Battle Chronicles - The Retreat from Moscow

 

Well its finally happened, me and Lee have had a few games using our Retreat from Moscow figures!!!! It was great to get some of the figures on the tabletop along with our mat and some of the terrain we've made. But it wasn't with the rules we intended to use Sharpe Practice?? 

You may remember back in October, myself and Lee were invited for a day out of fun and games with Paul from Pazoot, Paul has an up and coming and growing fast YouTube Channel dedicated to all that is wargaming. You can see my post on the day here.

On Sunday the 3 of us got together again this time in Posties shed, to play test a set of Narrative Skirmish rules that Paul's developing, called Battle Chronicles - The Retreat from Moscow. As you can well imagine, we had a terrific and absolutely knackering days gaming, play testing 3 scenarios.

The photos below are a mix of the 3 games we played, hence this is not one of my usual battle reports.

My band of not so Merrymen!

Our aim was to cross the battlefield, collecting anything we could find along the way (small circular bases), to help us survive, all the time looking out for any Russians.

I'm really pleased with our trees!

Jean collecting firewood

Wonder what Arnaud found?

oh? its a dead Officer, lets see what's in his pockets?

Uh oh, The Russians have found us...

A lone French Civilian roams the deserted streets

Our burnt out buildings from Charlie Foxtrot look the part!

The Cossacks are on the hunt.

The red circles are hit markers, 4 markers and that's your lot!!!

Its not looking good....

The French load their wounded in a wagon and push and pull it by hand.

The French Cavalry won't be around for long, its dinner time soon.

Poor Arnaud gets charged by three Russian Jager's, it didn't end well.

We're meeting up again soon to play another scenario, this one has a rather large river in it, so it should be a great game. 

More to come from Battle Chronicles and the Retreat from Moscow soon!!!!

AHPC 16 - Russo - Finnish Winter War 1939-40 Finnish Heavy weapons

Time to sneak in my second post of the day. More Finns, this time its their Heavy Machine Guns and AT Gun and a Mortar. All figures are once again from Parkfield Miniatures and bases from Warbases. I had a big issue with yellow snow on these, can't work out why though???

I undercoated the mdf bases all over painted them white a few times and varnished them, they still seem to be leeching....groan!

The Lahti-Saloranta M/26 was the standard Finnish light machine gun adopted in the mid-1920s and designed by Aimo Lahti and Arvo Saloranta to provide mobile automatic fire at the squad level. Chambered in 7.62×54mmR and fed from a 20-round detachable box magazine, the air-cooled, gas-operated M/26 weighed about 9 kg and had a relatively high rate of fire of roughly 500–600 rounds per minute.

 It was well made and accurate, reflecting Finland’s emphasis on quality manufacturing, but its tight tolerances and complex mechanism made it sensitive to dirt, snow, and extreme cold, reducing reliability in harsh field conditions. Soldiers often criticized the small magazine capacity and the weapon’s tendency to jam compared to more rugged designs, leading many units to prefer captured Soviet DP-28 “Emma” machine guns during wartime. Although it served throughout the Winter War and Continuation War and remained Finland’s official light machine gun for years, the M/26 never fully earned the confidence of frontline troops and was gradually supplemented and replaced by more dependable alternatives.

During World War II, the Finnish Army made extensive and increasingly widespread use of captured Soviet 7.62×54mmR DP-28 light machine guns, nicknamed “Emma,” (which is my wife's name hence the gas operated,  and no she won't be reading this!) finding them more dependable in Finland’s severe cold, snow, and muddy conditions than their domestically produced LS-26. The DP-28’s rugged, loose-tolerance, gas-operated design resisted jamming and fouling better than the more finely machined Finnish weapon, making it especially valued by frontline troops. 

Weighing about 9.1 kg unloaded, it fired from a distinctive 47-round top-mounted pan magazine—earning the additional nickname “record player”—at a rate of roughly 550 rounds per minute, providing steady and effective suppressive fire at the squad level. Its use of the same cartridge as Mosin-Nagant rifles and Maxim machine guns greatly simplified logistics and ammunition supply, further increasing its practicality. Captured guns were inspected, refurbished, and stamped with Finnish “SA” (Suomen Armeija) markings before issue. By the end of the Continuation War, more than 15,000 DP-28 and later DPM variants were in Finnish inventory, outnumbering native LS-26s and becoming one of the most common and trusted light machine guns in Finnish service.

The Maxim M/09-21 was the standard heavy machine gun of the Finnish Army between the World Wars and throughout World War II, developed from captured and inherited Russian Maxim M1910 guns that Finland acquired after independence. 

