First Painted Miniatures of 2019

Apologies for the rather dreadful photo. Still, it is proof!

So, here we are: a week from the start of 2020 and I have finally finished painting three miniatures. An abysmal annual effort, but truly a reflection of how poorly engaged I have been with the hobby this year. In truth, it all ties in with the work and living situation here in California.

The reality is that I haven't had a space for the hobby. Our current place is rather small, and with space being at a premium, I cannot very well ask the wife to surrender some of that for little toy soldiers. So the bulk of my entertainment has come from playing video games and reading this year. On the topic of reading, might I heartily recommend Winston Churchill's "My Early Life: 1874-1904". I found the book a joy to read and a gateway to many a conflict. I know that I, for one, am keen to look further into the North-West Frontier and Sudan War thanks to this book. Read it.

An excellent book, very easy to read.

I might also mention that the heat and dryness here in the San Joaquin Valley makes for weather that is not particularly conducive to painting. When the sun is out and the hounds are keen to play, who am I to say otherwise? Only now that we have hit the rainy, cold season do I find myself in the mood to paint. That said, now that I have indeed put brush to miniature, I find myself inspired once more to get that "hour a day" in before bed. Hence the Germans above, and the Soviet Naval Infanteer lurking behind them.

One does not simply ignore these two.

In other news, I have been back to Britain twice this year, and have both times ferried quantities of miniatures and paints back with me. Having brought much lead over at the end of October, I had the makings of motivation, it just took a particularly miserable run of weather to convince me to build a rather nice little paint station my wife got me for my birthday back in June, and we were off to the races. I would highly recommend on of these handy little things to all my friends, it is very movable and surprisingly sturdy. Click on the picture to go to Amazon to see the GameCraft Miniatures Painting Station - 26mm V2, for Vallejo and Army Painter Style Dropper Bottles. Highly recommended.

Not all heroes wear capes...

Truly this paint station has been a lifesaver for me and has enabled me to get back to painting. I only hope that I can make a better effort in 2020 than I did this year. With that in mind, I look forward to creating more content for this website and the YouTube channel in the coming few weeks. However, until then, I wish all my dear readers a Merry Christmas, and I look forward to serving you better in 2020.

Poland 1939: Action near Dukla Pass After Action Report

Below is a video of the section level game I played solo using a modified version of Operation Squad: Evolution. The briefing is here. The basic Operation Squad mechanics were used with only the addition of card driven activations to make the game more solo friendly. 

After a faltering attempt at forming a base of fire, the Gebirsjäger MG34 team and a supporting team were mauled by Polish resistance. After seeing four of his man fall, Obergefreiter Martin Reiter decided to call it a day and withdraw until heavier force could be applied to the farm and dislodge the Poles. 

Reiter lost four men permanently, lost or missing, and three will sit out the next battle. In addition, he lost his MG34 in the retreat. There isn't a replacement for now. 

Plutonowy Andriy Kohut is the man of the hour, the hero of Dukla Pass. As the Germans retreated he and his men withdrew from the farm, as the German advance has overwhelmed the Polish resistance in other sectors. Father Marius of the church in Barwinek has approached Kohut's platoon commander and begged him to help recover the relics of a local saint that were stolen by the advancing Germans. 

All of this was generated using a combination of Platoon Forward and At the Sharp End by the TooFatLardies, and sets us up for next scenario, where the Poles will be launching an attack of their own!

Mustering Forces: A Hobby Update

I got back from Greece on Sunday night and immediately set about mustering the forces for my Dukla Pass scenario. I have all the assets for both sides, I just needed to get it assembled and painted. So yesterday I broke out my box of 28mm World War II stuff from the Oorlogskuur (The War Shed) and got out the Gebirgsjäger I needed, plus all the potential Polish forces that might appear in the scenario. Glue and the Xacto knife were wielded and in no time I had this box full of miniatures ready for basing.

Apologies for the poor picture. A quick list of what inside.

Germans: A kfz. 13 Adler armoured car, eight riflemen, an MG34 team, an Obergefreiter.

