Construction of Ammunition Caissons.

Caissons are used in all Artillery and Heavy Weapons battalions. Caissons are the link between limbers and the actual guns and provide a substantial supply of ammunition for immediate use. Additional ammunition is carried in the standard Ammunition wagon except in Horse Artillery regiments where reserve ammunition is carried in double caissons towed by limbers. This is in keeping with the philosophy that only two wheeled vehicles have the mobility needed in the Cavalry environment.. I am aware that the use of a caisson between the limber and the gun is not historically accurate as caissons are usually also towed by a limber however I just like the look of the three equipments together.
Construction is based on my standard box trailer described in posts on light GS wagons and utility trailers. The unique feature of caissons is the provision of a spare wheel and a towing hook. The towing hook is not fitted to second caissons in Horse Artillery regiments.

The above photo clearly shows the unique features of the caisson.

Construction of Ammunition Wagons.

Ammunition wagons are issued to Field and Heavy Artillery and Heavy Weapons battalions at the rate of 4 per battalion. The distinctive shape of these vehicles is loosely based on the Napoleonic Gribeauval ammunition wagon. I believe the use of a fixed roof shape helps reduce overloading of the vehicles with heavy ammunition boxes, a historically common problem with GS wagons using a canvas load cover.
The wagons are made using the 12mm thick balsa plank normally used for House bodied wagons. I then carve the A line roof before sanding to final shape. The rest of the wagon construction follows normal procedures as outlined in the post on construction of GS wagons with the sole exception that my ammunition wagons do not have towing hooks.

The photo above shows an ammunition wagon fully built but quite unpainted.                                                     

                                                    

This photo shows a fully painted ammunition wagon complete with horses. The sharp eyed reader will note that it does not have a spare wheel. This is because I only recently started fitting spare wheels to this type of vehicle and therefore there are a large number already in service without spares.. These will be retro fitted when the army currently under construction is completed.
There are will be some  240 of these vehicles in service when the army group is complete.

Organisation of Command Battalions.

These battalions provide command and control over the various larger army formations. There are three types of Command battalion. These are Brigade, Army and Army Group. All are similar in terms of manpower and equipment differing only in the number and level of the Generals in command.

Each Command battalion consists of a Command platoon, a Staff company , a Signals company, a Quartermaster company, a  Medical platoon and a Field Police company.

In Brigade Command battalions the Command platoon has a two star Major General in command with two one star Brigadier Generals as joint second in command. The provision of two Brigadier Generals enables the formation of task forces for specific operations requiring more than one or two battalions but less than the full strength of the Brigade.  In Army Command battalions the commanding General is a three star Lieutenant General with a two star Major General as second in command. The Army Group battalion has a four star General in command with a three star Lieutenant General as second in command. Each General has a Staff Captain and a Staff Lieutenant as aides and a standard bearer with his personal flag. Details of Generals flags are in the post on Flags. In addition there is a National flag bearer and a Battalion flag bearer who are commanded by a Command Sergeant Major. Total strength of the Command platoon is either 15 for Brigade battalions or 11  for Army and Army Group battalions.

Apart from the above all other elements of the various Command battalions are the same. The Staff company consists of three directorates covering Operations, Logistics and Administration/Personnel. The Operations directorate is commanded by a full Colonel with 3 Majors, 3 Captains, 3 Lieutenants, 3 Sergeants and 18 Staff men. The Logistics directorate is commanded by a full Colonel with 2 Majors, 2 Captains, 2 Lieutenants,  2 Sergeants and 12 Staff men. The Administration/Personnel directorate is commanded by a Major with 2 Captains, 2 Lieutenants, 2 Sergeants and 12 Staff men.
 The total strength of the company is 71. The Command company has 6 House office wagons and 6 heavy House office trailers.

The Signals company is command by a Captain with a Sergeant Major in support with 3 Lieutenants, 6 Sergeants and 24 Signallers. The company has two House Signals wagons and two heavy House Signals trailers. Total strength of the company is 35.

The Field Police company is tasked with providing security to the Command battalion, traffic control, POW management and general policing as needed. The company is commanded by a Captain with a Sergeant Major in support, 3 Lieutenants, 3 Sergeants and 36 Field Police. Total strength of the company is 44.

The Quartermaster company has a Captain in command with a Sergeant Major in support and 3 Lieutenants, 4 Sergeants and 40 QM drivers. In addition there is a Medical platoon consisting of a Surgeon Lieutenant, Medic Sergeant and 4 Medics. Total strength of the company including the Medical platoon is 55. The company has 4 GS wagons towing a field kitchen, Medical trailer, water tank trailer and a light GS trailer.

Total strength of a Brigade Command battalion is 220 and Army and Army Group Command battalions are 216 strong. Cavalry Command battalions have a number of  mounted personnel including all Generals, General's flag bearers and several staff officers and men.

Within the whole army there are 18 Brigade Command battalions, 3 Army Command battalions and one Army Group Command battalion.

The photo below shows a Brigade Command battalion with the House office and Signals wagons on the left with the Command platoon in front. In the centre are the Signals, Staff and Police companies and the Medical platoon. On the right are the GS wagons and utility trailers with the QM company in front.

Time for the weekly update. The batch of caissons is complete as shown below.

The Brigade Command battalion is also almost finished with just the last coat of varnish to be applied. As mentioned before another Infantry battalion is in hand, the uniform green is done so its now ready for rank and arm of service colours to be added. I have also made a batch of 24 ammunition wagons which can be seen below without even the primer coat of paint.

 I will do a separate blog detailing construction shortly. Lastly I have made a single Heavy Weapon to use as a sample in my investigations into the possible use of 3d printing as a means of making these equipments. I will report my findings in due course.

