Russians Pt.1- HQ

HQ Choices

This was the first Bolt Action army that I collected and painted. Of all the nationalities that I could have chosen, I went with Soviet Russians because I was inspired greatly by reading Anthony Beevor's 'Stalingrad'. I've always had a fascination with Russian history, and their experiences during WW2 as a people is wildly different to the British one. The first BA book I bought after the 1st Edition rules was the Soviet army book. I loved the entries for unusual units and the wide variety of choices available. As I've moved onto German and then British Airborne forces, I've come back to the Russians and added new units here and there as I've found new model manufacturers or Warlord introduce new models for units that didn't previously have any.

This is the lieutenant model from the Warlord HQ pack. I like his pose and his dynamism. He looks young and determined, bravely urging his men on. His '+1' is a Bad Squiddo female SMG trooper, who replaced a more vanilla male SMG trooper. I write this post as Bad Squiddo's Kickstarter Women of WW2: Soviet Russia awaits completion. Once it does, I'll have several more female Russian soldiers to add to my force. Note- a yellow base rim denotes a leadership-boosting officer.

My second HQ is also a First Lieutenant, but is a model that comes with the Warlord 80mm medium mortar team, I believe. His medals and cap suggested to me more that he was an officer, so I promoted him up out of the mortar companies. I gave him a Warlord SMG trooper as his '+1'. I see this as an older, more experienced officer than my other lieutenant. Less prone to wild charges at the enemy. More stolid and considered, 

Here we have the first of the unusual/ unique Soviet army entries: a Commissar. I think this model came in the Siberian Veteran box? Thematically, he's brilliant, but on the tabletop, I've had mixed results from him. I tend to position him amidst a group of Green Rifle Squads to give them a boost (by shooting them), but that doesn't always guarantee they fight effectively. The rules for Frontinik Commissars that appeared in the Stalingrad campaign book made them far better, and so from that moment on, that's what this fella became.

I love the model- the threat of his revolver being at the ready to make an example of any soldier that appeared to waver is appropriate. I gave him a banner bearer from the old Soviet Infantry box for his '+1', but I have detached him to include in an infantry squad since the rules for flags were included in the Ostfront book. When the banner bearer goes off to join the LMG Squad, the commissar is accompanied by a dutiful NKVD lackey instead.

As this was my first BA army, I stocked up heavily on Warlord models for pretty much all of my force. I used the Forward Observer and his signaler companion from their FOO pack, but I haven't found replacements that I prefer. I love the girl with the flags, although why she's needed as the officer is holding a radio handset is a mystery. Always have a backup if the technology fails, I reckon... As always, a blue base rim denotes a none-leadership HQ officer.

I love the nurse model from the Soviet HQ pack. This and the flag-girl above were the only females available to me for my force until I discovered other manufacturers that produced them. Over 1.5 million women fought in the Soviet army and airforce during WW2, fighting bravely and winning medals. That these were my only two options initially was a bit disappointing, but thanks to Bad Squiddo, primarily, I am now able to increase the number of females operating in combat roles in my army. This medics pose is great, clutching her bag as she races to assist a wounded comrade. White base rims are to denote medics.

Now the Bad Squiddo Kickstarter has been successful, I now have plenty of female soldiers to bolster my army, including another nurse/ medic. I like the drama of this figure, which demonstrates the dogged determination and stoicism these young girls demonstrated in the harsh line of carrying out their duties.