Operation Totalize: Footage

Hi folks,

In keeping with my blog being a repository for info I've found on Operation Totalize, I wanted to post this link. It's from a Canadian Army Newsreel and it shows what I believe is one of the training columns for Totalize in action:

It's interesting to see how closely packed the vehicles are, and there is a good shot of towed 6pdrs and SP M10 (which appear to have the armoured roofs!). Some of the earlier footage shows infantry boarding De-frocked priests - including one shot that appears to have a 144RAC Sherman in the background (going by the light coloured turret number).

Interesting find, and great to see all this Canadian stuff for free on YouTube, while in the UK historic footage has been removed and requires substantial outlay for minutes long videos with no preview of what you are getting for your money.

Finished - German 5cm Pak38's and 7.5cm IG 18 guns

Hi folks,

I had hoped to get this posted over the weekend, but only managed to finish the models last night.

I've a whole host of German artillery in the painting queue currently - a load of AA to help fend off the Tiffies I painted a few weeks ago. But at the moment I've focused on the infantry guns and lighter A/T guns.

A small amount of foliage added to the guns - these are Battlefront plastic Pak38's from their mid war plastic boxed set. I've only used a couple of the new plastic figures, and replaced most of the crew with spare metal ones I picked up. That new plastic holds detail OK and were fine to paint, but the facial details were terrible and getting the mould lines off them was a real nuisance.

I applied the camo with  a sponge, but ended up toning it all down with the highlights. Again, this is a technique that looks much better in person at a bit of a distance. The camo does come through...

The infantry guns are much more likely to be used in more of a support role, so I've not added foliage. I did complete the spotter team for these, but no command teams for either (yet). I might paint some, I might not. I'm pretty sold on 4th Ed at this point, and I'm unlikely to be playing 3rd any time soon. If I did, I'm sure I can steal a command squad from somewhere!

Again, a mix of crew figures, but mainly those that came with the pack. The 89. Infanterie Division apparently had Russian infantry guns in Normandy, so these are not quite correct. But as I've already got a load of spare French gun crew due to this project, I didn't want to add random Russians as well!

I've got a lot on with work currently, having started a new job and doing training. I had planned to get my ACW Limbers done before the show on the 25th, but can't make that now so the motivation has fled. I've also got a book to edit for my sister, which I've not looked at in months. So not sure what I'll move on to next!

Plans and random Ebay purchases

Hi folks,

I'm making a conscious effort to post a blog this week, as I've been a little lax of late.

Unusually, I've not finished anything painting wise since the start of October. I spent a lot of time this month preparing for the winter. I'm hoping to do the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge again this year, and I plan on focusing on German artillery for 'Gunuary' this year as well as trying to get some German armour painted.

In the shorter term, I have been working on some 5cm A/T guns and 7.5cm Infantry guns for the Germans. While the guns are mostly done, the crew are taking a bit more time than I had planned. I'm unused to painting Germans and the enthusiasm just isn't there. I'm getting there though, just a few final bits to do and the main colours are blocked in.

I've had a couple of lucky purchases this week. The first was a painted unit of HUGE Pak43/41's. These are really massive guns, much larger than the 5cm A/T guns I have - 89. Infanterie-Division apparently had some of these in it's artillery units, and there is photographic evidence of Polish tanks advancing past a knocked out one. I got 4 of these guns for a very reasonable price. While they need stripping and a bit of work, and didn't have the full crew compliment, they will do!

I also got this:

Which is a map printed by the Royal Engineers in 1948 and covers the Operation Totalize battle area. Again, I got this for a decent price. No units or anything marked on it, but I am tempted to get it framed... The immediate area that effects my Highlanders:

154 Brigades objectives were the Cramesnil, St. Aignan de Cramesnil and Garcelles Secqueville area.

You can also see the main Caen Highway running up and down the map - the Canadians were coming from the top of the map southwards on the left, while the Highlanders were on the right of the road. Near the bottom you can see Cintheaux and Gaumesnil - Michael Wittmann's 'last charge' was up the right side of the road from Cintheaux, with Whittmann himself being killed opposite Gaumesnil (most likely by Canadian Shermans in Gaumesnil, as opposed to the belief that the fire came from the Northamptonshire Yeomanry in the woods south of St. Aignan de Cramesnil). 

