World War 2 Germans For Chain of command.

So here are my  Early war Germans. These have been recently touched up. I also added 1 Pz III, 1 Pz IV, and 3 Sdkfz 222s in April early this year.  everything i had prior to that but i repainted it to match the new scheme.

the infantry is oddly set up. I have 2 squads each of Schutzen and regular infantry.  This is due to the game I put on at last may's Mayday Convention in Edmonton.  I had multiple platoons of infantry, but to reduce the work new players had to do  i reduced the platoons to 2 squads instead of 3.  i already had 4 squads of Germans, and enough extra MG34s and loaders to make half my squads  Schutzen, so i did so.  i also had enough figures to make 2 full German platoon HQs and enough support options to reinforce 2 platoons.  I had intended afterwards to  buy 2 additional squads to fill out the platoons after the game, but i was laid off just before the convention.


the only difference between schutzen and regular infantry is the colour of the shoulder straps.  Schutzen were black piped green, and regular infantry were black piped white.  I know some companies sell schutzen in smocks, but only usually only the SS schutzen were equipped with them during the battle of France.  As such you can barely tell the difference other then the extra MG34.

the Germans.  Mostly Crusader, but there are some Black
Tree designs and Pre-Warlord Bold Action miniatures mixed in.

Left two squads are Schutzen, Right two are Regular Infantry

2 Platoon commands complete with 50mm mortar.  addtional support Teams
ignore the Pack 38. Its left over from when i used to use these for 1941-42

My German vehicle collection. Everything is AGNM,
except the Neubauferzeug VI, which is JTFM.

Left to right, front to back: 3 Sdkfz 222s, Pz II,
Neubaufehrzeug VI, Pz. IV,  STuG III, Panzerjager I

Left to right, front to back:  3 Pz 38Ts, 1 Pz. I, 3 Pz. IIIs

 That is my collection so far. I'd like to bump both platoons up to a full 3 squads, and I'd like to add a squad of pioneers. Past that I don't have much in mind.

2nd CoC Game

I GMed (co-GMed, as it turned out, with Dave Hoyt) a CoC game for a few friends yesterday afternoon.  this game was a slightly more moderate game in terms of forces used then the last(more infantry, less support).

this games was again early war french Vs German. the table was 8x6, but of course the way the patrol phase worked out the game was actually played on only a portion of the table.  I corrected a few mistakes in the way the rules played out versus the first game  earlier last week.

French Platoon :
LT(senior leader)
Platoon sergeant(junior leader)
 VB rifle grenadier squad(4 + junior leader)
3x  infantry squads(10 + junior leader)
25mm AT gun
60mm mortar
Hotchkiss MMG
Hotchkiss H-39

German Platoon:
LT(senior leader)
Feldwebel(senior leader)
5cm mortar
3x  infantry squads(9 + junior leader)
Pak 36 AT gun

MG34 MMG
Pzkpfw 38(t)

As in the first battle, the Germans opened up with a charge, led by the Feldwebel, on a full french squad in heavy cover. despite this, the Germans prevailed and took possession of the graveyard. the feldwebel was badly wounded and shipped off to the rear areas for treatment.  a few phases later the remainder of the squad would be routed by concentrated fire from the VBs and another infantry squad that had taken up residence in the church.

The game was relatively uneventful for teh next while. after the bloody melee, both sides took up residence in hte buildings for cover, and protection against the mortars and VBs. the german 38(t) entered teh board and shot up some french infantry.

\Finally the lull broke The french got 3 phases in a row.  during the first phase the french opened fire on a building across the street, and killed 6! only 8 were alive inside the building, and the remaining shock routed the squad.  during the course of the next 2 rounds, the french continued the above average rolling, and cut down a full German squad in another building.  

The french player then opted to use his 1 chain of command dice to end the turn, forcing the french to role morale for the 2 broken squads.  the German player opted to use his lone chain of command dice to ignore one force morale test, but despite this, he was left with only 2 command dice to roll, a tank, a 5cm mortar team, and a single squad of 2 infantry(who had been rallied from the squad that opened the game with the melee). he still had the MG team and an AT team off board, as well as his LT. we called the game, with the Germans effectively neutralized.

