Benghazi Handicap - Command Decision - WWII North Africa Campaign Source Book [Including Command Decision Scenarios]

Sigh. I finally caught this one. Whenever I had looked for it before, it had eluded me - so when I saw a copy of it at Cavalier Books, I jumped at the chance (see below, Frank Chadwick's masterpiece on the early part the Western Desert War): 

This is my designated playground for 10mm play ground for Pendrakon miniatures, although I do have my old Airfix, Matchbox, PSC, Italeri/Esci collections of 20mm toys that can be used too. I am a sucker for the clanky tank era and this theatre of operation was full of them (usually in a state of burning).

Yes, Command Decision is back onside for me! In truth I never felt it had really left ;) 

Some leftover Christmas trappings with Wargaming Potential?

You may see Xmas stars left over from the craft table waiting for next Christmas. But I see "Objective Markers" for the likes of Chain of Command or Command Decision? (see below, all they need is some paint - Red [Soviet or 'generic bad guys - aka the enemy'], Black [German], Green [US] and Blue [British or generic 'good guys' - aka friendlies]): 

Meanwhile .. er, some more Xmas "tat" leftover from a trip over to see The Works, a bargain semi-craft shop. I see a "Road to Moscow" diorama in 15mm (see below, I must confess I did have this alterative notion in mind at time of purchase, but I put it under Xmas cake decoration to get through security): 

Waste not want not! Remembering also that someone's efficient recycling is another person's clutter.

Can anybody answer this strange Troop Type/OrBat Question from Command Decision?

I have recently been 'reinvigorating' my interest in my loft bound 20mm WWII collection, dwelling on the shame of knowing that I have a lot of 20mm kit without without a corresponding large number of battles under my belt. Wargaming "shame". This is something I need to address. Perhaps it is my choice of rules that is at the heart of the problem. I started my collection long before my Chain of Command skirmish interest when Command Decision was my bible (in the early 1990's it was CD I and CD II fresh off the press, post 2000, I picked up CD III with good intentions to do something with it, then quite recently, ahem as in couple of years [pre-Covid] I got a copy of CD IV 'Test of Battle' - for shall we say completeness sake). One of the troubles in getting tabletop is the [relative] 'considerable' amount of kit required for Regiment and Battalion OrBats in 20mm (let along thinking of doing a spectaular Divisional Battle - for which I would now opt for 1:200 [early war] and 1:300 [later war] figures, but then Spearhead is also an alternative rule contender). It is the wargaming butterfly syndrome in me and slow meticulous painter (rather than a ruthless "good enough for a tabletop game" finisher), combined with the terrible "lofty goals" and "ambition" (Arnhem - really?)). The paradox: I am both happy and unhappy at always being an "unfinished WIP". Life is somebody else's problem, it is the journey not the destination that counts.

So, the good news. I have been making progress and creating "battalion boxes" of 20mm formations. Starting with early WWII Eastern Front (1941-42) organisations. The basic idea is to get a German  armoured battalion and motorised infantry battalion together, then field it with some support companies to play against a (depleted) static Russian infantry regiment [three battalions and RHQ], with perhaps some scraped together support assets. It is also a way of avoiding "bundles of tanks and figures" rolling around in shoe and foolscap boxes in the loft, with the inevitable series of broken and missing plastic parts (see below, a German 1941 Motorised Infantry Battalion from a Panzer Division; multiple manufacturers [old and new] and various 'true' scales but all around 20mm [20mm, 1/72, 1/76, HO/OO] which is good enough for me - in this Amazon age we seem to be blessed with lots of suitably sized boxes):   

Now came a bit of a puzzle, a conundrum so to speak. As well as attaching in companies (such as armoured cars, motorcycles and tanks) from other battalions I wanted to also attach down stand to attach from higher level command levels, such as Regiment and Brigade. As it should be. That allows attachment of things such as the dreaded 15cm Infantry Guns and "the like". "The like" being an issue, as all manner of odds and sods exist in the Command Decision multi-verse (from USMC Raiders, Porter Stands, to Japanese National Service Militia Stands), which is great because they are mentioned in the rules as 'specials', or at least appear in Equipment Data Charts under Personnel, showing a "movement" or in the "Small Arms Fire" table with a combat value. To this end when I consulted the Frank Chadwick, Armies of World War II, Volume 1 (note, there never was a volume II) for early those Barbarossa units I was after, I was happy until I reached the German 1941-42 Motorised Infantry Regiments "level" in the Panzer and Motorised Infantry Divisions. 1941-1942. It appears there was a magical musical moment in the German Army in 1941-42? Not before, (1939-1940) and not after (1943-45), does this mystical "band stand" (get it?) appear (see below, perhaps it was a Germanic marching meme of the time? In total there are "three bands" in this Panzer Division OrBat, one playing for the panzers and two playing for the infantry - highlighted purple on the page. Quite a social itinery): 

So what is this "band" stand (that joke is wearing thin after the telling)? It comes along with a light truck as transport so its "motorised". I am puzzled, as I cannot "see it" in the rules. Without any additional mention that I can find, I am going to put it down as a simple "Veteran Infantry Stand" that is RHQ close protection (as it is not in italics which denotes rear echelon elements, so it is a 'fighting' element). If anybody has any other thoughts please let me know, otherwise I may have sleepless nights! I did consider a formation morale point loss if it was eliminated, but as it stands it can just beef up element count by one! 

