UPDATE

I am pleased to report I have been a little more productive this past week. I am a little late posting this update due to yet another internet failure most of today. A broken fibre optic cable apparently that affected most of our town !!!!!
Anyway this week I have completed construction of the batch of 31 GS wagons and painting is well advanced. The Pioneer upgrade has been completed and I have made a start on the next infantry battalion upgrade.
I am now getting  close to the end of my planned equipment and soldier build programmes. Only about another couple of thousand soldiers to paint. I guess I have another three months of work then I will have to either stop modelling or build another display unit and start a fourth army. The problem is where to put another display unit. Not much spare wall space left now !!!!!!

BOOK REVIEW. USELESS MOUTHS.

  The British Army's Battles In France After Dunkirk May-June 1940.

This book was kindly brought to my attention by Mark at ManofTin blog. Mark is aware of my interest in logistics and on reading the synopsis of the book it certainly seemed to cover the logistics of the British Expeditionary Force in the campaign in France in 1940.

However that is not quite the case. I was vaguely aware that some British troops were left in France after the Dunkirk evacuation. I had no idea there were so many, 150,000 in fact. This book covers the fighting these troops engaged in before they were either captured or evacuated.

The reason why the book seems to address logistics is that the troops left behind after Dunkirk were mostly line of communication soldiers. The British Army of 1940 used French ports much further south than in 1914-1918 because of the threat of air attack. Therefore British lines of communication lay far to the south of the actual battle positions occupied by the BEF. When the German attack took place the British combat units were forced back to the northern Channel ports as the Germans cut them off from their LOC to the south.

Additionally the introduction and first few chapters tell the story of the development of logistics in the British Army. This is very interesting in its own right, but I  assume is actually intended to explain why so many soldiers were on the LOC and how they could be formed into combat units and equipped from LOC resources.

Anyway, despite the book seeming to be about logistics, in fact it is a very detailed and well researched history of BEF operations after the fall of Dunkirk through to the French surrender. There is a great deal of useful information and I for one have learned a lot. I suspect I am not alone in thinking that British involvement in the French campaign ended after Dunkirk. If you thought so too or you have an interest in this campaign generally this is most definitely the book for you.

Thanks Mark for bringing it to my attention. It is a good book.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 16.

  THE APPROACH OF THE OPENING BATTLE OF THE INVASION OF CHINA.

On 4 July 1870 UNION and Chinese forces engaged in an encounter battle as Chinese troops attempted to delay the UNION invasion of their country. As both sides fed more troops into the battle it soon became clear to the Chinese they were massively outnumbered  not only in manpower but particularly in artillery. As the UNION bombardment increased in power the Chinese commander decided to commence a slow withdrawal, his mission being to delay the UNION advance while awaiting reinforcements rather than to engage in a pitched battle.

By early afternoon the Chinese had retired north about 5 miles, fighting as they fell back. Unbeknownst to them UNION cavalry in large numbers had moved to their north east ready to strike. The UNION cavalry had orders to wait until the Chinese were level with their positions then to launch a horse artillery attack followed by dismounted assaults by the cavalry. As Chinese attention focused on these attacks the UNION forces to the south would then launch their attack thereby crushing the Chinese in a pincer movement.

In a flagrant disregard of orders, as soon as the Chinese forces came in view, one of the UNION horse artillery regiments thundered down the hillside towards the Chinese, unlimbered and started a bombardment. Although surprised, the Chinese  realised they may be in danger of being outflanked. While the UNION cavalry commander frantically ordered the rest of his forces to launch their assaults early, the Chinese , in a rare display of tactical brilliance, made a rapid retirement out of the danger zone leaving the following UNION forces desperately trying to catch up while the UNION cavalry commander sought to avoid his troops accidentally engaging their comrades.

The UNION plan had failed spectacularly.  Lieutenant Colonel Fetterman, commander of the horse artillery regiment which had jumped the gun was relieved of command and sent home immediately. He subsequently took early retirement rather than face a court martial. Over the next few days the UNION cavalry followed the withdrawing Chinese while the main body of the UNION army remained stationary waiting for the railway to reach their positions and link up to the Chinese railway, thereby gaining a clear line all the way to Harbin.

On 10th July the first of many trains arrived in Harbin bring Chinese reinforcements. Over the course of the next two weeks a Chinese army of 150,000 assembled around Harbin together with another 150,000 who de-trained at the camp of the rearguard   about 30 miles north of the main UNION positions. The Chinese general knew his forces would soon be strong enough to attack the UNION army, who still remained camped at the old Chinese rail-head waiting for their railway construction crews to arrive. UNION cavalry had maintained their positions in the hills overlooking the Chinese rearguard positions and had reported on the Chinese build up. They were not however aware that another 150,000 Chinese troops were at Harbin.

