Audiobook "The Road To Kalamata: A Congo Mercenary's Personal Memoir" read by "Mad" Mike Hoare

This is a quick update about my current audiobook that I am listening to today.  I had to do a lot of driving for work today, so I finally started to listening to one of "Mad" Mike Hoare's books that is available on audio.  They are also read by the man himself too!  

So I started with The Road To Kalamata: A Congo Mercenary's Personal Memoir, which is the shortest of the books, plus it is about his 4 Commando, so chronologically comes before his other books even thought it was written much later.  I really am enjoying it!  I have about an hour left and plan to listen to the rest of it before I go bed tonight.  I am not sure when it was recorded, but Hoare sounds great.  Considering the book was published in 1989, that means that he was 70 or older when he did the audio for it.

Anyways, it got some great stories (and some sad ones) that can make some interesting scenarios for games in the 1960's Congo, or even modern African games.  I don't want to give away too much as I might be tempted to get back to doing B'Maso and want to save some things for unsuspecting players.  But besides that, there is something unnerving to hear Hoare say, "Come to Daddy!" Just not something I would expect to come from someone like him.

Sapper

I am OK as of now - Ferguson, MO...again

For those who remember my previous post, I live really close to Ferguson, MO.  So far it has been quite where I live.  But you can hear the sirens off in the distance periodically.  Several local businesses, especially the liquor store, near me have boarded up just in case now.  I will periodically pop on every few days just for a head count that I am OK.

Oddly enough, this is my fourth(!) nearby (less than 3 miles) riot in my life.  Two back in my college days where I was going to school (the Rodney King riot and the ABC fraternity riot) and the two here (the one about 3 months ago and the current one).

Hopefully the violence will die off or be suppressed quickly.

Sapper

Test - 150th Anniversary Reenactment of the Battle of Pilot Knob, MO

Well, better late than never.  It took me a while, but here are the photos from the 150th anniversary reenactment of the Battle of Pilot Knob, Missouri, back in September.  I was there with Steve H & Pat L only on Sat.  It turned out that the Sat reenactment was only about the first day of the battle, covering the fighting of the gap and in Ironton.  So that is why there are no pictures of the Rebs storming the fort!

If you click on the caption for the photo of the US cavalryman, it should take you to my photo album so you can look at the pictures as your leisure.  Below that (if it works!) is a video I made using the same pictures and adding a soundtrack.  I have tried several times to get the soundtrack to work, but it keeps cutting in and out to me.  I don't know if it is that I have a bad connection or if the video is bad.  Give it a try and let me know.

I was planning to have an article about the battle with this posting, but I am still working on that.  Whenever I get it done, I will re-post these pictures and video.  

Cheers,

Sapper

Holding the line!

No words can express the meaning...

Source or here

Whimsical Wednesday

I so need this app for my cell phone!

And I need this app for my GPS / Sat Nav!

You can never have too much Brian Blessed in your life!

Update

Well, I am back from Richmond, VA, where I was for work for a week.  I didn’t have time to sight see, but did a bit of reading.  Unfortunately, it was not the book that I planned to read next, Ridgeway.  I did originally pack it in my computer bag, but took it out for some reason and forgot to put it back in for my flight. (Also note that I have a different book up over to the right...)

However, I did bring my Kindle Fire so I was able to read some short novellas or books.  I think this is the most fiction that I have read in a long time too!  So I am going to list what I finished reading here:

Accused: Hunted by Andy Chambers (novella)

Weird War 1: No Man’s Land by Kevin Murphy (novella)

Weird War 1: Teufelshunde by John Hopler (novella)

Weird War 1: Hellfighter by Ed Wetterman (novella)

Weird War 2: Los! By Timothy Brown (novella)

Weird War 2: Wunderwaffe by  Timothy Brown (novella)

Thing vs Exotroopers! By David Brown (novella)

Off Radio by David Wellington (novella)

St. Louis Civil War: The Streetcar Strike of 1900 by Ken Zimmerman Jr.

