This post is long overdue. Roland painted the last of the Fallschirmjaeger in June 2011 and I got them based soon afterwards. Tragically I haven’t used them in a game of Crossfire. I guess I don’t often create Crossfire scenarios for German paratroopers. Perhaps when I have some Kiwis to fight them in the Italian Campaign; I should bump the New Zealanders up in the priority list. Anyway, here are my Fallschirmjaeger.
Order of Battle
I store my Fallschirmjaeger in a A4 Really Useful Box. Magnetised so my bases stick.
Here is the full array inside the box. You’ll notice a small number of gaps.
What that turns into is:
Fallschirmjaeger Battalion (1943-45)
- 1 x Parachute Battalion Headquarters
- 1 x BC (+2)
- 1 x SMG Squad
- 1 x Machinegun Company
- 2 x HMG
- 1 x FO for on or off-table 80 mm Mortar (12 FM)
- 1 x FO for off-table 120 mm Mortar (10 FM)1
- 1 x 75 mm Recoiless Gun with optional Tow2
- 3 x Parachute Companies
- 1 x CC (+2)
- 1 x FO for on or off-table 80 mm Mortar (12 FM)
- 1 x FO for off-table 120 mm Mortar (10 FM)1
- 2 x HMG
- 1 x Rifle Platoon: PC (+2); 3 x Rifle Squads; 1 x Panzershrek
- 2 x Rifle Platoons: PC (+1); 3 x Rifle Squads; 1 x Early Panzerfaust
- Command & Control: Good
- Morale: Veteran
Notes:
(1) The standard order of battle lacks 120mm mortars.
(2) Actually I don’t have the 75mm Recoiless Gun painted, so it is a gap. And I’m more likely to field a normal 75mm anti-tank gun instead of the recoilless – after all the Fallschirmjaeger were mostly infantry.
Parachute Battalion Headquarters
Like many German battalions, the headquarters of the battalion has two stands: the Battalion Commander and an escort SMG Squad.
Battalion Commander
Roland painted the Battalion Commander stand. Following my house rules for Base Sizes and Number of Figures in Crossfire we put the Battalion Commander on a 50 x 50 mm base with 4 men + vehicle (kettengrad). We used the Flames of War hero “Von Heyte”. Plus a kettengrad, kettengrad rider, and a couple of other chaps.
SMG Squad
The SMG Squad was painted by eBay Guy 1 (I explain that in the acknowledgement section below).
Machinegun Company
The machinegun company has both HMG and mortars.
HMG
Roland painted 8 of the 10 HMG stands in the battalion. Two of Roland’s appear in the HMG element of the machinegun compan. The other two were, I believe, painted by eBay Guy 2; these have the MG42 without tripod so I have substituted rocks. All on standard 30 x 30mm bases. 2 figures (gunner and loader) + MG42.
81mm Mortars
The Fallschirmjaeger are 81mm mortars. I have the forward observers (FO) for all of them, plus some actual weapon elements.
120mm Mortars
The Fallschirmjaeger had access to 120mm mortars and since these became a mainstay of late war grenadier battalions I figured I’d give my late war paratroopers the same benefit.
Roland painted four FO stands for off table 120mm mortars. Bases are my non-standard 20 x 25mm. 1 figure. We used figure with binoculars from the HMG packs.
The photos show all FOs, both 81mm and 120mm.
Parachute Companies
The parachute companies are the mainstay of the Fallschirmjaeger Battalion. In terms of the order of battle these three companies are identical but in terms of painting they are not.
1st Parachute Company
eBay Guy 2 painted most of the 1st parachute company (F-1). It is mostly Flames of War Figures with good painting. To bolster the number of panzershreks and panzerfausts I included a few less well painted figures pained by eBay Guy 1.
3rd Company 1st Platoon
1st Company 1st Platoon – Platoon Commander
1st Company 1st Platoon – Close up of Squads
2nd Parachute Company
eBay Guy 1 painted these. The painting is less good. you can see similar work in the 3rd company.
3rd Parachute Company
Platoon F-3-1 was painted by John Mclennon. Roland contributed some figures. The rest are by eBay Guy 1 and not quite as good.
3rd Company Heavy Weapons
Roland painted these.
3rd Company 1st Platoon
John Mclennan painted 3rd Company 1st Platoon (F-3-1).
3rd Company 1st Platoon – Close up of Squads
3rd Company 1st Platoon – Platoon Commander
John Mclennan painted this guy.
Unit ID
I have used Battalion Code = “F” for the Unit ID of the “Fallshirmjaeger” battalion.
The photos show the IDs for the 1st Rifle Company with the code “F-1”. First platoon within the company is “F-1-1” etc.
The stands with red dots are so I can distinguish which have Infantry Anti-tank Weapons. For the Fallschirmjaeger I include an appropriate weapon on the stand, either a panzershrek or panzerfaust.
Acknowledgements
The figures are a mix of Flames of War / Battle Front and Peter Pig. I prefer the Battle Front figures.
Roland Davis, John Mclennan, and a couple of guys on eBay painted the figures. They all use the Black Undercoat Method of painting although the quality of painting varies.
The contributors:
- eBay Guy 1 contributed a company and an half (F-2, F-3-2, F-3-3). I got these via Rich Wilcox. Peter Pig figures. Painting is wargaming standard.
- John Mclennan contributed a platoon (F-3-1). Flames of War figures. Excellent painting.
- eBay Guy 2 contributed a company (F-1). I got these via John Mclennan. Flames of War figures. Excellent painting.
- Roland filled in the gaps. Flames of War figures. Excellent painting.
- 1 x Battalion Commander (BC)
- 8 x HMG stands
- 4 x FO stands for off table 120mm mortar
- 1 x rifle stand with 3 men: 1 rifleman and panzershrek gunner and panzershrek assistant
- And these individual figures: 2 x Panzerfaust
I based them using Sand, Flat Earth paint, and Dry Brushing on metric versions of the standard Base Sizes and Number of Figures in Crossfire.
Excellent collection! Now get them into action ASAP. It would be great to have a few scenarios created around them. Both in Italy and France. Thank you for sharing some awesome photos.
If you’re keen to put them into action, you could always try out the Gran Sasso scenario I sent you a while back. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Yeah, I just need the other guys.