The day was bright and sunny.....

 ...but the game I won't relay.

Lincolnshire Tom and I hummed and ahed about how we were going to get to the Grimsby game at Weymouth. Drive 2 1/2 hours each way, or take the train at 3 1/4 hours each way and nearly twice the cost? Well the answer was train of course. I'd like to say the decision was driven by concern for our carbon footprint, or by our desire to cut the income of autocrats who invade their neighbours. In reality it was because it was more relaxing that way and neither of us needed to be Designated Driver.

Not far from the station. Looking east towards Lulworth and the Isle of Purbeck

And we were mighty glad we did. There was quite a lot to see and talk about en route. We were on a geek fest. Two old geezers with interests in WWII, transportation, football (Tom) and military history generally, and football (me). Too busy geeking to take photos. Anyone foolish enough to listen in would have quickly got bored. Going past Brooklands (home of the old motor racing track, and now to a transport museum) we spotted Concorde. Winchester (the Rifles' museum). Southampton Airport Parkway (home of the original Spitfire factory) and nearby Eastleigh (Eastleigh Football Club - and location our last game of the regular season). Southampton docks with a staggeringly huge container ship. St Mary's Stadium (Southampton FC). By the time we got to Southampton we'd decided the Sun was over the yardarm. 

Then through the New Forest and on to Bournemouth station with its impressive glass canopy. The train split here - one part heading on to Weymouth, the other part going to .....well to be honest I didn't care. Out of Bournemouth and into Poole and around the enormous natural harbour. Thoughts of Overlord, already appearing from Winchester onwards, were taking over. Not forgotting Baden-Powell of course, with the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island. Wareham ("change here for the steam railway to Swanage via Corfe Castle". ECW siege). Wool. No need to remind you which museum is nearby. South of here lies the Army firing ranges. Dorchester South: no, neither of us knows any Hardy, but just around from there you pass Maiden Castle (Iron Age hill fort). Then the final run in to Weymouth. Lovely, fresh sea air.

Time for lunch. Stopped off at the first fish and chip shop we cam across. Always risky. Not always. Not this time. Very good, nice, white, flaky fish. Even if it was cod. It's GOT to be haddock in Grimsby & Cleethorpes. That is a tenet of faith, and one that has held true for generations. Not for nothing does the haddock bear St Peter's thumbprint. But this was cod and it was more than acceptable. Fish and chips, eaten outside on the prom, can't be beaten. Right, lunch over and thoughts turned to cold beverages. The advance party, had arrived the night before and the Globe was reported as being a welcoming hostelry with more than acceptable drinks. And they weren't wrong. Very helpful landlord, nice beer (Aethel Sword), chilled music playing on the wireless, and (sign of my age coming) nice clean toilets.

Along the route were some reminders of why we have such freedoms now.

Panel commemorating the staggering logistics involved in just one part of Overlord

Memorial to the US Army Rangers and their Royal Navy comrades 

Lest we forget.

Sadly it was soon time to head off to the match. A hike of a couple of miles must have walked off that beer. But it was pleasant walk for much of the route.

One of the compensations for your football club being relegated to the fifth tier of English football...

.....is that you get to walk past places like this

The game itself was mostly dull. Grimsby were clearly the superior team, but didn't make it count. Too slow to get the ball forward quickly. It was played at a pace not far removed from a pre-season friendly. A few nearly moments. And we almost paid the price for not taking advantage of our limited chances. Weymouth's defence were very well organised and we didn't really penetrate them. 0-0. Still other results were mostly in our favour, so the play offs are still possible. Who knows. But after the previous week's demolition of 3rd placed Chesterfield, a massive underachievement. Expectations suitably back under control.

Back in town, there was time for a few more beverages. The second pub we went in already had karaoke on the go. At 6PM! These people must start early. Again, a good Mein Host and friendly atmosphere. The journey back to the metropolis seemed to last for ever, with me getting hungrier and hungrier. Met another Grimsby exile heading back to the station just one stop up the line from us. Small world. That's the Grimsby diaspora for you. For 40 odd years, job prospects have not been good there. I guess, also, that there is a touch of wanderlust in the veins. Most of the population during the rapid growth in the 19th and early 20th centuries came from other places. It wasn't so far back that most people's family had moved for work. The reverse has been happening for 4 decades. Consequently, you are never far from a Grimsby fan.

At this level the match officials are more like the officials of old. 

