Hello wargamers! I have been painting and modeling like a madman. I guess there is always a silver lining even during this whole COVID mess. I have even had the opportunity to do a few commission paint jobs which helps with the decrease in income that I am sure most of us are feeling. I just tell myself that the world is giving me the chance to keep my painting muscles strong. However; for the weekend I decided I was going to just stop and pound out a personal project. I am working on 28mm German and American armies themed around my favorite battle of World War II.
The Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge reaped a terrible toll on both sides of the conflict with thousands of troops dead in the forests of Belgium. Operation Nordwind as it was known on the Axis side was the last desperate push to get the democratic nations out of the war so that all of the resources of Nazi Germany could be thrown at the steamrolling Soviet Union armies that were tearing eastern Europe apart.
I do my best to keep my nose out of politics, but I don't necessarily blame them for wanting to keep Stalin away from their homes. The Third Reich knew their days were numbered, and the race was on to control the damage. Hitler thought this plan was fool proof and forced the apprehensive German military staff to throw away the last of their dwindling resources into the snowy forests of Belgium to cut the Allies off from their supplies. Something that is not well known about America's efforts in Europe was we were going so fast that the logistical train was having issues getting bullets and gear to the front line. This was mostly due to a lack of a dependable deep water port. Cherbourg, France was the city intended to fill this roll, but the Germans put mines in the water surrounding it and damaged the docks so that they were unusable.
When Belgium was taken, the American logistic companys' prayers must have been answered when they took Antwerp. This city had the facilities they needed to get gear and supplies to the troops, and it was in a prime location to smash into Germany and avoid the Siegfried line. Hitler and his military staff were well aware of this, and Operation Nordwind was developed to cut that line of supply off so that America would consider a ceasefire or some kind of conditional surrender.
In the Dust 1947 universe this is actually the battle that alters the fate of the Axis the most in my opinion. Hitler had been assassinated by the Blutzkorp on his birthday in April and the military staff had finally managed to stabilize the country by this point. Since walkers had been introduced at the Battle of Stalingrad and Hitler wasn't able to throw half a million Axis military personal away in a bout of insanity, the Axis military was in a much better position to defend itself. This offensive action actually eventually leads to the third battle of Paris and the resulting exodus of American forces from the European Theater.
TLDR: I painted a panzer crew while I was listening to documentaries in the background again. Felt cute, may watch Band of Brothers again for the billionth time. Either way I hope you enjoyed the brief little description and it inspired you to take a look at the battle in more depth. It is easy to get lost by the heroic actions of 101st Easy Company's actions at the Siege of Bastogne, but the battle had alot more going on than that and its important to remember everyone that was there. War sucks, and it would be a shame to forget the lessons and sacrifices that people made.
Keep up the boom boom guys and leave a comment if you found this interesting. Leave a comment if you think I should just stop listening to documentaries and yapping on the internet. GO ON I CAN TAKE IT!
The Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge reaped a terrible toll on both sides of the conflict with thousands of troops dead in the forests of Belgium. Operation Nordwind as it was known on the Axis side was the last desperate push to get the democratic nations out of the war so that all of the resources of Nazi Germany could be thrown at the steamrolling Soviet Union armies that were tearing eastern Europe apart.
I do my best to keep my nose out of politics, but I don't necessarily blame them for wanting to keep Stalin away from their homes. The Third Reich knew their days were numbered, and the race was on to control the damage. Hitler thought this plan was fool proof and forced the apprehensive German military staff to throw away the last of their dwindling resources into the snowy forests of Belgium to cut the Allies off from their supplies. Something that is not well known about America's efforts in Europe was we were going so fast that the logistical train was having issues getting bullets and gear to the front line. This was mostly due to a lack of a dependable deep water port. Cherbourg, France was the city intended to fill this roll, but the Germans put mines in the water surrounding it and damaged the docks so that they were unusable.
When Belgium was taken, the American logistic companys' prayers must have been answered when they took Antwerp. This city had the facilities they needed to get gear and supplies to the troops, and it was in a prime location to smash into Germany and avoid the Siegfried line. Hitler and his military staff were well aware of this, and Operation Nordwind was developed to cut that line of supply off so that America would consider a ceasefire or some kind of conditional surrender.
In the Dust 1947 universe this is actually the battle that alters the fate of the Axis the most in my opinion. Hitler had been assassinated by the Blutzkorp on his birthday in April and the military staff had finally managed to stabilize the country by this point. Since walkers had been introduced at the Battle of Stalingrad and Hitler wasn't able to throw half a million Axis military personal away in a bout of insanity, the Axis military was in a much better position to defend itself. This offensive action actually eventually leads to the third battle of Paris and the resulting exodus of American forces from the European Theater.
TLDR: I painted a panzer crew while I was listening to documentaries in the background again. Felt cute, may watch Band of Brothers again for the billionth time. Either way I hope you enjoyed the brief little description and it inspired you to take a look at the battle in more depth. It is easy to get lost by the heroic actions of 101st Easy Company's actions at the Siege of Bastogne, but the battle had alot more going on than that and its important to remember everyone that was there. War sucks, and it would be a shame to forget the lessons and sacrifices that people made.
Keep up the boom boom guys and leave a comment if you found this interesting. Leave a comment if you think I should just stop listening to documentaries and yapping on the internet. GO ON I CAN TAKE IT!
Comments
Post a Comment