A visit to Redcar - and Gaming Figures - got me a load of FoW miniatures with a 30% discount due to their Halloween sail. 2 boxes of 88's (the mid war plastic ones), a box of two Shermans (yeah yeah) and another infantry platoon (plastic this time, for Battlegroup and to mix in with my metals). All for far less than I would normally pay!

So yeah - some cool purchases, and some plans that seem to be settling on getting my German AA and some of the armour done over the winter, along with some of my 6mm stuff. 

State of the collection 2017 - Part 5 - Germans

Hi folks,

Finishing off my run of videos with a quick overview of my Germans. I've not really added much to this army painting wise since last years video, but I do have a lot of unpainted stuff hanging around waiting for me to have motivation...

Again, for those of you not bothered about videos, here are some snaps:

The Stugs are from Sturmgeschutzabteilung 1344. - which I could not remember while filming! Tigers are from 101 Heavy Panzer, infantry are all III/Grenadier-Regiment 1055, 89. Infanterie Division. This picture shows the Mortars (10 of them!), 5 PaK40's , MG Bunkers, StuGs and Tigers. 

Pioneer infantry front left, Fusiliers in the centre, MG42 Platoon on the right. Infantry platoons (3 of them) behind the MG42's and Nebs. Also present are the two 88's, command elements for the infantry and snipers. 

The Nebs will be from Werfer Regiment 83 (a German Corps level formation),

Finished! German 88's, Nebelwerfers and Fusilier Platoon

Hi Folks,

With the end of the June challenge and the huge number of figures I finished over the two months, I took my foot off the pedal painting wise. However I have remained focused on getting this German list built before moving on to something else (probably a veritable horde of Shermans and Cromwells). Unfortunately I still had infantry figures to paint, but thankfully not too many of them. To round out the list I had a unit of 2 x 88mm AT/AA guns, 3 x Nebelwerfers and a small platoon of infantry (an infantry recce unit). I've still got a few bits to do, but at this point it's all vehicles.

So first up, the 88's. Going by the list in the Atlantic Wall book, these guns should probably be Luftwaffe guns. However, as the 89. Infanterie Division had two of it's artillery units equipped with 88's, I've painted the crew as Heer.

Each gun consists of the gun itself, an optional loader team (which increases the guns RoF) and the wheels for the guns. I painted the whole lot for both guns, plus scrounged up a command team. I worried for a bit about the paint scheme for these guns - but I couldn't find any references for possible camo on 88's in Normandy. I finally found some pictures of 88mm wheel units in a quarry during or after the Totalize battle, and there was no sign of camo on them - so i went with straight Middletone.

Next up the Nebelwerfers! Now given that this list was as much a focus on iconic German weapons of Normandy as it was on 89. Infanterie Division, I felt I just had to include these. The division itself didn't have any of these weapons on it's own strength, but was backed up by a Nebelwerfer Brigade which was in the area.

This unit is 3 x Nebelwerfers with command and spotter team. I still have to paint the Kubelwagon for the spotter unit, but other than that this unit is done for now. I might increase it to full strength with another 3 rocket launchers in the future.

Lastly we have the infantry Recce platoon. This is a small rifle only unit with no machine guns - only the command team is anything different being a SMG Panzerfaust team. These are all Battlefront plastics - nice models once painted but still some significant areas on each one which lack detail. Too much detail on the sides and rear of the models just blends in without any definition. Metal models and much better than this. These pictures have come out a little darker for some reason:

Next up on the painting table are the 3 StuGs and 2 Tigers. The Tigers from Lee are painted and just need tidied up to fit in (highlights, radio arials, bases, etc). the StuGs I'm a bit nervous about as they will be my fist attempt at painting German armour from scratch...

Operation Totalise (Totalize) - Part 1 - Origins of the Operations

Hi Folks,

One of the things that has been on the plans for a while (other than a guide to my basing style! That's been ticked off the list!) has been a plan to both detail some of what I know about the Totalise/Totalize battle and to look at FoW specific armies and scenarios linked to these tumultuous few days in August 1944. I've made a start in the past, with posts such as this, where I laid out the Allied OOB during the Battle. I'm planning another post detailing the German side some time soon*, although I did start by researching 89. Infanterie Division earlier this year. I've also recently done a video of my British and German collections so far.

*Soon may not be soon.

So, what is Totalise, and why the obsession?

