Sherman ARV - part 2

Here is the completed Sherman ARV.  Painted, marked, varnished and now confidently waiting for a (3D printed) Firefly to break down.

Sherman ARV - part 1

A few months ago I discovered that I 'needed' a British Sherman ARV.  A review of my fleet of 1/50 scale M4s revealed this plastic and diecast example which didn't really fit with either it's Solido or Corgi equivalents..  Off went the turret to the spares box. An mdf circular base covered the turret ring and various bits of stowage added.  Now for some paint...

Foy-Notre-Dame - part 2

 As we rejoin the action, Mark is still trying to get his radio to function.

The Americans have had a bloody nose trying to get into the village. 

The company of M5 Stuarts has found the minefield. The hard way. 

On the German left, while the AT gunners and Panzerfausts have had a good run, the infantry’s luck is in danger of running out. 

At last - here comes some US air support. So that’s who Mark has been calling up. 

Amazingly, one of the Panther platoons is hit!

Simon’s British Motor Co pushes into the village, assisted by fire from the accompanying tank sqn and carrier Plt. 

The German infantry headed for their getaway halftrack. 

One of the burning Shermans was John’s OP tank. Luckily a replacement OP has trudged through the woods to join the HQ troop. 

The Puma Plt gets off a cheeky shot before hiding in the woods. This allows John’s tanks to move forward. 

Here comes another flight of P-38s

A British tank sqn working its way round the flank of the Panthers. Much to Mark’s relief!

Boom! The surviving Panther Plt brews another troop of Shermans….

…but is finally seen off by the efforts of more Shermans. Note the burning Firefly troop.  

By now the Germans could read the writing on the wall and withdrew their surviving troops, allowing the Allies to consolidate in the village. An honourable draw and a very entertaining game to run. Well done everyone!

Quick minefields

I needed a couple of unmarked minefields for the Foy-Notre-Dame game recently.  Luckily I remembered I had a few of the 15mm Peter Pig minefield castings, so despite having rather larger toys in mind I decided to use them.  I glued them onto 4-inch circles of mdf and added flock.

Here they are with a couple of 1/50 scale vehicles.  I think they look the part.  

Foy-Notre-Dame - part 1

Last week's game saw us back in the Ardennes.  No fewer then seven players joined me over Zoom and gave their instructions and orders while I shoved the toys around.  The scenario was adapted for a Rapid Fire book and dealt with 2 Panzer Div's KG Bohm as it got dangerously (from the Allies' point of view) close to the Meuse.  

The KG was built around 2PD's recce battalion  - two companies of infantry in halftracks, an armoured car company, two AT platoons (Panzershreck and PAK40), Flak plt and had an attached company of Panthers!  Martin was in charge and looked after the left flank, while Jim commanded the infantry and Panthers in and around Foy itself.  If there's any demand I'll write a post on the toys used in the game.

The German left  (the southern end of the table) - infantry dun in on a hill, flak on another hill.  The halftrack in the foreground belongs to the AT gun plt - the guns are concealed in the house just across the road.

The recce infantry co.  Veterans all!

From the NW came a US cavalry troop (not a horse in sight, sadly) commanded by Ian and some Brits from 3 RTR led by Simon.

In the NE there was another cavalry troop and friends.  They soon found the Panthers.  The hard way.

Martin's HQ and the armoured car co skulking in woods.

The German AT gunners were soon very busy when a squadron of Shermans and John's HQ sqn appeared from the SW.  From the hill, the infantry joined in with Panzerfaust fire.

By now Ian's cavalry was probing cautiously into Foy.  Mark's M8s has fallen victim to infantry AT fire - it turned out there was a platoon each of Panzershrecks and MGs in the house on the left and a whole co of panzergrenadiers in the church.  No doubt with Hauptman Jim leading them in prayer.  Meanwhile Simon's Sherman sqn has begun shooting up the village and his motor infantry co is fast approaching.

We conclude part one with Mark's cavalry having a very hard time.  The halftrack with the gun is a T19HMC standing in for an M3GMC standing in for an M8HMC.  Clear?  

On the other hand, the Bazooka plt has sneaked to within range of the Panthers...  Meanwhile Mark (that's him behind the building on the right next to the HQ halftrack) is making an urgent radio call...

Copenhagen - Kastellet

After two nights at Sonderborg the next stop was Copenhagen. After crossing the Alssund on the motorway bridge seen in the previous post and driving the few miles across the island of Als, we made the rather choppy ferry crossing of the Little Belt from Fynshav to Bodjen on the island of Funen. After driving across Funen, the next major water crossing was the spectacular Great Belt Bridge to - all 11 miles of it!  We were staying at the northern end of Copenhagen - more about that site in a future post.  On our first full day there we got the train (well, two trains) into the city and visited the Kastellet.

This well-preserved star-shaped fortress dates from the 17th century and is still in use by the Danish military.

The fort is home to a monument to Denmark's international activities after 1948.   The inscription reads "a time a place a person".

The other side of the wall names the fallen.

In one of the fort buildings is a museum commemorating Denmark's international involvement.  Cyprus features quite prominently.

There are considerable numbers of field and fortress cannon in the fort and on the ramparts.

 

The battle of Dybbol, 1864

The main reason we parked for a couple of nights was to visit the Dybbol battlefield.  The nearby town of Sonderborg spans both sides of the Alssund. We weer on the western bank.  In the distance is the bridge which carries motorway 8 from the mainland to the island of Als.

In the centre of Sonderborg, "this memorial stone was erected as a thank you to all those sent on international missions for Denmark since 1948."

The coastal walk into Sonderborg was dotted with these memorials to Danish soldiers protecting the evacuation of their fellows to Als after the Dybbol defences were overcome.

The eastern side of the Alssund - Sonderborg has expanded a bit to the north in the past century!

The Dybbol battlefield is still largely unspoiled and included a visitor centre in one of the redoubts.  Always good to see a fortress gun.

This crane was for changing gun barrels.

This chap was spotted trying to cram the field gun into a rucksack.

A brief cycle ride away is another even larger redoubt!

Across the road from the redoubt is Dybbol Mill and this memorial.  Sadly while we were visiting the mill the weather closed in so my photos of it are awful.  But fear not, as an er, scale model of the mill features in a forthcoming post.

And the weather picked up soon afterwards.  It was one of those days where we had four seasons, not just in one day but in a couple of hours!