in the case of the danish army list?

Sent from Topic'it App

No reason why you can't do the list or lists that interest you the most and then expand as and when you want to. They are your lists after all . And in any case, actual fighting (ie 1A and 2A) covers all the basic infantry stuff quite nicely.

The only thing you would be missing is the Cavalry, which is my current interest because we are thinking of putting on a demo game with that theme, and we've already done the historical aspects. The cavalry should play quite differently to the infantry. Despite the uniforms and equipment being interchangeable (except the mounted squadrons) the organisation was quite different and a lot more like that of typical European infantry of the day. For example the cavalry bicycle squad consists of:
NCO squad leader
LMG gunner
Loader
Tripod carrier
2 LMG ammunition carriers
Messenger
3 riflemen

Note the presence of riflemen! Not all of the squad was available for combat of course - when retreating, 9 men were deployed (one of the riflemen was left with the bikes). In the advance the squad leader, gunner, loader and 2 ammo carriers were deployed, the remainder wheeling the bicycles behind them. All the LMGs were on tripods.

Platoon HQ consisted of a mere officer in command, his second (an NCO) and two runners.

Having combed through the organisational detail of the cavalry that I have, I cannot find any provision of 37mm anti-tank guns. Yet the photos of Tempos pulling guns are from the JDR. Quite likely an experiment, but did that experiment survive until 1940? And what were the light cars used by cavalry company commanders? Were they still the antiquated (by 1940) Morris Minors of the photos or had they moved onto something more modern?

There are always questions.

Best wishes
K

I did a poll on the facebook-group, and overwhelmingly people want an historical list, and not a with fictional elements, so 1A and 2A sounds like the way to go.
That does not mean that I will stop trying to find information about the rest of the army.

Are you using the list for gaming? Nice
I’ve had one proper game, and a couple of list builds.
You have to tell me how the game went!

I will have a look at the cavalry section, and try to fit that in among all the other bicycles and motorcycles.

Havent seen anything about the officers cars, that i can recall. Will have a look in my books and see what i can dig up

Sent from Topic'it App

For completeness, herewith the cavalry version of the motorcycle and motorcycle cannon platoons

Motorcycle platoon HQ
Platoon CO (officer), range finder, driver, motorcycle with sidecar
Second i/c (senior NCO), foot messenger, driver, motorcycle with sidecar
2x despatch rider on solo motorbike

3x Motorcycle squad
Squad leader (NCO), tripod carrier, motocycle with sidecar
Gunner, motorcycle with LMG sidecar
Loader, ammunition carrier, (messenger) motorcycle with sidecar
Ammunition carrier, motorcycle with ammunition sidecar

Motorcycle cannon platoon HQ
Platoon CO (officer), range finder, driver, motorcycle with sidecar
Second i/c (senior NCO), rifleman, driver, motorcycle with sidecar

4x motorcycle cannon squad
CO (NCO), rifleman, motorcycle with sidecar
Loader (also driver), gunner, cannon motorcycle with sidecar
Ammunition carrier, motorcycle with ammunition sidecar

Ammunition squad
4x ammunition carrier, driver, motorcycle with ammunition sidecar

The motorcycle squadron was made up of HQ, HQ platoon (observation and signals), 4 motorcycle platoons, motorcycle cannon platoon and trains. It was set up to be very independent, for example having an organic signals squad (this is where, presumably, the motorcycle-mounted radio comes in) and an unusually generous allocation of observation equipment, allowing the squadrons to act as their own artillery spotters. It also had extensive medical services including its own doctor and medical orderly.

Ooh nice
I have to do some starting points values for this also

Have lots on the agenda now, I have to stop talking and start doing!

Sent from Topic'it App

The fire support squadron was also somewhat unusual. Instead of the machine guns and mortars one would expect, it had a further two motorcycle cannon platoons, presumably as per motorcycle squadron, a pioneer squad and a motor cannon platoon. The motor cannon platoon  had four 20mm Madsens, mounted on Ford V8 trucks. The fixtures appear permanent and allowed AA as well as anti-tank fire. The crew appears to have consisted of team leader, gunner, loader and driver.  No info on platoon HQ, but my best guess would be that it was similar to that of a motorcycle cannon platoon.

