Mayenne city build : Maison particular WIP

 

Mayenne Ville Build

This year I want to commence my Ville Mayenne city tiles that can be used for any major French city really on a river. one side will be predominately intact with a few damaged buildings the other side heavily damaged to represent Ville Mayenne in August 1944.

My main focus for the build will be the main buildings between place de Cheverus to the Pont McCracken where a majority of the fighting occurred in the city.

Maison Particular

This week a new work in progress of a recent second hand purchase of some model railway buildings I picked up at a market very cheaply. The first building is a Vollmer post office which I will convert to a town house (Maison Particular ). This building will represent Dr Morrisett’s house which was the headquarters for the German commander of the Oisseau radar station. First up I washed the building in warm soapy water, then cleaned up the glue and prepared the rear of the building for render treatment. As I want it to represent the actual building a little more. I did think about cutting it up but have decided against it. I also need to scratch build a garage for the Maison and front gates.

Dr Morrisets House, the commandant of the Oisseau radar station 3 klm north west of the city.

Garage detail

The dependencies

a 20mm figure sitting on the steps

Building rear, I will render this and add plastic card under the floating verandahs or add steps. 

cheers

Matt

TTSFN part two modular terrain

Total Terrain System For Now 

Modular Normandy Table part two

More work today on the table, of my Normandy Bocage modular table, lots more to complete before I finish. 

Cheers

Matt

28mm Royal Catholic Army Chouan skirmishers

While I wait for the Revolutionary Armies Vendee range to release I dived into my figure stash and pulled some Perry AWI skirmishing southern militia figures, sculpted feathers and cockades and the odd Vendee heart badge. Then painted them in two batchs, and based them. I have completed the first 12 with a further 12 on the table at the moment. These will act as a stand alone skirmish line  for British Grenadier rules until I complete mine.

The Mayenne (old Maine) Department of Pays de la Loire was the hotbed of the Chouan revolt against the Revolutionary government. We have 63 skirmishes and battles within a hour of the Maison. After the defeat of the Vendee the Chouan kept up the fight against the revolutionary government and then Napoleon tying down several divisions in western France.

We conduct tours of a number of the battlefield sites and visit the museums and a private collection as part of our "walk the battlefield in the morning and wargame it in the afternoon"© our French tour and wargame holiday packages.

Sarthe, août 1944 Histoire d’un Libération

Sarthe, août 1944, Histoire d’un Libération, Fabrice Avoie

 email the author to order favoieauteur@hotmail.fr

Sarthe, Août 1944, Histoire d'un Libération, Fabrice Avoie 2009

Recently researching fighting around my house and the closure of the Falaise pocket from the south in August 1944 , and reference to this book kept coming up. This book fully covers the breakout from Normandy, through Brittany and Pays de Loire and the push east through, Mayenne and Sarthe to Chartres, then north to close the Falaise pocket. The author spent 15 years attending unit reunions in Germany, France and America, to discover first hand accounts and rare never seen before photographs.

Day to day strength reports for german units in the fighting retreat and trying to hold the Mayenne then Sarthe river lines,.

German units include 

• 7th Army HQ units
• 17th SS Division
• 9th Panzer Division
• Panzer Lehr division
• 352nd infantry division
•  708th infantry division
•  91st infantry division
•  77th Infantry division
• 5th fallschirmjager division
•  Sicherungs regiment 1, 194, 195 and 196
• flak elements defending the radar stations at Domfront, Madre, oisseau, 
• Luftwaffe and Flak elements at Laval and Chartres air bases, 
• plus scratch kamfgruppes from retreating SS, Wehrmacht, Fallschirmjager and Luftwaffe units

Allied units include

• US 2nd Armoured Division
•  5th armoured Division
• 79th Infantry division
• 90th infantry division
• 80th infantry division
• 106th cavalry division
•  la 2nd division Blindés Francaise. 
• Plus air support and ground support units and air communication units.

The hardback book has 440 pages and is well worth the €38 price tag.

Recommend for those interested in the southern flank of the Falaise pocket actions, lots of photos, small unit actions and after battle reports to wade through. Probably the best I have seen in English or French on the southern flank of the German army.

Cheers

Matt