BOOK REVIEW. REAL WAR HORSES.

THE EXPERIENCES OF BRITISH CAVALRY 1814-1914.

This is the second of the batch of new books recently purchased by me from Naval and Military. The book is based on the use of contemporary letters written by cavalry men after the campaigns of Waterloo,  Sikh Wars in India,  the Crimea,  the Mutiny,  the Boer War and  WW1. 

The amount of research it took to acquire these letters from all sorts of sources is impressive. However much of the narrative is based on  "Theirs Not To Reason Why. Horsing The British Army". A book I have and one that is clearly the definitive account of this subject. There are none of the accounts I have read elsewhere on cavalry actions during the wars in question, I guess that's because the author wanted his book to be all new, which is fine in respect of the letters quoted but the bits in between are not very original.

All that said my main  issue with this book is less about the content but the proof reading, or lack of, more to the point. I can only assume that this essential task was performed by a computer program in that if the spelling of a word was correct the word was passed. Of course that means there several places in the text where the wrong word is used. This is tolerable generally but there are some cases where the whole sentence has a changed meaning and when reading the book I found I came to a complete stop several times and had to work out exactly what was being said. That is frustrating and really unnecessary, 

Things like that can easily spoil an otherwise good book, its just penny pinching after all. That said, an interesting book but mainly because of the original letter quotes rather than the narrative.

BATTLE PHOTO SHOOT. FIELD ARTILLERY.

It occurs to me that my posts have become a bit predictable so I thought readers may be interested in something different . Perhaps seeing my soldiers in a battle setting could bring them more to life.

Therefore I set up a field artillery battalion on a board in combat formation. Please bear in mind this is a first attempt and it may not be the background of choice. The photos were taken in my workshop on top of my table saw, the only space I could find big enough without crawling on the floor, the base board being just over two feet square. Please therefore excuse the background. If this type of photo shoot is of interest, I will do more of other battalion types and certainly try to improve the background.

The battalion in question is the 37th Field Artillery battalion, one of 36 such battalions in my armies.

In this first shot the battalion's two 4 gun batteries can be seen with guns and caissons facing the camera. Immediately behind are the battery wagon lines with limbers and ammunition wagons. In the rear are the battalion wagon lines.

A close up of two guns showing the gun crews with section commanders and the battery commander,  battery sergeant major, signalers and a medic immediately behind.

Again the battery command group with limbers, ammunition wagons and crews awaiting orders.

On the left of the battalion wagon lines stand the field kitchen and water trailer ready to provide sustenance to the troops.

In the centre of the battalion wagon lines stand the battalion aid post with the surgeon and medics and the signals trailer with signalers and the fire control team receiving target information. Also seen here are the battalion flags and the battalion commander and adjutant a little to the front.

Finally another shot of the whole battalion from the right flank. Note the remaining battalion wagons in the bottom right of the photo. If there is a next time I will also endeavor to eliminate the shadows !!!!!! Please let me know if this shoot is interesting and worthy of repetition with other units.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 12.

  THE CHINESE INVASION.

In mid  April 1869 the UNION awoke to the startling news that Chinese troops were invading the nation. Panic stricken settlers from the area south west of Denver rushed into that city with stories of huge numbers of Chinese troops marching east towards Denver. The UNION army was immediately ordered to mobilise and on 20th April the Cavalry brigade from Fort Reno marched west on a reconnaissance mission to determine exactly what the UNION faced. The  Cavalry brigade from Fort Bridger also moved north on a similar mission. The Infantry brigades from Fort  Reno took up positions immediately west of Denver to await developments while the three remaining Infantry brigades in  Fort Bridger started to en train for the Denver area. In addition all other UNION armies were mobilised ready for immediate movement  as soon as the full nature of the threat was understood.

