Sixth Shock Army

 For quite some time now, I have been hesitating (procrastinating, allowing myself to veer off onto other projects) from organising properly my World War Two Red Army into something coherent and useable. The ideas have been there, informed largely by fellow bloggers' ideas and methods. I was particularly taken with Bob Cordery's 66th Army, but wanted something a little more substantial by way of infantry units. Chris Kemp's NQM units seemed just about ideal, but in my army they stand for regiments. Single stand 'battalions' I have reserved for the Tank Brigades. At any rate, I have at last decided to lay out most - nearly, but not quite all - organised as Sixth Shock Army.

Now, in 'real life' there was no 'Sixth Shock Army'.  Their numbers went up to five.  But its was the Fifth, and its constituent formations that inspired this outfit.  Readers whose memories go back 6 years might recognise it.  The Army comprises:

8th Tank Corps:

• HQ, staffs and signals; truck, scout car, jeep
• Tank Brigades 399, 504, 511 (each with 3 tank plus 3 SMG stand)
• Infantry Brigade 47
• Field Artillery Battalion 77 (76.2 Zis3 field gun)
• Heavy Mortar Battalion 410 (122mm Mortar)
• Recon Group (jeep, T70, BA10, Su76)
• Supply columns 144 (Ammunition), 493 (Victualling), 763 (POL)

Possible attachments include a Tank Destroyer Battalion (ISU122) and a Guards Mortar Battalion with BM13 'Katyusha' rocketry. The formation and unit numbers have been made up for the most part.  The formation numbers are simply that same as that of Fifth Shock Army, plus 1. The unit numbers were found mostly by rolling 3 D10 dice, the 3 digits going green/red/white. I used a different method for allocating the numbers of the Tank and Mechanised Corps supply columns.

4th Guards Cavalry Corps:

• Guards Cavalry Regiment 7
  
• Guards Cavalry Regiment 8
  
• Light Tank Battalion 456 (T26 or T70)
  
• Field Artillery Battalion 78 (76.2mm)
  
• Tank Destroyer Battalion 569 (45mm AT gun)
• Guards Tank Destroyer Battalion 533 (Su76)
  
• Supply Columns 532 (Wagon), 616 (Pack animals), 855 (Pack Animals)   
  
  This formation is weaker than it ought to be.  The Divisions should comprise 6 elements, and a third regiment would not go amiss. I'm just short of Russian cavalry.

88th Rifle Division:

• HQ: Command, staffs, signals: jeep, truck
• 3 Rifle regiments (399, 445, 544)  each with 
  3 rifle/SMG/LMG stands
  1 MMG stand
  1 mortar or infantry gun stand
  1 anti-tank rifle (PTRD or PTRS) stand
• Artillery Battalion 279 (76.2mm field gun)
• Artillery Battalion 425 (122mm howitzer)
  
• Tank Destroyer Regiment 649 (45mm AT gun)
  
• Supply columns motorised and/or horse drawn

There are 3 other, similar, Rifle Divisions - 259th, 301st, 316th - variously supplied with motor vehicles.  Only the 88th and 301st have 122mm howitzers.

Finally...

5th Mechanised Corps:

• HQ: command, staffs signals
• Tank Brigade 606 (3 Tank + 3 SMG tank desantski)
• Mechanised Brigade 129 (6 infantry stands plus 2 trucks)
• Mechanised Brigade 222 (6 infantry stands plus 2 trucks)
• Mechanised Brigade 235 (6 infantry stands plus 2 trucks)
• Field Artillery Battalion 277 (76.2mm)
• Tank Destroyer Battalion 231 (Su76)
• Guards Mortar Battalion 12 (BM13)
  
• (attached) Guards tank Destroyer Battalion 866 (ISU152)
  
• Recon Group 
• Supply columns: 229 (Victualling), 113 (Ammo), 1615 (POL)

This is a formidable Army, but it has everything!  What I like is its balance of all arms.  The basic tank establishment is 18 AFVs.  As I don't have 18 T34s, one Mechanised and one Tank Brigade get Shermans instead - or maybe heavy tanks, depending on when in the war our battles take place.  The whole army probably won't 'go' on my small table, of course, unless I produce a 'pocket' version like the one used for the offensive against Apresski 6 years ago.  But it ought I think to 'fit' on my 6'x4' table.  More or less.

