Someone has blundered....

The Remnants of an Army by Lady Butler

...and I am that someone.  I recently received an email about my recent piece in Miniature Wargames Issue 411 from Mr. Andrew McGuire.  The piece was a scenario for "The Men who would be Kings" ruleset based around the battle of the piquets which took place at the beginning of the Little Inkerman battle.  Mr. McGuire wrote;

"I just wanted to make a small correction to Conrad Kinch's article on adapting The Men Who Would Be Kings to the Crimean War in his Little Inkerman article in MW 411.

In his order of battle, Conrad refers to the British 95th regiment as the 95th Rifles, and gives them the rating of sharpshooters. This would be applicable to the 95th regiment of the Napoleonic Wars, but not to that of the Crimea, as the 95th became the Rifle Brigade in 1816, when numerous regiments were disbanded, and the regimental number 95, along with many others, became vacant. It was reassigned to a newly raised regiment in 1823, as the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot. This is the regiment which fought as part of the 2nd division in the Crimea, and has no connection to the 95th Rifles. 

Two battalions of the original 95th's successor regiment, the Rifle Brigade, served in the Crimea, but not at the engagement described in the article."

He is, of course, absolutely right.  Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.  This is a case where if I was thinking I would have realised that I was making a blunder, but I saw the regimental number and my brain temporarily went on holiday.  As it happens, I would argue for keeping the sharpshooter (4+ shooting) rating for the 95th on this occasion.  There are two reasons, the real reason and an after the fact rationalisation. The rationalisation is that the lads on the field only represent a small proportion of the regiment deployed as skirmishers and therefore is quite possible that they were the best shots. The real reason relates to game play; in the scenario two British players have to compete to hold off the Russian columns for as long as possible while vying with each other to earn a Victoria Cross.  The 95th are deployed far back on the board (because that was where they were stationed) and will therefore have little chance to fire in the early portion of the game.  This would handicap their player, so I rated them as marksmen so that when they did get to fire they would be more effective - which leveled the playing field a bit and made it more of a contest. 

Thank you very much to Andrew for writing and pointing out my mistake.  It's rare to get specific feedback on anything, so I was very glad to get it. 

Prof. Spencer on lessons learned from the Boer War

I've been laid up recently and so spent rather more time listening to YouTube than I would usually.  Thanks to Rob Enfield of British Muzzleloaders, I came across the Western Front Association which has put a series of lectures on the Great War (including ones of the Eastern Front!) up on YouTube. There is some really fascinating stuff there, by genuine  historians working in the field,  and their channel is well worth a browse. 

A look at Marshall Petain's Great War service. 

By the way, if you enjoyed the lecture on the Boer War, the same author has an article on the differences between British and Boer marksmanship, which you can read here. 

Now, if you'll excuse me I had to go and see what blunder I should commit next. 

Turkish Command

The Pasha taking his ease, accompanied by pipe bearers

The most recent additions to the Conrad Kinch Red Fez repertory company are these Strelets Crimean Turks which were painted for me by the ever talented Tamas.  These fellows will be doing duty in my Turkish Crimean army and my 1880 Egyptian army. 

The view from the rear

One of the joys of Strelets sets is the additional "character" figures that you get mixed in with the more usual stuff.  I think they really add something to a table layout and make it look a bit more alive. 

I really like the depth of colour Tamas has managed to 

get on the frogging and epaulets. 

Recent CCTV footage from Kinch Court

In other news, in a previous post I wrote that my physiotherapist was asking me to twerk as part of my therapy.  Physio is going well and I am improving.  It's always a slow process and I am very lucky to be seeing a doctor who has managed to bring on such improvement.  

So I was lying when I wrote that he asked me to twerk.  Or to put it more correctly, I was joking and exaggerating for comic effect.  The exchange I described in my blog was accurate, right up until that point. Twerking has no therapeutic purpose in dealing with balance injuries and I do not include it in my daily exercises. 

I do it mainly for fun, the many health benefits and of course, to set a good example for the children.  

The local Imam giving it socks

The last figure that Tamas did is this fella, an Imam who will be seeing service in the Crimea, Egypt and possible Afghanistan before too long.  He's the first non-Christian clergyman I've added to my collection of miniature clerics.  

I wonder who will be next?

A balm for the toy soldier lovers soul

Sir Colin Campbell

I went on a trip to Wales recently to see Old John and it was time well spent.  The food was good, the company excellent and it was a trip absolutely stuffed to the gills with toy soldiers. Amongst them were these Crimean British troops, which I bought from John Preece last year, but only managed to collect a few weeks ago. 

