Some of you have already posted (very positive) feedback on the event, which is very much appreciated. I'd like to avoid any overly gushing praise and focus on a somewhat more critical review of the day here. Basically, what worked well, what didn't and what would you change if we did another game like that?
From my own point of view:
Some things worked out very well. The beach area was a mess of wrecked tanks, hordes of infantry slowly grinding forwards and a frantic and well-fought defence by the German Festungs Division.
Deep in the inland zones, the British and American Paras mounted a stoic blockade of the roads as more and more German troops streamed into the area.
The game looked amazing, with hundreds of models covering the table in an epic display. From the aesthetic side of our hobby, the game was an outstanding success. I heard one person comment that they weren't sure if we were playing a game or setting up a massive diorama. We also had about half a dozen people stop by for a look, which was great. Thanks for stopping by.
Some things did not go quite as I had hoped, though I think it was mainly from my own optimistic (perhaps unrealistic) image of how the game would go down.
My first self-criticism is that the game didn't run as quickly as I had imagined it would. This is in part down to the sheer scale of things. My estimates for how the game should unfold were fairly accurate (First minis off the beaches by turn 4, pressure on the paras building up on turn 3, timing of reinforcements etc.), but the time taken per turn was about 50% more than I had allowed for. Turn 5 was basically over before it began, with no way to get the tanks doing very much except trundling down the road a bit. A few more turns would have seen things get down to the wire.
My second issue with the game was player involvement. Again, this came down to a time issue. With the way I had scheduled reinforcements to arrive, some of the German players ended up with little to do in the early part of the afternoon. I noticed a fair few cell phones being used, which means that I miscalculated things. For that I do apologize. Bolt Action is supposed to keep people actively involved in the game due to the dice draw mechanic. If players felt like they weren't playing, that's a problem that needs to be addressed.
The third and final point that requires a solution is the order dice themselves. Despite the fact that I wasn't playing, I was knackered by 5pm. Keeping the dice coming out in succession, allocating them to players and monitoring how each end of the table was doing, was pretty exhausting and a full time job.
Also, I would like to offer my humble apologies for the state of the roads, they curled up and looked awful. They were fairly flat when I packed them away. I'll have to look at unwarping them for future use.
So there you have it. A great looking game, but plenty of room for improvement.
Thank you to everyone who came along to play, or just to see what all the fuss was about. The effort that went into the armies, (yes, even the 21st Panzers), was evident by the sheer volume of fantastically painted minis on the table. Thank you to everyone who contributed terrain. And a big thank you to Kojibear, without whom the beaches would have never left my hobby room.
So have at it folks. Feedback both positive and critical if you could please. I'd like to try something like this again, but first of all we need to patch up the system a little.
Thank you!
P.
Truely my apologies for never buttoning down and finishing those transports. I felt embarrassed with those grey models before the great battlefield of lovely painted minis. And I'm glad my painted panther got into some snapshots. 
