27 July 2013

Kursk: The Order of Battle: Part 1

This month sees the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk, so I have been reading a little, and thought I'd share some info distilled from the internet:

Order of Battle Kursk: Part 1 The German Forces
The Protagonists
  
The Germans' goal during Citadel was to pinch off a large salient in the Eastern Front that extended 70 miles toward the west.

Field Marshal Günther von Kluge's Army Group Center would attack from the north flank of the bulge, with Colonel General Walther Model's Ninth Army leading the effort, General Hans Zorn's XLVI Panzer Corps on the right flank and Maj. Gen. Josef Harpe's XLI Panzer Corps on the left.

General Joachim Lemelsen's XLVII Panzer Corps planned to drive toward Kursk and meet up with Field Marshal Erich von Manstein's Army Group South, Col. Gen. Hermann Hoth's Fourth Panzer Army and the Kempf Army, commanded by General Werner Kempf.

Opposing the German forces were the Soviet Central Front, led by General Konstantin K. Rokossovsky, and the Voronezh Front, led by General Nikolai F. Vatutin.

The Central Front, with the right wing strengthened by Lt. Gen. Nikolai P. Pukhov's Thirteenth Army and Lt. Gen. I.V. Galinin's Seventeenth Army, was to defend the northern sector.

 To the south, the Voronezh Front faced the German Army Group South with three armies and two in reserve. The Sixth Guards Army, led by Lt. Gen. Mikhail N. Chistyakov, and the Seventh Guards Army, led by Lt. Gen. M. S. Shumilov, held the center and left wing.

East of Kursk, Col. Gen. Ivan S. Konev's Steppe Military District (renamed Steppe Front on July 10, 1943) was to hold German breakthroughs, then mount the counteroffensive.

Grammatical note: 
"ß " is the German letter for the double "s "sound : "ss"; not pronounced as a "B"
I.e. It was General Walter Weiß (Weiss: (White); not Weib (which is Wife)


Part 1
German Commanders

Army Group Centre (Günther von Kluge)

§  2nd Panzer Army (Erich-Heinrich Clößner) 
§  9th Army (Walther Model)
§  2nd Army (Walter Weiß)
§  4 Army Group Reserve

Army Group South (Erich von Manstein)

§  4th Panzer Army (Hermann Hoth)
§  Army Detachment Kempf (Werner Kempf)
§  Army Group Reserve

Luftwaffe
  • Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet: Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen)
    • VIII Fliegerkorps (8th Air Corps)
  •  Luftflotte 6 (6th Air Fleet: Robert Ritter von Greim) 
    • 1. Flieger Division (1st Air Division)



ARMY GROUP CENTRE 

(GÜNTHER VON KLUGE)


2nd Panzer Army 
(Erich-Heinrich Clößner)

 

XXXV Corps 
(Lothar Rendulic)

 


34th Infantry Division

LIII Corps (Friedrich Gollwitzer)


208th Infantry Division


25th Panzergrenadier Division



LV Corps (Erich Jaschke)


110th Infantry Division



9th Army (Walther Model)




XX Corps (Rudolf Freiherr von Roman)


45th Infantry Division


XLVI Panzer Corps (Hans Zorn)


7th Infantry Division


102nd Infantry Division



258th Infantry Division




XLI Panzer Corps (Josef Harpe)



18th Panzer Division




86th Infantry Division
292nd Infantry Division

XLVII Panzer Corps (Joachim Lemelsen)


2nd Panzer Division



9th Panzer Division



20th Panzer Division




6th Infantry Division






XXIII Corps (Johannes Frießner)

216th Infantry Division


78th Assault Division




Army Reserve

4th Panzer Division


10th Panzergrenadier Division




12th Panzer Division



2nd Army (Walter Weiß)




VII Corps (Ernst-Eberhard Hell)


26th Infantry Division

File:German soldiers with MG 34.jpg

68th Infantry Division
75th Infantry Division
88th Infantry Division


XIII Corps (Erich Straube)




82nd Infantry Division

327th Infantry Division

File:327th Infanterie-Division Logo.svg

340th Infantry Division



Army Group Reserve

5th Panzer Division

File:5th Panzer Division logo 3.svg

8th Panzer Division

File:8th Panzer Division logo 2.svg 




ARMY GROUP SOUTH
(ERICH VON MANSTEIN)





4th Panzer Army
(Hermann Hoth)




II Corps (Eugen Ott)


