Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Heroes of the Soviet Union Part 1

I present my latest platoon of Soviet Infantry based for the WRG War Games Rules Armour & Infantry 1925-1950 © 1973.  I already have 3 Soviet platoons (28mm figures) mounted on individual stands and felt like doing something retro with this group of figures. It consists of
  1.   A three man command stand
  2. Two three man LMG stands
  3. First Rifle Squad with 3 four man Rifle Teams
  4. Second Rifle Squad with 2 four man Rifle Teams and 1 four man SMG team

Command and LMG Teams
This rule set has always been a favorite of mine. I've been playing with them practically since they were first published. Over the decades I have played  with many other WW2 rule sets, and I even own a number of them. I keep coming back to this set for a quick and simple game.  

As they are based, I’d have no problem using these figures for Blitzkrieg Commander, the most recent ruleset I've purchased for this scale of game.


In my opinion the front line soldiers of the Red Army deserve the title “Heroes of the Soviet Union”. Regardless, if they were conscripted or volunteered:  they overcame frightful losses, often due to the incompetent leadership during the early war period, and later war attitudes  which allowed Soviet generals to squander thousands of lives knowing  they had the manpower and a belief at the top, that the ends justified the means.

First Squad
Without a doubt to paraphrase the Right Honourable Winston Churchill, “the Russian Armies tore the guts out of the German Army.” 

His words may be read here, in their entirety, in his report on the War Situation given to the House on August 2nd 1944.

2nd Squad lead by SMG Team

8 comments:

  1. They are a determined bunch, if ever they were. Bravo Sir.

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  2. Hi Robert,
    Those are some nice-looking troops - rough and nasty. What size bases do you use? I have my 20mm guys on 32mm x 19mm bases and they seem crowded, but your big guys don't.
    I always liked the WRG WWII rules, too, except for the slow foot movement rate. Do you use any house rules? Did you make templates for area fire, or do you handle it differently?
    Thanks and regards,
    John

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    Replies
    1. Hi John, I used 40mm square bases for these figures. Looking at them I felt that 50mm x 50mm stands were just too large. In previous postings (The Anatomy of a Small War) I have examples of 20mm WW2 Japanese Infantry on 40mm x 20mm stands for use in Blitzkrieg Commander.

      I use elements of the Armour & Infantry 1950-1985 rules. For example I like both the random chance for spotting and the move/fire options that are available.

      The other thing I've done is based my microarmour infantry as squads, capable of multiple actions, and using hit markers to reduce their effectiveness.

      And yes, I do make templates for area fire.

      Rob

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  3. Great looking troops and in 28mm too. I trust you are increasing the ground scale? I played the modern WRG for a while before moving on to Challenger. However it has been WRG for ancients all the way.

    If you ever want to try your single bases out with Chain of Command, I have the rules on order and a platoon of early Fallschirmjäger waiting to be painted. ;)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Pat,

      The ground scale is 1 inch to 25m, but I may look at 20m. I too have tried and own Challenger (and Challenger 2000) and the WW2 equivalent Firefly. On the top of my head, I also have Korps Commander, OMG, By Air and by Sea (all by Tabletop Games) Combined Arms, Spearhead and Rapid Fire.

      For single figures I have Face of Battle, but I often use Snapshot by Traveller with a rough set of Skill, and Weapon Tables. I also have used them for westerns as well. I'll keep your offer in mind for next year at Cangames. My buddies (Paul & Joseph) and I are looking at putting on some sort of game, and this might be the ticket to go with.

      Rob

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  4. Thank you gentlemen for your kind words.

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