This game ran faster then the previous one.  We started around 12:30 and were done shortly after 3:30.  the french luck at the end was phenomenal. Up until that point the loses had been about equal and neither side had seen much gain.

The next game won't be fore a bit, as we are probably playing imaginations in 2 weeks.  this works well as it give Martin time to get some Soviets painted.  I'd like to do a bit of Operation Barbarossa.

Our Intro to COC: an AAR

last night my friend Dan and I got together. we began the evening by doing a tiny bit of painting, and then we migrated to the dining room for a small introductory game of Chain of Command.

 Dan played French, and I played German, using Rich's 1940 army lists.  we both had a platoon of 2 squads, with approximately 10 levels of support(effectively 3 support teams and a tank). We went about the patrol phase, got our jump off points set u and then begun the game.

Most of the first few phases were simply used to get the majority of out troops on the table.  one notable action was me charging a full German squad around the corner into a full squad of sand.  the Frenchies beat me 6 kills to 5 and my squad fell back. at the beginning of the next turn, Dan would charge back around the building at my squad, and kill it. my 38(t) then came on hte table and broke the remainder of the charging french.

On the other side of the table, Dan deployed his troops directly into the building, and surrounding courtyard, while his hotchkiss MMG deployed to the hedge directly across the street.. i deployed my 2nd squad into hte feild, along with  my 50mm mortar team.  across teh raod behind teh hedge i deployed my 75mm infantry gun and my tripoded MG34. teh next few turns ended up with a haevy exchange of fire between the 2 forces.  eventually i broke his MG team(which his paltoon LT was attached to) and used a chain if command dice to end the turn, sending his LT routing off table. I'm mean.

a few phases later, I managed to wear kill the 2 remnants of the french close combat squad, and soon after that I broke one team of Dan's 2nd squad in the house, and the game ended.

this was our first game, and although Dan and I are familiar with too fat Lardies rules, it did take quite a while. we looked everything up.  it also didn't help that although both Dan and i could hit, we could not have any effect to save our lives. this seemed to draw out the game artificially. in the advanced rules they have a suggestion to make tanks more bloody, basically add a +1 to penetrate for all tanks for all tank. after a few more games, if the trend follows, i may do the same thing with the effect for infantry combat.

I'm also not thrilled with the differentiation in tanks speeds. on open ground/road, going "flat out" is about 1 inches per d6 per speed class.  if that's all, why bother having speed classes?  I'm considering making these a little more differentiated. doubling the increase would mean that fast tanks are only going 12" faster than infantry at full out. which is not exactly speedy. but it still gives the feel of fast tanks going actually fast.


still, I have to give it a few more tries before making a decisions about changes and the like. I like a lot of the mechanisms though.

Terrain Blitz

yesterday afternoon I found myself overcome with the need to do.. something.  I spent a little while trying to decide on what to do, then i decided to try something I've been looking at doing for a while: new, larger hedges/bocage.

German supply convoy driving along side bocage/hedge

Hedges and road with recently repainted foundry
Russian officer and Jagers

I cut up some MDF into 12", 6" and 4" lengths.  i then tested the concept out on the 2 12 inch bases. I used Spanish moss, found at most craft or floral stores.  i bunched it together in long thin-ish strips, and hot glued it to bases. i then watered down some carpenters glue and sprayed down the moss and flocked it with Woodland Scenics green blend flocking.  finally, once dry  I take some very watered down carpenters glue and i soak the Spanish moss , which after drying, hardens flocking, making it less likely to come off.

hedges and road with AGNM WW2 German transports

Once this was drying I was looking for some other stuff, to do, so I went into my gaming cupboard and fished out 6 12" lengths of roofing shingles that i had cut several months ago, to make roads using an Architects of war article. I was initially skeptical because it is difficult to see a grain worthy of drybushing on the backside of the shingle but it got getter looking as I  drybrushed progressively lighter, and looked pretty darn solid once flocked..