The 'what' might be easier to look at first. The British and Commonwealth campaign in Normandy contains a lot of well known battles (also called operations). These battles formed a large part of the learning experience of the 21st Army Group. Many of these battles, despite being successful in achieving limited gains while forcing the Germans to keep substantial forces facing the British and Commonwealth forces, are viewed as tactical failures - often small advances being made at heavy cost.

This pressure and the scale of these massive set piece attacks meant that at the western end of the bridgehead, the US and Allied forces faced 1½ Panzer divisions compared with 6½ facing the Allied forces on the eastern (British and Canadian) flank. For much of June and July the Germans had also been convinced by a massive Allied deception operation (Operation Fortitude) that further allied landings (led by General Patton) were to be made in the Calais area - behind their current front line. As such, the British and Canadian front was seen as the more important and substantial German forces were tied up defending the Calais area and preventing the Allies from breaking through the German lines in the eastern part of the beach head.

It should be remembered that at this early stage in the fighting in NWE the allied forces - with the exception of a few Divisions and a scattering of veterans  and 'old soldiers' throughout units - was mainly a green force, new to combat. They were fighting with equipment which may have been relativity new (Sherman Firefly's were only put into production in January 1944 and by May less than 250 were with units) and having trained in the UK - where space was at a premium and large scale training exercises that allowed for proper cross country training were prohibited. Many of the German units were also green, or at least more recently formed. However the core of the units to be found later in the heavier fighting were eastern front veterans.

Following Operation Overlord on 6th June 1944, operations during June/July consisted of:

• Operation Perch
• The Battle of Le Mesnil-Patry
• Operation Martlet
• Operation Epsom
• Operation Windsor
• Operation Charnwood
• Operation Jupiter
• Operation Atlantic
• Operation Goodwood 
• Operation Spring (see below)

To quote Wiki: "Within 48 hours of the end of Operation Goodwood, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division launched an attack against the "formidable" German defences on Verrières Ridge. They suffered over 1,300 casualties and territorial gains were minimal. From 25 July to 27 July, another attempt was made to take the ridge as part of Operation Spring. Poor execution resulted in around 1,500 Canadian casualties. In total, the Battle of Verrières Ridge had claimed upwards of 2,800 Canadian casualties. While the ridge remained in German hands, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division had gained a foothold on the ridge between the village of Verrières to St.Martin-de-Fontenay, which would allow the troops to assemble free of German observation while they prepared to launch Totalize)."

Not my image - used without permission

The American Operation Cobra, launched on 25th of July, broke out of the western flank of the beachhead and the Americans began launching Armoured spearheads into the interior of France. Still, however, the Germans maintained their focus on the eastern end of the beachhead. Hitler had declared that a counter attack be launched with available Panzer forces with the aim of cutting off the American advance and reach the sea (Operation Luttich). This operation began on 7th of August, 1944, and had lead to most of the mobile Panzer divisions being moved to the western end of the beachhead.  

Not my image - used without permission

At the same time, a British operation (Operation Bluecoat) had been launched in order to put pressure on the Germans at the join between the British and American lines.

Not my image - used without permission

Planning for Totalize had began on July 30th, when Monty ordered General Simmonds and the II Canadian Corps to begin a new offensive with the objective of reaching Falaise, to start in 10 days time. On the 1st of August, Simmonds produced an appreciation of the tactical situation in which this offensive was to take place:

- The attack was to be over open ground, dominated by enemy controlled heights, leaving any allied armour vulnerable to long range anti-tank fire. As such an attack would have to take place when the defenders visibility was restricted and the high ground would have to be secured quickly. 
- The defences were in two lines, meaning a second 'break in' battle would have to be fought immediately after the first. 
- Previous attacks in Normandy had failed due to the attacking force moving beyond the range of supporting artillery. As such a proportion of aerial support would have to be held back in order to support the second breakout battle. 
- Tactical surprise would not be possible in terms of axis of attack or objectives,  so would have to be obtained via methods and timing.
- It would not be possible to suppress all anti-tank weapons for the entire amount of time required. thus this offensive would have to destroy these assets rather than just suppress them. 

On 5th of August the plan was ready. The plan itself involved precision night bombing of five targets on the flanks of the attack by the RAF, a rolling barrage by 360 artillery guns, half of the available bomber support being held as support for the second phase and, unusually, two infantry divisions conducting a surprise night break-in attack using infiltration tactics. To ensure the infantry could keep up with the two brigades of supporting Shermans, the troops would have to be transported in troop carrying vehicles. 