The Little Rock Arsenal Crisis: On the Precipice of the American Civil War by David Sesser

Missouri’s Civil War: Banking, Battles, & Supply Trains by BJ Alderman

The Enrolment List for the Militia in Hamilton, CanadaWest (1865) (newspaper article from the Hamilton Evening Times)

The Skirmish at Lime-Stone Ridge by Anonymous (newspaper account of the Battle of Ridgeway) 

So I did at least read something about the Battle of Ridgeway anyways over the week.  I started to get ready to read Ridgeway over the weekend, but didn't.  On Monday, instead of grabbing my Ridgeway book to read at lunch, I grabbed my Kindle instead.  So, I broke down and started reading a new book off of Kindle, but I decided to keep the Ridgeway idea going by reading The Last Invasion of Canada: The Fenian Raids, 1866-1870 by Hereward Senior.

While I am starting to think about resurrecting my Ridgeway project, I am also thinking about what rules I plan to use.  I am would like a system that is about one figure to ten men, so that means around 100 figures per side so not to make it too small for a game, but also not too many figures to paint.  Next, it needs to be strong in the quality and morale rules.  There were very little causalities on both sides and Canadians really only lost due to panic at the site a couple of men on horseback believing that there was a large cavalry force nearby.   My original game 20 or so years ago was using the Out-of-print GDW’s Space 1889: Soldier’s Companion.  (It has since come back in print - see the link).  I remember it being a good set of rules and I still have my rule book, but I have not played it since then.  The other option is to look at Regimental Fire & Fury.  I know that the original Fire & Fury was rather simple, but that RF&F now has more details, plus it is about the scale I am looking for with 1 base of 3 figures for 40 men, or roughly one figure for 13.3 men.  I have not really looked into any rules beyond those two for now, but I am open to suggestions.  But really like the idea of shock or fatigue on a unit to show the wear and tear on a unit in battle vs. causalities being the reason for units to win or lose in some battles as in the case of Ridgeway.

Be seeing you

Sapper

Blue Max Game and Updates

Well, I got in a game lately and took photos too!  

Last weekend, Dave S & Adam J ran two Blue Max games using the new board game rules.  I got in two games with the group at Adam J's table.  It probably has been close or just over 20 years ago since I played Blue Max last.  The basics are similar from what I remember, but you use cards instead of chips for damage now.  Back in the day, I played Blue Max in St Louis and in Memphis when I lived there.  I use to really hate Blue Max, not for the mechanics, but just about 75% or better of the games I played I always drew a "Pilot Killed" or "Fuel Explosion" during the game.  Also, I rarely ever got any kills because someone else would put the final hit on an the plane that I had been shooting up all game...I even threaten one of my allied players that the next time he did that I was going to shoot at him instead...(he had a nasty habit of cutting between me and cripple target so I couldn't shoot and he could, and yes, I did finally had to shoot him to realize that was starting to get me PO'ed.)  Anyways, I like the system.  I still like Wings of Glory too, so I play both.

So the first game was a two on two engagement.  The Germans were Ray R & Ravi R flying Fokker Dr I's.  The British were myself and Bob S flying Royal Navy Sopwith Triplanes.  We had attitude advantage and were determine to keep it.  Bob & Ray started to traded shots as I made a hard left blank away and started to turn back into the fight to trade shots with Ray.  Ravi's Fokker got between me and Bob's Sopwith's coming in at Bob's 10 o'clock and I was coming in Ravi's 6 o'clock high.  I did a long burst and rolled really well ripping Ravi's tail off and sent him spinning into the earth.  Unfortunately, I jammed my gun and never got it cleared again to tangle with Ray before he fled from getting heavy handed by Bob.  Bob was also in bad shape, but I was totally unscratched and Ray decided running away was a wiser move.

I am trading shots with Ray (Green Fokker) and Ravi (Red Fokker) is just about to fly right into the front of my gun (Sopwith with the red stripe

History books need to be changed!  I shot down the Red Baron!  But I didn't shoot no deputy!

