'Fellowship' from MartinN: Last Rites

"Nicht wofür wir kämpfen ist das Wesentliche, sondern wie wir kämpfen."

- Ernst Jünger -

The above quote by Ernst Jünger, an officer during both World Wars and author of the famous  "Storm of Steel" where he recounts his experiences in the Great War,  pretty much sums up my thoughts when creating this little vignette.

"It's not what we're fighting for that's important, but how we fight."

While the quote is taken completely out of context -for those interested it's taken from the 1922 essay "Der Kampf als inneres Erlebnis"- it still rings true on its own I feel. In a struggle for survival where each breath you take could be your last one, it's how we treat our fellow men, be they comrades or enemies, what separates the human from the animal.

It's all too common for the animalistic side in us coming to the fore when put under pressure. Even more so when our lifes are at stake. When the pure will to persevere, to survive is the only thing that keeps men going. I think that's when the world is at its darkest.

But when the world is getting darker it's the more important to see those bright little flashes. Those acts of humanity, of selflessness. It's cheap and easy for all of us to call for justice, for empathy when sitting in a cushy chair, far removed from those dark corners. But when you find yourself in the thick of it, when bullets whistle by or shells explode around you, or you have to stand in for your believes, live up to your ideals in the face of darkness, that's when it's most important for us to remain human. Not to succumb to the beast that lurks in all of us.

So with rather dark and gloomy thoughts like these in my mind I set about to create my entry for "Fellowship". Fellowship in this case meaning not simply a tightly knitted group of people like in the probably most famous fellowships of all, the "Fellowship of the Ring" By R.R. Tolkien, but more the general fellowship of men. I'm not a religious person, but apart from Ernst Jüngers quote above, another phrase that came to my mind time and again while I worked on this vignette was: "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do to me. (Mt 25:40)"

The vignette was created from several different pieces. The fallen soldier is a German casualty figure from Great War Miniatures, The British medic is from a character pack by Woodbine Design Company (sold by Gripping Beast), who was given an helmeted head taken from a Late War British figure from Great War Miniatures. The right hand was replaced with a plastic one from a Warlord Games sprue and the arm was repositioned as to look as if gently closing the eyes of the recently fallen enemy. The discarded rifle again was taken from a plastic sprue by Warlord.

Originally I had intended to paint a "Triptych" of vignettes depicting different interpretations of the same theme. But alas time constraints saw this plan come to nought.

Given the rather dark theme of this entry I thought it only fitting to resort to painting it in greyscale as I did with my Indochina Wars project a few challenges back. Despite the dark mood I enjoyed working on it immensely. 

'Water Feature' from MartinN: Over the channel and far, far away

Just a quick one today as I'm in a bit of a hurry really. At the moment I'm away with work most of the time and thus spare time with family and friends is at a premium. So, let's talk about channels today. When reading accounts about the fighting in Belgium, Northern France and especially Holland in 1940 what becomes clear immediately is the importance of streams, channels and similar water features as obstacles to the German onslaught.

For this bonus round I could have gone with small, simple river which would have been useful across a wide range of settings. Also I could have done a small pond or the like. But I simply had to build me a proper sized channel. Not necessarily a terrain feature that will see lots of use but hey, sometimes you simply have to go with that little voice in your head nudging you on to try your hand on something big and maybe a little daft.

At first I had in mind something similar to the Channel Richard Clarke built for his awesome looking Chain of Command game at Crisis 2018. But having bought one of the girder bridges by the fine folks at Warbases I realized it'd look rather stupid if this kind of bridge would sit almost flush to the water surface. So instead I choose to build a channel with raised embankments. I don't really know how (if at all) common this kind of channel is but it'll do its job for now.

The measurements for this terrain feature are roughly 51"x15"x1,5" for the channel sections and 3,5"x10,5x5,5" for the bridge. I'll leave it for Curt to decide on the points.

'Sport' from MartinN: To the green fields beyond...

... probably football fields in this case.

War is full of strange things. Maybe one of the stranger sights during the Great War would probably have been an attack on German trench lines on 1 July 1916. After eight days of constant but little effective shelling German defenders crawling out of their dugouts could see men storming across no man's land frantically kicking footballs before them.

This action took place on the Somme front and was part of a heavy blood letting exercise for the British Army, gaining little ground for massive costs in human lives. While this event seems to be widely known in Great Britain, I haven't come across it in Germany. Thus, when buying a pack of special character figures from Great War Miniatures I was a little perplexed as to what flight of fancy might have driven the sculptor. Some reading later I knew the details but still didn't know what to do with the figure. And so it sat unpainted in its drawer for what felt like an eternity. But when Curt announced the 'Sports' theme I instantly knew what to go for.