Situation as of 3/8/44 - note the missing area of front to the south where the American breakthrough was taking place, and the initial bulges in the centre of the map which were the beginings of operation Bluecoat. Totalise would be aimed south from Caen (top right) towards Falaise (middle right). Image is not mine (period map) used without permission.

At the time of this operation being planned, it is important to remember that the enemy force manning the ridge line consisted of 1. SS Panzer Corps (most notably 1. SS Panzer Division 'Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler').

On 6th of August Simmonds was informed via army intelligence that the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was being replaced in the line by the newly arrived 89. Infanterie Division. The initial plan was that the second phase of the attack would see both an Armoured and a Infantry Division pass through in order to continue the attack. Later intelligence convinced the Canadian commander that the SS Panzer Divisions were with drawing to form the second line of defense, rather than being sent west to help the push on Mortain. Expecting the second line of defense to be tougher, Simmonds decided that a further Armoured Division would be required instead of the Infantry Division. This change was made despite the objections of the Armoured Division commanders - who felt that the frontage available to their Divisions was too narrow. This would later be a major issue during the phase 2 attack. 

Due to a shortage of armoured vehicles (White Scout Cars, Half Tracks, Universal Carriers and GMC Armoured Trucks) for transporting the infantry during the attack, Simmonds 'got permission' to convert surplus M7 Priests, which the Americans had requested the British and Commonwealth forces stop using due to ammo supply issues, into the first fully tracked armoured personnel carriers. A workshop was set up, code named 'Kangeroo', in order to strip out the guns, add armour to the gap and strip out the ammo storage. The vehicles were also given a full service. 76 Vehicles were converted and serviced in only 72 hours by 250 personnel. Some of the metal used was 'salvaged' from beached Landing Craft on the beaches - much to the dismay of the Royal Navy!

The attacking Divisions were given very little time to train with the new equipment or in the new tactics. The initial 'break in' forces would be 2nd Canadian Division supported by the newly created 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade Group (an ad-hoc mix of 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade and 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade) and the British 51st Highland Division. The Highlanders would be supported by the British 33rd Armoured Brigade. 

The stage was set for the night of 7th of August 1944.

Grenadier Platoon #2 and HMG Platoon - Finished - And future plans...

Hey folks,

Two updates in a couple of days, but I just wanted to quickly show off these finished platoons.

These guys are 15mm Peter Pig WW2 Germans. For me they will be representing 1055. Grenadier Regiment, 89. Infantrie Division.

The figures were very kindly donated to me by Lee, and due to my clumsyness in getting them off the MDF bases (to have them match the basing style of the rest of my army) I wore a lot of the paint off the figures. I decided I may as well repaint them as I would be repairing them anyway (sorry Lee!).

First up we have some HMG42 teams:

And some Grenadier squads:

And then some 81mm Mortar teams, which will form part of the HQ unit:

I've got another Grenadier platoon to base along with the Company HQ and A/T squad. I'm hoping I will make a good dent in those this weekend!

After that I aim to start prepping some more German units - possibly the Pak40's, Snipers and Mortar Platoon. I think those units will be bigger jobs, so we will see what progress I make.

Outside of painting the Germans, I have also been taking steps towards making the whole project bigger. I spent a bit of time thinking and talking about where I am going with this Totalize obsession of mine. The logical conclusion for me is to be able to fight, with my own forces and terrain, the Operation Totalize battles. The question of which part was answered by me thinking a little bigger. Where do I want to go with my collections, and what is the final aim.

I've decided that given the ease that my German Infantry force came together (when only building to a set points level, rather than my Brits which are a never ending project), it might be interesting to do other Operation Totalize themed forces. A chance encounter has lead me to own almost an army's worth of M4A4 Shermans. With a few small purchases these will go on to be a Polish 1st Armoured Division force, along with (hopefully) a similar sized Cromwell force.

Other ideas currently in my head are to look at doing a German Armoured (12. SS) list, a German AA gun list (to represent III Flakcorps - the list is from Bridge by Bridge, but I don't mind), possibly Canadian lists (although I am focusing initially on the Highland Divisions part of the attack) and a few other things that seem to me to be 'key' interesting points of the battle. Along side these forces, I'll be focusing my terrain acquisitions on the terrain suitable for the theater of operations and which fit with the battlefields of the Operation. Such as a raised bed railway line, sunken roads, hedgerows, etc.

I'm not a big fan of the SS on the table top, but as I am aiming to represent a whole series of battles over several days, there is no point denying or ignoring their involvement.

