Halloween pumpkins!

Today at work, the Radiographers at the RVI had a Halloween pumpkin competition!
There were some remarkable carvings on offer...

Excellent!

Lurking within Kent

We did a WW2 'What if' game today, based on the premise that the Germans actually won the Battle of Britain and invaded in late August 1940.
Operation Sealion.

Our game was an Attack - Defence game, with a German Fallschirmjäger platoon holding a village, and being attacked by a platoon of regular British infantry supported by a Home Guard platoon. We additionally fielded a Morris Cs9 armoured car, and two tanks, an A9 and an A10 .

The Germans were run by my rules' solo system. We used a random selection of German troops so we were not sure what we were facing, or where they were!

The battlefield, seen from the German side.

The lovely 4Ground terraced buildings we had to seize.

On our left, Phil deployed his Home Guard platoon in a copse.

My half of a regular platoon on the guards right. 

Ian - in command, with the other half of the regulars. Lawrence ran the armour. 

 The Home Guard moved forward quickly. 

 My men pushed forward ahead of them over some low hills.

 Lawrences tanks advanced down the road to the town, with Ian's infantry supporting.

My poor regulars felt pushed along as swarms of home guardsmen muscled in behind them! 

 Lawrence's Morris armoured car spotted an MG34 team behind a wall..

 ...they were holding their fire and hoping not to be spotted till the infantry appeared.

 As the Armoured car advanced, a German half section attempted to throw a grenade at it.

 Undeterred - the car pushed on with bullets bouncing off it.

 The Germans brought a 37mm ' Doorknocker' to bear, but it too missed.

 As the German half section attempted another grenade attack, the grenadier fell dead...

 ...to the supporting British infantry.

The German infantry retreated back to the AT gun.

 The British had put mortar smoke on their position and assaulted it with infantry. 

 My men failed to see anyone over the last hill, so continued advancing. 

 Unfortunately, a half section opened up on my men from the flank...

The MG34 and supporting riflemen scythed 3 of my men down.

The survivor of the destroyed fire team fled to the rear.

The rest of my infantry returned fire and suppressed the German fire. 

More German infantry fell as my men advanced, firing.

The Armoured car bypassed the AT gun, but was 'smoked' by a German 50mm mortar. 

 The car fell back again, and the armours supporting infantry pushed on through the woods. 

Back on my side, we managed to kill the Germans with no further loss. 

 Ian's infantry killed the AT gun crew with well placed grenades. 

..but themselves came under fire from a section of German pioneers. 

4 of the British fell in a storm of fire. 

The British armour was advancing, and killed a pioneer. 

The rest, with no anti-tank weapons, fell back. 

 My 'runaway' decided to return to the battle, and moved down the track.

His colleagues were entering the edge of the village. 

The Home Guard, with no one to fight, moved left and engaged... 

 ..The German command group, way out on the German right.

 The British tanks moved on the village, supported by Ian's remaining infantry.

 Victory was in sight!

 The carrier detached with a Vickers MMG to help the Home Guard.

Apart from small arms, there seemed to be nothing to stop them. 

My infantry moved down the flank to engage the pioneers. 

 My detached scout guarded my flank.

 The armoured car found and engaged the German mortar. 

As we advanced, some Home Guard came up in support. 

 From the edge of town a German AT rifle fired ineffectually against the A9. 

 As  my men got to the wall facing the pioneers, a few attacked my men capturing one and pushing the rest back.

 The other fire team was heavily suppressed and couldn't help them. 

 A fierce counter attack with my other section rescued my captured man and captured two of the attacking Germans.

 A burst from the Bren gun in the armoured car killed a German in the house.

 The Germans, outnumbered and facing tanks they could not fight, retreated at this point, leaving the Home Guard with a new artillery asset!!!!

It was a fun game, and the Germans put up a sterling defence. We lost about 10 men dead and wounded.

Kent is still in danger!