Happy New Year

  

Happy New Year to all of my Friends and followers, let us hope 2021 becomes a more normal year at some stage

Cheers

Matt

Seasons Greetings & a very Merry Christmas

 

Pegasus Bridge Build part One

Building Pegasus Bridge

The most famous bridge and coup de main of DDay is pegasus bridge on the orne river canal. I have commenced the tiles for the bridge and I am hoping to really produce a lovely table to be able to replay this famous event on the tabletop at Fench Wargame Holidays. I also plan to build the road bridge over the river also on a 5 x 12 ft table. 

For the bridge I am using the Raventhorpe Sentry 20mm Pegasus bridge made from resin. I plan to add a few changes to this plus make some improvements and additions to the piece . 

My plan is to remove the solid handrails and replace them with wire ones, drill out the girders and above the control shed,  file out the lifting beam arms, replace the cross beam, add plastic ladders and continue the light rail entry and exits off the bridge ramps.

drilling and filing out the girders, a bit of work and a mask and a vacuum cleaner nearby 

I hope to have this completed by next week.

Cheers

Matt

50th Infantry Division Tyne Tees Work in Progress Part 1 ww2 British

50th Northumbrian Infantry Division 

Tyne Tees

This month I have started on my 20mm Collection to complete some half completed projects in my project drawers. 

On the work desk this month are 100 plus 20mm British Infantry for the 50th Infantry Tyne Tees Division. I hope to have these completed by the end of this week. I have decided to build several elements of the division,  first up will be the

69th Infantry Brigade 

• Brigade Head Quarters 
• 5th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment
• 6th Battalion, Green Howards
• 7th Battalion, Green Howards
• support elements

I also plan to build the DLI, No.47 commando and the crab flails of the Westminster dragoons, plus RMASG, and other support elements, engineers, artillery etc for Dday and inland.  

I also have a lot of support elements and drivers to complete, plus vehicles. Infantry Figures are all Britannia miniatures which I like to paint, some of the crewed vehicles will have some AB and SHQ bits too. 

East Yorkshire flashes

The unofficial Green Flashes, not approved until after the war, I have found no solid proof that were worn in France

The official Flash which I will use

Cheers

Matt

Terrain Tuesday- Steam Traction Engine

Terrain Tuesdays!

 Each week until March, I have decided to spend some time on some terrain each tuesday, I will try to complete a piece or at least add some detail to a piece of terrain for my table, sometimes really useful or just a filler, results of today's efforts! 

Steam traction engines have always fascinated me, in my childhood I would often visit the neighbours saw mill that has a steam traction engine the dove the great saws that cut down the Australian hardwoods from the forests of New England Tablelands. Later in my teens when I joined the engineers we had as our regiments mascot a Frog and a steam traction engine (2/3 Feild Engineer regiment) and I volunteered to work on the beast. 

So with that in mind I picked up a Steam Engine pencil sharpener around 6 years ago, these are often found in Australian tourist gift shops, particulary in country areas and have been around for 30 odd years. 

First job remove the sharpener and the wheel assembly, add decent axles, then undercoat.

Next I scratch built the flywheel, and the housing 

Then a quick fit before I attach the linkages, then paint job green and red plus Brass work for the bling!

getting close, still some highlighting and bits to do

Mounted, I did F?U and forgot to add the rubber band belt......oh well nothing a bit of superglue will not fix.

Now I am not certain if it will drive a saw mill or a chaff cutter, both were widely used in Maine and Normandy during the war.

The Chaff cutter may be more suitable for Normandy/Maine

Second item I have been working on is a ww2 destroyed resin building, a refurbishment and completion of a part painted piece that has been in my collection for ten years or more. It suffered a little in the move so I decided to do a few repairs and touch ups, a bit more to do then complete.

cheers

Matt

West German Special Forces Cold War

I completed four splinter sections for my Cold War collection, all based on different bases to tell them apart. They are from the platoon 20 Israeli range. They will join my Bundesgrenzschutz SG9. Quite happy with the results.

cheers

Matt

A Game of Birds and Wolves.......Wargaming to win the Atlantic war in WW2

 

A Game of Birds and Wolves, Simon Parkin

How wargaming won the battle of the Atlantic

I spotted this book on an article back in February and put it on my wishlist, last month I decided to pick it up, what a revelation it was. I would encourage anybody who is interested in the war of the Atlantic to pick it up. Not many Wargame books relating to there real use in wartime are available, this was an interesting and positive view of our hobby. 

