Senior NCOs

I hadn't spotted the rules for Senior NCOs when they first appeared in print for Bolt Action in The Battle of France Campaign Book. They were included in the Company Commander chapter near the end of the book that covered larger actions and protracted campaigns. Cut forward to the release of the latest D-Day, US Sectors book, however, and Senior NCOs appear as an add-on rule in the appendices and made me revisit them (& the campaign rules) for a second look.

I like how in Chain of Command, a senior NCO is an independent command figure for some nations who works alongside the lieutenant/ platoon commander. He can have just as much influence as an officer to the men in his platoon/ company and possibly even more so! I'm reminded of the calm and steady presence of Colour Sergeant Bourne in the film Zulu, or the grizzled experience of Sergeant Barnes that compensated for the bumbling Lieutenant Wolff in Platoon.

So, Senior NCOs have made an appearance in Bolt Action, and although I welcome the addition, I'm not completely sold on the rules attached to them. Rather than an additional figure with leadership that can be present on the table, a SNCO is a free upgrade for an officer's '+1 man' which essentially acts as an extra 'life' for said officer. Your lieutenant/ captain/ major gets killed, the SNCO takes over, operating at the same leadership bonus as the original officer. Fine. 

Thematically, now a sniper has targeted your HQ officer, this does allow you to have another leader to step up and take charge. I like that the platoon sergeant can now go, 'Right, lads, follow me...' and keep things going, so with this in mind, I chose to upgrade some of my '+1 men' to represent a more experienced looking SNCO type character.

The German SNCO was a '+1 man' already, and looks suitably gnarly and battle-hardened. I've given these SNCOs yellow base edges to depict their leadership providing qualities, like other officers, albeit in a replacement capacity.

The Britsh Para SNCO was a spare figure from Artizan that came in a command figure blister pack. He looks perfect with bristling moustaches and fierce expression so I knew he was right for my paras.

The Soviet SNCO was originally an NCO for one of my Tank Hunter teams. A recent reshuffle of that army due to new additions freed him up to be promoted to platoon sergeant, which I think he manages to do quite nicely.

I've yet to play using SNCOs, but I don't expect their rules to alter gameplay dramatically. They don't bring anything new that needs to be incorporated, just amend an existing rule.  Let's see how they perform in the near future?! 

Russians Pt.11- Rota Razvedki Mounted Reconnaissance Squad

Here is the squad that will accompany my M3 White Scout car onto the table. Constructed from a mixture of troopers pulled from several different places, I was able to build this squad from quite a few already painted figures that needed only a few completing to finish off the squad.

All of the male SMG soldiers are troopers I have swapped out of my Tank Hunter teams to make way for Bad Squiddo's female soldier additions, which made up most of the squad for me, right there! The rifle-armed trooper with the beard was included in my LMG Squad, but I swapped him out to make my banner bearer a permanent addition to that squad. The NCO is an officer that came with the original Red Army box from Warlord (as did all of the other figures, bar one) and looked suitably gnarly and experienced to represent a veteran leader. The final member of the squad is a Bad Squiddo female trooper from their recent Kickstarter project. She's actually a tank rider, but I've transferred her into the recon troops. As one of the two rifle armed troopers, she can elect to stay in the scout car an 'man' one of the MMGs as per the Mounted Recon rule found in Fortress Budapest. Or, they can all debus and fight normally.

Russians Pt.10- SU-76 & M3 White Scout Car

SU-76

I like this little SPG. In BA it's a cheap and cheerful option before you get caught up in the bigger SU tank hunters and mobile howitzers. I like the basic nature of this vehicle- it looks cramped and uncomfortable for 3 men to live and operate in, so no wonder its nickname was 'Suka' or 'bitch' among its crews!

I like that the Zis-3 armament allows this little vehicle to work in a couple of different ways- as an AT gun and as a howitzer- which makes it quite versatile. This caused me quite a headache when I first started playing BA. I was getting my head around a new rules system and was having confusion with howitzers being able to fire indirectly or under open sights, and then, on top of that, I could opt to use this weapon as a light AT gun as well!

I got over that hurdle, but I think it meant I under-utilised my SU-76 for a good while as I figured out what it was best suited for. It's not just a smaller, more brittle StuG. It's got a fair bit of utility, and I've noticed it can slip under an opponent's radar as they immediately focus all of their attention on the T-34s...

