BOOK REVIEW. WITH NAPOLEON'S GUNS.

When deciding to purchase this book as another of my Christmas list, the title and write up excited me as I expected an account rather like that of Mercer's Waterloo campaign. Sadly that was not the case.

The book is based on the authors journal of his very long service as an artillery officer from 1775 to 1832 with the emphasis on the period before Waterloo. It was originally published in 1895 by his grandson. 

The author spent the vast majority of his career either on the staff or commanding various artillery trains or training schools. He actually saw very little combat. Consequentially the book is more of a European travelogue as the author describes each city or town he visited, the character of the various people and the houses etc where he stayed. 

If you are interested in the day to day life of a French officer and the geography of Europe at this time, this book will be of interest.  If you expect an account of Napoleon's artillery in battle you will be very disappointed.

UPDATE.

For this weeks update, I offer the reader something completely different !!!!

As a kid growing up in the late 50's and early 60's, like most boys of that generation we played cowboys and Indians regularly. The TV was full of western shows and I was very fond of the weapons of the cowboys, the Colt .45 revolver and the Winchester 73 rifle. My first "real" weapon was a Daisy BB gun similar to the Winchester. Later this was replaced by a Webley .22 air rifle, which I still have to this day.

Later in the early 70's I spent some time with my Aunt and Uncle in Colorado. My Uncle, a life long hunter and fisherman, owned a number of guns, all of which I fired on many occasions. Among his collection was a very old circa 1900 30.30 Winchester rifle. Very exciting to use but like most guns of that age the butt stock was a steel plate. I well remember how that hurt when fired !!!

This interest in guns has remained with me to this day. Of course with the gun laws in the UK being so strict, gun ownership is restricted to air rifles and pistols only. For a few years now I have been aware of the availability of "replica" air weapons. Nowadays you can buy a replica air weapon of virtually any military or historic gun imaginable. A couple of years ago I got to handle a Winchester "replica" rifle. I was very impressed but as they are rather expensive I decided against purchasing one. Over the past year however I have , under the influence of lockdown, become increasingly interested in these weapons.

Finally I have extravagantly bitten the bullet so to speak and this week I excitedly collected a Walther lever action .177 air rifle from a  local gun shop.

The gun is powered by CO2 and has an eight round magazine. Operating the lever action, just like the real thing, loads a pellet, brings the hammer back and charges the gun.

The gun is very accurate and straight from the box on my first go I managed this group at a range of 12 metres. A few adjustments to the sights have improved things even more. Dead-eye Dick is definitely back in the saddle !!!!

The magazines, of which I have bought five, means I am burning through rather more pellets than I expected. The first session used 90 !!!!!!

Loading the magazines in very clever. Depressing the reloading slot causes the magazine chamber to open as shown. The gas cartridges are located within the butt and accessed by removing the butt cap. 

Using the gun is addictive. The lever action sounds and feels so good. There are a number of video reviews of the gun on YouTube if you wish to see it in action. My model is the Wells Fargo edition with a gold engraved receiver mechanism and beautiful solid wood butt and fore stock.

I foresee using this gun on a regular basis and my only regret is not buying one a long time ago. Now, do I need a replica Colt .45 revolver to complete the set ??????

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 38.

 THE OUTBREAK OF WAR WITH THE RUSSIAN GERMAN ALLIANCE

During the final months of 1887 Germany and Russia finalised their strategy for war against the UNION. It was agreed that with substantial German assistance in both the supply of weapons and railway construction materials and expertise  the Russians would invade Ukraine and commence the construction of a railway towards the UNION. It was understood that the UNION would undoubtedly also  start building a railway and the two sides would meet in battle in the centre of Ukraine about six month later. To avoid the UNION being able to concentrate all its forces against each adversary separately the Germans would need to start their invasion of the old Federation just before Russia and the UNION met in Ukraine. This would ensure the UNION had to fight a two front war giving the alliance an over whelming numerical superiority.

