M-10 3-Inch Gun

 Having had another battle recently, I was again, put in the mood to paint something. This time, I decided on something quick and easy. I went with the other half of the M-10 kit. Being only two vehicles and five heads, I figured it wouldn't take me too long to complete, and it didn't.

Having these will give my lists some flexibility in both points per model and firepower. They're not quite as strong as the 17 Pounder variant, but that's ok, I think, as they tend to perform poorly anyway. "Glass Cannons" as Greg calls them. They pack a punch but never deliver. So here we are, a couple points cheaper per model - which you sometimes need when scraping together some extra units in support - but still able to tackle most of what Greg throws at me, aside from the Tiger's of course.

I tried to paint them up in the same way I did the last two, but I couldn't remember which Green I used. So I picked one that looked similar, turns out it wasn't, but this is fine. I quite like the subtle differences between the two sets. I like to think that the British kept them in their original colours after receiving them from the U.S. whereas the 17 Pounder vehicles were modified a little more.. For everything else, it's all the same.

The wash was a little heavy on them, but again, I don't mind too much. Makes them look dirty and used. I did get a little too excited and did the wash before the decals, but that's fine with me.

So that is them done, and another post complete. I hope to use these in a battle some time and see how these perform over their 17 Pounder counterparts.

"Out On A Limb" - A Flames of War Battle Report

In this battle we decided to base it loosely around the events that took place outside of Villers-Bocage. It was a 125 point game and used the Valley of Death mission for it. Unfortunately, no piccies were taken of the battle, except of the table itself. As such, I've decided to use other maps to draw attention to what happened in our Battle over the weekend. It consisted of 7th Armoured Division vs Panzer Lehr.

With the 7th Armoured Division ordered to swing around the German lines holding up most of the British Forces West of Caen,  they eventually reached the village of Villers-Bocage. This was achieved without incident on June 12. They settled in for the evening, then put out for the high ground of Point. (Hill) 213 to the East the following morning. Following the advice of some French locals, there were mixed reports of possible German activity in the surrounding areas, so the advance forwards was a cautious one.

                                                                      
             (7th Armoured Division's swing around the German Lines)


The task then was for 22nd Armoured Brigade to send elements East and set up a perimeter around this Hill to allow for the rest of the Brigade to pass through them. This consisted of  "A" Squadron, 4 County of London Yeomanry (CLY), "A" Company, 1 Battalion Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own), 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars (Recce) and elements of 65 Anti-Tank Regt. RA (Suffolk & Norfolk Yeomanry).

The day had started off in normal fashion. The men moving up cautiously. Along the way, some German Reconnaissance elements had been spotted and engaged. One or two vehicles knocked out, others escaping into the dense foliage that is the Normandy Bocage Countryside. The Point was eventually reached and the men settled into position, some taking the time to make a hurried breakfast and brew as the opportunity arose.

It was this lul that caught them out. Before long, German heavy Tiger Tanks had been rolling up and down the British lines, causing mayhem and confusion along the way. Unbeknown to the British, a determined Tiger Commander - SS-Obersturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann was waiting in amongst the hedgerows to strike. A number of Tanks in his Company had faced mechanical issues and were left out of the action, whilst maintenance and repairs could be done. Soon, however, his Tiger would face a malfunction and break down in a field South of Point 213. The Tank abandoned, he was able to flee back to his own lines and procure another Tank, this time with the support of a number of Tigers and an ad-hoc unit of Panzer Lehr vehicles to strike again.



                (Wittmann's crew sneaking around Normandy in their Tiger Tank)


In the interim, the British were trying to re-organise themselves and pull out as they were now dangerously exposed, fearing they would be completely cut-off and destroyed. Whatever remained of the unit were quick to try head back towards Villers-Bocage and to relative safety. It was this rush that would somewhat throw the British off, with Infantry and Guns alike running into advancing German forces, only to be destroyed in detail. Due to the confusion of the situation, reports from forward units contradicted orders from Command and at times, had the British doubling-up on themselves.



