Volkssturm wanted!

[moiterei_1984]

Dear fellow enthusiasts,

as I'm a bit astonished looking at the WWII gaming tables it seems Hitlers Wehrmacht apparently comprised of exclusively well trained and supplied Panzergrenadieren, Fallschirmjägern and Waffen-SS even in the last days of the Reich.
Every Kampfgruppe, no matter how small, had a Panzer IV, a Panther or even a Tiger/ Kingtiger in it's repertoire. Well supplied with SdKfz.251 or other motorised transports and enough artillery and AA-guns to make the earth shake it gives the appearance it was a matter of luck, not superior numbers of trained troops and supplies, the allies and soviets finally managed to crush the German Army.
There seems to be no real reflection of the attritions the Wehrmacht suffered especially from Kursk onwards.
As "Bolt Action" and and "Victory Decision" along with almost every other ruleset gives me the opportunity to field an Army consisting of just Volkssturm, Hitlerjugend and eventually Volksgrenadieren I wonder why almost nobody appears to play them?

In short I want to play my Luftwaffenfelddivision along some Volkssturm/ HJ and am looking for suitable figures to use.

I already looked at Warlord Games, Artizan & Great Escape Games but haven't found enough suitable stuff. Well, the Great Escape Games HJ-Blister seems to be about right for the job but unfortunately thers's just the four miniatures. Some of the Artizan & WG minis seem to work with little conversion but aren't there some more manufacturers out there producing Volkssturm and their like?
I'm aiming for a look like this:

[Westfalia Chris]

Dear fellow enthusiasts,

as I'm a bit astonished looking at the WWII gaming tables it seems Hitlers Wehrmacht apparently comprised of exclusively well trained and supplied Panzergrenadieren, Fallschirmjägern and Waffen-SS even in the last days of the Reich.

Strictly-speaking, neither Waffen-SS nor the Volkssturm were part of the Wehrmacht (the latter being composed of Heer, Marine and Luftwaffe).

Regarding the topic, speaking for me and a lot of fellow German wargamers, it's usually a matter of taste (in that the NSDAP-spawned organisations have even worse repute than the Heer). I'd be hard pressed to name other manufacturers of quality figures that make suitable pieces.

Westwind have a pack of Volkssturm infantry in their "Berlin or Bust" range, although they tend to be on the small side.

http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=3_13&products_id=117

Some of their partisans might also work if the clothing style isn't too much of a problem, maybe some weapon swaps could help.

[Lowtardog]

Lots of british civil war minis would work if you ignore the lee enfields rather than KAR 98 rifles

[moiterei_1984]

I know it's quite a delicate affair over here in Germany and concerning the Waffen-SS I go pretty much along with your oppinion.
About the Volkssturm I've a different view as they were at least theoretically part of the Wehrmacht (deutsches Wehrgesetz 1935). The view about the Volkssturm I have is more of a group of old men and children more or less pressed into service than a organisation of nazi indoctrinated idiots. I know there have been also these.

Nevertheless thanks for your suggestions I'll check these out even if they may be a bit on the small side.

@Lowtardog:
Thanks but I don't think the Germans were well supplied with british made equipment at this time. But maybe some conversion work could do the job.

[Westfalia Chris]

I know it's quite a delicate affair over here in Germany and concerning the Waffen-SS I go pretty much along with your oppinion.
About the Volkssturm I've a different view as they were at least theoretically part of the Wehrmacht (deutsches Wehrgesetz 1935).

Interesting, that! I never quite made the link between the "Landsturm" of §6 and the Volkssturm, as the latter is commonly seen as a Party organisation; my interpretation would be that they were legally considered soldiers/legal combatants, but in analogy to the Waffen-SS explicitly not part of the Wehrmacht; this being supported by the fact that there was a special order allowing command of Volkssturm units by Wehrmacht officers in late 1944.

The view about the Volkssturm I have is more of a group of old men and children more or less pressed into service than a organisation of nazi indoctrinated idiots. I know there have been also these.

Yes, it's more of a personal thing. I won't play any WSS, VS or HJ, but if others want to do so and keep it reasonable and civil, it is entirely their issue.

Nevertheless thanks for your suggestions I'll check these out even if they may be a bit on the small side.

It is indeed noticeable. I've found that WW-BoB and Bolt Action work together (although the older Westwind helmets have an odd shape, less of a problem with Volkssturm, though) as a more-or-less "realistic height variation", but it becomes very obvious with larger ranges like Artizan's. I must stress, though, that I haven't seen the specific Volkssturm minis in the flesh - judging from the pic, though, they seem to be of similar build (more towards the 25mm end of the spectrum).

If it would help you in your decision, I wouldn't mind taking a pic of a Westwind Heer soldier next to a Bolt Action Heer and Fallschirmjäger figure (again, assuming the Volkssturm is similarly-sized).

[6milPhil]

Westwind have a pack of Volkssturm infantry in their "Berlin or Bust" range, although they tend to be on the small side.

http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=3_13&products_id=117

I bought this pack, painted two or three of them and thought better of doing the rest. I should have them lying around if anyone's interested.