There are some 'Army Troops' to be added, mainly in the areas of heavy artillery (152mm) and heavy tanks (KV or IS tanks), plus an assault engineer column.

To be continued...

Command Decision - Battle of the Bulge action.

 

The lead German battalion columns: 2nd Panzergrenadier
leading 3rd Panzer

Last Sunday (28 March) Paul ('Jacko') and I played a Command Decision World War Two game - the first either of us have played since early in the 2000s.  Probably its the first CD game we've played together for nigh-on thirty years (where do they all go?!). We both just wanted a blow out with something a little different from what we have been doing recently on the war games front.

The table map taken from the Bastogne 
campaign booklet (GDW)

The scenario comes from the Bastogne campaign module booklet that I bought even before I got the CD rule set. This one, #9 Noville, takes place on December 19, 1944 - the fourth day of the Ardennes Offensive - Hitler's 'last gamble', or one of them. It pits elements of CCB/ 10th US Armoured Division - Team Desobry - against the better part of the whole 2nd Panzer Division. This would be an entirely one-sided battle, were it not for the ground conditions (heavy mud) and weather (beginning at 0500 - night - and a day of intermittent fog). For this I prepared some cards that, move by move, displayed the weather, and hence visibility.

Weather conditions cards for use with this
action.  

To quote the booklet:

Situation: Team Desobry of CCB/ 10th Armoured Division, is to hold the road junction at Noville, guarding the northern flank of the Bastogne perimeter. 2nd Panzer Division must break through as quickly as possible, securing the town to protect its supply lines, and press on to the west.

The battle starts at 0500 hours.

Off-Board Support, US: 420th Armoured Field Artillery Battalion (3 M7 SP howitzers)
Off-Board Support, German: None.
Weather: Intermittent Fog.
Ground Condition: Heavy Mud

US positions, early morning darkness, 19 December.

The Americans begin the action with a small battlegroup - Team Desobry - comprising tank and infantry companies from Combat Command B, 10th Armoured Division, together with an assortment of platoon-strength supports, and stragglers from 110th Infantry Regiment (26th infantry Division) and 52nd Armoured Infantry from CCR, 9th Armoured Division, in and around the village of Noville. They could expect a trickle of reinforcements later in the day, a platoon of Hellcats at midmorning with another in the late afternoon, and  in the early afternoon a whole battalion of Parachute infantry from the 506th Airborne Regiment.

View looking east.  Of course, it's being night,
this pic ought to be all-over black.

The German strength - the best part of the whole 2nd Panzer Division - was to build up throughout the morning and early afternoon, beginning with I Bn/ 2nd Panzergrenadier Regiment (motorised) and I Bn (Panthers)/ 3rd Panzer Regiment, minus two of its four companies.  To these, were added:

0700: HQ and IIBn (PzIV) 3rd Panzer Regiment 

Actually, this unit had 2 companies each of PzIV and JgPzIV, one of the former pair being engaged elsewhere.

0900: HQ, Infantry gun and Engineer Coys, plus IIBn/ 2nd Panzergrenadiers (on bicycles)

1100: HQ, 2nd Panzer Division, 38th Panzerjager Abt with 2 StuGIII and 1 PaK40 coys.

1400: HQ, IG and Engr coys plus IBn/ 304th Panzergrenadiers (gepanzert) and a third Panther Coy from I Bn/ 3rd Panzer Regiment.

Even though the panzer and armoured infantry companies were under strength, this was certainly a formidable force that the scratch assortment of Yankees were expected to face!  

