WW 2 infantry packs

[green beanie]

I myself have from the early 80's been waiting for GHQ to come out with both the WW 2 Soviet Paratrooper and Italian Paratrooper infantry packs and heavy weapons packs. Any one else out there? If GHQ does come out with USSR Paras in the heavy weapons pack I hope they include the 75 mm recoil-less rifle that the Soviets Airborne used from the 1930's until mid war.

[Schwerepunkt]

...and I would like to add that in all infantry packs, either I or II, crawling riflemen be added as shown to be advancing underfire. I know during BCT we had the live fire exercise and it was good that we had had it. Of course, this was 40 years ago but I think five or so included in each nation''s infantry could go with the binocular scout and light machine guns so readily available with most nations ground forces.
Schwerepunkt

[piersyf]

Not really familiar with them; are they significantly different to normal troops in summer dress? While on the Russians, I'd like to see SMG troops for the tank rider battalion... a mix of SMG guys and some tank rider groups like the GHQ heavy weapons or armoured infantry packs...

[RedLeif]

Hi Green Beanie,
I'm curious, how would you pose and or arm a pack of sov. airborne troops of 1940 to 45 that is much different from guards or standard infantry units?

shorter rifles - as in the M.N. carbine?
I understood that they used the same SMG's and LMG's?
more prone figures?

What would you include?

Just curious
RedLeif

[green beanie]

Uniforms are different for one. The Red Army Airborne in WW 2 wore a one peice jump suit and wore a padded head gear almost the same as the tankers wore but more like the early British Para's. There would be more SMG's like you mentioned and more light mortars, LMG's and those 75 mm RR's. Like most airborne forces the Germans modeled theirs after watching the Red Army Airborne forces in the 30's when the German's used to train in the USSR so that the West did not know they were re-arming. The Germans though jumped from inside of a plane instead of the Soviet method of climbing via rope out of the plane and onto the wing roots and then falling off of the wings into the air. The weapons were in parachute containers (German Airborne copied the idea, that is why so many para's were killed in Crete looking for weapons containers to arm themselves) Considering the Red Army had the first Airborne Forces I figured GHQ should honor that and have infantry packs for them concidering they have the second (German) 3rd (British) and 4th(US) runners up in their line.

[RedLeif]

Thanks Green Beanie,
Thanks for the descriptions of the uniforms and weaponry. I like your comment about the fact that GHQ's got Germ, US, and UK para's, they should add the Sov and Italians too.

As I've said on several posts, my priority is for Sov SMG armed/ satchel charge cary'n /assaulting individual inf. And the Soviet 152mm 1937 ML-20 howitzer but I'd welcome the addition of Sov. para troopers too.


thanks,
RedLeif