By the beginning of August the UNION track builders were only 30 miles from the main UNION positions. As UNION commanders prepared to continue their advance into China, information arrived from the cavalry that Chinese forces had started to deploy from their camp and that a movement south was clearly imminent. There were also confused reports of dust clouds to the north perhaps indicating the arrival of another Chinese force. In fact the Chinese troops around Harbin had been trained south and were being unloaded less than ten miles north of the Chinese advanced camp.  On 6th August UNION cavalry fell back to the main UNION position with news that a very large Chinese army was on the move. In fact the Chinese forces now numbered 350,000 with  troop trains arriving daily bringing further reinforcements.

Over the next few days the two sides maneuvered  for advantage while moving closer so that by 10th August the two sides were only five miles apart, 265,000 UNION troops and over 350,000 Chinese troops were about to clash in a titanic struggle.

BOOK REVIEW. THE EAST INDIA'S COMPANY'S ARSENALS AND MANUFACTORIES.

Yet another of the books I bought from Naval Military Press. This is a reprint of a work published in 1937 by The Director of Ordnance Factories In India 1917-1920 who wrote the book following his retirement.

The contents are an in depth analysis of the development of the many and varied factories run by the East India Company with a look at how the various locations continued after the Mutiny, if at all. The level of detail is amazing . The research was carried out on old company records going back to the 1600's. Although there are no descriptions of the actual manufacturing processes which I would have liked, there are vast amounts of information on the various products made in India for the Company together with details of the development and staffing of production facilities over the years. 

Throughout the reign of the Company the normal method of securing locally made products or supply services was by means of giving contracts to either Company or military officers which they managed as an adjunct to their other duties. The method of payment was to allow a commission on the value of goods supplied. Such an arrangement seems unusual today but was quite normal in those times. 

As is well known, it was common for both civil and military officers to go to India to earn their fortune. This practice, especially under the Company, was known as Shaking the Pagoda Tree. Everyone did it to some degree or other. That said, reading this book gives an entirely new meaning to the expression. Rather than just shake the tree most of the contract holders uprooted the tree and beat it with big sticks to get every last rupee out and when that was done they usually resorted to fraud to extract even more. The level of corruption was staggering. I recall mentioning in a previous review that 19th century America had an endemic fraud problem but that pales into insignificance compared to what went on in India under the Company.

Although an unusual subject which will not appeal to many, this book gives a wonderful insight into several generally obscure aspects of the Company's operations in India quite apart from the actual purpose of the book. For that reason alone this book is highly recommenced to historians of the Indian Empire.

UPDATE.

This week I have managed a little more modelling time although I am still feeling lazy. That is to say time has gone by but I really have no idea what I have been doing other than some walking and even that has been between showers. Hopefully a little more activity will follow next week as the warmer weather comes back, assuming the forecasts are right !!!!

This week I have completed the batch of ammunition caissons , as shown below, and just need to issue them to units.

I have now started construction of a batch of 31 GS wagons. As can be seen below, the bodies have been made. Next steps are to add wheels, including the spare, poles and horse mounting blocks, and towing hooks

The Pioneer upgrade batch have advanced but still need two coats of varnish to complete. I have also started another infantry battalion upgrade.

I am trying to post every two days so the next book review will follow Monday with Imagi-Nations on Wednesday.

Thanks again to all readers of my blog in allowing me to reach the milestone of 4000 hits. If there are any particular topics that interest you please let me know so I can do more.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 15.

 THE INVASION OF CHINA.

The UNION army was instructed to plan and prepare an invasion of China to start at dawn on 22 June 1870.  All seven UNION armies would be involved with the exception of an Infantry brigade forming the garrison in Mexico and a Cavalry brigade on the border with Ukraine operating patrols in that country to enforce the peace agreement with Russia.

The UNION forces would be formed into two army groups . Army group A consisting of  1st, 5th and 6th armies would march north west close to the Atlas Mountains while army group B comprising 3rd, 4th and 7th armies would march parallel to but north of army group A. 2nd army  would form a general reserve and march several days behind army group A.  Cavalry patrols would cover the space between the army groups.  The ultimate objective would be Harbin, one thousand miles from the border. The intention was to bring the Chinese army to battle within that thousand miles, hopefully surround it and destroy it totally. Upon reaching Harbin, having  already destroyed the Chinese army, that city would also be destroyed and the UNION forces would then withdraw while carrying out a systematic program of scorched earth on as much of eastern China as UNION forces could reach. To facilitate the invasion, the railway from Denver was improved and supplies and material collected to extend the railway into China to support the advancing UNION forces. All the resources of the UNION railway companies were collected to deliver this critical requirement.

