Skirmish Campaigns - Poland 1939

The Skirmish Campaigns scenario book is a really nice product.  For those out there that game at the skirmish scale I can’t recommend this one more.  The scenarios are large but not too large, offering the ability to reasonably field the forces required for play in both 20mm or 28mm.  Personally, after have been away from 28mm for years, it was like the planets were in perfect alignment.  I previously posted about having owned some of these books.  Also, that the size of the scenarios precluded my ability to afford the number of models in 28mm.  I was delighted to discover that the overall force requirements are never more than a single Platoon of Infantry, Heavy Machine Gun, Anti-Tank or Field Gun or even Anti-Tank rifle team plus a few tanks.  The good thing about the tank requirement is that it's limited to just 6 types in total. 

 

I’m not sure how other gamers out there research and decide what will be their next endeavor but for me it’s really a process of determining what I can afford and how much time will be available to assemble the forces and actually play.  Too many models, large open ended generic assembling of points driven units, not enough money, not enough time to build and paint ect. 

I usually begin with inspiration from something; a movie that I watched, book that I read, conversation with friends, internet article; some kind of event that gets one started.  The next portion begins with a practical search of what is available in the hobby; rule sets people are writing or talking about, scenarios, figures and scales and so on.  I am often frustrated by not being able to glean some kind of base requirement for what is needed to make the transition to this new endeavor. 

I’m not a fan of points based games, don’t like flames of war but not a hater and believe to each his own.  But the older I get the more I like supplement scenario booklets.  This is for far too many reasons to detail here but suffice it to say, it’s nice to open the book and find out that I will need 4x Panzer Mk IIIJ, 2x Mk IVF1, 1x Opel Blitz ect.  And that I can play any of the historical scenarios in this single volume to conclusion within a reasonable amount of time.  This is one of the reasons for this post; I wanted to provide other would be “1939 Polish Campaign” skirmish players out there with an aide (other than just buying the book) for helping make an informed decision. 

Unlike the Skirmish Campaigns scenario books I had owned, this one seems to have struck the right balance, at least for me.  Players will need the following for the first 8 scenarios; the last 2 you are going to have to get German Mountain troops (or you could just use regular German Infantry).  The next 2 paragraphs detail what is required to play the scenarios as a requirement of the whole.  These numbers are with every possible option on the variable attachments for each scenario. 

On the German side you are going to need 1 of each of the following; a Platoon of Infantry, a Heavy Machine Gun team, Anti-Tank Rifle team, Pak 36/37 with crew, 75mm Infantry Gun also with crew, a Platoon HQs, and a 5cm Mortar with crew.  On the vehicle side of things the Germans will need 4x Panzer Mk Ib, also 4x Mk IIC, 2x Mk IIIE, 3x Sdkfz 221 and a pair of the 222.  Also the German player will need 3x medium trucks, a Sdkfz 10/4 SP AAG with crew and finally a Motorcycle Squad of 4 bikes with sidecars. 

On to the Polish.  4x Squads of Infantry, an Engineer Squad, 2x Anti-Tank Rifle teams, a sniper, 45mm as well as 81mm Mortar with crew, a single HMG team and a Platoon HQs.  The Poles have a somewhat smaller requirement in towed weapons and vehicles needing one of each; 37mm Anti-Tank Gun, 75mm Field Gun (French WW1 75mm) and 2 trucks (Fiat 620 I think).  On to the tanks; 1 of the small TKS tanks with the 20mm Gun and 3 with just MMGs.  Also 4 of the Vickers 7TP Light Tanks. 

I may have left something out, but pretty sure this is accurate.  Hope this helps somebody out there thinking about the Skirmish Campaigns Poland ’39 – The Black Brigade.  It’s a great product and reasonably priced; you won’t be disappointed.    The scenarios appear to well balanced and relatively short.  I almost forgot to mention the terrain.  There are a few small hills but is mostly open spaces with small forested areas; no more than 4 buildings with most scenarios only requiring 2-3 single level wooden structures.  I’m still in the process of assembling my forces so haven’t played any of them yet but will try and post my progress as I go along.