WW2 Soviet Scouts

I realized, recently, that the ONLY Russian models I had that weren't painted were a handful of scouts I picked up from Bad Squiddo Games a few years back and I thought this an excellent opportunity to just finish off all the Russians! This partly came about because I'd been flipping through the Warsaw is Burning - the Poland 1939 campaign book for Five Men at Kursk... which prompted me to look through the Russian collection and realize I had only these left to paint! 

I also got it in my head that it would be interesting to play a little solo Five Men at Kursk campaign following a squad of Scouts that were mostly carrying out sneaky-beaky missions... 

New Minis from Bad Squido Games. 

I'd LOVE to get a pile more of the Soviet women they produce... but I already have SO MANY RUSSIANS!? 

While I was at it, I also carved the sights of these two and repainted them... they were in a brown camouflage and I did not like it... also, I have FAR TOO MANY Russians sniper and next to NO Scouts with Rifles. 

All the Scouts

It's weird that almost all the Russian Scouts I can find have sub-machineguns - I was looking through a book about the organization of the Russian Army in World War Two and it suggested that the scout platoons were only ever armed with rifles. Later in the war there was a Sub-Machinegun Company (I think at the Regimental Level)... but it looked like the scouts were, on paper at least, still just armed with rifles?!

Organizing these for Bolt Action...

Sniper Team

Forward Observer Team (although they really need some method of communicating their observations to the battery - or air wing... probably need a spool of wire and a field telephone...) 

Scout Squad

I could split the squad and add an officer and I'd have a basic  understrength platoon!

I guess I'll have to wait until my rulebook shows up and I can start figuring out how I'll organize all the Soviets... Stay tuned for that!! 

(Okay... If I'm being 100% honest... I also have a little metal Russian tank that isn't painted... I'm not sure where I got it from. I think it's from the old Battle Honors WW2 line (which doesn't seem to be produced anymore)? I don't really count it as I don't think I'm EVER going to assemble and paint it... Maybe I should give it away... Maybe I could melt it down...?)

Back of Beyond Campaign - Summer 1918

 As Spring turned into Summer, the fighting continued... though not with the quite the same level of widespread violence that winter and spring saw. 

Summer 1918 movements

The Siege of Bashkent

The Siege wore on into the summer of 1918. The Kahn started crucifying peasants that tried to till the fields in the region outside the city walls. 

Midway through July, in the middle of the night, a violent battle broke out within the city. Just before dawn the Great Gateway - the entry to the old city were flung open and the ringleaders of the coup delivered the head of the Warlord of Bashkent to the Kahn and begged for mercy for themselves and the city... 

The Third Battle of Engelsk 

After bringing the siege of Krotpkand to a successful conclusion, Kombrig Mahat Mikhan marched the  Ist Guard Regiment, Ipatiev House east to Engelsk hoping to succeed where the Babushka Army Corps had not and drive the Tsarists from the city. 

Approaching the city from the West, they discovered the entire 437th Infantry Regiment dug in before a strategic bridge across the White River. The Guns were quickly brought up and a preliminary bombardment was dropped on their position before the Bolsheviks moved forward to seize the bridge. 

Advance elements of the Borshevik army drew up before the entrenched Tsarists and began to exchange fire with them, while the cavalry galloped south to try and flank the Tsarist position. 

The rest of the Bolshevik forces arrived. The Bolshevik 1st Infantry Battalion and Artillery Regiment continued to try and pin down the entrenched Tsarists, while the rest made to march around the marsh to the south. 

The Tsarist 1st Battalion, 437th Infantry Regiment was forced to give up their position after taking terrible casualties in the firefight. 

Tsarist Reinforcements arrived from Engelsk - the 32nd Cossack Cavalry Regiment and the 245th Artillery Regiment. 

Fire from the entrenched infantry caused the Bolshevik 1st Battalion to also flee from the field. 

The two opposing cavalry units exchanged fire for some time across the river. 

The two opposing artillery batteries also began a long protracted duel from their positions on opposite sides of the field of battle. 

The Bolshevik 2nd Infantry Battalion continued to march around the flank to the south of the marsh. The 3rd and 4th infantry battalions had peeled off the column to try and take the trenches. They succeeded in driving off the 2nd Battalion, 437th Infantry Regiment, but not without the Bolshevik 3rd Infantry Battalion sustaining significant losses. 

The Bolshevik Artillery had been driven from the field, so for the balance of the battle, the Bolsheviks had to advance under relentless fire from the Tsarist gunners. 

The 2nd and 4th Bolshevik Infantry Battalions managed to seize the bridge. But the 4th Battalion was eventually driven off by the Tsarist guns. 

Then the last of the Tsarist reinforcements arrived. 

Fire from the Bolshevik 2nd Infantry Battalion eventually persuaded the Tsarist guns to beat a hasty retreat, but the Bolshevik battalion was not able to hold the bridge against the counter attacks of the two battalions of the Tsarist 231st Infantry Regiment. 

The Bolsehvik Ist Guard Regiment, Ipatiev House, was obliged to retreat back to Kroptkand.

