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Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

For this year's Adepticon, I decided to start playing Bolt Action. It's a game I've been meaning to get into for a few years now but just never had the time or inclination to choose a national force. This past autumn I finished reading an excellent book about the Siege of Malta during World War 2 and the aborted joint Italian/German invasion of the island. Siege: Malta 1940-1943 focused mainly on the naval operations mounted from Malta to harass the Afrika Korps naval convoys and the mass bombing campaign to force the island into capitulation.

This got me thinking though - what if the planned invasion of Malta, known as Operazione C3: Malta and colloquially as Operation Herkules, had actually happened? In reality, by the winter of 1941-42, continued Luftwaffe bombing and the loss of several Allied naval relief convoys had brought the island to the breaking point. What if Hitler could have finally been convinced that the taking of Malta would have relieved pressure on Rommel's supply lines? What if Generalmajor Kurt Student, planner of the successful yet costly invasion of Crete, was given a second chance to carry out plans for the airborne invasion of Malta? And finally, what if the normally cautious leaders of the Regia Marina, in contrast to their concept of "a fleet in being", mounted a full-scale offensive amphibious invasion of the island?

In keeping with the pulpy nature of Bolt Action, I'm assembling my Italians for a tabletop invasion of Malta in early 1942. I'm trying to stay as close to the realistic plans and unit assignments for Operation Herkules. As such, I'm using a core of Italian Folgore Airborne and amphibious support units from the MVSN Gruppo Battaglione Da Sbarco. Eventually, I'll add a unit of San Marco Marines, German Fallschirmjager, and captured Russian AFVs from 2.PzAbt.zbV66.

More pics and info below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2015/03/operation-herkules-italians-malta-1942.html

Folgore Weapons Teams


"Fixed" Folgore Commander


Objectives


L3 Lanciafiamme "Compact"
   
Made in ie
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!




Kildare, Ireland

Nice idea and theme... Love the vignettes! Some stunning work there. Airborne ops are a little interest of mine, so ace to see someone do this... Always wanted to do Herkules... Are ye doinf a KV-2?

I cant wait to see this develop... Are you gonna do some defenders too???


As for Herkules, was really dead in the water given transport fleet aircraft losses after Norway, Low Countries and Crete. That did far more damage than FJ casualties, especially the loss of trained jump pilots and crews. Add to that the terrain of the island, the small size and heavy AA and naval defence... It has all the hallmarks for a massacre.

Malta just wasnt worth the effort really. Regardless of losses and the almost hopeless state of Axis amphibious doctrine, it wasnt of as much value as people believe and I suspect the Axis knew that perfectly well.

Of course, really Malta had little direct influence on the convoy routes, it could be surpressed by air, the real problem in North Africa was getting the supplies from the ports to the frontlines.

Rommell liked to blame the Italians for his 'lack' of supplies...




 Strombones wrote:
Battlegroup - Because its tits.
 
   
Made in hk
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'






I don't agree with the argument that the invasion of Malta was either impossible or pointless. The Axis' failure to take Malta was part of a series of strategic failures/mistakes that undermined their battlefield successes. But let's not argue that here - what matters is that this kind of theme makes for an original army. I too would love to see a KV-2 as part of this - although I suspect it would be rather unwelcome for your opponents.

I've been to Malta - I hope you're going to capture the colour of Maltese rock on the bases...

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Terry Pratchett RIP 
   
Made in ie
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!




Kildare, Ireland

 Tailgunner wrote:
I don't agree with the argument that the invasion of Malta was either impossible or pointless. The Axis' failure to take Malta was part of a series of strategic failures/mistakes that undermined their battlefield successes. But let's not argue that here -


Oh go on! Its cool!!!

Not as cool as a KV-2 decked out in German colours... but almost!





You need planes to drop airborne troops, and you need well trained pilots for those planes...

Too many losses from Norway, Holland, Belgium and Crete to do it after 1941... Of course you could do it instead of Crete, but then you would have to worry about the naval component given how badly that went at Crete...

Given they had around 750 Junkers 52s destroyed or heavily damaged between Norway, Holland and Crete, those losses impact your ability to airlift troops in any probable way to conduct lifts. Given production rates of JU52s remained fairly good in 40/41 around 800 over two years we can see some off-set for the loss rate.

