The Survey... like it or not.

      A number of the blogs I follow have been answering a list of questions of a rather slanted personal nature. So I'll follow suit.

1.        Favourite Wargaming period and why?

 Napoleonics,  hands down. Whether it is on the Continent or in North America (War of 1812), for colour, flash, and drama, it can't be beat. Almost any and every country could be included.

2.       Next period, money no object?

 Don't know - probably Sci-fi of some type

3.       Favourite 5 films?

 - The Lord of the Rings (When I read the books, my imagination takes me to the movies.)

 - Waterloo (I know it's a mess, but the masses of troops are great to see)

 - Michael Collins (I like it and Laim Neeson kicks butt in all his movies... cf. "Rob Roy"

 - Gettysburg (See my comment above about Waterloo, plus I have a buddy among the extras.)
 - The Fifth Element (What a roller-coaster ride! And what a vision of the future!!)
             Honourable mention: Glory, The Wild Geese, The Couch Trip, Forbidden Planet, Dune

4.       Favourite 5 TV series?
 For quite a while, I didn't watch much TV, so I've missed a lot:
 - Mythbusters (I love how they gleefully and innocently destroy so much. Jamie and Adam and the crew seem truely surprised that the science works. This is the REAL reality TV!)
 - Firefly (Traveller, my favourite RPG, is on the air!)
 - Castle (Good writing and interesting characters, even if it's not a real mystery.)
 - Babylon 5 (The aliens are really alien.)
 - Space Ghost, Coast to Coast (too weird for words and gleefully so. "So, this evening's guest, what are YOUR superpowers?")

5.       Favourite book and author?
 The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien  I reread it every so often and I want to buy land in Middle Earth.

6.       Greatest General? Can’t count yourself!!
 Myself? HA! I'd have to say U.S.Grant. Yes, he had numbers and industry, but no one else with those advantages was able to beat Marse Robert. Grant couldn't be defeated simply because he wouldn't be defeated.

7.       Favourite Wargames rules?
 Just about any set published by Iron Ivan. I'm waiting impatiently for their sci-fi set. I also like Shako, Mr. Lincoln's War, KoenigKrieg, Wings of War, Don't Give Up The Ship, and Warmaster.

8.       Favourite Sport and team?
 Next question please. I don't follow sports much, but I will watch hockey.

9.       If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?
 1180's; Assisi, Umbria, Italy; to meet my favourite military deserter, Giovani Bernedone, who called himself "Francesco" and whom we in English call "Francis."

10.   Last meal on Death Row?
Chicken Paprikash over shoestring potatoes, broccoli, pumpkin pie

11.    Fantasy relationship and why?
"No person... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself"
          (Amendment V, the Constitution of the United States)
          So could I have another 40 years with my wife?

12.   If your life were a movie, who would play you?
The point is moot, since it would be an animated cartoon.

13.   Favourite Comic  Superhero?
It's always been Captain America followed by Daredevil. Then Captain Spaulding ("The African explorer?" I hear you say.)

14.   Favourite Military quote?
"No battle plan survives contact with the enemy"  
                     Field Marshal Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke the elder

15.   Historical destination to visit?
The Waterloo battlefield

16.   Biggest Wargaming regret?
I don't think I have one.

17.   Favourite Fantasy job?
Tough question! Historical consultant, I think.

18.   Favourite Song, Top 5?
Now it gets REALLY weird...
You Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond - Taj Mahal with Gravity (a 4 tuba jazz/blues ensemble backing a real live bluesman, how can I resist?) (The same album has this gem: You Ain't No Streetwalker, Honey, But I Do Love The Way You Strut Your Stuff.)
Hole Hearted - Extreme
Finlandia - Jean Sibelius, composer
March: Washington Greys - Salvatore Graffula, composer
The Bells of Rhymney - Pete Seeger (I like John Denver's version best.)

19.   Favourite Wargaming Moment?
I suppose it was the time I tied up my friend Bill's entire wing of a French Napoleonic army with two units of Swedish light cavalry.

20.   The miserable Git question, what upsets you?
Intolerance
not being heard
stupid people with stupid ideas having a huge podium to expound them from
my own stupidity and intolerance
loud people with nothing to say who say it anyway... loud
seeing the train wreck and not being able to do anything about it
Know-it-alls

Okay, that's enough. Return to your lives, Citizens. I promise photos in my next blog!

