The Soviets Have Arrived

More than I expected, but with a surprise.

Some of the vehicles are a bit obscure as befits Soviet AFVs of WW2.  

Attribution of manufacturer is my best guess

Five KV-2 PSC

Five JSU-122 PSC

Easy repair job to do on the mg.

5 JS-IIs PSC

2 mgs to fix on this lot.

Four SU-76 Battlefront

Would like to add more crew figures.

Three SU-85 Battlefront

Two SU-85-100 Battlefront

Four Zis-5 3 on trucks Battlefront

Four T-26 Battlefront

Need some replacement barrels

 Six BA-10 Battlefront

The two on the right are Peter Pig

Eight BA-64 Battlefront

One wheel to fix.

T-60 Battlefront

Easy to fix

Four T-38

Light Amphibious Tank

Five T-20 Komsomolets Battlefront

Three BA-1M ?

and a ?

All solid metal

Seven Universal Carriers 

Have the number 119 inscribed on the base.

Five White Scout Cars 

Resin, not sure of brand.

Nine T-70 Battlefront

A KV-1 1940 model Battlefront

and three KV-85 unknown manufacturer.

The middle one with the white resin has possibly had an adverse reaction with the undercoat

Fifteen T-34/76 Battlefront

1941 model has the single top hatch,

the 1943 model has the two top hatches.

Eleven T-35/85 Battlefront and PSC

Three staff cars

Four 122mm Gun Model 1931

Four 152mm Howitzer M 1943

Four 76.2mm M 1936 Divisional Gun 

Four 76mm Infantry Guns,

possibly Command Decision

A bit wonky.

Four 45mm Anti Tank guns

A bit bent.

Four limbers

Three light AA guns

Horses

Four Russian army tchanka Peter Pig

These can have just two horse which would then give me enough to use on the other limbers.

Tank riders.

Snipers

120mm Mortars

A few decals

A bit of a mortar and a few crew.

That guy laying down doesn't look right...

What motivated me to make the purchase was that the figures were all painted.  Having now seen them up close I am not that taken with the style.  There is some re-detailing I will probably do as I don't like some of the colours used.  I will also try a black wash and then a dry brush of buff, but it depends on how sharp the detail is.  I will also redo the flesh.  Then again I might just leave them as they are (unlikely).  Basing is really the key.

27 infantry including flamethrowers

42 infantry

35 infantry including AT rifles 

which go with those little piles of rocks in the sniper image

BUT

Note the odd looking figure top left hand corner in this image.

An infiltrator?

47 infantry including some artillery crew (but possibly for mortars)

58 infantry

51 infantry

40 infantry

Worth their weight in gold.

Still in the box.

What?

This is a surprise.

Hard to tell from the image, but these are late war Germans painted as Soviets.

Whoops.

Might have use for the counters.

The book is a nice touch,

much appreciated.

This force is more than I need for Rommel, 

but will also do for Crossfire and Blitzkrieg Commander. 

 Now to get stuck into the make good.

Panzer Group Guderian

Yesterday Simon and I finally got to play this classic which he had lovingly resurrected.  A die roll determined I would be the Germans.

End of Turn One and the Germans have captured their first victory location.

The left flank is cleared in Turn Two.

Turn Three sees the majority of the German forces on the map.

The flanks of the Soviet front have been surrounded.

Turn Four sees a pocket start to form...

The Soviets have rushed units to the front,

but the Panzers are free.

Turn Five sees a major pocket created.

The Soviet armies will be destroyed

leaving them without enough troops to defend Smolensk.

At this point we ended the game.  The Germans had taken a few unnecessary losses as they didn't appreciate they could retreat as an option in the attack.  The Soviets had over stacked the front and needed to spread out more to reduce the risk of being surrounded.  It is a delicate balance.

I had last played this game in the 1970s!

Trial of Strength - October and November'44

I was able to find time to have another session of this old but innovative game with Richard.  Got in two months; easy when the weather is mud.

Beginning of October and most of the front is out of supply.

We found that we had been doing the rail repair conversion wrong.

It is not a two part process to first repair and then convert a rail hex.

Converting achieves both results.

Of course in mud no repair or conversion is possible.

In Finland it is worse as the rail line had been cut.

Repair unit is on the way.

At least the cut is in the Arctic weather zone and so can be repaired, if somewhat slowly. 

End of October.

Very little change.

I had not managed things well 

(having forgotten rules/tactics etc since our last session)

Repair work underway.

November sees the first of the attacks on Lvov.

The Baltic Front is also getting ready to renew the offensive.

As is the northern front.

More attacks now.

Mixed outcomes.

At least the rail lines are inching forward 

and providing more of the front with supply in the winter weather.

Shrinking Axis presence round Petsamo.

Attacks continue ahead of the snow freeze

which will reduce the river obstacles in the way of the Soviet advance.

All the Axis are now gone from Finland.