Forward for the Tsar

The soldiery of 10 units of Imperial Russian Infantry (for Russo-Japanese war, also to make an appearance as Whites in the Russian Civil War) have been finished and based. Almost completed, also, are the officers and standard bearers.

Still working on finding appropriate figures for Japanese machine guns (minifig WWI British Hotchkiss?). Cavalry and artillery next, along with more infantry.

The project is moving along nicely.

Tags: Russo-Japanese War, wargaming

19th Century Imaginations - Oh Furstenberg! Lovely Gem of the Balkans

The Margravate of Furstenberg is a small country in the Balkans that has, through its relatively short (600 year) history, been a part of, and not a part of, various empires and alliances.

Through several periods of history, Furstenberg has been more or less active in the struggle for power against other Balkan states. Relations with her belligerent neighbor, the Earldom of Rumpwhistle, have always been a bit testy.

In the latter half of the 17th century, the War for St. Helga's Baptismal raged between the two diminutive states. Surrounding powers finally stepped in, and under the oversight of Vulgarian diplomats, a treaty was drawn up (the Vulgar Peace), which was accompanied by a multi-national edict, known as the Edict of Boomplatz, where all bomb-throwing activities by soldiery from Furstenberg was deemed outlaw activity, and in compensation to the Furstenbergers, the Rumpwhistle province of Graatz was placed under Furstenberger administration. A curious side effect of the Edict of Boomplatz, was that no Furstenberger infantry regiments were permitted to have Grenadiers.

Furstenberg is divided up into (including the Protectorate of Graatz) 7 provinces (or beyliks), each ruled alternatively by a Governor or a Bey (depending on the ethnicity of the province, or beylik). In addition to being the local authority for collecting and providing taxes and troops to the Markgraf, each province (or beylik) is entitled to having an Elector reside when it is time to elect a new Markgraf. Surprisingly, that even since the acquisition of Graatz which gave Furstenberg 7 provinces, there have been several tied votes for Markgraf. This situation led to the war of Furstenberg Succession, fought in the early part of the 18th century. With the seven provinces (or beyliks) providing 7 electors, and the Uzlov family (the traditional royal family since the early 16th century) having 2 additional electors, and the 2 military cities of Bruzlov and Smellensk, there were a total of 11 electors. Yet the vote for the new Markgraf (Stephan Uzlov II) was challenged by the Vulgarian brother of old Markgraf Stephan I's wife (Nestor). The vote was split, 8 votes for Stephan II and 8 votes for Nestor. Where the additional 5 votes came from, and who cast them is still a mystery, but it incited another war (1722-1729) between Furstenberg and Rumpwhistle (with allies from Vulgaria and elsewhere).

Stephan VII (1830-1907)

In the second half of the 19th century a series of small wars were waged with Trans-Turkylvania over the fate of the ethnic Urbs. The Bey of Frugalia (one of the seven Electors) is the self-professed Begler-Beg of the Ethnic Urbs (the largest majority of which do not dwell within Furstenberg, but rather across the border in Trans-Turkylvania). Mounting raids across the Trans-Turkylvanian border, with the stated goal of protecting the interests of the Urbish people, has led to sabre rattling by both the Markgraf of Furstenberg and the Khedive of Trans-Turkylvania, and threatens to draw all of Balkania into a protracted conflict.

In an upcoming series, the military details of units throughout the history of Furstenberg will be presented here, with wargaming guidelines.

Tags: balkania

The Revenge of Carlos Plynkes

The Revenge of Carlos Plynkes is a great gaming blog with loads of pictures from their games, and a whole lot of fun stuff (like the pic above.

Go, spend some time, troll about. The figures are painted nice, the tables are attractive, the photos are crisp, and the battle reports are hilarious.

Tags: wargaming

Japanese Army on the Move

I finished 8 units last night for the Russo-Japanese war era Japanese Army I am working on in 15mm. I am using 15mm Old Glory figures, and this first batch was done in Blues. I used dark blue (with the unit type stripe) trousers, rather than the white trousers worn by some units.

