Flames of War - History - Researching my own family history

Flames of war gives me the opportunity to at least research parts of my own family history. As my granddad died this year of old age this is at least an opportunity for me to work over parts of things he never spoke of in the past.

Also there are a lot of questionmarks while taking a look through all the old and hidden belongings he left behind. Questions I at least like to research to get an answer to it.

First of all there are all his war medals. As my granddad joined the army back in 1942 there are still a lot of things he earned. Then there is this book I found on the attic and a couple of letters from his old comrades.

Book:

Glad being he was not a Waffen SS guy, but being part of the 21st Infantry Division (21. ID).

A short research filtered out:

1 Use and subordination :
The staff was as commander of Elbing on 1 October 1934 in Elbing , in the military district I ​​formed . The name was a cover name for the expansion of the Reichswehr. On 15 October 1935 was the bar in the unmasking of the 21st Infantry Division renamed. On 21 The Division August 1939 was mobilized . Here, the division was the MG Battalion 9 and the second Company of MG Battalion 31 assumed. Re.installed the Reconnaissance Battalion 21 from the Cavalry Regiment 4 and the field replacement battalion 21 On 1 September 1939 , the division crossed the Polish border and stormed the fortress Graudenz . Subsequently, the Division was moved to Johannesburg and met before from there via Kolno and the Narew up to Novgorod as well as Bialystock until after Wolkowyssk . In November 1939, the division was transferred to the Eifel in the room Bitburg . In January 1940, the Field Replacement Battalion 21 was sent to the 291 Submitted Infantry Division. From the 10th May 1940 took the Division at the Battle of France in part , passed through Luxembourg and Belgium and came over Mezières and Charleville to the Aisne front . Here , the division had to endure heavy fighting . In the second phase of the campaign , the " Battle of France " , the division marched fighting over Pethes , St. Menehould , Bar -le- Duc to the southeast. Already in September 1940 moved the division in the home. In October 1940, the staff of the Infantry Regiment 3 and the third battalions of the infantry regiments of the 121st were Submitted Infantry Division. As of 22 June 1941 took part in the Russian campaign the division . From the space Tilsit , the division came to Lithuania before , went with Jacob City over the Daugava and came over Ostrow and Porkhov on Dno ago. Here , the division turned to the Illmensee and fought on the north bank of the Volkhov northward . Finally, the Division met before on Wolchowstroj . In December 1941, the Division had to retreat behind the Volkhov until after Kirishi . Here was the division 's only German bridgehead on the east bank of the river. The division remained the whole year 1942 in this sector of the front , where they suffered heavy losses . In 1943, the division in the battles around the Sinyavino Heights south part of Lake Ladoga . The major offensive of the Red Army in January 1944 began the retreat from Leningrad on Pskov to the Baltic for the division. In October 1944 , the division in Riga was loaded onto ships and transported into the home. In the space of Tilsit , the division has been refreshed in the short term and then inserted in the space between Goldap and Gumbinnen . In 1945, the Division took part in the retreat fighting over the Masurian Canal, before Schippenbeil , across the avenue to participate in the space - Bartenstein Heilenberg and German - Eylau . In March 1945, the Division was encircled in the boiler of Heiligenbeil and suffered heavy losses here . The Division was smashed . Remnants of the Division were concentrated on the peninsula Peyse to a battle group on 26 April 1945 , however, was also destroyed.


1939Date Army Corps Army Army Group siteSeptember XXI 3 Army North East Prussia , PolandOctober Reserve - North PolandNovember 12, III Army A Eifel
1940Date Army Corps Army Army Group site1 January 12, III Army A Eifel2 March 12 XVIII Army A Eifel, LuxembourgJune 12, XIII Army A Aisne , Marne3 Administrative Order for July 12 Army C France13 July 12 XXXIII Army C France28 July 12, XXV Army C France28 July 12 XVIII Army C FranceAugust 12, XXVII Army C France12 September I 18 Army B East Prussia
1941Date Army Corps Army Army Group site1 January 18th I Army B East PrussiaFREE I 18 Army C East Prussia22 June 18th I Army North Tilsit , VolkhowSeptember I 16 Army North MurmanskbahnDecember 18th I Army North Volkhov
1942Date Army Corps Army Army Group siteMay 18, XXVIII Army North Ladoga
1943Date Army Corps Army Army Group site1 January 18, XXVIII Army North Ladoga27 January 18 XXVI Army North Ladoga4 April 18, LIV Army North Ladoga15 August 18 XXVI Army North LadogaOctober 18, XXXVIII Army North VolkhowNovember XXVIII 18 Army North Volkhow
1944Date Army Corps Army Army Group siteJanuary 18, XXVIII Army North Pskov , Walk , RigaOctober 3 IX Panzer Army center TilsitNovember 4th Reserve Army center East PrussiaDecember 4 XXXIX Army center East Prussia
1945Date Army Corps Army Army Group siteJanuary 4 XXXXI Army center East PrussiaFebruary XX 4 Army North East Prussia ( Heiligenbeil )April XXVI East Prussia - Prussia ( pillau )

