Axis and Allies miniatures -- M1 Garand

I'll be posting on an occasional basis musings about pieces in the Axis & Allies miniatures game.

As with the other basic infantrymen in Axis & Allies miniatures, the American GI is introduced to the game via his most common personal weapon, in this case the M-1 Garand semi-automatic rifle. The figure is No. 18 of 48 in the Base Set and No. 28 of 60 in the 1939-1945 set.

Base Set figure

Stats:

Rarity: Common

Speed: 1
Defense: 4/4
Cost: 4

Attacks vs troops at short-medium-long ranges: 8-7-0
Attacks vs. vehicles at short-medium-long ranges: 2-0-0

1939-1945 set figure

Special abilities:

Close Assault 7: This unit has an attack value of 7 against Vehicles in its hex. This attack ignores cover.

Stars & Stripes: This unit rolls one extra attack die while adjacent to a friendly Commander.


Historical text: The US M1 .30 caliber rifle was a semiautomatic weapon and outclassed the bolt-action rifles used by the Axis forces.

The unit in history: The M-1 Garand was the first successful general-issue semi-automatic rifle, which gave American soldiers an edge in firepower over their bolt-action rifle armed opponents. Unfortunately, close infantry combat was becoming dominated by fully automatic weapons such as submachine guns, light machine guns and assault rifles, making even a good long rifle obsolescent.

The unit in the game: The basic American rifleman is 33% more expensive than the usual for all other nationalities, but he is rewarded with generally higher stats and useful special abilities.