Jumping with the Poles IV [Hypothetical] End-Game

The Right Flank: 
The new German threat needs to be quickly dealt with before they can get to and reinforce the town. The enemy battalion is just two moves away from effectively sealing off the Allied objective. The flanking Polish Paratrooper battalion swings round to meet this threat as the Germans have entered its Operational Zone. All part of the pre-battle planning, good Polish staff work or just luck, you decide. At the very least there is no danger of friendly fire here and the Poles get a crack at the leading elements in trucks! To assist them in their mayhem the Polish FOO is sitting on the top of the hill lining up the 75mm pack howitzers (see below).

The Center:
Meanwhile the effective German resistance outside the town crumbles. To the north of the table (see below, top of picture) the German Recon battalion is in full retreat, to the south (see below, middle right of picture) the Recon Battalion is organizing a last stand in a wood just outside the town. The Paratroopers and Air-Landing troops have the numbers. Inside the town itself the German Engineer battalion has lined the perimeter but cannot defend it all and somewhere it will be flanked.  

The Relief Effort:  
The German relief effort if thwarted in its rush to the town. The Polish paras get stuck in and wipe out the motorized elements with indirect fire and start a fierce fire-fight in the woods (see top right below). A second German motorized infantry battalion appears (on foot, this time with its supports to the rear of the formation) and is immediately engaged with direct fire. No effect (as per casualties) but an immediate order change to engage the enemy which puts paid to any "rush" to the town. Numbers will eventually tell here but the Polish paratrooper will be a tough nut to get through and will cost precious time for the Germans. That time will be spent attacking the isolated Germans in the town.  

The Final Assault:
As the fun starts on the right the the town is about to be assaulted. The wood manning the last point of resistance outside the town is evacuated and the recon elements stream back to the town, the defenders of which cannot engage the leading elements of the paratroopers for fear of friendly fire (see below, right middle) Explanation: The two elements just about to enter the town are German recon, the elements in the wood are Polish, but the defenders lining the town are from a different German battalion/formation from the recon unit, therefore would not know friend from foe. If they were going to shoot they would shoot the closest, so fire is checked.

At this point the game is called (time gentlemen please): A tactical Allied and a very "probable" strategic victory. Four Allied battalions attacking (two of which are huge) attacking a battered recon battalion (approaching half strength) and a small German engineer battalion. The crux point being the Paratroopers/Air-Landing troops would be able to pin the defenders with direct fire and also flank and enter the town unopposed, setting up rear attacks on the defenders (the Allied troops are also elite).

A nice BGC scenario, despite the long Paratrooper "yomp" was well worth all the effort.

Final Comments: 
No doubt about it, the Airborne Polish Brigade are a very nice little unit, I may get round to forming this one up myself. Re: scenario it would have been nice to play another two turns to settle the matter. If the Allied players had "gone" earlier (grouping time) I think it would have back-fired as the numbers would not have been sufficient to make an immediate impact on the defenders. It was a tough one for the German player as he had to wait for a variable reinforcement and was "damned if he was too aggressive, but also damned if he wasn't aggressive enough".  

Jumping with the Poles III [Hypothetical]

Tea-break over and the the battle resumes.

The main force of Polish Paratroopers take on the two remaining German platoons in the wood. Note the attacking Polish formation is one battalion up front supported by the second battalion behind for big morale bonus in BCG rules (see top left below). The flanking Polish Paratrooper battalion uses the hill as cover to push on and threaten the main objective of the depot/town (see bottom right below). Also, note the three suppressed (top right below, units with yellow markers on them) recon platoons getting out of the way of the paratroopers after suffering accurate indirect fire. Good job they were in half-tracks to out-retreat the advancing Poles is all I can say. Footnote: See a Polish mortar platoon (bottom left below) lagging behind the main battalion body, a dangerous position to be in when an attack can come from any direction. 

On the northern half of the table the German Recon battalion is being hard pressed against the Air-Landing Regiment (see below). Another battalion attack on a company strength defense of a wood. Again note another suppressed German platoon lagging to the rear.

The Poles simply overwhelm the German defenders with their elite status and good dice. Scratch one German infantry company for no losses as yet to the Polish Paratroopers (see below, the overturned counters were the German infantry positions). The FOO on the hill (bottom right bekow) sees "a job well done".

Meanwhile a ray of hope appears for the German player as the first(?) of his reinforcements arrive, threatening the flank of the Polish attack. It is a motorized German infantry battalion, which "de-bussed" off-table and walked on (well at least the infantry did, as the leading elements are the PaK and Motar support platoons, see below). 

Can the Paratrooper/Air-Landing attack keep its momentum going before more German reinforcements stem the tide?

