Bolt Action Germans, Allies and Chinese Armies

Author: Ian Wellsted

Publisher: Frontline Books

SAS: Across the Rhine is the story of Captain Ian Wellsted’s military career with the Special Air Service, the first part of which was detailed in his well-received SAS: With the Maquis.

This is a very personal account, revealing the many emotional as well as physical strains placed upon men in the fighting line. The author takes us back to his time employed with the 79th Armoured Division (the famous ‘Hobart’s Funnies’) preparing for D-Day and his desire for more exciting action, which led first to the Parachute Regiment and then the SAS. Whilst we learn a little of his time with the maquis, the focus of the story is his part in Operation Archway.

A British special forces mission which involved the 1st and 2nd Special Air Service Regiments acting in support of the advance of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery’s Allied 21st Army Group in operations Varsity and Plunder, this crossing of the Rhine was one of the largest and most diverse operations ever carried out by the SAS.

In this offensive, the SAS teams were thrust deep into German territory, often having to battle their way through the enemy lines to get back to safety. ‘I quickly learned that there was no way to control an SAS battle,’ Wellsted wrote of his first major encounter in charge of a patrol. ‘The din was deafening – seventy odd Vickers and half a dozen Brownings all chattering together. The screech of ricochets and the fire of the enemy made my voice sound like the squeak of a mouse against a church organ. I was helpless.’

In one of these encounters, as the war was ending, Wellsted’s troop found itself surrounded. In the ensuing firefight, Wellsted was wounded, bringing his active front line career to an end.

I cannot stress how good this book is. I found it to be an absolutely riveting read from start to finish. It contains a plethora of information regarding how the SAS operated in the latter part of World War Two, which will be invaluable to both the historian and war gamer. I have to say of all the books I have read this year I would put this at the top of my list. As a war-gamer building a SAS based army for Bolt Action I found reading this book very useful. I now plan to build my army based on the unit commanded by the author. The book also contains information of the French and Belgian SAS along with descriptions of weapons used, and the tactics employed by the SAS units. Throughout the book there several map illustrations along with a section of photographs taken during operations.

It’s one of those books that once you start reading you can’t put it down, a great read about one of the most famous elite units in the world. A definite one to grab if you’re interested in the SAS, WW2 or military history in general.

I decided to crack on and finish a couple of my Bolt Action Tanks, Panzer III, Stug and a T-34. All of these had been previously base coated but I decided i wanted to add some weathering and dirtying them up a little, so that they look battle worn.

The T-34 didn’t get too much weathering done it, as I’m planning to use it in the Korean War Campaign, and I wanted it to look like a reasonably new tank. The two German tanks I wanted to look like they’ve been on the battle field for a couple of years or more, so they needed some drastic weathering, This was done using weathering powders, and powder pads by Tamiya.

All this time off locked away at home has meant I’ve been able to catch up on a lot of projects.

Publisher: Pen & Sword    Author: Paul Thomas

This book covers the complete range of light tanks in use by the German army during WW2. This includes technical specifications, combat use in theatre and variations all of which is lavishly illustrated throughout.

The book is a paperback, with 126 pages and is mostly images taken during the Second World War, all of which are captioned with useful information. What makes this interesting is the fact that many people don’t generally pay much attention to the light tanks utilized by the German forces, they tend to gravitate to larger vehicles such as the Panther and Tiger tanks. Yet the light tanks formed the backbone of the Blitzkrieg tactics used by the advancing German army in the early part of the war, especially during the invasions of Poland and France.

The book has been broken down into four chapters covering the Blitzkrieg, Balkans and Eastern front and the final chapter 1943-45. Each chapter has roughly 3-4 pages of very useful information prior to the gallery of images. A lot of the images haven’t been published previously or haven’t done so in recent years. As you’d expect from images taken under battlefield conditions that some have been technically taken better compared with others. So, don’t be surprised if some are grainy and not as sharp as you’d expect.

I found this book to be quite an interesting read. I would say that this book would be of interest to those thinking about building a German army for war-games such as Flames of War. It would also be very useful for modelers considering building a light tank kit.

I’ve found it very useful for finding some inspiration for my late German army for Flames of War. I decided to add some light tanks to my force after reading this book, it also prompted me to add a light tank to my growing Bolt Action army as well.

So, I’d definitely recommend this book for any gamer who is considering building a German army, whether you’re planning an early, mid or late war army. This will be especially relevant for those who have or are building an early or mid-war force.

