Second World War Far East British and Commonwealth in 20mm (the early years)

One of the opponents for my Second World War Japanese force for Chain of Command will be British and Commonwealth units. The earliest clashes began in December 1941 with the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Hong Kong and were followed the next month with the invasion of Burma. At that time the British tropical uniform was essentially the same as that worn in North Africa - khaki drill shorts and shirts.

The same uniform was worn by Commonwealth units including the Canadians in Hong Kong and the Australian Militia and AIF units in Papua New Guinea in the early stages of that campaign. This means most ranges of miniatures for the 8th Army in North Africa will have suitable figures to cover units for the fighting in 1942 and in some cases into 1943 and early '44.

As the war progressed it was clear that the tropical uniform was not suited for the jungle. During 1943 and 1944 uniforms changed in colour to a more suitable jungle green. The shorts were replaced by longer pants and a range of lightweight fabrics such as Aertex used for the shirts. However that is to run ahead of ourselves. As I want to be able to game the entire period of the war in the Far East I have created forces in both khaki drill with shorts and in jungle greens with long pants. The latter are covered in this post.

In the interwar years the tropical issue helmet was not metal but one made from pith or cork designed for use in hot climates. This was standard issue to all units posted to tropical destinations and there is much evidence that these were still in use at the time. However what is not so clear is whether they were ever worn in combat. By 1940 a soldier posted to a tropical destination was supposed to be issued with both a pith helmet and a steel helmet. While the steel helmet was issued for use on active service there is some photographic evidence to suggest this may not have always been the case. The images below show British units training in Malaya in November 1941 and would appear to suggest that troops were expected to wear these in combat. It's hard to imagine why they would undertake combat training wearing them otherwise. 

I am aware that there were units in the early stages of the Burma campaign that had not yet been issued with steel helmets and so they would have had no option but to wear the pith helmets. The Osprey Men-at-Arms book 'The British Army 1939-45 (3) The Far East' states that this was certainly the case for 2nd Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, who had been in Burma since 1936 and had not yet been issued steel helmets. They also lacked a full complement of Bren guns and so used Lewis guns to fill the gaps. While it's not clear exactly how much the pith helmet was worn in combat (if it was at all), what is certain is that the Lewis gun was still in use in many units in Burma, Hong Kong and Malaya. What were considered remote postings like the Far East were often the last to be issued with new equipment, with units closer to home taking top priority.

Also worth noting that the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders photographed below while training in Malaya in November 1941 may be in the tropical helmet, three men are armed with a Thompson sub machine gun (presumably the NCOs) and the man second from the left is carrying a Bren gun. Their helmets may belong to a different era, but their weapons do not.

Early War Miniatures produce a range of tropical British in pith helmets and with Lewis guns and so just in case the opportunity arises I have added a platoon of these to my collection for the Far East theatre. 

Even if they don't end up seeing much action in the Far East they wear uniforms suitable for some units in East Africa, as well as campaigns in Syria and Lebanon. Let's just call them a small indulgence.

The basic organisation for all Commonwealth units is the standard British infantry platoon, composed of a platoon HQ and three rifle sections, each made up of a team of riflemen and a light machine gun team. The bulk of my platoon is made up of figures from the AB Figures Western Desert range. These will represent British and Commonwealth units from December 1941 and for much of the fighting throughout 1942-43. There is some evidence of units in Burma still wearing this uniform until early 1944.

The picture below is captioned as September 1942 and is of the 2/10th AIF at Milne Bay, New Guinea. As you can see these Australians are still wearing khaki drill. Interesting to note that the majority of men are wearing helmet covers and several have gas mask bags. The unit had served in North Africa and were aware of the danger of reflection from helmets. As the Japanese had been known to use gas in China I was not surprised to learn that the unit was still under orders to conduct gas training every two weeks. 

In some cases the section corporal (junior leader) could be armed with a rifle. For these men I have used figures from the Wargames Foundry 20mm 'British infantry in North Africa' set to help differentiate these figures with a pose that distinguishes them from the other ranks which are from AB.

The corporals carry the M1928 version of the Thompson, an example of which can be seen in the Australian War Memorial museum.

