Armchair Dragoons Forums

News:

  • Origins Game Fair 2024 – featuring the Wargame HQ with the Armchair Dragoons – will be held 19-23 June, 2024 ~~ More Info here
  • Buckeye Game Fest will be held May 2-5, 2024, with The War Room opening on 29 April ~~ More Info here

News

Origins Game Fair 2024 – featuring the Wargame HQ with the Armchair Dragoons – will be held 19-23 June, 2024 ~~ More Info here

Recent Posts

1
Organizations, Vehicles, Equipment / Re: Tanks!
« Last post by bayonetbrant on Today at 07:01:52 AM »
the continual cycle of evolution of tank warfare - some specific anti-tank weapon followed by an adaptation to nullify it followed by some specific anti-tank weapon followed by an adaptation to nullify it

Drake chronicled all of this in one of his interludes in the original Hammer's Slammers book, way back in the '70s
2
Organizations, Vehicles, Equipment / Re: Tanks!
« Last post by Doctor Quest on Yesterday at 11:10:57 PM »
Well I guess we need better defenses against drones.

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/26/1247403968/ukraine-pulls-abrams-tanks-from-front-lines-russia-drone-threats

I wonder if we could mount a Phalanx on a tank?

Or Stingers.
3
Organizations, Vehicles, Equipment / Re: Tanks!
« Last post by Staggerwing on Yesterday at 09:54:50 PM »
Can a Hilux with a pintle-mount railgun or plasma rifle be far off?
4
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on Yesterday at 09:37:54 PM »
1356. On September 19, 1356, King Jean II of France (1350-1364), nicknamed "The good" for no apparent reason, was taken prisoner at the Battle of Poitiers by the English under Edward, the famed "Black Prince." It being the custom of the times, the royal prisoner was held for ransom to the tune of three million crowns, perhaps two hundred or three hundred million dollars today. Such an enormous sum could not readily be paid by the French treasury, which was never noted for its health. So the King Jean was sent to England for incarceration.
Now being a prisoner of war has never been easy. But after all, Jean was a king, and it was the "Age of Chivalry." So from the very first night that he was in English hands, Jean was treated precisely as he was accustomed to be being treated, like a king. Indeed, his "host," Prince Edward, personally waited upon him at table.
In England, the Jean was lionized by London society before being sent off to Lincolnshire to pass the time while his ransom was collected and paid. He was assigned a pleasant castle and guarded but lightly, having given his word that he would not escape. A man of honor, though little intelligence and no sense, Jean kept his word scrupulously. Not that his incarceration was particularly onerous.
Jean spent his time playing music, hunting, playing chess or backgammon, entertaining, and in similar diversions. He was well supplied with all of the necessities of life. His captors provided chests, cushions, tapestries, curtains, dogs, horses, falcons, wines, spices, sweets, and robes. Of course all of these items were of the finest quality. It is said that one robe had been made from 2500 selected skins (presumably squirrel). In addition he was provided with a small staff, as befit his status as a prisoner. His personal attendants included two chaplains, one secretary, a clerk, a physician, a maitre d'hotel, three pages, four valets, three wardrobe men, three furriers, six grooms, two cooks, a fruitier, a spicer, a barber, a laundryman, a minstrel, a jester, and one of his sons. And so in such fashion did Jean do four years of "hard time." Finally, in 1360 the Peace of Bretigny was concluded, bringing to an end the current phase of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453).
The treaty permitted Jean to return to France, in order to assist in the collection of his ransom, though it stipulated that his young son had to remain behind to stand surety for him. So off Jean went to France, where he discovered that the royal finances were in abysmal shape. He immediately set about raising money. But never seemed able to accumulate much, probably because he was accustomed to spending more than he had.
Meanwhile, the royal son, son over in England, was growing tired of being in a cage, albeit a gilded one. So one fine night off he slipped, escaping to France. The prince's escape shocked the sensibilities of the chivalrous (One wonders what the merely intelligent thought). Jean, stunned that his son would break his word, did what any man of honor would do; He immediately returned to England and imprisonment.

1478         Giuliano de' Medici, c. 28, assassinated by the Pazzi while at mass, and Francesco Pazzi, Jacopo de' Pazzi, & Cardinal Francesco Salviati lynched by the Florentines for murdering him

1640. attempt to break a French siege of Arras in July failed when Spanish troops in the relieving army refused to support an attack by two Italian regiments, because they felt that their honor had been insulted by being relegated to a secondary role in the battle.

