Haldir & his Galadhrim Warriors

Haldir and the Galadhrim Warriors.

Minis a mix of GW plastics and blister.

In the War of the Ring, evil picks up momentum after Sauruman’s betrayal became known, and his forces swamped the villages of the Rittermark. The assailed people of the Westfold under King Théoden, had to leave their homes and take refuge in the old Hornburg castle in the ravine of Helm’s Deep. Here, heavily outnumbered against the Uruk-Hai, they would make a desperate stand at the Battle of Helm’s Deep.

Haldir and his 400 Elves awaiting the onslaught
of the enemy at Helm's Deep.

As preparations for the ensuing battle intensified, a glimmer of light appeared in the despairing darkness. Thinking themselves forsaken by the other factions of Good, Théoden and Aragorn were more than relieved to receive the help of Haldir and 400 Galadhrim Warrior Elves. 

The command stand with Haldir and improvised Elvish banner.

Haldir had persuaded Elrond of Rivendell not to abandon the people of the Rittermark in their hour of need, and thus he was allowed to gather a contingent of the elite Galadhrim Warriors, rushing to join Théoden and Aragorn just in time for the coming battle.

According to Tolkien, Haldir spoke the "common tongue" of man.

Thus he would help guide the Fellowship out of Lorien, as they commenced their might quest to destroy the One Ring.

During the Battle of Helm’s Deep, the skilled Elves would prove decisive in slowing down the advance of the Uruk-Hai sufficiently, allowing Gandalf the White to arrive with reinforcements to flank and defeat the Forces of Sauruman. However, the hard-fought battle would see all but a few Elves slain, including their leader, Haldir.

Galadhrim Warriors from the GW plastics sprue.

Interestingly, the movie-version of Haldir’s actions doesn’t correspond with Tolkien’s original book-version. In the books, Haldir and the Galadhrim never joined in the Battle of Helm’s Deep. Lorien was too hard pressed after the onslaught of Dol Guldur. Thus, in the books, Haldir has an unknown fate, perhaps taking him across the Great Sea with the rest of the Elves as they eventually leave Middle-Earth.

Thank you very much for reading!

Galadriel - Lady of Lórien

My take on Galadriel - using a 60mm "forest" resin base from Micro Art Studio,

to give her that Lorien Forest feeling.

For more than 4 years a moving box, filled to the brim with the wonderful world of GW’s Lord of The Rings plastic and metal minis, have been sitting in my attic waiting for the day when I would find like-minded project companions to game with. Over the summer fellow club-members Jonas and Michael happily confessed to having the same Tolkien compulsion and indeed a similar dormant collection at home – so after a talk about who would paint what, a project was finally born.

The Lady of Light - Galadriel.

For those of you familiar with Tolkien’s wonderful world of Middle-Earth and it’s many inhabitants, the cover photo will have given away what faction I’m painting – the elves. I decided to cover both Lórien and Mirkwood, incorporating some of the new fantastically crisp miniatures from GW’s The Hobbit collection. 

Forest of Lorien, ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn.

The single most fantastic thing about Tolkien’s work is probably his rich cabinet of characters, races and their long line of descend all carefully described in one man’s fables (the info is so extensive it has its own Wiki-universe), inspired as he was by Norse and Celtic mythology. So with all this rich material on the elves, I’ll be posting a bit of their background here as the project goes forward. First off – the Lady of Lórien. The lady of the Galadhrim and the Lady of light – Galadriel.

GALADRIEL

According to the legends she was born in Valinor during the mystical time before The First Age known as the Years of the Trees. She was the only daughter of mighty Finarfin, prince of Noldor and Eärwen. As she became a young adult, her fascination for Middle-Earth grew, mostly thanks to her uncle Fëanor, who told her about its wonders. She felt drawn to it, desiring to find a place there to rule.

Galadriel as portrayed by Kate Blanchett in Peter Jackson's movies.

As she journeyed across the Great Ocean to Middle-Earth, her three brothers joined her, as she set out to accomplish her dream of creating a realm of her own. Arriving to Middle-Earth, she spends the First Age at the court of Thingol in Menegroth. To her great sorrow, all three of her brothers were killed in the many wars during the First Age. Galadriel herself played an insignificant role in the wars and the final defeat of Morgoth.

A view of the fantastic base from Micro Art Studio.

The level of details were just astounding!

At the dawn of the Second Age, Galadriel and her spouse Celeborn were given a small fiefdom to rule under the great Gil-Galad, High King of Noldor. There they had a daughter, Celebrían – who later would be mother to the more well-known Arwen, through her marriage to Elrond of Rivendell.

