Movement on the Polish Front

I've been quietly working on more Polish infantry, reading more and more about the September 1939 campaign, and generally working myself up into a frenzy as my imagination thinks of different scenarios that I will be able to play once my miniatures are painted.

There is, however, a problem. As I have said before, I intend to play platoon level actions using Chain of Command from TooFatLardies, but a quick perusal of the Polish list reveals the large size of the Polish section. 

With a section strength of 19 men, and three sections, a platoon of Polish infantry comes in at 57 men, plus an additional headquarters element of 7, bringing the total up to 64. 

In contrast, a German platoon of the same campaign has 13 men per section, three sections, with a single officer. 40 men in total. The problem is that I am far from my minimum requirement for a full Polish platoon, in fact, I haven't made it to one Rifle Team yet! This doesn't pose a huge problem, since platoons are seldom at full strength in the field as campaign attrition sets in, but with less than one section Chain of Command looks very far off indeed. 

But then it struck me, why not play section level combats? The scale would essentially be that of a firefight, with each soldier operating independently or in pairs. Patrol size. To that end I dug up my copy of Operation Squad: Evolution that promises squad level actions. Having read through the rules, they seem to fit the bill for what I have in mind. Pairs or individuals operating on a dynamic battlefield, about 4' by 4' in size. The rules themselves are relatively generic in terms of weapon statistics and troop quality isn't a complex matrix of variables, so tinkering shouldn't prove too difficult. 

In order to get playing, I am intending to use these rules, two small section sized forces, and the excellent Platoon Forward! campaign rules by Joseph Legan, from TooFatLardies. Mr. Legan's rules are a treasure trove for the solo wargamer, and are rules agnostic.

There comes a point at which one really just wants to play with one's toys... I fear I am there now.

Long Awaited Update

I have not had much chance to paint or play recently. With the workload on my current course, and all the usual things that life throws our way, time has been in short supply. In lieu of painting, I have been using the opportunity to read up on various topics, ranging from the English Civil War, to the Russian Civil War, and of course, the Polish campaign of September 1939. 

In the last few days I found a few hours to put paint to miniature, and the fruits of my labour are shown here:

I finished this Ravenwing Veteran Sergeant a while back, but I haven't had a chance to photograph him in the light box yet with the snazzy camera. I have another Ravenwing biker who just needs his weapon arm and shoulder pad finishing. 

I bought some Agema Velites from Northstar in their January sale and painted and assembled these fellows in no time. They will be making an appearance in my YouTube video review of the Agema Velites boxed set.

A work-in-progress British staff officer from Great War miniatures. A pleasure to paint. He will be part of my BEF lot. Not much movement on that front, but then I indulge myself occasionally with this project. 

Polish infantry! Yes, they are coming. Their bases are done, and I have made a start on their uniforms. I'm reading a lot about the campaign, and I would love to finish up with the forces necessary to play the battle of Lviv. 

Three sections of 15mm American riflemen for the Italian campaign. These chaps are just waiting for a highlight and then I can finish off their bases with some static grass. I'm planning on using these guys with Chain of Command and I Ain't Been Shot Mum from TooFatLardies, in particular the supplement Sicilian Weekend which will give the project some shape.

Finally, some Frenchmen being based. These three companies will be brought up to strength when I pick up another box of Perry French. I can't wait to try out Sharpe Practice II, again from TooFatLardies, from what I have seen so far it looks great.