Field with all pieces in place.
still needs the basing painted and flocked

 
finally I  then decided to pull out one of the bristle door mats from the back room and make a field with removable sections. i cut out a 12" piece of MDF and beveled the edges.  I then cut out an 11" piece of mat, and then cut a 1/2" around the inside of that, and glued it down.  i based around the outside and in the centre.  finally i cut the 10"x10" section that fits in the middle down to 9.75" x 9.75". this has to be done because the mat flares out at the edges. if you want to be able to fit it inside the boarder, you need to cut it down a bit.  I then cut it into 8 pieces of various sizes.
 

Russian jagers hiding out in a field.
Removed pieces shown behind

 this week's objective is to complete some more terrain, renedra fences, as well as paint a tank for a friend's Russians.

Disposable heroes AAR: Soviets vs Germans 1941

On December 7th I got together with my friend Martin Jensen and played a game of Disposable heroes.  I have not played a game in quite a while so it was a nice diversion before heading into an intense exam schedule.

Unfortunately  my pattern of forgetting to take pictures until the game is well along has not been remedied by my long absence.

The scenario was Germans attacking a small Village defended by the soviets. the German force was part of a sweeping action to cut off a larger soviet force, and this village and its stalwart defenders are dead in the path.  The Germans were to take the majority of the buildings in the town to achieve a victory. the Russians were to hold out against the German onslaught.

Martin played the Germans and had:
1x Platoon command w/attached LMG
3x 10-man infantry squads(each pslit into a 6 man maneuver setion and a 4 man MG section)
1x 6 man recon squad
2 80mm mortar
1 50mm mortar
1 50mm Pak38
1 panzer 2 D
2 panzer 3 Hs

The Soviets(played by myself) had:
1x platoon command(3 figures)
1x Political officer
4x  12-man infantry Squads( each deployed in an 8 man  maneuver section and a 2 man MG team)
1x Maxim MG team
1x 80mm Mortar
1x ATR team
2x T-34/76A

Martin and his Germans deployed on the quarter of the table seen in the trees below. My Soviets started on the far side of the crossroads in the village. 

the first turn was mostly maneuvering for position. i pushed across the crossroads into a few buildings. Martin spread out along the width of the table, finding cover behind hedges, in the trees, and behind the closest building of the town.

on the 2nd turn, Martin managed to kill a T34 form the front with a lucky shot.  being the ever-stoic soviets they are, the troops ignored the loss and contained fighting.  later that turn 2 of my maneuver sections let loose a devastating volley for their buildings, killing 8 Germans(4 each form 2 German maneuver sections) martin took refuge in the closest building, and we both dropped smoke to continue the advance.

for a turn or 2, we traded fire from buildings. the soviet ART team took some potshots at the PZ 3 and also at some infantry in the woods, but failed to hit.

Martin advanced a Pz 3 up his right flank. it looked like it was going to be a bust for him, as he consistently either failed to spot or failed to hit. I decided to Assault  him with a  one and a half maneuver sections. this turned out to be the worst thing that i could have done, as i failed 2 improvised assault in a row.  martin just ran an entire maneuver section down, and i had nothing to show for it but dead soldiers. good thing I'm a soviet commander!

In the last turn I managed to pile enough fire in to the building martin had occupied to force the lone survivor to retreat. I also hit and penetrated the PZ2 but  only killed one crew member, and the crew passed their check.

and the end of the game, i took stock of the losses on both sides.  i had effectively lost 3 whole squads of infantry, my Maxim, and a T34.  the Germans had lost a similar amount of their force, though still had all their tanks. fortunately, my last push and force Martin completely out of the town.


Martin has some stunning luck with his tanks.  i could not kill them to save my life.  I successfully continued using the massed fire of the soviet rifles, ans was quite lucky with  the fire from my maneuver sections.

