What I did on my holidays (sort of)....

Movie reviews haven't appeared on this blog so far, mainly as I don't attend the cinema very often, but I recently watched The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Oddname.

 

 

 Incidentally, I used to lust after his mother when she was in UFO back in the day - and who could blame me:

 

 

The delightful Wanda Ventham.

 

Anyway - The Imitation Game - This was an excellent film, with only a few moments that us military buffs would find fault with (I won't spoil it for you by mentioning them!). It tells the story of Alan Turing, and how he led the struggle to decode the German Enigma code in WW2, and although it simplifies the decoding process for the sake of the plot, it tells that story remarkably well. There's not much mention of the groundwork done by the Polish cryptologists, or of the role of the huts at Bletchley Park itself, but it's still enjoyable for all that.

Watching it reminded me of the Enigma machine I saw whilst in France earlier this year - Part of the Normandy Battlefields Tour took us to the Falaise Pocket, and the fascinating museum sited at Mont Ormel, at the spot where the Allies attempted to close the gap on the retreating German Army:

Mont Ormel Museum

 At some point I will post some of the many pictures I took whilst in the pocket, but for now here's one of the Enigma machine itself from the museum. The retreating germans had hidden this particular machine in a hollow tree trunk within the pocket, and it was not discovered until the 1990's when the tree trunk was burnt (hence the obvious damage):

 

Despite said damage, you can clearly see the rotors and keyboards, and get some idea of the size of the machine - it weighs in at around 26 pounds, so would have been pretty heavy to heft around the battlefield unaided. Incidentally, if you have an intact one lying around the house, you may like to know that the last Enigma machine that went to auction (in 2011) realised over £132,000!

 

 

Until next time..............

 

 

What I did on my holidays - Part 2 of an occasional series

Operation Deadstick - Assault on Pegasus Bridge: D-Day 1944

The original bridge assaulted by the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry on the night of the 5th June now resides in the Pegasus Memorial Museum, a mere stone's throw from where it originally sat. Given the availability of the bridge in a variety of scales, thanks to the arrival of laser-cut mdf kits, I thought I would illustrate some details of the original bridge, and point out some items of interest related to it.

The Caen Canal (as well as the River Orne) would form major barriers to the troops coming up from Sword Beach on D-Day, so it was imperative that their crossings were secured quickly and comprehensively to avoid the invasion getting bottled up.

Pegasus Bridge (or the Benouville Bridge as it was known then) was captured by glider troops, relying on the element of surprise, and attempting to land as close as possible to the bridge.

The new bridge seen from the gliders' landing area

The bridge shown is the new bridge, over a widened canal, but the obelisk (next to the bust of the mission commander John Howard in the picture above) shows the position of the closest glider. The other two obelisks, showing the final positions, are out of picture, but mere metres away. This photograph, taken not long afterwards shows the proximity of the Horsas to the bridge itself:

Pegasus Bridge from the west

 Given the size and weight of these gliders - over 7 tonnes fully laden, and some 67 feet long, plus the fact that it was night, it was superb work on the part of the pilots that they landed safely at all, let alone so close to their intended target - an extraordinary feat!

Airspeed Horsa at the Pegasus Memorial Museum

In the UK there are parts of a Horsa on view at The Museum of Army Flying, just outside Andover in Hampshire - well worth a visit.

Thankfully the bridge was not well defended, although there were a handful of machine gun posts and this anti-tank gun:

The bridge itself was able to tip open, allowing canal traffic from the coast to Caen itself, hence the simple but bulky machinery at the eastern end of the structure:

The original bridge

 

 

 

Looking around the bridge, there are numerous areas showing evidence of the Coup-de-Main attack and its dogged defence over the next few hours - bullet marks and other damage:

Shell and bullet holes.

Ricochet marks.

 

My mate Mog illustrates how soft the bridge's steel is by forcing his finger through it. Possibly.

