The LRDG II: Episode Five

The LRDG II: Episode Five 

Welcome to another Bolt Action only episode of the LRDG II. In this very special episode Old Man Morin talks to two very special guests. 

In the first half of the episode, Old Man Morin faces off with the formidable David "Uber Gruber" Hunter, from the Down Order Podcast, to talk extensively about the history of and listing in 1939 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. With these two guys on the mic, expect an opinion or two to get dropped!!!

In segment two, Brad is joined by the author of Konflikt '47, the newest game in the Bolt Action family. Chris, from Clockwork Goblin Games, drops serious preview information about the world of Konflikt '47, changes to the BA rules, new units in the game and things to expect down the pipe. It is a gloriously revealing interview!  

We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. As always, please contact the guys on the LRDG Podcast FB if you have any feedback, positive or negative. We LOVE to hear from YOU!

Remember you can also find this episode in the iTunes store or download it directly HERE.

Read More

LRDG II : Episode 4 – Return Of The Rising Sun (Another Bolt Action Only Episode)

LRDG II : Episode 4 – Return Of The Rising Sun

A loooooong time ago, the guys in the LRDG took a serious look at the Armies of Japan book when it came out. Since then, the Japanese army has not had much love on Bolt Action podcasts, to rectify this Old Man Morin has put together a formidable round table of IJA players to discuss common misconceptions about the army, tactics, favourite units and sooooo much more! 

Later in the episode, Brad is joined by Patchimus Prime to talk painting, upcoming events and Patch’s 2017 Cancon giveaway. It should also be noted that Patch says a VERY naughty word!

The episode is rounded out with a chat from another friend from the north side of Australia, Hari Turner. We talk listing for late war Fins, grudge matches and Bolt Action in general.

Stay tuned.. This is a BEAST of an episode!

As always, we would love feedback from you, the listener. Please find us on Facebook under The LRDG Podcast and let us know what you think of this, or any other of our podcasts.

You can download this episode from the iTunes store or you can find it directly HERE.

Read More

Osprey Books - Finland at War Vol 1 - A Review

By Old Man Morin

Many of us in the wargaming world, particularly those of us who come from fantasy or sci-fi based
games systems, rely heavily on background material, or 'fluff' to inspire our choice of armies and units. When I started playing Bolt Action I discovered a new world, rich with information about units and battles within what some consider to be a "short" war. 'The Armies of...' and the Bolt Action Theatre books provide a glimpse into these conflicts and the forces that fought in them but because of their length and purpose, this information is condensed down to brief overviews. Now there is quite a lot of information online and there are literally thousands of books and biographies about this global conflict and to be honest the sheer volume of text can be daunting. To focus my searches I have been researching things that I find interesting when reading Bolt Action books. Not the most holistic view of the war but it is a starting point (and I have been at it for close to 4 years now). Now Osprey publishing puts out vast numbers of short, soft cover books covering everything from specific units and battles to technology and tactics. These are great resources and I am sure I will discuss them again in an article soon. Today though, I want to talk about something else. Their 'Finland at War' series.

Read More

Finnish AT on a Budget

I have been slowly building up my Finnish forces for Flames of War.  I am building them just to have something different to paint an play - not as a tournament list.  I get tired of dragging out the same old stuff all the time, so I like to mess around with these guys from time to time.

My Finns are basically an infantry list with some limited support options and some mobile AT.  Because I am building the army as a secondary force, I am always looking for platoons that work for multiple time periods.  I am especially looking for a good deal when filling out this force and I found a great one at the last HMGS Flea Market -- right on Luke's table!

Read More

AAR: Russians vs. Finns in Fighting Withdrawal Infantry Battle

Steven and I continued our "Get Jon's Stuff on the Board" series, where I play things I have painted, but have not yet played.  I started the Finns a long time ago, but have not got them on the table at all, as I was slowly building up the force so that it can fight from Early War to Late War.

We played the same day we recorded a Know the Mission for Fighting Withdrawal, so we went ahead and played that mission.  We rolled a die, and I got to be the defender.  We decided it was snowing, so we basically treated everything as Slow-Going.

Jon's List:

I am pretty limited in my choices of platoons - due to what I own - so I basically put a list together with all my Early War appropriate models.  Steven put together some Strelkovy.

Steven's List:

I deployed this infantry unit in the woods on top of my right-most objective.  I was going to have to count on this unit to hold off the horde.  I put the two attached HMGs on the edge of the wood (on is behind the tree) to give me to option to shoot the blob as it got closer.

Read More

Finns vs Soviets in Pincer, 1000 points, MW

By Steven MacLauchlan

Sean and I were feeling inspired to play a game of Flames Of War, but it was already a bit late in the evening so we agreed to do Eastern Front, 1000 points. We whipped up a table, made some quick and dirty lists, and went to town! We rolled for mission, and came up with "Pincer". We weren't so sure how this was going to work out, but decided to let Lady Luck have her say. We rolled for attacker/defender and the Finns got the distinction of being chosen to attack.

