WARGAMING 19TH CENTURY LOGISTICS.

A Challenge for Wargamers ????

I have always been very interested in military logistics especially during the second half of the 19th century when army commanders began to face the almost insuperable problems created by the simultaneous use of railways and horse drawn wagons. The huge increase in the size of armies during this period, encouraged by the availability of railways to both move and supply these armies at the strategic level, created enormous problems for generals because the tactical transport system at this time still remained the horse drawn wagon. Although these difficulties probably reached a peak in the early days of WW1 during the German advance into France and Belgium, they had been building ever since railways first came into substantial military use during the US civil war.

About 300 Union supply wagons at Brandy Station, just one supply column.

Interestingly the armies of Imperial France, wholly dependant on the horse drawn wagon, still managed to reach Moscow in 1812, further than the Wehrmacht in 1941, despite that army's considerable railway and motor vehicle resources. I am very well aware of the relative size of the forces involved and the issues the Germans faced in Russia in 1941/2 in supplying their forces adequately and that recourse was made to horse drawn transport to a very substantial degree. Nevertheless the Germans did possess a huge number of motor vehicles and enjoyed an enormous railway supply capacity up to the Polish frontier, far greater in fact than was actually needed. Napoleon however had nothing other than horse drawn wagons to bring supplies from his bases in central Germany. Despite the ultimate failure of the French invasion and the desperate nature of the retreat, the simple fact that they did get as far as Moscow at all surely says something about the inherent strength of a horse based logistic system.

Another example from this period is that of Mercer's horse artillery battery at Waterloo. After his heavy action at Quatre-Bras the day before, Mercer's battery was out of ammunition. He was advised that a resupply could be found on the road to Brussels. He sent a wagon train overnight to search for this ammunition. They were fortunate enough to find the ammunition, and some most welcome food,  and returned next morning not long before the battle commenced. I am left to speculate on the outcome of the battle if that resupply had not taken place. Without ammunition, Mercer's battery would not have been able to participate and the French cavalry charges, which they played a large role in defeating, might have been successful. Could Napoleon have thus won the battle before the Prussians appeared later in the day?

During the US civil war the battle of Gettysburg gives a wonderful illustration of the capabilities of the horse drawn wagon . One of General Lee 's objectives for the invasion of Pennsylvania, was to "requisition" as much material and supplies as possible. During the retreat from Gettysburg Lee had some 3000 wagon loads of "requisitioned" supplies and materials preceding his withdrawing combat forces. In fact the quantities captured enabled Lee to supply his Army of Virginia for the best part of another year. This poses the question as to whether the war could have ended a year earlier if the Union cavalry had been more focused on recapturing or destroying these supplies during the retreat.

This battle also raises another example of the issues faced by commanders in the horse based supply era. Prior to Pickett's charge, Lee had commanded his artillery to bombard the Union position. Unfortunately the supplies of artillery ammunition immediately available provided for a somewhat limited barrage. The reserve ammunition was still many miles to the rear, basically due to faulty logistical management. Consequently Pickett's charge took place after  far less damage had been inflicted on the Union forces than Lee planned. The charge of course failed, would it have failed if the reserve ammunition had been readily available, now that is a question.

There are other examples of logistical issues dramatically impacting military operations in these years. No one can read the history of the Zulu war without noting the amount of time, energy and resource that Lord Chelmsford devoted to securing enough transport to supply the British advance into Zululand. As a result the British army had plenty of supplies, especially ammunition, readily to hand. Nevertheless the battle of Isandhlwana was lost for two reasons. Firstly the tactical error of  deploying the British infantry companies too far in advance of the camp, up to 1000 yards in some cases, thereby making resupply of ammunition virtually impossible. Secondly the logistical failure whereby British army supply practise at the time only permitted the opening of one ammunition box at a time, an error that Chelmsford subsequently corrected during the battle of Ulundi when boxes of ammunition were opened throughout the British positions before the action even started.

These logistical matters fascinate me and lead me to conclude that the capabilities of a horse drawn supply system were far better than is commonly supposed provided the supplies being moved were restricted to rations and basic ammunition loads etc.  Of course during this period many campaigns were carried out using only the ammunition supplies actually carried with the armies. Resupply from base other than for rations or artillery ammunition did not regularly arise before WW1. Even then the railways ensured vast quantities of supplies could be brought forward and problems only arose if armies advanced so fast that the horse drawn transport could not keep up in a timely fashion. For example, every offensive on the Eastern front in WW1, by either side, eventually fizzled out, not because of enemy resistance but through lack of supplies.