The Gaaaaards! 

I would go on, but I think these fellas stand on their own merits.  They are Stadden 25s, tall and elegant and I think a reasonable match for many 1/72 figures. But even if they weren't how could you resist these visions of shiny toy soldier loveliness? 

A think red streak tipped with steel

Having looked at these, I've actually scrapped by planning for a 1/32 Highlander colour party. I will have to repaint the kilts and copy John's approach here. I had been trying to paint tartan as it is and John has just managed to do so much more with just a suggestion of colour.  Every figure is a master class in composition. 

The damned rankers 

These will hopefully give me the kick in the pants required to get weaving and play some more Crimean games. I shall have to photograph them properly soon. 

Met this friendly fellow out and about 

He was rather demanding. 

French guns - Fixed at last

I have finally put right a previous mistake where I had accidentally painted some French Crimean guns blue. They are now a more traditionally French green, which is handy as the original was embarrassing and led to awkward questions at parties. 

I have erased this appalling blot from the Kinch escutcheon. You may go about your business.

Looking for direction

In times of trouble

Life is a magnificent thing, but often confusing and contradictory. One finds oneself looking for answers and not be quite sure where to find them. Usually the thing to do is to make the best of it and try and muddle on as decently and honestly as one can.  

Recently, I found myself find with a problem and after much reflection, I had to ask myself one question. 

Gun artillerymen in kepi 

(image tealeafed from Bob's blog)

What would Bob the Painter do? I'd been puzzling over the conundrum of what colour to paint my French Crimean era artillery and I was having some difficulty coming up with some straight answers. I had consulted my usual first port of call, Wilkson Latham's "Weapons & Uniforms of the Crimean War", but I could find nothing of particular interest there. My Osprey collection covered the British and the Russians, so there was no help there either. 

However, to my mind the premier Crimean Wargaming site, is Bob's Douglas Miniatures - 20mm Crimean war. Bob has been painting a collection of vintage and recast old school 20mm figures for this Crimean project for the last few years and they are just lovely.  Painted cleanly and finished to a high gloss, they have a charm and simplicity all their own. 

Consequently, when ever I have a question as to how I should paint something Crimean, I turn to Bob's blog and see how the maestro has done it. 

French Artillery in shakos

(image halfhinched from Bob's blog)

Unfortunately, my painting time has been quite circumscribed of late, so what painting I get to do is late at night after work or class, while Mrs. Kinch and I watch an hour of something on the telly. I had saved some pictures from Bob's blog on my phone to refer to when I got a chance to paint my guns. 

My shiny new guns

However, as you've probably noticed some of the guns are in green and some are in a light blue, a fact which escaped a tired Kinch who painted the lot blue in a single sitting. Sigh.  I shall fix that when I have time. 

It just goes to show.  It doesn't matter how good the directions are if you don't read them properly. 

But the moral of the story is - hie thee to Bob's Douglas Miniatures - 20mm Crimean war blog. It is a treasure chest of beautiful things. 

French Cannon

Du Gourmand has been muttering about taking the French to the Crimea for a while now. Now as I'm reliably informed that the French may have had a few chaps accompanying Lord Ragans army, so I suppose I shall have to add some French to the collection eventually. 

I have a set of Strelets French artillery which comes with about fourteen or fifteen gunners and two guns. As my batteries are representational at best I only use three gunners per unit and needed to draft in some extra guns to make use of the extra figures. 

Rattling around the spares box were some italeri ACW artillery which are a reasonable match for French guns of the time. A quick coat of PVA later and these are heading to the painting table.

Egyptian Artillery

The whole damn battery

Inspired by Bob's Turkish artillery, I got myself a box of Strelets Turkish artillery.  These figures are for the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, but they'll do very well for Turkish artillery in the Crimea and Egyptian gunners in the 1880s. 

There's a very officious looking officer type with binoculars. 

An 1873 Krupp gun. 

This gun is suitable for Egypt in the 1880s, though I'm going to have to scare up another one from somewhere.  These boys will be issued British guns for the Crimea, but for later service I'll need another. I have had a look at Irregulars Really Useful Guns, but there doesn't appear to be anything suitable. 

As plastic soldier review points out these fellas with ram rods are not really required for the 1873 gun that comes in the set, but will do very well for the smooth bores used in the Crimea. 

Having painted these, I've come to the conclusion that blue isn't that much more difficult to paint than white, so I may use the rest of the blue spray I used on these chaps to undercoat some Turkish infantry in blue coats. 

