Dismounted Franks

Frankish knights on foot. Figures from Black Tree Designs 2nd Crusade range.

Franks on Pilgrimage

These are the beginning of my First Crusade force. Just in time for the soon to be released SAGA supplement, Crescent & Cross.

1st Hussars Sherman V and a Firefly

Three tanks of 'A' Squadron, 6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars), 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. Great 1/72 kits from Dragon.

Pak 40 and Crew

The latest addition to my SS boys. Perfect for when I want to leave the big cats at home and camp it out. The gun is a Dragon kit that came with a 251 to tow it (almost finished) and the crew is from AB Miniatures.

A breath of fresh air...

...from bloody Typhoons, that is! A couple of mobile AA guns to help my Germans walk a little easier though still with an eye to the skies, of course.

Sd.Kfz. 7/1

It'll pair up with this little guy to hopefully keep the skies clear.

Sd.Kfz. 10/4

Para Recce Boys

A recce section for my battlegroup. The crews are pinned in for easy removal and I have 12 dismounted figures on the go for when it's time to vacate the jeeps post-haste.

1st Canadian Parachute Battalion Part III

I've added several units to my battlegroup and it's almost complete. It won't be overly large as I prefer to play smaller, resilient forces. The Canadian paras in Normandy fit that description very well.

A 6-pdr anti-tank gun.

A Vickers machinegun team.

Last but not least, a 3" mortar team.

A group shot of my finished units so far.

More Canadian Paras

One of the platoon's support options: a Vickers MG team on the move. These boys will make another appearance soon only this time with the gun in firing position.

The first of three jeeps and crew that will make up the reconnaissance element of my para battlegroup.

1st Canadian Parachute Battalion

The end of the beginning. The first section is done for my Canadian paras in Normandy. Very nice figs from Battlefield Miniatures to be used in that most excellent game Battlegroup: Overlord. I've got two more sections to go plus a host of support options.

Horton's House - Battlegroup: Overlord AAR

Aerial observation has spotted a 12th SS kampfgruppe forming for an assault and Lieutenant Timothy Horton and his men of the Regina Rifles find themselves at the tip of the Canadian spear. A runner from company HQ brings the message: Hold the line, Lieutenant. Reinforcements are on the way!

Lieutenant Horton set up his platoon HQ in the courtyard of a small house. They dug themselves in and knocked out loopholes in the sturdy walls to await the German assault. An attached forward observer occupied the upper story, affording him an excellent view of the approaching enemy.

A six-pounder anti-tank gun was sited at an intersection to cover the road to Lt. Horton's front.

Leading elements of the Hitlerjugend arrived and dismounted to give battle!

A quick dash brought them to the tall hedge but no further. Wary of the antitank gun covering the road, the Germans stayed put and began to trade fire with the Reginas at the house.

More of the enemy arrived to join the others at the hedge and add their fire to the fight. All the while, they suffered at the hands of the Canadian FO who made judicious use of the supporting 3" mortar and 25lb gun batteries.

The Canadians could not be shaken loose of their hold on the house. With the bayonet, they saw off an assaulting squad of SS and shot to pieces a German halftrack that inexplicably charged them on its own.

Eventually, a Panther arrived on the scene to try to help and break the deadlock. It, too, moved to the hedge from where it fired several HE rounds at the Reginas in the house but they had dug deep and the shells had little effect. Inevitably, it became a target of the Canadian supporting fires and in the end fell victim to the 6-pounder across the road.

The fighting went on for some time and weight of fire began to take its toll on the Reginas. The six-pounder was finally knocked out of action by German mortar fire and the way was clear for an all-out effort by the Hitlerjugend to overwhelm the Canadians. It appeared that time had run out for Lt. Horton and his band of brave men. But then...the sound of truck engines!

The remainder of Lt. Horton's platoon raced up to join their brothers-in-arms and with them came a Cromwell that got down to business immediately upon arriving.

It was all too much for the Hitlerjugend and they fell back to their starting lines. Lieutenant Tim Horton could breathe a sigh of relief and congratulate the survivors on a job well done.

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This was a fun night and all could agree Battlegroup: Overlord gives a great game. We played at 500 points a side which was perfect for an evening's worth of good times.