Buckeye Game Fest will be held May 2-5, 2024, with The War Room opening on 29 April ~~ More Info here
91
Intel Dump / Re: Whats on Your Table?
« Last post by JudgeDredd on April 02, 2024, 03:50:05 AM »Big battle coming up. Hammerin' Sickles in Longstreet Attacks
92
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by Sir Slash on April 01, 2024, 10:44:29 PM »I heard he liked her cause she had an ass like a JS-2. At least that's what Konev told me.
93
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by bayonetbrant on April 01, 2024, 02:06:18 PM »1945 Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov threatened to have the “field service wife” of First Guards Tank Army commander Mikhail Katukov arrested by Smersh as a spy because the general was spending so much time with her he was neglecting his duties.
that's an awesome anecdote right there
94
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on April 01, 2024, 01:21:01 PM »1715. During Louis XIV’s long reign (1643-1715) approximately 80-percent of the officers in the French Army were noblemen.
1879. During the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, which lasted about seven months, the British Army in Zululand, which never amounted to more than about 15,000, including colonials and native troops, inflicted over 500 floggings.
1865. Battle of Five Forks, Lee's line of communications is severed
1936. The Wehrmacht's 26th Infantry Division was quite possibly the most "hard luck outfit" of al! time. Raised as one of the "First Wave" divisions in 1935-1936, during the initial expansion of the German Army, the unit was recruited in Wehrkreis XXI, around Cologne in the Rhineland, and bore that city's famed cathedral as its emblem. It campaigned in France m May and June of 1940, and then spent some time on occupation duty in Western Europe. In June of 1941 the division was assigned to the Eastern Front. At this point its troubles began.
Between June of 1941 and September of 1944, the 26th Infantry Division distinguished itself repeatedly in combat, almost always being in the thickest action, notably at Kursk and Kowel. But it also managed to be almost totally destroyed seven times in this period, each time being rebuilt. After its seventh brush with dissolution, in East Prussia in September of 1944, the division was rebuilt yet again, partially from surplus naval and air force personnel, as part of the "32nd Wave." Redesignated a Volksgrenadierdivision, the 26th was sent west. In December, it participated to the Battle of the Bulge, to be virtually exterminated yet again!
Rebuilt still another time, from old men and young boys, the division finally went down for the last time during the collapse of the Third Reich in the final weeks of April, 1945. In 46 months of combat, the 26th Infantry Division had been destroyed nine times, an average of once every 5.1 months.
1955. The Greek nationalist EOKA movement makes several bomb attacks against British facilities in Cyprus
April 4, 1941, Rear Adm. Claude Bloch, Commandant of the 14th Naval District, warned the garrison at Midway to expect Japanese surface, air, or submarine attack without prior declaration of war at any time, which raises the question as to why another island in his bailiwick proved so unprepared just eight months later.
2002 Simo "Simuna" Häyhä, 96, Finnish sniper in the Winter War, with 505 confirmed kills, nicknamed "White Death"
1879. During the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, which lasted about seven months, the British Army in Zululand, which never amounted to more than about 15,000, including colonials and native troops, inflicted over 500 floggings.
1865. Battle of Five Forks, Lee's line of communications is severed
1936. The Wehrmacht's 26th Infantry Division was quite possibly the most "hard luck outfit" of al! time. Raised as one of the "First Wave" divisions in 1935-1936, during the initial expansion of the German Army, the unit was recruited in Wehrkreis XXI, around Cologne in the Rhineland, and bore that city's famed cathedral as its emblem. It campaigned in France m May and June of 1940, and then spent some time on occupation duty in Western Europe. In June of 1941 the division was assigned to the Eastern Front. At this point its troubles began.