By early June preparations had been completed with troops assembled and huge quantities of supplies at rail head. At dawn on the appointed day UNION artillery launched a short but heavy bombardment on the Chinese border outposts while cavalry forces funneled between the outposts and then fanned out into China. The Chinese outposts were quickly overrun by the advancing infantry. By the end of the first five days UNION forces had moved about 100 miles with the leading cavalry units another 50 miles further ahead where they had found and secured the rail-head of the new Chinese railway. In fact UNION cavalry had seen the smoke of the last Chinese train departing the area carrying the construction workers.

Clearly alarm bells had rung in Peking and all Chinese armies were mobilised. The nearest major troop formations were at the new base near Harbin and they started south around day 3 of the invasion with instructions not to fully engage with the UNION armies but to fight rearguard actions and await reinforcements. In the meantime Chinese civilians, having little idea of the UNION, did not at first flee the advancing troops but merely watched them disinterestedly and continued to tend their fields and crops. The UNION saw no danger from these simple peasants and ignored them too.

Construction of the UNION railway followed the advancing armies urgently soon reaching an average of three miles per day. UNION forces were under instruction to halt the advance as soon as the distance from rail-head reached 100 miles.  It was now decided however to continue the advance until the main armies had reached the captured Chinese rail-head some 150 miles from the border which they did on day 8. Meanwhile the cavalry continued to press forward until day 10, some 200 miles from the border, at which time they too halted. Chinese forces from Harbin , using their railway, had moved south but had decided to de-train around 200 miles north of the border to enable sufficient space for maneuvering. It so happened that the de-training took place under the eyes of the most advanced UNION cavalry units.

The Chinese forces were estimated to have a strength of only 10,000 with ten guns as they were observed spreading out and slowly moving south, clearly looking for the UNION army. It was decided to move only one UNION army forward to meet the Chinese in order to avoid the Chinese learning the full strength of the UNION forces. It was assumed the Chinese would soon fall back after the two sides met in battle, at which time the bulk of the  UNION cavalry force of about 6,000 with 72 guns would attack the Chinese from the flank. On day 13 of the invasion the Chinese advance guard ran into the leading elements of the UNION 1st army.  The opening battle of the UNION invasion of China had started.

UPDATE.

I thought I would let my few readers know that as of today my blog has just past 4000 hits. I think that is good considering the highly specialised nature of my ramblings which were never going to have a high  level of general  interest. That said, after two years of blogging with two followers and another three email followers I am very pleased that so many have found even a little interest in my writings. Thank you all.

UPDATE.

Not much to report this week . Once again not much modelling time but I really am not sure what has taken up my time. I seem to be going through a period of laziness. Perhaps lockdown is getting to me at last. Anyway, I have started painting the batch of ammunition caissons and the next upgrade of Pioneers and the heavy weapons upgrade has been completed and just needs to be shelved. Two new books arrived this week. Reviews in due course. The next Imagi-Nations chapter will be published Monday.

BOOK REVIEW. GUN FODDER.

The diary of four years of war.

This is the next in the batch of books I purchased from Navy Military Press. The original book was written in 1920. The author joined up as a cavalry trooper in 1914 and finished the war as a Major commanding an 18 pounder gun battery. Quite a record of achievement.
He was a writer before and after the war so there are a number of literary bits such as often appear in these autobiographies. I tend to skip them. He also became, due clearly to the stresses he was under over those hard years, very anti war  and anti establishment. The end of the book includes quite a rant on that matter.
However the bulk of the contents give a very interesting description of life both as a cavalry trooper and as an artillery officer. As a university graduate, his descriptions of his early service in the ranks are very eye opening, he had little knowledge of the common man that is for sure.
The highlight of the book to me is the detailed report of his batteries activities during the March 1918 German offensive. Overall a good book well worth reading.

UPDATE.

This past week I have done some modelling but not much. I am not sure now exactly what I have been doing but I seem to have been busy with other things. Anyway  I have almost completed the heavy weapons companies upgrade previously mentioned and the batch of light GS trailers have been finished and these have been issued to units. I have also have built a batch of ammunition caissons  that now await painting. An early start has also been made on the next set of Pioneer upgrades. Other than that not much else to report. A new book review and another thrilling !!!!!! installment of Imagi-Nations will follow later in the week.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 14.

  THE AFTERMATH OF THE CHINESE INVASION.

Following the return of their defeated soldiers in June 1869 the Chinese government and military command sought explanations for the spectacular defeat of the army. Responsibility was quickly allocated to the commanding general who soon disappeared. Having thus addressed public opinion they now sought the real reasons.

