Sarenian Grenadiers

 

I found myself in possession of a box of the new plastic grenadiers.  I like the sculpts and the selections available, all good stuff, although the grumpy ol' man bit of me would like to see truly modlular kits like the old Cadians, I do recognise that most of the time to resulting units would have a certain uniformity that belied the modular nature of the kit - ie almost all of the models produced fell into handfull of basic poses. 

The new Kill Team (at least the Sisters, DKK & Kasarkin I've sampled) and Necromunda (Cawdor) boxes I've sampled, due to their non-modular nature, must prima facae have less poses.  But apparently not, apparently we can build enough variety with the seemingly more limited amount of choice with these new kits and still create enough variety to actually satisfy ourselves. 

And if we want more, then it's down to what we've always done and source 3rd party parts and chop up the GW kits to increase the diversity of the kits.  Anyway, as you can see, these ones have Eisenkern heads, so they match the existing Saranians whilst being ever so slightly different - to draw attention to them so you can spot the armour and hellguns.

So these fellas have my bestest ever attempt at Flektarn, in the traditional autumn colours.  I got the wolf totems on their shoulders and the Iggy flash on their other arm, so they match.  Allow me to draw your attention to this man here, so you can compare and contrast. 

There are nine of these dudes, incl the sharpshooter, squad leader, radio operator and medic.

They are also accompanied by a Cadian Combat Engineer.  Because reasons.

So I've found a little time and the weather is a bit better.  This afternoon I have had the Vallhalans out and worked on their bases - some of them have lanquished on unfinished bases for well over a decade, so it's good to be making a bit of progress there.

The amount of random crap to do in the garage will certainly keep me busy for another decade at least, even if I never buy another mini.

Single Sareanian Infantryman

The 5th Sareanian Light Infantry are the Divisional Recce Regt for 902 Div of XVII Korps.  We're looking at a single model from the ones already completed for me by Pirate Viking Painting years ago. 

He's wearing a flectarn camo pattern uniform and panzer grey body armour.  He's carrying a Kantreal Mk4 lasgun, as preferred by Catachan units, as well as a large sword/machete which has multiple uses for light infantry tasks.  

 

Like all of Sareanians, he's CESTFAW (carrying enought stuff for a war).

This knife here.

His right poultron has the Imperial Guard winged skull badge.

 

His left poultron bears the regimental insignia of the Sareanian 5th. 

More from this regiment soon. 
 

Place holder

That all important Elite slot

I've no idea if that's even a thing in 8ed.  But here are some interesting people for you to meet: 

The shotgun toting veteran squad from the Saranian 5th, two plasma guns and a flamer.  The plasma pistol packing Feldwebel Joslonig also has a shotgun on his back.  These guys just add extra zing to the Saranians as they execute their tasks as the light infantry screen for the DKK.  Y'know, scout, hit and run, move through cover, that sort of thing.

This team are the "z.b.V. Kader"( short for zur besonderen Verwendung, indicating a unit "for special use") of the DKK 19 Armd Regt's Grenadier detachment.  Generalmajor Resnick keeps them on a fairly short leash in case General Muntenfor pays a visit.  The assassination of any visiting staff officer would incur a sever loss of face.  But the DKK plenipotatiate for war's death whilst visiting your TAOR is not something even the corps of DKK officers want to see.  Hauptfeldwebel Halbe (no, it's not Bastogne, but look it up anyway) is the baddest mofo on this table, being Bastogne with DKK special rules....

These guys are a part of 'Detachment 66' D-66 was formed from Kasarkin to rid Agrippina of plague zombies.  There are 19 of them here, a part of the initial deployment at the outset of the war.  They have spent a lot of time running training packages for DKK grenadiers and other incoming Kasarkin units  (there are a lot of Kasarkin on the table in the Cadian, Corbanian and Ozark sub units).   Army training teams on continental Acer, far away from the operational theatre, still operate their warzone specific and other courses, but these are now staffed and run by teams drawn from across the army.

Obviously there are other elite elements on the table (engineers, hydra batteries etc) depending on what army list the units are drawn from, but I hope this little splash of colour (the autumn flektarn on the Saranians and spring flektarn on the zbV were both by Pirate Viking Painting).  More soonish.

