York Army Museum

The UK government has, for its own low motives, adopted the language of war when discussing the subject of relations with our closest neighbours and most significant trading partners (there was a thought-provoking opinion piece on the subject by Simon Jenkins in the Guardian yesterday); it's all enough to make one wish that one wasn't interested in military history. However, I am indeed interested in the subject and so have been to York Army Museum, in particular to see their current D-Day exhibition before it closes.

The photo above explains the remit of the museum and they cover it in great detail. The regiments involved have antecedents dating back to the troops raised by James II to counter the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion in 1685 and in the subsequent three centuries been involved in actions across the world. I like a museum to have plenty of historical artefacts and here there are more than I can probably list: a standard carried at Dettingen in 1743, the flag that was raised over Quebec in 1759 to signify its capture by the British, the helmet worn by General Sir James Scarlett during the Charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaclava (complete with dents made by Russian sabres), many medals and decorations including several Victoria Crosses, and much else besides.

There's a captured Great War German Machine gun, which looks exactly as mine do in miniature:

There is also a British Vickers machine gun of the same period, which looks nothing like mine do in miniature and of which I have therefore not included a photo. Captured equipment comes from a variety of sources such as an Iraqi AK47 from the second Gulf War, back through German, Italian and Japanese arms of the second war, Russian items from the Crimea, French uniforms from the Peninsula and Waterloo and so on. There are also souvenirs of Britain's colonial wars including a Maori axe, making one feel that perhaps the conquest of New Zealand wasn't a fair fight, and sufficient Boer weaponry to make one feel that to make one feel that perhaps that wasn't a fair fight either. I found the following especially interesting:

I had a surrogate grandmother (after whom the younger Miss Epictetus is, in part, named) and I can remember her telling me about the street parties that were held in the East End to celebrate the relief of Ladysmith when she was a child; yes, I am that old.

Returning to my opening theme, the museum contains tributes to two members of predecessor units to the Royal Dragoon Guards who seem to me to personify why we should treat the posturings of Boorish Johnson with complete contempt. Firstly that old favourite of this blog Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart VC. It is worth remembering that this man who won Britain's highest medal for bravery and had various bits blown off serving the country in colonial wars and the First World War (and of course memorably pulled his own fingers off at one point) and spent two years as a prisoner of war in the Second World War, was in fact Belgian. Secondly, Captain Oates of Antarctic fame, a man whose quiet self-sacrifice of himself for others stands in stark contrast to our current Prime Minister's bombastic determination that everything and everyone should be subordinate to his own ego and ambition. 

The Arctic Summer of Edwin Drood

"In hell there is no other punishment than to begin over and over again the tasks left unfinished in your lifetime." - Andre Gide

It has come to my attention that I somehow contrived to publish the previous post without its concluding paragraph. Obviously I could go back and edit it, but, let's face it, anyone who is interested has already read it and anyway it would involve me in extra work. So, either supply your own witty and insightful conclusion or delight in my flouting of blogging conventions as you see fit.

I am actually quite keen to write about wargaming, it's just that there hasn't been any. I have however been to Recon, probably the nearest show to me. I ran into Bob, my fellow Holy League commander in the Ravenna game at Fiasco. This time he was playing in the Lance & Longbow's Battle of Lewes game and I experienced a certain amount of schadenfreude to find that he was doing as badly on his own as he did alongside me. He also revealed what happened to the missing dice, so that at least is one less thing for me to worry about. I mentioned a couple of years ago not being able to take a picture of Euan in his re-enactment gear, but was better prepared this year. Here he is with a couple of camp followers; I think his luck is in:

I have now been paid for my recent piece of work and so the show was a good opportunity for me to start spending, an opportunity that I passed up on. I have decided, pro tem at least, to finish off some existing projects before I start a new one. I realise that it's  not wargaming as generally understood. With that in mind I have been painting some more heavy weapons for the Great War. I don't know if I mentioned the way that 'Square Bashing' marks casualties before, but it's a bit odd, being done by the half base. "Why not just have twice as many bases, each of them half the size?" I hear you ask, and that seems a very fair question. I have approached the basing of infantry in the manner of the farmer with seventeen cows and three sons (one of whom he doesn't seem to like very much), but that still left machine guns and mortars. There are plenty in the pile - one of the advantages/disadvantages of plastic - so I've finished off a few. I've even scratch built a second 6" Newton mortar for the British. And the sum total of my spending at the show was a copy of the Osprey on the Whippet medium tank which was going cheap for some reason.

