The Winter War 1939 - exciting new movie

This looks like it’ll be an excellent piece of source material for when I get my Winter War Finns and Soviets on the table next.

https://youtu.be/bbmpWfr2uZQ?si=VGsFj6UZWIu4SBgh

They’re no Snow Angels……1939 Winter War game

 A bit of a challenge on Saturday, when I exposed the guys to something largely outside most of their comfort zones, the 1939 Winter War using Great Escape Games' excellent Iron Cross ruleset with some period specific amendments which I know worked fine last time I played. Ultimately there were seven of us; Paul, Shaun and Nigel were the Finns and Dave, Conrad, Neil and John were the Soviets. I tried to remember the rules and umpired/hosted. The figures are a mixture of 1/72 scale metal castings and Strelets plastics. Most of the vehicles and AFVs were 3D prints (several by me) or Early War Miniatures, Minirons or Pegasus. All the terrain is mine, much of the wooded and broken ground areas I made myself; the exception being some 'winter copses' I picked up off Andy at Last Valley. This game was a bit of a risk as, (a) I wasn't totally up to speed with the rules, (b) most players were not 'into' twentieth century wargaming so might have struggled a bit tactically and (c) with hindsight I hadn't prepared enough for the game beforehand. I knew what the troops represented but the players were confused. Ah well, I shall colour code them all for the next game, the troops that is, not the players, although.......?

Finns on the left. Their main line ran from the villages at each end of the table roughly following the long road that can be seen heading off into the distance. The other road running right to left (east-west) across the table was meant to be a 'decent' road, and is the main axis of advance for the Soviets. The Finns had a couple of bunkers, a few lengths of barbed wire and some anti-tank traps to deploy as well as three minefield markers (only one was real)

I will do the usual and run through some photos of the action with explanations as and when I feel necessary and/or can remember. I think they're all in the correct order.....and trust it all makes more sense to the readers than it did to me and some of the players!

In the centre the Soviets won the initiative and under Conrad brought on the best part of two platoons of infantry and a company of BT-7 fast tanks, followed by a T26 (twin mg version) and two OT-26 'chemical' tanks (flamethrowers to me and you). Over on the right a card played by the Soviets caused three hits on a random Finnish unit as they had been mauled earlier by Soviet cavalry patrols that had interfered with their supply situation. This random unit just happened to be the one holding the village of the Finnish left.

One of the Soviet objectives was to locate the Finnish airstrip and eliminate it. The strip is guarded by a venerable ex-Czarist Putilov howitzer

One of the other objectives of the game was to locate and recover a broken down Russian experimental tank. In reality the Soviets only had a single prototype of the SMK-1 (named for Sergey Mironovitch Kirov), tried it out in action and lost it when it broke down. The Finns tried to capture it but were unsuccessful. In the game the location of the tank was unknown to either side but was quickly found by a platoon of Soviet infantry.

The local church. No doubt being used as an OP.

Conrad's BT-7 company under fire from hidden anti-tank guns.

Behind the church the Finn secret weapon, their field kitchen!

                              

Conrad's BTs took some damage from enemy AT guns but made it over the 'alleged' minefield on the crossroads without incident.

Dave's infantry survived a hopelessly off target Finnish airforce strafing run and fire from enemy riflemen and drove the already weakened Finnish defenders out of the village on the right wing and pushed on across the open fields.

The Soviets drew a card giving them air support in the shape of  an SB-2 bomber. The Finns had been holding a fighter support card so played it, and a Fokker XXI arrived and drove the enemy bomber off.

The Finns threw in their elite reserves to try and retake the bridge, but were to be foiled by shots from a company of T37 amphibious tanks that can just be seen on the bridge.

The  (empty?) Finnish left wing.

While the BT-7 company braved the minefield John's unit of OT-26 chemical tanks  and twin-turreted T-26's struggled. One chemical tank was blown up by a well-placed Finnish AT gun and the other got bogged down in deep snow. The other T-26 MG  never even made it onto the table.

