Squad Level Skirmish Second World War Rules

I've been mulling over the way ahead for my 28mm WW2 project, with the inevitable suspicion that Chain of Command is more practicable in 15mm. It's not the core platoon sized force that's the issue but the need for support options, which pushes the price bracket even higher than it would be otherwise. It also means that the relative cost factor of 15mm makes 28mm just the other side of silly.

This became painfully apparent when I was costing up a Soviet platoon using Crusader Miniatures, which levelled off at about £75 to £100, once I'd factored in a handful of heavy weapons, tanks and extras. This is just not feasible for me at the moment, even if I used plastics rather than my prefered metal figures. On the flipside, 15mm is a fraction of the cost and I already have the figures, so it's not rocket science to do Chain of Command using these smaller scale models.

However, I'm now revising the scope of my 28mm project to focus on squad level skirmish, with no more than a platoon as the default unit strength. This is more like Bolt Action, which I'm not a fan of, so an alternative set of rules is up for selection. At the moment, this will be Iron Cross from Great Escape Games, as the guys at the club think it's a really good set of rules. I'm also going to have another look at Five Men at Kursk by Nordic Weasel and as an outside third place option, Rate of Fire from Crusader Publishing.

One new set of rules that caught my eye, while browsing Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy in WHSmiths the other day, is Ultracombat Normandy by Dish Dash Games. These are the guys who produced the popular Skirmish Sangin modern rules, although the WW2 system is different. I really like the look of the rules from what I've read online and the price of the rule book too, as it's available in .pdf format, with the element cards as a free download. I also really like card based systems!

I may download the rules for a closer look?

L'Armee de l'ombre

I have all three books in the L'Armee de l'ombre trilogy now, having popped into the local bookstore while shopping for the trip home. This series of graphic novels details the experience of a group of soldiers on the Eastern Front, so it is pretty brutal stuff but beautifully realised by the author / artist, Olivier Speltens. It's also a cracking story even if I am struggling through the French text at times, with some very well thought out set piece scenes that really capture the experience of war on the Russian Front. If you are looking for inspiration for your company or platoon level scenarios, you need look no further.

The Big Hurt

Two Hour Wargames have a 25% off sale at the moment, so I had a look to see if there was anything of interest, having already got a copy of NUTS!, their WW2 squad and platoon level skirmish rules. I was looking for some scenario material to use with my 28mm Artizan late war US infantry, which have been looking for something to do for a while and have been gathering dust. I like the idea of adding to existing projects at the moment, rather than starting completely new things from scratch.

I still have a handful of figures to paint up to create a full complement platoon. In the meantime, I've been thinking about using them for squad level skirmish games instead of Bolt Action!, which isn't my cup of tea, or Chain of Command, which requires way too many figures and extras to be do-able. The club is keen on Iron Cross but I also like the look of Five Men at Kursk, which is very much a squad level game.

The end result is a pdf of The Big Hurt, which features twenty one squad level scenarios set in the Hurtgen Forest from October 1944 to February 1945. This fits in perfectly with my pre-exiting autumnal figure basing theme and with my terrain collection, which includes a lovely winter gaming mat and some really useful river sections. I also have plenty of terrain bits to add to this to make up some good looking forest terrain and defensive positions.

The scenarios look really good too and easily convertible to Iron Cross, Five Men at Kursk or whatever rules system that you might want to use including NUTS!, of course. I don't have any Germans at the moment but I have already collated all the Artizan figures I need for some late war opposition, so may well dig them out in the new year and actually get on with this long neglected project.

Afrika Korps

I've been looking for skirmish things to do that will extend the use of the desert terrain that I've been assembling over the last couple of months. I thought about the obvious options like colonials including the Sudan, North West Frontier, the French Foreign Legion and so on, but have decided to make use of the Perry Eighth Army plastic set that I bought for Malaya last year but didn't use.

To balance these out, I've ordered a box of Perry Afrika Korps from eBay, although the first time I tried to do so I was stung by a seller who never posted the kit. Luckily, the eBay people sorted it out and I got a full refund. It's never happened to me before but it's good to know that they'll step in if you've done nothing wrong and sort the problem out quickly.

Five Men at Kursk

A special offer on these Nordic Weasel skirmish rules this week, so another direction in which to take my on-going search for a good set of WW2 skirmish rules other than Bolt Action or Chain of Command. I really like Ivan Sorenson's approach and have been thinking of scaling down my WW2 focus to squad rather than platoon level, so this is very much up my street. Only £5.75 as well, which isn't bad for over one hundred pages of well-designed, comprehensive yet playable skirmish rules.