A Blast at Fort Erie



The pun is disgustingly obvious, but the event was a good one. A few glitches here and there, but it wouldn't be a human event if something didn't happen. I'm glad that the "somethings" were not irreparable.

We didn't take too many photos at the event, so I've been gleaning photos from various sources, whom I hope are not offended by my inclusion.

We arrived and set up on Friday afternoon and watched as the Fort Meigs, OH/2nd Artillery crowd unloaded their new 6-pounder. On Saturday morning, the first exercise was the "surrender" of the fort to the US Forces. I sat that out due to a sleepless night. Drill followed later and then came the afternoon battle which was supposed to be Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. Nobody told the Crown forces that the US won at Chippewa and Lundy's Lane was a bloody draw with the US withdrawing to the Fort. Such is life.


One of the "wings" of the US forces in the afternoon. I happen to be at the extreme right in white and a forage cap,
although Andy and I and the rest of the colour party were in the centre of the line.

The US line advancing. Lots of friends here. Paul (Morocco leather sword baldric), Dan (extreme left), Robby
(barely seen just behind Dan), Jeff ( to the right of Paul, glasses, front rank), Ben (in forage cap, behind Jeff)
Steven (green pantaloons, "16" on forage cap), Jonesy (second rank to the right of Steven, white trimmed shako),
Mark (next to the right, in the sergeant's sash, Ed from Erie, PA (far right and to the rear in sergeant's sash.
There are more people I know here as well.     I like this photo.



That same unit gives fire! Mark has moved to the right guide position and Robby is second from the right.



Through the haze of battle and the fog of war, you can see Andy and I serving as colour guards,
on either side of the national colour.

Meanwhile, back at the camp... Carrie and Katie  prepared a wonderful meal for the troops
and our camp - Pork chops, steak, potatoes, sauteed onions, apple crisp, peach pie,
and "smoked" apple pie (too much heat) ... all over a campfire!
As the Pennsylvania Dutch say, "We ate ourselves full."
(Carrie is Mark's wife and Katie is our daughter.)

In the evening's battle which is a reenactment of Drummond's assault in August of 1814, the big event is the explosion of the fort's powder magazine. Professional pyrotechnicians take care of that as well as the small explosions, simulating hits by round shot and even the skipping of the ball. The charges are covered by peat moss, which looks convincing but covers the neighbourhood -and neighbours- in flying crud. Robby went out with the 16th/21st as a skirmisher starting outside the fort. Andy and I provided the infantry guard for the 6-pounder. Since the US was still in possession of the gun by the end of the battle, we succeeded in our mission! The dance opened with the fort's 18-pounder firing a shot, followed by the 6 and the smaller fry (1,2, and 3-pounders). Once the artillery stopped, Andy and I took to the parapet and fired at the British entering the fort. Of course, it poured rain at one point. The wind blew it into our faces, but we kept our powder dry and got off a dozen or so shots. I misfired a few times, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

The 22nd Infantry, the Canadian Volunteers, and the 19th Infantry (with a guest star from the 1st Rifles)
prepare to repel the assault. 

The "lighter" artillery on the curtain wall. There's a huge ditch in front of them which the Crown forces secret
 ladders in order to scale the wall.



A favourite photo! Perfect timing!
Robby takes a shot while his file buddy, Dan -looking very earnest and businesslike- waits. Mark,
 as sergeant, waits behind them. Dan and Mark are part of Treat's Company of the 21st Infantry
and wear the marks of that elite unit - the red-over-white hackle and the double chevrons on the arm.
Mark's rank is shown by two white epaulettes and a crimson/red sash.



 The Magazine goes up!
This photo is a few years old, but this year's blast was impressive as well.

As I said, we didn't take many photos ourselves this time; We were having too much fun!

On Sunday, there was a morning battle before the American withdrawal from the fort. There was some excitement when a soldier's musket cracked when he fired it. He was taken to hospital, but I don't have any more information. In the evening battle, a few of Caldwell's Rangers stepped into a wasp's nest and the entire unit suffered at least one sting. I was stung by a yellow jacket myself in an epic struggle over the garbage bag in our camp. My knee acted up so I stayed in camp on Sunday, meeting and greeting visitors and answering questions from visitors from Chicago, Texas, and Germany among other places.

