Monday, 12 September 2022

Verdun again. Assault on Fort Douamont!

PHW ran this game a few weeks ago.  He ran the French while Pete, Russell and I were the beastly Boches, with me as Div Co.   There is a full 3-part report on the Funny Little Wars blog starting here,  so what follows is simply a selection of my own photos, along with a couple nicked from others.  I provided a few French, about half the German figures, all the German aircraft and some of the terrain items.  

My Albadross flying a recce mission over some French artillery positions. 
More recce - my Hannover over the front line…..

…escorted by a Fokker.  Just as well really because….
The enemy have fighters aloft. 
Another Fokker swoops on a French recce aircraft. A French Farman nicely bodged from a 1/48 Vickers FB. 


The field of battle. 
My French ‘hommes soupe’ hurry towards the fort! 

Douamont was another of PHW’s museum-quality pieces. It certainly looked the part. 



The French gun line skulking under camo nets. 





Colonel Driant’s HQ bunker - the objective of the German right wing. It fell to a flamethrower assault. Very messy. 

Stormtroopers advancing!

Alas the fort remained beyond our grasp.  This is as close as we got. 
And where was the CO while all these brave little plastic chaps were at the front?  In my comfortable bunker of course, replete with grand piano and detached latrine.  It’s true what they say, war is hell. 

A great day out.  Many thanks to all involved, and to John H for fetching lunch!  

Friday, 9 September 2022

Vivat Rex

A sad day indeed.  Like most people alive today the late Queen was a constant presence. It’s quite difficult to accept that her long reign is over.  Well done to her for such a long life of service to her people.  

All good wishes to the new King, Charles III. 

Tuesday, 30 August 2022

Brussels Military History Museum - part 4

On then to the aviation hall - by far the biggest 'room' in the building!  Again the photos, though apparently in a random mix, have in fact been as carefully curated as you've come to expect...

 

The galleries visible contained mostly WW1 aircraft but were closed when I visited.  So I'll need to go again...

Dakota with Paras - part of a Congo exhibit
Maurice Farman 'Shorthorn'
Dassault Mystere
F-104 Starfighter
Ju-52
F-86 Sabre in Portuguese colours.  All the best people have one of these link...
C-119 Flying Boxcar - an exhibit you can walk through!
Mirage F.1
Good old Mirage III
Fouga Magister - rather more colourful then the one I built link
F-84G Thunderjet

Gerpard SPAA. 
F-16. I remember seeing Belgian F-16s above RAF Leuchars in the 1980s when they were new and exciting - and now here's one in a museum!
Belgian AIFV - similar to the Dutch army's YPR-765
MIG-23 Flogger
A curiosity - British Lloyd Carrier fitted with a 90mm AT gun.
M-113 fitters' track

Leopard 1
RF-84F Thunderflash and F-84F Thunderstreak
Mirage III again
Belgian-built Landrover in the Congo display
F-4 Phantom
Montgolfier balloon.  A large model - the figures are 1/32 scale!
Another Landie - this one packaged for air landing.
M-47 Patton