[mrtn]

I'm starting up a warband (or whatever you call it) of Danish Resistance fighters, and I guess these civilians would look pretty close to your German civilians. I was planning to use some 1930's gangster models and that could work for you as well (assuming you either ignore or convert some of the weapons I suppose).

[moiterei_1984]

Interesting, that! I never quite made the link between the "Landsturm" of §6 and the Volkssturm, as the latter is commonly seen as a Party organisation; my interpretation would be that they were legally considered soldiers/legal combatants, but in analogy to the Waffen-SS explicitly not part of the Wehrmacht; this being supported by the fact that there was a special order allowing command of Volkssturm units by Wehrmacht officers in late 1944.

I think it's some kind of legal limbo. On the one hand there's some evidence for the Volkssturm belonging (or at least to be counted towards) to the Wehrmacht. There's §6 & §11 (landsturm) of the deutsche Wehrgesetz von 1935 (german army statute of 1935) pretty much describing the legal bases for the Volkssturm and the armlet stating "Deutscher Volkssturm - Wehrmacht". Also the implementation rule for the installation of the german Volkssturm states:
"4. During their commitment members of the german Volkssturm are soldiers as defined by the Wehrgesetz" and therein "§2" only Heer (army), Marine (navy) and Luftwaffe (airforce) are stated. As there's no mention of the SS it means to me the Volkssturm belongs to the Wehrmacht.
On the other hand the very same implementation rule states "2. Conscription and command of the german Volkssturm is adopted by the Gauleiter in their districts. Therefore they use the service of the most capable organisators and leaders of the well approved institutions of the party, the Sa, the SS, NSKK and HJ." What could be interpreted as the Volkssturm beeing some kind of second rate party-army.
6. to 8. of the implementation rule stating Himmler in charge of the Volkssturm in my oppinion doesn't say anything as he was anyway leader of the Ersatzheer (Army reserves) and therefore leader of the parts of the Wehrmacht in Germany.

Anyway no reason to fuss about as you're absolutely right with:

Yes, it's more of a personal thing. I won't play any WSS, VS or HJ, but if others want to do so and keep it reasonable and civil, it is entirely their issue.

It would be great if you could do some comparison pics with WW & BAM

@6milPhil:
Are they that bad?

@mrtn:
Thanks for the suggestion I'll consider it.

[Wilkins]

Artizan have a couple of packs of partisans that have fairly neutral heads, neither obviously French or Russian. I snipped the bayonets off mine when I painted them.

http://www.artizandesigns.com/prod.php?prod=1683
http://www.artizandesigns.com/prod.php?prod=1683

Might be worth having a look at the Scheltrum stuff, they have Volksmarines and Sparticists (alas, no photos though)

http://www.scheltrum.co.uk/se281.html

[fastolfrus]

I have a company of them for PBI in 15mm.
Peter Pig do a few packs each of Volksturm, French Resistance, Russian partisans, also some figures from their SCW range, so I'm quite well catered for.
But 28mm ..... rare as hen's teeth.

[traveller]

I have WW Volkssturm and I like them a lot. I used most of them as Freikorps. Below you see some comparisons (most have head swaps):

OG - Copplestone - WW - Brigade - Brigade


Brigade - WW - Brigade - Brigade - Brigade


AND WW have a summer sale with 30% off...   

[ARKOUDAKI]

I have to agree that a late (1944-45) German unit without some form of Volkssturm isn't very accurate, as after the collapse of Army Group Center in Operation Bagration the Germans were really scraping the barrel to find bodies to fill the ranks.

In 28mm, there is definitely a shortage of good useable figs. However, if you were to take some of the WW2 plastic Germans from the likes of Warlord and Wargames Factory and perform some conversions you could end up with a reasonable looking ad hoc formation.

I would also suggest you look at some of the Spanish Civil War ranges, like the one by Empress Miniatures, as there are some useful figs in there. For example, the 88mm Flak gun with mixed civilian crew

http://www.empressminiatures.com/userimages/procart28.htm

In 20mm you have a heck of a lot more options, in both plastic and metal....take a look at CP Models for some outstanding figs
http://www.cpmodelsminiatures.co.uk/TQD%20CASTINGS%20WWII%20GERMANY.htm#volks

Pegasus makes a really nice last defence of Berlin set in 1/72 plastic that really captures the look of those last levies.

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=822

Hope this helps.

[Grimm]

I think that the Bolt Action Partianans with german weapons will work fine .
http://www.warlordgames.com/store/bolt-action/partisans.html
I am sure they had also some Hitler youth/Volkssturm figures but I cant find them in the wep.
these will be also interesting for conversions
http://www.warlordgames.com/store/bolt-action/germany/german-army/panzerfaust-accessory-pack.html
cheers Grimm

[6milPhil]

@6milPhil:
Are they that bad?

Not so much bad as dull.