From the Shed: German Tobruk Bunker

Using a free sample stl file from Digital Taxidermy I’ve knocked out this little bunker.

Based on a spare CD I’ve built up the sides with scraps of foam and sculptamold. Then followed with my usual basing techniques, textured, paint, static grass then finally tufts. I’m really pleased with how it turned out and will pick up more of the files in due course.

Although none of my Grandparent’s generation are alive at the moment and none of them were Normandy veterans (variously Far East, India, North Africa then Italy and Arnhem) I can’t help but think of them all today, the 76th anniversary of D Day, they were the greatest generation. My affinity with the campaign is perhaps strengthened by the road trip I took there with my father a few years back.

Cheers,

 

Pete.

 

From the Shed: Tank turret emplacements for the Atlantic Wall.

Just a quick post… I have just finshed painting these Renault tank turrets in emplacements; as used by the Germans in their Atlantic Wall defences. They were 3D printed by me, originally in 1:100, I resized them to 1:76, still pretty small mind.

Cheers,

 

Pete.

1944: Race to the Rhine- board game.

With three run throughs of the boardgame under my belt now I thought I’d offer up a few observations of the game.

1944: Race to the Rhine  by Phalanx Gamesis a wargame who’s main focus is on logistics rather than the intricacies of combat. The game is set after the Normandy breakout and the fall of Paris in 1944. Three players (full disclosure time- all three games I’ve played have been three player I know that there are rules for playing solo or with 2 players but I don’t know what they are) take the roles of the Army commanders Montgomery, Bradley and Patton; each with their own ‘path’ to the Rhine.  Each player has three or four wooden blocks which represent their subordinate Corps, wooden counters are also used to indicate what supplies each Corps is carrying (fuel, ammo or food) as well as the path that the logistics trucks take to resupply the subordinate units. The winner is the first General who pushes a Corp block across the Rhine, if all the German units are deployed before that happens the winner is the General who has earned the most medals.

When a player takes a turn, they can perform two actions: move a Corps, move supplies, take trucks or take supplies. Once all the trucks have been used the game pauses and the logistics trucks are reset.  Movement is point to point and a card is drawn for each point entered. One deck is used for ‘unoccupied’ areas and is unique for each player whilst a common deck is used for areas with a German presence. Cards may indicate a German formation, a historical event that is used to change the weather or interactions with the local populous. Combat is deterministic and is just a case of having the right resources to beat the Germans. The hard part of the game is ensuring that the right resources are there where they need to be at the right time. Once each player has finished their two actions they place a counter, starting with anywhere adjacent to Dusseldorf, and working outwards from there. Of course, the placement of these counters can be used to hinder the progress of your rivals.

Each of the Generals has their own special abilities, this combined with the different starting loads for Corps as well as the hazards along each available route makes for a different game strategy for each General. Some of the basic decision that you have to make are similar, do you push forward straight away, or do you load up with what you think you might need… Montgomery’s route has the channel ports to consider, clearing them is difficult but supplies can be brought in from them once they have been taken; If Antwerp and the Scheldt estuary is cleared it is an even bigger bonus. Similarly, Patton can draw on supplies from Allied forces advancing from the South (post Operation Dragoon) once he has advanced sufficiently far. Air power is simple but effective when it is used carefully. Likewise, the use of Airborne assets, needs careful handling. If used badly they might cost you the game but you can still try for your own Operation Market Garden.

Deciding when to push forward and when to consolidate and bring up supplies are the key decisions in the game, keeping and eye on how your rivals are doing means the pressure to keep going piles on. The game is a great blend of euro style mechanics married to a strong military theme. There are very few flaws in this game. The only one that is really apparent is the game-y way you can stich up your rivals by placing the German counters- rather ahistorical, I’d have preferred a random or semi- random guided placement bot.

 

Regardless, it is a minor quibble, I highly recommend this game.

 

Cheers,

 

Pete.

NormandyTrip: Back to England and Bovington Tank Museum.

The overnight ferry from La Harve to Portsmouth was uneventful, I spent it either reading or watch films on my tablet, also it was the longest I’ve ever spent on a ship. As we arrived early on Friday morning I went on deck as the boat docked to see what was moored up in Portsmouth Harbour. The two historic ships HMS Victory and HMS Warrior were visible along with a fair few contemporary RN vessels including the new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.

HMS Warrior, undergoing some restortation.

 

HMS Victory.

 

HMS Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s biggest ever warship, I have to admit feeling a little underwhelmed by it.

 

A Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dragon.There were at least 4 Type 45s berthed when I was there.