The Soviets start with the big strelk on the board and the little Strelk with 2 HMGs in ambush. The bottom right Finns are lead by Torni.

Read More

Historicon Mid-War Doubles!

By Eric Lauterbach

Luke having out of control fun!!!

 Another great year at Historicon! The WWPD crew joined in the fun with 70 players in the doubles tournament.  The Mid-War event had each two man team playing roughly 1000 point companies, joined up to make 2000 points on the table.  The doubles event is always a good time.  Playing with a friend takes some of the hard work off you. If you have never tried one of these tournaments, I would recommend it greatly.  This year I allowed each team to pick a team nickname and I was not disappointed with what they came up with!  Probably have to keep that for next year.

"Throck of War" fighting the hordes of team "Lots of Dead Guys"

Read More

Finns!

by Dirty Jon

I've recently been working on my Flames of War Early War Finns as I found them particularly interesting when Rising Sun came out.  In this article, I will take a look at what I have gathered at this point and discuss some plans for building out my collection moving forward.  Below, see all the stuff I have painted up for the Finns.

This is all of my painted Finns.  More on the way...

I started the army with a Jääkäri Rifle Platoon (Winter) (FI721).  You can see my article on these here.  In addition, I quickly purchased another blister just like it, but I still need to find time to get it painted.  Each blister comes with an additional command stand, so I should be set for the compulsory units.

Read More

Finnish Panssari Christie Platoon (FIX01)

by Dirty Jon

This will be more of a spotlight than a full review, as I have already reviewed similar infantry figures and tanks.  The Finnish Panssari Christie Platoon for an Early War Flames of War force is a nice little box set that comes with everything you need to make three BT-5s and two BT-7s complete with tank escorts!

Read More

Review: Jääkäri Rifle Platoon (Winter) (FI721)

by Dirty Jon

I think some of the coolest looking stuff in Rising Sun comes from the Finnish section.  To start any of the Companies in the book, you need to get some infantry.  I really like to have lots of leg options in any of my Flames of War lists, so I dove right in to the standard rifle platoon for the Finns: (FI721) Jääkäri Rifle Platoon (Winter).

The pack comes with enough guys to make 8 Rifle teams and 2 command teams -- the thinking is you get a CiC and an 2iC with the purchase of two blisters.  I expected there to be a lack of variety in the pack, but was pleasantly surprised with a bunch of different guys.

Figures grouped by sculpt.

Read More

Winter War (EW): Soviets vs Finns

Sean and I had scheduled a Normandy game for Operation Overlord, but at the very last second decided to play a game using Rising Sun which had just arrived. Sean's always been a fan of the Finns, and I was excited to try a ridiculous Strelkovy horde. The last time I used them was against some Polish Cavalry and the effect was quite devastating! We rolled for the mission and came up with "Surrounded". Perfect!

Read More

Soviets vs Finns: Breakthrough

With the upcoming Williasmburg Muster tournament, there are some very interesting constraints put on your list. The armies are 1200 points, with no more than 400 points in armed vehicles AND no more than 5 total vehicles. To that end, Sean and I put together some lists to try the format out. The games are still played on standard sized boards. We rolled and came up with "Breakthrough". Naturally, the Soviets would be attacking.

Read More

Red Army Strelkovy Crashes Into Finnish Infantry!

With a huge thank you to forum user "Grumpus" (Names have been changed to protected the self-proclaimed grumpy), I was able to finish my Strelkovy really quickly! He very generously donated a mountain of Soviets to WWPD HQ, and Jon, Luke and I picked through them like a Komissar looking for bodies to send to the front line. So, naturally, I had to play mid war and run Conscripts! Sean obliged with his Finns. We rolled for the mission and came up with Fighting Withdrawal. The Soviets were, naturally, the attackers.

Read More

Sea Lion: Finns vs Americans in Somerset

As part of Operation Sea Lion, a US Armored Rifle company (4th AD- CV) encounters a Finn infantry company at Somerset as the allies abandon the region. The mission is Dust Up! Sean's Finn infantry is made up of Jakaari

Sean's Finns HQ Full Strength Infantry Platoon w/ Torni Full Strength Infantry Platoon Understrength Pioneer Platoon 3x T-34/85 Captured SU-152 (The Kracken) 122mm Battery 3x BT-42s Sporadic HS-129Bs

Steven's Armored Rifles HQ Full Strength AR Platoon Full Strength AR Platoon 2x Sherman M4A3 lates, 2x M4A1 76mm M18 Tank destroyer Unit Cav Recon (trained) 105 Battery (trained) AOP

SETUP AND DEPLOYMENT

The board. Sean rolls to go first.

Read More

Guards Motorstrelkovy vs Finn Pioneers (Blind Domination)

This battle is Game two in our Operation Bagration Campaign. I didn't take a picture of the board but you can consult the bottom of this post to see a map. In this game, Sean attempted to relieve his surrounded forces by counter attacking from Lepel to the recently captured Berezino. Train Tracks, bridge, and swamps by Battlefront Miniatures Roads and Creek by JR Miniatures We rolled for the mission and came up with Blind Domination- we both agree that this is one of our absolute favorite missions. The first three movement steps are pre-planned out for you, and we love how this makes for a really smooth transition from deployment to playing.

