Tensions Ease in Saxe-Bearstein --

The arrival of Jakub, szlachta of Mieczyslaw, to the court of Bruno V, Prince of Saxe-Bearstein has somewhat eased the tensions that arose with the recent mobilization of Mieczyslaw's army.

The Furst (Bruno's real title -- which is usually translated as "Prince") was assured by Jakub that the Duchy merely wished to parade its troops so that the citizens of the Duchy would be reassured that they were safe . . . and Jakub whispered as he winked at the Furst, "besides it encourages the troops to clean and polish their equipment so that they can impress the girls".

The net result of the meeting was that the Furst is willing to send an ambassador to Mieczyslaw and to accept one from them as well.

Further discussion centered around the secrecy from the Duchy of the North and the apparent aggressive tendencies of Monrovia toward the Kingdom of Wittenberg.


-- Jeff of Saxe-Bearstein

Tensions Rise in Saxe-Bearstein --

Reports that the Army of the Duchy of Mieczyslaw has been mustered have reached the Principality. The reason for such an event has caused some concern here in Saxe-Bearstein. Certainly there cannot be any cause for animosity . . . but why has the Duke called his troops together?

The report (from a most reliable source) can be read here:

http://mieczyslaw.blogspot.com/

Prince Bruno V has not yet decided to call out his own army (well . . . he can't until I paint them . . . and I can't do that until after we've moved . . . *sigh*). Still, this is a situation that calls for careful observation.

The prince urges friends of the Principality of Saxe-Bearstein to aid in keeping a careful eye on the Duchy of Mieczslaw and report any further troop movements.


(Translation -- Murdock is one of my gaming buddies who is ahead of the rest of us in getting his forces ready for the Wars of Arcadian Glory.)


-- Jeff

My Use of Flags --

Regular readers of this blog know that I am working on a set of mid-eighteenth century rules ("Tricorne Wars") for use by our local club in its "Wars for Arcadian Glory" fictional campaign.

In "Tricorne Wars", flags are not placed on the "command stand"; but on their own "colour stand", which is used to indicate the unit's current condition.

For mounted troops, I will simply use a single mounted figure with the unit's standard . . . but for infantry, the situation is more complex.

Beside the regular "line infantry", I will also (potentially) have converged grenadiers, irregular troops and skirmish troops.

Regular troops will have two flags. The unit flag (such as the one with the light blue cross) and the national standard (the red bear on gold).

Converged grenadiers (who historically did not carry a flag) will only have a "national standard". Contrasting with this, irregular units (such as Grenzers) and skirmishing foot (jagers) will only carry a "unit flag" (such as the one pictured in green and gold).

By the way, for those interested in my flags, the background color of the oval (as well as the leaves and ray borders) are in the unit's hat tape color; the diagonal "rays" are in the coat color; and the "cross" is in the unit's cuff color.

Thus only the "line infantry" will have two flags. . . . . at least, that's the current plan.


-- Jeff

Game Table Quandary --

Well, it is still a whole month before we get to move into our new home; but I don't want to wait (even though I have to).

Here is a picture looking towards the far end of my "game room to be". It is 15 feet wide by 38 feet long.

Okay, the true "game room" portion will probably be only from the break in the wall back to the window.

In any event, I will have lots of room. So one of the questions I have to consider is "what size game table do I want?"

Part of the problem is that I'm sort of short and stout (that's a lot better word than "fat", don't you think?). My arms are not very long, so I don't want a table that I can't easily reach past the center of.

Also I have to decide how high I'd like the table to be (many are too low for my taste). As for style, here's a link to a nice concept for a game table:

http://www.drunkdwarves.com/pages/artttgttcultimatetable.html

Well, I've got a month to think about it anyway. I'm interested in any suggestions my readers might have.


-- Jeff

Another Order Placed --

Well, in a little over a month we will be moving into our new home and I will finally be able to get all of my paints out of storage. I'm really looking forward to finally getting to paint figures again.

And, of course, my first order of business will be to begin work on my Saxe-Bearstein troops. To that end, today I placed an order with the Dayton Painting Consortium to get the rest of the RSM95 miniatures I need to complete my initial Saxe-Bearstein army.

I say "initial" because I suspect that when I've painted these troops, I'll want to add more units. That seems to always be the way it goes, doesn't it?

I've also asked for a few samples of French SYW troops . . . since I'm still planning (once my Saxe-Bearstein forces are painted) to build an opposing army (working name -- Stagonia). That, of course, lies in the future.

One nagging problem, since we will be moving and I never know how long Canada Post & Canada Customs will delay my order, I've had to ask that they not send it until we're about to move in . . . after all, it wouldn't do to have the figures go to the people moving out . . . which means that there will be a time gap before these figures arrive.

Good thing that I'd ordered others earlier, isn't it?


-- Jeff

A Wonderful Resource --

You might already know about it, but I did not. "The Miniatures Atlas" has links to a great many different miniatures companies -- you can also search by several different criteria (sculptor, company, scale, nationality, etc.). Their website (now among my links) is:

http://www.miniaturesatlas.com/


-- Jeff

Command Odds & Ends --

I just thought that I'd list a few odd details for "Tricorne Wars" Command and Control.

The "command stand" (i.e., the one with the officer on it -- not the "colour stand" which has the flag) should always be in the center of the line when the unit is in "line" formation. This means as the center stand if there are an odd number; or one of the two center stands if there are an even number.

The "Command Distance" is measured from the General's or Brigadier's head to the command stand. If it is at or within the General's/Brigadier's "command radius", then the unit is "in command" and will abide by any order changes (as interpreted by the General/Brigadier).

If outside that distance, they will need to continue to obey their previous orders until the General/Brigadier either moves within range or sends a messenger (i.e., an Aide-de-Camp).

Units act in accordance with their original (starting) orders until they either reach their destination (as indicated by the arrow) OR they make contact with the Enemy. Contact is coming to or within 12" of a mounted unit; or 6" of a formed foot unit. (note that, in both cases, the unit needs to be aware of the enemy unit -- if it has been and remains hidden from them, they ignore it).

Now, when they either reach the end of their arrow OR they come within range of the Enemy, the Brigadier or General will assess his orders in light of what he now sees and decide upon the proper course of action . . . . In other words, at the appropriate time he will roll a die and see how he interprets his orders.

While about two-thirds of the time the order will be "correctly interpreted", about a third of the time it will be interpreted differently. This is intentional . . . it adds to the "fog of war" as well as providing a certain amount of aggrivation on the part of the C-in-C.


-- Jeff