Dinamiteros were a group of soldiers in the Spanish Civil War. There are two important traits to consider with Dinamteros, firstly that they used Dynamite and secondly they were killed if captured. The Dynamite was often not thrown but slung in slings and then hurled. Yes they set light to the fuse put the Dynamite in a sling and then twirled it round and launched it towards the enemy. This gave it a greater range than simply throwing it. The most famous Dinamiteros I could find were a bunch of Austrian Miners who fought on the army of the left but it is equally likely that the right also had a similar bunch of specialists. 
As such I have painted a small group of 6 stands to represent these men. Or if not these exact men then general Bombers. In a slight variation I have given these troops bases a red edge so they can clearly be identified on the battle field. In game terms they will have a longer grenade range and will not surrender. That does not equate to always passing morale checks as they may well withdraw from the battle if things are not going their way, just that they will not surrender to the enemy as that will usually result in their death.
As they were not in huge numbers 6 stands with no support weapons will be enough to represent them on the battle field. While they are not elite their special ability will no doubt make them favourites mong certain players on the table top. Other players will no doubt discount this ability as just a gimmick in much the same way as officers sometimes did.
Additionally I have managed to get some more Guardia Civil finished. They will help round out some of my forces and bring the police force to a good level. No guarantees of course that they will all reach every battle I put on, but it does give me a few more options. That's it for today. Take care all and check out Simon's Blog. HERE as he was kind enough to put me forward for a liebster award and while I am grateful for the nomination I have declined it. But the answers to his questions can be found in his comment section. All the best folks see you soon. Clint
Dynamite slinging soldiers... never heard of them, but now would love to make some in larger scales! Nice work on these mate!
ReplyDeleteYou have to admire them. (from a distance) Thank you Craig..
DeleteCracking work Ian, but a risking old profession twirling dynamite around your head on a battlefield!
ReplyDeleteYeah I know It sounds crazy, but it happened. Thank you Michael.
DeleteThe SCW throws up all sort of odditites and these were some that I hadn't heard of; their effectiveness must be questionable though.
ReplyDeleteGood to see that the forces continue to grow. (still hard to believe these are 10mms as you've done such a good paint job on them)
Cheers Joe. Yes the SCW is full of weird and wonderful troop types. I am sure there are many I have no idea about !
DeleteNice work on these troops - I like how they are multi-based.
ReplyDeleteBasing individual 10mil troops would be fiddly! Thank you Dean.
DeleteKilled upon capture, in case they did a suicide bomber stunt?
ReplyDeleteNope Mostly because they were so hated by the enemy. These sound like a Unit for Postie...... just his kind of NUTS!
DeleteThank you Fran always a pleasure.
How fab. What a most unusual unit. Well done and researched.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to have something a bit different in a game. Thank you.
DeleteGreat work! The dinamiteros sure were a mad bunch. You would think that there are easier ways of getting yourself killed...
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they were killed if captured suggests that they may have been effective. But it does seem like a silly idea to me. Thank you Samuli
DeleteWeird indeed! I wonder how they judged the lengths of the fuses? Too long and the target might take cover or throw the explosives back, too short and they'll just laugh at you...
ReplyDeleteNo idea how they judged fuse length. I will leave that down to experimental archaeologists! But a "fun" unit to put on the table. Cheers Mate.
DeleteWow - a great find! Historically very interesting and a great unit for wargaming, full of "flavour".
ReplyDeleteThank you Mathyoo.
DeleteTo answer the question of how they judged the timing of the fuses, many of them were Asturian miners who had experience of working with explosives, so would probably be pretty good at judging how long to make the fuses. They also seem to have mad grenades out of cow bells and dynamite, with the metal of the traditional cylindrical cow bell being packed with explosives and providing fragmentation. At a recent re-enactment near Oviedo in Asturias I discovered that the modern successors to the dinamieros have retained their ancestors' affection for explosives. In little over half an hour they expended over 100 "petardos"! Great fun, if just a little scary!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob, that's really insightful. I had been told they were Austrian Miners before so from two different sources now I am a little more confident of the facts.
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