Read More

Soviet Motorstrelkovy vs Finn Pioneers (Big Push)

Sean and I decided it was high time we played some Firestorm Bagration. Ultimately we expect it to take years to play through, but decided the payoff would be worth it! We also decided we'd allow Sean's Finns to play a central role in the campaign- with German Firestorm troops being allowed to act as integral platoons (and not considered allies). With that said, we kicked off the campaign and my soviets won the initiative! I immediately knew I had to attack Berezino- success there would mean Bykhov, Orsha, and Mogilev were all knocked out of supply. Berezino is forested, and we decided to truly play up the terrain aspects of the campaign, and so went with heavy forests. The mission wound up being The Big Push, which we found very appropriate.

Read More

Sean's Finn Objectives

Sean recently left these guys at my house and I really liked the way he did them.  So, here they are!

Read More

Guards Heavy Tanks Crash Into an Axis Fortified Line

Sean and Joe came by the house last night and we whipped together a scenario at the last minute. I was eager to get my IS-2s on the board, so we decided to have them be the speartip of a breakthrough. Consequently, we played The Big Push. The forces were somewhat cobbled together to allow Sean to get his Finns on the board.

SOVIET GUARDS TANKOVY HQ IS-2 3x IS-2s 3x IS-2s 3x IS-2s Udarny Strelkovy Platoon

FINN/GERMAN DEFENSE GROUP German Pioneer Company w/ 2 Pioneer Platoons. Finnish Infantry Company w/ 1 pioneer platoon, 1 infantry platoon. German 10.5cm Battery German Nebelwerfer Battery 2x Tiger IE Pak 40 Platoon Sporadic Stukas

DEPLOYMENT AND PRELIMINARY BARRAGE

The view from the soviet side. The Axis powers started with all 3 pioneer platoons and the German 105s.

The "near" objective is in the top right wheat field just behind the trench line. The "far" objective is just in front of the 105s.
German pioneers to the left of me, finn pioneers to the right. (here I am- stuck in the middle with you!)



The Finn Pioneers wait in their trenches



The german 105s are dug in in gun pits.

>>>>CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE BATTLE REPORT!

Read More

Soviet Guards Tankovy vs Finn Infantry

Sean and I were able to get in another East Front game. His Finns would be defending against my Guards Tannkovy in a Fighting Withdrawal across a river!

STEVEN'S GUARDS TANKOVY HQ- T-34/85 10x T-34/85 + Tank Riders 5x T-34/85 5x SU-85 2x Decoy Panthers

SEAN'S FINNISH INFANTRY HQ Jaakari w/ Lorni Torni Jaakari Pioneers 105 Battery Sturmi Platoon Captured T-34/85 Platoon Captured ISU-152 (The Kraken!)

The mission was fighting withdrawal.

TURN ONE AND DEPLOYMENT

The board. soviets from left to right: 5x T-34. SU-85s. Tank blob + decoy panthers. The Finns from left to right: Sturmi, jakaari, 105s in the swamp, pioneers jakaari with lorni torni. Captured T-34s in ambush. The three objectives are in the center to the left of the T-intersection and just to the right. The 3rd is just above the ford on the right.

>>>CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL REPORT!

Read More

Soviet Guards Tankovy vs German (Finns in Disguise) Stugs

STEVEN'S GUARDS TANKOVY HQ T-34/85 + Tankos + Cupola 10x Guards T-34/85 + 10x Tankos + Cupolas 5x Guards T-34/85s + Cupolas 5x Red Army SU-85s* Decoy Tanks: 2 Panther Ds

SEAN'S FINN STUGS (MASQUERADING AS SS STUG BATTERIE) HQ 1x Stug G Sturmi Platoon: 3x Stug G Sturmi Platoon: 3x Stug G Sturmi Platoon: 3x Stug G Finnish Pioneers at Full Strength + Panzerfaust pak 40s w/ 2 guns 105s w/ 2 guns Limited Air Support Stuka Ds

*Note: I misread the blurb at the beginning of the support section and didn't realize I couldn't buy Red Army- sorry Sean!

We were anxious for our first LW east front battle! Sean plans to buy Finn stugs, but wanted to try them out first and so ran my German stugs. We decided they were an SS division, but represented by the Finn rules! We rolled for the mission and came up with Hasty Assault. I was an auto-attack force, and so would be attacking but because I did not get the first turn I could not make an infiltration move!

TURN ONE AND DEPLOYMENT

Two objectives on Sean's side: in the small woods in the upper middle, and in front of the hill in the top right. Sean is defending with Stugs in the top right behind the hill, and in the center in the town. Pak 40s are in immediate ambush. Steven has an objective in the bottom left to the left of the swamp. Steven begins with Panthers in upper center (post recon move), and the huge T-34/85 company.

>>>CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST!

Read More