They then moved east, to rule a territory west of the Misty Mountains. They called it Eregion. It prospered under their wise rule, and trade relations were established with the Dwarves in Moria. They then left Eregion, passing the task of ruling the flourishing territory to Celebrimbor, prince of the House of Fëanor.

A complete map of Middle-Earth with Lorien placed to the east of the Misty Mountains,
between the larger forests of Fangorn and Mirkwood.

Galadriel and Celeborn once again moved east, this time over the Misty Mountains, through the mines of Khazad-dûm. On the other side of the mountains, in the wast forest, they took rule over the lands of Lothlórien. It is now the Rings of Power come into play, as they were created under the guidance of the Maia (Great Spirit) Annatar. Galadriel suspected Annatar to have a hidden agenda, and her instincts proved her right, as Annatar turned out to be none other than Sauron. His plan being to rule Middle-Earth through the magic and power of the rings. The rings were hidden, three of them among the Elves.

Lorien.

Galadriel is wearing the powerful ring Nenya, also known as The White Ring or the Ring of Water. Nenya is one of the Rings of Power, of which three were entrusted to the Elves of Middle-Earth. In the tales, Nenya is said to have been crafted of Mithril Silver and a white stone of Adamant.

A scene from the Peter Jackson movies, 

that probably inspired the GW miniature.

At the end of The Second Age, Sauron was finally defeated during the War of the Last Alliance, Isildur managing to cut of his finger and separate the dark lord from the One Ring. In an attempt to stem future tides of Evil, Galadriel then formed the White Council, incorporating some of the most powerful wizards and characters of good in Middle-Earth. At this point in the legends, the three movies of the Hobbit then begin as we see the dawn of the Third Age. I warmly recommend the movies to anyone who haven't seen them yet!

More Elves to come – Thank you very much for reading!

The History of elite unit Großdeutschland - part 4: The Russian Bear counterattacks

Battlefront's Panzer III command model.

Great piece with plenty of stowage details.

Gaming has now commenced with my 15mm collection of Germans for Operation Barbarossa. Skillfully coached by fellow club member and experienced Chain of Command player, Ulf, I saw the need to increase my panzer contingent in the collection. I've decided to build a forced consisting mainly of Panzer III's with a single Panzer II and the support of the Sdkfz 222, as a good sample forced of the Panzer forces of Guderian in 1941. StuGIII and Panzer IVs will be added later in white-washed camo, when I paint up the winter uniformed units for Stalingrad. 

Russian reinforcements marching across the Red Square in the winter of 41.

The march continued straight through the city and to the front line on its outskirts. 

Operation Taifun - the era of Blitzkrieg comes to an end. 

The fall of 1941 had seen the German army rapidly advance into the heart of Russia. Huge encirclements resulted in catastrophic amount of surrendering Russian troops (Smolensk: 850.000 / Kiev & Uman: 1.500.000). The situation was hard pressed for the Russian Rodina. Hitler wanted to apply the deathblow by a rapid capture of Moscow, before the Russian winter would set in. In the usual style of the German high command, a plan was meticulously drawn up and named Operation Taifun (Operation Typhoon).

A closer look at the stowage.

The IRGD decal has been duly added.

It started promisingly with the advance of von Bock’s forces, encircling and capturing another 660.000 Russians at Bryansk in the beginning of October. IRGD joined the push for Moscow on the 23rd, fighting through the thick autumn mud at Mtsensk, some 200 km south of Moscow. Within a week of heavy fighting and tough marching in the mud, the regiment reached Tula. Moscow was now only little more than a 100 km away. To the Northwest the German forced were even closer, with only 50 km left before they would stand on the Red Square.

The Siberian troops would prove a formidable foe in the harsh winter conditions,
fighting the summer-clothed and suffering German troops.

In Moscow panic broke out among the civilian populace, and intense efforts were made to prepare the city for a fight, house by house. Soviet General Zhukov had been called in to take command of the defence. Reinforcements consisting of the elite Siberian corps had been called back from the east (no attack from Japan was expected anymore), and the remainder of the Russian air force was concentrated around the capital to give support to the ground forces.

Radio antenna added using a thin brass wire for ship modeling.

Meanwhile November saw the German troops bogged down in mud, icy rain and snow as temperatures rapidly dropped to inhumane levels. Machinery seized to work, engines refused to start with the oil inside frozen solid. As November turned to December, the infantry began to show signs of extreme fatigue, with troops suffering from frostbite and sanitary diseases. The German Blitkrieg machine had ground to a halt. 

IRGD were split into minor units, 

plugging the holes in the crumbling German front.

