FoW: Slovak Motorised Infantry

Hello Gents once more!

Today we are going on a slightly different type of journey because today there is not too much of drilling down into an historical analysis of the formation type that we will be looking at.

The reason for this is that thus far I can only find the brush strokes of this troop type and not so much of the small unit details.

Today we will be delving (somewhat) into the inner workings of the Slovakian Motorised Infantry!

When Slovakia declared its independence from the Czech state under the coercion of Hitler and his thugs [an interesting aside here is that some of the main supporters of increased Slovak autonomy such as Karol Sidor and even Tiso himself decided that the Slovaks wanted, at the start of 1939 to remain a part of the Czechoslovakian state!] one of the issues that became apparent was that the armed forces remaining to the Slovaks were under supplied in the area of motor vehicles and what soon proved to be an even more severe problem was the lack of qualified engineers that were left in Slovakia.

By the time of the Munich Crisis in 1938 Czechoslovakia was able to field four Mobile (in Czech 'Rychla' or 'Rapid') Divisions. In March of 1939 the V, VI and VII Corps were stationed within the territory of Slovakia consisting of the 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th and 16th Infantry Divisions and the 3rd Mobile Division. These Divisions were all under strength due to the exodus of Czech serving soldiers but importantly not only was all of their equipment left within Slovakia but also the Czechs had numerous arms depots and magazines stationed in Slovakia which they had judged as being the safest part of the country.

New officers needed to be assigned to the formations with vacant command positions and in line with this Staff Captain Dubravec was assigned as the nominal commander of the 3rd Mobile Division. This shines a very stark light on how short on qualified manpower the Slovak state actually was at this time as the 3rd Mobile Division should have been led  by an officer holding a rank of Major General and instead command devolved onto the shoulders of a Captain.

Before the dissolution of the Czechoslovakian state the ideal constitution of one of these Mobile Divisions was of two Brigades taking inspiration from the French Division Legere order of battle although influenced by current German experiences.

Each Mobile Division was to comprise of one Cavalry Brigade and one Motorised Brigade. The Cavalry Brigade would include two Dragoon Regiments, a Bicycle mounted battalion and an artillery group whilst the Motorised Brigade would comprise two motorised infantry regiments mounted in trucks and an artillery group. 

However all of the Czechoslovakian Mobile Divisions were under-strength and as Slovakia was considered the safest part of the country the areas mobile reserve had been flensed of its assets. By the time the Slovak state declared its independence the 3rd Mobile Division had no truck mounted infantry assets at all, and a much reduced complement of tanks and armoured cars. 

The Slovak government realised what kind of precarious position they were in and immediately undertook the reorganisation of its armed forces in order to bring about a degree of military effectiveness that was expandable and dependable. The Hungarians had already invaded and occupied Ruthenia before any of this reorganisation was able to be started let alone completed.

The beginning of the growth of the Slovak Mobile Division began on 5 September 1939 when  the Slovak General Staff decided on the formation of Fast Group 'Kalinciak' under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Jan Imro. This unit comprised a squadron of cavalry, a bicycle mounted infantry company and a motorised unit.

The motorised unit had one company of tanks, a company of armoured cars and a company of anti-tank guns... but no infantry! They were instead assigned to work in cooperation with the advance of the Slovak 2nd Infantry Division 'Skultety' also under the command of Jan Imro.

The Slovak army went through a couple more reorganisations before the next major milestone in Slovakian military history; the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941.

Slovakia had been preparing to assist the Wehrmacht in invading the Soviet Union since early 1941 and on the day that the German army rolled across the borders into the Soviet Union eight classes of reservists were called up, amounting to around 68,000 men. On the same day as the state was placed on a war footing General Catlos, the Minister of Defence ordered the formation of a 'Mobile Group' for use on the Eastern Front under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Rudolf Pilfousek.

The Mobile Group consisted of its Headquarters, the 2nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (JPO-2), a tank battalion with two tank companies, two companies of anti-tank guns, a motorised artillery battalion and the asset that is of particular interest to us here; the 1st Battalion of the 6th Infantry Regiment, all supported by ancillary units provided by the 2nd Infantry Division.

Motorised Infantry Battalion II/6 based in Stara Wies comprised the following:

3x Infantry Companies

1x HMG Company

1x Anti-Tank Platoon

1x 7.5cm artillery battery

1x Engineer Platoon

The total assets were: 14x officers, 629x men, 341x rifles, 162x pistols, 38x LMGs, 12x HMG's, 4x 3.7cm AT Guns, 4x 7.5cm Artillery Pieces, 33 Trucks, 2 Staff Cars, 2x Motorcycles and 8x Bicycles.

The composition of the Infantry Company was absolutely no different to those infantry companies that were marching and was as follows:

Company HQ

20x Men (I can't find any information on the breakdown of this unit unfortunately)

3x Infantry Platoons each comprising of:

Platoon HQ:

1x Lieutenant (9mm vz.34 handgun)

1x Platoon Sergeant (7.92mm vz.24 rifle)

1x Orderly (7.92mm vz.24 rifle)

1x Runner (7.92mm vz.24 rifle)

3x Rifle Sections each comprising of:

1x Corporal (7.92mm vz.24 rifle)

1x Lance Corporal (7.92mm vz.24 rifle)

1x vz.26 LMG Team

     1x Gunner (9mm vz.34 handgun)

     1x Assistant Gunner (7.92mm vz.24 rifle)

     2x Ammunition Carriers (7.92mm vz.24 rifle)

2x Grenadiers (7.92mm vz.24 rifle and grenades)

5x Riflemen (7.92mm vz.24 rifle)

It was this Mobile Group and especially this Infantry Battalion that fought the Battle of Lipovec on 22nd July, exactly one month after driving over the Soviet border and crossing the San river. Whilst Lipovec was a strategic victory for the Slovaks, tactically it shone a light on some serious issues. Chief amongst these was the fact that a single infantry battalion was not strong enough to take on prepared defences in numbers that the Soviets were so fond of and of perhaps greater concern was the fact that the Germans were now witnessing the fact that the Slovak troops had become especially sensitive to Soviet Artillery or Mortar fire frequently abandoning their positions. This all precipitated the next reorganisation which took place on 23 July 1941, a mere day after the battle.