Clearly UNION fire power had been overwhelming but the Chinese decided that the main error had been that they had launched the invasion with insufficient troops. However that was due to the simple fact that the number of soldiers involved had been the maximum that could be supported and transported by the limited railway network in that part of China. The bulk of the Chinese population lived in the west of the country and that area had most of the railways. Clearly the Chinese would need to bring the full weight of their army against the UNION to secure a victory therefore a major program of railway construction was instigated in the east including the provision of substantial railhead facilities south east of Harbin. In fact a major new military base was started just east of that town  in preparation for another invasion perhaps in 1871. In the meantime the Chinese reinforced the line of outposts already in existence along the border.

In the UNION the scale of the victory had surprised both the government and army. They realised the  policy of providing the army with massive firepower had been a correct strategy. UNION artillery was far in advance of anything available in the other countries of TIAN.  Nations like Britain, Germany and France , although using breech loaders , still had guns that needed resetting after each shot. Only the UNION had perfected the buffer mechanism that enabled rapid firing and some nations, like China and Russia, still used muzzle loading cannon. Additionally no other country possessed heavy artillery at all and no nation had the sheer quantity of artillery pro-rata to troop numbers as the UNION.

However it was very clear that the UNION army would need to be significantly increased in size to meet the now evident threat posed by China. Therefore authority was given to make changes in the structure of various battalions which would have the effect of increasing the size of a UNION army to just over 40,000 and also to create two brand new UNION armies. The 6th army would be based at the new Fort Laramie north of Dallas and 7th army would be located at the new Fort Apache north of Lincoln. New rail lines would be constructed to enable all armies to move to the border with China, this was in addition to the railway that was already under construction from Denver to the Chinese border to supply the large number of UNION forces still located along the eastern end of that border. There was no shortage of volunteers for the new armies following the Chinese invasion and by seeking voluntary transfers from experienced personnel in the existing armies, especially by promotion, the new armies were soon manned and on course to be fully operational. Providing the huge quantities of new vehicles and equipment actually proved some what more challenging. As part of the ramping up of military production, sufficient material was also ordered to fully equip  another  whole army but this would be held in a special store at Rock Island Arsenal over and above the standard replacement stocks already held.

UNION thinking now moved to consideration of how to deal with the Chinese threat in the longer term. Some suggested fortification of the border in case of another invasion while others suggested negotiations may be possible especially after the defeat China had suffered. Another group proposed to invade China, deal a shattering blow to the Chinese army and destroy all infrastructure in the east of that country so making another invasion impossible without huge construction and investment, in other words making another invasion of the UNION just too expensive for the Chinese to contemplate. UNION strategists recognised that with the exception of an infantry brigade in Mexico and a cavalry brigade on the border with Ukraine, all other UNION forces, including the new armies, could be deployed in such an operation.

In January 1870 a new factor appeared in the strategic situation. Although the UNION had returned over 90,000 Chinese prisoners and buried another 30,000, they still held almost 5,000 badly wounded Chinese soldiers who had been too seriously injured to return back in June the previous year. These men had been treated in two large field hospitals set up near Denver and some had even been treated in the base hospital in Fort Reno. It was now time for them to return to China. Through Mexico and via France, who had links with China, word was sent that these men could now be returned. The Chinese were not aware that the UNION had retained these soldiers for treatment and were not pleased at the prospect of their return and the impact on public opinion of finding that the UNION had been so considerate of Chinese wounded. The initial Chinese response, as conveyed to the UNION, was that the Chinese would take their soldiers back next time they invaded the UNION. In the event China eventually agreed to return of the wounded soldiers which took place in March. However the mention of another invasion had not gone unnoticed and this together with intelligence on Chinese railway construction activities finally enabled the UNION to decide how to resolve the China problem.  Instructions were issued to the UNION army to prepare for an invasion of China during the summer of 1870.

BOOK REVIEW. WORK OF R.E. IN THE EUROPEAN WAR 1914-1919

  THE SIGNAL SERVICE (FRANCE).

This is the third of the batch of books I recently purchased from Naval Military Press. This book covers the Signals Service in France and is a reprint of the original written in 1920.

The book is a very comprehensive and highly detailed work, in fact the detail makes the book a primary reference work rather than a general history. The in depth analysis is  amazing and is presented on a year by year basis using the lessons learned from each campaign and includes not only the development of signalling equipment but also the techniques used to maintain communications. Examples include the use of various types of cable, exchanges, protection of cables, organisation of signals units and the merits of the various types of signalling like buzzers, telephones, telegraph, lamps, flags,  dispatch riders, runners and wireless.

