BOOK REVIEW: GUN FODDER.

 THE DIARY OF FOUR YEARS OF WAR.

This book from my library recalls the First World War experiences of an Oxford educated man who joined up as a private in 1914 before becoming an officer in the Royal Artillery early in 1915. The battery he was assigned to was stationed in Ireland before being shipped to Salonika where they stayed until 1917 when they went to France. By the end of the War the author was a highly regarded battery commander.

Being an educated and intelligent man with experience of the ranks he was able to relate to the needs of his men in such a way that he was clearly a well respected officer. However his early enthusiasm soon evaporated during the long posting to Salonika where he witnessed serious administrative incompetence during an obviously pointless campaign. This was then further reinforced by the bloody battles he endured in France. 

By the end of the War he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and was thoroughly disheartened by man's inhumanity to his fellow man. Much of the final pages of the book are filled with obviously heartfelt but nonetheless idealistic discussion about the failures of politicians, generals, profit making industrialists and the overall weakness and failure of civilisation. He was clearly a very bitter man.

All that said the book does contain some very good details of life as a private, officer training, the Salonika campaign and life in a gun battery. It also demonstrates what war can do to a man's mind and in that matter alone it is well worth reading.

UPDATE.

 This year seems to be marching along almost as fast as the Russian invasion of Ukraine...well maybe a little faster !!!! Already it is March although judging from the endless rain and dull skies you would not think Spring is around the corner.

Over the past few weeks I have made steady progress with building my fourth army. So far I have painted up the soldiers for two infantry battalions and one field artillery battalion. I also have almost completed the soldiers of a quartermaster battalion. On the equipment side I have built and painted 30 ammunition caissons, 30 light signals trailers and 36 GS wagons. Another batch of 30 GS wagons are in the final stage of construction.

The above shows the light signals trailers built and primed. These equipments are issued to all combat battalions.

Seen here are the same trailers all finished and awaiting issue. 

This photo shows the ammunition caissons built and awaiting priming of the wheels and towing hooks. I am sorry I forgot to take a photo of the completed units before issue to battalions.

I expect many wargamers of the modern period are watching the TV news of Ukraine with great interest. Apart from the unpleasant possibility of nuclear war and the dreadful suffering of the Ukrainian people, the TV films of Russian military vehicles are fascinating. That the Russians are having serious difficulties in supplying their forces is beyond doubt. Given they had plenty of time to prepare, clearly logistics was badly overlooked. I have also seen a number of images of broken down Russian vehicles too. Although Russian equipment and weapons are formidable, all those issues together with the apparently poor quality of their conscript troops makes me wonder if the Russian "steamroller" may not be as powerful as we had assumed. Certainly the film of 30 plus miles of vehicles stationary on a road must seem a "dream"  target to NATO airmen. 

Remaining positive and assuming we have not become radioactive dust by then, I will provide another update in a few weeks time.

FLAGS.

My army has three types of operational flag. 

The national flag is carried by all battalions and regiments and is oblong, solid blue in colour with a single white star in the first hoist area of the flag. 

Each battalion/regiment also carries a battalion/regimental  flag which is triangular, with a blue field and  the battalion/regiment number in white on the field. The staff is coloured to the arm of service for that particular type of battalion/regiment. In the case of brigade command battalions the main part of the staff is coloured red for command but the top of the staff is coloured to the type of brigade, infantry or cavalry. 

 The third flag is the general's personal flag. These are also triangular with a blue field but the staff is gold and there are small stars across the field, either one, two. three, four or five to represent the general's rank.

This photo shows from right to left, a three star lieutenant general's flag, a two star major general's flag, the battalion flag of 7th army command battalion and lastly the national flag.

The only other flag is the red cross flag which is flown by all ambulance wagons. Other medical vehicles carry a small red cross sign on each side only.

My historic reference for many of the design ideas of my flags is  based to some degree or other on the US army of the Civil war period.

BOOK REVIEW: 'TWEEN DECKS IN THE 'SEVENTIES.

Reminiscences of a sailor of the Royal Navy during the Victorian Era.

