Monday, August 17, 2015

WWII German Eastern Front Infanterie Re-organization

So STILL not happy with how my troops are organized and based, I embarked upon a massive reorganization, and in some cases a repainting, of my "front-line" Eastern Front German troops.

I was going for standardization, and inter-changeability among formations.  Something my previous units were lacking.  A simple game of "Bolt Action" saw troops dressed as if they were from several different theaters of war...

Now they're all based individually and organized according to 8 man "Battlegroup: Kursk" squads.  Rifle sections are all 5 man sections, with the Squad Leader carrying an MP-40.  My LMG sections are 3 man sections bringing the total to 8.

This project will also resonate down to my DAK troops, and SS troops as well.
GrossDeutschland Infanterie Squad.  5 Riflemen +1 Rifleman for the LMG section.  SL carries an SMG.
 For the first platoon, I painted helmet covers on all of them.  Not bad.
Platoon Leadership stand #1

Platoon Leadership stand #2



WOW!  I didn't realize I had so many Germans.  2 more platoons.  That's a complete infantry company in all if you add the platoon above that is already flocked and sealed

First Platoon move out!
 The weapons sections aren't finished yet.  As in BGK, I will "penny packet" all of the support teams out to the platoons.  So each platoon will have its medic, HMG, Mortar, etc.

Red dots signify that this trooper is from First Platoon.  So 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon.
 To keep track of everyone I came up with an "ingenious" marking system.  Red, White, and Blue dots adorn the bottoms of the bases.  1st squad is 1 dot.  2nd Squad is 2 dots.  3rd Squad is 3 dots.  In this manner, my OCD can be fully satisfied :)





Rifle Section move out!


The Soviets will get the same treatment.  8 man squads with the LMG organic to the squad and not a separate team.  That's OK they're based by team for when I play Bolt Action.
 Oh what's that?  You want to play bigger games or you don't like fiddling with 15mm troops?  You want to play "Flames of War?"  Got you covered!


 Large, FoW styled wooden bases flocked as per the theater of war.  This allows me to play "Crossfire," "FLames of War" or any other game where a stand is a larger unit.


And for the final surprise?  This is for you, David F.  All this talk about Bolt Action got me thinking about our upcoming game (date obviously to be determined...).

So I painted up the Officer for my 12th SS troops, since you're painting the Canadians.  None other than "Panzer Meyer" himself.  This will probably cost me some points in assembling the unit (better quality units cost MUCH more) but I thought this figure from the "Open Fire" box was the perfect fit.  I painted a rough "Plane Tree" smock on him and gave him an RTO.
Still have to paint more details on these 2 battlefield scoundrels but you get the idea.

For shame!  back right let is not painted!!



Lots of projects on the way and getting started now!  Small Battlegroup: Overlord Game in the works now featuring my US Airborne troops, as well as finishing up my DAK company among other things.  Stay tuned!


8 comments:

  1. Great stuff. My OCD is very similar to yours and I feel the beast's satisfaction within...

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    1. Paul - it bothered me to no end so I had to do something about it. I was surprised that I had so many troops. Stuff like this is good every now and then - lets you know just what you have in the inventory! My fingers are sure sick of rebasing though! This is IT!!!

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  2. Nicely done Steven. A bit of OCD never hurts. "Panzer Meyer" looks top notch.

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    1. Thanks Paul - the figure was really cool and Panzer Meyer was always in the thick of things so I thought it would be a nice touch to the game!

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  3. Love the marks. The sand would wear them out on mine I think but I may give a whirl...it would suit my OCD ok, ok, ok ko,ko,ko, ok, ok, ok,

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    1. Ha Ha SRD! I think the individually based guys is good for my gaming plans. Gosh I wish I had an actual sand table to push my troops around on!
      And our OCD is a real thing! All night I'm thinking about the rest of the hordes I'm going to have to rebase....

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  4. How does that saying go? "I have CDO. It's like OCD, but all the letters are in alphabetical order, as they should be!" :-)

    Definitely looking forward to the match up. I am interested in what you had to say about "Tank War" allowing more than one tank on table as I would like to field a platoon of Sherman III along with the infantry force. I might need a bit of firepower as you may have a leadership ratings advantage!

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    1. Now where have I heard that saying before? !

      That will be a fun game - quick and easy to prepare for as well. The Tank War rules are actually pretty simple. They revolve around having a platoon leader vehicle, rules for establishing a radio net, and some evolved rules for pinning a vehicle (which I feel are optional anyways).

      Don't worry much about the leadership ratings - they're outrageously expensive in terms of points! So while I may have "Panzer Meyer" as a Veteran Major (yes I know he was a LTC but I think the highest rank you can have in BA is Major), I won't be able to have as many goodies points-wise as if I had a bunch of regulars. I'll check it out!
      You can easily field a platoon of Sherman IIIs and a platoon of infantry.

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