I have long sought information on the early use of wireless in the First World War and find now that the British cavalry actually went to France in 1914 with wireless equipped wagons as their primary signalling method. That said the widespread use of wireless did not come about until the final year of the war due mainly to resistance in the top brass who much preferred the telephone. Perhaps even more interesting was to find out that the British army engaged in the experimental use of wireless in the Boer War.

Overall an excellent reference book which otherwise is a bit of a chore to read due to the extraordinary level of detail and analysis, recommended only for the really committed enthusiast of British army signalling in the First World War.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 13.

 THE BATTLE WITH THE CHINESE.

During the late morning of 6th May 1869 the Chinese forces stopped their advance  for the day and made camp. UNION cavalry noted their exact positions and reported to command. The Chinese were about five miles from the dug in UNION armies. Just after dark 12 battalions of UNION heavy artillery opened a long range heavy fire on the Chinese positions. This bombardment continued all night causing heavy casualties and much disruption to the Chinese army. Dawn on 7th May found the Chinese still under fire as they broke camp and advanced expecting to meet the UNION army within a couple of miles having assumed they were under field artillery fire. After advancing 4 miles they came under intense UNION field artillery fire and the Chinese realised they had at last reached the UNION army. As they tried to bring forward their artillery the UNION bombardment increased to such an intensity that the Chinese commander recognised he had to get his forces out of the hurricane of fire. He immediately ordered a full scale charge on the UNION positions.

A tidal wave of Chinese troops flooded across the prairie towards UNION positions about a mile away. As they came closer the heavy machine guns of 12 UNION Heavy Weapons battalions opened fire along with a tornado of repeating rifle fire from the entrenched infantry. Chinese casualties were immense as they struggled to move forward. The advance soon petered out as Chinese soldiers sought shelter from the blizzards of fire behind rocks or sage brush or in folds in the ground. The Chinese commander saw that his troops could neither advance nor retreat yet to remain where they were would see them wiped out fairly quickly. He ordered his artillery forward to provide covering fire to enable the infantry to fall back. The Chinese artillery batteries bravely moved up to within half a mile of the UNION lines. Casualties among gun teams and gunners were huge but some guns did come into action sending their solid cannon balls hurling at the UNION forces. Immediately the Chinese infantry started to fall back leaving the prairie strewn with dead and wounded.

UNION field artillery and heavy machine guns took the Chinese artillery under fire and soon reduced them to only a few scattered remnants who now tried to escape too. The UNION fire proved too much however as  gun teams were shot down and were unable to recover any of the Chinese guns. However the sacrifice of the Chinese artillery did enable their infantry to fall back out at least out of rifle range. The whole Chinese force now started a straggling retreat while still remaining under  UNION artillery fire although this was now diminishing as ammunition supplies were used up. UNION forces had yet to perfect the resupply of ammunition during combat, a learning point noted by the UNION commander.

As the Chinese forces retreated in grave disorder, UNION cavalry were set in pursuit. In addition the UNION armies to the south west were ordered to advance north and inflict further punishment on the Chinese. With UNION cavalry shooting down stragglers and dust clouds being seen to the south the Chinese commander saw that his forces would soon  come under attack from that direction. He urged his soldiers to fall back as quickly as possible. The retreat became a rout with soldiers throwing away anything that impeded their escape, even their weapons. Such vehicles as they had were left behind as well as the few artillery guns still remaining. Over the next four days the Chinese retreat continued with growing desperation. UNION cavalry hovered on all sides of the Chinese columns picking off stragglers. The Chinese general realised that his troops had no chance of regaining Chinese territory. He therefore order his troops to stand fast and surrender. White flags appeared throughout the Chinese columns. The Chinese general and his staff moved out from the mass of desperate soldiers and he formally surrendered to a UNION cavalry Lt. Colonel.

On the battle field and along the path taken by the retreating Chinese, UNION medical teams worked around the clock treating vast numbers of Chinese wounded. UNION Pioneers dug many mass graves and filled them. UNION supply trains caught up with the huge mass of surrendered Chinese soldiers and started issuing food and water to the now desperate masses.  A great victory had been won by the UNION which suffered only 59 casualties in total. However they now held some 90,000 captured Chinese soldiers and had no plan of what to do with them. 

In the meantime UNION cavalry had moved west towards the Chinese border and had started intercepting Chinese supply columns heading east. The wagon drivers offered little or no resistance. Under orders not to take any more prisoners the cavalry released the drivers and told them to return home while the wagons were burned. Word of a catastrophic defeat soon reached the Chinese high command who immediately mobilised thousands of soldiers and started them moving towards the border. Before long more information came to hand as to the extent of the disaster . The Chinese could scarcely believe that their whole invasion force had been either destroyed or captured. Clearly the UNION army had vastly greater strength than the Chinese had ever imagined. It was decided not to send reinforcements over the border but to await developments.