However, the regimental structure is a tad academic since the regiments were wound down after September 1939. The mounted squadrons of the GHR were 'sent home' and the two bicycle squadrons merged into one (I presume)full-strength one (HQ and trains, 4 tripod platoons of 3 squads each) while the three motorised squadrons were combined into one motor squadron consisting of:
HQ and trains
HQ platoon (observation and signals)
Armoured car platoon (Lynx)
Training armoured car platoon (wooden/steel mock-ups on Ford trucks with LMG)
2 motorcycle platoons
Motorcycle cannon platoon
Motor cannon platoon
Pioneer squad

I presume there was some sort of skeleton regimental HQ and services to manage these two squadrons.

From February 1940 the GDR became the core of a small battle group located in the Fakse (modern Faxe) area of south Sjaeland. This consisted of the above bicycle and motor squadrons plus 12 reduced strength infantry companies, 2 artillery batteries, a pioneer company and and telegraph battalion engineer company. All in all a nice wargamey unit...

I don't have info on what happened to JDR based around Aarhus. I suspect that they were similarly down-sized.

On another subject - does anyone have any idea what Danish vehicle camouflage looked like?

Hi,

Let me start with:
Sorry for letting this project slip thru my fingers. I had a death in my family, and after that my life has been a bit up and down, so real life had to take priority for a while.
But now I'm back on my feet again to finish this project once and for all.

I will have a read to get back where I was (it felt like it was really close to finished), and will start posting regularly again this week.

This feels like a completely separate list from the infantry list, or it should be that you choose eaither the infantry section or the motorcycle section within the same list maybe?

Anyhow, started working on some points values:

Motorcycle platoon HQ
Platoon CO (officer), range finder, driver, motorcycle with sidecar
Second i/c (senior NCO), foot messenger, driver, motorcycle with sidecar
2x despatch rider on solo motorbike

3x Motorcycle squad
Squad leader (NCO), tripod carrier, motocycle with sidecar
Gunner, motorcycle with LMG sidecar
Loader, ammunition carrier, (messenger) motorcycle with sidecar
Ammunition carrier, motorcycle with ammunition sidecar

This translates in game terms to something like:
Platoon Hq 116pts 11-r BR
Unit composition: 6 men
Special rules: senior officer, runner, dispatches x2
Transport: 2 x motorcycle with sidecar, 2 x motorcycle (Dispatches)

3 x motorcycle squads
Unit composition: 7 men with LMG on tripod
Transport: 3 x motorcycle with sidecar, motorcycle.

——————————————

Motorcycle cannon platoon HQ
Platoon CO (officer), range finder, driver, motorcycle with sidecar
Second i/c (senior NCO), rifleman, driver, motorcycle with sidecar

4x motorcycle cannon squad
CO (NCO), rifleman, motorcycle with sidecar
Loader (also driver), gunner, cannon motorcycle with sidecar
Ammunition carrier, motorcycle with ammunition sidecar

Ammunition squad
4x ammunition carrier, driver, motorcycle with ammunition sidecar

This translates in game terms to something like:
Cannon Platoon Hq 107 10-r BR
Unit composition: 5 men
Special rules: senior officer
Transport: 2 x motorcycle with sidecar

4 x motorcycle cannon squads
Unit composition: 5 men with HMG
Transport: 3 x motorcycle with sidecar
Special rules: Supply (only for motorcycle cannon squads)

Ammunition squad
Unit composition: 4 men
Transport: 4 x motorcycle with sidecar
Special rules: Supply (only for motorcycle cannon squads)

# Danish army list
# April 9th, 1940
# Operation Weserübung

Creator: Sprygsy
Historical fact digging: gebhk, Sprygsy

### Special rules
German air superiority. This represents the small size of the Danish air force against the much larger German air force, and the fact that the danish air force never got off the ground on April 9th.

All units equipped with motorcycles gain the Motorcyclist troop special rule.

Any german armies from 1940 can be used as opponents.

### Optional special rules:
Historical note The german invasion of Denmark was a swift affair, with many small skirmishes. Use the following optional special rules to play closer to historical events.

In a Attacker/Defender type scenario, the danes will always be defenders. Add D6-1 BR to the danish total BR.

