I've just been reminded here that today (it's 6 June as I write this) is the anniversary of D-Day. As a bit of a WWII history freak, that means something quite significant to me. I have played a couple most memorable games of the actual landings themselves, and a fair number of tabletop battles set in the Normandy campaign which followed the initial landings.
The first 6mm wargame I played was 'Bloody Omaha', at the South Australian Historical Wargaming Society when they used to meet on Waymouth Street (in the classiest wargames club you could hope for - bar included). I had the (mis)fortune to be one of the german commanders. No matter how many landing craft I shot out, or tanks destroyed, there always seemed to be more. And whenever I moved out of my bunkers I got hit by jabos (divebombers). And my armour never got within cooee of the beach. Very fustrating. Very educational. And I learnt to detest that archetypical nerdy wargamer who worships the SS because they were 'cool' soldiers (had a lot of advice offered me during that game). For the record - a butcher is a butcher is a butcher.
I've read quite a few books on the landings and the campaign. I will one day list them. What's amazing in my mind is how close the actual event actually was to never happening, or to happening entirely differently. Also, how much scholarship there is on the subject, how complex the operation was, how huge a topic it is when you get into it. I am sure that long after I am gone there will still be new perspectives being developed on WWII and the mamoth campaigns of which it was composed.
Just thought I'd share that with you.
5 hours ago
3 comments:
Pleader,
hello.
Noticing a backlink to my 'On this day...' post commemorating D-Day, I found myself on your blog. So I'm just popping in to say hello, and to thank you for your nod in my direction. It's neat to discover that I've got a reader down under. I've added Adelaide Gamer to RD/KA!'s links list as well as to my own bookmarks. Thanks again.
Cheers,
John
I never did go and figure 'bookmarks', but I'm glad to pop up on your site John. I think it's really cool that I'm visited from Glasgow, being as that was where I was married and have some family. RD/KA has a great game blog title!
Married here and having family here? That's neat. For my part I was just pleased to have a reader 'down under'.
I'm glad you like my blog title. I coined it when I started visiting the HERO games forums a few years ago. Before then I'd used a slogan representing my DIY space marine army as my sig on webforums, but it just didn't seem appropriate on a dedicated roleplaying site. Casting around for an alternative, I tried a phrase used by an old gaming buddy of mine to sum up his own enthusiasm for roleplaying ("It's the rush, man; it's the rush!"), but that wasn't right either: it wasn't mine to use really. But at least I knew the track to take. "Roll dice and kick ass!" followed soon after. So when I decided to start blogging a couple of years ago, I had a natural title already to hand.
And bookmarks? That's just what everyone else calls what MS insist on calling 'favourites'!
Cheers,
John ;)
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