Polish: Ursus armoured car, ten greatcoated Polish infantry, light and medium mortar teams, MMG team, anti-tank gun, sniper team and anti-tank rifle team. 

A fair bit indeed. The next step is to base the lot, and then undercoat.

I figured, while I was at it, I might as well get some of my 15mm stuff assembled too. This time Finnish and Soviet vehicles for a Chain of Command scenario idea I have. 

Again, not a great photo, but I wanted to show that I had done something. Some Soviet armoured cars and armour, which was used by both sides. There is also a Finnish Vickers 6-ton. I am going to do most of this in Finnish livery, but the twin turret T-26 and one BA-6 and one BA-20 for Soviets. These chaps will get their undercoat at the same time as the 28mm stuff. Hopefully I will be able to get my scenario played soon enough. 

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...

Beginning of a US Infantry Platoon

I completed my first lot of US Infantry today. These fine fighting fellows were bought for me by the lovely Lady K, and so I have enjoyed painting them up and sharing the experience with her. 

I am building my platoon to the guidelines in I Ain't Been Shot Mum, so three squads of ten men. These squads are made of two big bases with four men each, plus a small base with two men. As you can see I am a little shy of the full platoon at the moment, the six two man bases are on the desk and getting attention. Once done, I will do a proper shoot of the whole platoon.  

I like the way they troops look and I am pleased with the basing scheme. These chaps will eventually land in Sicily and fight their way through Italy. Of course opposition will need to be purchased, but this project is not very high on the priority list and painting these figures is more a labour of love for me. 

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.

Operation Squad Opposing Forces

Further to my last post, I have been looking to put together my two forces for Operation Squad Evolution: Germans and Poles for the September 1939 campaign. The rulebook contains lists for American, German, Soviet, and British forces, while additional lists are available from Massimo Torriani's website for free. The PDF is a must have, since it has the lists for the minor nations and some more lists for those nations already covered in the main rulebook. 

The rule set has suggested force compositions, although my personal tastes lean towards ignoring these in favour of the requirements of the scenario. Additionally, there is a points system, which again, is entirely optional to my mind. I think that knowing the point system might be interesting regardless of whether it forms part of the list building exercise. Who knows, perhaps it might give us some insight into balance within a scenario?

First up is the basic German Heer squad of 1939. This section is led by a Obergefreiter. I also decided to upgrade the spare rifleman from the LMG team to a Gefreiter to give the section a little low-level leadership, after all, someone has to square the lads away and get the ammo state for the section commander! Ranks in brackets are the ones used in the rules, the actual ranks are provided by me.

German Heer Squad		Total points:	530
Obergefreiter (Sergeant)	Kar98k, Stg39 grenades		60
LMG Team
Gefreiter (Corporal)	Kar98k, Stg39 grenades		60
MG34 Gunner	MG 34 LMG, Stg 39 grenades		90
2 Assistants	Kar98k, Stg39 grenades		80
Rifle Team
8 Riflemen	Kar98k, Stg39 grenades		240

As you can see this minimal section comes in at 530 points. I didn't adjust any of the points values, even though I downgraded the Obergefreiter and Gefreiter to Kar98k rifles from the MP40 sub-machine guns they automatically come with. This section is made up of thirteen men. 

Next up we will consider the Polish squad I want to put together which is essentially a Chain of Command Polish section. Again, ranks in brackets are the ones used in the rules, the actual ranks are provided by me.

Polish Rifle Squad		Total points:	660
Plutonowy (Sergeant)	Kb wz98a rifle, wz33 grenades		50
BAR Team
BAR Gunner	Km wz28 automatic rifle, wz33 grenades		60
3 Riflemen	Kb wz98a rifle, wz33 grenades		90
Rifle Team
2 Kaprali (Corporals)	Kb wz98a rifle, wz33 grenades		100
12 Riflemen	Kb wz98a rifle, wz33 grenades		360

The larger size of the squad means that it is slightly heftier in points. The partial mobilisation and chaos of the Polish army at the beginning of September 1939 means that fielding a Polish section understrength seems quite reasonable. The Polish list provided by the rules authors also lists Polish riflemen in "sections" of three. I gave two men in the Rifle Team a field promotion to the rank of Kapral, a sort of Lance Jack position analogous to the Gefreiter above. 