 * Note: The insinuations are each period from that date / valid .


2 Division commanders
Lieutenant General Albert Wodrig installation - 10 November 1938
Lieutenant General Kuno -Hans von Both 10 November 1938 - 20th October 1939
Lieutenant General Otto Sponheim 1 November 1939 - April 1942
Lieutenant General William Bohnstedt April 1942 - April 1942
Lieutenant General Otto Sponheim April 1942 - 10 January 1943
Lieutenant-General Gerhard Matzky 10 January 1943 - 1 October 1943
Colonel Hubertus Lammey 1 October 1943 - December 1943
Lieutenant-General Gerhard Matzky December 1943 - 1 March 1944
Major General Franz Sensfuß 1 March 1944 - 28 March 1944
Lieutenant General Hermann Foertsch 28 March 1944 - 22 August 1944
Major General Henry Goetz 22 August 1944 - 25 September 1944
Colonel Hengersdorff 25 September 1944 - October 1944
Colonel Scharenberg October 1944 - 12 December 1944
Colonel Beyse 12 December 1944 - 14 January 1945
Major General Henry Goetz 14 January 1945 - 1 April 1945
Major General Karl Koetz 1 April 1945 - Capitulation


1 General Staff Officer :
Lieutenant Colonel i.g. Eberhard von Kurowski 3 November 1937 - (1939 )
Major iG Werner von Tippelskirch (1939 ) - February 1940
Colonel Bernard of Chevallerie February 1940 - 3 March 1943
Major i.g. Prittwitz and Gaffron 3 March 1943 - April 1943 I.V.
Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Schroetter April 1943 - September 1944
Major i.g. Collée September 1944 - April 1945
Major i.g. Joachim Cell 1 May 1945 - Capitulation

3 outline :
Commander of Elbing (1 October 1934) :
Infantry Regiment German Eylau ( staff , I. -III. , Yield).
Infantry Regiment Marienburg ( staff , I. -III. , Yield).
Artillery Regiment Elbing ( bar , I-IV )
Engineer Battalion Königsberg B


21 Infantry Division (15 October 1935) :
Infantry Regiment 3 ( staff , I. -III. )
Infantry Regiment 24 ( staff , I. -III. )
Infantry Regiment 45 ( staff , I. -III. )
Artillery Regiment 21 ( staff , I. -III. )
Artillery Regiment 57 ( I, II )
Antitank Department 21
Engineer Battalion 21
Infantry Divisions News Department 21


21 Infantry Division (6 October 1936) :
Infantry Regiment 3 ( staff , I. -III. , I. Res . , II Erg )
Infantry Regiment 24 ( staff , I. -III. )
Infantry Regiment 45 ( staff , I. -III. )
Machine Gun Battalion 9
Artillery Regiment 21 ( staff , I. -III. )
Artillery Regiment 57 ( I, II )
Antitank Department 21
Engineer Battalion 21
Infantry Divisions News Department 21


21 Infantry Division (12 October 1937) :
Infantry Regiment 3 ( staff , I. -III. , I. Res . , II Erg )
Infantry Regiment 24 ( staff , I. -III. )
Infantry Regiment 45 ( staff , I. -III. )
Machine Gun Battalion 9
Artillery Regiment 21 ( staff , I. -III. )
Artillery Regiment 57 ( I, II )
Antitank Department 21
Engineer Battalion 21
Infantry Divisions News Department 21