Next, the encampment at Port Stanley this weekend, Backus Mills in September, and Queenston Heights in October. Also upcoming while I'm on holiday, at least one game!

Just a note...

    As I am completely involved in enjoying my holiday (and as many of you know, selfish fun can be a full-time endeavour), this is just a quick note on recent reenacting events or "Full scale modelling/wargaming" if you prefer.

    The last weekend in July saw three of the four of us (Katie had to work) at the Festival of the Fourty in Grimsby, ON. There were a few reenactors, a "mini-militia" which saw the forces of the Republic scatter befor the mighty charge of little kids with small Union Jacks, a parade, and a number of musket demonstrations. I had to back out of the parade due to pesky heat issues. But the event was fun. Beth was the surgeon's assistant and was quite helpful in showing rubber leaches to the kids. She said she learned a lot from the surgeon, who also reenacts the American Civil War and serves under the reenacting name "Captain Spaulding." (The three Goldsworthy's all shouted "The African explorer?" If you don't get it, you need a refresher in your weirdness orientation. Then complete the following quote: "I always hunt elephants in Alabama, 'cause in Alabama...") Here are some photos Beth took of the event.


Our good friend, Lieutenant Watson, soon to be made captain, leads the US contingent in to the park after the parade. I guarded the entryway and presented arms to the pipe band, the Crown forces, and the US forces.



The end of the parade. I've caught up by now. Our friends, Mark and Carrie stand between Robby and I.

Mark is the sergeant for Treat's Company of the 21st US Infantry.



A closer view. The Crown forces were well represented by Regulars, the Lincoln Militia, and some Royal artillery.

   Last Saturday, Rob, Beth, and I (Katie was on the job again) were joined by Andy at Old St. Thomas Church in St. Thomas, ON for "the Family Fun Day" in the church yard. Jeff was called away by a emergency and couldn't join us, so we went anyway and had a good time. We demonstrated the muskets, discussed the uniforms, showed period handicrafts (embroidery, cord making, weaving, etc.), and played with period toys like ball-and stick, pick-up sticks, whirly-gigs, and the Jacob's Ladder.


Here Robby and Andy fire the muskets. Since we had three reenactors and two muskets, I was nominated "Sergeant-of-the-day" and used Andy's sword. Andy wore his AWI uniform, the regimentals of the Kings's Royal Regiment of New York, his American War of Independance reenacting unit. ("The Yorkers")
[This photo is from the St. Thomas Times-Journal]

We are preparing for the big event at Fort Erie this weekend. So far the weather seems cooperative - warm, sunny, dry, and not to hot. (God willing, it'll stay that way.) The next weekend sees us at Port Stanley, ON's "Harbourfest" where the King's Company (d/b/a the 17th US) will camp with the Royal Scots and have a skirmish or two between demonstrations and explainations. The tall ship, St. Lawrence, will be in harbour and should be something to see. It'll be a busy holiday, but I might even get a game or two in.

"If I built a fortress... around my heart..."

I hope Sting will forgive me the horrible quoting.
My son asked if we could try a War of 1812 game where one side held a fortification and the other had to take it. I agreed and Martin joined in. We used a variation on the Iron Ivan This Very Ground rules, as we had before. (We planned to play a Dieppe game, but that will wait.) Out came the Styrofoam castle and the 1812 figures. Martin added some First Nations warriors and some French cannon and howitzers, which made the difference in the game. Robby and Martin led the US troops in an attempt to take my British-Canadian fort. We had to declare that the walls of the fort were sloped earthen embankments, a la Fort Erie or Fort MacHenry. Since we inadvertently left our Natives and Glengarries at home, my newly painted 1860's Canadian militia were impressed as uniformed Canadian militia of an earlier generation. Martin's 30-Year's War civilian mob was added as citizen's militia, including a preacher to harangue the folks.
The howitzers did nasty execution once they got the range, knocking out my single cannon. Once the US Rifles disposed of the Native warriors, the mounted rifles ran around the fort and held the attention of the civic militia while I shifted some regulars to better hold the back wall. The killing blow was the ascent of the slope by the US Rifles and another unit of US Regulars. My light infantry and regulars outside the walls were overwhelmed by weight of numbers, although they did some serious damage to the advancing US forces. By the end, I had to surrender the fortification.