Having watched The Longest Day more than once, it was an interesting experience to be able to walk on and touch the bridge itself, where all these historical events took place. The rest of the Memorial Museum was just as fascinating, and I may post some pictures of it later on in this occasional series.

 

Until next time............ 



What I did on my holidays - Part 1 of an occasional series

Well, I returned safely from Normandy, and it was a proper curate's egg (good in parts)! It was a Leger holiday (my first, and possibly my last) and these are my personal opinions of the trip - if your experience with Leger was better than mine then good luck to you!

On the plus side? I saw some great things, visited some historically significant sites, and met some lovely people. The weather was almost perfect, and our tour guide Peter Smith was both amiable and knowledgeable. My travelling companion, Mog, was excellent company - assisting me in both reducing France's national beer stock, as well as putting up with my execrable French. I also took lots of good pictures (good for me and my limited photography skills, that is).

On the negative side? It was a coach-based trip and that meant a long day to get there and a long day to get back, both times with a numb backside, despite only being based in Caen. There was a lot of waiting around, for ferries, pick-ups and rest stops, and generally speaking I could have got to Las Vegas quicker (and having been there, I speak from experience)! The feeder coach driver on the way there was rude and abrupt, and I overheard the same driver and his mate referring to some customers in less than gentile terms.

All in all, it was an experience rather than a holiday, but one I was glad I undertook. Next time, however, I will probably go by car, and try and get to Omaha Beach when it's not high tide!

Dear Leger - When planning a tour of the D-Day beaches, please consult the Tide Table.....

Don't Panic! I don't plan to chronicle the whole holiday item by item, especially when many people have already been to these sites (some on school trips - I wish I'd been to Normandy on a school trip instead of three successive visits to Beaulieu Motor Museum.....), but I will make an occasional post on some things I found interesting, mostly if I have a photo of them to illustrate the point.

The tour was effectively three very full days with travelling to and from Home on the Monday and Friday - this from Leger's own itinerary:

Tuesday: Britain’s D-Day: Pegasus Bridge and British Beaches
We start at Pegasus Bridge, the scene of the first actions of D-Day where Airborne troops stormed the position from gliders and held on until the link-up with ground forces from Sword Beach was made. We see where the gliders landed, the Gondrée Café – arguably the first house liberated on D-Day – and visit the Memorial Pegasus Museum where the original bridge is located. In Ranville we see the Airborne graves in the cemetery and churchyard and after lunch proceed into the British landing beaches, starting at Sword Beach. Here we see the new memorial to D-Day hero Piper Bill Millin, who piped Lord Lovat’s commandos ashore, and look at the area where men from the 3rd Division landed. At Juno Beach we visit the superb Juno Beach Centre which explains the story of the Canadian role in the Battle of Normandy and at Gold Beach see where some of the heaviest casualties were suffered by British troops storming the tough defences at Asnelles. We end the day at Arromanches where the Mulberry Harbour was constructed, much of which is still visible out to sea.

Wednesday: America’s D-Day: Bloody Omaha and American Airborne
The story of ‘Bloody Omaha’ and the terrible American sacrifice here on D-Day has been immortalised in Saving Private Ryan. Uncover the real story with a visit to the American Normandy Cemetery and Omaha Beach where the landings took place, seeing the memorial to the 29th Division. We also take time to visit the newest Normandy war museum the superb Overlord Museum-Omaha Beach before taking lunch in St Mere Eglise, and then looking at the story of the US Airborne forces at the new Richard Winters Leadership Memorial; Dick Winters commanded Easy Company of 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, otherwise known as ‘The Band of Brothers’. At Utah Beach we follow the story of the successful landings and visit the expanded Utah Beach Museum and see the memorials to those who came ashore here. We end the day at the German Cemetery at La Cambe, where German Tank Ace Michael Wittmann is buried among thousands of others who fell in Normandy. (They also squeezed in an unscheduled visit to St Marie du Mont, and Brecourt Manor's Airborne Memorial).


