"Belgians or French? Decisions, decisions..." Topic

I want to do some early war gaming using Chain of Command rules and, funnily enough, Early War 20mm miniatures. The Germans are obvious, but to battle them I just cannot choose between Belgians or French. Both are interesting forces. The French do have armor while the Belgians seem to have little or none but the Belgians have three 50mm DBT mortars per platoon that could make things interesting. The uniforms seem to be similar enough to not be a deciding factor. Help me pick. Which would you choose and why?

Paul

I have a 15mm Belgian force on the painting desk right now…. :-) [OK, it's been there for months, and probably will be there for months, but still….]

Those big platoons with an integral mini-mortar battery make for a pretty robust formation, and the Belgies have always held an odd fascination for me. True they don't have much armour, but the 47mm guns on most of what they do have are highly effective, while even the HMG armed T15 has its uses. Additionally the little Vickers tractors used to pull 47mm and 76mm guns are some of the cutest things ever built with tracks….

Belgians, because Eddy Merckx, Liege waffles, Trappist ales,and dog carts.

Belgians, because of Eben Emael.

French because of all those super-specialized vehicles.

Go with the French because of the armor.

and

You can recreate the Battle of Dinant where Rommel found that his puny Panzer II's and PzKpfw 38(t)'s were no match for them.

Why not both?

Belgian chassuers, tough s

Go with both……I started with Belgians……then some French……..even some Dutch………….and of course BEF.

I agree with 28mm Fanatik the French had some cool armor

Come off it – they're all very well as armoured might goes, but no answer to the Belgians:

Thanks for the input guys. Both will probably happen eventually, but I paint at a fairly slow pace and money is a consideration, so I was wanting input for which one I should do first. Everyone makes good points for both sides and while it is a tough choice, I am going to start with Belgians. Dom Skelton's comment about their 47mm anti-tank guns was valid, but the pic he posted of that Vickers Utility Tractor was the deciding factor. Who could resist such a sweet ride?

Paul

…the pic he posted of that Vickers Utility Tractor was the deciding factor. Who could resist such a sweet ride?

Attaboy. ;-)

Who? I can when I can ride in one of these:

Or in one of these:

Or fight you with one of these:

And let's face it, nobody does camo spec like the French Army:

And lest we forget, the first tank ace of WW2 was a *Frenchman,* Capitaine Pierre Billotte and his crew of the Eure:

Team Billotte 13, Panzerwaffe nil.

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

Leland, why you wanna do me like this? :)I had my mind all made up for Belgians and you lay this eye-candy on me. Feels like I took 2 steps forward and 3 steps back. This may come to a coin toss. You know what, that is what I'll do. Midnight tonight (or thereabouts) Eastern time, I will flip a coin to decide my first gaming project of the new year. Lady Luck will decide and the results are non-negotiable. I'll announce it here. I feel giddy now.

Paul

that halftrack is ubbercool, what is it?

The half track's a Citreon Kegresse P17 – mainly used as a light artillery tractor I think, so not too likely for a Chain of Command force. As for cool French camo schemes – remember you have to actually paint them…. ;-)

(That turretless AMR 35 tank destroyer variant is cute though Leland – kudos…. ;-) )

As for cool French camo schemes -- remember you have to actually paint them … ;-)

True, that.

But …

Painting them is half the fun! (The other half being putting them on the gaming table and having your buddies and opponents "ooh" and "aah" over the cool French-Only-Gotta-Have-Some camo jobs!)

The half track's a Citreon Kegress P17 -- mainly used as a light artillery tracktor I think …

True again.

But …

Why not double-down and do a cool camo job on the P17s too?

More seriously, for gaming purposes, the big advantage I find in my French force is the flexibility of who I fight against with it.

Sure I can do the Battle of France 1940 against Germans. But I can also do some combat against the Germans in Norway, or in the Alps or along the Cote d'Azur fighting against the Italians, or some combat in Morocco or Algieria against the US, or in in the Levant or Madagascar against the Brits, or in Tunisia with the US and the Brits against the Germans and Italians.

If you like early-war combat, it's hard to beat the variety of scenarios you can generate for French forces.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

After midnight (and a few rum and cokes) I decided to do the coin toss. Best of 5, with which nationality being heads or tails randomized. Here are the results. Drum roll please….First toss- Belgian. Next two tosses- Belgian. Game over. Lady Luck has spoken. I'll be placing my order soon and may post some painting updates as the project moves along. Many good cases were put forward for the French and I am sure I will get to them in due time, but Belgians lead the way. Happy New Year everyone!

Paul

Belgians, because Eddy Merckx, Liege waffles, Trappist ales,and dog carts.

I don't think that Eddy Merckx fought in WWII…

Easy solution to yer problem… do both!

The half track's a Citreon Kegresse P17 – mainly used as a light artillery tractor I think, so not too likely for a Chain of Command force. As for cool French camo schemes – remember you have to actually paint them…. ;-)

No, the P17 like the P19 was also a troop carrier; the rear bodywork and interior layout determined its role:

And of course, who doesn't love the P16:

link

I mean, it's simply unstoppable on the wargame table…

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

That anti-tank gun on motorcycle looks quite interesting.

Danish military also managed to come up with a motorcycle mounting 20 mm Madsen autocannon.

I have an almost complete master of that motorcycle and ATG carrier. Must get it finished and add it to the rest of the EWM French range.

Nice to see all this interest in the French and Belgian military of the early war period. If you did not know already, we have the most extensive range of French in 20mmScale to be found anywhere. Our Belgian range is also very extensive.

See all at Earlywarminiatures.com

Cheers
paul T@EWM

it's a shame you only produce 20mm …

I'll 2nd early war miniatures french. Bloody lovely
They are on my two do list after I've done my Romanians.

@Captain Crunch. When you do Belgians and you want some French armour? Take the ACG-1. We had a few of them and if you're playing CoC even one would be enough. And if you do Belgians go for the Chasseurs Ardennais. Tough bastards.