Sweet Jiminy! Those fucking Tsarist Gunners!? Murderers, every last one! They must have all been the top graduates from the Imperial Artillery Academy... They just continue to savage those bolsheviks!? 

I was even wearing my "Lucky Marxist Hoody"... 

(not that I'm favouring any sides or anything...) 

The Siege of Holopchi

The Most Illustrious Beacon of Celestial Light and Commander of the Arm of Earthly Might, Win-Cao Lo-Fat, led The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals out of Ching-Ho and marched through the mountain pass to the west and on to the city of Holopchi. After an initial, unsuccessful, attempt to take the city be assault, the Chinese invested the city and prepared for a lengthy siege! 

Elsewhere

Hedwig Markus von Eggenberg, Margrave of Grosswardein, and his East Asia Cavalry Division continue to lick their wounds in Gura.

Lieutenant General Sir Percy Arbuthnot-Worcester-Gruntfuttock-Smytheleft a small detachment in Stlojia and marched the rest of the 14th Allied Eastern Expeditionary Army north to Canukand. 

The Ist Babushka Army Corps, having sustained significant losses in their initial two attempts to take Engelsk, retreated to Baboushka. 

The state of things at the end of Summer 1918

One more round of campaigning until armies with retreat to winter quarters, gather resources and taxes and recruit replacements - or raise new units entirely! 

ORANGE

• Commander of the Field Army: Lieutenant General Sir Percy Arbuthnot-Worcester-Gruntfuttock-Smythe
• Faction: Western Interventionists
• Army: 14th Allied Eastern Expeditionary Army
• Base of Operations: Canadar 
• Other Cities: Canuckand, Molsensk, Stlojia
• Field Army:
• 3rd Battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers (10)
• 5th Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders  (7)
• 2nd Battalion, Regina Rifles  (11)
• 105th Canadian Fusiliers - Heavy Infantry Battalion (15)
• 8th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles - Cavalry (12)
• 37th Field Artillery (15)

YELLOW

• Commander of the Field Army: Hedwig Markus von Eggenberg, Margrave of Grosswardein
• Faction: Tsarist
• Army: East Asia Cavalry Division 
• Base of Operations: Gura
• Other Cities:  Driutsek 
• Field Army:
• 1st Battalion, 337th Infantry Regiment (Heavy) (8)
• 2nd Battalion, 337th Infantry Regiment (6)
• 1st Battalion, 369th Infantry Regiment (6)
• 2nd Battalion, 369th Infantry Regiment (5)
• Mongolian Cavalry (1)
• 38th Hussars Cavalry (4)

GREEN

• Commander of the Field Army: Altan Baatar Kahn
• Faction: Warlord Chinese
• Army: The Red Horde
• Base of Operations: Lung-Hu
• Other Cities: Wurumchi, Sui-Pei
• Field Army:
• Heavy Infantry Battalion (12)
• Infantry Battalion (13)
• Infantry Battalion (7)
• Infantry Battalion (11)
• Cavalry (2)
• Artillery (12)

LIGHT BLUE

• Commander of the Field Army: Win-Cao Lo-Fat, The Most Illustrious Beacon of Celestial Light and Commander of the Arm of Earthly Might
• Faction: Warlord Chinese
• Army: The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals 
• Base of Operations: Wei-Li
• Other Cities: Ching-ho, Ulaan-Goom,  
• Field Army:
• 1st Heavy Infantry Battalion (8)
• 2nd Infantry Battalion (12)
• 3rd Infantry Battalion (12)
• 4th Infantry Battalion (11)
• Cavalry Regiment (12)
• Artillery Regiment (8)

DARK BLUE

• Commander of the Field Army: Kombrig Mahat Mikhan
• Faction: Bolshevik
• Army: Ist Guard Regiment, Ipatiev House
• Base of Operations: Kubassa
• Other Cities: Kropotkand, Pyrohy, Holopchi
• Field Army:
• 1st Infantry Battalion (Heavy )(11)
• 2nd Infantry Battalion (8)
• 3rd Infantry Battalion (5)
• 4th Infantry Battalion (8)
• 5th Cavalry Regiment (10)
• 6th Artillery Regiment (6)

PURPLE

• Commander of the Field Army: Baron Yevgeny Lytton
• Faction: Tsarist
• Army: Gvardiya Belykh Koroley (Guard of the White King’s)
• Base of Operations: Bakunin
• Other Cities: Engelsk
• Field Army:
• 1st Battalion, 437th Infantry Regiment (Heavy) (10)
• 2nd Battalion, 437th Infantry Regiment (9)
• 1st Battalion, 231st Infantry Regiment (7)
• 2nd Battalion, 231st Infantry Regiment (8)
• 32nd Cossack Cavalry Regiment (10)
• 245th Artillery Regiment(11)

RED (of course) 

• Commander of the Field Army: Commissar-General Lev (Leon) Davidovitch Runstein
• Faction: Bolshevik
• Army: Первый Бабушка Армейский корпус (Ist Babushka Army Corps)
• Base of Operations: Baboushka
• Other Cities: Borschka, Vlodkask
• Field Army:
• 1st Transuralian Peoples Infantry Battalion (Heavy)  (4)
• 2nd Transuralian Peoples Battalion (8)
• 3rd Transuralian Peoples Battalion (8)
• 4th Transuralian Peoples Battalion (10)
• 1st Babushka Cavalry Regiment (5)
• 1st Borschka Artillery Regiment (10)

Oh, Those Russians...