The next step would be to paint up these figures and generate a suitable scenario for them to engage in, but more on that later.

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.

Mid-War American Infantry Test Scheme

I painted up a quick test base this morning, just to get a sense of how they will look and what painting time is likely to be per base. I'm building a company of American infantry given to me as a gift from Lady K, for the Allied invasion of Italy, starting with Sicily. As a basis for my plans I am using Robert Avery's excellent Sicilian Weekend supplement for I Ain't Been Shot Mum.

After a quick ink wash these chaps look a bit drab.

As such, I am aiming for a nice arid looking base and those lovely washed out brownish American uniforms of the period. It took me almost no time to paint up this base, the only impediment is waiting for the shading wash to dry. After which the fellows were given a quick highlight using the same colours as before. Actual brush time for these guys was less than an hour. Now that the method is nailed, I'll be able to crank these out at pace.

A quick highlight makes them pop.

I'm satisfied with the result. However, I do think that I shall rebase the Big Men from Flames of War rectangular bases to circular ones so that they are more immediately apparent. I did this with some of my Soviet Big Men, and I think it works well. Basing isn't complete, A bit of dry grass and some paint around the edge will finish them off neatly.

In due course I'll pop a tutorial on here for those who might find it useful. 

Poland 1939: Polish Test Figure Done

I finished my first Polish Infantryman today. The scheme largely consists of browns, greens, and greys of various hue, so I feel that my decision to paint the coloured collar tabs brought some much needed colour to the figure. These collar tabs vary based upon the wearers arm of service. Infantry wore dark blue, with a white zig zag trim. I lightened the blue based upon personal taste. 

Keen eyed observers will notice that I have painted the eyes on this figure, which is something I never bother with. Normally the eyes are shadowed by the helmet, or other headwear, but this chap's helmet is slightly back, so the eyes had to be done.  

The colours I used are as follows, Vallejo Model Color unless otherwise stated. I painted almost everything in a three step highlight, directions below:

• Clothing: Russian Uniform Green -> Green Brown -> 50/50 White & Green Brown
• Helmet: Camo Olive Green -> Brown Violet -> Green Grey
• Webbing: German Field Grey -> Green Grey -> 50/50 White & Green Grey
• Ankle Puttees: Steel Legion Drab (GW) -> Karak Stone (GW)
• Ammo Pouches, Entrenching Tool Cover & Back Pack Straps: German Camo Medium Brown -> Flat Earth -> Green Brown
• Boots: German Camo Medium Brown -> Flat Earth -> 50/50 White & Flat Earth
• Backpack: English Uniform -> Khaki -> Stone Grey
• Bedroll: Rhinox Hide (GW) -> German Camo Medium Brown -> Flat Earth
• Gasmask Container & Mess Tin: Camo Olive Green -> Russian Uniform Green
• Bayonet Hilt & Entrenching Tool Handle: Foundry Spearshaft triad. 
• Rifle Body: Rhinox Hide (GW) -> Doombull Brown (GW) -> Skrag Brown (GW)
• Metal bits: Black -> Charcoal Black B (Foundry) -> Gunmetal Grey
• Collar Tabs: Foundry Royal Blue triad.

Basing wise, I did the two tone scheme as shown in the last post. I then added some grass and winter grass tufts. I want to add some scale bricks later on, as I think it will add a little more colour to an otherwise brownish-greenish scheme. 

I've avoided using metals to a large extent, since rifle parts are usually dull, except the working parts. This is due to mechanical wear and the cleaning process. So the metallic parts of the rifle are dark grey with a touch of gunmetal in the appropriate places. 

Now all that remains is for me to repeat this a bazillion times. 