After docking we drove a hour and a half westwards to visit Bovington Tank Museum, a place that has been on my must visit list for a long time. The number of vehicles on display is mind boggling. Divided up into different sections it takes you through the development of the tank then we went through the Trench Experience covering WW1 and from War Horse to Horse Power and much more including the Tiger exhibit bring together a Tiger and Elefant, two Tiger IIs and a Jagdtiger. I took so many photos I can’t upload them all but I’ll put up a representative sample. If anyone has anything in particular they want to see let me know and I’ll post it.

A view of the first hall we went in, Centurion front and centre.

 

WW1 Mk IV ‘female’ tank.

 

British Crusier tank from 1940.

A Panzer III painted up in Africa Korp colours.

 

A Sherman Firefly with Cromwell in the background.

 

Moving on to modern stuff we have a T72 with a Patton in the background.

 

A Saladin Armoured Car

 

British Challenger.

 

Another shot of the Firefly and Cromewll with the front ofa Chruchill peeking in.

In the WW1 section we have a MkII tank.

 

A Mk IV male with fascine.

Austin Armoured Car of the type used in Ireland during the Anglo-Irish war.

 

Tiger II with Porsche turret and Jagdtiger.

Tiger II with Henschel turret.

 

Elefant (all the way from the US) and Tiger 131.

 

Hetzer SPG in front of a Jagdpanther.

 

Protype of the Tortoise SPG- a British proposal to attack the Siegfried line.

 

A T34/76 in Finnish colours.

 

The ridiculous TOG II- a British failure from WW2, very cool all the same though.

 

British heavy metal.

 

The Sherman used in the recent Brad Pitt film ‘Fury’ still with its sfx weathering.

 

Not all of the vehicles that are in the Bovington Collection are on public display- this is a view of part of the storage shed.

Going round Bovington took all day; all that was left was a long drag on a journey North back to Yorkshire to end Dad and I’s holiday.

 

Cheers,

 

Pete.

Normandy Trip: Merville Battery.

After Dad and I had finished our look around the Pegasus Bridge Museum we headed east a few miles to the Merville Battery, our final visit before driving to Le Harve and catching the overnight ferry back to Portsmouth.

The battery is quite low key and somehow more sober as a result which is fitting given the bloody events of the early morning of 6th June 1944.. The four bunkers, housing 100mm guns originally, are spread out in a managed grassed area with only a Dakota and a couple of British artillery pieces standing over them. The some of the bunkers are open and have display boards or in one case a rather oversold audio/ visual display.

 

A Dakota was brought to the site and restored. The Paras would have been carried in aircraft such as these on the night of D Day.

You can always recognise the classic lines of a Dakota. The inside of the aircraft was open to the public.

The front of one of the casemates.

Information boards spread out around the site tell its story as you move around.

The rear of the casemate showing the door through which the gun could be removed and put into an open emplacement.

The now ubiquitous 5.5″ howitzer.

A 25pdr field gun.

Memorial to Lt. Col. Otway. OC of the assault.

One of the reasons that the 150 attacking paras suffered 50% casualties in the assault. The 150 were all that could be mustered from the 750 that had been dropped that night.

Cheers,

 

Pete.

 

Normandy trip: Pegasus Bridge and Museum.

Thursday was the last day Dad and I spent in France. After packing our backs we left the cottage and drove up to the coast; the plan was to go to Pegasus Bridge and then the Merville Battery before driving to Le Havre for the overnight ferry to Portsmouth.

 

Cafe Gondree: the first building to be liberated on D Day. We popped in for a bite to eat and sat outside in the late summer sun.

 

A 50mm PAK38 anti tank gun on the fortress mounting on the eastern side of the bridge.

 

The current bridge: not the original but a one of a very similar design but a little larger now crosses the canal.

 

Memorial to Maj. Howard who led the Parachute assault to take the bridge.

 

Three stone pillars mark where the three gliders touched down, their closeness is testament to some incredible flying from the pilots.

 

The Pegasus Memorial museum- this was the most modern and well appointed museum that we visited in France.

 

It had the usual display cases of artifacts: here a case of German weapons and equipment.

 

Another case had items pertaining to the French Resistance and SOE. The pistol on the left made from stamped metal is the Liberator Pistol clicky.

 

A contemporary photos show just how close the gliders got to the bridge.

 

Larger items were set in tableaux, here a jeep and a brace of machine guns. The museum had a very good audio/ visual display based around a large scale diorama of the area.

 

The original bridge has been preserved in the grounds of the museum with assorted vehicles and guns.

 

Bullet holes show the ferocity of the fighting.

A Bofors 40mm anti aircraft gun.

An US halftrack.

A Maxon quad .50cal anti aircraft turret- taken from an M16 halftrack.

 

One of the best British inventions: the Bailey Bridge.

 

A mock up of a Horsa glider, only a single original airframe exists now.

 

The remains of a Horsa glider are on display showing just how fragile they were.

 

A British 17pdr anti tank gun.

 

A British 25pdr field gun.

 

Another British gun: this time a 5.5inch Howitzer.

