Force 10 from Navarone

This map was part of the prelude to Alistair MacLean's Force 10 from Navarone, Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1968. I am not sure whether the map has any historic significance.

“’80 percent of our air drops fall in German hands, but that is not important. Those supplies are militarily expendable. What are not expendable are the 7000 men under the command of General Vukalovic here, 7000 men trapped in an area called the Zenica Cage, 7000 starving men with almost no ammunition left, 7000 men with no future.’”

I recently acquired this volumne, a sequel to MacLean's "Guns of Navarone". It has already got its hook in me and so far it has been a good read.

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Updated on 8.16.25 @ 16:48. Added quote and contextual link.

British Spitfire

This image depicts a British Spitfire as it flys over the beaches of Dunkirk. Screenshot from the movie Dunkirk.

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Updated (two links above) on 6.10.24 at 9:45 AM.

Indiana Jones in Miniature

I found this image on a bonus materials DVD for the Indiana Jones trilogy. This scene was created in miniature for the Last Crusade. The Last Crusade was the third film in the trilogy and depicted Jones's search for the golden chalice. The movie depicts Jones traveling around the globe and getting himself in and out of many precarious situations.

The Enemy Below

I have watched the The Enemy Below (1957) staring Robert Mitchum twice and will probably view it again. Great acting and plotline.

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon is an adaptation of The Adventure of the Dancing Men by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story takes place in WWII England and features a cypher, Professor James Moriarty and the usual assortment of henchmen.

Malta Convoy, a Free Solo Dice Game

Roll the dice for the make-up of your convoy, length of trip, and many other attributes. All you need to supply are one or two 6D dice and pencil and paper (Or use the included map). Roll for your beginning attributes and as you progress you will be rolling for possible enemy contacts. See the second page for complete rules.

An alternative game that is a bit more sophisticated that uses ship miniatures can be downloaded from GHQ.

My Lament for Barcelona Universal Models

How often have I visited the Barcelona Universal Models blog to view their new offerings? How long have I searched for these offerings via my regular and un-regular channels all without the satisfaction of my being able to purchase a single set?

Recently I did find a few of these BUM models being offered online and ordered a copy of BUM’s 1/72 New Zealand army figure set w/tank and gun. There are forty-four pieces including twenty-eight figures, two razor-wire sections, a tank and a field gun of some sort. The figures are relatively flash free and I look forward to assembling the tank and gun and put these soldiers to task.

My 1000th Post-Shadow of the Wolf

“Communiqué authorized by Mr., Duff Cooper, British Minister of Information, and issued from 10 Downing Street on the night of May 12-13, 1941:

‘Rudolf Hess, the Deputy Fuhrer of Germany and Party Leader of the National Socialist Party, has landed in Scotland in the following circumstances.

On the night of Saturday the 10th inst., a Messerschmitt 110 was reported by one of our patrols to have crossed the coast of Scotland and to flying in the direction of Glasgow.

Since a Me. 110 would not have to fuel to return the Germany this report was first disbelieved.

However, later on, and Me. 110 crashed near Glasgow, with its guns removed. Shortly afterward, a German officer who had bailed out was found with his parachute in the neighborhood suffering from a broken ankle.

He was taken to hospital, where he at first gave his name as Horn, but later declared that he was Rudolf Hess.’ ”

Shadow of the Wolf, James Barwick

When Rudolf Hess hit the ground after bailing out of the Me. 110 he broke his ankle and he gave Captain Horn his locked attaché case with orders to deliver the contents to a General Walker, an American army officer.

The contents were never delivered to the general, but instead landed in the lap of Franklin Roosevelt. Its contents, at first, a secret to Captain Horn were to bring an end to the war and revealed Germany’s plan to attack Russian and Japans plans to attack Pearl Harbor.

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I remember making my first post back in February of 2013, who would have thought I would be making my 1000th post almost two and half years later on this day. It is hard for me to imagine that I have actually made that many posts.

I must thank my fellow bloggers for giving me the inspiration to carry on. Special thanks go out to Hugh Walter and his Small Scale World. Hugh is always making posts on his latest extraordinary finds of just about everything plastic. And I mean just about everything that is small, plastic and irresistible.

Sink the Bismarck-Free Print and Play Game

Sink the Bismarck is a free print and play solo game, but I have played the game with two contestants before. Instead of rolling for both sides, just pick the side of the attacker or the defender.

The basic premise of the game is to sink the battleship Bismarck. The Sink the Bismarck PDF includes an 8.5 by 11-inch game board, twelve British Swordfish torpedo bombers, and instructions on how to play.

“The game ends once 5 torpedoes hit the ship. You'll will also score points for each aircraft and torpedo you destroy.”

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Alternative Sink the Bismarck Game

Zombies at War

Package Art

Secret service agencies on both sides of the Atlantic and the German high command were working on zombie warriors as early as 39, but having experienced large segments of their own populations becoming zombie like through the use Gin and Opium the British high command ruled out the development of Zombie armies. However, the American industrial complex saw their way to making large profits from their development. Industry lobbyists quickly and effectively persuaded American elected officials, who apparently, did not have the same scruples as their counterparts across the pond, to pass a bill to allow them to develop two zombie battalions.

It is a battle to the second death. There are thirty five plastic soldiers in ten unique poses. These figures stand about two inches tall and come in US Army green and German grey. There is a surprising amount of detail on these dense plastic figures.