Poland 1939: Die Polen sind hier

Yesterday evening I arrived home from work to find a package waiting for me from Element Games. It contained a boxed set of Polish Infantry made by Warlord Games, which I picked up from Element Games as I was ordering some paints from them anyway, and they offer a small saving over Warlord prices. I made a little video about it for YouTube:

The boxed set contains 24 metal miniatures, which suffered from some pretty intense flashing. Most notably on their helmets and, rather frustratingly, their rifle barrels. Many of the rifle barrels were bent quite severely, and furthermore, a combination of very thin metal and flashing at the end of the rifle barrel meant that clean up was fraught with the danger of losing the end of many of the rifles. In the end, I only lost one, so it isn't the end of the world. Mould lines were minimal, though I have a knack of missing them until they have paint on them, at which point they appear to grow in size, meaning I end up scraping them off only to have to repaint again. Nonetheless, I am confident I got most of the mould lines. 

In terms of detail, I am quite impressed. These are  Paul Hicks style sculpts, and I suspect that he may have sculpted these. They don't have that caricatured look that newer Warlord figures seem to have. As my first purchase of Bolt Action miniatures, I am going to declare myself satisfied. The bulk of the box is made up of rifleman, which is useful since a Polish section was huge, consisting of 17 rifleman, a BAR (Polish made wz 28) gunner, led by a Plutonowy (Corporal). I'll need three of these for a full platoon.

This is the only item from the Polish Bolt Action line that Element Games sell, so I shall be picking up the rest of the Bolt Action Polish range as the project continues. I am still awaiting delivery of some Poles I ordered from Black Tree Design during their generous January sale. 

Today I based and primed the entire boxed set. I am currently working on my test miniature. Both the Flames of War website and Warlord Games have a painting guide as part of their paint set that set out the base colours required, as well as a series of photos and plates. However, since I favour a three colour shade-middle-highlight system I need to figure out the colours to either side of the colours suggested by Warlord or Battlefront. 

I decided to paint the core colours I wasn't familiar with onto a sheet of paper, and then surrounding them with possible choices for shades and highlights. As seen below.

Using the above coupled with the painting guides from Warlord and Flames of War I wrote up one of my patented painting cards. It is more or less complete; as I work on my test miniature I'll complete the card.

Finally, I decided to try a different basing scheme for this collection. Since much of the fighting for the Polish campaign takes place in villages, towns, and finally Lwow, I wanted something a little more urban. I therefore decided to mimic Sidney Roundwood's excellent World War I basing scheme. I read his article on it, and I just had to try it. I haven't got any miniature bricks yet, but I shall try and pick some up soon, so for now I am only doing the two tone colouring on the bases.

I quite like the effect, with a few red bricks it will look really sharp. As you can see the flesh is done, though I still need to finish the eyes. I've also decided to paint my Poles with their collar tabs on, since it adds a little colour. The infantry will have Blue collar tabs, and the officer's hat band will also be blue. 

Poland 1939: Getting to Grips with a Campaign

In my last Poland 1939 post I mentioned that I had picked up Osprey's Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg, which I have now read and digested it. The book is rather general in its approach to the campaign, naturally, and does not really go into any depth on the actions in and around Lwow (Lviv) or the actions of 1. Gebirgsdivision, which are the focus of my campaign. I have realized that there are actually multiple discrete facets to the campaign, which I have rendered thus:

• The campaign as a whole: No element occurs in a vacuum or isolation from the other parts, therefore an understanding of the broader campaign is necessary, it provides a context for the actions which I am focused on. This is true of any campaign, and in this regard the Osprey campaign book has proved valuable.
• 1. Gebirgsdivision: I need to come to grips with the organisation, disposition, and actions of the formation throughout the Polish campaign since it is the primary "Player Character" (to borrow from Role-playing nomenclature).
• Supporting German forces: What other German formations operated close to the Mountain Division during their movements? This could define the types of support available to them. Again, using the nomenclature of RPGs, these would constitute this a German "Non-Player Character."
• Polish Forces in the region of Lwow: Since the narrative is following the movement of the Germans, I am more interested in those units along the way than any Polish units specifically. Again, an NPC of sorts. Who do the Mountain Division "bump" into on the movements towards Lwow?
• 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade: The exception to the above point. These chaps count as a Player Character and therefore need to be fleshed out in the manner of the German Mountain Division. 

