BOOK REVIEW: HARDTACK AND COFFEE.

THE UNWRITTEN STORY OF ARMY LIFE.

Yet another book from my library although I have a feeling I may have reviewed this book before. It is a great book however so another reading/review will not go amiss. This is a first hand account by a Union soldier of the Civil War originally published in 1887.

The author served from 1862 to the end of the war and, as is so often the case, his time in the army was the highlight of his life. However rather than write about the various battles etc in which he participated, he decided to write about ordinary day to day life as a Union soldier. 

This book is divided into chapters on subjects such as enlisting, tents, rations, offences and punishments, a day in camp, foraging, badges and flags, the army mule, hospitals, and so on.  As a result the book gives a fantastic insight into the ordinary activities and life of soldiers. In fact there is really no mention of actual battle at all. The author was determined to make a record of day to day life as he believed that over time the ordinary experiences of military service would be forgotten, which is of course quite true.

This book is now considered among the top ten of first hand histories of the Civil War which is no surprise to me given the extraordinary wealth of detail it contains.  (The author has also written a full unit history of the artillery battery in which he served, which is also highly regarded by historians.)

Highly recommended to anyone interested in the US Civil War and the ordinary day to day experiences of an ordinary soldier.

 

ORGANISATION OF THE ARMY.

FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALIONS.

Field Artillery battalions have two batteries and a headquarters company.

Each battery consists of  4 guns, 4 caissons, 4 limbers and 2 ammunition wagons with 24 gunners,  4 Corporals, 4 Sergeants  and 2 Lieutenants organised in  two sub sections.  Each limber and ammunition wagon also has two quartermaster drivers giving 12 QM men and 2 Corporals commanded by a QM Lieutenant supported by a QM Sergeant. The battery is commanded by a Captain supported by a battery Sergeant Major. The total strength of a battery is therefore 52.

The headquarters company has a Staff platoon of 4 men and 1 Corporal commanded by a Sergeant, a Medical platoon of 6 medics and 1 Corporal medic commanded by a Surgeon Lieutenant supported by a Sergeant medic and a Signals platoon of 10 Signallers and 2 Corporals commanded by a Lieutenant supported by a Sergeant. The Quartermaster platoon has 10 men and 1 Corporal with a Lieutenant in command supported by a Sergeant. The battalion's total QM contingent is under the overall command of a QM Captain supported by a QM Sergeant Major. The battalion is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel with a Major as second in command and Adjutant supported by a Battalion Sergeant Major with two standard bearers carrying the national flag and the battalion flag. In addition and reporting direct to the battalion commander is a Fire Control section consisting of a Captain and a Lieutenant who are responsible for coordinating and directing the fire of the battalion. The total strength of the headquarters company is 51 giving a total battalion strength of 155.

Apart from the vehicles in each battery, the battalion also has 5 GS wagons towing a field kitchen, water tank trailer, signals trailer, observation trailer and a medical trailer. 

The following photo shows a battalion in parade formation.

The next photo shows a battalion in combat with the guns in the foreground, battery vehicles behind and battalion wagon lines at the rear.

The arm of service colour is black for Field Artillery. My armies have a scheduled total of 48 Field Artillery battalions and at the time of writing 39 have been constructed.

BOOK REVIEW: THE WAFFEN SS.

THE THIRD REICH'S MOST INFAMOUS MILITARY ORGANISATION.

 I recently picked this book up in The Works very cheaply. 

Although no fan of the SS generally, I am interested in the Waffen SS, the military arm. There is no doubt that the divisions of the Waffen SS were among the most effective and powerful of Germany's armed forces. The book concentrates on providing a detailed history of the various divisions that were formed during the war, their military service and short profiles of some of the most important leaders of those units. In fact I think it provides the most comprehensive record of Waffen SS units I have ever seen.

No attempt is made to gloss over the atrocities perpetrated by the SS but the focus is far more on the combat history of the SS and in that it is very effective. Overall I recommend this book if you are interested in the combat units of the Waffen SS and their battle histories.