General Catlos decided to reorder all Slovak units on the Eastern Front into two divisions; the Mobile Division and the Security Division. The operational order to cause this to happen was issued on 25th July and named Colonel Turanec as the commander of the Mobile Division.

At its formation the Mobile Division had no armoured vehicles at all as they had all been sent back to Slovakia for repairs. It consisted only of two Motorised Infantry Regiments and an Artillery Regiment. For the next three weeks the Division stayed around Lvov whilst the infantry were trained to cooperate with the artillery. From here, after training was completed, the new Division was sent forwards to meet up with the remains of the original Mobile Group with which it would combine.

The Mobile Division achieved its final form by 22 August 1941 where it moved on to Skviro, where it trained for several more weeks.

The final composition of the Mobile Division was as follows:

Headquarters

Infantry Regiment 20

Infantry Regiment 21

Artillery Regiment 11

Reconnaissance Group 11

Communications Battalion 2

Engineer Battalion 11

Mountain Battery 11

Anti-Tank Company 11

Anti-Aircraft Group

Automotive Workshop

Quartermasters Unit

The elements that interest us here are the Motorised Infantry Regiments. IR20 was considerably larger than IR21 and had the following assets:

57 officers, 1966 NCO's and men, 1552 rifles, 623 handguns, 101 light machine guns, 24 heavy machine guns, 12 3.7cm anti-tank guns, 4 7.5cm field guns, 169 trucks, 51 staff cars, 2 motorcycle and sidecars, 30 motorcycles and 50 bicycles.

Infantry Regiment 21 had the following assets:

63 officers, 1765 NCO's and men, 1183 rifles, 493 handguns, 63 light machine guns, 25 heavy machine guns, 10 mortars, 12 3.7cm anti-tank guns, 4 7.5cm field guns, 171 trucks, 35 staff cars, 2 motorcycles and sidecars, 26 motorcycles and 62 bicycles.

The entire Division had a complement of 893 trucks, 201 staff cars, 6 motorcycle and sidecars, 133 motorcycles and 282 bicycles.

The rapid advances of the Mobile Division and occasional soviet air raids took their toll on the vehicles of the Slovak automotive pool. The somewhat large variety of trucks and cars that were being used were designed in the pre-war Czech era with the excellent Czechoslovakian road network in mind and as such the Automotive Workshop had its hands well and truly full. By the time the Division was called to halt and cover the shores of the Sea of Azov at the beginning of November they felt it was long overdue.

Soon after calling this halt however all but one of the infantry battalions was redeployed to the Mius River to form a defensive line. They immediately found themselves embroiled in savage and bitter Soviet assaults as the covering German divisions fled around their positions. The Division, much to its credit, managed to hold onto its positions and even launched a collection of local counterattacks pushing back the Soviets. By the end of November the situation had again stabilised and a new defensive line was constructed. At this time Colonel Turanec was replaced by the popular Colonel Malar.

The Division remained in this position for 7 months, covering 12km of the axis front line, during which time the Soviets repeatedly failed in trying to puncture the Divisions lines. Over Christmas 1941 the Soviet army staged a massive armoured assault and yet the Division still held them back.

The Mobile Division was taken out of the line in June '42 when it was given time to rest and recuperate. The seven months on the Mius had cost the Division 119 dead, 576 wounded and 89 missing.

The front line started moving again on 19 July 1942 and along with it went the Mobile Division, now commanded again by the newly promoted General Turanec. By this time the Division was so finely tuned that the truck convoys, supported by the Automotive Workshops frequently outpaced their German allies reaching Rostov-on-Don on the 22 July. By September the Division had advanced more than 800km from their previous winter positions on the River Mius.

General Turanec was replaced by Colonel Jurech in September who held extreme anti-fascist sentiments. The Division took up defensive positions south of Krasnodar remaining there for several months during which time officers who had sympathetic views to Colonel Jurech made contact with the Red Army and attempted to arrange a defection en masse for 28 January 1943.

The rapidly changing situation on the front lines however precipitated a rapid withdrawal from the front for the Division and the opportunity was lost.

Now joined by some of its armour, in the face of a furious Soviet offensive the Division was forced to fall back to a succession of positions in an effort to stem the Soviet advance...

...and this is where it all went horribly wrong!

On 31 January 1943 the Division was again ordered out of the defensive line and this time received orders to redeploy to the Crimea taking all equipment possible and destroying whatever had to be left behind.

About half of the Divisions manpower was airlifted to the Crimea with only their small arms whilst the remaining men and heavy equipment were rushed to Taman where they were caught in the harbour by repeated Soviet airstrikes. They finally managed to board the ships and were ferried to the Crimea.

The material losses were huge with the entire Division being left with only one tank and only 237 trucks and 29 of its staff cars. The remnants of the Division eventually retreated to Romania alongside their German allies where they were converted into the 1st Technical Division responsible for building and construction work...

...the Slovak Mobile troops heyday had now come and gone!

So there we have it, another potted history of the formations that Slovakia was able to put into the field. Now we will take a look at what I did in the modelling and painting part of getting this army fit for use.

Now you will notice that there are a lot of Praga RV trucks in this particular part of the army. They were all sculpted, cast and painted by yours truly and I aim to do a blog post dedicated to the stuff that I have actually sculpted and cast myself for the army and as such I wont deal with them here but instead what I will do is cover how I did all of the infantry (and for those with more than your average Wombat's IQ, yes it is exactly the same techniques that I outlined in the Slovak Infantry post).

You may also notice that in this company there are only two bases per section. This is because I have decided to follow Alex's Poland in Flames Slovakian Motorised Infantry composition until such times as I can (and indeed have the inclination to do so) draw up a new Intelligence Briefing that covers the Slovaks through the war...

Before we go any further I should point out that every single miniature in this company was a Battlefront 15mm Romanian until I nipped off their heads and replaced them with Peter Pig heads to turn them into Slovaks. Either the ones with the Slovak Helmets that Martin sculpted for me or else the ones with the Soviet Pilotka Caps which fulfil a good proxy for the Slovak field caps.