 This is another book from my library. It was written in the 1920's as far as I can tell and recounts the service life of a Scottish millworker who joined the Royal Navy in 1875 at the age of sixteen.

The author spent the first two years of his service on training ships at Portsmouth including HMS Victory where he learned all the skills required of a sailor. At this time most warships retained sails as their main source of propulsion. Although the majority were also fitted with steam engines these were very much auxiliary sources of power. 

Following this extended period of training the author was posted to HMS Swallow, an 800 ton gunboat. On this ship he then spent the next four years on a continuous patrol firstly on the west coast of Africa then on the east coast of South America. At the time four year patrols were the norm. It is hard to imagine spending such a lengthy period away from home with just occasional layups  for repairs and resupply in ports along the patrol line which usually provided a few days break on shore.

The author never experienced any combat action during the whole of his service. Therefore the book is filled with accounts of his day to day life firstly on the training ships then on the gunboat. These adventures are interesting and valuable accounts of life in the Royal Navy in this era. There can be no doubt he thoroughly enjoyed his naval career and it seems he only left the navy due to some injury suffered after returning to Portsmouth following the four year cruise. Unfortunately the details are unclear about this matter, I think the intention may have been to write a second book but my research indicates this never happened.

Overall a fascinating story of life in the Victorian Royal Navy and highly recommended to anyone interested in the Senior Service of this era.

MODELLING PAINT.

PAINT.

I have always used Humbrol enamel modelling paints. I admit they are not quite as good as years ago but still I find them best for me. During the over fifteen years from the mid 80's to early 00's when my army resided in the loft, all my paints were also packed away. When recovered and set up in my , then new, modelling unit, I found that of 19 tins of paint only one had dried up. The others were perfectly usable.  Strangely however all the hairs on every single paint brush had fallen out leaving me with a pile of sticks and a birds nest of hairs !!!

 Today my main complaint is that some of the colours display odd characteristics. For example the gloss red number 19, tends to change into a jelly like consistency long before even half used. I have not found any way to stop this process despite remixing with both thinners and even acetone. I complained once to Humbrol who responded that the barcode on the tin could not be identified !!!!  Others like the matt black number 33, when newly opened,  tend to dry to a glossy finish.  I think it is the thinners they use. Despite trying endless mixing the only cure I have found is to leave new tins open, without mixing, for several hours to allow this agent to evaporate. That does tend to solve the problem and also makes the paint a little thicker and thus give better coverage too.

When painting screws I do not use any primer. I have found that the normal base colour together with the top satin varnish coat, number 135,  is fully serviceable. Indeed although virtually all screws have at least a slight rust covering to start with, that seems to aid paint coverage. To date I have never found any rust on my painted soldiers. I do use primer, number 01, on wheels (drawing pins) flags ( paper and pins) any exposed glue and all plastic components on vehicles and equipments. The top coat then covers so much better.

The only mixing I do is for the base colour of my soldiers (screws). The original colour used was HU17 in the Authentic colour range. Since that range has become unavailable the online colour comparison charts indicate 116 is the current equivalent. However I find it to be rather lighter so I add about 20% matt black to each new tin to get the shade I need. I usually make up two or three tins at a time as it is a messy job !!!

BOOK REVIEW: THE CARRIAGE TRADE.

 MAKING HORSE DRAWN VEHICLES IN AMERICA.

Regular readers will be aware that I have a great fascination for horse drawn logistics. Naturally this extends to the actual wagons and this book, from my library, gives a fascinating account of the wagon trade in America in the 19th century.

The book describes how the making of horse drawn vehicles moved from being the product of highly skilled workmen in small local shops to mass production in factories using ready made parts supplied by specialist manufacturers. Although never made on production lines like automobiles, wagon construction certainly paved the way for the production line manufacturing concept. 

Strangely however, only one major wagon maker actually made the transition to automobile construction. This was the famous Studebaker company, the biggest wagon manufacturer ever. With this one exception, all the other wagon builders faded into oblivion during the early years of the 20th century leaving only small local workshops to carry out repairs and build the occasional new wagon, just like the business had been 100 years before.