57th Infantry Division

255th Infantry Division
332nd Infantry Division

XLVIII Panzer Corps (Otto von Knobelsdorff)





3rd Panzer Division



11th Panzer Division






Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland









167th Infantry Division

File:Ww2 GermanDivision Infantry 164.jpg


II SS Panzer Corps (Paul Hausser)


1st SS Panzergrenadier Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler







2nd SS Panzergrenadier Division Das Reich










3rd SS Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf








Army Detachment Kempf (Werner Kempf)



III Panzer Corps (Hermann Breith)



6th Panzer Division








7th Panzer Division



19th Panzer Division




168th Infantry Division

XI Army Corps (Erhard Raus)


106th Infantry Division

320th Infantry Division

File:320th Infanterie-Division Logo 2.svg




XLII Corps (Franz Mattenklott)


39th Infantry Division
161st Infantry Division
282nd Infantry Division

Army Group Reserve
XXIV Panzer Corps (Walter Nehring)



5th SS Panzergrenadier Division Wiking




17th Panzer Division








       
Luftwaffe
Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet)


 Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, Commander in chief
Otto Deßloch, Chief of staff - Air support for Army Group South
VIII Fliegerkorps (8th Air Corps)


Luftflotte 6 (6th Air Fleet)


Robert Ritter von Greim as commander in chief and Friedrich Kless as chief of staff
 Air support for Army Group Center
1. Flieger Division (1st Air Division)



  • Luftflotte 4 with:
  •  I. Fliegerkorps,
  • IV. Fliegerkorps, 
  • VIII. Fliegerkorps, 
  • Comandamentul Aviatiei de Luptã (Romanian Combat Aviation Command), 
  • 102. Repülődandár (Hungarian 102d Air Brigade), 
  • Seefliegerführer Schwarzes Meer.



 Assigned units on 5 Jul 1943:
Stab/FAGr. 4, 2.(F)/11, 2.(F)/22, 2.(F)/100, 4.(F)/122, 
1.(F)/Nacht, 4.(F)/Nacht, Westa 76, Stab/NAGr. 1 (with 1.(H)/41, 2./NAGr. 16?), Stab/NAGr. 6 (with 5.(H)/32, 2.(F)/33), Stab/NAGr. 9 (with 1.(H)/21, 7.(H)/32), Stab/NAGr. 14 (with 5.(H)/11, 5.(H)/41), II.,III./JG 3, Stab, I.,II.,III./JG 52, Stab, I.,II.,III./St.G. 2, Pz.Jäg.St./St.G. 2, Stab, I.,II.,III./St.G. 77, Stab, I.,II./Schl.G. 1, Führer d. Panzerjägerstaffeln (5 Hs 129B-2 Staffeln), Störkampfgruppe d. Lfl. 4, Stab, I.,II.,III./KG 27, 14.(Eis.)/KG 27, Stab, II.,III./KG 55, 14.(Eis.)/KG 55, I./KG 100, plus a large number of liaison, transport and med-evac units along with Romanian and Hungarian air units



21 July 2013

Leaked Lizardmen Photo

Warhammer: Leaked Lizardmen Photo or Bullsh*t?

Rumoured to release in August, the Lizardman Army book is causing all type of rumours:

Trolling the net with my own observations:

I would expect monstrous cavalry ? Carnosaur riders?
A "giant dinosaur kit" (bigger than the Carnosaur)
New plastic "Terradon" kit - about the same size as the High Elves Phoenix (Terrordon? )
Couatl (may be the alternative build for the "Terradon" kit) - see I told told you, a giant flyer!Finecast Slann


New plastic carnosaur (singular); as well, but nothing concrete. 
It may also be the first time in 8th Edition (to date) that a character will be able to ride the same monstrous beast as a unit in its army 

Slann now becomes a multi-part plastic set - availability for a Relic Priest (Kroak, including Deathmask), a normal Priest, and a special limited edition plastic combination pack (similar to the Exalted Daemon Chariot) that combines a Stegadon and a Slann Priest to recreate Mazdamundi. In addition, they get access to Disciplines, but these may not be taken more than once. Reading into rumours suggests that Slann have Loremaster (see below for reasoning).

All Saurus armies become "viable" thanks to the return of Sacred Spawnings - units can purchase Sacred Spawnings like a Mark of Chaos, while characters get access to them off the bat. 
One will allow them to join Temple Guard units, others will give benefits to specific units, like Magic Resistance or Devastating Charge (Sotek?), while others (like Itzl, or whatever the Cold One Riders are), are already included within their stats.

