Sunday 4 September 2022

Mind the Gap : May 1940 : Battle for France

A lot has been going on in the Dungeon (household) over the last few weeks, which as usual is just a poor excuse for not getting round to blogging. I have had two walking trips (Roman Forts in the Lake District and Offa’s Dyke) which will be of interest to followers and at least two battles which I need to record. Having been away for two weeks painting progress has been limited but the best news is I have now officially retired …….. ”surely you are too young” I here you murmur , well I am finishing slightly early but the time is right and I am filled with a desire to enjoy life to the full. I may not be rich but my wife can always do without those extra shoes. Ok that was a joke and retirement has gone to my head.

Anyway onto the action way back three weeks ago when I was working (last retirement joke out the way) we were looking for a simple evening battle and Wargames Soldiers and Strategy came up trumps again in June/July with a number of scenarios based around the early war German invasion of the Low Countries. A couple of these focus on the counter attacks by the British along the Ypres-Comines Canal in late May 1940. The details are well covered in Joe Bilton’s article but from a historical perspective these short counter attacks bought the British time to withdraw towards Dunkirk.

The first of the two scenarios is a fairly simple probe/breakthrough setup so with some minor adjustments for my collection and the terrain we were good to go.

The published scenario has the battle longways but I felt this would be too tough for the British, the Germans from the 61 Infanterie-Division are dug in on the left, they have some artillery but no armour. The British a mix of Royal Engineers, Black Watch and some armour from the 13th/18th Royal Hussars will counter attack from the right, their objective to break through.
We randomised half the Germans to be dug in the rest would arrive from turn two
Germans immediately wheel on additional artillery to bolster the defence line
One squad of Germans are sent to hold the farmhouse
The British Royal engineers sweep on to the battlefield, with a single Vickers tank
Assuming speed is key the British run across the open ground
More German infantry are brought up to plug the gaps
..and the British are caught in the open, but there are still gaps in the German line
Frustratingly for the British the Germans manage to immobilise the Vickers
The battle is now focussed close to the farm
British drop smoke to effectively block the view of the Pak 34
Things are not looking good for the British as they have taken heavy casualties getting across the open ground
But then a squads attempts to break through at the farmhouse where the Germans have been distracted
The furious fight in the centre continues the British distracting the defenders and buying time
Even the British commanding officer is captured but it might be a ruse
The British make a rush for the farmyard and in a fury of hand to hand combat push the German defenders out the way
With one final turn the remaining British infantry hop the wall for the win. Well we gave them a minor victory as they had broken through but as is often the case it had cost them

A great battle and an interesting period, I am considering a few French forces for my Norwegian battles so we might play a few more early war French scenarios in the future

Some of you love a landscape so here is one of the Lake District during the last heat wave
One of my retirement projects is to walk as much of the remaining Roman roads in the local area, there is a small stretch close to the A66 near Stainmore so I took my daughter for a picnic, it is only small section as the main road has covered the original in many places. But the romans took the high road in this location and the road is down below. There is also a small Fortlet at this location. Poorly preserved but you can easily see the outline and configuration.
The Fortlet at Stainmore, presumably a staging post from the main fort down at Borough
It is close to the summit at Stainmore which is marked by a small marker stone. This as legend would have it marks the burial site of Eric Bloodaxe although source all seem to point to it simply being the marker post between the two regions.
Finally a trip to Brough….not to see the castle which we have been to many times
But a well earned ice cream 

Thanks for popping by next up a big ACW battle

🙂 Matt





31 comments:

  1. A great looking game and enjoy the retirement

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  2. Great to hear that you've retired earlier than planned and have certainly been enjoying yourself already. I'm sooo glad I did it just before lockdown and have not had a boring day since! Lovely looking game and it reminds me that I need to use my voucher from the WS&S survey and the issue used here is on my list.

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    1. Thanks Steve I have lots of plans over the next few years but I hope to pace myself. Hopefully some more gaming is on the cards as well 👍

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  3. Congratulations on your recent retirement! Well done to you! Looking forward to seeing more of your long walks. Double bonus for getting your daughter to join in. Beautiful country, as usual and a wonderful looking game. More French for the Nordic front will be well-received and open up many possibilities.

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    1. Thanks Jon more walks and cycling to come and of course hopefully more wargaming 👍 I’m just finishing off some Norwegian elite troops but then perhaps some french ?

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  4. Lovely table and happy retirement - enjoy.

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    1. Thanks Norm hopefully some space for more gaming

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  5. Great looking game and hope you enjoy your new chapter. If you're ever in Carlisle and fancy a game let me know.

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    1. Thanks John always looking for more opportunities for gaming so yes happy to get together sometime ?

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    2. Drop me message on Facebook Messenger if you want to arrange a game. I have 6mm ACW, 15mm Renaissance and am painting 12mm WW1 at the moment for 1914.

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  6. Welcome to the realms if retirement Matt, enjoy. Spiffing game, report and accompanying photos, super scenics too.

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    1. Thanks Phil retirement is really only just sinking in but hopefully it will give me more time to do the things I enjoy 👍

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  7. Great game report. Enjoy your retirement!

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  8. What a fantastic report sir!
    Beautiful table too!
    Best regards

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  9. A splendid looking and sounding game as always Matt…
    Every time I see you’re early war toys my butterfly starts fluttering…
    Maybe something to start when I retire myself.

    And of course lovely scenery…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly we all know that challenge of possible new projects, hopefully retirement will give me some more time to progress some of those projects ?

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  10. Welcome to our happy brotherhood of retired gentlemen. May yours be long and joyous, filled with family and friends - and of course figures, vehicles and games galore! Nice pictures of the game of course and of your Roman expedition!

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    1. Thanks David an exclusive club ! Lots of plans and things to do and of course lots of hobby stuff to be worked on 👍

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  11. Another beautiful early war game Matt. They are always great to look at. Congratulations on your retirement, which is something I'm starting to look forward to. It's great having a hobby like ours that can provide so much interest.

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    1. Thanks Lawrence, the retirement hasn’t sunk in yet, but our hobby will always provide me with lots of things to do , I’m not going to get bored👍

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  12. Great looking early war game, congratulations on your retirement, lovely scenery and nice looking ice cream!
    Best Iain

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  13. Congratulations on the early retirement. Isn’t that the goal of most of us? To retire “young”. 😀

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    1. Not sure I would call myself young Stew but I certainly don’t feel old enough to retire 😀

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  14. A lovely looking table and figures as always Matt. I just turned 60 so on the countdown to 65 and long-awaited retirement, although my wife helpfully pointed out the other day, she does not know what we will live on - so I think that's a hint she would like me to carry on a bit after I turn 65 - dammit! I would not mind doing 15 or 20 hours a week in some non-thinking, minimum wage type job, but I really cant see me doing my current role for more than another five years......

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    1. Thanks Keith, after 33 years working in the public sector here in the uk one of the good things is the pension arrangements are pretty good and we are in the lucky position that we should be comfortable, after all my wargaming hobby doesn’t cost that much 👍

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  15. Enjoy your escape. Your time is precious you do right to make the most of it

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    1. Thanks Dave our time is indeed precious 👍

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