With Armies of Germany: Third Edition on bookshelves all over the world, we’re looking at the options presented by the Defend the Fatherland! special rule in greater depth. We recently looked at the Fallschirmjäger paratroopers, and today it’s the turn of the Waffen-SS – Germany’s political troops. We’ll examine how they play on the tabletop, how you can utilise our range of miniatures to build your force, and show some example armies.
The Waffen-SS entry is the most wide-ranging of all the Defend the Fatherland! options, with the ability to be purchased for Inexperienced, Regular, and Veteran units. At its core is the Fanatics special rule, making SS units extremely difficult to rout off the table with Pin Markers, more dangerous in close combat, and much more likely to pass any Morale checks they need to make. In addition, Inexperienced SS units also receive the Mixed Quality special rule, making them liable to behave erratically if they fail an Order check. This adds a fascinating variable to plan around on the tabletop – will your units go Down, or charge headlong at the nearest enemy in a fury?
What this tells us is that a Waffen-SS force is both extremely flexible in terms of its units’ experience levels, giving you plenty of room to play around with points levels, and utterly unwilling to run away. This is a great opportunity to mix and match units to suit your playstyle, and as the SS traditionally got the best equipment and preferential treatment for supplies, you can bring all the fancy toys you want! While our Waffen-SS miniatures range primarily focuses on the late-war period, there are plenty of ways to utilise many of our other German kits to achieve fantastic results on the tabletop.
Early War Blitzkrieg SS – View Army List
We’ll begin our example armies at the start of the war. This force is representative of a fast-moving unit of Waffen-SS mounted in Hanomag half-tracks storming into Poland, the Low Countries, or France. The entire force is mobile, and while it lacks heavy weaponry, it’s designed to get up close and personal in a hurry, with the half-tracks disgorging large Veteran squads right into the thick of combat, while the light armoured units provide support. With only a small amount of anti-tank firepower, this is a force that relies on manoeuvre and aggression to win its battles, and is ideally suited to the kind of battles that took place during the Blitzkrieg.
Building this force is nice and simple – our plastic early-war Sd.Kfz 251/1 and 251/10 kits will get your half-tracks sorted in no time at all, while the metal early-war SS boxed set is packed with character. You can also use the plastic Waffen-SS box – just make sure to avoid using StG 44 assault rifles or the MG 42 machine guns for this early-war force!
Mid-War Case Blue Offensive – View Army List
Our next example force is themed around the Eastern Front in 1942, towards the latter stages of the Case Blue Axis offensive. As such, it’s a much more tactically flexible force than the previous example, boasting a decent spread of anti-infantry weaponry, backed up by a powerful PaK 40 anti-tank gun. While the core of the force remains the Veteran Waffen-SS squads, most of the other units have been taken at Regular, using Defend the Fatherland! to turn them into SS. This allows us to ensure the list has plenty of units, and from a thematic point of view could represent the expansion of the SS and the lowering of recruitment criteria, or simply a less experienced unit!
There are plenty of ways we could model and paint this force, depending on the exact time and location it’s themed around, or simply personal preference. If we want to make them winter themed, then the German Infantry (Winter) box gives us all the plastic infantry we need, and the supporting metal range has us covered for artillery and weapons teams. To mark the greatcoated figures out as Waffen-SS, simply paint some of the helmet covers in one of the iconic camouflage patterns! This is a really great example of turning one kit into something completely different, simply by using a different painting scheme.
Late War Defenders of Germany – View Army List
Finally, we have a force themed around the very last days of the war in Europe. Representing the defenders of Berlin or some other German city, it’s a real mixture of quality and equipment, anchored at its core by a Veteran SS Platoon Commander and squad, both absolutely packed with the latest automatic weaponry, as well as a deadly Veteran Panther with the Panzer Ace special rule. After those war-weary veterans, however, the force consists almost entirely of Inexperienced troops, from the ill-equipped old men of the Volkssturm militia to raw recruits to the SS – a far cry from the hardened elite who wear the same uniforms in this force. Artillery support comes in the form of a trio of 20mm light anti-aircraft guns, with Inexperienced crews representing the ad-hoc flak units thrown together at the war’s end. The mixture of Veteran and Inexperienced means that this force is able to field both heavy-hitting units and plenty of Order Dice, but at the cost of having some units that will require careful handling. If used well, it can do some real damage on the table, but if the ‘hard core’ of the army is destroyed, the less committed troops may quickly fold.
Containing as it does such a wide variety of units, this force is a fantastic opportunity from a painting and modelling perspective to add loads of variety and character. The plastic Waffen-SS box is ideal for all of the SS troops, as is the incredibly characterful metal set, and by mixing and matching all of the camouflage patterns together you can create the appearance of a desperate band of troops using whatever equipment is to hand. For the Volkssturm, our Last Levy boxed set is absolutely packed with characterful sculpts of these desperate last-ditch troops, and you can also use pretty much our entire range of Partisan and Resistance models with a little conversion and a different coat of paint!
Painting Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS used a wide variety of camouflage patterns throughout the war, and these would become the defining visual characteristic of the organisation. On the tabletop, camouflaged armies look absolutely fantastic and are a great opportunity to show off your painting prowess. Painting camouflage doesn’t need to be difficult or daunting, however. Check out these videos from Painting Panzers, which show you how to paint some of the many patterns that were in use!
Start Your Collection
Want to get started with a Waffen-SS force? The easiest way to get started is with the starter army boxed set, but as we’ve talked about, there are a great many avenues open to you!