The Chinese army in 1869 consisted of about 500,000 fully trained troops with the same again in partly trained militia. Although the army was armed with single shot breach loading rifles the militia was equipped only with old fashioned muzzle loaders. Artillery consisted of muzzle loading cannon of limited range. The Militia had no heavy weapons. Chinese soldiers were known to carry just rations and ammunition with limited supporting services being available. Despite these limitations the Chinese army posed a dire threat simply because of their huge numbers. The motivation for the Chinese invasion was and remains to this day unknown but it is assumed there were a combination of factors. Support for their Iranian allies, desire for the rich resources of the UNION, fear of a growing economic and industrial neighbour, or maybe a military adventure to keep a huge standing army motivated were among the reasons put forward but the truth remains unknown given the nature of the communist regime in China.

UNION cavalry soon encountered the advancing Chinese only 250 hundred miles west of Denver, the Chinese had clearly been on UNION territory for some time to have gotten so far. The Cavalry reported the Chinese moving east in several parallel columns with  a strength of between 100,000 and 150,000. They seemed to march at dawn each day and after covering only ten or so miles  camped and spread out on foraging expeditions. Obviously Chinese supply lines were stretched.

With such a huge army of invaders to face, all UNION armies were ordered to en train for Denver. The only exception was the Cavalry brigade of 2nd army at Fort Leavenworth which would remain there to keep up patrols in Ukraine to ensure the Russians made no attempt to take advantage of the situation in the west. The UNION generals knew that they and the army faced the greatest test in their history to date.

Over the following days military trains arrived in Denver every few minutes as the UNION army concentrated to meet the Chinese threat. In the meantime the Cavalry brigade from Fort Reno was ordered to undertake a rear guard action to slow the Chinese advance. The tactics employed involved waiting until the Chinese were about to start moving at dawn and then to gallop forward and launch a short but heavy horse artillery barrage onto the leading Chinese forces. The Union forces would then quickly withdraw. The impact of the bombardment caused the Chinese to redeploy to receive an attack. By the time they recovered and prepared to start moving the UNION forces again launched a bombardment. These activities caused the Chinese advance to be seriously delayed. This strategy continued for several days. The Chinese, like most other armies, had no substantial cavalry forces to counter the UNION action as the costs of mounting large numbers of men were prohibitive, the UNION were the only nation other than the British to employ mounted troops in any numbers.

By 4th May UNION forces consisting of 1st and  3rd armies and 2nd army  less its cavalry brigade had concentrated about 150 miles west of Denver and were dug in ready to receive a Chinese attack. 4th army and 5th army, less the brigade in Mexico ,were formed up to the south west hidden behind a ridge ready to launch a counter attack or flanking maneuver as appeared best at the appropriate time. At that time each UNION army was about 27,000 strong so in total over 125,000 UNION troops stood ready to confront the Chinese invaders. Although the two armies appeared to be of similar size. the UNION forces had a massive superiority in artillery, both in numbers of guns but also in rate of fire and weight and power of projectiles. The scene was set for a titanic battle.

BOOK REVIEW : WORK OF R.E. IN THE EUROPEAN WAR, 1914-1919. MACHINERY,WORKSHOPS AND ELECTRICITY.

This book is the first I have read of the batch of six new books recently purchased from Naval Military Press. It is a reprint of an original from about 1925 as far as I can tell. It frustrates me when the reprint does not give the original publication date and you have to guess from the narrative, the one big failing of many of the reprints from Navel Military Press.

That said, this is clearly a very specialised book and will not appeal to many. However, if like me you wish to have an in depth understanding of the behind the scenes activities ( logistics ) of the military machine this may be of interest. The book  illustrates clearly yet again that the BEF of 1914 was organised only for a war of movement and the advent of static warfare found it ill prepared. This publication shows the work that took place to provide engineering support to trench warfare.

One thing of particular interest is the detailed list of products manufactured by R.E. workshops in the field to support the army.  Many will know that early hand grenades were made locally but it is amazing how many other products were made and continued to be built through out the war. In fact it is surprising , to me at least, just how comprehensively  equipped the R.E. workshops were and how they were able to manufacture a diverse range of new products so quickly after a need was identified.

An interesting and informative reference book if you like this sort of stuff.