I won't go into a lengthy narrative here, mainly as we got only as far as late morning and the imminent arrival of the StuGs and PaK40s.  During the late hours of darkness, the whole column, led by the panzergrenadiers in trucks moved up the road from Bourcy, via Hardigny and Rachamps.  Dismounting just beyond the last village, 1st Company carried on, followed by the 3rd, whilst 2nd Company took the road northwest to approach Vaux village over the wooded hills.  

The Panzer recon platoon accompanied the 1st PzGr Coy up to the crossroads, reaching that point just as dawn broke to a heavy mist or light fog. A M18 Hellcat platoon (C Coy/ 609th Tank Destroyer Bn) close by Noville village facing up the road towards the crossroads, caught the recon panthers in flank at less than 1000 yards, reducing then at once into wreckage. Spotting the Shermans on the hill, the following panthers, with some fine shooting, knocked out two platoons' worth just before the fog thickened and, reducing the visibility to 100 yards, obscured the enemy from view.

An attempt by 1st PzGr Coy to carry the hill was met by a hot fire from beyond that caused heavy casualties. My Command Decision set being the First Edition and lacking the casualty tokens, I have added a set of coloured counters to the mix, green, yellow, red, in turn signifying the number of hits received.  Red places a stand at hazard of elimination at the next hit. So from the picture above, you can see that the three-stand company (1st) has been badly knocked about, whilst 3rd Company to their right has taken by light casualties so far.  Almost out of the picture, 2nd Company has also taken slight losses as they approach the undefended Vaux village.  (Actually, I started with yellow, but, as they were veteran ought to have with green.  The Yanks were mostly veteran also, but the CCR/ 9th Armoured stragglers ought to have been classed as 'green'.  Never mind - it made little odds.)

Upon arrival, rather embarrassingly ahead of the IInd PzGr Battalion, the IInd Panzer Battalion came up the Bourcy-Noville road, pausing before the wooded hill to deploy into the muddy fields beside the road.  In the heavy mud, they were at some risk on bogging, just as the panthers had been earlier (part of 1st Panther Company had indeed stuck fast and the crews were frantically trying to unstick themselves).  However they were reluctant to to press further forward until the IInd PzGr Bn had come up.  At that, one jagdpanzer platoon did bog down, shortly before it came under heavy artillery fire whenever the fog momentarily cleared.

With Vaux in their hands, the Americans forced off the centre hill, and a route westward almost secured, 2nd Panther Company drove onto the hill preparing to engage the enemy beyond.  The lead platoon strayed into bazooka range of the Noville garrison, which at once, with some astonishing shooting put paid to the panthers in moments.  On a D10: 5s required to hit, 3 hits; damage 1D10 against side armout defence of 4: 10, 10, 7 = +6, +6, +3.  Goodbye panther platoon.  Overkill.  

The final act of the day was a brisk tank battle east of Noville. Poking their noses out from beyond the village, the last of the Sherman company took out the second half of the 2nd Panther Company. But retribution was swift. Remobilised from the clinging mud, the 1st Panther Coy had edged closer to Noville. High velocity 7.5cm shells slammed into the American tanks. Now the only really effective anti-tank weapons they had available were on a Hellcat platoon lurking in Cobry, southwest of Noville.

We had to call the action at this point. For the first time in a good while this was played at the club,  and the set-up, action (some 12 turns) and a humungous lunch took us from 11am to a little after 4, when it was time to pack up and go home. This was probably too ambitious a project for the time available (and an 8ft by 6ft table would have been preferable to the 8ft by 4ft we had to make do with), but this was not possible to play at home.

The kit was mine (German) and 'Jacko's' (American); the terrain mostly mine, and thanks to the Woolston Club for the fine 'heavy mud' table mat!

