Bolt Action Germans

Continuing my Bolt Action fun, I am starting to work through painting my infantry. I have been assembling and base painting both German and American forces for some time and enjoying gaming with them in between times.

This has gone against my normal practice of fully painting stuff before use. But I really wanted to get into and start enjoying this game system. 

However I have managed to these completed... 

German command...

German Field observers ...

German Panzerschrek team...

German Flamethrower...

I must admit I am trying to do these promptly so haven't been worrying about top highlights, nor eyes. I still think they look OK for table top use.

More to come.

Grenadiers - FoW

When I ordered the German pioneer platoon I completed recently, I also ordered another grenadier platoon - the idea being to bulk out my infantry forces such that I would be able to field the full three grenadier combat platoons, the pioneers and have a platoon to use as infantry scouts, or another Regimental/Divisional infantry support platoon...

Also, some of the new Bridge by Bridge lists, that accompany the Market Garden books, have companies with a great many Ersatz and Sicherungs (replacements and security) platoons, both quite cheap in points costs, meaning large infantry forces can be fielded.

So having an extra platoon of grenadiers was bound to come in useful somewhere along the line...

Completed recently...

Late War Grenadiers

6 x Rifle/MG teams plus Command SMG/Panzerfaust

I have also been recently considering force composition from a new perspective.

My playing group are looking to embark on the Firestorm Bagration campaign set, and as the German defender on the receiving end of Soviet attacks, I figured I am going to be on the defensive and better get a grip on how best to defend against Soviets hordes, whether Infantry, Armoured or both...

One of the problems facing the defending Infantry force is that many of the defensive missions means the defender will have reserves, meaning only half your force starts on table, the rest arriving later in the game. So you have to be able to hold out with half your force deployed, against the full force of your opponent. This has altered my thinking in force composition recently. I am also exploring how best to use the German Kampfgruppe special rule... I had always dismissed this as merely a way to even out odd numbers of platoons in a company, by making a greater number of smaller platoons, which in turn makes them brittle. However I have been looking at ways to make a large Kampfgruppe, meaning a greater proportion of your force can be deployed at the start, in these defensive situations...

One of the typical German problems is small sized platoons, especially compared with Soviet Hordes and even American Rifle companies... so a large Kampfgruppe; drawing elements from combat AND weapons platoons, and combat attaching HQ elements and further combat attachments from the remaining weapons platoons,  may be one way of evening the playing field a little...

There are of course pros and cons... a single large platoon will have more staying power, in terms of morale, as casualties are inflicted, but a single artillery/air strike could pin down the whole platoon. Hopefully then, though, there would still be enough teams present to put out enough fire to throw back an assault...

I'll see how it goes...

German armoured recce - Half Tracked Panzerspah, and SoTR?

Another platoon I have long been wanting to add to my Wehrmacht forces for FoW, an armoured recce platoon, half track panzerspah, comprising one SdKfz 250/1, and two SdKfz 250/9.

As recce, their role is to advance ahead of the main armoured troops, seeking out enemy ambushes and revealing gone to ground, on hiding enemy troops.

They also come equipped with sufficient fire power to spoil the day of exposed infantry, and the rapid firing 2cm gun of the 250/9's will make lightly armoured vehicles think twice about getting close...

Painted in my usual 3 colour camo style for late war...

On patrol...

Recce scout ahead past a French cafe, looking for hidden enemy...

...but wait, whats that they are scouting ahead for?

What is this? Some new devious terror weapon? A 'Secret of the Third Reich'...?

Some of you may remember a post I did some time ago about buying a 40K set for my son... well back then I threatened to do something like this, and recently I found time to do it, this guy is a test paint, but I think he's come out OK, not that I am an expert in painting 40k stuff...

I decided to mimic the late war German camo scheme and decals... The idea being the marine chapter has its roots in ancient Earth history... The marine chapter suitably being called 'Das Reich'...

I figured this would be one place where the GW overzealous use of skulls on everything would actually work, mimicking the silver deaths head motif of the Waffen SS units...

The only thing I wasn't sure about was whether I should have conduit tubes on the back of the arms, maybe black or metallic...

I figured with their camo pattern they will be perfect for use on an earth style temperate zone type planet, and so did a traditional 'grassy' base...

I will gradually work through the rest of the boxed set, probably adding another figure to a set of German armour I am working on each time...

My painting of this figure, combined with watching Alien & Aliens with my young son for the first time this week, has had him glued to the painting seat again, working on his orks, for the first time in months...

OK, so who's going to come up with some FoW stats for this bad boy... rapid firing 88mm? Yes please ;-)

German Pioneers - FoW

When I first started collecting a German force for Flames of War, I started off with a boxed 'Festungkompanie', which contained 3 Infantry platoons and all the bells and whistles that came with it.

It was quite a slog to work through, to get it all painted, though worth it in the end.