Between June of 1941 and September of 1944, the 26th Infantry Division distinguished itself repeatedly in combat, almost always being in the thickest action, notably at Kursk and Kowel. But it also managed to be almost totally destroyed seven times in this period, each time being rebuilt. After its seventh brush with dissolution, in East Prussia in September of 1944, the division was rebuilt yet again, partially from surplus naval and air force personnel, as part of the "32nd Wave." Redesignated a Volksgrenadierdivision, the 26th was sent west. In December, it participated to the Battle of the Bulge, to be virtually exterminated yet again!
Rebuilt still another time, from old men and young boys, the division finally went down for the last time during the collapse of the Third Reich in the final weeks of April, 1945. In 46 months of combat, the 26th Infantry Division had been destroyed nine times, an average of once every 5.1 months.
1955. The Greek nationalist EOKA movement makes several bomb attacks against British facilities in Cyprus
April 4, 1941, Rear Adm. Claude Bloch, Commandant of the 14th Naval District, warned the garrison at Midway to expect Japanese surface, air, or submarine attack without prior declaration of war at any time, which raises the question as to why another island in his bailiwick proved so unprepared just eight months later.
2002 Simo "Simuna" Häyhä, 96, Finnish sniper in the Winter War, with 505 confirmed kills, nicknamed "White Death"
95
Intel Dump / Re: Wargame Design Studio News Thread + Latest Sale Titles
« Last post by rahamy on April 01, 2024, 08:08:39 AM »New WDS game of the week has been announced, read all about it in todays blog post:
https://wargameds.com/blogs/news/game-of-the-week-april-1st-7th
https://wargameds.com/blogs/news/game-of-the-week-april-1st-7th
96
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on March 31, 2024, 07:40:39 PM »1187. Prince Arthur, Duke of Brittany, nephew to Richard Lionheart, possibly murdered by his Uncle John, 1203
1671. HMS Sapphire (36), Cptn. John Pearce, run ashore at the Isles of Scilly by Cptn. and 1st Lt. to avoid capture when 4 sail sighted and was wrecked. They proved to be friendly and the officers were subsequently sentenced to be shot for cowardice.
1822. The Massacre of Chios: Ottoman troops slaughter the rebellious populace, raising Western sympathy for Greek independence
1854. Commodore Matthew C. Perry and Japanese officials sign the Treaty of Kanagawa, opening trade between the U.S. and Japan. The treaty also provided protection for American merchant seamen wrecked in Japanese water
1889. The Eiffel Tower is opened to the public
1842. William G. K. Elphinstone (1782-1842), arguably the worst battalion commander in any of the armies during the Waterloo Campaign (when he commanded the British 33rd Foot), later went on to prove quite possibly the most inept officer ever to command an army, when, as a major general during the First Afghan War (1839-1842), he dithered on so heroic a scale tha, of his 4,000 troops and 10,000 camp followers, only one man escaped death or capture.
1914, some German troops were issued ready-made nooses in the event that they encountered franc-tireurs (irregulars) during the invasion of France and Belgium, with the result that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent civilians were hanged on the slightest pretext.
1945 Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov threatened to have the “field service wife” of First Guards Tank Army commander Mikhail Katukov arrested by Smersh as a spy because the general was spending so much time with her he was neglecting his duties.
1671. HMS Sapphire (36), Cptn. John Pearce, run ashore at the Isles of Scilly by Cptn. and 1st Lt. to avoid capture when 4 sail sighted and was wrecked. They proved to be friendly and the officers were subsequently sentenced to be shot for cowardice.
1822. The Massacre of Chios: Ottoman troops slaughter the rebellious populace, raising Western sympathy for Greek independence
1854. Commodore Matthew C. Perry and Japanese officials sign the Treaty of Kanagawa, opening trade between the U.S. and Japan. The treaty also provided protection for American merchant seamen wrecked in Japanese water
1889. The Eiffel Tower is opened to the public
1842. William G. K. Elphinstone (1782-1842), arguably the worst battalion commander in any of the armies during the Waterloo Campaign (when he commanded the British 33rd Foot), later went on to prove quite possibly the most inept officer ever to command an army, when, as a major general during the First Afghan War (1839-1842), he dithered on so heroic a scale tha, of his 4,000 troops and 10,000 camp followers, only one man escaped death or capture.
