history Archives - Columbia Games https://columbiagames.com/tag/history/ Thu, 29 Feb 2024 04:05:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://i0.wp.com/columbiagames.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cropped-columbia-logo-2.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 history Archives - Columbia Games https://columbiagames.com/tag/history/ 32 32 117660483 Celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 4- Omaha Beach https://columbiagames.com/omaha-beach/ https://columbiagames.com/omaha-beach/#respond Mon, 15 Jan 2024 07:08:19 +0000 http://columbiagames.com/?p=8408 The post Celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 4- Omaha Beach appeared first on Columbia Games.

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75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 4- Omaha Beach



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]]> https://columbiagames.com/omaha-beach/feed/ 0 8408 Celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 3- Sword Beach https://columbiagames.com/sword-beach/ https://columbiagames.com/sword-beach/#respond Mon, 10 Jun 2019 20:42:07 +0000 http://columbiagames.com/?p=5964 The post Celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 3- Sword Beach appeared first on Columbia Games.

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75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 3- Sword Beach



Maison de La Mer and Montgomery Memorial
The Ardenne Abbey massacre occurred during the Battle of Normandy at the Ardenne Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe, near Caen, France. In June 1944, 20 Canadian soldiers were massacred in a garden at the abbey by members of the 12th SS Panzer Division. Currently, in the garden of the Abbey rests a memorial to the soldiers, unveiled on 6 June 1984. The inscription, followed by the names of those killed, reads: "On the night of June 7/8, 1944, 18 Canadian soldiers were murdered in this garden while being held here as prisoners of war. Two more prisoners died here or nearby on June 17. They are gone but not forgotten."
The Pegasus Bridge at Bénouville was renamed in honour of the British soldiers who captured it, making the bridge the first objective taken by Allied troops after the Landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The six gliders (each carrying 30 soldiers) landed that night, going unnoticed by the German troops who were awaken with surprise. The Cafe was the first building in France liberated by Allied forces

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]]> https://columbiagames.com/sword-beach/feed/ 0 5964 Celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 2- Juno Beach https://columbiagames.com/juno-beach/ https://columbiagames.com/juno-beach/#respond Tue, 04 Jun 2019 21:55:05 +0000 http://columbiagames.com/?p=5947 The post Celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 2- Juno Beach appeared first on Columbia Games.

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75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 2- Juno Beach



Canadian Memorial Museum at Juno Beach
Group tour with docent at Juno Beach Centre
Juno Beach Centre
Juno Beach Centre
Juno Beach Centre
Group shot view of Gold beach above the town of Arromanches
Memorial above Gold beach and the town of Arromanches that commemorates the Royal Engineers, which contributed much to the construction of the artificial harbour at Arromanches.
The Batterie allemande near Bayeux in Normandy is a well-preserved German coastal defense battery with four guns used on D-Day still in place. Longues-sur-Mer on the coast of Normandy near Arromanches and Bayeux has the only German coastal defense battery classified as an historic monument on the D-Day landing beaches. The British and French navies silenced the four torpedo-boat cannons but some were largely intact and remained in place.

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]]> https://columbiagames.com/juno-beach/feed/ 0 5947 Celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 1- Utah Beach https://columbiagames.com/utah-beach/ https://columbiagames.com/utah-beach/#respond Sat, 01 Jun 2019 09:37:10 +0000 http://columbiagames.com/?p=5860 The post Celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 1- Utah Beach appeared first on Columbia Games.

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75th anniversary of D-Day: Day 1- Utah Beach



