It's the Gulags for me...

The recent games day at the West Tokyo Wargamers saw Brian and I try our hands at another  WW2 game using Blitzkrieg Commander II.  

Let the recriminations begin:  The NKVD were to have a busy day...

Brian has a British army for BKC II, but this time he wanted to try his hand at taking on the Soviets, and I was willing to oblige.  So for this game, he arranged to borrow Giovanni's Germans.   We decided that the scenario would see the Germans attacking a settlement defended by the Soviets, sometime in late 1943. Germans had 1750 pts, the Soviets just over  1500.  

We were joined for this game by Sawamoto-san,  a young university student here with an interest in WW2.  He had seen our blog and showed up to the club to see what we were all about.  He had never played a miniature wargame before (he had some experience with computer games), but he was very willing to give it a go.  For a first time player, he did very well, and clearly understood how to use his armoured infantry properly!

Giovanni was generous enough to bring much of his terrain and vehicles for us to use.  But he hadn't bought much in the way of infantry, so Brian had little choice but to devise an armour-heavy, elite force which would be tasked with trying to winkle the Popovs out of a defensive position.  

I wasn't unduly concerned at this, given the difficulties of nailing infantry in cover in BKC II.  The terrain was dense, and not really conducive to armour operations- it would be tough for him to take- and importantly to hold- the ground.  While it would be tough for me to deal with all that armour,  I felt it could be done with the force at my disposal, which had a good amount of artillery for its size. I was reasonably confident my Russkis would give a good account of themselves.

The table setup- view from the German side

Wrong!!!   Unfortunately, just about everything that could go wrong for the Soviets, did!  I made some fundamental deployment errors at the beginning, and to make matters worse my die rolling could not be more abysmal. A command blunder resulted in a large part of my force virtually committing suicide.  Let's say for now that will be no more room at the Gulag this week, and supplies of cigarettes and blindfolds for the officers involved are running low.

The settlement- lots of good cover for Ivan

The Soviet forces prior to deployment

Lots of infantry!

...supported by a couple of T-70m light tanks

As well as meatier stuff!  This is an OT-34 flamethrower tank I made years ago, with an SU-122 behind it.

The Soviets take their positions on the left

...while the Germans enter the field.  The Sturmtiger is proxying for a Brummbar.

Soviet armour heads down the road.  A decision the Soviet command would later regret...

On the right, the Popovs prepare A/T positions and orders are given.

I've always found the 120mm mortar an extremely useful asset, and this game was no exception.

Major Wretchedski assures the C/O that everything is under control..

Great cover, A/T weapons, mortar support- what could possibly go wrong?

Fascists in the woods!

"Something wicked this way comes..."

Gepanzert troops approach from the opposite flank, armed to the teeth with weaponry, brickwork and other construction materials.

"Maxim Sergeivitch, I really don't like the look of this!"

The halftracks dropped the infantry off in the woods

As a pincer attack is clearly taking shape

"Oh why...

..didn't I think...

...to put the OT-34...

...behind some decent cover?!?"

Stug III's enter the fray

"Where are you, Little Popov?

Brian had clearly been learning the tricks of the BKC II trade since the last time I played with him. and has learned that when you have those 7.5 cm KwK 40 guns at your disposal, you don't need to get close- stand off and hit the enemy from a distance, with as many vehicles as you can bear on the target.  And I obliged by stupidly putting my tank in the open. 

But despite losing the OT-34 (and with it's 12 attack dice, I really could have kicked myself for not using it more effectively), my situation was by no means a desperate one.  The Germans infantry had infiltrated the woods on the left, but could not see the Russians behind cover, who were waiting for the Germans to make the first move so they could open up on them with everything they had.

But then, disaster struck with my first command blunder of the game.  And it was a doozy.

The Soviet commander on the left mistakenly ordered his men not just to break cover, but also to charge the nearest enemy to the front.  The Soviets were about to recreate the first day of the Somme.  

"URRAH!... urk!"

In the process they were pretty much wiped out, a few remaining (and mauled) stands retreating back into cover.  Think of that scene at the opening of Enemy at the Gates...

In fact, the next 15 minutes of the game was spent working out the firing for that 80% of the German army who could get a shot in.  And few missed!  The Fascists rolled fantastically well all game.  

As for me, I was rolling high when I wanted low, and vice-versa.  Not that it would have made any difference in this situation, and given the volume of firepower I was subject to.  Brian was almost embarrassed at the destruction he was doling out, but my agitation was really directed at the dice gods and at my own stupidity, not him!

