Vendredi! Alerte! Aux armes!

French soldiers from Elastolin are testing the  7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art from Marklin ...Happy Friday !

My Sd. Kfz. 231 team is wishing you Happy Friday !

In the German Army, armoured cars were intended for the traditional cavalry missions of reconnaissance and screening. They scouted ahead and to the flank of advancing mechanized units to assess enemy location, strength and intention. Their primary role was reconnaissance, but they would engage similar or light units and at times attempt to capture enemy patrols. The first of the German armoured cars, the Sd.Kfz. 231 was based on modified Daimler-Benz, Büssing or Magirus 6x4 truck chassis. The 231 was armed with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 autocannon, and a Maschinengewehr 13 machine gun. It had a second driver's position in the rear so that the vehicle could be driven either forwards or backwards with relative ease. The 231 was introduced into service in 1932 and began to be replaced in 1937 when the German Army switched production to 8-wheeled armoured cars instead of 6-wheeled. Despite being replaced, they were used by Aufklärungs ("reconnaissance") units during the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, and the invasion of the USSR. They were withdrawn afterwards for use in internal security and training. The crew consisted of a commander, gunner, driver, and a radio operator/rear driver.

The photographed car is Lineol Spahwagen Nr.1211 produced in 30s. The soldiers are from Elastolin,Lineol and FF Fischer.

Sdkfz 231 6 rad schwerer panzerspahwagen

Signal Corps of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS

The Signal Corps or Nachrichtentruppe des Heeres, in the sense of signal troops, was an arm of service in the army of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, whose role was to establish and operate military communications, especially using telephone and radio networks. By order of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht dated 14 Oct 1942, it was part of the combat arms of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS until 1945.  These photos demonstrate Lineol and Elastolin soldiers from 30s.

Have a nice start to your work week!

The GAMA No.60 tank (produced in 30s) and the Elastolin/Durolin German armored corps officers.

Haile Selassie and his army in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War ....

Starting in early October 1935, the Italians invaded Ethiopia. But, by November, the pace of invasion had slowed appreciably and Haile Selassie's northern armies were able to launch what was known as the "Christmas Offensive". During this offensive, the Italians were forced back in places and put on the defensive. In early 1936, the First Battle of Tembien stopped the progress of the Ethiopian offensive and the Italians were ready to continue their offensive. Following the defeat and destruction of the northern Ethiopian armies at the Battle of Amba Aradam, the Second Battle of Tembien, and the Battle of Shire, Haile Selassie took the field with the last Ethiopian army on the northern front. On 31 March 1936, he launched a counterattack against the Italians himself at the Battle of Maychew in southern Tigray. The emperor's army was defeated and retreated in disarray. As Haile Selassie's army withdrew, the Italians attacked from the air along with rebellious Raya and Azebo tribesmen on the ground, who were armed and paid by the Italians.
My Haile Selassi's army includes figures produced by Lineol,Elastolin and Durso (Force Publique soldiers wearing red fezzes) in 30s. The WW1 18 Pounder field gun (Ordnance QF 18 pounder) in produced by Crescent in 60s.

 Haile Selassie

The Decorative Arts and History Museum in Dublin - Soldiers and Chiefs

The museum has the permanent Soldiers and Chiefs exhibition showing the Irish at War at Home and Abroad from 1550 to the present day.

Over 1,000 objects from all over the world cover 1,700 square metres of Collins Barracks as the Soldiers & Chiefs exhibition traces Ireland's military history from 1550 into the 21st Century.

Original artefacts, such as the Stokes Tapestry, letters, replicas and interactives show how soldiering and war have affected the lives of Irish people over the centuries.

Broken down into three themes, Soldiers & Chiefs looks at Irish soldiers at home, Irish soldiers abroad, and Irish soldiers in the 21st Century.

The Landsverk L-60 Light Tank

 United Nations armoured vehicle

Bren Gun Carrier. The Irish Army acquired 226 of these during the Emergency.

The Panzer I tanks moving through a forest..

The photographed Panzer I tanks are the GAMA No.60 tanks (produced in 30s). The German armored corps officers are made by Elastolin, Lineol, Durolin and Blue-Box. 

It's almost Friday ! :)

Lineol and Elastolin soldiers are looking forward to Friday ...

Vikings in Ireland...(Part 3)

More photos from  journeys with vikings to Glendalough....

Visiting the Kilmainham Gaol ...

Kilmainham Gaol is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland. The Irish leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising (24–29 April 1916) were imprisoned and executed in the prison by the British.

Most of the executions took place over a ten-day period:

• 3 May: Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh and Thomas Clarke
• 4 May: Joseph Plunkett, William Pearse, Edward Daly and Michael O'Hanrahan
• 5 May: John MacBride
• 8 May: Éamonn Ceannt, Michael Mallin, Seán Heuston and Con Colbert
• 12 May: James Connolly and Seán Mac Diarmada

 The spot at Kilmainham Gaol where most of the leaders were executed

Patrick Pearse, Commander in chief, who was executed at the Kilmainham Gaol on the 3rd of May 1916.

Good morning ! : German army bivouac.

Elastolin and Lineol figures of German washing soldiers (30s/40s).

Vikings in Ireland : The Battle of Clontarf (Part 2)

The Battle of Clontarf  opened with Plait taunting Domnall mac Eimin, a Scottish ally of Brian. The two men marched out into the middle of the field and fought, and both died, "with the sword of each through the heart of the other, and the hair of each in the clenched hand of the other." Part I.

2 command Panzer I tanks scouting positions

The Panzer I was a light tank produced in Germany in the 1930s. The name is short for the German Panzerkampfwagen I ("armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated PzKpfw I. The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was SdKfz 101 ("special purpose vehicle 101"). The Panzer I saw combat in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, in Poland, France, the Soviet Union and North Africa during the Second World War, and in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The photographed  tanks are the GAMA No.60 tanks (produced in 30s).