Hotchkiss Geschutzwagen 39H - Painted

 

In an earlier couple of posts I talked through the process of prepping and printing a STL file of the Hotchkiss Geschutzwagen 39H

Printing a 15mm STL file - part 1

Printing a 15mm STL file - part 2

and after a few false starts (and repaints) I've got a camo' scheme and look that I am happy with - and now hidden behind foliage.

Need to order some figures so I can add a crew, but otherwise pleased with this. As always 15mm (1/100) printed in FDM.

Building Russian Platoons

 

Russia has three platoon types included in the CoC v2 rule book, the Rifle platoon , the SMG platoon and the Motor Rifle platoon. The first two each have 31 figures plus a sniper team (that can be a token or one or two figures) while the Motor Rifle platoon has 25 figures (with no integral sniper team)

The structure of the platoons differ and so each needs a different selection of figures to create in game, however they do include elements common to all. If each platoon is put together separately from the others a total of 89 figures is required, however if figures are used across the three platoons where possible this number can be reduced to 45 - almost half. The biggest impacts of this saving is cost and a reduction in the number of figures that have to be painted. Over time I will aim to build each platoon as free standing units not dependant on sharing figures with other platoons, but to get started I will purchase the minimum number to figures required to build the three platoons. 

Peter Pig have an extensive range of Russian WW2 infantry, and a slightly smaller range of scout (Razvedchiki) figures which provide a wide choice of figures that can be used. As far as I can tell Forged in Battle (FOB) offer a Russian platoon with a total of 40 figures in the box, and a Russian SMG platoon again with 40 figures. The latter does not include any LMG's and so is not a good fit for the CoC SMG Platoon despite the name. Flames of War (FOW) look to offer a Rifle Company (if it can be found in stock) which seems to include 135 figures (including 18 LMG's, and 54+ riflemen, along with 50mm mtr teams, anti tank rifles, Maxim MMGs and flamethrowers). Neither firm offer packs that are a good match for the CoC platoons, and so again I will stick with Peter Pig whose figures (in the main) come in packs of eight with three differing poses per pack.

Based solely on the number of figures in a pack and the poses available six packs are sufficient to create all three types of platoon. This is because the "Prone LMG" pack includes an observer figure with binoculars rather than being armed with a LMG, and so that pack will provide five or six LMGs and two or three crew figures depending on the make up of the pack. When these figures are combined with the spare leader, rifle and SMG figures there are sufficient to provide the LMG crews required. (In game these crew figures do not use their personal weapons and so it does not matter what weapon they carry). However Peter Pig offer an "Observation Team" pack with four crackin' poses, and so I can't help but add that to the mix. This means seven packs will provide 56 figures, of which 11 will be redundant. I can live with that as I always find it handy to have spare figures knocking around as they will likely help man heavy weapons when I get hold of them as well as be the basis for the required sniper team. While all this might seem a bit anal (hey we are all wargamers here) I find it helps me determine what figures to order and avoids the frustration of being a figure or two short.

Pack 623 - Russian NCOs

Pack 638 - LMGs Prone

Pack 644 - Observation Team

Pack 625 - Russian rifles advancing

Pack 627 - Russian kneeling rifles pausing

Pack 621- Russians advancing under fire.  SMG

Pack 662 - SMGs pausing

All photos from the Peter Pig website

The seven packs mean that I will have a total of 56 figures, with no figure being duplicated more than three times which really helps with the aesthetic when on the table. I have deliberately chosen one advancing pack and one kneeling pack for both the rifle and SMG figures as this allows greater flexibility for how the figures are used. The advancing figures will be the bulk of the rifle and SMG teams, while the kneeling figures can be used with the prone LMG teams as crew, as snipers or other specialist roles. Its just a shame that I can't bring myself to mix infantry and Razvedchiki in the same platoon as I do fancy painting some amoeba camouflage. 