Could the Germans have cleared Noville, and  possibly Cobry, before the 506th Parachute battalion arrived to spoil the party?  I think so.  IInd PzGr Bn and the Panzer battalion was just about set to sweep the wooded hill along the Bourcy road; I PzGr Bn was still a force to be reckoned with in the north, and half the Panther battalion remained a presence in the centre.  Some useful support weapons and combat engineers were also arriving.  Having said that, though, the loss of three panther platoons was not to be sneezed at...

Relief of Tarnopol, April, 1944.

General view of Soviet positions.  Tarnopol
is in the far distance.

About a week ago, Paul 'Jacko' Jackson and I got together one evening to fight out a scenario based on something I had seen associated with the Rommel group. This was the attempted relief of Tarnopol, to rescue remnants of several German units trapped in the town, and cut off several kilometres behind the rather fluid Russian front line.  

Map of the battlefield as set up on my hex table.

This line was held by 15th Rifle Corps: two infantry Divisions, 9th and 366th. They were to be deployed in defensive positions, somewhat dug in, east of (i.e. above) the red line (inclusive) according to the above map. They comprised:

XV Rifle Corps:

Corps Command: General Officer, staff and scout car, see VI Guards Tank.
9th Rifle Division:
    Command: Div Cdr, plus Scout car = 3SP

    3 Infantry regiments, each 6 stands, 6SP = 18SP

    1 45L46 Anti-tank gun stand, with tractor = 2SP (light anti-tank)
    1 76mm Field artillery, with tractor = 3SP (counts as medium anti-tank)

    1 ISU152 assault artillery = 3SP
366th Rifle Division:
    Command: Div C.O. plus scout car = 3SP

    3 Infantry regiments, each 6 stands, each 6SP = 18SP

    1 45L46 Anti-tank gun stand, with tractor = 2SP (light anti-tank)
    1 76mm Field artillery, with tractor = 3SP (counts as medium anti-tank)

    1 ISU152 assault artillery = 3SP

These formations were permitted 10 hexes worth of defensive works, which were the eight earthworks and two barbed wire entanglements shown in the maps.

In support of XV Rifle Corps lay VI Guards Tank Corps just off the eastern (i.e. top) edge of the map.  This powerful formation comprised:

VI Guards Tank Corps:
    Command: Corps C.O. staff, scout car and jeep. 
    Counts as overall commander @ 6SP
    1st Tank Battalion: 4 T34/76 tanks @ 3SP (medium tank, medium anti-tank) = 12SP
    2nd Tank Battalion: 4 T34/85 tanks @ 4SP (medium tank, heavy anti-tank) = 16SP
    Motor Rifle Regiment: 4 SMG stands = 4SP
    Guards Mortar Battalion: 1 BM13 Katyusha rocket portee @ 3SP
    1 Field artillery battalion: 1 76mm Field artillery with tractor = 3SP (counts as light Anti-tank)

Totals: 102SP, exhaustion on -34.

The German start line was west of the map, 'below' the blue-grey line, exclusive. They will have carried out their relief mission if they successfully carried and held four of the five objective points marked by the white stars. Two of these, the Russian commander declined to hold in strength.

Map of the early action.  North is off the left 
edge of the map.

To carry out his relief mission, the German Corps commander was given a battlegroup of Fourth Panzer Army, comprising 8th Panzer and 9th 'Hohenstaufen' SS Panzer Divisions, with self-propelled artillery support, and a unit of Nebelwerfer rockets.

Axis:

Battlegroup Commander: General der Panzertruppen, with staff and half-track command vehicle 6SP
8th Panzer Division:
    Div Cdr in half track 3SP
    Panzer Abteilung: 3 PzIVH tanks @ 3SP = 9SP (medium tank, medium anti-tank)
    StuG Abteilung: 3 StuGIIIG @ 3SP = 9SP (medium AFV, medium anti-tank)
    1 Panzergrenadier battalion gepanzert: 4 stands plus armoured halftrack = 5SP
    2 PzGr battalions motorised: 4 stands plus medium truck @4SP = 8SP
    1 Pioneer Battalion gepanzert: 4 Pioneer stands plus armoured halftrack = 5SP