1914, some German troops were issued ready-made nooses in the event that they encountered franc-tireurs (irregulars) during the invasion of France and Belgium, with the result that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent civilians were hanged on the slightest pretext.
1945 Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov threatened to have the “field service wife” of First Guards Tank Army commander Mikhail Katukov arrested by Smersh as a spy because the general was spending so much time with her he was neglecting his duties.
97
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on March 31, 2024, 01:13:46 AM »1282 "Sicilian Vespers" begin: Palermitans massacre French occupiers, initiating a successful war to transfer the island to the Catalans
1512 at the Battle of Ravenna on April 11, 1512, all of the dozen Spanish regimental commanders present were killed in action, as were 75-percent of the mercenary German regimental commanders in the service of the victorious French, and the French commanding general, the youthful Gaston de Foix.
1639. Massacre of Aberdeen: Montrose's Scots Covenanters slaughter the Royalists
1844 Paul-Marie Verlaine, French poet who wrote "Wound my heart with a monotonous languor", d. 1896
1939 Batman, in "Detective Comics" #27
1945. Building a warship takes a long time, years in fact. But during the Second World War the United States, by adopting innovative techniques such as modularization, standardization, and prefabrication of many components, plus the adoption triple-shifts in shipyards, was able to realize a dramatic reduction in the time required to construct almost every type of warship.
Average Construction Time in Months
Type Pre-War Wartime
Battleship 36-42 29-39
Carrier 30-40 13-25
Heavy Cruiser 30-40 20-24
Light Cruiser 27-38 13-23
AA Cruiser -- 19-24
Figures are based on the difference in construction time between ships laid down in the mid-to late-1930s, when America began to rearm, and those laid down after 1939, when the possibility of war became increasingly likely. Ships that were deliberately delayed of completion in favor of more desperately needed types, notably aircraft carriers and destroyers, have been omitted.
Some ships were completed in amazingly short times The “record” in each category is:
Battleship Indiana (BB-58) 29 months, though the considerably larger Iowa (BB-62) required only 30 months
Carrier Franklin (CV-13), 13 months
Heavy Cruiser Pittsburgh CA-72), 20 months
Light Cruiser Amsterdam (CL-59), 13 months
AA Cruiser Atlanta (CLAA-51) and San Juan (CLAA-54), 19 months
Figures for smaller warships, notably destroyers and submarines, are harder to calculate, as so many were built, and some shipyards staged publicity stunts in which they completed a ship in record time, often in mere days, but under conditions that could not possibly have been sustained for serial production. Nevertheless, it appears that destroyers laid down in the late 1930s, when rearmament was just beginning, required some 13-24 months, while those laid down after 1939 could be completed in some 4-8 months, with the record apparently being the Thorn (DD-647), in about 135 days, from keel laying to commissioning. For submarines in similar circumstances, the figures appear to have been 14-24 months prewar, and as little as 5 months at the peak of the war. And merchant ships, especially Liberty ships or Victory ships, could be churned out in as little as a month, literally on an assembly line basis.
1512 at the Battle of Ravenna on April 11, 1512, all of the dozen Spanish regimental commanders present were killed in action, as were 75-percent of the mercenary German regimental commanders in the service of the victorious French, and the French commanding general, the youthful Gaston de Foix.
1639. Massacre of Aberdeen: Montrose's Scots Covenanters slaughter the Royalists
1844 Paul-Marie Verlaine, French poet who wrote "Wound my heart with a monotonous languor", d. 1896
1939 Batman, in "Detective Comics" #27
1945. Building a warship takes a long time, years in fact. But during the Second World War the United States, by adopting innovative techniques such as modularization, standardization, and prefabrication of many components, plus the adoption triple-shifts in shipyards, was able to realize a dramatic reduction in the time required to construct almost every type of warship.