Razordons and Salamanders become a Dual part plastic Monstrous beasts + handler kits, 2 Monsters and 6 Handlers to a set.

Couatl model - working like a Terrorgheist in that it can be both a mount (rumours are to be available at sub-200 points to allow 2 to be taken for heroes in 2400 games) and a monster, presuming rare.

The Stegadons become special choices as well, with a unit "upgrade" to Ancient stats, and a weapon "upgrade" to didgeridoo blowdarts. Skink Mounts still available IIRC.

Skink Priests gain access to Beasts as well as Heavens. In addition, Skink Priests may become "attendants" to a Slann - basically I read it as a Skink Priest option allowing it access to the same Lore the Slann itself knows. Reading into that suggests that Slann have Loremaster as standard.

The return of the Arcanadon - one thing that every non-lizard player is going to hate, a pokemon venusaur/stegadon crossover which takes in solar power to create a blast of magical light, in the form of a cannonball/stone thrower/flame cannon/breath weapon monster. Although nothing concrete about the presumed dual nature of the kit, it could possibly be a much "wanted" Thunder Lizard capable of making thunderstorms. 
(I think this bit unlikely)


Apparently Nakai will return - an apparently unbreakable "autohealing" monster non-general hero choice.(This is more likely)

Trolled across this on the net:



source:
http://kaughnorscave.blogspot.ca/2013/06/leaked-lizardmen-photo.html

11 July 2013

Momentous days in history: Kursk and Storming of the Bastille

The Storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris, France on the morning of 14 July 1789.

On the 14th July 1789 at around 1.03pm – a little under 1000 angry, desperate & hungry citizens of pre 'Gay Paris' gathered outside the walls of the formidable multi towered Bastille prison with its tall and imposing five foot thick walls, and thus in the bloody events that were to unfold there in a matter of just a few short hours time, these ‘Vainqueurs de la Bastille’, led mostly by one Amaria Cahila were to become permanently etched into French folklore as a direct result of their brave, sacrificial and impassioned actions during the now famous ‘Storming of the Bastille’ episode.

This watershed event in French 18th century history signaled the beginning of the end of the ruling Monarchy of King Louis XVI and his celebrated but infamous wife Marie Antoinette, the igniting of the French Revolution and later the fearsome 'la Terreur'…and thence within a short space of time, heralded the very birth of the modern French Republic and their national motto:


" Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité " - Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (Brotherhood)

The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the center of Paris. While the prison only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flash-point of the French Revolution.

Model of the Bastille

In France 14 July is a public holiday, formally known as the Fête de la Fédération (Federation Holiday). It is usually called Bastille Day in English.

 Louis XVI, France faced a major economic crisis, partially initiated by the cost of intervening in the American Revolution, and exacerbated by a regressive system of taxation.

Book detailing French assistance

On 5 May 1789 the Estates-General  of 1789 convened to deal with this issue, but were held back by archaic protocols and the conservatism of the Second Estate, consisting of the nobility and amounting to only 2% of France's population at the time.

On 17 June 1789 the Third Estate, with its representatives drawn from the commoners, or proletariat, reconstituted themselves as the National Assembly, a body whose purpose was the creation of a French constitution.

The king initially opposed this development, but was forced to acknowledge the authority of the assembly, which subsequently renamed itself the National Constituent Assembly on 9 July.



Louis XVI became king on May 10, 1774.  He was twenty years old. It is believed that he was immature and  was not wise enough to be the king. In his biography this is said to be true. He just wanted to be an "average citizen" just like the people in France.  Most of the time he had no idea as to what he was doing. He was less of a man than any other man in France during the time. He was so out of place that he had listened to poor advice that cost him his life. He was very good at listening to people and taking their advice , and using it productively.

During the Revolution, Louis  was so fiercely influenced by the courtiers and the queen to the point that he thought if  he fled from France this would obtain aid against the revolution from Austria. During this process he regarded all of his promises and led to the storm of the royal palace of the Tuileries on August 10, 1792.

To escape King Louis XVI took his wife and kids to the Legislative Assembly to take refuge. They declared that he was suspended from office and he and his family would be imprisoned. They then called a new assembly to see if France should continue to be a monarchy. The convention led to King Louis XVI to be charged of influencing other countries to obtain the same judgement of invading France as well. He was founded guilty and sentenced to decapitation. 