Meantime the UNION armies had continued their advance to the border bringing with them the surrendered Chinese soldiers.  The Chinese general was released and was sent ahead with some staff to open negotiations with the Chinese government for the return of the prisoners. The UNION had determined that returning 90,000 heavily defeated soldiers would do more to persuade the Chinese government that further fighting was pointless than the UNION retaining the prisoners at great expense in supplies and secure accommodation. Although the Chinese government had little appetite for having thousands of badly beaten soldiers returning it had no choice but to agree to accept them On the morning of 9th June the Chinese prisoners started marching back over the border into China.

Following such a spectacular victory and defeat both sides now had to consider their next moves. 

UPDATE.

After yet another warm, sunny week I can report that again I have enjoyed a reasonable amount of play time. I have now decided, and more importantly, secured agreement from my wife, that decorating can be put on hold. This is because we are still awaiting an indication when re-modelling of our kitchen and bathrooms may start. We have decided decorating can wait till the re-modelling has a start date which I am sure will then enthuse me enough to get on with that task. In the meantime I will just model, blog, sunbathe and do the necessary chores. That said with the hot dry weather the grass has stopped growing !!!!!!!! what a shame !!!!!!!

On the modelling front I can report that the batch of limbers has been completed and I have now started to build a batch of light GS trailers. The infantry battalion has been completed too and I am now painting the heavy weapons companies upgrades. I have also carried out a photo shoot of an artillery battalion in action. This took some time to set up, and put away, but gave some interesting photos of what one of these units may look like on the battlefield. I am happy to do more such shoots if readers are interested. However I am also looking into securing some background diorama pictures to add more life and context to the next shoot, its just a matter of getting the right background.

The next installment of Imagi-Nations will be published Tuesday. I hope you enjoy reading these blogs as much as I like writing them .They are all based on wargames I have fought in my head over the years and reflect the parallel development of my armies during those years.

BOOK REVIEW. REAL WAR HORSES.

THE EXPERIENCES OF BRITISH CAVALRY 1814-1914.

This is the second of the batch of new books recently purchased by me from Naval and Military. The book is based on the use of contemporary letters written by cavalry men after the campaigns of Waterloo,  Sikh Wars in India,  the Crimea,  the Mutiny,  the Boer War and  WW1. 

The amount of research it took to acquire these letters from all sorts of sources is impressive. However much of the narrative is based on  "Theirs Not To Reason Why. Horsing The British Army". A book I have and one that is clearly the definitive account of this subject. There are none of the accounts I have read elsewhere on cavalry actions during the wars in question, I guess that's because the author wanted his book to be all new, which is fine in respect of the letters quoted but the bits in between are not very original.

All that said my main  issue with this book is less about the content but the proof reading, or lack of, more to the point. I can only assume that this essential task was performed by a computer program in that if the spelling of a word was correct the word was passed. Of course that means there several places in the text where the wrong word is used. This is tolerable generally but there are some cases where the whole sentence has a changed meaning and when reading the book I found I came to a complete stop several times and had to work out exactly what was being said. That is frustrating and really unnecessary, 

Things like that can easily spoil an otherwise good book, its just penny pinching after all. That said, an interesting book but mainly because of the original letter quotes rather than the narrative.

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.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 12.

  THE CHINESE INVASION.

In mid  April 1869 the UNION awoke to the startling news that Chinese troops were invading the nation. Panic stricken settlers from the area south west of Denver rushed into that city with stories of huge numbers of Chinese troops marching east towards Denver. The UNION army was immediately ordered to mobilise and on 20th April the Cavalry brigade from Fort Reno marched west on a reconnaissance mission to determine exactly what the UNION faced. The  Cavalry brigade from Fort Bridger also moved north on a similar mission. The Infantry brigades from Fort  Reno took up positions immediately west of Denver to await developments while the three remaining Infantry brigades in  Fort Bridger started to en train for the Denver area. In addition all other UNION armies were mobilised ready for immediate movement  as soon as the full nature of the threat was understood.

The Chinese army in 1869 consisted of about 500,000 fully trained troops with the same again in partly trained militia. Although the army was armed with single shot breach loading rifles the militia was equipped only with old fashioned muzzle loaders. Artillery consisted of muzzle loading cannon of limited range. The Militia had no heavy weapons. Chinese soldiers were known to carry just rations and ammunition with limited supporting services being available. Despite these limitations the Chinese army posed a dire threat simply because of their huge numbers. The motivation for the Chinese invasion was and remains to this day unknown but it is assumed there were a combination of factors. Support for their Iranian allies, desire for the rich resources of the UNION, fear of a growing economic and industrial neighbour, or maybe a military adventure to keep a huge standing army motivated were among the reasons put forward but the truth remains unknown given the nature of the communist regime in China.