Daily reality of war

Now then. This song has got helpful side-by-side translations. It sounds like a straight militaristic song, with a jaunty tune, revelling in the imagined glories of war. But when you read the words you can see it’s about the grim reality. There are enough sarcastic, and bitter lines in there to make me believe it was written by someone who knew from first hand what he was talking about. It fits well within the cultural reference points of Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon Sotilas).

What really gets me is the line about the horses being so hungry they try to eat the stable walls.

https://youtu.be/-W9m1bLbKjg

This sort of thing is in the back of my mind when I think of the Continuation War, and forms the backstory to my (rare) games in the period.

State of the Nation - Q1 Report

Well the first three months is almost up, and to date all I've managed are a measly three games. One large, involving a lot of reading and preparation (Hohenfriedberg) and two, small, repeated games (Hubbardton) which involved much less preparation. On the plus side, I did manage to paint six more units of AWI infantry, and read a few books.

On the to do list are the long-undercoated AWI light dragoons, Sturmi and T34s, and, the even longer waiting, castle for the long-postponed ECW siege campaign. * Technically the model I have for the Sturmi is a Sturmgeschütz IV, but I can't find any IIIs in 10mm size. 

The castle still needs some pieces painting, and I need to make some towers. I'm planning on round towers. Then the whole thing will need a base to fit it to semi-permanently. By the time that's finished, I'll be lucky if I can kick the campaign off a year after I first wrote about it.

Nagging at the conscience

Another unfulfilled plan is to build a French army for the WAS/SYW period. Currently this is waiting for Heroics and Ros to put their SYW range back into production. I'm thinking of building this up in three stages, getting larger each time: 

1. Rossbach (some of my Prussians and Austrians will stand in for the Reichsarmee); 
2. Fontenoy (probably along with British and Hanoverians - I'll use proxies for the Dutch); and 
3. Minden (hopefully stage 2 will give me enough Anglo-Hanoverians, and for the other Germans I will use Prussians as proxies). 

This plan will also allow me to pit French and Austrians against each other in Bohemia, along the Danube and in Italy, as well as various scenarios involving His Britannic Majesty's Army/the Pragmatic Army.

Away from wargaming I set out at the beginning of the year to recover the fitness levels I'd achieved during the first lockdown. I had put on the 10kg I'd lost in the 3 months to September 2020 by September 2021. This time round I thought I'd try a longer term strategy. Go for a slower weight loss (say take a year to lose the same amount) on the theory that if I do it slowly I'm more likely to keep to that level of eating. Well so far I have fallen well short of the 800g a month, having lost only 600g in three months. Hmm. Must try harder. 

If I've fallen short of the target on the input side, I've done better on the output side of the equation. I had a rough idea of swimming 20km and walking 50km a month and by 29th March I'd clocked up over 60km in the pool and 163km on Shanks' Pony. This is particularly pleasing as I had a week's layoff in March with the lurgy. With a couple more days I should rack up another 3.6km swimming. Now I hope to spread this self-discipline to the food side.

An excess of managerialism

As momentum has been building on this 'self-improvement', and jolted by the renewal bill for the app, I have started again on Duolingo which I allowed to lapse last year. All very basic stuff, but I did find last time that it got my brain sharpened up for the real lessons. Also the little bit of Swedish has helped me recognise some slang words in Finnish.

So overall, some failures but some success to build on. Eteenpäin!

Another misidentified German vehicle. From a distance I thought it was a Messerschmidt.....which reminds me of the old Stan Boardman joke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8Yf5B6GbYk

Reading Matters

In my long lay-off from gaming over the last few months, I did a fair bit of reading around the subject. One was the sister volume to an old Duffy, favourite, one a fortuitous bargain find, and one a surprisingly readable academic work.

So first up, the Duffy. This was the Army of Maria Theresa, originally published in the 70s. I think I read it just the once back in the day. I'd been given the Army of Frederick the Great for a birthday/Christmas present* (close in date so could have been either or both). I read that to death. It was a reference book for a good while - copying the maps in the back for games, and having the book propped open on the regimental pen portraits as a painting guide. A friend had the M-T book as he built up an Austrian army. The book is now out of print and people are asking silly prices on Amazon. I found a good copy on Abe Books for £20, which must be about what it was sold at 40 years ago. In latter years, Duffy updated this work in his magisterial 2 volume history, Instrument of War and By Force of Arms.

