Armchair Dragoons Fall Assembly
20-22 October, Cary NC
Recent Posts
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History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by Sir Slash on Today at 11:59:08 AM »If I remember correctly, that was the same storm that blew the Spanish Govenor's (Of Louisiana) Invasion Fleet heading to Pensacola all over the Gulf. The third or fourth hurricane that hit his forces in a row.
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History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by bayonetbrant on Today at 10:50:19 AM »1780. HMS Thunderer (74), HMS Phoenix (44), HMS Barbadoes (14) foundered in the West Indies. 13 Royal Navy ships foundered in the great hurricane over 8 days.
Mother Nature is undefeated....
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History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on Today at 10:35:16 AM »1789. The annual manpower loss through disease and desertion in the French Royal Army on the eve of the Revolution was approximately 11.5%, roughly 20,000 men out of 173,000.
1813. At one point during the War of 1812 Brig. Gen. James Winchester, who had served with some distinction during the Revolutionary War, was placed in command of a brigade of Kentucky militiamen. This created some problems, since the general was from Tennessee.
Aside from mistrusting Winchester because he was "a stranger," as Pvt. Elias Darnall observed, the Kentuckians considered the general supercilious, officious, and conceited. In short, he was "generally disliked."
While the brigade was camped in the wilderness, Winchester reserved for himself a certain log which he preferred to use when relieving himself. One particular night some of the Kentuckians covered the general's favorite log with a porcupine skin, which caused him some discomfort for a time. But worse was to come.
One night some of the militiamen carefully sawed the general's log almost through. As Pvt. Darnall put it, when the general "went to use it in the night, it broke in two and let his generalship, uniform and all, fall backwards in no very decent place."
1780. HMS Thunderer (74), HMS Phoenix (44), HMS Barbadoes (14) foundered in the West Indies. 13 Royal Navy ships foundered in the great hurricane over 8 days.
1890. Desertion among American troops on the frontier during the late nineteenth century was so common that one Secretary of War suggested it might be the best way to populate the West.
1822 Rutherford Hayes, general and President born. Having been through about 50 engagements during the war, Hayes resigned from the Army on June 8th. U.S. Grant, who knew something about soldiering, said that Hayes’, “conduct on the field was marked by conspicuous gallantry as well as the display of qualities of a higher order than mere personal daring.” Among the presidents, only George Washington and Zachary Taylor saw more combat service than Hayes, and he was wounded more often than any other president, at least five times, once nearly fatally; in the course of the war four horses were killed by enemy fire while he was riding them.
The ranks of the 23rd Ohio provided the nation with a number of notable soldiers and public servants. Its first commander was William S. Rosecrans, who later led the Army of the Cumberland with considerable distinction. The regiment’s first deputy commander was Eliakim P. Scammon, later a noted diplomat. Joining the regiment as enlisted men, and later rising to become officers were James M. Comfy, later a prominent ambassador, Stanley Matthews, later a justice of the United States Supreme Court, and William McKinley, who later became president.
One of the most colorful characters to come out of the 23rd Ohio was Hayes’ orderly, Pvt. Billy Crump. Perhaps the most skilled forager in the war, Crump once returned from a 20-mile excursion having “recruited” 50 chickens, two turkeys, a goose, some two dozen eggs, and nearly 30 pounds of butter for the general’s mess, all of which were rather untidily draped about his horse.
1813. At one point during the War of 1812 Brig. Gen. James Winchester, who had served with some distinction during the Revolutionary War, was placed in command of a brigade of Kentucky militiamen. This created some problems, since the general was from Tennessee.
Aside from mistrusting Winchester because he was "a stranger," as Pvt. Elias Darnall observed, the Kentuckians considered the general supercilious, officious, and conceited. In short, he was "generally disliked."
While the brigade was camped in the wilderness, Winchester reserved for himself a certain log which he preferred to use when relieving himself. One particular night some of the Kentuckians covered the general's favorite log with a porcupine skin, which caused him some discomfort for a time. But worse was to come.
One night some of the militiamen carefully sawed the general's log almost through. As Pvt. Darnall put it, when the general "went to use it in the night, it broke in two and let his generalship, uniform and all, fall backwards in no very decent place."
1780. HMS Thunderer (74), HMS Phoenix (44), HMS Barbadoes (14) foundered in the West Indies. 13 Royal Navy ships foundered in the great hurricane over 8 days.
1890. Desertion among American troops on the frontier during the late nineteenth century was so common that one Secretary of War suggested it might be the best way to populate the West.
1822 Rutherford Hayes, general and President born. Having been through about 50 engagements during the war, Hayes resigned from the Army on June 8th. U.S. Grant, who knew something about soldiering, said that Hayes’, “conduct on the field was marked by conspicuous gallantry as well as the display of qualities of a higher order than mere personal daring.” Among the presidents, only George Washington and Zachary Taylor saw more combat service than Hayes, and he was wounded more often than any other president, at least five times, once nearly fatally; in the course of the war four horses were killed by enemy fire while he was riding them.