                                   (British extended lines at Point. 213)


Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur, The Viscount Cranleigh had set himself and his Tank up in a hedgerow close to where the Tiger had been abandoned. Here, he was the main link between Brigade and his own men desperately trying to fight their way back. It was so that he himself was very nearly captured in the proceeding battle.

                                                             (Map of Point.213)
                                                                                                    

It was now mid-morning and it was decided that 1 Platoon of 1 Bn. would advance at speed in their M5-Halftracks towards a small hamlet just beyond Point.213 and take up defensive positions there and await further instructions. All the while Company. H.Q. along with 2 and 3 Platoons were ordered to make haste towards the Farmstead and Orchards to dig-in here. They would act like a screen for any advancing Germans and hopefully deter them from trying to gain a foothold and advantage upon this place. 2 Platoon arrived with no issues, 3 Platoon, however, having lost much of its transport in an earlier engagement had to advance on foot.

The Regimental Reconnaissance were also ordered to race ahead of the force and to keep an eye out for enemy activity and to report back to the H.Q. Four Stuart Mk. V's, two Daimler Armoured Cars and Dingo were sent off beyond the hamlet and it wasn't before long that contact was made.



                            (Recce Tanks moving up into new positions)


Second-Lieutenant. Appleby was heard yelling over the radio;
"Hello, enemy Tiger Tanks x 4, range Four-Five-Zero Yards! and closing. Looking to move off now, Off!."

It was as this moment that an almighty explosion was heard. The Tiger Tanks had them in their sites and almost immediately, a Stuart belonging to Corporal. Mellor was hit and went up in flames. The fate of the crew was not a good one. It was then decided it'd be safer to seek refuge inside the hamlet and take cover behind some buildings. Upon entering the hamlet, a number of enemy AA-Halftracks were spotted along a wall and fired upon with their machine-guns. This single action knocked out much of their vehicles and neutralised a potential threat to 1 Platoon now taking residence in the nearby buildings.



                                                                     (The Battle begins)


1 and 2 Troop's of 4CLY were ordered to move up on the flank of the men now reaching the Orchard and Farm. These consisted of a number of Cromwell Tanks supported by Firfefly(17 Pdrs). It wasn't long before they, too, were engaged at range.

Here, Sergeant. Whitehead reported back to his Squadron H.Q.;

"Hello, Numerous enemy Tanks approaching on our front. Range approximately Nine-Zero-Zero yards. Unable to identify, possibly Tiger Tanks. They are engaging us. We will hold for now, do you wish us to engage back? Off."

At this time, Lt-Col Cranleigh had ordered both his Squadron and Company H.Q. staff onto his position to discuss the matter as it was becoming increasingly confusing. Major. Bartlett had moved off onto his position, but had responded to the call from Sergeant Whiteahead;

"Hello, Yes. Understood. You may engage, off."

Shots were exchanged with what were in actual fact a Platoon of Jagdpanzers. Not nearly as menacing as a Tiger Tank, but still rather powerful all the same. Such was the process of identifying an enemy vehicle under duress, that often a Tank Commander might mistake a Tank as a Tiger - especially with reports of them swarming around the place.

As this was happening, from the rear, two 17 Pound Guns from Divisional Support were in tow, racing down the RN175 straight towards the oncoming German units. Realising what was ahead, they decided to de-limber and set up their guns in the middle of the main road. This was done in a hurried fashion as the Tigers were approaching. Desperation forced them to throw caution to the wind and completely expose themselves on the road. They got off a few shots, but it wasn't long before the guns of the Tiger Tanks silenced them.



                 (The Germans advance. The British try to create a Defensive position)


These Jagdpanzers were now in support of a Platoon of AA-Halftracks, who quickly dash up to the hedgerows on the opposite side of the Orchard. Here they seek cover and protection from the dense hedgerows. They are afforded as such and disappear from sight of the British for some time.

