This week I've been off work - just taking a week for some "life laundry" and de-stress.

Here's a few photos of stuff I've been doing recently ...

Flodden Scots pikes (just noticed the flag)


Flodden Scottish V1


TB Line - I've based these individually for skirmish games



Anyway ... my main project for the week has been an early war series of games. they've all been on the same table ...


... with the same scenario. The railway line at the bottom of the pic is very, very important to side A.  Side B wishes to cut the line. Sides are sort of equal, though side B has slightly more support 'cos they're attacking. Usually a company of infantry supported by a half squadron of tanks and a bit of artillery, at and recce.  Attacker was decided by coin toss.

I've set it up as a knock out competition.  

Round 1: Britain vs Germany
Germany lost out here as the Pz IIs and 38t's threw themselves against the defending Matilda 1's and 2's, and the infantry attack was disrupted by the 4.5" artillery. Win to Britain.

Round 2: Italy vs France
The Italian CVs and 11/39s were no match for the SOMUA S35s and H39s. The French pushed through only slowed by their one man turrets and the determined resistance of Italian 47mm AT gunners until they were eliminated by some artillery fire. Win to France

Round 3: Poland vs USSR
The poor old Soviets were limbered with T35s and T26s. The T35s had a nasty habit of breaking down, leading to a very ragged attack straight down the road. The Poles, positioned on either side, poured AT and MG fire into the column, meaning a lot of Soviet troopers were lost in their vehicles before having a chance to disembark. The 7TPs weren't used, and the Soviets were seen off, pursued by a swarm of TKS tankettes. One TKS (with 20mm gun) destroyed a stalled T35 by screaming past it to send a hail of shells into the rear of the behemoth. Win to Poland

Some photos of the Poles set up.  
Supporting artillery.


The 7TPs at their start position.


The left hand of the Polish ambush - tankettes, horse drawn AT and an infantry platoon.



Don't know what to do for the 2nd round. Poles vs French and the winner takes on the Brits? Either than of have a German (PzIII & IV) vs Soviet (KVI) for a place in the semi finals.  

Bravo!!
Love what you with the V1 "Die Mons Meg"

Thank you.    There are actually 16 oxen.

I really, really want to give it a suitable name - worse than that I want it to be a pun on "V1" being Roman(ish) for "6".

Nice stuff  FSN!

Especially like the TB line skirmishers!

No bloody clue what the V1 is supposed to be though 

Lovely work, just started painting my TB line infantry today myself, great figures.

Quote from: petercooman on 12 March 2020, 06:40:47 PM
Nice stuff  FSN!

Especially like the TB line skirmishers!

No bloody clue what the V1 is supposed to be though 

A clear contravention of the Treaty of Berwick - thats what!!

Quote from: fsn on 12 March 2020, 05:58:18 PM
Thank you.    There are actually 16 oxen.

I really, really want to give it a suitable name - worse than that I want it to be a pun on "V1" being Roman(ish) for "6".

Well, 'James VI and 1st' seems the obvious answer!

How about the James IV McDoodlebug?

Nice stuff, btw. 

Well, it is a model of a V-1 "Vengeance Weapon" and stands in for a gun named after a woman .... how about Vengeful Vi ?

Alternatively Explody McSplodeface might suit

Bloody amazing

Quote from: Ithoriel on 12 March 2020, 08:41:05 PM
Alternatively Explody McSplodeface might suit

Yes. That's the one. 

Quote from: mad lemmey on 12 March 2020, 08:43:41 PM
Bloody amazing

Thanks, Lemmey. Appreciate that. 

 

Good to see you are putting your time off yo good use

Quote from: fsn on 12 March 2020, 05:10:54 PM
Don't know what to do for the 2nd round. Poles vs French and the winner takes on the Brits? Either than of have a German (PzIII & IV) vs Soviet (KVI) for a place in the semi finals.  

German (PzIII & IV) vs Soviet (KVI) for a place in the semi finals would be my pick

Quote from: fsn on 12 March 2020, 05:10:54 PM
Flodden Scottish V1

Very nice work fsn.

No doubt the Scottish V1 is powered by some domestically brewed alcohol based spirit......the Germans used S-Stoff and T-Stoff (or something like that)....did the Scots use Red Label and Black Label, maybe with a dash of pure Glenfiddich if extra range was required? 
     

Great stuff, Nobby !

Cheers - Phil

Quote from: fsn on 12 March 2020, 05:58:18 PM
Thank you.    There are actually 16 oxen.

You'll need a lot of toilet paper for these Prime Moo-vers ...