UPDATE.

This week I have again been able to avoid the dreaded decorating. Apart from some gardening chores  and a little sunbathing !!!!!!  I have managed a reasonable amount of modelling time, perhaps not as much as I would like but better than I expected.

I have made good progress with painting the latest Infantry battalion and have also built a batch of 36 limbers. These I have just started painting today. I have also just begun painting a batch of heavy weapons companies, 6 in number, comprising 228 figures, to upgrade more of my existing Infantry battalions.

Following earlier reviews of the establishments of Field Police and Pioneer battalions, I have now completed reviews of Horse Artillery regiments and Field Artillery battalions. These latter reviews have been prompted by me finally getting round to  equipping artillery formations with observation trailers. The origin of these vehicles and construction details were posted some time ago and can be found under the label of Artillery.

I have always been pleased with myself ( ego !!!! ) on the construction of these vehicles so please look at that post if you have not already. I might mention here, more ego, that the  renowned John Tunstill  (Miniature Warfare, Tradition etc. ) sent me a very complimentary email on that particular post. The photo below shows the historic reference, a German WW1 vehicle.

The actual organisational changes I have made are that each artillery formation has been given an additional limber, light GS trailer and an observation trailer. Each limber comes with two QM men as drivers. Additionally, in order to improve the structure, each Horse Artillery regiment has also been with provided two extra Medics, two extra Signalers and one extra mounted QM Lieutenant. 

 I decided the Heavy Artillery battalions would not need an observation trailer given their long range usage. That said If you have a different view please do let me know. Overall these changes will add an extra 114 soldiers to the army group. 

It also crossed my mind that Heavy Weapons battalions could have the observation trailer, I cannot decide, any opinions out there ????????

The next book review and installment of my IMAGI-NATIONS saga will follow in the coming few days.

IMAGI-NATIONS : PART 11.

GUERRILLA WARFARE IN MEXICO.

Following the battles of January 1868 there was a lull in fighting as both sides took stock of the new situation and planned their next steps. On the UNION side that situational review concluded that the Mexican army would never been sufficiently cohesive or motivated to stand alone against the Arab supported terrorists.  Mexican troops and police would be able to hold pacified towns and villages but it would be up to the UNION army to defeat the terrorist threat.

With that in mind it was decided to establish two fire bases near the south western border with Iran, within easy reach of the railway line serving Acapulco. At one would be the headquarters of a Heavy Artillery battalion with one battery of guns and three companies of Infantry as security. At the other base would be the headquarters of an Infantry battalion with three companies and the other heavy artillery battery. Both bases would be able to bombard targets several miles inside Iran and each would have facilities to hold additional troops for search and destroy missions along the border region. The UNION strategy would be to attempt to seal the border with interdicting artillery fire while conducting constant search and destroy missions to prevent terrorists getting into the heartland of Mexico.

The Iranians and the other Arab states realised that they could not win a toe to toe battle against UNION army firepower without the benefit of over whelming numbers. Clearly a continuation of hit and run attacks offered the best, indeed the only way forward. It was  thought that  seemingly endless conflict and casualties may cause UNION public opinion to force the UNION government to give up the struggle. Arab military production capability was very limited, in fact other than bladed weapons only muzzle loading muskets could be made. Therefore they jointly undertook to seek better weapons from foreign countries to improve their striking power. Despite their collective hatred of all foreigners, they now hated the UNION even more and were determined to drive them from Mexico and seize the land they believed theirs by right. 

It quickly became apparent to the Arabs that they had a poor international reputation and with one exception no nation would sell them arms. The Chinese however were prepared to sell them the best guns they had, single shot breach loading rifles along with plenty of ammunition and dynamite for bomb making. The biggest problem was transporting the weapons from China. Eventually the first of what became a regular flow of caravans found a practical route across the wilderness of north Africa from China into Iraq. Although the flow of weapons would never be large it would enable the combined Arab forces to maintain a guerrilla war in Mexico.