The book also discusses the actual wagon, and carriage, building process, the decline of traditional craft skills and how American manufacturing generally changed over the century. This is fascinating in its own right if you have any interest in the rise of the production line and mass production, both of which of course originated in America.

Overall a great book on an interesting, well to me anyway, subject.

UPDATE.

 Although it has been almost a month since I gave an update on my activities, it seems only a few days ago to me. Certainly one disadvantage of advancing age is that the days and weeks seem to fly by and I struggle to recall what I have been up to yet I feel I have been so busy !!!!

On the modeling front I have completed the soldiers of a field artillery battalion, the first of 12 for the new army.

In addition I have finished building the first batch of GS wagons. So that is 36 done of a total needed of 390   !!!!!

Finally I am also well advanced with the second of the 24 infantry battalions needed. I still have some rank and arm of service details to add and then they all need two coats of varnish.

So I feel I have been quite productive over the past few weeks especially as I have also been engaged in the process of buying a new car. Always a fun thing to do but a shame I am having to wait till the beginning of May for delivery because of the microchip shortage. However, given what I said at the start of this update, by the time I get there it will no doubt seem I have been waiting only a couple of weeks at most. !!!!!!

BOOK REVIEW: STUG 111 BRIGADE 191

THE BUFFALO BRIGADE.

In action in the Balkans, Greece and from Moscow to Kursk and Sevastopol.

 

This is a new purchase from The Works and relates the history of the "Buffalo Brigade" of Stug 111 assault guns from formation in 1940 until the end of the war. It is written,  like similar books, by an NCO of the Brigade with contributions from other veterans.

I have always been an admirer of the Stug 111 assault gun, I have liked the lines of the vehicle ever since building the Airfix kit many moons ago. The book gives an excellent battle history  and describes, as usual in such unit histories, the desperate fighting on the Eastern front. This unit never fought in the West.

However the best thing about this book are the huge number of never before published photos which really tell the story of  day to day life in the brigade and include terrific details of the unit's equipment and supporting vehicles. It is a treasure trove of information for those interested in German armour in WW2.

An interesting fact that I have found in similar books again comes across clearly which is that this unit never seemed to suffer from supply shortages until the very last few days of the war. Somehow or other the supply of fuel and ammunition and even replacement vehicles was maintained till the end. 

Highly recommended for fans of German armour and assault guns in particular.

ORGANISATION OF THE ARMY.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF BATTALION ORGANISATION.

There are a number of basic principles that apply to the organisation of all types of battalion in my army as follows:

1. Battalions having all soldiers horsed such as Cavalry and Horse Artillery are called regiments rather than battalions but the basic structures are identical.

2. Each battalion is autonomous and capable of independent operations and has vehicles and equipment accordingly.

3. Each battalion consists of operational companies and a headquarters company which includes platoons of all the necessary supporting services.

4. Battalions are commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel supported by a Battalion Sergeant Major with a Major as adjutant and second in command. The Major also commands the headquarters company.

5. The Lieutenant Colonel, Sergeant Major and Major are all members of the arm of service applicable to the battalion. The only exception is for Medical battalions where  command is exercised by Staff officers.

6. Captains command companies/batteries with a Company Sergeant Major as assistant. Lieutenants command platoons. Sergeants are usually posted on the basis of one for every 12 or so privates. Corporals are posted on the basis of one for every six privates. The only exceptions are in specialist units like Medical, Workshop and Veterinary companies where the ratio of NCOs is usually higher.

7. Medical personnel are allocated on the basis of potential for casualties. Therefore non combat battalions have a smaller complement with a single doctor whereas Infantry battalions have two doctors and sufficient medics to staff both a battalion aid post and give each combat company a dedicated medic.

8. Quartermaster personnel are allocated on the basis of two privates for each wagon, limber or heavy trailer. Quartermaster personnel are responsible for vehicles, driving and welfare of horses, all classes of Battalion supplies with the NCOs doing the cooking on the field kitchen.