As is no doubt clear to the reader of this blog, to ensure they do not run short of supplies or essential supporting resources, my armies have a very substantial logistical capability. Certainly  far more  than other modellers of this era may think appropriate given that supply units are not  glamorous compared to cavalry or even infantry. 

A Woodscrew Miniature Army Quartermaster battalion, just one of 24 such units, drawn up waiting for the order to advance.

With that in mind I wonder how much notice wargamers take of logistical matters, including  resupply from base, when fighting 19th century battles, not much would be my guess. In fact I believe that most wargamers do not pay much attention to whether their troops have sufficient ammunition or food to actually fight a battle or especially a campaign.  Additionally, how many wargamers consider such vital logistical matters such as remounts or forge wagons to shoe cavalry or even fodder to feed horses. Given the examples listed above are wargaming rules realistic in respect of logistics when it is commonly understood that warfare is 90% logistics and 10% tactics ??

BOOK REVIEW: SEPOYS, SIEGE & STORM.

 THE EXPERIENCES OF A YOUNG OFFICER OF H.M.'s 61st REGIMENT AT FEROZEPORE, DELHI RIDGE AND AT THE FALL OF DELHI DURING THE INDIAN MUTINY 1857.

Yet another book from my library, this is a reprint of a volume originally published sometime around 1890 as far as I can tell. The book only covers a period of about one year. The author served in India from 1852 and was invalided home early in 1858 as a result of debilitation caused by the conditions suffered by the besieging army at Delhi.

The book gives great detail on the initial outbreak of the Mutiny at Ferozepore where the author was stationed and where his Regiment inexplicably remained for several months before being sent to Delhi. The siege and assaults on Delhi are covered in great detail including the very poor conditions. 

A whole chapter of the book covers the work of collecting the riches of the city by the Prize Agents and the very tardy payment of prize money which was clearly quite a priority for the author and many of his comrades.

An excellent book and highly recommended as a first hand account of the Siege of Delhi during the Indian Mutiny.

BOOK REVIEW: THIS BUSINESS OF WAR.

 Recollections of a Civil War Quartermaster.

Another book from my library. Although the book includes a full account of the authors war service it also details a great deal about  this man's fascinating life and origins having been written as a sort of autobiography for his children and grandchildren. The book was eventually published in 1913 just four years before his death at 94.

William Le Duc, whose father was a French immigrant, was a successful lawyer and businessman prior to the war. Wishing to serve the Union on the outbreak of war but having no military experience he asked how he could best serve and was told by a friend to apply for a quartermaster post where his business experience and skills would be most useful. This he did and was appointed a Captain Quartermaster.

He served throughout the war finishing as a Brigadier General. There is a great deal of useful information about the activities of a quartermaster but one of the most interesting aspects of the book is that the author knew many of the leading Union generals prior to the war, in fact he went to school with Sherman. His analysis of these various generals is fascinating and instructive. 

Overall a highly recommended book not only for the information about quartermaster activities but also in recording the very interesting life of a businessman in the 1840's and 50's and after the war when he served four years as Commissioner of Agriculture in President Hayes cabinet.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 46

 THE STRATEGIC SITUATION AFTER THE SECOND SINO-UNION WAR.

In Spring of 1890 the UNION Army High Command put forward a radical proposal to the President of the UNION and his Cabinet. The proposition was to use the port of Miami as a base and ship the bulk of the UNION army to Bombay in India and from there to launch an invasion of China. From the Indian border to Peking and Shanghai, the major manufacturing cities of China, was around 1000 miles, considerably less than the 6000 miles from the UNION's border with China to those cities. The intention of the invasion would be to destroy  Chinese arms production for at least a generation and destroy as much as possible of  the Chinese army.

The initial reaction of the President and his senior colleagues was to see the plan as ridiculous. However they agreed to a presentation by the Army commander and his senior officers. In that presentation the Cabinet was reminded that India was a British colony and the British and Indian governments had experienced many years of difficulties with China along the common border. Northern India was not heavily populated and the Chinese had long believed that the border should be pushed south to give China more land for their ever growing population. This had resulted in several Chinese incursions into Indian territory and a number of skirmishes between the opposing militaries. It was the opinion of the UNION army's senior officers that the British and Indian governments could be favorably disposed to assisting the UNION in launching an invasion if only to relieve for many years the pressure on their northern border.

The army presentation then moved to reiterating that The Second Sino-Union war had been a close run thing and the Chinese army had proven to have become very formidable. It was inconceivable that China would not seek to attack the UNION in the future just as soon as they felt strong enough, therefore the UNION must launch a preemptive strike to destroy the growing threat that China presented. Invasion from the UNION was impractical given the distances involved but logistically an invasion via India was possible. Indeed the Army command suggested the British might be especially supportive because it was only by using the British merchant fleet that the transport to and ongoing supply of the UNION army in India could be achieved and that would be very profitable for the British.