By the autumn of 1868 both sides had completed preparations for resuming their conflict. The apparent peaceful interlude had even made the UNION wonder if Iran had decided not to continue the battle. This idea was soon shattered when on 10th November Iranian Revolutionary Guards, with the few remaining Mexican terrorists, launched a series of small scale attacks on a number of towns and villages along the border region. These attacks were simple hit and run assaults whereby  houses and other buildings were blown up and any police or even local inhabitants found were shot down with the sole idea of creating panic and terror. 

As soon as the first reports of attacks were received the UNION fire bases commenced interdicting fire on the few roads leading from Iran into Mexico and on all the border villages in Iran known to the Mexicans or found by reconnaissance. Additionally UNION Infantry battalions started sweeps in the areas between the terrorist targets and the border in attempts to cut off and destroy the terrorists as they made their way back to Iran. Most of the UNION sweeps came up empty handed but two were successful and caught Iranian terrorist groups, there were no survivors of these groups. Also the constant but irregular UNION artillery fire caused many casualties among Iranian civilians and much damage to roads and buildings.

The Iranians were generally pleased with the reports they received from the groups that returned and decided that the campaign would continue along the same lines but future groups would seek to penetrate deeper into Mexico before launching their attacks. Over the winter and into the new year both sides settled into a regular routine of hit and run attacks by the Iranians with UNION search and destroy missions and constant artillery barrages into Iran with each side seeking the defeat of the other by simple attrition.

By spring 1869 military planners in the UNION had started to consider alternative strategies perhaps even including a full scale invasion of Iran when without warning the greatest ever threat to the UNION suddenly burst on the scene. Settlers from the region south west of Denver rushed into that city in panic with reports that large numbers of Chinese troops had crossed the border into the UNION.

BOOKS : HARDTACK AND COFFEE.

The Unwritten Story Of Army Life.

This excellent book was originally published in 1887, I have had my copy, which is a reprint from 1993, for some years. I believe the book has been in continuous print in one form or other ever since its original publication. It is widely considered among the top half dozen of all personal narratives of service in the Union forces during the Civil War.

The unique thing about this book is that it covers not the authors battle and combat experiences but ordinary everyday life as a soldier in the Union army. Things like food, camping, marching, tents, mules and bridging operations are among the huge range of topics covered.  Perhaps the book can be no better described than the following passage from the introduction written in 1993; "It is a fascinating presentation of the routine and the unremarkable, the hundreds of perfectly ordinary little things that every veteran experienced but few bothered to record in their memoirs."

The author joined up in 1862 and served in a Massachusetts artillery battery. He also wrote an exhaustive battle history of his unit that is ranked among the best unit histories of the Civil War. I assume his battle experiences are recorded in that book as there is not a mention in this book although he clearly did experience combat on many occasions. 

If you want to know what it was actually like to be a Union soldier between 1862 and 1865 or you are interested in the day to day doings of the army, this is the book to read. Apart from the matters mentioned above all sorts of other subjects are discussed in varying degrees of detail including offenses and punishments, foraging, badges and bugle calls, hospitals, clothing, signaling and wagon trains. This book really is a well written encyclopedia of information on the Union army and is very highly recommended.

UPDATE.

Unlike last week I have managed to get a good amount of modelling done this week. I managed to get my wife to agree to me having time off from decorating although I fully expect to be back at it or something similar next week.

Anyway this week I managed to complete the first Pioneer upgrade and start another Infantry battalion upgrade as well as finishing the batch of heavy weapons.

All my armies are now fully equipped with these weapons. I now have to decide if I replace the 64 scratch built guns  currently in service . I have plenty of 3D models to do this if I choose. I will think about this over the coming weeks. Also finished is the Cavalry upgrade.  This photo shows them with just the horses to be painted.

Finally this week I have completed the upgrade to heavy and light GS trailers and ammunition wagons.  The photo below shows the final batch just awaiting the new spare wheels to be painted black.

