"March"ing Matildas

Inspired by Matt's call to a March kit building challenge (see Mad March), I decided to dip my toe into the challenge.  As mentioned in the previous post, I have a Tamiya 1/48 Matilda kit laying unbuilt for several years.  This challenge would provide sufficient motivation to actually unbox the kit and get on with it. 

Likely little surprise to regulars, I also have a tall stack 1/100 (15mm) Zvezda models similarly laying around unbuilt.  Since there are Matildas in this stockpile, why not make the build a trio of Matildas?  The Zvezda Matildas are both Mk I and Mk II models.

The little Zvezda models only have six or seven pieces so they can be put together in a flash.  The larger Tamiya model contains considerably more pieces and took much more time to build.  However, all three models took less time than I expected.

While Matt's challenge required only the raw build, I forged ahead and painted my offerings as well.  The paintwork was kept simple using bronze green.  Decals were omitted from the Tamiya build since I just did not like the look of them.  For me, unmarked AFVs on the table are fine.

Perhaps one day, the 1/48 Matilda will actually see tabletop action with a complement of support troops?  She is ready when the call comes!

Since building these models put me into the WWII gaming spirit, I downloaded Chain of Command 2 to give the rules a look.

Distractions

Distractions.  Many experience the same, I am sure.  A painting plan is set in mind.  A vow is sworn to stick to it.  Spontaneously, attention veers off into another direction.  Rinse.  Repeat.  Sound familiar?

Such is the situation today.  

Having made a pledge to myself to lay down a dozen element Hittite Army for 2020, the first quarter of the year saw no progress on that task.  Elements from a number of projects have crossed the painting desk during the first quarter of 2020 but no such Hittites.  Until last week, that is.  I finally set to work on two handfuls of archers for this new army.  Only just started, I was almost immediately distracted by a series of Chain of Command games presented on a couple of very good blogs.  The Tactical Painter's blog is a wealth of CoC information and engaging battle reports.   One can learn a lot about employing proper tactics by reviewing these battle reports.  Similarly, Musings on Wargaming and Life, has been focusing, of late, on CoC and Bolt Action solo actions.  Great stuff all!  My distractions are justified, I think.

WWII CoC is not the only recent distraction.  Blunders on the Danube has been parading a seemingly never-ending stream of 28mm Napoleonics from his workbench.  Sigh.  Yet again distracted.  Why not push a battalion of 28mm French legere into the painting queue?  Yeah, that's what I need!  Coupled with the reorganization and rebasing of all of the skirmishers for my 28mm Peninsular War project, Hittites are pushed farther back into the queue.           

To satisfy the CoC urge, a WWII gun and crew jumped into the painting queue ahead of the Hittites.  Off the painting desk today is a German 75mm Infantry Gun by Black Tree Design.  The 75mm IG is a nice model characteristic of BTD's WWII range.  Will this piece ever see action on the gaming table?  I don't know.  If needed, there it will be.  OK.  Back to some Hittite work.

What is your latest hobby distraction?

German Pak 40 from BTD

With nothing but 18mm figures parading across the painting desk for three months, time to interject something different.  Something different I found.

Out from The Lead Pile is a Black Tree Design 28mm German Pak 40 with three crew.  I picked this piece up on a BTD sale awhile back along with a couple other pieces of ordnance.  Finally, I decided to put the gun together to give the Germans some punch in the next Chain of Command (CoC) game.  I gave this gun a weathered and beat up look.  Hopefully, not too beat up.       

While the last CoC game is but a faint memory, work on this project is an even more distant memory.  Looking at the Painting Log, the last figures to see action at the painting desk were a German sniper and spotter team almost two years ago.  My, how time flies!

Following the Zorndorf game (I need to tap out a BatRep for that), activity at the painting desk returns to fielding more 18mm troops.  In the queue are more units for the 1799 project.  Included in the batch working through the production line are another pair of Austrian guns, Austrian infantry, French legere, and dismounted Russian Cossacks.  Just enough to keep me busy.

German Special Teams - Sniper and Panzerschreck

To the most recent Chain of Command game, Jake brought along a few figures from the latest Brigade Games' 28mm WWII kickstarter project.  "Surplus to demands," says he.

Figuring I could use a few German weapons and teams, a sniper/spotter and panzerschreck were offered up as an offering to The Lead Pile.

Well!  These fine figures did not linger in The Lead Pile long.  This trio jumped the long painting queue and went right onto the painting desk.

Expect these to see action in the next CoC game where I field Germans.

Thanks again for the figures, Jake!