...and then

...there were none. dakka-dakka-dakka...

An enraged NKVD colonel orders the arrest, interrogation (with extreme prejudice), and liquidation of Major Wretchedski for his failure.

The Germans are quick to capitalize on the Soviet blunder, and assault the remaining platoons in the settlement.  An A/T stand fights bravely for a brief time, but is overwhelmed by numbers.

At this point in the battle, discretion is the better part of valour...

The Soviets continue to monotonously fail their command rolls, while the Germans grow weary from the mental effort of having to decide which units to slay next.  In all my time playing BKC II, I have never seem myself so completely deserted by the Dice Gods.  Usually things balance out over time, but this time Fate was really putting her boot into Popov crotch.

The Devil's last fart in the direction of International Socialism came in the form of another command blunder, this time by the Soviet overall commander.  The whole Soviet force, clearly demoralized and disoriented by all the crap coming down their way, pulled back out of their defences exposing themselves again to a blizzard of Krupp steel.

At that point time the sands of time were running out, so the Soviet commander accepted the inevitable and ordered a general retreat.  Somewhat academic, as everyone and his pack mule was high-tailing it back to the safety of the Ural mountains anyway.  

It will be a dreadful day of reckoning back in Moscow. 

It's all over for the Soviet defenders

To the victors, the spoils...

I'd like to say it was fun, and it had it's moments, but in truth I found myself frustrated on numerous occasions. It was quite possibly the very worst defeat I have ever experienced in a wargame.   It is easy to blame poor dice rolling (and I will, to an extent!), but there were other factors as well.  

One was that I did not use my armour as effectively as I could.  Not only the OT-34, but with hindsight I should have placed my A/T gun and/ or the light tanks in the woods where the halftracks infiltrated.  I could have hit them coming in, and pulled them back quickly before the inevitable retribution would start heading my way.

Another error was not playing the Soviets to their strengths.  The Germans have far more flexibility with their higher CV's, command range of 25cm rather than my 15cm, and in this game at least greater mobility.  I would have been better to have concentrated my forces in one half of the settlement where the odds of passing the command rolls would have been higher.

Finally, not that it really mattered the way this game played out, we really need to play with army break points.  The Soviets can take a lot of punishment while the Germans really do not like taking too many casualties.  In most games this could mean the Germans being more cautious with their assets.  Mind you, Brian was being pretty cautious as it was!  

But Brian and Sawamoto-san played a very good game, making no mistakes and making sensible use of terrain and of the resources they had.  While they were heavy in armour, their force was weak in infantry, and it was infantry that would be needed to assault and turf me out of the settlements.  But through my command blunders and my throwing away my armour support, I basically served them the victory; on a platter, with a side order of borscht and washed down with a bottle of strong vodka.   

Clearly I lacked sufficient revolutionary zeal, and I would surely be paying the price in days to come.

Oh well, there will be other games, and I'll be having some more friends to help me, too...

Finally, music to listen to while drowning my sorrows in vodka: "Song of the Desantniki"

Reinforcements from the Capitalist West!

Pride of place to the T-35.  Looks impressive, and being made of white metal, it is one heavy model!

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted here, as it's not as if WW2 gaming has been ignored my end.  Our group here in Tokyo (The West Tokyo Wargamers) has been involved in many different periods- and recently for me it has been Napoleonics- but WW2 has been a steady favourite, as you can see here.

But as my Soviet collection is more complete than my Napoleonic one, I have been spending more time on building French, Russians and now Prussians rather than churning out T-34's and the like.

However, in July I was back in Vancouver for a spot 'o home leave, where I took the opportunity to pack up and ship my old collection of Soviets that I played with there.  These were all built in the eighties and early nineties.  I came to Japan originally with the intention of staying for three years.  Nineteen years later, and having access to a well-established gaming club, it was time for them to be recommissioned, and to make the voyage westward.

And these are seasoned troops!  I played loads and loads of WW2 games in Vancouver back then using a variety of rules.

 

I was a little concerned if they would survive the journey across the Pacific, as given the cost of postage from Kanuckistan these days, I opted to have them sent by sea mail.  Fortunately, damage was very minimal, and nothing that cannot be repaired.  