So, where painting all of the infantry is concerned its a relatively simple affair. They are done the way that I do them to look good from about 5ft away. Scrutinise them from up close and all of the flaws in the painting will probably slap you in the face but from arms length away they look splendid!.

The first step is to prime, and as with most of my other historical stuff, I prime with a black etch primer. You can buy these from any hardware store but the 'etch' in the primer ensures an exceptionally strong substrate to the acrylic layers that will go over the top, the etch actually referring to a micro dilute acidic content that eats microscopically into the surface of the model creating an uneven surface for the paint to clutch to whilst providing a nice and smooth top layer as the paint levels out and dries.

The lions share of the work done on WW2 miniatures is the main uniform and where the Slovaks are concerned after a somewhat lengthy research period I decided to ditch the (re)coloured photos from the past and go with the uniform colours that all of the re-enactors in Czechoslovakia are using at the moment. In my experience all of these re-enactment guys are anal about accuracy so I would trust their opinions a lot more than raggedy old photos with amateur enthusiast recolour treatments.

My base coat was done with Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet for the deepest layers of the uniform. The first highlight, which presents the largest overall surface area that will be seen at the end was done with MIG's 113 Khaki Green No3 (Brit 1939-1942) with the final highlights along all of the raised edges being completed with MIG's 058 Light Green Khaki. This covers all of the cloth uniform and the puttees.

The helmet has a single coat of 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 897 Bronze Green and Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet with the blue helmet band having a basecoat of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue, highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue and Vallejo's 943 Blue Grey. The little Slovak crosses are all hand painted with thinned down Vallejo's 820 Offwhite.

Everything else is all gravy after painting the uniform.

All of the Canvas bags and straps have a basecoat of Vallejo's 921 English Uniform applied with block highlights of AK Interactives 3072 M-44 Uniform Green Ochre Khaki whilst the leather belts and ammo pouches are basecoated in Vallejo's 045 Charred Brown and highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

The boots are any matt black whilst the Gas Mask Tins are basecoated with Vallejo's 980 Black Green and highlighted with Lifecolor's UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2.

The rifle bodies are basecoated with Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown with the highlighted grain lines painted with Vallejo's 981 Orange Brown. All metal work is painted black firstly and highlighted with Molten Metals Steel. The rifle straps are basecoated with Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and Vallejo's 819 Iraqi Sand.

Where the skin is concerned you can paint it how you please but personally I use one of AK Interactive's paint sets for 'Flesh and Skin Colours' and I've never looked back!

All of the bases are actually really simple. I buy all of my bases from Tony at East Riding Miniatures. Hes a bit of a legend and REALLY helpful. They are all laser cut MDF which allows for easy scoring of the base surface.

I then glue the miniatures to the scored surface and apply a thin layer of tile grout over the top. Once this is dry I glue a layer of one of my sand mixes over the top. Generally speaking I create my own mixes for base coverings as I REALLY don't like a lot of the crap you buy from the shops. Its generally speaking far too gaudy in colour or uniform in texture for my tastes.

I like the generally fine sand BUT I like to have lots of the little stones in there so I can create some colour contrasts with the dirt on the bases.

Once dry the whole base is given a basecoat of Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown and given a heavy drybrush of Vallejo's 814 Green Ochre.

All of the little stones on the bases are then given a basecoat of Vallejo's 995 German Grey and roughly highlighted (to create a jagged uneven texture) with any lighter grey of your choice but personally I go with Vallejo's 992 Neutral Grey.

The sides of the bases are now painted Matt Black. I never used to bother with this BUT I've really gotten into the clean precise look this lends to the bases. I love it now.

Now we come to the final stage of the bases which is the covering. The static flock that I use is my own mix. I go for something that approximates the dead and dry grass you find on the Steppes with perhaps a little more green in it than usual. This allows an overall base aesthetic that can be used the length of Europe in my opinion.

To provide the final textural boost to the bases though I use a variety of clumps. I had a LOT of problems finding ones that I felt were suitable but after a couple of years I came across a company called Tajima Miniatures whose self adhesive tufts are without a doubt the best I have ever found. I use their stuff by the bucket load now, in great variety. 

These all add to the final colour and texture of the bases of this army.

...and there we have it. Another investigation into the inner workings of the Slovakian military and their BAYONETS!!!! 

FoW: Slovak Cavalry Reconnaissance Troops

...snd so ladies and gentlemen we move onto the next instalment of our journey through the military might of Slovakia in World War 2.

Today I would like to introduce you to the Slovakian Cavalry Patrols a much scaled down version of their Czech forebears and sadly (I believe) under represented on the modern wargames table but they were present and they were important for the tasks that they fulfilled.

So, let me convince you why I like these guys so much...

OK, so as with most things Slovakian, if we are going to scrutinise them we need to start way back with the Czechoslovakian Army and in this case the Czechoslovakian Dragoon Regiments that served the State.

The cavalry of the Czechoslovakian Republic was primarily geared towards conducting reconnaissance duties and raiding enemy territory, however when appropriate they were also tasked with pursuing broken and fleeing foes or else conducting staunch rearguard activity if the Czechs were forced into retreat. Generally they were asked to complete any task where a speed faster than that of the infantry became important.

It was a part of the Czech military doctrine not to use the cavalry to conduct activities that could just as easily be completed by other parts of the military due to the fact that the replacement of men and horses was a long and drawn out process and the quality of the cavalry regiments was likely to decline sharply.

"Because of its special qualities - the mobility that is based on the speed of its horse and its ability to move in almost every terrain and equipping the cavalry with weapons to destroy all sorts of field targets - the cavalry has the task of searching for messages, fighting and maintaining contact with other formations. The most important battle for the cavalry is the fight on foot - small horse mounted attack units are to attack the enemy whenever the opportunity arises!"

Equestrian training was much longer than, for example, infantry training with the training itself placing much higher demands on the rider (By the end of the Czechoslovakian Republic all riders were termed 'Dragoons'. Dragoons originated in the 16th Century and as an arm of service expanded greatly during the 30 Years War. They were horse mobile troops which dismounted to fight like light infantry, termed Hippomobile infantry).