The US line-up including 4 field pieces and 2 howitzers



The Crown's fortress.
The red thread denotes a road into the castle/fortress.
The wall were declared to be sloped rather up-and-down walls.



A close up of the US forces lining up in the forest. (the blue thread.)



The Canadian lights and the British line outside the fort.
Since we forgot the Glengarries, the green uniforms are either 1860's troops
or British Indian Department/US militia sharpshooters.



The lone Crown cannon... soon to be taken out by the howitzers.



The Select Embodied Militia garrison one of the towers.



A US howitzer, borrowed from the French army.
Nasty, deadly, and inaccurate.



The civic militia watches the back door. The preacher preaches from the floor.
(Martin! Don't make fun of preachers! You may need one for your funeral some day!)

The summer jacketed US infantry (the 17th?) advance down the road.



More of the US advance. The gun in the right foreground had taken damage
and failed morale for the turn. (the red bingo chip)

 

The Crown gun, after the damage. The green chip means the unit has been "activated."

 

US rifles vs. Native warband in the woods. The warband didn't last all that long.
The blue bingo chip indicates smoke and reloading status for the unit.

Uniformed State militia! Note the formation and the fact that
they ARE in formation.



Not much formation left just a few moves later.

The Kentucky Mounted Rifles begin to dismount and assault the back of
the fort. It was a feint as it turned out, allowing the Rifles to scale the side slope.

 

The white jackets shake into line.

 

The civic militia receives regulars as seasoning. The preacher is now silent.

Well, I lost but I had a good time.

What's upcoming for miniatures at the Hamilton Road Games Group? Our Dieppe game is postponed until the Fall. More ACW. Another Tiger hunt. Thirty Years War for DBR. After that, who knows? (My family and I will be out of the loop due to reenacting commitments and such until September.) 'Til then, enjoy your games!

Following a tour of Europe and the Sub-continent...

Yeah, I wish!
     I've had little time to blog lately. Things got busy and as usual... life gets in the way of living.

In any event, some of my friends and I have been considering the grand questions in life, i.e. why are peanut butter and honey so good together? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? (Depends on whether you are Thomistic or Boneventurian... and those aren't factions in some stellar empire game.) Why is there air? What would happen if the British Empire intervened in the American Civil War?

      That last one made me think: "What figures would I use if we wanted to game that?" For our This Very Ground ACW variant, we use 25-28mm figs. Neither Crimean War or Zulu War figs would be appropriate. Need British troops in tunic and "quilted shako." Hmmmm. Old Glory makes troops for the Maori War in New Zealand! In Tunic and some sort of pork-pie, Kilmarnock bonnet! Could it be?

Since I was hoping to do some British regular troops as well as Canadian militia, I got some of the figures and painted a few up.

I think they'll do fine.



Line infantry command - staff sergeant, ensign, drummer, and officer.
Canadians or British regulars? Yes.



A better view of the ensign who started life as a bugler.
I added the sword to his left hand.



Rank and file. The blue facings denote Canadian militia.
I may get to Imperial regulars later.

 

Rifle regiment troops of the Canadian militia - bugler, officer, & sergeant
When I opened the bag, I thought the officer was an artilleryman! His sword
and scabbard look to me like a trail lever.

Up the Rifles! Ready to defend Windsor or Montreal or to march on Albany!

I'm rather pleased. The figures are in the right uniform and equipment. The Old Glory castings are somewhat funky and angular, the forage cap isn't exactly exact, and some are missing things like cartridge boxes. (If I were a better man, I'd add them from scrap pieces.) However, they are the right period and uniform and if such stuff bothers you, you need not play at my table... or you could just bear up under the stress.

I don't intend to raise an entire army, just some units to use in a "What If..." game at times.

What if... you come by and join in a game someday?

The Game Is Afoot!!!