9. Staff troops are provided to give  expert resource for battalion administration and are allocated on the basis of the potential amount of administrative work in each particular battalion type. For example Quartermaster and Medical battalions have significantly more Staff troops than Infantry or Artillery battalions.

10. Signals personnel are provided on the basis of potential communications needs. Non combat support battalions therefore tend to have a higher complement than combat units.

11. All battalions have field kitchens and water trailers and, other than Medical battalions, a medical supply trailer. Combat battalions also have light signals trailers.  Non combat support battalions have signals wagons and/or heavy trailers reflecting the heavier communications demand.

12. All battalions have two standard bearers carrying a national flag and the unique battalion flag under the command of the battalion Sergeant Major who also commands the Staff platoon in  combat battalions.

BOOK REVIEW: OF LIVING VALOUR.

 The Story Of The Soldiers Of Waterloo.

This is a book from my library. Basically the book relates the battle of Waterloo with extracts from soldiers letters, diaries and journals used to illustrate each element of the fighting from the soldiers perspective.

Those  familiar with Mercer's Journal will see a number of passages from his book among others. However the bulk of the references are made from unpublished letters or diaries. As the writer explains, by the time of Waterloo there were a significantly larger number of literate common soldiers than only 20 years earlier. As a result there are vast numbers of soldiers letters from this period as yet unpublished but often quoted from here for the first time.

The resulting book gives a fresh view of the battle and certainly conveys what it was like to actually participate. Some of the descriptions are certainly not for the faint hearted but of course "tell it like it was".

A good read and recommended if you want a "down in the mud" description of this historic battle.

UPDATE.

 A belated Happy New Year to all. 

The past couple of weeks seem to have been busy with domestic things so I have not enjoyed a great deal of modelling time. However the first battalion of infantry for my new fourth army has been completed.

No vehicles or equipment yet, these will follow over time, just 407 soldiers. I also managed to complete a small batch of GS wagons and light GS trailers for existing Heavy Artillery battalions as an upgrade and these have been issued. I am now working on a larger batch of 36 GS wagons for general issue to the new army.

These can be seen on the workstation above. The bodies have been made and the next step will be fitting the shafts which can be seen on the right next to the tube of glue. After that, wheels, towing hooks and horse mounting blocks will be fitted. Also to be seen are my production lists. The pink sheets list vehicles and equipment to be made and the white sheets detail the "soldier" needs for each type of battalion.

The above photo is the first I have taken with my new smartphone which is supposed to have a superior camera to my wife's phone which I have used till now. My old phone was "clockwork" being at least 15 years old and camera-less !!!! I finally decided to upgrade. However my stubby old fingers are finding it harder to accurately tap the keyboard screen rather than the buttons on the old phone. The new phone seems to do everything imaginable including the washing up but I expect it will take me years to fully understand the thing....progress ????

Regular readers will be aware that Archduke Piccolo is coming close to the final battle of his wargame campaign based on my Imagi-Nations. If you have not read his blog posts you are missing out seriously. I  commend his blog to everyone. 

BOOK REVIEW. THE LINE OF COMMUNICATION.

 This book is from my library and is a reproduction of a volume originally published in 1883 by George Armand Furse, an officer of the Black Watch who was a prolific author of books on logistics.

Furse was, for his time, unusual in that he believed officers should be studying the science of war. This view was enhanced by the , at the time, recent Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. The "new" Prussian army had totally outclassed the French and many "thinking" officers looked to learn the lessons of why the Prussians had been so successful. The organisation of the Prussian supply services was seen at the time as a great leap forward and worthy of application to other armies.

Furse well understood that Britain's wars at the time were overseas, generally against primitive locals and conducted on a much smaller scale than European wars. However he clearly believed there were still lessons to be learned. The book discusses the Prussian model of logistics but set in a British scenario whereby the "base" would be provided by the Royal Navy. The composition of the base, lines of communications and the supply services are covered in great detail and even the question of procurement of local foodstuffs and horses is discussed in depth.

Overall an excellent book if you are interested in the state of the art thinking about logistics in the British army of 1883.