* My what a present that turned out to be, leading me into the wonderful world of Dr Duffy's writings.

Apologies for the poor quality image. I'll try to get a better shot next time I'm in the cabin.

Whilst the two-volume work (Instrument of War and By Force of Arms) goes into much, much, more detail, the earlier one is still a great read. If you are at all interested in mid-18th century European warfare, it is a fabulous place to start if you can find it for a reasonable price. Duffy is a real Theresiaphile - he readily admits that. But this does not blind him to the Kaiserlicks shortcomings, nor does it make him underestimate the Prussians*** (he is clearly not a fan of Old Fritz). I wonder if David of the Ragged Soldier blog has been influenced by Duffy. [I nearly wrote the Ragged Trousered Soldier].

*** Late Edit: A slight correction is due. In the second edition of the Army of Frederick the Great, Duffy upgraded his assessment of the Prussian light troops. To be fair though the original poor opinion was amended by Duffy following the discovery of more favourable assessments from the Austrian side.

Duffy (as the name suggests), is a real Son of Erin too, and has great affection for the Wild Geese in Maria-Theresa's employ. Amongst the many pearls in the book, I particularly like the following anecdote.

It's always the Prince de Ligne isn't it?

The next book was a bit of a surprise. A pleasant surprise. I bought the book for the same reason as Monty Python's Mrs Smoker bought a piston engine: "Because it was a bargain"**. A £20 book sold by Naval and Military Press for £5. No brainer. It was a pleasant surprise because I was expecting it to be the usual Anglocentric battle history that you see so much of. You know the type, an allied army with the British forming half or less of it, fights the French, there being some kind of British blunder, 90% of the book is about the British and there's next to no mention of the Allies. I'd read the same author's work on Ramillies, and was not really impressed (no British blunder however).

** Talking of which, Freeview Channel 91 have been showing the Python series from 1969 on.

Better than I expected!

James Falkener's the Battle of Fontenoy, 1745: Saxe against Cumberland in the War of the Austrian Succession, is not that book. It gave a pretty fair account of all combatants: British, French, Dutch, Austrians and Hanoverians. It is also somewhat kind to Cumberland - though he gives a good rationale for this. I felt like I'd learned something. What makes this a bonus buy for wargamers are the orders of battle in the appendices and the reproduction of a detailed contemporary battle map. As soon as Mr Heroic and Mr Ros start selling their fine 6mm Seven Years War figurines again I shall start to build up French and Allied armies.

If you've read the Charles Grant book on Fontenoy, this map will be familiar.

All of this has persuaded me to pre-order his forthcoming title on Prince Eugene from Pen & Sword books. Like the M-T book, this is a firm recommendation from me.

Third in the list is a Helion book on the ECW. Specifically this one:

I think this started out as Martin Bennett's PhD thesis back in the 80s. Despite that it is much more readable than you would expect. Even though it doesn't devote relatively much space to a narrative of the war, I am enjoying it. Still got a long way to go, so I still might change my mind. Good on the background of the Royalist Commissioners of Array and the methods of financing the war effort, and on the make up of the officer class. Bennett analyses the social background of both the Commisioners and the officers. The book explains how incredibly small the Royalist regiments were - not through attrition, but right from their heyday. 17 identified horse, and 15 foot regiments totalled 5,000 men! So far I've enjoyed all the Helion regional ECW histories that I've read.

So, to sum up, a 'comfort read' and two pleasant surprises. A good result.

Hubbardton - Take 2

For the second game I made one significant adjustment and one minor one. The bigger change was to dice for initiative each turn. The smaller one: I started with the British in line. Here’s how it panned out.

The Lights and the 24th went straight into the attack. This time the Americans all remained on the front side of the fence line. First into Combat were the Lights who struck the NH Continentals. With a +2 for a British bayonet charge and + 3 for class advantage, and a good five roll the Lights swept away the opposition. The NH boys fled in the direction of the fence line. Down two bases and 2 DP versus the Brits’ 1DP.

This put the Lights however at the mercy of the Massachusetts line. A good dice roll enabled them, led by the general to swing into the Lights’ flank! “We got the Limies by the Crown Jewels boys! Squeeze’em! Squeeze ‘em hard.” Fraser was on hand to keep his lads’ dander up. The adjusted, opppsed dice roll resulted in ….a draw! Stand off.

