All,
If you followed my previous campaign revolving around (fictional) Kampfgruppe Klink in Poland, 1939, you'll be pleased to hear I'm almost ready ready to start KG Klink's campaign in France, 1940. I now have all forces necessary for my France 1940 campaign in my possession, though all are not yet finished...
I spent a few hours the past couple nights working on the campaign plan. Here' the beginning:
In March 1940 KG Klink was formally attached to the 7th Panzer Division for Fall Gelb. It underwent an intensive training program under LtCol Klink, overseen by General Rommel himself, in preparation for its role in the invasion of France in May 1940. Here is the plan for my campaign in France.
1. Reconnaissance at Houx, 13 May 1940 1600, German attack by recon elements to seize the village of Houx near the Dinant crossing of the Meuse River (map needed).
German OOB, attached to the 37th Reconnaissance Battalion
Armored Car Platoon
2 x Motorcycle Platoons
Machine Gun
Field Gun or Pz Mk III
French OOB, 39th Infantry Regiment, 5th Motorized Division (5 DIM)
2 x Infantry Platoons
Machine Gun or Mortar
Field Gun, Anti-Tank Gun, or H39
I wasn't going to post this, but then I looked at my blog stats and saw that my KG Klink Fall Weiss campaign plan post was actually one of my most popular posts ever.
To see the rest of plan (a total of 18 fights), please check the blog here:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/04/fall-gelb-campaign-plan-for-kg-klink.html
If you missed it, here is the KG Klink roster for France:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/02/kg-klink-oob-france-1940.html
And here's a link to the KG Klink battle reports for Poland:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2014/12/kg-klink-poland-game-1.html
I'm rearin' to go, just need to finish up a few sets of troops.
V/R,
Jack
Woo hoo, one of my favourite posts. ;)
Keep em coming Jack. :-bd
Nice one Jack, look forward to these.
Looks very good Jack, as usual...I'll be following this with interest, loved reading Klink's Polish exploits.
Going to do a CoC campaign set around the 51st Highland Division's actions after Dunkirk later in the year myself.
Getagrip - "Woo hoo, one of my favourite posts."
Oh cut it out! ;) Seriously, the Fall Weiss campaign plan is one of the most viewed posts on my blog. I suppose it's just that gamers want to see how other guys do it. For whatever it's worth, I'm happy to oblige :D
Lemmey - I'm really hoping to kick off the invasion this weekend, but I need to finish a few figures and I don't know if I'll have time. But I vow the invasion will begin not later than next weekend!
Pierre - I can't wait to see what happens with the various characters; will heroes become schlubs, will schlubs become heroes, who will not be moving on to the next campaign with us? All stuff I can't wait to see. You'll probably notice there's quite a bit more armor vs armor engagements this go around; it's time for the KG's panzers to start earning their keep (or becoming funeral pyres) :P I look forward to your CoC campaign; are you using "At the Sharp End," or something different?
Thanks guys.
V/R,
Jack
Yep using "at the sharp end" and some inspiration from 1940 campaigns on the spqrdave blog: http://spqrdave.blogspot.co.nz/
Planning on doing three separate "campaigns" - Abbeville bridgehead attack, Defence of Franleu (7th Argylls vs German 12th Inf Div) and Final Stand at St Valery.
Going with 10mm rather than larger figures etc but not ordering stuff till June so our games will be latter half of the year.
Pierre,
Sounds fantastic, I can't wait to see it. Latter half of the year!!?? You're killing me ;)
I played Chain of Command in 10mm, using the distances as written, and I thought it looked fantastic.
It looks like our boys could cross paths in St Valery (my campaign battle #18) :o
V/R,
Jack
Can you hold off until June and then play over mail or on the forum?
NZ/US time difference might be fun! ;D
Going to be in the UK in June so hoping to get to Pendraken to personally deliver the order
Other half will be with me though so I better not get too carried away buying lead.....but as I was told by a gaming friend of mine "You can never have too much lead..."
Got a few other gaming commitments on the go at the moment so delaying CoC for a while makes sense (for me).
