Whisky on the Rocks-Wargaming Cold War in Sweden Project

[bluewillow]

So I have decided to conduct a five night four day weekend of Cold War Wargaming event at French Wargame Holidays in the first week of May 2024.
This will include a visit to Saumur Tank Museum tour, plus three solid days of wargaming.

A summary is on my blog, with full details later this week as we pop it on the website.
https://kampfgruppewillow.blogspot.com/2023/08/whiskey-on-rocks-invasion-of-gotland.html

I have a few items to complete before the weekend including quite a bit of terrain for the four tables. This will be my project folder so you can follow along and encourage me to get it completed in time!

First up I need to do some building research for Gotland circa 1983 and then purchase plastic kits or 3d print something that is suitable, so if anybody has pictures from Gotland feel free to post them up

Shaun from S&S has come on board to release some new goodies for the Swedes including some fabulous new vehicles and upgrades for Diecast kits. Then hopefully some landing ships for the soviets!

I have only 3 places available for the weekend, full details and costings will be up this week.



First on the revamp table is a warehouse suitable for a courier or shipping company.

Before

 


And after




Ver happy with my results I plan to base it and add security fencing, palettes and bins, plus customer car park.

Cheers
Matt

[carlos marighela]

Ooh! Looking forward to this. 

Always wanted a Swedish army of my own for this period. 20mm I take it? Just a pity there weren't any S-tanks on Gotland for the iconic look.

[bluewillow]

Ooh! Looking forward to this. 

Always wanted a Swedish army of my own for this period. 20mm I take it? Just a pity there weren't any S-tanks on Gotland for the iconic look.

Yes a 20mm weekend game, the 3 day wargaming plus a Saumur tank museum visit. As for S tanks, I know, maybe they will be in the reserves part of the game…!

Using S&S miniatures and a few different suppliers of vehicles.

Cheers
Matt

[carlos marighela]

Well the upside is you get the preposterous looking m/42 SKPF as a replacement for the Pbv 302s.

[Hammers]

How interesting.

I live on Gotland and I did my military service in the Swedish Navy in the 80s  where much of my time was spent looking for Soviet subs.

There is an excellent armed forced museum in Tingstäde with exhibits dating from 19th century to 1990s. It has small arms, trucks and armoured vehicle, aircraft...  you name it.

As yo may know Gotland is currently being heavily remilitarized our island has been called an unsinkable aircraft carrier and a corner stone for the defense of the baltic sea and states. Just yesterday I was going half deaf as the take off and landing path of the twoships of Saab JAS 39 Gripen passes right above our house. Practice passes, from what I have hear; at the same time I read about several confrontations between Nato and Russian aircraft last week.

[bluewillow]

Well the upside is you get the preposterous looking m/42 SKPF as a replacement for the Pbv 302s.

Yes and the only one made is €30!

[bluewillow]

How interesting.

I live on Gotland and I did my military service in the Swedish Navy in the 80s  where much of my time was spent looking for Soviet subs.

There is an excellent armed forced museum in Tingstäde with exhibits dating from 19th century to 1990s. It has small arms, trucks and armoured vehicle, aircraft...  you name it.

As yo may know Gotland is currently being heavily remilitarized our island has been called an unsinkable aircraft carrier and a corner stone for the defense of the baltic sea and states. Just yesterday I was going half deaf as the take off and landing path of the twoships of Saab JAS 39 Gripen passes right above our house. Practice passes, from what I have hear; at the same time I read about several confrontations between Nato and Russian aircraft last week.

Fantastic Hammers would love your input, especially on terrain.

Cheers
Matt

[Hammers]

An image from the Fårösund submarine port. Quite mundane, but strategically important.

During the early 20th-hundreds, during a spell of shrinking defence budgets, it was sold to the Chinese (  ) but is now functional again.

[Hammers]

A Soviet attack on Gotland would most certainly involve Slite harbour, the lagest port on the east side of the island. The most significant feature is the *massive* limestone quarry, a huge fucking hole in the ground, and the tall buildings of cement works. In the image you can see the white-on-red "G" of Rederiaktiebolag Gotland, which is the main shipping company on the island. It ships both the ferries and merchant shipping.

[Hammers]

A typical and distinct "Gotlandshus", which you find all over the island. Built from indigenous limestone and lime plaster, roofed with single concave tile.

[Hammers]

Military barracks on Gotland. Buildings painted with "falu rödfärg", a red iron oxide distemper, often with white corners, doors and windows, is *very* typical for all regions of Sweden.

[sir_shvantselot]

Very interesting @Hammers. We’re all excited I suspect about the 15mm Team Yankee Nordic miniatures.

[Hammers]

Visby, om the west coast of the island is a World Heritage and is well know as quite gorgeous. A 13-century wall is with its gates and towers is virtually intact and the town within is littered with church ruins. Meandering medieval alleys lead down from the gates down to the harbour.

[carlos marighela]

A Soviet attack on Gotland would most certainly involve Slite harbour, the lagest port on the east side of the island. The most significant feature is the *massive* limestone quarry, a huge fucking hole inthe ground, and the tall buildings of cement works. In the image you can see the white-on-red "G" of Rederiaktiebolag Gotland, which is the main shipping company on the island. It ships both the ferries and merchant shipping.

The Gotland tourist board has you on a retainer, doesn't it? 

[Hammers]

Gotland is very flat but it is tilting from the west don to the east, meaning there is a sheer "klint" and pillars called "rauk" (from the Old Norse "rök", meaning stone pillar), towering above the sea level along the west cost, while the east coast smootly disappearing into the Baltic and therefore easy to land on with landing crafts.

There is a system of modest WWII bunkers all around the coast, not really in use any longer as they are only suitable for machine guns and light artillery.

There used to be a coastal artillery regiment on the island, sporting Bofors mobile units (The KARIN m/80), but they were decommissioned in the 2020s in favor of Surface-to-Sea missiles (Robot 17).