Just a few of Debris of War stowage pieces added here. There's enough detail on this Warlord resin kit already. A firm favourite of mine...

Lend-Lease M3 White Scout Car

I had never considered an armoured car or similar type of transport for my Soviets because I had a squad of scouts already and wasn't particularly interested in collecting or painting anything to fill that slot in my army. But after reading the Fortress Budapest Campaign book, I became interested in the Rota Razvedki Mounted Reconnaissance Squad option that was detailed there.

I'd always liked the Warlord Lend-Lease Universal Carrier with Russian crew models, but found I preferred the M3 White Scout Car instead! The transport capacity is larger, allowing for a bigger squad, and the Mounted Recon rules give the option of leaving members aboard to man all of the machine guns on the vehicle.

The finished model is pretty much as it comes, with the only addition being a Debris of War petrol can. I like the crew members, looking as though they're scanning the surrounding countryside for danger. Next task (of many), is build and paint the squad that will travel in the thing...

Russians Pt.9- T-34s (+Tank Riders)

T-34/85 No.1

This was the first BA vehicle I purchased and built. Without knowledge of the wider range of companies out there at that point, I went straight for a Warlord plastic vehicle. In a min/max moment, I also opted for the T-34/85, but I intend to get some T-34/76 turrets to swap out for playing mid-war games.

I like this kit. I added a Warlord tank commander and a few pieces of Debris of War stowage to make the tank look more interesting and less bare, but wanted to keep it relatively uncluttered so that tank rider figures could be placed on the hull more easily.

T-34/85 No.2

As I wanted to grow my Soviet force to play larger games, I became aware of other companies that offered WW2 vehicles in different ways. I'd never contemplated 3D printing up to then, but came across Paint & Glue Miniatures and my eyes were opened to new possibilities. Here was a way to flesh out the number of vehicles in my force in a much cheaper way than if I relied on plastic or resin kits.

I wasn't disappointed. The model is light, robust, well detailed and serves it's purpose perfectly. The material it was printed in was bright blue, which was quite startling, but it painted up just fine. Since then, I have returned to Paint & Glue several times for vehicles for my German and British Airborne forces and have not been disappointed.

I chose to keep this tank free from stowage and additions because I had seen plenty of photographic evidence showing Soviet tanks appearing that way. Maybe the lightning speed that some armies raced through Eastern Europe and into Germany meant they didn't have much time to stop? Maybe Soviet propoganda shots avoided the more scruffily laden tanks? You see tons of pictures of Shermans with sandbags, packs and GIs hanging off of them... Either way, It meant I got to paint up this guy pretty quickly and get it onto the table. I like the wood saw strapped to the side and the mismatched fuel tanks.

Tank Riders

Another auto-include for my Soviets were these guys. I have one of my two Tank Rider/ SMG squads built and painted, but just needed the figures to represent them riding into battle. I bought two packs, knowing I'd get some multiples, and split them into two teams for each of my T-34s. I've only painted one group up so far, but the second bunch will get painted when the second SMG squad is finished, someday... 

                            

After the Bad Squiddo Soviet Women Kickstarter was completed, I now had another gal to add to this little group. I painted up the bearded LMG trooper beside her too, to make six tank riders in total, so I can have three on each tank when I finally paint up my second Tank Rider squad.

Russians Pt.8- Scouts & Snipers

Scouts

One of my favourite squads in all of the Soviet army book, I knew instantly that I wanted to include them in my army. In fact, I have two squads assembled, but only one painted at the moment. My Razvedchiki are a mixture of metal Warlord and Black Tree Designs sculpts. I like all of the sculpts in the Warlord pack, but some are a bit specialised- cutting wire or laying a grenade in tank tracks. I'm not a fan of the lying down figures so much, so was happy to stumble on the Black Tree options. This allowed me to fill out a full squad with SMG troops and create a deadly little unit. I like to place them using Hidden set-up rather than outflanking, and when combined with Tank Hunter and sniper teams (and maybe a FOO), I can often claim quite a few areas of terrain around my opponent and deny them positions for their own Hidden set-up units.

The amoeba suits were a nice change from painting a lot of infantry uniforms. I chose a mixture of green and brown versions for the team, and added a helmeted head to one soldier to break up the side-cap domination.

