This is (nrealy) the last of the World War Two Italian foot figures that I have to paint up (I still have a squad of Italian Colonial troops)! I've been trying to finish up all my forces for fighting in North Africa. I recently finished up the last of the German Infantry, now I just have the colonial troops and then the vehicles to finish up for the Germans and British!
Freshly painted World War Two Italians rolling off the workbench.
These Bersaglieri weren't entirely newly painted. They were in Grey-Green a week ago and I decided to repaint them. (I'm counting each as 1/2 of a figure painted for the painting tally for the year!)
These are the ones that are all newly painted
All the painted World War Two Italians! This arrangement - with the Bersaglieri in their own squad and the rest split up amongst four others, kind of makes five squads though...
If I just mixed up EVERYTHING and dropped one of the LMG teams (whose barrel has been bent a few times and will likely break off at any moment!)... I end up with four FULL STRENGTH squads!
Thinking about carving off all the feathers on the Bersaglieri, so they better mix in with the bunch... Might mangle them... Or do I call them ALL Bersaglieri and just say most of them lost their feathers...?
For Bolt Action this would look like:
Rifle Platoon
Platoon Commander - 1st Lieutenant - 30pts (Regular)
Runner/Batman (1) 10pts (Regular)
Infantry Section 1 NCO and 4 men with Rifles 50pts (Regular)
5 additional men at +10pts each = +50
submachine gun for +4pts
light machine gun for +15pts
=119
Infantry Section 1 NCO and 4 men with Rifles 50pts (Regular)
5 additional men at +10pts each = +50
submachine gun for +4pts
light machine gun for +15pts
=119
Infantry Section 1 NCO and 4 men with Rifles 50pts (Regular)
5 additional men at +10pts each = +50
submachine gun for +4pts
light machine gun for +15pts
=119
Infantry Section 1 NCO and 4 men with Rifles 50pts (Regular)
5 additional men at +10pts each = +50
submachine gun for +4pts
light machine gun for +15pts
=119
Forward Observer - (air force or artillery) 75pts (Regular)
Radio Operator +11pts per man (Regular)
Heavy Weapons Platoon
Platoon Commander (2nd Lieutenant) - 30pts (Regular)
Machine Gun Team - 50pts (Regular)
Mortar Team - 30pts (Regular)
Armoured Platoon
M13/40 - Platoon Command Vehicle - 125pts (Regular)
L3/33 - 65pts (Regular)
L3/33 - 65pts (Regular)
AB41 - 100pts (Regular)
Total: 1067 pts
To play at 1000 points... I guess I could drop seven riflemen or one of the L3/33 and one rifleman (or batman from the Platoon Commander?)
To get the force to 1250 points I could add:
+ Semovente M40 75/18 170 (Regular) 170 pts
That would bring the total to 1237 points! Which is pretty close! I could add a second batman/runner to the platoon command to make it 1247 (If I could find a solitary Italian rifleman!?)
I will have the squad of Colonial Troops that I could substitute in for one of the squads if I needed to jig the points one way or the other...
Colonial Troops Infantry Section 1 NCO and 4 men with Rifles (Inexperienced) 40pts
5 additional men at +8pts each = +40
light machine gun for +15pts
= 95 points
There is a part of me that would love to have a full platoon of FIVE of the CV33s... and maybe a platoon of the M13/40s...
We shall see... I think I need to switch gears and focus on an opponent... or... different opponents for Orions Americans... (Germans, I guess...? Late War? Fallshirmjägers!?)
Excellent looking Italian force! You do really need a British early war force to oppose them though!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain! I kind of do have a British early war force... or the beginnings of one... or three...? I have a smattering of North African Commandos, which maybe isn't the earliest of early war... I also have some SAS/LRDG types on foot and a few jeeps and trucks that I need to finish up... But I also have two squads of Australians. Well, ONE squad is definitely Australian - wearing slouch hats. The other is in tin hats and could be any fair-skinned commonwealth troops..
DeleteI would definitely like to being BOTH forces out to something playable in Bolt Action. Get some AT guns and other support equipment and TANKS for the Australians - maybe something fun like A9 cruisers with their three turrets... and/or some Matildas or MkVIs or...
I know you used to be able to field a "raider" force in the previous editions, I'll have to see what's allowed in the new edition. I'll probably need a few more trucks - but to start, I need to finish painting the ONES I HAVE!?
I'd say leave the feathers be and mix and match troops as needed. Maybe some bersagliari had to help fill out some squads? Or can you do one squad that is mostly or all bersagliari, with the difference made up of standard helmets (or vice versa, depending on which types you have in what amounts)? Anyway, the feathers look cool and does it really matter if things are a bit mixed?
ReplyDeleteNice little army!
thanks!
DeleteYeah... I don't know... are we talking what's allowed in the game or what's historically likely...?
I mean, in the game, it seems like I could field a platoon made up of a generic officer with one squad of paratroopers and one squad of colonial troops and one squad of Bersaglieri and one squad of Marines or Alpini or the Arditi troops or whatever... and to that force can be added a weapons platoon and an artillery platoon with a mix of light and medium and heavy anti-tank and/or field howitzers or whatever AND a platoon of armour that could include a wild mix of anything from jeeps with machine-guns to armoured cars and light tanks to ridiculously huge super-heavy tanks... and... I get it... in the field scratch forces of whatever was available were cobbled together... but I think those were exceptions rather than the rule.... I don't think you'd often find THAT diverse of a mix of equipment and troop types operating in the same space all that often (or... ever!?)
When there is THAT diverse of a mix in a force, it kind of kills it for me.. it takes me out of the feeling of playing an historical game and into the realm of fantasy... and if we're playing fantasy... I'd rather play with my Legions of Chaos or Undead or whatever!
If we're talking about what infantry would most likely be operating in close quarters with tanks (because I am fielding tanks!) well that would likely be Bersaglieri? There was a Bersaglieri Regiment in each armoured division. IDEALLY if I had limitless time and money, I'd probably like to have complete separate platoons of Bersaglieri AND regular infantry (AND Alpini... AND...) but that's just not feasible... so what can I do that finds some balance between what looks or feels right, and what do I reasonably have time or money to be able to put together.
There is an insane part of me that just wants to add feathers to ALL THE HELMETS and make them all Bersaglieri and designate the force entirely from an armoured division and be done with it.
If I were starting all over again from scratch... I'd probably just buy all Bersaglieri and some fun little tanks. But that's not what I'm doing or able to do. I'm trying to make do with the stuff that I have - that was all bought rather scattershot 10-15 years ago with entirely different games in mind...
It is entirely ridiculous how I torment myself about these things...
Yeah, fair enough. I respect people who aim for and/or achieve historical accuracy. I am much more likely to play fast and loose and Hollywoodify things. :D On the other hand, yeah, I have pretty much given up on historical and gone full fantasy/sci-fi/space opera with my minis and games. Even if I play historical rules I'm going to do it with decidedly non-historical minis (for example, if I were to do anything WWII I would use my dwarves, orcs, goblins, halflings, that are vaguely WWII-esque).
DeleteIt comes down to what each person finds fun. :D
Great looking figures. I do love a tankette and always enjoy seeing them on a tabletop.
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Thanks Alan!
DeleteLovely looking Italians :)))
ReplyDeleteThank you Michal!
Delete