I am also planning on working on creating a series of scenarios and Operation Totalize specific army lists - with a view to hopefully undertaking a collaboration with Mark over at House of Hengist and having some sort of Mega Game in the future. So a little bit of a change in scope and scale of what I am working on, and a slight re-orientation of the direction my collection will be taking. I am still expecting to continue to expand my Jocks, however!

Totalise/Totalize Allied Orbat

So with the issues I've had trying to track down certain units using Google I thought it might be useful to have a list of units involved. Both for me (although I do have a book!) and anyone else interested in this period. It might also give regular readers a bit of an idea of the size of this largely overlooked but vitally important operation.

This post will cover the Allies - although I have left out the air force element (84 Composite Group) for now.

First Canadian Army, Order of Battle, 7 August 1944

(Units marked with a * are British and + are Polish. All others are Canadian)

Headquarters, First Canadian Army

Army Troops:-

2 Canadian Armoured Brigade
   - 6 Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) (Sherman III)
   - 10 Canadian Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse) (Sherman III)
   - 27 Canadian Armoured Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment) (Sherman III)

31 Armoured Brigade*
   - 7th Battalion, the Royal Tank Regiment (Churchills)
   - 9th Battalion, the Royal Tank Regiment (Churchills)

33 Armoured Brigade*
   - 1 Northamptonshire Yeomanry (Sherman I)
   - 144 Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (Sherman I)
   - 148 Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (Sherman I)

25 Canadian Armoured Delivery Regiment (Elgin Regiment)

2 Canadian Army Group, Royal Artillery
   - 3 Canadian Medium Regiment (5.5")
   - 4 Canadian Medium Regiment (5.5")
   - 7 Canadian Medium Regiment (5.5")
   - 15 Medium Regiment* (5.5")
   - 1 Heavy Regiment* (7.2")

4 Army Group, Royal Artillery*
   - 150 Field Regiment* (25-pdr)
   - 53 Medium Regiment* (5.5")
   - 65 Medium Regiment* (5.5")
   - 68 Medium Regiment* (5.5")
   - 79 Medium Regiment* (5.5")
   - 51 Heavy Regiment* (7.2")

9 Army Group, Royal Artillery*
   - 9 Medium Regiment* (5.5")
   - 11 Medium Regiment* (5.5")
   - 107 Medium Regiment* (5.5")

74 Anti-Aircraft Brigade* (assigned to defence of 84 Composite Group airfields)

107 Anti-Aircraft Brigade* (not fully deployed for Totalize)
   - 2 Canadian Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment
   - 109 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment*
   - 344 Searchlight Battery*
   Still moving to the Continent:
   - 16 Anti-Aircraft Operations Room RCA
   - 108 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment*

661 Air Observation Post Squadron RAF

RCAF Army Headquarters Intercommunications Flight

- 2nd Canadian Corps

Headquarters, 2nd Canadian Corps

Corps Troops:

Canadian Armoured Corps
  - 18 Canadian Armoured Car Regiment (12 Manitoba Dragoons)

Royal Canadian Artillery 
    - 6 Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment (Towed 17 Pounder and SP 3" M10))
    - 2 Canadian Survey Regiment
    - 6 Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (40mm Bofors)
    - Corps Counter Batter Office

Royal Canadian Engineers
    - 29 Canadian Field Company
    - 30 Canadian Field Company
    - 31 Canadian Field Company
    - 8 Canadian Field Park Company

661 Air Observation Post Squadron, RAF*

-- 2nd Canadian Infantry Division

4 Canadian Infantry Brigade
   - Royal Regiment of Canada
   - Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
   - Essex Scottish

5 Canadian Infantry Brigade
   - The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
   - Le Regiment de Maisonneuve
   - Calgary Highlanders

6 Canadian Infantry Brigade
   - Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
   - Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada
   - South Saskatchewan Regiment

Divisional Troops
   - 8 Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (14 Canadian Hussars)

Royal Canadian Artillery
   - 4 Canadian Field Regiment
   - 5 Canadian Field Regiment
   - 6 Canadian Field Regiment
   - 2 Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment
   - 3 Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment

Royal Canadian Engineers
   - 2 Canadian Field Company
   - 7 Canadian Field Company
   - 11 Canadian Field Company
   - 1 Canadian Field Park Company

Tentacle, Air Support Signals Unit

Toronto Scottish (Machine Gun)