What makes Chain of Command so special - Part Three

 

Historically based - Platoons & Doctrine

Infantry platoons are the core fighting force in game, which each side fielding one platoon. (The exception being Big CoC which I'll look at  another time as I don't yet have those rules, but my understanding is they allow for the fielding of more platoons per side). In all cases expect the US Paratrooper platoon at Normandy which only has two these platoons all have three sections, although in some cases the third section is a "heavy" or machine gun"  section and differs in structure from the other two. Regardless -  the platoon structures in game reflect very closely their historical counterparts. 

The official British infantry platoon for the period comprised of one officer and 36 other ranks.  The game platoon matches this, although the Batman and ordely are dropped from the official platoon HQ and are replaced with a two man PIAT team. The PIAT was officially held at company level to be issued to the rifle platoons at CO's discretion. We therefore end up with the following in game.

British Infantry Platoon

Plt HQ - 2x Senior Leaders

1x 2" Mtr Team (3 men)

1x PIAT team (2 men)

3x Infantry Section - comprising 1x Junior Leader, 1x Bren team (3 men) and 6x riflemen.

37 men in total with a Force Rating in game of zero. 

The German equivalent was one officer and three sections each of nine other ranks. In addition there was a Platoon Troop, consisting of two messengers, a stretcher bearer, and a horse driver and horse leader. This troop has been dropped from the game in the same way that the Batman and orderly have been dropped from the British platoon as non combatants, and so we get the following.

German Infantry Platoon

Plt HQ - 1x SL 

3x Infantry Section - comprising 1x Junior Leader, 1x MG42 team (4 men) and 5x riflemen plus a Panzerfaust that can be allocated to any man in the section.

30 men in total and so substantially fewer men than the British platoon and with no integral light mortar. Anti-tank capability is much the same with three rounds of HEAT ammunition, but these are tied one PF to each squad while the British team is independent of the sections and so can manoeuvre separately either under its own Command DR or that of a SL.

The -1 force rating for this platoon reflects that it operates at a slight disadvantage when compared to the British platoon. (The gap widens when fighting against the likes of the US Armored Rifle Platoon or late war Parachute Infantry Platoon, both of which have force ratings of +6.)

The disadvantages for the German Infantry platoon can be summed up as 

• Only one senior leader 
• No light mortar 
• Less manpower

These differences reflect the reality on the ground, the German platoon did have seven men less than its British counterpart and so would feel the impact of casualties sooner. They only had one Senior Leader who could either administer the deploying forces into combat, or lead and issue orders from the front, but could not do both in the way the British can with their two senior leaders. There was no integral light mortar and so no platoon level indirect fire (either smoke or HE)  These differences had real impact and were a result of how each nation chose to fight.

There are 15 different platoons structures in the v2 rules  (including the two US Parachute Platoon options) Each has it own nuance, and these need to be understood in order to be played well. For each force it is worth understanding their respective real world doctrine and  also what within the rules help them achieve this in game.

Doctrine  

Military Doctrine as – “a formal document that outlines how military forces should operate in a given situation"

This page  provides  a comparison between the British and German WW2 doctrines at platoon level as best this can be ascribed.  
 

In game terms this translates into a player having a thorough understanding of the rules and their impact on each nation and platoon type.

For the Germans the one support point, as a minimum, usually gained through the difference in force rating allows for the purchase of an Adjutant to offset the lack of a second Senior Leader. The National Characteristics of "Machinengewehr" and "Handgranaten!" are powerful and designed to reflect the German doctrine, and so need to be fully understood so as to be used effectively and appropriately.

For the British the realisation that using the 2" mortar to lay smoke (using the Smoke Screen national characteristic) is generally more beneficial than using HE and ties in with their doctrine of fire and manoeuvre. 

All of this results in a game which feels, at least to me, historically authentic, and reflects the strengths and weaknesses of each force and encourages and rewards use of the historical doctrine and tactics of each. I'll have a look at the American and Soviet doctrine in a future post. I am no where near an expert in any of this so let me know if you agree or I'm getting stuff wrong.