The storming of the Bastille and the subsequent Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was the third event of this opening stage of the revolution. The first had been the revolt of the nobility, refusing to aid King Louis XVI through the payment of taxes.
The second had been the formation of the National Assembly and the Tennis Court Oath.




The commoners had formed the National Guard, sporting tricolour cockades (rosettes) of blue, white and red, formed by combining the red-and-blue cockade of the Paris commune and the white cockade of the king. These cockades, and soon simply their colour scheme, became the symbol of the revolution and, later, of France itself.


Paris, close to insurrection, and, in François Mignet's words, "intoxicated with liberty and enthusiasm,"showed wide support for the Assembly. The press published the Assembly's debates; political debate spread beyond the Assembly itself into the public squares and halls of the capital. The Palais-Royal and its grounds became the site of an endless meeting.

 The crowd, on the authority of the meeting at the Palais-Royal, broke open the prisons of the Abbaye to release some grenadiers of the French guards, reportedly imprisoned for refusing to fire on the people. The Assembly recommended the imprisoned guardsmen to the clemency of the king; they returned to prison, and received pardon. The rank and file of the regiment, previously considered reliable, now leaned toward the popular cause.

On 11 July 1789, with troops at Versailles, Sèvres, the Champ de Mars, and Saint-Denis, Louis XVI, acting under the influence of the conservative nobles of his privy council, dismissed and banished his finance minister, Jacques Necker, who had been sympathetic to the Third Estate, and completely reconstructed the ministry.

Jacques Necker

The marshals Victor-François, Duc de Broglie, La Galissonnière, the Duc de la Vauguyon, the Baron Louis de Breteuil, and the Foulon, took over the posts of Puységur, Armand Marc, Comte de Montmorin, La Luzerne, Saint-Priest, and Necker.

News of Necker's dismissal reached Paris in the afternoon of Sunday, 12 July. The Parisians generally presumed that the dismissal marked the start of a coup by conservative elements. Liberal Parisians were further enraged by the fear that a concentration of Royal troops brought to Versailles from frontier garrisons would attempt to shut down the National Constituent Assembly, which was meeting in Versailles. Crowds gathered throughout Paris, including more than ten thousand at the Palais-Royal. Camille Desmoulins successfully rallied the crowd by "mounting a table, pistol in hand, exclaiming: 'Citizens, there is no time to lose; the dismissal of Necker is the knell of a Saint Bartholomew for patriots! This very night all the Swiss and German battalions will leave the Champ de Mars to massacre us all; one resource is left; to take arms!'"


The Swiss and German regiments referred to were among the foreign mercenary troops who made up a significant portion of the pre-revolutionary Royal Army, and were seen as being less likely to be sympathetic to the popular cause than ordinary French soldiers. By early July, approximately half of the 25,000 regular troops concentrated around Paris and Versailles were drawn from these foreign regiments.

During the public demonstrations that started on 12 July the multitude displayed busts of Necker and of Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans. The crowd clashed with the Royal German Cavalry Regiment ("Royal-Allemande") between the Place Vendôme and the Tuileries Palace. The Royal commander, Baron de Besenval, fearing the results of a blood bath amongst the poorly armed crowds or defections amongst his own men, withdrew the cavalry towards Sèvres.

Meanwhile, unrest was growing among the people of Paris who due to their hostility against the Fiscal Legislation of State's Farmers, started attacking customs posts blamed for causing increased food and wine prices.

The people of Paris started to plunder any place where food, guns and supplies could be hoarded. The next day, on 13 July, rumours spread that supplies were being hoarded at Saint-Lazare, a huge property of the clergy, which functioned as convent, hospital, school and even as a jail. An angry mob broke in and plundered the property, seizing 52 wagons of wheat which were taken to the public market. That same day multitudes of people plundered many other places including weapon arsenals. The Royal troops did nothing to stop the spreading of social chaos in Paris.

The regiment of Gardes Françaises (French Guards) formed the permanent garrison of Paris and with many local ties was favourably disposed towards the popular cause. This regiment had remained confined to its barracks during the initial stages of the mid-July disturbances.

With Paris becoming the scene of a general riot, Charles Eugene, Prince of Lambesc (Marshal of the Camp, Proprietor of the Royal Allemand-Dragoons), not trusting the regiment to obey his order, posted sixty dragoons to station themselves before its dépôt in the Chaussée d'Antin. Once again, a measure intended to restrain only served to provoke.

