Rapid Fire! rules - Bir Hakeim 1942 (part 8) - The AA Bofors of the Fusiliers Marins and a few more emplacements

The Bir Hakeim series continues this time with the 40mm Bofors for the Fusiliers Marins and respective trucks and a few more different emplacements. 

The V shaped emplacements are slightly different from the previous ones due to the wooden cover being placed close to the curve instead at the corners. The straight trenches are just something different as I´m making also trenches that can be used in other scenarios. 

The the FFL Bofors were pulled by Chevrolet trucks and not by Morris CS8 4X2. These are cheap Chinese trucks bought at Ale-Hop with a part of the cargo bay cut out. The guns are Airfix. 

The idea was to get to this. 

The figures were challenging as I don´t have many more artillerymen left suitable for this task. So all are conversions with the French Fusiliers Marins bonnet. From left to right:

- the Airfix standing figure on the 6pdr set;

- the driver is a 1st edition Airfix DAK figure manning the 2,8cm Panzerbüchse;

- a Preiser civilian (I think from one of the train station sets) .... 

- the Airfix Australian carrying a box;

- another 1st edition Airfix DAK;

- a Revell figure from their WW2 Scottish set. 

Next: Barbed wire for Bir Hakeim or Plancenoit 1815. 

Rapid Fire! Blitzkrieg Refugees.

Refugees are another sad part of the German Blitzkrieg across Europe in 1939-40 and these figures try to show the European western civilians that fled from those invasions. While painting these guys I could not stop thinking that some of them came to Portugal or Spain, but many went to North Africa or Middle East where they were well received by the local communities, even if in those days they were still European dominated. Nowadays it's a shame what we see ın the EU with some countries denying help to refugees. If to the East those countries have no idea what is a colony in their History and have a natural fear of the refugees who comes to 'steal their job', in the West the same  attitude is particularly dangerous as Western European countries would still live in Middle Ages  if it was not for the exploitation of resources and people in the places from where the nowadays refugees come from.

But of course memory is a fragile thing. And even worse is the History knowledge.

The figures are Airfix from the old civilian sets and from Faller, Rocco and Preiser. They are different scale with Airfix around 1/76th and Preiser, Rocco and Faller in 1/87th scale. But they match well  if you want to make refugees as you may portray men and women of different size and ages. A total of 22 stands were built which makes more than 1 meter long of refugee column capable of hampering any possible Allied counter attack.

I built the carts out of EverGreen plastic card and glued piles of stuff and figures on top or hanging from them. The basis for this one are two Hat horses with extra harness, wheels from WW1 Airfix artillery and Airfix seated civilian figures. The stowage on top of the cart was made of two component paste.

This one is pulled with a pair of oxen from Preiser.

- Father, why is mom leading?
- My son, you will use in the future a new saying: size matters!



At this point spare wheels were scarce and this cart only has two and one surplus.

Even if school is closed you need to do keep on studying.

I placed grass only in one of the borders of each stand so that they can be placed on the road side. Well, this doesn't always work.

A mix of 1/76th and 1787th scale figures without no one getting offended.

Another mix.

I only had a few running figures and these try to portray wether the ones whom are late to enter the column or people running from the dreaded straffing of a Stuka. 

This stand has a RAF Airfix cyclist converted to a civilian.

As usual in war there are those who take advantage of other people. The guy in the rear is analysing the girl's ass even in this dire situation! Shame on him and on the one who made this vignette.

Even the dog came along.

Rich and poor, everybody is quite similar under the same circumstances.

Also the cow and the calf had to come as both received prizes in the last agricultural fair of the region.


Next: StreletsR new French artillery.

Rapid Fire! Operation Lüttich (Mortain Counterattack) 1944 in 20mm, Part 6 and last - Panzer Lehr

This series is finishing in the beginning of August, about the time of the Mortain battles just by mere luck not on purpose. Here you have the two Kampfgruppe in which Panzer Lehr was divided after Operation Cobra, KG Von Hauser and KG Ritgen. The CO of Pz Lehr. Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein reported catastrophic casualties from the carpet bombing of Cobra and the following assault by two US tank divisions. But it seems they were exaggerated as other officers from the division reported much smaller casualties. Apparently Bayerlein was trying to save the division from further damage. Thus the two KG of the division played only a small role at Mortain with Von Hauser behind the main assault and Ritgen  much to the rear. 

