A Career In Korea 1

With Christmas and New Year consigned to the dustbin I was at something of a loose end. So, I went exploring and I found yet another abandoned project in another forgotten cupboard. This project must have happened around 2010 and the 60th Anniversary of The Korean War. A quick look at the bookshelves confirmed my possession of Max Hasting's book The Korean War and a number of films which are set in that war. The Hunters, The Bridges At Toko-Ri, Pork Chop Hill and my favourite: A Hill In Korea.

All of the films tell good stories with believable characters. They are also full of wargaming suggestions, possibilities and ideas. Noteworthy is the 'friendly fire' incident in A Hill in Korea.

Anyway back to my find. First onto the bench was a box of IMEX 1/72 Chinese PLA troops. The box contains a large number of dead, dying or surrendering figures. I decided that most of them would be found work in the ranks. Three became machine gun loaders, one became a political officer and one was given a rifle and placed in a rifle platoon.The remaining three dead were turned into disordered/pinned markers for Crossfire.

Once painted and based I organised the toys into a PLA infantry company based and organised for the Crossfire rule-set.I found this site invaluable: Steve's Balagan. Light on heavy weapons but with plenty of man-power for the human-wave assault. The first platoon is armed with SMGs, A/T Bombers and LMG. The other three platoons are rifle armed with supporting LMG. From what I can gather the Chinese used a massive variety of weapons including kit left over from WW2 especially Japanese stuff.

Here are the toys:

2nd Company

Company HQ 1

Company HQ 2

1st Platoon/ 2nd Company 1

1st Platoon/2nd Company 2

2nd Platoon/2nd Company

Note the A/T grenades and petrol bombs!

3rd Platoon/2nd Company

4th Platoon/2nd Company

Close-up Company CO & Political Officer

Note Politically Conscious Bugle Boy of Chinese People's Volunteers in Korea.

Pinned Markers

Next on the bench: freedom loving RoK troops. (Still WIP I'm afraid)

All the best!

PS Welcome to newest blog follower Baconfat. I've had a look at his blog and, well, WOW!

End of 2012.....

Goodbyeeeeeeeee!

.....And the beginning of 2013 beckons. I've had a relatively good year after losing my wargaming mojo completely. Setting up the blog has been instrumental in this. Photographing and writing up the projects has given me new impetus as well as an insight into the thinking of others' via their own blogs.

I've enjoyed building my two 54mm FLW armies, especially since the Anahuacan one started life as a Villista army for a Mexican Revolution project. My favourite is the Tarbooshian Army with all its contradictions and impossibilities. All made possible by the fantastic nature of FLW.

On other fronts I've re-activated two 28mm projects. One based around the movie Underworld and the other around 1970s Cops & Robbers. I've enjoyed the detailing of these figures after so much, equally enjoyable, toy-soldier style paint jobs.

I want to play more games and visit more wargames events in 2013. I've managed one game only this year: a 1/72 scale Crossfire one and that simply will not do!

This is also the first anniversary of me starting swing-dancing. I wish I'd done it sooner but I didn't. That said it remains the best fun you can have with your kit on. I get to dress smartly in a 1940s style and dance with the most amazingly beautiful and stylish ladies too.

And there was cake.

To conclude. Thank you for your support, advice and guidance since late August 2012 and I wish you all a happy 2013 and a bright future too!

All the best

More Buildings......

.....what I'd forgot I'd done. Cleaning out long neglected cupboards is recommended for the treaure they can reveal. I made these for a long dormant plan to use toys to play a 'Stalingrad' type game. As usual the intial burst of feverish enthusiasm, collection and painting of toys, research and development was followed by a slide into torpor and eventual evaporation of the will to continue. At least this time I didn't either bin or charity shop them. Phew!

