"two of blogosphere’s greatest Vikings"

"two of blogosphere’s greatest Vikings." A nice quote I think from the Content of the brand new TooFatLardies Christmas Special 2012 that was published yesterday.

I realy wonder which Vikings they refering to? ;)  You can grab a copy at the TFL site and read all about them...

Here's what's inside: 

• Page 4 Introduction: A Festive welcome from Lard Island 
• Page 5 Sea Wolves: Chris Stoesen brings Dux Britanniarum to the Age of Vikings with rule ideas and scenarios. 
• Page 26 The Bulls of Bravo. Ross Bowrage’s scenario for B Company, 1st Battalion, 5th US Marines in Operation Colarado 
• Page 30 “The Bounce”. A 1940 scenario for Bag the Hun 
• Page 31 Gunther Mensch’s Panzer Tactics An overview of German armoured tactics for WWII gaming.
• Page 42 Panzer Angriff. A mini-campaign for IABSM. Can you stop the Soviet steamroller? 
• Page 50 Invasion Earth. Robert Avery looks at building forces for the biggest Sci-Fi battle of all time. The fight for planet Earth! 
• Page 57 The Yanks Are Coming. Charles Eckart, looks at US Big Men in Mud & Blood. 
• Page 61 More Sturm Abteilung Vor! Sidney Roundwood takes a hard looks at Stosstruppen tactics in the Great War How does the legend square with reality? Find out in this incisive report. 
• Page 71 Stosstrupptaktik! Sidney provides a pre-game scenario enhancer for Mud & the Blood. 
• Page 75 Olkhavatka! A Kursk scenario for IABSM from the pen of Robert Avery. 
• Page 82 Breakfast at von Tiffany’s. A Bag the Hun scenario in 1942 Russia. 
• Page 83 Road to Ruins. Terrain building from the maestro Sidney Roundwood.
• Page 93 Swedish Dux. We look at the Stockholm Dux scene with two of blogosphere’s greatest Vikings.

• Page 97 WWII Kriegsspiel. Using the Meckel Map for a WWI Kriegsspiel set in February 1945. 
• Page 106 The Roundwood Report. Sidney Roundwood asks the questions as we look to the future. 
• Page 113 Lard Approved. The new Lard Approved project explained. 
• Page 115 Lovely Weather for Dux. Weather and its affect on your Dux campaign and games. 
• Page 120 You Dirty Rat. A festive look at the roaring twenties and assembling his gangster forces in Part One of “You Dirty Rat”. 
• Page 127 TweetFace. A guide to staying in touch with TooFatLardies in the age of social media.

To order a .PDF of the 127 pages for just £6 go to the TooFatLardies site.

I just noticed that there is a typo in the articla about the "two of blogosphere’s greatest Vikings."

The paint work at the Limited Edition Arthur figure is unfortunally NOT my work.

It was painted for me by the Talented Andrés at Einar Olofson Painting.

 Painted by Einar Olofson Painting.

AAR: Dux Suecia Campaign game #2

Here comes the AAR from my and Jonas latest game in our Dux Suecia campaign (i.e. Migrat of TFL Dux Britanniarum to kalmar Union War i.e. Civil War in 15th century Sweden).

As you all remember thhat back May 1466 the Union forces tried to Raid Penningby but was repulsed due to stiff Allmoge resistance.

The Union/Archbishop forces haven´t had time to replace all losses so the Rebells under command of the Knight Nils Bosson Sture of the House Natt och Dag have the uperhand. In July 1466 the rebells decide to attack a Union supply column destined to the Archbishop and his troops that defending the Swedish capital Stockholm.

This all translate in to the "Raiding a Waggon Train" scenario from the rulebook, we used the scenario more or less as stated in the book.

OOB

Swedish rebells forces (Commanded by Jonas)

Influence: 4 (Raised by 1 due to the last victory)

Commander Nils Bosson Sture of the House of Natt och Dag (Owner of Penningby)
3 units of 6 Allmoge each from Roslagen

Leader Sten Gustavsson of the House of Sture
2 units of 6 Hardened Allmoge each from Dalarna and Hälsingland

Leader Ivar Axelsson from the House of Tott (That more or less just have turned side from pro union to rebell)
1 unit of 4 Frälse

forgotten in teh last AAR was the Handgunners/Skirmishers acting as a indipendant group of 4 bases

Union forces (The some what depleted Union force was Commanded by me)

Influence: 3

Commander Erik Nilsson of the House of Oxenstierna (Cousin to the Archbishop)
1 units of 4 Frälse

Leader Erik Karlsson from the House of Vasa (Brother in law to Erik Nilsson)
1 units of 6 Fotknektar

Leader Trotte Karlsson of the House of Eka
1 unit of 4 Skyttar

3 supply wagons to protect.

Reinforcements:
Behind the city walls was the Union Reinforcements but due to the losses in the last game the only reinforements available was a group of 4 German Mercenary Handgunners...

We diced to get the entery point for the Swedeish Rebells and it become the middle section of the left side.

So to the game I hope the text in the pictures explane it all to you...

