Back To WW1 - Western Front in 12mm

12mm WW1 French in early war uniform - metal figures from Great Escape Games.

This is a fairly quick post - but that is the point, to get into the habit of posting! Here we have a collection of 12mm sized WW1 French, resplendent in their lovely early-war blue and red uniforms! These are metal castings from Great Escape Games, part of their range of figures for their "1914" game.

Infantry, a little closer up - the chef-de-battalion can be seen on the front base, with the red kepi and sword drawn. 

View showing the detail of the packs on the infantrymen. This sort of detail puts these figures a cut above the sculpts from Kallistra, although both are great, and I recommend both. 

These sculpts are chunky, and full of character, and are a real treat to paint. In the "1914" game, each base of four figures is meant to represent a company, so these four bases together would represent a battalion - they would also take a Hotchkiss MG along that I painted earlier this year. 

Another closer shot of some of the other infantry.

My 1914 French force for this game and setting is still not totally rounded out, but it is getting to a much better place - we now have two battalions of infantry, a regiment of dragoons and a unit of the famous 75mm guns - more than enough to confront some Germans in a recreation of a battle from the tragic "Plan XVII" and the Battle of the Frontiers. As always, watch for more to come during the approaching Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge! 

To Alsace!

And, you know, nothing helps a project move along like trying it another scale...so watch this space for more on that too...

That's all for now - thanks for reading! 

More Guns of/for August - French WW1 Dragoons and MGs in 12mm

12mm French dragoons for early WW1 - figures by Kallistra.

The WW1 painting in 12mm continues! Here we have some 12mm size French Dragoons - mounted and dismounted. The figures are metal castings from the excellent folks at Kallistra. They are based for the game "1914" by Great Escape Games, and these four bases would represent a regiment of dragoons in that game. 

Bit more of a close up...

Great Escape offers a lovely line of figures in support of their "1914" rules, but I was excited to add some variety via Kallistra's admirably complete figure range. I am very keen to game the early phases of the Great War, and particularly keen to deploy cavalry units, and especially excited to paint up French cavalry for the setting. Why? Well, for me, these cavalry units really underline that unique historical moment in the late summer of 1914... 

Love the lances!

What do I mean by that? Well, the exact moment in history when cavalry was supplanted on the battlefield if open to debate. Really, in a lot of ways, the bloody and totally pointless slaughter of the French cavalry by the Prussians in 1870 should have put an end to the view of cavalry as a battle-winning thing, but the cavalry arm was such a prestigious institution of the various armed forces in Europe. Thus it fell to the opening phases of WW1 to become, in many ways, a last gasp for cavalry attempting to play "decisive", battle-winning arm on the battlefield. To be clear, I am not arguing that things were totally over for cavalry after this point. After all, cavalry formations played an important roles in several battles later in the same war. There were cavalry units in WW2. Heck, special forces types rode on horses in Afghanistan in the 21st century. 

Dismounted unit, skirmish poses all around.

So there is no question cavalry continued to play a major military role after the opening phases of WW1. But I think those opening battles in 1914 did put, at last, an end to the idea that a field battle could/would/should be won at scale by a cavalry charge in anything other than exceptional circumstances. You can just tell by how the cavalry arms of the nations in 1914 kept their formal dress for battle - in some cases, quite formal - that these institutions were simply not going to let go of the belief that, at the end of it all, even with all the rifles and the artillery and the machine-guns, they would deliver decisive victory with a charge. 

Officer on the front base.

France in 1914 is a great example of this (second, perhaps, to the Austro-Hungarian military establishment of the time). At the outset of hostilities in August 1914 the French Cuirassiers and Dragoons have their glorious uniforms, and all that this entails, and I just love painting them up. Huge helmets, with long horse-hair tails from the comb, the beautiful dark blue tunics and red trousers...just glorious! And they have whacky lances too! Of course, with the right amount of cran, this lot is sure to send the enemy reeling!

Hotchkiss MGs

Hotckiss MGs...Kallistra crew on the left, Great Escape Games sculpt on the right.

To go along with the dragoons, I painted a pair of Hotchkiss MGs for my "1914" collection. The "1914" rules call for the MG elements to be mounted on 25mm square bases, and so with these you get a sense of the slight difference between the figures from Great Escape Games and those from Kallistra. The Great Escape Games casting is chunkier, and there is only room for the single figure running the MG. The slighter Kallistra figures, on the other hand, allow for the gunner to be joined by a crew mate. 