The final numbers upgraded are 286 light GS trailers, 157 Ammunition wagons and 382 heavy GS trailers. Except for the heavy GS trailers these numbers do not fully represent the total quantity of each vehicle in service as the upgrades were decided at different times. For example the light GS trailer upgrade was implemented just before finishing my second army so all the vehicles in the third army were to the new design. The new ammunition wagon design started about half way through the building of the third army whereas the heavy GS trailer upgrade was decided only after I had completed third army. Anyway it has taken quite a long time to complete.

The book review this week will be delayed a few days just because I have yet to finish reading the book in question.

Finally readers may be interested to know that as of today my armies have a total of 48,998 soldiers. 

IMAGI-NATIONS : PART 10.

 THE UNION OFFENSIVE AGAINST MEXICAN TERRORISTS.

Following the June terrorist attack in Mexico City the original UNION base camp was extended to accommodate a full UNION Infantry brigade. This force was deployed to Mexico in August 1866 and the original expeditionary force units withdrawn.  The Infantry brigade comprised 13 battalions, 5 Infantry, 2 Field Artillery and one each of Heavy Artillery, Heavy Weapons, Pioneers, Medical, Quartermaster and Command. It was agreed the brigade would have three objectives, first; to secure Mexico City, second; to assist with training of the Mexican army and police and third; to undertake an offensive against the terrorists in their southern strongholds.

Standard UNION army operating practice both then and now requires the Infantry, Field Artillery and Heavy Weapons battalions be formed into short brigades of usually two Infantry battalions and an Artillery battalion and one Infantry battalion and a Heavy Weapons battalion thereby creating three separate maneuver formations. The remaining battalions of the Brigade generally remain together as a supporting force. It was decided that the supporting battalions would remain in Mexico City to deliver the first and second objectives with the three short brigades heading south to undertake operations against the terrorists with the Medical and Quartermaster battalions providing support as needed. The railway from Mexico City to Acapulco provided both transportation south and a supply line.

Operations commenced in September and consisted of search and destroy sweeps across the length and breadth of southern Mexico. These sweeps proved fairly successful as the terrorists tended to camp in villages and draw supplies from the villagers. Each village would in turn be surrounded by UNION troops who then moved in. Some fighting took place but given the over whelming strength of the UNION forces these fights did not last long. Over the course of the fall and winter the local terrorist groups, which almost always included Iranian or other Arab volunteers,  were wiped out across much of the countryside. Those who escaped fled across the border with Iran where they found refuge in Iranian camps just inside that country where they had been originally trained and armed.

The Iranians were less than happy with UNION activities and concluded that they had no choice but to commit  Iranian troops to maintain their position. The Iranians had s small regular army and a much larger, less professional  but fanatical Revolutionary Guard. It was this body that was chosen to lead the Iranian counter attack. A large force of 3000 crossed the border and took up positions along both sides of the nearby main road in fairly dense woodland and awaited the approach of UNION forces. UNION anti terrorist operations had started to the far south and had been moving north ever closer to the border. Naively  the UNION commanders did not foresee  any particular danger despite their  increasing proximity to the Iranian border.

On the morning of 5 January 1868 a UNION short brigade of two Infantry and one Artillery battalions marched into a mile long ambush zone. However the fanatical but poorly trained Revolutionary Guards did not wait until the UNION forces were fully into the ambush but opened fire when only the leading Infantry battalion was in the zone. Inevitably the UNION casualties were very heavy during those first minutes as were Iranian as they fired across the road towards each other, another consequence of poor training. The UNION soldiers took cover in roadside ditches and returned fire as best they could but horses and vehicles were riddled with bullets. The second Infantry battalion formed up and moved along both sides of the road to attack the ambushers from the flanks who immediately began to fall back to the border. UNION artillery started to bombard the retreating Iranians. As the Iranians moved away the scene on the road was fully revealed, Over 50% of the leading UNION Infantry battalion had been killed or wounded and all the battalions horses were dead.  With so many casualties the UNION forces were unable to move so dug in to await assistance.