The book is focused on the Western Approaches Tactical Unit or W.A.T.U and its unique use of wargames to train escort fleet commanders and officers about anti submarine warfare. The commander of the unit was Gilbert Roberts, a medically retired Naval Officer, who returned to service in 1941 to raise the unique unit. Roberts was a avid Naval wargamer (and is said to have played in Winston Churchill's group of wargamers) in the late 20s and thirties and he developed naval wargame rules very much influenced upon the rules of Frederick Jane (Naval War Game 1906) and the Royal Navy's Wargame rules of 1921. 

In January 1942, Gilbert Roberts arrived at Derby House Liverpool, for a meeting with his new commander, Admiral Sir Percy Noble . Roberts explained to Noble that he would develop a game that would enable the british to understand why the U-boats were proving so successful in sinking the merchant fleet, and he would develop facilitate the development of counter tactics. Noble was dismissive of the new WATU section "Well, Roberts, you can carry on but don't bother me with it". WATU were given the entire top floor of derby House for the purpose of setting up the training facility. 

The Western Approaches Tactical Unit Sign on the door, note the chessboard in the centre

One of WATU’s first tasks was to recreate a battle from a few weeks earlier, in December 1941, in which the convoy HG.76 consisting of 32 merchantmen and the 36th Escort Group (Cdr Walker consisting 2 sloops Depthford and Stork, and 7 corvettes : Rhododendron, Marigold, Convolvulvus, Penstemon, Gardenia, Samphire and Vetch. A support group consisting of the escort carrier Audacity (Cdr MacKendrick) and the escort destroyers Blankney, Exmoor and Stanley.) had successfully hunted three U-boats for the loss of . Roberts and his team believed that this, the battle for convoy HG.76, held the secrets they were searching for. The team arranged 48 ships in 12 columns. Then they added the tracks of the 12 U-boats known to have participated in the battle Historically the actual wolfpack only consisted of 10 U-boats U-67 (Korvkpt Müller-Stöckheim) *, U-107 (Kptlt Gelhaus), U-108 (sunk)(Korvkpt Scholtz) *, U-131 (Korvkpt Baumann ), U-434 (Kptlt Heyda ) U-71 (Korvkpt Flachsenberg), U-125 (Kptlt Folkers), U-567 (sunk)(Kptlt Endrass) *, U-574 (sunk)(Oblt Gengelbach ) *, U-751 (sunk)(Kptlt Bigalk). *fired torpedo or fired deck gun.

The multi day contest involved 12 members of the team. The convoy models, were spread across six white lines on the floor to represent its six-mile width, in two-minute intervals and at a simulated rate of ten knots. Each move was made in precisely the same pattern as the actual escort a few weeks earlier. Blow by blow, Roberts imitated the action, as per the official reports. Seeing the battle from a crow’s-nest perspective above the board, a question formed in his mind. If the U-boats were firing from outside the perimeter of the convoy, as was widely believed, how had the Norwegian Merchantman Annavore, which was in the centre of the convoy, been sunk? Might it be possible, he wondered, that the U-boat had attacked the ship from inside the columns of the convoy?

There was, he reasoned, a simple way to prove his theory. “Hold everything,” Roberts told his staff, as he rushed into his office to make a phone call to his old friend, Captain Ian Macintyre. To Roberts’ astonishment, the flag officer himself, Admiral Sir Max Horton, picked up. Roberts explained who he was and asked Horton if he might be permitted to ask a question. During the last war, Roberts asked, would you ever have crept among the ships of a convoy to fire a torpedo? “Of course,” replied Horton. “It is the only way of pressing home an attack.” “Thank you, sir,” said Roberts, then hung up.

It was late, but Roberts asked Jean Laidlaw, a 21-year-old Wren responsible for statistical analysis, and one of the younger Wrens, Janet Okell, to stay behind with him to reset the plot and run a new game on the giant board. They hurriedly reset the game. This time, Roberts placed a U-boat model in the center of the columns of the convoy and ran the events of the battle in reverse. If the range of its torpedoes was around two and a half miles, it was reasonable to imagine that U-boat captains would fire from less than half that distance, in order to maximize their chances of scoring a direct hit.Between them, Roberts and the Wrens began to plot different scenarios that might have enabled the U-boat to sneak into the convoy without being detected. Only one checked out: the U-boat must have entered the columns of the convoy from astern. And it must have done so on the surface of the water, where it was able to travel at a faster speed than the ships it pursued. By approaching from astern, where the lookouts rarely checked, the U-boat would be able to slip inside the convoy undetected, fire at close range, then submerge in order to get away. The group discussed how if they were a U-boat captain having made a point-blank-range attack on a merchant ship, they might attempt to escape unharmed. The game had enabled the fledgling tacticians to think like U-boat captains, and from that perspective the answer suddenly seemed obvious: having made your attack, you would of course dive. Then you would sit and wait for the convoy to roll overhead.