[ ... rushes out to panic buy a couple of coats .... ]

In the second round, the Germans (Pz IIIs and IV's) successfully held of a frankly overconfident rush of Soviet KV1s. To be fair, I'd stuck a couple of 88mms on the German OOB, which the Russians we're not aware of until their squadron commander's tank went woof.  

This set me up with a UK:Germany final. By this time (4 tank battles), I was up for something different. Looking around, my gaze fell upon the airborne elements. Aha! I have platoon strength Falschirmjaeger for 1940 and 1944, and a supported company of British airborne for 1944.  BUT, I also noticed my US paratroopers and thought perhaps they could go out to bat for the Empire.

Was this a good idea?

The forces involved:
The US paratroopers under Lt Wolf. 3 squads of 12, plus Wolf and his sgt. They'd picked up some jeeps, sufficient for one squad, and they had also managed to co-opt a 4 gun battery of 75mm howitzers. Unfortunately the gunners had lost their OOP, so Wolf took on the role using a field telephone. The Americans were pretty raw, though tough.

The Germans under Leutnant Wulf consisted of his platoon of 4 sections of hard-bitten paras who were mostly veterans of Crete and the Eastern Front. Attached were a pair of 81mm mortars and two Nebelwerfer. Wulf has managed to swipe some Kettenkrad; sufficient to move his heavy weapons and one section. The Nebelwerfer are devastating but take a long time to reload. For this action, they could be considered one shot weapons only.

The Germans won (or lost) the dice throw and became the attackers.

Plans
The German plan was for  the  Nebelwerfer and one section to move to the farmhouse. On a Very light, the Nebelwerfers would fire at targets they had identified and then retire post haste. With his left flank thus secured, the rest of the platoon plus the mortars would push through the woods. They would storm the small hill whilst the Nebelwerfers got to work, and then push on through the defiles to the railway. (If one German unit stayed on the railway line for 1 move, they would have been considered to have destroyed it and so won.)

The US plan was for one squad to be jeeped (is that a word?) to the farm. The jeeps would then return to pick up the 2nd squad to transport them to the mall hill in advance of the left. The third would stay in reserve. Wolf was reliant on his artillery.  

What actually happened
The German motorised element dashed forward, and the foot sloggers slogged on foot through the woods. The US first squad broke through the line of hills in the Jeeps and headed for the farm.

Seeing the approaching Germans, and thinking they would not get to the farm first, the Jeep borne section changed direction and headed to the secondary target of the small hill. Wolf atop his hillside, found he was a very poor Artillery Observation Officer, and managed not to instruct the artillery to fire. 2nd and 3rd US squads took up defensive positions on the two hills either side of the road.

The Kettenkrads reached the farm and the section disembarked. The Nebelwerfers were unlimbered. The US 1st Squad jumped from the jeeps and headed for the crest of the small hill.

As the 1st Squad crested the hill, the 3 sections under Wulf burst from the treeline. It was difficult to know who was most surprised, but the Germans charged forward. The US paras, seeing a mass of Germans appearing from the trees, and mistaking the roar and clank of the mortar bearing Kettenkrads for something more deadly, broke and ran.

Wulf and his men charged over the hill in pursuit of the fleeing 1st Squad. Wolf, meanwhile managed to lay down a fire order but the salvo did little damage to the charging Germans.

Wulf fired his Very pistol and the Nebelwerfers burst into action. Their effect was somewhat devastating. The two squads on the hills suffered nearly 50% casualties, including Lt Wolf.

As the German artillery hitched up and retired the field, Wulf and his troops made it through the gap between the hills, shooting wildly as they went. The US artillery seeing the wild advance limbered up and departed. The remains of the US platoon, seeing they were outnumbered and outmatched, retired gracefully from the field.

Conclusion
The US lost over 1/2 of their infantry, plus their command element. The Germans lost less than half a section.

The reason for the US loss was partially Lt Wolf, who was totally inept at artillery observation.The other cause was the fierce effectiveness of the Nebelwerfer, which were aided by some very lucky die rolls.

The Germans should get the credit for the aggressive attack. The charge to the small hill, and then over in pursuit of the fleeing 1st Squad came to be known as Wulf's Death Charge.    


So, was it a good idea to let the US fight in place of the UK? Well, it probably wouldn't have made a lot of difference because of the aggression/luck of the Germans, but perhaps our Lt Fox would have managed the artillery better.

The Americans of Wolf's platoon ... and the supporting battery of 75mm's.


Wulf's paratroopers ... and Wulf's Death Charge.


.. and this is me discovering that my phone has two cameras.

I like the shirt almost as much as the V1.

 

Great to see what you are up to

Love the shirt

Really nice painting, wow.
Good shirt

Looking really good, Nobby ! 

The sweatshirt really suits you. 

Cheers - Phil