I designed a version of “The Mill” from Stalingrad’s to use with Crossfiregrad. Warbases cut it out for me and then I assembled and painted it. This is part of my project to see use Cool Ruins for Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station.
Stalingrad 1942-43
Alexander V. Suvorov, the best Russian prior to WW2 and probably of all time, said:
To surprise is to conquer
The Russians took this to heart when, between Aug 1942 and Feb 1943, the Germans and Soviets slugged it out in Stalingrad, Stalin’s modern city on the Volga. It was brutal and nasty. Both sides took enormous casualties in the street fighting. The Soviets referred to Stalingrad as the “Academy of Street Fighting” to reflect the new ways of fighting they had to develop. In the long term the Soviets came out the winners when their carefully prepared offensive crashed into the formations on the flanks of the Sixth Army.
Cool Ruins – Batch 1 and 2 now complete
I think I obsess about ruins. I have lots of ruins already but that didn’t stop me Planning my Cool Ruins for Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station. So one of my projects for 2021, 2022, and 2023 has been to “Buy, build, paint more 3″ x 3” sectors so I can play both Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station solely with Cool Ruins” (Crossfire of course). Well, I don’t know about Ponyri Station, but now that my 75mm and 150mm sections have arrived I can definitely do Crossfiregrad.
Planning my Cool Ruins for Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station
I have lots of ruins already, but I’ve mentioned “cool ruins” a couple of times over the last couple of years. Most recently in my 2021 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian where I planned to “Buy, build, paint more 3″ x 3″ sectors so I can play both Crossfiregrad and Ponyri Station solely with cool ruins”. So what do I mean by “cool” Ruins? Well Ruins that look the best in my collection (i.e. commercial MDF structures that I’ve enhanced) and that are 3″ sectors. I don’t have enough. I want more of them, lots more of them. Here is my plan.
Stalingrad Day 2 – Finchley Wargaming Club – Steve Phenow’s Briefing
Day 2 of the 2019 World Wide Stalingrad Campaign for Crossfire is upon us. This is, more or less, the Crossfire material that Stephen Phenow sent the Finchley Wargaming Club. I have changed the format and put it into my normal template. And I’ve added a few bits that seemed missing. Where possible I’ve used Steve P’s words.
The Germans have replaced their depleted battalion with a fresh one and given them more combat engineers and more heavy artillery. The Moving Clock (Timeslip) is now under German control. The Soviets had their infantry refresh but lost support elements e.g. Tanks and generally have less troops than on Day 1. T34s now also have a chance to breakdown if they try to move.
Stalingrad Day 1 – Finchley Wargaming Club – Crossfire Battle Report
Chris Harrod, Jamie Wish, Adam Landa and I played Day 1 of the 2019 World Wide Stalingrad Campaign based on Steve Phenow’s Briefing. Crossfire of course.
Stalingrad Day 1 – Finchley Wargaming Club – Steve Phenow’s Briefing
This is, more or less, the Crossfire material that Stephen Phenow sent the Finchley Wargaming Club for Day 1 of the 2019 World Wide Stalingrad Campaign for Crossfire. I have changed the format and put it into my normal template. And I’ve added a few bits that seemed missing. Where possible I’ve used Steve P’s words.
2019 World Wide Stalingrad Campaign for Crossfire
Stephen Phenow has volunteered to run a world wide campaign for Crossfire set in Stalingrad. Steve announced it on the Crossfire-WWII Yahoo Group but the action will take place on Stalingrad A World Wide Web Miniatures Campaign Facebook Group.
Painting 15mm Jarvis city barricades
A long time ago I got some 15mm Jarvis city barricades. Perfect for WW2, perhaps Stalingrad, or Spanish Civil War. I finally got around to painting them. There are a lot of different bits on these features but it was pretty straight forward. I’ve paint almost everything on here before … except the corrugated iron. That was new.
Stalingrad’s famous Barmaley fountain in 15mm
The Spanish wargaming company escenografia epsilon make Stalingrad’s famous Barmaley fountain in 15mm. I purchased a pre-painted version and it has featured in some of my Crossfire games set on the Eastern Front.
Top 20 Pages on Balagan
I started this blog on 21 Feb 2001 and then Migrated Balagan to WordPress on 15 Sep 2013. So, roughly 4.5 years ago. One of the great things about WordPress, compared to the hand crafted HTML site I had before, is that I get statistics on page views. Apparently I’ve had 1,176,779 views since I migrated and 1,125 comments. My biggest day (23 Feb 2018) brought 2,420 views – this was because Reddit got hold of my Academy of Street Fighting: Tactics during the Battle of Stalingrad post. Today is a typical day with 750 views.
Do I have enough Ruins?
I have been collecting, making, and painting Ruins for quite some time. All for my long term Stalingrad project. So I thought I’d get all my ruined buildings, rubble piles, and shell holes out and see if I had enough. What do you reckon … do I have enough ruins?
Crossfiregrad – A Battle Report of the Crossfire Scenario by Doctor Phalanx
Chris Harrod, Jamie Wish and I played Crossfiregrad by Doctor Phalanx. Three times in fact. “Cracking” is how Jamie described it. I’d say “Ripping”. We will definitely play this again.
We managed three games in one evening because each game takes only 45-50 minutes with a theoretical hard limit of 60 minutes. The game represents a German company-level attack on Soviet positions. The map is “a very crude attempt to bathtub the whole of Stalingrad” and turns into a table only 3′ x 2′ 3″ given the size of my building sectors.
We had a fantastic time but there are some tweaks I’d suggest.
Stalingrad – Lonely 15mm Chimneys from Ironclad Miniatures
Some of my projects take a long time to come to maturity. Inspired by the Stalingrad terrain of Battlefront Miniatures, I asked John Lowen from Ironclad Miniatures to make some of the chimneys that featured in the south, John made some beautiful models, and I painted them. You’ll see the photos below. Unfortunately the last step took 10 years and it seems Ironclad no longer stock the chimneys. Perhaps this post will inspire folk to ask John to reissue them.
How to Make Your Own Rubble Material for Stalingrad
My big Crossfire game set in Stalingrad is going to require a lot of rubble. Although I’m happy with the sand I use for flocking, it isn’t chunky enough to be rubble. I needed something grittier. So I made my own. It is pretty simple. Brute force simple.