 The Russian build up commenced immediately while German ships started to deliver large quantities of weapons, ammunition and railway material. By 4th May 1888 the Russians were ready and on that date some 750,000 Russian troops started to cross into Ukraine together with thousands of railway construction labourers. The UNION was surprised by the Russian invasion. They had no idea of the alliance with Germany and just had not expected Russia to risk another war. However as soon as long range cavalry patrols had confirmed the Russian move was indeed a full scale invasion the 2nd army in Fort Levenworth was instructed to cross the border and establish a defensive line to protect the construction of a UNION railway.

 As the UNION had not expected a Russian assault no preparations had been made to stockpile railway materials but UNION factories went into overdrive to produce the materials needed.  It was a little over 2000 miles from Russia to the UNION border so each side needed to build at least 1000 miles of track. At the usual rate of three miles a day it would be at least six months before the two sides could support combat operations although the UNION army's supply service was capable of far out performing the Russians so the UNION expected to be able to start fighting in September at the latest.

Over the next couple of months both sides rushed to lay track and advance their armies towards each other. There was no fighting until in early July UNION cavalry and horse artillery launched a hit and run attack on the Russian railhead. Although little serious damage was caused both the Russians and Germans were surprised the UNION could reach so far forward. Germany would need to be ready to launch her attack somewhat earlier than expected and therefore commenced a build up in the Rhineland. 

Shortly after this first contact, the British advised the UNION of rumours in diplomatic circles that Germany was in alliance with Russia. Although it was not known if this extended to joint military action, the Germans were certainly supporting the Russians with railway and military supplies. This news caused grave concern in the UNION. Fighting Russia was one thing but fighting Germany as well at the same time was quite another. UNION strategists realised that if such an alliance existed then it was likely that Germany would attack at the same time the UNION came into contact with the main Russian army. 

As that time was still a few months away the question arose as to whether the UNION should launch a  pre-emptive strike against Germany immediately to defeat them before the UNION faced a two front war. The problem was that it was only in March 1887, just 18 months previously, that the UNION had announced a policy of no first strikes. The debate swept through UNION government and military circles. Finally in early August the government decided that as the evidence against Germany was not fully substantiated there would be no first strike however full defensive measures would be taken along the border with Germany.

BOOK REVIEW. WITH WELLINGTON IN THE PENINSULAR.

Yet another of my Christmas book presents, this is a reprint of an original account from 1827. The book is anonymous which is a great pity. The author presented, at the time, the first realistic portrait of the Peninsula war and life in the British army of the era, warts and all.  When first published the book was reviewed critically because of the authors honest accounts of the hardship endured by the soldiers and the questionable decisions of his superiors. The introduction by the editor actually questions if the book was in fact ahead of its time in attempting to give an accurate account of war in the 1800's.

All that said this book is highly recommended as a first rate account of a soldiers life during Wellington's Peninsular campaign. Told from the perspective of a private soldier, there is little about the actual battles beyond that which any individual soldier would have seen. However it does give an excellent idea of the life of a private soldier which was brutal to say the least, in fact it's a wonder anyone survived not just the fighting but the living conditions themselves. In that sense the author mentions that of 600 men who left barracks in 1810 only 75 returned in 1814, the period covered by the book.

This is definitely the book for you if you are interested, not in an overarching campaign history, but life as a British soldier in the Peninsula campaign.

UPDATE.

I have just completed and issued the final batch of GS wagons to my three armies. Although there remain a large number of soldier upgrades to finish this means the equipment of the armies is complete. This event caused me to do some quick calculations which I will now share with readers as they may be of interest.

My armies now have about 1,320 GS wagons in total. At a length of 65mm each, including horses, placed end to end, they would stretch a distance of 86 metres or 288 feet in old money.

 In addition my armies now have 279 ammunition wagons, 738 limbers, and 480 other wagons including 96 ambulances and 72 forge wagons. There are also 630 heavy trailers and 1,930 light trailers of various sorts including over 200 field kitchens and over 200 water trailers. Lastly there are 590 guns of all types. 

At the present moment i have a total of just under 53,000 soldiers. The authorised strength of the three armies is a little under 60,000.  In a post some time ago I mentioned that I had calculated that including soldiers marching three abreast and with vehicles in single file, the whole army on the march would stretch some one and a half kilometres.

