The Left Bank 1916 part 10 - The Price of Glory

 

Here - at last - is the final part of the Verdun report.  Above is the German position on Telegraph Hill.  Note the additional field telephone lines hastily laid in anticipation of a French assault.

Artillery Hill.  Historically the French attack - insisted on by the top brass but otherwise regarded as pretty futile - was led by the elegantly turned-out Colonel Macker.

And here - resplendent in kepi with red plume - is the man himself.  The real Macker led his men in person carrying a cane and smoking a cigar.  One wonders what was going through his mind at the time.

One of the more entertaining happenings was an early break in the German wire.  A runner was swiftly dispatched to effect a repair.

Another view of Col. Macker.  The figure is a Mokarex hard plastic pre-war officer.

Artillery Hill was captured after a bloody struggle.

At this point the bold Colonel was still standing.

However a swift counterattack by the Jager Btl threw back the French attack

Meanwhile, as the Germans repaired the first breach in the wire, it was cut in two more places!

And finally, here were my main references for the game:

This excellent map is recommended for battlefield visitors and it turned out to be very useful for the game.

This was a slightly random purchase but I now want to visit the area it covers!

And of course this old classic.  Both books describe Col. Macker's attack and indeed it was this which inspired the game.  As always, in among the entertainment we think of all those who did this for real and I offer up the game and these reports as my humble tribute to Col Macker.