Garibaldi Brigade

As winter set in on the chaos of Northern Italy in the later part of 1944 Partisan morale collapsed. Many partisans returned home or took advantage of fascist amnesties to lay down arms.

However, a dedicated core held on and continued to fight to throw out the nazi occupiers and smash the fascist rump-state.

My list is inspired by one such group, the 28^th Garibaldi brigade, who in December 1944 joined with the singular Popski’s Private Army to liberate Ravenna.

Most accounts focus on Popski’s British Special Forces troop, but the brave members of the Garibaldi brigade were essential as both a blocking force and as part of the assault.

The army has 13 order dice (units):

Like nearly all wargames, Bolt Action requires a force leader. While Partisans don’t have a structured officer corps (despite the many self-appointed titles and ranks!), I have selected the equivalent of a second lieutenant with regular morale to lead my Partisans. He is accompanied by additional one man, and both are armed with SMG.

Yes, the remaining photos are all ones I have posted already!

I also have a liaison officer. While some liaison officers wore civilian clothes, most wore uniforms, especially out of the towns. My OSS officer wears a US uniform. Once per game he can attempt to call in air support.

The core of the army are four squads of rifle armed Partisans (of either 9 or 10 fighters). Two of the squads have squad LMG to provide a little extra reach and fire power. One is also armed with Molotov cocktails, which will give some defense against tanks.

Partisans can take a squad of veteran Guerrilla Fighters. I’m taking a squad of 6, armed with SMG.

There are 3 teams with support weapons: an MMG, sniper, and PIAT. Of these the sniper is probably the most useful, but don’t underestimate the other two teams.

Actually, the PIAT team is inexperienced. They will supply an order die for the bag and otherwise likely spend most games hiding.

The last two units, a light howitzer and a captured tank, are both somewhat of a stretch historically. In games terms both will be useful. Both will play the important role of being able to throw out pins on enemy units. Both will also most likely die horribly. This is sad for the crews involved but will at least mean my core units are not being shot at.

To represent the lack of support and training, both the tank and artillery are rated as inexperienced. In addition, the Renault R35 has the captured rule, which means it is also unreliable.

Easter Front is a 1005 point Bolt Action tournament being run over two days as part of Conquest 2022 in Melbourne.