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Some other reporting on the zombies at war

• Action Figure Barbecue
• EMCE: Zombies At War

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I Like Old School Tactical Games

I do own a bunch of these “old school” games with their map boards and counters. Kickstarter is sponsoring a new WWII game by Flying PigGames. Old School Tactical has an easily to learn game system which simulates small unit engagements on the Eastern Front during 1941-42.

The game includes:

“Huge 30" x 41" maps with 1" hexes.

An unique impulse system to activate units.

Simple attack-defense = odds column combat system.”

The game has already reached one set of stretch goals and is one its way to second set of stretch goals. As of March 2, this project has another thirteen days until its close. 

Four Historical Print and Play Games I am Looking Forward to Playing

These games represent three periods in history, the American Civil War, The Spanish and American War, and the Second World War. These games include all the necessary components, such as game board, unit tokens and instructions.  All four games are turned based and with one or one and a half pages of rules are easy to learn and play.

• The Battle of Greenbrier River (American Civil War)
• The Battle of Manila Bay (Spanish-American War)
• Malaya (Second World War)
• Unternehmung 25 (Second World War-Europe)

10 Board Games set in the Philippines

10 Board Games set in the Philippines lists ten board games that revolve around a setting in the Philippines. Although many of listed games are now out of print there are a few that can still be had. Most of the games are World War II themed; however the Battle of Manila Bay game is set during the Spanish and American War. The Battle of Manila Bay is a free print and play game.

• The Damned Die Hard: Philippines '41(1999)
• The Battle for the Philippines: Bataan (1973)
• Fall of the Philippines: MacArthur's Defeat, 1941(2010) 
• Manila (2005)
• The Battle of Manila Bay (2006)

Unternehmunger 25

Unternehmunger 25 was the code name for the German invasion of Yugoslavia, it was also known as the April War or Operation 25. Germany and her Italian and Hungarian allies invaded Yugoslavia on the April 6, 1941. With superior air power and forces from Germany and her allies, Yugoslavia capitulated and signed an armistice on the 17 of April 1941. Can your Yugoslavian forces hold on to Yugoslavia and break the vice grip hold of the Axis powers? This print and play game gives you six turns to do just that.

Malaya- The Malayan Campaign

The main belligerents of the Malayan Campaign were the British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army. The Japanese were out-manned by nearly 70,000, but had superior numbers in aircraft and tanks. The Malayan Campaign was a complete disaster for commonwealth forces. The Malaya V post card game pits the commonwealth units against the invading Imperial Japanese Army. Can you out maneuver the Japanese forces and hold onto Malaya?

The Battle of the Coral Sea

The Battle of the Coral Sea site offers an interactive animated map and timeline of the four day battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied forces. The Battle of the Coral Sea did not go to well for the allies where the US lost the Lexington Aircraft Carrier, a destroyer, an oiler, and the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise sustained heavy damages.

Game Rules for my 1/285 Amour Miniatures

Now that I have a couple of sets of micro-amour units I am looking for a set of game rules to use in a World War Two amour skirmish game. On one hand, I am looking for a set of rules with enough options and scenarios to make the game interesting. On the other hand I don’t want the rules to be too complex.

The rules should work well with two players, but also should allow other players to play. Recently I found the following sets of rules and am reading through these rules to find the set of rules that seems to fit my criteria. More about the set of rules I have chosen will follow…

• Panzer Command
• GEV-WWII
• WEHRMACHT '47 MICRO ARMOUR® & WWII MICRO ARMOUR

My Order from Amazon has Arrived

Even though I have a very long Wish List, this will probably be my last order from Amazon for a while. The order is a mixed bag. I have added two more texts, a book and a graphic novel. Both of these volumes are a bit different than my normal reading material. However books on diverse subjects and topics have always fascinated me.

I have added a new board game to our small, but growing collection of games. Past times against the boredom; board games give my wife and I something to do when there is nothing else to do.

In addition, I have added a new video to my collection. I have been acquiring World War Two movies. These classics are great to watch before playing a war game of any sort as they put you the mood and mind set for these strategy games.

More information on these topics will follow.

Five Sherman’s 1/285 Miniatures

The Sherman, a US medium tank, was the most common American tank in World War II. The Sherman proved itself somewhat effective against German Mk II and Mk IV Panzers, but was thoroughly outclassed by the Tiger, Panther and King Tiger tanks.

Although the Sherman might not have been the best tank on the battle field it held its superiority in the number units that were produced. The Sherman was mass produced by the Ford Motor Company. More than 49,234 Sherman’s were produced between 1942 and 1945.

The Sherman was used in all combat theaters and by many allied nations; United States, Great Britain, the Free French, China and even the Soviet Union used the Sherman

These 1/285 Sherman miniature will be used along with Panzers I recently made a post on in a skirmish game of some sort. More will follow…

More Historical Board Gaming Supplement Parts

What is nice about the Historical Board Gaming site is that you may order supplement parts from many different versions of Axis and Allies. I currently own a copy of Axis and Allies 1941, but I was able to add some unique pieces to my game from different versions of the game.

I made the order to obtain several sets of dice for other games, but since Historical Board Gaming were offering some of their parts on sale I decided to purchase a few of these game pieces. Some of the more unique pieces that I purchased were a set of American WWII P-38 fighters, several Liberty transport ships, and a set of Japanese Type 95 ha-Go tanks.

These parts will be a welcome addition to the game, as the game no longer provides enough pieces to go around. Instead you must use markers to represent multiple pieces. Markers are a good thing in that they keep the very congested board from becoming impossible to work with. However, it is still nice to have additional pieces to pull from, when the need arises.