 Some time ago, I picked up a box of miniatures and rules from Alternative Armies. I can't remember where...? I feel like it was in a bargain bin or a bring and buy. I'm pretty sure I didn't pay much for it. It was for Flintloque...? or maybe Deadloque...? One of their fantasy napoleonic skirmish games. 

The box contained a bunch of Russians - A Vampire, a Lich, five Zombie soldier and some undead peasants... and then a handful of Elves in an assortment of French-like uniforms, bundled in rags and bandages looking like French soldiers retreating from Moscow in with winter of 1812. 

I painted the Vampire and Lich a little over ten years ago(!),  followed by one of the zombie Russian soldiers, and finally two of the French Elves. Mostly just for funsies - I was painting a few things from the period, at the time, thinking I might do some War of 1812 games over the next few years on the bicentenials of assorted battles (that didn't end up happening...). I never really did anything with the fantasy Naploeonics. 

Flash-Forward One Decade.

Looking around for monsters and other miniatures that could pass off for late 18th/early 19th century miniatures that I already own that could be pressed into service in The Silver Bayonet, I was reminded of these... Though they are RATHER LARGE, I still started to daydream and even imagine scenarios or full campaigns - where the Lich and Vampire are the Ultimate bad-guy to face and bring down at the end of a campaign. I've rebased the lot of them, following the new scheme of putting heroes or leaders on larger 32mm bases and the rest on 25mm bases. 

The Russians

(I do have three more undead Russian peasants to paint up... and considering picking up a few more... maybe in the new year, if we DO get playing this a LOT!) 

Evil Boss Duo - Igor and Grigory  (Igor Chernobogovich Koshei, the Lich and Grigory Verdilakovich Putin, the Vampire). I'm not sure who is THE Big Bad Boss... Is it the Vampire...? Is it the Lich...? Are they uneasy partners who loathe each other, but recognize they are stronger working together (but will betray the other in the back, the moment they think they can consolidate power on their own)? Still have to figure that out... 

Zombie Russian Soldiers. One was just rebased (and touched up, so the colours match the others a bit better), the other four are all newly painted. 

Revenants (Zombies) in The Silver Bayonet don't normally have firearms. I thought these, being minions of a Lich/Vampire, could have the smallest sort of sentience. I think I may give them a musket that can be fired - but give them a Shoot Value of -2 and say it cannot be reloaded. I imagine they would be the personal guard Lich and Vampire. Neither Lich nor Vampire would expect them to actually hit anything (unless they got very, very lucky) but the discharging of a musket would alert the others of the presence/approach of intruders! 

Undead Russian Peasants

Well... Two of them are peasants... One seems to be in some sort of partial uniform...? 

One broke off from his feet/base at the ankles, years ago, and I have subsequently lost said base with feet attached. I had throught I'd drill the legs and make new feet... but the tiney little stick legs were so skinny this seemed unlikely to work... So I just stuck him in a wad of green stuff and after painting burried the lower feet in static grass to make it look like it's walking through tall grass. 

These minis are HUGE for "28mm"! Here they are with a few others from the period that I might also make use of... From Left to Right: Old 25mm Minifig Rifleman, Alternative Armies Zombie Russian, Renedage Miniatures British Soldier, Alternative Armies Lich, Wargames Foundry Highlander, Alternative Armies Vampire, Perry Miniatures Rifleman, Hät French Chasseurs Pioneer. 

I probalby should have thrown one of the zombie peasants in... they're a little more reasonably proportioned. 

If the Perry Miniatures rifleman was standing up straight, he might not be too far off, Height-wise... but the Alternative Armies stuff is so CHUNKY - equipment, accoutrements, hands are all so gigantic!? 

All that being said, I'll probably use these on the tabletop together... I'm not THAT fussy. I woudn't mix them in the same units, but as opposing forces I find it less noticeable (at least until they get into melee!) 

Not sure what will be rolling off the workbench next. Could be rest of the French Elves from this same set (aside from the occasional pointy ear poking out on one or two of them, they can easily pass for French soldiers that could be in Russia facing these guys... and there's probably just enough to make a Unit for Silver Bayonet! I do also have a few old Citadel Goblins that I stripped ages ago to repaint - they are needed for the third solo scenario - along with a troll. I also have more Napoleonic soldiers... Like, a half-dozen special units worth cobbled together.... AND a few Frostgrave warbands!? (So much for keeping the workbench free of distraction!) 

I watched/listened to an interview with Mr. McCullough the other evening and was QUITE disappointed to learn that this WAS intended as a stand-alone book with no plans for expansions... wow... It kind of made the lack of content in this book a little more bitter of a pill to swallow... But I'm still enjoying the game and... well... I'll just make shit up on my own - an not have to BUY anything more for it! Huzzah!