D-Day Omaha

[fullmetaljacket]

Hello all

Curious I know this was covered a while back but cant find the post, some one was talking about making a micro scale Omaha beach head. Was it ever completed? Been thinking about taking on this endevour, but not sure which way to try and make it. One Hex maker more portable but in some ways more work, or mamking a terrian board more sturdy but less portable?

Other thoughts good reference material, ie.. defensive positions, terrian, etc.etc..Also I believe i read some where that Omaha Beach was like a 1,000 yards long. So, equating that out to 1/285 woulb be to small or to big? Also maybe doing the small village of St. Lo or some of the deeper positions inland?

Any thoughts or ideas?

fullmetaljacket

[Donald M. Scheef]

In 1/285 scale, modelling all of Omaha Beach is going to be a major undertaking. Omaha beach was about 5 miles (8 km) wide. St. Lo was about 20 miles (30 km) inland from the beach. In scale, the terrain would be over 90 ft (28 m) wide and 370 ft (112 m) deep. What we need here is a football stadium.

The Micronaut 1/2400 scale would reduce this to 11 ft (3.3 m) wide and 44 ft (12.5 m) deep. This is OK for the ships, but even the largest tanks are hardly distinguishable and it would still take something like a ballroom to contain it.

All of this gives the proper feeling of awe about the effort put into the actual invasion.

Don S.

[Mk 1]

Most micro-armor rule sets don't use a true groundscale (1/285 or 1/300). More often the groundscale is 1/2000 (about 1 inch = 50 yards), or 1/1000 (1 inch = 25 yards). 1-to-platoon scale games often go down to a 1/4000 ground scale (1 inch = 100 yards).

That would reduce the size of the gameboard. But still, you are talking about taking over a school gymnasium or a hotel ballroom to set up the whole thing.

Better to find a slice, I think.

But it is an interesting possibility.
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-Mark 1
Difficile est, saturam non scribere.
"It is hard NOT to write satire." - Decimus Iunius Juvenalis, 1st Century AD

[RedLeif]

At 100m/1inch (platoon scale of MATG) the 'beach' would fit comfortably across an 8' table. You'd have to decide how deep you really want to go but 30Km is only 25'. I think the Fredricksburg convention center has that much room

It seems most of the participants here are pretty dedicated to 1:1 or 1: squad scale gaming, but if you want to do a big throw down like this, scale and faster playing rules are your friend. IF modeling's your thing 1:1 is very cool but you'll need more space.

Red Leif

[Oriax]

I like the "slice" idéa. I think that just a normal gameboard could cover most terrain type, and perhaps a nearby town as well. I happen to have an unfinished piece of a coastal gameboard section... Challenge accepted!
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/Jonathan

My model building blog: http://tinyterrain.blogspot.com/

My hobby blog: http://mytinythings.blogspot.com/

[fullmetaljacket]

Yes after some calculations and thoughts this would be AWESOME, but logistics wise almost impossible. I have the room in my garage to sit it up, but that is where it would stay.

So, with that said what do you all think would be a more managable, and portable option for this area of Normandy. i even thought of doing just the beach head, then maybe a second table for St. Lo.

Or thought two was beach head and then second board where the para takes out the 105 battiery inland. Haveing them set up in two locations and two obljectives. Ie.. the germans can call artillery down on beach as long as the guns are operative, and of course the Para is to take the guns out as quickly as possible. Thought came to me from watching and reading Band of Brothers. In beyond Band of brothers they talk about the battery that Winters and easy company took out, little did they know that on the beach that day was a future senator. Little stories like that always intriges me.

fullmetaljacket

[Brigade Commander]

It's a lot of work but I have heard of others following your second idea: two linked games. I never got to play one but the possibilities are just short of endless. Same players playing both games at the same time or two separate teams of players playing at the same time would seem to be just way too much fun! Never having been a game master (judge?, referee?) I'm not sure if it wouldn't be overwhelming though. Although with experienced players, especially who know each other, it would make it much easier.

** My $0.02. If you feel you have been overcharged feel free to skip payment! **
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If we are marked to die we are enough to do our country loss. And if to live, the fewer men, the greater share of honor. Henry V.

[Mk 1]

[piersyf]

I've played linked games many years ago, including D Day. Not Omaha, the other end... Sword, Gold, and the paras at Pegasus Bridge. I still have stacks of LCA's, LCM3's and the like as well as Horsa and hamilcar gliders. We had the bridge as a separate table (entirely separate game) with the victory conditions being that if the Germans retook the bridge then panzers would start arriving at the beach head several turns later.

As to Mk1's comment, for the past few years I have been collecting data and working on a set of game mechanics and calculation algorithms to allow the same set of rules to be used for air, land or sea battles any time within the 20th century, independent of scale. I did this so that amphibious operations would make more sense, enabling not only naval gunfire support, but calculable return fire from ground forces against the ships as well.
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There is no right or wrong, only decisions and consequences.

[fullmetaljacket]

MK1

thought of a great ground and air combat all in the same battle. Kursk read where there was many dogfights over the battlefield, maybe if one or two Stuka or Sturmo's get thru the screen they can then attack ground contacts I have thought of doing this scenario also could be a cool linked scenario.

Fullmetaljacke

P.S. too bad we all live thousand of miles apart from one another we could be a killer gming group.

[Mk 1]

[Brigade Commander]

Long my lament as well Full Metal Jacket and MK1!
_________________
If we are marked to die we are enough to do our country loss. And if to live, the fewer men, the greater share of honor. Henry V.