On the 7th of December, the Russian bear roared for the first time, as Zhukov launched an immense counter-offensive all across Brock’s line. IRGD and the rest of the German infantry was poorly equipped to fight in the extreme winter conditions that now faced them. German Army command suggested instigating a controlled retreat and refitting the troops. Hitler denied this, knowing full well that his troops had next to no winter clothes to sustain them. Instead orders were issued to fight to the death. IRGD fought bravely and suffered incredibly, and they were split up into smaller units and dispersed to fill holes in the crumbling line of Bock’s Army Group Centre. 

The Panzer commander scouting for the shortest way to the Red Square.

The push for Moscow had failed. The bear had awoken, and the era of Blitkrieg had come to an end. The dawn of 1942 saw Hitler sack his army command, take personal leadership of the German forces, and dismiss backbone Generals like Guderian. With the apex of the German army behind it, 1942 would be a road leading into even darker chapters. 

A map of the massive Soviet counter attack during the winter of 1941.

Next up: Part V, Stalingrad and the beginning of the end.

Thank you very much for reading!

Book Recommendations

"The Key to Berlin"

Russian propaganda poster, 1945.

The victors write history – or so they say. Perhaps it’s true, but in time, even the defeated party might have something to add.

The defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 also signalled an era of European division and the beginning of the ”Cold War”. It was not until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, that Europe could start to really heal the wounds of WW2 and a united Germany could start to reflect on its turbulent birth. The fall of communism also opened a lot of historical archives in both East-Germany and Russia, casting new light on a dark chapter in history. 

Some of the well-preserved Ostwall defences.

Looks like this piece took a few direct hits.

My friend and fellow historical enthusiast, Uwe Klar, has written two recommendable books about some of those last dark episodes during WW2. With new material from both German and Russian archives (Uwe has lived in Russia for many years), he writes about the desperate fighting in Poland, East-Prussia and on to the Seelow Heights as the Russians tightened the noose on Berlin in 45. 

German artillery position defending the Seelow Heights.

I know from my Google-Statistics that many of my readers are in fact Germans, so I would like to showcase Uwe’s books, and recommend them to all German reading visitors here on the blog.

Brennpunkt ”Ostwall”

The book meticulously documents the fighting on the fortified line of Oder-Warthe-Bogen in the winter of early1945. It narrates in a day by day style, that helps the reader to really understand the desperation of the bitter struggle, as the German army throw scattered Panzer resources into the mix of Volkssturm units and veteran Grenadiers in an attempt to stem the Russian tide.

Brennpunkt “Ostwall”

By: Uwe Klar & André Vogel

Pages: 390

Published: 2015 by Helios Verlag, Aachen (DE)

Price: €32.00 (www.amazon.de)

- * -

Der Schlüssel für Berlin

Again Uwe Klar uses his knowledge of Russian, mixing German and Soviet sources to give as accurate and interesting account as possible on the dramatic battle of Seelow Heights. “The Key to Berlin” as the book is called, covers the background for the battle, organization of the armies and offers a very detailed description of the fighting itself.

Der Schlüssel für Berlin

By: Uwe Klar & Gerd-Ulrich Herrmann

Pages: 240

Published: 2010 by Helios Verlag, Aachen (DE)

Price: €19.00 (www.amazon.de)

Thank you very much for stopping by!

The Black Hussars – HR5 von Ruesch

The Black Hussars in a wild charge.

The Minden miniatures are full of details and animation.

As my 15mm WW2 collection is reaching a playable size; I look ahead to new projects for the fall and winter. One project that has been earmarked for expansion in 2015 is my WAS/SYW collection. Having been a long standing fan of Minden Miniatures and the sculpting style of Richard Ansell, I found it hard to resist their excellent Prussian hussars, which come in the variation of both mounted and dismounted/skirmishing.

Inspiration.

Having decided to start out with the mounted unit, the choice of what regiment to actually paint was really not that hard. As a kid, when reading about Frederick the Great for the first time, and studying the uniform plates of Preben Kannik, I was fascinated by the Black Hussars and their scull-marked mirliton.

Knötel's take on the HR5.

The Black Hussars was first raised in 1741 as part of the Prussian cavalry reformation, by taking a squadron of trained cavalrymen from the HR1 as a core supplement to the fresh recruits. They would become the 5th hussars regiment to be added to the ranks of Frederick’s growing army. The HR5 prefix is interesting, as it was the unglamorous and numbering system devised by the Prussian army’s Grand Old Man – Fürst von Anholt-Dessau a.k.a “Der alte Dessauer”, revealing the very pragmatic DNA of Prussian military values.

