WW2 in 28mm (1/56th scale) German Armoured Platoon 1944-1945

German Armoured Platoon  - (Waffen SS Panzer Grenadier Platoon.)

Introduction.
I've been collecting 28mm figures for a World War Two bash sometime in the future. Almost completing a British armoured platoon of the 11th Armoured Division circa 1944 & 1945, with a few M5 halftracks still needing to be acquired to provide transport for the infantry.

Elements of the 11th Armoured Division fought a number of different Waffen SS units in 1944/45 so after buying a boxset of metal Waffen SS miniatures from Warlord Games I've managed to find the time to paint half of the platoon at the moment.

My interest in old school World War Two gaming was kindled when I managed to pick up a copy of 'Tactical Commander' published by TableTop Games and a copy of 'World war II infantry Action' by Newbury Rules on ebay. Although my platoons will be organised as per my copy of 'Rules of Engagement' (RoE) my definitive ruleset I will be using most of the time. I am looking forward to testing out these older rulesets using a benchmark scenario (to be devised in a future post) against the newer rule systems available now.

The Platoon will consist of:
1 Infantry Platoon HQ 8 man squad
the section is mounted in a sdkfz251 armoured halftrack
2 Infantry squads includin 2x LMG and 10 men per squad (with a maximum of 2 Panzerschreck and 6 panzerfausts and added as additional equipment)
with each squad mounted in a sdkfz251 halftrack

Support Options:
1 Company support 3 man squad providing sustained fire with a MG42 Heavy Machine Gun on a tripod,
the squad is mounted in a sdkfz251 armoured halftrack or truck

1 Company support 4 man squad with 8cm mortar
 the section is mounted in a sdkfz251 armoured halftrack or truck

1 Divisional support 1x tank (PanzerIII ausfM or a PanzerIV ausfH for a 1944 game or a Panther ausfG for a 1945 game).

using RoE rules this gives me a Combat Effectiveness (CE) of 22 to 26 depending on my choices.

A few of each squad carry the STG44 full/semi automatic assault rifle.  

Mortar Squad with 8cm mortar and 4 crewmen.

The Base is 60mm round mdf 2mm thickness

some painters paint red mortar bombs on their models, these would probably be drill rounds, so I painted mine green.

LMG support in the form of a belt fed MG42 with two crew

Warlord minis have multiple head variants.

The character in the centre carries a tellermine and extra panzerfausts 

All gun barrels are painted black as they should be!

The character in the foreground carries a Panzerfaust Anti-tank rocket.

Uniform camouflage comprises Eichenlaubmuster “Oak Leaf Pattern” camo jackets and Erbsenmuster “Pea Pattern” camo trousers, the initial colours were painted in moderately vivid colours, then washes were applied to tone down the colours to reduce contrast to create a more 'lived in' look.

Any how must finish off the Platoon Head Quarters and HMG support squads. Then I can try out my old rulesets.

Until then Cheerio for now.
Peter.