Saturday, October 1, 2011

D-Day upon us!

'Primo Victoria' by Sabatan, the perfect music to accompany the pics from the game: "Through the Gates of Hell : Omaha Beach" ran at Spring Recruits 2010. Terrain was custom built and the 29th Infantry & Rangers were painted by me; pics/captions by Sapper Joe - Thanks!

"Through the Gates of Hell: Omaha Beach" game at Recruits 3/10. The game is 1/72 scale using Force on Force rules. This is an overview of the beach before the landings.

The American players for the first game of "Through the Gates of Hell: Omaha Beach."
I forgot to get a picture of the American players for the 2nd game, but in this picture is one and a half of the American players.

..."Through the gates of hell, As we make our way to heaven"... View from the German trenches of the landing beaches.

..."Through the Nazi lines, Primo victoria"... A detailed picture of the German defenders including a FT-17 turret bunker

..."We've been training for years. Now we're ready to strike, As the great operation begins"... An assault boat team taking cover between the beach obstacles on Omaha.

...."We're the first wave on the shore. We're the first ones to fall"... One of the assault teams is pinned down at the beach landing while the rest of the forces reaches the sea wall.

..."Yet soldiers have fallen before"...A close up of a pinned American force

..."In this burning inferno, Know that nothing remains"...The view of the Americans trying to push the Bangalore torpedoes through the wire and get off the beach. The FT-17 bunker is burning after "Lucky Seven" M4 Sherman hit it.

..."Crossfire grind through the sand, Our orders were easy, It's kill or be killed"...Under heavy machine gun fire, the American assault teams hug the sea wall

..."6th of June 1944, Allies are turning the war. Normandy, state of anarchy, Overlord"...Assault teams blow holes in the wire and are pushing through the German resistance in the beach dunes. Also US Rangers are now attacking the German machine gun position to the lower left.

..."Primo Victoria!"...US Rangers assaulting the German machine position on the bluff over Omaha Beach.

"Rangers, lead the way!"...Capt. Miller and his band over runs the German position and the Americans can head inland.

A picture from a captured German camera found on Omaha Beach

A photograph taken by a GI on Dog Green Beach at Omaha

A recently discovered photograph from Omaha Beach

A still taken from a recently found film canister from D-Day.  It appears that the sea water damaged the film, but it is still in viewable shape.