ORGANISATION OF THE ARMY.

The basic tactical unit of my armies is the battalion. Each battalion is a self supporting unit capable of independent operations and includes such functions as medical, administrative, quartermaster, and signals troops and equipment. There are a number of different battalion types including, Infantry, Field Artillery, Heavy Artillery, Pioneer, Quartermaster, Medical, Field Police, Heavy Weapons, Quartermaster Transport and Command together with Cavalry and Horse Artillery regiments.

The basic structure of a battalion comprises a number of operational companies under the control of a headquarters company. Each company is composed of a number of platoons. As examples, an Infantry battalion has 6 combat companies each with three platoons, a Heavy Weapons company of two platoons and a headquarters company which includes medical, signals , quartermaster and staff platoons. A Quartermaster battalion has two transport companies, each with two platoons, a veterinary company and a workshop company, each with  three platoons and a command company again comprising medical, signals, staff and battalion quartermaster platoons. Battalions vary in size from 131 soldiers for a Horse Artillery regiment to 407 soldiers for an Infantry battalion.

These battalions are organised into what I call brigades but which are the equal of divisions in other armies. I currently have three brigade types, Infantry, Cavalry and Army Command.

An Infantry brigade comprises a Command battalion, 6 Infantry battalions, 3 Field Artillery battalions, one battalion each of Pioneers, Medical and Quartermaster. A Cavalry brigade comprises 6 Cavalry regiments, two Horse Artillery regiments,  Quartermaster and Command battalions . An Army Command brigade, under the direct control of the Army Command battalion, consists of a Field Police battalion, a Heavy Weapons battalion, four Heavy Artillery battalions, a Quartermaster battalion and a Quartermaster Transport battalion. These battalions are used to support the army generally or operations by specific brigades as needed. The exact composition of any brigade can be varied to suit particular mission requirements just by plugging in or out battalions.

Brigades are grouped into armies. Each army has an Army Command battalion, Army Command brigade, four Infantry brigades and a Cavalry brigade with a total of 72 battalions.

I have four display units and each houses one army. Three armies are complete and the fourth is now in course of construction. The strength of each army is a little over 20,000 which with the addition of  Army Group troops gives a total Army Group target strength of just over 82,000.

My references for the organisation of my armies  include the US army of both the Civil war and Vietnam eras both of which were generally battalion based and grouped into brigades. I have also been influenced to some degree by the organisation of the original BEF of 1914.

BOOK REVIEW: THE SPLINTERED EMPIRES.

The Eastern Front 1917-1921

 This is the last of the four book set I bought recently on the Eastern Front during WW1. 

Just like the other books this is a deeply researched and very well written account of the final years of the war in the East , the Russian revolution and the "Pygmy Wars" that broke out after the Armistice as newly independent nations sought their place in the sun.

Following the fall of the Tsar in early 1917, the Provisional Government of Russia tried very hard to continue the war against the Central Powers but as the communist revolution swept through Russia, the army and navy basically collapsed into anarchy. Soldiers Committees sprang up to challenge the authority of officers and discipline in the military fell apart with thousands of soldiers deserting and going home. The Germans offered peace and to backup that offer launched an offensive. With virtually no opposition they advanced throughout the Baltic nations and into Ukraine. Finally, the Bolsheviks, now fully in power and more interested in the revolution than maintaining the fight against Germany, agreed punitive peace terms bringing the war in the East to a conclusion.

With the troops released, but not all as many had to be retained in the East in case the peace faltered, the Germans launched their attack in the West, the result of which is well known. With the subsequent collapse of the Central Powers and the end of the War, the various new nations in the Baltic together with a newly independent Poland all sought to strengthen their positions against Russia and each other in a whole raft of so called "Pygmy Wars". These wars are fascinating in both their variety and scale. The new nations could only field tiny armies and even German troops took part. These various wars offer a huge opportunity for wargaming and this book is worth reading just to understand those scenarios.

Overall a fascinating and very readable book which tells how eastern Europe was reshaped in the aftermath of the First World War.  Together with the previous volumes this is a highly recommended set of books on a fascinating and complex campaign.

