DAK Vehicles

After my Normandy trip, I finally managed to pick up a paint brush again and get a few more vehicles done for the DAK. These are a mix of tanks and transports. First up is 3 more Opel blitz trucks. These are from Forged in battle. They are just a fraction smaller than the others I have and come with a moulded on base. I still added them to my MDF bases which hides the size difference.

Next up is another 3 Panzer IIIs. The workhorse tank of the early DAK forces. These are all Zvezda kits. Nice and quick to put together.

Lastly was a pair of tanks I picked up off EBAY. They were labelled as Panzer IIIs, but 1 is a Panzer IV. They are both Battlefront miniatures. They are slightly bulkier that the Zvezda kits. However the Panzer III has the short barrelled 75mm which I needed for the army and Zvezda does not produce one.

So I now have built up quite a collection of vehicles for my DAK forces. I will need to concentrate on adding more artillery, AT guns and tractors to round the army out.

So 31 vehicles done. I've got a couple of Panzer IIs's and 4 Sdkfz 10s to get done in readiness for their first game.

Trip to Normandy - part 2

As promised another photo dump from my Normandy trip. First up is the Commonwealth War graves. I have to admit I was in awe of this memorial. All those columns with lists of men who lost their lives in the Normandy command. Makes you realise how grateful we are to their sacrifice. I did manage to get a photo of the silhouettes they are putting in place for the 80th anniversary.

After our visit here we then made our way to the Overlord museum which is not far from the Omaha beach. Wish we had had the time to make it across. This museum had loads on show, but it was very dark making taking decent photos difficult.

On our last day we had a slight change from D-Day battles and made our way over to the town of Dieppe. This was the location of the failed landings by predominantly Canadian troops in 1942. You can see by the pebble beach that both tanks and infantry would struggle to get across. The promenade has a number of commemorative plaques to the different units that landed there. 

After our tour of the town we stopped off for some refreshments in the Le Cambridge pub. Quite a nice pint after a long day. My brother is now planning a trio for next year back in Normandy, hopefully a little closer to the beaches this time.

Trip to Normandy - part 1

Just got back from a week in Normandy. The 14 hours travelling is rather exhausting. While there I took the opportunity to visit a number of the D-Day sites. Something I've always wanted to do. We'll probably be back next year to cover the American sector as they were just a bit far to travel to each day. So in no particular order a bit of a photo dump.

Pegasus bridge, including the first house liberated in France, Cafe Gondree by elements of 6th Airborne division.

Next was the Merville battery, captured by 9th Parachute battalion under Colonel Otway.

Next is the Longues sur mer battery, situated between Omaha and Gold beaches was eventually captured by the Devonshires after it had been heavily bombarded by the Navy and Airforce. This was a great place to visit and free. 

Superb view to Gold beach

I'll try and get the rest of the photos added tomorrow of the Overlord museum, Commonwealth war graves monument and then to Dieppe.