A bit of extra character comes with the ability to squeeze an extra crewman on the base.

I rather prefer the look of the Kallistra castings, as these early MGs were heavy affairs that required quite a few crew to haul them around and get them into action. It's just two crew, but at least it implies a crew! 

The Great Escape Games castings are chunkier fellows...I do love how they have their packs on, though!

That's all for now - watch for more early WW1 painting - and, just other random painting - to appear soon, I hope! Thanks for reading.

German Jaeger for the "Guns of August" - 12mm WW1

German WW1 Jagers, 12mm figures from Great Escape Games.

My "Guns of August" project continues - here is another unit for the German side. These are Jagers, "light" infantry of the German army. These are all 12mm figures from "Great Escape Games", based for their rule set "1914". Each base would represent a company of infantry, and so this would represent a full-strength battalion in the "1914" game.

MG08 gunner is on a 25mm square base - others are mounted on 25mm x 50mm rectangles.

The uniform of the Jager is different from that of the other regular German infantry of the era - they still wear a shako, and even though this had a cover, the pom at the top of the shako still showed. They also wore green (or, at least, I think most of them did, at the outset of WW1 anyway). As is common with "light infantry", they were thought to be elite, especially if you asked them. The green does not stand out as much as the green worn in 1870, but it provides a slight amount of colour variety for the German WW1 forces.

Nice detail on the kit and packs of the troops.

 

Jager battalions were attached at Corps-level in the German army, and in particular they seemed to accompany cavalry formations - or at least they did in terms of the OOBs of the game scenarios I am considering. I think they often had some troops riding bicycles to accompany with/keep up with cavalry units. I can't think of a way to represent this yet...if any clever Challenge participant knows someone who makes 12mm size bicycles, please let me know!

You might be able to pick out the officer, near the centre of the photo - "here we go, should reach Paris in no time at all!"

As before, these were very nice and fun-to-paint castings, and this project has still has a lot of momentum on my painting desk - at least for now! Thanks for reading!

More "Guns of August" - 12mm WW1

French and German WW1 infantry in 12mm - figures from Great Escape Games.

So my hobby focus continues to be soaked up by the early weeks and months of WW1, and I continue painting 12mm figures for my "Guns of August" project. Here we see more German troops, but some Allies also make an appearance. All figures are from Great Escape Games, and are based for their "1914" rules (although this basing will work with other rules as well). 

Dismounted German Uhlans

Dismounted German Uhlans - figures from Great Escape Games.

Who wants to dismount their cavalry? That's boring! But of course the battlefield realities of WW1 were such that dismounting was often called for - when the machineguns, rifles and artillery open fire, that whole theory of "mounted infantry" suddenly, maybe, possibly, might make a little bit of sense...even though it was SO lacking in glory...

In the "1914" rules (and many other rules) the cavalry can dismount...so you functionally need double the number of bases...

The upshot of this is that your Uhlans might dismount and fight on foot, and it is nice to have figures to represent this on the table. Great Escape Games has you covered...when you purchase a cavalry unit, you get figures to represent them both as mounted (glorious!) and dismounted (sigh...). 

Excellent sculpts from Great Escape Games.

Uhlans make cool-looking cavalry, even with the muted grey-green colours of 1914. But as infantry they seem pretty awkward. It makes me think of the Uhlans themselves sort of realizing that the whole ride-around-and-charge thing was probably over, even if they, or their officers, were reluctant to accept such a truth...

(Another) German Infantry Unit

More German infantry from WW1...you need lots of these fellows for the game...

Not much to say here...it's more German infantry, ready to battle through Belgium and into France! Schlieffen worked out all the timetables, right? So what could go wrong?

Each base would represent a company of infantry for the "1914" rules.

For the "1914" rules each base would represent a company of infantry, so the four bases together on the table would represent a battalion at its full right-off-the-train-from-the-depot strength, ready to continue the advance!

French Infantry Unit

Toujour a l'outtrance!

Can't play WW1 without some Allies, right? Great Escape Games offers French, British and Belgian figures for their "1914" range. The figures all look great, and I'm keen to test my brushes on each set. I had to pick one to be "first", and I went with the French.

