Challenge Submission #18 - Another Mixed Bag of WW2 Vehicles

 

Last November fellow Conscript Dallas and I were discussing the idea of a France 1940 scenario for Bolt Action. We had played 'The Battle of Stonne' scenario from the Bolt Action campaign book 'Germany Strikes' in October 2021, and were looking at another chance to pit French and German armour against each other. We settled on 'The Battle of Orp' where the 3rd Panzer Division met the 3^e DLM (3rd Light Mechanized Division). A few of the vehicles needed were not in either of our collections, plus I had been looking at ordering some German and Soviet trucks to transport troops on the battlefield, as well as some more early Soviet armour. In the end  I ordered 3 GAZ AAA trucks, 3 T-26 tanks, 3 Krupp Protze trucks, 2 Panzer III Ausf E tanks, and a Hotchkiss H39 tank from Rubicon Models. They arrived just before last Christmas.

 

A group shot of all twelve vehicles

A size comparison of three tanks in the same scale

The GAZ-AAA was a truck produced at the Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (Gorky Automobile Plant) from 1936 to 1943 as the company's first 6-wheeled vehicle. During that time, over 37,000 trucks of various patterns were built. The Rubicon kits were easy to assemble, and  could be completed with or without a driver in the cab. (I went with the driver option.) It comes with a one-piece tarp that can be snapped into place, so I can field them with the tarp on or off. They will provide some necessary transport for all my Soviet infantry.

 

GAZ-AAA truck with tarps

GAZ-AAA truck without tarps

 

The T-26 tank kit comes with all the necessary parts to build one of ten different variants of the tank, which was based on Vickers E Six Ton. The T-26 entered active service for the Red Army in 1932, and it was used in many conflicts of the 1930s as well as during the Second World War. When production ceased in 1941, over 10,000 tanks of all variants had been produced. Of all the options available, I went with the M1933 turret, and assembled one with a radio aerial along with a commander that came with the Warlord Games BT-7 tanks I had painted in January. 

 

The German Krupp Protze was a truck used by the Wehrmacht to transport troops and tow the 37mm anti-tank gun. While I have a number of German 251/1 half-tracks, the reality is that most Panzergrenadiers rode in trucks. Using Bolt Action rules, the cost of a truck is less than half the cost of a half-track. The Rubicon kits can be built as the troop transport variant, with the tarp either up or down, or to tow the PAK. I built all of mine as transports, so I may end up ordering another as a towing vehicle.

 

The German Panzer III Ausf. E was an early model of that tank armed with a 37mm gun in the turret. It saw service in Poland and France before being replaced by upgraded versions. The Rubicon kits supply enough parts to build one of the E, F, or G variants of the tank. I added a commander that came with the Bolt Action Panzer I tanks I built in December as I liked it better than the one that came with the models. I painted up my Panzer IIIs as part of the 3rd Panzer Division with the Berlin bear symbol on the side of the turret.

 

 The French Hotchkiss H39 was an improved version of the H35. Some models were further upgraded to a longer-barrelled SA38 37mm anti-tank gun. The Rubicon kit is a resin model with enough extra parts to build the French tank with either the SA38 or the earlier Puteaux SA18 low velocity gun, as well as a different cupola if you want to build a version of the tank in German service. 

 

 

Thanks for reading. We are planning on playing the 'Battle of Orp' scenario soon, so stay tuned for the After Action Report.
 

Challenge Submission #11 - A Mixed Bag of WW2 Vehicles

I had a hard time focusing during the last week of January, ricocheting around from project to project without seeming to get closer to completion. Eventually things started falling into place, and I ended up with 9 completed vehicles. Some of these have been sitting in my 'IN' box for over a decade, so it felt good to finally get them ready for the gaming table.

