In today's blog post, we're looking at three fantastic pieces of artwork from three of our February 2023 titles. Let us know what you think in the comments section and, if you would like to see any artwork from any of our March 2023 titles, be sure to mention that too!

 

Sailors deployed as infantry during the Russian Civil War

 

Soviet Naval Infantry 1917–91

By David Greentree

Illustrated by Johnny Shumate

SAILORS DEPLOYED AS INFANTRY DURING THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR


(Centre) Officer, Baltic Fleet
This former stárshiy leytenánt (senior lieutenant) wears a pea jacket and peaked cap. Rank insignia was abolished by the Bolsheviks. He is equipped with a 7.62mm Nagant M1895 seven-round revolver, the standard-issue sidearm used by Russian officers; it remained in service throughout World War II.
The revolver is attached to the officer’s holster by a lanyard. He is also equipped with a naval dirk.


(Left) Sailor, Baltic Fleet
This sailor wears a flannel shirt with the telnyashka undershirt showing at the neck. The Imperial Russian Navy adopted the telnyashka during the late 19th century and it remained a mark
of the naval infantry – and the Soviet airborne forces – until 1991, and has continued in the present-day Russian military as a mark of elite status. A red star has been fitted to his cap in
place of the Imperial Russian Navy insignia. He has his 7.62mm M1891 Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifle slung; the sling attachment ring dates the rifle’s manufacture to before 1898. A socket bayonet with long spike blade was used; a bayonet scabbard was not issued as servicemen were expected to keep the bayonet permanently fitted. A pair of cartridge cases are attached to his waist belt, and he is carrying an M1910 ammunition box with belts of 250 cartridges.


(Right) PM M1910 gunner, Baltic Fleet
This sailor, a former crew member on the destroyer Azard, has retained the Imperial Russian Navy brass buckle showing the Imperial eagle but wears a red armband signifying his allegiance to the Bolshevik cause. He carries a 7.62mm M1895 Nagant revolver for personal defence. The water-cooled 7.62mm PM M1910 MMG weighed a formidable 64.3kg, but remained in Russian and Soviet service for decades; it can still
be seen in some parts of the world.

 

 

Mongol Warrior vs European Knight: Eastern Europe 1237–42

By Stephen Turnbull

Illustrated by Giuseppe Rava

 

Hospitallers face the Mongols at Székesfehérvár, 1242

Following their repulse from Esztergom, the Mongols are attacking the walls of Székesfehérvár. This section of the defences is being held by a contingent of Knights of St John dressed in their characteristic dark robes, an encumbrance when on crusade in the Levant but very welcome in the harsh Hungarian winter. Crossbowmen are also in action and doing deadly work against the Mongols, whose heavy cavalrymen are being used for the hand-to-hand combat of the siege rather than the lightly armoured archers, who keep up a barrage of arrows from a distance. The battered wooden walls of Székesfehérvár are covered with frozen snow and ice, but the marshes that surround Székesfehérvár are beginning to melt into mud, so the fighting is a desperate race against time.

 

Waffen-SS Soldier vs Soviet Rifleman: Rostov-on-Don and Kharkov 1942–43

By Chris McNab

Illustrated by Johnny Shumate

 

Rostov-on-Don street fighting, 23 July 1942

Troops from the SS-Division Wiking fight their way down a street in Rostov-on-Don, 23 July 1942. Support fire for the infantrymen is provided by a 2cm FlaK 38 gun (manned by a two-man team) from the heavy-weapons company of the III./SSRgt Germania. One of the team, the gunner, sits on the seat and directs the firing, while the other maintains ammunition supply.


Although 2cm FlaK guns were designed for low- to medium altitude anti-aircraft fire, they provided excellent support-fire capabilities for infantry, with an effective range of nearly 6,000m and a cyclical rate of fire of 120rd/min. The gun is acting in support of a squad of grenadiers from the III./SS-Rgt Germania, under the leadership of an SS Rottenführer, who is shouting commands for the extraction of a wounded soldier. Several of the men are armed with MP 40 SMGs, with the corresponding slender canvas magazine pouches. Note the soldier dragging his comrade to safety – as was a standard practice, he has filled a bread bag with stick grenades, for ready access to them during house-clearing operations.

Requested by Kyle Lai