Bolt Action Budapest Campaign

PanzerMeyer

mal wieder Neues und auch altes zur Budapest Kampagne in Bolt Action:

BOLT ACTION, BOLT ACTION - FORTRESS BUDAPEST

IN DEFENCE OF BUDAPEST: HUNGARIAN ARMOURED DIVISIONS

Hungary was unique among Germany’s eastern front allies in that it had the Industrial capability to produce its own natively designed vehicles...

In Defence of Budapest: Hungarian Armoured Divisions
JUNE 27, 2020
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Hungary was unique among Germany’s eastern front allies in that it possessed a large enough industrial base to produce its own natively designed armoured fighting vehicles. First deploying a Rapid Corps of light Toldi tanks and Csaba armoured cars in the initial invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, this armoured unit was wiped out at Stalingrad and three new Armoured Field Divisions were raised to replace it in 1943. Following the Huba III plan, the 1st and 2nd Armoured Divisions and 1st Cavalry Division all followed the same structure. Each had a reconnaissance battalion, two tank battalions (each with two heavy and two medium tank companies), three motorised infantry battalions, one anti-tank artillery battalion and an engineer battalion. The reconnaissance troops were equipped with Csaba armoured cars, and Nimrod self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery served in this role and also as tank hunters. The medium tank companies were made up of the Hungarian Turán I tank and heavy companies comprised of Turán II tanks with their larger 75mm guns. All three divisions were heavily engaged in the battles to defend the Kingdom of Hungary from the Soviet offensives of 1944, and all drew upon their nation’s Huszár traditions of light cavalry daring to make up for deficiencies in tank design.

The 1st Armoured Division was made up entirely of Hungarian built vehicles and first saw combat at Arad, where it attempted to hold the Transylvanian border. After this, in cooperation with the German panzers, the men and machines of the 1st Armoured Division fought on the Hungarian plain around Debrecen to secure the line on the Tisza River. Most of the division was destroyed in heavy fighting north of Budapest over the winter of 1944–45.

The 2nd Armoured Division was initially equipped with both Turán I and II tanks but heavy fighting in the Ukraine in the summer of 1944 led to the unit’s losses being replaced with mostly German tanks. This division received Panzer IV, Sturmgeschütz III, and even Panther and Tiger I Ausf. E heavy tanks. Turning south, this division fought in the battle of Tordá, where it helped the Hungarian 2nd Army fight the Red Army and Romanians to standstill for a month in September 1944.

The 1st Cavalry Division was mobilised in April 1944 under pressure from the Germans and sent north into the path of Soviet Operation Bagration, where it found itself filling gaps on the rapidly disintegrating German line in eastern Poland. This elite division refused orders to fight against the uprising in Warsaw, its commander, General Mihaly vitéz Ibranyi, sighting the long-standing friendship between the Polish and Hungarian peoples. Despite this, the cavalrymen were mentioned many times in German despatches for their fighting spirit against the Soviets, and praised by Guderian himself. On 23 September the now renamed 1st Huszár Division returned to Budapest to aid in its defence. The remnants of 2nd Armoured Division were also caught in the encircled capital and acted as a mobile reserve within the siege ring before surrendering with the city on 13 February 1945.

Fortress Budapest

The Hungarian Armoured Division Armoured Platoon Theatre selector can be found on pages 146-147 of Campaign Fortress Budapest, requiring a minimum of three Turán or Turán II tanks in any combination. You can then add a wealth of additional armoured units such as additional Turans, Panthers, Panzer IVs, Tiger Is or Hetzers. To make your force a little more flexible for differing Bolt Action scenarios, however, you may want to consider up to three infantry units (but remember they must have their own transport!). The benefit for choosing this theatre selector is the Pride of the Magyar special rule, allowing all initially deployed tanks and armoured cars in the platoon to make an advance move before the game starts, and also incurs a positive modifier on vehicles attempting to outflank.

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Get Started with a Hungarian Armoured Platoon

The 40M Turán I was based on Skoda T-21 tank prototypes taken over by the Germans following the annexation of Czechoslovakia. The tank featured the Hungarian 40mm A17 anti-tank gun and 50mm of frontal armour. Although comparable to many early war tanks, the Turan was outmatched by Soviet tanks such as the T35. The response was to re-fit the tank with a larger turret and 75mm gun.

Our newly released Turan II is the core that you can build your armoured division around. In fact, to make it even easier, we’ve made three available in a platoon, that will net you a significant saving against purchasing three individually.

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Reinforcements

Once you’ve assembled the core of your force, consider some of the additional armoured choices available to you…

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Gruß

Meyer

PanzerMeyer

Teil 2 :

FORTRESS BUDAPEST: A BOLT ACTION CAMPAIGN BOOK

Covering the Soviet offensives into Hungary, the 100-day Siege of Budapest and Operation Spring Awakening

Fortress Budapest: a Bolt Action Campaign Book
JUNE 3, 2020
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Fortress Budapest focuses on the Soviet offensives that swept through the Carpathian Basin into Hungary and toward the southern flank of the Reich itself in 1944-45. The 100-day siege of Budapest and the three waves of panzer-led counterattacks to relieve the city took place at the same time as Hitler’s Ardennes offensive, and so have often been overlooked in history. This book also covers Operation Spring Awakening, the last German offensive of the war in March 1945.