6 of the units are regular line infantry, and 2 units are Imperial Guard.

Photos to follow shortly

Tags: russo_japanese war

ODMS Hosts first Wargaming Convention!!

ODMS is running its first historical gaming convention, in
Williamsburg, Feb 6,7,8 of 2009.

Here is their press release:

The Old Dominion Military Society is proud to announce its first wargaming convention, the Williamsburg Muster. It will be held in Williamsburg, Virginia. The event will feature scheduled historical miniature wargames and other gaming events, as well as room for open gaming. There will be a number of fine vendors present with a variety of quality wargaming supplies for sale.

The dates for the event will be February 6, 7, and 8. Gaming and registration will begin at lunchtime on Friday, February 6th, and last until 5pm on Sunday, February 8th.

Our theme for this first convention is: 1860-1960 A Century of War! This very influential 100 years sees the rise of the rifle from a simple musket employed en masse, to the modern personal arsenal that today's assault rifles represent. This, along with the impact of mass mobilization, the mechanization of warfare, and global conflict enhanced by speed of light communications make this a fascinating century to study, especially in terms of military history. Come see many wargames in this period (and others, including Fantasy and Sci Fi) at the 2009 Williamsburg Muster!

The location will be the very comfortable and attractive Holiday Inn
Patriot http://www.hipatriot.com/ located at

3032 Richmond Road
Williamsburg VA

Rooms will be available at a very special rate of $58 per night, just mention that you are with the Williamsburg Muster group, when you register by phone (800-446-6001 or 757-565-2600) .

Registration for the event will cost $25 dollars at the door, with discounts for early registration, students, military, and game masters. Single day passes will be available at the door. Details can be found at the convention website, http://www.odms-club.com/convention/

We are eagerly seeking game masters who are willing to host miniatures and boardgaming events. See the website for details and to register your game.

Events already confirmed include -

• French Foreign Legion Sword and the Flame
• Flames of War Tournament
• Victory at Sea
• Napoleonics
• British Colonials in the Sudan (Sword and the Flame)
• 28mm ACW - Glint of Bayonets
• WWII Skirmish - Hedgerow Hell
• Many more added daily!

A limited number of Vendor tables are available. For details, see the website.

Important dates:

• Game Registration (to be listed in the PEL): by December 20.
• Early Registration (for the convention): by January 20.
• Hotel Registration (for the convention rate): by January 31.

More information will be made available at the convention's website, http://www.odms-club.com/convention/

Thanks for your time, and we hope to see you in February!

Tags:

Favorite Orchestra of Gaming with Chuck

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has officially become the court favorite at Gaming with Chuck.


Tags: Ukulele

Beware The Swedish Army

In order to support the Big Battalions group, my wargaming projects for 2009 will definitely include Swedes. I intend to do some Swedish wargaming from the Great Northern War up through Napoleonics, and see how the figure lines out there support such a task.

Now, before laughing too hard, the Swedish Army is nothing to trifle with. They have taken on, in their history, all of the great power houses of modern Northern Europe, and won more often than not.

Tags: wargaming

Fabulous Flags

I guess by now, most gamers are aware of the treasures available at the Warflag website. This website, by Ian Croxall, offers many wonderful flags, from all sorts of conflicts, for free. Just download, adjust the scale, print out, cut out, and mount.

Readers of Gaming with Chuck should probably be aware of Cotton Jim's Flags (for some insight as to why Jim Russell is called Cotton Jim, buy me a beer at a convention, and I'll tell you the sad, sordid tale).

But, I have found yet another website that has wonderful flags to offer. This is the Danish Wargames website. Most of the site is in Danish, but if you click on Downloads, and then choose one of the topics across the top of the page, you will be treated to hundreds of gorgeous flags, all done in what Warflag refers to as the Textured style.

Finally, if one is interested in later Medieval and Renaissance flags (up through the 30 years war), then Alex's Flags is another useful website.

Tags: wargames, flags, miniatures