With the U-boat tactic abruptly unveiled, Roberts then wanted to try out the commander Walkers "buttercup" anti submarine maneuver that had successfully sunk one of the submarines. The team worked out his maneuver had accidently sunk the U-Boat and actually was counterproductive to the protection of the convoy. 

Returning to the game Roberts assumed the role of the U-boat captain, and Laidlaw and Okell played as the escort ships. Rather than splay out from the convoy at speed, dropping depth charges at random, as per the buttercup plan, Laidlaw and Okell lined the escort ships up around the convoy. While the convoy continued on its way, each escort ship performed a triangular sweep, listening for U-boats. They immediately picked up the position of the attacking U-boats. Roberts left the simulation excited that night.

The Raspberry maneuver that become the primary anti submarine maneuver 

The next morning Roberts invited the skeptical Admiral Percy Noble to watch a demonstration of their findings. Noble entered the game room flanked by his staff. The commander-in-chief warily eyed the chalk markings on the floor, and the canvas sheets decked out like ship portholes. Roberts began to explain their discoveries — how the U-boats would slip between the convoy ships on the surface of the water, at night, when they were unlikely to be spotted, make their attacks, and then dive to wait until danger had passed.

But as the game played out the Admiral began to sit forward in his chair in astonishment. One of the Wrens, playing as a U-boat, fired a torpedo from within the convoy’s columns, then dived. Roberts performed the team’s newly developed counter-tactic, moving the escort ships in triangular sweeping patterns designed to flush out the hidden U-boat. While performing the sweeps, one of the escort ships “picked up” the Germans’ position on its radar.

As he watched Noble saw, for the first time, the cardinal errors that had been responsible for such tremendous loss of life at sea. When the demonstration was finished, the Admiral stood to his feet, congratulated Roberts and asked what the maneuver was to be called. Wren Laidlaw explained that she had christened it Raspberry, as a razz of contempt aimed at Hitler and his U-boat fleet.

The commander in chief then turned to one of his men and told him to take down a message to be sent to the Prime Minister. “The first investigations have shown a cardinal error in U-boat tactics,” he said. “A new, immediate and concerted counter-attack will be signaled to the fleet within 24 hours.”

The Training 

Using the floor as a giant board, the teams simulated a wolfpack attack on a convoy in the Atlantic. One team would play as the escort commanders, the other as the U-boat captains. Each team would take turns to make their moves, firing torpedoes, dropping depth charges etc, the U-boats diving and surfacing to make their attacks, the escort ships wheeling around in great arcs hunting the U-boats. The first day games were based on real engagements that occurred at sea to allow participants to learn why the escort commanders act the way that they did, and whether they might have lost fewer convoy ships and sunk more U-boats had they done things differently.

U boat commanders moving the hunters

The screens with the Wrens moving the convoy escorts as per the instructions of the officers

The officers had the opportunity to glimpse to movement of the convoy marked in white chalk, the submarines were marked in green, which they could not see because of the red filter used on the viewing peephole, the officer then plotted their maneuver on a chart behind them. 

I plan to produce some Naval ww2 anti submarine wargames for our Wargame holidays in the future, and I am looking at the original 1921 Royal navy wargame rules which are now available to purchase. I suggest if you have some time and are interested in the atlantic campaign to pick up the book.

A Game of Birds and Wolves: The Ingenious Young Women Whose Secret Board Game Helped Win World War II by Simon Parkin, available now from Little, Brown and Company

cheers

Matt

Coloured WW2 and Modern smoke markers

 Making WW2 Smoke markers

Terrain Tuesday

Since lock down began here in France I have been concentrating predominantly on my medieval and ancients collection painting over 600 28mm miniatures. This coming week I am shifting my focus back to ww2.

I was recently on John Bonds blog looking at his lovely ww2 terrain. So I have also decided to make from now on "Tuesdays Terrain day", making terrain or tabletop scatter a priority each week to get through the tonnes of small projects I have in my head for ww2 and modern bits, predominantly though for ww2. Most of these pieces will take several days and possibly weeks, but spending a dedicated day on them will help me get through the list.  

