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Author Topic: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.  (Read 3500 times)

Offline racm32

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Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« on: October 17, 2018, 02:34:27 PM »
So my 28mm WW1 collection consists of early war germans and Russians. I don't have hardly any terrain for the theater other the forests, hills, rivers, crops ex.. I'm not sure what buildings or fortifications would be appropriate.

Offline Metternich

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #1 on: October 17, 2018, 04:28:16 PM »
The initial clash of Germans and Russians would be in East Prussia (Austro-Hungarians were meeting them farther south, in Galicia)

First picture shows German troops marching through a battle-ravaged town in East Prussia during the Battle of Tannenberg:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ab/e7/98/abe798d5ad551a16cf1dfd223a8bb209.jpg

The second picture shows Russian POWs in the East Prussian town of Allenstein
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Tannenberg-World-War-I-1914/images-videos/media/582679/232325


Fourth photo shows what was left of Gerauden after the Russians burned it
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/DA0RED/the-town-of-gerdauen-in-east-prussia-was-burned-during-the-russian-DA0RED.jpg

The central building of this 2013 building of Allenstein )now Olsztyn) looks just as it did in (fuzzy) 1914 photo
http://www.walkingthebattlefields.com/2014/08/the-battle-of-tannenberg-1914.html

Another part of the town of Allenstein
https://ostpreussen.net/ostpreussen/karten/galerie/images/01010104.jpg

Allenstein in 1906
http://167.114.250.81/w640/fbl-2013/201303/147320358/1906-allenstein.jpg

Current picture of Allenstein that shows the old architecture:
https://www.polish-online.com/fotos-polen/12470_18_olsztyn_allenstein_marktplatz.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Olsztyn%2C_stary_ratusz..jpg
Ruined East Prussian town
https://c8.alamy.com/compde/b5mpe0/9-1914-8-0-h1-fluchtlinge-in-ostpreussen-sommer-1914-1-weltkrieg-kampfe-in-ostpreussen-august-september-1914-vorschuss-von-der-russ-b5mpe0.jpg

Offline racm32

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #2 on: October 17, 2018, 08:37:55 PM »
Thank you very much. This will give me a good starting point. It looked like from one of the photos that trenches where used but not to the extent of western front. Is that fairly accurate for Eastern campaigns between Russia and Germany?

Offline Metternich

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2018, 09:31:48 PM »

Offline monk2002uk

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2018, 05:47:49 PM »
Trenches were used in some of the earliest battles on the Eastern Front. Here is the account from Grenadier Regiment Nr 4, taken from 'Geschichte des Grenadierregiments König Friedrich der Große (3. Ostpreußisches ) Nr. 4'. The regiment was part of Falk's 2nd Infantry Division on the German left wing during the Battle of Gumbinnen. The translation is mine, as are any mistakes therein:

"Stirnlaugken was reached early in the morning of August 20. As a result of this advance, a Russian NCO post was taken by surprise and captured. The high ground around Ederkehmen [near Mingstimmen] was occupied by the Russians.

Our regiment was positioned on the extreme left flank of the 2nd Infantry Division to attack Werdehlischken. Storming forward, Fusilier- and II. Battalions captured Ederkehmen and Henskehmen. I. Battalion cleared [the village of] Abschruten of weak enemy forces and then extended the line of the regiment to the northeast.

Some sections were diverted to search farmsteads, under Unteroffizier Braun from 8th Company. As he was pushing forward, he spotted an enemy battery moving up. He ranged in a beaten zone at 1200 to 1300 metres, which brought down some of the horses. Two guns had been set up in position, firing off a couple of rounds. After a short burst of fire from Braun's detachment, the gun crew was rendered hor de combat, silencing the guns. Brauns called in artillery fire on some farms from which Russian infantry were firing, next to the Russian battery, setting them on fire. He then pushed forward with his riflemen towards the battery. He found the gun crew, about 50 men including three officers, sheltering under the guns. They surrendered. The guns were rendered useless by destroying the breechblocks.

After repulsing a fierce Russian counterattack near Mingstimmen, the regiment was holding firm in front of the line Wannagupchen – Mingstimmen by the afternoon. The right flank of the Russians was retreating hastily to the east. A large number of prisoners were taken.

Already during this fighting the Russians had shown themselves to be masters of the art of field fortifications. Their defensive locations were so well distributed and so skilfully blended in that you had to standing literally right next to the front of them in order to see them. The Russian [soldier] proved tougher in battle; his field craft and ability to shoot was up to the standard of a well-trained enemy. As soon as the German [soldier] came into close quarters contact, however, many Russians suddenly lost their resolve. Some fled from the trenches, others raised their arms and rifles high and begged for their lives saying "they were also Christians". Only a few would stand against an attack going in with the bayonet. The Russian field artillery fire was superb, albeit wasting great amounts of ammunition. This arm was, and still is, the elite troops of the enemy.

Late in the evening, the victorious troops received a completely surprising order to retreat immediately, which the front-line soldiers could not understand at first."

Robert

Offline Metternich

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2018, 09:11:30 PM »
Yes, trenches were certainly used (and some defenses were quite formidable), but not to the extent of the Western Front (the trench line "from Switzerland to the Sea"). 

Online armchairgeneral

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2018, 03:40:38 PM »
For buildings hovels do some affordable resin ones.

http://www.hovelsltd.co.uk/easterneuro25.htm


Offline Driscoles

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2018, 08:50:19 PM »
Great pictures
, ,

Offline monk2002uk

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2018, 09:12:00 PM »
Here is a fairly accurate representation of the terrain near Gumbinnen:



There are more photos and an AAR here.

Robert
« Last Edit: October 20, 2018, 09:15:12 PM by monk2002uk »

Offline monk2002uk

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2018, 09:13:43 PM »
Note that the houses and other buildings in the earliest battles were East Prussian/Galician in style, not Russian log houses.

Robert


Offline racm32

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Re: Eastern front terrain Suggestions needed.
« Reply #11 on: October 21, 2018, 02:37:24 AM »
The initial Russo-German battles of 1914 were more open-field and trenches don't come into play until a little later (1915 on).  The distances on the Eastern Front were much greater than those of the Western, and so trench systems tended to be more clustered around strongpoints, fortresses/towns, ridgelines, crossing points for rivers, etc.  Also, in certain areas much of the terrain was swampy, necessitating construction of log barriers instead of actual trenches.

Thank you Metternich. This, along with your previous and latter posts will really help me set up more realistic tables to battle on.

Already during this fighting the Russians had shown themselves to be masters of the art of field fortifications. Their defensive locations were so well distributed and so skilfully blended in that you had to standing literally right next to the front of them in order to see them. The Russian [soldier] proved tougher in battle; his field craft and ability to shoot was up to the standard of a well-trained enemy. As soon as the German [soldier] came into close quarters contact, however, many Russians suddenly lost their resolve. Some fled from the trenches, others raised their arms and rifles high and begged for their lives saying "they were also Christians". Only a few would stand against an attack going in with the bayonet. The Russian field artillery fire was superb, albeit wasting great amounts of ammunition. This arm was, and still is, the elite troops of the enemy.

Thank you Monk. This last paragraph has given me some good insight into how to stat my Russian soldiers for this time period in the war. I think I'll also work up some heavily concealed trenches/fortifications as well.