Round two of the combat saw the Lights slight edge in quality tell, and a stray ball hit Colonel Francis in the face and seeing him fall, the New Englanders reeled away. 

Under the Risk to Generals rule, both sides had to roll. Both scored 1 - re-roll! On the re-roll Fraser got a 4 - safe! Francis, on a 2, was seriously injured. Immediate removal from the game with the loss of his Command Points.

In the other action, the 24th narrowly came out on top, pushing the Green Mountain Boys back. So far bayonet tactics had worked for the British. The risk is if it doesn’t the opposition get a volley off at point blank range before the next phase. 

Meanwhile, on the American right the Jäger actually take first blood. Over on the other flank, the grenadiers arrive on turn 7.

American right at the bottom. Skirmishes down to 2 bases. NH line to their flank, rallying off Disorder Points.

Initiative had been changing throughout the game. In the turn after the Lights saw off the Massachusetts line, the Brits hit the initiative again and caught the fleeing Americans. A further two bases were lost. In the picture above they come to rest behind the Green Mountain Boys. Off picture to the right, the 24th have rallied off their sole DP and are ready to advance again.

But the clock has wound down. Another victory for the Crown. This time with a more pronounced casualty toll on the enemy.

The Reckoning. 8 American bases lost, plus one commander, to just 2 British bases.

Hubbardton - Take 1

This afternoon I ran through the scenario twice with similar overall results each time. The second time I adjusted things slightly. Of that, more anon.

For the first run-through I made some adjustments to Steve’s scenario. First I used the Staff Ride map for the game, with Germans due to appear on the extreme right of the American line, and Acland’s British grenadiers on the extreme left of the American line. Secondly, the Staff Ride map shows the situation later on from where Steve starts his and the crossing of the brook (off table). I did this because with my ground scale of 1mm per yard on an 8x4 foot table* I couldn’t fit everything in otherwise.

* being a Brit, I will flip between Imperial and Metric measurements at the drop of a cocked hat.

As Steve had the Germans appearing from turn 7 of 9 and my game started later, I started dicing for arrival from turn 5. Ditto Acland. These troops would arrive on a 5 or 6, with the odds improving each turn.

Each turn the commanders got 1 AD plus 1 Command Points. I gave the Brits the initiative each turn, but moves etc are simultaneous in Loose Files so it’s not an overwhelming advantage.

During the first game I forgot to take pictures for the first few turns, so they start part way through. The British Lights snaked their way forward in route column, with 24th opting to deploy. Any formation change (or indeed wheeling) causes a Disorder Point in Loose Files so it’s always about striking a balance between speed and order.

The 11th Mass in the centre and the NH infantry on the right opted to about face and march to the other side of the fence/road to avoid being beaten up or cut off. These manoeuvres are risky as they cost time and Disorder, but the Americans had sufficient time on their side as it turned out. Movement speed is variable in Loose Files so it might have proved disastrous. It was probably worth the risk as the Lights were in route column so whilst faster, they would lose a turn deploying to fight. Warner’s Green Mountain Boys (blue on my table) faced off against the 24th. 

As luck would have it, the Germans arrived bang on schedule (the Dice Gods were playing to stereotypes).

The American right and centre have successfully got over the fence lines.

Whilst the Lights (top) swing round, the 24th with a lucky 9” movement roll (or easier than expected going) dash across the open ground and crash into the startled Green Mountain Boys, bayonets bristling, before the colonists get a shot off. Fraser joined in to make sure his lads attacked with sufficient verve. “With zeal and bayonets only lads! Last one there’s a Frenchman!” The gamble paid off. The GMB** suffered 2 DPs and 2 casualties, and legged it over the fence. The 24th halted next turn to rally off the DP that they automatically incurred.

** note, not the General, Municipal and Boilermakers Union 

Meanwhile on the American right, the American skirmish line undertook a successful fighting withdrawal, inflicting first blood on the Jägers. Bottom right of the picture above, the Jägers are down to 1 base versus the Americans 3, but they are supported by 3 bases of grenadiers.

Acland’s grenadiers are finally on!

The rallied GMB face off against the 24th. But it would only be a matter of time before Acland takes them in the flank. In any case, the allotted time is up. Result: tactical win for the Brits. But the Americans escape mostly in tact. Losses were two American bases to one ‘British’, so 2 points list by the Americans v 1.5 lost got the British.

Civil War find

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-60778461.amp