Well, I know the action was conducted by (probably only) B-Company of 8th Battailon East Surrey Regiment of the British Expeditionary Force. But I choose to paint this little fella up as being a member of 2nd C.M.R. (2nd Regiment Canadian Mounted Rifles) as a nod towards our esteemed Snow-Overlord. When I had the pleasure to meet him at Crisis in 2017 he gave me a Canadian Poppy Flower pin but alas I had nothing to give in return. To rectify this sad fact our gallant kicker will swing his way towards Canada in the near future.

As far as I know Curt has no connection with the 2nd C.M.R but I just found the Regimental Patch visually interesting and thought it would add a little colour to an otherwise rather drab figure.

So that's been my latest instalment from the trenches of the Great War. Stay safe!

'Reconnaissance' from MartinN: Bavarian Uhlans

I was a little dumb struck as to what to paint for this themed round. There were no suitable vehicles in my stash, nor was I aware of any figures really fitting the theme. But when I came across a pack of German Uhlans from Great War Miniatures, buried deep down in my pile, also known as the Bermuda Triangle of lead, I knew what to do. I also discovered a personal link to the Bavarian Uhlans, but more on that later.

In World War 1 Bavaria fielded two regiments of Uhlans, light cavalry used for reconnaissance and to exploit any potential breakthroughs in the enemy lines. Still armed with saber and lance in addition to their carbines they were admittedly somewhat out of date for the kind of warfare prevalent in the Great War. But the Germans were not alone in this and light (as well as heavy) cavalry formations were fielded by all major combatants.

1st and 2nd Royal Bavarian Uhlans were first deployed on the western front but were transferred to the east in 1915 when it was clear that the stalemate in the west would not be broken any time soon.

There they formed part of the Bavarian Cavalry Division stationed at Kelmé. The Uhlans distinguished themselves during the capture of Salakas in Lithuania in September 1915.
Between the end of 1915 and February 1918 the Uhlans fought dismounted primarily on the Stokhid front. From February 1918 on both Regiments took part in the occupation of Ukraine and saw some fighting mostly against the Bolsheviks. In April captured Russian horses were used to make both units fully mounted again. In May the Uhlans took part in the capture of Rostov-on-Don with following police duties in the south of Kiev.

In October and November of that year they then were part of the occupational forces on the Krim, from where they started their long march home following the news of the outbreak of Revolution in Germany. On 8th January 1919, almost two months after the armistice, they fought their last encounter near Zaslaw in Poland against semi regular polish troops.

Now to my personal link to the Bavarian Uhlans. During a recent trip to Greece with my Dad he told me that my Great-Grandfather on his side of the family was part of either the 1st or 2nd Royal Bavarian Uhlan Regiment. If he was actually an Uhlan or part of the train of one of the regiments is unknown. But personally I think probably the latter as family history has it he went to war with his farm horse and also came back with it, of which feat he was immensely proud. Other than that little is known but my Dad gave to me, as part of a welcoming gift in our new house, the wooden army box of a Russian officer my ancestor had brought with him when he returned home.

I'm absolutely proud of that new addition to my collection and at the moment it's used to house parts of my lead stash.

Said box sitting in my temporary hobby room

'BFG' from MartinN: Condor Legion 8.8cm FlaK

We have a saying here in Germany: "Mit Kanonen auf Spatzen schiessen", literally translated as "To shoot with cannons at sparrows", meaning something along the lines of cracking a nut with a sledgehammer.

And that in my opinion nicely sums up the 8.8cm FlaK, when used in an anti-tank role in a Spanish Civil War setting. Shooting high velocity armour-piercing rounds at targets with paper thin armour could be considered something of an overkill by some, but that's just what happened.

Popular believe has it that the first use of the famous German eighty-eight against tanks took place during the invasion of France in 1940 at the battle of Arras. Instead it was used as early as the Spanish Civil War in just this capacity by the Condor Legion. In fact it was used more often in a anti-tank and direct-firing artillery gun role than in its intended role as
an anti-aircraft gun.

The model is made by Empress Miniatures for their Spanish Civil War range and comes complete with six crew which could, when painted accordingly, be used as Luftwaffe crew for WW2. The gun itself was not exactly a joy to put together, but after contacting Empress Paul provided me with instructions which saw me trough the build well enough.

I had an eye on this kit for quite some time already but as of yet was able to resist the temptation. But as soon as I read the theme for this fortnights Bonus Themed Round I simply knew I had to get it. I'm weak, I know.

Points wise we have six miniatures (30pts), a FlaK (10pts) and the two parts of the Sonderanhänger. The latter put together are roughly the size of a 15mm tank, so 6 to 7 points maybe?






