My VDV/DShV battalion is finished

Well, more or less finished. I still need to do an airborne light antiaircraft company, but that will be along soon. 

As Andy mentioned in the comments section of my last VDV post (July 5, 2015), this battalion seems more DShV (air assault) than it does VDV (airborne/paratroops). The reason being that I have simply been lumping the two together. The two types used much the same uniform and they fulfilled a similar, though not identical, role. Much like the very general similarity between the U.S. 82nd Airborne and 101st Air Assault. VDV troops were generally, but not always, more lightly equipped than the DShV. 

In any case, this battalion will do for DShV or for more heavily equipped VDV. At some point in the future, maybe I'll do a more traditional light battalion for my VDV and keep this one for just DShV. 

So, here it is:

Two companies of BTR-Ds:

and one of BMD-1s:

Also three company command stands, each with an SA-14 Gremlin:

and a battalion commander:

Also the direct fire support platoon, armed with AGS-17 Plamyas:

As I've said before, in a shooting war, the VDV/DShV would all, without exception, look like this:

But where's the fun in that? Who can resist having them look like this instead?

I can't, so mine all get the blue beret!

The next Cold War project on my list is an SA-4 Ganef battery, so stand by for that. 

An East German motor rifle battalion

Some time ago, I finished a Danish mechanized infantry battalion (my post of 5/25/14), so it seems only fitting that I give the "enemy" equal airtime.  

Here's an East German motor rifle battalion (wheeled) that I've just finished, with all the appropriate support elements, ready for service in my LANDJUT 1981 campaign:

Three companies of BTR-60PB's:

(Sorry for the crap photos and the inconsistent lighting. iPhone 5's have truly pathetic cameras). And the support units:

The 120mm towed mortars:

The AT-3 Sagger launchers:

And the AGS-17 Plamyas:

And last of all, the battalion commander with a BTR-60PU and a UAZ-469:

I already have a supporting panzer battalion, so now I just need to replicate the above motor rifle battalion two more times and I'll have a full regiment. Most of the regimental support units (antiaircraft, antitank, recon, etc.) are already finished. Seems a long slog, but I'll get there, my many sidetracks notwithstanding. At some point in the distant and misty future, I'd like to do a tracked motor rifle battalion too, but that falls under the category of "someday".

More next weekend!

East German motor rifle platoon TO&E

This weekend hasn't seen much painting going on, but rather, I've been trying to decide how to put together my 1981 East German infantry stands in 3mm for my LANDJUT campaign. I try to stick as close to 1:1 as possible, but I'm forced to confine myself to those figures O8 actually produces, so this is what I've settled on:

Historically, a platoon consisted of 3x squads (the platoon commander was also leader of one of the squads) and at company level there were 3x SA-7 Grail MANPADS launchers and their gunners which were cascaded down, one to each platoon.

There was also a separate section of 2-3x AGS-17 Plamyas

each with a 2 man crew at the battalion level.

Each squad was made up of an RPG-16 gunner

a PKM light machine gunner

and 5 men with AK-74's

Each squad also had the fire support of the BTR-60PB

or BMP-1

that transported it. 

One of the squads would also have had an SVD sniper rifle

in place of an AK-74, but I'll overlook that. O8 casts their PKM with a 2 man crew, so I'd have to fudge reality a bit and make each stand 5x AK-74 gunners, 1x PKM and crew, and 1x RPG. That's about as accurate as I can conveniently get. For each platoon, I'd also have to do a stand of 1x SA-7. Oh, and there was also an additional combat squad at company level made up from the HQ personnel. 

So, all that would mean an awful LOT of little squad stands littering the table during a game. In an effort to keep that problem under as much control as possible, I'm going to do larger platoon stands. 9x AK-74 figures, 3x PKM's, 3x RPG-16's, and 1x SA-7. The stands are, after all, just a graphic representation of a platoon, and not a real platoon. As the AGS-17's are a battalion asset, they'll have to stay on a single, separate stand. 

The only difference between a Soviet company and those of other Warsaw Pact countries was that the Soviets had a dedicated machine gun platoon at company level (an additional 6x PKM's and 2x BTR-60PB's) and the other countries did not. So if and when I actually do Soviets, I'll have to change things around a bit. 

If any of this sounds like I've missed something or misinterpreted anything, I'd appreciate your input. Stand by to see platoon stands next weekend. Today I ordered a pack of Soviet infantry heavy weapons from Picoarmor, along with a few other goodies! See you soon!