9th SS Panzer Division:
    Tiger Company with:
         1 Tiger I tank @ 5SP (heavy tank, heavy anti-tank)
         1 PzIIIN tank @ 2SP (light tank, light anti tank, counts as infantry gun) 
    Panther Abteilung: 2 Panther tanks @4SP = 8SP (heavy tank, heavy anti-tank)
    Jagdpanther Abteilung: 3 Jagdpanther AFVs @5SP = 15SP (heavy AFV, heavy anti-tank)
   2 PzGr Battalion, gepanzert: each 4 infantry stands plus armoured halftrack @5SP = 10SP
   2 PzGr Battalion, motorised: each 4 stands plus medium truck @4SP = 8SP

Artillery Support:
    1 Wespe unit = 3SP
    1 Hummel = 4SP

    1 Nebelwerfer = 4SP

Total: 104SP, Exhaustion point -35SP.

Notes: 
1.  The 6-stand Russian infantry units represented regiments, and were given 6 strength points.
2.  The 4-stand German infantry units represented battalions, and were given 4 strength points, except when mounted in armoured halftracks, for which they were upgraded to 5SPs.

3.  The original Rommel scenario gave the PzIVs and StuGs to the SS Division, and the Tigers etc to the Wehrmacht.  As that seemed to me unhistorical, I switched them, though I admit I could be quite mistaken in this matter.
4.  The PzIIIN was my own addition to the Axis formation.
5.  The unit to which I assigned Jagdpanthers, was allocated in the Rommel scenario 'heavy tank hunters'.  It is likely that what was intended was anything from Nashorns, towed 8.8cm FlaK guns, or even Ferdinands. Jagdpanthers had not long entered service by April 1944, but I figured their presence just plausible.
6.  The Nebelwerfer and Katyusha rocket launchers were treated as mortars for range, were capable of firing only on alternate turns, but rolling double the dice.
7.  For this action I used SP to determine the number of combat dice rolled. In effect we used a kind of hybrid Portable Wargames/ Hexblitz game system. As a result, the action rattled along fairly crisply.
8. The Soviet Tank Corps arrived on the table edge on move 2, as called for in the original scenario. Upon reconsideration, it might have been better to have randomised the arrival time, say to a roll, from Turn 2 onwards, of a D6, with a '6' being rolled to arrive.
9.  The original scenario placed the Soviet HQ in the table edge town. Instead, I took the place to be Tarnopol, and placed a couple of German infantry stands therein to represent the garrison to be rescued.  They were not otherwise involved in the action; the Russians were not allowed to enter the precincts.
10.  In armoured duels, anti-tank shooting at 'heavier' graded armour subtracted 1 from the 'to hit' dice. In the duel between a T34/76 (3SP; Med Armour, Med AT) against a Jagdpanther (5SP; Heavy Armour, Heavy AT), the Russian would roll 3 x D6 looking for 6s; the German 5 x D6 looking for 5s and 6s.  The outlook for the T34 would be pretty bleak!

Germans on their start line.

The narrative will be brief. The Axis advanced with the 8th Panzer on the right and 9th SS Panzer on the left.  The Soviet 25th Regiment, exposed on its high ground ahead of the main position, came in for a heavy bombardment from Axis ordnance. Although they repulsed an early infantry attack, it was plain the regiment could not remain there long, Reduced to half strength, they pulled back, under continual pressure, until they reached the barbed wire. Unable to negotiate this obstacle betimes, 25th Regiment succumbed to a final barrage, to be stricken from the 9th Rifle Division's order of battle.

On the other flank, 1098th Rifle Regiment also found the pressure from German infantry and armour too much to hold their fortified position. Back they went, into the marshlands to their rear. German panzergrenadiers followed them therein, but soon left again to await developments from the approaching armoured battle.

General view of the battlefield, including the just 
arrived 9th Tank Corps, and some very welcome 
logistics elements.