 

Part One

Part Two

This weeks reinforcements

 The Jungle Vegetable Patch is Neutral

At 15mm I find that individual pieces of table scatter can often be overlooked and lost on the tabletop due to their small size. To get around this issue I'm now building small vignettes with which I can decorate the table.  I finished the second of these this week - a second garden plot. 
Based on 2mm mdf (which I can cut to shape and size with a Stanley knife) these are designed to be modular if required.

The fence, barrels and cart are all printed in FDM from free STL files found on the web, while the crops are various types of flock, clump and static grass and tree is also scratch made from wire and artificial moss. The tree and cart are not attached to the base to ease storage. The crops have all been sealed with thinned PVA and so are nice and robust.

Both these pieces have virtually no impact on gameplay, but they help strengthen the aesthetic and that is important to me.

Table Design

Laying out a Battlefield 

The CoC rule book provides six missions, ranging from a Patrol action to a full blown Attack on an Objective, but very deliberately rather than providing a scenario map a brief précis of the suggested terrain is provided. This means that each mission can be repeatedly played with the terrain and table layout differing every time. Scenario maps are typically provided in Pint Size Campaigns as these,for the main, are recreating specific actions at known locations. 

One advantage or disadvantage of playing at 15mm, depending on your point of view, is that it allows for more terrain to be used as each terrain piece has a substantially smaller footprint than its equivalent at 28mm while still being played on the standard 6'x4' table. To my mind this allows for slightly more complex or detailed layouts. However I must admit that I find laying out a table challenging as it is difficult to know how much terrain to put down and what is an appropriate and balanced layout. 

Mission Two -The Probe

The terrain guide for this advises "This table represents one force's outpost line. The ground should be terrain typical of the region but should have a limited number of buildings which can be occupied as small observation posts and defensive positions. One or two roads may be present with tracks leading off them."

At present my terrain is predominately for the Normandy region, although I'm slowly building up pieces for the Market Garden area, and so I try and recreate something that looks vaguely Norman when laying out a table based on the numerous photos I have viewed over the years. I have no real methodology for this and first and foremost try for a natural look with a strong visual aesthetic although I generally have in mind the two sides of the table which will belong to the attacker. Once the layout is complete I always ask my opponent if he wants to move anything, although to date he's never done so.

This is the table I put together yesterday for the Probe mission, with the rear and left edges, as viewed, being the attackers potential start lines. Which edge is used and whether the attack will be along the short or long axis of the table will be determined by a die roll before the Patrol Phase is undertaken as per the mission rules.

Two hedge lined roads crossing the map in both axis, with a couple of junctions and smaller tracks, three houses and two barns, along with a small orchard and some fields. Seems to match the Mission Terrain Guide and hopefully is balanced from both the attacker and defenders perspective.

I took the opportunity to draw a rough sketch of the layout for future reference and from this created a scenario style map which will enable me to recreate it in the future. Given it can be played in four directions this offers a great deal of flexibility, and with a little tweaking it can probably be used for each of the six mission types as well, or form the basis for a brand new layout.

And now to see how it plays out.

This weeks reinforcements

 Carriers

This week sees the completion of a Universal Carrier (complete with recce team), a Loyd Carrier, and M9A1 halftrack. All are in the markings of 1st Rifle Brigade which was the motorised infantry battalion of 7th Armoured Division.  The Loyd Carrier acted as the prime mover for the 6pdr anti-tank gun.

The carrier recce team consists of a Bren gun team and a junior leader. The leader is a cut down Peter Pig figure, while the remaining three figures are made from two part putty with heads from Peter Pig. These guys can nip around the battlefield and jump out as required. 

This weeks reinforcements

 

A bit of this and bit of that.

Still working on getting all the various infantry support units completed for the British and finished off some Sappers this week. I can mix and match these figures to reflect the task(s) for which the team is being used.

And the printer has also been busy this week.

Various Flak wagons. These still need to be worked on and cleaned up a little before I can start painting them.