Artist: Toxpack
Song: Cultus Interruptus

'Characters/Scene from' MartinN: Commissar Ciaphas Cain - Hero of the Imperium

For this last themed round I'llonce again stroll off my habitual historical path and will enter the grim darkness of the far future. All kinds of threats are roaming between the stars, the home of a mankind beset by enemies from the outside as well as from within. It's the 41st millennium and everything is dark and humorless.

Everything? No, not everything, at least not everyone. Amidst all the darkness surrounding men there's light. Commissar Ciaphas Cain - Hero of the Imperium. Together with his trusted and malodorous aide Gunner Jurgen, Cain time and again braves all kinds of threads a remorseless galaxy can throw at him.

Ciaphas Cain is a political Commissar in the Imperial Guard, the hammer of the Imperium, the last line of defense between mankind and utter destruction. Commissars are meant to lead by example. They are meant to inspire the guardsmen under their 'care' through uplifting speeches and the occasional bullet through the head should a soldier not feel inspired enough and fail his duty and thus the Emperor.

Not so Commissar Cain.

Having realized 'inspiration' as dealt by most of his fellow commissars often leads to a short life expectancy in the heat of battle, finds it far more useful to have soldiers watch his back instead of shooting at it.

Furthermore he's by his own accounts a coward. A coward with a reputation to lose. And as this very reputation means all kinds of privileges he normally wouldn't be privy to, he's anxious to hold that - in his eyes unmerited - reputation of heroism upright.

Unfortunately for him this, more often than not, means he finds himself in the thick of it, despite of his best efforts to stay clear of anything even remotely smelling of danger. But his instinct and sheer will to survive sees him besting any precarious situation thrown at him. But fighting off the most wicked of the enemies of mankind leads to his reputation growing even further with every dangerous mission he returns from. This in turn means he has to fight even harder to maintain it... a vicious circle indeed.

Cain wouldn't have lived into his second century without the unquestioning loyalty of his personal aide Gunner Jurgen. Jurgen, a Valhallan by birth, is of a - to put it mildly - somewhat unprepossessing appearance. He's with some certainty the dirtiest and smelliest soldier in the whole of the guard, and would probably not smell out of place amidst an orcish warband. Cain has grown accustomed to his aides body odour over the decades but still does his best to stay upwind of Jurgen.

But hidden behind the dissuasive facade of Jurgen there's a rather peculiar ability. Jurgen is a blank. Meaning he's unaffected by any kind of psychic abilities the enemy may field to further his goals. More so he also creates a kind of psychic void around him, meaning those in his immediate vicinity also are safe from (psychic-) harm. Of course this means Commissar Cain stays as close to Jurgen at all times as breathing allows. A second, more mundane quality of Jurgen that Cain has learned to appreciate is his unquestioning loyalty towards the Commissariat and Cain in particular.

No matter what Cain asks of him, Jurgen - with a single minded determination - will do everything to fulfill his task, even when this means he has to put his life on the line. More than once Jurgens determination alone was all that stood between Cain and death dealt by one of his enemies.

As is probably evident from my enthusiastic ramblings, I'm an avid fan of the Ciaphas Cain novels by  Alexander Michael Stewart aka Sandy Mitchel. With Cain (as well as Jurgen and the rather uncharacteristic female Inquisitor Amberly Vail) he has succeeded in creating a set of believable* and even funny, but not not hilarious, characters amidst the grim darkness of GW's Warhammer 40k universe.

Ever since I first read the novels I wanted to create my own Ciaphas Cain. And truth be told I'm rather chuffed by how my interpretation has turned out.

*at least more so than most of GW's Uber-humans that seem to lack any sort of human emotions as well as any kind of humor.

'West' from MartinN: Western Roman Cataphractarii

The Cataphractarii were the tanks of late antiquity. Like their eastern equivalent, the Clibanarii, they were heavily armoured and also made use of the contus. The contus was a long cavalry lance of between 3 and 5 meters. It should be noted that medieval lances only measured about 2.50 to 3 meters in length. Due the extreme length the contus had to be used with both hands and thus the Cataphractarii didn't use shields, or if so only very small shields strapped to the upper arm.

To be able to use their weapons while stirring the horses with their knees, the Cataphractarii probably had to undergo long and hard training. While this made them an excellent weapon on the battlefield it also meant losses were only hard to replace. Thus the Cataphractarii werer highly likely only to be used in extreme circumstances. The first time units of Cataphractarii appear in Roman records was as early as the early second century A.D. as part of the auxiliary. Ala I Gallorum et Pannoniorum was stationed in the province of Moesia Inferior while Ala I Ulpia Contariorum was stationed in Pannonia inferior. In the west the Cataphractarii more or less disappeared together with Roman rule and it took a few hundred years till such heavily armoured cavalry roamed the battlefields again in the form of the high medieval knight.