At the southernmost end of Utah Beach, Ste Marie du Mont was one of the first areas to be assaulted by seaborne forces on D-Day.
Tom demonstrating “crickets”, clickers for the airborne troops. Control of this church switched hands several times throughout the night
The memorial, unveiled 68 years after Winters and fellow 101st Airborne Division troops jumped into Normandy to fight the Nazis and liberate France, depicts Winters leading his men into combat.
A statue and plaque in memory of the 800 Danish seamen who participated in the Normandy Landings. When Denmark was invaded and occupied by German forces on April 9th, 1940, thousands of Danish sailors and many Danish ships were cut off from their home ports.Many of these ships and sailors headed to Allied ports and entered service with the Allies. More than 30 Danish ships and over 800 Danish sailors were involved in the Normandy landings with at least 24 sailing under the Danish flag.
At KM post 0 - the start of Liberty Road, the commemorative way marking the route of the Allied forces from D-Day in June 1944. It starts in Sainte-Mère-Église and travels across Northern France to Metz and then northwards to end in Bastogne, on the border of Luxembourg and Belgium. At each of the 1,146 kilometres, there is a stone marker or 'Borne'.
With Dive Bomber at Utah Beach Museum
Group shot at Utah Beach
La Fiere Memorial Park was founded in order to pay tribute to the US Airborne Divisions who landed on D-Day. It is situated 4km west of Sainte-Mère l’Eglise, on the D15 and by the Pont de la Fière that spans the river Merderet. The causeway was strategically important. On June 6th, at daybreak, a company belonging to the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) as well as soldiers from the 507th and 508th regiments took the La Fière manor as well as the bridge over the Merderet river by storm. At the end of the afternoon, German forces, though backed up by tanks, failed to recapture the bridge.
To pay tribute to the numerous American paratroopers and infantry men who lost their lives in this area, a statute baptized ‘Iron Mike’ was erected. This statute is similar to the one which can be seen in Fort Bragg (USA) where the 82nd Airborne Division was – and still is - based. Every year, on June 6th, ceremonies and demonstration jumps are organized in the La Fière area.
Sweeping view from Fiere Bridge memorial

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]]> https://columbiagames.com/utah-beach/feed/ 0 5860 Celebrating Waterloo (and playing Napoleon 4th Edition) https://columbiagames.com/waterloo-day-1/ https://columbiagames.com/waterloo-day-1/#respond Thu, 16 Jun 2016 11:21:22 +0000 http://columbiagames.info/?p=544 The post Celebrating Waterloo (and playing Napoleon 4th Edition) appeared first on Columbia Games.

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The 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo Tour – Day 1


June 16th 2015 – 12:00 – 18:00 Gathering at the Funkey Hotel



Our tour members gathered at the Funkey Hotel in Brussels; the base of operations for our four-day Waterloo Campaign Tour.  All 48 enthusiastic Waterloo buffs arrived safely; they came from around the globe: the United States, Canada, England, Sweden, Australia, and Hong Kong. They had reserved their places two years before, in 2013, as backers of the Kickstarter 4th Edition of Napoleon.

The Funkey hotel is a truly unique venue; a charming and fun environment.  It may be the ultimate hotel for boardgamers; featuring a game room and a library of games to play (including Napoleon: Waterloo).  The hotel owner and staff were fully engaged in our tour, helping with the logistics and masterfully tending to the details. We will be forever grateful to them all.

Each day of the tour, we boarded a chartered-bus that took us to the various battlefields and sites that were important in 1815.

Gathering at the Funkey Hotel getting ready to share a glass of Napoleon Brandy.

Rubiks CubeNapoleon Art

18:00 Dinner at The Agrelha



Appetizer: bread and butter, olive oil, olives, tuna spread, cheese cubes

Water, beer, soft drinks, white wine or red sangria.

Main Course:  Cod & Potato casserole, or

Duck & Rice casserole, or

Grilled vegetables with rice

Dessert:  Fruit plate with chocolate cake, coffee.

Dinner at Agrelha, a local Portuguese restaurant.

Dinner at Agrelha, a local Portuguese restaurant.

20:00 Ending the Night Reading up on Waterloo or Playing a Game of Napoleon



The evening’s entertainment: many of our troupe sat down for a game of Napoleon: Waterloo.  Others brushed up on their history or rested up after the long day’s travel.  Many of us enjoyed a glass of Napoleon Brandy.

Also on this night, tour guides Ed Wimble and Tom Dalgliesh spoke about the campaign and described the week’s activities (using wargame maps to set the scene).

2015 marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.  Thousands flocked to Belgium to see re-enactments and other memorable events were planned.

Nick in deep caluations while playing Napoleon by Columbia Games

Evening of playing Waterloo wargame by Columbia Games

Andrezej & Nick thinking things through in a game of Napoleon.

Carl, Keith, and Scott thinking and making manuevers while playing Napoleon by Columbia Games

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