During all this time, the Soviet artillery was subjecting especially the German infantry to a steady and effective gunfire from field and assault artillery. This considerably slowed the Axis advance. All the same, 26th Rifle Regiment was driven out of its partly fortified, partly forested position, well to the rear

By this time, 9th Tank Corps had entered the battlefield, the lighter T34s plus field artillery on the northern flank, the heavier T34s, Katyusha and SMG unit on the southern.  

When 26th Rifles were driven out of their position, two companies of T34/76s swept around the flanking woods to engage the German Jagdpanthers. This more or less went as might have been expected. I don't recall they hurt the German armour - possibly one platoon fell back, but the Russian tanks took 4 hits. Only one was damaging, though; the rest were treated as 'retreats', and back went the target company 3 hexes; the other went back later, during the Soviet turn. Thenceforth, German activity was limited to attempting to pound the soviet defence lines on the northern flank. Panthers drove the anti-tank unit out of the riverside village, but couldn't make up their minds to cross the stream to test the Soviet hill defences beyond. Meanwhile one T34 company had taken up position in the fortifications formerly occupied by half of 26th Rifle Regiment.

There was more action in the south. The defile between the forests and the marshlands wide enough to accommodate but two tank companies side by side, tended to limit the weight of the Soviet counter-attacks there. All the same, they did knock out one PzIV platoon, and damaged several StuGs as well. For their part, the German armour gave almost as good as it took, wiping out the lead T34/85 company.

By this time, a count indicated, to my surprise, that the Germans had reached their exhaustion point; the Soviets were still well short of theirs. It was the Soviet artillery that had done the damage, and that damage had been done to the German infantry.

As played, this was not a well balanced scenario. The odds are simply too stacked against the Germans, especially played in this format. Historically, both sides fought each other to a standstill. Only some 9 men of the Tarnopol garrison ever reached their comrades to the west.

Were I to do it again, I would make the Soviet rifle infantry 'poor' partly to suggest many were barely trained conscripts, partly to indicate units that had already been through the mill. The Guards Tank Brigade would be average, but maybe the T34/85s I'd count as 'Elite'. The Germans I'd rate as 'Average' across the board, with maybe the Tiger I and its companion PzIIIN counting as 'Elite'. These 'Elite' designations I admit to being quite arbitrary. 

Meanwhile, the First Blacklands (Balkans) War is awaiting its first battle, that the narrative may proceed.  I hope I can get that done shortly.

Mobile inventory - WW2 Geman

What I intended to include in my previous posting, but had no room for, is the topic of this one. We'll start with armoured cars.  I have a certain fondness for this type of vehicle.

 The above lot comprise:

• 5 x SdKfz222
   3 Airfix (one painted up when it front right mudguard had gone AWOL)
   2 two of a provenance I can't recall.  The little one in the middle of the row I built just a couple of weeks ago, from a kit that had been lying about unregarded since I don't know when.
• 2 x SdKfz231 - Resin
• 1 x SdKfz231 - attempted scratchbuild from the Airfix SdKfz234/4 about c.1990.  Unfortunately, at the time I had little information to go on. The resin vehicles I bought much later.
• 1 x Airfix SdKfz234/4 about to be converted into a SdKfz233
• An actual SdKfz233 model
• A command vehicle made from the Airfix 234/4 chassis and lower hull, and the top half a command vehicle from another kit.  A rough marriage that will be disguised by added jerrycans and suchlike.

Back in c.1976, I bought 3 of those Airfix Armoured Car kits, not realising that the split mudguards were not historical. At the time it was my practice to buy 3 of anything, to form them into troops or squadrons. For these vehicles I quite liked the idea of a recon vehicle that could handle itself in a fight, but I think there I understood - probably wrongly - that one of the functions of recon units was to seize (note that I don't say 'carry') and hold ground.  

