Easy Eight

Red Devils in the Night:
Battleground WWII Supplement Rules

Reviewed by Bill Rutherford

Red Devils in the Night (RDN) pub. by Easy Eight Ent., Inc. is the first expansion pack for Easy Eight's Battleground WW II (EEBG) miniatures rules. It consists of 110 pages, loose-leaf, to insert into your EEBG binder. RDN addresses the British 6th Airborne Division's drop into Normandy the night before D-Day.

The first 24 pages are a well-written description of the British and German forces involved (including British OOBs and platoon TO&Es), a narrative of the actual battle, and a description of the troops, their uniforms, and the equipment they carried. There are also descriptions of twelve notable characters, seven real, four fictitious, and one roll-your-own, present on either side during the battle. Equipment statistics are also provided for eight British AFVs and five field pieces and mortars.

New rules are presented for night fighting and also for terrain types not present in EEBG (canals, marshes, etc.). The meat of the supplement, however, is in the scenarios. There are twelve, all of which involve paras or glider troops trying to make sense of things on the ground. Pegasus Bridge and the assault on the Merville Battery are, of course, included. The scenarios all involve approximately a platoon per side and follow the successful format of EEBG. Special rules accompany each scenario, addressing peculiarities not common to EEBG as a whole. Also included in the special rules are notes on such useful topics as how to build a model bunker, how to build Pegasus Bridge, and other such things. Players are admonished in the rules to properly roleplay any of the notable characters present in the scenario.

I was quite impressed with RDN - it's well written, very informative and recommend it to anybody who plays EEBG.In fact, I recommend it to anybody who even has an interest in the British "Night Before D-Day". It's available for $15.00 from your FLGS.

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