GHQ Models Forums

Redleg,
Nice looking batteries. I hope to never be on the receiving end of those.

Continuing the revamp of my German infantry (and related) units.

Second German Engineer Company
I was only going to revamp the bases of this engineer company but, in the end, ended up repainting the figures too. I ramble a bit more about it in my Gazza Stuff thread.

Redleg, I use the J series 8-piece battery for my divarty 155SP bns and the M1/M2 separate armored brigade. I stick to the appropriate TOE for my organizations. My H series ACR squadron has its 6-piece how battery. My Arty is a work in progress.

It’s like The Dating Game: where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever painted minis? How about the Istanbul international airport?

That's awesome! And a perfect use for bunker boxes!

I don't have any pics, but back in 2004 I had some with me in Iraq. I found painting to be an effective way to relax. One day the XO saw them and thought they would be cool for the terrain board in the TOC so he gave me the government credit card and he told me to order micro armor for every vehicle in the task force. Yup - that was your tax dollars paying for micro armor!

Redleg,

Ha! That’s an awesome story!!!

C'mon! We used GHQ in the '70s for war games and terrain boards all the time! That's what they were made for, the Dunn-Kempf wargame the Army used. ARMOR OFFICER ADVANCED COURSE in '78 had a GIANT map board for them. Sand tables used them to illustrate cavalry tactics class, offense and defense. ALL THE TIME!

Sorry, had to edit because the GHQ forum is OCD AUTOCORRECT and doesn't think I know what I'm writing. Arrogant word processing at its worst!

I wish we used micro armor for that! They just sat in the corner and sometimes the RTO would play with them when he was bored. If I was thinking clearly I would have stolen them when we redeployed. Or maybe just ordered some extra for me! Giving us a no-limit credit card was a bad idea!

Redleg, see edit above. Bet it makes more sense now.

M-ATV w/120mm mortar, fast placement, fire and recovery.

More artillery!

I made one decision for my corps artillery units, but that led to several other decisions that I have to make.

I decided that my 8 inch units will belong to the 17th Field Artillery Brigade. In 1978 the 17th FA Bde consisted of the following units:

1-18 FA (155 SP)
1-30 FA (203 SP)
1-36 FA (203 SP)
2-42 FA (Lance)

I have 2 battalions of 8 inch, plus a battalion of 155mm (non-GHQ) so this will work nicely. I may try to add some Lance at some point, but in the meantime I’m just dropping that battalion from the brigade. I don’t have any real life experience with the 17th FA Bde, but during my 2 trips to Fort Sill (OBC in 1997 and OAC in 2001) III Corps Artillery was there and included the 17th, 75th, 212th, and 214th FA Bdes. I think I have a new project!

I’m taking some liberties with the battalion organizations though. In 1978 the gun battalions were 3x8 (3 batteries of 8 guns each), but mine are organized as 3x6. I may try to increase them to 3x8 in the future, but for right now they are rolling with 18 guns in the battalion, which is what I was used to. Another liberty I am taking is with the paint jobs. The brigade will be in NATO camo, except for 1-30 FA, which will be desert tan.

So I have 2 decisions to make, and I’m curious if anyone has an opinion.

1. What support vehicles, if any should I add to the battalions? I have guns, ammo vehicles, and FDCs right now. I know I don’t want to do every single vehicle for this project. Should I leave the battalions with just the fun stuff, or should I add support vehicles like commander and staff vehicles, recovery vehicle, trucks, etc?

2. I can’t find any references on 8 in battery ops, so I don’t know if they ran with 1 or 2 FDC tracks. I have 2 FDCs at the moment, mainly because that’s what we did with Paladin. Does anyone know what 8 in batteries had?

So here is 1-30 FA in her current configuration:

Redleg, those are amazing. Love how they came out.

Mike,
That heavy artillery looks great! SWEET!!
Love the organization you have.

Training exercise, catching a bad guy on base.



Boxer IFV approach railroad embankment.

Redleg,

In 1978, most units were still under H series TOE. 155SP bns were 6-piece batteries. The Divarty GS battalion consisted of 3 batteries of 4 8inch pieces each. As units transitioned to the J series, the DS batteries (155SP) went to 8 pieces per battery. The GS (8-inch) bn was reorganized to 2 batteries of 6 pieces each by splitting the 3rd battery guns between the other 2, then the third battery became a 9-piece MLRS battery. Once there were sufficient MLRS to make the GS battalion 3 batteries of MLRS, the 8inch SPs were withdrawn. I don't believe the M110A2s remained in service, but theoretically, at least, they could have been collected for Corps support battalions in 3 batteries, each of 6 guns. Not being an artilleryman, I didn't follow them. Maybe Reserve and National Guard units?

This info may or may not affect your approach to organization.

When I have sufficient MLRS for a battalion, my M110A2s will be organized as yours - three 6-piece batteries, and assigned to Corps.

Incidentally, the 6-piece DS battery, 4-piece GS battery goes all the way back to the WWII armored division organization, although back then, DS was 105mm and GS was 155mm.

Thanks for the info PG! So I'm not as far of as I thought! I also got some clarification on the FDC issue - Brigade Commander passed me a reference that he got from you that details the DIVARTY 8 inch battalions and they clearly only have one FDC track per battery. I think you are right about them disappearing once the MLRS battalions came online, with the exception of a few reserve units. There was one 8 inch battalion (National Guard) that reinforced 1st ID DIVARTY in Desert Storm that I am aware of.

The same reference also listed 2 M578 recovery vehicles in the 8 inch battalion, so I will probably add those to the unit, and maybe few trucks and jeeps.