I have a strong interest in 51st Division as one of my close family fought with the Division in France in 1940.
Going to Northern France as well to see a few places were he was, including St Valery....ticking off a LOT of bucket list items on this trip :) :)
Looking forward to your campaign Jack.
Quote from: bigjackmac on 10 April 2015, 01:56:57 PM
You'll probably notice there's quite a bit more armor vs armor engagements (...)
:)
I'm waiting for this battle !
Looking to reading about "Das Boys" in a in again! Why do I suspect the first rest period they'll have is mid 45 in a POW camp ;)
I've been painting and basing, but looks like the invasion will have to wait until next week :'( :'( :'(
Of interest, I'm not having to proxy anything in this campaign (for Poland I used Soviet infantry and vehicles, and even some British vehicles), but my inventory of French and British armor is rather limited, so I am doing a bit of mixing and matching :-[ :-[
Here's what I have:
French
1 Char B1 bis
2 Somua S-35s
3 H39s
British
1 Matilda II
1 Cruiser
2 Matilda Is
2 Vickers
So, some mixing and matching will take place. For example, quite a few fights will occur against the French 1eme DCR (1st Armored Division), which did not have Somuas, only Char B1 bis (in 1st Demi-Brigade) and H39s (in 2nd Demi-Brigade). But, as I only have 1 Char B1 bis, Somuas will be present on the battlefield as well ;) ;)
Pierre - The trip sound fantastic, hope you have a great time.
Lemmey - I'd love to try a PBEM-type game (campaign?) someday, not sure how to work it out though. It seems it would be pretty easy to do a map campaign, then I play out the actual table-top battles solo, but I'm intrigued by PBEM table-top as well. Maybe send an e-mail per day, to carry out one turn per day? Interesting :-\ :-\
Ronan - Great to see you, hope all is well! I'm sure you're countrymen will do you proud! :D :D
TP - Yeah, there's a brief break after France while the KG reorganizes and ships out to North Africa, but then it's pretty solid after that:
-N Africa - Mar 41-July 42
-Stalingrad (W) - Oct - Dec 42
-Kharkov (W) - 19 Feb- 15 Mar 43
-Kursk - 5 Jul- 23 Aug 43
-S Italy - 17 Sep - Dec 43
-Ukraine (W) - Jan- Mar 44
-Normandy - 25 Jun- Aug 44
-Holland - 17 Sep - Oct 44
-Hungary - Oct - Dec 44
-Ardennes - Dec-Jan 45
-Silesia/Pomerania - Feb- Mar 45
Then the three survivors go to the POW camp ;D ;D
V/R,
Jack
Not off to the Balkans pre-desert, then?!
Good luck anyone who starts getting to the end of the war intact!
"Not off to the Balkans pre-desert, then?!"
Nah, I didn't figure there was enough time. or that it made sense to pull them out of the Balkans to go to North Africa (which I was absolutely determined to play). It seems to me that most, if not all, of the units that went to the Balkans then made the jump straight to the the Eastern Front for Barbarossa, and just about all the Wehrmacht formations stayed there for the duration.
So, North Africa was also my way to keep the KG from being 'stuck' on the Eastern Front the whole war. I am going to have the KG leave North Africa for the Eastern Front though. While a-historical (Panzer Armee Afrika died in place or stayed in the Med by evacuating to Sicily then Italy), my justification is the KG, being a premier armored formation, is needed on the Eastern Front to help break 6th Army out of Stalingrad.
"Good luck anyone who starts getting to the end of the war intact!"
Indeed! But hey, that's the fun of a campaign, right!?
I promise I'm not trying to get them all killed ;)
V/R,
Jack
My father's battalion, 2nd East Yorkshire, suffered over 1600 casualties, sobering when you realise the establishment was 845 :o :(
Even more so as that is the casualties from D-Day to VE Day, about 11 months :o :o :( :(
I recall reading about a reporter from the Hull Examiner who came to interview the men of one company that had been raised mainly in Hull. Six Hull men were left in the company out of about 130. This was in Feburary 1945, one was the Company commander's batman and about 3 were recently returned after being wounded in Normandy :(
Yeah, casualty rates in North-West Europe were horrendous. Mind, the Germans fared no better ;)
@ Jack - I guess they can't be everywhere! Not submarining them to Burma for some cross training with the IJA either, I bet ;)
Quote from: bigjackmac on 10 April 2015, 01:56:57 PM
Getagrip - "Woo hoo, one of my favourite posts."