Yet a nother greate gaming session, best of all that I...The Union managed to win althought they had a very depleted force. It become a very exiting struggle that wasn´t decided untill the last moment then the Union Knights managed to brake the Darlecarlian Hardened Allmoge and also Wound the Swedish Commander Nils Bosson Sture.

The results of the raid that would effect our campaign was:

• Union Victory, recived Light losses and would recover them in a month time and will be ready for action in September, they also rais their Influence to 4. 


• Swedish Loss, recived Moderate Losses and would recover them in two month time and will be ready for action in September...

As September and October are considered Harvest month in Dux Suecia their would be no raiding during that time, so the first opportunety to straik again would be in November and then the Union side would have the uper hand.

We decided that the Swedish Commander Nils Bosson Sture and his Leaders would go to Darlecarlia to get the support of more of their Allmoge so they would be strong enought to Attack an seize the Castle in Västerås and take controll of the county Västmanland.

To stop them the Union side decide to send a force in November 1466 to try to Capture the Rebell leaders and bring them to justice in Stockholm...

So our nex scenario would be the "Raiding a Border Tower" from the Dux Britanniarum rules, there you should capture the enemys leaders for ransom...perfect for our story to:)

69th Pennsylvania (2nd Carlifornia Regiment)

Next up are the Irish !  69th Pennsylvania (2nd Carlifornia Regiment). Seemes like they had 2 companys that was derssed in Zouave uniform with green lining so I made me a base of them:)

Minis are a mix of Perry Plastics and Foundry.

Flags from Flag of War.

The 69th Pennsylvania was recruited from Philadelphia Irish militia companies of the 2nd Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia. It was mustered into service on August 19, 1861, with Joshua T. Owen as its first colonel. Many of its members had served in the 24th - three month volunteer regiment The unit was first designated the 2nd California. It left for Washington, D.C. that September, before being assigned to the Army of the Potomac in October as part of Colonel Edwin Baker's California Brigade. The regiment’s first action was at the Battle of Balls Bluff. After this battle, its name was changed to the 68th Pa for a short time and then the 69th. They made an attempt with the 69th New York to form an Irish Brigade but Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin of Pennsylvania opposed the idea, which led to the proposal being dropped. The 68th had their regimental designation changed to the 69th in honor of the 69th New York.

The 69th served in the Peninsula Campaign, during which it was complimented by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker for making “the first successful bayonet charge of the war.” Its next major action was at the Battle of Antietam. It lost heavily at the Battle of Fredericksburg, but missed any major action at Chancellorsville, seeing only minor skirmishing.

The unit played a large role at the Battle of Gettysburg, helping repel both Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright’s charge on July 2 and Pickett’s Charge on July 3. Its casualties over the last two days of the battle were enormous, losing 143 men out of 258, including its colonel, lieutenant colonel, two captains, and a lieutenant. The regiment's ranking officer, Maj. Duffy, was seriously wounded but refused to give up command until the battle was over. The 69th finished the campaign under the command of a captain.

The 69th fought in Grant’s Overland Campaign, again losing heavily. At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Lieutenant Charles McAnally of Company D captured a Confederate battleflag. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor for this act, becoming the only soldier of the 69th so decorated. After the Battle of Cold Harbor, the 71st Pennsylvania was merged into the 69th. During the Siege of Petersburg, the Philadelphia Brigade was broken up, with the 72nd Pennsylvania mustered out of service and the 106th reduced to a single battalion. The 69th participated in the pursuit of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign. The regiment was mustered out at Ball’s Cross-Roads, near Washington, on July 1, 1865.

The 69th was the only Pennsylvania regiment to carry a green "Irish" flag into battle.

71st Pennsylvania (1st california Regiment)

The second regiment from the Philadelphia Brigade are the 71st Pennsylvania (1st california Regiment)

Minis are Perry plastic except for the Skirmishers that are from Foundry.

Flags from Flags of War.

Here are som pictures and a short regimental history.

The regiment was organized in August 1861 by Oregon Senator Edward D. Baker, composed of 15 companies instead of the standard 10. Although raised from residents of Philadelphia, it was initially designated the 1st California in deference to Baker's wishes. After his death at the Battle of Balls Bluff in November 1861, it was renamed the 71st Pennsylvania. It was paired with the 69th, 72nd, and 106th Pennsylvania regiments to form the famous Philadelphia Brigade.

The 71st was assigned to the II Corps in time to participate in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. During the Seven Days Battles, it made several charges, losing many officers and men. After reaching Harrison's Landing, companies L, M, N, P, and R were merged into the first ten companies. The regiment, along with rest of the Army of the Potomac, was transferred to northern Virginia. Here the 71st fought at the battles of Second Bull Run and Chantilly. It helped cover Pope's retreat. At the Battle of Antietam that September, the regiment lost one third of its strength. It again suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December.

At the Battle of Gettysburg, the 71st was positioned at the famous Angle on Cemetery Ridge. On July 2, it helped defeat the attack by Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright's brigade. On July 3, it was briefly sent to Culp's Hill but was returned to Cemetery Ridge. Half of the regiment was placed along the advanced wall with the 69th Pennsylvania to its left, while the other half was 50 yards to its right-rear. During Pickett's Charge, the left portion of the regiment was forced back from the wall and nearly routed. Brig. Gen. Alexander S. Webb managed to rally the regiment near the 72nd and 106th Pennsylvania, but was unable to convince any of the three units to counterattack at first. Finally after several minutes, they pushed the Confederates out of the Angle. The 71st lost 98 officers and men during the attack, including nine out of fifteen officers.

