Even more battles.

I have just recieved my 1/72 Stuka so this weekend I will build and paint it, I am still waiting for a few things to turn up which were ordered weeks ago. I do not have any Allied planes as the kits are quite expensive online and postage is not cheap. I may just continue to keep my eyes open for bargains, or maybe I should ask Julian or Robert to look for me, they are the Del Boys of cheap deals.

I did get my Sdkfz 231 (6-rad) and a very nice print it was, I finished it in panzer grey and put a cross on it, the only markings they had, although I saw one photograph with a name on the side. It looked very bare and plain, the obvious choice was a flag, the kind used to identify the vehicles to the Luftwaffe, very popular from '39 to at least '41, but of course this would mean showing the swastika. What do I do, would this get me a Non Crime Hate Incident report if someone took umbrage and ruin my reputation as a valued member of the community. I decided that history was on my side and duly put it on. The same dilemma applies to my new Luftwaffe ground attack aircraft which carried a swastika on the tail, it is not supplied by model manufacturers in case it turns you into a rabid fascist, although funnily enough I did get one with my 1/48 FW190. I could have just left it off or stuck a black square on as many do but no, I ordered up some decals to make the planes right. In the past I wouldn't have given a thought to this, but it is not the past.

A lovely 3D print.

Anyway, I managed to source a cheap 1/72 FW 190F-8 ground attack fighter in a local shop in Morecambe and duly built it up, it was a bit of a struggle after having built my last airplane kit nearly sixty years ago. I left quite a few pieces in the bin, especially the wheels as they didn't seem to fit very well when put up in the wheel bay but as no one will see the underneath as it zooms past I felt justified. I also struggled with the canopy which did not want to fit properly. Once I had painted it up and added decals it began to look a lot better, the close up photograph looks horrendous but step back and it looks fine. I am still waiting for the plastic base and rods to show it flying overhead hoping it will not result in friendly fire. When I was a kid decals were transfers, I was quite amazed at the very detailed sheets with the 190 but there was no way I could get them on that plane.

The club this week was a game put on by Matt Dower, it was Wars of the Roses using Hail Ceasar, I was the Yorkist commander with what turned out to be a very cautious Battle under my command with an even cautiouser (?) one on my left while my right flank went head for heels at the enemy. Although we were basically pushed back to our start line with heavy casualties the Lancastrians were not much further forward than they were when the battle opened, but they were winning as we shook hands. The death knell of these rules for me is the insane rule of 6, which disorders you (why) and now also makes you take a morale test, which is completely arbitrary and can result in a whole fresh unit disappearing into the void at worst or half your army halting terrified of getting a scratch from missiles.

Where's the rest of the guys?

Bombards.

Blunder to the left, first move.

Today Matt Crump turned up braving the ferociously cold weather to play another Konigsberg Campaign game. This is the second version of the game and I don't think it has been thought through well, we have kind of given up and intend to simply play on the next couple of maps and then call it a day, or maybe not.

This game found the shoe on the other foot and the Soviets had woken up to the break out attempt so I was on the attack, there was a bit of confusion about the start lines but we sorted it out and I, as usual, was looking and feeling good about a victory for the Motherland. I brought some extra infantry and a T-34/85 in expectation of a big cat arriving for the Germans and I needed something to be able to kill it. Matt had also brought extra infantry, this time local Volksturm units of old men and young boys, and a StuG III in support.

Battlefield.

Matt played his patrol phase well and I was brought up short with my Jump Off Points deep in the village of Lindenau, not a great start, made worse by my command dice rolls. The Jerries again did well and built up a firebase along one of the road ditches which promised to kill anything dumb enough to leave the village, my useless mortar (a new one from Eureka Miniatures) did not help at all. As the German firebase built up I slowly, very slowly moved my squads along the village hiding from the MG42's. eventually I managed to get my tank on and it bravely moved forward to take a shot at the StuG. At last a Russian success as the enemy armour went up in flames, was this the turning point?

Onwards Comrades.

We were both still playing hide and seek with out infantry and Matt had moved a squad into the village and his panzerschrek to take out the T-34, it missed and I turned my mortar on it helped by some troops in a nearby building with a line of sight to the little team, the dangerous duo hit the dirt dead. I will admit these things frighten my armour. I now managed to get a triple turn and moved more infantry through the village and into close range of the German squad on the outskirts, the heavy fire succeeded in cutting these men down, enemy morale was falling.

In the ditch.

A risky advance.

Smoke grenades for cover.

Matt now desperately moved another squad out of the ditch only for the Soviets to move the T-34 into a firing position where, along with nearby infantry support, it should prove invulnerable to a possible attack by panzerfausts, that was the hope anyway. Machinegun fire from the tank now began to tell on the Germans and with their morale plummeting due to several Junior Leaders being killed or wounded Matt retreated. I did not get out without loss, my casualties were fairly high and had been until the pendulum swung my way, I had lost a Junior Leader and one of my squads had broken with another heavily pinned and close to breaking.

A weight off my mind and a turning point.

Now Boris, now.

Boys and old timers.

Another up and down Chain of Command game, I found it a struggle to get into a position in which to use my tank due to the bad lines of sight from the village, I was hoping for a double turn so that I could end the turn and allow my forces to move up without being shot to bits by Jerries on Overwatch, but I always needed my dice for other things and never seemed to have enough spare.

My ACW campaign is off to a good start and I at least am having fun watching the different forces feel their way towards objectives and the enemy. Quite a few players are finding out that with 1862 technology and the distances between troops and commanders there is usually a dearth of information. What a shame he said insincerely.

I am venturing once again into a new rules set, or at least a game with one, Stuart has bought the flavour of the month Midgard rules and wants to fight Arthurians vs Saxons next week, I volunteered my Romano-British. After that I have a game of Chain of Command against Rob during the week here in the Bunker, Italians vs French 1940.