 

Finally a Centaur IV with the 95mm howitzer. This is of the same type as the one just behind Sword beach that I featured earlier but is in much better condition.

Cheers,

 

Pete.

Normandy Trip: Omaha Beach.

After Dad and I had been round Pointe Du Hoc we drove the couple of miles down the coast to the most westerly part of Omaha beach, one of the two American landing beaches and the beach that saw the greatest casualties on D Day. The road down to the beach was down one of the draws that the US infantry fought so hard to clear to open the exits off the beach.

Our first task was to get a bite to eat, unfortunately the restaurant was closed so we made do with the burger van. It also gave me a chance to try out my abysmal French, despite studying it for 5 years at high school I never mastered the language but I always try my best to make the effort when in France.

Sitting down on a plastic chair enjoying my food looking at a mostly deserted beach with a distinctly ‘Blackpool- at- the- end- of- season’ feel to it I was struck by the incongruous situation trying to imagine in my mind’s eye what had occurred on the beach some 73 years earlier, it certainly gave me pause for thought.

After we ate we walked back up the draw to the fantastic little museum ‘Omaha D Day museum’ that was the late work of a local who had grown up in the area immediately after WW2.

The painted sign for the museum with a 150mm German infantry gun in front of it.

 

The outside grounds of the museum had a variety of bits of equipment, mostly guns,  in various stats of repair and conservation including this American 105mm howitzer.

 

This naval gun of unknown provenance had seen better days.

 

The well known German 88mm FLAK 36 mounted on its wheels.

 

The inside of the museum was crammed with every space taken up with exhibits including this selection of German weaponry.

 

A large diorama of  6 June 1944.

 

A selection of Allied radios

 

A German LMG on an anti aircraft mount.

 

An American M29 Weasel and other American weapons.

 

A Flakvieriling 38 without its gun shield.

A pair of mannequins in German Luftwaffe uniforms and the engine of a Focke Wolf 190. The MG barrel that can be seen, the one stacked vertically, is from a Messerschmidt Me410 remote control rear facing mount. 

 

Down the left hand side of the draw back down to Omaha beach is a long section of Mulberry roadway.

 

Omaha beach had its own Mulberry harbour that was wrecked and not rebuilt after the storm of 19 June, the surviving caisson is used for a pedestrian pier.

 

The view from just behind an Anti Tank gun bunker looking eastwards along the beach. The bunker has now been rebuilt as a memorial but it is clear that it was sited in a commanding position.

 

Walking along the beach it was clear how much of an obstacle the bluff would have been. The houses had been cleared  as part of the beach defenses but these post war buildings give a sense of scale.

 

The 4km beach is very flat and it is easy to see why it was chosen as a landing beach, however with the exits from the beach being limited to the draws it is easy to see how easy it would be to defend it.

 

In the rough centre of the beach is this recent sculpture…

 

… and this slightly older memorial.

 

On the way back we paid our respects at the site of the first US cemetery. It was not intended that one be placed on the beach in front of the bluff but such were the casualties at Omaha beach one was established as a temporary measure. The bodies interred were subsequently moved to the large US cemetery further inland.

 

As the tide receded further on the now quiet beach more remains of the Mulberry harbour became visible.

Cheers,

 

Pete.

 

 

Normandy trip: Pointe Du Hoc.

Wednesday saw Dad and I drive up to the coast to see some of the American contribution to DDay. Our plan was to first visit Pointe Du Hoc then head to Omaha beach.

Our trip to France was after the main holiday season was over, UK schools had returned for the start of a new year and I didn’t see and French children of school age wandering around; the sites with an American connection were noticeably busier than those that were purely British affairs.

Pointe Du Hoc was a DDay objective for the US 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions. It was believed that the site held six 155mm guns of French origin that could bombard either of the two American invasion beaches. The plan was for the Rangers to scale the cliffs and take out the guns. On 6th June, after the difficult cliffs had been scaled, the gun pits/ casemates were found to be empty. The Rangers had to hold the site against vigorous counterattacks until relieved.

The site today is very well kept, paths link the various shattered bits on concrete and a memorial right on the edge of the cliff.

The view from the car park/ visitors centre, the devastation caused by bombing and shelling is very extensive, there is hardly 10m square that is undulated or cratered in some way.

 

The light FLAK bunker that was used Lt Col Rudder as a command post during the battle.

 

A tobruk (probably MG) next to a crater- the crater was 2m deep and one of the smaller ones.

 

The rear of a bunker- it was open to go in and explore: consisting of ammunition stores and sleeping quarters.

 

One of the shattered open gun pits- now home to some scraggy sheep.

 

The Ranger memorial- modeled after the blade of their combat knife.

 

The cliffs up which the Rangers had to assault. I’ve done a little climbing in my time and these loose overgrown cliffs do not look appealing. To do so wet, tired and under fire was no mean undertaking.

