Through the Mud and Blood

A while back I bought some really nice custom laser cut platoon rosters for Through the Mud and Blood from Alex Sotheran, the Storm of Steel YouTube authority on the rules. I put them away for future use, as I was up to my neck in Algernon Pulls It Off! projects, with the intention of starting a TTMAB project in 2026. 

So, here we are. I'm going to do some reading up on the rules and watch some of the game reports on the Storm of Steel YouTube channel, then set about painting a couple of platoons in 15mm. Fortunately, Alex has set out exactly what's required in a previous online post, so I'm going to go with this:

"It depends on the year, but let's say you are playing in 1917, for arguments sake. For the British, a full paper strength platoon would be:

HQ: Leiutenant (1st or 2nd), armed with a rifle, or less likely a pistol, Sergeant armed with a rifle, two scouts/runners armed with rifles.

Rifle section: 1 Corporal armed with rifle, eight riflemen.

Bomber Section: 1 Corporal armed with rifle, six riflemen, two bombers.

Rifle Grenadier section: 1 Corporal armed with rifle, four 2 man rifle grenadier teams.

LMG section: 1 Corporal armed with rifle, 2 man Lewis gun team, six riflemen.

For a typical German platoon:

HQ, Leutnant (or similar junior officer) armed with pistol or rifle.

Zug 1 & 3: Gefrieter armed with rifle, eight riflemen, two bombers.

Zug 2 & 4: Gefrieter armed with rifle, eight riflemen, 2 man LMG team (either captured Lewis or MG 08/15).

The Big Men are the Leiutenant, Sargent, Leutnent, Corporals and Gefrieters, given appropriate command initiative levels."

I have a good stash of Peter Pig figures already set aside for this, so there's no time like the present to get started....

Fifteen Seconds of Fame

The next issue of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy is available for order now and it includes my article and scenarios for Algernon Pulls It Off! Don't worry, as there's lots of other stuff as well if you are a First World War wargaming enthusiast! It's good to see some air wargaming in the magazine and, if I get the chance, I'm definitely up for another fifteen seconds of wargaming fame 

Von Richthofen's Red Albatros DII

It's the last couple of days of a painting challenge on the Algernon Pulls It Off! Facebook group, in which you have to paint a single Albatros scout in any scale or scheme, as long as it is historically accurate. I thought I'd have a go at Manfred Von Richthofen's red Albatros D.II from December 1916, which I can use for the McCudden scenario. I've only got one 1/600th scale  model left in the box, so I have no room for error and not a lot of time either. I've started with a base coat of Army Painter Pure Red...what could possibly go wrong?!

McCudden's Cut and Run Resources

It's been chucking down today so time was well spent indoors for some of it, working up the card deck and aircraft sheets for the McCudden's Cut and Run scenario, which is now ready for a run through. I have some jobs to do tomorrow but, once they are sorted, I'm planning to set up the dining room table for a play test session. All of these resources and the scenario can be found to download for free from the Algernon Pulls It Off! Facebook group. 

Bag The Hun 2 Aircraft Record Sheet

Blank Template

Completed Sheet

A member of the Bag the Hun Facebook group asked if anyone had a template for an aircraft record sheet today, so I had a dig about on the hard drive and have uploaded a .doc and .pdf of my one. This was designed by me for the first Lard Day game that I ran back in 2018 but was developed from many years of experience playing the game, so is pretty much the mutt's nuts. It's been used by other people to design their own 'flashy' colour versions, but I like it in its basic format as you can easily edit it for whatever scenarios you have planned. You can grab a copy from the Files on the Facebook group for free. Tally Ho!

Winter Hammer

This time last year I fiddled around with a Winter War solo project using Nordic Weasel's Winter Hammer fast play rules. This didn't go beyond the planning stage but I'm thinking about picking it up again to have a go at basing and painting some 6mm units for both the Soviets and Finns. I did intend to paint some Bag the Hun 1/600th aircraft for the Continuation War, but I need a break from air wargaming, so this is a fitting alternative project. I may even have a go at some terrain making but it's freezing in the garage, so it may be a bit of a struggle!

Wargames Soldiers and Strategy Algy Article

I had a chance to look over the Algernon Pulls It Off! article that I have written for the next edition of Wargames, Solders and Strategy magazine yesterday. It looks great and the photos of Steve Dean's superbly painted models really set it off very well. I'm looking forward to getting a copy of the issue when it comes out in a few weeks time. Who knows, I might even write another one at some point? Chocks Away!

April Fools

Another charity shop hard back, this time something relevant to my First World War air wargaming. It's quite a brief overview of the controversies surrounding creation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918, but also covers the early interwar period when the RAF struggled to maintain a role beyond colonial policing, which my grandfather played a small part in on the North West Frontier. A fascinating subject and I'm sure it will be a good source of ideas.

McCudden's Cut and Run Algy Scenario

A few weeks ago I set out a plan to write an historical scenario for Algernon Pulls It Off! as a Xmas stocking filler for the Facebook group. As always, the plan didn't survive contact with the family festivities, but I picked it up again and have finished it off, apart from the card deck which will be along shortly. 

It's a dogfight game featuring some famous names but with an interesting twist, as most were relatively unknown at the time, with the exception of Manfred Von Richthofen and Erwin Böhme. 

It's available to download from the group files but there's a handy preview here. You'll need three Airco DH.2 pushers and five Albatros DII scouts, so quite a busy game. I'll aim to play it through and post an after action report as soon as I have time.

Albatros D.III (Oeffag) Godwin Von Brumovski

I repainted the skull insignia on the 1/600tg scale Albatros D.III today, having originally painted it facing the wrong way, then added some decals to finish off Godwin Von Brumovski's aircraft, or one of them at least. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out in the end and quite fancy converting and painting some more Austro Hungarian Albatros scouts to go alongside this one. Tally Ho! or whatever the Austrian equivalent is?