The whole battery from the side 

Du Gourmand and I played a Tel el Kebir scenario recently, based the modifications in Mike Dippel's Kassassin scenario.  Not to shabby though I say so myself, though it does need further playtesting. These chaps will be seeing action there again. 

Turkish General

A commander of fellahin

One of the regrettable realities of life as a shift worker is that circadian rythmn is something that happens to other people. Strange periods of wakefulness come and go. A certain amount of time is spent staring at the ceiling while Mrs. Kinch snoozes in a demure and ladylike fashion and the cat snores at the foot of bed like a small cement mixed filled with pebbles. 

 

Not the neatest job in the world

It was during one of these periods of wakeness that I knocked this chap together.  My Turkish forces for the Crimea require a mounted general and I thought he would probably do for an Egyptian officer of the 1880s as well. I must confess that this conversion was not prompted by any really careful consideration, but more by the fact that I had left a biscuit tin lid on the bedside table. My basing box was on the lid and I'd forgotten that I'd chucked some figures in the box.  The fez came from a Waterloo 1815 Egyptian infantryman who was waving a clubbed rifle. The figure is from an Italeri Confederate cavalry set.  I think he might be supposed to be Jeb Stuart, but he has defected to the Ottomans now. 

Note the tassel at the rear

I trimmed the fez from the first figure and then sliced off the top of General Stuarts head. A dab of superglue and the conversion such as it is, was done.  I have added a green stuff tassel to the fez and filled a few gaps. 

Not too shabby for half an hours work and all without waking the slumbering Mrs Kinch or the cat. We shall see how it takes paint.

 

Crimean Vineyards

A work in progress

One of the eternal joys of young Du Gourmands friendship is that he regularly tells you that such and such a thing cannot be done.  This is usually followed by a ridiculous bet.  Considering the trouble he's gotten me into in the past, I should be more careful, but this one is one of the more innocuous examples of the breed. 

We are hoping to play some Crimean games shortly, specifically the Alma.  The village of Bourliouk was to the front of the Allied advance and there were a number of vineyards there that gave some cover to the infantry as they crossed the river.  I was using the Memoir '44 hedgerow rules for them and Du Gourmand told me that I should use the hedgerow terrain pieces that I had already made up.  

I responded I would do nothing of the sort, to which he countered that there was no practical way of representing a vineyard in 1/72 on a wargames table. The result was a bet that I could not produce eight hexes worth of vineyards. Which is why I have been gluing matchsticks to lollypop sticks this evening using a very simple tutorial put out by the Flames of Wars chaps. 

A portrait of Kinch shortly after

The bet in question is for a bottle of wine, as befits the subject matter,  but I had to put some extra conditions on the wager.  You see in the past, young Du Gourmand has arrived at my home bearing a bottle of "Cream of Cork: Anglo-Irish Fortified Wine". 

The British are a fine people blessed with many gifts, wine making is not one of them.  Ireland has many a peculiar genius, but ours are more suited to the consumption rather than to the production. To say that this bottle was the most evil thing that has ever crossed my lips is an understatement.  I don't think I actually managed to finish my glass, nor to be fair, did Du Gourmand.  I keep the remainder in the drinks cabinet as a monument to man's hubris. 

This wine was so bad, I can not actually find a single image of it on the Internet.  It has been struck from the record.  

With that in mind, I've put the following conditions on the bet. It must be red. It must come from France and come in a bottle with a cork in it. 

Even so, I fear that I have only challenged Du Gourmand's ingenuity. 

Strelets Zouaves

The Zouave by Van Gogh

There is something about a Zouave that provokes a romantic response.  My tastes in painting tend more to the Academic or the Romantic, than post Impressionists like Van Gogh, but I still like this piece.  My old mucker Vincent however did not care for his work - I think it captures the essence of the man in a way that photography simply can not. What strikes me most about the painting is the insouciance of the soldier and the gorgeous rich red of the uniform.  

I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of the largesse of a fellow wargamer, who passed on a box of 1/72 Strelets plastics to me. This box not only contained more British infantry than I could shake a stick at, but a massive bag of Frenchmen. 

Not only that, but a goodly number of them were already painted.  So much so in fact, that I've been able to add five fully fleshed units of infantry to my Crimean French forces.  The freemasonry of the hobby working its magic yet again.

I needed one or two extra figures to finish of one unit of Zouaves, so I added these fellows myself. 

 

Sergeant & Officer

I used the marching figure as an officers as Strelets set comes with a lot of acrobatic Zouave types, throwing themselves around as is their wont. I decided that this slightly more staid fellow would do for an NCO.  

I notice from my photograph that some strands of static grass have attached themselves to the officers kepi - drat, drat, drat. 

A crawling Zouave - very inconspicuous I think you will agree

These chaps were painted in an off fashion to match the figures my friend had sent me.  He primes everything in black and then adds a drybrush of white over the top. The result is to give some shading and so forth.  He makes a far better fist of it than I, but I think you can see some of the results here. 

Sneaky

Much like our pal Van Gough, my friend paints his figures in a deliberately expressionist style which I think works very well for such brightly coloured gentry as these zouaves.  I have done my best to replicate his style - I will add some pictures of his figures very shortly - though I did experiment with adding some shading to the trousers.  I painted these Scab red and then built up a series of highlights using translucent Vallejo acrylics. 

A wounded Zouave & a bugler

Normally I'd chop up a figure to use as a casualty marker, but it would be silly to do so, when the Strelets have gone to the bother of including a wounded figure. Given that I should be studying right now and that my next wargame will almost certainly involve the Hundred Days, there is absolutely no reason why I should be painting Crimean War French. 

Perhaps he's just done his ankle while he was leaping about?

It just goes to show that Homo Ludum Bellum will almost always find a reason to paint the last thing he should be painting.  Still it was a nice distraction to put a brush to some figures.  These took me about two hours all told, most of it spent on the couch with Mrs. Kinch.  I've found that I've lost the knack of watching television without something to do with my hands. 

Crimean Reinforcements

1ieme Battalion Zouaves

I took delivery of some reinforcements from Mark for the Crimea today. Proper photographs of his handiwork will have to follow, but for the time being some snaps from my phone will have to do. These are the first battalion Zoauves, who cut up rough at the Alma if memory serves.  Mark did some of them with green turbans, which shows up in some of the visual reference. We were having a chat about it and Mark reckons it might be a 19th century fashion statement, though apparently the green turban is the privilege of the Haji. 

4ieme Chasseurs a Pied

The Chasseurs are a little more sedately dressed than our North African friends, but still have that light infantry dash about them. They look rather well don't you think? Hopefully we shall see them storming the Alma before too long. 

Kuban Foot Cossacks

I really rather liked the flag with these fellas. These are a particularly piratical bunch and as a result of some of the poses, a somewhat smaller unit that I usually field. I used the old Gilder trick of using larger bases. The gentlemen on the right with knife for example is taking up the space usually reserved for two other ranks. 

Ingermanland Hussars

These I believe are the poor fellows who ended up facing up the Argylls at Balaklava.  They look rather dressy and I think they might end up on temporary transfer to my Napoleonic forces. 

A thin streak of red...

I have a unit or two of the Argylls, so they may be coming to grief sooner rather than later. 

No. 60 Don Cossacks

These are Strelets Don Cossacks, nice figures and quite robust. Again, suitable for Napoleonics as well as the Crimea. To be honest, the amount of overlap between the two periods is substantial. 

Kuban Foot Cossacks

These chaps will be doing duty as Russian light infantry in Napoleonics and in the Crimea. They could probably be found running around the 20th century if one was so minded, but I think we might steer clear of the grubby petrol age for a little while longer.  

Kuban Foot Cossacks

Another unit of Cossacks. These fellas give me the final light unit required for Borodino and some of the other large Russian scenarios.  Actually depending on how you want to rate 'em, they could pass for either light infantry or militia.  

On the whole, the Crimean project is looking rather healthier for this injection of manpower. 

The Battle of the Alma

The Colours Advance of the Scots Guards at the Alma by Lady Butler

Young Du Gourmand and I have been discussing using Command & Colours Napoleonics to play games set during the Crimean War for years now.  What changed last week was that I finally got off my backside and did something about it.  I put together a draft scenario for the British sector of the Battle of the Alma. Du Gourmand and I played it three times and came to that classic conclusion that crops up in most research be it under graduate or otherwise. 

"More research is needed."

I rated the British infantry as standard Napoleonic British infantry, albeit with three blocks and a three hex range because of their shiny new rifles. The reason for them being reduced to three stands is that the Russians seemed to operate in larger units, so any given acreage would contain more Russians than Britishers.  The British plus one to shooting when stationary also remained. 

The Light Division were treated as British Rifles from Command & Colours Napoleonics.  British generals and horse artillery were also treated as they were in Command & Colours Napoleonics. 

