UPDATE.

 It has been a while since I updated readers on my modelling progress hence this post. The fact is that I have actually done comparatively little modelling this past couple of weeks. Most of my time has been spent on socialising, chores and working on the replacement of the window cill in our bedroom. This object seems to have suffered from a water leak and, being made of MDF, had swollen somewhat in the corner. I have had to remove it, reseal under the window frame and cut, prepare and fit a new three part cill. The installation actually took place this morning. I now have to wait for the expanding foam and glued joints to go off before I can move onto filling all the gaps and holes caused when removing the old cill. After that I can started repainting. I have also been instructed to repaint ALL other window cills in the house at the same time !!!!!

I now have the timber to construct the new free standing bookcase previously mentioned. Just as soon as I finish with the window cill, I will start that project. I will post on this subject, with pictures, as I progress.

On the modelling front I have done a little work. I have completed upgrades 19, 20, and 21 which have added another 500 or so soldiers to the ranks although most of the work had been done at the time of my last update.

As some may recall, I have always used Humbrol paints in my modelling. I usually buy these either direct from Humbrol or if I only need a few I will buy at our local Hobby Craft. I needed a few tins recently so called at Hobby Craft. They have stopped stocking these paints. I did a quick interweb search and cannot find a single outlet closer than 35 miles away other than a new model shop that has recently opened apparently in our county town's Market Hall. I will visit said new shop ASAP and provided they are suitably stocked and at the right price it will become my new go to place even if it is some distance away.

BOOK REVIEW. GUNS UP!

 I have an extensive collection of Vietnam war books in my library but have not read any for a while now. As often happens I needed a change of subject so choose this book, published in 1984, one of my favorites.

The author was an 18 year old machine gunner with the USMC in Vietnam. Like all Marines throughout the Vietnam era, he was a volunteer. The average life expectancy of Marine Corps machine gunners was about  7 to 10 seconds once a fire fight started and very few actually completed their tour of duty without being killed or injured. The author was no exception and after being twice lightly wounded, was then seriously wounded and evacuated to Japan and then home after only ten months service.

The book offers possibly the most realistic descriptions of life as a combat Marine in Vietnam. As such it is required reading at the Basic School for officers and was widely circulated among Marines during the first Gulf War. 

The Marines did not spare their men any hardship with the result that combat infantry Marines often spent their full tour in the jungle with literally only 24 hour rests at base camps between patrols. Those stops were also more for ammunition resupply and changes of uniforms than actual rest. Added to that was a serious lack of promotion opportunities and a 13 month tour of duty rather than the army's 12 month tour. This has led many to believe the USMC almost abused their men during the war. Despite such treatment however,  survivors remain dedicated to the Corps.

Overall an excellent book and well worth reading.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 42.

 THE GERMAN RETREAT.

On the morning of 15th December 1888 General Stuart led three brigades of UNION cavalry south towards the southern bridge over the river Rhine in German Rhineland. At the same time another brigade moved north to secure the smallest Rhine bridge leaving just one brigade to hold the eastern end of the now destroyed central bridge.

In the German high command a state of near panic ensued. Their front line had been burst wide open and UNION forces were seeking to roll up the two German flanks. The main supply line over the Rhine had been destroyed and UNION cavalry were clearly now seeking to complete the encirclement of the German army. All available Militia units, some 25,000 men, were ordered to the southern bridge to secure it. the main German regular reserves stationed around Cologne were ordered forward to counter attack the UNION army and seek to reestablish a coherent front line.

The German counter attack was launched on 18th December but soon faltered under heavy UNION artillery fire. It quickly became clear to the German command that a general retreat was essential.  The order was given for all German forces to fall back towards the west. As the retreat gathered momentum, UNION forces found themselves fighting bitter battles with German rearguards. On 19th December the UNION cavalry forces under General Stuart launched an assault on the German militia defending the southern bridge. It soon became clear that the German defenses were too strong for the cavalry. Stuart fell back and opened a long range bombardment of the German positions with his horse artillery. In the north, UNION cavalry found the northern bridge undefended. They quickly demolished the bridge and , following their orders, fell back south towards the central bridge to rejoin the forces there.

The German command were encouraged by the success of the Militia in holding the southern bride and ordered all German forces to fall back towards that bridge. All hope of holding the UNION attack was abandoned. The emphasis was now on ensuring the escape of as many German troops as possible. Over the following weeks as German troops marched west it became increasingly clear that the troops in the northern sector who had been facing Seattle would not be able to reach the escape bridge before the advancing UNION army. They were ordered towards Cologne to defend that town.  In the southern area German rearguards were able to hold off UNION assaults giving the main body of troops time to reach the still intact southern bridge. General Stuart  realised that, with regular German troops now arriving in large numbers, he needed to move further north to ensure his cavalry did not become trapped between the Militia around the bridge and the retreating regular army. He therefore withdrew back to the central bridge and rejoined his brigades already there.