 

Although it was not marked up in any way I’m assuming that this is a barrel of one of the guns of the battery that were found hidden a little way inland.

 

After a couple of hours wandering round the site we went back to the car and headed east along the coast a little way to visit Omaha beach.

 

Cheers,

 

Pete.

Normandy trip- Longues – Sur – Mer Gun Battery.

Tuesday morning saw Dad and I drive back up to the coast and go to Arromanches first which I have blogged about here:

https://spprojectblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/10/normandy-trip-the-mulberry-harbour/

After we had been to the museums and had a bit of lunch (dinning was much better at Sword beach for what it is worth) we drove a couple of miles up the coast to the gun battery at Longues Sur Mer.

Built by the Todt Organization in 1943 the  four gun battery is noteworthy in that it is the only one left in Normandy that has kept its guns in situ. The guns from other batteries were taken by scrap dealers post war. The gun bunkers are set back from the edge of the cliffs but there is an observation post there that would have once housed a rangefinder to provide firing solutions to the battery.

The guns and bunkers are set in a free to enter country park that you can just wander through as you wish, this is combined with a refreshing lack of commercialization and very little modern health and safety. The only bunker fenced off was the one that had suffered extensive damage.

The damaged bunker.

A 155mm gun of French manufacture with damage visible on its side.

A view of the gun’s breach from inside the bunker.

Another view of a gun- the notches in the concrete on either side were to give the guns as much traverse as possible.

There were lots of smaller tobruk pits and fighting positions around the site to provide local defence such as this medium mortar pit.

The two floor observation bunker.

The very thick concrete roof was held up by four very thin iron rods; although it does not look like it from this pictures there was stand up head room inside.

The view back from the observation bunker to the gun battery.

The view from the observation bunker back towards the Mulberry harbour remains at Arromanches.

After this we took the scenic route back to our holiday home taking in the the Goodwood battle area.

 

Cheers,

 

Pete.

 

 

 

Normandy Trip- Sword Beach.

After a late night drive from Oiustreham ferry port through Normandy to our holiday home on the Sunday evening, Dad and I had a relatively lazy morning before heading back to the coast to see Sword Beach and Ouistreham in daylight. Staying as we were a good drive south of the coast I had a long drive to look at the scenery as we headed north on Monday morning passing so many familiar place names.

Looking west down the invasion beach.

A memorial built upon an Atlantic Wall cloche.

After a short walk on the beach we headed into the No. 4 Commando museum: it celebrates the French Commando unit that landed on D Day and the part its Frenchmen played in liberating their own country.

The museum entrance.

I didn’t take any pictures of the inside- it was rather dark and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t allowed. It is a nice little museum featuring plenty of information on the French Commandos and their role in the invasion. It was full of the usual artifacts and mannequins dressed in uniforms as well as a pleasing array of models and dioramas.

After spending a pleasant hour in the museum we then headed across the town to the Atlantic Wall Museum: The bunker which is located in the distinctive German HQ bunker that housed a large rangefinder in its upper levels.

The entrance: flanked by a British 25pdr and German Flak 18.

Outside were a few larger items: a pair of guns, a landing craft, a M5 tank, an M7 Priest and an M3 halftrack.

I made you think looking down the ramp of the landing craft to the time when they approached the French coast in 1944.

The trackless M7 Priest.

The M3 halftrack, actually it is the M16 Antiaircraft version with out a gun. The giveaway is the presence of the fold down sides, check your old Matchbox model kit and you’ll see what I mean.

The M5 is a pretty small tank- I certainly wouldn’t want to cram my 6 foot 19 stone frame into it.

The inside of the museum is fantastic, I really enjoy exploring old bits of concrete and bunkers in general so this was right up my street. The displays inside give a great impression of what it would be like to did your time in a bunker such as this. The close confines and tiers of bunks brought to mind submarines in the way that the manaquins were jammed in. Information displays gave a potted history of the bunker and the Atlantic Wall in general as well as the capture of the bunker itself on D+3. Right at the top a rangefinder (not the original) has been installed which you can look out to sea through.

To finish off our visit to Sword beach we drove westwards looking for what the majority of the guide books said was a Churchill AVRE, however when we got there it was clearly a Centaur (Cromwell with 95mm gun) even the plaque said it was a Churchill, when and why it was swapped of mislabeled I’m not sure.

The Cromwell is set back from the coast facing the road that runs parallel to the beach.

Whilst I’m mentioning guide books I took along as many as I could, both my own and some which were borrowed. I found the Battleground Europe range the best for describing the history and narrative of each place but the Battle Zone Normandy range far better as tourist guides. I also picked up the free visitor guide in the first museum that we went to- invaluable for up to date information on the museums (opening times, costs, etc).

Cheers,

 

Pete.