Sniper Team

The sniper comes with the Warlord Scout pack, but cannot be fielded with them, so automatically, he became my sharpshooter. I had absolutely no complaints because this is an excellent model. I love the details on the ghillie suit.

Up until I discovered the Black Tree scouts, I wasn't sure who I would include as the sniper's '+1'. I wanted an amoeba suit wearer because why would a uniformed infantryman be accompanying a fully-camouflaged sniper?! I also wanted a kneeling figure to complement my marksman's pose. Black Tree provided! I think this must be an NCO, as he is sporting binoculars, and he fits perfectly. The other scout with binoculars from the pack is standing so will be the NCO of scout team 2- when they finally return from working behind enemy lines...

Russians Pt.7- Anti-Tank Teams

Anti-Tank Teams

I love that Soviet platoons can take 0-3 teams here instead of the regular one. After reading a couple of different books about the Battle of Kursk/ Prokhorovka, I knew that I wanted to include Tank Hunter teams in my force. I could have taken them in all three slots, but wanted a bit of variation, and was intrigued by one of the other entries in this section (see below).

Tank Hunters

Team one includes figures from the original Warlord metal Red Army box. The guy with a grenade was a no-brainer, and the SMG firer had the right armament, so good. The NCO and Panzerfaust firer are recent additions from Bad Squiddo's Soviet Women Kickstarter. When I saw these figures, I immediately knew I wanted to back the project and include them in my army, which meant I could swap out some other SMG armed guys to create my mounted recon squad. 

As veterans, Tank Hunters are a little harder to hit; a team of four has a bit more longevity, and their Hidden set-up and 'Tough Tank Hunter' rules mean they can be a nasty surprise for an opponent. So why wouldn't I want more than one team?!

                          

Team two's NCO is the third figure from the Warlord Maxim MMG pack who I'd swapped out previously. The trooper with the cape is one of the options available in the Tank Riders pack- but as he is standing, and looks like he is creeping up on a target, I thought he fit in better here. The grenade thrower is another of the Bad Squiddo ladies who slotted into the team just perfectly!

The Panzerfaust firer in this squad moved over from the first team once the new female soldier joined their ranks. This allowed me to remove a really poorly moulded version of this figure and replace it with the marginally better cast that you see here.

Dog Mine Team

This is a quirky and unusual option, which illustrates the desperate lengths the Soviets were prepared to go to to deal with Axis armour during Barbarossa. The NCO and the dog come from the old Anti-Tank pack, and I originally supplemented the team with a couple of other SMG armed troopers and kept count of the dogs 'fired' in the manner you can see in the picture. With the release of the latest Soviet Anti-Tank Teams box, a couple of new handler sculpts were introduced, so I had to have them.

As a dog lover, I don't dwell too much on the grim realities or the finer details of this particular teams modus operandi, but I only field them if my opponent has no issue with facing them. (In fact, I have had one opponent who has asked me explicitly not to field them, so I agreed out of respect of their wishes...)

I like how the NCO is tapping his leg trying to coax his dog to follow him. He looks exasperated. I think the canny dog has got a healthy dose of self-preservation running through him, so I don't mind when they run away in the midst of a battle and achieve very little.

Russians Pt.6- Weapon Teams

Medium Machine Gun 1

This Maxim machine gun was an early addition to this army. I had bought some Warlord Tank Riders to put on the back of my first T-34 and saw that the figure lying down with a cigarette in his mouth would make for a good team leader here. I swapped out the team's original third man- kneeling and pointing- to be used elsewhere.

The gunner is unusual, I think- I've only ever seen a version without glasses online, but I'm probably just not looking hard enough. I base teams individually to aid casualty removal and to better place them amongst scenery.

Medium Machine Gun 2

I didn't intend to get another MMG team, but this model came in the Siberian Veteran box, so why not?! I like the variation this team offers, as MMGs tend to be 'firing' rather than the 'redeploying'- unless you're playing Americans and have multiple teams, I suppose.

I like how the two soldiers during the hard graft look like they want to murder the team leader, who is a Winter Infantry shoe in. Note, the yellow dot on the front of the gunner's base is for determining LoS and firing archs, as there is no barrel to measure from.

