Flames of War: Paratroopers at Arnhem

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Project Blog by elessar2590

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About the Project

Since my minis arrived early I thought I'd get a head start on the Flames of War Slow Grow League. For years I've had a fascination with WWII Paratroopers, ever since a friend lent me Band of Brothers back in High School I've always had a soft spot for the Paras. My main Bolt Action force is a a few thousand points of Paras so why not do the same for Flames of War? I'm using the Air landing Company list from the "Market Garden" Book so it's old rules and points but I can wait until February for the British book to come out.

This Project is On Hold

View Oldest Entries First

Paratrooper Pants

Jul 1 2019

Tutoring 4

Skill 5

Idea 5

No Comments

The Colour Used war Army Painter Leather Brown

Remembering the Cost of Occupation

Jul 1 2019

Tutoring 3

Skill 3

Idea 3

1 Comment

Taken from the Book "The Battle of Arnhem: The Deadliest Airborne Operation of World War II" by Antony Beevor

It’s important to take a look at why this war was being fought and since the book had some specific details for Arnhem and the Netherlands I thought I’d share it.

I understand it’s a bit heavy for Tabletop Wargaming but it’s History.

In 1940 there were over 140,000 Jews living in the Netherlands

When the Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940 the Government did not destroy their records and so the names, addresses and business details of all 140,000 Dutch Jews fell into the hands of the German Administrators.

Of these 140,000 People;

Six Thousand Managed to Survive in Hiding until the end of the war, almost all of these were very young Children taken in by Dutch Families.

Thirty Four Thousand Managed to be smuggled out of the Country or we killed other than by termination, eg. They joined the Dutch Resistance and were killed, their village was targeted for reprisals or something like that.

One Hundred and Ten Thousand Dutch Jews were taken to Concentration Camps and executed.

Canadian Troops Liberating a Dutch Town

In Arnhem alone there were 1700 Jews pre-War and by the time of the British Paratroopers entering the Town less than 200 were still alive.

The Allies aren’t just fighting to take a few Bridges they’re fighting to Liberate a Nation. Half a Million Dutch men had been taken to work in Slave labor Camps where the book claims they suffered worse than anyone else since they went from a very high fat diet of Dairy to an almost fat free diet of a Camp Slave which was extremely hard to adjust to.

The Regular German forces managed to retreat without overly damaging the local population, there’s even stories of German Soldiers selling their loot as they fled.

On the other hand the SS were incredibly brutal. Scorched Earth was the norm and everything with wheels was stolen at gunpoint (including a wood fire powered truck) although since there was no rubber they were either driving on steel or wood. When the residents of a small Dutch town heard the German’s would be retreating through their town they took chairs out onto the street and watched the Regular Army fall back but when the SS came into the town they fired indiscriminately into the crowd.

So back to tiny fighting men but I just thought I’d add these details here to remind everyone just how vital the Liberation of Europe was and even though speed might not be the best Military Strategy, for the people living under German Occupation it seemed like the best thing that could happen

Building Arnhem

Jun 29 2019

Tutoring 6

Skill 5

Idea 7

4 Comments

Spare MDF was cut into rough Bases for the Buildings and Coated in Anti Warping Spray paint

The bases have a Very Rough Chamfer Put on them

Tempaltes were Cut from Presentation board that I got from the local News Agent for $5 and it works perfect for 15mm Buildings

To Make Hedges I used Hot Glue, Clump Foliage and Tongue Depressors

These will Work as short Hedges for 15mm Minis

'It seemed like a good idea at the time. It was a gamble - some you win, some you lose. We lost that one' - Staff Sergeant Joe Kitchener, ex Glider Pilot Regiment

The Minis

Jun 29 2019

Tutoring 5

Skill 5

Idea 5

No Comments

A Single Box of Paras

The Minis are Very Nice

The Most Fiddly Minis but a Fiddly 15mm Minis is Basically the Equivalent of Gluing a Head on a 28mm Mini

The PIAT. Each Platoon would have a Single PIAT. It Stands for Projector Infantry Anti Tank and is the British Answer to the Bazooka. It's derived from the "Blacker Bombard" Spigot Technology which was also used by the Churchill AVRE and the Hedgehog Anti Submarine Weapon

The 2iC Which for the British is a Captain and Radio Operator

The Company Commander which for the British is a Major and Sergeant Major

I Had a Spare Base so I made up a Vickers

Part of the First Batch

Half of the Anti Tank

Vallejo Model Colour Khaki was Used for the Denison Smocks

The List

Jun 29 2019

Tutoring 4

Skill 4

Idea 5

No Comments

Before I can do anything with a Paintbrush I first have to decide;

A) What Nation I want to do

B) What Type of Force I want to do

C) What Minis I will use

This was the Book I ended up using

A) British. For D-Day and beyond the Soviet and USA tend to have a lot of stuff already out there and the German’s at this point in the war aren’t really my thing.

I’m a fan of Light Vehicles and Infantry and the German list SS Kampfgruppe Graebner in “Bridge by Bridge” was very tempting with it’s infantry in trucks and very limited light armour but eventually the British won out.

B) I prefer Infantry and light Vehicles as a rule. I really enjoy tanks but when I put units on the table I’m an infantry guy. So when I looked at British Infantry units Post D-Day the Paras were a perfect fit.

C) Unfortunately Battlefront do not sell British Paras anymore so I looked elsewhere and found these at Plastic Soldier Company.

I Picked up two boxes of Infantry and a Box of Heavy Weapons and to finish the force I’ll need Two Mortars and Four 6 Pounders so I’ll have to pick up another box in the next few months.