2nd Winter War Campaign background and key to abbreviations used in write-up

 

My 2^nd Winter War Campaign

Rules: Nuts! By Two Hour Wargames (28mm WWII skirmish)

I will be using the Mission Card Deck for enemy reinforcements and other unknowns

A photo gallery of my Finnish forces can be found Here

 Finnish & Russian ranks used in narratives:

   I prefer to use the Finnish names for ranks, as it adds more flavor. My available Finnish force is a more or less company sized task force consisting of the Star’s Jääkari (jaeger) squad and several jalkaväki (infantry) squads of various types and one Sissi ski squad. Only the Star’s squad will appear in every scenario.

 As for the Soviets, they didn’t really have a comparable NCO structure, so I will be using the following more or less invented ranks. The chart below should help clarify things. The abbreviations (and in game definitions) are mine and are not necessarily the official ones used by either Army.

In Game Definition	US	Finnish	Russian
Commander of all forces	Cpt	Kapteeni (Kpt)	Captain (Cpt)
Platoon Leader, or Comp 2IC	1Lt	Luutnantti (Lt)	Senior Lieutenant (1Lt))
Leader of 2+ squads	2Lt	Vänrikki (Vrk)	Junior Lieutenant (2Lt)
Platoon senior NCO	SSG	Ylikersantti (Yks)	-
Squad Leader	Sgt	Kersantti (Krs)	Sergeant (Sgt)
Squad’s 2nd in command	Cpl	Alikersantti (Aks)	First Corporal (1Cpl)
Squad’s 3rd in command	PFC	Korpraali (Krp)	2nd Corporal (2Cpl)
Common Soldier	Pvt	Sotamies (Sm)	Rifleman
Jaeger Private	-	Jääkari (Jkr)	-

 

Campaign Introduction:

   This campaign follows the exploits of Kersantti Tapio Kalvela (AKA Metsän Kauhu, “Terror of the Forests.” This is often shortened to “The Kauhu.”). This is my second campaign and will be a “reboot” rather than a continuation of the first campaign. The first campaign saw The Kauhu fighting in the forests of the Kuhmo sector. This campaign starts in the Karelian Isthmus.

Friendly (Finnish) Forces:  

  There are two types of friendly forces. The primary, or “Star” squad, is led by Krs Kalvela. The 9-man Star squad can change throughout the campaign. The various individuals may gain or lose Reputation points and may be killed or wounded and subsequently replaced.

Finnish squads at this time, whether regular infantry or jaeger, were of two types: a 10-man squad with 1 SMG and 9 rifles, or a 7-man squad with 1 LMG and six rifles. The Kauhu’s squad is kind of a mix of the two, representing two squads that have been converged because of casualties.

  The second type are static, in that they do not gain or lose Reputation and if killed or wounded will be “resurrected” in time for the next scenario with the same Reputation and weapons. They serve as additional starting squads and reinforcements as needed. A Roman numeral after the individual’s name in the narrative indicates how many times they have been killed or wounded during the campaign.

A brief summary of the Finnish forces is as follows:

Name/Leader	Men	LMG	SMG	Rifle	Other info
The Kauhu’s squad	9	1	2	6

 

Task force HQ	5				Command staff & medic
Kantola’s 2 squads	14	1	2	11
Koskela’s 2 squads	11	1	2	7	Anti-tank rifle
Lehto’s MMG squad*	6		2	1	Medium MG – usually assigned to Koskela’s group
Kariluoto’s squad	10	1	1	8
Irregulars (2 sqds)	11	1	2	7	Anti-tank rifle
Sissi squad	10		3	7

*= According to the TOE for a MMG section, this squad should really have two MMGs and no LMGs or SMGs, but at present I only have one MMG model, so I improvised.

Soviet Forces

 Soviet forces are based on the 14-man squads they used during the winter war. Because the squads are so big, I gave them an additional junior NCO. They can vary in strength from 8 to 14 men. Each squad will begin with a leader, a senior corporal, a junior corporal, a 2-man LMG team (usually all Rep4), a Rep5 marksman and D6+2 Riflemen.

 Soviet infantry platoons at this time consisted of a small command section and four squads. An officer capable of commanding both squads simultaneously will appear with every second squad. If a second platoon shows up, an officer capable of commanding both platoons will also appear. A political officer may show up at any time.

There are four types of Soviet tanks available. T-26(1931) with two machineguns, T26(1933) with a .45mm main gun and an MG and a T-26 fame tank. The last available tank is a T-28 multi-turreted monster.

Game Abbreviations and Information

·       Star: The hero, or main character, of the game: Kersantti (Sgt) Tapio Kalvela, AKA “Metsän (Forest) Kauhu” (Terrror/Horror); or sometimes just “The Kauhu.”

·       Star’s (Jääkari/Jaeger) Squad: This is the only unit with variable Reputation levels (they can rise and fall during the campaign) and who can be wounded or killed. Should that happen, they will be replaced by an entirely new character.

·       Other Squads: Regular Infantry. Their Reputation level is constant and they can’t be permanently killed or wounded. If they are, they are available to return for the next scenario just as before; although I will likely put a Roman Numeral after their name, just for fun. For example, “Jones III” would mean that particular soldier has been killed or wounded twice before in the campaign.

·       The Finnish force at the start of any scenario will always include the Star Squad. It also may include one, or more, “Other squads” depending on the scenario and my mood. The ‘Other Squads” will not appear in any particular order.

·       PEF: Possible Enemy Force.  A game mechanic that represents the unknown. It may, or may not, turn out to be an actual enemy force.

·       IST: In Sight Test. A game mechanic that determines who shoots first when forces meet the first time.

·       Inappropriate capitalization: When words or phrases are capitalized in the middle of a sentence, and shouldn’t be, it indicates a rule’s mechanic. For example: Sgt Jones and Pvt Smith Duck Back as a result of enemy fire. “Duck Back” (which I sometimes typo as “Drop Back”) is a game mechanic.

·       NPE/NPF: Non-player enemy or friendly forces. These units are controlled by game mechanics rather than the player.

·       Unit identifications in narrative: 1/1 = 1^st squad/1^st platoon, etc.