"The way of combat cavalry will more often force the rider to fight alone, without precise orders, under very vague, supremely unfavourable and great odds. These circumstances will place special demands on his high spirit. He would have to be accustomed not to fall into fear of loneliness, to fall prey to panicked helplessness in the absence of orders, but to act proactively, not to lose reason and heart in unclear, sudden, unfavourable and outnumbered situations, but to dig deep!"

Even the training of a cavalry horse was very much dependant on the right choice of horse and long, intensive preparations. That is why it would not be easy to replace heavy losses in the cavalry arm.

The training of cavalry troopers began in October when the new conscription year started. Gradually during the year the depth of training intensified. The troopers started training individually, then in teams [the UK equivalent of a team would be the section], then platoons, squadrons and then in early summer they began practising regimental manoeuvres. The training year ended in early autumn with the annual military manoeuvres. After this the oldest year were returned to civilian life to coincide with the influx of the new annual conscripts with each conscripted year being retained for a total of two years active service.

In 1933 and 1936 there were extensive reorganisations of the Horse Mounted and Dragoon regiments. All cavalry regiments from this point forward were designated as Dragoon Regiments which was more consistent with the military function that they fulfilled. 

Horse Mounted and, post 1933, the Dragoon Regiments consisted of the Regimental Headquarters under which were two Field Battalions and a Replacement Battalion, all supplemented after 1933 with a Heavy Machine Gun Squadron subordinated directly to the Regimental Command.

I Battalion included the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Squadrons whilst the II Battalion included the 4th and 5th Cavalry Squadrons. The independent HMG Squadron was designated as the 3rd Squadron.

Each Cavalry Squadron comprised of two Troops each of two Platoons on mobilisation. Each Platoon consisted of two Teams each with a total of 16 riders. The 16 riders were once more divided into two Groups of 8 riders each.

The Replacement Battalion consisted of a Replacement Squadron, a Remount Squadron, between 2-4 horse pulled wagons along with the Administrative and Ordnance Units.

The Cavalry Brigade was the next step up the organisational ladder. Each Brigade consisted of between 2-4 Dragoon Regiments and bicycle mounted squadrons. Around October 1932 the Brigade structure was complemented with an Artillery Section and from the autumn of 1933 a Squadron of Armoured Cars although this only remained the case until 1935 when the wartime organisation of the cavalry brigades changed again.

The brigade had, within its overall structure, a telegraph company with three telephone squads, one radio and one auxiliary platoon, eight exchange boards, 160km of telephone cable, one morse telegraph station, four medium radio stations, three signalling stations, one set of marking and signalling targets and two messenger pigeons! In addition to all of this the brigade was also accompanied with a field ambulance, a payroll department and an attached automobile supply column.

Up to the reorganisation of 1938 the Czechoslovakian army had four Cavalry Brigades with an extant total of around 10,000 men.

From 1 January 1938 the Rapid Division replaced the Cavalry Brigade. The Rapid Division was created in 1937 with the Cavalry Brigade Command fulfilling the basis of the Rapid Division Headquarters.

In the event of war the Rapid Division had further assets subordinated to it to reach its full complement. The full Rapid Division consisted of a headquarters, a bicycle battalion, a motorised brigade of two armoured battalions and two motorised infantry battalions and a cavalry brigade of two dragoon regiment and two artillery units.

Of interest to us here is the composition of the 3rd Rapid Division stationed in Bratislava on Slovak territory which was dramatically under strength with only one under strength tank company in addition to lacking its motorised infantry.

In the second half of the 1930's Czechoslovakia possessed 11 Dragoon regiments and a further 19 horse drawn logistic squadrons although on Slovakian soil at the time of the declaration of independence were only the 3rd and 11th Dragoon Regiments which were a part of the depleted Czechoslovakian 3rd Rapid Division, although each of the six Infantry Divisions stationed on Slovak soil would also have had a cavalry squadron included within the composition of the divisional reconnaissance battalion, usually also including platoons of light tanks, tankettes and armoured cars along with bicycle mounted troops. The composition of these Reconnaissance Battalions varied enormously throughout the Czech army so it is difficult to pin down exactly what was where although with the exodus of the Czech officers and men after independence we can be sure that they were exceptionally understaffed.

Upon independence the Slovaks were forced to reorder their armed forces and as such the six Infantry Divisions were reduced to three in number, with one each being assigned to a Higher Headquarters (VV - Vyssi Velitelstvo) of which there was one for each of the three territorial divisions of Slovakia; Trencin, Banska Bystrica and Presov.

As a part of these reorganisations the Slovak cavalry was collected together and they were able to organise a total of only three cavalry squadrons, of two troops each. These were stationed in Bratislava, Nitra and Michalovce. In addition to the squadrons there were also three horse drawn transport squadrons each stationed in Bratislava, Zvolen and Presov and of course the military stud farm.

Now if you think about it that is a total of two entire regiments and six independent squadrons which would amount to a total of 14 squadrons that were stationed on Slovak soil effectively being reduced to the strength of three. This gives you some indication of the difference in numbers between Czechs and Slovaks in the specialist service arms. 

Soon after Germany marched over the Polish border (including from Slovakia), the Slovak government immediately marched two of its Infantry Divisions across the border; the 1st 'Janosik' and the 2nd 'Skultety' Infantry Divisions. On the 5 September 1939 however the Slovak authorities decided on sending a more mobile field asset over the border as well; this was the Fast Group 'Kalinciak'.

Rychla Skupina 'Kalinciak' was formed of three groups. Group I comprised the 1st and 2nd cavalry squadrons with the 4th and 5th cavalry support squadrons. Group II comprised the 1st and 2nd cyclist companies, the 4th cyclist HMG company and 3rd cyclist support company. Group III was the motorised group and comprised a tank company, an armoured car company and an anti-tank company. 

'Kalinciak' returned to Slovakia on 1 October 1939 to immediately become embroiled in more reorganisations that continued until early 1940 by which time the army's cavalry had been reordered into Cavalry Reconnaissance Groups I, II and III. Groups I and II were assigned to the newly created 1st Infantry Division and garrisoned in Bratislava and Sered respectively, whilst Group III was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division and garrisoned in Michalovce.