So during my first week at home I’ve been concentrating on painting some Bolt Action bits and pieces. They’ve mostly been Desert Rats,  it gave me chance to sort through everything I had for BA as well and I noted what I required to purchase.

I did a bit of a sort through of what I’ve painted so far for my various Bolt Action armies, along with the items that have been built but still require a lick of paint on them.

I recently picked up a squad of Chinese communists from Warlord for the Korean War expansion.  These were fairly quick and easy to paint,  new only gripe with these models are the heads. I’m not keen on the sculpting in them. They don’t look very Asian never mind Chinese to me. I plan to use them in both WW2 and Korean game Bolt Action.

I recently picked up a squad of Chinese communists from Warlord for the Korean War expansion.  These were fairly quick and easy to paint,  new only gripe with these models are the heads. I’m not keen on the sculpting in them. They don’t look very Asian never mind Chinese to me. I plan to use them in both WW2 and Korean game Bolt Action.

This series of books are photographic collection publications with images taken from archives of official wartime photographers or soldiers who fought in the war and battles covered in the books. Many of the plates in these books being published for the first and offer a unique perspective on the conflicts they cover.

For this review I’m going to look at a trio of books from the range that covers 2nd World War in Asia.

China & Japan at War 1937-1945

This was one of the most bitter conflicts fought during the Second World War and considered by many to be the most bitter of the 20th Century. In fact, there is still a high level of resentment among Chinese of all ages regarding what the Japanese did during the war, and the fact that today Japan still refuses to acknowledge the atrocities it committed against the Chinese people.
It covers the invasion of China by the Japanese Imperial forces in 1937 through to the surrender of Japan in 1945. Millions of soldiers from both countries fought during this terrible conflict, and millions of Chinese civilians suffered greatly.

The author covers the history of this devastating conflict in the photographs taken throughout the war. He has managed to select over 200 images that takes the war from the invasion in 37, the retreat of Chinese forces in the face of over whelming odds, the bitter and violent battles of Nanjing and Shanghai through to the final surrender in 45.

The brutal war in China is often neglected by both historians and war gamers in the west. Yet the author has provided an absorbing yet graphic account of this conflict that ravaged China. The images not only show the armies involved but also the weapons and vehicles utilised by both sides. The book also records the 8-year struggle that the ordinary soldiers of both Chinese and Japanese armies endured during this brutal occupation.

The second book looks at Japans blitzkrieg into South East Asia and the capture of Singapore.

Japan Triumphant- The Far East Campaign 1941-42

In this book the author looks at the extraordinary campaign carried out by the Japanese forces during 1941-42. It was highly ambitious, and they planned to invade and conquer the entire region, and this campaign would put them in to direct conflict with Western Powers.

They fought an array of varying opponents through lightening attacks. Some of which like the attack on Pearl Harbour have gone down in history as examples of stunning victories. During this campaign they fought several armies that included Dutch, British, US and Philippines. The author has again selected a vast number of images that showcase the campaign really well.

It includes many images of Japanese soldiers preparing for battle, as well as the forces they overwhelmed. At this particular point in the war the Japanese looked unstoppable, but this campaign would eventually be the downfall of their military as the supply lines became stretched beyond their ability to maintain.

The final book looks at the Pacific war, and the fight back by US forces.

The Gilbert and Ellice Island Pacific War – Jim Moran

The Gilbert Islands were occupied by the Japanese not long after the attack on Pearl Harbour. As part of the occupation they built a seaplane air base. In August 1942 US forces made a raid on the island, and in response the Japanese re-enforced the islands defences, along with a second base.

Then 1943 the 2nd Marine Division along with the 27th Infantry division had the task of capturing the islands. The battle turned out to be one of the most costly in US marine history.

The book covers the campaign and battles to capture the Gilbert Islands from the Japanese forces. It’s a great reference for everyone wanting to conduct wargames set in the Pacific region, especially those building and playing US Marine armies. As usual with this series of books it has a breath of reference images along with some useful information.
Another great book to add to anyone’s library of reference material.

All of these books are an invaluable resource for anyone wishing to start or is wargaming in World War Two Asia. I now have several books from this range, mostly covering WW2 history, and they’ve been invaluable for me building armies for Bolt Action and Flames of War, but also developing campaigns to play.

Long term I’m hoping they’ll expand more into the post war period, covering some of the more modern conflicts like the Gulf War (Desert Storm).

