Bolt Action: Western Desert Boot Camp Live Blog - Sunday
Legends Of The Desert - LRDG And SAS Killing Rommel
Sep 30 2018 @ 11:30
71 Comments
Our Historical Editor Oriskany returns with another of his Legends of the Desert series, telling us about some of the fantastic exploits of the LRDG and SAS and their efforts to stop Rommel.
For me the LRDG were amongst some of the unsung heroes of the desert campaign.
Act like you’re supposed to be doing something and no one will challenge you. Works more often than it has any right to.
@chaingun – Definitely heroes. They’ve been getting a lot of press in more recent years.
I should have noted, @lawnor – that when those two columns passed each other, it was admittedly dark. But they really did just drive past each other.
love to play the airfield raid on the table
I remember the time the SAS ….redacted….. And then….redacted…. With a ….classified… 🙂
@wilco92 – We actually did that in Part 04 of our pre-bootcamp article series.
https://www.beastsofwar.com/modern-warfare/desert-war-bolt-action-preparation-part-four/
Careful, @skodamarine … you might be getting a knock on the door from MOD … 😀
I can’t find his name right now however,
civil servants were considered a reserve occupation and weren’t allowed to enlist. in order to get round this he resigns from civil service in order to become a member of parliament, upon election he enlisted later serving with the SAS in North Africa, now to try and find his name…
I think it was Fitzroy McLean. Read Ben McIntyres “SAS Rogue Heroes” earlier this year, a great read.
Thanks for the new information @kingandcountry and @battlehawk! 😀
If you’ve not read it “popski’s Private Army” and “Stirlings men” are a decent read
Great tip! Thanks! 🙂
lindybeige has a very good video on yt about the lrdg and sas. check it out if that stuff is for you
Do really fancy building a LRDG/SAS unit, the vehicles look really cool.
Thanks, @rot6.
@warhammergrimace – I built 16 figures (four boxes of four figs) and two LRDG trucks from Warlord – great figures! 😀
Those look nice, I have some of the Artizan SAS to paint. Just picked up a Panzer lll in 28mm, having just finished two in 20mm scale.
20mm best scale! 🙂
Thanks, @warhammergrimace 😀
I have a lot of 20mm moderns, @rot6 – for WW2 I’m usually in 15mm or smaller, this is actually my first 28mm.
i started painting the first half of an american airborne platoon (1:72airfix-kind-of-truescale) and i dont think any smaller is for me. any infantry i saw looked kinda like compressed into dwarfen proportions to allow for some details and painting thoses… my eyesight already getting wrecked at 20/28mm 😀 Thought about getting 20mm moderns but i missing a small scale ruleset to go along and the free time to dive into yet another rule/playstyle. 28mm Infinity, 20mm CoC/Bolt is atm enough for me. Maybe more company/devision stuff in 20mm ww2 and some nice little naval system for fun but that might… Read more »
If interested 20mm Moderns… I humbly suggest Force-on-Force. Great focus on troop quality (rather than weapons), non-kinetic warfare, asymmetric warfare, regular vs. irregular forces, CASEVAC, rules of engagement, civilians, etc.
*driving* oh look italians, chooooeeeee! *waves* we’re gonna wreck your house….
wasn’t Christopher Lee an RAF liason officer with the LRDG/SAS?
@collins – hey, Italian garrison! You didn’t need these planes, did you? 😀
@bigdave – he was definitely some kind of badass. I don’t know the details off the top of my head.
Always been difficult to pin down what he did, but from what I do know, he joined the RAF but was prevented from having a career as a pilot on medical grounds, he was a fantastic organiser and linguist however so it’s likely he helped command the aircraft that supplied the LRDG. He ended the war as a translator in Austria when the allies were hunting Nazi’s, pretty cool dude! Whether or not he knifed a German in the desert is unclear, but it sure as hell shut Peter Jackson up on the set of the Lord of the Rings… Read more »
Rumors definitely abound. I almost don’t want to know by this point, if hate to be disappointed. 🙂
I want to try some raiding type games. Maybe can come up with some interesting objectives
fascinating
@patrickkyle82 – the scenarios can be tricky to design, but are well worth the effort.
Thanks, @normandyfan!
It’s not a movie? Sounds like it should be!
good stuff, thanks for the heads up on the novel!
@darkdanegan – I totally agree.
No worries, @tibour – Steve Pressfield is definitely one of my favorites.
I wonder how truly accurate a Thermopylae account can be, considering the biases of ancient-era historians (by that I mean accounts by ancient people). My understanding is that ancient stories are part history and part moral lesson, and accuracy of details was of low priority. But, I am prepared to be wrong.
Well @rfernandz2001 – Gates of Fire is indeed a fictionalized account, but it’s a helluva lot more accurate that the abortion that was 300.
These things might sound like they came out of a movie, but they definitely deserve to have a movie made about them.
Yes the airfield raid is definitely one for me! I’m obviously building my 1/48 mosquito this weekend and it’s inspired me to build an airfield. Definitely a scenario I’d like to give a go ?
I would agree 100% @dukeexeter – there were a lot of “WW2 special forces desert adventure” movies back in the 0s, but none of them are accurate worth a damn. Maybe some of this material was still classified back then?
We definitely had fun with ours, @dane001.
Good to hear some more history, really adds to the whole game event
And that why it is called historic wargaming. Its about history and stories.
Thanks very much, @civilcourage and @andre77.
The BBC did a 3part documentary series about the LRDG/SAS a year or so ago. It was really good. SAS:Rogue Warriors. Well worth a watch.
very interesting info!
Great tip, @innes – thanks for the kind words, @toricova.
Great stories,really enjoyed all the historical info
More great stuff! Firing up my interest even more!
Thanks, @georgesealy. And thanks to you too @doomdark – and great art in your user icon!
LRDG and SAS, amazingly crazy; crazy in the right way and at the right time in WWII.
Love this video. Nice one Oriskany
Completely agree, @khy0te.
Thanks very much, @ogrekin. 😀
Great vid, thanks Jim @oriskany the campaign was brilliant and great fun. Thanks for all the hard work
No worries, @buggeroff. 😀 It was absolutely my pleasure to do it. 😀