In the top picture the two KG are forming. The Panther battalion is reduced to 3 (RF!) tanks, same with the PzIV battalion as the Lehr tanks were only a bit more than 30 around the 5th of August. On the right you have the AA assets of FlakAbt. 130 close to the remnants of the Pioneer battalion. In line at the rear the Recce bat.130 has its eight wheeled vehicles ready for action. To the left the SP's are providing some fire support while the AA half-tracks of the Pz.Gren. regiments are waiting on the side of an hedgerow. The Fallschirmjäger of II Corps gives the necessary infantry and PAK for this advance with Pz Lehr being subordinated to this Corps during the Mortain actions. 

This Nitto/Fujimi Panther has its big white and red number painted over the turret protective track pieces. Another typical characteristic of Pz Lehr Panthers were the white painted front mudguards. A PSC crewman was the only addition to the model. 

Now this one is a work of art. It was gift from my friend Jorge Faria, the 2nd biggest wargamer and model maker of this country. He carefully used a hot steel to carve the Zimmerit on this Matchbox model, something that many of us thought about but few had the ability to do. I only repainted it in order to have the same tones of colour in all models. 

The PzIV are Esci built straight from the box with the usual add-ons.

The Pz38t AA are Altaya with plastic crews.

This Bergepanzer III is a conversion from the Matchbox Pz III. 

Two Hasegawa Sdkfz 7/1 and 2 from the Flak Abt.311.

Probably Pz Lehr still had some of the 25 Sdkfz 234/2 'Puma' of Panzeraufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung 130. I used three to represent approximately half of 4th company still  in existence a number probably exaggerated as the reconnaissance units of WW2 had the higher percentage of casualties.   

Another asset of the Recce battalion is this Britannia Sdkfz 233 with SHQ crew. 

Two more Britannia Sdkfz 10/4 makes the Flak for the 901 and 902 Pz Gren. regiments. One day I will make this figures from the available ones in the Valiant box. 

Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 130 still has these two matchbox Wespe.

General Bayerlein watches the direction of the attack he thinks being a total mistake. But its Hitler's orders so its better to do something about it. The light car and Stoewer are Frontline Wargaming. 

The FJ manning this Airfix Pak40 are also old Airfix and Preiser. 

The main body of the two battalions of  FJ are Esci with a few Valiant conversions. 

The MMG are Armourfast with Airfix heads. The Radio stand is Revell. 

Now for some bibliography used in this series. To the right you have the Victory at Mortain book from M.J. Reardon. For me its the best account of the battles of the Mortain counteroffensive even if lacking detail on the German OB's. To the right  R. Weiss Fire Mission book centers its text on the 'lost Battalion' actions around hill 314. 

The 1947 Michelin map of Mortain is a very useful guide for the terrain were everything happened. I used this one I found in the internet. When all pages are placed like this and wrapped with tape it measures around 70cm X 40cm.

A quick map of the actions make you understand you need a table around 8 meters X 4 meters to cope with all units involved. 

Along the years I built these helpful charts to keep a registration of all details I could find of the six big German units present at Mortain. Also wrapped in tape it was essential to add constant changes in numbers and weapons to the German lists as I was finding more references on this difficult matter and far from conclusion.

Next: More German units for late WW2. 

Rapid Fire! 20mm - 16. Luftwaffe Field Division, Normandy 44, part 4: Russian limbers for the field artillery

The 16.Luftwaffe batteries used captured Russian guns whose limbers are necessary in plenty and don't exist in the main stream plastic brands. So I scratch build  all the 16. Luftwaffe limbers. It's not a very difficult task if you keep it simple and I could use finally the extra stock of Revell German horses I had, besides being fun and cheap. 

If you google 'Russian limbers WWII' plenty of images of this model will show up, mainly the 1942 model,  and you are done with references. Specially follow the images of 1/35th scale models. 

The idea was to use my beloved Evergreen material to produce the carriage of the limber and to use extra wheels from the Airfix 88's carriages, Atlantic, and others I had around of undetermined origin. 

The curved rail was made in wire. Metal was also used for the wheel's axis.

All you need is to C.U.D.I.G ( cut, open, drill, invent and glue).

The holes in my fingers come from the electric drill 'cuding' other holes in the carriage for the curved rail, so be careful with this devilish device. 

Reading, Hmmm? A very dangerous activity in nazi Germany...He will end up in the Russian front and not reading Pravda...

The rest of the model are Revell horses and horsemen from the artillery set. The seated soldiers are Preiser and Revell.  You also need to glue a pick and a shovel respectively on the right and left sides of the carriage. The perpendicular bars are sewing needles bought in a Chinese shop for a few cents after running out of the equivalent Evergreen item.

With 10 limbers, 40 horses were necessary and all will be used for the batteries of 76,2mm and 122mm.  

Next you will see these ones painted, that is of course if I don't start something worse. 

Keep tuned.