28mm Danes

[julesav]

I applaud you for thinking of Danes! But I'd rather buy Norwegians!

[Cubs]

Somebody help this crotchety old fool from this pedestal please?

No, you're absolutely right. I for one love the smaller scale, earlier war stuff - pre-Alamein North Africa or Burma mostly - but it seems the big bucks are elsewhere. It's great to fulfil a niche that no-one else has, but you have to be aware it may not be sustainable long term. Often these things haven't been successfully covered previously for a reason.

I applaud you for thinking of Danes! But I'd rather buy Norwegians!

This crops up a lot ... but then someone else yells 'Romanians'! Then 'Greeks'! Then 'Finns' (now covered)! We all have our pet armies we wish someone would make, but it seems we don't always buy them in enough numbers.

[Spicker]

Yay, Danes for WWII - has been a great wish for me for a long time!
"Schneidig sind sie nicht, aber frech, und schießen können sie."
- German Colonel af the invasion
The entire Weserübung campaign is an interesting topic to read about, even by non-Danish or Norwegian people, due to e.g. the later British actions against the occupation (First Commando Raids).

Was even a single shot fired from a Danish gun during those few days it took the Germans to over run the country? Sure, the resistance was pretty fierce during the occupation but the uniformed troops seems to have been quite ineffectual.

HA!, Days?!? Try a few hours. As Thorbjørn wrote, the invasion began about 4 o'clock in the morning. By 6 o'clock it was decided to surrender, but this information did not reach the last Danish forces for two more hours. At 8 o'clock basically all fighting has stopped.

En of the day:
Danish losses: 16 dead including border patrols and ground personnel from Aalborg airfield
German losses: 203/273 dead*, 12 armoured cars, 4 tanks damaged and an unknown number of motorcycles and vehicles.

Things to note:
Weserübung was the first time ever to see airborne/parachute assaults used in action (attack on Aalborg Airfield and Masnedø Fort) - although they went incredibly peacefully, as no shots were fired.

The invasion did not see any great battles, but there were plenty of interesting small skirmishes where small groups of Danish troops ambushed the Germans pushing up Jylland.

To note regarding uniforms:
Almost all Danes involved in fighting wore the long coat during the encounters and most images from the day shows soldiers in these. The long coast uniform will therefore (in my opinion) be the most interesting.


*203 by one source, the CEO of Dansk Industri Syndikat (manufacturer of the Madsen 20mm) was tol 273 by a German officer. No official records exist, as the numbers were erased from the protocols by German high command.

Links of interest:
Weserübung for Flames of War
Danish WIKI
German WIKI

[folnjir]

I applaud you for thinking of Danes! But I'd rather buy Norwegians!

Gorgon Studios have started a Norwegian range. Only a couple of packs available so far though.

I'd potentially be interested in Danes.

[janner]

It certainly looks like there's some interest, and the kind of niche project ideally suited to Kickstarter 

[swiftnick]

The upside of the whole VBCW thing is that gamers are buying more esoteric figures. I have loads of Czech figures for that very reason.