Friday, August 8, 2014

Soviet Infantry at Kursk

Kursk conjures up images of swirling, days-long tank battles but there were hundreds of small infantry actions that were fought during the legendary Operation Zitadelle.  German Infantry clawed their way through Soviet strong-points held by determined and stubborn battalions.

Here is my Soviet 1st Platoon, based for Battlegroup: Kursk, and Rapid Fire among other games.  About 3/4 of these troopers were originally painted and based for Crossfire on 1 1/4" square stands.  I figured I could still play Crossfire with them in their current configuration.  They will also make for a "tidier" Flames of War battlefield if I should decide to play it - I would just have to accept the degradation in figure numbers (about 50% less per platoon).  I'm okay with it...

Platoon Picture Day
 Figures are a mix of Command Decision, Battlefront, and a few Peter Pig thrown in for good measure.  Oh and I can't forget Plastic Soldier Company either...
tough as nails Soviet squad.  The varying uniform colors are intentional.

A far cry from the ragged, pitiful battalions who broke so easily in 1941....



In Battlegroup: Kursk Soviet support options are plentiful.  Here is my MMG team.

82mm mortar stand.  Should somebody tell Ivan he's trying to load a 120mm mortar round into that tube? 



Platoon Command Team and Mortar Spotter.  Lieutenant Ivanovich leads his men into action!


80% completed NKVD Crew....you don't want to run into these fellows on the battlefield.  

Still another platoon to finish basing and a few support elements to finish painting along with the Company Command Stand and I will have a much larger unit for upcoming Battlegroup: Kursk games, or some other games like Panzerfaust: Armored Fist, Schwere Kompanie, Crossfire, etc.

The rest of my Soviets.  I still have another platoon to finish basing, and another platoon to paint up!  Can you see that German and Soviet armor in the background also?
 And just because I had my camera laying around:
Fresh volunteers for the Summer of Horse and Musket!  A product of my re-basing schemes.  3 British Battalions, followed by a SYW Austrian and a SYW Prussian Battalion.  

4 comments:

  1. Great stuff! Nothing says Soviet like waves of infantry supporting a swarm of T-34s!

    I find the NKVD to be an essential choice for upping the BR of any Russkie force.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Paul! I am anxious to get those NKVD guys on the table and see how they do. To date, I have not played many larger games with any forward HQs units.

      You gotta love attacking on the table with the Soviets in any game! I love horde armies!

      Delete
  2. Nicely painted platoon - the mix of different manufactures works well.

    Cheers
    Dan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Dan! The battlefront and peter pig seem to work well. The PSC guys are a tad on the skinny side so I've tried to give them all their own bases.

      Delete