Soviet T37 and T38 amphibious tanks advance through the minefield, which turned out to be another decoy.

Probably the final straw for the Finns as the last Soviet tanks arrive; a company of five T26 light tanks.

More action in the skies......just for show but why not?

The last of the Finns in the shape of a platoon of cyclists. Not much use in deep snow.....

A lone Finnish Vickers 6-ton tank holding their left almost alone.

At the end it was a clear Soviet victory. Finn losses were negligible but they had lost both villages, the   bridge and one of the main road exits, AND the Soviets had located the abandoned SMK-1 prototype tank (it was the precursor of the KV-1 and KV-2 tanks). Soviet losses amounted to two tanks and some infantry, but nothing compared to what I'd expected them to loose. The Finns were judged to have slipped away to fight another day, while the Soviets consolidated  their positions.     

I like these rules but am open to suggestions so long as no rebasing is required. I wasn't completely happy with the game if only because I made quite a number of mistakes with rules and the game didn't 'flow' as I'd hoped. Bouncing so many non-twentieth century wargamers with this scenario/period may not have been such a good idea but who knows? So long as everyone comes back!  We have an Ancient campaign game to fight!   

And now we go over to the velodrome

 

At the time of the Winter War of 1939/1940 the Finns equipped their elite jäger battalions and other recce troops with bicycles (swapped for skis when dictated by the weather). Each company also had a section on bikes for messages and the like. 

These are probably more use if I extend my options and start playing the Continuation War but I’m not contemplating that yet!  The figures are a mixture of HaT and Streletz WW2 German cyclists so only needed a paint job to turn them into Finns. Some even have what look like camo ponchos that I have painted white. They’re ok I suppose and I really find it hard to paint 1/72 scale after many years of 28mm castings.

I don’t know how much use they’ll be and glorious bicycle charges across frozen lakes doesn’t seem like a good idea (but no doubt someone will try it one day) but they’ll be handy somewhere or sometime. 

1939 Winter War

I started on this project just before Christmas 2021 and our first game took place last Friday. First of all.  I am not oblivious to the potential for drawing parallels with some aspects of the Winter War and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine - small highly motivated army defending their country versus hugely superior numbers of Russians intent on rescuing the Finnish oppressed proletariat from their capitalist overlords, with more men, tanks, planes, well everything. The initial Soviet assaults were poorly planned and executed and it wasn't until they'd suffered significant losses that they changed their approach and began to make headway against the Finns using their overwhelming superiority in EVERYTHING.. 

On Friday (1 April!) battle commenced with an overwhelming Soviet assault on a lightly defended section of the Mannerheim Line. The terrain was essentially totally covered in woods and areas of frozen ponds and lakes. There were a couple of villages and we had a few areas of ‘dodgy’ ground, indicating either deep snow or frozen pond/lake. The latter were marked with large white areas of card with the warning to be careful going across them. About half the forest and rough ground areas were mine, and the rest were provided by my good mate Tim from the 'Like a Stone Wall' club. For this game we used Iron Cross from Great Escape Games with suitable Winter War mods and some campaign-specific random event cards. Fellow 'Like A Stonewallers' Barry, Bruce, Richard and Togs joined our Richard (P) Steve and myself for the game. I was the Finnish CinC, aided by Richard and Barry, while Bruce led the Soviet masses assisted by Togs, Richard P and Steve. We the Finns had a bunker on the left flank, some minefields strewn out front and a line of entrenchments in the centre which I forgot to put on the table but as the Soviets didn't get anywhere near it I suppose that's ok. The Soviet aim was to capture the exit points for the roads and/or tracks leading off the table behind the Finnish deployment area.

What followed was an incredibly tense game, lots of action but not always a great deal to see. Much of the tension came from the far from united Soviet command, who had different views about making a speedy and overwhelming attack at once.....or not. Anyway, here are some photos that hopefully give an indication of the course of the game, but not necessarily in the right order!

The centre of the table. All the Finns were hidden at the start, marked with real or dummy markers on the table. 