Only use platoon sized games, to simulate the skirmish nature of the invasion.


# Forward HQ

### Forward HQ 22pts 3-r BR
Unit composition: 3 men
Transport: -
Special rules: senior officer, unique
Options:
May be mounted in Ford heavy car +3pts
May add up to 2 Runners for +3pts each

### Dispatches 12pts 0-i BR
Unit composition: 2 men
Transport: Bicycles
Special rules: dispatches
Options:
May be mounted on horseback for +2pts
May be mounted on motorcycle for + 4pts

### Wire team 7pts 0-i BR
Unit composition: 2 men
Transport: -
Special rules: Communications
Options: -


# Infantry units

## Rekylgeværkompagni / Infantry company

Each infantry company contains 1 to 3 rekylgeværsdeling and up to 1 trefodsdeling.

### Rekylgeværdeling 77pts 6-i BR
1 delingstrop platoon HQ
Unit composition: 10 men with 4 VB launchers
Special rules: Officer

### 4 rekylgeværgruppe squads
Unit Composition: 9 men with a 8mm Madsen LMG on bipod

### Trefodsdeling 81 6-i BR
1 delingstrop platoon HQ
Unit composition: 10 men with 4 VB launchers
Special rules: Officer

### 4 trefodsgruppe squads
Unit Composition: 9 men with a 8mm Madsen LMG on tripod

## Cyklistkompagni / Bicycle company
Each bicycle company contains 1 to 3 rekylgeværsdeling and up to 1 trefodsdeling.

### Rekylgeværdeling 77pts 6-i BR
1 delingstrop platoon HQ
Unit composition: 6 men
Transport: Bicycles
Special rules: Officer, Runner

### 4 rekylgeværgruppe squads
Unit Composition: 8 men with a 8mm Madsen LMG on bipod

### Trefodsdeling 81pts 6-i BR
1 delingstrop platoon HQ
Unit composition: 6 men
Special rules: Officer, Runner

### 4 trefodsgruppe squads
Unit Composition: 8 men with a 8mm Madsen LMG on tripod

## Motorcyklistkompagni / Motorcycle company
Each motorcycle company contains 1 motorcyklistdeling and 1 motorcyklistkanondeling

### Rekylgeværdeling 82pts 6-i BR
1 delingstrop platoon HQ
Unit composition: 6 men on 2 motorcycles with sidecar, 2 men on motorcycles
Special rules: Officer, runner

### 4 motorcyklistgruppe squads
Unit Composition: 10 men on 4 motorcycles with sidecar with a 8mm Madsen LMG on bipod

### Motorcyklistkanondeling 87pts 6-i BR
1 delingstrop platoon HQ
Unit composition: 10 men on 4 motorcycles with sidecar
Special rules: Officer

### 4 motorcyklistkanongruppe squads
Unit Composition: 7 men on 3 motorcycles with sidecar with a 20mm autocannon M.1938

## Motorcycle platoon
### Platoon Hq 116pts 11-r BR
Unit composition: 6 men
Special rules: senior officer, runner, dispatches x2
Transport: 2 x motorcycle with sidecar, 2 x motorcycle (Dispatches)

### 3 x motorcycle squads
Unit composition: 7 men with LMG on tripod
Transport: 3 x motorcycle with sidecar, motorcycle.

## Motorcycle cannon platoon
### Cannon Platoon Hq 107 10-r BR
Unit composition: 5 men
Special rules: senior officer
Transport: 2 x motorcycle with sidecar

### 4 x motorcycle cannon squads
Unit composition: 5 men with HMG
Transport: 3 x motorcycle with sidecar
Special rules: Supply (only for motorcycle cannon squads)

### Ammunition squad
Unit composition: 4 men
Transport: 4 x motorcycle with sidecar
Special rules: Supply (only for motorcycle cannon squads)

## Rekylgeværdeling platoon support units
Platoons may add up to four of the following additional units per company. No unit may be taken more than once per company. The fodfolkspioner units must use the same transport option as the platoon they are part of.