{It's the last day of school; exams are written and it's time to celebrate a bit. Before Robby goes off to see Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter with a friend this evening, we wanted to write another chapter in the Sherlock Holmes vs. the SA adventure. Here goes...}

Holmes, Watson, Inspector Lestrade, Constable Timmins, and the valiant Gladstone crept silently into the cavern that housed the tomb of Holgar the Dane. The trail of the stormtroopers holding Isabelle von Tromp had been perilous and they felt they had lost it more than once. But now, she and her captors were near. Holmes could sense it!

Watson, Gladstone, and Holmes - each armed with pistols and bullet-proof vests (Gladstone had neither, of course.)
{Old Glory figures, but I don't know where Gladstone came from.}

Holmes could hear Isabelle struggling with her captor, Lt. Rustheiser, as he forced here down the steps from the balcony over the cavern. Piles of rubble lay strewn below them and Rustheiser was attempting to force the young woman to find her father's device which lay hidden in the cavern. Moving quickly, Holmes found a clue - a message scratched into the side of the tomb. (Finding this clue allowed an extra Dare! die for Holmes during this game, giving him a better chance of solving any other Dare! locations.) Watson and Lestrade moved across some of the rubble and in doing so drew the fire of Unteroffizer Schultz and another stormtrooper who watched from the balcony. The shots either missed or did not penetrate the bullet-proof vests or steel armour the two detectives wore. Holmes took cover behind the statuary that loomed over the tomb, where he encountered a swarm of rats. He and Gladstone fought the rodents with club and tooth and nail and sent them running, although Holmes sustained a nasty bite from the vermin.
     Rustheiser continued to force Isabelle to cooperate, but she refused, until both Rustheiser and the stormtrooper with him fell to the accurate fire of Watson and Lestrade. The Unteroffizer and his companion continued to fire on the detectives, but with no results. Constable Timmins fell to the fire of the stormtrooper on the floor of the cavern before he fell to Lestrade's fusillade. Holmes ran past in order to aid his companions, recovering Timmins' rifle as he went.
    Shultz ran down the balcony stairs to recapture Isabelle, only to fall to the sustained fire of Lestrade, Watson having moved to take the rifle from Holmes. The stormtrooper on the balcony cowered as Watson fired as accurately as he could in the dimly lit cavern. The brownshirt fell wounded a few moments later.

"Begin your search here, Fraulein!" (Two blue bingo chips = two wounds)

"Here, Watson! You can make better use of this Lee-Enfield than I!"



"Solve the mystery, Fraulein! I'm not so gentle as Herr Leutnant!"
(Two Brownshirts down, a third remains on the balcony.)



Rustheiser and his uniformed thug in better days

    Schultz also fell wounded in the pile of rubble, and Isabelle solved the Dare! point, finding the Knife of Holgar Danske, a valuable artifact. Holmes moved to solve two other Dare! markers, finding a case containing an ordinary pistol and then the Professor's device! Holmes couldn't resist fiddling with the item, which malfunctioned and became inert. Lastly Holmes discovered a Disappearing Belt among the statuary at the other end of the cavern. With that, the adventurers gathered up the wounded Timmins and beat a hasty retreat with Isabelle, the ancient artifiact, and the Professor's malfunctioning device. Rustheiser and Schultz were left groaning in the rubble, wounded but alive.



Lestrade and Dr. Watson

 

Robby places Holmes and Timmins in place for the beginning of the game.
We were using an RPG mat that permitted us to draw "terrain" and wipe it
off at the end of the game.

 This was "Chapter II" of the "Where Heroes Dare" game Robby and I started on Father's Day. We did play a third chapter immediately... but I can't chronicle it just now. I've got a few things to finish. There will be more later.     

Where Heroes Dare - - - on Father's Day

June 17, 2012 - my son says to me: "Dad, we haven't played a game, just you and me, for a while. Let's play one on Sunday." So we did, once he got back from archery practise. (I didn't go in order to take my daughter to work.) We dragged out one of our favourites, "Where Heroes Dare", a pulp fiction adventure game by Iron Ivan.

1936 - Berlin - Sherlock Holmes and his associates have been hired and encouraged by the Foreign Office to find the daughter of Professor Von Tromp, who is engaged in vital research for the War Office. It is feared that she will be captured and used as a hostage for leverage against the professor. The trail has led the intrepid sleuth and his friends to a disused warehouse in Berlin. They are being chased by SA Storm Troopers who wish to find the young woman as well. The game is afoot!

