BATTLE PHOTO SHOOT: ADVANCING TO BATTLE.

For those who read my IMAGI-NATIONS posts, this Battle Photo Shoot illustrates the advance of UNION forces in pursuit of the French during late June 1875. (See IMAGI-NATIONS Part 25.) Once again my apologies for the lack of suitable background. This scene is set on a board 4 feet by two feet which may give some perspective for the size of the units shown.

The scene depicted in the photographs shows the UNION 161st Infantry battalion advancing north. Moving in the opposite direction is a QM transport company of the 22nd Quartermaster battalion returning to railhead to reload with supplies preceded by an ambulance company of the 17th Medical battalion taking wounded to the field hospital just around the next bend in the road. Pulled over to clear the road is the 17th Infantry Brigade Command battalion.

In the above the Infantry battalion can be seen moving towards the camera with the Transport and Ambulance companies moving away. The command battalion is drawn up in the area to the centre of the board.

Above can be seen the command group of the Infantry battalion.

The infantry companies alongside the transport company.

The heavy weapons and transport wagons of the Infantry beside the Ambulance company.

A close up of the infantry and GS wagons of the transport company.

Above is a close up of the infantry battalions wagon lines showing the medical platoon and signals platoon.

A view of the heavy weapons company following the infantry with GS supply wagons in the background..

The infantry heavy weapons.

A shot of the ambulance company which precedes the transport company.

The Command battalion. Note the perimeter is guarded by a line of field police.

The house bodied office wagons for the staff. If you expand the photo you will see the tactical sign of a red square on the rear of each Command wagon.

The signals wagons.

The Command battalion support and supply wagons.

The actual command group reviewing the passing infantry battalion. The national and battalion flags can be seen together with the Generals flags. The battalion has a Major General in command with two Brigadier Generals as deputies. Each General has a flag with stars denoting his rank, eg. one or two  stars.

A close up of the Field Police perimeter guard.

Another view of the whole Command battalion.

Another view of the Command group reviewing the passing Infantry battalion.

Finally another view of most of the board showing the Field Police security perimeter.

I hope this shoot is of interest. It took a long time to set up and put away but I had a lot of fun seeing over two battalions set up in a battle field scenario rather than just on shelves. 

Just for information, the total number of soldiers seen on the board is 640. To put this in perspective I have over 50,000 soldiers organised in 213 battalions all together.. The infantry battalion alone, marching n columns of three occupies almost six feet of road. Please do let me have comments especially any ideas for future battle photo shoots.

BATTLE PHOTO SHOOT; QUARTERMASTER BATTALION.

Although it takes a lot of time to set up these photo shoots I do find them very interesting. It is fun for me to see units set up for combat rather than just laid out on shelves. I decided to try a non combat unit next hence the Quartermaster battalion. I hope readers will like this set of photos as much as I do, its probably my favorite so far.  My name is Tony and I am a logistics geek !!!!!!!!

The unit photographed is the 43rd Quartermaster battalion.  My armies have 18 of these battalions.

The first photo shows the battalion parked up ready to resume the advance into enemy territory.

On the left is the HQ company with battalion supply wagons and equipment. The parallel long lines on the centre left are the two Transport companies. Next on the centre right is the Veterinary/Farrier company and on the far right is the Workshop company.

Below is the HQ element showing the tandem office wagons and signals trailer with the command group and flags.

Here are the supply elements of the HQ company with medical, water and field kitchen trailers.

The two transport companies with a total of 32 vehicles are shown below. These units are tasked with bring supplies from railhead to the "refilling point".

This is the Veterinary/Farrier company.

A close up of one of the forge wagons used by the Farriers.

Here is the remount section. Note the tactical markings on the Veterinary wagon, a bronze cross on a white square.

This picture shows the workshop company with its house bodied workshop wagons and supply trailers which is tasked with field repairs and maintenance of all vehicles and weapons.

Another view of the battalion from the rear.

Lastly a side view of the battalion.