Medium Mortar Team + Spotter

Another early purchase to bolster the initial Reinforced Platoon choices. As mentioned previously, I promoted the team leader with SMG and medals to Lieutenant, so needed a suitable replacement for the mortar team. The guy holding the rifle is from the original metal Red Army infantry box from Warlord, and fits well enough, I think. The spotter is the third figure from the Soviet FOO pack alongside the officer and the signals girl with flags. 

Russians Pt.5- Tank Riders

Tank Rider Squad

These are the guys that I picture when I imagine Soviets during WW2. When I found that you could field then in BA, I was very happy. In smaller games, I use them as an SMG squad instead, and I have come to value the barrage of fire that they can unleash at close quarters and in melee. My plan is to have two squads eventually. I built the squad initially from Warlord Soviet Infantry, but then returned to them with Winter Infantry in greatcoats for some variation. As a result, I have the good part of a second squad painted with the figures I moved out to allow the greatcoats, so will finish them off one day...

Another addition was a couple of female SMG troopers from Bad Squiddo. Once their latest Kickstarter completes, I'll have a few more ladies to add to this force... The soldier striking with the butt of his PPSh has metal arms from the Siberian Veterans box. As always, the NCO has a red base rim for identification.

Russians Pt.4- Rifle Squad 2

Rifle Squad 2

Here is my second Rifle Squad. There's a fair bit of the same as the previous squad here, and I admit, I got a bit fed up of painting plastic riflemen at this point and moved onto something different. Squads three and four have gone on the backburner, as a result!

The NCO has a knife-holding arm from the Warlord Siberian Veteran box. Why he needs both a knife and a bayonet is anyone's guess, but he stands out as an NCO and looks quite fearsome.  He also has a metal backpack from the Siberian box.

The soldier in the fourth picture has metal arms supplied in the Siberian box that allow him to be charging full-tilt with bayonet drawn. I like his pose and determination.

A little while later, I bought a box of Warlord's Winter Infantry to include some greatcoats into my army. I used some in my SMG squads and intend to add two or three to each Rifle squad. This will free up models to form a good portion of my third Rifle squad which I can then pad out with new figures. I also intend to include a few metal figures from Bad Squiddo, to add some female soldiers to the mix. Again, this will free up some ready-painted guys to roll into squads three/ four. Watch this space...

Russians Pt.3- Rifle Squad 1

Rifle Squad 1

This was one of the first elements that I built and painted for my Russian army. I had already bought a box of plastic Soviet Infantry from Warlord, but then I supplemented that with a box of Siberian Veterans for more variation. I used a lot of the metal Siberian heads in this and the second Rifle squad I have built so far, because I plan to have more- three or four squads- to represent the 'teeming millions' the Germans believed Stalin had at his disposal. With that many guys armed with rifles and molotov cocktails, I wanted to have a little more variation of heads than the plastic ones in the kit.

With everyone in the squad armed the same, I wanted the NCO to stand out a bit (for snipers, obviously), so this first squad has a typical 'pointing' officer. The soldier striking with the butt of his rifle is an adaption of the metal SMG arms from the Siberian box, altered to become a Mosin-Nagant. Note- a red base rim denotes a squad NCO.

To help me keep track of my Green Rifle Squad's level of troop quality, I created these little sabot bases as a visual reminder. Once I have three or four of these squads, I'm sure I'll struggle remembering who is regular and who is Inexperienced. I produced something similar, later on, for my German Volksgrenadier squads, who have a similar Green ruling. I printed colour tabs and backed them on card before mounting them on the sabot base. These particular ones came from Supreme Littleness Designs.

Russians Pt.2- Light Machine Gun Squad

Light Machine Gun Squad

One of the first box sets I got after a box of plastic infantry was this OOP Red Army set. I like the poses on the troopers, and because there are two LMGs in the set, I decided to make this my LMG squad. I use them as a base of fire for the rest of the army to work around. Russians being Russians, I'm able to field a couple of cheap (or free) rifle Squads to do the more dirty work. This squad stays back and uses rifles and LMGs at range to soften up targets and clock up the pins.

The thing I like about most Russian squads is that they can contain up to twelve men. This adds a bit of padding to soak up casualties before Morale tests need to be taken. In this squad, this allows the LMGs to keep firing away. Definitely an auto-include in any Russian force I build.

 

 

 

                       

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.