invisible officer

The problem is theory and reality. 17th frimaire AN XI an order came from Paris that the band musicians had to wear the same dress the drummers / hornists wore.

April 1807,  August 1810, Sept. 1811. There are enough orders and material lists about reduction of the expensive add ons to fill a book. The colonels did not care and so the tête de c…[Read more]

3/115 had a single Einstoßflammenwerfer 46.  Effective range a little over 20 meter , maximum 40 m. The burst was 0,75 seconds long.  It could be refilled but at Spandau Siemensstadt they did no refill. It was intended in Volkssturm for counter attack in urban area.   The men of the unit had been older workers from Siemens company, mostly WW I ve…[Read more]

The smock worn by LW Felddivision late war is not that of Fallschirmjäger and had a different cut. Nerds like me would see that …. 😉

Some Fallschirmjäger got sent in 42 to LW Feld Regimenter as base, they kept the FJ smock they had been issued with until it was in tatters.

The units of Wehrmacht:   Heer, Luftwaffe und Kriegsmarine , ha…[Read more]

Imagin the distribution of just 7500 weapons made and you have the answer. 1/3 never reaching front units. The FG 42, first used in 43, was no replacement for the K98 in real  action. 1 in a squad in addition to the LMG, or often as bad replacement, would be historical.

Anything else is like the all Stug 44 units fielded by some gamers.   On…[Read more]

Non aryans? But you ask for the Italians.   No racist ideology problems for the Nazi scum.

Late 43  15.000 volunteers went to Germany for training to form 29. Waffen-Grenadier – Division der SS = Italienische SS Division 1.  But 9.000 soon got kicked out, being of no military use.

It went to Italy as : Six Grenadier and a Füsilier Batt…[Read more]

It was Laiton ou aurore jaune  – Golden yellow.   The plate was yellow brass, not gilded. So slightly darker .

Collection Raoul / Brunon had an original Tschako, made by Chapelier in Paris, the guards supplier.

The field unifom 1812-15 was more plain. No red cuffs, no elaborate lacings- Tschako with oil skin.

So true.

My local shop sells at same or lower price.   And gives me in addition a discount on larger sales, combining with other companies products allowed. Even colors.

Now I wait until I see the stuff and can grab it.   Best:   Never again the fuzzy waiting time (over 2 months last time) with that XXXX  carrier.

100 to  200 m are common in German Navy.  The setting could be changed in most “Zündpistolen” / Fuzes. .     Arming was done in most by the turning of the propeller at the tip. Others, like P 4  or DWK Fuze had a small water wheel in hull.   That had a problem, early ones had not been secured against tube rubbing problems so the turning could st…[Read more]

One of many rules from original infantry game that now…….   Sure, if you fire at an infantry unit another between you and target  might inflict a problem.

But AT rounds against a tank?     Hardly a problem to see and aim on it. And a human body against an AT round……

Even a lorry will not stop it. (OK , the motor block)  In WW I a Germ…[Read more]

Lovely sight.  Superbly setted,

Nice to see a game in a school group. In Germany a teacher doing that would get fired.   101% Pacifism-  Not seeing the difference between game and real world.  But all playing on computer.  Hack and slay.

Most Kriegstagebücher / KTB  up to 1943 survived and a lot of the later. They are not published in Internet and very few got printed, excerps only. They belong to the Bundesarchiv  Abteilung Militärarchiv and can be read there.

Being a professional historian I spend much more time in archives than most peoples. Including many authors of war boo…[Read more]

Like all good invented stories the veteran one sound well. But is still an invention.

The men  from 1. Fj Rgt that fought in Holland 1940 wore Heer color trousers and LW blue jackets.  Anything not covered by the Knochensack was Feldgrau in the Holland actions.  Even the helmet was painted field grey. So a veteran would not wear LW blue tr…[Read more]

Another nice WW I item!

But a question, why the dress colors????     The K Flak units belomged to the Heer and so they wore normal artillery stuff. That brown legwear would have made the Batteriefeldwebel jump in squares.

Feldgrau came in many shades, too many producers. But there was ever enough to dress all men in that.   Motor troops had a…[Read more]

Very nice.

Bolt action is much better to the Eastern WW I front than the Western.

Its a long time since I built my resin one.

Towing hook, towing rings, rear turret door, gun barrel.

It’s no big problem. In worst case just use a 25 mm base as template.

If you prefer a 20mm for look or other reasons feel free.  Rule systems come and go but armies stay. 😉

I can live with the scale difference, compared to the Warlord 1935 M-Boot it’s OK, just because that is too small too.   But compared to the S-Boot its flimsy.

So I will use it but its far from ideal.

The kit offers three versions, differing only from the decals.  I choose U 552. I like the rd devils at tower of the “Teufelsboot”.

Built at Blohm & Voss Hamburg U 552 went into service 4^th December 1940.  15 missions with 7. Flottille. with 30 merchants and destroyers HMS Allouette and USS Reuben James sunk.  Reuben James was sunk i…[Read more]