Obviously, the uniform has a strong hobby appeal. Of all the combatants in WW1, the French army retained the most "classic" look to their uniform, with red pants and blue coats. The covers for the kepis, and the removal of the epaulettes take the "bling level" down a touch from the time of the Second Empire, but these are still fun colours to paint. 

A French company, ready to take the offensvie!

But beyond the uniforms there is just the great and compelling spirit and tragedy of the French army in WW1. The French went to war in 1914 with "Plan XVII" as their strategy and the idea of "cran" as their guide. The offensive was more than the order of the day...it was the central spirit, a core element of cohesion to the entire French military structure in 1914, from top to bottom. 

The base at the rear has only three castings...a broken rifle on a figure has already caused some losses...

This mix of factors led to a stunning series of military collisions, the "Battle of the Frontiers", in the opening days of the war. These battles did not go well for France. The Plan XVII attacks went nowhere, and as the scale of the German right wing wheeling through Belgium became apparent, the French would be sent reeling.

I believe that is a Hotckiss MG, although I think the French army had a different MG for the outset of WW1?

The commander is ready to lead from the front...

With hindsight Plan XVII seems quite bonkers, naturally - so much of WW1 does. But there is something I cannot describe about the French army in those opening days that is a particular trigger to my curiousity - and so the French will be the first allies on to the table for this project! This one unit was a "test" - more to follow soon, I hope...

So that's all for now - thanks for reading!

"Guns of August" Project Continues - 12mm WW1

More 12mm WW1 Germans ready to march through Belgium!

As Curt's most recent edition of the "Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge" finished, I kicked off another new project. After all, we all need new projects, right? Especially with these endless f*cking lockdowns. This new project was "The Guns of August", WW1 in 12mm, with figures from Great Escape Games. While the AHPC is concluded for another year, I'm still working away on this new project. Here is more infantry, more MGs, another 77mm gun team and a command base. These are all based for Great Escape Games "1914" rules, although they would certainly work for other rulesets as well.

German infantry columns massing for war!

In the "1914" rules, the level of abstraction is similar to that of Great War Spearhead - each base of infantry would represent a company, and each MG would represent an entire detachment of the weapons. Oddly, each 77mm gun only represents one half of a battery...that seems strange to me, but I haven't yet had the chance to try out the rules on the table, so I should withhold any judgements like that until such a time as I finally get to play them!

77mm gun ready to support the advance.

Another view of the gun crew. The bases for artillery are 50mm squares.

The castings from Great Escape Games have been very nice so far - only one broken Uhlan lance in the whole package...the figures are sold in units (generally four bases plus an MG, although in the game the actual size of the units can vary) or in special "brigade" boxes. I started with a "brigade" box for the Germans, and you get a fair bit of stuff - four units of infantry (four bases each), a regiment of cavalry (four bases), bases to represent the dismounted cavalry (four bases' worth), five MGs, two 77mm guns, and a group of command figures. Not too shabby!

Command base, packed with goodies from the box set - very nice sculpts. The German officers are not sure what to make of these maps...

As you can see, I based the command figures on a round base, as I would for games of "Spearhead". I think it looks better, and helps it to stand out from the others. Also, one of the gaps in the "1914" rules (and there are a few) is that, well, they provide literally no rules for what to do with the commanders, so thought I would go with my preference :)

More views of the infantry. The bases are 50mm x 25mm rectangles.

Lovely detail on the sculpts, showing the kit of the German infantry.

The MG08s are on 25mm square bases.

My only criticism on this Great Escape figure range so far would be lack of crew...certainly an MG08 in 1914 needed more than one chap to haul the gun, ammo and tripod around. The 77mm guns would have taken more than two crew to stay in action...but that said, these are all nice castings, they paint up quickly, and I really enjoyed working on them. I'll have many more to share as this project proceeds!

Thanks for reading - please stay safe, and stay sane!

Final Painting Challenge Submission - The Guns of August

12mm early WW1 Germans - figures from Great Escape Games.

My final post to the 11th edition of Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge shared a new project - after all, don't we all need a new wargraming project? Yes, of course we do! Thus I present my first brush-bending efforts toward gaming "The Guns Of August", the early days of WW1. All of these figures are 12mm castings from Great Escape Games, released as part of their "1914" rules. 