-- 3rd Canadian Infantry Division

7 Canadian Infantry Brigade
   - Royal Winnipeg Rifles
   - Regina Rifles Regiment
   - 1st Battalion, Canadian Scottish Regiment

8 Canadian Infantry Brigade
   - Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
   - Le Regiment de la Chaudiere
   - North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment

9 Canadian Infantry Brigade
   - The Highland Light Infantry of Canada
   - Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
   - North Nova Scotia Highlanders

Divisional Troops
   - 7 Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars)

Royal Canadian Artillery
   - 12 Canadian Field Regiment
   - 13 Canadian Field Regiment
   - 14 Canadian Field Regiment
   - 3 Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment (17-pdr, M10, M10C)
   - 4 Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment

Royal Canadian Engineers
   - 6 Canadian Field Company
   - 16 Canadian Field Company
   - 18 Canadian Field Company
   - 3 Canadian Field Park Company

Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Machine Gun)

-- 4th Canadian Armoured Division

4 Canadian Armoured Brigade
   - 21 Canadian Armoured Regiment (Governor General's Foot Guards)
   - 22 Canadian Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards)
   - 28 Canadian Armoured Regiment (British Columbia Regiment)
   - Lake Superior Regiment (Motor)

10 Canadian Infantry Brigade
   - Lincoln and Welland Regiment
   - Algonquin Regiment
   - Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)

Divisional Troops
   - 29 Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (South Alberta Regiment)

Royal Canadian Artillery
   - 15 Canadian Field Regiment
   - 23 Canadian Field Regiment (Self Propelled)
   - 19 Canadian Army Field Regiment (Self Propelled) - attached from 2 AGRA
   - 5 Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment (M10C)
   - 8 Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment

Royal Canadian Engineers
   - 8 Canadian Field Company
   - 9 Canadian Field Company
   - 6 Canadian Field Park Company

10th Independent Machine Gun Company (The New Brunswick Rangers)

-- 51st Highland Division*

152 Highland Brigade*
   - 2 Seaforth Highlanders*
   - 5 Seaforth Highlanders*
   - 5 Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders*

153 Highland Brigade*
   - 5 Black Watch*
   - 1 Gordon Highlanders*
   - 5/7 Gordon Highlanders*

154 Highland Brigade*
   - 1 Black Watch*
   - 7 Black Watch*
   - 7 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders*

Divisional Troops
   - 2 Derbyshire Yeomanry (Reconnaissance Regiment)*

Royal Artillery
   - 126 Field Regiment*
   - 127 Field Regiment*
   - 128 Field Regiment*
   - 61 Anti-Tank Regiment (17-pdr, 6-pdr)*
   - 40 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment*

Royal Engineers
   - 274 Field Company*
   - 275 Field Company*
   - 276 Field Company*
   - 236 Field Park Company*

1/7 Middlesex Regiment (Machine Gun)*

C Flight, 652 Air Observation Post Squadron, RAF*

-- 1. Dywizji Pancernej (1st Polish Armoured Division)+

No. 4 Laison HQ Armoured*

10. Brygada Kwalerii (10 Armoured Cavalry Brigade)+
   - 1. Pulk Pancerny (1 Armoured Regiment)+
   - 2. Pulk Pancerny (2 Armoured Regiment)+
   - 24. Pulk Ulanow (24 Lancers)+
   - 10.  Pulk Dragonow (10 Dragoons (Motor Battalion))+

3. Brygada Strzelcow (3 Rifles Brigade)+
   - 1. Batalion Strzelcow Podhalanskich (1 Rifles Battalion (Highland))+
   - 8. Batalion Strzelcow (8 Rifles Battalion)+
   - 9. Batalion Strzelcow (9 Rifles Battalion)+
   - Samodzielny Szwadron C.K.M. (1st Polish Armoured Division Machine Gun Company)+

Divisional Troops
   - 10. Pulk Strzelcow Konnych (10 Mounted Rifle Regiment (Reconnaissance Regiment))+

Artyleria Dywizyjna (Divisional Artillery)+
   - 1. Pulk Artylerii Motorowej (1 Motorized Artillery Regiment)+
   - 2. Pulk Artylerii Motorowej (2 Motorized Artillery Regiment)+
   - 1. Pulk Artylerii Przeciwpancernej (1 Anti-Tank Regiment)+
   - 1. Pulk Artylerii Pzerciwlotniczej (1 Anti-Aircraft Regiment)+