21 Infantry Division (November 10, 1938) :
Infantry Regiment 3 ( staff , I. -III. , Erg . )
Infantry Regiment 24 ( staff , I. -III. )
Infantry Regiment 45 ( staff , I. -III. )
Machine Gun Battalion 9
Artillery Regiment 21 ( staff , I. -III. )
Artillery Regiment 57 ( I, II )
Antitank Department 21
Engineer Battalion 21
Infantry Divisions News Department 21


21 Infantry Division ( September 1939 ) :
Infantry Regiment 3
Infantry Regiment 24
Infantry Regiment 45
Artillery Regiment 21
I. / Artillery Regiment 57
Observation Division 21
Reconnaissance Battalion 21
Antitank Department 21
Engineer Battalion 21
Infantry Divisions News Department 21
Field Replacement Battalion 21
Infantry division supply officer 1


21 Infantry Division ( August 1940 ) :
Infantry Regiment 3
Infantry Regiment 24
Infantry Regiment 45
Artillery Regiment 21
I. / Artillery Regiment 57
Reconnaissance Battalion 21
Tank Destroyer Division 21
Engineer Battalion 21
Infantry Divisions News Department 21
Infantry division supply officer 1


4 replacement:
For the Ersatzgestellung the rod was the Infantry Replacement Battalion 3, later Grenadier Replacement Battalion 3 , in charge .


Taken from:

http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivisionen/21ID.htm

 

Flames of War - Tutorial - Fences (the not so tricky ones)

After the tricky fences we also can work out the better concealing ones.... takes also less then 5 minutes.
For this purpose I took the same stuff for cleaning ears.. but you can also use the toothpicks if you bought them for the other projects


So here we go...

What do we need ..

Materials:

Tongue depressor
Toothpicks (Partysticks) / or earcleaners
Superglue

Step 1:
No coffee today.... take a look at the gathered materials

Step 2:
Superglue the lowest "log"row directly on the tongue depressor.

Step 3:
Use the lowest row as hold for glueing one (NOT BOTH!) side of the  upright standing logs of your fence. Place as many as desired....

Step 4:
Build up one to two more log rows like Step 2.. but simply superglue them to the pins as well as to the row below.

Step5:
Superglue the other upright standing parts of your fence

Step 6:
Superglue the last row... paint and flock as desired... enjoy your result

Flames of War - Tutorial - Fences (the tricky ones)

Today it is time to again work a bit around on something that takes less then 5 minutes for at least 2 parts of todays fences.

Everyone knows the classic ones. Being a one piece cast thing totally shutting down any view and giving concealment to troops. Why should that always be the case ? Why cant a fence not be a hinderance for advancing troops instead of giving concealment ? ....


So here we go...

What do we need ..

Materials:

Tongue depressor
Toothpicks (Partysticks)
Superglue

and thats it....

Step 1: Did I state that I like coffee ... so lets start with one upfront and have a few on our materials

Step 2:
The more tricky variaton.. Superglue upright standing "bolts" on your base.

Step 3:
Put a lose layer (I took two here) on a 180 degree ankle on your base. In my case it is 2 toothpicks... Why ? Because a fence does not start on the bottom but somethere on the first third.

Step 4:
Superglue toothpicks from one upright "bolt" to another. To give the more hold we first layed the 180 degree toothpicks. So you can simply go ahead and place your fence parts simply in 180 degree again on the already existing bolts.

Step 5:
as seen on the picture and


Step 6:
Equal steps 3 and 4.

Step 7:
Base as desired and enjoy your result.....

Flames of War - Tutorial - Entrenchment Markers (easy way)

After looking around on the web in search of entrechment markers I was wondering why there is a prize for approx 15 Euros or 12 british pounds for a bit of markers... ok they come prepainted and possibly also with some flock... too expensive in my opinion.

So lets take a look at them closer and substitude some things.

Scaling... 

always the worse problem to encounter... I scaled mine to approx half of the width of a small base. Means you take your small base. Place it and then use half of the smallest side. Thats my base width.
For its length I took two medium sized infantry platoon bases and put them next to each other. With this I still keep the opportunity to work out a complete entrenchment for a much lengthier part.. e.g. dug in platoon etc.


With this settled.... start ...

Substitution....

Materials needed:
The base I have done upfront
Partysticks
Superglue
Filler


Step 1:

Make sure you have everything by hand... enjoy your coffee....

Cut the partysticks to an even length. I personally dont like the more upper and lower parts.. I only took the middle part from it.