### Combat medic 7pts 0-i BR
Unit composition: 1 man
Special rule: Medic

### Machine gun team 19pts 1-i BR
Unit composition: 11 men with 8mm M.1929 MG
Includes 3 man loader team

### Mortar team 35pts 1-i BR
Unit composition: 13 men with 81mm M.1931 mortar
Includes 3 man loader team

### Autocannon team 19pts 1-i BR
Unit composition: 11 men with 20mm M.1938 autocannon
Includes 3 man loader team

### Fodfolkspioner 25pts 1-i BR
Unit composition: 8 men with LMG on tripod and 20mm Madsen
May be mounted on bikes for +6pts
May be mounted on motorcycles for +8pts

# Tank units
### Landsverk armoured car unit 26pts 3-r BR
Unit composition: 1 Landsverk Lynx
Transport: -
Special rules: Unique
Options: may add up to two Landsverk Lynx for +26pts each

# Artillery units
### On-board mortar unit 32pts 1-i BR
Unit composition: 13 men with 81mm Brandt mortar. Includes a 3 man loader team.
Options:
May add one Tempo G1200 utility car tow and a supply truck for +8pts
Artillery units

### 75mm L/30 m1902 with 3 crew 28pts 2-i BR
Options:
Include a 3 man loader team +10pts
Horse and limber tow +2pts
Triangel artillery tractor tow +5pts

### 105mm L/48 m1930 with 3 crew 38pts 2-i BR
Options:
Include a 3 man loader team +10pts
Horse and limber tow +2pts
Triangel artillery tractor tow +5pts

### 150mm L/17 m17/m19 with 3 crew 40 pts 2-i BR
Options:
Include a 3 man loader team +10pts
Triangel artillery tractor tow +4pts

### 150mm L/17 m29 with 3 crew 42 pts 2-i BR
Options:
Include a 3 man loader team +10pts
Triangel artillery tractor tow +4pts

# Logistics support units
### Supply train 6pts 1-i BR
Unit composition: 1 man
Transport: horse and cart
Special rules: resupply
Options:
May add up to two horse and cart for +4 pts each
May upgrade all horse and cart in unit to Ford light truck for +3pts each.

### Forward aid post 20pts 5-i BR
Unit composition: 4 men and a tent
Special rules: Unique

### Stretcher party 10pts 1-i BR
Unit composition: 2 men
Special rules: Medic

### Ambulance 12pts 2-i BR
Unit composition: 1 ambulance light truck
Special rules: Medic

# Recce support units
### Motorcycle recce support unit 22 pts 1-i BR
Unit composition: 10 Men with 8mm Madsen LMG
Transport: Motorcycle / Motorcycle with sidecar
Special rules: Scout, Restricted

## Scout squad 15pts 1-r BR
Unit composition: 5 men
Transport: -
Special rules: Scout
Options:
May be mounted on motorcycles for +10pts

### Mortar spotter 16pts 1-r BR
Unit composition: 2 men
Transport: -
Special rules:
Options: may be mounted in Tempo G1200 light utility car for +2pts

# Defences
Since the danish army really was not allowed to create any proper defences before the german invasion, no major defences is included in the list.

### Improvised barricades 5pts 0BR
These are built up by rubble, debris, old vehicles, farming equipment and so forth

### Improvised road block 5pts 0BR
Same as Improvised barricades, but across a road.

### Improvised machine gun dug-out 32pts 1-iBR
Not much more than a dip in the ground with a machine gun in it.

### Fortified building 30pts 0BR
Denmark has lots of old stone farm buildings, this is one of them.

# Engineering support units
Historical notes: the Fodfolkspionerkompagni was used as infantry units, albeit more heavily armed.
Therefore they are added as infantry support units without any special rules.
Their Engineering support unit entries listed in this section is purely to be used in ”what if” type scenarios

### Fodfolkspioner 45pts 2-i BR
Fodfolkpionerdeling med LMG
Unit composition: 9 men with LMG on tripod
Special rules: 1 democharge
May be mounted in Ford truck for +4 pts
May be mounted on bicycles for +3pts
May be mounted on motorcycles for +5pts

### Fodfolkpionerdeling med 20mm Madsen
Unit composition: 9 men with 20mm Madsen
Special rules: 1 democharge
May be mounted in Ford truck for +4 pts
May be mounted on bicycles for +3pts
May be mounted on motorcycles for +5pts

# Additional fire support
Historical notes: the danish artillery was never used in the engagement against Germany, so the Additional fire support is included for ”what-if” type scenarios.

