The “Bonnie Blue Flag” ACW weekend in July

 July is our clubs annual ACW and mid-19^th century bash where a few of us roll out our games for two days of gaming in the period.

Boyd, Rich, John, Dave, Mat and I played two games of 28mm ACW using Jonny Reb III rules over the two days.

On the First day we played a little round top scenario by Scott Mingus. Boyd and Richard commanded the Union, the confederates were commanded by John and I.  The Confederate attack had early success when John’s long range shooting caused a number of casualties on the unit beside the 20^th Maine, who fell back in disorder, the confederates moved forward and received and gave moving fires for two turns, the union sharpshooters commanded by Richard really whittled down the confederates so much that one Confederate Regt failed morale and ran off the table leaving the others to continue the assault, mostly cracking rolling by Richard (by the 20^th Maine) seen another off triggering a Brigade Morale test which I promptly failed….1s pick up remainder  of brigade….the follow up brigade fared no better and the game ended around 2pm, time to set up for the next day!

The second day Boyd, Richard and Dave commanded the Union against, the confederate commanders John, Mat and I. The game was a fictional game based on a counterattack by the union against the tired Confederate centre around the Wheatfield’s along Plum Run on the second day of Gettysburg.

The Confederates had a +1 disadvantage to all morale rolls, which is ok early but once the casualties start…….. The Union had a +1 firing modifier which really tolled if they rolled well. The Union  were a little worried as they advanced but their artillery done great damage on a number of units, one battery actually rolled all sixes and all but wiped out a small 12 figure batn, who promptly routed and took one other with them in the process, leaving a gaping hole between two brigades. The union advance on the right was extremely successful with two confederate batns totally destroyed and two others routing leaving a gaping hole in the line, the union were finally blunted and Johns troops counterattacked which was quite good to see, whoever the entire left flank of the confederates collapsed after two batns routed and the remainder of the brigade become shaken and then finally routed, this caused morale rolls all through my brigade which became shaken and finally routed leaving the hill and the fields to the union troops…….must get myself some new dice I think!

On Sunday a second game ran behind us with around ten players playing a Kriegspiel wild west game, that always seemed on the edge of anarchy! The town was aptly named “Profanity.”   My favourite recollections coming from that general direction;

Cowboy Player “ I’m going for a long range snap shot”

Gamemaster “ well it is extreme range and there are Mexican civilians in the way”

Cowboy player “ that’s ok”

Gamemaster rolls dice

Mexican cowboy “ok, who shot the women and baby, now my gang of Mexicans will be very angry”

Cowboy player “I cannot see anything to shoot, can I shoot the sheep?”

Cowboy Player “I am going to hide in this building”

Gamemaster “it’s on fire”

Cowboy Player “that’s fine”

Gamemaster “OK, now you do know that you have a bag of the tnt with you…….oh shit (boom)”

Player “damn Pinkertons, how come they shoot so well”

Gamemaster “well they aim, they are using rifles, and you are on you galloping horse, with a pair of pistols trying to shoot up to a two story window with a verandah in the way”

It was as funny as it sounds…….

Day two union assault a confederate siege gun position, rules JonnyReb III

Cheers

Matt

RIP Frederick Funcken

On Thursday, May 16th 2013, Fred Funcken passed away at the age of 91 years leaving a legacy and fond memories for many wargamers and Comic readers on my generation. Fred was born in Belgium in on October 5th,1921, he published his first comic at the age of 12, then learnt his trade duing the war, first print making and then  working as a comic illustrator. After the war he joined his friend Fernand Cheneval at  Heroic Albums and later met his wife Lillianne, they started thier wonderful working relationship and the fantastic Tintin comics series. In the 60s Lilliane and Fred started the Uniformology Military Uniforms series covering all periods of history, which are still held in high esteem today, by wargamers and historians today.

His historical comic series included Tintin, White Knight, Harald the Viking, Jack Diamond, Lt Burton, Captian and the Saint Preux .

As a fellow red nut I was excited to get my tintin comics as a young kid, (and will now activly source all of this series) and at the age of Ten my mother bought me the two part series Arms and  Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars and I was hooked for life, 35 years later I now own probaly 8 of his uniformology books and always on the lookout for more of them.

Fare the well Fred

cheers

Matt

Absent........

My apologies that I have not posted for over a month, my Father Albert (Bertie) Williamson passed away in March at the age of 77, his funeral was very large with over 450 people attending and over 1000 sympathy cards arriving over the last four weeks.

Dad was a well known Australian Stock Horse, race horse breeder and Hereford cattle farmer. Dad was involved with a lot of rural organisations during his life, he was a Former President of the New England Rural Lands Protection Board, former President of the Pinkett Sports Society (a rodeo held on our property for 25 years, before being moved to its current location where it is in its 44th year), Life member of the Glen Innes Show Society, a member of the Royal Sydney Show Society, The Australian Stock Horse Society accredited Horse Judge, Australian Bushmans, Campdraft and Rodeo Association accredited judge, Captain Pinkett-Yarrow Creek Volunteer Firefighters, Glen Innes Pony Club selector and member, Glen Valley Polo X club, coach , umpire and selector,  Glen Innes Tentpegging Club and a number of other rural organisations around Glen Innes and the New England region.