In the soviet list, the MG teams are too small and die to fast, so I focus on bringing my maneuver section to bear.  While playing Disposable heroes, i have noticed a lot of people tend to focus on killing MGs early because they think MGs do the most fighting.  This tends not to be true of the soviet lit the way it is set up.  It usually takes people completely, by surprise but martin was up to the task.

it was an very enjoyable game, with plenty of ups and downs to keep you on your toes.


and now the pics:

Soviet positions turn 2

Blaster germans killed my T34!

German push on right flank.

 

Soviet improvised assault in full swing.

recon squad  bloodied but not beaten.

Final positions.

NATO Forces Arrive!

I had intended to post earler, but i spent two and a half week dealing with reeneactment issues rather then painting..

US Abrams tanks.
These are actually M1A2s(post-cold war) but most
people can't tell the difference

Last week I finally got back to doing some painting. i pulled out some NATO Cold War Micro armour.  I've been meaning to do this for some time, since i sold most of my allied force(the USMC  battle group) to my friend Dan.

US Bradleys.
Again, these are post-cold war variants  but again the average
person can't tell the difference unless it's pointed out

German Leopard 2A4s

   
I painted up  both Tanks and IFVs for Americans and Germans, plus a few extra support vehicles for the Bundeswehr.

German Marder 1A3 IFVs.

German M110 SPG,  Jaguar 1, Luchs, and
2 command stands: 1 leo 2A4 with M577, and 1 Iltis Jeep

so now that i have a decent core of NATO opfor for my horde of soviets(these guys are outnumbered about 4 to 1 by  T80Bs and BMP 2s), I can start playing some game again when my friend Dan is NOT around.

I should be back later this week since  i have  several units of napoleonic russians waiting to be based.

Cheers!

New WW2 Tanks

I've been a bit unproductive for the last 2 weeks.. other then a bit of painting for commissions, I've done pretty much nothing.


Anyway, last weekend I make a trip to Toronto to pick up rubber and resin to mold and cast my Laffly s-20 truck.  on the way back I stopped in at the Army Group North Miniatures workshop and talked to Vince and Andy.   They gave me some tips and pointers on resin casting which was most appreciated.

I Also picked up a few tanks.  I grabbed a 3rd 38(t), a Panhard 178 Armoured car, a Char B1 Bis, an AMR-35(with 7.5 and 13.2mm turrets) and a PanzerJager 1.  the last 2 have not been released yet, but they are well on their way.

I also picked up a complimentary T-28, and an extra 38(t) hull Machine gun bit that was missing from one of teh tanks i bought at hotlead in march. so now i can paint that one too.

Anyway, last night i painted the 3 German tanks.

the remaining 2 38(t)s of my platoon. 
38(t)s are a perfect match for H39s in DH&C7B.

"experimental" AGNM Panzerjager I.

As usual the AGNM models are fantastic.  the Panzerjager I goes together nicely, although the gun compartment is a bit cramped.  still the finished model looks fantastic.  I decided to paint the little shield on the gun shield, and the German crosses on the sides and rear. my hand isn't steady enough to do nice quality numbers on the sides.

Anyway, I'm hoping to have th french tanks completed for tomorrow, so I'll get those posted then.

ARR: First Platoon Forward Action.

Last night my friend Jon and I had the inaugural game at my house. As mentioned previously, we had decided to play Disposable heroes WW2 using the TFL Platoon Forward campaign system. the game was set in 1940 during the invasion of France.

Before hand, I had decided that i was going to track 2 Platoons, one German and one French. They won't always be playing against each other. I decided that wen one rolled up a defensive role and one rolled up an offensive role, there would be a 50/50 chance of the 2 platoon meeting. this means the overall odds of them fighting in the same game are about 33%.  well last night it happened.

the scenario was an exploitation scenario, with the french on the defensive and Germans on the offensive. there german Platoon( had been held in reserve during a company or battalion wide attack. When a hole opened up in the Germans were sent into hte hole and advance to take position in a church behind the french lines. the french, being in somewhat disarray only start with a single squad of infantry, an MG and the platoon NCO on the board.