The figures are from the excellent, if by modern standards somewhat limited, late Roman range by Wargames Foundry. They were a breeze to paint and already saw combat against ChristopherS's Goths. With the 'getting your ass handed' part for freshly painted miniatures now lying behind them, I'm sure they're more than eager to prove themselves in future games... I hope... maybe...

'Home' from MartinN: If Walls Could Talk

It was a sad day for Frank Sperber, Obergefreiter of the Wehrmacht, when he returned home for the first time in over a year. The last time he saw the house he had called his home was when he departed for his first assignment after basic training, sitting on the floor of a horse cart, holding a lock of blonde hair in his left hand. He was to join a newly raised Panzergrenadierdivision in France and he could still vividly remember his parents, standing at the garden gate, waving him goodbye with tears in their eyes as if they'd knew what was to come. And there was Anne... 

He hadn't allowed himself to think about Anne the whole day now. She'd been a girl from the neighbourhood and his first love and they had been friends for as long as he could remember. While his parents had fled well in advance of the soviet steamroller, she had decided to stay and wait for him to return. Still believing the lies of those treacherous bastards in Berlin. The "Endsieg" would finally be theirs. The Allies in the west would break and sue for peace, while the red hordes, teetering on the brink of collapse anyway, would be driven back to the Ural and beyond. Crushing the menace of bolshevism once and for all. All with the help of the new "Wunderwaffen" Or so she believed...

And than came the bombs. At first only a few bombers, for the most part concentrating on the nearby railway hub. Finally the real bombing began. Wave after wave of big twin engined bombers flew overhead and unleashed hell on the town. Her parents' home was struck and burnt out almost completely, while she had found refuge in one of the small air raid shelters scattered around the vicinity. When the raid was over she went to his home, still not prepared to flee westwards.

Weeks of relative calm followed and she had sent him letter after letter to let him know she was safe and still waiting for him. All his appeals to follow his parents were in vain. Providence, or bad luck, saw his unit moved to the eastern front. Only a few miles from his home town, but the relentless pressure the soviets put on the Wehrmacht meant there was no time for him to visit his home and first of all Anne. It was only weeks later when their retreat led them through the remnants of his town when he could convince his superior to allow him and his squad mates a small detour to look after his love.

He had found her in what little was left of the kitchen. She was sitting at the table as if just finished with breakfast. Her head lay resting on her right arm while in her left hand she was still clutching his photograph. A fragment of the artillery grenade that had laid his home in ruins had taken her life. His comrades had to forcefully take him away from her lifeless body and had to use the contents of a bottle of cheap vodka to stun him in a merciful stupor, while they buried her in the garden.
Shortly after they'd woken him of his comatous sleep as russian artillery started their gruesome work again and interrupted the relative quiet with shells of all calibres falling all around them. Like a puppet he had followed his comrades through the ruins of the neighbourhood, crossing the town square in sheer flight, passing through deserted streets and finally linking up with what seemed to be the rearguard of their Division already leaving the outskirts of the town. Now, hours later, his head was aking and he still felt numb. He was sitting on the floor of a horse cart, his comrades around him. In his left hand he held a lock of blonde hair...

This theme proved to be a really tough one for me. Only after much head scratching and rummaging around the treasure trove did I remember this superb kit from Elladan, formerly Stronghold Terrain. I had bought it at Tactica last year and was rather intimidated bythe level of detail so I did what we all tend to do at times. I put it into the pile and all but forgot about it.

And bloody right I was too! Has I only known how much time it would cost me to finish the piece I'd probably better skipped this round. Being the pedantic little turt I am I couldn't just assemble the basic kit, splash some paint on it, hit it with pigments and be done with it. No, I had to do all the little detailing that is possible with the Diorama-Set available for this building and more.

I even decided to add a small personal touch by adding the portrait of my great uncle who fell in 1940 in France, serving as a bomber pilot. Funny enough, people who know the picture often mistake it for me wearing a reenactors uniform.

To properly present the building I even did a staged photo shot, creating a complete scene with garden fencing, a small orchard, dung heap and so on. Unfortunately the lighting proved to be so bad I could only use some few close ups of the building. And for that I had risked my marriage by sprinkling sand around the flat...
Anyhow, despite my rumblings I'm rather pleased with how the kit has turned out. It will probably make for a nice center piece in future games. Downside is, it's rather fragile and thus I'll probably not take it out of house very often, if at all.

No figures were painted for this entry, so it should be bonus points only this time.