Poland 1939: Action near Dukla Pass Briefing

I was eager to try out the Operation Squad rules that I had purchased some time ago for small 28mm squad based action. I decided that the best run out the game could get would be a scenario based on the opening hours of the German invasion of Poland.

Dukla Pass, Polish-Slovakian Border, 1st of September 1939.

The Situation:

The German "liberation" of Silesia and Posen has begun. While the bulk of German forces sweep away the Poles in the west, the First Gebirgsjäger Division has left its staging points in the Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia and descended upon Galicia. The initial goal is to clear the villages on the Polish-Slovakian border and thereby secure the right flank of the German advance eastwards. 

German forces are pushing north into Poland through the Dukla Pass, to capture the village of Barwinek, before pushing further on to take Tylawa. A company of Gebrigsjäger has just stepped off and is shadowing the road north, clearing the forests on either side. The area is heavily wooded before turning into farmland. 

Although Polish forces haven't fully mobilised, local resistance is expected. Polish reservists are arming and are en route to their depots to resist the invasion. German forces cannot allow the Poles to withdraw in good order and  consolidate, and so Army Group South is pursuing with all haste to keep the enemy on the run.

A German platoon has come across a small outlying farmstead to the south-west of Barwinek and Leutenant Krantz has charged Obergefreiter Reiter of 2nd section to recce and clear this small collection of buildings of any Polish opposition.

The area south of Barwinek, Poland © http://digitool.is.cuni.cz/

Scenario Details:

This scenario was created by combining Scenario K (Reconnaissance) from Platoon Forward, and Scenario 8: Recon from Operation Squad Evolution. This action was played solo.

As an objective I rolled :"Is that village or key building occupied?" The building is a Polish farmhouse, which forms the focal point of the 4' x 4' playing area. I generated the terrain using Platoon Forward and produced this vector graphic map as a guide on how to set up my terrain.

A simple plan on how the terrain should be set up,

with the German axis of advance shown.

Dramatis Personae:

Obergefreiter Martin Reiter

Martin is a veteran of the Great War, and at 40 years-old one of the senior men in the platoon. He is originally from Posen (Poznan), but when the border shifted at the end of the last war he decided to move west into the new Germany. For him the Polish campaign is personal. Martin's primary qualification for his rank is his earlier service, which is unfortunate as he is a pretty inept section commander. He has a drinking problem, but the upside (if there is one) is that it serves to level his temperament somewhat in the face of the enemy.

Plutonowy Andriy Kohut

Andriy is a 25 year-old ethnic Ukrainian, native to Galicia. From farming stock, he believes that in the new Poland, hard work and determination does pay off and it is clear that money is a priority. He is a cheery, optimistic fellow, with a level head and does a solid job of commanding his section. 

Force Assets:

Gebirgsjäger

Obergefreiter Martin Reiter

MG34 Team (3 pax)

One Rifle Team (8 pax)

Polish

Plutonowy Andriy Kohut

Polish strength is undetermined, but infantry can be expected. Vehicles and heavier assets are highly unlikely. (Essentially, I will generate these forces as the scenario unfolds using the Platoon Forward rules. Not all blinds will necessarily materialise.)

5 A blinds (squads are either BAR teams, rifle section, or armed civilians)

2 B blinds (AT Rifle, MMG, or Mortar teams)

1 C blind (Tank, Truck, or Armoured Car)

The small scale of this action means that both sides can be very flexible with their ORBAT and create fire teams or break off individuals as required.

Battle report to follow...

Heer and Gebirgsjäger Paint Scheme Tests

The painting bureau is currently covered in a whole bunch of Poles and progress is good. I have almost completed the figures required for the Operation Squad game I have planned. The Poles will, however, need an opponent. To that end I have started thinking about the Germans. 

Now, I have never painted German infantry before, so this is new territory for me. That said, of all the belligerent nations of World War II the forces of the Third Reich are well provisioned with painting guides and I have saved myself from the insanity of painting awesome looking, but suicide inducing, German camouflage! 

Luckily the Early War German army has a sharp and simple colour scheme that shouldn't prove too time intensive. The most useful resource in this instance was from the Flames of War website, who have this rather handy pictorial guide:

Copyright Battlefront

I decided to do one Gebirgsjäger trooper (a Black Tree Design figure) and one regular Heer infantryman (from Crusader Miniatures). The Crusader fellow is a tad taller and bulkier than the Black Tree fellow, but they seem happy enough alongside each other. 

The Heer chap is sporting the standard tunic, while the mountaineer is wearing his reversible anorak. This was white on one side and grey on the other. The cool thing about the Gebirgsjäger is the variety of their uniforms. They are quite an "ally" outfit, as the photos below attest:

During the research phase for this project I spent an awful lot of time trawling for photos or drawings of German mountain troops. And I found a few colourised ones. The one above is from the Caucasus, so after Barbarossa was launched.

The photo below is from Austria in 1939. It is clear that these chaps weren't much for regulation kit, and I love the way that colours change almost randomly. 

The drawing below is a helpful painting aid for the wargamer keen to field Gebirgsjäger

Additionally, I used this fine little volume to help me along.

Using all the information I had gathered I had a go at painting both the miniatures and ended up with this:

The photos aren't that great, just some quick snaps on my iPhone, but I think it get across the idea of the uniform. I am quite pleased with the results, although the basing isn't done yet. Once they are complete I will drag out the lightbox and take some better pictures. 

I will cover my method in a separate post later, but in simple terms I simply blocked the colours, then washed with black ink, followed by a highlight. I did a little lighter highlight on the green of the collar, helmet, and gas mask canister. I also realise that I haven't highlight the black yet, but that is just a case of completion really. For the purposes of a test model I am quite happy with the results I have achieved. 

I have decided to stick to do the bases of my Germans similar to those of the Poles, though I think the Gebirgsjäger will likely be a little more rural. As usual, the author is grateful for the opinions of readers.