I have also broken with my recent habit and bought a wargaming magazine; indeed I bought two. I was tempted to go for the full set, but this month's Miniature Wargames has an elf on the cover and there are limits, dash it all. I bought Wargames Illustrated because it has an article on Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, previously featured on this blog, and Wargames Soldiers and Strategy has a scenario for Maloyaroslavets, previously, er, featured on this blog. WI also has an article on Medieval Sieges, and it is possible that buying some laser-cut MDF castle walls is the way that the money ends up getting spent. I have quite a large collection of siege weapons, which have very rarely seen any action.

Sir Adrian Paul Ghislain Carton de Wiart VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO

A short while ago I included in the blog a fictional cover for the equally fictional memoirs of the, well you get the picture, fictional Brigadier Ben Ritchie Hook. The cover was based on that for the actual biography of the very real de Wiart on whom the character of Ritchie Hook was previously based by Evelyn Waugh.

de Wiart is on the far right

I downloaded a copy of de Wiart's autobiography on to my kindle and am about a third of the way through. He is currently in command of an infantry battalion in the trenches and has already lost several body parts, mostly in action against the Mad Mullah. Normally I would wait to review it until I had finished it (hint - it will undoubtedly appeal to all wargaming readers of this blog; Russian spambots and Elkie Brooks' greatest fan perhaps less so), but the BBC website today contains a brief article on the man which I thought I would draw to your attention.

For completeness can I also mention that anyone who hasn't read Waugh's 'Sword of Honour' trilogy in which Ritchie Hook features heavily should also add that to their reading list. If there is a better work of fiction that came out of World War II then I'd like to hear about it (maybe 'Catch-22'?) and it is surely Waugh's masterpiece. The television series starring Daniel Craig overly condensed the story although the BBC radio adaptation of a couple of years ago wasn't at all bad. I've never seen the television version starring well known wargamer Edward Woodward.

Mostly Marignano

James has explained the Marignano game on his blog (which I am assuming you read - and if you don't then certainly should) and last night it got under way. Peter took the thankless task of attacking as the Swiss against the dug-in French troops of James and me. It was a playtest of the scenario and one must reserve judgement until we are finished, probably in early January. However at this early stage I would suggest that the Swiss chance depends on making good use of their march cards and rallying back UI at a steady pace. Turn one ended on a double with one Swiss march card unturned; that might prove costly. One question for the playtest is how many captains the Swiss need for their pike blocks. Whatever is decided the exisitng commanders on either side have not performed well so far. The commander of the attacking forlorn hope declined to cross the earthworks with his valiant halberdiers - subsequently destroyed by counter-attacking French pikemen -  and the commander of the French light cavalry screen left his men abruptly to pay a visit to the king, although a frosty reception saw him sent straight back to the front line. We resume next week for turn three.

The right sort of Halberdier commander

I haven't got anywhere with my refight of Tewkesbury. I have painted up eight bases of Levy Bow, two of Levy and one of Retinue Bow (all bases are 40mm square and have four figures on them) only to find that I am still short of Levy Bow. Not only that, but I have completely denuded the enormous pile of unpainted plastic of all suitable figures. I shall paint up some more Retinue Bow and they will have to be demoted for this battle. Also on the painting table are some Roman auxiliary cavalry, plus yet more civilians to provide a bit of colour.

Me at my painting table

 And to finish, some Sam Cooke.