Thursday: Battle of the Bocage : Falaise Gap
We start our look at the fighting beyond D-Day in the bocage countryside south of Bayeux. We examine the bloody battles for Tilly-sur-Seulles and the tough fighting at Fontenay le Pesnel. Driving through the so-called ‘Scottish Corridor’ over the river Odon, we visit Hill 112 with its Churchill tank memorial; Hill 112 is often called the ‘Verdun of Normandy’ because of the tough nature of the fighting and the huge amount of artillery used. Lunch in Falaise, followed by a visit to the Falaise Pocket and a short walk along the ‘Corridor of Death’, used by the Germans to make their retreat in August 1944. On Mont Ormel we visit the Polish Memorial and Museum to their ferocious battle and end the day by seeing a very rare original Tiger I tank at Vimoutiers.


Oddly, the one part of the trip I couldn't quite get my head around? The visits to cemeteries: I appreciate it was an opportunity to honour some extremely brave (and young) men, and see the way different nations honour their dead, and perhaps to note the diversity of regiments involved, and the staggering number of casualties, but it still felt a little odd, if not macabre. It would have made more sense if I were honouring a family member buried therein, but that wasn't the case. Perhaps it's just me - I'd be interested to know if others felt the same.

Vimoutiers: Mog uses his 'catalogue pose' in an attempt to sell a second-hand Tiger Tank......

Hopefully back to the painting this week, and I will sort out some of my better photographs for future posts.

Until next time.....................

PTS, Update and Off to Normandy

Some progress on the medieval buildings for Lion Rampant - the Tabletop Workshop Chapel, and I have started Total Battle Miniatures' Market Cross:

 

 

They both need some major dirtying-up yet though!

 

During the week I received these - also for Lion Rampant, which will temporarily go into the Shed of Delights until I start assembling my medieval forces:

 

 

 

I completed my Santa Clause gift for a fellow Blogger, and have taken some photo's so I can post about it next year(!). I have also entered this year's Secret Santa, so looking forward to finding out who I'm buying for.

 

Neil Thomas' Microwave Wargaming  One-Hour Wargames popped through the door courtesy of Grumpy Mailman so I shall take that away with me next week - The cover is definitely different from Amazon's pre-order picture, it now has a WW2 theme. I like it less:

 

 

 

 

 

 

On that note I will be in Normandy with my mate Mog visiting all the pertinent sites next week, so looking forward to that immensely, not least because I love both red wine, and rustic farmhouse cider, as well as visiting battlefields! Hence, no blogging until I return with a loaded camera and some duty-free goodies. The downside is I have to clear my painting set-up from the dining room table before I go!

 

 

Have a peep here at Gingerbhoy Roy's Blog and have a go at his Naval November theme paint-up - I'm going to - another good excuse to stretch the painting muscles!

 

 

Until next time.........

Normandy Mud

I plan to play a little Bolt Action at some point, so have been preparing two forces (as I usually play solo). Here is the mainstay of my late war Germans - the Panther Ausf. G.

I am particularly happy with the mud effect on the tracks. it also covers some of the defects found on the Warlord resin casting.

I use tetrion filler (just my preference - other fillers are available). I add a small amount of sand - quite fine - and burnt umber paint, with white to suit. I give this mixture a good stir, and then gently stir in some static grass.

The static grass musn't be thoroughly stirred in - it needs to show in the final mix. I then slap it onto the painted vehicle, picturing the rotation of the tracks and wheels, and imagining where the mud would build up, or get splashed onto.

The effect of the static grass can be seen more clearly on my Sherman tank:

 

The culin cutter has clearly been ploughing through the bocage on its way to St Lo. I finish the mud with a brush-full of gloss varnish (once the main tank has been varnished), and this gives an appealing wet-look to it.

 

Hopefully that may be useful to somebody. I'll probably photograph some more of my Bolt Action troops and publish them later on in the Blog.