Since then I have steadily added various platoons to the force to cover many options, across many companies, for my growing Wehrmacht forces. However, the idea of painting up another infantry platoon was still a little off putting...

But in my recent infantry company based Breville Gap campaign against Paul, it became apparent that another infantry platoon was going to be desirable, and specifically that being a pioneer platoon.

The Pioneers are highly versatile force, and also quite a large platoon, at least by German standards. Most German Infantry platoons have 7 teams whereas the pioneers have 10, giving them more staying power. However in a regular grenadier force they are still just Rifle teams, and not the Rifle/MG or MG teams of the rest of the company.
 

German pioneers, flamethrowers lead the way.

Pioneers, also have a higher anti-tank rating in assaults than regular grenadiers, thanks to the mines etc. they carry, which can make tank platoons think twice about assaulting their positions. Also if you equip the pioneers with a supply vehicle then you have the option of deploying barbed wire or a minefield as part of your deployment, making this platoon very useful on the defensive.

Characterful models with lots of varied equipment

They can also have up to 3 flamethrower teams as part of the platoon, giving them a lethal close range effect. The great thing about flamethrowers is that they ignore cover and there is no save against their effect! They also instantly pin down any platoon they hit, making the following assault easier for the pioneers or other platoons they are supporting. However this comes at a cost as the flamethrower is a one shot weapon and once used the team is removed from play, though does not count as a casualty.

Pioneers are also the best troops to have for getting through enemy field fortifications including barbed wire and minefields.

Another option for the pioneers is to equip one team with a Goliath. A Goliath is a remote controlled tracked bomb. This can be sent at the enemy with varying chances of success depending on the chosen target, but it is best, I have found, against dug in enemy gun teams, which include HMGs and AT guns. Again, this is a one shot weapon so you want to send it after something you know you are going to destroy...

Pioneer team equipped with Goliath

I can see the pioneers being a regular part of my forces from now on, and also with the addition of some 'Stuka-zu-Fuss' rocket launching half tracks, will add some extra punch to my Armoured panzergrenadier force.

Finally, as part of the same order that I placed for the pioneers, I grabbed a Panzerschrek, to add to an odd one I had left from a prior order. This allowed me to complete a Panzerschrek team, part of the HQ of varying infantry based companies. I now have three of these teams , allowing me to field three of these tank killers at once, for example in a Sturmkompanie, from "Grey Wolf"; the late war eastern front supplement.

Panzerschrek team

"Kommen hier kleine Panzer"

German PaK40 7.5cm Anti-tank gun platoon - FoW

My latest submission to AHWPC, my German PaK40 7.5cm Anti-tank gun platoon, for Flames of War.

These 4 guns will hopefully spit death and destruction to the advancing allied armour. I will be able to field them alongside my regular Grenadier forces, Festungskompanie beach defenders and also my mobile Armoured Panzergrenadiers.

They may be fielded as a platoon of 3 or 4 guns depending on the options taken. If taken as a platoon of 3 guns then the 4th spare gun team can be added to the 15cm Nebelwerfer platoon that I have just completed.

I painted the poles on the sides of the gun trails in a striped fashion, after perusing many images on the internet. However it appears that these striped poles may only have been used by artillery gun teams to aid their range surveying, and thus not by anti-tank gun teams.

The poles may just have been used to clean the barrel of the anti-tank gun... but then why would they need three poles? There are clearly three poles, two on one side and one on the other. Wouldn't one pole be enough? Oh well, I'll see what sort of comments this post generates, and if it seems indeed that these should not be striped, I'll paint them over.

Pressing on now with 8cm Mortar platoon.

Gepanzerte Panzer Grenadier HQ - AHWPC

I finally managed to make my first submission to the...

I have been busy ploughing on with my plethora of halftracks, and whilst working on the core of the combat platoons vehicles have also had time to work on the HQ vehicles and infantry command teams of the HQ group.

These came to a final conclusion this last weekend with the basing of the infantry and decals and aerials added to the command half tracks.

The whole command group

Here above you can see the whole command group from the boxed set from Battlefront. I also ordered some extra Panzerfaust models to add into the command figures, to convert them to command panzerfaust teams. I used up the optional panzerknacker models as regular grenadiers in the background positions of the command bases to bump up the numbers on the bases. (I already have command panzerknacker teams from my Festungskompanie)

CiC command 251/1 D Half track

To make the command vehicles stand out a little better on the table, I added aerials to the vehicles from plastic bristles cut from a kitchen broom and superglued into place. I also researched the correct vehicles numbers to use, thanks to an article of the Battlefront website.

CiC - SMG Panzerfaust team

2iC armoured transport 251/1 D half track

2iC - SMG panzerfaust team

HQ Anti-tank team armoured transport; 251/1 D

HQ Anti-tank asset - Panzershrek team

Combat platoon commander - SMG Panzerfaust team

Combat platoon commander - SMG Panzerfaust team

I just need to scrounge an NCO figure and spare grenadier and I can make my third required GPG platoon commander SMG Panzerfaust team...