Jumping with the Poles II [Hypothetical]

First Contact: The German Recon Battalion is forming a protective bubble down the road from the Town/Depot. The Germans are up against it as they are being attacked from both sides by two units as strong as them or stronger. A yellow suppression marker on a German Armoured Car comes from the Polish Paratroopers indirect fire, easily spotting the German recon vehicles out in the open, while themselves being unspotted:

Just to prove the point (see below), the Germans are up against two battalions of the Air-Landing (Glider) Regiment, which translates to a lot of stands (see below). It could have been far worse as there was a third Air-Landing battalion that didn't turn up. Note: Of 'game' interest a different mechanic used for the Air-Landing Regiment, they rolled per battalion rather than per stand. I preferred the stand-by-stand way I had to do for the Polish Paratroopers, though I can see the "logic" in the second way (Gliders come down in clumps [Do they? Discuss]) but I still think all airborne forces would face attrition being spread all over the place.

Meanwhile the Polish paratroopers press the pace, scoring more indirect suppression (see the yellow markers in photograph below) and heading straight to an occupied wood, defended by a German Infantry Coy. The paratroopers brace themselves for the hidden stationary fire (never underestimate the killing potential of German Infantry) but intend to outflank and simultaneously swamp the position . A key Allied element in this plan is the Airborne FOO from the pack howitzers company, stationed bottom left of the hill (see photograph below). Their job is to "prep" the wood ahead of the infantry assault: 

On the other side of the table the leading Air-Landing boys have found another occupied wood to clear (see below). The same speedy attack principle applies for them as per the Poles, again with a Foo "in-situ" to assist suppressing the enemy: 

The Germans are being tested, but are stoically fighting a delaying action to buy time for their reinforcements to assemble to defend the town/depot.

Jumping with the Poles [Hypothetical]

Scenario:
Hell's Highway, Arnhem 1944, what if the had been enough 'lift capacity' to drop all the forces at once. Instead of days later the Polish Brigade lands with an air-landing glider Regiment to grab a vital junction (depot) guarded by a battalion of German Engineers and reinforced with a Recon Battalion who's task is to find where the enemy is and what strength. I commanded the Polish Brigade tasked with the right hand side of the battlefield. Parallel to me was a British Air-Landing (Glider) Regiment. Although only a Regiment the latter had a much bigger OoB.

The Game:
The Polish Brigade's form up point, an elevated plateau. I elected to take the most time to form up (each stand rolling a d10 and on a 10 (or rather zero) it being "lost". Perhaps not historical (get down and move out quick being the paratroop motto to maximize the element of surprise) but I deemed moving off with half or under strength would be "scenario suicide". As it was I suffered slightly over10% losses, but kept half an eye on the dice rolls to note that if I had tried to move off sooner I really would have suffered! Note: The lagging two stands below (bottom right) are the Polish Brigade's intrinsic artillery, a pair of 75mm Pack Howitzers which came in very, very useful as almost "super mortars".

Meanwhile during my three inactive (mustering) turns Fritz has been active and wondering why it had started to suddenly "snow". Elements of a Panzer Grenadier Recon battalion are coming my way. Note in the photograph below the black strip is a road which is the operational demarcation line of my "zone of operations" (i.e. the right hand side of the battlefield).

Unphased by the sudden appearance of the enemy the paras move out. In fact the leading elements of the recon have tactfully retired after receiving the attention of the paratroopers mortars and 75mm pack howitzers. The paratroopers were dropped some four miles from their objective and cannot "dilly-dally" given the time already used forming up.   

Next: "Contact" the first line of resistance is met.

Polish 7TP painting (continued III) ... Clanky Tank Finale

Partly for the sanity of NZ Paul (recoiling in horror at the multitude of recent Renaissance postings bringing flash backs of history lessons from his school days, learning lists of kings and queens etc.) and partly for my own pictorial confirmation of "painting progress" in 2012, I conclude my early war WWII Polish Tank painting spree (later war I guess it  would be Allied Cromwell's or T34/85's depending on whether it was Western or Eastern front). My "independent" 7TP tank company (see below):

The three tome highlighted camouflage is completed and the tank tracks are now painted with Anita's Acrylic Metallic Black and then highlighted by mixing in a tad of my diminishing stock of Games Workshop Mithril Silver. A close-up of the said painted tracks is shown below:

They now go into the "early war" draw, next to a I will return to these at a later date to do a matte varnish coat to protect the paint from shedding/scratching/wearing after handling as the SHQ metal casting has sharp edges on its boxy superstructure

The other thing I intend to do is put a plasti-card floor on the bottom of these models as it is very disconcerting when your fingers disappear inside its hollowed out carcass and tends to make me drop the blooming things!

The twin turret 7TP, the one I nominated as a "command tank" (see above), is a funny looking beast and must have been a nightmare to try and use in combat. SHQ Polish 'heavy armour' complete.

More Polish 7TP painting (continued II) ...

