Higher Command

[CG1]

What does everyone use for designating their higher level command units? While there are other manufacturers who make suitable models, they are not to GHQ's quality and just won't do.

I use :

USA - Jeeps for everyone with ranks on the bases (Chevrolet or Dodge staff car?)
UK - Daimler Scout to Battalion level and Humbers Scouts above (would prefer a tilly and a Humber FWD or Snipe)
Germany - Kubelwagens to Battalion level and Horchs above (Kfz.21 would be better)
Italy - SPA33s (Bianchi S4?)
Japan - Infantry bases only (Kurogane scout would be good)
Russia - Lend-Lease White Scouts & Jeeps (GAZ-67?)

Anyway, it seems we're a bit short for designating hgher commands so I thought I'd ask what you do?

[Mk 1]

I game at a 1:1 level (one stand = one squad, one vehicle = one vehicle).

At that level, the highest level of command that is likely to be needed is a battalion or "kampfgruppe" HQ, and often only a company HQ, depending on the game.

I prefer not to combine vehicles and infantry figures on one base. Rather, I prefer to construct my HQs out of components. The CO and his team, perhaps including commo, or perhaps with a seperate commo team, and any attendant vehicles.


Here is one example of an HQ with commo team -- in this case from my 1940 French force. Here there is an officer, with his map, and a field phone, and his attendants. So this is a self-contained HQ for a company, but I would add a rifle squad, a truck, and a car for a battalion HQ.


Said truck and car. Alas GHQ does not make any staff cars for the French, so I have to make due with an inferior Brand-X product.


Here is an officer / CO team stand. In this case from my Romanians. Commo was more difficult for the Romanians, so the officers don't get their own commo. The field phone teams are seperate and fewer, and so most HQs in my force will have to do without.

This also gives me the flexibility to move my command elements without necessarily moving my commo, as would be common with field-phone-based commo of WW2.


For tank units I often do special mods to the command vehicles. Here my Soviet SU-152s have command tanks with the CO's waiving them forward from open hatches. This technique serves for platoon, company, or battalion command vehicles.


With my US Army M3 Medium ("Lee") tanks the command tanks have stars on their hulls as well as their turrets, while the rest of the tanks only have stars on their turrets. This is not easy to notice for opponents on the gaming board, but quite obvious to me.

Just my $0.02 worth...

[jb]

Here is a small sample of "1" of many ways that I ID units, to include HQs (not shown). These are done on the GHQ game standard of 1" base

Another sample using Spearhead & Modern Spearhead basing. This method allows one to add more info on the base. The vehicles are mounted on small steel bases then placed on painted vinyl magnets. In this method I can change basing from one gaming system to another simply by having different size vinyl magnets.

...of course if you are not a fan of "tags" you may just simply mount 1,2, or more type command figs to denote higher HQs along with radio, and some other types...

[HKurban]

My method is to use radio aerials to designate different command units. I make my aerials from a black nylon brush I picked up at a supermarket. For vehicles I place it wherever that vehicle is supposed to have radio aerials (back of turret for Abrams, back right corner for HMMWVs, etc, and for infantry, I place it on the backpack of the kneeling RTO figure. I use the following simple code:

1 aerial - Platoon leader
2 aerial - Company commander
3 aerial - Battalion Commander
(would continue for each step up but my game never really gets past Battalion level.)

[Cav Dog]

This is m typical Platoon or Company Command stand:



And this stand is always my Kampfgruppe Commander:

[Mk 1]

And this stand is always my Kampfgruppe Commander:

Do I see his hund sitting and watching?!? LOL. Love that!

[Maple-leaf-Warrior]

My Camera broke, but for my (Fictional) Canadian Marine Commando Regiment Battle Group, I have 1 officer pointing, 1 sergeant and 1 RTO on a base. If I decide to go higher, I'll add a rifleman or two and an LAV.

[Brigade Commander]

For my Mech Inf BN, 1:1, I model the dismount squads as follows:
1) Squad: 6 soldiers of course including M-60 and M-203's.
2) Plt. HQ: 3 figures, Plt. leader, Plt. Sgt. and RTO.
3) Co. HQ: 4 figures, Co. Cmdr, XO, Co. Sgt. and RTO.
4) Bn. HQ: 5 figures, BN Cmdr, XO, BN Sgt., S-3 and RTO.

I am a modeler first so vehicles will not get bases but I haven't found a method I can accept to designate the squad leader, platoon leader, company commander, company executive officer, battalion commander and battalion executive officer vehicles. I even thought of putting strips of styrene across the open bottoms of the hulls and making decals to mark each and every vehicle on the underside. But with a full tank battalion and a full mech inf battalion already done it's a lot to go back and re-do. I still might though as I begin to build the third maneuver battalion. I can start with that one and then work backwards. Just one more thing to do!

You really only need it for verification by the opposing player since as you deploy the units the leaders are usually placed in a particular position in the formation so it doesn't seem hard for the player to remember which one it is. Just proving to a skeptical opponent that you do know which is which. Unless I missed something.