So, as you can see, gentle reader, there are five discrete elements that require researching. The first is well under way, and is in some ways the easiest. I suspect that the real challenge will be in learning about the movements of the Mountain Division, and the Polish forces that they come up against. The 10th Motorised Cavalry are quite well documented, so this should be less problematic. I have found an excellent source online, a website feldgrau.net which hosts vast amounts of information about units and campaigns, but in truth, the real value lies in their forums which abound with nuggets of information. A quick search for Gebirgsjäger and Poland has already resulted in some incredibly useful maps and narrative points. Whilst Osprey books tend to be great for pictures and neat maps, there is something to be said for the dearth of free data out there that rewards a little bit of careful searching. 

The campaign is a solo affair, though the actions are likely to fought by people. On the strategic level the German player is 1. Gebirgsdivision, or more likely a part thereof, as part of Army Group South. Orders are therefore filtered down from Field Marshal Rundstedt. Additional assets are made available through the same chain. On a tactical level, the player is in charge of a platoon of Gebirgsjager, the characters will all be fictional though. It is on the tactical level that the player will be able to exercise the greatest degree of control, though orders will be issued by strategic command.

The Polish player is Army Karpaty under General Fabrycy on a strategic level. Central command in Warsaw (this later moved), will issue orders from high. On a tactical level the Polish player will assume the role of defending Polish formations, most likely to be 2 & 3 Mountain Brigades due to geography, but I can't be certain of this yet. However, as the campaign progresses this is likely to become messier and by the time our campaign reaches the streets of Lwow, armed civilians start appearing. Once the 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade enter the area of operations, the Polish player will assume control of them in addition to other forces. 

Polish Aims

The Polish campaign is a very one sided affair. Poland can't win the broader campaign, so the Polish player needs to focus on other goals, how successful can they be in delaying German movements? Remember, Poland is trying to hold out until France and Britain can start agitating in the West. Can they inflict stunning victories that will be a testament to their genius and resolve? Specifically to our area of operations, can they secure the Romanian bridgehead? And finally, as the campaign ends, can they break out and into neighbouring Hungary, hoping to make it still further abroad and continue the fight against the fascists?

"To arms! Save the fatherland! Remember well our future fate." 1920 recruitment poster. Notice the Polish soldiers square topped Czapka. 

German Aims

The German campaign aim is to conclude the conquest of Poland with as little loss of life and material as possible, and as quickly as possible, since there is the very real threat of a French offensive in the West which that front is ill suited to repulse. After the shame of 1918, the German soldier is keen to prove his mettle in combat once more and restore his country's honour, taking back the lands dished out to others at Versailles.

Propaganda of the new "Drang nacht Osten". In this poster the German is cast as a Teutonic night, the figure in front wears a what appears to be a Polish lancer's Czapka. 

The information above is a brief sketch, and is likely to change as I learn more, but what I am looking to do here is document how I build the wargaming campaign, so hopefully readers will find this useful. I have been inspired in large part by Sidney Roundwood's excellent World War I Jetty Wood linked game campaign, do go and have a read. Right, and now I have some more reading to do...

Poland 1939 Campaign

Black Tree Design recently had one of their incredibly generous sales, and I took the opportunity to pick up a (roughly) platoon's worth of Gebirgsjäger. The Gebirgsjäger were mountain infantry who were an elite element of the Wehrmacht and fought with great valour in every theatre of the Second World War. My particular interest in them is due to their actions in North East Finland, holding back the Red tide.

Gebirgsjäger in Poland, 1939. Notice the Edelweiss on the right shoulder and the fact that these troops are wearing their helmets rather than field caps. 

These troops are particularly famous for their Edelweiss emblem, which was worn on both their right sleeves and the left hand side of their field caps. So in terms of painting that is certainly something I will be looking to highlight, just to make these troops look distinct from other German troops. In a similar vein, many of these figures are wearing their field caps, when in reality they would wear their helmets in combat, but much like fielding Napoleonic troops in their parade uniforms on the battlefield, this is a liberty I am willing to take. Call it artistic license if you must.

The more common image of the Gebirgsjäger in his field cap. 

