Great War Boardgame

 Tanks

I picked up both the main expansion for the Great War boardgame, which features male and female MkIVs and German A7Vs, as well as German artillery, and the Whippet expansion, which I'll go ahead and assume needs no explanation.

Artillery

In addition to the German artillery (105mm guns), I also picked up some British opposition (18pdrs). I'm easily amused, so having this gun in 28mm, 15mm and 6mm makes me smile. :D They come in the usual brown plastic for the Brits, and grey for the Germans. They have been undercoated in the following pictures.

Flames of War

Obviously, the primary reason for purchasing these models is to use them with the boardgame. However, my mate fancies getting into Flames of War's WWI expansion, and so I'll be working out how to use these guys for both systems before basing anybody. Obviously, in time I shall expand my collection beyond just the plastics so I have a broader range of poses - and some officers, too! Hopefully, in a few months, we'll get a game in.

The Battle of the Somme

A century ago the British Army under Haig launched the largest assault it had ever conducted, preceded by the most powerful artillery bombardment the Royal Artillery had ever made. The plan was that the sheer volume of shellfire would blast away the defences of the enemy, leaving them dead or too stunned to defend, and pulverising the barbed wire entanglements. This turned out not to be the case. The first day of fighting saw nearly 60,000 soldiers from Britain and her Empire killed. That figure excludes the losses of our French allies and our German opponents. The war would continue for more than another two years, by which time over 900,000 soldiers from Britain and her Empire were dead. Around 8.5 million soldiers died on both sides by the time the guns fell silent. Europe then paused for two decades before embarking on the rematch.