Back to Stalingrad Again

This time Stefan and Jeff lead the Germans to victory in the Factory after Karl and Andrew narrowly failed to capture it.

The hidden set up means the game starts slow, builds up as frustration mounts and then comes to a quick conclusion after various rash moves either succeed or open the way for an enemy victory.

Back to Stalingrad

Andrew and Stefan successfully take a block of the ruins of Stalingrad from Karl and Stephen.

Clearing one building and getting ready to dash to another.

While the other Germans hold on in the factory.

Stalingrad - Practice

It has been my intention to at least play this scenario once a year around this time.  I know I missed last year, but it is rather embarrassing to find the last time I played was five years ago!  

This session was very much a practice game to get Karl up to speed with the rule's mechanics.  We played without hidden setup, and I think that takes all the magic out of the game.  

The setup.

Knowing where and where not the Soviets are enabled the Nazis to mop them up with some ease especially given some excellent die rolling on my part.

Stalingrad via Crossfire

Once a year around this time I like to play the Crossfire Stalingrad scenario.  The terrain and figures I have for this are a bit cheap, even cheesy, but that is part of the allure/charm.

I put the game on for the club's first Games day of 2021 and Stephen went the Soviets.  I had a cunning plan as the Nazis and it was working well, until those Soviets went all out in the factory.  No, not a strike, an attack.

The first attack.

Victorious, they prepare to take the final sector.

After a setback, the Soviets were able to get more men into the factory complex,

before the Nazis.  Then their numbers prevailed.

Fun game, over all too quick,

but I did have a lunch date at the Blue Duck.

306 grams of Soviets

Just infantry this time.  I have the bulk of the infantry repainted, just taking my time coming up with basing variations.  I've gone for a summer/spring feel.

The faces are as painted when I acquired them.

It's not a style I like, but wasn't worth the effort to redo.

Besides, it works.

I now have plenty of infantry for Rommel.

I've also arranged them to use with Crossfire.

The red flower tufts are my favourite, sadly all used up now.

There are a mix of figures, Battlefront and Command Decision.

Hi mom!

641 grams of Soviets

That's over half a kilo.

This is about a quarter of the infantry I have to base.

While I plan to use them for Rommel, 

they have also been set up for Crossfire (above represents a company).

Some unintended battle damage on these chaps that I wasn't inclined to try and repair.

And now for something different.

Submachine gunners on urban bases.

Perfect for Stalingrad.

The bases have been enhanced with sand to blend in figure bases.

I've tried to make a puddle in a shell hole where there was a slot for a second figure.

"Not one step back!"

1/76th ish inventory - Commonwealth

This post kind of completes the inventory of my 1/76th and related scale forces.  There are more models in bits and pieces and quite a few as unmade kits.  So it goes.  Same goes for figures.

In looking at the various things I have included in this post, some are very old and some quiet new.  There is also evidence in evolution of my thinking as to painting, basing and organisation styles.  Note: Some of this units have been posted previously, mainly when I started this blog ten years ago.

 Mainly Airfix.  

There is a Hasegawa Grant and a Matchbox Firefly.  

Some scratchbuilding evident bottom right hand corner.

Some TLC is required.

 What looks like a complete armoured regiment.

Most of the Shermans are one piece plastic castings, brand unknown.

I can see that I lost heart halfway through when the second squadron turned out very green.

 A flash looking Matchbox Humber.

 I'm so fond of this model that you get two pics of it.

Detail looks sharper without the flash.

 This formation has been extensively posted on before.

This is as far as I have got with the great 5oth (Northumbrian) Division - Tyne and Tees.

As someone born north of the Humber I claim an historical connection!

 Some odds and sods (I have many more loose figures).

The three vehicles on the right are diecast by Oxford and are literally to die for.

 Looks like I started out with these guys for Command Decision

 and then started to move to Crossfire.

Note scratchbuilt Boys A/T rifle and PIAT.

The slender Airfix figures have a distinct early war feel to them

(unlike the more stocky Matchbox figures used for the 50th)

Some very old figures, based up for Crossfire.