Odds and Ends for WWII Skirmish

Having only four WWII Gebirgsjager remaining in The Lead Pile, I figured I would empty the bin and field two officers and a two-figure LMG team.  While digging around in the lead, a couple of British weapons teams caught my attention.  Why not tackle these as well?  I could not resist.

First off the workbench is a British light mortar team from Black Tree Designs in 28mm.  While there are effectively two mortars teams, my plan is to use this collection of four figures to form one light mortar team.  One team will denote the weapon and crew in move mode while the other pair will be used to show the weapon and team as deployed and ready for action.  As expected from BTD, the sculpting on these Brits is excellent.

Next off the paint desk is a British heavy mortar team of three crew with weapon.  No separate trio of figures in move mode here.  This crew will lend some heavier infantry support from the rear.  Again, nice figures.

Finally, I get to the figure grouping that prompted my rummage through The Lead Pile.  That is the only four German Gebirgsjager left in inventory.   

My thought is that these four figures, consisting of two officers and a two-figure LMG stand, could be pressed into service as platoon HQ for the three Gebirgsjager sections already called up for service.

Like all of the BTD WWII figures, these figures show great character and are a real pleasure to paint.  Now, with a full platoon of mountain troops ready for service, I need to work them into a game of Chain of Command.  Looking back through past BatReps, hard to believe that the last game of CoC was about one and half years ago.  Where does the time go?

Even though painting activities have slowed with the recent luxury of gaming two weeks in a row, a line of units is slowly queueing up for the photo booth.

BTD German Gebirgsjager - Section 3

A third section of Black Tree Designs' German Gebirgsjager marches off from the painting desk.  With these thirteen mountain troops, a full three section platoon can be fielded for Chain of Command.  Remaining in The Lead Pile are two more officers and one more LMG team for the German Mountain infantry.  I may add these four remaining figures into the painting queue with expectations of pressing them into service as platoon HQ. 

As with the two sections before, the BTD figures are really an easy painting diversion without a lot of complications from uniform or equipment accouterments.  Great figures with much character.  Oh, and good value when snatched up when on sale!

Added into the painting queue along with the German platoon HQ are two British mortar teams.  Having completed two German platoons and at least one British platoon, thoughts ought to turn towards getting these lads into a game.

BTD German Gebirgsjager in 28mm

A second section of German Mountain troops marches off the painting desk.  These nicely sculpted 28mm figures are from Black Tree Design and follow closely on the heels of the first section painted back in late February (see BTD Gebirgsjager).

Now, I am two-thirds of the way through fielding a platoon of mountain troops for Chain of Command (CoC).  Once the platoon is finished, time to consider preparing for a CoC game with these figures thrown into the mix.  In which theater of operations will these lads see service first?  The last playing of CoC was quite distant and I have likely forgotten every rule.

Painting desk is still in a state of chaos as more than a half-dozen units are readying themselves for exit.  That is "chaos" in the best sense of the word since recent painting activity has figures figuratively flying across the painting desk from bare lead to painted.

Getting a WWII skirmish game back on the table would be enjoyable but my gaming table is presently fully occupied with Montebello 1859 awaiting a fourth trial.  On Saturday, an ACW game in 28mm is on the gaming schedule as Scott rolls out his beautiful ACW collection and we give Pickett's Charge a test in Kevin's lair.

BTD German Gebirgsjager

Rather than succumb to a recent Black Tree Design offer of 50% discount against WWII infantry, I maintained a modicum of restraint and instead struck out to paint a few of these figures already resting at ease in The Lead Pile.  My limited WWII interests tend to focus on the sideshows during the early campaigns of the war.  Since German Gebirgsjager saw service in both Norway and Crete operations, German mountain troops seemed a reasonable addition to my British and German 28mm Chain of Command forces.  A small pile of BTD Gerbirgsjager lay in The Lead Pile so I began by pulling enough figures to form one section.  Going through the BTD Gebirgsjager lead  I found enough figures to field a full platoon of three sections.  A second section is on the painting desk now.  

The BTD figures looked good with much character in their unpainted state.  After applying paint, I am even more impressed with these German mountain troops.  Excellent figures with enough raised detail to make the figures a snap to paint.  Looking forward to diving into the second section of these models.  First, the painting desk is a bit backed up with several other units readying themselves for departure from the work station.

Sadler's Operation Mercury, The Battle for Crete, 1941

Having an interest in the Marita-Merkur operation since the days of GDW's Europa game, of the same name, I pulled John Sadler's Operation Mercury from the shelf and packed it along with me on vacation. Coming in at slightly more than 200 pages, the book made a good read for a long flight.  With MMP's upcoming release of their treatment of the operation at the tactical level in Operation Mercury, I felt a pressing incentive to gain some background on the short Crete invasion in anticipation of the boardgame's release.