Forces:

German Platoon
Platoon command ( LT, Sgt, 3 privates)
3 infantry squads(6 man Rifle section, 4 man LMG section each)
1 5cm Mortar

German Support
1 PaK 38
1 80mm Mortar
1 MG-34 MMG
1 Panzer IV D

French Reinforcements
Platoon command(Lt, 2 Privates, 1 VB grenadier)
2 Squads( 8 man rifle section with VB, 4 man LMG section each)

81mm Mortar team
H-39 light tank( entered Turn 3)
Somua S-35( entered Turn 4)

we rolled up pre-game events and Jon's platoon was in high morale(+1), while my troops were well rested(+1 Movement)

As usual, I forgot to take pics for the first half of the game. but here it is in ha nutshell.  Jon started his forces in the middle third of the table.  I deployed the rifle section in the graveyard(NCO attached), the MG on main floor of the Church and the LMG section in the 2nd floor in the tower window. His first turn of fire pinned the reifle section immediately.  by the end of the turn only the Squad Sgt, VB grenadier, and NCO remained.  The LMG section had lost one of it's members, and the MG had LOS blocked by smoke after it fired.  the rest of the platoon entered on the German far right at the roadway.

2nd turn Jon Killed the remainder of the rifle squad and pinned the LMG section.the HMG section retreats to the far end of the church in preparation for an assault. hte NCO survived and under covering fire from long range of the LMG(which pinned a German rifle section entering the graveyard). he retreated to the gate of the graveyard.  Jon's MG-34 succumbed to superb rifle fire from a section french riflemen.

3rd turn the french advanced a little more taking fire and giving it. the H-39 arrived at the far end of the table from the infantry(German far left), behind a significant amount of cover.  Jon piled more infantry into the church and Jon's P IV having lost it's only recently acquired target(the MG section) moved up the street a little more in preparation for  attack of the H-39. the NCO in spectacular fashion, steadied his rifle  on the graveyard wall and proceeded to do more damage to the German rifle section in the graveyard the 2 squads of french down the road could do over the next two turns.

End of 3rd turn.

In the 4th turn, Jon continued to pile infantry into the Church while i was slowly beginning to realize that retaking the church was no longer possible in the time remaining ( 6-turn game length) . the Somua entered the table, albeit to late to have a real effect on the game. it took a potshot at the infantry in the graveyard but had no real effect.  the NCo continued having the most effect on the game.  the H-39 pulled out to take a shot at the Panzer IV but the shot went wide.  Luckily, so did the Panzer's shot.  a few moves into the 5th turn i gave up and retreated, as i could not make it to the church in the time allotted.

 

End of 4th turn

During the free-form events that followed the game,  the french NCO who miraculously survived  increased in moral ability, as he held his post against overwhelming odds(in full view of the rest of teh platoon and at least 1 tank) and only retreated when he was ordered to.  the German squad leader who was in hte graveyard also increased his gut score due to his bravery and keeping his squad together in the face of overwhelming fire( 2 full french squads, a mortar,  the NCO and a Somua tank). a the fixed effects yeilded no changes fr the french, but teh Germans get to have an extra Mortar or MG-34 MMG team next scenario, and try were asked by Battalion HQ to deliver a new radio to company HQ since they are out of contact (next scenario for them)

Part way through 5th turn, end of game.

All in all i like the system. my only grip is that the +1 morale is far better then the +1 movement.  I may adjust to to +2 because +1 jut don't have much impact.  the rules do not specify the actual increase, rather leaving it up to the players to decide since it is a non-rules-specific set.    and now for some cool pics:

Somua takes a potshot at some German infantry

H-39 Begins it's attack

End of game.

More WW2 and a Surprise!

Yesterday I painted a few more WW2 support teams. THis time it was 1 Crusader French 25mm AT gun, a pair of Crusader German ATR teams, and an AGNM PaK 36.   picked up this stuff at Hotlead to add som much-needed AT ability to my 1940 french project.  my Germans were originally built as an early Eastern front platoon(and light on at with only a PaK 38), so one of my planned purchases at the Con was AT weapons. the french also had no proper AT( 75mm mle 1897 not withstanding) so i picked up 2 Hotchkiss 25mm Anti-tank guns.  The other one is still in the back room with the hull MG-less 38(t).