I can highly recommend not only these three books, but any from the series, as they’re all great visual references. These have been very useful for the Chinese army project.

Finally got around to putting some paint onto the Panzer lll.  I’m going to with a desert colour scheme as I have some Afrika Korp to build and paint.

I recently built and started painting a T-34/85 for my Chinese Korean army. I decided to go with Vallejo US army green. I’ve still got to finish with some weathering and a Red star on the hull.

For those interested below are some of the armor sold to China by the USSR

The Soviet Arms Sales to the PLA, 1950-55

Dr. Martin Andrew reports the following figures:

• 1950 – 300 T-34-85s, 60 IS-2s and 40 ISU-122s, which were organized into 10 regiments (30 T-34/85 medium tanks, 6 IS-2 heavy tanks, and 4 ISU-122 tank destroyers in each).
• 1951 – 96 T-34-85s, and 64 SU-76s, which were organized into 4 regiments.
• 1952 – 312 T-34-85s, and 208 SU-76s, which were organized into 13 regiments.
• 1953 – 480 T-34-85s, and 320 SU-76s, which were organized into 13 regiments (based on a total number of 40 regiments at this point).
• 1954 – 649 T-34-85s, 320 SU-76s, 22 IS-2s, 99 SU-100s, 67 ISU-152s, and 9 ARVs (two of which were based on the ISU chassis, the others likely being T-34s).
• 1955 – No figures are given by Dr. Andrew, but there were sales in 1955.
• 72 additional armored recovery vehicles and engineering vehicles were also supplied at unknown dates, probably around 1952-1953.

Total 1950-1954: 1837 T-34-85s, 82 IS-2s, 40 ISU-122, 67 ISU-152, 99 SU-100, 704 SU-76. A total of 2829 tanks, (excluding ARVs and engineering vehicles) organized into 67 regiments. Over 3000 vehicles are reported to have been supplied to the PLA from the USSR 1950-1955.

I have discovered a company in the UK which produces Chinese period buildings. So I’m planning to slowly build a small town using these mixed with some of the Asian buildings from TT Combat.  My plan is to make it modular using the new tile system from Sarrisa.

https://warbases.co.uk/product-category/buildings/55th-day/

The Defence of Sihang Warehouse took place from October 26 to November 1, 1937 and marked the beginning of the end of the three-month Battle of Shanghai in the opening phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Defenders of the warehouse held out against numerous waves of Japanese forces and covered Chinese forces retreating west during the Battle of Shanghai.

Xie Jinyuan and 426 Chinese soldiers held the warehouse whilst under siege by the Japanese for 6 days with dwindling supplies and ammunition, they managed to hold off an advancing army that had all but captured Shanghai.

Xie attended the Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou and graduated in 1925 majoring in politics.  After graduation he was assigned to the 5th Regiment, 2nd Division as a platoon commander, he was later promoted to company commander. In 1929 the division was involved in the defence of Shandong from a Japanese invasion, where Xie was badly wounded during the battle. After recovering from his wounds, he took command of the regiments machine gun battalion and was later promoted to major and was eventually transferred to the Wuhan HQ as a staff officer.

In 1931 he sent on assignment to the 78th Division of the 19th Route Army, and in October he was transferred to the 88th as the battalion commander of the Reserve Regiment. Xie fought against the Japanese again during the Shanghai War of 1932. He later served as vice regimental commander and was promoted to the rank lieutenant colonel.

The Battle of Shanghai started on August 13th, 1937. After defending in Zhabei, Shanghai, for over two months, the Chinese Kuomintang 88th Division decided to make a tactical withdrawal leaving a battalion behind to cover its retreat. Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan from 524th Regiment of the 262nd Brigade, volunteered to command the battalion with orders to defend the warehouse against all odds.

Defence of the Sihang Warehouse

National Revolutionary Army

Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan, commander of the Chinese force

524th Regiment, 88th Division: Regimental commander (CO), Army Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan

Executive officer (XO), Army Major Shangguan Zhibiao

1st Battalion, 524th Regiment: Battalion Commander, Army Major Yang Ruifu

1st Company, 1st Battalion: Company commander, Army Captain Tao Xingchun

2nd Company, 1st Battalion: Company commander, Army Captain Deng Ying

3rd Company, 1st Battalion: Company commander, Army Captain Shi Meihao (wounded), Army Captain Tang Di

Machine Gun Company, 1st Battalion: Company commander, Army Captain Lei Xiong

The battalion soldiers were issued one of either a Gewehr 98 or Karabiner 98k rifle, two crates of grenades, 27 light machine guns, most of which were Czech ZB vz.26, they also had 4 water-cooled Type 24 Maxim guns. The battalion was originally full strength of 800 men at the start of the battle for Shanghai, but by the time of the warehouse defence they were down to 426 men, all battle-hardened combat veterans.