The Russian artillery, generals and cossacks were treated as written, but the Russian infantry began with five blocks and ignoring one flag.  We did not use the Mother Russia rule.  

The important thing to note here is that the British infantry have a range of three hexes and the Russian infantry have a range of two.  This results in a sort of dance where the Russians struggled to get close to the British lines without getting shot to pieces and the British shied away from the Russian juggernaut.  With only three stands, a British unit that was charged by a full strength Russian unit was in serious trouble. 

After the first playthrough, we knocked the Russian infantry back to four stands because five stands was just too powerful. We might play around with the idea of four stand British infantry and five stand Russians, but the game seemed to work with three and four. 

The Battle of the Alma by Horace Vernet 

(note the size and extent of the slope) 

Normally when designing a Command & Colours scenario, hill hexes are only used to indicate changes in elevation, but the problem with the Alma is that the Russian positions are on a slope, which calls for what is effectively a multi-level hill in Command & Colours terms.  This led to the unusual situation that the Russian player was concealing troops uphill from the British player and then counter charging his men as they took the redoubt.  The point is not that that shouldn't have happened, but that the British player should have been able to put those units under fire before hand. 

This is going to prove to be a tricky circle to square - though Du Gourmand rather rashly promised that he would write me a scenario based on the French sector if I manage to get it right.

Harriers

A flight of four Airfix Harrier GR 3s 

These are being used for my "Bombers over Sulphur River" game at the end of the month.  I will have to get a wriggle on and get some paint on them though. 

The last thing a Mig pilot ever sees

Each plane has had a five cent join glued to the bottom, which serves as a point of attachment for the rare earth magnets mounted on the Corsec Engineering flight stands. These are really something and allow the plane to be manipulated in any way you like. Very, very impressed with these. 

Action shot!

"Bombers over Sulphur River" is an old Games Workshop game that we used to play in school. Best described as Space Orks meets the Dambusters, it's good fun and I've adapted it for the Cold War. Harriers will be standing in for the Ork Fighter Bommaz. 

Whoosh!

I intend to get some crocodile clips to allow me to attach black puffs of flak to the flight stand. That will allow me to mark hits without damaging the model. This is an unusual game in that I haven't had to play test it at all - the game itself is rock solid, I'm just changing the set dressing. 

(click to embiggen)

And lest you think that I've forgotten the horse and musket completely, the Crimea came to mind again on Sunday. I was wandering through the Cathedral after service when I came across this fellow.  One rarely thinks of logisticians, but they also serve. 

It still remains a fact though that I've yet to be entirely satisfied with the portrayal of logistics in a toy soldier game. Someday perhaps. 

Train Wreckers and Ghost Killers

I've been pottering quite a bit in the last few days as I took delivery of some figures that needed basing and there were other jobs that needed doing around the house. With that in mind, decided a new audiobook was in order and I picked up a copy of the above from British Audio Books. 

I've had a sort of passing interest in Korea ever since I found a copy of Sir Anthony Farrar Hockley's "The Edge of the Sword" in the school library as a boy.  It was a fantastic book and one that I unreservedly recommend. I still shiver at the description of the North Korean prisoner of war camp. I would not last long in such a place. 

But back to Train Wreckers et al, this is an audiobook recorded by a chap called Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot (top marks on that name, except the middle bit) and the text is available for free online. The audiobook version is £4.99, about the price of a pint.  The book itself can be divided into two sections, the first describing the exploits of 41 (Independent) Commando of the Royal Marines and the second, which covers the foundation, training and later operations of the South Korea Marine Corps. 

On the whole, I found the book interesting - probably my favourite section was about Task Force Drysdale, a battalion strength polyglot group of Royal Marines, US troops and South Koreans who attempted to relieve the beleaguered US forces at Hagaru-ri during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. It had me eyeing my Second World War Commandos with a speculative eye. 

Recommended. 

Not likely to be returning President Putin's calls 

Since we've had "Afghanistan II" and I notice with a sinking heart that we seem to be gearing up for "Crimea II Electric Bugaloo", it seems appropriate that I took delivery of my first lot of Crimean troops this week. These deserve better pictures, but Mark has done a great job and very quickly. The troops are from Old John over at 20mm Nostalgic Revival. supplemented by a few Strelets plastics. They will be doing duty as Napoleonic Russians and as Crimean types. 

I sketched a few ideas after Eucharist on Thursday and it looks like the Alma may be our Crimean scenario. I'm in two minds - I've always been torn between it and Inkerman.