Michael Wittmann now orders his Tigers forwards and onto the hamlet. A short exchange takes place and another Stuart is knocked out, this time belonging to Lance-Corporal. Clarke. It was completely destroyed. It wasn't long before new enemy contacts were reported from the hamlet. Panzer IV's had been spotted heading in on their position. Again, Second-Lieutenant. Appleby reported over his radio-set;

"Hello, new contacts spotted nearing my position. Enemy Mk.IV tanks x 5, moving to engage. Will try to slow their advance. Off!".

Together, Second-Lieutenant Appelby and his one remaining Stuart along with Sergeant Ingham in the Daimler moved in to engage the Mk. IV's. Their guns were no match for the German armour. In quick succession, the Daimler's were knocked out and the second Stuart belonging to Sergeant. McGanne was put out of action. Having taken damage, the crew sought  cover behind the tank. They were eventually captured once their position was over-run.



       (Sergeant McGanne's Tank seen with crew and men of 1 Platoon, 1 Bn.)


"Hello, situation hopeless here. All Tanks knocked out, including the Armoured Cars. Am pulling out now, off!".

Was the last transmission heard from Second-Lieutenant. Appleby. 1 Platoon now left completely exposed on that flank took cover in amongst the buildings there. Their radio-set having issues meant that H.Q. could no longer contact them.

Fearing that the entire flank had just collapsed, Major. Bartlett sent some of his Tanks over to investigate. Immediately 2 Troop was called to head over to the Farm and see what might be occurring there. 2 Platoon of 1 Bn. had reported to have seen what looked like a number of Halftracks race by carrying a number of enemy men, heading in the direction of their H.Q. Upon arrival and not knowing of the enemy disposition, Sergeant. Stodthart of 2 Troop was pleasantly surprised to stumble amidst the Halftracks who were racing by. His Tanks opened fire with their machine-guns, but were unsuccessful in hitting anything in the fray. As such, the Jagdpanzers opened up on a now juicy target moving in the open and managed to hit the Troop Firefly, temporarily putting it out of action. Its crew tried to repair the damages done to their tank, however, the crew would later be captured when their position was assaulted.

Major. Hammersley of Company H.Q. ordered 3 Platoon back onto their position, fearing they might be over-run themselves. This call would be a costly one, as, in actual fact, the Halftracks had turned off the road and into the field where Lieutenant. Jones' men of 3 Platoon were. Now rather exhausted from their hike across the open fields. Such was the fluidity and confusion of the battle that the men grew desperately weary. The Halftracks spotted 3 Platoon slowly marching through an open field and their MG's opened up, cutting many men down. The Panzer-Grenadier Platoon quickly dismounted their vehicles and charged into the rear of the now pinned down 3 Platoon. They were all but wiped out.



                                  (Desperate and shifting situation of the battle)


Having alerted Wittmann of their presence, he immediately ordered his Platoon of Tigers to turn to face Sergeant. Stodthart and to open fire. Both his Tank and that of Corporal. Wall were knocked out in quick order. Thick, acrid plumes of smoke were seen bellowing from the Farm. Despite seeing this, Major. Bartlett was trying to call over the air, desperate for a response from 2 Troop. Hearing only a faint crackle and hum of static, he was concerned of the situation there.

Realising their position was vulnerable, Lieutenant. Lindstrem of 2 Platoon ordered his men forwards and into the cover of the Orchard. Just as they did this, the AA-Halftracks had moved out from their cover. Shocked to find they were there, 2 Platoon were in a critical situation, having no cover, they immediately came under fire from the AA. Some men were hit, and it was messy, but then support came from 1 Troop who dashed forwards and opened up on them with their machine-guns, raking a couple trucks putting an end to that.



