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Connections Online 2024 will be held 15-20 April, 2024 ~~ More Info here

Recent Posts

11
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on March 27, 2024, 12:22:22 PM »
47   BC   Ptolemy XIII of Egypt (c. 15), brother and husband to Cleopatra, drowned in the Nile fleeing Caesar's troops

1794. Congress authorizes construction of 6 frigates, including Constitution

1804. From December, the month Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France, and July of 1806, there were 119 recorded incidents of anti-draft disturbances in the country, with desertions averaging about 800 a month and an officially estimated 4,000 men actually fled to Spain to evade service.

1813. The Duke of Wellington was a notably effective logistical manager, and despite great difficulties his troops were usually better equipped and supplied than those of his French opponents.
This was no mean feat.
Consider the logistical requirements of a cavalry regiment.  On paper cavalry regiments had 407 personnel, organized into six troops, plus a staff, with 478 horses and mules, including mounts for troopers plus draught animals for the baggage, service, and munitions wagons.
To feed the men each day required 407 pounds of biscuit, 407 of meat, and 407 rations of alcoholic beverages, or some 200 pounds of booze, if one included the cask, and omitting additional rations allocated to officers
Feeding the animals required a daily ration of 4,780 pounds of grain, plus 5,786 of hay or straw, not to mention water, which could, with a little luck, be obtained locally.
As the normal issue of ration was three days’ worth, the regiment had to carry a minimum of 12,642 pounds of food and drink for the men, plus 31,698 for the animals.
And then there was a daily fire wood ration of 1,586 pounds, for a three day total of 4,758 pounds, plus additional for the officers.
So the total weight of three days’ rations for a full regiment -- men and beasts, food, drink, and fire wood -- came to roughly 25 tons, if one includes additional allocations for officers.
All this was usually transported by pack mules.  Since commissariat mules commonly could only carry only 200 pounds, 246 mules were needed.  And since the mules had to be fed, a at least four more mules would be required to carry the grain and hay needed for the commissary animals each day.
Now although Wellington's cavalry was often better fed, and usually better mounted, than that of his French opponents, the Duke often remarked that the French seemed to get much better service from their troops.  This was perhaps because  nearly half -- 45.1 percent -- of the officers in the British cavalry had obtained their commissions through purchase, in contrast to only about 18 percent of those in the infantry regiments, and none at all in the French cavalry..

1865. Lincoln, generals Grant and Sherman, and admiral Porter met on the steamer 'River Queen' to plan the end of the Civil War -  President Lincoln was very fond of cats.  So much so that once while en route to a conference with General-in-Chief U.S. Grant and Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter, he picked up three stray kittens and took them into the meeting.  Grant’s aide Horace Porter reported that it was a "curious sight at an army headquarters, upon the eve of a great military crisis" to see the president "tenderly caressing three stray kittens” as he discussed strategy with his commanders.
The President’s affection for cats once led to a minor tiff with Mrs. Lincoln, who was often unhappy about what she perceived to be his lack of appropriate dignity.
Reportedly, during dinner at the White House one evening, Lincoln used a gold fork from the presidential service to feed a cat named “Tabby.”
Mrs. Lincoln asked, perhaps rhetorically, “Don’t you think it’s shameful for Mr. Lincoln to feed Tabby with a gold fork?”
The President replied, “If the gold fork was good enough for former President James Buchanan, I think it is good enough for Tabby.”
12
4X Gaming / Re: Millennia by Paradox
« Last post by Barthheart on March 27, 2024, 12:17:18 PM »
Soooo.... who's in? I'm not because of gaming budget explosion problems this month,  :silly: , but soon....
13
Intel Dump / Re: Tuesday Newsday! Weekly dump of wargaming news
« Last post by JudgeDredd on March 26, 2024, 04:02:20 PM »
Yay - I don't care what the other guys say - I think you're alright, Brant  ;D
14
Intel Dump / Re: Tuesday Newsday! Weekly dump of wargaming news
« Last post by bayonetbrant on March 26, 2024, 02:51:05 PM »
I'm getting an error - That page can't be found

Bad link. My fault. Fixed now
15
Intel Dump / Re: Tuesday Newsday! Weekly dump of wargaming news
« Last post by JudgeDredd on March 26, 2024, 02:49:14 PM »
I'm getting an error - That page can't be found
16
Intel Dump / Re: Tuesday Newsday! Weekly dump of wargaming news
« Last post by bayonetbrant on March 26, 2024, 12:24:57 PM »
RIP Dean Essig ~ #TuesdayNewsday
Even with our editorial director goofing off in Florida over Spring Break, #TuesdayNewsday must roll on with the key headlines.

https://www.armchairdragoons.com/news/tn032624/


17
RPGs & Adventure Gaming / Blade Runner RPG
« Last post by bayonetbrant on March 26, 2024, 07:54:44 AM »
No cold case ~ Case File 02: Fiery Angels for the Blade Runner RPG

https://www.armchairdragoons.com/articles/reviews/fieryangels/

18
thanks :)