Step 2:
Use some rest from your base cutting part and glue it on top of the base. Afterwards Superglue the Partysticks alongside.

Step 3:
Cut some smaller parts from the partysticks as to stabilize the thing.

Step 4:
Use filler to get some sort of upwards hill to your entrechment.

Step 5:
Wait till dry.. Decorate, Prime, paint and flock it as desired.... and, of course,  have fun....

P.S.: Time on this one is nothing more than 5 Minutes......

Flames of War - Tutorial - Building Wood Trees the njami way

Still cheaper then the last one but takes more time is this variation. Suits perfect for more mediterrain environments etc.. is also quite easy scaleable up to 28mm. The earstick variation is a bit ... well lets say limited... :)

What you need:

- Grapes (red or green one ... doesnt matter) from the supermarket
- Base
- Superglue
- Flock
- Miliput or other putty



Step 1:
After buying the grapes.. enjoy them (NJAMI) but dont throw away the part they grow on.. thats the thing we need. Let it dry out for a week and then go ahead (you can also start right away ... I just like the dry variation a bit more)

Step 2:
Use Superglue and miliput to get your "tree" stand up the way you like it to be.


Step 3:
Superglue Flock on the parts there your fruits have been growing. Much space here to attach something.

Step 4:
Wait till everything dryed and do your basing...

Enjoy your lovely result

Flames of War - Tutorial - Building Wood Trees the cheap way

Was a bit quite lately , but work and a serious blood infection really chained me to the bed and far away from anything that had to do with wargaming or similar stuff.

I often find myself on websites offereing the different sorts of trees suitable for wargaming. Most often I am also wondering which size does matter to 15mm and Flames of War... the answer I finally found in my bathroom....

What you need:
- Earsticks for cleaning your ears (pls unused !)
- Miliput or other putty
- a base
- Superglue
- Flock


Step 1:

Take all the stuff you need and crosscheck if you have everything... have a cup of coffee.

Step 2:
Take the earsticks and superglue them to your base. Afterwards put some miliput or putty around it.
After crosschecking both variants (with or without the stuff you clean your ears with I highly recommend the ones with that stuff)

Step 3:
Superglue flock as desired to your stick... et voila... tres chic :)

Step 4:
Do your basing stuff around it and it should blend perfectly to your gaming table. Doesnt cost a fortune and is easy to make within 2 Minutes.

Flames of War - Scenario - Solo Gaming - Release of the Partizans/PoW

Solo Gaming - Scenario - Release of the Partizans/PoW:

Table size: 120 by 120cm
Terrain: centerpiece is a barn. Place approx one road leading to the barn, couple of woods or cropfields around it or small hills (whatever suits best to your campaignsetting)

A leader of the local partizan group has tried to make contact with the Allied. Allied intelligence has despatched a small force to meet with the resistance and to bring him to Headquarters. Unfortunately a roving patrol of Germans stumble on the partizans hiding place.
The leader of the German patrol suspects the mysterious group of being a partizan and send for assistance while he questions him.
The allies realise what has happened and must rescue the Partizan leader before he can be taken away by the Germans.

The game begins with a unit of three squads infantry led by a command occupying the farm. The officers command and one stand of germans are positioned inside the barn guarding the partizan leader and his companion (one stand of allied force ) . The others are stationed around the farm.

The eight allied stands enter the table with their officer on the road at the eastern edge of the table.

From Turn three onwards roll to see if any reinforcements arrive. On a d6 roll of 1 or 6 the reinforcements would turn up 2-5 nothing arrives. At a dice score of 1 German troops arrive, on a score of  6 Allied troops come. After the reinforcements start to arrive this dice roll turns to 1-3 German reinforcements would come, 4-6 Allied reinforcements come, each turn. Each side gains d6 stands reinforcements entering at the initial starting points.

As soon as hand to hand combat can be heard in the farm yard, the two Partizans have to make a test (in this case they are handled as veterans). If they pass they attack the soldier guarding them and attempt to escape.

Victory Conditions:

The Allied must release the two Partizans and escape off the board with them.

The Germans must prevent the escape of the Partizans.

If the Partizans die, the game is a draw.




Initial forces:
Axis:
1 Platoon of German Infantry

Allies:
1 Platoon of Allied Infantry


PS: This also is compatible with Bolt Action..if you substitute Stand with one Bolt Action Miniature or Platoon with score