This weeks update will reflect that I have had a bit more play time !!!! The Infantry battalion has been completed and put into the display unit. Work continues on the Brigade command battalion with just the arm of service colours to be added before varnishing can commence. The batch of 38 caissons have been completed and they will be primed ready for painting next time. I have also counted out the screws for yet another Infantry battalion and the battalion flags have been made. The first coat of uniform green will be applied next time.
On another matter I have yet to build the machine guns for the Heavy Weapons battalions. These are rather fiddly to make and I have been considering if 3d printing is an option. I will make some enquiries and report my findings in due course.
As always, if you read this blog please leave a comment, I really would like to hear your opinion, good or bad. Just click on the comment word found at the end of each post. You can leave comments anonymously if you wish.

The Remuda

Remuda is a Spanish word meaning a horse herd suitable for remounts. In the context of my armies I have a Remuda in each Quartermaster battalion to provide spare horses for the other battalions served by that Quartermaster battalion. The Remuda is part of the Veterinary company establishment.

The photo above shows a Remuda assembled and primed ready for final painting. Construction is based on 10 horses with a bar passing through each row of five horses and glued into a square section beam with a twisted cable and "towing" eye to enable attachment to a Veterinary company wagon. The construction is similar to that used for Cavalry horses.
I admit the arrangement may appear odd but it is the best way I have found, so far, to represent the availability of a herd of remounts which I consider essential to the overall importance I attach to the army having a full logistical capability.

This photo shows the six Remudas I recently made to equip the six Quartermaster battalions in the army I am currently constructing. The horses are of course my standard horse brown colour with the "frame" black. I did originally try olive drab, my usual vehicle/equipment colour, but it just did not look quite right. Which ever colour is used the painting of the "frame" is slow and complex as even the small bits between horses are painted.

Organisation of Quartermaster Battalions.


The Quartermaster battalion comprises two Quartermaster Transport companies, a Veterinary and Farrier company, a Workshop company and a Headquarters company.

Quartermaster Transport companies consist of two platoons each of 4 GS wagons and 4 heavy GS trailers with 16 privates and 2 Sergeants with  a Lieutenant in command. The Company is commanded by a Captain assisted by a Sergeant Major. Each company has a total strength of 40.  The purpose of Transport companies is to move supplies from railhead to supported battalions.

Veterinary and Farrier companies consist of 4 Farrier platoons each with one Forge wagon with a light GS trailer with 4 Farriers, 2 Farrier Sergeants and a Veterinary Lieutenant in command. In addition there is a remount platoon consisting of a remuda of 10 horses with a House veterinary wagon and 4 Farriers, 2 Farrier Sergeants and a Veterinary Lieutenant in command. The whole company is commanded by a Veterinary Captain assisted by  a Sergeant Major and has 10 QM wagon drivers commanded by a QM Lieutenant with  a QM Sergeant as assistant.. Total strength of the company is 49. These companies provide shoeing and veterinary services to supported battalions.

The Workshop company has 4 Workshop platoons each with a House Workshop wagon with a light GS trailer manned by 4 Technicians, 2 Sergeant Technicians and an Engineer Lieutenant in command. The whole company also has a GS wagon and light GS trailer for parts and raw materials, 10 QM wagon drivers with a QM Lieutenant commanding and a Sergeant as assistant.. The company is commanded by an Engineer Captain supported by a Sergeant Major. Total strength of the company is 42. The purpose of the company is to provide repair services for equipment, weapons and vehicles in supported battalions.

The Headquarters company comprises a Staff platoon of 12 Staff men with 2 Staff Sergeants commanded by a Staff Lieutenant, a Signals platoon of 12 Signallers with a Signals Lieutenant in command supported by a Signals Sergeant, a Medical platoon of 6 Medics commanded by a Surgeon Lieutenant assisted by a Medic Sergeant. The Quartermaster platoon has 16 wagon drivers with 1 Sergeant and a Lieutenant in command. All QM staff of the Farrier/Veterinary, Workshop and Headquarters platoons are under the overall command of a QM Captain supported by a Sergeant Major. The command platoon has a  Lieutenant Colonel as Battalion Commander with a Major as Adjutant and second in command with a battalion Sergeant Major and two standard bearers, one with the national flag and one with the battalion flag. Total strength of the Headquarters company is 62 giving a total battalion strength of 233.

The other vehicles and equipments of the battalion include 4 GS wagons towing a field kitchen, water tank trailer, medical trailer and a light GS trailer. There are 2 House headquarters wagons and a heavy House headquarters trailer with a heavy House Signals trailer.

This photo shows the two QM transport companies.

This photo shows the Veterinary/Farrier company on the left with the Workshop company next on the right followed by the remuda and the Headquarters company on the right. My armies have a total of 18 Quartermaster battalions on the basis of one for each Brigade.. The arm of service colour for Quartermasters is brown.

Happy New Year and my best wishes for 2019 to anyone reading this blog.
I have just started to get a bit more work done on the army although production will pick up considerably now that Christmas is over and we still have a number of winter months ahead before my wife refocuses my attention on to the garden and other outside jobs in the spring. Since my last report I have completed the final Cavalry regiment and the Army Group Command battalion. I have also managed to start on yet another Infantry battalion and another Brigade Command battalion. On the equipment front I have made a start on the manufacture of the components for a batch of 38 Cassions and have completed six remount remudas, one each  for the Quartermaster battalions. I will be writing a separate post on these shortly giving full details both of construction methods and the tactical purpose of what I call remudas. I am also drafting an organisation report on the Quartermaster battalion along the lines of previous descriptions of the different battalion types.