The trap is sprung

The Axis advance units were wary of the deserted streets and they were right to be so. Suddenly the roofs of the houses were full of SSU soldiers, volleys of rockets fly down into the week top armour of the tanks and the walkers. Heavy machine gun fire, grenades and molotovs rained down upon the infantry. Suddenly a chopper rose above the ramparts of the fort unleashing a hail of 50mm and machine gun fire upon the advancing Axis infantry. A chopper swoops in and dropped of a rocket eqquiped walker ready to attack the rear of the Axis force.

          A world of hurt is unleashed.

            

Tractors and light walkers come out of their hiding places and fire into the advancing armour.

            Rooftops are full of Red Guard.

Chopper drops off a walker in the rear of the advancing Axis armour.

                            

         Axis walkers are in trouble

         

                   SSU gun tractors to the fore.

Koshka and Grandma lead the assualt

                            

                                                  

                    

                                                   

                     

                                                            

              Red Guard on the roof of the Mosque

        SSU AA support in case any Axis aircraft appear.

Axis armoured advance

Axis armour with limited walker support advance deep into Mesopotamia. The swift thrust by Axis forces into Allied controlled Iraq and Iran was made by units who had been fighting around the shores of the Caspian Sea. Most were still in uniforms more suited to the cold of a Southern Russian winter.

The use of conventional tracked and wheeled units meant a swift advance across the arid terrain. E100s, E50s, upgraded KingTigers and Thor SPGs were used in large numbers alongside lighter walkers who could keep up with the Blitzkrieg through the Fertile Crescent.

We see here one of many thrusts which took place into the towns and villages dotting the banks of the River Tigris. This armoured thrust is led by Sigrid Von Thaler and seems to be unresisted but recon elements have warned of strong SSU forces in the area who are also here to seize the secrets of the Ziggurates of Babylon. 

                             

  Twin 88mm equipped E 100 leads the advance into the town followed by a E 50 and an upgraded KingTiger with 173mm gun.

              Thor SPG with 210 mm gun and E50.

                                                                  

                           Infantry, walkers and armour skirt past the Mosque.

                  Wotan still in Zverograd camoflague

                                                             

                Sudden movement on the rooftops draws the attention of the twin 88mms and the heavy laser grenadiers see silhouettes in the Trading Post.

                       Someone is in the tower.

                                        

                                              

                                              Recon troops starting to feel uncomfortable. Hope those guns are close?

         

Laser grenadiers wait for the heavy infantry to flush out the enemy if they are here?

          

               Watching the advance from a safe distance and vantage point. Where are the towns people?  

                I have a bad feeling about this!

Babylon terrain

Finally have gotten around to taking some table shots of all my finished Babylon terrain. I did the boards and river sections up several years ago for a Sudan demo game. I have since sold all the Sudan figures but have kept the buildings and terrain. The Miniature Building Authority pieces have all been placed on MDF and have had walls, doors, flock and tufts added to create a period fell. The trees are a bit glossy and require repainting but I haven't gotten around to that yet. 

I need to finish my Allied landing craft and scratch built gunboat to really add to the games. 

                         M. 

                    MBA Trading post piece, jetty and boats. I need to finish my Dhows.

            

       

                                             MBA Mosque with three added courtyards

              

        

   Another view of the Mosque. Awnings on the garage building are paper and cocktails sticks, I need     to do a load more as the brighten up the table.

            

Experimental Konigsluther

The battle for Zverograd had stretched the abilities of all 3 factions to the limit. The Axis forces had brought up all manner of wonder and experimental weapons in an attempt to break the deadlock and smash through to the shores of the Caspian Sea. 

The Axis forces had used the very successful Konigsluther in the streets of the doomed city but there were never enough to go around. To help their hard pressed forces the Axis High Command had directed that all available weapons including untried experimental models be sent to the front. This directive meant that the two remaining experimental Konigsluthers were sent to Central Zverograd. These heavy walkers had differed from their four legged brothers in that they were built on a heavy bipod chassis. The heavy chassis was a success and allowed very quick movement and better all round vision however this came at twice the cost and production time per unit and sadly the model was never put into production. 

The two models sent to Zverograd had many successes but sadly one was lost due to the one main weakness and that was visibility. The higher profile meant that the crew could easily see and engage targets but it also meant that the walker itself could be seen from city blocks around and they quickly drew fire from all directions. The remaining walker fought valiantly throughout the campaign and has proven to be almost blessed and constantly comes through all engagement virtually unscathed.