By the end of this year, once I have built the new display unit, I will commence construction of the fourth army which will lead to a new target strength of a little over 80,000 with vehicle numbers increasing in proportion.

UPDATE.

Time, like my soldiers, marches on and Spring is on the horizon. Some work has been done in the garden but I have managed to negotiate that full scale work activities will commence from Easter. In the meantime some modelling continues. The 5th upgrade has been completed and another 288 soldiers have joined the ranks. The 6th batch is well advanced and even the 7th batch has been started. ( There are 46 upgrade batches to complete. ) The 35 GS wagons are almost finished, only the wheels now need painting.

Like most if not all my readers I regularly visit other peoples blogs. Obviously some are more interesting than others but I do leave comments on posts that particularly interest me. I have recently however again come up against a sort of "snobbish" attitude to my screw soldiers. It seems that because I do not paint miniature figures or fight normal wargames my hobby is less worthy in some way. This is also noticeable in that although I get quite a number of visitors from all over the world to this blog I still have very few followers. I am fine with this actually as I do not flatter myself in thinking that screw soldiers are everyone's cup of tea. In fact I am now quite sure I am the only person in the world who uses screws as soldiers so clearly I will never have that much of a following.

That said I have tried to widen the appeal of the blog by including my take on Imagi-Nations and reviewing the many books I read each month and I believe these topics are of interest to some. I am now beginning to wonder if there is anything else I could do to widen the audience of the blog or should I just be satisfied with things as they are, it is after all The Woodscrew Miniature Army blog. Any thoughts would be very welcome.

BOOK REVIEW. EYEWITNESS IN THE CRIMEA.

 

Another Christmas book this one is subtitled The Crimean War Letters of Lt. Col. George Frederick Dallas and that is exactly what it is, the full text of the 137 letters that "Fred" Dallas wrote to friends and family during his two years service in the Crimea.  Added to this is some material pertaining to the life of "Fred" by the editor of the book,  his great great grandson, for example the distant relative who founded the city of Dallas in America.

Fred went to the Crimea as a fresh unblooded lieutenant and returned two years later as a war hardened  brevet Major and ADC to a general. His letters illustrate clearly the well known harshness of the trenches and the first winter of 1854-55 and give a very detailed insight into the daily life of the British army during the campaign.

Some interesting matters arise in the book. Firstly is "Fred's" assessment of the British army commanders. He thought them all totally incompetent and fully responsible for both the mismanagement of the fighting but also the conditions in which the soldiers lived.  It is clear that most of his brother officers felt the same and also considered the Government  equally to blame for the inadequate support of the army and the selection of incompetent generals to command the army. However although "Fred" clearly understood the horrible conditions in which the men lived, he did not share those awful conditions. 

Like all officers at the time, "Fred" was responsible for providing for himself his uniform , equipment and food. This he found himself well able to do by sending his servants to Balaclava to purchase everything he needed. That which he could not buy locally , he had sent by family in boxes from home. Therefore while his men froze to death or starved during the winter, "Fred" , like all other officers, was well dressed and had plenty to eat. Although it is clear that "Fred" provided his men with some comforts like tobacco, generally he did not consider it his responsibility as an officer to take care of his men, that was the duty of the generals alone.

It would be easy to criticise "Fred" but of course he was of his time. The attitude of officers in the 1850's was identical to that in the early 1800's when Wellington called his men "the scum of the earth". It would be another couple of generations before officers saw their men in a different light. It never ceases to amaze me how educated, intelligent and sophisticated men could be so indifferent to other human beings. However it just shows how people thought in those days. We must never forget that social attitudes were so very different to today. It is fundamentally wrong to judge the attitudes of yesterday by the standards of today.

This is a truly exceptional book and very highly recommended not only for the fascinating details of life during the war but also for what it teaches about human attitudes in those far off days.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 37.

 TENSION IN UKRAINE.