Sadler begins by laying the foundation for the situation and why the Balkans and later Crete played a role in early WWII operational planning.  His description of the geography over which the Germans would attack provides a good sense of the rugged terrain and the uniqueness of the island's infrastructure.  Crete's geography drove the direction of the campaign and Sadler's fine description enhances understanding.

Having ejected the allies from Greece, Sadler lays the case for the German invasion of the island after being pressed into action by Italy's invasion of Greece.  Having put down the groundwork for "why" the invasion, Sadler explains the "how" by providing a history of the Fallshirmjager arm and Student's championing of this asset.  One chapter is spent on Student's guidance of this air drop capability and his ideas on vertical envelopment of invasion from the air.  Very interesting stuff.

With the British suffering defeat after defeat in the early phases of the war, Sadler intimates that the defeat and evacuation of Crete was reminiscent of the glorious defeat of the Spartans at Thermopylae.  Thermopylae?  Maybe not quite.  Having put up a vigorous resistance at the outset of the operation, Commonwealth forces retreated and evacuated the island almost as soon as momentum shifted to the Germans.  Left behind in their evacuation were their hard-fighting comrades, the Cretans.

While my expectations were for a non-partisan treatment of the battle, most of the narrative focused on the British and Commonwealth perspective.  The retelling of the battle emphasized the shooting gallery presented to the allies as the Germans descended helplessly from the air into the waiting sights of small arms.  With deficiencies in Allied AA and large caliber weapons, great heroics were witnessed as small arms fire tore apart, transport, glider, and paratrooper alike.  This was murder not war.  The destruction of the assaulting force was catastrophic in a loss of men and materiel.  While great feats of combat are prescribed to the Commonwealth, the actions of the Cretans, themselves, are under-represented. The exception to this is the courageous actions of the local citizens and militia gallantly led by British officers.  Standing out for the Commonwealth were the tenacious actions of the New Zealand Maoris.

When recounting the air drop, Operation Mercury primarily spends all of the action around the Maleme airfield.  Brutal combat continued around the airfield to deny the Germans a bridgehead until the Germans gained a toehold.  Once the airfield fell and German reinforcements began arriving, British  command ordered a retreat and evacuation of the island.  The theme, for me, was that the fighting spirit of the individual is steadfast only to be undone by incompetencies in higher command.

While MMP's Operation Mercury will likely offer many opportunities for scenario development and immediate translation to the gaming table, Sadler's Operation Mercury provides much fodder for scenario design itself.  As I read the battle accounts, thoughts kept turning towards developing small scale actions for Chain of Command in 28mm.  With early war British in the collection, visions of fielding German Fallshirmjäger or Gebirgsjäger naturally surfaced.  Jake has Fallshirmjäger so a game could be had straight away.  Scott may have some of these Germans too.  My 15mm early war collection could see action in this theatre as well.  Possibilities and opportunities abound. Operation Mercury has placed gaming this invasion onto my list of periods to see future action on the table.

BTD German Weapon Teams

After the first game of Chain of Command (CoC), I was motivated to resurrect the languishing 28mm WWII skirmish project and added nearly a dozen and a half figures to the collection (see Another Project Awakens).  Following the second CoC outing over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was energized to tack on a few more figures for the project.  

Today, two German weapons' teams roll off the painting desk to bring even more firepower to the German platoon.  Figures are Black Tree Design.  These and more were snatched up in a recent BTD 40% discount offering.

Posting these figures reminds me that the BatRep from the second CoC game is still undocumented.  For now, back to the painting desk where a number of 28mm Napoleonics await the brush. 

Another Project Awakens

One situation having the ability to bring a languishing project back to life is a game on the table.  That is exactly what transpired following the recent Chain of Command game. 

I have a small 28mm WWII force individually based for skirmish-level games but the guys I game with never really found a set of rules at the level we liked.  I think that changed with the introduction to CoC.  In the past we tried Nuts! and perhaps a few others but Nuts! was not to our collective liking. 

My existing WWII project consisted of about 50 figures equally split between Germans and British and begun at the time we were considering WWII small unit tactical games.  These fellows last saw the paint brush in 2012 and have never seen action in a game.  Given the OB of CoC, my existing troops were not sufficient to form two playable forces.  To remedy that deficiency and provide myself two forces for solo play, 18 figures hit the painting desk.  To bring each side up to three sections or squads, a dozen Brits and half-dozen Germans needed a coat of paint.  Figures are Black Tree Design.

Below is the photo of the two platoons arrayed for review.  The Germans could use a panzershreck team and it appears I fielded one surplus rifleman for each of the LMG teams.