Another thing I tried for the first time on these infantry teams are the Silflor bufallo clump static grass clumps. The patches of static grass that actually appear to stick up as a clump. I rather like them.

These guys got their first formal outing at the Te Horo Hootenaney in previous post.

I am rather looking forward to the tactics I can develop now with these guys under the new FoW V3 rules.

I have just realised when the 251's of the combat platoons are fully loaded up (2 or more teams onboard), they count as having tank escorts too, thats going to increase the amount of MG fire the vehicles can spit out on the move to 5 dice (3 for hull MG, 1 for Passenger fired AA MG and 1 for tank escorts) and further help in the German special Mounted armoured transport assault rules, rolling two dice in the mounted assault.. Got to love it! I already have medium tank support for these troops, I just need to add some Artillery, Recce, and maybe some dedicated mobile AA, and I'll have a fairly combined arms force.

Oh, my boxed set of PSC Panthers just arrived in the mail today too, so that will add some stronger panzer support too :-)

Panzer IV H platoon

With my WW2 interest thoroughly re-invigorated, I have set to with painting projects to get my existing forces re-inforced. You may have see the prior post to this one with my newly arrived commando section? Not to be out done, the forces of the Wehrmacht have been bolstered aswell.

Having found that the Plastic Soldier Company have released a range of hard plastic kits in 15mm scale that, from the reviews I had read, match very well with Battlefronts range of figures and vehicles, I couldnt resist the temptation to buy a pack of Panzer IV's to help my beleagured German grenadier force.

The kit comes with several variant options, allowing you to field the short barrel early varieties, aswell as the longer barrelled later variety. It was the late version 'H' that I was interested in, with the longer barrel, and side Schurzen armour plates.

The kits were very easy to make, and aimed at the gamer rather than modeller, so you can get your tank force quickly into action. Of note the tracks are the same hard plastic, and glue on easily with the same glue you make the rest of the tank with. Unlike prior Airfix kits I have had the dubious honour of making where you make the whole tank and all the dang fiddly wheels, only to find the tracks are some horrible soft plastic that no glue known to man will stick (despite asking Airfix via email drectly and getting no response, surprise surprise...)

Once assembled, each tank taking maybe 15-20 minutes, and with them being in a dark yellow (dunkelgelb?) colour, I sprayed them straight away with the new sprays from Battlefront. I didnt bother to black undercoat first. Once dry I painted the tracks and added the camo markings. Then I washed the whole tank in in my 50/50 mix of vallejo brown and black wash. Once dry they were drybrushed with 'dark yellow' - I could have used the Vallejo middlestone colour but I think I actually used a matching Foundry shade that I had. After that, I detailed the commander, and tools on the deck, redid the exhaust and air intake tubes in a dark copper colour and washed these in black. Finally added some dry-brushed on mid-brown to give a muddy appearance to the tracks and lower area of the tank.

The last bit then to do was add some decals. I had some spare from the StuGs I made a while ago, so used these. They simply show the black cross of German forces and a vehicle identification number.

Other than the decals, I have not varnished the tanks. I find that plastic figures seem less in need of it, as they are less susceptible to being chipped, and the paint adheres very well to the plastic surface.

The Panzer IV H, by Late War standards was a medium tank, and very similar in the game to the Allies Sherman, although it has a slightly better main gun, and the side Schurzen armour affords it a little extra protection against infantry fired anti-tank weapons.

The Panzer IV was widely used by the Germans, both in defending Fortress Europe from the Western Allies in Normandy and Italy, and also on the Eastern front against the Soviet threat, so no doubt my small force of Panzers will get regular use against all comers!

And just to re-iterate, these tanks are NOT contributing towards Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, which is another reason I pushed along to get them finished before the 20th December kick off!

German StuG G Platoon - Flames of War

To add some armour support to my Flames of War FestungsKompanie (Fortress Company), I have added a StuG G platoon, to represent elements of Kampfgruppe Meyer, which was the mobile reserve of 352 InfanterieDivision, defending the Normandy Beaches.

To form this formation I will be using them as two platoons; one of 2 StuGs, the other of 3.

The StuGs have the regular StuK 40 gun, and are equipped with Schurzen armour plates to their sides, which help protect the side of the vehicle from light anti-tanks weapons.

I have only added the black crosses to the platoon and have left off other insignia, as this allows them a greater flexibility in future uses. I have mounted the crosses on the hull of the tank, as I was given a tip from a poster to the FoW forum who believed they were never added to the schurzen. I did several google image searches of StuGs and have not found one of a real tank which disputes this theory!

The StuG or Sturmgeschütz to give it, its full name, was classed as an assault gun and also a tank destroyer, helping infantry to advance and knocking out enemy armour it encountered. Its low silhouette, also made it perfect for concealing in terrain and lying in wait in ambush.

It was probably Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) of the war with around 7500 produced, and saw action in most theatres.

Here's my StuG's: