Groupe de Tabors Marrocains
If we start with the basics, bear in mind orbats and actual numbers of soldiers vary depending on who you read!
Each Goumier Tabor (battalion) had between 800 and 1,000 men (with about 80% of these being Moroccan) consisted of:
3-4 Goums (companys) with about 200 men, each with:
Three infantry sections (platoons) with between 40 and 60 men
A command element
Support weapons platoons
A mounted Recce section
A mule supply train
Three Tabors were grouped together into a Groupe de Tabors Marocains (GTM) consisted of roughly 3,000 men. This GTM had a command/support element - Goum de Commandement et d`engin (GCE) of roughly 300 men with:
HQ and comms team
A protection and pioneer unit
A mounted recce platoon
An anti-tank (I would assume Bazookas) and mortar platoons
Supply train with horses and mules (some trucks and Jeeps in Italy and NWE too).
Four GTMs were grouped together as an equivalent light infantry brigade Commandement des Goums Marocains (CGM)
Historically things of course seemed to have varied, as an example 4th Tabor under Captain Verlet left Tunisia for Sicily on 5 July 1943 with:
58 French officers, 678 Berbers, 117 horses and 126 mules
For general reading particularly for those using 15mm I highly recommend visiting:
https://balagan.info/stevens-goumiers-for-crossfire-a-moroccan-tabor-in-italy
A great general overview and some orbat info can be found here:
http://pdbgg240.free.fr/index.php?page=goums
A great thread and discussion on the subject of Goumier orbats can be found on TMP here:
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=405219
Figures and availability in 20mm
First thing we have to consider is figures and availability, now I`m quite lucky to have been collecting for long time. But today there are only a few manufacturers producing Goumiers in our chosen scale -
Strelets (pack M151)
Raventhorpe do an 8-figure pack of Goumier in "Kelly" helmet (Pack SPEC25)
Irregular Miniatures do a couple of SCW Regulares in djellabah
EWM do some dismounted French Spahis
Which with a suitable head-swap (these heads are Raventhorpe) will blend in as Goumier.
Friend or Foe Goumier list
FRE 1. MOUNTED FRENCH OFFICER IN KEPI
FRE 2. 2 FRENCH OFFICERS IN KEPI, NATIVE N.C.O & RADIO OPERATOR
FRE 3. 4 GOUMIERS ARMED WITH LEE/ENFIELD RIFLES
FRE 4. 4 GOUMIERS ARMED WITH STEN GUNS
FRE 5. 2 GOUMIERS WITH DRAWN KNIVES, 1 CLUBBING WITH RIFLE & 1 THROWING GRENADE
FRE 6. BREN GUN TEAMS. 1 TWO MAN TEAM ADVANCING, 1 TWO MAN TEAM FIRING
FRE 7. 2 INCH MORTAR TEAMS, 1 TWO MAN TEAM ADVANCING, 1 TWO MAN TEAM FIRING
FRE 8. VICKERS M.M.G & 3 CREW
FRE 9. GOUMIER LEADING 2 MULES WITH PACKED VICKERS
FRE 10. GOUMIER LEADING 2 MULES WITH PACKED TARGENERAL STORES
FRE 11. 3 INCH MORTAR WITH 3 CREW
FRE 12. GOUMIER LEADING 2 MULES WITH PACKED 3 INCH MORTAR
Figures two and three have been modified by me
Officer pointing with Sten
NCO kneeling with Sten and grenade
Rifleman running
BG2
Rifleman standing firing
Rifleman advancing
Rifleman walking
BG3
FM gunner firing
Rifleman advancing
Rifleman skirmishing
BG4
Rifleman kneeling firing
Rifleman walking
Rifleman skirmishing
BG5
NCO with Thompson advancing
NCO with Sten gun firing
NCO with Sten gun firing
BG6
Radio man kneeling with Sten
Officer kneeling with binoculars
Rifleman/messenger advancing
BG7
81mm mortar and 3 crew
BG8
Hotchkiss heavy machine gun and 2 crew
BG9
Mule handler and 2 mules carrying assorted baggage
BG10
Mule handler and 3 mules carrying assorted baggage
HQ element
3 off 8-10 figure companies
And support company with:
1 x MMG, 1 x 81mm mortar and a supply/transport unit with mules
My Tabor
Now as most readers will know I don`t play RF as written, I tend to lean more towards its grandfather - Charles Grant`s "Battle" rules from the 1960s.
With these rules in mind my Tabor orbat looks a bit more like this:
Tabor HQ
Each Goum is led by a French Sous-lieutenant, accompanied by a Moquaddern (Moroccan sergeant) Each of the three sections is then led by either a Moquadern or a Maoun (Moroccan corporal). I`ve given each section an automatic weapon, either an FM24/29 or BAR
1st Goum
A nice summary Richard. The Goums are an unusual, non-mainstream force - after all, who wants to see yet another game with Waffen SS vs US? Sadly, my 20mm Goums (Battlefield Miniatures) remain unpainted, somewhere in my lead mountain ☹️
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Geoff
Thank you. Next up a couple of games to field them on a tabletop
DeleteWow, full list of all possible sets of Goumier + OOdB! Thank You a lot!
ReplyDeleteThis post must gain exposure - please label it as a "OOdB" "TOE" "Manufacturer_List" etc so in the future we wont have problem with finding this post and searching will be easier.
BTW, I have to post my Goumier platoon (only Strelets though).
I will add those titles to the description, I`m glad you found this useful
ReplyDelete¡Buenas tardes! Enhorabuena por tu blog. Te escribo en español y así haces prácticas.
ReplyDeleteSi estás interesado en las campañas de España en Marruecos desde 1497 hasta su independencia he editado un libro que relata todas ellas. No puedo enviarte ninguna imagen pues no veo la opción.
Me puedes enviar un mensaje por WhatsApp y te contesto.
Recibe un saludo
Tlf. 661360169
Hola, gracias, te agregaré a WhatsApp por la mañana. Necesito practicar mucho, Hacer Duolingo todos los dias y caminamos con un grupo espanoles todos las semanas
ReplyDeleteAn unusual and very interesting force to build. They look excellent.
ReplyDeleteCheers mate, I`ve been planning writing this for ages, but just haven`t been home to actually write it
DeleteThat's a lot of useful information, many thanks for sharing. I particularly live the thinking outside the box part: Since, as you say, some lines are OOP, we must make do with what's available. I even have been considering Crimean War Cossacks! Will come back to this post often when doing something Tunesian or Italian campaign related. Regards, Pat
ReplyDeleteCheers pat, been promissing this one for ages, finally got to be home for long enough to type out all my notes and sort out the images. I`ve written two quick games, one set in Italy the other the Alsace, hopefully I`ll get time to play them this week.
Delete