Saperzy Sywizyina (Divisional Engineers)+
   - 10. Kompania Saperow (10 Polish Field Company)+
   - 11. Kompania Saperow (11 Polish Field Company)+
   - 1. Pluton Mostowy (1 Bridging Platoon)+
   - 11. Kompania Parhkowa (11 polish Field Park Company)+

-- Attached from 79 Armoured Division*

- 22nd Dragoons (Sherman Crabs)*
- 1st Lothian and Border Horse Yeomanry (Sherman Crabs)*
- 141 Regiment RAC (Crocodiles)*
- 79 and 80 Assualt Squadrons (AVRE)*

- 1st British Corps (Outline only)

-- Corps Troops

- Royal Armoured Corps
   - The Inns of Court Regiment (Armoured Car)*

- Royal Artillery
   - 62 Anti-Tank Regiment*
   - 102 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment*
   - 9 Survey Regiment*

652 Air Observation Post Squadron, RAF (less C Flight)*

-- 6 (Airborne) Division*

3 Parachute Brigade*

5 Parachute Brigade*

6 Airlanding Brigade*

1 Special Service Brigade (attached)*

4 Special Service Brigade (attached)*

-- 49 (West Riding) Division*

70 Brigade*

146 Brigade*

147 Brigade*

Belgian Contingent (approx brigade strength)

Netherlands Contingent (approx brigade strength)


Wow - that's a lot of typing! Details have come from 'No Holding Back' by Brian A. Reid. As you can see, even without the German or Airforce elements listed, this variety of troops gives plenty of opportunity for different forces. Armoured, Infantry, Motorised, Mechanised and Recon lists. Including Armoured Recon, Airborne and Special Service units.

Also represented are Canadians, British, Polish, Belgian and Netherland units... Although the Belgian and Netherland units (along with the rest of 1st British Corps) were on the flanks of the attack so did not participate in the main drive.

Also - a little national pride. I noticed a huge number of 'Highland' regiments, including those in the Canadian Army. Just goes to show how much influence Scotland has had outside just the British Isles. (The fact a 'successful' 300 year 'union' led to so many Scots going abroad and influencing nations such as Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Australian is not lost on me.)

Looking at all this, I am tempted to work on a 'Mini Campaign' set of Flames of War army lists - based on the Overlord book but a little more 'correct' for the start of August rather than the start of June '44. Anyone interested in helping?

RAF and German Orbats to follow (at some point)!

The ongoing AoS* conundrums...

*AoS means Arm of Service, which was the small coloured or multi coloured box containing a  number found on British and Commonwealth military vehicles during WW2 - they denoted, in combination with the Divisional badge, the unit the vehicle belonged to.  

I've been away from home this weekend, as A's uncle died last week and the funeral was today. Just a small family event (slightly marred by the person doing the ceremony getting the time wrong and being an hour late... Oops).

Anyway, time away means time spent researching (without being mean, there's not a great deal else to do). With various models being prepped for construction, I thought I should try to research what decals I might need.

Firstly, I was trying to work out what (if any) unit with M10C 'Achilles'  supported the Highland Division during Totalise. I suspect that the answer will be in one of my books back home - but I had hoped Google might provide an answer. It has not. At the moment it looks like I may be painting them up as 5th Canadian Anti Tank Regiment vehicles. Which I think (???) may have a red and blue square with a white 2 on it and a white bar along the top - to represent Corps level troops.

The second unit I've been lightly researching was the AGRA supporting the attack - as the eventual plan is to get some 5.5" guns. Again, I'm not sure of the exact unit and I'm sure the answer will be in 'No Holding Back'.

Also on the research list has been S&S models, who are producing conversion kits for Plastic Soldier Company. This includes ARV kits to make Sherman ARV mk1's (I've done my own) and the German ARV's. But also AVsRE, including Churchill SBG bridge layers and Churchill Fascine layers.

While trying to find what markings to use, I came across this:

It appears to be a period document showing the full components of the 51st Highland Division with their associated AoS markings. A great find with one small mistake. The Arm of Service markings for 154 Brigade are a little mixed up. Every other source I can find confirms my Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were number 69 on a brown background, not 68 as indicated above.