First up is a DUKW with a British RASC driver. This was a toy dating from the 1960s that originally belonged to my younger brother. It suffered some 'battle damage' at some point, and my brother was no longer interested in it. I thought I might be able to fix it, and it seemed like the right scale for 28mm gaming. In fact, measuring its length and comparing it to the length of an actual DUKW, it works out to be 1/56. The only 'flaw' is that it only has a single axle in the rear instead of two. I have no idea who manufactured it, but it reads 'NOVELTY' and 'Made in Hong Kong' on the bottom. 

 

The broken pieces near the back and the front right wheel well were filled in using epoxy putty, while the front windshield was fashioned from pieces of clear plastic cut from a CD case. The crates and fuel drums came from a Bandai Maultier kit, and the driver is an old Bolt Action jeep driver that I had in my 'bits box' along with the rolled up tarp. It is now ready to ferry supplies or a squad of commandos across a river or from ship to shore.

 

Next up is a Kübelwagen Type 82/3. This was a mock-up scout car/armoured vehicle with a machine gun-turret atop the cabin. It was apparently built for decoy and training purposes. I bought this from Wargames Foundry decades ago. It came with the Feldgendarm, but I only painted up the 'Kettenhund' as I couldn't decide the colour scheme that would be most appropriate. Eventually I thought Panzer Dunkelgrau would do just as well as any other colour, and now it's finally done.

 

 Third on our list is a Bandai 1/48 SdKfz 3 Maultier that I picked up off Ebay. This was another project where I couldn't decide what colour to paint it, but I finally decided to go with Panzer Dunkelgrau with an Olive Green striped camouflage suitable for the Russian Front. The tarp was painted Tan Earth and given a wash of GW Agrax Earthshade. I then liberally applied Vallejo European Dust wash everywhere. The kit came with a cargo of four petrol drums and two large crates, but since nobody would see them with the tarp in place, I used them for the DUKW.

 

 Next is a 3D printed French Panhard 178 armoured car that was from the same run as the two painted by Fellow Conscript DallasE. I used a different paint scheme that is based on a surviving example in the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France. I used Vallejo Gunship Green and Chocolate Brown with a sharp black line in between. I left off the fifth wheel, but added a muffler on the right side made from a piece of plastic sucker stick. Sometimes it helps a recce unit to not be heard, as well as not be seen. The decals were all ones that were kicking around in my files, so I didn't have to free hand any roundels. 

 

The fifth item is a group of four M5 Half-tracks to provide some additional armoured lift capability to my 2nd Canadian Division. I am not sure if these were used in any of the infantry divisions, so I may have to mark them up for the 4th Canadian Armoured Division. The models are either Corgi or Solido 1/50 vehicles that all came in different colours and configurations. One was an ambulance version that had a tarp on it, and the back door was cut out. The tarp was tossed in the 'bits box' while the missing door was replaced using thin plastic card. Everything was painted a uniform colour and then 'muddied up'. The verdict is still out on what stars should be added and where, but the vehicles are now ready to take to the field and move a platoon of infantry in relative safety on the battle field.

 

 The last vehicle of this post is a Warlord Games 1/56 resin and metal M10 Achilles mounting a 17 pounder. While this is a newer acquisition compared to some of the other vehicles, it sat on the shelf for a while before being assembled. When it arrived, the tracks were warped and didn't form a clean fit with the chassis. A bath in some boiling water and some careful pressure in the right places straightened things out to an acceptable degree and things proceeded readily from there. Two of the crew in the turret are part of the resin casting while the third crewman is in metal. All came with separate heads which can provide some variety if you want to field more than one. The tarps were added from my 'bits box'. 

The only two Canadian units that used 17pdr M-10s were the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment RCA of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division; and the 7th Anti-Tank Regiment RCA of the 1st Canadian Corps Artillery. Both Regiments would have had two batteries of towed 17pdrs and two SP batteries with 17pdr M-10s

 

 As I said in the title, it is definitely a mixed bag of vehicles, but they are now all done.Thanks for reading.

 

28mm Panhard 178 Armoured Cars

  

Here are two Panhard 178 armoured cars in "28mm" scale (honestly not sure if they are 1/48 or 1/56)... they're from STL files found for free on the Internet and printed for me in resin by Conscript Byron. Thanks man! 