Later on in October of 1940 the army was yet again reorganised with the 2nd Infantry Division being abolished and the 3rd becoming the new 2nd. Along with this reduction in size Cavalry Reconnaissance Group II was also abolished with Group III becoming the new Group II.

In this format of late 1940, Cavalry Reconnaissance Group I had the following structure:

Headquarters

HMG Company

1st Squadron

2nd Squadron

Bicycle Company

1st Transport Squadron

2nd Transport Squadron

Cavalry Reconnaissance Group II had the following structure:

Headquarters

HMG Company

1st Squadron

2nd Squadron

Bicycle Company

1st Transport Squadron

The Slovakian government had long been aware that the Germans were planning on invading the Soviet Union and for months had been planning their own contribution to the axis efforts. Perhaps a little later in the day than the rest of the preparations the Mobile Group [aka Group Pilfousek after its commander Rudolf Pilfousek] was organised on 22 June 1941 and within its composition included Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron II which is to say that the 2nd Squadron of Cavalry Reconnaissance Group I had been assigned to the Mobile Group.

As a part of the Slovak Field Army that marched over the Soviet border the two Infantry Divisions were each supplied with a Cavalry Troop. 1st Division received Troop I whilst the 2nd received Troop II. Essentially each of these divisions had two platoons of cavalry available to it.

Whilst the composition of the Field Army's Divisions remained consistent for a little longer, soon after going over the border, on 8 July 1941 the Mobile Group was reformed into a Mobile Brigade with the stripping of the cavalry which were struggling to keep up and the addition of further motorised units.

On 1 September 1941 2nd Infantry Division was re-purposed into the Security Division within which the cavalry of the Mobile Group was assigned alongside the two Troops of 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions becoming the 'Combined Reconnaissance Group'. They stayed with the Security Division until it was recalled and reassigned as construction formations serving the Reich.

...and that I believe may be the most detailed account of Slovak cavalry that you will find anywhere in the English language...

but what about the painting and modelling? What did I use to convert them into Slovakians? How did I paint them? So many questions!!!!

Modelling the Troops

So there was quite a bit of jiggery-pokery to come up with appropriate miniatures for the Slovak Cavalry. 

I had to use True North (carried in the UK by Old Glory) Polish cavalry figures for the mounted troops with a bit of nip and tuck and I went to the tried and trusted Battlefront Romanians for the dismounted cavalry. Both types of troops required some minor adjustments.

Before we go any further I should point out that I nipped off the heads of every single miniature and replaced them with Peter Pig Slovak heads to turn them into Slovaks. Either the ones with the Slovak Helmets or else the ones with the Soviet Pilotka Caps which fulfil a good proxy for the Slovak field caps will do. I used both, although predominantly the helmeted heads as I much prefer the look.

The second adjustment that needs to be done is with the dismounted cavalry. As they are actually normal Romanian infantry with their leg wrap puttees something needs to be done about this as the cavalry all wore knee high black boots. An easy fix is to paint on liquid Green Stuff around the puttees so that they all look like boots. Let it cure properly and 'bobs yer uncle'... Boots! 

Painting the Troops...

So, where painting all of the cavalry men is concerned its a relatively simple affair. The first step is to prime, and as with most of my other historical stuff, I prime with a black etch primer. You can buy these from any hardware store but the 'etch' in the primer ensures an exceptionally strong substrate to the acrylic layers that will go over the top, the etch actually referring to the minute acidic content that eats microscopically into the surface of the model creating an uneven surface for the paint to clutch to whilst providing a nice and smooth top layer as the paint levels out and dries.

The lions share of the work done on WW2 miniatures is the main uniform and where the Slovaks are concerned after a somewhat lengthy research period I decided to ditch the (re)coloured photos from the past and go with the uniform colours that all of the re-enactors in Czechoslovakia are using at the moment. In my experience all of these re-enactment guys are anal about accuracy so I would trust their opinions a lot more than raggedy old photos with amateur enthusiast recolour treatments.

My base coat was done with Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet for the deepest layers of the uniform. The first highlight, which presents the largest overall surface area that will be seen at the end was done with MIG's 113 Khaki Green No3 (Brit 1939-1942) with the final highlights along all of the raised edges being completed with MIG's 058 Light Green Khaki. This covers all of the cloth uniforms and field caps. The collar flashes are painted with Vallejo's 915 Deep Yellow.

The helmet has a single coat of 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 897 Bronze Green and Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet with the blue helmet band having a basecoat of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue, highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue and Vallejo's 943 Blue Grey. The little Slovak crosses are all hand painted with thinned down Vallejo's 820 Offwhite.

Everything else is all gravy after painting the uniform.

All of the Canvas bags and straps have a basecoat of Vallejo's 921 English Uniform applied with block highlights of AK Interactives 3072 M-44 Uniform Green Ochre Khaki whilst the leather belts and ammo pouches are basecoated in Vallejo's 045 Charred Brown and highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

The boots are any matt black whilst the Gas Mask Tins are basecoated with Vallejo's 980 Black Green and highlighted with Lifecolor's UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2.

The rifle bodies are basecoated with Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown with the highlighted grain lines painted with Vallejo's 981 Orange Brown. All metal work is painted black firstly and highlighted with Molten Metals Steel although the sabre blades can be highlighted further if you like the idea. I used Vallejo's Metal Medium added to the Steel paint. The rifle straps are basecoated with Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and Vallejo's 819 Iraqi Sand.

Where the skin is concerned you can paint it how you please but personally I use one of AK Interactive's paint sets for 'Flesh and Skin Colours' and I've never looked back!

Painting the Horses...

Painting the horses themselves is a relatively simple affair I think. After they are primed the horses receive an overall coat of Vallejo's Panzer Aces 302 Dark Rust. This is then block highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

The manes of the horses are painted with Vallejo's 822 German Camo Black Brown, followed by a light drybrush of Vallejo's 872 Chocolate Brown.

If you want any white flashes or socks on your horses then I start with a rough stippling of Vallejo's 819 Iraqi Sand followed by a stipple of Vallejo's 820 Offwhite over the top of it ensuring that almost all of the Iraqi Sand is obscured leaving only a trace of it.