AGNM PaK-36 flanked by 2 crusader ATR teams.

Crusader 25mm Hotchkiss Anti-tank gun

Also, This morning i received an email that quite surprised me!  Eric Roof of Conquest Miniatures has offered to replace the stolen longhouse free of charge!

I've been a fan of Eric and Conquest since I discovered  them while beginning my FIW project.  I've been to 2 Historicons and both times I spent more money at his booth that at any other one(usually about 1/3rd to 1/2 of my expenditures). I also usually spend a while talking to him.  in fact of all the poeple I talk to at Historicon, Eric is one of 3  I always remember( Nick and Rob of Eureka are the others).

Eric is a pretty busy guy, so it really means a lot to me for him to take the time out of his busy day and offer to do this.   If Both of us  make it down to Historicon this year, I'm going to have to shake his hand, and probably pick up 2 regiment packs(1 British, 1 French) if I make enough money selling things.  Eric even coincidentally put together his marching regiment packs to fit perfectly with how I've already structured my units for sharp practice( i do mine as 24 infantry, plus 1 drummer, 1 standard, and 2-3 officers/ncos)!

anyway, Eric is a stand up guy, and excellent to deal with.  Everyone should buy their FIW stuff from him!

More WW2 tanks

A month ago at hotlead i picked up 2 38(t)s and an Somua S-35 from ATGM( via the Five Arrows booth). one of teh 38(t)s was missing a machine gun bit, which will soon be rectified.

Anyway, My friend Jon and I are going to have our inaugural game at my house on Friday. I decided to make it the first game in a campaign using Too Fat Lardies Platoon Forward rules. The actual game rules will be Disposable Heroes, of course.  Dave Hoyt had played a few games with us at the club using his campaign platoon, so I'm already familiar with how Platoon Forward works.

Anyway, we will be setting the campaign in France 1940. I decided i needed to paint up a few more vehicles to add to the variety.  Up to this point, I only had 3 H-39s for the French, and a Stug, Pkmpfw I and Pkmpfw II usable for the Germans.  So I sat down last night and painted the S-35 and  the complete 38(t).

AGNM Somua S-35.

AGNM Panzer 38(t)

 Next up will be a PaK 36 for the Germans and a Hotchkiss 25mm AT gun for the French.

All Done for Now!

Last Saturday was a busy Day.  I managed to paint an AGNM PaK-38, a BTD Soviet M1897 75mm Feild gun,  and my remaining 8 Crusader Russian infantry on Friday.  On Saturday, I finished up a   German Squad, a German recon Squad, an MG-34 HMG team, and a  75mm IG18 Infantry Gun.

 All infantry & HMG team are Crusader, Russian field gun

is BTD,75mm IG18 is Bolt Action, PaK-38 is AGNM

Then yesterday, I painted my remaining German squad, a Soviet 76mm ZiS-3 AT gun, a 120mm soviet mortar and 4 soviet infantry in recon suits.

Germans are Crusader, 76mm gun is BTD with 

Bolt Action Crew, Mortar is Battle Honours?

and With that, i have finished a platoon for each force.  These are essentially complete now. I may add a support team here and There(especially for the Russians, as i locate sources of BTD support teams)and some tanks that i actually own for the Russians( only the T-28 is mine, everything else is loaned from friends Jon Holmes and Dave Hoyt).

My entire WW2 Eastern Front collection

 

 My Russian Force( T-34s Loaned by Dave Hoyt, 

Green stuff Loaned by Jon Holmes)

My German force(this one is all mine)

I will be expanding my WW2 collection in the future. I plan to do Finnish for the Continuation War, and after that perhaps a British Highlander platoon, using BEF miniatures, after that.

So now that this project  is out of the way at least in the short run, it frees up painting time for a few other things.  I think first upon the painting block is a Friends WW2 Japanese Platoon.