All buildings are impressions and are scaled to 1/72 (20mm) but you could use 15mm or smaller scales to be honest. The buildings are made from plastic card, foam core & coffee strirrers. The brick rubble is budgie grit and foam-core chunks glued and sealed with pva and then painted. The fallen beams are either coffee stirrers or match-sticks I split in random fashion and then set on fire to produce the charred ends. The mesh in the windows is that aluminium car repair mesh from Halfords. The girders are plastic ones from a model shop.The broken pipes are drinking straws. I made the shell strikes in the walls by digging them out of the foam-core with a craft knife and a heated-needle-in-a-cork device. The buildings' walls were coated with pva and sanded prior to painting in a uniform grey. I went for grey to reflect the utter misery of the Stalingrad battle for those involved.

A GUM Department Store

A Volgograd Tractor Factory

A Barrikady Factory

I can recommend Anthony Beevor's book Stalingrad as an excellent history of the battle. My favourite quote is of the Soviet Officer bellowing at German POWs as they marched into captivity:

You see this? You see this! This is what Berlin's going to look like!

Apparently he made it to Berlin and survived the war.

URRAH!

Crossfire Battle Report: Outskirts of Menton 23rd June 1940

On 10th June 1940 Italy declared war on an already embattled France. I believe the Italians thought the French would be a pushover given what was going on further north. The Italian Invasion of France is chock full of wargaming possibilities on land, at sea and in the air. One encounter took place at the Riviera town of Menton where the French stopped the Italian advance in its tracks. This was the obvious choice for an encounter battle game with the toys.

But, not having much in the way of detail, orbats etc I just made something up for my solo game tonight. One thing I did discover that rather like Les Poilus or The Tommies the collective name for Italian soldiers is I Marmattoni after the big cooking pots they used.

Using Crossfire rules and 1/72 scale toys the Italian objective is to secure the built-up area. The Italian air force and navy have already bombed and shelled the BUA which is assumed now to be deserted. According to Italian intelligence reports taking the place will be like a walk in the park. Because of this there are no aircraft or fire missions available. To secure and hold the BUA the Italian CO has:

2 x rifle companies each of 3 rifle platoons

1 x HMG

1 x 45mm Mortar

I Marmittoni Left View

I Marmittoni Right View

The French briefing is to hold and secure as much of Le Patrie as possible whilst inflicting maximum casualties on the invaders. Following the Italian bombardment the local French commander was able to infiltrate a company of infantry into the ruins.

1 x Rifle company of 4 platoons

1 x Light mortar

2 x HMG

1 x Forward Observer with 4 fire missions

Les Poilus Front

Les Poilus Side-ish

The Battlefield

Les Poilus can be seen either occupying buildings or moving under cover.

French Infantry

French HMGs cover the town square

Les Poilus have barely set up when the first Italians stroll nonchalantly into the town square.......fortunately for the Italians their company commander and HMG have taken cover in a ruin to the right of the advancing platoon. A second Italian platoon moves into the unoccupied block of flats in the bottom RH corner of the pic below.

French HMGs open fire!

The Italians in the open were cut to bits. But their wiser comrades managed to lay a smokescreen with the 45mm mortar; cross the square and close assault the French HMG in the centre. 

Simultaneously the Italian platoon in the flats charged across the gap and assaulted the HMG on the right. They killed both HMGs and occupied the buildings. 

The French CO then displayed how to grip the battle. Using his light mortar to lay a smokescreen between the two Italian occupied buildings he unleashed a platoon-sized attack onto the Italians. Savage hand-to-hand fighting with grenades lobbed about caused casualties on both sides. The French stuck to the task longest and forced the surviving Italians to surrender.

The French FOO had not been idle. He was positioned in an apartment block in the town centre and had observed the Italian movements and had zeroed in his artillery missions with skill. Timed to coincide with the French platoon's attack he called in the good news. You can see the smoke and explosions wracking the buildings in the centre of this photograph. Given their already shattering losses from the French ambush, assault and artillery those Italians who could do so surrendered while those who had an escape route available took it. 

The real campaign was a complete debacle for Italian arms. This is a shame because given competent leadership Italian troops could and did fight with skill and bravery.

Hello and welcome to new blog follower Kaptain Kobold. His blog's fab; don't take my word for it, go and have a look!

All the best!