Robby's team consisted of Sherlock Holmes (Super Sleuth, Astounding Mind, with a revolver and a bulletproof vest), Dr. John Watson (revolver and bulletproof vest), Inspector Gregory Lestrade (Two custom pistols and bulletproof vest. Lestrade's abilities include firing a pistol in each hand with +1 shot for each), Constable Smith (rifle and bulletproof vest) and Watson's bulldog, Gladstone.
     I ran a team of SA Storm Troopers (originally German Zeppelintruppen): Lt. Rustheiser, Sgt. Schultz, Sturmmann Weber, and Sturmmann Vogel, all equipped with SMGs and bulletproof vests.
The setting was an abandoned warehouse in a more seedy section of Berlin. A large stack of wooden packing crates (-3 cover) took the centre of the building. A pile of smashed crates and other rubble (-2 cover) was set next to it. The terrain chart called for a stream, which made no sense, so the stream became 36" of collapsed ventilation conduit that had fallen to the floor, providing -2 cover to any on next to it, but no cover if you stood on top of it. The game took place at night, so any firing required spotting first.

Holmes quietly led his team into the darkened warehouse.

The warehouse. The red bingo chips are Dare! Encounters, rolled for when solved by a character.



The Consulting Detective and his intrepid team from Scotland Yard. Watson is obscured by Holmes, but Gladstone
eagerly peeks out from Holmes side. 



The Storm Troopers. They are "Great War" figures of Germans with SMG's painted as Freikorps in the inter-war years.
I've got my eye on true Stormtroopers from Pulp Miniatures.



The Storm Troopers find a Clue! Now the Sturmleiter gets an extra die for solving encounters!

Holmes and company moved quickly to the centre of the building. The SA split into two teams to cover the   centre with their weapons and to do some solving. Their leader solved a Dare! location and received an extra die for solving further Dare! locations. Watson and Lestrade traded shots with Schultz and Weber, but no one was wounded due to the armour. Lestrade could fire 6 shots a turn! (RoF for pistols is 2; add +1 to each for custom weapons and he put out more lead than a Stormtrooper with an SMG!)

Holmes in the lead,  using the fallen HVAC as cover.



The Astounding Mind of the Consulting Detective allowed them to avoid a land mine AND to discover a
Weird Science artifact (the green bingo chip Holmes is standing on) - a Belt of Invisibility! (provides -4 cover
for the wearer! Sweet...)

 

Watson and Lestrade trade shot in the dark with the SA.

Holmes, Gladstone, and the Constable split off during the shooting, and solved two Dare! locations - avoiding a land mine and finding a Belt of Invisability! The SA NCO vaulted the fallen conduit and solved a Dare! point himself, finding the Professor's daughter hiding in the stack of crates. At that, Holmes, Gladstone, and the Constable rounded the corner. Holmes and Gladstone dashed to stop the SA man from taking the young woman, while the Constable fired his rifle. The Unteroffizer took a wound, but he was able to shepherd the Professor's daughter over the conduit, and begin to run her off the board. The Sturmleiter discovered a hidden tunnel, but left it alone to command the withdrawal of his team with the young woman, who was their prize. Watson and Lestrade continued to fire and Gladstone charged!!!!


NCO Schultz takes charge of the Professor's Daughter (a Copplestone Casting figure)

 

The Constable reloads, Holmes runs, but is outdistanced by the fearless Gladstone!

 

Gladstone leaps the obstacle to attack Vogel. I've never seen a bulldog leap, so maybe it was more of a
"fearsome-clambering-over-the-rubble" on the dog's part.
Either way, Gladstone bit his opponent, bit him real good.



Rustheiser moves to assist/take credit for the capture. The small d10 shows he has an extra die for solving Dare! encounters for this game.

  

Watson vs. Weber - lots of blocking terrain and in the dark.

 Holmes and company must continue their quest, not knowing where the SA have taken the young woman. That's for the next chapter of the story. Robby and I decided to play out 3-4 chapters and chronicle them here. So you'll have to wait for the next thrilling installment!