THE RED GAMBIT SERIES

Are they part of the German Republican military structure, and if so, would it be the Army or some other branch. Also, did they wear uniforms, or civilian clothing or a mixture. Finally, what weapons did they have? Did they have only German? 

*Contains spoilers*

The Kommando units as presented in the Rg series have metamorphosed but retained the original title, purely so the reader doesn’t have another thing to deal with. Initially, they were based around local defence units, such as the Volksturm, bolstered by ex-soldiers and anyone else who could hold a gun or a panzerfaust.

Those units fought at, for example, Malkendorf, and through the early days.

At Tostedt, the Kommando was made up of ex-WW1 soldiers and a leavening of retired WW2 soldiers.

The Kommandos which come to the fore later, such as that which ambushed the NKVD train as described by Nazabayeva, come together as a result of the new war, and are, in the main, ex-German soldiers.

Kommando Lenz is different again, in that it is a throwback to WW2, and consists of men who are of a certain political persuasion who banded together at the end of WW2 in a mirror of the 'Werwolf' concept. Kommando Lenz are all soldiers, all SS, and for them, still fighting the same war.

Staying with Lenz, they are soldiers in German uniform, equipped as late 45 infantry.

All other Kommandos have what they have. In the Battle of Everstorfermoor, some of the Kommandos wear their old Grossdeutschland uniforms. Others wear the garb from the Great War, as they are WW1 veterans. In the main, their weapons are German, but operating behind the mines, anything and everything that comes to hand would be pressed into service.

Pretty much free range on kit and weapons I think, certainly the longer the conflict goes on.

Bear in mind, the winter will give them the need to stay warm, and a man will wear anything in that regard, so I could see soviet greatcoats coming into play.

gee_colin@yahoo.co.uk at April 6, 2014 at 5:56 AM

*Contains spoilers*

The Kommando units as presented in the Rg series have metamorphosed but retained the original title, purely so the reader doesn’t have another thing to deal with. Initially, they were based around local defence units, such as the Volksturm, bolstered by ex-soldiers and anyone else who could hold a gun or a panzerfaust.

Those units fought at, for example, Malkendorf, and through the early days.

At Tostedt, the Kommando was made up of ex-WW1 soldiers and a leavening of retired WW2 soldiers.

The Kommandos which come to the fore later, such as that which ambushed the NKVD train as described by Nazabayeva, come together as a result of the new war, and are, in the main, ex-German soldiers.

Kommando Lenz is different again, in that it is a throwback to WW2, and consists of men who are of a certain political persuasion who banded together at the end of WW2 in a mirror of the 'Werwolf' concept. Kommando Lenz are all soldiers, all SS, and for them, still fighting the same war.

Staying with Lenz, they are soldiers in German uniform, equipped as late 45 infantry.

All other Kommandos have what they have. In the Battle of Everstorfermoor, some of the Kommandos wear their old Grossdeutschland uniforms. Others wear the garb from the Great War, as they are WW1 veterans. In the main, their weapons are German, but operating behind the mines, anything and everything that comes to hand would be pressed into service.

Pretty much free range on kit and weapons I think, certainly the longer the conflict goes on.

Bear in mind, the winter will give them the need to stay warm, and a man will wear anything in that regard, so I could see soviet greatcoats coming into play.

 

Does Kommando Alsace have any French equipment or uniforms?

Kommando Alsace is primarily a German unit, so would be mainly german uniforms and kit, with a leavening of stuff they could liberate from Allied units. Add a few folk in civvies for good measure I should think.

gee_colin@yahoo.co.uk at April 8, 2014 at 3:20 AM

Kommando Alsace is primarily a German unit, so would be mainly german uniforms and kit, with a leavening of stuff they could liberate from Allied units. Add a few folk in civvies for good measure I should think.

What Allied units do you think? Also, would any former members of the Resistance, or FFI be part of it?

Certainly, the Legion Corps would have been sympathetic with giving up some stuffm and so therefore so would Pierce's 16th Armored.

