Poles apart!

Wed 2nd Sept.

                    Tonight's game was a little peek into the breakout of the Falaise Gap during WW2 with a chance to pit some Poles and Canadians against the retreating Germans.

                      Bart was like a kid in a sweet shop with the chance to field his Polish infantry and supporting tanks against German paras assisted by elements of Das Reich.I play Germans a lot but baulk at the idea of playing S.S so I volunteered to play the paras.

                       My partner in crime was Mr Ray Neal and we were commanded by Obergruppenfuhrer Bill Gilchrist.
                      Bart was ably assisted by Dave O'Brien and Martin Gibson and eventually reinforced  by Hugh Wilson's Canadians.
                      The Poles had taken over the woods in the middle of the table,dug in and had destroyed a German column in the process.

                     

Ray and I ventured on to the table with tanks to the forefront only to be stopped in our tracks by hidden Shermans in a wood losing a Tiger tank and having an assault gun immobilised  in the process.At the other end Bill started an artillery barrage with his 'Heulan Kuh'(howling cow) rocket launcher on Martin and Bart's positions destroying one of their hq units.

                        At the other end we put Dave's Poles on the end of an artillery barrage as revenge for the damage to two of our tanks.This also pinned down his infantry giving us time to move up some infantry to clear out the pesky dug-in Poles.The remainder of our tanks engaged and eventually destroyed a Sherman and a Sherman Firefly.

                          Moving up these forces  gave Bart the chance to engage them with his mortar using his lucky orange dice and lo and behold he struck gold with his first shot wiping out half a squad of my paras.
                           Bill kept up his every other turn salvo with his howling cow but didn't do as much damage as he had hoped so that when his tanks eventually turned up they were met by a salvo of shots from hidden Shermans and a 17lb anti-tank gun stopping him in his tracks.
                           I had an infantry gun but that was about as useful as a chocolate fireguard and was eventually targeted by Bart's ever so successful mortar.We also had a Panzer iv knocked out and the assault gun eventually met with a similar fate.

                            We kept up the pressure on Dave's Poles hoping to clear them out before the Canadian reinforcements arrived but not quick enough as they arrived right into the middle of Bill's advance which resulted in a big firefight between Bill and Hugh's tanks.

                             Mr Ray and I eventually reached the edge of the woods occupied by Dave before the end of play but at great cost in hardware and infantry.
                              Bart and Martin kept up the pressure on Bill's forces with the added bonus of Hugh's Canadians arriving on to the table just in time to give the allies a slight victory at the end of the day.
                              Once again we used Bolt Action  rules which I believe make for a good fast game without all the ifs and buts of other period rules.I believe we are there to have a good time and not get bogged down with too much gobbledygook.Rules that are too complicated don't encourage new players to venture into anything beyond GW games.That's me off my soap box.




                         Scenario,umpiring,Canadian and German forces supplied by Colin Jack.
                         Polish forces supplied by Bart Zynda.
                         Scenery-Hugh Wilson.



                        Participants-

                        Bill Gilchrist-Obergruppenfuhrer and personal commander of 4th SS Panzergrenadier regiment 'Der Fuhrer'.
                        Mr Ray Neal-2nd Panzer division .'Das Reich'
                        Tim Watson-Elements of the 3rd Fallschirmjager div.



                        Polish commander-Bart Zynda

                        Subordinates-Dave O'Brien
                                            Martin Gibson.

                        Canadian reinforcements-Hugh Wilson.


                        Field catering for the evening provided by Fraulein Suzanne.
                        Photos provided by Dave O'Brien and myself(at mo!).

Castes & Anvils

Sun 6th Sept


                    Just back from a wee jaunt to southwest Scotland with Lady Watson, staying in a village called Carsethorn.Nice village on the Solway Firth with an excellent pub,Steamboat Inn,serving up some nice foaming ale.

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                     On the way there yesterday we stopped of in the town of Moffat to visit a toy museum which is situated in the Lothlorien Emporium in Well Street.

  This museum is a must see especially if you are a sci fi freak.They have the usual Star Wars and Star Trek stuff but they also have stuff from Dan Dare,Buck Rogers,Dune and much more stuff  that I never thought existed.This place is a must see if you are travelling both north and south.

                                     

After enjoying a night in the village we headed for Caerlaverock castle for a little peruse and I wasn't

disappointed.Beautiful castle situated in its still wet moat with plentiful history and also an exhibition about the siege of 1300.
           

                               I had hoped to top of my trip with a visit to the Solway Moss battlefield but it was harder to find than the Dunbar battlesite.I had to settle for a trip to Gretna Green instead to see the anvil instead.Sorry too say we didn't renew our vows.all Gerry got was a mug-me!
                    See you when I see you.