Reworked domestically during the 1920s, the M/09-21 featured improvements such as a redesigned rear sight graduated for Finnish ammunition, a strengthened mount, and compatibility with locally produced 7.62×54mmR cartridges, allowing it to integrate smoothly with the army’s existing logistics. Like other Maxim variants, it was a water-cooled, recoil-operated weapon capable of sustained automatic fire, typically fed by 250-round fabric belts and capable of a rate of fire around 500–600 rounds per minute.

 Though heavy and usually mounted on a wheeled or tripod mount for defensive and support roles, the gun was extremely reliable and well suited to Finland’s harsh winter conditions, where its water jacket could even be filled with snow in emergencies. Rugged, accurate, and capable of prolonged fire, the M/09-21 served as the backbone of Finnish heavy machine gun units and remained in frontline use throughout the Winter War and Continuation War.

The Lahti L-39 was a Finnish anti-tank rifle developed by Aimo Lahti in the late 1930s to provide infantry with a portable weapon capable of defeating light armoured vehicles and fortified positions during the Winter War and Continuation War. Chambered for the powerful 20×138mmB “Long Solothurn” cartridge, the gas-operated, semi-automatic rifle was exceptionally large and heavy—earning the nickname “Norsupyssy” (“elephant gun”)—weighing around 50 kg with its bipod and often requiring a two-man crew to transport and operate. 

Fed from a 10-round detachable box magazine, it delivered strong armour penetration against early-war Soviet tanks, armoured cars, and bunkers, and was also highly effective against machine gun nests and other hard targets due to its high-explosive and armour-piercing ammunition. Although it became less effective as enemy armour improved, the L-39 remained valued for its accuracy, long range, and versatility, and it continued in service throughout the war in both anti-armour and heavy support roles.

During the Winter War, the Finnish Army employed the 50 mm light mortar, most notably the 50 Krh/38, as a compact and highly portable infantry support weapon designed to provide close-range indirect fire to small units. Based on a Finnish design by Tampella, the mortar was lightweight and simple, allowing a single soldier to carry and operate it, which suited Finland’s forested terrain and fast-moving ski troops. It fired small high-explosive and smoke rounds to ranges of roughly 800 meters, enabling squads to engage enemy troops behind cover, suppress machine gun nests, or screen movements with smoke. However, its limited explosive power and relatively short range reduced its effectiveness against entrenched positions, and ammunition capacity was modest. While useful for harassment and close support during the early phases of the war, many Finnish soldiers considered the 50 mm mortar underpowered compared to larger 81 mm mortars, and its role gradually diminished as heavier and more effective systems became available.

So there we have it, I'm a bit confused about the points, there are 5 figures either kneeling or sitting and 9 laying down, so I'd make that worth 47.5 plus all the crew serving weapons, 5 machine guns and a mortar, I think I'll leave these for you Dave?

Zac v Jason & the Argonauts

 

After my busy terrain building day with Lee, last Saturday, on the Sunday, my nephew Zac came over for his first ever Wargame.

Zac loves anything to do with Greek Mythology, so for Christmas last year I bought and painted up some Jason and the Argonauts figures from Foundry, see here.

We only have 11 figures at the moment, 6 Argonauts and 5 Skeletons (Children of the Hydra), so I made up a very, very simple set of rules, to try and get Zac into gaming.

It worked!!

He absolutely loved playing the game.

We played 10 short games and the little tyke beat me in 8 of the games!!!

His dice rolling was absolutely ridiculous, he is certainly a son of Zeus and been been touched by the dice gods!!

I might ask him to pick this weeks lottery numbers for me???

After a couple of games Zac, was realising about tactics, not going for the full frontal assault but going around the flanks, which quite amazed me to be honest.

He seemed to really be getting he rules so, I kept adding more details to the rules, to flesh them out.

He said " You're only changing the rules, because I keep beating you!!"

Little sod!

It was 6's to kill on a D6, but Jason had a D10, to make him more heroic. Zac's Jason went on a rampage for the first few games, mauling my Skeleton's time after time.

Zac felt sorry for me keep losing so, HE, let me play the Argonauts, so I went on a rampage with Jason and Zac killed him in the first melee!

Sigh.......

Zac laughed his head off

The Dice Monster

At the end, of the day, I asked him if he'd enjoyed the games and does he want to come again.

His answer was simple....

"Yes, tomorrow!"

I think there'll be many more fights for Jason and the Dice Monster to come, which is brilliant.

Now I better paint up the rest of the figures, before he beats me up again.