Adventures on the Wargames Table

First stop of the day was at Langemarck German Cemetery. The graves are a mix of named soldiers or sometimes just a marker for 10, 15 or 20 unknown Germans. The concrete blocks show the names of divisions or brigades. There are also a couple of restored block houses – I assume they are restored as they show little signs of damage. Spookily, the trees outside had very recently been given a Spring pruning but I couldn’t help but be reminded of the blasted woodlands from war time photos. There is also a large mass grave containing almost 25,000 soldiers, of whom nearly 8,000 are unknown. The stones around the edge list the names of the known in tiny engraving. As with all such places it’s very sombre but also very tidily maintained. The main entrance building contains a monument to the ‘student’ soldiers killed in the First Battle of Ypres, 1914. Worth a visit to pay our respects to the former “enemy”. Next, Poelecapelle CWGC cemetery. The youngest known soldier ...

Easter hols and we had booked a short holiday to Ypres, Belgium to tour the sites of interest along the front in the area, pay our respects at various memorials and enjoy some fine Belgian beer/chocolate/etc. However, things certainly did not go according to plan in the few days before. My Mum had been in a nursing home for a little while and was suffering very badly with Alzheimer’s. She took a sudden turn for the worse and it was clear that the end was near. Sadly she passed away a couple of days later. Rest in peace Mum. Naturally this meant we had to juggle a few things but thankfully my brother and sister were on hand to help Dad sort immediate and important matters. Eurotunnel were very helpful and waived the £84 (approx. 100 Euros) re-booking fee and off we went, slightly later than planned. It seemed a little disrespectful at first but taking a pragmatic view we knew that there was little more that we could do, at least in the short term. Although we did keep in touch whils...

Whilst things have been rather more hectic than usual recently, I have managed to get a bit of painting done... Here's a Heavy Machine Gun to give my Austro-Hungarians some much needed support! The figures are from Renegade but mix in well with my mostly Scarab Miniatures force. I have a further batch of figures on the painting table and going well; a Company Command group plus another platoon. When they're done I'll be about half-way to completing the army. On a different note - we're off to Belgium soon! Staying in Ypres for a week. More about that in future posts. :o)

This is what I've been reading recently. It's very good so I thought I'd tell you a little bit about it. Please bear in mind that my 'book reviewing' skills are a little rusty!!? The earlier chapters focus mainly on the geo-political situation in Europe, who was 'friends' with whom, who would support whom in the event of aggression, etc, etc. I had thought that these might be a little dry (being a gamer I'm more interested in war-war, not jaw-jaw) but instead they set the scene very well indeed and shed some light on what must be considered a rather murky period of European statesmanship. What would help is a 'dramatis personae' so as to better keep track of all the key players! The established view seems to lay most of the blame for the Great War on the Germans and/or the Austrians. This book does not overturn that view although it does redress the balance somewhat by illustrating the fact that other European powers all contributed to th...

Here are my final entries for the Painting Challenge. Another 18 Austro-Hungarian infantry which equates to 90 points so my total is now 514 points, just passing my target of 500 points. Hooray! Some close ups. Officers waiting to signal the start of the "Big Push". All Scarab figures apart from the two-man flamethrower which is Renegade. Hope you like them.

With only a few days to go until the end of the painting challenge here are the 18 figures I need to complete in order to achieve my goal of 500 points. All block painted and ready for the wash. Any and all encouragement much appreciated!

A quick update for the Painting Challenge. Here's another six Austro-Hungarian infantry. Plus a couple more casualty figures Have reached 424pts but I'll need to get a move on to reach my target of 500pts before the end of the challenge.