### Off-table artillery fire
Unit composition: 1 battery
2 105mm howitzers 90pts
2 150mm howitzers 120pts

### Timed 105mm barrage 24pts

### Off-table artillery fire support request
3rd target priority (6+) 5pts
2nd target priority (5+) 10 pts
1st target priority (4+) 20pts

### Danish army fire mission requests
Divisional battery (4+ comms test)
1-3 2 105mm howitzers
4-6 2 150mm howitzers

# Close air support
Historical notes: The Hawker Nimrods where part of the navy. They never saw any combat use on April 9th, so if you dont want to include these use table 2.
The different types of aircraft never mixed, so you may only use one type of aircraft per battle. Roll for the first chit pulled, and use the same value for any subsequent rolls.
The Gloster Gauntlets were planned to support the Zealand division, and the Focker d.XXI-1 were planned to support the Jutland division. So depending on what division you are playing as feel free to change table 2 to reflect this.


Table 1:
1-2 Gloster Gauntlet, 2xMG
3-4 Fokker d.XXI-1, 4xMG
5-6 Hawker Nimrod, 2xMG

Table 2:
1-3 Gloster Gauntlet, 2xMG
4-6 Fokker d.XXI-1, 4xMG


# Creators notes
Being of danish decent and interested in WW2 history, the invasion of denmark has always been a interesting topic to me.
Growing up, I spent most of my summers in Denmark, on Jylland close to the Tirstrup airport. That airport was in use during WW2, so the area around it is scattered with bunkers, unfinished rail roads and all sorts of things. A good place for someone like me to grow up. I used to walk along one of the train tracks pretending to be a soldier, imagining (is that even a word?) what it would’ve been like 40-50 years before.

The hard thing about this project is the fact that the invasion lasted just a couple of hours, with less than 100 casualties per side. It doesn’t create the basis for an interesting book to write for any historians it seems, so the information available is really scarce. When looking in books for the Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Denmark and Norway, the information is always centered around the norwegian part of the invasion.
So therefore, I’m really happy that we managed to get as far as we have!

I would like to send a really big Thank you! to gebhk, who did a lot of historical digging for this project, without that help I would never have come this close to a historically accurate army list.
I would also like to thank the following people: Martin and Elin for all the support, Warwick for writing a cracking game, and Piers for all the motivation.
For more information on the danish army, go to: www.chakoten.dk
/Björn

Sent from Topic'it App

Massive piece of work Sprygsy. Respect!

I think you've captured the 'flavour' very well.

I'm a bit snowed under with real life at the moment, but will comb through and no doubt annoy you with petty details some more in a few days.

Bestest
K

Snowed under, i recognize that feeling :/

I’m sure you are able to find the holes that are there [smiley]https://2img.net/i/fa/i/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/smiley]

As soon as i uploaded the list i thought of two things, the motorcycle platoon isnt named correctly, and no weapon/vehicle stats :/

Sent from Topic'it App

You know what I will say next - no evidence of Triangel being used for towing anything other than heavy guns. I think either Ford Thames 1939 or Ford BB tractors for the light guns. Not least because I like the Ford Thames.

Also the disposal of the Tempo's seems to be documented and did not involve 81mm mortars. As you have them as tows for the mortars, perhaps some sort of transcription error?

The 81mm mortars doesnt need a tow, I dont know what I thought when i wrote that. Will fix.

But I like the Triangels... but of course, historical correctness first

Sent from Topic'it App

Just a thought - but since you are sticking quite firmly to a historical basis for your Danes, should you not do the same for the Germans? Ie rather than allowing any German army, the German player should perhaps be limited to infantry with the option to lift the entire complement on trucks plus whatever 11 Schutze Brigade had to offer. This should limit German armour to Sdkfz 221/222 and Pz 1s and 2s, for example.

Yes, i totally agree that we should limit the variety of panzers for the germans.
I will add that to the list of changes.

On that note, i will start adding a list of implemented changes to the end of the army list, so we might not have to go thru the whole list everytime I release a new version.
It is also due to that i dont want to release it as a pdf just yet, we are still tweaking and adding things...

Sent from Topic'it App