But its the crews that are key.

Losing highly trained pilots, and you require highly trained pilots for airborne drops (many of those used in Holland were Bomber school instructors), is the real key issue for the German drops early in the war.

Of course, Malta could have been done instead of Crete, but the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force prescence in Malta during 1941 was vastly different to the virtually non-existant air defence for Crete, though not by much granted... They were patching the Hurricanes up like no-ones business! But there are opportunites to be had. In March/April 41 the Germans and Italians had virtual air superiority over the island and a landing could have been an option at this point... But then Yugoslavia and Greece were being invaded and that drew resources away...

But if you do Malta, then what happens to Crete? Malta you can air blockade, but not so easy with Crete. But in July 1942 when it was scheduled... Not sure its a possibility.



Great subject for a game though, Id love to do an operational wargame of the campaign and see if its possible to take...



This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/03/03 15:22:06


 Strombones wrote:
Battlegroup - Because its tits.
 
   
Made in hk
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'






In my view those problems could have been solved if the decision had been made to focus on taking out the British presence in North Africa. But there was no coherent strategy.

On a more practical point - why would they have needed such large, heavy tanks as KV-2s? They weren't exactly designed with ease of transportation in mind (apparently they modified some landing craft to transport them), and the British had very little armour on Malta. The Germans don't seem to have approached amphibious operations with much confidence. I guess the British had a much longer history of landing troops by sea.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/03/04 07:38:15


Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Terry Pratchett RIP 
   
Made in ie
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!




Kildare, Ireland

Exactly right on the amphibious landings TG, no doctrine or history of it in Germany... They lacked a reason for it, while the British Empire had fostered the need for coastal landings and experimentation that comes from being an island nation.

There were a few Matildas on Malta, but I think the idea behind the KV2s was to provide HE fire support against stone houses turned into strongpoints. German landing craft were generally poor and moving that beast by sea would have been an experience... Moving any of the KVs they had assigned to the operation for amphibious landing would have been interesting!

Though we can look at Leros to give some indication of a successful German air/amphibious operation.

 Strombones wrote:
Battlegroup - Because its tits.
 
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

As Big P said, the KV-2s were slated for strongpoint suppression and possibly to take out the Matildas.

Even though Malta was more bombed than London during the blitz, a good number of its stone houses and buildings remained relatively intact.All the Brits needed to do was add some roof reinforcement, sandbags, and provisions to pretty much any house and they'd have an improvised bunker.
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Great idea for a force.

I look forward to see more of what you put together.

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

Finished my dry stone walls for the Italian defensive position rule, as well as painting up the majority of the objectives. I used both to experiment with the distinctive red-brown soil color of Malta - neither of which I'm entirely happy with.

Much more pics and info below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2015/03/italians-malta-1942-defensive-walls.html





   
Made in ie
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!




Kildare, Ireland

Love em mate...

 Strombones wrote:
Battlegroup - Because its tits.
 
   
Made in hk
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'






I think these look great. Massive kudos for putting so much effort into the terrain etc. It will really set the scene for your army.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Terry Pratchett RIP 
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

I think it is great that the terrain/scenery is coming before the army.

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

Just a quick update for today. Progress has been exceedingly slow - as much as I like the Airborne sculpts, the facial detail leaves a lot to be desired and it took me about an hour just to get the eyes and pupils somewhat right on all the minis. As of this post, 90% of the minis have skin fully painted and I'll be moving unto uniforms next. Here's a good example of how they all look - the Airborne FAO (I love his facial expression!) -

   
Made in jp
Enigmatic Sorcerer of Chaos






Excellent objective markers. Round of applause.
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

Just wanted t share my almost complete MVSN Gruppo Da Sbarco squad.

The Battaglione Gruppo Da Sbarco were a specially-trained amphibious assault Blackshirt regiment raised for the Invasion of Malta. After the cancellation of Operation Herkules, Da Sbarco was split in two groups - one taking part in the bloodless seizure of Corsica and the other being stationed on the southern French coast. The Corsican Group eventually joined the Allies, while the French Group battled partisans alongside the German Brandenburgers.

