Mid-Week Mechanized Engagement Part I

Gareth and I squared off again for an American vs. G.I. battle. He brought the following to the fight:

Americans: 2xM4 Sherman(76mm), 2xM3 Grant, 1x Half Track, 15 Infantry

I brought:
Germans: 2xPanzer VI Tiger, 1 Jagdpanzer IV, 1 Half Track, 15 Infantry

The image below shows our initial deployment locations- we would be converging on a small town which was sure to make for an interesting street fight.

A view of my two Tigers and tank riders. I anticipated good hunting against his measely Shermans and Grants...silly Amerikaner and their tin cans!

A nice look at Gareth's armor streaming in from the town from the West. Unseen in the picture is a flank escort of infantry making their way through the church.

Below you can see our initial deployments. I made stunted moves into nice firing positions- opting to let him move into my field of fire. Gareth took full advantage of my cautious approach and he quickly moved in to take most of the town. I sent a rogue Tiger across a ford to the north side of the river(bottom of the picture)- I planned to flank him later.

Our initial engagement saw me outgunned in the town, but I was counting on my thick armor and flanking panzer(who would get there eventually!) to even the odds.

Unfortunately, Gareth rolled high and immobilized my Tiger and knocked out my Jagdpanzer! Darn! Of course my first shots missed their mark.

My "end run" Tiger continued to make its way around the flank, but now my infantry in the town had no surviving armor support for the moment. Schnell, Tiger, schnell!!!

To be continued...

DBA Polybian Roman Army Grows...

Here is the 15mm Roman Army so far(about 1/3 done). Remember, I am new to 15mm mini painting and I am sure I will improve! I need to work on taking better close-ups with my camera.

The Hastatii...the youngest legionaries(and classified as "Blades" under DBA rules).

The Principes...the medium-aged legionaries(and also classified as "Blades" under DBA rules).

The intrepid Triarii, the veterans and last resort of the Roman Republican Army. The expression "The battle came to the triarii" was an old saying that meant the engagement was desperate. (The Triarii are considered "Spears" under DBA rules).

Friday Night Fight...Part 2

Here is the second part of our U.S. ETO troops vs. Fallschirmager engagement. I was hoping to win the battle of surviving tanks so my Panzer IV could help my dwindling infantry force.

As shown above, a fierce battle was raging for the stone wall on the North side of the battlefield(the yellow discs identify disrupted soldiers). What you can't see in Gareth's other halftrack with its 50cal bearing down on my men!

Finally some good news for the Wehrmacht!- My Panzer IV took out his other Sherman. Yet...he immobilized me before I got the killshot so now I can't move to support the infantry skirmish!

My infantry has given up the wall after a beating and has hunkered down in a line of bushes. Gareth relentlessly pursued with this halftrack and infantry.

My immobilized Panzer IV does not miss the opporunity to pick on Gareth's half track which is conveniently just down the road in clear line of sight. My AP shell makes quick work of it. (unfortunately a rogue bazooka-armed G.I. hit the weak rear armor of my immobile tank the following turn)

...but my fun is shortlived. When my MG-42 armed sole survivor takes down two men in melee I begin to hope I can pull it out. Just be to safe, though, Gareth sends his remaining five men after me. My last man goes down...and Gareth emerges victorious once again.

Friday Night Fight...Part 1

Opposing Forces:
Americans: 2xM4, 2x, 15 Infantry, 1 50m mortar

Germans: 1xPanzer IV(H), Sdkfz 251/9 Half Track, Sdkfz 222 Armored Car, 15 Infantry, 81mm mortar


Gareth and I engaged in an American Infantry vs. Fallschirmjager battle tonight. Our forces converged from opposing sides in a meeting engagement...the church was at the center, altough our battle would skirt around the structure as we both tried to keep our infantry close to vehicular support fire.
A view of Gareth's armoed column moving out...two M4(76mm model) Shermans supported by halftracks.
Some of my German Fallschirmjager deploying forward near the hedgerows.

My Panzer IV(H) and Sdkfz 251/9(halftrack with 75mm gun) deploy near the Southeast corner of the church.

After I fail in an initial blitz, one of Gareth's Shermans scores a direct hit on my halftrack!

On the North side of the church a separate engagement rages. I send in my 20mm-armed armored car to wreak havoc amongst his halftracks...but of course the bazooka-armed G.I.(seen in the pic) uses his rocket launcher as a can opener!



More tomorrow...

First DBA Unit!

I finished my first DBA unit for the Polybian Roman Army th at I am building. It is 15mm scale which is smaller than I've done before- but it's "ok" for a first try. There will be pics of more of the army forthcoming as I finish new elements. By next fall I hope to have completed a Carthaginian army as well so we can do a Punic Wars campaign!

Headed to Historicon!

Well I just reserved my hotel suite for my son and I to attend Historicon 2009 in York, PA this July...I am beyond excited about it. If you've never heard of Historicon it is pretty much the largest yearly wargame convention in the country.

I plan to not only partake in a few games there but to bring back great ideas for the club. They also have an entire hall of wargaming merchandise which I will certainly take advantage of. Click the links below for more information.

http://www.historicon.org/ (convention site)
http://www.historicon.org/HIST2008/photoThumb.asp (photos of last year)

In addition, my son and I will make a side trip the U.S. Army Ordinance Museum in Kentucky which features loads of WWII tanks from all nations!(I've always wanted to see a Panther tank up close and personal!)
http://www.ordmusfound.org/index.htm (museum home page)

New Roadways

O.K....here is a shot of the collection of new roadway sections. In total they connect to create several yards of road...plenty to cover our game tables. Note that I created many straight sections of different sizes, two large curves, two small curves, a divergent road section, four-way crossing and "T" section. I like the way they turned out...if anyone would like to know how I made them just drop me an email.

