Now I have the basing sorted out, I have begun to play around with ideas for possible ways to organise the figures and vehicles in my collection of World War II figures and vehicles into armies.
My first, tentative steps have been to look at creating a generic organisation for the main type of formation field by armies during World War II, the Infantry Division. As I am intending to use my armies with my HEXBLITZ and/or a modified version of my PORTABLE WARGAME rules, each base will represent a regiment/brigade-sized unit or a battalion-sized unit. The former will have two figures on each base and the latter will have one figure. In addition, each Division will have a Command stand that will represent the Divisional Commander, his staff, and the numerous small ancillary units that make up the strength of an Infantry Division.
The resulting structure looks like this:
This generic Infantry Division will therefore have:
This will no doubt be an anathema to many wargamers, but it is the only way that I can see that I can utilise my existing collection of World War II figures and vehicles to fight operational-level wargames. Whatever the outcome, I'm going to give it a go. If it works, fine; if it doesn't ... well I'll just have to try something else.
My first, tentative steps have been to look at creating a generic organisation for the main type of formation field by armies during World War II, the Infantry Division. As I am intending to use my armies with my HEXBLITZ and/or a modified version of my PORTABLE WARGAME rules, each base will represent a regiment/brigade-sized unit or a battalion-sized unit. The former will have two figures on each base and the latter will have one figure. In addition, each Division will have a Command stand that will represent the Divisional Commander, his staff, and the numerous small ancillary units that make up the strength of an Infantry Division.
The resulting structure looks like this:
This generic Infantry Division will therefore have:
- 1 x Command Base (with one or two figures and/or a vehicle)
- 3 x Infantry Regiments Bases (with two figures on each base)
- 1 x Artillery Regiment (with two figures and a field gun or howitzer)
- 1 x Anti-tank Battalion (with one figure and an anti-tank gun)
This will no doubt be an anathema to many wargamers, but it is the only way that I can see that I can utilise my existing collection of World War II figures and vehicles to fight operational-level wargames. Whatever the outcome, I'm going to give it a go. If it works, fine; if it doesn't ... well I'll just have to try something else.
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Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteThats the Spirit- "give it a go!"...this is exactly how I felt about my 35mm Sci-Fi Project- I thought give it a go- if it doesn't work- no harm done and I'll have learnt a lesson. As it happens -things are going along splendidly- and certainly glad I started out on it...best thing out is that there is a lot to design and scratch build which keeps me busy and engauged. All the best with your WW2 Organisation and Gaming. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteOne can spend a lot of time thinking about doing something, but it's only when you turn thought into deed that things begin to make progress. When finished, the bases might well turn out to be a disaster ... but at least I would have found out that the idea didn't work.
I really like what you have achieved with your SciFi project ... and in what seems to have been quite a short timeframe. I know that it's only just applicable, but I do hope that 'the force is with you'!
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
DeleteI had done a lot of scratch modelling earlier in the year- without any 35mm figures at hand- I only painted up my 35mm SPACEGUARD Figures about a week ago and this started the whole Project going into full swing. I will be working on Civilian Master Figures this coming week- so progress will bound to be slower. Fully enjoying it...and I think my catch phrase might be: "may the stars guide you home"...Best Wishes. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI look forward to seeing your civilian figures. Judging by your previous figure designs, they'll be great.
I like the catchphrase!
All the best,
Bob
I looks to me that it will work far better than my own rather large MTO&Es !
ReplyDeleteDon M,
DeleteI'm hoping that they will work as it will mean that my collection will generate a large number of divisions.
All the best,
Bob
Your ideas seem a good way to go. Look forward to seeing what you propose for armoured divisions.
ReplyDeleteDavid Bradley,
DeleteCheers! I suspect that the organisation charts of armoured divisions will vary depending upon the date and the nationality of the armoured division being represented.
All the best,
Bob
When I did the OBs For Panzer gruppe, I also use infantry (and tank and artillery) regiment bases, but rolled up all the support battalions into generic support regiment which could add SP into line regiments in combat.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed to work OK and was an easy way of dealing with variations in support unit size.
Martin Rapier,
DeleteThanks for the suggestion. I was thinking along similar lines, although I would like to keep the recce separate if it is at all possible.
All the best,
Bob
Agreed, a separate recce battalion is a good idea. It partly depends on the unit density.
DeleteMartin Rapier,
DeleteVery true. I'm going to give the concept a try before I make a final decision.
All the best,
Bob
I am carefully (thinking off the top of my hat) composing this. When I think of scale I consider what can be discerned from a distance (like a pixelated image with low resolution for example). So how does that look like with something as abstract as an orbat? And how could it be easily achieved. I suddenly thought of operational histories I have read and what units they actually mention. For WW2 I notice that AT assets usually get a mention at the tactical level along with all the other odds and sods. For my desert armies therefore I would just have the brigades of infantry, divisional artillery and ‘sir’ (command). The rest would be rolled in as part of these elements. Supply and air support (I think) would be the only other units I would consider and then in the abstract.
ReplyDeleteSbriddon8,
DeleteI take your point, and I must admit to swinging backwards and forwards between representing smaller units and leaving them out. I'm still playing around with the generic ORBAT, and until I actually base an examplar division, I won't make my decision.
All the best,
Bob
I thought that it migt be a good idea to have some sort of game mechanic where the command element could allocate assets to its units. Probably this would be in the shape of SPs and be based on how many there were. I’m just popping out ideas. It’s difficult because I just got off a cruise liner and I’m on my way home.
ReplyDeleteSbriddon8,
DeleteI think that I understand how your idea might work, but I'd like to play around with it to test it.
I hope that you enjoyed your cruise. We will be off on our next one to Madeira and the Canary Islands in the near future.
All the best,
Bob