Envelopment: The Siegfried Line; December 1944 Canadians vs Germans

 The Third Canadian Division decides to strike the German defences in response to the German attack on the Second Canadian Division earlier in the week. The objective is to get as many Canadian units on the German second of the table by turn 6.

It was a close game all day. The Germans attempted to push back each Canadian advance, and did quite well in holding them back.

It was just after this shot was taken that the 3rd Anti-Tank, RCA took out the Tobruk bunker and a further artillery strike followed by an RCAF airstrike cleared the woods of German infantry and recce support. By the end of Turn 6, the Germans were reduced to a single infantry battalion, and one Panzer Regiment, which choose to withdrawl rather than be destroyed. The Canadians cracked the line and will now consolidate their positions to break through to drive into the heart of Germany. Unless I get a game in tomorrow, this might be the last one for 2014. An interesting year for sure on this front.

I had no idea that I would be getting back into this gamming period. It was rather sad how I came about it, as I had to visit Calgary, Alberta for my mother's funeral back in April. Since I was there, and I had the chance, I was able to pick up the beginnings of a Bolt Action force. My son and I started off with two boxes of infantry each. Then over several months, I have been able to add armor, jeeps, artillery. In the coming year, I will no doubt slow down my force build up as I have almost all the I need for a German and Canadian force.

I may build up my Pacific force, as I don't need much for them. I have a British brigade, a Canadian brigade and an Australian Militia Brigade. 

Happy New Year to those who visit this blog.

Demolition: Germans vs Canadian Second Division

 The British and Canadian armor in lager. The Germans have decided to push through the area with their offensive in the Ardennes.

The British 51st Highland and Canadian 2nd Division hold just before a cross roads in Holland.

The Canadian infantry mount up and led by a Recce unit, prepare to push back the Germans to their front.

The Germans emerge from the forests. The Luftwaffen Feld battalion act as a recce screen supported by a Whirlwind and a 75mm Infantry gun and a Hertzer.

On the second turn, the Canadian Armor advances against the German onslaught. The SS lead a mounted charge. A lucky shot from the commander's 37mm gun hits a Sherman gun mantle blasting the tank apart. The other tanks are then swarmed by SS Panzergrenadiers and anti-tank fire, and grenades.

The combined headquarters are well defended. On the far left, the Duke of Wellington's Regiment begin their advance to contact.
The Germans were a bit hesitant all game. Ian took a look at all the kit I had and felt he couldn't win. I then showed him what I would do, and proceeded to make a massed tank charge directly at the HQ. In one move, the Germans won.

21st Panzer Division Panzergrenadiers

 This is now the 21st Panzer Division with its Panzergrenadiers, Engineer battalion, 75mm infantry support gun, Nebelwerfer, Kettlekrad, Kubelwagen and mortar support. The Panzer III are in the previous posts. I might need a truck to pull the gun.

Hold until relieved; Holland, December, 1944

I fought a solo Bolt Action game with some of my new kit. The pictures I took will follow.
I had the Canadian 2nd Division attack a Dutch town held by a German Army regular division with some Luftwaffen support battalion.

I was late in getting shots of the game. The windmill was the objective of the game. Whoever held it by the end of turn six, would be the winner.

 The game began with the Canadian Recce units coming onto the table. The left flank was attacked by Shermans on turn 2 while the 7th Armor Brigade sent in a Churchill. The single British motor battalion advanced up to the windmill in an assault only to have their members cut down by crossfire from the defending Germans. Early in the game, the Germans lost their MG 34 team, and their Engineers. Their anti-tank companies held out but were then enveloped by angry Canadians.

The Panzer IV did away with the Shermans, as did the Hertzer. The Panzer IV was taken out by a 6pdr Anti-tank gun. One of the 6pdrs had been taken out by the German mortar. In this game, the Canadian mortars had been taken out early and the remaining mortar team 

 A German regiment holds these houses. It took the Canadian 3 turns to capture two of the houses, but still, one company held the centre house.

The windmill was assaulted right up until turn 7. Despite the attacks by the Black Watch, the Hertzer was still in play, and a single company still held a flanking fire. With more allied armor falling to grenades, the British and Canadians withdrew.

 A single universal carrier attempts to find surviving Canadians to take back to friendlier lines.

Battlefield S5/E6 - The Battle for Caen

 The campaign my Grandpie was a part of.

21st Panzers get Panzer III

I finished my Christmas shopping by getting my son an Italeri Easy kit of Panzer III. He can build these with my help.

 courtsey of tank encylopedia.

 Box shot came out sideways

Ian begins to build his first tank

Adds some glue

Puts on some more parts

 I built it, and the glue gave me this face, while Leena got super cool.

More Recce elements

I picked up a set of Dingo Scout cars and a set of jeeps by a Chinese company. I built one Humber as I was recovering from more tummy troubles. I will post shot later.

 Dingo Armor Car, armed with a Bren gun

Side view

Front view

second Dingo being built

 Dingos painted and decaled. 

 Built jeeps armed and ready

 Marked as Recce units of 4th Canadian Armored Division

 Jeep being built

Same jeep finished with a .50 cal machine-gun, and some 15th Scottish Division troops. These are dressed in winter kit, actually a Ceaser Minatures British Commandos kit, but I'm painting them up as British and Canadians, winter 1944-45.

Sick day conversions

I've been having stomach problems recently so took the day off to see a doctor. Afterwards, I worked on some German figures.
After building the Plastic Soldier Company Hanamog 251 kits, I have several figures leftover. I was going to build the loader again but dropped his arms! They have now gone to the land of where socks also go.  However, I had extras and he's now a panzerfaust gunner.

