Iran-Iraq War: Iranian strike

 A final game for 2023. Iranian attack on Iraqis

An M60 Battalion with support and a Basiji Battalion are trying to drive off an Iraqi force from an Iranian town 

The Iraqi forces have occupied a small town 

Iraqi choppers are out scouting ahead 

Scouts make a turn back

Battle of Edmonton 19 November, 1985

 As part of their invasion of North America, a Soviet Motor Rifle division is pushing towards Edmonton and Red Deer 

Soviet T-72 Regiment 

BMP-1 company

The Commonwealth brigade of Canadian and British troops will attempt to block them

The Battle of Fort MacLeod, Alberta October, 1985

 In what should sound like a battle a hundred years earlier, the Cold War has swept into North America. 

Soviet forces have charged through British Columbia and are intent on charging down into Montana.

As Fort MacLeod is a major transport hub, the allies have decided to make a stand.

Canadian Forces are made up of Alberta Militia area troops supported by the British from BATUS and West Germans in their training areas.

The US has also sent up a cavalry force to try and stop the Soviet advance.

Battle to follow

Alberta Militia District

The Calgary Highlanders: Infantry in bush caps (Australians) with elements of the King's Own Calgary Regiment in M113s

South Alberta Light Horse: Jeeps with TOWs

20th Regiment RCA: towed 105mm guns

20th Independent Field Battery RCA: mortars

For the South Alberta's, Fort MacLeod is just outside theor HQ of Lethbridge as are the independent gunners. 

SOVIETS 

VDV Weapons platoon

Air Assault Regiment 

Mixed Tank Regiment 

T-72, T-62, T-64, T-80, 

BMP-3 Scout

Advance to Vechta

 The East Germans newly equipped with T-72B are eager to attack the Dutch who have been reeling from attacks by the Soviets.

Unbeknownst to the East Germans is the fact the British and Australians are rushing to help.

9th DDR vs 6th Dutch, West German, UK and ANZAC 

9th DDR

T-72M HQ X1

T-72M 4X2

T-72B 4X2

BMP-1 RECCE (PT-76 as subs)

BMP-2 weapons support company 

7 Rifle teams

6 RPG-7 teams

1 PKM team

Mix of BMP-1,2 and BTR-60 

West German

M113 Panzergrenadier zug

Marder Panzergrenadier zug

Luchs Spah 

Jaguar 2 zug

Dutch

Leopard 1 palatine

M114 recce

Uk

Chieftains 

ANZAC 

Leopard 1

Lynx Transport flight

 The 2 helicopter flight of Lynx came with the British starter set. The paint is currently drying and I'll get some shots. Eventually I will decal them.

TOW Lynx Helarm Flight

 Part of the support to the Iron Division, 

The flight is made up of 2 Lynx armed with TOW missles. 

These were part of the Charlie's Chieftains.

The paint is drying and I'll post shots. Eventually I will decal them as well.

Soviet Czech attack on NATO

 NATO intelligence has noted the Czechs are preparing to Scout out the scattered NATO forces around (). 

Canadian: Royal Canadian Dragoons, 2PPCLI 

French

American: Combat Team of Abrams, Humvees, Bradley's 

 

So far, the Czechoslovakian force has probed and found the Canadian forces to be very aggressive in repulsing the attack and probe  the Americans are holding a river crossing but the Cavalry screen it taking a beating from Czechoslovakian BTR-60s. 

The Americans were able to push up their cavalry patrol but have been hit by rocket and machine-gun fire.

MLRS

 For my Royal Artillery we now have 2 batteries of these.

Picture via Military vehicles McNab (2003)

DDR Panzer Regiment 22 Soja Kosmodemjanskaja

 This regiment is equipped with 

1HQ

5x T-55AM2

5x T-55AM2 Raketenpanzer (AT-10 missle), shall we say, Panzer snipers?