Example of some of the infantry castings.

This base includes a commander (pointing, you know, as all good miniature toy soldier officers do).

A view showing the kit being hauled by the infantry.

For many years I was indifferent to gaming WW1...the need for bespoke trench terrain was a particular deterrent, and even if that might be sourced, well, the lads go over the top, and get drilled by machineguns and artillery...not much of a "game". But the Fawcett Avenue group in Winnipeg are resourceful folks - Dallas obtained a set of fantastically amazing WW1 trench-board terrain, and hosted many excellent games playing the adapted Warhammer rules for the period available from Warhammer Historicals. And Byron dove in as well - you can find his painting efforts here on the blog, and he hosted many excellent games of "Through The Mud And The Blood." And of course Curt has his very complex and unique WW1 greyscale project that we have been able to enjoy on the table on several occasions - and he even has a Lovecraftian twist to it!

Close up of some Uhlans. Very stately poses...

Another view of the Uhlans.

You can dismount the cavalry, of course! Here is a base of dismounted Uhlans. Was there ever a more awkward uniform for skirmishing on foot?

So in the end I have been able play a fair number of WW1 games, and enjoyed them immensely, without ever stepping into the period myself. But, at Curt's suggestion, I did read Barbara Tuchman's remarkable book "The Guns Of August" about the opening weeks of WW1. What fantastic book, and a rip-roaring read!! While I had been dimly aware that between the declaration of war and the stalemate that developed in the Western Front trenches there had been...well...something...I was stunned to see just how much happened, and just how incredible it all was!! The Battle of the Frontiers, the hectic holding actions, the desperate race to save Paris, the absolutely f*cking bonkers Schlieffen Plan, the tragedy of "cran"...on and on. Wow! From the moment I tore into that book, about three years ago now, the idea of doing something myself set in WW1's early days started to bubble in my head...

An MG08 base. I wish they had included some crew for these weapons, but the "1914" rules call for a 25mm square base, and I suppose there would have been no room...

Fast forward, and the fine people at Great Escape Games released "1914". It is a rules system with many similarities to their excellent "Iron Cross" (WW2) and "Seven Days To The River Rhine" (Cold War goes Hot) systems.  I resisted for a while, but finally caved in an ordered some figures. They are 12mm castings...thus a slight departure from my recent 10mm mania...but I have enjoyed painting them very much so far, and the range is pretty complete for the purposes of their rules, if a bit short otherwise (for example, I wish there were more crew on the MGs and field guns, but anyway...)

The 77mm gun visible at the corner...

The figures in these photos represent about half of one of the "brigade" boxes for their "1914" range.  The level of abstraction in this game shares many similarities to "Great War Spearhead", in that each base represents a company of infantry, a squadron of cavalry or 1/2 battery of guns. Thus an infantry battalion would be between three and four bases (or maybe just two, depending on where things are at!). The box comes with enough infantry for four different four-base "battalions" and a four-base "regiment" of cavalry - mounted AND dismounted - along with MGs to accompany all of those units. There are also two 77mm guns (all together, one battery) and figures for a command base.  You get the figures and bases all together...it's a great way for a geek like me to dip my toe into the water!

77mm gun. Again, I wish they had included more crew...I've still a lot to learn about WW1 guns, but I'm pretty sure there were more than two chaps slinging shells to keep these things in action.

Another view of 77mm gun and team.

This is my first attempt at painting WW1 stuff, but I am really enjoying it so far. As with all Painting Challenge stuff, I was so sure I would get more of this done before the deadline for the end of AHPC XI, but as things worked out I only managed to get started on these two weeks ago.  All the same, I was able to make a decent start and post this as my final entry to AHPC XI.

Regiment of Uhlans - note the one fellow on the very right of the photo - his lance broke off in the bag, so I had to drill out the hand and replace it with a steel spear.

Good animation on the commander. "Get moving! Have you seen the stupid schedule we need to keep?"

The final submission for AHPC XI. Cheers everyone.

Thanks for reading everyone - I hope to share more photos of this project as it progresses over the spring and summer. And I do hope to put on a game of "1914" for the guys when I visit Winnipeg - after all of the great WW1 games they provided for me, I would like to return the favour. Stay safe, and stay sane!