The other UNION short brigades moved up next day and the combined body began a slow retreat to railhead. Once there the wounded were dispatched and the UNION forces prepared to strike a counter blow. Returning to the border UNION reconnaissance troops approached the border and finding no sign of Iranian troops made a move across the border. Only three miles in they found a small town with an Iranian fort on the outskirts full of soldiers. Moving forward carefully the UNION forces surrounded the town on three sides and then opened up a heavy artillery bombardment on the town and fort. Iranian civilians fled north on the road out of town, while the soldiers took shelter in the fort. UNION forces moved into the now deserted town and took up positions around the fort. Every UNION weapon was now directed onto the fort which was quickly reduced to rubble with many fires breaking out. A white flag was hoisted but quickly shot away. Desperate Iranians tried to flee the fort only to be caught by UNION heavy weapons fire. After a few hours UNION gunfire stopped and troops moved in only to find the Iranian garrison just about wiped out. The town was now set on fire and the UNION force retired back to the border.

A tough lesson had been learned by both sides. The UNION had suffered it's heaviest casualties yet in a engagement with an enemy and recognised that Iran presented a substantial threat. Iran  now understood the power and ruthlessness of the UNION. Both sides  began to assess their next steps.

UPDATE.

After spending four whole days painting our hall, landing and stairs not to mention the odd jobs and chores that arise anyway, I had very limited "play" time this week. There remains a lot of decorating still to do but I am trying to spread it out on the grounds that old age mean I need regular breaks !!!!!! I hope to get a bit more modelling time this coming week, especially given the change in weather that may reduce the demand for outside work too !!!!!!  I have no idea how I ever found time for my job before I retired !!!!!!!

So, what have I managed to get done ??  The first Pioneer upgrade is well in hand as is the Cavalry upgrade. The 3D printed heavy weapons have been constructed as seen in the photos below.

This picture shows how the 3D printed parts were delivered to me. Each item has to be cut from the sprue.

The above shows the carriages with gun barrels fitted. These are hollow plastic beads from Hobby Lobby which I found available in boxes of 200 or so. They were just the right size. I often look at this sort of thing in case I find something useful either now or for the future.

This photo shows the guns with wheels fitted. I drill the axles right through then push the spikes of the drawing pins into the holes with a little glue. These guns are now ready for priming. All the plastic has to be primed as well as the wheels so its a two stage operation unless you want painted fingers !!!! The plastic used is similar to that used in Airfix figures. Next time I will opt for something a little harder as I find drilling the wheel holes causes the plastic to melt onto the drill bit which can make the holes too big. I have to clean the drill bit after every three or four holes to avoid this problem.

I strongly recommend the use of 3D printed parts if you ever need large numbers of anything. They are cheap, these guns cost only 25p each, and the detail is fantastic. It is just as much fun to build these guns as it was to scratch build every one but without the drudge . I have thought that one day I may replace all my field and heavy artillery with 3D models although they were easier to build as I had a foundation item to use. See the previous posts on construction of artillery for more details.

I have today taken delivery of a batch of six new books. All are from Naval Military Press. They have an extensive range on all subjects and periods,  their web site is well worth a look. I will review each book as it is read over the coming weeks.

I will post the next chapter of my IMAGI-NATIONS saga in a couple of days, I hope it is still of interest to readers.

BOOKS : THE DIARY OF A MEDICAL OFFICER DURING THE GREAT INDIAN MUTINY OF 1857.

A recent acquisition, this book is a reprint of an original publication of around 1900 as best as I can tell, there being no information in the book on the original publication details. The book is an unedited rendition of the authors diary over a two year period and covers his service during the Mutiny. The author arrived in India only a few months before the Mutiny started as a newly qualified  doctor aged just 22 in the service of "John Company".

As the diary is unedited there is little context unless the reader has a reasonable understanding of the main events of the Mutiny. That said it still makes fascinating reading with great detail on the military operations not only in the vicinity of the author but also elsewhere in India.  Detailed lists of units and their commanders are frequently included together with officer casualty lists. Strangely the author makes only a single one line entry in the whole diary detailing his medical activities, "spent all day dressing wounds and amputating." As a doctor it is assumed that he did not participate in any actual fighting as there is no mention whatsoever of any such activity.

