"Anzac Cove landing craft" Topic

For the Anzac Cove landings at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, the Royal Navy used steam pinnaces towing cutters. Here is an example, using 1/700 scale boats from White Ensign Models:

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Robert

Nicely done. Now all you need to do is fill them with eager Aussies and Kiwis.

Jim

They are waiting on the troop ships ;-). RN is returning from delivering 3rd Brigade in the first wave.

Robert

There is a photo of the Anzac Cove battlefield here:

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It is still a work-in-progress but you can see the semi-mountainous terrain with the scrubby bush cover and scattered terrains.

Robert

Great result with the scrub-effect – SS River Clyde is coming along well. Will you cur sally ports etc?

I will paint the sally ports. Will also create a separate element that provides the disembarkation walkway, as well as the boats that were used to bridge the gap to the shore.

Robert

Robert,

This is so cool. It just so happens I bought a slew of 10mm figures for Gallipoli, and seeing the battlefield in this form is revealing. I've never been able to picture it before,just by looking at maps. Thanks so much for posting this!

J

J, it was the same issue that drove me to figure a way to recreate the terrain. My grandfather was in the New Zealand Division during the war. He did not serve in Gallipoli but arrived in France in 1916. Nevertheless, I learned about Gallipoli soon after I started talking with him about his experiences. It was one of the first battles that I was interested in redoing when I got into wargaming, about 50 odd years ago. As a Boy Scout and having been trained in map reading, it didn't take much to realise then that reproducing the battlefield in miniature would be a real problem. The NZ Official History had original maps, as did the Auckland War Museum. But the problem was modelling the terrain. Over the years I have constantly worked on ways to create and take down any battlefield from the war. The Hexon Terrain has been invaluable but Anzac Cove has been the first big test for quite mountainous terrain – northern France and western Belgium is generally rolling rather steep terrain. As the terrain contours came together on this project, I too found it very revealing to see the replica terrain. I'm looking forward to gaming on it next, though there is some tidying to do. The ridge tops need to have less cover and the valleys need to have more. Easy to rearrange though, with the clumps of Woodland Scenics foliage.

Robert

And here are my newly painted X-lighters from PT Dockyard:

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Robert

I would say the British/Imperial part of the Western Front was a snooker table by comparison.