Note: I have found references to the German Band in CD I, CD II, CD III (and I am still looking in CD IV).

Further Update: These musical Germans were also found in ..

• German Infantry Division (1941-42)
• German Jager Division (1943-45) 
• German Mountain Troop Division (1941-45)

Back to my Tiger Tanks now!

Talking about a "Matilda", but not the Roald Dahl one, even though it is Xmas!

The "Master of Leipzig" from Battleground 2019 placed a special request, to play some more Blitzkrieg France 1940 (Panzerblitz, Avalon Hill style) in early January 2020, with the BEF. To the spares box I went and found a covey Skytrex 1/200 Matilda I's and II's Battalion which beckons forth the Battle of Arras. A "Battalion of BEF infantry" and an "Infantry Tank Battalion" should suffice to represent "Frank Force". The only 'fly in t he ointment' being the Matilda I assembly process (see below, this tiny micro tank comes in 'four pieces' - out with the superglue):

The first company (Coy) of Matilda I's completed (see below, equivalent to the German Panzer I albeit much slower, armed with a single HMG - the redoubtable Vickers machine gun):

The 7th RTR had two companies of Matilda I's. Each model represents approximately 4-5 actual vehicles therefore the Company has three models [in the Arras battle 4th RTR had 35 Matilda I's and 7th RTR had twenty three Matilda I's and sixteen Matilda II's]. I have six Matilda I's and four Matilda II's tanks, along with two BEF Bren Carriers and a MkVI Light Tank to represent the 7th RTR (See below, that is thirteen models in total using Command Decision and Spearhead OoBs):

The three tanks of the heavy company (Matilda II's) are shown below, plus a fourth tank for the Battalion command tank (see below, the only issue I have with the metal models are the "Western Desert" external "extended range" fuel tank - I may have to "snip" them off):

The origins of this Order of Battle sates back to 1990 when I first started a rejuvenated interest into wargaming (a second birth) when I was living in Aberdeen, UK. I picked up Frank Chadwick's "Command Decision I" from Virgin Games on the high street, long before the Internet when you had to find stuff in shops. Inside the CD rule box was a quarterly newsletter (called The Command Post), in Section S-2 Intelligence the Order of Battle Section the British Infantry Tank Brigade, France 1940 by Jeff Glasco was given (see below, it seems to have lasted the test of time given my reading of France 1940 since 1990):

First Army Tank Brigade

• HQ: 1 x Matilda I (Command Tank)

4 RTR (Battalion)

• HQ: 1 x Matilda I (Command Tank), 2 x Carriers, 1 x MkVI Light Tank
• Light Squadron: 1 x Matilda I (Command Tank), 2 x Matilda I
• Light Squadron: 1 x Matilda I (Command Tank), 2 x Matilda I
• Light Squadron: 1 x Matilda I (Command Tank), 2 x Matilda I

7 RTR (Battalion)

• HQ: 1 x Matilda II (Command Tank), 2 x Carriers, 1 x MkVI Light Tank
• Light Squadron: 1 x Matilda I (Command Tank), 2 x Matilda I
• Light Squadron: 1 x Matilda I (Command Tank), 2 x Matilda I
• Medium Squadron: 1 x Matilda II (Command Tank), 2 x Matilda II

Note on actual strength: Prior to engaging in combat, total Matilda strength dropped to 58 Matilda Is (12 stands), and 16 Matilda IIs (3 stands) due to mechanical breakdowns.

Background References:
http://www.4and7royaltankregiment.com/1940-1941/

Arghh .. Bit Rot

I bought them long ago. I first (with my sensible head on) tried them all to see that they all "worked" then put them back on the shelf for that rainy day when I would need them.

Then that rainy day came and I slipped the CD into the computer and .. nothing, Data .. what data? Sigh. Bit rot?

To be precise I cannot see my Wargames Illustrated CD 3 (The Green One).

Sad face!

The bizarre thing is that I was not searching for an article but for an Old Glory advert which (if my befuddled memory serves me well) showed some 15mm 1815 French Line Infantry. I wanted to use that as a basis of a painting guide. That info I can get from "other" internet image searches however that's not the point.

Instead of "painting" I find myself backing up what I still have on the "old" CDs to an external hard drive to 'make it last longer'. Oh for the cloud in this scenario! There is currently a lot of chunking from my computer's CD Drive to external Hard Drive going on just now!