Average Construction Time in Months
Type Pre-War Wartime
Battleship 36-42 29-39
Carrier 30-40 13-25
Heavy Cruiser 30-40 20-24
Light Cruiser 27-38 13-23
AA Cruiser -- 19-24
Figures are based on the difference in construction time between ships laid down in the mid-to late-1930s, when America began to rearm, and those laid down after 1939, when the possibility of war became increasingly likely. Ships that were deliberately delayed of completion in favor of more desperately needed types, notably aircraft carriers and destroyers, have been omitted.
Some ships were completed in amazingly short times The “record” in each category is:
Battleship Indiana (BB-58) 29 months, though the considerably larger Iowa (BB-62) required only 30 months
Carrier Franklin (CV-13), 13 months
Heavy Cruiser Pittsburgh CA-72), 20 months
Light Cruiser Amsterdam (CL-59), 13 months
AA Cruiser Atlanta (CLAA-51) and San Juan (CLAA-54), 19 months
Figures for smaller warships, notably destroyers and submarines, are harder to calculate, as so many were built, and some shipyards staged publicity stunts in which they completed a ship in record time, often in mere days, but under conditions that could not possibly have been sustained for serial production. Nevertheless, it appears that destroyers laid down in the late 1930s, when rearmament was just beginning, required some 13-24 months, while those laid down after 1939 could be completed in some 4-8 months, with the record apparently being the Thorn (DD-647), in about 135 days, from keel laying to commissioning. For submarines in similar circumstances, the figures appear to have been 14-24 months prewar, and as little as 5 months at the peak of the war. And merchant ships, especially Liberty ships or Victory ships, could be churned out in as little as a month, literally on an assembly line basis.
98
Saturday Night Fights & Tabletop Simulator / Re: General d'Armee 2
« Last post by bayonetbrant on March 30, 2024, 11:41:34 PM »Saturday Night Fights! ~ The Battle of Quatre Bras (2) for “General d’Armee 2”
https://wp.me/sae4WL-tn033024
https://wp.me/sae4WL-tn033024
99
Intel Dump / Re: The PODCAST now known as "Mentioned in Dispatches" !
« Last post by bayonetbrant on March 30, 2024, 09:04:43 AM »Mentioned in Dispatches Season 12 Ep 8 ~ Practitioner Wargaming
Brant is joined by Chris Weuve (chair of the Connections Online committee) and Pete Pellegrino, longtime professional wargamer and instructor. This slightly-rambling episode looks at some of the history of wargaming at the Naval War College, how and why it’s withered today, and what we can do about it.
https://www.armchairdragoons.com/podcast/s12e8/
Brant is joined by Chris Weuve (chair of the Connections Online committee) and Pete Pellegrino, longtime professional wargamer and instructor. This slightly-rambling episode looks at some of the history of wargaming at the Naval War College, how and why it’s withered today, and what we can do about it.
https://www.armchairdragoons.com/podcast/s12e8/
100
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on March 29, 2024, 05:56:43 PM »61 BC Pompey the Great hitched elephants to his triumphal chariot, but when the procession reached the walls of Rome, he found that he had to switch to the more conventional horses, because the beasts were too big to pass through the gates
1686, an English regiment of the foot totaled about 600 officers and men, and if at full strength annually received in pay from King James II £10,922 12s 6 d, today perhaps £15.9 million based on average earnings.
Each regiment consisted of a staff of eight officers and specialists, plus ten companies, of which the colonel was also captain of the first, while the lieutenant-colonel and major might also command their own companies. Companies comprised three officers, five NCOs, a drummer, and 50 private soldiers.
