Autumn… The Season of Taxing Temptation.

 The last few weeks have seen the arrival of a number of temptations, designed to entice me away from my ongoing painting schedule and result in the arrival of yet more plastic (or metal) to add to the mountain already awaiting attention.

First on the list, is the range of Danish figures produced by Great Escape Games for the brave but short-lived attempt by Denmark to oppose the German invasion on April 9^th 1940.  If you’ve seen the movie, “April 9^th… The Battle Begins” you’ll appreciate the appeal of recreating Second Lieutenant Sand’s battle against lower quality Early War Germans. Aksu Antilla has written an excellent campaign for Chain of Command, with four scenarios, which can range from a strategic German victory, to a total disaster for the Third Reich and a hangman’s noose for the German commanding officers!

Danish Infantry 1940 (greatescapegames.co.uk)

The Great Escape Games Danes include a Platoon Deal, which gives you two squads, a total of 24 figures for the discounted price of £35 (as of late September 2021). You can get infantry on bicycles, Nimbus Motorcycles, with headlight lenses as an additional option, all sorts of support options and all the paints you need to get them ready to face the German onslaught.

Next up on the temptation list, and I was only a click away from buying these, are the Wargames Atlantic French Infantry, designed to be used in both the Great War and World War II. At £25 for 35 hard plastic figures, these appear to be an absolute bargain and a really good way to get a Chain of Command French Infantry Platoon under way. There are more options than you can shake the proverbial stick at and, building a 1940 French Infantry Platoon, gives you the opportunity to get your German opponent angrily hurling his dice around your games room in frustration, just like a certain Lardie, who shall remain nameless…

Finally, the one I wont be able to resist, is the upcoming PDF release of Clash of Spears, Rise of Eagles. This extension of Clash of Spears into the Late Roman Republic and Early Empire, is due to be released sometime in mid October and contains rules and lists for armies such as Ancient British, Dacians, Parthians and, most significantly, TWO offerings for Germanic Tribes...

If you've read anything on this Blog before, you will know that I have made numerous attempts to build armies for various rule sets. This time, more than any other time(!) I'm ready to go... my Germans are already painted, based and in the box ready to play. My preferred German army is the Batavian Revolt version and this is certainly a possibility with Clash of Spears. I have some Victrix Roman Auxilia ready to paint and £25 for the bag of Roman Legionaries would be money very well spent, to provide some opposition to Gaius Julius Civilis and his revolting hordes. I've also thought about 9AD and the slaughter of the Roman army of Varus in the Teutoburg Forest, although I may have shot myself in the foot a little by buying some Battleflag shield transfers for the VI Victrix Legion, which served in Germania in the later stages of the Batavian Revolt.