I suspect that some FFI and Maquis would be involved, but I havent given that much thought as I only mentioned K/Alsace in passing.

gee_colin@yahoo.co.uk at April 9, 2014 at 3:20 AM

Certainly, the Legion Corps would have been sympathetic with giving up some stuffm and so therefore so would Pierce's 16th Armored.

I suspect that some FFI and Maquis would be involved, but I havent given that much thought as I only mentioned K/Alsace in passing.

Maybe you might get into them a bit in future books. Also, what do you think the Legion and the 16th would have given them? Garands? Also, I think that the inital Kommando would be all ethnic German Alsatians, though I wouldn't be surprised to see some FFI/Maquis join to help replace battlefield losses and to increase the unit.

BTW, maybe you could incorporate more real life personages into the RG storyline. Here is one that you may find of interest:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_Malraux

Maybe you could include him in a future storyline.

I will check him out when I have time :-)

gee_colin@yahoo.co.uk at April 6, 2014 at 5:56 AM

*Contains spoilers*

The Kommando units as presented in the Rg series have metamorphosed but retained the original title, purely so the reader doesn’t have another thing to deal with. Initially, they were based around local defence units, such as the Volksturm, bolstered by ex-soldiers and anyone else who could hold a gun or a panzerfaust.

Those units fought at, for example, Malkendorf, and through the early days.

At Tostedt, the Kommando was made up of ex-WW1 soldiers and a leavening of retired WW2 soldiers.

The Kommandos which come to the fore later, such as that which ambushed the NKVD train as described by Nazabayeva, come together as a result of the new war, and are, in the main, ex-German soldiers.

Kommando Lenz is different again, in that it is a throwback to WW2, and consists of men who are of a certain political persuasion who banded together at the end of WW2 in a mirror of the 'Werwolf' concept. Kommando Lenz are all soldiers, all SS, and for them, still fighting the same war.

Staying with Lenz, they are soldiers in German uniform, equipped as late 45 infantry.

All other Kommandos have what they have. In the Battle of Everstorfermoor, some of the Kommandos wear their old Grossdeutschland uniforms. Others wear the garb from the Great War, as they are WW1 veterans. In the main, their weapons are German, but operating behind the mines, anything and everything that comes to hand would be pressed into service.

Pretty much free range on kit and weapons I think, certainly the longer the conflict goes on.

Bear in mind, the winter will give them the need to stay warm, and a man will wear anything in that regard, so I could see soviet greatcoats coming into play.

 

Would Kommando Lenz be willing to work with the Americans, British and other Allies? Also, when the war ends, what would their relationship be? Is it possible Kommando Lenz turn their weapons on the Allies? 

I think the answer to that would probably be that they are Nazis, fighting the same war. Whether they would see a greater evil or two evils is a matter of interpretation. Maybe sometime they will meet Allied soldiers and we will find out :-)

gee_colin@yahoo.co.uk at April 6, 2014 at 5:56 AM

*Contains spoilers*

The Kommando units as presented in the Rg series have metamorphosed but retained the original title, purely so the reader doesn’t have another thing to deal with. Initially, they were based around local defence units, such as the Volksturm, bolstered by ex-soldiers and anyone else who could hold a gun or a panzerfaust.

Those units fought at, for example, Malkendorf, and through the early days.

At Tostedt, the Kommando was made up of ex-WW1 soldiers and a leavening of retired WW2 soldiers.

The Kommandos which come to the fore later, such as that which ambushed the NKVD train as described by Nazabayeva, come together as a result of the new war, and are, in the main, ex-German soldiers.

Kommando Lenz is different again, in that it is a throwback to WW2, and consists of men who are of a certain political persuasion who banded together at the end of WW2 in a mirror of the 'Werwolf' concept. Kommando Lenz are all soldiers, all SS, and for them, still fighting the same war.

Staying with Lenz, they are soldiers in German uniform, equipped as late 45 infantry.

All other Kommandos have what they have. In the Battle of Everstorfermoor, some of the Kommandos wear their old Grossdeutschland uniforms. Others wear the garb from the Great War, as they are WW1 veterans. In the main, their weapons are German, but operating behind the mines, anything and everything that comes to hand would be pressed into service.

