Using WW2 National Flags as Objectives in Crossfire

I’ve been using flags as my terrain objective markers for a long time. And recently I made some more for New Zealand, UK/GB, India, USA, Germany (replacement), Japan, China and Australia.

WW2-Flag-Objective-315 All Nations
WW2-Flag-Objective-315 All Nations


What went before

In my post on Crossfire Markers for Status and Objectives I showed some of my national flags, which I use dor Crossfire Objectives.

Crossfire-Marker-164 Objective Flag - German, Spanish Nationalist, Israeli, Spanish Republican, Soviet
Crossfire-Marker-164 Objective Flag – German, Spanish Nationalist, Israeli, Spanish Republican, Soviet

At the time I made:

  • 8 x Soviet Flags (WW2)
  • 8 x Nazi Flags (WW2)
  • 8 x Spanish Republican (SCW)
  • 8 x Spanish Nationalist (SCW and WW2)
  • 8 x Israeli (AIW)

The Soviet and Nazi flags have served me well as most of my Crossfire has been on the Eastern Front. I’ve also used the Spanish flags for the occasional Spanish Civil War outing. And the Nationalist flag does double duty for the Blue Division on the Eastern Front. I never did the Arab-Israeli Wars project, so those Israeli flags have been rather neglected.

There are, however, some problems with these flags. Firstly, some folk object to Swastikas, in fact in some countries you can get arrested for displaying a Swastika, so I want to replace them with something more politically acceptable. The second problem is that my Spanish Nationalist Flag is actually for 1945 and they used a slightly different variant during both the Spanish Civil War and WW2. I also lack flags for a lot of countries I now have figures for: New Zealand, UK/GB, USA. Finally, I’ve got plans for Burma Campaign and I need flags for India, Japan, and China.


The new flags

I made up some new flags for New Zealand, UK/GB, India, USA, France, Germany, Japan, China and Australia. I made only three flags for each new country; last time I made eight for each country, but I found I never used the extra five.

My starting point was addressing the two problems: get rid of the Swastikas and get the right Spanish flag. While I was about it I thought I’d get flags for all the other nations I’m now fielding as my focus has shifted to the Italian Campaign.

WW2-Flag-Objective-316 Europe
WW2-Flag-Objective-316 Europe

Plus I added in the flags I’d need for the Burma Campaign including some extras for the Pacific War.

WW2-Flag-Objective-317 Asia-Pacific
WW2-Flag-Objective-317 Asia-Pacific

New Zealand

I’ve been using the Kiwis a a lot recently, the men of 2 (NZ) Division in Italy. And I might do 3 (NZ) Division in the Pacific. And there is the whole patriotism thing. So obviously I needed a New Zealand flag.

WW2-Flag-Objective-302 New Zealand
WW2-Flag-Objective-302 New Zealand

United Kingdom / Great Britain

Of course I needed the Union Jack for Old Blighty.

WW2-Flag-Objective-303 United Kingdom
WW2-Flag-Objective-303 United Kingdom

India

With my eyes on Burma I needed the Indian flag. Admittedly Indian troops also fought in the Italian Campaign.

WW2-Flag-Objective-306 India
WW2-Flag-Objective-306 India

U.S.A

You haven’t seen them on table yet, but I’ve got a US battalion so they need flags too. As Neil pointed out in the comments, the USA used the 48 Star flag during WW2 (actually from 1912-1959).

WW2-Flag-Objective-320 USA - 48 Star
WW2-Flag-Objective-320 USA – 48 Star

Initially I’d used the 50 Star modern flag. Oops. Some of the group photos show this flag. I’ll keep them to use in Vietnam.

WW2-Flag-Objective-308 USA
WW2-Flag-Objective-308 USA

France

You have seen my Goumiers – A Moroccan Tabor in Italy and I can also use my US battalion as French. So obviously I needed France.

WW2-Flag-Objective-307 France
WW2-Flag-Objective-307 France

U.S.S.R.

You’ve seen my Soviet flags before and I didn’t change them. Which is why there are eight, not three.

WW2-Flag-Objective-311 USSR
WW2-Flag-Objective-311 USSR

Germany

Germany is where the big change came. Previously I was using Nazi flags. But Swastikas are problematic for some folk, particularly in those countries where the Swastika is illegal. Flames of War get around the Swastika problem by dropping the the official national Nazi flag and using a generic battle flag for the Germans, based on the German National flag of WW1. That’s what I’ve done too.

WW2-Flag-Objective-309 Germany (FoW Style)
WW2-Flag-Objective-309 Germany (FoW Style)

Japan

Burma. Japan. Rising Sun. Say no more.

WW2-Flag-Objective-305 Japan
WW2-Flag-Objective-305 Japan

China

I’m quite interested in the Japan – China war and quite like the idea of fielding Chinese troops in the Burma Campaign. So I need some flags for China.

WW2-Flag-Objective-318 China
WW2-Flag-Objective-318 China

Australia

My mate Brett Simpson continues to enthuse me about Aussie ventures in the Pacific War, and I can use my Kiwis in Italy or Welsh in Burma as stand ins, so I need some flags for Australia.

WW2-Flag-Objective-304 Australia
WW2-Flag-Objective-304 Australia

Spain

I replaced the Spanish flags with the proper Nationalist flags for Spanish Civil War and for the Blue Division on the Eastern Front.

WW2-Flag-Objective-319 Spain
WW2-Flag-Objective-319 Spain

The other new flags

While I was in a flag making frenzy I made the templates for the flags of some other nations as well: Hungary, Romania, Finland, Poland, and Italy. I don’t think I’ll ever field troops from these nations but some folk might.


Using Flags as Terrain Objectives

Using the flags is dead simple. All my maps have any terrain objectives marked and I place a flag on each terrain objective on table. This helps both sides remember what they are fighting over. When the objective changes hands, I change the flag.

For example, in KB4R The Swamp – A Crossfire Battle Report all three objectives (Forward, Hill, Farm) start under Spanish control.

KB4R-009 Spanish deployment zone
KB4R-009 Spanish deployment zone

They stay under a Spanish flag …

KB4R-059 And a kill on the stragglers
KB4R-059 And another kill on the stragglers at the Forward Objective

… Until taken by the Soviets.

KB4R-068 Soviets take Forward Objective
KB4R-068 Soviets take Forward Objective

Download and use the flag template

To make these flags I created a flag template. This meant I could print out the flags without having to do a fancy paint job.

You can Download the flag WW2 Flag Objectives Template (PDF).

My flags are glued to 2″ flat head nails, which are themselves glued to 2p coins. All of which are painted and flocked.

7 thoughts on “Using WW2 National Flags as Objectives in Crossfire”

  1. Looking good, Steven. I’ll admit while I never had an issue with any of your markers, reading some of your AARs on the train so close to other passengers always made me nervous. I never had to actually explain myself, but one often wonders.

    Reply
    • Very nice. A shame about the swastika issue, but I understand. And to Disgruntled Fusilier: you should try reading on an aircraft H M Government’s consultation document about storage of explosives… I DID have to explain myself to fellow passengers with whom I happened to share a taxi afterwards.

      Reply
    • I’ve already got the Republican flag. You can see it in the “what went before” photo. I just didn’t feature it here because I was focussed on WW2.

      Reply
  2. Mate,
    Your USA flags have 50 stars. It only had 48 during WW2. I think you should consider giving the US your Spanish Nationalist treatment.

    Cheers!

    Reply

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