Against the defenders was the Imperial Japanese Army’s 3^Rd Division, whom had access to armoured cars, most likely Type 94 Tankettes, the average soldier would have been armed with an Arisaka Type 38 Rifle.

On 26 October 1937, as the Chinese defence of Zhabei faltered, Chiang Kai-shek wanted to withdraw all Chinese forces to defend the rural western regions of Shanghai and ordered acting commander of the 3rd Military Region Gu Zhutong to leave the 88th Division behind to cover their retreat. Gu was personally attached to the 88th Division and was vehemently against this plan, as was the division’s commander Sun Yuanliang, who sent his chief of staff Zhang Boting to Gu’s headquarters to argue against it. However, both hesitated to go against Chiang’s orders; Sun instead suggested that the number of troops left behind to cover the withdrawal would not matter.

He proposed (through Zhang) that a single regiment instead be left to defend one or two fortified regions, a plan Gu approved. Back at his own headquarters, however, Sun decided that a regiment would still be too many lives wasted and decided to instead order a single over-strength battalion – the 524th Regiment, which had been reduced to 423 men – to defend the divisional headquarters at Sihang Warehouse instead. Xie Jinyuan, relatively new to the 88th, volunteered to lead the regiment, relieving command from Yang Ruifu on 26 October.

When he was transferred to the 524th Regiment, Xie was not familiar with any of the men under his command. Its proximity to the Shanghai International Settlement made it world-famous and brought the war between the Chinese and Japanese to the world’s attention, if only briefly. During the defence Girl Guide Yang Huimin secretly delivered a Republic of China flag to the defenders; when she asked what Xie’s plans were, she replied “Defend to the death!”. Moved, she asked for a list of the names of the defenders to announce to the entire country. Xie realized that doing so would reveal to the Japanese (who had been fooled into thinking an entire regiment was stationed at the warehouse) their real strength. However, not wanting to disappoint Yang, he gave her the original roster of the 524th Regiment – 800 men, nearly double their actual strength.

By 31 October the rest of the Chinese forces had retreated and been redeployed to defend more favorable areas and the nearby Shanghai International Settlement was concerned at the combat taking place so close to them and petitioned Chiang to stop the fighting. Chiang, who considered the fight already won, agreed to withdraw the 524th Regiment to the foreign concessions before regrouping with the rest of the 88th Division. On 1 November the 524th withdrew; in the defence of the Sihang Warehouse escaping across the bridge to the British concession under the cover of darkness and heavy fire from the Japanese forces.

Commander of the 1st battalion, Yang Weifu wrote, “The Japanese army lighted the Tibet road up with searchlights and blanketed the crossing with machine-guns. At about 10 o’clock, their firepower became even more intensified with flat fire guns and trench mortars bombing once per second at the battle’s height.”

Casualties in the defence of Sihang Warehouse

1^st Battalion 524^th Regiment; 10 killed and 37 wounded

Japanese 3^rd Division; Over 200 Japanese soldiers killed, unknown amount wounded (this is likely to be significantly higher than those killed, possibly in the 1000+ region). Also, several armored cars were destroyed and damaged.

Once the remaining soldiers had escaped, they planned to regroup with the rest of the 88th Division. However, they were placed under arrest by British troops, the reason was because the Japanese threatened to invade the concessions if the soldiers were allowed to regroup with their division. They were confined into the Italian area of the concessions and fenced off. They stayed there until after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese moved into the concessions and captured the soldiers.

Xie Jinyuan was murdered on 24 April 1941 at 5 a.m. by Sergeant He Dingcheng and three others of his own soldiers, who were bought by Wang Jingwei’s government. Over 100,000 people turned up for his funeral, and he was posthumously made a brigadier general by Chiang Kai-shek.

One British officer said, “We are all soldiers with experience from the European War, but I haven’t seen any army more brave or heroic than the Chinese defending Zhabei.”

Even though the Chinese had lost the Battle of Shanghai, the defence of Sihang Warehouse proved to be a major morale-booster. Thus, the defenders of Sihang Warehouse became known as the Eight Hundred Heroes.