The extra HMGs are just because, 

but also show a different attempt at a quick basing style.

The cutting of the Vicker's front legs, while tricky, pays off.

Stalingrad - Crossfire Style

Played this scenario through twice at the club's games day today.  I umpired the first and went Germans the second.  The Germans (controlled by Russell) won the first, but did less well second time around.  Stephen played Russians twice.

 This game is full of nostalgia.

Look out!  

They're behind you!

15mm German WW2 Infantry - Allsorts

These figures came from Bill's gift plus some spare figures that Simon passed on.  They are a mix of manufacturers and I've based them up for use with Rommel, Crossfire and Blitzkrieg Commander, but I imagine they would work for most WW2 rule sets.  I went a bit overboard with the mix of tufts, but I'm very happy with the finished result.

The paint scheme was VJ Field Grey over a Tamiya Flat Black.  Some of the equipment I then detailed, the flesh and weapons obviously, but the big secret was a dry brush of VJ Buff that really brought out the detail.

 The whole lot.

 Mainly PSC figures in the above image.

 Mortars!

Medium and little.

 Rear area troops.

Perhaps the table needs a map, 

but they are just about to go into action and so it has been folded away.

 Some singles to act as commanders for Crossfire.

The guys in great coats with the machine gun demanded their own base,

but I now see I could have tried to get the ammo belt to match up better,

it is not so obvious on the table top.

 More machine guns.

Anti Tank rifle lying in wait.

Hiding behind a hedge, calling in a strike. 

 More spotters, although the binocular guys went to the MG crews as we'll see...

 MGs on tripods.

 Infantry attacking.

Infantry advancing.

In this image you can see extra detail that went into these figures, 

but it is the dry brush that has really enhanced them.

Some of these figures are from Command Decision.

Stalingrad - The Factory

Stephen asked to play this game.  I was quite happy to oblige.  He went Soviets and I went Axis.

 The setup, with everyone hidden.

 A German platoon uses a crossfire to successfully clear one building.

In the factory a couple of brave Soviet squads are ambushed moving into another sector. 

They are wiped out.

The Germans set up another crossfire.

With their losses skyrocketing, the Soviets try an all or nothing attack in the factory.

They won!

After throwing crap dice throughout the game, Stephen plucked victory from defeat in taking the factory, against significant odds.  Well done!

Somewhere in Stalingrad

Around this time of year I always like to put on a Stalingrad game.  This year I coopted James and Mark B as the bad guys and Brendan as Uncle Joe's representative.  It turned out Brendan knew how to play and this gave the Soviets the winning edge.  Mark B was sent home after a series of appalling  dice rolls and so James was left defending the indefensible or rather attacking the unattackable.

 Blurry eyed Germans spot some Russians across the rubble.

 The veteran German platoon close assault the pinned and suppressed Russians.

This attack ended in abject failure.

 Elsewhere the Germans got some enemy submachine gunners pinned down.

 While nearby two heavy machine guns went mano-mano.

For one of the players it was their first taste of Stalingrad and they were so enthused they sent me some of the photos they had taken.  I understand he thought it a fantastic game with all the feel of close quarter squad level combat as he imagined it was.  More so I believe he said it was very playable and above all fun!

Other players criticised me for the poor set up and I was annoyed at my poor memory of the rules.  Grrr.  Can't please everyone.

Additional, submitted photos by a new fan of the game.  I am sure he would be really interested if there was a Napoleonic version of the rules.  I would just be amazed.

 This was just before the attack by the German veterans.

 The attack goes in.

 They start to clear the building after their initial success.

But the Russian company commander and his trusty NKVD assistant are too much for them.

As mentioned I was a tad rusty on the rules (my fault as I didn't bother reading the rule summary I had made previously) and in a bad move used a previous set up that turned out to be a bit hard to follow.  Hidden set-up is the best part of this scenario, but I need to make it easier for players to visualise their deployment.  With the recent success of white board markers and laminated labels I'm thinking of a laminated map for each player to write on as an aid to set-up.

Annoyingly I since found that I had made a better roster, just failed to print it out.  It's been a long year.