Staff Pounds Shilling Pence
£ s d
1 Colonel 0 12 0
1 Lieutenant-Colonel 0 7 0
1 Major 0 5 0
1 Chaplain 0 6 8
1 Surgeon 0 4 0
1 Surgeon’s Mate 0 2 6
1 Adjutant 0 4 0
1 Quarter-Master and Marshal 0 4 0
Total for Staff 2 5 2
Each of Ten Companies
1 Captain 0 6 0
1 Lieutenant 0 4 0
1 Ensign 0 3 0
2 Sergeants @ 18 d each 0 3 0
3 Corporals @ 1 s each 0 3 0
1 Drummer 0 1 0
50 Privates @ 2 d each 1 13 4
Total 2 15 4
So total daily pay for a full regiment, including 8 d a day for the colonel as commander of the first company, came to £29 13s 6 d. Although the lieutenant-colonel and the major might also commanded companies, they had to settle for the same 6 d that ordinary captains earned.
By the way, under existing military regulations, the colonel and most other officers were allowed a percentage of any accounts that they were required to handle, so their actual income was higher than what is indicated here, even without the possibility that they were engaged in less licit skimming.
Of course, the private’s two pence (“tuppence” -- about £12.60 today) was subject to deductions for uniforms, rations, and even arms and equipment, but on average he probably made out at least as well as a common agricultural worker. Agricultural wages, which were seasonal, were usually about a penny a day when there was work, and might rise to 1½-2 pence during harvest time.
1805 French fleet under Pierre-Charles Villeneuve sails from Toulon.
1899 Born Lavrenty Beria, Chekist, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Stalin's executioner, executed, 1953
1942 Barents Sea: British light cruiser 'Trinidad' torpedoes herself
1945. During World War II about a quarter of the approximately 100,000 women who served with the Yugoslav partisans died in action.
1686, an English regiment of the foot totaled about 600 officers and men, and if at full strength annually received in pay from King James II £10,922 12s 6 d, today perhaps £15.9 million based on average earnings.
Each regiment consisted of a staff of eight officers and specialists, plus ten companies, of which the colonel was also captain of the first, while the lieutenant-colonel and major might also command their own companies. Companies comprised three officers, five NCOs, a drummer, and 50 private soldiers.
Staff Pounds Shilling Pence
£ s d
1 Colonel 0 12 0
1 Lieutenant-Colonel 0 7 0
1 Major 0 5 0
1 Chaplain 0 6 8
1 Surgeon 0 4 0
1 Surgeon’s Mate 0 2 6
1 Adjutant 0 4 0
1 Quarter-Master and Marshal 0 4 0
Total for Staff 2 5 2
Each of Ten Companies
1 Captain 0 6 0
1 Lieutenant 0 4 0
1 Ensign 0 3 0
2 Sergeants @ 18 d each 0 3 0
3 Corporals @ 1 s each 0 3 0
1 Drummer 0 1 0
50 Privates @ 2 d each 1 13 4
Total 2 15 4
So total daily pay for a full regiment, including 8 d a day for the colonel as commander of the first company, came to £29 13s 6 d. Although the lieutenant-colonel and the major might also commanded companies, they had to settle for the same 6 d that ordinary captains earned.
By the way, under existing military regulations, the colonel and most other officers were allowed a percentage of any accounts that they were required to handle, so their actual income was higher than what is indicated here, even without the possibility that they were engaged in less licit skimming.
Of course, the private’s two pence (“tuppence” -- about £12.60 today) was subject to deductions for uniforms, rations, and even arms and equipment, but on average he probably made out at least as well as a common agricultural worker. Agricultural wages, which were seasonal, were usually about a penny a day when there was work, and might rise to 1½-2 pence during harvest time.
1805 French fleet under Pierre-Charles Villeneuve sails from Toulon.
1899 Born Lavrenty Beria, Chekist, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Stalin's executioner, executed, 1953
1942 Barents Sea: British light cruiser 'Trinidad' torpedoes herself
1945. During World War II about a quarter of the approximately 100,000 women who served with the Yugoslav partisans died in action.