Post by easyeight on Jun 2, 2024 17:05:59 GMT
In researching The Last Knight Weird War 2 another game book I became fascinated by the great "What If" of WW2 - what if Czechoslovakia hadn't accepted the Munich Agreement despite the intense pressure it faced, and refused to surrender the Sudetenland to Germany?
The balance of forces was tilted against Czechoslovakia, but not as dramatically as one would suppose given the relative ease the Germans had conquering Poland and then during their Blitzkrieg across the Lowlands and into France in 1940.
In 1938 Germany simply wasn’t ready for a major war, and the Wehrmacht wasn’t yet a veteran force skilled in the art of Blitzkrieg and maneuver warfare. The German economy was unsteady, and the German war machine wasn’t ready to support prolonged combat. Furthermore, many of the newest weapon systems it used to conquer Poland and France were just starting to be deployed.
In contrast, Czechoslovakia was a center of heavy industry, such as the Pilsen Steelworks, and the innovative armored fighting vehicles and artillery systems produced by the famous Skoda Works and Brrno Arms Works. While the Czechs were at a minor disadvantage in the air, on land they had fine equipment.
The terrain and weather also favored Czechoslovakia. The Sudetenland was hilly and mountainous, and heavily defended by fixed fortifications and defensible choke-points making it impossible for German forces to Blitz into Czechoslovakia. The weather in October 1938 was also rainy and foggy, reducing the effectiveness and mobility of German land forces and nullifying Germany’s airpower advantage.
It’s not likely the Czechs could have won outright, but they could have been too painful to swallow – and the longer they held out the more likely France or other powers would have come to their aid (including the USSR) – and the longer the war went the more likely that internal pressures inside the German economy and government could have boiled over into economic turmoil and even the assassination of Adolf Hitler.
Now that I know *what* I want to game, where do I get the figures?
1. Czech infantry: Turns out there is a source on Etsy that makes 28mm Slovak infantry -- same equipment and uniform, and distinctive "mushroom cap" helmet. They make a basic 10-man squad, but no support weapons. You can kitbash a British Bren gun onto a Czech figure, since the Bren gun was actually based on the Czech ZB vz. 26 light machine gun. Nick at Eureka Miniatures has some off-books Czech heads, and I plan to get some and use Polish MMGs and Mortars given the equipment similarities. So I have a Czech platoon and support weapons in the production queue.
2. Czech AFVs: I have bought some Panzer35(t) which are really Czech ČKD LT vz. 35 light tanks and paint them in Czech camo pattern. I have also bought several 3D printed Czech Tatra OA vz.30 armored cars.
3. German equipment is easy to source! I have gotten some Panzer Is, Panzer IIs and early war Panzer IIIs. I also have a few 1/50 scale Solido diecast Panzer IVAs to paint up.
First figures off the bench:
1/56 scale Panzer I tanks
Czech Border Defense Squad
Now on the workbench - Czech support weapons. These are actually 28mm WW2 Poles, 3D prints from Etsy. The uniforms are very similar as are the support weapons, so I have tried shaving the rims off the helmets to try and make them look more like Czech helmets.
28mm Polish Support as stand-ins for Czech Support weapons
The Czechs had extensive fixed defenses, so here's an MG bunker for my games.
After these are done, I still have tanks and armored cars, not to mention the rest of the 1938 Czech platoon to paint up!
The balance of forces was tilted against Czechoslovakia, but not as dramatically as one would suppose given the relative ease the Germans had conquering Poland and then during their Blitzkrieg across the Lowlands and into France in 1940.
In 1938 Germany simply wasn’t ready for a major war, and the Wehrmacht wasn’t yet a veteran force skilled in the art of Blitzkrieg and maneuver warfare. The German economy was unsteady, and the German war machine wasn’t ready to support prolonged combat. Furthermore, many of the newest weapon systems it used to conquer Poland and France were just starting to be deployed.
In contrast, Czechoslovakia was a center of heavy industry, such as the Pilsen Steelworks, and the innovative armored fighting vehicles and artillery systems produced by the famous Skoda Works and Brrno Arms Works. While the Czechs were at a minor disadvantage in the air, on land they had fine equipment.
The terrain and weather also favored Czechoslovakia. The Sudetenland was hilly and mountainous, and heavily defended by fixed fortifications and defensible choke-points making it impossible for German forces to Blitz into Czechoslovakia. The weather in October 1938 was also rainy and foggy, reducing the effectiveness and mobility of German land forces and nullifying Germany’s airpower advantage.
It’s not likely the Czechs could have won outright, but they could have been too painful to swallow – and the longer they held out the more likely France or other powers would have come to their aid (including the USSR) – and the longer the war went the more likely that internal pressures inside the German economy and government could have boiled over into economic turmoil and even the assassination of Adolf Hitler.
Now that I know *what* I want to game, where do I get the figures?
1. Czech infantry: Turns out there is a source on Etsy that makes 28mm Slovak infantry -- same equipment and uniform, and distinctive "mushroom cap" helmet. They make a basic 10-man squad, but no support weapons. You can kitbash a British Bren gun onto a Czech figure, since the Bren gun was actually based on the Czech ZB vz. 26 light machine gun. Nick at Eureka Miniatures has some off-books Czech heads, and I plan to get some and use Polish MMGs and Mortars given the equipment similarities. So I have a Czech platoon and support weapons in the production queue.
2. Czech AFVs: I have bought some Panzer35(t) which are really Czech ČKD LT vz. 35 light tanks and paint them in Czech camo pattern. I have also bought several 3D printed Czech Tatra OA vz.30 armored cars.
3. German equipment is easy to source! I have gotten some Panzer Is, Panzer IIs and early war Panzer IIIs. I also have a few 1/50 scale Solido diecast Panzer IVAs to paint up.
First figures off the bench:
1/56 scale Panzer I tanks
Czech Border Defense Squad
Now on the workbench - Czech support weapons. These are actually 28mm WW2 Poles, 3D prints from Etsy. The uniforms are very similar as are the support weapons, so I have tried shaving the rims off the helmets to try and make them look more like Czech helmets.
28mm Polish Support as stand-ins for Czech Support weapons
The Czechs had extensive fixed defenses, so here's an MG bunker for my games.
After these are done, I still have tanks and armored cars, not to mention the rest of the 1938 Czech platoon to paint up!
