AHPC8 Submissions - almost there!

My weekly submission on the heavier elements of my DAK force, and the Childhood Bonus theme round.

DAK Pz IIIs and Transports (82 points)

Building upon my Recon vehicles and light tanks of last week, this week I focused on heavier armour and transports. While there was a number of Pz IVs and long barrelled Pz IV specials, the Pz III was always the most numerous armoured fighting vehicle of the Africa Korps. Here I present two platoons (Battlegroup uses them in 3s): 3 are metal Battlefront and 3 are plastic PSC, which gives some good variation between the hulls.

In 1941 the Panzergrenadier units had not yet formed and the majority of Infantry were truck mounted Shutzen units. And trucks are just handy in general for the desert, so here are 5 of them in an assortment of colours. Resin models by Forged in Battle.

Rounding out today's submission are a pair of Horsch heavy cars, very useful as staff vehicles and for towing light field and AT guns (though I have yet to assemble those). Again these are Forged in Battle resin models.

These 13 vehicles and 2 drivers net me 78 + 4 = 82 

http://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/paul-og-dak-pz-iiis-and-transports-82.html

'Childhood' Bonus Round: Two Little Boys

Rolf Harris has been a famous Australian entertainer for many decades (lets just forget about his more recent issues shall we?). While I would not say I am a big fan of his, his song "Two Little Boys" has always appealed to me.

Broadly, its a song about two men who played war together as lads and when they grow up they  look after each other on the battlefield when one of them in wounded. For those with a few minutes, here is the song in full:

When I saw these Downed Luftwaffe crewmen by Wargames foundry six months ago I thought of that song but never got around to painting them, so they seemed perfect for this Bonus round.  Here are my 28mm version of Two Little Boys (or "Zwei Kleine Jungen" I suppose!)

2 x 28mm figs = 10 points + bonus round

http://analogue-hobbies-theme-rounds.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/childhood-from-paulog-two-little-boys.html

Together, these entries push me past my original 500 point goal and almost touch my stretched 600 point line - the next bonus round will take me over nicely! Which is hardly as I'm of to sea tomorrow and likely wont get anything more done before AHPC8 finishes.

Second 1941 Desert action

Yesterday saw another swirling Battlegroup Tobruk clash between John's and my combined Axis force and Alan's British. The Axis force included some lighter DAK elements and a column of John's lovely Italian M13 tankettes.  We used the Flank Attack scenario and all of these units have been painted in the past fortnight by all 3 players, which is rather remarkable!

Opening moves - Axis advice from the bottom and right hand side against light Allied recon elements

Detachment from 5th Leicht Division lead the advance with motorcycle borne Bersaglieri mortarmen 

...while Armoured cars scout out the right flank

With the setting sun in the enemy eyes, the Axis forces advance!

LRDG lurkers behind the lines (this one was painted by Patch)

First blood to the Germans as a 222's Autocannon finds the range on a Universal Carrier!

Laagered up to capture the objective, but heavier British Armour is threatening!

Italian tankettes arrive and swirling mayhem ensues!

British Humber in defile position opens up...

...but is flamed by a 222 in return!

The Crusaders advance...

...under the careful scrutiny of their Commander!

Looking a little grim for the Germans. The 8rad on the right was particularly resilient against repeated Crusader salvoes to hold the position and the objective

Well sighted and timed British 25 pdrs and mortars find the range,  distrusting the Axis rear and punching through the soft turret armour of the M13s

The LRDG patrol beat a hasty retreat from a menacing and all powerful advance of a Panzer I !

But nothing can escape! One for the history books - a Pz I kill!

At this point (and with playing time running out) I jumped the 222s onto the last objective to claim the "all objectives held" victory. It was a little gamey to be honest but at least it gave our scrap a conclusive ending. Another turn or two and I think Alan's heavier tanks would have rolled us off the table rather conclusively. It did, however, show the utility of light and agile forces flexible employed across a big area and able to reinforce one another.

Alan bows before the might of the Ariete Division's tankettes!

The scenario also showed the flexibility and relative lethality of autocannons in the early war period where much is lightly armoured and tank main guns are modest (typically well under 50mm).

First Battlegroup Tobruk clash

After much anticipation (and model building), last week saw our first run out of Battlegroup Tobruk with Alan pitting his new 8th Army Armoured force against John's Ariete Division. It was awesome to get the new toys onto the table and fight in a new theatre of operations.

Alan's fantastic Crusader II cruiser tanks

The battle was a swirling melee in which the Italian tankettes performed beyond all expectation (assisted greatly by some appalling British dice results) - predominantly this was by firing to pin and then taking the stationary target under aimed fire.  Penetration was rare but even a glaring shot caused a morale check and Alan's propensity for rolling low saw a number of crews abandon their vehicles.

The Generals prepare for battle!

Of interest was our experiment with rules for direct fire smoke - a common tactic of CS tanks which would fire smoke onto a target to enable friendly forces to advance.  We did this as area fire, the result of which only allows the target to conduct area fire in return.  Quick, uncomplex and worked well.

Avanti!

