A VBCW adventure

This time we'll look at the German forces.  Firstly the rifle platoon; Platoon commander Medic - vet SS squad - 5 man, vet, 5x assault rifles  SS squad - 5 man, vet, 5x assault rifles  Heer Vet Grenadiers - 6 man, vet, 2x LMG Volksgrenadier - inexperienced, 5 man Sd.Kfz 251/1 Half-track 'Hanomag' - vet A lot of veteran bodies here. The main focus of the army is to be a SS Veteran force of small, mobile, hard hitting units. There is the Volksgrenadiers, but these are here for objective holding and to add some extra bodies to the army. The Hanomag is there to transport the SS units around to keep them alive as they move in to position. The armoured platoon is similarly veteran; Tiger 1 - vet, command vehicle Puma - Vet The Tiger is an expensive model but is also a tough hard hitting unit. The Puma is fast and can hit pretty hard itself. Lastly we have the Heavy Weapons platoon; Platoon commander  MMG - vet Mortar - vet, spotter Here we have the ubiquitous MMG and Morta...

After a couple of posts about the Italians, I thought I should put some posts up about the armies it will be fighting. So we'll start with the British forces. For the ever important rifle platoon we have; Platoon commander Medic Forward Observer Infantry section - 10 man, LMG Infantry section - 10 man, LMG Infantry section - 10 man, LMG Infantry section - 5 man, 3x SMG, LMG Bren carrier - LMG All of them are regular, giving this army a very standard feel to it. The five man squad will go in the bren carrier to add some speed to the army. The heavy weapons platoon is busier than most of the armies, with; Platoon commander MMG Mortar Mortar The mortars don't have spotters, relying on the Forward Observer to act as a spotter, meaning that these can stay relatively hidden at the back, although a spotter or two could be a useful addition to the army. The Artillery platoon is very focused; Platoon commander  AT Gun - medium Not the best option, especially for heavier armour but for m...

 Ok, so I did a thing eBay is a dangerous place! I was having a look around and spotted what I thought was a Bolt Action Italian army sprue going for just a couple of quid. So I stuck a bid on and waited. Just a couple of hours before the end of the auction I was out bid, so I did the sensible thing and stuck another bit on. So I ended up winning with a 12 pound bid, which is the same as the base cost from the sprue shop (although they are on sale at time of posting) . Turns out that it wasn't a sprue. It was a whole box, so bargain! Bolt Action sprue Vs Wargames Atlantic sprue This now ment that I had an additional 30 bodies to add to the 38 that I already had! What I'm going to do with them I don't know! I'm sure I'll figure something out, but for now some of them are least will be put in to storage waiting to see what happens with the future Italian army book. Wargames Atlantic sprue Bolt Action sprue  There are some differences between the two sprues, with less ...

 I thought that I would go through my Italian list that in posted up last week and tell you what my thoughts are. Starting with the base Rifle Platoon, forming the core of the army, as it should. There is a Lt with attendant, to help keep the Lt alive a bit longer plus two 5 man Paracadutisti squads each with SMG's and a couple of Panzerfausts. These are for closing down the enemy plus helping to deal with any armour, as the Italians don't have much in the way for good anti-armour. These units are backed up by a full squad of Infantry and a 5 man squad of Bersaglieri with two LMG's for some anti-infantry fire support. To support these units there will be a sniper, and AT rifle and a Light Mortar, thanks to the Bolt Action infantry support box.  Out of this platoon, the main elements that may well change are the support units. The Sniper team will probably remain as I can build one of these from the base infantry box, but the light mortar and AT rifle will need to be sourced...

As promised here is my current Italian list, I guarantee it will change, as I'm reconsidering some of the options. Rifle platoon Platoon commander - attendant - 40 Bersaglieri - 2x LMG - 95 Infantry - 11, LMG - 125 Paracadutisti - 5x SMG, 2x Panzerfaust - 120 Paracadutisti - 5x SMG, 2x Panzerfaust - 120 Sniper - 67 AT Rifle - 25 Light Mortar - 30 Heavy Weapons Platoon Platoon commander - 30 MMG - 50 MMG - 50 Armoured Platoon Semovente - 90/53, command vehicle - 185 Medium Tank - P26/40 - 185 Artillery Platoon Platoon commander - inexperienced - 21 Howitzer - Medium, shield, spotter - 100 Total 1243 Some of these platoons won't change, such as the Heavy Weapons Platoon or the Artillery Platoon but the Rifle and Armoured Platoons will most likely change.