During the summer of 1887 Russian military patrols to Ukraine were significantly increased. Under the terms of the treaty, both sides had the right to make patrols to ensure the other side was not undertaking construction of a railway. Therefore both sides had tended to patrol along the line of the old demolished railway in the north of the country. Very occasionally UNION patrols visited Kiev but Russian patrols did not go this far south. This changed in May when a strong force of Russian troops appeared outside Kiev. The Russian commander demanded that the Ukrainian government provide supplies and billets for his troops on the basis that Ukraine remained officially part of Russia. With no military just a small police force the Ukrainian government had little choice but to comply. As the Russians began to settle down for an apparently extended stay, Russian soldiers became increasingly troublesome to the local population.

Before long the Ukrainian government was complaining daily about excesses caused by Russian soldiers. The Russian general noted these complaints but did nothing to address them. As time progressed the thefts, beatings of civilians, destruction of property and threatening behavior of the Russians became intolerable. Finally on 15th June two Ukrainian policemen were murdered by Russian soldiers while trying to stop them stealing from a shop. Demands for justice being ignored by the Russian commander the Ukraine government appealed for UNION assistance. The UNION was already aware of the Russian presence in Kiev but had decided to take no action as Russia was quite within its rights to send troops into the country. However when the appeal of the Ukrainians was received the UNION knew it was time to act.  However confronting the Russians would need to be carefully handled as there was no clear breach of the treaty.

As the Russian force was almost a thousand strong, the UNION knew it had to send a powerful expedition. It was decided to send a short cavalry brigade some 4000 strong consisting of three cavalry regiments and one horse artillery regiment together with additional QM transport to provide sufficient supplies for the long journey as well as a good supply of ammunition just in case. Four days before the UNION force arrived outside Kiev on 21st July a fight had broken out at the UNION agricultural school in Kiev as Russian soldiers attempted to steal from students. Two UNION teachers and four Ukrainian students were killed by the Russians. Although alarmed by the deaths of the UNION teachers the Russian commander refused to take any action against his soldiers. His alarm turned to panic when , only four days later, he received reports of a large UNION cavalry force arriving on the outskirts of the city.

A few hours later the Russians watched anxiously as a seemingly endless force of UNION cavalry with artillery, entering from the east, marched through the city and set up camp astride the road to Russia on the eastern outskirts. The Russians were trapped. Next morning the UNION general arrived at Russian headquarters demanding the Russians hand over those responsible for killing the UNION teachers. After an angry exchange the UNION general left empty handed. Shortly after midnight that same day the Russian general was woken by several UNION soldiers storming into his quarters and placing him under arrest. As he was led outside and frog marched to a large empty warehouse on the edge of the city he saw UNION soldiers seizing his troops and throwing them into the warehouse. Soon the whole Russian force was inside the warehouse and UNION soldiers were guarding every door and window.

Around lunchtime next day the Russian general was again interviewed by the UNION general who again demanded the hand over of those responsible for killing the teachers. Again the Russian refused. He was then told that he and his soldiers would be marched back to Russia in chains and disgrace. Four days later the Russians were indeed chained together and set out on the long march back to Russia escorted by the UNION cavalry.  In the meantime the Ukrainian authorities had confiscated all the Russian soldier's property including weapons and equipment and had also recovered all stolen goods and had returned to the owners what could be identified and sold the rest by auction.

Over the next six weeks the Russian prisoners struggled on the long march back to Russia. They remained chained at all times and were fed short rations. Many collapsed and died and were buried by their comrades. Late in September the column arrived at the border bridge over the Volga river. A meeting was arranged with the local Russian commander and he was given an official UNION government note for transmission to his government. This was to the effect that any future Russian military patrols into Ukraine must seek permission before crossing the border and would be escorted by UNION troops throughout their patrol in Ukraine to prevent any future abuse of the Ukrainian people. Next morning the starving Russian soldiers were sent over the bridge, still in chains and clothed in rags and mostly without boots in a powerful warning to Russia.

The UNION cavalry short brigade then withdrew but only a few miles in order to watch the border for signs of a Russian reaction. In Russia the government and army were furious with the UNION, its note and the treatment of its soldiers. The Russian expedition's general was put on trial for not offering any resistance, found guilty and shot. Russia wanted revenge for this appalling humiliation and found a pathway to retribution with news that Germany might be prepared to enter a military alliance with Russia against the UNION.