Churchill MkVII tank by Rik Thistle - FINISHED - Tamiya - 1:35 - 1944

[GrandpaPhil]

Very nicely done!

[Jack12477]

Outstanding job ! Diorama is very convincing!  

[Baker]

Great work,  a very nice diorama. 

[Rik Thistle]

Phil, Jack Patrick,

 

Thanks for that. 

 

I deliberately finished the build off kinda quickly since I was getting in to a closed loop as I keep thinking of extra features to add...so did a quick wrap up.

 

I'm now assembling 5x Tamiya British WWII Infantry chaps, to improve on my figure painting.

 

Then on to the Tamiya Archer self propelled gun. That will take a good bit of reading up on the Canadian Divison that used them in Normanday - that will be interesting.

 

Richard

 

[realworkingsailor]

2 hours ago, Rik Thistle said:

Then on to the Tamiya Archer self propelled gun. That will take a good bit of reading up on the Canadian Divison that used them in Normanday - that will be interesting.

 

Richard

 

From what I’ve been able to dig up, the 2nd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, was equipped with Archers from Normandy through to the end of the war.  If you scroll down through here:

https://www.silverhawkauthor.com/post/royal-canadian-artillery-rca-first-canadian-army-north-west-europe-1944-1945 there are a few photos of the 2nd in action with their Archers in the Rhineland in early ‘45.

 

The regiment’s war diary is available online: https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=926793

 

They had an interesting day outside of Caen in July 1944:

https://www.wartimes.ca/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1401

 

Hope that helps!

 

Andy

 

 

 

[Rik Thistle]

Andy,

 

Good stuff and thanks.

 

I'll study all that as I start my preps for the Archer...there is a lot to learn and understand.

 

Richard

[realworkingsailor]

15 hours ago, Rik Thistle said:

Andy,

 

Good stuff and thanks.

 

I'll study all that as I start my preps for the Archer...there is a lot to learn and understand.

 

Richard

Not sure if you’ve ever delved into a regimental war diary before, but they contain a lot of information. My great-uncle was in the 2nd Medium Regiment, RCA. I went through their war diary last fall (over 8000 pages of records). An incredible amount of raw data, but I found it very much lacking in context. 

To paraphrase a sample entry: “Morning, guns deployed at position XYZ, zero lines established. Early afternoon, fired X rounds HE at target ###. Late afternoon X battery shelled by enemy, one OR sustained minor injuries” 

 

All great information…but what exactly just happened?? In my case I’ve been reading a series of books about the Canadian actions in the Italian campaign (where my great-uncle was deployed), finally I’ve been able to establish the “why” and the “what”, the context that was sorely lacking.

 

If you’re interested, and if you can get them, there’s a series of books by Mark Zuehlke that details the Canadian army campaign(s) in Europe. Three of them (Juno Beach, Holding Juno, Breakout From Juno), would cover the period you’re looking at. They’re quite detailed, but a reasonably easy to follow narrative (and, critically, no editorializing, save maybe a reflexive epilogue).

 

Andy

[Rik Thistle]

Hi Andy,

 

Thanks again for all the very helpful inputs.

 

Yes, assimilating all the disparate information sources I used for the Churchill tank (3rd Tank Battalion, Scots Guards) into a clear (to me) context was quite a challenge. I don't have an active military background so it was kinda like learning a new language whilst being in country.  I think I spent as much time reading as I did building, which is probably par for the course for dioramas / scenarios.

 

One site I did find (comparatively) easy to follow on the Scots Guards movements in Normandy was WW2Talk .... https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/account-3rd-tank-bn-scots-guards-jul-1944-may-1945.31187/   It is basically a daily diary of events plus hand drawn maps and names of the main players. I haven't had a look yet but I'm hoping it will have similar for the Canadian Forces.

 

I'll also investigate the Mark Zuehlke books you mention.

 

I did enjoy the Churchill tank build, with most of the enjoyment probably coming from trying to figure out a reasonably realistic scenario and one that would fit on a 10" deep shelf. With 20:20 hindsight I would probably now have rotated the scenario 90 deg so that the 3rd pic above is the main viewpoint when on the shelf - unfortunately it is currently too 'long' to sit comfortably on the shelf, so it sits side-on ie you see the Farmer's back (Pic 2).

 

Richard

 

Edit: Yes, it looks like the Zuehkle books are available in Kindle format on Amazon UK ....  I had a quick listen to the 'Breakout from Juno' Audio snippet .... it sounds detailed and not at all 'dry'....however, the carnage sounds brutal.

 

Edited January 26 by Rik Thistle

[realworkingsailor]

2 hours ago, Rik Thistle said:

Edit: Yes, it looks like the Zuehkle books are available in Kindle format on Amazon UK ....  I had a quick listen to the 'Breakout from Juno' Audio snippet .... it sounds detailed and not at all 'dry'....however, the carnage sounds brutal.

 

Nice! Glad you can find them! 
 

Yeah, the Canadians had a very rough go in Normandy. While the Americans and British garner the lion’s share of attention from most historians, the Canadians have been largely forgotten.
 