The noses of the horse are stippled with some GW Elf Flesh... and there we have it... done!

The horse furniture is a little more complex. All of the reins and tackle are painted Vallejo's 822 German Camo Black Brown with an edge highlight of 50/50 German Camo Black Brown and Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth. All of the metal parts of the tackle and harness are painted with Molten Metal Steel.

The horse blanket under the saddle and the strapped rolls in front of and behind the rider are painted with a basecoat of Vallejo's 830 German Field Grey which is then highlighted with Vallejo's 886 Grey Green. The straps are repainted with Vallejo's 950 Black with a simple basecoat of Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth put over the top.

The saddle bags are painted with a basecoat of Vallejo's 045 Charred Brown and highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

Basing them all...

All of the bases are actually really simple. I buy all of my bases from Tony at East Riding Miniatures. Hes a bit of a legend and REALLY helpful. They are all laser cut MDF which allows for easy scoring of the base surface.

I then glue the miniatures to the scored surface and apply a thin layer of tile grout over the top. Once this is dry I glue a layer of one of my sand mixes over the top. Generally speaking I create my own mixes for base coverings as I REALLY don't like a lot of the crap you buy from the shops. Its generally speaking far too gaudy in colour or uniform in texture for my tastes.

I like the generally fine sand BUT I like to have lots of the little stones in there so I can create some colour contrasts with the dirt on the bases.

Once dry the whole base is given a basecoat of Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown and given a heavy drybrush of Vallejo's 814 Green Ochre.

All of the little stones on the bases are then given a basecoat of Vallejo's 995 German Grey and roughly highlighted (to create a jagged uneven texture) with any lighter grey of your choice but personally I go with Vallejo's 992 Neutral Grey.

The sides of the bases are now painted Matt Black. I never used to bother with this BUT I've really gotten into the clean precise look this lends to the bases. I love it now.

Now we come to the final stage of the bases which is the covering. The static flock that I use is my own mix. I go for something that approximates the dead and dry grass you find on the Steppes with perhaps a little more green in it than usual. This allows an overall base aesthetic that can be used the length of Europe in my opinion.

To provide the final textural boost to the bases though I use a variety of clumps. I had a LOT of problems finding ones that I felt were suitable but after a couple of years I came across a company called Tajima Miniatures whose self adhesive tufts are without a doubt the best I have ever found. I use their stuff by the bucket load now, in great variety. 

These all add to the final colour and texture of the bases of this army.

... and that as they say gentlemen is that! If I am not mistaken this is, at this point in time, the only place in the world where you will find this information all compiled in one place in the English language... I hope some of you out there are able to make some use of this.

... and I would be remiss of course if I didn't sign off by saying "FIX BAYONETS!!!!"

FoW: Slovak Armoured Cars (Oa vz.30's)

So, as it stands my life is upside down at the moment as I attempt to complete a relocation to the other side of the country, complete an internal transfer on the railways (and fight every inch of the way with a grossly incompetent/unproductive HR department!) and finish off buying a house...

All of this I must confess has sapped my will to live much less my will to write so I have found it remarkably hard to sit down and apply myself to the string of blog posts that I still have to do for my Flames of War Slovak army.... BUT having just sat down to watch 'How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World' with my besties plus family I finally felt an urge to put down some words.... 

... and so here I am!

I thought I would ease myself back into things with a relatively quick and simple post covering one of my favourite Slovak vehicles; the Tatra OA vz.30 armoured car! No conversion here just good old simple painting... and a little bit of history! 

Easy right? Well, lets see!

Lets start at the beginning, when Czechoslovakia was still 'a thing' and the landscape of Europe was creaking under the weight of ideological ego!

The OA vz.30 (full title being Obrneny Automobil vzor 30 - Armoured Car model 30) was a homegrown Czechoslovakian armoured car designed by the Tatra company which through the course of its active service saw use with the Czechoslovakian and Slovak armed forces and was either appropriated or exported to other countries such as Germany, Romania and Hungary during the Second World War.

A total of fifty one of these vehicles were manufactured by Tatra before production ceased, of which the Germans seized twenty four when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia in March 1939, whilst the Slovaks retained eighteen when they declared independence from Czechoslovakia at the same time. Romania was able to bag nine when Czech troops sought refuge across the border following the Hungarian invasion of the Carpatho-Ukraine in the same month.

Here we will deal principally with the Czechoslovakian and Slovakian vehicles though, and they saw combat deployments in Poland '39, the Slovak-Hungarian War and throughout the Slovak experience on the Eastern Front when in January 1944 they were finally phased out of service as the Slovaks received PzKpfw II's to replace them although they were kept on the Army's equipment rolls... and yet their journey was not over because in late '44 when the Slovaks rose up against their former German allies the OA vz.30's were once again thrust into the combat zone in the Slovak National Uprising!

The OA vz.30's armoured body used the chassis of the Tatra 6x4 T-72 truck as its foundation. The central tube design of the chassis itself was unusual as it had independently sprung rear half axles which rendered superb cross country performance. 

The driver of the vehicle was positioned on the right side of the body and used an observation port which was protected by an armoured visor with an integral vision slit. The assistant driver sat on the left hand side with a smaller vision port through which his ZB vz.26 light machine gun protruded. This one was mounted to fire directly to the front of the vehicle. There were similar vision slits on both sides of the vehicle as well to enable all round visibility. The crew accessed the vehicle through a door on the rear wall of the vehicle.

The vehicle commander (and primary gunner) sat in a small cylindrical turret mounted on the top of the vehicle capable of a full 360 deg traverse. It included an observation port in the front alongside the turret weapon and was complemented with more vision slits on the turret sides and rear. The turrets main armament was another ZB vz.26 light machine gun mounted in a ball mount. 

It was standard practise to carry another spare light machine gun inside the vehicle as well. Over 3000 rounds of ammunition were stored in the vehicle for all of the weapons and the armour was typically between 3-6mm thick. Whilst nothing to write home about by any means, it must be stated that when this vehicle was designed in 1933 this was considered more than suitable to deflect any small arms fire from 100m or more. 