Chain of Command - First Game

Having laid out the scenario on the game table beforehand, Scott arrived with rules, figures, and markers in hand and we could begin once Kevin arrived.  He arrived shortly thereafter with goodies to sustain us until lunch.

Since this was our first game of Chain of Command (CoC), Scott would adjudicate while Kevin and I took on the active player roles.  Kevin would command the U.S troops.  I would command the Germans.

During the Patrol Phase, the German commander aggressively lit out for the farm in an effort to channel and hinder the U.S. approach.  Without interference from the American commander, the German player established one Jump Off Point (JOP) at the house with the second JOP back at the start line in the orchard.  The American was content to deploy his JOPs astride the road near the board edge.

JOPs established

One German squad deployed in the house with the LMG behind the protection of the stone wall.  The other two German squads were deployed on either side of the road near the orchard.

One German squad in the house

Two German squads in the orchard

The Americans drew first action to open up the engagement and quickly ripped through both the LMG hunkered behind the wall and the squad deployed within the house.  The stone wall was no match for .30 cal bullets.  What withering fire!  Lucky bastard!  Within minutes the LMG was knocked out.  Only two of the original squad survived that first fusillade.  Ouch!

While the Junior Leader sought cover behind the house, the sole surviving squad member broke back towards the orchard.  While LMG teams covered the field, one German team crossed the hedge and advanced to reinforce the house.

German team moves to support broken squad

With the Germans at the house broken and running and the Americans seemingly content to remain behind their covering hedge, the German Platoon Leader ordered the house to be reoccupied.  The German JOP at the house is back under German control while the Platoon Leader leads the LMG team onto the tree-lined road and sets up.  Not a minute too soon!  Americans breach the hedgerow and begin to advance across the open. 

House secured

At this point in the firefight, the Germans pulled off three initiatives in a row.  That bit of good fortune allowed the Germans to bring the firepower of their LMG in the treeline and squad in the house onto the advancing Americans.  Caught under heavy fire in the open, the Americans took heavy casualties and broke in the center.  The American left was also driven back with light casualties but heavy shock.

Bringing the BAR on the American right back into play, the German LMG on the road was driven off while bullets riddled the walls of the house.  At this point, we called the game a tactical American victory.  Could the Germans have salvaged the situation, possibly, but it was time for lunch.    

What did I think of the first game?  Well, I thought it played brilliantly!  I could easily translate action on the table to the situation.  Tactics seemed to work and make sense.  This is the first WWII skirmish level game to which I can honestly make this claim.  Mechanisms are easy to pick up and quite intuitive.  Straightforward game play without a lot of clutter and overhead.  The Patrol Phase was an interesting twist and provided a game within a game.  Machine gun fire is brutal.  Soldiers were dropping on both sides by the handful.  To reduce the body count, we will have to employ less lethal tactics.  

With each combatant limited to a basic force of one infantry platoon, only about 30 figures per side are required.  Easy to accomplish.  My small force of singly mounted WWII figures is almost enough to field both sides for action now.  One more German LMG and a few British infantry are all that are needed to muster one platoon each.  You can bet I placed those few figures into the painting queue soon after the game.

I enjoyed this game immensely and look forward to more.  

Great fun!

Chain of Command - First Trial

After seemingly years of talking about Chain of Command, we will finally be giving the rules a trial on NOV 7.  Scott is developing the scenario and leading the pack through the rules.  Since I will be hosting the game, Scott sent his scenario map from which to lay out the gaming table.

Scott's scenario map

Using a bit of artistic license to conform to the terrain available, Saturday's game will look like the photo below:

Pretty close but I see now that the orchard could be extended bit.

All we know of the scenario thus far, is,

The scenario will be an advance by an 29th Division infantry platoon against scattered German resistance.   

Looking forward to Saturday's game.

D-Day Anniversary Sales

With June 6th marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, several wargames manufacturers are offering special savings to commemorate this milestone.  Two offerings to which I am aware are from Two Fat Lardies and Black Tree Design. 

From Two Fat Lardies, on offer is a Flash Sale for a 20% discount on all of their WWII related products.  While intrigued by Chain of Command for some time now, I took advantage of the sale by picking up a PDF of Chain of Command. Sale is good only through the 6th.

From Black Tree Design is a 50% discount on all of their 28mm WWII infantry.  BTD offers a wide selection of infantry in their WWII range and paint up quite nicely.  Offer ends at midnight on the 6th so don't dally.  I used the sale to pick up a few platoons to add to The Lead Pile.  A sampling of my skirmish-based BTD figures itching for a fight follow:

With Chain of Command, perhaps I finally have a set of rules with which to put these figures into action on the gaming table?  I hope so!