8th Army Anti-Tank Rifle and Light Mortar Teams for Bolt Action

    In order to have some variety I used almost all the available options to field my soldiers of the anti-tank rifle and the light mortar teams as British, Sikhs, Scottish and New zealanders.

The Boys anti-tank rifle teams

The light mortar teams

British and Sikhs

Scottish and British

New Zealanders

Scottish

Sikhs

   That's all  for today! Stay tuned for more!

11th Sikh Regiment for Bolt Action

   The 11th Sikh regiment was an infantry regiment, which served in the Western Desert campaign during WW2. The Warlord Games 8th Army infantry box includes six Sikh heads per sprue. This gives a nice opportunity to build a Sikh squad for Bolt Action.

   I wanted to have an engineer squad for my British Army of the Western Desert campaign, so I decided to make ten Sikh soldiers as engineers. 

   

The engineer squad

   I gave pickaxes to a couple of them and US Rangers M1928 Haversacks to other six. I also added shovels to the British backpacks of the rest three.

   I gave a flamethrower to the tenth Sikh soldier. The weapon is made of various spare parts. Although it looks like a fantasy weapon, I am more or less happy with the result. Anyone who sees it, understands that it is a flamethrower!

The flamethrower

Sikhs with the US Rangers M1928 haversacks

Sikhs with the British backpacks with shovels

   A light mortar team of two Sikh soldiers.

   And finally, a Boys anti-tank rifle team of two Sikh soldiers.

   That's it for today! Stay tuned for more!

2nd New Zealand Division for Bolt Action

    Troops of the 2nd New Zealand Division fought bravely during the Battle of Crete in May 1941. Around 7750 men was given command for the defence of the island after their evacuation to Crete from mainland Greece. In this battle 671 were killed, 967 wounded and 2180 captured. 

   The below New Zealand soldiers are Warlord Games and Artizan Designs miniatures. 

New Zealanders

An infantry squad

The NCO

   The NCO is an Artizan Designs miniature of the SAS Long Range Group III.

A Boys anti-tank rifle team

A Vickers machine gun team

   I replaced two soldiers' Brodie helmets with the iconic kiwi "lemon squeezer" hats.

   During the Battle of Crete the village of Galatas was the site of fierce fighting between German paratroopers and allied forces (New Zealanders and Greeks) in late May 1941. The battle lasted ten days. The locals are proud about their forefathers and say that the village of Galatas had more days of resistance against the Germans than some Europian countries!

The Greek-New Zealand Memorial for the Battle of Galatas

   The column where the number of the dead is written. Ten Greek officers and sixty one soldiers. Five New Zealanders officers and one hundred forty soldiers. 

   Dead New Zealand soldier in front of the church of Agios Nikolaos in the village of Galatas. Next to him a Bren machine gun. (Collection of Dimitris Skartsilakis)

The same church today.

 A commemoration ceremony for the Battle of Crete is held each year in May at the Souda Bay War Cemetery.

Souda Bay War Cemetery

   That's all for today! Stay tuned for more!

SAS Jeeps for Bolt Action

    Five months have past since my last post. I am glad because during this period I finished all the miniatures and vehicles of my 8th Army. I will post all of them in parts the following weeks.

   I decided to start with my two SAS jeeps. They are amazing models. I faced two difficulties though, how to stick their wheels right and how to paint the plethora of objects that they carry.  

The SAS jeeps

Their wheels

   One of the jeeps has an empty front seat. I kitbashed a miniature of a British soldier from the Bren Carriers box to an SAS NCO who gives a signal to his men.

The British soldier

The jeep with the NCO

The second jeep

   I worried that the wheels would come off the jeeps chassis so I glued the jeeps on bases. 

Before the wash

After the wash

NCO's jeep

The second SAS jeep

   In Chania of Crete, there is a jeep of the Sacred Squadron that fought alongside the SAS in the Western Desert during the WWII. It participates in various events and takes part during the military parades. Anyone who wants to read about their actions, can check here.

The Sacred Squadron jeep

Some photos and the emblem of Sacred Squadron

A soldier in uniform of the Sacred Squadron is in the middle

My blog despite the difficulties, on 25th of August became fourteen years old!

Thats it for today! Stay tuned for more!