Another thing I need to check is at what point 61st Regiment Anti Tank (the HD's integral AT regiment) got their SP guns and whether they used Achilles or went straight to Archers. I found some great articles on the use of Anti Tank weapons in the Commonwealth forces and the change in policy and growth in preference for SP guns instead of towed 17-pdrs throughout the NWE campaign. The Nachtjager book indicates that the 17-pdr units were disbanded, when actually they were converted to SP units.

So lots of googling, lots of annoyance at websites that have the same generic text, and more idea as to the lack of certain info online. I'll be sure to post my findings here - in case anyone else can point out a mistake or find the info useful.

Now to look into home made decals, because sure as dammit no one will make what I want in 15mm!!!

Edit - Update

In a prime example of why books are better for research...

In the 144RAC/7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlander's column, there were no M10C's. The HD took their own Battalion Anti-Tank platoon with it's 6-pdrs with them.  The nearest M10C's would therefore be from 56 Anti Tank Battery of the 6th Canadian Anti Tank regiment - part of II Canadian Corps allocation of troops (Corps level support). Oddly, the British columns took no towed or SP 17-pdrs with them while the Canadians did.

The Highland Division had, during the initial bombardment, support from 144 25-pdr's (it's own and 4th Canadian Armoured Divisions) as well as 48 Medium guns from 9 AGRA and 36 from 4 AGRA. And the artillery from the flanking divisions... 

5th Assault Reg. RE (79th Armoured Div.) AVsRE - Finished!

I got home from my time campaigning tonight with a few hours left before bedtime.

As such, I got these two Churchill Armoured Vehicles Royal Engineers finished. These guys are part of the breaching group with will go along with my Sherman Flails and my armoured D7 Bulldozer (stay tuned!). Eventually the plan is to have another 2 of these guys with a Fascine and/or assault bridge each.

The 5th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers were part of 79th Armoured Division (Hobarts Funnies) and were tasked during Operation Totalise with supporting the night attack. I have no info on what parts of the unit were with what column, so that solved one issue. Also, I could find no reference to or pictures of AVsRE with squadron markings - it seems that as the tanks were operated by the Royal Engineers they did not use normal Tank Regiment structures. I am willing to be corrected if anyone has other info.

These two models are from Battlefront and I have to say I love them. The Churchill was always my least favourite British WW2 tank. But over time the ugly big buggers have grown on me. They were a joy to paint although they were a bit of a nuisance to put together, with gaps between the resin hull and metal tracks.

Not great pics due to me rushing to get them before my phone battery died!

Looking forward to using these in a game at some point where they can be useful from a AVsRE perspective. Need to think of a scenario that had bunkers to bust and hedges to breach!

Defrocked Priest Decals (Strike again)

So after painting my defrocked priests with formation badges from the British 3rd Infantry Division and the 11th Armored Division... I realised these were wrong!

"The first Kangaroos were converted from 102 M7 Priest self-propelled guns of three field artillery regiments of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division who were involved in the initial assault on 6 June 1944. These were no longer needed, as these regiments were re-equipped with towed 25 pounder guns in late July. At a field workshop (codenamed Kangaroo, hence the name) they were stripped of their 105mm guns, the front aperture welded over, then sent into service carrying twelve troops. They were first used on 8 August 1944 during Operation Totalize south of Caen to supplement the half-tracks available." - Wiki

And

"Four Canadian artillery units - the 12th, 13th and 14th Field Regiments of the 3rd Division and the 19th Army Field Regiment - had exchanged their 25-pounders for Priests in the fall of 1943 as part of their equipment for Overlord. The time was now ripe, with the 3rd Division withdrawn from the line for a well deserved rest, for the three divisional regiments to exchange their borrowed guns for towed 25-pounders as part of a program to re-equip the field regiments of 21st Army Group. (The 12th and 13th Field Regiments began to turn in their Priests on 1 August, followed by the 14th Field Regiment on 3 August...."

"On 31 July Crerar had anticipated that the Americans would agree and had directed Brigadier Grant to be prepared to convert the SP guns to armoured infantry carriers by 9 August, although this date was later moved forward to 6 August." - No Holding Back

So my vehicles should have the markings of 12th, 13th and 14th Field Regiments of the Canadian army - part of 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. I found the formation sign here.

Using a scalpel I carefully removed the formation signs from last night and attempted to match the color of the Divisional sign above.

Not a great picture, but I tried to match the color and used German camo beige to do the maple leaf shape.

The sad bit is my realization that the Canadian's used differed WD numbers than the British army. Basically the same numbers, but with the letter C in front of them. So....

Yeah. I may need help....