And, yeah, the fighting was brutal. The Canadians suffered a higher casualty rate than either the British or the Americans (while the Americans did suffer a higher absolute number of casualties, in terms of casualties as a percentage of the attacking force, the Canadians had it much worse).
 

The text in the books is well supported by fairly detailed maps. I have the paperback editions and I had to keep a separate bookmark for the maps section as I kept flipping back and forth to follow along with the narrative.

Andy 

[Rik Thistle]

Yeah, the Canadians had a very rough go in Normandy. While the Americans and British garner the lion’s share of attention from most historians, the Canadians have been largely forgotten.

 

Our Polish allies also did more than their fair share of fighting. I don't think anyone put on a short shift but, as you note, whoever tends to write the history books tends to influence where the attention goes.

 

Richard

[Egilman]

6 hours ago, realworkingsailor said:

Yeah, the Canadians had a very rough go in Normandy. While the Americans and British garner the lion’s share of attention from most historians, the Canadians have been largely forgotten.

 

5 hours ago, Rik Thistle said:

Our Polish allies also did more than their fair share of fighting. I don't think anyone put on a short shift but, as you note, whoever tends to write the history books tends to influence where the attention goes.

This unfortunately is very true, the books and documentaries are written from the perspective of the writer and his or her personal biases...

 

For example, Watching "Victory at Sea" one could get the ideal that the Americans won the war all by themselves.... But on the other hand watching "The World at War" one could get the same ideal about the British...

Both are two of the greatest documentaries ever written and have won well deserved awards even if their coverage was very limited... In doing period dioramas studying the history is one of the most enjoyable parts for me, we delve into the details in a way that we seldom do in general... Perspective is everything, getting the context of what is happening is paramount... Overlord was the largest most complicated invasion/battle from the allied perspective of the entire war... Yes it was led by the Americans and on the first day, "D" day itself they took the brunt of the battle... But then the battle changed to a running series of smaller battles as the bridgehead was widened over the next few weeks, there was fierce fighting on every front...

 

There are many, many amazing stories to be told...  Stories that shouldn't be muddied by nationalities...

 

No one took the battle worse or had a harder time than the Germans, is a bit of perspective we all need to keep in mind when doing these kind of forays into history.... Yes, they were the enemy, and no matter the casualty rates, many many untold numbers of German positions were completely wiped out.... No one survived to tell the tale....

 

Please keep that perspective in mind when reviewing the history.... 

 

The victors always paint a glorious picture over the realities of the situation, never forget that... We model the realities, so what was sacrificed is never forgotten....

[Rik Thistle]

Egilman,

 

No one took the battle worse or had a harder time than the Germans,

 

Yes, the suffering and sacrifice was tremendous on both sides.

 

I recently read 'A Higher Call: The Incredible True Story of Heroism and Chivalry during the Second World War' - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BOA9MVI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_351_o02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I had seen the book recommended on MSW. It is a tremendous read, covering the perspectives from inside the American and German airforce camps....really quite eye opening.

 

Richard

 

[Egilman]

Absolutely! "A Higher Call" is a great read.... Unlike a lot of books written lately, (especially about vietnam) It does not lose it's perspective on what transpired....

 

There are several books that should be on everyone's reading list, especially where it comes to WWII... The first of which should be John Toland's "The Rising Sun" for the pacific side of the war, Eisenhower's books over the european side... Covers the American sides of the war very well both high level and individual....

 

Another one I'm very fond of is Anton Myrer's "Once an Eagle" on the fiction side.....

 

I would say any book from the CoS's recommended reading list would be good... (they change it every year)

 

There are several more, but the stuff coming out today, are mostly third hand accounts of others reminisces and are not as incisive or thoughtful of the realities... 

 

The history, when told with understanding and empathy for the participants is absolutely fascinating from all sides...

Edited January 27 by Egilman

[Canute]

I read Jablonski's books on the air war in Europe for the US. Eye-watering losses. That led me to read the RAF side. Again, heart rending losses. Then I went to Viet Nam and ended up escorting B-52s at night. Quite the air battles. I've read some decent appraisals of that battle, tying in the sorties from both sides. A pretty balanced read. I forget the title, but the author, Marshall Michel, is a fellow fighter pilot and an acquaintance of mine.

 

I second EG's recommendation of reading the US CoS's recommended reading list. The current CoS is USAF and a bit of a cyber fan. He includes podcasts to the usual book list.

[Rik Thistle]

Egilman, Ken,

 

Thanks again for your, as usual, very useful inputs.

 

I did have a quick scan of some of the US CoS reading lists... there is so much in there....where to even start?

 

Ken, I can't begin to imagine what it was like to participate in the Vietnam war, just like any war. I have worked with people who have seen active duty but they tend to keep their stories to themselves. That's not to say I didn't learn anything of what they got up to, but that was usually after a bit of throat lubrication....and mostly related to the after-hours activities...stories for another venue perhaps 😉

 

On a general note, I didn't think for one minute when I bought the Churchill tank kit it would lead to learning what I have about what went on in WWII, and elsewhere.  On one hand it is extremely interesting, on the other it is sobering.

 

Richard