In preparation for a long-awaited pseudo-Sicilian campaign (which we will be calling OP LEOPARD), I commissioned Jacquesofallgames to paint up my Perry Miniatures Italians. These are done in the grey that was primarily used by Coastal Divisions but could also be the fatigues of a regular unit.
The platoon organization is awkward to say the least. There are effectively two squads of 20 men each. Each squad has two machine gun teams, but these guns are rather low-quality Bredas, which mean they function as BARs in the rules. I’ve also got a Breda 37 MMG for support.
The whole platoon
A Breda 37 machine gun
This platoon was painted to a basic standard but I think that they look great and I’ll be posting pictures of their first outing on the table where they performed better than I thought they would. As the Coastal Divisions are rather green in the rules (even at full morale they only get 4 Chain of Command dice) they do get a lot of support points.
To help in that role, here are some armoured vehicles:
AB 41/43
Steyr 1500
Semovente 90/53
R35
The Blitzkrieg models AB 41 also comes with an AB 43 turret, which makes the model very flexible. The Steyr 1500 radio truck will, no doubt, be the target of a commando raid in the future, and the Semovente 90/53 is a strange duck overall. It’s a 90mm anti-aircraft gun mounted on an M14/41 tank chassis. Apparently it was somewhat effective. The crew are Perry Miniatures and yes, will be quite exposed on the battlefield. The last AFV is an R35, which is just a fun little tank. I asked that all of them be done without decals as I fully intend to use these vehicles as Italian or German, and with the R35 possibly in NWE.
I have two more Italian tanks (an M13/40 and an L6) that I’ve primed and will hopefully be able to add to the force soon. More on Op Leopard will follow!
3 thoughts on “Back (B)log 2 – WW2 Italians for Chain of Command”
Look forward to reading about this. I also have (unpainted) Italian troops, but enthusiasm is a bit low. Hopefully some battle reports will stir my imagination.
Thanks! I don’t know many people who play Italians, but they do provide interesting opportunities, especially if paired with German armour. Hopefully we’ll try them on the table on a game of Big Chain of Command supported by regular Germans or FJs and see how they fare. Also, the end-game is a campagin, and while they aren’t likely to perform as well as their opponents, I think clever use of them will help slow down or bleed away strength.
Look forward to reading about this. I also have (unpainted) Italian troops, but enthusiasm is a bit low. Hopefully some battle reports will stir my imagination.
Very nice. An unusual project.
Thanks! I don’t know many people who play Italians, but they do provide interesting opportunities, especially if paired with German armour. Hopefully we’ll try them on the table on a game of Big Chain of Command supported by regular Germans or FJs and see how they fare. Also, the end-game is a campagin, and while they aren’t likely to perform as well as their opponents, I think clever use of them will help slow down or bleed away strength.