1777. Sybil Ludington, 16, makes a daring ride to alert Connecticut militiamen of a British raid

1805  Cyrus Eaton, the proverbial "few Marines", one USN medic, and some mercs storm Derna, Libya

1815. Although the frigate action is an iconic symbol of the age of fighting sail, of approximately 670 men who commanded frigates in the Royal Navy during the great sea wars of 1793-1815, only about 4 or 5 percent ever had the honor of doing so in a frigate-to-frigate action.

1952. While steaming at night in formation 700 miles west of the Azores, USS Hobson (DD 464) and USS Wasp (CV 18) collide as Hobson crossed the carriers bow from starboard to port and was struck amidships, breaking her in two. Hobson and 176 of her crew are lost, including her commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. W. J. Tierney.


5
Organizations, Vehicles, Equipment / Re: Tanks!
« Last post by bayonetbrant on Yesterday at 04:42:36 PM »
Not exactly tanks, but still entertaining

6
Intel Dump / Re: The PODCAST now known as "Mentioned in Dispatches" !
« Last post by bayonetbrant on Yesterday at 11:36:40 AM »
Mentioned in Dispatches Season 12 Ep 11 ~ BGF & Origins Look-Ahead
Ardwulf comes back to the show and brings fellow Origins GM Lee along with him, to talk about our Origins events and Buckeye Game Fest, interspersed with some guidance and advice about how to register for and attend most game conventions out there.


https://www.armchairdragoons.com/podcast/s12e11-1/

7
Intel Dump / Re: Wargame Design Studio News Thread + Latest Sale Titles
« Last post by rahamy on Yesterday at 08:37:10 AM »
New post is up today with the lead elements in the 4.08 round of updates for our Napoleonic Battles series. Big post, lots to read!

https://wargameds.com/blogs/news/napoleonic-battles-4-08-updates
8
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by bayonetbrant on April 25, 2024, 10:46:12 PM »
1932. American diplomats at the 1932 Geneva Disarmament Conference proposed the universal abolition of tanks, which met with approval from Army Chief-of-Staff Douglas MacArthur, who argued that tanks were “offensive weapons” not needed by the United States.

what a putz  ::)
9
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on April 25, 2024, 09:32:01 PM »
404   BC   Athens surrendered to Sparta, ending the Peloponnesian War

1740. During the reign of Frederick the Great (1740-1786), a newly appointed captain in the Prussian infantry had to purchase his company’s weapons from his predecessor, at a cost of some 800 thalers, about five years’ pay for a senior lieutenant.

1792         First execution by guillotine in France.  Nicolas Jacques Pelletier, Fench highwayman, the first man to date Mdm. Guillotine

first Russian plan to invade India from Central Asia was developed in 1801 when, inspired by a suggestion from French First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, the rather dim Tsar Paul (r. 1796-1801) ordered a Cossack expedition of 30,000 men to be organized; after causing some concern in London, the operation was cancelled when Paul was assassinated and succeeded by his son Alexander I (r.1801-1825).

1915     78,000 British & ANZAC troops undertook an amphibious landing at Gallipoli.  While the Gallipoli operation was brilliantly conceived, it was very poorly planned and badly executed. One important reason for the poor planning and execution was Anglo-French contempt for the enemy.
The Turks had done poorly in recent wars with Italy and a coalition of Balkan powers (1911-1913), losing badly and being forced to cede vast territories. But these wars had given the army a solid cadre of veteran officers and troops. And the disasters also sparked a major reform of organization, training, and tactics. In addition, the Turks sacked most of their older commanders, so that going into the World War their generals were on average were in their 40s, rather than 50s and 60s, as was the case with British and French commanders.
At the time, the British credited their defeat largely to the influence of “German advisors” on the Turkish Army. But the German military mission to the Turks had hardly arrived before the Ottomans entered the war, and had little influence on the Gallipoli operation. In fact, the primary role of Generalleutnant Otto Liman von Sanders, the chief German advisor was negative; on the eve of the landings he insisted on positioning nearly a third of the available Turkish forces in the wrong area.
After the campaign, Hamilton would inform a Parliamentary commission, “I did not know, to tell you the truth, that they were nearly as good as they turned out to be.” That is, the Allies violated one of the oldest rules of war, “Never underestimate the enemy.”

1932. American diplomats at the 1932 Geneva Disarmament Conference proposed the universal abolition of tanks, which met with approval from Army Chief-of-Staff Douglas MacArthur, who argued that tanks were “offensive weapons” not needed by the United States.
10
Intel Dump / Re: Consolidated Games-on-Sale Thread
« Last post by bayonetbrant on April 25, 2024, 03:52:01 PM »
big sale w/ Avalon Digital on Steam thru Monday

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/36173274/view/4035857237846603275


bunch of SGS games at 50-60% off, plus some others