Fort Maxim Gorky .stl pack – 28mm scale

The release of the Bolt Action Campaign book “Case Blue” has provided some novel scenarios for Bolt Action players. One such scenario that is historical while being very entertaining in “Scenario 3 : Sevastopol – Fort Maxim Gorky”. This scenario represents the finale of the lengthy Axis efforts to break the Soviet defences in the strategic port of Sevastopol, on the Black Sea.

Sevastopol had long been a vital key to Russian control of the Black Sea, and the construction of Armoured Coastal Batteries #30 and #35, or Maxim Gorky I and II, was started under the last Tsar. The Great War and the subsequent Revolution delayed progress until the 1920s when construction was again started, the project being finally completed in 1934. The two batteries each consisted of two large turrets, each housing two 305mm (12”) naval guns. The turrets themselves were massive – weighing over 1000 tons each. The turrets were the only part of a vast complex, which was almost entirely underground, containing elaborate housing, power plant, artesian wells, a hospital, etc. The forts were protected with several integral anti-aircraft batteries. Although intended to protect the harbour’s sea approach, the turrets did have 360-degree traverse, and could and did engage targets up to 40 kms away.

The account of the stoic Soviet defence of Sevastopol is well documented, and the efforts of the Axis to knock out these behemoth guns were extensive. Eventually the Germans were forced to bring up the massive Karl “super heavy mortar” as well as railway guns and WW1-era 420mm mortars. Despite the concentrated ground and air attacks, it required a ground assault to finally overcome the Soviet forts. The scenario plays to the truth of the last hours of the Maxim Gorky guns, as after the gun the crews ran out of shells, they fired 70-kilogram powder charges directly at the attacking Germans, spewing broad sheaths of flame out the barrels.

Scenario three calls for the Soviet player to have two of the Maxim Gorky turrets, a Command bunker,(from which Soviet reinforcements can emerge during the game (to reflect the connected underground tunnel complex of the fortress) and notes the game table should be heavy with craters, to reflect the heavy barrages the forts had been subjected to.

These turrets can also do double duty and may be used to represent the gun turrets on the Light Cruiser Kransy Kavkaz in Scenario 1 ( a quick mock up in foam core or cardboard could represent the cruiser’s bow, which is the only part of the ship on the game table in Scenario 1.

This .stl pack contains all those items.

• The Maxim Gorky turret, with a separate base and the gun barrels (this model is approximately 60% of the actual size. The action turret had a 10.8 m diameter, and the gun measured 16 meters in length from breech to muzzle. The author of Case Blue clearly intended the turrets to be downscaled, as evident in the suggested table set up diagram on page 20 of Case Blue)
• A command bunker, with removable roof. The bunker has earth modelled up its side, to reflect the dug in nature of the defenses.
• A selection of multiple craters, single, double, and triple. Further variety can be achieved by varying their size in your Slicer program.

This model was printed in FDM, but if you do also have a resin printer, you may wish to print the barrels in resin, as they are long, tapered, cylinder shapes, and the print requires less post print clean up. I designed the barrels to be easy to install and remove, and there is no need to glue them to the turret. That way they can store more easily.