Unfortunately, these do not represent any particular organization.   In those days, the German player was spoiled for choice in a a number of ranges of readily-available kits in plastic, resin, and metal.  Not so the collector of Soviet vehicles, who really had to hunt around.  Getting  any Soviet equipment in any quantity then, apart from T-34/85's and KV's. was a real headache (and expensive!). 

In the picture, you can see some T-26 variants from the now long-defunct Akheton Models.  These were uniformly dreadful, as was my choice of green paint!  But in those pre-UM days, beggars couldn't be choosers.

I also built a ISU-152 and IS-2, from a resin producer in California whose name I long forget.  The current Fujimi IS-2m is a much, much better kit, as is Pegasus Hobbies' offering for both the IS-2m and the ISU-152.  But hey, a bird in the hand...

Now as I mentioned these kits were built a long, long time ago, so I need to cut myself some slack for any inaccuracies.  One thing I do regret having done back then is going overboard with the foliage and decals on all the models.  I may give some of these kits a new paint job, or at least remove the vegetation!  Those T-26's for a start.

The most useful models for my present force are the softskins and transports, not to mention some rather nice artillery pieces, including this pair of 160mm mortars!

One of my favourites was this scratch-built Stalinetz S2 High-Speed Tractor.  It looks very reminiscent of a German Raupenschlepper Ost, although I believe the Soviet vehicle was on the scene first.  

 

I took an old Roco 1/87th scale Pz-III. Cut the tracks in the middle and removed a section to shorten them, and cobbled together a cab and flatbed from plastic card and Milliput.  The canvas tilt was from, IIRC, a White scout car kit.  

I've always been very proud of this one! It's accuracy is suspect, as I was going by a couple of grainy old photos.  But it looks okay for the tabletop, and at least it's unique.  This will be towing a 76.2mm gun as part of my motorcycle battalion.

I'm also happy with my NKVD staff car, which is a repainted toy car from about 1989 or so (from the Dick Tracy movie, maybe?)

Aside from these painted kits, I also brought back with me some old kits I had lying around- the makings of a pretty good airforce, some more softskins, and even a box of metal figures including a cavalry regiment!

I look forward to these all seeing action in the none-too-distant future!

Eastern Front Railway Station

I recently came across this resin kit through a post on The Guild wargamer's forum.  

A quick check with Hobby Link Japan showed that they had one in in stock, and I finally got around to ordering it today.  

This will be ideal addition to the village buildings I already have.  It has a spartan, somewhat run-down look about it I like.  It should be fun to paint. 

All I need is a length of HO/OO track, and it's Tomasovitch the Tank Engine time. 

Autumn is here!

And I am really glad to be saying "sayonara" to the hottest summer I've known since coming to Japan nineteen years ago.  Natsu-san, don't let the door hit you on your way out.

In contrast, autumn means cool, dry weather and the opportunity get some painting in. My priority in the coming week (and I'm taking my "summer" (sic) vacation then) is to get some Napoleonics ready for a game next weekend. But then I want to turn again to the Popovs and get some undercoating done. While waiting for the black undercoat to cure properly, I'll brush up on my airbrushing techniques so that I can then "go green" on the first batch.

In other developments:

• As you can see from the photo at the top of the page, I received the Aleran decals I ordered from the Michigan Toy Soldier Company.  This included some Order of the Red Banner badges for my 12th Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment.  MTSC didn't have stock of all I needed, so I had to wait three weeks for the backorder to be filled. This was no problem for me, and they were courteous and kept me informed of developments, so I was happy with the service.
• I also ordered another six Zvezda T-34/76's from Hannants, so I now have all the T-34/76's I'll ever need. I should be able to field, at some point, an entire tank brigade for 1944 as well as 1943.
• Finally, after a long run with a strong yen, the Bank of Japan finally intervened and the yen is losing ground. This is good news from a business point of view even if it means the price of ordering overseas is no longer as cheap as it was. Still, job security trumps cheap models! The good news is that my recent orders went in before the yen fell in value, and what's more, I have now pretty well collected everything I need for the project I set myself, save a few tractors and artillery pieces.
 

 

70 years ago today...

While the Soviet Union slept, the Battle of Britain reached its climax. 

 

Long ago, but made more real for me by family experiences.  While my family was basically Royal Navy, my mother is from Sussex, where the threat of invasion was very real.  As a young girl living in the countryside, she was never evacuated.  She still remembers vividly watching the air battles unfold over her head. 

Here's to "The Few".   We owe them more than we can ever imagine.

Quantity has a Quality all it's Own.

