The Hazzard boys of Old Hickory

Just the good old boys.  

Way back in 2019 I bought a 99p plastic soldier lot on ebay.  These were old airfix 1:72 figures, and I mean old.  There were around 100 figures mostly WW2, and mixed in with this were a set of WW2 American infantry, complete with that iconic rubber raft model, and some old school Fāllshirmjager from the German para set.  Some of the plastic was brittle with age, some of the poses were missing, but these are classics figures.

They went into a box to be forgotten.

Lockdown part two has seen some thinking about where my gaming is and where to take it to.  The newly introduced tax on post from the UK hasn`t helped and has had me looking in all of those old boxes, where I rediscovered the bag of 100 Airfix plastics. 

With the idea of returning to Five Men in Normandy, and the solo rules for the Fivecore system I had first built some Warlord 28 mm WW2 figures.  On trying some rules mechanisms with them I was unimpressed.  The figures looked too big, too fat faced stout bodied caricatured and the area they represented too small on my table.  Others may love this scale but for me I was so disgusted with the look that I abandoned it.

Back to the old Airfix 20mm guys.

They are more correctly proportioned, and based on 15mm washers they have a smaller footprint. I carefully selected prone, kneeling and crouching figures to make up US Infantry vs German para squads.  A few figures were left in standing upright poses, to be my Sergeant and the other figures I wanted to be notable, such as the Corpsman, but in the main I prefer the look of infantry figures keeping their heads down.

30th infantry were the US Division that stayed longest in the line during WW2.  "Old Hickory" was largely recruited in the south, and my guys are Hazard County's finest.  The division faced 15 Parachute Regiment, as well as 2nd SS Panzer during their early deployment in Normandy and the fighting over the Vire river and beyond.  I don't intend to make games using these figures and rules historically accurate beyond the broad brush strokes, but the setting will feed ideas into this narrative.

The "Good old Boys" Squad

Sergeant "Uncle" Jessie. M1 Carbine.  Steady
Pte Roscoe. BAR
Pte Cletus loader M1
Pte Enos M1 Garand
Pte Cooter M1 Garand
Pte J D Hawg M1 Garand
Pte Enos M1 Garand
Pte Coy  M1 Garand
Pte Long M1 Garand
Pte Lee M1 Garand
Pte Van M1 Garand
Pte/Scout Bo M1 Garand 
Pte/Scout Luke M1 Garand

That is 12 figures plus an attached Corpsman medic. It's far larger than the Enemy squad but they have an aggressive tactical stance.  The Germans called 30th Infantry "Roosevelt's SS" and in my games they will be the played force against a defensive Enemy.  The tactical elements are the  BAR group, rifle group and scouts. 

Jessie Duke, Farmer, Moonshine runner, good old boy. Whether working the fields or digging trenches in them, there's always digging to be done.  He has family waiting back home and a duty to get back in one piece to make them proud.  His outlook is Accepting: Worry about the things you can do anything about.

The Paras, "Wulf and the gang."

Stabsgefrieter Wulf. Mp40. Inspired Leader.
Gf. Hans Mp40
Jg.  Gunter Mg42
Jg.  Max Rifle
Jg.  Walt Rifle
Jg.  Jurgen Mg42

Jg.  Fritz Mp40

Jg.  Thom Rifle 

Smaller than the US squad the Fāllshirmjager are based around those two Mg42 machine guns.  They will have three tactical variants , but the most common configuration will be two static Lmgs and a small Mp40 counter attack group.

Force	Mobility	Fire Disp	Morale	Coordination
US 43+	1	4	3	3
German	2	3	3	3

Mission 1.

General combat patrol 

Pass through the area and pick a fight with anything that moves.

Contact markers

Reveal when LOS is achieved.  For this game deployed on points of intetest.

1  Marker is removed. 

2  The marker is moved 6” in a random direction. If this leaves it still in contact, roll again. 

3  Infantry fire team of 3 figures. 

4  Support team (Mmg, sniper etc.) 

5  Marker is removed. Place two new markers 6” behind and out of sight if possible. 

6  Infantry fire team of 3 figures. Place a new marker 6” behind and out of sight if possible.

The farm to the front of 30th Inf lines.

Five men at Kursk. J.D Hawg with Bo and Luke Duke have contact to a flank.  Sergeant "Uncle"Jessie will have to bring up the BAR team to root out these here Krauts.  Bo gets the roll of 1 and goes into scared.

Sergeant Jessie with Roscoe and Cletus, his BAR team.

Jessie brings up the BAR team.  They put down suppression fire and the Germans are revealed.

Günter's Mg42 team.  They lay down suppression fire to the front rolling 4 shock dice.

Hawg leads a rifle team around the flank

With Bo still scared, Luke gets a pair of good hits in on the Germans

One of the Germans is down, another scared

The flank team is hit by suppression fire from a new contact

The Germans hit back from POI 2.  

Enos and Van run

Meanwhile Jessie and the Bar team try to overpower the first conatct point 

Ogf Wulf brings in his reserve from point of interest 3.

Jessie finally breaks the Germans at the first point of interest.

New contact, and its Wulf with the main group

J D Hawg gets in distance to throw grenades

Whilst the Corpsman does a buddy check to bring back Enos and Van.

Hawg's second grenade is on target.

The Yanks go in a' shootin'

The Germans sensibly bug out.  Game over.

Really cheap figures, but they did the job.  Rather than Kursk I will be trying the Fivecore modern rules next, as Uncle Jessie and the Good Old Hickory boys try the Germans for a second time.