The full parade

Flufftastically, what you are looking at here is the command detachment of 902 Div (XVII Korps) including an armoured squadron and mechanised company of DKK 19 Armd Regt, a company from 262 Line Regt, An armoured squadron from 22 ASL, a company from the Valhallan (Kado) 540th Regt and a lot of smaller detachments drawn from other 902 Div units to provide local security for the Div HQ. 

Additionally, there is, for as yet unexplored reasons, a detachment from 901 Div, armoured and mechanised subunits and company from 2/24 Cadian and 1/2 Corbanian.

So here it all is in it's glory.  The darker table had gravel mixed in to the paint when it was painted.  For years I have been chipping and plucking the 'effin' gravel off.  It's a job that needs some serious attention so that I can repaint it to better match the other two tables.  Homogeneity will be achieved one day.

And with hindsight, the Valhallan mobbed up blob should have been arrayed across the table between the Cadians and the DKK - it would have given a visual continuity across the deployment.  Also the actual command team(s) are bunched up next to the Crassus.  We should have split these up and displayed them in their actual teams and with the additional vehicles - most of which are still in their boxes, unbuilt.  But what we did do took us hours, we were tired and it was the first time we'd done this.  Lessons for next time !

17 Korps Recce Assets

17 Korps protects itself by deploying elements from its constituent formation’s recce units in a screen; pickets when stationary and outriders when moving.   Not all of each recce unit is used like this; SOPs are to detach sub units on a rotating basis.  This rotation is to both rest sub units who have been some time ‘at the sharp end’ as well as ensuring that skills are practiced and experience – exposure to the Devos IV Operational environment, reaches those important ‘first contact’ sub units.

Recce of objectives in 17 Korps is normally done by a ‘Wide Patrol’; ususally a platoon sized detachment, often with elements from more than one parent unit.  These Wide Patrols have to be self-sufficient, sometimes for more than a month, ranging ahead with a degree of independence of action not usual for the Imperial Guard. 

Wide Patrols can be resupplied and replenished by the Imperial Navy.  Additionally, should one of these recce elements end up in a fight it can’t win, they can be covered by air and their withdrawl safeguarded.  This level of cooperation requires and is facilitated by a Forward Area Controlled (FAC) provided by the Imperial Navy’s close orbit command.    These individuals, with the equipments they carry, can contact standing Combat Air Patrols, Imperial Guard Drop Regiments and the Navy’s Close Orbit Command.

But in the final analysis, the highest value STAR information is provided by skilled infantrymen conducting close target reconnaissance, on foot, on their belt buckles, in the dark, penetrating the target’s defences and withdrawing with the vital information which will make future operations a success.  

902 Div

5^th Saranian Light Infantry

337 Death Rider Squadron (Det from 11^th DKK Uhlan Regt)

 

Recce Tp (Det from 19^th DKK Armd Regt)

903 Div

Cadian 144^th Long Range Recce Regt; Wolverine & Tauros

905 Div

22 Rough Rider Coy (Det from Mordian 7^th Iron Guard)

Humm, you can see the Mordian 7th Iron Guard at the right of the picture, but it doesn't look like the rough riders are in the picture.  I'll have to get one done.

What this post is intended to do is primarily to inform and entertain you but also to spur me to dig out the DKK Salamanders and actually finish them.  

The last Flekkies

So trawling the bits box I found the very last stock of Wargames Factory head that I have used for the 'flekkie' iggies. So these will be the very last 'flekkies'.

The obvious thing (to me) seemed to be to get the FW vets with shotguns and give the flekkies even more interest.

There's a mixture of Vicky Lamb, GW and Anvil Industry legs.  There are also two sets of arms (probably maxmini) with the spare shotguns as well as the obligatory sergeant with a plasma pistol.

All with belt kit and a gentle sprinkling of shotgun cartridges. Also there is this guy on his own:

Cadian body and legs with scion arms and hellgun and a FW Cadian hat.  He'll go with the Cadian Straken (there's one more built the same) and the two hellgun toting dudes will be Straken's homies.

Blood Pact on Friday...

Armoured Sentinels.

These are dust models.  I had been pondering about some form of axle running through the body of the beast onto which I would then mount the weapons.  But of course eventually I realised that I could just use magnets and then be able to swap out the weapons.