Seen here in the form of six Easy Model pre-assembled T-34/76 tanks. 

Evidently white camouflage is not so popular with gamers and collectors, as these were being discounted at 450 yen each- about $5.50 Can.- at a large hobby shop here in Japan.  

Not the very best models out there- the gun mantlet has been simplified somewhat- but at that price I couldn't go wrong.

They will look just fine once I repaint them, replace some of the heavy plastic handrails on the side, and glue the tracks down to the top of the road wheels. 

A fine addition to the RKKA.  I was also able to get a slew 'o M4 Shermans for my US collection, as you can see here.

Rising above the Crowd

Here are some WiP shots of my air support.  The Il-2m Sturmovik and the flight stand I've been making for it.

I went to the local craft store which has a wide range of useful goodies, and picked up a Plexiglas disk, some tubing and a length of clear Plexiglas rod.   I glued a short length of tubing down to the disk, and the rod just slots into it with no glue required, so it should transport easily.

I then glued a length of the same tubing into the bottom fuselage of the Sturmovik.  Short enough to fit inside the model, but long enough so that when placed over the top of the clear plastic rod, the plane will sit firmly on top without fear of being accidentally toppled over.  

I glued it in at an angle, so that when the model is placed on top of the stand, it will appear to be diving down, like a mighty socialist falcon, upon the helpless fascist rodents that are to be its prey.

This obviously necessitated some major surgery on the kit, especially the rear seat area of the cockpit.  I had to blank off part of the rear cockpit with plastic card, but it should look okay when done.  Again, these are meant to be gaming models, not IPMS masterpieces.

To weigh down the stand properly, I will first put some old, broken miniatures under the hammer- literally!  The resulting flattened lead lumps will then be epoxied down to the base, which will then be amply covered with epoxy putty and textured.

Note that I gave up on the Airfix Sturmovik.  This is an old Polish kit of the aircraft that I picked up years ago, and promptly ignored as it was too crude for words.  

However, on looking at pictures of the Il-2m, it was pretty obvious that Airfix had gotten the basic wing plan and fuselage contours -completely- wrong.  Although in Airfix's defence, the kit was designed during the height of the Cold War, when any kind of accurate info was extremely scarce.

The Polish kit did much better at capturing the look of the aircraft, so I decided that despite the heavy details, and being moulded from industrial-strength plastic, it would after all be the better bet.  The hard plastic was certainly up to being hacked around when it came to adding the length of tubing.  The surface details are crude- just raised lines for the most part- but are better than the raised rivets that come with the Airfix kit.  And the location slots in the wing roots actually fit the wings!!  

Putting the kit together was a bit of an adventure, due to inadequate instructions and an almost total lack of locating holes.  This wasn't too much of a drawback as those that were there didn't line up with the pins, or else were too small or large to receive them!

I'll use some parts from the Airfix kit, such as bomb racks, rear machine gun and maybe the pilots.  Likewise I'll use the excellent decal sheet from Airfix too- the one that came with the Polish kit being simply dreadful. 

I'm much happier with how it is turning out so far, and it certainly looks much more like the Il-2m than did the Airfix kit, which looked as if it was converted from a Fairy Fulmar! A long way to go yet.

*****

Aside from air power, I've also been beavering away at the T-34/76's.  I completed another Zvezda kit, and started a couple more UM models (these look good when done, but are a lot less fun to work on, as there are so many fiddly parts- many without locating holes).   

In the end I went ahead and added brass wire handles to the turrets.  I was surprised to find that this was a lot easier to do than I thought it would be.  Certainly the models look better for it.  

I've also started on the HQ stand for the 68th Tank Brigade.  A UM T-34/76 with the brigade commander.  He will be surveying the battlefield with his staff.   I think it is going to look really neat when it's done!

Received some more kits this week- transport in the form of Lend-Lease trucks and jeeps!  There are also some more surprises on the horizon, and I'll post on these when I get them. 

*****

For a few weeks the Soviets will have to take back seat to Napoleonics, as I have a few stands of French that I have to get finished so that we can play our first game at the club at the end of September, although as I can use the Russian buildings as well I will continue to work on those.

But it does means slower progress on the armour for a while, but maybe I need the break from modelling as I find my patience getting thinner these last few days.  The summer heat is still oppressive, but hopefully now that September is imminent,  the end of the heat wave may finally be in sight.  Then I can get out the spray primer and airbrush!  I'm anxious to get these guys under a coat of paint.