The Militia is embodied...

 It Lives!!

Like Frankenstein's monster, this mixed bag blog lives once more. Like General MacArthur after long years' absence, it has returned. Greetings to my old friends of the blogosphere, the toy soldier aficionados, the wargame chappies, the kit bashers and scenery makers. Greetings!

I will not bore you with the vicissitudes of life that explain the absence of Cpt. Al Front and his tin men. Instead, this new season brings news of those fervent patriots of the Maltovian National League (MNL). As you will remember, the shaky peace between Maltovia and Lovitznia means that neither side can afford to let down its guard for long. So, as the last snows melt, the militiamen of the MNL have been embodied for their annual field exercise:

 In their role as part-time skirmishers, they train in open formation to the front of regular Maltovian line infantry. 

The MNL's efforts are watched by that hero of the nation, Maj. Vlasov, and the ever-optimistic militia commander, 'Buller' Szlod:

Steaming gently near the staff car is the beer wagon, with, it is hoped, sufficient beer for the militia and regulars.

Behind lies yet another ancient fortified town, Sblad. Yet another disputed area on the Maltovia-Lovitznia border. No one can be sure when the next clash will happen.

Stay tuned. This news was brought to you courtesy of the aptly named smoke, 'Balkan Mixture' . Recommended by old buffers everywhere.

 ANNOUNCEMENTS:

I have added a few new publications to the side bar here. My latest Pen & Sword book is: Amateur Armies: Militias and Volunteers in War and Peace, 1797-1961. Published in October 2020, it is a rattling rush through some interesting volunteer and militia units, the societies they sprang from, and the wars they took part in. Those wars include: the French Wars, the War of 1812, the second Boer War, the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Spanish Civil War, and the defence of Castroist Cuba, 1960-1961. Click on the image for the link.

I have also started self-publishing again, with a new biography of Dorothy Eckersley, the female 'Lord Haw Haw'. That booklet (paperback, 106 pp, illustrated) came out last month. It is entitled: Long Road to Berlin: Socialism, Stalinism and Nazism; Dorothy Eckersley's journey to German Wartime Radio. Click on the side bar image for a link.

Finally, I have just launched a history website-come-blog for anyone interested. It can be found here:

https://stephenmcullenallotmenthutbooks.org/ 

Initial...

...deployments.

Seconds out...first two rounds, of 15. In the Blue corner (US invaders):

On the right flank, a unit of US Regulars, an artillery battery, and a militia regiment.  Their objective is to make the town too hot for the British-Canadian forces. After more pondering, I decided to reduce the points value of this militia unit to 10, as opposed to the 15 of 'One Hour' rules.

On the left, the US commander has put in his two best regiments of foot. Their objective is to take the hill.

Meanwhile, the centre is taken by this unit of US militia. Unlike the other regiment of militia, this has better morale and training (as represented by the fact that some of the figures are in uniform), and so has an initial points value of 12. Their task is to secure the woodlands. Under 'One Hour' rules, only 'skirmishers' can enter woodland, so the militia of both sides have been classed thus. Interestingly, the scenario set-up has this large woodland separating the two objectives of town and hill. Added to the fact that the defending force must keep two units within 12" of each objective, this introduces certain constraints.

In the Red (British-Canadian) corner, a militia unit rapidly advances down the turnpike into the town, with our Provincial cavalryman hero scouting ahead:

Skirting the edge of the town is a unit of Provincials and one of Regulars:

While another unit of Regulars takes to the hill:

and militiamen infiltrate the wood:

The scene is set; here, an overall view of the town:

Out in the fresh air, we have been having stormy weather in Old England, with high winds, heavy rain, and temperatures down to 10oC. In my tiny greenhouse, courgette seedlings stand ready for better weather and deployment to the allotment plot:

Regiment...

... raised.

Short of a sixth unit for the next planned 'One Hour' game, I dug out some already undercoated 'Emhar' 'British Infantry, Peninsular War 1807-14'. These are very nice figures indeed, and a better hand with the paint brush could make a really fine job of them, whether as our noble lads (Irish - given the Peninsular ?) , or as Yankees:

While painting up the Americans, I came across this fellow:

He is a true veteran, and first graced my tabletop (the same table he is on here) sometime back in the early 1970s, sporting an even worse paint job, in gloss blues and greys. Of course, he is a figure from the Airfix Waterloo RHA set.  After years spent knocking around in an old sweet tin, then the last few years in a makeshift sand-pit, his loyalty has been rewarded. Now in the uniform of a Provincial cavalry regiment, he, too, will join the 1812 'One Hour'.

While doing this emergency painting, I had occasional ponders about the planned 'One Hour'. The core rules for all the periods covered are pretty constant, as one would expect, and therein lies the beauty of the system. However, thinking about 1812 and the initial invasions of Canada/British North America, I decided that assigning 15 points to every unit would be just too ahistorical. Militias played an important part on both sides. However, whereas the militias from Upper and Lower Canada performed well, the US militias (with some exceptions) performed very poorly indeed. The answer is, I think, to reduce their starting points value to 12, or even 10. Similarly, although the scenario has six units per side, the British-Canadian forces were very much outnumbered at the start of the war, so I  think one unit needs to go.