The 'base colours' are put onto the second "gun tank":

The shading starts, mid-tone and final highlight. The shades of brown was harder to do Anita Acrylic's Earth Brown, Anita Acrylic's Dark Red, Games Workshop Sunburst Yellow and Anita's Acrylic Cream. The challenge was not to turn the brown pink: 

The final yellow colour gets a white shade highlight:

Camouflage pattern complete, tracks and exhausts to do next:  

Still think I will plastic-card the bottom to make the model feel more solid. The kits do need to be varnished however as the SHQ castings have sharp lines which mean that the Anita Arylic's paints have a tendancy to 'rub' off the metal. Handle with care until the varnish goes on ;)

7TP's another thirty minutes painting on ...

Prototype camouflage pattern done on the "command tank", time for the other two "gun tanks" to catch up (see below):

Meanwhile while technically not a deviation (see "Just a Minute" Radio 4 game show rules) it is a distraction (but in my defence it is at least on the list):

The Airfix 1/1200 KM Prince Eugen from the "Sink the Bismarck" set. Will my concentration hold or will I be a kitten chasing a butterfly? Tune in next time to find out ... 

Polish "Clanky Tanks" 7TP's (cont)

Still working on the Polish 7TP's and trying to nail their camouflage scheme. These SHQ kits started life on a trades-stand at the SELWIG London Games Wargame Show in 1997, purchased when I was "young and single" in London and could afford buckets of metal. This lavish investment has finally matured (see below):

The three tone scheme was lightened up in two shade highlights: Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow added with Anita's Acrylic's Cream, Tamiya  XF-62 Olive Drab added with Games Workshop Sunburst Yellow and Anita's Acrylics Earth Brown added with Anita's Acrylics Dark Red and then Games Workshop Sunburst Yellow (see below).

The "magic formula" seems to be working (see below):

Not too sure how to tackle the exhausts: Anita's Acrylics Metallic Black and Games Workshop Mithril Silver for starters? (See below):

A close up of the "Command" 7TP Twin MG's. Full Frontal (see below), this camouflague scheme was jigsawed from various sources and taken from other "modellers" examples so probably it is not as blockish as per historical (see below):

Side-on and taken from "Blitzkrieg: Armour Camouflague and Markings, 1939-1940. Steven J. Zaloga", see pages 33, 36 and 37.

Rear (more educated guesswork):

"Prototype" done time to do the other two 7TP gun tanks. Photo-shoot over, the real "clanky tank" painting continues in the background.

Note: Hidden in a tray somewhere are some mounted and dismounted SHQ Polish Lancers and standard FAA Polish Infantry.

The "Clanky Tank Party" starts (Polish, French and German early war tanks)

Every party needs some "Party Animals" and I have a bunch of five from SHQ:

The three Polish 7TP's (one with twin MG's and two with two with 37mm Bofers cannon), the French D2 and the German Propaganda Tank

Work starts on the elaborate early war Polish camouflage (see above en mass), the base coat is applied, Anita's Acrylic Earth Brown (11014), Tamiya Acrylic XF-60 Dark yellow and Tamiya Acrylic XF-62 Olive Drab (see below for the close-up of the twin-MG 7TP):  

Both the yellow and green will have to be modified to match my guide and early war tank bible (see below):

Handily all three tanks are covered with nice plates and descriptions. Still on holiday and loving it ;)

Xmas Painting Tray

While the turkey is roasting, you never know I may be able to slip away ... and do a quiet spot of festive model painting. Perhaps the "Sink the Bismarck" Airfix HMS Hood in 1/1200, 25/28mm Mounted and Foot Renaissance or ... 

To attend the small matter of some Polish WW2 armour from SHQ (see above dressed in Tamiya Matt Black) waiting for their funky three tone early war camouflage scheme. It must have been effective as the Germans seemed to copy it later in the war when they needed to hide their tanks!

Nicely cast models, but I want to "plastic-card the bottoms over" (explain that last sentence in a court of law) as they have a rather "hollow shell" structure (understandable by SHQ to keep weight and costs down). Maybe it's just me but it somehow feels wrong when I pick them up (makes them slightly less durable in my mind too)?

Note: There are two of the "gun version" (for the fighting tanks) and a "command" twin MG version tank, good enough to field as an independent Polish tank company (in CD3 terms) against my early war Panzer I's, II's, III's and IV's..

Father's Day Present

After much hinting (a careful fortnight campaign of orchestrated name dropping to my two eldest children: "Ahem, Daddy wants a Spitfire") and the availability of the said Airfix kit in a leading Supermarket chain meant I got what I wanted :)

And some Toblerlone milk chocolate to boot, so I am chuffed! I don't believe I ever had this model as a kid. I certainly had the early MkIa and I'm pretty sure I had the MkIX version too but somehow I missed out the Mk Vb, perhaps because to my young eyes it looked too much like the Mk IX with the 20mm cannon.All I can say is that I know better now.

The chocolate now consumed, the Spitfire (with its circa 1974 mould) to look forward to making. Time to reclaim a "painting tray" area as the house move looks to be put on hold.