20mm WW2 German Fallshirmjagers

Guess what…!? Yep, more stocktaking… Now for some more airborne troops – my 20mm German Fallshirmjagers. I’m kind of torn as to how to organize and paint these. Part of me wants to, for ease of painting, do them in the Feldgrau jump smock and blue or grey trousers and call them “Early War”… Of course I might like to use them against Canadians in Ortona at some point…

As for organization I’ve have two options there is the Regimental OOB listed at Bayonet Strength list shows three parachute infantry battalions per regiment while the OOB in the for Blitzkreig Commander book (with which this force is to be used) shows a Regiment as having two battalions of Parachute infantry and one Parachute Assault (Pioneer) battalion…. The OOB at Bayonet Strength is for 1944 and the one in the BKC book is for 1940-41, so the latter would be more useful. The 1944 list on Bayonet Strength is probably for after the Luftwaffe was more or less gone and the Fallshirmjagers were reorganized as “elite” ground infantry….

The problem is I don’t have anything that really looks like fallshirmjager “pioneers”… I do have three battalions worth of regular Fallshirmjager infantry ready to be painted, however. So I’ll probably start with painting up what I’ve got and pick up some pioneers at a later date.

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


Well, that’s it! NOTHING is painted yet, just a bunch of plastic guys glues to bases and one coat of priming/prepping glue/paint…

Wait, not all plastic. In the lead battalion the HQ and the Mortar platoon stands are from Dixon and the two MG platoon stands are from Platoon 20.

The rest are a mix of Revell and ESCI plastics, there might even be an Airfix fallshirmjager in there somewhere..


THE PLAN

German Fallschirmjager

Regimental HQ
1x CO - HAVE: 1 To Paint, NEED TO GET: a better one...?

2-3x Paratroop Infantry Battalions each (totals are for Battalion/Regiment):
-1/2-3x BnHQ – Command Stand (1/3 total) – HAVE: 3 To Paint
-9/18-27 Infantry Stands - HAVE: 27 To Paint
-2/4-6x HMG - HAVE: 2 To Paint, NEED TO GET: 4
-1/3x 81mm Mortar - HAVE: 1 Painted, 1 To Paint, NEED TO GET: 1
-1/2-3 28mm sPzB41 Platoon - NEED TO GET
-1/2-3 Pioneer Platoon - NEED TO GET

Paratroop Assault Batalion
-1x BnHQ - NEED TO GET
-6 Pioneer Platoon - NEED TO GET
-3x HMG - NEED TO GET

Regimental Anti-Tank Company
4x Pak 36 (3.7cm) Platoons - NEED TO GET

Regimental Light Gun Company
3x 7.5cm LG40 groups - NEED TO GET

Divisional/Corps/Army Assets

Reconnaissance
1x Recce platoon - NEED TO GET

Artillery
FAOs - NEED TO GET
- 3x 10.5 cm Howitzers - NEED TO GET?
-1-3 12cm Heavy Mortar batteries? - NEED TO GET?

Engineers
Pioneer Company
3x Pioneers platoons - NEED TO GET?

Luftwaffe?
Like the Early War infantry I think it would be silly and unrealistic to have FACs at this point in the war… so I’d probably just use a couple of Stuka – maybe even use the ones I’ve got for the 15mm army and only use scheduled assets…

I’d totally have to make a few gliders from scrap wood!

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Son of More Taking Stock – The Sequel!!