As a stand alone book it will have limited appeal but as a source of reference to a student of the Mutiny this is an excellent addition to any library and in that sense is highly recommended.

IMAGI-NATIONS : PART 9.

 THE BEGINNING OF MILITARY ASSISTANCE IN MEXICO

IN the fall of 1866 the UNION government agreed to provide support to the Mexicans in their battle against fundamentalist terrorists in the south of the country. The immediate need identified by the Mexicans was for medical  and veterinary services as the Mexican army was not well provided in these areas. It was decided that the UNION army would set up  base on a farm to the eastern side of Mexico City about 1 mile south east of the main railway station and about 1 mile north east of the city centre and the UNION embassy. It was decided the UNION military assistance expedition would be provided by 5th army in Fort Bridger. Commanded by a one star Brigadier general,  it would comprise a Medical battalion as the core unit with a veterinary/farrier company attached. Although no combat troops were to be deployed it was thought possible the presence of UNION troops may provoke a negative reaction so a company of field police would accompany the expedition not only to provide security but also to back up the UNION Marshal Service diplomatic protection platoon guarding the embassy. This force had been established at the same time as the embassy was created to provide security in a potentially difficult situation.

By 3rd January 1867 the UNION expeditionary force had arrived in Mexico and set up for operations to commence. Wounded Mexican soldiers would arrive by train from the south and be conveyed from the railway station by UNION ambulances to the medical facilities. Mexican army horses wounded in action would be similarly processed. In addition remounts for the Mexican army would be inspected, trained and shoed by UNION farriers before issue.  The presence of UNION forces, even though non combat, provoked a harsh reaction by the terrorists and their supporters resulting in an increase in terrorism during the spring on the southern outskirts of Mexico City.

On 3rd June terrorists launched a major attack in Mexico City. Their primary targets were the presidential palace and government buildings in the city centre. However the UNION embassy also came under sniper fire. In response a platoon of UNION field police as dispatched to the embassy to bolster its defense. This unit also came under sniper fire as it arrived at the embassy during the late morning. By this time UNION forces were on full alert. By mid afternoon a full scale battle had developed in the city centre between terrorists and Mexican police. Mexican army units based to the south of the city however had remained in barracks for reasons unclear at the time. About 3pm an urgent message arrived at the UNION embassy from the presidential palace for help as it was in imminent danger of being overrun and the president either killed or captured.  The UNION commanding general immediately prepared a relief force from his limited resources. The force consisted of the remaining two platoons of field police, and a scratch company of quartermaster troops from the medical battalion. Also included were two ambulances and a medical team. The force quickly made its way to the city centre where it  came under heavy fire from terrorists.  They battled though to the palace although suffering several casualties along the way. They found the Mexican president with a small force of police almost out of ammunition. Loading the president into an ambulance along with both the UNION and Mexican police wounded, the task force and the remaining Mexican police began a withdrawal back towards the UNION base, all the time fighting fierce battles in the streets against numerous terrorists. Once clear of the city centre the intensity of the fighting gradually reduced and the force soon returned to base. The whole camp had been prepared for defense and those not wounded, including the Mexican police, took up positions on the barricades.

Next morning an message came from the embassy that they were under heavy attack and needed assistance. The two field police platoons, now somewhat reduced in number, were dispatched again with two ambulances and a medical team as reinforcements. Although they reached the embassy with only a few casualties it soon became clear the embassy could not be held so the defenders and all embassy staff began to withdraw to the UNION base. The retreat was difficult and many casualties were incurred. Eventually however they gained the safety of the base. Other than some minor sniping the fighting died down as the terrorists ransacked the embassy, presidential palace and government buildings. Around this time it also became clear why the Mexican troops to the south of the city had not intervened as their commanding general proclaimed himself the new president and undertook to negotiate a peace with the terrorists.