The Foundry figures match up well with those from AB. Here's a section led by one of the rifle armed corporals from Foundry. 

The British tended to assign the section Thompson submachine gun to the corporal in command, however it was common Australian practice to give it to the man in the section likely to make the most aggressive use of it. In which case the corporal would carry a rifle. With that eventuality in mind I have also painted some Australian figures to represent those other ranks who have the SMG instead of the corporal.

AB also do a nice looking section in prone positions.

The platoon is commanded by a lieutenant, with a sergeant as second in command, and both function as senior leaders. In most cases the lieutenant is armed with a pistol and the sergeant with a rifle. These senior leaders are based on rectangular bases to help differentiate them from the junior leaders.

The platoon HQ is made up of the lieutenant, the sergeant, a 2” mortar team and an anti-tank rifle team.

Here's the 2" mortar team.

And the anti-tank rifle team.

You can find one of these large, heavy Boys anti-tank rifles in the collection of the Australian War Memorial museum.

That makes up the core platoon. For support units I have a Vickers medium machine gun team, also from AB. The prone figure on the single base is from Dixon Miniatures. Their 20mm range has some lovely sculpts but they really are 'true 20mm' and look small in comparison to the AB and Foundry figures. While the prone figure is shorter than the others it's less noticeable because he's lying down.

The Canadian War Museum has a Vickers on display, complete with water coolant.

There is a forward observer team, also from AB.

Anti-tank support comes from a 2 pounder. The gun is a plastic kit from Zvezda and the crew are a mix of AB and Dixon.

The Australian War Memorial museum has a 2 pounder gun on display that you can inspect up close.

The venerable 18 pounder was still in service in the 1930s. The carriage was modified and wheels changed to pneumatic tyres so the gun could be towed by a vehicle. Other than the inclusion of an AP round it was much the same gun that served so well in 1914-18. At the start of the second world war a number went to France with the BEF and a number were already stationed in Hong Kong, Malaya and Burma. The gun model is from SHQ and the crew are from the AB set for the 25pdr in the Western Desert. I've hazard a guess it was painted in pre-war Bronze Green and likely remained that colour, but as I say, it's a guess.

There were not many AFVs present in the early stages of the war with Japan. The Universal Carrier was available in various forms and was seen in most theatres. The problem of transporting tanks to the north coast of New Guinea meant the Australians made one attempt to use the available carriers like tanks in an assault at the Duropa Plantation during the battle for Buna in New Guinea. Ill suited to the task assigned to them it was little surprise that all five carriers were disabled within half an hour.

This carrier is from the Plastic Soldier Company with a crew from AB Figures.

I've always been surprised how big the carrier is when you see it up close. Below is one on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

The Lanchester armoured car was present in Hong Kong and in Malaya. It's a typical product of the inter war years and the lack of tracks meant it was confined to roads making it more suited to a colonial policing role rather than a modern armoured vehicle.

The British 7th Armoured Brigade was transferred from North Africa to the Far East in late 1941. They were originally destined for Singapore but were eventually sent to Burma arriving in February 1942. They were equipped with early model Stuarts. These were the only tanks in British and Commonwealth service to see action against the Japanese at that early stage of the war. They were the first tanks used by the Australians going into action in New Guinea in late 1942 when the 2/6 Armoured Brigade used them at Buna following the unsuccessful attack with the Universal Carriers. 

The Stuart below comes from the Plastic Soldier Company set which allows you to make up either early or later versions. This means it's possible to make up the early model with the octagonal turret which featured in the early stages of the campaigns in New Guinea and Burma. In the case of the Burma campaign the option to have both early and later model versions is useful as all the earlier model Stuarts were lost during the retreat in 1942.  Replacement tanks arrived and these were the later models with the rounded turrets which saw much service during 1944 and '45. 

 

These figures were used to play a Chain of Command campaign that was published in an issue of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine entitled Last Stand on Opium Hill and set just before the fall Singapore. Here a company from the Malaya Regiment was trying to hold back the Japanese tide on the outskirts of the city. You can find the first game report here.

You can see some of my other 20mm collections for the Second World War by clicking on this link 20mm Miniatures.