Whilst this book covers the history of the eighth months of battles, it is first and foremost, a wargaming supplement – packed with scenarios, special rules and new units. Author Bryan Cook has jam-packed the 168 pages of this supplement, encouraging different ways to play Bolt Action, particularly in its central setting of Budapest. The book contains full rules for urban warfare, with many of the included scenarios focussing on smaller 4 x 4′ tables. This gives such street fights their own distinct feel within the Bolt Action game system.

These urban warfare rules cover city fighting, buildings, sewer movement, command & control, city siege assets and minefields. The use of these rules are not restricted to the scenarios within the book, and can be adapted for use with any army and collection.

Order Fortress Budapest from the Warlord webstore and receive an exclusive free miniature: Major Edömér Tassonyi!

Major Edömér Tassonyi was the commanding officer of the I/I Battalion. He developed a hard fighting and pragmatic reputation while fighting on the Attila Line to defend his nation’s capital. His courage under fire and leadership helped his paratroopers hold the front line for 19 days of continuous close combat.

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Soviet Union

The Soviet units assigned to the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts (the armies tasked with taking Hungary and Austria) featured many armoured units equipped with Lend-lease tanks and vehicles, so these units are now properly fleshed out and part of the Soviet army list. There are also a number of specialist units that get force selectors to help represent them. The Urban Assault Group is a dedicated street fighting formation boasting loads of close range firepower and access to many more heavy weapons than a standard platoon. In contrast to this ponderous unit, there is the fast moving Forward Detachment Reconnaissance Party. These platoons ranged ahead of the main tank units in armoured carriers such as the M3 Scout Car, seizing vital bridges and crossroads. This selector allows you to field a rapid moving platoon of infantry mounted in armoured personnel carriers bristling with machine guns. These specialised platoons offer Soviet players a new experience as neither force is your typical high order dice affair, but they gain other advantages instead.

Germany

The Hungarian campaign of 1944-45 was of vital importance to Hitler’s plans and he deployed almost half his powerful panzer divisions to the theatre to secure the oil fields and guard the Reich’s southern approaches. In this book you will find six new German theatre selectors, some of these allow you to field dedicated Panzer Kampfgruppe, Panzergrenadier, and Panzer Reconnaissance platoons. These feature new special rules and structures to really help capture the feel of these units on the table.

A mixed German-Hungarian platoon gives German players the opportunity to add a few Hungarian units to their armies – giving ample opportunity to both inject variety in both painting and gaming.

Romanian

At the time this campaign book is set the Romanians have actually just switched sides. After their country falls to the Soviet offensives they now join their former enemies on the Allied side to fight against their ancestral foe, the Hungarians. Again there are a few new units for the Romanians to add to their army list, the elite Mountain Division and hard fighting Combat Engineers. There is also a new theatre selector to cover the Romanians fighting under the Soviets on the Allied side, including a new and complete set of national special rules allowing for some Soviet supporting units to be added in.

Hungarians

Whilst the book contains new theatre selectors and units for Soviets, Germany and Romania, the army that receives the most benefit is undoubtedly the Hungarian Army, with no fewer than twenty new infantry, artillery and vehicle units. You’ll find a wide variety of troops in the book: light infantry specialists of the Carpathian Mountains Border Guard, tough as boots Paratroopers, Assault Pioneers, a variety of militias defending Budapest and even several rocket weapon systems produced by Hungary’s own engineers. New theatre selectors cover Hungary’s Armoured Field Divisions, Assault Artillery Batteries, Border Guards, as well as the defenders of Budapest itself.

A Hungarian Army can make for a unique force on the tabletop, owing in part to their special rules:

Axis Support – Hungarian armies are allowed to include, that does not count towards a platoon’s maximum, one additional unit from the German or Italian army list, within certain restrictions.
Experienced Officer Corps – Due to their extensive training, all Hungarian HQ units count as Fanatics meaning that they are not prone to fleeing when the going gets dire.

The ability to include one other Axis unit makes for a fantastic amount of variety between collector’s Hungarian armies. Once fielded alongside some of Hungary’s more bizarre rocket weaponry, a Hungarian Bolt Action army can really stand out on the tabletop.

Collecting Hungarians

The staple of any Bolt Action army is its infantry and though a Hungarian rifle platoon was not as well trained in infantry tactics as their German comrades, they will serve you well on the field of Bolt Action, whether in support of German allies in the offensive of Operation Barbarossa or in their stoic defence of Budapest.

Two versions of Honved divisions are available, allowing you to create a force in winter gear if you so choose.