Yorkshire Wartime 2025

This was a military show held on a farm near Doncaster last weekend.  As well as many military vehicles, there were also re-enactment groups.  The static displays were joined periodically by drive-pasts and skirmishes.  Oh, and trade stands selling everything from hot dogs to WW2 uniforms.

Above; Austin Champ - ultimately this lost out to the simpler, lighter and cheaper LandRover.

M8 Greyhound.

US halftrack

Daimler scout car

and again!

another halftrack

Universal Carrier

M18 Hellcat

M29 Weasel.  Someone once tried to sell me one of these.

M3 scout car

Stug III - or is it?  It's actually a very good replica on am FV432 chassis.

WW2 German road signs

Swiss(!) Panzer 68

ex-Israeli M50 Super Sherman

Kubelwagen

Happily I didn't need the first aid tent...

Bogward PKW.  I understand this is a fully restored vehicle - even the engine is origina.

Bedford QL

Sdkfz-7 leading a Matador.  It was like watching the Airfix catalogue driving past.
 

More Austin Champs

Bedford RL

Sdkfz-7 again

Austin K-2 Ambulance.  Ice Cold in Doncaster?

Leyland Hippo

Jeep with 37mm AT gun

Soviet motorcyclists

Matador again

More KuK aircraft

Back in 1917, things just keep getting better for the lucky chaps of my kuk forces. These are diecast models with some plastic parts. I’ve tarted them up a little with A-H markings.

The Aviatik (right) was well regarded by its pilots, but the Hansa Brandenberg was apparently a real bag of spanners. Designed by one Ernst Heinkel. I wonder what became of him….

Austro-Hungarian MG team, 1917 style

 Another kuk MG team. The sand-coloured parts are from an ICM kit and the figures began life as….modern Chinese infantry!

Austro-Hungarian MG team, 1914 style

More bodging of Great War Austrians now. Hollowcast MG & gunner, plastic card shield, loader is an old Tamiya WW2 German AT crewman. Replacement heads by ScaleLink.

Gumbinnen 1914 (yet again!) with Op14

 

Last Friday, and clearly still on a Great War roll, Lloyd and Jerry joined me for a game.  As it was arranged at fairly short notice I dug out a battle I'd fought previously.  Several times. So where are we?

Fly low enough and you can read the road signs.  The game used 6mm toys on Hexon terrain, with 2mm BUAs.  And yes, I know that the aircraft are from later in the war.

The horrors of war!  Russian and German commanders study their briefings.

German air recce.  It only appeared twice in two days. Which was a sortie rate 100% higher than the Russians managed...

The Russian attack north of Gumbinnen running out of puff.

German cavalry division marauding about on their left flank.

German aviators chasing away Russian cavalry while the uhlans prepare to skewer some Russian infantry.

Close up of the uhlans and their cyclist jäger battalion.

As day two drew to a close, so too did the Russian offensive, one corps having left the field and a second soon to follow. The Germans had some nasty moments though, spending most of day one with only a single corps against three!  An very enjoyable game which interestingly produced a result very similar to the Funny Little Wars game played in 2023 - link.

I have several more Op14 scenarios worked out for Belgium and the east so expect to see more of this sort of thing in the coming months.