The next batch feature the later armoured cars. Now, finding that the Airfix model was unhistorical, I had pretty much decided to use them for other things. Meanwhile I had acquired 3 more, somehow.  So, one was in effect destroyed - regrettably - in an attempt to make it into a Russian BA64. Again, I had very little information to go on at the time. Another was built into the SdKfz231 seen earlier, one set aside to build a 233, and one more made into the command vehicle.

What of the remaining two? I decided that it was a pity these vehicles were to be abused into other forms, as, though faulty, I rather liked them as they were. They have been repaired and refurbished into their original form, one of them painted with that spectacular hi-viz 'camouflage'. I admit that camo design was somewhat experimental, and probably unhistorical, even as an impressionistic rendition, but I think it looks pretty. Which is why one of my 4 SdKfz234/2 Pumas got the similar livery.

The rest of the front row is two more Puma, and there is one more in the back. That one's slightly larger scale matches the SdKfz234/3 alongside it.

The next couple of pics is of my German cavalry. Most of these are 20mm metals that I bought second-hand, mainly as nice things to have, but the price was very reasonable. The finish is 'as received'. I saw no reason to modify it in any way.  

The above are my basic cavalry units - squadrons or battalions. The fourth row is made up of mounted figures from the Revell German artillery box. A few plastics have been added to form a fourth unit. In the rear those stray horses might fetch up as pack or draught animals. 

And this lot are my support weapons (MGs, Panzerschreck, with infantry guns and anti-tank guns to be added), and logistic support. Altogether it's a fine little formation, but I never really settled upon an organisation. In Command Decision terms, they represent about half a Division.

I really must knock together a scenario for these fellows...

Unarmoured Inventory - WW2 German

My unarmoured stuff - well, nearly all of it...

After showing off my German AFV kit, I could hardly let it go at that, and decided that I would lay out my 'unarmoured' inventoryt.  Here it is: artillery, anti-tank guns, tractors, armoured half-tracks, kubelwagens, kettenkrads and motorcycle combinations; light trucks and lorries, and my eclectic Anti-Aircraft weaponry. The next few pictures is due to my self indulgence, looking at the whole array from several angles.

 I was going to include my armoured cars, but they can wait for another posting.

 Lots of artillery:

• 5 metal 10.5 cm light artillery, plus 7 (H'mmm - there should be 8) Revell plastic artillery.  I reduced the Revell 6-horse teams to 4, giving me 3 (possibly 4) extra pairs of draught horses.
• 3 15cm howitzers - 2 metal, and one scratchbuilt from balsa, cardboard and plastic tube.  
• 6 7.5cm infantry guns: 5 metal, and one cardboard, scratchbuilt before I found any models in the right scale.  Actually, there ought to be a second cardboard gun, but I didn't find it.   Strangely, I never got around to build or acquire any heavy 15cm infantry guns, the one example being mounted upon a Pz I chassis.
• 1 Nebelwerfer
• 1 12cm mortar and limber

In this pic is also a metal RSO tractor (courtesy of the 'Sun of York') with limber.

 Now for my half-track prime movers.  Not enough to draw all my artillery and anti-tank guns, even augmented by draught traction: 2 x Demag, 7 x SdKfz11, 6 x SdKfz7.  The vehicle at the rear with the flat-bed tray I designate a SdKfz 8, as it is larger than the others.  The Tiger variant, I'll talk about later.

A very strange beast...

Well, here it is.  I looked this thing up, and discover that only one example was ever found, there being no record of such a vehicle being factory produced in any kind of numbers - or even at all.  Although I have tended to call this an 'armoured recovery vehicle', I rather suspect it is more like an engineering or maybe a field workshop vehicle.  At any rate, it makes a 'different' sort of logistics element.

Here, surrounded by a whole lot of ordnance and tractors, is a pair of die cast RSOs with PaK40 AT guns in tow.  They came in plastic display boxes (as did some of my Tigers and PzIV tanks), but my collection is there to fight, and not just look pretty. 