On hearing initial news of the fighting the UNION government authorised the commanding general of 5th army to do what ever was needed to restore the situation in Mexico City. He immediately instructed a short brigade of two Infantry battalions and a Heavy Weapons battalion to mobilise. Trains were ordered to move this force to Mexico City urgently. In the meantime conditions in the UNION base were now harsh. An attack was expected anytime, there were many casualties and ammunition stocks were limited, relief was needed soon. Around midday on the 5th June the first UNION relief train arrived at the station in Mexico City, this was followed by many other trains as the UNION army arrived in force. As units detrained and were organised they began to advance towards the city centre. The overwhelming power of the UNION forces soon told and the terrorists were quickly killed, captured or driven out of the city. The Mexican troops now also in the city, were overawed by the strength of the UNION forces and  were soon rounded up without a fight and their general captured.

The president was returned to his palace and over the following days the government was reestablished. The embassy was repaired and reopened.  The Mexican police who had remained loyal to their president were formed into a new presidential guard and given many rewards. The renegade Mexican general. his senior officers and all the terrorists captured were summarily executed. The Mexican troops and junior officers involved ion the mutiny were pardoned on the basis they had only been following orders and had in fact been told the president had been killed earlier.

It was agreed that the UNION army would maintain a permanent combat presence in Mexico and the temporary base was now reconstructed with full facilities for a whole UNION army brigade sized unit. So began the UNION army's presence in Mexico that has continued ever since.

UPDATE.

Once again this week seems to have had an extra day, so despite  doing yet more decorating (will it ever be finished ????? )  I have still managed to get a fair amount of modelling time.

This past week I have almost completed yet another Infantry battalion and have just started work on the first of three upgrades for Pioneer battalions. This was mentioned last week and involves adding an extra company to each Pioneer battalion. Each batch covers four new companies. In addition I have made a good start on construction of a batch of 36 heavy weapons (machine guns) for my Infantry battalions following the reorganisation of Heavy Weapons battalions and the provision of heavy weapons companies for each Infantry battalion. These guns are made using 3D printed platforms I commissioned some time ago, see the relevant article in the blog archive. I still think they were a great investment. Construction work on the penultimate upgrade of Cavalry has been complete and painting is well underway. As usual work still continues on upgrading of light and heavy GS trailers and ammunition wagons.

Following my review of Field Police and Pioneer battalions last week I have now reviewed the establishment of Infantry battalions. I find that the Quartermaster platoon is understaffed by one sergeant so have added to my "to do" list the painting of 72 QM sergeants, one for each Infantry battalion. I do this sort of review from time to time, it is easy to overlook a fault in establishments when dealing with an army of well over two hundred battalions and just over 50,000 soldiers. It also amuses me to examine the tables of organisation and equipment and seek opportunities to refine and improve them.

The next installment of my IMAGI-NATIONS saga will be published in a few days. I seem to get an upsurge of viewers to the blog each time an installment is posted. I hope that means they are of interest, if so do please let me know !!!!!!

BOOKS : THE BRAIN OF AN ARMY.

This book, a recent purchase,  is a reprint of a 1913 publication which was itself a reprint of an 1895 essay. The essence of the book is a layman's guide to the Prussian/German General Staff at a time when the German army was considered the most professional in the world and the British government was in the midst of one of its periodic reviews of the organisation of the Army.

The book gives a large amount of interesting information on Prussian/German military thinking and the basic organisation of the army. Also included are some fascinating sections on the issues that face a general during a campaign. Others may not share my view but I often find myself surprised by the sophistication of military thinking in the Victorian era. It is easy to assume that the people of the past, without the benefit of modern technology, science or administrative techniques were simplistic in their views on many issues especially things military. That is just not the case. In fact there were very many exceedingly clever people around in the past and despite our idea that we are somehow more advanced, in fact we are different only in our attitudes to the world around us. Our only advantage is a greater understanding of science, our disadvantage is a reduction in the concept of serving the nation.

With that thought, this is a very interesting book which teaches much about the Prussian/German General Staff and the military machine it served.