By the end of January 1889 the German army was concentrated around the southern bridge in huge numbers and under increasingly heavy UNION artillery bombardment. Due to the limited capacity of the bridge the Germans were forced to bring supplies and ammunition over at night with retreating troops using the bridge in daylight. Vehicles and heavy equipment was abandoned as most were too heavy for the bridge. In the centre of the Rhineland a large German force was now besieged around Cologne . 

By mid February UNION infantry reached the whole length of the river Rhine except for the part around the southern bridge. German forces there were still seeking to maintain a bridgehead on the eastern end of the bridge but under massive UNION artillery bombardment this was finally abandoned on 21st February. UNION artillery soon moved up and destroyed the bridge next day. Meanwhile around Cologne the German forces were almost out of both supplies and ammunition. The UNION had refrained from bombarding the town due the the number of civilians thought to still be in the town. On 22nd February the German forces surrendered. Some 37,000 German troops marched out of Cologne into UNION prison camps that had been established a few miles east of Cologne.

The German invasion of the UNION had been defeated, the whole of the German Rhineland had been occupied and around 50,000 German civilians were now under UNION control. The German army had lost most of its heavy equipment and vehicles while suffering huge losses in killed, wounded and prisoners. The five UNION armies now in the Rhineland had also suffered heavy casualties and looked forward to rest and recovery.

UPDATE.

I have no idea of the origins of this photo which my daughter found on the interweb. However close examination will show it is made up of thousands of red, white and blue plastic soldiers. I can only imagine the time it took to set this up. Very impressive indeed.

Update on the origins of this photo courtesy of my daughter. It was made about 4 years ago by Greg Smith to honour his father, grandfather and great grandfather who all served in the military. There are 10,000 soldiers and it measures 5 foot by 3 foot and it took him a year to build. Very impressive.

UPDATE.

 With the advent of summer, so far at least, my modelling activities have been somewhat impacted by other things like gardening etc. However I am making progress on a number of fronts.

I now have 55,288 soldiers with the colours and have completed 18 of the 48 upgrades previously mentioned. The photo below shows the support troops for six Infantry battalions in upgrade number 19 almost complete and just waiting for the final coat of varnish.

The next photo shows the infantry of upgrade number 19 in the same condition.

The next picture shows  upgrade number 20 which covers six command battalions. These only have the first coat of uniform green, the bottom half of the figures will be next for painting.

Finally this is upgrade number 21 for three cavalry regiments. As is clearly to be seen the horses are being painted brown onto the gray primer after which they will be finished.

The other area of progress is that I have designed a new freestanding bookcase. This will replace an existing bookcase, the removal of which will provide the space to build another display unit for my new fourth army. I will be ordering the timber this week. I will log progress on these woodworking projects and publish updates with photos as work proceeds.

BOOK REVIEW. A HISTORY OF THE ROMAN WORLD FROM 753 TO 146 BC.

This book has probably influenced me more than any other book I have ever read. It was originally published in 1935 and my copy is a second edition from 1951.  It has been in my possession for over 50 years and was found by me in my school library in about 1968 or early 1969. Prior to my "borrowing" the book it had been loaned out only once in 1960. I am bound to admit the book left school with me in early 1970.

As the title suggests the book covers the period from the founding of Rome until the destruction of Carthage, the high point of the Republic. Many may not realise that the vast bulk of the final Roman Empire was actually conquered under the Republic, in fact the only major territorial acquisition during the Empire era was Britain.

I have not read this book for the best part of 20 years so it came as a bit of a revelation that the story of Rome's early years, it's endless wars, political activities and even the way the book is written made me appreciate that my own Imagi-Nations stories owe a great deal to this history of Republican Rome.  Clearly I have absorbed  more than I realised. The similarities really are quite remarkable.

I do recall that when I first "discovered" the potential use of woodscrews as soldiers, my first thought was to re-create the army of Republican Rome. Indeed some of my very first vehicle constructions were two wheeled carts such as used by the Roman soldiers. I recall that the problem of how to attach a single horse to such a vehicle made me move towards four wheeled vehicles and from there ultimately to an army of the 19th century instead. The two wheeled carts subsequently became the basis of the many two wheeled trailers now in service with my armies.

This book and I are great friends, it shaped my thinking on many issues and has influenced me in respect of my wargaming activities for most of my adult life.

BOOK REVIEW : IN THE NAME OF ROME.

THE MEN WHO WON THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

Another book from my library but a little different from the usual offerings.  This book details the life and military exploits of a number of Roman generals from the Republic to the Empire. Most of the names are not well known today but others, mostly from the Republican period and possibly the most successful, are and include Scipio Africanus, Pompey and Caesar.

Until the last few hundred years of the Roman Empire, generals were not professional soldiers but were first and foremost, politicians and usually members of the Senate. Positions as generals were given  in much the same way as other governmental appointments. The ruling elite were expected to be successful in any position, military or civilian. With that in mind they had no formal training in generalship, indeed there was no formal training available of any sort other than to the rank and file.