I knew there was a difference in 4k/8k for displays but had never heard it applied to printers before.
19
History and Tall Tales / Re: Tales of Military Idiots
« Last post by besilarius on March 25, 2024, 04:07:55 PM »
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_as_Mars_the_Peacemaker

As you may know, the sculptor, Canova, carved a statue of Pauline Bonaparte as Venus.
Rather than being outraged at the nude of his sister, Napoleon wanted one of himself by Canova.
He obliged and created a statue of Mars, the Peace Maker, obviously modeled on Nappy.
Rather embarrassed by the - ahem - well equipped representation, it was put behind a acreen.
After the war, this statue was observed by the duke of Wellington.  He let the British government know how much he liked the marble.  They bought it from Louis XVIII and it was gifted to the duke.
It graced the stairway at Apsley House, the Duke's residence, where it can be appreciated to this day.
20
History and Tall Tales / Re: This Day in History
« Last post by besilarius on March 25, 2024, 02:09:51 PM »
421   Venice, founded by fugitives from the Hunnish sack of Aquileaia

1300  Sometime cavalryman and poet Dante Alighieri took a walk.

1811 the famous sculptor Antonio Canova, who had carved the famous statue of Pauline Bonaparte as a reclining nude Venus, completed a marble statue for her brother depicting him as the god Mars in heroic nudity, which proved so embarrassing that Napoleon hid it in a closet, though it was later given to the Duke of Wellington, who displayed it in his London home, where it remains.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_as_Mars_the_Peacemaker

1897. Reportedly, latrines in British Army barracks were not lighted at night until1896, because the Crown could save £200 a year, not to mention the cost of installing lamps in the first place.

1898. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, recommends to Secretary of the Navy John D. Long that he appoint two officers of scientific attainments and practical ability who, with representatives from the War Department, would examine Professor Samuel P. Langley's flying machine and report upon its practicability and its potential for use in war.

1905  Most battle flags captured during the Civil War are returned to the South

1925. During the period between the world wars, Joseph M. Reeves (1872-1948), nicknamed “Billy Goat” because of his beard, was one of the most able senior officers in the history of the U.S. Navy. Both a traditionalist and an innovator, while playing at Annapolis he invented the football helmet and later became the “Father of Carrier Aviation”.
While Reeves was commanding the battleship North Dakota (BB-29) in 1922-1923, one of the ship’s float planes went into the water.  A nearby destroyer promptly dispatched a motor whale boat. While rescuing the plane's crew, one of the destroyermen briefly becoming entangled in the wreckage and was almost pulled under as it sank.
Reeves deeply appreciated this effort, and wanted to show both his gratitude for the rescue and encourage similar efforts if other planes went into the drink.  So he initiated the paperwork for awards.  But he wanted to do something more, something immediate.  Now, as captain of a battleship, Reeves had a pretty good cook, a man who was a top notch baker.  So, the next day that destroyer received enough fresh-baked apple pies for everyone in the crew to have a taste.  Knowing it came from the captain's mess only made it sweeter.  This was much appreciated, and word got out to the fleet that if one of Reeves’ flyers went in, he would be generous in his thanks.
In 1925, Reeves, having qualified as an aviation observer, became Commander, Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet, aboard the Langley (CV-1). This began what was to be his most important work for the fleet: developing carrier aviation.  Now Langley was not the best ship for working aircraft, and planes often went into the sea.  Destroyers were assigned to plane guard duty, which was -- and is -- difficult and dangerous.  While planes were landing, a destroyer serving as plane guard was pretty safe, as she was in an offset position about a thousand yards behind the carrier.  So if a plane went into the sea on its landing approach, the destroyer could make a quick run toward it, put a boat into the water, and fish out the aviators with some degree of safety.
But plane guard duty when aircraft were taking off could be very dangerous.  The destroyer had to stand off the carrier's bow in case a plane fell into the water.  If that happened, attempting a rescue could put the destroyer in great danger.  The Langley was much less nimble than destroyers, and much bigger, while the rescuers’ whaleboats were even smaller, and in danger of getting too close to the flattop and being overrun.
Needing to inspire rescuers, as well as reward them, Reeves recalled the pies from his North Dakota days.  But pies are rather fragile, and don't take rough handling well.  Thinking harder, Reeves realized that the Langley was equipped with something new and unique and not available to destroyers: an ice cream machine.  So Reeves passed the word that a ship whose boat crew pulled a pilot out of the water would get ice cream, gallons of it.  Soon, instead of shunning plane guard duty, destroyermen were actually volunteering for it.
Admiral Reeves' thoughtful incentive worked where orders and exhortations might not have.  It was an easy, elegant answer that benefitted everyone.  And rewarding ships with ice cream for pulling aircrew out of the water became a tradition in the U.S. Navy that lasted into the 1950s when new destroyers began being equipped with their own “geedunk machines

2184  Pavel Andreivich Chekov, Star Fleet officer

3019. of the Third Age.  the Ring was destroyed, Gollum died, and Sauron was overthrown