Soviet T26 MG tank engaged by Finnish tank killer teams

On the right the Soviets were held up by a Finnish anti-tank gun, loosing several tanks to its fire before knocking out.

The centre of the Finnish lines.

The Suomi Secret Weapon

All the comforts of home. The Finnish HQ, complete with sauna and field kitchen serving sausage soup.

The Soviets setting up.....

A lone Soviet tank advances against the invisible Finns, while its supporting infantry are bogged down by fire from our bunker.

Soviets reach the river, driving off the Finnish infantry and destroying the AT gun.

Somewhat overconfident Russian tank commander  shortly before his T26 MG tank is destroyed by an AT rifle.

Esme slept here through most of the game!

Another view of the table.

A lone BA-6 or 10 armoured car being used to lure the Finns out of cover.

The Finnish centre is holding. The sacrificial a/c is destroyed by a Finn with an AT rifle. 

Soviet armour on their left flank.

More Soviet tanks.

Looking down the table from the Finnish right.

Barry's Finns were slowly pushed back by hoards of low class Soviet infantry supported by the rather numerous armour.

The Soviets cross the river on our right and secure the road. A similar thing was happening on the other flank.

What an excellent game. The Finns lost the battle (BUT ONLY JUST) as the Soviets had captured two roads on turn six. This was a six-turn scenario with the chance of a seventh, but the random event card drawn in the last turn resulted in a snowstorm descending on the battlefield. The Finns opted to retire under cover of the weather. Finnish losses were light with just a few sections of infantry and a couple of AT guns and  HMGs lost, while the Soviets lost a good half dozen tanks, one armoured car and a fair few infantry squads. The Soviets also lost their CinC when the tank he was riding in ran over a random mine and blew up. It was fun watching the Soviets bicker on occasion about their tactics. If they'd stormed forward with their infantry from the outset they'd have forced the Finns to expose themselves to retaliation from artillery and tanks. But that never happened.

I  need to make some more winter terrain at some point but I enjoyed the game  and the rules a really good.

The Sausage War, Finland 1939

On the night of the 10 December, the 718th Rifle Regiment of the Soviet army swung around the Finnish rear of the Tolvajärvi front and attacked the lightly defended Finnish supply and artillery troops at Varolampi Pond situated along the Korpiselka - Tolvajärvi road.

The surprise attack saw initial success by the Soviet troops in advancing through the Finnish supply lines but failed to continue the assault towards Tolvajärvi village and the Finnish main-lines. The Soviet soldiers were exhausted and hungry after 5 days of forced marching and stopped to eat the sausage soup that the retreating Finns had left behind in their field kitchens. 

This gave enough time for Major Pajari, who happened to be along the Koriselkä road at the time, to muster enough soldiers from the 16th Infantry Regiment along with dispersed field cooks and medics to launch a counter-attack.

Fighting lasted well into the night and involved close quarters combat and one of the only cases of bayonet fighting during the Winter War. By dawn of the 11 December, the counter-attack succeeded in driving back the Soviet force and inflicted heavy casualties with over 100 dead Soviet troops left on the field according to Finnish estimates along with 20 dead on the Finnish side.

The field kitchen and all the figures are resin 3D prints that I did myself.

I dont need any more Soviet tanks for the Winter War project, but…………

……..I do need the variety. So, a few more Soviet tanks, a mixture of plastic kit and 3D printed models.

Two OT-26 chemical tanks, ie with flamethrowers. These are 3D prints by me.

We next have a company of BT-7 fast tanks. I have one more to do to complete the unit.

Same vehicles, four different marks. From the left, the first is a plastic kit, the second is a resin print of the artillery model with a 76mm howitzer in the turret, the third is a 3D printed OT7 with flamethrower in the hull, the fourth is the command variant, again 3D print by me.

 I’ve been trying to get on top of the pile of pine forest I need to turn into terrain sections, but real life has got in the way over the last couple of weeks and will do for a while to come as my wife Katherine has been diagnosed with what looks like very early stage bowel cancer. Praying the prognosis is good after they’ve done all their tests.