Soviets vs Germans Spring 1945

 

So after watching a few videos of All Minatures Great and Small, I decided to run a game on my painting table with a Soviet force against a German force.

The Soviets came on woth an IS-2 battalion a T-34/85 battalion, an SU-100 company, and Scout car company, 76mm gun platoon, an SU-122mm gun battery, a rocket battery

Against 

Tiger 1 platoon

Panzer IV platoon

A Panther

A Scout car platoon 

A mortar platoon

A Panzergrenadier platoon with 251

An MG42 platoon

The Soviets advanced on the German town which was in ruins. The Soviets advanced without infantry. This would prove to be a fatal error.

The first probe by the Russians sent theor Scout cars in to see who would fire on them. Followed by the T-34/85 battalion. The Germans replied with their Panzer IVs and used their infantry to swarm the tanks. While this led to severe casualties on the Germans, it ground down the Russians. Despite a last charge by the IS-2 to try and flank the last Tigers, the German Scout platoon rushed ahead and eliminated the Soviet artillery. The final Soviet IS-2 platoon were swarmed by Germans. Amazing that the Germans beat back the Russians.

They need infantry

Grampies war: the human cost.

Every community big or small in Canada has monuments to their war dead.

Noel has a particular poinent one.

The Harvie family sent 8 of their sons off to war.

6 came home. 2 didn't. One buried in the Netherlands the other in the UK.

This monument pays tribute to this family.

It dwarfs the more famous Sullivan family or the story of the film Saving Private Ryan.

This family lost more members than any other in ALL of North America.

And they all came from the very small community of Noel. 

8!

The mother relieved the Silver Cross.

Small comfort for such a sacrifice. 

Lest we Forget.

 

 

Soviet Cards

 

My Soviets now have cards for their units. So i now have the stats for my Rocket, Scout car, Valentine tanks 

Battle for Berlin 1945

 So I got myself an early birthday present. The Italeri Reichstag battle set.

Sure it was 165.00, but it's something that I can afford and do up.

Fallcimjager

 Well I've gotten most of the German Paras mounted. I just need to get them printed.

6th Airborne weapons companies

 

Panzer IV with side skirts

 A few more tanks i got in trade which shall get some much needed paint.

Panther

 One of the tanks i was able to acquire in trade in the box of kits was a lone Panther.

I've gotten a basic colour on it but I'll be doing my usual North-west Europe camoflauged scheme on it.

Now the Panther was the German answer to the T-34/85. The tank had sloped armour and a 75mm gun. 

This Panther is in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa

In time, I shall have a full platoon of these.

I have in 1/72 

17/21 Lancers with the Valentine tank

 As part of my Christmas presents to myself I was able to get a troop of Valentine tanks.

I got some paint on them to get them pictured. Just need to do on a day off.

Valentines

Early Valentines

They did what they could but these tanks were really unable to go up against the Afrika Korps.  But I'll see what happens on a table

Afrika Korps

 

The Ballantines series came out over 50 years ago. This particular copy was published in 1968.

My Dad collected about 2 dozen volumes of the series and over the years I have looked at but never really read most of them.

Their style is very reminiscent of the contemporary Osprey publishing MAA series which began about the same time. 

So over the next little while, I shall be looking at these and seeing how I can adapt the information to my Wargames 

Operation Bagration

 Happy 2025! Over the holidays I had a HUGE increase in my 15mm collection thanks to a fellow collector who via trade and cash, I got around 100 vehicles, plus their spare bits which may mean I can scratch build more.

My Soviet force now contains:

12 IS-2 tanks! So 2 tanks per company i have 5 giving 1 company 3 so that I have 1 HQ.

7 T-34/85 a HQ company and 2 companies of 3.

A T-34/76 HQ

5 SU-100 as 1 company

2 ISU-52 SP guns as 1 company

2 76mm gun battery a half battery 

2 57mm Anti-tank battery a half battery 

4 122mm battery a full battery 

A Guards Rocket mortar truck. 

A BA-64 company of 2 cars (Needs another)

A company of Valentine tanks ( drafted in from 8th Army 5x 6pdr armed

12c trucks 

A KV-1 tank

(Needs infantry)