Another view of the unit.

I'm basing cavalry on 60x60mm bases from Warbases
with those nicely rounded corners.

During the War of Austrian Succession (Branching First & Second Silesian War) the unit served with distinction in the second part, particularly during the Battle of Hohenfriedberg and Hennersdorf. The nickname “Black Hussars” or even “Totenköpfe” was earned, and stuck all the way up to the elimination of the state/name Prussia after WW2. 

One of Preben Kannik's fantastic uniform plates.

Later during the Seven Years War, with Frederick hard pressed in a two-front war, the HR5 would be divided and serve simultaneously in both the eastern and western theatre, playing an active part in battles such as Zorndorf, Kunersdorf and of course the battle of Minden.

The Black Hussars as they looked later during the Franco-Prussian War.

In 1808 the regiment had become somewhat of a Prussian legend, and thus was elevated to official Leib-Hussaren (Royal Guard Hussars), a prominence they would keep through the Franco-Prussian War, on to the First World War while ending as a relic of the old Empire under the Nazi rules during the Second World War.

Here are some of the regiments most famous people

Prince Friedrich-Charles of Prussia.
(Franco-Prussian War)

Kaiser Wilhelm II (WW1)

Kaiser Wilhelm's son, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (WW1)

General von Mackensen.
Famous WW1 General and author of two books on the Black Hussars.

Thank you very much for reading!

The History of elite unit Großdeutschland - part 3; Waking up the bear

The MG42 at work on the Eastern Front.

Having now completed my intended 4 Zugs of summer uniformed infantry, I thought it was time for a little update on the journey of Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland eastward towards Moscow. We last left them enjoying the laurels of victory, after the triumph of Blitzkrieg and the fall of France. Now things move toward a darker horizon.

One of the four Zugs now finished.

The build-up towards Barbarossa

With their famous foe of the Great War soundly defeated, Großdeutschland went into winter camp at Belfort focussing on replenishing the ranks after suffered casualties and additionally to train up on new weaponry. Meanwhile in Berlin the Führer, now drunk on the success of Blitzkrieg and the fall of France, had become more and more obsessed with the prospect of an attack on his ally – the Soviet Union. 

Russian troops fought a desperate but futile battle against
the onslaught of Blitzkrieg in the summer of 1941.
(Picture from: Bashny.net)

The notion that a pre-emptive attack would rob Britain of a potential ally, by forcing a quick campaign to get a German dictated peace settlement, and the general ideology of lebensraum found on the “Slavic wastelands” to the east, drove the Führer’s mind towards this fateful operation. But before he could direct his finely tune war machine east, he would have to secure his southern flank.

The conquest of Greece and Yugoslavia was the last piece of the puzzle,
now Hitler had a unison front to the East.

 This meant that Greece and Yugoslavia, in both cases refusing to fall into the German alliance system, were targeted for armed invasion. The operation was even sanctioned by Moscow (still an ally of Germany at this point), and forces moved into action. Großdeutschland were designated to take part in the invasion of Yugoslavia, supporting an armoured Corps in a drive towards the nations capital, Belgrade. 

HQ base with an officer consulting the roadmap to Moscow.

The attack commenced on April 11th 1941, and meet next to no resistance. In the early hours of the following day Belgrade was taken, with I battalion of Großdeutschland directed to keep the public quiet and by show of force. Hitler now had a unison front east, stretching from the Baltic coast to the Black Sea. It was time to move the pieces into their position for the big attack. Operation Barbarossa was shaping up.

The initial German strength of Operation Barbarossa

At the outset of Barbarossa, the combined forces of Hitler’s Blitzkrieg machine comprised 3 million troops, with an additional force 750.000 from allies like Finland and Romania. These were accompanied eastward by some 3.350 tanks, ca. 7.000 artillery pieces and some 600.000 motorized vehicles. 

The German army had massed an incredible 3.350 tanks
for Operation Barbarossa.

Looking to the skies, they could depend upon the Luftwaffe to support them with about 3.000 aircraft, buzzing ahead with Stuka sirens signalling the impending storm. Though intelligence had fed Moscow with proof of German troop build-up leading up to the invasion, Barbarossa caught the bear daydreaming, of not sleeping. Stalin’s many initiatives in reforming his army had not bore any fruit, on the contrary, the big political purge of capable officers had left the Soviet army with what best can be described as unproven enthusiasts in many commanding positions. This would prove costly in the months to come.

German radio operator.

Like in the Franco-Prussian War and WW1,
German communications and com-equipment
were often superior to that of the enemy. 