In the end, the brave little trio of M13s were dispatched by Alan's last (!) pair of Crusaders cunningly using a reaction move over a hill crest and then taking under fire at close range. At this stage the game was called as the infantry heavy Italians had no residual AT capability and were forced to withdraw from their defensive position.

It was a fun first foray into the Western Desert and very inspiring for m to get my DAK in a playable position, which I have done and am off this afternoon for their first tabletop appearance!

Painting Challenge - DAK Light Forces and and Orc Drummer

Its been a busy few weeks with work travel etc so my pace of AHPC8 submissions has slowed.  Nice to get a few in this week after a bit of a dry spell.  Here they are:

15mm DAK

Last week Alan unveiled the start of his 8th Army project for Battlegroup Tobruk with some fantastic Crusader II tanks - some of his best work in 15mm IMHO (and I've seen most of it at some point).  This week I present the start of my corresponding DAK project:

Appropriately leading this modelling push are the Recon and Light elements of the Army.  While my full army is a mix of manufacturers, these are all Battlefront models and I've enjoyed personalising each of them.  Unfortunately, I also painted them like I would 28mm vehicles with a silly number of washes and layers.  Accordingly, they took way too long to finish but I do love their veteran, desert worn look.

Leading this week's submission is a quartet of iconic Sd Kfz 222s, and I have done some alternate turrets for them as well to enable all the force options.

For heavier Recon tasks is this pair of 8 rads:

My Light Panzer element is a reinforced platoon of four Pz IIs and a Pz I (so cute!):

Forgot to do the Platoon Commander figure! One for next week's batch

And finally, a cracking little PzJg I which adds some modest AT firepower to this screening force.  Not a monster killer but it will keep Alan's Daimler Dingos and Universal Carriers pause for thought.

My next DAK focus will heavier Pz IIIs but for now that's twelve 15mm vehicles (and a couple of extra turrets) for 72 points. 

Challenge entry is here: From Paul OG: Africa Korps Recon and Light Panzers (72 points)

'Music/Musician' Bonus Round

My entry went through a range of challenges from missing models to me mucking up an order and not getting the figure I wanted  Then Marty from the club gave me this...

This Orc War drummer was produced by a small Australian company called Inquisition miniatures in the mid 80s.  In those pre-internet days they didn't get out of the Aussie market much and once GW found out about their imitative sculpting style the IP alarms went off. Inquisition no longer trades and hasn't done for a long time.

Anyway, I bought this figure as a young teenager and half painted it. It was then one of those minis I would seem to find everywhere, feel guilty about not finishing and then loose it again only to be haunted by it again a week or two later. This continued until it was lost to antiquity when I moved out of home several years later.  My gaming club mate Marty was offloading some old figs recently and gave me this, which I immediately recognised.  So here, a couple of decades late, is my completed Inquisition Miniatures Orc Drummer!

See the entry here: 

https://analogue-hobbies-theme-rounds.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/musicmusician-from-paulog-orc-war.html

-----

We are now well past the half way mark of AHPC 8 and these entries take me almost to my target of point 500 target.  I have more work travel coming but will stretch my goal to 600.

Battlegroup Barbarossa Campaign - Counterattack at Rozrazh

Last week saw the first battle of what is looking like a brutal Day 3 in our BG Barbarossa campaign.  The first engagement would be a Russian counterattack on the German force at Rozrazh - this was a blocking force to protect the rear of the German bridging effort. This was the first the first time the Russians had taken the offensive in our campaign and they would attack with a 2:1 advantage in numbers!

For this game I took a mixed approach with two platoons of infantry (no transport is allowed under the 1941 Rifle Division lists), two platoons of light tanks, my favourite T-26 heavy tank, two heavy mortar batteries and a timed artillery barrage to try and pin the defenders while the Red Tide closed their defensive positions.  The extra mortars, while effective from a Psyops perspective against Alan, were a dull selection and I never had the orders to use them even if Alan hadn't been hunting down my observers with emplaced MMGs (which was very effective BTW).

Looking at the terrain, I decided to focus the main effort of the attack up the right flank with a secondary armoured effort in the centre to stop the Germans from adjusting their defences.

My lead infantry platoon pushes hard against the German AT gun in the house, taking flanking fire from the hill

They make it and destroy the gun crew in a close assault

With the AT defences in this side KOed, the first tank Platoon moves up and starts to supress the Germans on the Hill 

And in the centre the tank reinforcement start to neutralise the enemy

FLASH MESSAGE TO DIVISION COMMANDER

DAWN COUNTERATTACK ON GERMAN POSITION AT ROZRAZH SUCCESSFUL
HEAVY CASUALTIES INFLICTED BEFORE REMAINING ENEMY INFANTRY WERE WITHDRAWN FROM THE HEIGHTS BY MOTORISED TRANSPORT.  POSITION NOW OCCUPIED BY RED ARMY ELEMENTS AND PREPARING TO DEFEND AGAINST ENEMY COUNTERATTACK. THE FASCIST INVADER HAS FELT THE WRATH OF THE MOTHERLAND!

END MESSAGE