The French Guards regiment routed the cavalry, killing two, wounding three, and putting the rest to flight. The officers of the French Guards made ineffectual attempts to rally their men. The rebellious citizenry had now acquired a trained military contingent. As word of this spread, the commanders of the royal forces encamped on the Champ de Mars became doubtful of the dependability of even the foreign regiments. The future "Citizen King", Louis-Phillipe, duc d'Orléans, witnessed these events as a young officer and was of the opinion that the soldiers would have obeyed orders if put to the test. He also commented in retrospect that the officers of the French Guards had neglected their responsibilities in the period before the uprising, leaving the regiment too much to the control of its non-commissioned officers. However, the uncertain leadership of Besenval led to a virtual abdication of royal authority in central Paris.

On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. The demonstrators, led by Amaria Cahila, of the Third Estate in France, had earlier stormed the Hôtel des Invalides to gather arms (29,000 to 32,000 muskets, but without powder or shot), and were mainly seeking to acquire the large quantities of arms and ammunition stored at the Bastille. On the 14th there were over 13,600 kilograms (30,000 lb) of gunpowder stored there.



At this point, the Bastille was nearly empty of prisoners, housing only seven old men annoyed by all the disturbance: four forgers, two "lunatics" and one "deviant" aristocrat, the Comte de Solages (the Marquis de Sade had been transferred out ten days earlier).

The cost of maintaining a medieval fortress and garrison for so limited a purpose had led to a decision being taken to close it, shortly before the disturbances began. It was, however, a symbol of royal tyranny.

The regular garrison consisted of 82 Invalides (veteran soldiers no longer suitable for service in the field). It had however been reinforced on 7 July by 32 grenadiers of the Swiss Salis-Samade Regiment from the troops on the Champ de Mars. The walls mounted eighteen eight-pound guns and twelve smaller pieces. The governor was Bernard-René de Launay, son of the previous governor and actually born within the Bastille.

A 2013 analysis of the Bastille dimensions showed that it did not tower over the neighborhood as was depicted in the paintings but was more of a comparable height to other buildings in the neighborhood.
The list of vainqueurs de la Bastille has 954 names, and the total of the crowd was probably fewer than one thousand.

The crowd gathered outside around mid-morning, calling for the surrender of the prison, the removal of the guns and the release of the arms and gunpowder. Two representatives of the crowd outside were invited into the fortress and negotiations began, and another was admitted around noon with definite demands. The negotiations dragged on while the crowd grew and became impatient. Around 13:30 the crowd surged into the undefended outer courtyard, and the chains on the drawbridge to the inner courtyard were cut, crushing one unfortunate vainqueur.

About this time gunfire began, though some stories state that the Governor had a cannon fire into the crowd killing several women, children, and men turning the crowd into a mob. The crowd seemed to have felt it had been drawn into a trap and the fighting became more violent and intense, while attempts by deputies to organise a cease-fire were ignored by the attackers.

The firing continued, and at 15:00 the attackers were reinforced by mutinous gardes françaises and other deserters from among the regular troops, along with two cannons. A substantial force of Royal Army troops encamped on the nearby Champs de Mars did not intervene.

With the possibility of a mutual massacre suddenly apparent Governor de Launay ordered a cease fire at 17:00. A letter offering his terms was handed out to the besiegers through a gap in the inner gate. His demands were refused, but de Launay nonetheless capitulated, as he realised that his troops could not hold out much longer; he opened the gates to the inner courtyard, and the vainqueurs swept in to liberate the fortress at 17:30.

Ninety-eight attackers and one defender had died in the actual fighting. De Launay was seized and dragged towards the Hôtel de Ville in a storm of abuse. Outside the Hôtel a discussion as to his fate began. The badly beaten de Launay shouted "Enough! Let me die!" and kicked a pastry cook named Dulait in the groin.

 De Launay was then stabbed repeatedly and fell, and his head was sawn off and fixed on a pike to be carried through the streets. The three officers of the permanent Bastille garrison were also killed by the crowd; surviving police reports detail their wounds and clothing. Two of the invalides of the garrison were lynched, but all but two of the Swiss regulars of the Salis-Samade Regiment were protected by the French Guards and eventually released to return to their regiment.


Their officer, Lieutenant Louis de Flue, wrote a detailed report on the defense of the Bastille which was incorporated in the logbook of the Salis-Samade and has survived. It is (perhaps unfairly) critical of the dead Marquis de Launay, whom de Flue accuses of weak and indecisive leadership. The blame for the fall of the Bastille would rather appear to lie with the inertia of the commanders of the substantial force of Royal Army troops encamped on the Champs de Mars, who made no effort to intervene when the nearby Hôtel des Invalides or the Bastille were attacked.