Anyway, I thought that these would make for pretty good 'counts as' armoured sentinels.  Once again Sgt Kwiz provides a sense of scale.  Good work Sgt.  He says that being a photographic model beats a combat drop 9 times out of 10.  Not a complete idiot then.

The purpose of an armoured sentinel has to be something that the infantry it supports cannot manage on their own.  In the open, armoured cars with TL Las cannons, Las cannon armed Tauros and other tanks can take on enemy armour.  The infantry themselves can take on enemy footsloggers.  So the purpose of a sentinel is to carry what an infantry team cannot into places where conventional vehicles cannot go.  That's it.  In any other situation, the resources involved in keeping a walking machine working make them not worth it.  More on this later.

So these will go to the Saranians, like the Kielerkopf APCs and eventually be finished in the ambush colourscheme.

The ASL already have a detachment of Armoured Sentinels and another three (numbers 9, 10 & 11) are in the boxes...

And why do 902 Div's recce specialists need this level of AT ?

Saranian Light Infantry.

You remember how the cigar chompin’ colonel figure in the A-Team (George Peppard) used to say ‘I love it when a plan comes together’ ?  Well, this post links this post about the Division Liaison Team sent to the Cadian 127^th, which talks about the Saranian Engineers;  and this this post here, which talks about combat tracking.  You see ?  There was a plan ! And this one has taken about eighteen months to hit the blog, although it hit the table at the beginning of June.

PVP Studio Shot A

The Saranian Light Infantry are, historically, an offshoot of the Saranian Engineers.  Saran is a relatively modest blue planet in a system with three large mineral rich asteroid belts and three gas giants.  Additionally, there are sixteen other planets of various sizes in the Saran system.  The Saranians are primarily void hardened miners; a dangerous and unpleasant but vital economic activity.   Mining activity either takes place or has taken place on every one of the celestial bodies.

PVP Studio Shot B

The skills of generations of miners have led to the Saranian Combat Engineers being a sought after asset within Imperial Guard formations.  The Saranian Engineers themselves were often used for battlefield reconnaissance, as described in the Engineer Liaison Team post.  Their various talents in this field have also led to the formation of several light infantry units, primarily used for battlefield recce, surveillance and target acquisition (STA).   This tasking was built on the back of their Engineering based reconnaissance capability.

On Parade with 17 Korps Photo 1

As time passed the Saranian Light Infantry have evolved to embrace their new battlefield role; still priding themselves on the STA capability, but fully engaged with their flanking and screening tasks.  Recently, the 5^th have had personnel on the 72AG canid handler cadre and each company now includes five geneered pursuit hounds; extending the units search and destroy capability considerably.

On parade with 17 Korps Photo 2

In line with their light role, they are often equipped with vision enhancing equipment, to enable them to better carry out their recce tasks, and underslung grenade launchers, as they often operate without any other heavy weapon support.

PVP Studio shot of Command Group.

At the moment, they are the light element of 902 Div, which makes them a part of 17 Korps and are generally employed on interdiction missions, controlling terrorism in occupied Randstadt.

The dogs (actually LotR Wargs) will use the EoT chaos hound statline.  As previously discussed, the sights and underslung GLs are from Anvil Industries and the heads are the good ones from the Wargames Factory’s greatcoat stormtrooper set.  Some of the torsos are Maxmini’s combat armour torso.  Conversions and paint byPVP.

When the first of these figures were assembled, they were initially going to be household troops for one of the dignitaries of Devos IV; however they quickly became the LI to go with the Wargs (tracker dogs !) and so were all put together CESFAW (Carrying Enough Stuff For A War).  This still wasn’t enough so I used up my surplus sights from the HWS and then bought in the ancillaries from Anvil Industries.  I am pleased with the way they turned out. 

Combat Tracking

If you ever wondered what went on at the Imperial Guard academies at places like Cadia and Agripinna, aside from the things you might instantly think of in relation to elite forces, CQB, HALO and other black ops skills, there are also scholae dedicated to more militarily useful skills that can benefit a wider Imperial Guard Army Group and do not neccessarily replicate capabilities already available from bodies such as the Adeptus Astartes.  Such as Combat Tracking:

The Catachans  learned that employing local trackers can be disastrous.  Indigenous folks can be immensely talented at local tracking because they are tuned intimately to their own local biowebs[1].  Problems start from there. “Jungle Man” might be able to trail a butterfly—especially so if he can sell it—but he cannot read a map.  He does not get lost because he knows his home range and how to navigate there.