UNION cavalry soon encountered the advancing Chinese only 250 hundred miles west of Denver, the Chinese had clearly been on UNION territory for some time to have gotten so far. The Cavalry reported the Chinese moving east in several parallel columns with  a strength of between 100,000 and 150,000. They seemed to march at dawn each day and after covering only ten or so miles  camped and spread out on foraging expeditions. Obviously Chinese supply lines were stretched.

With such a huge army of invaders to face, all UNION armies were ordered to en train for Denver. The only exception was the Cavalry brigade of 2nd army at Fort Leavenworth which would remain there to keep up patrols in Ukraine to ensure the Russians made no attempt to take advantage of the situation in the west. The UNION generals knew that they and the army faced the greatest test in their history to date.

Over the following days military trains arrived in Denver every few minutes as the UNION army concentrated to meet the Chinese threat. In the meantime the Cavalry brigade from Fort Reno was ordered to undertake a rear guard action to slow the Chinese advance. The tactics employed involved waiting until the Chinese were about to start moving at dawn and then to gallop forward and launch a short but heavy horse artillery barrage onto the leading Chinese forces. The Union forces would then quickly withdraw. The impact of the bombardment caused the Chinese to redeploy to receive an attack. By the time they recovered and prepared to start moving the UNION forces again launched a bombardment. These activities caused the Chinese advance to be seriously delayed. This strategy continued for several days. The Chinese, like most other armies, had no substantial cavalry forces to counter the UNION action as the costs of mounting large numbers of men were prohibitive, the UNION were the only nation other than the British to employ mounted troops in any numbers.

By 4th May UNION forces consisting of 1st and  3rd armies and 2nd army  less its cavalry brigade had concentrated about 150 miles west of Denver and were dug in ready to receive a Chinese attack. 4th army and 5th army, less the brigade in Mexico ,were formed up to the south west hidden behind a ridge ready to launch a counter attack or flanking maneuver as appeared best at the appropriate time. At that time each UNION army was about 27,000 strong so in total over 125,000 UNION troops stood ready to confront the Chinese invaders. Although the two armies appeared to be of similar size. the UNION forces had a massive superiority in artillery, both in numbers of guns but also in rate of fire and weight and power of projectiles. The scene was set for a titanic battle.

BOOK REVIEW : WORK OF R.E. IN THE EUROPEAN WAR, 1914-1919. MACHINERY,WORKSHOPS AND ELECTRICITY.

This book is the first I have read of the batch of six new books recently purchased from Naval Military Press. It is a reprint of an original from about 1925 as far as I can tell. It frustrates me when the reprint does not give the original publication date and you have to guess from the narrative, the one big failing of many of the reprints from Navel Military Press.

That said, this is clearly a very specialised book and will not appeal to many. However, if like me you wish to have an in depth understanding of the behind the scenes activities ( logistics ) of the military machine this may be of interest. The book  illustrates clearly yet again that the BEF of 1914 was organised only for a war of movement and the advent of static warfare found it ill prepared. This publication shows the work that took place to provide engineering support to trench warfare.

One thing of particular interest is the detailed list of products manufactured by R.E. workshops in the field to support the army.  Many will know that early hand grenades were made locally but it is amazing how many other products were made and continued to be built through out the war. In fact it is surprising , to me at least, just how comprehensively  equipped the R.E. workshops were and how they were able to manufacture a diverse range of new products so quickly after a need was identified.

An interesting and informative reference book if you like this sort of stuff.

UPDATE.

This week I have again been able to avoid the dreaded decorating. Apart from some gardening chores  and a little sunbathing !!!!!!  I have managed a reasonable amount of modelling time, perhaps not as much as I would like but better than I expected.

I have made good progress with painting the latest Infantry battalion and have also built a batch of 36 limbers. These I have just started painting today. I have also just begun painting a batch of heavy weapons companies, 6 in number, comprising 228 figures, to upgrade more of my existing Infantry battalions.

Following earlier reviews of the establishments of Field Police and Pioneer battalions, I have now completed reviews of Horse Artillery regiments and Field Artillery battalions. These latter reviews have been prompted by me finally getting round to  equipping artillery formations with observation trailers. The origin of these vehicles and construction details were posted some time ago and can be found under the label of Artillery.

I have always been pleased with myself ( ego !!!! ) on the construction of these vehicles so please look at that post if you have not already. I might mention here, more ego, that the  renowned John Tunstill  (Miniature Warfare, Tradition etc. ) sent me a very complimentary email on that particular post. The photo below shows the historic reference, a German WW1 vehicle.