I've decided to play out the opening campaign of the Second World War, Poland September 1939, following the movements of the Gebirgsjäger in the South of that country. The Gebirgsjäger fought their first engagements in this campaign as part of Army Group South under Field Marshal Rundstedt as part of 1st Gebirgs Division. Their part in this campaign was not nearly as spectacular as the rapid advances in the West, but culminates in the battle of Lviv (Lwow/Lemberg) in what is now Ukraine. In broad strokes, the division descended from the Slovakian Carpathians (with Slovak Army Bernolak in support) towards Lviv. The advance was hampered by stubborn Polish resistance, before Lviv was besieged. German attempts to take the city met with failure in the face of intense resistance. Citizen militias were armed for the defence, and eventually the famous 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade broke into the city to aid in its defence. 

A map detailing the general lines of advance into Poland. I will be focussed on the South East around Lwow.

As the Germans awaited reinforcements, the Soviet invasion of Poland began. And in a few days Soviet forces met German forces on the outskirts of Lviv completing its encirclement. With this, the Polish forces in the town negotiated a surrender with the Soviets, which was naturally dishonoured by the perfidious Russians, and many of the Polish officers taken were later murdered in the Katyn massacre of 1940.

1. Gebirgsdivision

The scope of this campaign is incredibly brief as it only covers the events of the 1st of September through to the surrender of Lviv on the 22nd. The two forces opposing each other are the 1st Gebirgs Division and Polish forces under General Franciszek Sikorski, with the 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade under Colonel Maczek arriving on around the 13th of September.

One of the most iconic units of World War II, the Polish "Black Brigade" or 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade. 

A large part of this campaign will be played solo, using a combination of ideas from Donald Featherstone's Solo Wargaming, scenarios from Joseph Legan's Platoon Forward, and Rich Clarke's At the Sharp End campaign rules for Chain of Command, and of course, the rules will be the excellent platoon level game Chain of Command. I will keep a campaign diary to track the events of the campaign, which might diverge from history depending on the outcome of the actions. I hope that this will both amuse me, and be of interest to readers. I must admit that I have been recently inspired by the English Civil War campaign diary of Ian (TheDiomedef16) who keeps a blog to this end, have a look at this very entertaining campaign diary.

I'll need to paint up the opposing forces in 28mm, which should be achievable in almost no time. As mentioned above, I'll be using Black Tree Design for the Gebirgsjäger, and chances are I will pick up some Gorgon Studios Gebirgsjäger for support weapons and variety. Polish miniatures will be largely Warlord Games, with some Black Tree Design Polish, and Gorgon Studios for the 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade. Expect to see review videos and painting tutorials popping up on the blog over the next while. 

Part of the enjoyment of this campaign is the learning aspect. I'll be doing a lot of reading and staring at maps over the period of the campaign and I'll no doubt share this experience and any interesting tidbits of information I come across. My first bit of reading is underway:

Finnish Jalkava Joukkue Finished

I finished these last night and varnished them this morning. A Jalkava Joukkue (Platoon) for my Continuation War project in 15mm. It consists of four Ryhmät (Sections) led by a Vänrikki (Lieutenant) and a Kersantti (Sergeant). 

I've replicated the basing style I used for my Soviets since the two forces are meant to face each other. I'll need to knock up some appropriate terrain for Karelia soon to fit the setting. 

Painting these took about three days from the undercoat stage. I did them whilst watching films and generally pottering around the house. The method was a simply block, shade, highlight, using Vallejo model colours, which are a pleasure to work with. 

The next phase will be to bring up the force to Company strength, but that will require some more purchases I am not willing to make at the moment. Suffice to say I shall need a bit of armour for both the Finns and the Russians. One positive is that the armour for both sides is more or less the same, since the bulk of Finnish armour was captured from the Russians throughout the conflict.

A quick comment on the miniatures themselves. They are from Flames of War who are one of the few manufacturers who cater to the Finnish collector, but the sculpts vary in quality from some decent officer types, or tank hunters, to some absolute mutants. Still, altogether they look pretty sharp. 

So, these are my first completed miniatures of 2015. They are based on Flames of War bases, but I'll be using them to play Chain of Command and I Ain't Been Shot Mum.