The ranks of the 23rd Ohio provided the nation with a number of notable soldiers and public servants. Its first commander was William S. Rosecrans, who later led the Army of the Cumberland with considerable distinction. The regiment’s first deputy commander was Eliakim P. Scammon, later a noted diplomat. Joining the regiment as enlisted men, and later rising to become officers were James M. Comfy, later a prominent ambassador, Stanley Matthews, later a justice of the United States Supreme Court, and William McKinley, who later became president.
One of the most colorful characters to come out of the 23rd Ohio was Hayes’ orderly, Pvt. Billy Crump. Perhaps the most skilled forager in the war, Crump once returned from a 20-mile excursion having “recruited” 50 chickens, two turkeys, a goose, some two dozen eggs, and nearly 30 pounds of butter for the general’s mess, all of which were rather untidily draped about his horse.
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Conventions, Clubs, and Events / Re: Armchair Dragoons Fall Assembly 20-22 OCT • CARY, NC
« Last post by bayonetbrant on Today at 10:04:55 AM »as discussed on with Keith and Hermann on the podcast we recorded last night, Keith is bringing an air game set in the WaW85 universe with him for some playtesting / previewing over the weekend 
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Intel Dump / Re: Solo Wargaming Research
« Last post by bayonetbrant on Today at 10:03:24 AM »Our article: https://www.armchairdragoons.com/articles/research/soloresults2023/
So which games on the survey do you think are too high? Too low?
Which ones do you think are most affected by recency bias?
Which ones do you think are most affected by nostalgia?
Where did your favorites finish?
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Sci-fi & Fantasy Warfare / Re: "Drums of War" - Fantasy battle game
« Last post by DracoIdeas on Today at 05:46:51 AM »The drums are beating... on the way to your homes
Drums of War shipments have already started
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eclipseeditorial/drums-of-war-enclave/posts/3925413
Drums of War shipments have already started
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eclipseeditorial/drums-of-war-enclave/posts/3925413
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History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on Yesterday at 07:39:18 PM »1865 Self-Proclaimed "Emperor" Maximilian of Mexico issues the "Black Decree" - anyone found fighting against him shall be executed.
1896. Wilhelm Lorenz Sigismund von Schlichting, German soldier and military reformer, sacked by Kaiser Bill for criticizing military ability of his"Supreme War Lord".
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was fond of ending the army’s annual maneuvers by leading a grand charge, usually of cavalry, but occasionally by infantry. For example, during the maneuvers of 1888 he led two divisions of cavalry to “rout” the “enemy.” Of course, being a bulb of notably low wattage, he did occasionally cause problems. For example, in 1893 he became disoriented during the “battle” and led his cavalry against his own infantry. But the following year he was again in proper form, and led his side to victory at the head of 60 squadrons of cavalry.
His successes were occasionally helped along by having the “enemy” troops switch sides – indicated by arm bands of different colors – in the midst of one of his attacks.
In any case, in September of 1904, Wilhelm decided to close the annual maneuvers with a grand assault by the Guard Corps. With sword in hand mounted on his steed, the Kaiser led the packed infantry of the Guard in an unsupported assault against the entrenched troops of the IX Army Corps, driving them from their positions at the point of the bayonet, without a shot being fired.
As one major “captured” during the grand assault observed, “Why do you Guardsmen bother carrying weapons, since you don’t need them?”
Of course, this was hardly the proper way to prepare the Imperial Army for war. And while his antics say much about Wilhelm, they say even more about the alleged professionalism of Alfred von Schlieffen, the Chief of the Great General Staff. Although he privately expressed reservations about the Kaiser’s games, Schlieffen, another supposed military genius, made no effort to put an end to them. Surprisingly, it was the allegedly inept Helmuth von Moltke the Younger who managed to get the Kaiser him to stop meddling in maneuvers.
It seems that one day Moltke quietly approached his Supreme War Lord and resolved the whole matter. Apparently he said something like, “Although Your Majesty and I both know you really can command the troops brilliantly, there are some small minded-people who might claim we’ve rigged the game to make you look good.” This argument seems to have convinced the Supreme War Lord to lay off meddling in the maneuvers..
1921 The Unknown Soldier sails from France aboard USS 'Olympia' (C-6)
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Intel Dump / Re: Whats on Your Table?
« Last post by JudgeDredd on Yesterday at 04:30:30 PM »Pacific theatre...first time ever
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Pre-Gunpowder / Re: "ONUS!" system and TRAIANUS game
« Last post by DracoIdeas on Yesterday at 03:44:03 PM »Are those books the same thing the Channing Tatu, movie was based on?
The truth is that I do not know. I know they want to make a movie and a series...
This British writer, Simon Scarrow, has more than 20 Águila novels and they are best sellers in many countries and translated into many languages. I started reading him 20 years ago...
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Intel Dump / Re: Tuesday Newsday! Weekly dump of wargaming news
« Last post by bayonetbrant on Yesterday at 01:25:42 PM »Your Professional Wargaming Reading List Just Exploded ~ #TuesdayNewsday 10/3/23
Our #TuesdayNewsday is your essential update for the week’s strategy gaming headlines, and a big list of articles in the professional realm for you to check out this week
https://wp.me/pae4WL-7IY
Our #TuesdayNewsday is your essential update for the week’s strategy gaming headlines, and a big list of articles in the professional realm for you to check out this week
https://wp.me/pae4WL-7IY