Returning to the Hôtel de Ville, the mob accused the prévôt ès marchands (roughly, mayor) Jacques de Flesselles of treachery, and he was assassinated en route to an ostensible trial at the Palais-Royal.
Aftermath


The citizenry of Paris, expecting a counterattack, entrenched the streets, built barricades of paving stones, and armed themselves as well as they could, especially with improvised pikes. Meanwhile, at Versailles, the Assembly remained ignorant of most of the Paris events, but eminently aware that Marshal de Broglie stood on the brink of unleashing a pro-Royalist coup to force the Assembly to adopt the order of 23 June[and then to dissolve. The viscomte de Noailles apparently first brought reasonably accurate news of the Paris events to Versailles. M. Ganilh and Bancal-des-Issarts, dispatched to the Hôtel de Ville, confirmed his report.


By the morning of 15 July the outcome appeared clear to the king as well, and he and his military commanders backed down. The Royal troops concentrated around Paris were dispersed to their frontier garrisons. The Marquis de la Fayette took up command of the National Guard at Paris; Jean-Sylvain Bailly – leader of the Third Estate and instigator of the Tennis Court Oath – became the city's mayor under a new governmental structure known as the Commune de Paris.

The king announced that he would recall Necker and return from Versailles to Paris; on 17 July, in Paris, he accepted a tricolour cockade from Bailly and entered the Hôtel de Ville, as cries of "Long live the King" were changed to "Long live the Nation".

Nonetheless, after this violence, nobles – little assured by the apparent and, as it was to prove, temporary reconciliation of king and people – started to flee the country as émigrés. Early émigrés included the comte d'Artois (the future Charles X of France) and his two sons, the prince de Condé, the prince de Conti, the Polignac family, and (slightly later) Charles Alexandre de Calonne, the former finance minister. They settled at Turin, where Calonne, as agent for the count d'Artois and the prince de Condé, began plotting civil war within the kingdom and agitating for a European coalition against France.

The successful insurrection at Paris spread throughout France. In accord with principles of popular sovereignty and with complete disregard for claims of royal authority, the people created a parallel structure of municipalities for civic government and militia for civic protection. In rural areas, many went beyond this: some burned title-deeds and no small number of châteaux, as the "Great Fear" spread across the countryside during the weeks of 20 July to 5 August, with attacks on wealthy landlords impelled by the belief that the aristocracy was trying to put down the revolution.

Pierre-François Palloy was given the commission of disassembling the Bastille building and commenced work immediately.


As an interesting historical footnote, the key to the Bastille now resides in George Washington's residence of Mount Vernon. It was sent to him by Lafayette in 1790 as a peace offering.

9 July 2013

Russian Uniforms Painting the Cossacks and Strelkovy

Strelkovy and Cossacks coming on nicely...


So I have been painting and modelling away quietly, finishing my mid-war Germans, and started painting my Strelkovy in the lead-up to the battle of Kursk game planned for later in the year.Last touches on my german artillery crews, and started work on painting the Nebelwerfer crews. The whole lot (over 100 pieces) base-coated black, and the Cossacks now sport 2 coats. Cloak inners and riding breaches blue.

Went and bought some Revell Siberian Troops and another box of Italeri Russians. What a contrast. The moulding on the Revell models is just terrible! You can hardly make out that the troops are carrying rifles.
No chance of identifying what it may be.

Compared to the crispness and detail of the Italeri box the Revell models are just rubbish! Nothing at all like the review given on Plastic Soldier Review. Maybe I just got a bum batch... What happened to quality control?
Will need a lot of work before they resemble anything. Lots of flash, molding poor. Only usable bit out of the box is the mortar and crew.

Haven't had soldiers with as bad molding since Airfix's British Paratroopers in the 1970s!

Been looking at WW2 Russian Uniforms, especially the Cossacks and Infantry:

Have chosen Vallejo Russian Uniform mixed with German Brown Camo in varying quantities, with addition of German Beige Camo for faded and padded jackets.Some inspirational pics from across the net:

Being an autumn army, my troops can field a mix of the winter and summer uniforms.


Summer Uniform









Amoeba pattern Sniper Uniform (faded)

Amoeba pattern uniforms




Winter Uniforms




More Summer Uniforms





Cossack Uniforms





Painting guide (Copyright indicated)