The actual organisational changes I have made are that each artillery formation has been given an additional limber, light GS trailer and an observation trailer. Each limber comes with two QM men as drivers. Additionally, in order to improve the structure, each Horse Artillery regiment has also been with provided two extra Medics, two extra Signalers and one extra mounted QM Lieutenant. 

 I decided the Heavy Artillery battalions would not need an observation trailer given their long range usage. That said If you have a different view please do let me know. Overall these changes will add an extra 114 soldiers to the army group. 

It also crossed my mind that Heavy Weapons battalions could have the observation trailer, I cannot decide, any opinions out there ????????

The next book review and installment of my IMAGI-NATIONS saga will follow in the coming few days.

IMAGI-NATIONS : PART 11.

GUERRILLA WARFARE IN MEXICO.

Following the battles of January 1868 there was a lull in fighting as both sides took stock of the new situation and planned their next steps. On the UNION side that situational review concluded that the Mexican army would never been sufficiently cohesive or motivated to stand alone against the Arab supported terrorists.  Mexican troops and police would be able to hold pacified towns and villages but it would be up to the UNION army to defeat the terrorist threat.

With that in mind it was decided to establish two fire bases near the south western border with Iran, within easy reach of the railway line serving Acapulco. At one would be the headquarters of a Heavy Artillery battalion with one battery of guns and three companies of Infantry as security. At the other base would be the headquarters of an Infantry battalion with three companies and the other heavy artillery battery. Both bases would be able to bombard targets several miles inside Iran and each would have facilities to hold additional troops for search and destroy missions along the border region. The UNION strategy would be to attempt to seal the border with interdicting artillery fire while conducting constant search and destroy missions to prevent terrorists getting into the heartland of Mexico.

The Iranians and the other Arab states realised that they could not win a toe to toe battle against UNION army firepower without the benefit of over whelming numbers. Clearly a continuation of hit and run attacks offered the best, indeed the only way forward. It was  thought that  seemingly endless conflict and casualties may cause UNION public opinion to force the UNION government to give up the struggle. Arab military production capability was very limited, in fact other than bladed weapons only muzzle loading muskets could be made. Therefore they jointly undertook to seek better weapons from foreign countries to improve their striking power. Despite their collective hatred of all foreigners, they now hated the UNION even more and were determined to drive them from Mexico and seize the land they believed theirs by right. 

It quickly became apparent to the Arabs that they had a poor international reputation and with one exception no nation would sell them arms. The Chinese however were prepared to sell them the best guns they had, single shot breach loading rifles along with plenty of ammunition and dynamite for bomb making. The biggest problem was transporting the weapons from China. Eventually the first of what became a regular flow of caravans found a practical route across the wilderness of north Africa from China into Iraq. Although the flow of weapons would never be large it would enable the combined Arab forces to maintain a guerrilla war in Mexico.

By the autumn of 1868 both sides had completed preparations for resuming their conflict. The apparent peaceful interlude had even made the UNION wonder if Iran had decided not to continue the battle. This idea was soon shattered when on 10th November Iranian Revolutionary Guards, with the few remaining Mexican terrorists, launched a series of small scale attacks on a number of towns and villages along the border region. These attacks were simple hit and run assaults whereby  houses and other buildings were blown up and any police or even local inhabitants found were shot down with the sole idea of creating panic and terror. 

As soon as the first reports of attacks were received the UNION fire bases commenced interdicting fire on the few roads leading from Iran into Mexico and on all the border villages in Iran known to the Mexicans or found by reconnaissance. Additionally UNION Infantry battalions started sweeps in the areas between the terrorist targets and the border in attempts to cut off and destroy the terrorists as they made their way back to Iran. Most of the UNION sweeps came up empty handed but two were successful and caught Iranian terrorist groups, there were no survivors of these groups. Also the constant but irregular UNION artillery fire caused many casualties among Iranian civilians and much damage to roads and buildings.

The Iranians were generally pleased with the reports they received from the groups that returned and decided that the campaign would continue along the same lines but future groups would seek to penetrate deeper into Mexico before launching their attacks. Over the winter and into the new year both sides settled into a regular routine of hit and run attacks by the Iranians with UNION search and destroy missions and constant artillery barrages into Iran with each side seeking the defeat of the other by simple attrition.

By spring 1869 military planners in the UNION had started to consider alternative strategies perhaps even including a full scale invasion of Iran when without warning the greatest ever threat to the UNION suddenly burst on the scene. Settlers from the region south west of Denver rushed into that city in panic with reports that large numbers of Chinese troops had crossed the border into the UNION.