Panzerfaust gunner fell over. The other gun crews are with the 75mm Infantry gun. They will be joining the 272 Panzergrenadier division I built for Ian. I'll have to invest in some new paint later. 

4th Canadian Armored Division

 I've modeled the Division with an M4 Sherman, a Half-Track armed with Anti-Aircraft guns, a Universal Carrier. Information below from wikipedia

The 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division was created by the conversion of the 4th Canadian Infantry Division at the beginning of 1942 in Canada. The division proceeded overseas in 1942, with its two main convoys reaching the United Kingdom in August and October.

The division spent almost two years training in the UK before crossing to Normandy in July 1944. In UK, it did participate in war games together with the 1st Armoured Division (Poland), and in France, Low Countries, and Germany, both divisions followed very close paths. It participated in the battle of the Falaise pocket, the advance from Normandy and spent almost two months engaged at the Breskens pocket. It wintered in the Netherlands and took part in the final advance across northern Germany. The division is to be reactivated with the renaming of Land Force Central Area

Formation

1944–1945

4th Canadian Armoured Brigade 

• 21st Armoured Regiment (The Governor General's Foot Guards)
• 22nd Armoured Regiment (The Canadian Grenadier Guards)
• 28th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment)
• The Lake Superior Regiment (Motor)

Formation sign used to identify vehicles of the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division

10th Canadian Infantry Brigade

• The Lincoln and Welland Regiment
• The Algonquin Regiment
• The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
• 10 Canadian Infantry Brigade Ground Defence Platoon (Lorne Scots)

Other units 

• 29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment)
• "D" Squadron, 25th Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment), Canadian Armoured Corps
• 15th Field Regiment, RCA
• 23rd Field Regiment, RCA
• 5th Anti-tank Regiment, RCA

More Universal Carriers

I plan to paint up two of these for the 2nd Canadian Division, one for the 4th Canadian Armored, and one for the 3rd Canadian Division. All these versions are Plastic Soldier Company from the UK. They were pretty easy to build, if you can match the parts with where they should go.

 A new universal carrier with crew and passangers. They are now having a coat of paint dry on them. 

Plastic Soldier Review box. The spooky looking picture is one my family had taken back in 1996, prior to my departure to South Korea. Sadly, it was the last family portrait of us all, due to my parents getting divorced, and my mother being killed in a car accident at Easter, 2014.

The shot was taken at Sherbrooke Village in Nova Scotia. My father and I wore our Pictou Highlanders uniforms, his was of a Lieutanant and my uniform was that of a band corporal. Both uniforms were originals from the First World War, which were going to be thrown out in the garbage. The lady called my father to see if he was interested. We got the uniform coat, blue patrol jacket, an original MacKenzie kilt.

Hanamog 251 WIP

My son's Christmas presents all bought, so Daddy has to build them. Plastic Soldier Company makes some very nice kits, but there is little in the way of instructions. It's not rocket science but it can be tricky if you put stuff on backwards. I guess that's why you always fit the stuff first before you add the glue.

 A 251 gets built

Paint instructions from Plastic Soldier Company

Almost done

 A command version of the 251, the first one in the kit I built. Others to follow. Shots below from tank encyclopedia 

 this version I bought about eleven years ago, however, it needs to be repaired, the muzzle break was broken off, so I may have to replace it with a gun I have without its carriage. I may buy another. 

Loyd Carrier WIP

Plastic Soldier Company kit

Loyd Carrier for towing

the 6pdr Anti-Tank gun

Plastic Soldier Company boxes for these kits.

The new battery. These are now drying with a coat of paint. I may use them in a game this evening.

Building a "Tobruk" for the Siegfried Line

I finished building my sons Panzer IV Whirlwind, but the funny thing Hasegawa does is to include extra parts. I had an additional or optional Panzer IV turret and hull but not an additional set of tracks, road wheels or sprokets to build a complete tank.
Thus was born the beginnings of a Tobruk bunker

Point Defense: Walchern, Holland 1944

 Trevor indicates that he wants that unit to move. Trevor and my son were the Germans. For this game, the Germans were holding this fortified town. The German troops were from 1SS Panzer Group, and the remainders of whatever Panzergrenadier divisions and Luftwaffen were still in the area.

While I was the Anglo-Canadian force sent to attack Fort Hendrik. The British were made up of the 43rd Wessex Division, the 51st Highland Division, the 2nd Canadian Division, the 3rd Canadian Division with support from the Second Canadian Armored Brigade, and elements of the 4th Canadian Armored Division. 

This gatehouse was one of the objectives. The orange bunker was the third while the tower in the shot below was the other objective. This gate house was to change hands three times. 

The British Wessex Division move up in support of the 51st Highland Division. For the first three turns, the British handled the attack, capturing the first line of trenches and drawing the fire from the gatehouse.

Finally, the 9th Canadian Brigade, which had the Stormont, Dundas and Glenarry Highlanders, with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada on the walls, while the North Nova Scotia Highlanders held the trenches below.

 The Queens Own Rifles of Canada and the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa held the gate against another rush of SS troops.

By the end of turn five, the remaining British troops formed up for a final push. 

The Germans, reduced to one SS battalion, eventually left, leaving a few Werchmacht, and Luftwaffen troops to give themselves up as prisoners. The SS were made up of Dutch nationals who didn't want to be handed over as traitors to their own countrymen.