It had a 4 cylinder, 32 horsepower, air cooled Tatra 71 engine, mounted on the front of the vehicle and enabling a top speed of 37 mph, and being able to negotiate ditches up to 0.5m wide and ford water obstacles up to 0.3m deep.

The Czechoslovakian army had been evaluating a series of different Tatra truck chassis for application as armoured cars since 1926 with a number of prototypes built over the years with both wooden and metal bodies to trial a variety of different layouts. The Czechoslovakian military finally placed an order on 6th March 1933 for fifty one OA vz.30's for a projected delivery in December of that same year.

Tatra was late on the delivery and was only able to deliver the first six on 29th January 1934 followed by sixteen more in February and the final batch delivered in July on account of their destination workshops and garages in Milovice were not yet complete.

The pre-war Czechoslovakian armed forces had all of their armour concentrated into 'Mobile' Divisions of which there were supposed to be four and which had a formal organisation set down on 1st October 1937. These were based on the French Division Legere along with things gleaned from German experience. The fine details are not relevant here suffice it to say that the only part of these Mobile Divisions that had armoured cars in their TO&E's was as a part of the Reconnaissance Battalion which was directly subordinated to the Divisional Headquarters.

These Mobile Divisions never achieved full establishment strength before the demobilisation in 1938 and of the four only one, the 3rd Mobile Division was stationed in Slovakia, which was so positioned to serve as the Operational Reserve for the Czechoslovakian 3rd Army. Its 3rd Armoured Regiment was stationed in Turciansky sv.Martin where the barracks and garages, warehouses and work-shops for its vehicles were based after being built between 1935-37. By the end of 1936 the regiment had a total complement of eighteen OA vz.30 armoured cars, three OA vz.27's, thirty Vz.33 tankettes and fifteen LT vz.34 light tanks.

Despite an expansion in the Regiments tank strength, the numbers of armoured cars remained the same and other than the 3rd Replacement Battalion, all other armoured cars were allocated to the companies of the 1st Battalion along with the vz.33 tankettes.

The regiment retained its three OA vz.27's, but of its eighteen OA vz.30's it transferred eight vehicles to the Czech Gendarmerie, later acquiring another eight vehicles from the 2nd Armoured Regiment along with some tanks. These particular vehicles ended up fighting against the Hungarian invasion of Transcarpathian Ruthenia, later retreating into Slovakia where they were confiscated by the Slovak authorities before its Czech crews could sabotage them.

During the conflict with the Hungarians between 23-26th March 1939 one of the armoured cars (No. 13401) was destroyed and had to be abandoned before Hungary occupied the former Slovak territory.

After the departure of all of the Czech serving men the Regiment was left with all of its equipment but hardly any men to crew them. The most senior remaining officer was Staff Captain Cani who was placed in command and given the remit to create a full Armoured Battalion. On 28th April he proposed a battalion structure composed of a headquarters, one armoured car company, two tank companies and one anti-tank company. He was compelled to ask for a further 288 men to fully outfit the battalion. 

By 6th July 1939 the battalion had achieved its manpower targets and was renamed Armoured Battalion 'Martin' and training with its vehicles and assets was began. In the autumn of 1939 the organisation of the Battalion changed again with the reconnaissance assets being amalgamated into a 'group' with a single platoon of three armoured cars only.

Following a limited deployment of the OA vz.30's into Poland in September 1939 (the vz.27's being considered too old and obsolete for front-line service) the Battalion was reinforced again with the anti-tank battalion from Hlohovec and renamed as a Regiment. 

By January 1940 the Armoured Regiment had a structure in line with that proposed by the now Major Cani. It had the 1st of four companies in the First Battalion of armoured cars. Initially this caused some organisational complications as initially the Armoured Regiment was subordinated to the infantry, whilst some of its armoured car companies were subordinated to the heavy squadrons of the Cavalry Reconnaissance Groups No's I & II. This situation ended in May 1940 when all of the armoured cars officially became a constituent part of the Regiment, although on occasion the platoons may have been subordinated to other services temporarily to complete certain functions.

As new assets were made available and manpower shortages were overcome a reorganisation occurred once again, and from January 1941 with the following organisation:

Headquarters

Staff Company

Motorised Company (Armoured Cars)

1st Battalion (3 Tank Companies)

2nd Battalion (3 Anti-Tank Companies)

Reserve Battalion

On June 1941 the Armoured Regiment sent a combined group of 47 tanks and included a company of three armoured cars with the Mobile Group when it entered the Soviet Union. In this campaign both tanks and armoured cars repeatedly proved their quality.

Despite many serving officers in the Slovakian ranks having extreme anti-fascist leanings, and a resultant endemic sabotage of their own armoured vehicles in order to have them sent home for future use, the Slovaks were still able to maintain and armoured force in the field on the front line.

Following a further reorganisation of the Mobile Brigade on 8th July 1941, they were still able to field a Motorised Reconnaissance Group which fielded five OA vz.30's.

Slovakia's first major combat engagement against units of the Red Army was around the town of Lipovec (Lypovets in the Vinnytsia Oblast of the Ukraine). Things did not go as well as expected! The fight began at 05:00, instigated by three of the Reconnaissance Groups five armoured cars accompanied by a company of cyclists who made contact with a company of Soviet infantry dug into foxholes about three kilometres west of the town itself. By 16:00 the repeated combined arms assaults of the Mobile Brigade had managed to penetrate the defensive cordon of the Soviet 44th Siberian Infantry Division and had entered the suburbs of Lipovec itself, capturing the railway station.

It was then that disaster struck. 

Colonel Pilfousek, the commanding officer of the Mobile Brigade ordered them to advance on Lipovec because he was convinced that the town had already been taken. Advancing down a single road into Lipovec the entire Brigade was caught on the right flank by an aggressive counterattack launched by two Soviet infantry battalions supported by very accurate supporting artillery fire. 

The Soviets split the Mobile Brigade in half, isolating the front half within Lipovec itself whilst the main force on the road began to retreat in a panic only managing to bring the Soviet counterattack to a halt about 2km in front of Shchaslyva to the west of Lipovec.