Somehow, I always felt the need to beef up my anti-tank gun inventory to something approaching the number of tanks.

• 9 PaK40 - 2 ESCI, 4 HaT, 1 Airfix, a couple scratch built using the Airfix PaK40 from its SdKfz234 Armoured Car.  I did them originally as 7.5cm field gun, then changed them again.
• 2 PaK38 - metal
• 3 PaK35/6 - plastic, unsure of manufacture.  Most of such guns I acquired, being 1:72 scale ESCI, fetched up in my Russian Army as 45mm L46 AT guns.   The 1:76 scale examples will remain as the Wehrmacht's door-knockers.
• 2 ... PaK38 plastic?  Some Japanese company made these tiny anti-tank guns - woefully under-scale.  A while back I thought maybe they were 42mm tapered bore, but was to be disappointed.  They'll probably have their shields removed and replaced, and become yet more Soviet 45mm AT guns.

 On to the half-tracks, starting with just these three variants of the SdKfz 250.  Two are recon vehicles, the other a command vehicle - to wit, built from the ESCI 'Greif' kit.

 A bunch of SdKfz 251 variants - mortar, short 7.5cm support weapons, bridging vehicle, and one ambitious chap sporting a PaK40 AT gun.

But above is the core of the half track armada, each row of 4 being the transport for a Command Decision gepanzert panzergrenadier company. With this lot of armoured half-tracks I had transport for a whole panzergrenadier battalion.  Pity I never quite matched it with the wheeled transport.

 Small vehicles:

• The leading black undercoated vehicle is supposed to be Hitler's parade Mercedes.  I am figuring may be suitable for an Army commander?
• Two civilian pattern Volkswagen cars.  Another from 'The Sun of York'.  I have no idea whether the civilian pattern VW was ever used as a command or staff vehicle in the field, but as I imagine to be snugger than a kubelwagen, say, the thing seemed to me plausible.  Mind you, they might have been used by rear area commands or staffs.  No doubt I'll be corrected on this one.
• 9 Schwimmwagens - a nice little amphibious vehicle.  I regret now not fitting tilts on all these Kubel- and Schwimmwagen models, as I wouldn't then have to fiddle around fitting drivers and passengeres, which, the eagle-eyed reader will have observed, I haven't done much of.
• 9 Kubelwagens.  This includes an ugly, horrible little model in the rear row of the two.  But it looks like what it's meant to be, so that is what it is.
• 5 Kettenkrads ( I feel sure I have more of them, somewhere)
• 9 Motorcycle combinations.  As it happens, I have not included 3 HaT models (I'll show them next time).  They are quite a bit overscale, I believe, but I rather like them, for all that.  I also have 6 HaT motorcycles, and 3 Airfix bicycles.
• 2 Horsch transports

 Wheeled transport:

• 10 Krupp Protzewagen light trucks.  Actually I have 11, the odd one being visible behind the m/c combinations as an ammo vehicle or gun tractor.
• 4-5 Opel Blitz trucks.  One got misplaced on the table to beside the 88 FlaK guns, and another is missing its wheels.  To be sorted.  Of the other three, one is an ESCI model, the other two recent imports from China.  They really are rather nice vehicles, but watch out for slopes...!

 To round off: my FlaK capability:

• 4 half-track mounted AA.  The nearest of them was a commercial model bought second hand in slightly munted condition.  I managed to sort it out into a very nice model.  
• 2 towed Quad 20mm AA
• 1 Wirbelwind Quad 20mm AA
• 1 Mobelwagen Quad 20mm AA.  Some researches into this vehicle seemed to indicate that very few AA tanks of this configuration were ever built or went into service. On the other hand, I notice several manufacturers make models of these.  So I accept it as is.
• 5 8.8cm FlaK18 towed AA.  One of these is fixed in anti-tank mode, but the other four may be used for either AT or AA.

Taken overall, a fairish bunch of stuff to play with, though there are shortages of transports for some of the heavy weaponry and the motorised infantry.