                              (Corporal Wall's Cromwell knocked out at the Farm)




                                                (Sergeant Stodthart's Cromwell)


It's not completely clear as to the full detail of the exchange between 1 Troop and the Jagdpanzers as Squadron H.Q. couldn't keep track of the battle, trying to call for help from other Troops in the Squadron to move up from the rear, but it's believed a number of Tanks had been knocked out. Eventually 3 Troop under Lance-Corporal O'Toole found their way forwards and moved in to help out, taking over from 1 Troop who were now called back towards Squadron H.Q. to help out with the growing pressures from Wittmann's Tigers now rolling down the RN175 and from the Panzer-Grenadiers that threatened them. Daringly, Major. Bartlett moved himself and his adjutant forwards, exposing themselves in order to put fire down on the enemy Soldiers in their vicinity. Together with 1 Troop, they soon put an end to that threat, sweeping their positions with their machine-guns. Meanwhile, Lieutenant. Lindstrem of 2 Platoon continued to put fire down on the remaining AA-Halftracks, destroying the remaining trucks there.

Suddenly Major. Hammersley received word over the air from Captain. Ogden over in 1 Platoon - who had now got their radio working again, that the Mk.IV's were moving through the hamlet and that they planned to charge out and assault them. It had transpired that during the push through, Wittmann's forces hadn't the time to stop and check all the buildings there, and that 1 Platoon laid low whilst they passed through. As the Panzers limbered on through at a slow pace completely unsupported, this made them an easy target. Hearing of this, he called 2 Platoon on this position and that they should move up through the Farm to give assistance there.



                                    (Squadron and Company H.Q. under pressure)


Before heading over to assist with hitting the Panzers, Lieutenant. Lindstrem decided on one daring push onto the Jagdpanzers. Having taken out the AA, and wanting to help free up the Cromewll's from this threat, he ordered his men to assault. They charged in from the hedges and over-run their position, destroying two vehicles, forcing the remaining once back, then shifted up towards the Farm. There had also been the arrival of 4 Troop under Corporal. Jackson. They immediately moved up on the rear of Wittmann's force. So, too, did the arrival of some more Divisional guns in the form of the M-10's from 65 AT Regt. and some 6 Pound guns also in tow, trying to flee.
They so happened upon the battle that they immediately set up and got involved. In a dash, the 6 Pdrs flanked the Panzers and set up on the edge of the hamlet. Lance-Bombardier Rawlings getting a good eye on them with his crews at the ready. The M-10's immediately moved in on the Tigers, their powerful guns piercing the armour of and destroying one of them. All the while Troop traded shots with the Tigers, but it was to no effect as their rounds glanced off the thick hulls.

Both 1 and 2 Platoons went in on the charge over near the hamlet. Captain. Ogden succeeding in destroying two Tanks but not without casualties, mind you. Such was the desperation, that both the hull MG's and even the crew small-arms were put to good use, wounding or killing some of the men as they tried to climb upon the Tanks. Soon though, they would come to a violent end themselves, put to rest in their steel coffins. The men soon sought cover in the nearby buildings. 2 Platoon had also been repelled back into the Farm, now at a weakened strength. With the help from Lance-Bombardier Rawlings' guns  they had another crack and this time put and end to the Panzer force moving in completely.



                          (Scenes from the knocked out Panzer and Tiger) 



                               (Position looking ominous for the Germans)

It wasn't long beforet Wittmann's Tanks had soon put a stop to whatever was approaching them from their rear. 4 Troop and the M-10's being knocked out in fairly quick succession. The powerful 88 guns punching through the British armour with ease at relatively close ranges.
The remnants of 1 and 2 Platoons were now done. They hunkered down at the Farm and Point, along with Lance-Bombardier Rawlings. The enemy Tigers too far from them for them to help out.
A fresh reserve of 6 Pounders who had just arrived from the rear, hurried forwards to help the H.Q. along with 3 Troop who had been called over at once. The Jagdpanzer no longer a threat. They were able to abandon their position and move off. What had transpired was Wittmann had now moved onto the Regimental H.Q. Major. Bartlett's Tank would soon be hit and knocked out, and in turn his adjutant, Captain. Dobbs. They would then roll on top of Major. Hammersley's position, shooting up the Company H.Q. There was little that Lance-Corporal. O'Toole could have done.
In all, both the Squadron and Company H.Q.'s were destroyed. Lieutenant-Colonel Cranleigh and his crew abandoned their Tank and fled back to British positions on foot. And with that, the battle itself came to an end.



