The Crossfire supplement Hit-the-Dirt introduces Boulder Fields and Rock Fields as Crossfire Terrain for scenarios in the Italian Campaign. My post Types of Terrain Features in Crossfire explains how they are used in the game. In this post I explain how I made mine. Simple but excessive is the summary. Simple because I start with actual rocks. Excessive because I base, paint, and flock.
Italian Campaign
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe.
Steven’s Fallschirmjäger Battalion for Crossfire
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.
WW2 Painting Guide: Kiwi and British in the Mediterranean
This WW2 Painting Guide shows how to paint the 2 New Zealand Division, and other Commonwealth/British, who fought in the Mediterranean. It solely uses Vallejo Model Colour range of paints.
I have used four sources: Battle Front, SHQ, Artizan Designs, and Crac des Chevaliers.
Crossfire for Novices – A Battle Report
Back in June 2012 Andrew Fisher played my scenario for Crossfire novices and published an after action report on the Crossfire Forum. I’ve reproduced it here. All words are Andrew’s.
Musing on Reconnaissance Scenarios for Crossfire
Recent focus on my Russian Scouts Crossfire Scenario has prompted me to look again at Reconnaissance Objectives. Generally play testing of this and other recon scenarios is that they encourage the attacker can go all out to kill the opposition rather than scout. I thought I’d revisit the goals of a reconnaissance, show how my ideas on recon scenarios have evolved with play testing, and share other things to try in the future.
WW2 Painting Guide: Fallschirmjaeger
I needed a painting for my Fallschirmjaeger in a hurry – so Roland Davis could paint some more. So I took some snaps of my existing figures. This is one of my WW2 Painting Guides.
Firestorm Campaign
The Firestorm Campaigning system is from the BattleFront crew. I haven’t actually seen Firestorm Bagration – the book with the campaign system in it – but there is a fair bit publically available and it is fairly easy to fill in the gaps. I wanted to figure out whether the system would be applicable to game systems other than Flames of War, specifically Crossfire, so this page is what I could deduce about the campaign system from what I could find and filling the gaps myself.
Hit the Dirt – Scenarios for Crossfire
Hit the Dirt is the only supplement to Arty Conliffe’s Crossfire rules. It contains 20 or so WW2 scenarios. I’ve played a few and like them all so far. Even if you never play any of the games the book is useful for the examples of how to make scenarios. And the optional rules at the start and specific scenario rules are good for ideas as well.
No-mans land – A Crossfire Campaign
A version of No-mans land – A Mini-Campaign, adapted to Crossfire.
No-Mans Land Mini-Campaign
This is a skirmish level mini-campaign set in no-mans land on a fairly static front. It is applicable to any period (see the possible settings). Each player is a junior commander whose job is the patrol and control the area between the opposing forces. Over three game days and nights each player must plan and execute 6 missions from a predetermined list. The interest lies in the fact that each player is picking from a different list to that of his opponent. The key problem being addressed is “How does a commander react when faced with events not covered by his orders?”
Sources for New Zealand’s Involvement in WW2
An annotated bibliography for Kiwi involvement in WW2. The primary source for this subject is the The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945 (NZETC, 2005). It is very comprehensive extending to 50 volumes when I last counted – although many are general NZ history rather than WW2. It is available on-line, and if you search around you can find hard copies.
2 New Zealand (NZ) Division
Most Kiwis fighting during World War II fought as part of 2 New Zealand Division. For the moment I’ve just written aspects of their time in Italy 1943-45.
Timeline of New Zealand’s Involvement in WW2
So far I’ve just roughed out a skeleton on which to hang the detail of the Kiwi involvement in WW2.