For year and years of ww2 and modern gaming I have just used cotton wool or lounge stuffing that is white for smoke markers, and while watching Band of Brothers...again, I watched the scene at the ferry crossing and thought....I do not use coloured smoke in my games...I have just used white smoke markers, but as we know they were mostly coloured for  ww2 and moderns warfare. 

Anyone who served in the military will know they are not particularly good for your health, but neither is getting shot! The smoke delivery could be via a grenade, mortar or artillery round, or a smoke generator either vehicle or a pump (normally white/grey though) the main colours available were, Red, Blue, Green, Purple, yellow, white, plus pink and  Orange (both post ww2)

So I have put together a simple tutorial.

Step 1 :Lounge stuffing is my choice of product, easy to find and cheap.

Step 2: I selected my colours and made up a wash, with a drop of detergent to break the surface tension of the stuffing and allow colour to penetrate. A few drops of paint 10% to 90% water. Dropped in the pieces that were teased out to shape. 

Step three. Rinse with water, to get rid of any settled pigment otherwise they will shed bits. allow to dry. 

Step 4. I based mine on clear plastic with a hot glue gun. 

Step 5. Put them on the table ! 

Lessons.

Quite happy with the result, but  I think it would be faster to use a spray paint tin in the desired colour or a airbrush, plus the colour will be more vibrant,  I will try again soon on another Tuesday! 

Cheers

Matt

Sword Beach Reloaded!

Sword Beach Reloaded Rapid Fire

Due to Covid we thought we would have no Holidays this year, a fellow wargamer and saviour came along, Paul and Stella offering us to holiday with then down south in the Massif Central on the edge of the Alps. Paul and I have similar collections in the same scales 28mm Napoleonic, Ancients and 20mm WW2 and use the same rules, I guess we have chatted on forums over the last 15 years or so, but had never met face to face. 

I think Paul’s collection of 28mm Napoleonic collection eclipses mine by quite a lot and you will find him regularly posting on General de Brigade and Rapid Fire forums. We decided to conduct a Sword Beach game using the Rapid Fire rules from the D-Day scenario book. Paul has a huge collection of ships, including large destroyers down to the landing craft and support ships, and a lovely table set up for D-day landing scenarios plus the specific funnies for the landing along with the Sherman DD tanks, and the normal French villages etc. 

I elected to be the attacking Brits and Paul the defending Germans. The scenario calls for the capture and destruction of three of the bunkers and hard points along the beach plus one inland, a very tough ask. 

the start line!

The landing begins

The initial landings go bad with a lot of the leading tanks hitting land mines and either destroyed or heavy damaged. 

some of the landing craft are also hit with artillery on the way in

another heavy damage.......the story of the game for me lots of 1s and 2s rolled

half of the DD tanks made it ashore only to be brewed up by the AT guns

A second vehicle pushes pas the first only to hit another mine!

I managed to get all of my landing craft ashore unscathed but the unloading of the funnies was problematic with each one hitting a mine and being disabled or hit while still on the boats in the counter battery artillery fire. In the end only one made it up the beach. The Shermans wading ashore three were swamped and three made it ashore, all either getting taken out by mines or AT fire not a good start!  

Next turn Paul makes sure of the funnies destroying the heavy damaged ones with AT fire......it was one of those days.........

the infantry make it ashore relatively unscathed

On the left I land two companies to take on the left bunker complex

On the right another two companies, these guys do get cut up a little in the crossfire

 The infantry stormed ashore and surprising took very light casualties, however the remaining tanks were all knocked out except one which i leave covered by the other two tanks and await support

more infantry reinforce the right, plus some support elements arrive including the naval landing party arty observors 

 Again I lose the supporting tanks to mines!

but the infantry clear the trenches and with grenades destroy most of the hard positions by the 5th turn on the right

murder in the centre, most of two companies are cut down by MG and artillery fire, I managed to get one tank forward with a bridge alsmost making the wall.....

landing party is ashore finally radio contact and shelling begins....although very few targets

The commandos arrive !

the commandoes make short work of the position, fabulous grenade work again clears the way

meanwhile a patrol boat moves in for close fire support

Finally we clear the right, at this stage we call it a draw, I am in control of the beach, but failed to have enough turns to capture the inland bunkers, still a good game, we nearly restarted in the fifth turn as I had lost all of my armour by then except one vehicle........a great time never the less.

I have never really been a fan of actual D-DAY landing games, but really enjoyed this, it really was a spectacle. Paul is planning a visit to mine place in the spring to play either on my Pegasus Bridge table or Arnhem...or something else ......we shall see!

cheers

Matt