Crossing the historic river Berezina

On June 22nd the vast German army rolled over the border and into Russia. What would be the most decisive chapter of WW2 had begun. In May Großdeutschland had been moved up from Yugoslavia and put in support of Second Panzer Group, forming part of von Bock’s Army Group Centre tasked with taking Moscow.

The fight for river crossings and bridgeheads was intense.

Operations began with promising advances and thousands of Russian prisoners taken. Time and again, Großdeutschland would fight encircling actions, mopping up surrendering Soviet troops as the Panzers jumped forward in pincer manoeuvres. On one occasion, fighting outside Minsk, over 150.000 prisoners were taken in a single operation. Another major engagement was fought at Borisov, close to the historic river Berezina. Here Napoleon had crossed with the remnants of his Grand Armée in 1812, some 130 years earlier. Now it was the Russians making a hasty retreat. 

German artillery/air support spotter.

Großdeutschland pushed forward, with many missions consisting of establishing and holding bridgeheads in conjuncture with the Panzers advance. They advanced deeper into the core of Russia, fighting their way towards Yelnya in July. As summer peaked and temperatures grew scorching hot, Großdeutschland fought a series of intense engagements, against defiant Russian units at the well defended railroad junction at Yelnya. Having bumped into a rock on the road, and after more than a month of intense fighting, Großdeutschland was now awarded a few days rest, from which they would be returned into a defensive position West of Yelnya, offering further time to revamp their energy. 

During the summer of 41 the German army was still bathed in success,

but dark clouds were gathering on the horizon.

On the 7th August Smolensk fell with a devastating 850.000 Russian prisoners taken. This opened the remaining 300km of road towards Moscow. The goal seemed within reach. In part IV we will follow the Großdeutschland to the gates of Moscow, where the Bear finally counter-attacks.

Thank you very much for reading!

The Danish Warship Churprindsen

The Churprindsen.

Model from Langton's Anglo-Dutch range.

About a year ago fellow club member Mark and I decided to build a collection of Danish and Swedish warships for the Scanian War, using the excellent pewter cast 1:1200 models from Langton. The Scanian War is interesting not only on in terms of the large and bloody land battles, but also at sea where the large Danish and Swedish navies had four mayor sea battles, with plenty of drama and fierce fighting to base good scenarios on.

The Danish and Swedish navies slugging it out 

at the battle of Køge Bugt, 1677.

We recently tried out some new rules that Mark had found for us – see the AAR here, and decided it was time to pick up the project again by painting up more of the beautiful Langton ships. Having already done the Christianus Quintus, the flagship of Nils Juel (my favorite Danish Admiral) at the Battle of Køge Bugt, I decided to paint up his earlier flagship, Churprindsen, from which he commanded during the two sea battles the year before in 1676.

Churprindsen

For anyone who has been to Copenhagen, the harbor channels of Christianshavn and the area around the impressive new Opera will be familiar. In the 1600s this area was a bustling naval yard, with an impressive turn out rate of large warships to ensure Danish naval security in Øresund strait. 

Another view at the model.

Rigging these small models is a work of patience, 

but very rewarding to the look of the finished model.

In the 1660s the building master, Mathias Hermandsen, was charges with constructing 5 new and quite sizable warships, one of them was Churprindsen.  Construction was finished 1664, and the 146 ft long ship was launched with 72 guns, most of them 18 pounders. She carried a crew of around 380 men, most of them recruited through the many capable sailor at the naval docks in Copenhagen.

The Royal Danish shipyards at Holmen, Copenhagen.

The model can be viewed at the Naval Museum in Copenhagen.

Churprindsen would see action in all the four mayor sea battles of the Scanian War:

Battle of Bornholm 25-26th May 1676 (The flagship of Nils Juel)

Battle of Öland 1st June 1676 (The flagship of Nils Juel)

Battle of Møn 31st May – 1st June 1677

Battle of Bøge Bugt 1- 2 July 1677

Close quarter firefights were devastating to hull and crew.

At the Battle of Öland Christianus Quintus and Churprindsen would surround the Swedish warship “Svärdet”, flagship of admiral Uggla, and force him to strike flag and surrender after an intense fire duel. Unfortunately the price ship never made at back to Copenhagen, since a Dutch (allies of the Danes) fireship drifted up and set the Svärdet ablaze, causing it to blow up with Uggla and most of its 650-man crew.

A view of the colorful and decorative stern.

Churprindsen went on to serve the Royal Danish navy until 1710, where she was laid out as target practice for the artillery at the harbor forts in Copenhagen.

Thank you very much for reading!