                                   (Wittmann finally reaches the Regimental H.Q.)

2nd Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps Support Company

Yes, as the long title suggests, this is the Motor Battlion Support Company attached to 4th Armoured Brigade. Continuing on with the Army build, 2nd Bn. K.R.R.C supported the Armour throughout its tenure in N.W. Europe. As they were a Motorised Infantry Battalion, they rode around in Bren Carriers and the sorts. They were comprised of a number of regular Motor Companies - Officers, Other Ranks and their vehicles - I believe a tad smaller in size and order - to a regular Rifle Company. Attached to those would be the Vickers .303 MMG and the 6 Pounder Anti-Tank Gun.

This is what today's post is all about. Like just about everything else I own and all previous posts, these models were sat on the shelf, half-complete and I needed to do something about this. The kit is the PSC Loyd Carrier with 6 Pounder ATG with Crew. Like a lot of their kits, it's absolutely fantastic. Well worth the cost with lots of parts and extras that end up in my spares box for other side projects.

Now I built these probably two or three years ago, aside from some difficulties with the gun, which I found tricky just getting them to hold whilst the glue bonded, I really don't re-call there being any issues with them. They follow the typical painting standards of most other things I am doing, so I don't need to delve into that too much, so let's have a look..

Couple piccies I shamefully stolen from another site, lol. Since I don't re-call ever taking any when I built them we can use these to show how nice the kit looks. Small and simple with great detail and singular piece tracks. Painting these tracks and wheels was very easy as they're quite spaced out too. So let's have a peek.

Firstly, I don't have a good camera to take these, so it's the webcam for now. As the details painted are the same as the vehicles in previous posts, I don't need to fuss too much over that, rather I just want to show what I have accomplished and ride on the wave of dopamine. Inside the Carriers are the Crews which are all fully painted like my regular British Infantry, so again, I don't need to fuss too much there as I didn't take piccies before I stuck the canvas down, lol.. Exuses..

With the markings, the AoS Flash should be 125 as seen below, however, like the previous posts, I don't have them as decals and like fuck am I free-handing them on.. 54 is fine to use and is also the correct number that the Brigade actually changed to a little later into the Campaign. So 54 represents the Motor Battalion, which, if you re-call, I incorrectly used on my Stuart Tanks, To fix that I had to paint over the 4 with Flat Red then try free-hand a 3 in it's place, lol. 53 should be the Flash for 44 RTR... All so confusing!





Now that that's out of the way, let's have a look at some more crappy quality piccies!

Nothing more to add here really. The standard Serial Number with Allied Star for Recognition markings. These should have an 8 on them for the Bridge Weight thing, but I couldn't be bothered to be honest..

So that's the Carriers, which, if I am honest, I'll probably never use anyway because 6x4 tables really are too small for these models and they'll never really be needed. But I quite like having them anyway as they look great. Now let's have a look at the fun, killy stuff...

Again, I apologise for the crap lighting and quality, but it'll do as we don't need to look too much at the finer details. I decided to split them into two teams of two guns. I have previously found this works much better when playing, than having four guns together. They don't have the range or stopping power of the 17 Pounder, but they can hold their own against most things Greg will throw at them, whether they destroy them or simply hinder an advance. Splitting them like this means I can get more use over more tabletop with them which is more crucial than having a blob of four do absolutely nothing.

They're essentially copies of one another. One base has an ammo box, the other has dispensed shell casings, which I thought was a nice little detail. Other than that, they're painted the same style as I normally do my guys.

And that is that.. Another project complete. Another post done and one step closer to completing my Army. I look forward to using them in a game some time.