Pipping the Ride

So while waiting on the new paint brushes and paints I started looking at what kind of tanks I want to use with my Tank Rider Platoon, and the Soviets offer so many.  I was not sure if I wanted to go with 1943 to the end of the war, or instead do from the spring/summer of 1944 to VE Day. For reasons that will soon become clear I went with the latter.

The Soviets have many options including Lend Lease Shermans and Valentines. I did not go with that option as I have neither spare vehicles to use and if I had Sherman tanks they would be used by the British. 

The other Ruskie  options are more interesting and include:

Assault Guns ISU122/152 and the SU 100/122/152
Heavy Tanks including the IS-2
Medium Tanks T34/85
Light Tank like the T-70
APC and Carriers such as the M3, White Scout Car and Universal Carriers

Of these I lean a little to the Assault Guns and T-34/85. Both are famous for action in the east and latter the Middle East and Africa, positive points for me. I also like the White Scout Car and Carriers for similar reasons; and none of this will effect my military budget as I have all of this in house.

IS-2
T-34/85
SU-152 (A great door opener)
ISU-122/152 (An even better door opener.)
White Scout Cars
Universial Carriers built and painted

The winner for me is the SU-152 or ISU-122/152 as I had models of these as a kid but I will try to build them all.

So any thoughts of the best choices for the Soviets in Cain of Command?

State of My Forces

Well it has been too long but family and health got in the way, so what have I been up to? Well not a lot Been prioritizing my painting table and have cleared off a lot including several feet of trenches and several Polish vehicles.

Polish Vehicles from Gaming Models

But first, the question I posted, what am I working on? Well I said it was the smallest platoon in the books and it was from Chain of Command. The answer that no one got was, a Soviet Tank Rider platoon, with an attached Maxim MMG and a scout squad. A force with a great deal of firer power but short on men. All based and waiting on primer.

So what is the current state of my 2017 projects, well in general doing well.

Poland 1939
I have a platoon for the 10th Cavalry Brigade cleaned and ready for bases. Also finished off seven vehicles.

Britain SeaLion
Finished off additional troops for the LDV platoon and a Mark VI. I have additional early war vehicles cleaned and ready for primer.

Britain 1944-45
Finished off both an airborne and a motor platoon as well as carriers, Churchill w/spigot and a 57mm anti tank gun. Also ran four games of the von Luck Campaign. We are up to the third table.

So painting is better than last year and I hope to beat what I did in 2015. I will be ok as long as I do not start any new projects. What could possibly go wrong?

Dover Patrol

When we think of the Great War and naval engagements we often think of the great naval battles such as Jutland or German submariners in the Atlantic. Yet much of the real war was fought on pre-dreadnoughts and smaller vessels like destroyers and coasters.

Here we have a book and podcast looking at the war up close with the Dover Patrol. With ships that were very important but not at Scapa Flow. A period I have not yet gamed but is very interesting.

Here is a link to the podcast about this book.

Blogger Stats

I have no idea what happened since the beginning of the year. My numbers went from 20 to 50 a day with 100 or so being reached with a little work to 400 and 500 with no work. My itemized statistics also did not link you with these enlarged numbers and than on the 19th of May it came back down.

Now why am I not complaining about the depressed stats, well the higher numbers were not real. Oh and they were coming from Russia. I wonder if I will now be called before the US Senate Intelligence Committee?

I'm Back

Well for the last month of so I was ill and even unable to use my laptop. Yes that is crazy hard for even me to get my head around, so I worked on future posts using my moleskin journals.

So before I do my first post for June I want to offer one last clue on my secret project. The winner will receive either a $10 TOOFATLardies gift certificate or $10 from Gaming Models. Your choice. Last clue is this picture. We already determined is was a new period or front for me, part of the official TOOFATLardies canon and lastly was one of the smallest platoon for this or any army for Chain of Command. Guesses for the prize will end on June 22nd.




Now to my new post.

OK we all know Jon has a thing for the FT-17. I have several, including two on my painting bench from Gaming Models. It is not fast or even powerful, but was the basis for all tank designs going forward to the present time. Unfortunately there is not a great deal written about this important engineered vehicle. I have an old Osprey and a Profile piece but they are dated and do have errors.  Most of the current materials are best found on museum sites often in French, funny how that happens.

So why do I keep this around, well it is like an old friend that I want to keep, in this case in my gaming library. Do others out there have similar books we keep for reference or other reasons, even though they are well past their sell by date?

This book covers the early development and use of the Renault FT in World War I and how it was the basis for tank designs and used directly by most of the worlds armed forces, US, France, Poland Japan and the Soviet Union all used it. Soviets copied it, the US sold it to Canada in early World War II as a training vehicle. Even the US used it on the battlefield at Gettysburg and against its own citizens in Washington DC.

It was active with the Poles in the Russo Polish War and in Case White against the Germans. Add in South America, North Africa, German airfield defense and anti-partizan operations and this slim volume covers a lot.

Thirty years latter this slim volume does hold up well, warts and all. Some of the paint schemes are suspect but I still love it. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Books

There are a select few books that are in my library the I do not want to live without and yesterday in a used book shop in York PA I found this, a copy of Peter Fleming's Operation Sea Lion. My original purchase of this is what got me to start my studies of this what-if campaign. The connection to James Bond and that this was a book written before the release of the British knowledge from signal intelligence only came latter. I was young.

My initial copy was found in a used book shop in Ferndale California back in 1986. My new copy was bought for the sole purpose of it having an intact book jacket. Yes I do love this book that much.

Do you have similar books you love?

Battle in the Snow

Before to much more time passes I do want to report on the game played at the club in March. This was a game based on the Skirmish Campaign book for the Winter War that was moved over to Chain of Command. In this I was the over all Soviet Commander (never a good thing) with a partner launching an assault on a fortified reactionary Finish village and amazing of all the plan almost worked.

With the burning buildings acting as an obstruction I held the middle and our open right flank, while my comrade was to support the middle  assault and swing through the woods on my left.

With our Maxim holding the Fins in their trenches on the right and center my first squad headed forward around the buildings towards the capitalist held trenches.

Then the plan started to come apart.

The squad leader on my left was lacking in revolutionary spirit and told me he did not want to leave the woods as, and I quote, "I might get shot". If I had a commissar available he would have been. So with time running away I bounded for the trenches and with quick work and several fallen for the Motherland we took the trenches. As we needed to move on quickly and my coward of comrade still refusing to leave the woods I rolled the dice and came up short by about three inches from leaving the table and winning. I was than halted by the remains of the Fins in a counter attack and them winning two back to back initiatives. In that moment I lost the rest of my troops.

Oh so close to a win...

It was a fun game and well balanced but I can only hope the commander on my left met one of those fine members from the NKVD.