UPDATE.

 Merry Christmas Eve Eve to all.

Just a line to thank all my readers for taking the time to read my blog this past year and I hope to retain your support in 2022. I hope you all have a great Christmas and get the model soldiers, books and other modelling or wargaming things you want from Santa. If you only get shower gel or aftershave, you did not drop enough hints and if you only get socks, you must be on the naughty list !!!!!!

The highlight of my blogging year has to be how  Ion at Archduke Piccolo blog  has taken my Imagi-Nations posts and created an amazing wargame campaign with a raft of superb battle reports. I am proud to have had even a small part in such a well received event.  I wonder if there is another campaign to be had in 2022 !!!!!

I hope 2022 is a prosperous, safe and happy year for you all.

UPDATE.

Despite the demands caused by the rapid approach of Christmas I have managed a good amount of modelling time these past couple of weeks. In fact I have completed all the upgrades I have been working on for the last couple of years. My three armies are now complete with each having a strength of 20,020 which together with an Army Group Command battalion gives me 60,302 soldiers with the colours.

I have now started construction of my new fourth army.

This photo shows the screws counted out for the first of the 24 new infantry battalions for that army. These battalions are 407 strong including the two flag bearers which can be seen to the left above. Uniform painting will commence shortly. I have also made a start on vehicle construction.

 

This photo shows a batch of 16 GS wagons and 18 light GS trailers. The vehicle bodies have been made and shafts fitted. The next steps will be fitting wheels and horse mounting blocks to the wagons before moving onto painting.

Regular readers will be aware that Ion of the Archduke Piccolo blog has been fighting a wargames campaign based on my Imagi-Nations articles. The campaign is now reaching its climax and I encourage all to read Ion's exciting battle reports. The latest is due for publication any moment now and will undoubtedly be well worth a look. Once the campaign is complete I will publish the next installment of Imagi-Nations which will give an overview of this campaign and the "historical" implications.

CONSTRUCTION OF HORSES.

The original Miniature Warfare magazine article on which my armies are based included flat horses made of card. I have used that principle for my horses but use 30 thou plastic card instead as it is considerably more durable. The idea of flat horses however in my view is perfectly acceptable. They are after all only a representation of horses in the same way that screws represent soldiers. 

As to the construction of the horses, I cut the plastic card with a modelling knife into strips using my "master" horse as a guide, then measure the length of each horse at 20mm, then cut the resultant rectangles with scissors. I then cut the horse shape freehand again with scissors. After the thousands I have made I know exactly where to cut which is around one third in and one third down give or take a bit  !!!!!!!!

The photo above shows the strip with a rectangle below and the final horse shape at the bottom. I usually cut up a whole sheet of plastic card at one time so as to have a number of horses in stock. It can be tedious to make horses for each batch of vehicles so I find it best  to have a stockpile. I will detail the painting methods I use for horses later under the  Painting Techniques heading.

BOOK REVIEW: RUSSIA'S LAST GASP.

This is the third in the series of books I recently purchased on the Eastern Front during the First World War and covers the events of 1916.

Probably the most significant military event was the Brusilov offensive. He was the only Russian general who actually studied the tactics and outcomes of the war to date and had learned much from the German offensive in 1915. Consequently he re-trained his forces and created an artillery bombardment plan.  As a result he was able to launch a highly effective assault which only came to a standstill as a result of logistical issues and the increasing presence of German reinforcements rushed from the West. However he had dealt a death blow to the already weak kuk which for the rest of the war was little more than a militia force wholly dependant on the German army.

Later in the year Romania finally decided to join the war on the side of the Allies. However they had waited a touch too long and Germany was able to transfer troops from the Brusilov front and not only stopped the Romanian offensive into Transylvania but, together with their Bulgarian allies, launched a counteroffensive which resulted in the capture of the Romanian capital Bucharest. A couple of very interesting learning points here is that the Bulgarians and  Romanians still used oxen for much of their supply service and even for some artillery units and that several Turkish divisions also took part in the invasion of Romania.