I hope these pictures do full justice to the battalion. The base board was only just big enough to squeeze it all on but I think the setting was good. My armies have 18 QM battalions. Each one has 63 vehicles and trailers and 233 soldiers giving a total of 1134 vehicles and trailers and 4194 soldiers which I hope gives a feel for the sheer size of my armies.

BATTLE PHOTO SHOOT : INFANTRY

At last I have found the time to create this battle photo shoot of an Infantry battalion. This is the 49th Infantry battalion. I have 72 such battalions in my armies. Once again I apologise for the background. The simple fact is that I have been unable to source a suitable back scene hence the use of a 2 by 2 foot board on the table saw in my workshop.

This first shot shows the whole battalion. The six infantry companies can be clearly seen with the heavy weapons company drawn up in the centre foreground ready to commence a high angle bombardment of the enemy positions prior to the infantry assault. At the rear can be seen the battalion wagon lines.

This picture shows one of the infantry companies drawn up in platoon lines with platoon officers and NCO's in front and the company command group leading.

Another shot of the company. Apart from the Captain commanding the company and the Company Sergeant Major each command group has an attached Medic and Signaler. These soldiers are provided by the relevant HQ company platoons prior to combat commencing.

The picture below shows the two heavy machine guns and caissons of the Heavy Weapons company. Also visible behind is the battalion command group.

Shown here are the wagon lines of the Heavy Weapons company with limbers and ammunition wagon.

 Another shot of the battalion command group with the signals trailer and signals platoon behind receiving orders for the battalions deployment.

This photo shows the battalion medical aid post with trailer and medical team.

Part of the battalions wagon lines showing the water trailer and field kitchen ready to serve the troops before operations commence.

Another view of the whole battalion from the rear.

And a final shot of the battalion from the flank showing the full extent of the wagon lines.

 I hope these photos are of interest and give a good idea of the size of my armies. All together I have 214 battalions of various types and if each can occupy 4 square feet in combat formation it is easy to calculate the space that would be needed to display the whole army. I will create more battle photo shoots of other battalion types over time, maybe a non combat unit next time.

BATTLE PHOTO SHOOT. BRANDY STATION WAGON TRAIN.

     

After taxing my digital skills to their utmost I at last have been able upload this photo onto my blog, it has been very hard work !!!!!

The photo is the one I saw on the TV series The Civil War and which Ion of Archduke Piccolo blog identified for me. It was taken in 1863 at Brandy Station and show a Union wagon train which has just arrived and has been corralled to facilitate protection from Confederate cavalry attack.

I find this photo absolutely amazing in respect of the sheer numbers of wagons involved bearing in mind that this is just a single train from dozens if not hundreds in service on both sides. I think it demonstrates clearly the ability of the humble wagon to deliver the logistical needs of huge armies.
By my best count there at least 300 wagons in the shot, each containing at least 2 tons of cargo, an astounding amount by any standards. That said, that on the retreat from Gettysburg, the Confederate wagon trains alone totaled around 4000 wagons and occupied over 30 miles of road. Also remember that all those wagons were more or less hand made. Although some parts like wheels were mass produced,  the bulk of the construction was still carried out by individual craftsmen, the production line did not come into use for wagons until the 1870s.

I know I am a logistics geek but I dare you not to be impressed by this photograph too.

BATTLE PHOTO SHOOT. CAVALRY.

Here is the second post in this new series, this time focusing on 9th Cavalry regiment, one of 18 such regiments in my armies. I really will try to improve the background next time !!!!

The above picture shows the regiment drawn up with the four squadrons facing the enemy, the command group in the centre and the regimental wagon lines in the rear.

One of the squadrons with officers and NCO's in front.

The command group, the Colonel, adjutant, RSM and flag bearers.

The wagon lines. Only two wheeled vehicles are used in Cavalry regiments to enable good cross country performance. The soldiers of the supporting services travel  on the vehicles.

 The regimental aid post ready for casualties and the signals trailer receiving orders.

The field kitchen and water trailer ready to provide breakfast.

And a final flank shot of the regiment ready for action. I hope these photos give a better appreciation of the war-gaming potential of my armies as well as a visual understanding of their sheer size measured against the two by two foot board used as a base.

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.