Oh cut it out! ;)
;D ;D ;D
I'm serious, inspired to buy my first WWII minis. ;)
Paul - Yeah, rough times man.
TP - Nah, no submarines, that's another campaign ;)
Getagrip - Don't do it, it's bottomless!
V/R,
Jack
Quote from: bigjackmac on 14 April 2015, 03:07:33 AM
Getagrip - Don't do it, it's bottomless!
starting to realise that... :-\
I'll just have a few of these...ooh...these look good...ooh, shiny...£200 later... :'(
Love it though. :D
The whole hobby is bottomless, never mind WW2 ;)
"I'll just get X & Y to complete Z, and then OOOOOO SHINY! IT MUST BE MIIIIIIINE"
Although WW2 can be bad, very bad indeed for mini's...
Quote from: toxicpixie on 14 April 2015, 08:47:22 AM
The whole hobby is bottomless, never mind WW2 ;)
"I'll just get X & Y to complete Z, and then OOOOOO SHINY! IT MUST BE MIIIIIIINE"
;D ;D ;D
Sums it up perfectly to me. ;)
Quote from: getagrip on 13 April 2015, 10:52:25 AM
I'm serious, inspired to buy my first WWII minis. ;)
Good man, yerself!
Getagrip - 6mm??? Traitor!
Actually, you're missing the point, Sir. In three years' time you will have the same force in 6mm, 10mm or 15mm, and 20 or 28mm, so that you can do maneuver-level, company-level, and skirmish-level. Then you start throwing in early war, late war, hell - mid war, Europe, Scandinavia, the East front, the West front, North Africa, South Pacific, West Pacific, Southwest Pacific, Burma, China, India...
Then you start doing air gaming, maybe some naval, and you find out you want small dogfights in 1/144, but raid-scale games in 1/600, and torpedo boat actions in 1/600, then small fleet actions in 1/2400 or 1/3000, and large fleet actions in 1/6000.
Yes, the whole hobby can lay stake to this claim at some level or another, WWII has taken over my life! ;)
V/R,
Jack
That's true !
;D
No argument here.
I came to PD looking for Warmaster proxies. Here I encountered the biggest (and friendliest) bunch of nutters you could ever wish to meet.
And then the voices started...
"Look at this," they said.
"See what I've painted," they whispered.
"New release," they proclaimed.
I have now started three new genres, none of which are fantasy. :D
I know that feeling well, Jack AND Gareth :D
What's especially strong is the urge in 10mm to slip "just a little side project" in. So a few extra here, and a few there, and a whole new period in the corner, and...
Thanks, forum :P
Quote from: toxicpixie on 15 April 2015, 08:26:53 AM
I know that feeling well, Jack AND Gareth :D
What's especially strong is the urge in 10mm to slip "just a little side project" in. So a few extra here, and a few there, and a whole new period in the corner, and...
Thanks, forum :P
Was going through my Pendraken WW2 Russians the other day and found a single pack of French-Indian Wars Coureur de Bois .... what on earth? ... what project did I have in mind when I bought those?!!
Quote from: Ithoriel on 15 April 2015, 12:41:49 PM
(...)... what project did I have in mind when I bought those?!!
;D
I try to stick with only a few projects, BUT I have to keep a copy of my forces/armies/projects in a file on my computer ( useful with painting codes ) Memory's not that good ;)
Quote from: ronan on 15 April 2015, 01:54:15 PM
;D
I try to stick with only a few projects, BUT I have to keep a copy of my forces/armies/projects in a file on my computer ( useful with painting codes ) Memory's not that good ;)
Way too organised for me. ;)