The 71st served through the Overland Campaign, losing heavily in both men and officers. At the Battle of the Wilderness, Lt. Col. Charles Kochersperger was wounded and five colorbearers were shot down, and at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Capt. Mitchell Smith was killed.

The regiment's last battle as a unit was at Cold Harbor. Afterwards, those entitled to discharge (a total of 53) were mustered out in Philadelphia on July 2, 1864. The remainder of the regiment was merged into the 69th Pennsylvania. Out of a total of 1,665 men who served in the regiment during the war, only 153 returned uninjured.

Dux Suecia Pre-Game #2

Today I and Jonas will continue our Dux Suecia Campaign (Migrat of TFL Dux Britanniarum to kalmar Union War i.e. Civil War in 15th century Sweden)

In the last game set in May 1466 the Union forces tried to Raid Penningby but was repulsed due to stiff Allmoge resistance.

The Union/Archbishop forces haven´t had time to replace all losses so the Rebells under command of the Knight Nils Bosson Sture of the House Natt och Dag have the uperhand. In July 1466 the rebells decide to attack a Union supply column destined to the Archbishop and his troops that defending the Swedish capital Stockholm.

Here are some pre-game pictures from the terrain I was at the club and set up befor our game on monday evening.

Citizens of Stockholm looking at the sypply column far away...

The few defending forces of Stockholm hoping for some reinforcements as fell as more food...

Civilians working by the fields...

Must hurry away, THEY are coming...

At last Stockholm and the safty of the towns walls...

Game setup, do you see the rebells or is it only rumors...

106th Pennsylvania (5th California Regiment)

The first regiment to be finished of the 4 in the Union Philadelphia Brigade are the 106th Pennsylvania Vols.(5th California Regiment)

4 Basea with 4 minis each and 2 singel based Skirmish line markers in total 18 minis, The Skirmishers are from Foundry and the rest are all minis are Perry Plastics, several converted from marching pose to a more action pose.

Flags of course from Flags of War.

The regiment was recruited from Philadelphia between August and October 1861, with the exception of company K, which was transferred from the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry. Turner G. Morehead was selected colonel of the unit, with William L. Curry as lieutenant colonel and John H. Stover as major. It moved to Poolesville, Maryland, where it became part of Edward D. Baker's "California Brigade." The 106th saw its first action at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, on October 21, 1861.

It was next transferred to the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac. With the rest of George B. McClellan's army, it fought in the Peninsula Campaign. On June 10, Lieutenant Colonel Curry was captured while visiting the picket line. During the Seven Days Battles, the regiment fought at the battles of Savage's Station, Charles City Cross Roads, and Malvern Hill.

Along with the Army of the Potomac, the 106th was transferred to Washington, D.C., too late to participate in the Second Battle of Bull Run. It did fight at the Battle of Antietam, where it was rushed with the rest of the 2nd Division to the aid of Joseph Hooker's corps in the West Woods. However, division commander John Sedgwick hastened into the fight without taking time to make an adequate reconnaissance. As a result, the division was attacked from three sides and forced to withdraw. The 106th lost one-third of its strength in this battle.

On July 3, 1863, the third day of fighting at Gettysburg, Companies A and B were sent as skirmishers to the Bliss Farm in front of Cemetery Ridge.

The 106th continued to serve through the Overland Campaign. On July 27, 1864, those eligible for discharge were sent to Washington, D.C., where they performed guard duty until September 10, when they were sent home. The rest of the regiment was consolidated into a battalion of three companies—F, H, and K. This battalion fought through the Appomattox Campaign and was discharged on June 30, 1865.

ACW artillery

I havent found any Artillery designated to the Philadelphia Brigade, but i´m sure they was supported by some big guns, and the was a piece amongst the minis I got...but no crew...wouldent be much shooting without the gunners...but that might have been the cunning plan from my benefactora all the way...

I solved the problem with a sharp model knife and some Perry plastic infantry that now have enlisted for artillery:)

Here are some pictures of the finished artillery piece WITH crew;)

Speed painting ACW

During the last week I have been converting marching plastic perrys in to charging ones, by cuting of the arms and attach leftover arms from a Zouave box... sorry no pictures I was so in to it so i forgott...

I realy want to paint the 80 ACW minis from my to be Philadelphia Brigade fast, so I decided to try out a Army Painter Blue as undercoat, I usuly prime in black, but I hope this will go faster...

All you ACW fans out there that realy love to be specific in painting the uniforms must forgive me for this sloppy way of painting, and be warned there will be very few details as well...

Some of the 80 primed minis. The two minis in the middle of the second row are former marching perrys. 

I painted just some details...

And a wash with Army painted Strong Tone wash (didn´t use the dip, smells like...). 

Just the Highlight left, some basing and the Flags of War;)