ORGANISATION OF THE ARMY.

INFANTRY BATTALIONS.


The Infantry battalion consists of 6 Infantry companies, a Heavy Weapons company and a Headquarters company.

The Infantry company comprises three platoons each of 12 privates and two Corporals under the command of a Lieutenant assisted by a Sergeant. The  company is commanded by a Captain assisted by a company Sergeant Major. The total strength of a company is 50.

The Heavy Weapons company comprises two platoons each of 12 privates and two Corporals under the command of a Lieutenant assisted by a Sergeant. The company is commanded by a Captain assisted by a company Sergeant Major. The total strength of the company is 34.

The Headquarters company comprises a Staff platoon of 4 privates, a Corporal and a Sergeant, a Medical platoon of 14 medics, two medic Corporals, 2 medic Sergeants, a surgeon Lieutenant with a surgeon Captain in command. The Quartermaster platoon has 18 privates, 3 Corporals, and a Sergeant with a Lieutenant in command. The Signals platoon has 12 signallers, 2 Corporals and a Sergeant and Lieutenant in command. The command platoon has a Lieutenant Colonel as battalion commander with three Majors, one as Adjutant and second in command and two Majors as wing commanders of three of the Infantry companies, a battalion Sergeant major and two standard bearers, one with the national flag and one with the battalion flag. The total strength of the headquarters company is 73 giving a total battalion strength of 407.

The vehicles and equipment of the battalion comprises 6 GS wagons towing a field kitchen trailer, a water tank trailer, a signals trailer, a medical trailer and two light GS trailers and two limbers, two caissons and two heavy weapons together with an ammunition wagon.

The photo above of a battalion in parade formation shows the Infantry companies on the left with the Heavy Weapons company in the centre and the Headquarters company on the right in front  of the battalion vehicles. 

This photo shows the battalion deployed for an advance with the Heavy Weapons company and command platoon in the centre and the battalion wagon lines at the rear.

My armies have a planned total of 96 Infantry battalions of which 76 have been built at the time of writing. The arm of service colour for Infantry is blue.

BOOK REVIEW: ANIMAL MANAGEMENT 1933.

 

Regular readers of this blog may recall that I mentioned receiving this book as a gift from Mark at the Man Of Tin blog. Mark is aware of my interest in horse drawn logistics and this is an original War Office publication which he no longer wanted, a very generous gift indeed.

The format of the book is the usual War Office style and covers every conceivable element of the care and use of horses and mules in service in the British Army. There are chapters on the structure of the horse and points of particular types and breeds, stable construction and management including grooming, foods and watering, saddles, shoeing, transportation of horses by sea and rail and of course prevention of disease and first aid. In fact everything you could wish to know about the military use of the horse.

Although a reference book and therefore not the easiest read, as a source of information this book is a "bible" of relevant data about horses in military service and I am delighted to have it in my library.

BOOK REVIEW: SUPPLYING CUSTER.

 THE POWDER RIVER SUPPLY DEPOT 1876.

Another book from my library, it relates the 1876 US Army campaign against the Indians which culminated in the Battle of The Little Big Horn and Custer's last stand.

The first half of the book details the various expeditions to the Powder River country and the history of the fighting against the plains Indians in the general area including the famous battle at Little Big Horn with an emphasis on logistics. The second half of the book relates in detail the supply arrangements for the campaign of 1876 and in particular the supply depot that was established at Powder River and the archaeological excavations carried out on the site in 1983.

The historical element of the book is first class and gives a clear and detailed analysis of the US Army's activities against the Sioux Indians but the results of the archaeological investigations are really fascinating.  Items found cover the whole range of products of the time even including bottle fragments that were identified as British made beer bottles. Who would have thought that British beer would find its way to the American frontier and in large quantities too.

I accept that this is very much a highly specialised topic but it makes for very interesting reading and gives a great insight into life on the early American frontier especially for the soldiers during the Indian wars.

Highly recommended if you have an interest in this sort of history.