Tanks from the 1st and 2nd Companies were sent forwards to assist the troops trapped in Lipovec, joining a single tank from 3rd Company. A desperate struggle broke out as the tanks broke through Soviet anti-tank defences joining the armoured cars trapped in the town. One of the OA vz.30's (13403) was hit and burned out completely. One was hit and abandoned by its crew and the final one suffered light damage. The fighting continued until 22:00 when the withdrawal from the town was complete and the Slovaks were able to pull back to the safety of their own lines, pursued by Soviet anti-tank guns knocking out further Slovak tanks. 

They were able to occupy the town the next day bloodlessly as the Soviets had withdrawn. The captured OA vz.30 had already had red stars painted over its Slovak crosses!

The battle of Lipovec revealed that the Mobile Brigade was simply not strong enough to take on divisional level forces on its own and steps were taken to strengthen the Brigade further although the road ahead was a long one and further attrition was the inevitable result.

By 1st January 1942 the regiment was still able to field many of its armoured vehicles despite having many of them shipped back to Slovakia. Out of sixteen OA vz.30's only seven were left fully repaired and operational.

In August 1942 the Ministry of Defence finally got around to bolstering the Security Division with some armoured assets included in which was assigned six OA vz.30's. They were widely used in patrolling and anti partisan actions. Two of them (13399 and 13411) were lost in action at Lojev and the rest of the company was sent back to Slovakia on 12th January 1943 at which time only one of the four remaining armoured cars was in running condition.

As a replacement for the aged and worn out OA vz.30's the Ministry of Defence placed an order for twenty PzKpfw II's to be used as reconnaissance vehicles. They managed to obtain sixteen of them in January 1944. At this time the OA vz.27's were phased out and the remaining OA vz.30's were placed into storage as no longer usable although they were still kept on the rolls.

The OA vz.30 armoured cars performed their duties magnificently, considering that they were over ten years old, lightly armoured, armed with only two light machine guns incapable of sustained fire and using an engine that was considered under-powered. These cars moved over terrain they were not designed for and were able to fight in place of heavy armoured cars and even in the place of tanks in some places.

So there we have it; an summarised combat history of these little darlings.

Now we come to the modelling and as you have already read so many times I wont bore you with the basing as its the same for absolutely everything that I do so we will just get straight into the painting.

The first thing that I do on any of my vehicles is always the green base colour.

The main paint scheme of the armoured cars is done by airbrush using my MIG Aircobra for the Priming and Basecoating and my Harder & Steenbeck for all of the shading and highlighting as my H&S has a 0.15 needle and provides a hell of a lot more control... but the MIG is SOOOOO easy to clean it just makes sense to use it where I can...

The Airbrushing steps are as follows:

i) The model is primed with a Matt Black Etch Primer

ii) The basecoat is Tamiya's XF-58's Olive Green

iii) The first highlight is LifeColors UA221 Khaki Olive Drab applied in a panel highlight fashion

iv) The second highlight is LifeColors UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2 applied as above but a bit lighter and gathered in along the edges and prominent areas

v) The third highlight is a 50/50 mix of LifeColors UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2 with LifeColor 01 White. This is applied sparingly just along the edges and prominent areas.

So that's the airbrushing complete and don't be overly concerned if your third highlight was too heavy as the next two steps will, if done correctly, tone the whole contrasted effect down.

vi) The next step is to apply the colour swatches over the body of the vehicle that will provide the camouflage pattern. With the green camouflage base now finished off I add swatches of Vallejo's 914 Green Ochre and Vallejo's 826 German Camo Med. Brown to leave an equal balance of all three colours in an intentionally smoothed edge blotted pattern.

vii) Now we apply the Filter over the whole thing to unify the colour aesthetic and clip the contrast a little. I apply MIG's Filter 1506 Brown for Dark Green.

viii) Once dry wipe of any serious excess from where it may have pooled but otherwise leave it untouched.

ix) At this point I apply the first layer of Varnish. It doesn't matter which varnish you choose so long as it fixes the Filter layer to the miniature as its an oil based layer.

Once the varnish is dry its time for the next layer which is where the real depth starts to come out.

x) Over every detail laden part of the model apply a Wash. I use AK Interactives Wash 075 Wash for NATO Camouflage Vehicles. Don't be shy with this step. Slap it on aplenty! Then leave to dry for a while.

xi) Once its dry (or dry-ish) use cotton buds (cue tips for you Yankees out there...) and use a gentle white spirit to wipe away the excess leaving great detail and shadowing around all of your detail areas and a general lowering of the overall luminosity. Personally I use Winsor & Newtons Artists White Spirit as I had a bad experience with normal white spirit stripping away four layers of paint and primer and have no wish to repeat the disaster!

xii) Once the whole piece is dry to the touch apply another layer of varnish to fix everything in place.

xiii) The last thing to do with paint is to lightly airbrush a layer of Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown across the wheels and the lower third of the vehicle. This layer has a highlight of Vallejo's 914 Green Ochre mixed in whatever ratio you want with the German Camo Medium Brown already in the airbrush and is then applied in splotches to provide some variance in the muddy weathering.

xiv) A final varnishing is applied to the vehicle which are then finally fixed to their bases.

xv) ...and so we come to the very last thing that I needed to do for these Slovak additions... the decals.

Now, I am capable of making my own decals BUT the experience that I have had so far has led to decals that are uncomfortably thick and ones that cannot include white unless as an overall substrate to the total image and so one of my Polish friends suggested I approach a gentleman in Poland that both he and his father had used to produce specialist decals.

I thus contracted one Bogdan Zolnierowicz through Facebook to produce for me a decal sheet with enough Slovak aircraft and tank markings to polish off everything that I thought I would need. Along with a couple of sheets of numbers and letters I had enough to produce the exact representation that I wanted and Bogdan's decals were exactly what the doctor ordered.

Incidentally if you want to approach Bogdan for help with decals he says you are all welcome to do so. He may not respond quickly but he will eventually and he is the only one on Facebook with the name.

He knocked out a sheet with a stack of tiny Slovak crosses for me which duly made it to the turrets of these armoured cars.

So there we have it ladies and gents. Another mini project finished and one (read six) more items to place onto the table alongside the rest of my Slovak Mobile forces

Onwards and Upwards Ladies!

Fix bayonets!