Catachans in their home range

Biowebs and tracking can change dramatically from one terrain to another, in the space not measured in miles, but feet and inches:  The Catachan 17^th were clearing Ork raiders from Maratoone, a water world with a high number of (extinct) volcanic island archipelagoes. On Brun’say, the largest island on Maratoone, jungle gave way within just a few steps to desert-like terrain that resembled Tallarn. When the trees were cut the soil washed away, leaving a near Martian landscape similar to that found on any dead world or moon.  In fact, the Big Island has most of the ecosystems found anywhere, ranging from alpine tundra to forests, jungles, prairies, and desert-like areas, down to tropical beaches and coconuts.
Jungle Man could track around his village, but when loaded onto a valkyrie and flown onto a cold, dry and treeless mountain only minutes away, he might fail.  On the Big Island, alpine tundra is a nine-minute flight from tropical beaches.  Similar dramatic changes are common globally, let alone when considering other worlds.

The Catachans learned that even superb local trackers cannot make up for absent military expertise.  They cannot be transported to work reliably in other conditions.

According to Col Deaams, a retired Kasrkin and combat tracker instructor, “The key factor is the ability to make logical deductions and assumptions via an understanding of military tactics and SOP's…”  Local trackers typically cannot do this.  The Kasrkin Schola include reading ground sign (and hiding one’s own) as a fundamental part when teaching situational awareness.  Other elite forces, ISTs[2], commandos and so on, similarly attach great important to something that most line Imperial Guard regiments regard as something close to warpcraft.  The aim of the Elite training establishments is to ensure that there are good, effective trackers within the Imperial Guard.

However it must be cautioned that local trackers are at times hired to potent use.  One veteran officer mentions the Koevoet units on Samturdal VII during the Sabat Crusade.  They were engaged by the Elysians to assist with mopping  up Blood Pact stay behind units and other guerillas.  The local trackers were not just village boys plucked away from lives of finding wayward cattle.  They received combat training, and then piled tracking atop their new combat skills. The Koevoet had a reputation for hard tracking, hard killing, and hard drinking, often returning to camp with mangled enemies strapped around the vehicles. They stacked the bodies high.  They also were paid for kills, a practice that improved results.

The Elysians would get on track, often simply by flying in valkyries and looking for it in grass or other opportune traps, especially during morning or evening patrols.  You simply cannot move through many sorts of grass without making a color change.

Men of the Arcomet 887th Strike Regiment - trained and equipped in Elysian methods and practices

You can try to hide track from air observation, and it can help, but that wastes time in the open.  If numerous men go single file, there is no way to hide it.  If they spread out, they leave more trails.  Real accounts of combat tracking against good anti-trackers sound like a pict-cast submarine story.  The submarines cannot see each other, but they can sense each other through various means.  Even the stealthiest submarine creates disturbance.

After a track is confirmed, the commander will have options.  He can use a valkyrie to put a dog on the ground.  The dog goes alone.  The handler stays in the valkyrie and controls her by the radio on her back.  The Elysians tried this and it worked.

They just put the dogs down on known track, and the valkyrie lifted off to follow the dog.  Many dogs love to ride in valkyries just like they love to ride in all vehicles.  If she gets tired of tracking, she might look up and bark at the valkyrie.  No matter where it lands, there she comes.

Deep Striking

An Elysian accounts from this phase of the Sabat Crusade mentions dogs inserted by valkyrie.  During training, the dog could track an eight-hour-old trail, more than nine miles, in 40 minutes.  The dog would start off slow, where the scent was weaker, and speed up as he closed.

Dogs can be trained to hide and to lay down when they acquire a target, and to make a small yelp into the microphone.  This is not hocus pocus.  It has been done.

Combat Tracking with dogs

The Elysians would use forces inserted by air to box the enemy, and then crush the quarry with speed and efficiency.  They might find track that was seven days old, and within two hours track it to where it was an hour old, which was close enough for boxing and hammer and anvil.

Throughout their advance along the Wapaso Drift towards Balhaut, the Elysians took fewer casualties, and their tracking and martial skills forced the enemy onto their back foot. Giving not just the Elysians, but all crusade forces in system the initiative.