Recently, the crazed fuckwits that are the Islamists have been redoubling their murder efforts - in Egypt (against Christians), in the Philippines, in Kabul, in Syria, and, of course, in my homeland.  I hope the UK government ACTS.  

But, in the world there is still beauty and perfection:

Yankees...

.... in a tin.

Well, I found the invaders of 1812, in 20mm.  They were in Amsterdam. That is, in a biscuit tin with a nice reproduction of Amsterdam in the 17th Century on the lid. So, there are the militiamen:

Regulars:

And gunners:

However, I'm a unit short, so there will now be an interlude while I raise another regiment of foot...

Scenario 14...

... Static Defence.

From Neil Thomas' One-Hour Wargames.  This time, it's going to be a 'Horse & Musket' set-up, specifically the War of 1812 in 20mm.  First deployment by the 'Red' force, i.e., British and Canadian.  The 3'x3' playing area incorporates, a town, road, wood, and hill:

The defending force has to hold both the hill and the town, and must deploy 3 units within 12" of the hill, and 3 within 12" of the town.  Below:

the newly mobilised militia move up towards the town, while, below:

a Provincial regiment, and British Army regulars also move into position.

Now, where are the dam' Yankees....

One hour wargame...

... takes two months to finish!

OK, it actually took less than an hour, but it's two months since I posted on my 20mm Old School, One Hour, Bay of Pigs scenario.

As you may remember, I was using Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames' rules to play part of the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. Specifically, it was a version of the fighting that took place from the 'Red Beach' (Playa Larga) road to the old sugar mill of 'Central Australia'.  The invading Brigadistas, from the Cuban exile's Brigade 2506, were deployed to the north of the small town of Palpite, while the Fidelistas were attempting to push down the road from Central Australia, to collapse the left-wing of the Brigadistas landings. The road itself ran through impassable swamp lands.  So how did the One Hour version go?

The Brigadistas had 6 units: three infantry, two mortar, and an M41 tank. The Fidelistas fielded 7 units: one police battalion unit, two militia units, two regular army, a T34 tank, and a JS3 tank.  There is no option in the One Hour rules for air strikes, which, of course, proved to be one of the deciding factors in the Bay of Pigs. I thought about adding in a randomly, card-generated air strike from the Brigade's air force, and two from the Fidelistas' air force, but didn't.  That was probably the wrong decision. Similarly, I should, perhaps, have added in some limit on the ammunition available to the Brigade (another deciding factor).

The Fidelistas began their drive down the road from Central Australia to Palpite, led by the police battalion, followed by two units of militia:

And, ran straight into the fire of two forward deployed Brigade infantry units, plus that of the two mortars. The mortars have a range of 48", and can fire on any target under observation by friendly units. This was going to prove decisive, as the attacking police and militia soon found out:

As first the police, then the militia units began to crumble, and then the Brigade's M41 came out of cover to add to the mayhem:

The Fidelistas rushed forward the first regular unit, with T34 support:

And the M41 manoeuvred to take the armour threat under fire:

The Fidelistas found it hard to hit back at the entrenched, hidden Brigadistas, and soon both militia units were gone.  Realising the severity of the situation, the last regular unit and its JS3 support set out down the road. (I read, somewhere, that the Fidelistas did, in fact, have JS3s and that they were kept in reserve, and never needed).

But the mortars kept hammering the lead Fidelistas, and they, too, were soon off the board:

With just one unit, and the two tanks left (the T34 with 13 hits against it), it was time for a tactical retreat, and the Brigadistas were left in control of the field, having lost only one unit of infantry.

It's pretty clear that air strikes, and an ammunition limit, would have made an impact.  I'm not sure how that reflects on the One Hour rules, but it needs thinking about if I'm going to use them for modern games again.

I know it's two months since I've posted, but I haven't been entirely idle (idle, yes; entirely, no) during that time. Instead, I've been using leisure time to write this:

which will be available early next year.

The stage...

... is set.

Finally, finally, my 'Old School', 20mm plastics and Roco Minitanks 'Bay of Pigs' has come to the table. The original idea foundered on the apparent need for quite large numbers of figures, and a larger table than I have. However, I have, in my dotage, decided that I really don't have the time to build massive armies, or plan to build huge tables. Instead, I have moved to the approach encapsulated by the gridded wargame, and the 'One Hour' wargame.  So:

Above: this is the set up for the defence of the road to Playa Larga (Red Beach)by the anti-Castro Brigade 2506. The small town is Palpite, and in the far distance is the old sugar mill of 'Central Australia'.

Here are the Brigade 2506 paras in defensive positions blocking the road, with, below, one of the mortar teams that were so important for the Brigade.

And, below, the Fidelistas get ready for their drive against the beaches and the 'Yangui-backed' beach-head.  Below are the Fidelista PNR Police Battalion:

Supported by units of the Militia:

While. back at 'Central Australia', the Cuban regulars form up:

And that was enough for the moment: