Heavy Artillery, and the Generalmajor.

Finally, more munitions of war roll off the production line...

I have decided to bring some 'big guns' to the party, with the intention of causing as much mayhem as possible to the enemy, to soften them up, allowing for an easier roll forward for my infantry, and armour, once the time comes to advance.

With that in mind, I chose to add an Armoured Heavy Artillery Battery to my forces. This brings the Hummel (Translation - 'Bumblebee') self propelled artillery piece to the game. This AFV mounts a 15cm howitzer upon a panzer chassis, with an open topped fighting compartment for the crew to shelter in. They also have access to an AA MG for self defense.

I can already make use of the infantry platoon command team, observor teams and Staff team from my 10.5cm artillery battery platoon, but did need to add the Opel Blitz Radio truck, with its 'bedframe' on the top.

I also have enough spare half tracks to mount the observor teams in as needed and also spare Panzer III's if I choose to upgrade their transport

Ranging in posts stored on back of vehicle.

So far only two of the hummels are finished, but a third model is almost finished, and I plan to add a fourth. Increasing the platoon to 4 vehicles, will allow me to add a 2nd observer, covering more of the battlefield, and gives the platoon a little longevity before they are knocked down to 2 vehicles with its inherently reduced effectiveness.

Last up today, another Warrior; Generalmajor Otto-Ernst Remer.

Remer (*) was a renowned commander of the Grossdeutschland Panzergrenadierregient (*),  fighting on the Eastern front. He was decorated with the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves for his performances

When Remer leads a platoon, he increases their motivation, ability to advance with stormtrooper moves and their assault capability.

He has sadly caused some consternation on the FoW BF forum about his ability to lead platoons into an assault, mostly due to the lack of wording on his profile which most assume should have included the phrase, may perform a 'Mounted Assault' when using an armoured half track transport...

From what I have followed, most people seem to play that he can perform this function and I believe Phil ruled on this in a forum post...? [I am happy to be corrected, comments below!]

Here he is as an infantry command team, with a schwimmwagen, for transport. He may be upgraded to have an armoured half track transport.

Remer survived the war, finally being held in an American PoW camp. His post war activities are also featured in the interesting wikipedia link - he seems to have caused as much consternation in real life post war, as he has on the BF forum! ;-)

{*thanks to wikipedia for the linked info. - from reading the info on Remer, I realised his interaction with Joseph Goebbels featured in the movie Valkyrie, played by actor Thomas Kretschmann}

Heroes of the Reich, ...and another Marder.

More troops to add to my FoW Wehrmacht forces...

One aspect to FoW gaming I have come late to is the use of, and addition to your forces, of 'Heroes' or 'Warriors' to use FoW parlance. Whilst I have generally been aware they were available, I have always shied away from them... in part because I was wary that by making use of them I may be sliding into a "Hero-hammer" style of gaming. A road that I did not wish to go down, for fear of it becoming silly or unbalancing or taking something away from the core game and its tactics.

However having experienced them, and read up a little more on their abilities, I tend to find that they typically have a role that is more augmenting to the force they accompanying, rather then being an unstoppable powerhouse in themselves. So I have decided to start adding a few to my various forces. They also add a little theme and characterisation to your otherwise relatively nameless company of troops.

The first of these is "von Sauken". Dietrich von Sauken was a Prussian aristocrat and officer of the Wehrmacht. There is some more info here from wikipedia.

In historical terms, von Sauken had a reputation for getting his troops quickly into action in the right place, at the right time. This is conveyed in the game by increasing the chance for German troops to successfully pass a skill test to make a 'stormtrooper move'. Very useful, for getting your troops quickly across the board. Also, he gives a re-roll on getting your reserves to arrive. Very handy to have, as many missions in the game have reserves and there are times when you really are hanging out for them to arrive!

Not only that but his mere presence brings another command team to your force, helping with morale checks.

Here he is on foot as an infantry team, and with his accompanying SdKfz 250/1 half-track transport, complete with MG and AA MG.

The figure on foot also has a little Iron Cross sculpted onto his base, just to signify his as a "Hero".

Hard to see, but the model is even wearing a monocle - a nice characterful touch on a 15mm scale figure!

Next up is, Feldwebel Dietrich Uhtoff. 

Uthoff was a hero of the Eastern front, who I believe was posthumously awarded the Iron Cross, when he, during a German retreat, was last seen leading a small group of men armed with a stack of Panzerfausts, to try and hinder the approaching Soviet armour. 

His rules in the game allow him to ambush enemy troops, with his trusty Panzerfaust.

He comes as a single figurine in the pack with a few little terrain extras to make a nice little mini diorama. He also has an Iron cross on his base, but I have left his somewhat dirty in the mud at his knee as befits his sneaking actions.

Let the Ivans and their tank hordes fear his presence... well at least until he gets caught up in their tracks ;-)

Last up for today, is another Marder III H. This brings my platoon up to an active 3 vehicles with one still waiting to roll off the production line...

In the meantime I have been working steadily on my small horde of 15 Panzer III H's that I assembled some months ago, though I will probably proxy them as J's or late-J's. Just busy with last detailing and then decals to go on. Hopefully ready for next weekends blog post update. Stay tuned... and don't forget to keep up with our FoW club blog activities here.

As always, thanks for reading.