5x T-55. Regular vanilla types

One of these companies is painted in basic green to be used in any Communist force

This regiment would be used to support the Motorized Panzergrenadiers.  While the tanks are older, they can still pick off NATO recce elements and can be used to dig out entrenched infantry, and those in buildings.

DDR Panzer Regiment 23 Julian Marchlewski

 This battalion is equipped with the T-72B

1 HQ

2x 4 tanks

I'll need to paint them 

These are the premier Panzers of the 9th Division.

The best of Soviet engineering to strike fear into the puppets of the West Germans Facists.

Priser railroad figures become American militia

 So my order of US militia from Battlefront Miniatures was canceled due to the fact that the compan y has run out.

So, I'll use my railroad figures I have already armed. Pictures to follow. A m8x of armed and unarmed 

Canadian and Serbian troops in the former Yugoslavia 

Gordon Highlanders in Team Yankee WW3

 During the 1980s, the Gordon Highlanders were rerolled as an Air Assault Battalion with Milan Anti-tank weapons. With my upgrade of my British I now have an infantry force for this regiment.

needs paint 

Queens own Yeomanry

 

My Fox recce troop is made up of this TA regiment for my newer British army force. Needs paint

Art work via Military Vehicles McNab (2003)

Queens Royal Hussars

 

 This is the Regiment with Challenger 1 tanks in my newer British force. I have to paint them up and decal them.

An opps but hey i can still use them

 I bought 2 sets of PAK 40 Anti-tank guns with Rauspenschlepper tractors thinking they were 1/72 but are actually 15mm

However they will find themselves in my Cold War Syrians or Norwegians so hey waste not

Also the Czechoslovakian Army had them, so I'm attaching them to my Czechoslovakian assault on the NATO front.

Currently I have 4 guns mounted on the tractors, (3 actually the other 2 mock ups)

3 of the short 75mm 

I'll be looking Into building regular towed

PaK 40 with whatever is left in the boxes.

So as to the PaK 40 gun battery I have 3 sections. They will fill positions in my Czechoslovakian Force.

I also have 3 done up as 5cm guns for my Afrika Korps 

Chinooks for my British

 The RAF will be pleased as I got a Chinnok to transport my Gordon Highlanders.

I built a very basic version without the rotors to save wear and tear.

I'll paint up as British.

The Red Dawn book gives rules for using these types of transport.

So between my Lynx transports and this Chinook, I can deploy the Gordon Highlanders on the battlefield, I just need to paint them.

Militia pick up trucks

 I ordered the trucks and militia but militia on backorder 

I'll have to use my Iranian Basaji.

I painted the trucks as far from military colours as I could. Be fun to run them on a table soon.

So far, they engaged their enemies with reckless abandon.

UK 1st Armoured Division

 This arrived today. More fun and games 

I built all the kits up. 

2 Lynx transports for Gordon Highlanders 

2 Scorpion tanks for either Iranian, or New Zealand, British or Belgian

4 Fox armoured cars for the TA Recce unit

2 Chieftains for Iranians or British 

5 Challenger 1 for the 

2 Warriors as infantry transports

Added to my British force from the older set

3 Chieftains built for Iran or Britain 

2 Lynx TOW flight

5 Chieftains Stillbrew

My recce force is covered in my Queens Dragoon Guards post.

American cavalry screen

 

So I was finally able to pick up 2 Humvee sets one online the other from Gametronics.

My cavalry force has TOW Anti-tank, HMG section and Stingers. Definitely going to be fun to run them on a table.

First action out they held off some Panzergrenadiers, but took a bit of a beating. The commanders need to learn to pull back.

Viva La Revolution: Cubans

my Cuban infantry are slowly getting painted. The Su-100s have been painted so they have an Anti-tank section. I'll need to paint up the T-62 section. 
 

Charlies Chieftains

 

 

So after my reenactment event I stopped by my favorite shop and picked this up. The shop hasn't had any new Battlefront Minatures kits but he's got lots of older stuff which is no longer in the BF catalogs so bonus.