There are a few different paint schemes I've seen for these vehicles so I chose the one that had the most aesthetic appeal for me - this happened to be on a diecast model formerly sold by "King and Country", purveyors of painted toy soldiers in 1/35 (54mm) scale.

The scheme is basically Steel Legion Drab and Castellan Green/Camo Green, outlined with a mix of Castellan Green and black-grey. 

The numerals are decals from my decal folder, and the roundels and number plates were painted freehand.

I'm pretty happy with the models, as they were much much less spendy than the resin version sold by Warlord. The only weak spot on them is the wheels and tires - I think the tires should have a bit more "balloon" to them. Pretty good for a free file though.

These "Pan-Pans" will be good for the early-war scenario being planned by fellow Conscript Frederick. They should be effective on the gaming table too, packing a 25mm AT gun in the turret - enough to make a Panzer I or II jockey think twice.

The Panhard 178s will join my Char B1 bis, Renault R35s and Somua S35 in the display case... I love the French early-war camo schemes. The design and production of these vehicles was apparently somewhat fraught as well - as it turned out, turret production capacity lagged well behind that of the hulls, and ultimately General Gamelin determined that these light cars were ill-suited to modern battlefield conditions and planned for their replacement by heavier Panhard AM40Ps.

Battle of Stonne - Early-WW2 Bolt Action Battle Report

So last week I hosted an in-person game here at Conscript Towers - Bolt Action. I'd been wanting to do an early-war game for some time, so I picked a likely-looking scenario out of the early-war Bolt Action book, Germany Strikes!. This was the Battle of Stonne, basically a meeting engagement coincident to the battles for Sedan. The tabletop is pictured above - village of Stonne at centre with the long table edge at the top of the photo being North. The French entry is along the south-west, south of the east-west road and west of the north-south road, while the Germans enter along the short eastern table edge. Victory would go to the side that held the crossroads, with no enemy units within 6".

  

German forces: three sections of infantry each in a Sdkfz.251/1, one Pzkpfw. 38(t), two Panzer IIs, one Panzer IV, one MMG team, one 37mm AT gun and crew, led by a Hauptmann (captain) and command section in a Kubelwagen.

French forces: three infantry sections each in a truck (models are Solido Simca-Unics), one Somua S35, two Renault R35s, one Char B1 bis, one MMG team, one 25mm AT gun and crew, led by a Capitaine and command section in a light civilian car.

The French force quickly moved onto the table on the southern road, trucks with infantry in the lead.

The French tanks and AT gun turned to face off the German Panzer 38(t) just out of picture to the right. The French blazed away at that tank for several turns but the dice had abandoned them - or maybe the crews skipped gunnery practice??

 

To the north, the Panzer IIs and Sdkfz. 251 moved around the village.

The rest of the German force moved directly towards the crossroads at the centre of the village.

The Germans moved into the village from the north and east, and methodically began to clear the buildings of French defenders, assisted by some hot rolling. Meanwhile the last French R35 rolled into the crossroads to prevent it being taken by the Germans.

View from the south. The Germans have taken the buildings to the north of the road; Panzer II manoeuvering around the buildings.

And that's how the game pretty much ended - victory conditions were a draw, as neither side had clear undisputed control of the crossroads. As far as tiebreakers, the Germans were ahead, as they destroyed far more enemy units than the French had.

Early war games are an interesting challenge for both sides. French tanks are heavily armoured (making them hard to kill by German AT) but they also have weak AT guns and are slow. German tanks are relatively lightly armoured and also have light AT weapons, but are faster and more manoeuverable. The problem with this scenario is the emphasis on the crossroads as the victory location - this draws every single unit on the board towards that location and reduces the potential for movement. This game was fun though - it was great to get all the early war stuff out again (including the newly painted early war German infantry) and see the boys for a game. Until next time!

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!