There is a view that Roman armies were successful because of their training, equipment and sheer professionalism  and that any fool could be a general. Of course this is false, there were unsuccessful Roman generals and  Roman armies were  often beaten if insufficient attention was given to strategy and battlefield tactics as well as the issue of logistics. As an aside it is very interesting to me to read just how important logistics were to the Roman army. I expect there is a view that Roman soldiers carried everything on their backs or foraged for supplies along the way with no need for supply lines. That is very much not the case. Ensuring adequate food supplies and constant replacement of arms from the base was a very significant issue.

The simple fact is that some generals were more successful than others because of their natural ability as commanders. Possibly at no other time in history  has success or failure in war been so dependent on a general's natural ability as during the Roman era. Of course in subsequent centuries generals with little or no training were also successful but with much smaller forces and usually after many years service and experience. Few Roman generals served more than a few years before returning to civilian positions or even just resuming their service as Senators, a position held for life.

Many wargamers would like to think they are a new Napoleon but assume that without suitable training that is hardly likely. Reading this book illustrates that in fact you CAN be a successful general provided you have some natural talent. Some of you, maybe even me, could in fact be really good armchair generals, we just need the opportunity.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 41.

THE ATTACK ON GERMANY.

At 3am on the morning of 7th December 1888 UNION artillery fired a heavy barrage on the whole  German front line in the western part of the old Federation. Heavy artillery pounded the roads leading to the German lines and all areas thought to contain German troop reserves or supplies. At 9am the bombardment on the central German front moved a little further west and UNION infantry began to advance . German artillery fired defensive barrages but these were limited in effect as the Germans had long since learned that batteries that did not move after a few salvos would be destroyed by UNION counter battery fire. After bitter fighting in the German lines UNION infantry gained the upper hand and secured the German positions in the centre of their lines. The Germans fell back mostly to the flanks as UNION infantry pressed forward. By noon the centre of the German line had been peeled apart.

Around 1pm the UNION cavalry commander, General Stuart, ordered his five brigades forward into the gap in the German lines. The Cavalry and Horse Artillery regiments poured through the German positions and began a rapid advance west. Stuart's orders were to advance as quickly as possible towards the German frontier, cross the border and move through The Rhineland and seize the three bridges over the River Rhine into the heart of Germany thus cutting off the German troops to the east. He was to destroy the main central bridge, but hold intact if possible the two smaller  northern and southern bridges and await the arrival of the rest of the UNION army.

Stuart's rapid advance through the German rear positions involved a running battle with German supply trains and other rear area services. Never stopping to take prisoners or reduce firmly held positions, Stuart galloped forward. By the afternoon of 9th December Stuart's forces reached the German border and plunged across. The Rhineland was a sparsely populated area of farms and ranches with only one small town called Cologne through which the main road led to the large central bridge over the river. This large bridge not only had a roadway but also carried the railway from central Germany to Cologne which served as the German railhead. Cologne had always been used by the Germans as a staging post and supply centre for their settlements in the old Federation and served the German army in the same way during the current conflict. Stuart knew the town would be full of German troops so elected to bypass it to the south which he did on 11th December. 

Once past Cologne,  Stuart's troops were able to move faster as road traffic gave way to rail born travel for the Germans. He stopped only to shoot up German trains and replenish his food and fodder reserves from ranches and farms along the way. By morning of the 14th Stuart arrived at the main bridge only to find German troops digging in on his side of the bridge. As his primary mission was to destroy the bridge to prevent German reinforcements crossing he decided to launch a full scale attack immediately. The ten regiments of Horse Artillery opened fire on the bridge and German troop positions  while the dismounted cavalry moved forward. After several hours hard fighting Stuarts troops secured the eastern end of the bridge and he ordered the artillery to fire at the bridge to destroy it. The massive structure finally collapsed late in the evening of the same day. 

Stuarts troops were exhausted by their rapid advance and the long days fighting and made camp around their end of the bridge under sporadic German artillery fire from the other side. Stuart knew he now had to reach the other two bridges. The northern one was a light weight suspension bridge suitable only for foot traffic or very light wagons not heavy military vehicles. The southern bridge was somewhat more substantial but still had a limited capacity so that only a single heavy vehicle could cross at any one time. He decided to send just one brigade to the northern bridge and three brigades to the south leaving one to ensure the Germans could not repair the fallen central bridge.

During Stuarts advance the German command had struggled to fully understand UNION strategy.  They knew Stuart's cavalry were heading west but there were few sightings until German trains were shot up west of Cologne. They then realised Stuart was heading for the bridge. With most  regular troops already deployed at the front or in reserve  in Cologne,  a unit of militia were immediately sent to defend the bridge. It was this unit that Stuart defeated on 14th. Knowing the northern bridge to be unsuitable for troops in any numbers, other militia units were sent to the southern bridge to secure it. Once the central bridge was destroyed the movement of militia to the south became a flood.

Back on the front line the German positions had been split wide open. All available reserves were moved forward to seal the gap. The militia would have to deal with Stuart.