During his life he loved to spend time on his beloved stock horses on our properties and lease hold country, roaming and mustering cattle in the wild eastern fall country of Upper New England. Some horses come to mind "Bushboy" (a famous flat racehorse and campdrafter), "Rusty Robin", "Robin", "Penny", "Pigeon" "Silver", "Banjo", "Rachel", "Pepsi", "Cilia" and "Buster". 

At times we would spend two weeks mustering the back country with pack horses moving from mustering hut to mustering hut,  bringing in the cattle after a winter in the back country. A good walker was important to cover long distances of up to 40klms in a day, faster than a vehicle in most cases along the bush tracks. In his younger days he loved flat racing (horse sprints two furlongs or less long) and would ride to events up to 35 klms, race, perhaps even campdraft with the same horse and then ride home again.

A picture of Dad in 1996, riding Pepsi (one of my favourites), a unknown Packhorse behind, not sure of the dogs names (but the black dog on the right is "Black Barb" a cross between a Kelpie and Dingo, they don't bark and are good lead dogs and will bite, very nasty to strangers and protective of the owner)

He was a great believer in good horse breeding and had a good eye for horses, as children we were always set up on great horses and for most of the summer we travelled to shows, rodeos and campdrafting events in the New England, and in the winter Polo x was our chosen sport.

He was also a keen cattle breeder and we had at times up to 1000 breeding cattle on the various properties, what I remember though is the mustering of the cows and calves from the lease contry (which is now mostly National park) into our land for branding etc. This country is some of the "wildest in NSW" (remarked upon by the famous Layland Brothers) all of it falls from the tablelands to the coast some areas included Henry River valley, the Sara river valley, London bridge, Baileys, the Seven Mile, Paddys Land, and Chaelundi (New South Wales, Australia)to view this country just search on google maps and you will see just how wild it is!

Dad was also fond of the a good sirlion, t-bone, roasted lamb, bagpipes, bush poetry, telling rippings yarns, fine spirits (Scotch, Brandy and rum) and his beloved stout!

 He will be missed by  Mum, my two Sisters, Deanna, Cate, Tom, and myself, our partners, his 9 grandchildren, his 7 surviving brothers and sisters and all of his mates.

cheers
Matt

Primae Legio Armeniaca

1st Armeniaca Legio

Another  pseudo-comitatensis Legio, possibly founded in the third century by  Diocletian. Under the command of Magister Militum per Orientem per Pontica.

  I have only found one reference to garrison of the Primae Legio Armeniaca, the coastal city of Anemurium (on the tip of Cape Anamur, opposite Cyprus)  the city was sacked by the the Sassanids in 260 AD. The unit was raised to the Field Army status to take part in Julian's' campaign of 363, and was still part of the field army in 395AD (ND).

The figures are from the Crusader Late Roman range, the shields are hand painted, and this is my second last infantry unit in this army.

Cheers

Matt 

I Parthica Severiana Antoniniana

One of the three Parthian Legions (raised in Thrace and Macedonia), by the Emperor Lucius Spetimius Severus for his successful campaign against the Sassanids in 197AD (sacking Ctesiphon). After the campaign I Parthica was then posted to the fortress city of Singara (Sinjar, Iraq)controlling the road between Edessa and Nisibis for the next 150 years. 

From Inscriptions we also know that the Legio was at one time in Lycia and Cyrenaica. The First Parthian were all but destroyed in the siege of Singara in 360AD, sub units retired to Bezbade (modern Cizre, Turkey) but this also fell to the Sassanids. Some must of escaped these disasters and the Legion was reformed and transferred to Constantina (Tella, on the road between Edessa and Nisibis) and later Cepha where they remained until the 5th century.



Gordian III & Tranquillina. 238-244 AD. Æ 33mm (26.18 gm). Singara mint.Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian, right, facing diademed and draped bust of Tranquillina left Tyche seated left on rock, holding small branch over river god swimming left; above Centaur Sagittarius shooting arrow from bow.

The units emblem was a Centaur, the figures are from the crusader range, the shields are hand painted and are copied from a tile mosaic which is attributed to a Parthian Legio.

cheers
Matt

Cuneus Equitum Secundorum Clibanariorum Palmirenorum

Next unit off the table for my is my last unit of heavy cavalry for my Romans, the Cuneus Equitum Secundorum Clibanariorum Palmirenorum, this unit was stationed in Antioch under the command of the Comitatus Orientis.  

The Units name has caused a lot of confusion among historians for some time, Cuneus means wedge in latin, so did the Palmirenorum fight in a blunt wedge, or were they a small part of the whole unit, the Secundorum is the second; the second Clibanariorum Palmirenorum, where is the first, was it destroyed, disbanded? And finally who raised it? Is it a unit that was raised by the Lion of Palmyra and did not take part in Zenobia's rebellion?

I wanted to do a unit that was a little different from my first unit, with a mix of open faces. I have not found out yet if they campaigned with any of the Roman campaigns in the east, but I suspect that they may have. The Miniatures are all A and A ; A except two horses (face armour) which are Gripping Beast, the colours are all conjectural.

cheers

Matt