March of the Behemoth - Multi-turreted Monster Tank for Chain of Command, VBCW

It's been a while since I've posted anything on the blog, so I thought I'd just ease back into it with some pictures of miniatures I painted a while ago.

The Hammer of the Workers

The Sheffield Workers Militia (SWoM) have received the heavy Soviet-made armour they were promised to spearhead the assault across the fields of the Mersey Corridor. Testing the limits of the British railway and road network, the massive multi-turreted T-35, under the control of the Peoples' Assault Columns, will provide the offensive power needed to break through the Fascist and Royalist lines. It has a range of weapons to deal with all threats: heavy guns to bust fortifications, excellent anti-tank weapons, and plenty of machineguns to fight off infantry from all angles. In support is a fast and handy BT-5 light tank, which will be able to cover the T-35 and help it out in a tight spot.

The Heavy Breakthrough Tank Platoon moves into position prior to the Mersey Corridor Offensive.
(Zvezda miniatures T-35).

Mould-lines evident unfortunately. Too late now - the paint is on.

The BT-5 escort tank (Zvezda miniatures).

The platoon together. The markings around the turret top are for the combined Communes, while the gold and red diamond badge on the turret side is the worker bee of Manchester - for whom this element of the People's Assault Columns are fighting).

How should a multi-turreted tank fight in Chain of Command?

A multi-turreted tank adds some complexity to the rules for vehicles and leaders in Chain of Command. After some consultation and though, I decided to make the T-35 (plus the BT-5 or another lighter support tank) into its own 'platoon.' If included as a Support Choice, such a powerful and complicated unit would inevitably become the focus of the action. I also envisioned that, thematically, these tanks would often operate on their own - they're going to be the tip of the spear of any attempted breakthrough, and early VBCW tactical commanders are unlikely to know exactly how they should employ them: they probably think the big tank is invincible (it's not - the armour is not great).

So anyway, I wrote up a CoC platoon document for the 'Heavy Breakthrough Tank Platoon.' I intend to test the platoon in at least one two-player battle in future to see if the special rules and structure work.

I'll blog about it once this is done.