More pics and info below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2015/03/italians-malta-1942-pip-gruppo-da-sbarco.html

   
Made in hk
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'






I don't know much about this unit, but they are nicely done figures. Why are the bases a different colour to the groundwork on your terrain?

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Terry Pratchett RIP 
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

 Tailgunner wrote:
I don't know much about this unit, but they are nicely done figures. Why are the bases a different colour to the groundwork on your terrain?


The figure basing is a touch more muted than the fences - as I was still experimenting with soil colors - but these appear much darker in this pic probably due to the lighting. I took the fence pics at high noon, while these were taken near sunset.
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago




Finally got my airbrush up and running this past weekend and was able to complete the Lanciafiamme tankette/objective marker. The camouflage pattern is actually a copy of the allied "Malta Camouflage" painted on British Matildas stationed on the island. The pattern itself is made to help the AFV blend in with the irregular stone walls throughout Malta.

More pics and info below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2015/03/italians-malta-1942-lanciafiamme.html
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

I'm pleased to have finally finished a unit (and two weapons teams) in their entirety in time to share them before Adepticon this week. First is the now complete CCNN Gruppo De Sbarco - the amphibious assault arm of the Blackshirts.



These are my favorite Warlord Italian Airborne minis - the flamethrower and sniper teams.





More pics and info below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2015/03/italians-malta-1942-gds-airborne.html
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

While they aren't 100%, I'm pleased to be finished with this batch of my Bolt Action Italians for Adepticon. I won't be fielding all of them this weekend, but I feel like this is a solid start to my larger Italian force.

More pics and info below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2015/03/italians-malta-1942-paracuditisti.html







   
Made in jp
Enigmatic Sorcerer of Chaos






Echoing a question on yer blog here; Which manufacturer are the CCNN Gruppo De Sbarco from? They look great!
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

 Khornholio wrote:
Echoing a question on yer blog here; Which manufacturer are the CCNN Gruppo De Sbarco from? They look great!


GDS minis are by Black Tree Design. Very nice figures that are also very affordable. Unfortunately, the pics on their site do not do the figs justice and they range is extremely limited (basic Italian troops with either Carcano rifles or Beretta SMGs)

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/03/24 16:14:44


 
   
Made in jp
Enigmatic Sorcerer of Chaos






 ancientsociety wrote:
 Khornholio wrote:
Echoing a question on yer blog here; Which manufacturer are the CCNN Gruppo De Sbarco from? They look great!


GDS minis are by Black Tree Design. Very nice figures that are also very affordable. Unfortunately, the pics on their site do not do the figs justice and they range is extremely limited (basic Italian troops with either Carcano rifles or Beretta SMGs)


Cheers. They look great.
   
Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User




Hi Ancients,
Great job on the Italians, wish I could have been at Adepticon to see the game 'in person'. I clicked thru to see your blog, definitely worth the trip Thanks for good words on our figures. Expansion of our Italian range is definitely on the books.
Cheers
John
btdjohnno@blacktreedesign.com
www.blacktreedesign.com
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

AFV reinforcements for my Italians @ Malta, 1942. I'm actually really proud with how these turned out, as they are my first 28mm vehicles since 40K several years ago and my first real-life military model vehicles since my teens. Much more finished pics, info, and WIP pics below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2015/06/italians-malta-1942-ab41-semovente-7518.html





   
Made in us
[MOD]
Solahma






RVA

Exceptional work! The Autoblinda is a treat to paint.

   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

After Operation Sting this fall, I recognized the need for some additional units - a Medic, an AT Gun, and a medium tank. More pics and info below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2015/11/italians-malta-1942-wip-m14-light-at.html

   
Made in hk
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'






I'm really enjoying seeing this army grow. I like the way your models are cohesive visually, and the neat finish on your troops. I hope we see some Italian armour in plastic kit form soon, and maybe some Italian infantry as well (surely there are enough Germans by now!).

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Terry Pratchett RIP 
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

Well, my Italians are finally complete (for now).





Enjoy, more pics and info at the link below:
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com/2016/02/italians-malta-1942-light-at-medic-m1340.html
   
Made in us
Wicked Warp Spider





Chicago

If anyone is interested, I'm actually selling this army.

About $50 each for large infantry infantry units and AFVs, $25 each for small units
   
 
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