The presentation then moved to a general discussion of the strategic situation in Tian. Following the invasion of Iran some few years before the Arab countries were now fully focused on resolving the future government of their countries following the rise to power of military officers rather than the religious leaders who prevailed prior to the war. It was expected that this internal conflict would continue for many years which meant there was no threat towards Mexico for the foreseeable future. 

Following the defeat of Germany and Russia earlier in the year the Russians were not considered to be a threat as they had been pushed out of Ukraine and the bridges over the Volga river had been destroyed. UNION and Ukrainian troops guarded the river and could easily foil any bridge building effort although given the recent strategic thinking of Russia, it was highly unlikely they would ever consider attacking the UNION without an ally. That ally had previously been Germany but following the UNION annexation of the Rhineland and destruction of the bridges over the Rhine any future threat from Germany was impractical and therefore considered very low risk indeed.

Overall the only realistic threat to the UNION for the foreseeable future came from China therefore it would be strategically prudent to incur the risks of an invasion of China from India if the British and Indian governments agreed. It was understood that much construction work would be needed not only in Miami but certainly in Bombay and from there to the Chinese border to support an invasion but again such work would be very profitable for Britain and India. After much debate the President agreed the plan was practical and strategically sensible and it was resolved that the British should be approached informally to understand the likely reaction to such an extraordinary proposition.

As expected the initial British reaction was astonishment but after some discussion and consideration they began to appreciate the concept was actually attractive. The whole enterprise would be very profitable to the British, would provide huge investment in India and would entail little actual risk for the British. Whatever the outcome of the actual invasion, the Chinese would be seriously weakened and the threat to India would diminish for some time. In addition, supporting the UNION would cement ties with Britain and perhaps provide for some UNION military support against China if required at some later date.

In the Spring of 1891 a secret treaty was signed between the UNION, British and Indian governments to allow the UNION to launch an invasion of China from India and for all parties to cooperatively construct the logistical facilities necessary to support such an operation. A special clause also committed the British to provide all the shipping necessary to transport and maintain a UNION army in India of up to 800,000 troops for a period of not less than five years. Detailed planning for the expedition could now commence.

FOOTNOTE:  Readers should remember that the timeline of Tian is 130 years behind Earth. Therefore the year 1891 in Tian is 2021 on Earth. Future published articles will therefore be more or less in real time rather than historical time and will likely relate the events of the previous month(s). I hope this is understandable.

UPDATE.

 Since my last update a few weeks ago I regret to say I have done no modelling whatsoever !!!!! So what have I been up to...well as usual, I really can not say !!!! Going out on day trips, shopping, gardening and other essential chores have occupied most of my time. I guess it is just that time of year.

However I do have one thing to report. Readers may recall my purchase of a couple of new air guns last year. These have been great fun and have been used in the garden as they are only about 60% of the maximum power allowed in this country. That said I have often wished for a full power rifle.  Such a gun is not safe in the garden and the nearest ranges, over 25 miles in opposite directions, are expensive and one is only open at weekends.

However recently a new small range opened only 10 minutes from home and it is very inexpensive. So early last week I visited said range and found it to be perfect for me. In addition, being only small, I could book the whole thing for a couple of hours for only £5. Here was something to think seriously about !!!!

Perhaps not surprisingly by the end of last week I was the proud owner of a brand new air gun !!!! 

The gun is an AIR ARMS (British made) S510TR Tactical with an ELEMENT scope. My existing guns are all traditional wood stock etc so the tactical look appealed as something different. The gun is as powerful as is allowed under British gun laws and is a PCP powered 10 shot repeater.

Yesterday I took it to the range for the first time. The gunshop who sold it to me fitted the scope and zeroed it in at 10 meters on their inhouse range. On my range I started shooting at 30 meters and after only a few minor tweeks of the scope, found myself shooting very tight groups  to 40 meters. The gun is superb quality. The scope is good too but a bit unforgiving in respect of you have to look very squarely down the sight to get an clear view. However after an hour or so I got the hang of it. I had a great couple of hours and fired over 100 pellets.

The shooting shed, plenty of space for up to four shooters but each booking is exclusive which suits me. At least I know I will not get shot in the rear when I go mess with the targets !!!!

There are actually a wide variety of targets down range but most cannot been seen in this photo. I was shooting at those furthest away, around 40 meters.

I am sure many will not see the appeal of this or any gun but it amuses me and I am in the fortunate position of being able to indulge myself to some extent. In fact I have already booked the range again for Wednesday afternoon!!!!