Vineyard and New Road Sections

Over break I experimented with a lot of terrain modeling techniques. Here is a vineyard that I constructed...



I didn't like the look of the old road sections so I made an entirely new set. Here is a preview...






In the corners are teasers of other new terrain additions that I will detail in future posts(harvested field-upper left, tall grass-upper right, cemetary and bushes-lower left).

River Ford and German Rifle Squad

Here is a new terrain piece that I made...it has become increasingly clear from club play that we needed another river crossing(so I made this ford piece to fit with our river terrain).

It's been two years since I painted 20mm figures so I am a bit rusty...but here's five new Germans(4xrifles,1xofficer w/pistol) for our battles(miniatures by Fantassin(now "War Modelling").

Spring Break Eastern Front Action

Here are some pics from some games that my son and I had over Spring Break. Gareth played the Soviets and I was the Germans. He beat me in three consecutive skirmishes...yeah, he owned me!

And finally, Gareth's Soviets , led by an officer, prepare to storm the church and finish off my "hanger ons". Note the destroyed Panzer III in the road...finished off by a T-34 down the road(easy pickings for the Reds!).

Doug's New Tanks

Doug sent me some photos of his new Dragon Model tanks. The Green one is a British Firefly tank(modified Sherman) and the other is a German Panzer VI Tiger tank. Many Dragon models are ready-made die-cast metal...take them right out of the box and enter the battle!

5 More for the Front

O.K. ... with the completion of these five Americans the G.I. fighting force is up to 20 men. The Americans can now field a force sufficient for a blitzkrieg game! Pictured above, from left to right:
50mm mortar crew-Fantassin Miniatures
Thompson Submachine Gunner(rear)-Fantassin Miniatures
M1 Garand Rifleman(foreward)-Fantassin Miniatures
M1 Garand Rifleman-Sergeant Majors Miniatures

Additionally, on the workbench I have five more U.S. infantrymen in the works(B.A.R. Gunner, Bazooka Man, 1 Semi-Automatic Rifleman/Radioman, 2 Riflemen)

Sniper Pic from Komrade Doug

From another front we have a pic of a sniper in one of Komrade Doug's "Blitzkrieg 2" 1/35 scale games about to hit his mark from the top of a tower.

On the Production Line: American Vehicles

Today just a small sampling of the American vehicles that will soon be seen at the front. From left to right are the M3 Half Track, the M3 Grant Tank and the M4 Sherman Tank(late war version). Here are the stats that they will be using in the game:

M3 Half Track: Light Vehicle, 50mm Machine Gun, Troop Carrier

M3 Grant: Medium Tank, 75mm Gun(fixed), 37mm Gun(turret)

M4(76) Sherman: Medium Tank, 76mm Gun, 50mm MG

The G.I. Family Grows

(click on the photo for larger image)

As the American forces prepare for operations, their numbers have grown from 5 to 15 in the last week! Soldiers are a mix of Fantassin and Sergeant Majors. As of right now, the total force consists of the following weapons breakdown:
7 Rifles
2 Semi-Automatic Rifles
3 Thompson SMG
2 B.A.R.'s(LMG)
1 Bazooka

(& the the unit above includes 3 officers who can be identified by the bars on their helmets)
I have begun working on five more figures, and once they are done, and our compliment is up to 20, they will ready for battle with their armor compliment. Troops in progress include a 50mm mortar crew.

Work in Progress-Sgt.Major's G.I.'s

After purchasing some German Airborne from the relatively new 20mm manufacturer, Sergeant Majors Miniatures, I thought I'd pick up some of their American "Ranger" line to supplement the many U.S. troops that I have bought from Fantassin. I thought you all might like to see what my guys look like when they are in the early stages if painting. Here are some G.I.'s glued to nails(my handles for painting them) and primed with a brown paint and enhanced with a blackwash. Now the real work begins!...

Battle for the Bunker!

It was an epic battle today on the Eastern Front! The Red Army triumphed against a well entrenched Wehrmacht foe. The battle opened with intense armor engagements on both the left flank and the right. Aggressive Russian advances on their right wing were paved with strong armored assaults and help from a 76mm AT Gun. In the meantime, a Soviet HMG and Sniper detachment blunted efforts of a German Fallschirmjager unit to counter-punch on the Soviet left. As German forces became more aggressive with an airborne thrust against the Soviet left late in the battle, Russian mortar shells rained down upon them with devestating accuracy. As the battle drew to a close, the majority of the field was in Red hands, and the German forces clung to any quarter of the bunker complex that they could.

Also Debuting Friday...

...will be these Wehrmacht(German Army) mortar crew(102mm), Anti-Tank artillery crew, Heavy Machine Gun Crew and assorted infantry types. Figures are by Fantassin and AB Miniatures. Be sure to click on the image for a larger view.

Blitzkrieg Battles!

Here I will document the many battles and upcoming events that will grace our 20mm battlefields. I will begin with a sneak peek at some American G.I.'s who have just been painted and will be seeing action in club come February(click on the image for larger pic).
Above are also some new German Fallschirmjager(paratroopers) who will see action thsi Friday for the first time. They are by Sergeant Majors Miniatures...a relatively new figure producer. In total, 30 new combat-ready Soviets and Germans will be in this week's battle.