All pictures robbed from the internet without the owners consent. Sorry 'bout that.  

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[1] The term bio-web in this document refers specifically to the interaction of organisms in their natural state, including men and their environment.  Possibly not a term used in the Grimdark of the 39th Millennium, but these thing have to make sense somehow; so there will be local/Daniverse terms for 'butterfly' and 'grass' as well, but the concept of 'combat tracking' is what I'm trying to convey here. 

[2] Imperial Storm Troopers, usually in Inquisitorial service. 

Exchange Officers Redux.

This is basically a repeat of this post, but with slightly better pictures and the inclusion of the finished vehicle. 

If you didn't catch it, I also recommend a superb post over at the Cadian 127th. 

The 11th (Independent) Sareanian Assault Engineer Company was seconded to the Krieg 19^th Armoured Regiment for the Taros Campaign.  However neither unit participated in that campaign, being diverted to Devos IV by Spinward Command on Agripinna. 

The 11th (Independent) Sareanian Assault Engineer Company is a specialist unit whose task is to clear the battlefield of emplacements and obstacles to an armoured assault by a tank formation.  As such, the “company” is considerably oversized[1]; bridging and demolition assets make up the most of its platoons, along with ground surveying, mapping and minefield clearance detachments.  The Company is kept at 150% of its establishment of officers by the Departmento Munitorium.  The over strength officers are dispatched along the wider formation front to advise formation commanders and get a feeling for where the company’s assets will be needed next.  And of course the intention is that these officers are already on the ground gathering intelligence that the unit will need, should it be required.

Captain Ernst Schawt is from long serving mining stock from Sarean’s asteroid belt.  Whilst not a hereditary member of the gentry like officers from some places, he is from a wealthy technocrat dynasty. He has been dispatched to the Cadian 127^th as they currently do not have any combat engineering support.   He is a qualified civil engineer with eighteen years experience in the Imperial Guard.

He has taken with him Watchmaster Kluffen, Sappers Griff, Matteus and Kellerman.  Sapper Griff is equipped with a company capacity vox set, to give the detachment the range to communicate with the Company HQ.  Sappers Matteus and Kellerman are toting Melta guns and Capt Schawt and Watchmaster Kluffen are carrying standard guard chainswords.  The Melta guns and chainswords are principally carried for removing obstacles.  Each man carries a lightweight entrenching tool and bayonet obtained from their Krieg hosts.  A lug in the spade blade fits a slotted hole in the bayonet, forming an effective wire cutter. 

The weapons they carry are standard Kantrel pattern items, fitted with Sareanian x3 low light level sights and underslung 40mm grenade launcher.  These items were developed for the Sareanian Light Infantry, who were themselves an offshoot of the Assault Engineer Companies.  Capt Schawt has fitted a sight unit to his las pistol.

The detachment take their dedicated transport with them, a Sarenian pattern IFV (Counts as Chimera).  It is a little smaller than a Chimera and this model, being a command variant lacks the hull weapon mount, the space being taken over by extra engineering equipment.  The vehicle is currently equipped with a HK missile, as befits its usual 'back edge of the combat zone' deployment; this will be dismounted for travel, as their outbound transport is aboard the Governor's Retribution.  May the Emperor protect them on their journey through the warp. 

If you're wondering, that is a Warrior 510 in 28mm truescale.  You can see the model and other modern military minis here.  It is wearing a Chimera multilaser, rather than the truescale autocannon the real one has; which does not really look appropriate on the WH40K table top.  Other mods include the removal of the real smoke dischargers, which again looked too small for the WH40K table and their replacement with a set from a Space Marine sprue - along with the Space Marine radar and HK missile - they just fit the look of the warrior better than the comparatively old-tech looking IG ones.  The HK missile sits on a purpose built plasticard shelf.   There is a rambling post about the conversion here. 

I have heard from the Cadian 127th and am please to report that they did arrive safely, the Govenernor's Retribution living up to its reputation for pace.  And possibly comfort as well. 

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[1] The Company is referred to as such because it was originally a company of four platoons.  However, such is the demand for their services that the Company is now eighteen platoons based around what are loosely referred to as Battlefield Intelligence (recce, mapping, surveying and covert observation), Makum (Bridging, field fortifications, roads and drainage) and Assault (obstacle clearance [incl minefields], demolition and dynamic entry).