I now have a proper bit of British kit. And with the Iranians I can field for both armies, I'll just have a basic Olive color for these units.

New bridge

 

A T-55 just passes through. I picked this up in Goderich Ontario 

VDV 106th Guards Airborne Division

mortars up
 So I ordered the VDV weapons platoon. I heard that the metal figures are rather lacking in pizzazz. And I've begun to paint them.

I still have several units of painted Russians in helmets which I'm sure the VDV would wear.

Also saves me having to buy transports for awhile.

BMP batallion

 So since I'm getting reimbursed for my work travel, I decided to order the BMP battalion which shall become the Polish battalion.

 It was  on back order but is to be delivered this week. So now I have to sort out who gets what from my starter sets.

So far I've made sure the Poles, East Germans and Czechs all have Spandrels and the anti aircraft units.

My East Germans will get the BMP-1 top hulls to form up their BMP battalion.

The Poles get the majority of the carriers as they had virtually none. 

T-72 Battalion

 I ordered the large box set from Battlefront Miniatures. I plan on painting them as generic in order to use for any Warsaw Pact force.

My East Germans will get the T-55s, my Poles to get the T-72.  The Poles already have T-55s

So far I've built 1 T-55A for the East Germans. 

RED DAWN

 The classic iconic Cold War film is now in minature and I'm in the process of building forces for the start of the conflict.

Currently, I have the ability to field Cuban, Soviet and American basic units.

With the book coming, I will see which units I will be deploying.

Which is in Nova Scotia so I'll see them when I get back 

NATO reinforcements Spring 2023

 Coming up are the British company pack and US HUMVVEE box.

The British infantry will be used to build the Gordon Highlanders and an additional company for the Irish Guards.

The American Humvees will become part of a cavalry force used to back up the Canadians. Plus they can be used in the Red Dawn scenarios

Battlefront Minatures updated me this morning that the items were sent to me on May 2, 2023 so I shall see when they arrive.

They are in Nova Scotia so I'll see them when I get home 

New Scenario books on the way for Warsaw Pact

 For my birthday coming up in May, I have sent myself 

Red Dawn

Warsaw Pact

East German cards

This way, I will have the stats for all the units that I want to field for the time being.

I had hoped to get some Soviet cards but I'll have to get the book instead.

I got an Update from Battlefront and the order was sent May 2, 2023 so I shall see when it arrives.

It went to my Nova Scotia address so I'll  have it when I get there 

ANZAC and Netherlands vs East Germans and Polish, Almeldo Netherlands August 14, 1985

The ANZAC and Dutch have put a fair bit of kit in the wooded section with a section of ploughed fields, made of felt furniture pieces.

Gun buggies are rearing to go up the road note the new entrenchment pieces I made from furniture felt pieces picked up in one of the stores in Sanirjak, Nunavut.

East German, Polish and a small Soviet contingent at the start line

The Polish T-55 regiment readies to advance.

 The NATO offensive continues. While the East Germans and Polish Division push south west, NATO forces are blocking the Warsaw Pact drive. 

The initial Warsaw Pact advance saw them rush into contact. The Warsaw Pact recce units tried to rush into town but were stopped by the Dutch armor and Dutch reservist infantry. 5/7th RAR gun buggies were able to halt the BTR-60s while the Australian Cavalry recce halted the Warsaw Pact infantry rush on the entrenched Milan teams.

The Royal Canadian Dragoons

 In 1985, the Canadian Armed Forces saw 1 armoured regiment in West Germany. This regiment, The Royal Canadian Dragoons were equipped with the Leopard 1A3 which was called the C1 in Canadian service.

The regiment was based at CFB Lahr and provided the armoured battalion for 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group.

Due to my returning to ESL teaching, I have been able to increase the strength of my forces.

Currently the RCD have

1 HQ Squadron of 3 C1

4 troops of 4 C1

1 Lynx Recce troop

I Currently have the HQ Squadron decaled, and part of 1 troop. The rest I will be upgrading during Easter, 2023.