Lapland Wars Campaign Background

 

LAPINSOTA The Lapland War (Sep 15, 1944 – Apr 27, 1945) Campaign

Rules: Nuts! By TwoHourWargames (28mm WWII skirmish) – with a few personal touches here and there (not to mention forgetting a rule now and then).

The Mission Card Deck will be used for pretty much everything.

House rules: 

1.     The Rules’ author suggests having all enemy be Rep4 for convenience. However, I personally like having the enemy be different Reps. My solution is to have the enemy use Rep4 for Activation (meaning they won’t Activate if the initiative die roll is a 5 or 6) but use the Reps in the Army list for everything else.

2.     All Rep6 (and above) roll for wounds and activations as if they are a Rep5. They use their own Rep for all other matters (In Sight, shooting, etc.). They also automatically have “Tough as Nails” Attribute. This means the first time they are killed in the scenario; it becomes “Out of the Fight” (although they may be treated by the medic) instead.     

3.     Instead of following the normal rules for “non-player enemy” (NPE), a force that originates in a defensive position will hold that position until contacted by other forces.

Map: The map is divided into nine equal sections, numbered in white on black in the first photo. I play on a 4’x6’ board, so each section is 16”x 24”.

The numbers on the map are not in the center of the section; I just tried to make them unobtrusive. The purpose of this is to help identify placement of enemy forces and reinforcements in the narrative. The center section (#5) is not numbered, to avoid clutter.

Notes: Inappropriate capitalization in the middle of a sentence refers to rules’ mechanics.

I prefer to use Finnish ranks as I find it helps me immerse in the story. Here are some of the ones I use. Note the abbreviations are mine, not necessarily the correct Finnish ones.

Jkr = Jääkäri: a jaeger private      Sm = Sotamies: infantry private

Vrk = Vänrikki: 2Lt                        Lut = Luutnantti: 1Lt

Krs = Kersantti: Sergeant             Aks – Alikersantti: Jr sergeant (i.e. a corporal)

Krp = Korpraali: more or less a lance corporal or private first class

Campaign Background: Lapinsota, The Lapland War (Sep 15, 1944 – Apr 27, 1945)

 Follows the exploits of Kersantti Tapio Kalvela, AKA “The Metsän Kauhu” (Terror of the Forest) or often just “The Kauhu” and his Rajajääkäri (Border Jaeger) squad (The Brute Squad) as they try to expel the Germans from Lapland as demanded by the Soviets.  They are a bit more heavily armed than is typical, as they have been quite successful in obtaining extra weapons.

All squad members will keep the same name throughout the campaign, because I like the names and it’s easier to keep track that way. Should one become incapacitated and have to be replaced for whatever reason, a Roman numeral will be placed after their name (Kirsi II, etc.). They will also have to start over at Rep3 with a new random attribute.

  They will be supported by elements of Task Force Lamio from time to time. These guys are handled a little bit differently.  Most are named after characters in the novel/movie “The Unknown Soldier” – which is why I have 2Lts leading squads. Their Rep is based upon how good a soldier they were in the novel while keeping in mind the basic percentages from the Finnish list (1/6 Rep 3, 1/2 Rep4 & 1/3 Rep5). There are two exceptions: Rokka and Viirilä – both Rep6, because they were exceptionally good soldiers in the novel.

 Because they are not part of the “Star Squad,” they do not gain or lose Rep during the course of the campaign. if any of these guys are lost for whatever reason, they will return for the next battle at the same Rep and with the same weapons, although they will also get the Roman numeral treatment.

Finnish Forces: Task Force Lamio

Kalvela’s jääkäri Squad: 3SMG, LMG, 2 semi-auto (SA) Rifle, 3 bolt-action (BA) rifles

Vrk Kariluoto’s squad: 2SMG, LMG. 6 BA rifles

Krs Hetanen’s squad: 2SMG, LMG, 1 SA rifle, 5 BA rifles

Krs Ketolainen’s Squad: 1 SMG, LMG, 2 SA rifles, 5 BA rifles

Vrk Koskela’s MG half-platoon: two medium maxim MG, each w/ 5-man crew

Possible attachments: 45mm Anti-tank gun, T-26 tanks

 Note: The fact that so many of these last names begin with the letter “K” is just a coincidence.

German Forces:

SS Nord

169^th Infantry

211^th Panzer battalion (Pz III, and H39 tanks)

Campaign so far:

1^st Scenario: Patrol v. SS Nord - German victory

2^nd Scenario: Defend v. SS Nord – German victory

3^rd Scenario: Patrol v. SS Nord – Finnish victory

4^th Scenario: Attack v. SS Nord – Finnish victory