Pretty much free range on kit and weapons I think, certainly the longer the conflict goes on.

Bear in mind, the winter will give them the need to stay warm, and a man will wear anything in that regard, so I could see soviet greatcoats coming into play.

 

So how would late 45 infantry be equipped? I admit I'm not all that familiar with the differences.

Late 45 infantry wore a lower standard of field tunic and less webbing and leather. They had the standard Kar98k and MP40, but also you would see gewehr 43 and ST44/MP43's present. Nipolit and glass bodied grenades as well as stick grenades, and the ubiquitous panzerfaust in good numbers. Also you might find some older weapons being recycled from storage, as needs must and something that could shoot was all that was required. the Volksturm gewehr might have been issued, but I havent seen any pics suppoorting that idea. I suspect that there would have been a leavening of ex-italian weapons, as the germans acquired a reasonable amount during the Italian switch. There was a copy of the sten produced in large numbers, but again, photographic evidence of this in 45 infantry's hands is not forthcoming.

gee_colin@yahoo.co.uk at July 12, 2014 at 4:22 AM

Late 45 infantry wore a lower standard of field tunic and less webbing and leather. They had the standard Kar98k and MP40, but also you would see gewehr 43 and ST44/MP43's present. Nipolit and glass bodied grenades as well as stick grenades, and the ubiquitous panzerfaust in good numbers. Also you might find some older weapons being recycled from storage, as needs must and something that could shoot was all that was required. the Volksturm gewehr might have been issued, but I havent seen any pics suppoorting that idea. I suspect that there would have been a leavening of ex-italian weapons, as the germans acquired a reasonable amount during the Italian switch. There was a copy of the sten produced in large numbers, but again, photographic evidence of this in 45 infantry's hands is not forthcoming.

So, our good friends in Kommando Lenz would have all that stuff then? Even the Italian and Volksturm stuff?

I rather suspectthat Kommando Lenz would have a high leavening of German kit, as they are SS, and therefore have first call on stuff. They woudl certainly have SS camo gear and we know they have ST44's and other nice kit.

gee_colin@yahoo.co.uk at July 12, 2014 at 4:33 PM

I rather suspectthat Kommando Lenz would have a high leavening of German kit, as they are SS, and therefore have first call on stuff. They woudl certainly have SS camo gear and we know they have ST44's and other nice kit.

So how many of KL would have the St44s? Would it be the standard rifle, or is it still the good ol' kar98k?

I havent thought about that yet, but there would be a few. Kommando Lenz is not designed for open battle, but for ambush. Hi-rate fire weapons would be more desirable, and we know they have MG42s, MP40s and ST44s. Add in some more auto weapons from other sources, plus some KAR98's and you will find their level. However, supply issues might force them to start using the weapons of their enemy.... but that is for another time.

gee_colin@yahoo.co.uk at July 13, 2014 at 5:14 AM

I havent thought about that yet, but there would be a few. Kommando Lenz is not designed for open battle, but for ambush. Hi-rate fire weapons would be more desirable, and we know they have MG42s, MP40s and ST44s. Add in some more auto weapons from other sources, plus some KAR98's and you will find their level. However, supply issues might force them to start using the weapons of their enemy.... but that is for another time.

Other sources? Like other submachine guns. In fact, didn't at least one of the Lenz carry a captured PPSh when they took out that NKVD unit in Stalemate?

Any Kommando Home Defense Units in Austria?

Without a doubt. However, Kommando units are playing little part unless behind enemy lines. there are few still contributing to combat on the Allied side, more use as security troops.

gee_colin@yahoo.co.uk at November 8, 2014 at 4:30 AM

Without a doubt. However, Kommando units are playing little part unless behind enemy lines. there are few still contributing to combat on the Allied side, more use as security troops.

Could you maybe tell me where Austrian Kommando units might be? How much of Austria is Soviet occupied? Finally, what do you think the Austrian Kommandos might be equipped with? I'm thinking pre-Anschluss stuff.