Once again the increasingly difficult food situation in Germany and Austria-Hungary is discussed together with the efforts in Germany to increase war material production. The political situation in Russia is also discussed at great length and it is noted that by the end of the year significant cracks were appearing in Russian society. The seeds of revolution had been planted and were growing at a fast pace.

Once again this really is an excellent book on the Eastern front and highly recommended .

GLUE.

My "go to" glue is UHU Hart.                                                                                                                      

  

This is an excellent glue especially made for balsa which is the basic material of all my vehicles but it is also good for sticking metal to wood provided it is used generously. I have only found one model shop that sells this glue, fortunately for me it isn't too far away but I still buy several tubes at a time. However it is readily available on the interweb. 

 The one thing it will not stick is plastic to wood. Therefore I use super glue where there is plastic which is basically only on artillery guns. That said I still roughen the plastic surfaces to ensure a good bond. I am allergic to super glue so I have to wear a mask and ensure the room is well ventilated. That means window wide open , not a big deal unless it's winter in which case I freeze !!!!! I also use an activator with the super glue, it's just so much faster. In fact if I was not allergic to it I would use superglue for everything.

 The other glues I use are plastic model glue when building cavalry but I will explain that later in an article on cavalry construction and hot melt glue which I use in the construction of GS wagons but again I will cover that in a future article on wagon construction.

UPDATE.

 With the onset of winter, as usual I find myself with a little more modelling time. I have now completed number 46 of my upgrade programme which gives 59,660 soldiers with the colours and only 618 left to finish, all of which are already at various stages of the painting process. This includes upgrade number 50, a small upgrade I recently identified which provides an additional GS wagon with drivers for each of my heavy artillery battalions.

For some time now I have been acquiring fresh stocks of materials in preparation for the building of my new 4th army. This includes paints, drawing pins (wheels), plastic card (horses), twisted wire (harness), decals  (flags), shelf support studs (field artillery), balsa wood (wagon bodies) and dowel rod (water trailers). Almost all of these items have been purchased by family members and will become my Christmas presents from them. I have reached that time of life where there really is very little else I want or need except more socks and who wants socks for Christmas !!!!

The new display unit I recently built has an extra row of shelves compared to the existing three units. This was done to enable the creation of a few extra battalions for the existing armies. Following my decision last year to provide each infantry battalion with a heavy weapons company I dismantled most of my dedication heavy weapons battalions leaving just one in each army, as army troops. I have now decided that each army should have two of these battalions.

Together with those I now have 75 battalions and regiments  to build for the new army. This is a total of just under 22,000 soldiers and about 2,400 vehicles and equipments. That includes some 490 GS wagons, 108 ammunition wagons, 275 utility trailers (field kitchens, water trailers etc), 228 guns of various types, 284 limbers, 447 light trailers (caissons, GS, signals etc), 156 other wagons (ambulances, forge wagons etc) and 390 heavy trailers (HQ, Medical, workshop etc). 

In order to keep track of what to build and to provide myself with a varied programme of different things to make, I have created a production list of 76 batches. Each batch is of a single type of vehicle, for example 30 GS wagons, 28 limbers or 24 forge wagons etc. I usually prepare all the components first then carry out assembly in stages over a number of days before painting the finished vehicles. I find that process works better for me than just making the equipment for a single battalion at a time. At the same time I also paint a battalion of soldiers which gives me plenty of variety on the workbench at all times.  Being a bit of a list freak, you will not be surprised to know that I also have detailed painting lists for the soldiers of each type of battalion too !!!!

I estimate it will take me at least five years to build the new army. No doubt during that period I will  identify any number of revisions to make to the armies, the current authorised strength of which is now a little over 82,000. There are always tweaks and changes to make which usually involve hours of fresh work. For example adding just one new soldier to each battalion would require the painting of over 280 new screw soldiers and it has taken me over two years to complete the current set of upgrades !!!! So overall this should keep me going until I reach that point in time where brain fog and overall debilitation means not getting up till lunchtime and then spending the rest of the day watching tv !!!! well actually ......