Battleground Hobbies: Building the WWII Battle of Carentan for Bolt Action!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Building the WWII Battle of Carentan for Bolt Action!

OK World War Two enthusiasts, how about recreating the town of Carentan to play a game of Bolt Action!

Carentan was featured in the Band of Brothers series and Call of Duty video game, now it can be for wargaming in 28mm.

The Battle of Carentan was an engagement in World War II between airborne forces of the United States Army and the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Normandy. The battle took place between June 10th and 15th of 1944, on the approaches and within the city of Carentan, France.

For your recreation, the objective of the attacking American forces in Carentan was consolidation of the Utah and Omaha beachheads and to set up a defensive line against expected German counterattacks. The defending German force attempted to hold the city long enough to allow reinforcements coming from the south to arrive, prevent or delay the merging of the lodgments, and keep the U.S. First Army from launching an attack towards Lessay-Périers that would cut off the Cotentin Peninsula.

Paul Ward of Matakishi's Tea House put together the PDF which was written by Dominic and has provided his details of the building of the Second World War French town.

The free PDF contains detailed build notes and many full-color photographs of the process. There is also a section explaining the quest to match the known historical facts with the reality of Carentan today, including both period and modern photographs, and an analysis of the fighting at the time.

The Carentan PDF is a great modelling resource for those getting started and an inviting tale of historical research offered free at the Wargame Vault. The WargameVault offers other deals on paper models for your gaming table.

Here is the start point for the restaurant "Desire Inghouf" seen in the first image and in the Band of Brothers series. Dominic uses 4mm thick cork tiles for the construction of the buildings.

And as it progresses. There's a bunch of extra historical information along with the model making.

Here is the restaurant "Desire Inghouf" just about completed. Final touches like signs and other details were added. Download the PDF to see the final building.