 In the second game, we had a three on three game.  The Germans were flying Albatrosses under the command of Adam, Ray, and Johan H (our local Swede).  The French were piloting Neiuport 24's under Ravi, Bob, and me.  At the start of the game, Bob was flying in middle of our formation, with Ravi on the right and me on the left.  Both Ravi and I broke off to go wide and come back in towards the fight in the center as it seemed to work so well before.  I got Adam lined up in my sights to fire and figured out that I was one hex too far out even with a long burst.  So cranked it up and flew in to the center and got Ray in my sites instead and fired off a good roll with a medium burst.  However, Johan came up on my 4 o'clock and did a long burst with only one Blue (minor) damage hit...however it was a horrible hit for me!  It only did two hits to my fuselage, but it destroyed my only machine gun!  (Blast you, Johan!  However, justice smiled on me as Johan later told me that his machines guns were jammed for the rest of the whole game after that shot!)  So I decided to bug out of the fight, which I was successful at with only allowing Ray to get one shot at me (with no effect) before I broke free from the fight.  But in this game, there was several mid-air collisions, luckily for the pilots all managed to only have minor damage in all of the collisions.  Bob was extremely unluckily to be around as he was responsible for two of the three collisions!  Including one with his own team mate too!  In the end, the Germans won this round as Bob was finally shot down, Ravi and I both ran away.  But Johan also fled the field and Ray & Adam where both in bad shape, but they controlled the air.  

Opening attack!  Johan is the white tail Albatross, Ray is the one in the middle, and Adam is in the red one.  Ravi is in the most top Neiuport, Bob is in the green one, and I am in the bottom right corner.

Double Collision!  Bob runs into Ray and Ravi runs into Johan!  I  just lost my gun the turn before and starting to run away while Adam is too far back to catch me.

Bob is at it again!  Bob collides with Ravi.

So in other news, I finished off King Leopold's Ghost.  What a depressing book.  It is a must read, but be ready to be depressed.  I also finished off Weird War II: Wunderwaffe by Timothy Brown.  I also listened on audiobook to Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Charlie Chan in the Pawns of Death by Bill Pronzini and Jeffery Wallmann, and great classic, Who Goes There? by John Campbell.  I am getting ready to start reading Ridgeway: The American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada by Peter Vronsky.  This is to get all of the details to redo my 15mm Battle of Ridgeway project from 20 or so years ago.  This is the book to read if you want uniform information and detail accounts & information.  For my listening pleasure, I am going to start listening to one of my favorite top cops, Chief: My Life in the LAPD by Chief Daryl Gates and Diane Shah.

 As a side note, I picked up a book on Ebay that I am still waiting on, but I am really looking forward to reading (mostly likely right after I finish Ridgeway!).  It is Strange Soldiering: Major Lawson's own dramatic story of his experiences with the Third Nigerian Brigade by Sir Richard Lawson while he was a Major seconded to the Nigerian Army with the UN forces in the Congo during 1961-62.  The Congo in the 1960s is one of my favorite periods to study.  To find any accounts in English that is not on the Mercenaries, the Irish UN troops, or about Operation Dragon Rouge are hard finds in my opinion.  So I am looking forward to reading about the Nigerian UN troops.

Be seeing you

Sapper

Need Help! National Guard Armored Cars 1920s & 30s and a bit of Outlaw History

It took me awhile to find my photograph that I obtained many years ago, but I finally found it today (see below).  So, I am now trying to find out more about it.  Does anyone knows what this is?

Click to enlarge

Here is what I can tell you, there is nothing written on the back of the photograph, except the number "13".  So that is no help.  As you can see written on the truck, it belongs to a Machine Gun Company of an unknown Regiment.  But it does have the abbreviation for Missouri after the word, Regiment.  With that little bit of information and the large spotlight mounted on it, I am very sure that it was an armored car for the 2nd Artillery Regiment (Anti-Aircraft) / 203rd Artillery Regiment, (Anti-Aircraft), Missouri Army National Guard.  Below is a rough history of the regiment taken from the 1934 book, History of the Missouri National Guard, by the Military Council, Missouri National Guard.

203rd Unit Crest (Left side - the right side would be facing the opposite direction)

The 2nd Artillery Regiment, (Anti-Aircraft) was started in July 1920, but not complete until July 1921.  It was re-designated to the 203rd Artillery Regiment, (Anti-Aircraft) in April 1924.  Then later it was renamed again to the 203rd Coastal Artillery Regiment (Anti-Aircraft) before 1934.

Now here is the crux that I can't figure out.  It clearly states in the photo that it belongs to a Machine Gun Company, but all of the units in an artillery regiment are called "Batteries".  I can't find any reference to a Machine Gun Company.  Now there are two possible answer to this.  First is that several of the Batteries that made up the 2nd Artillery, carried the lineage of Machine Gun Companies from the 128th, 129th, and the 130th Machine Gun Battalions.  Or, secondly, and I think this is the right answer, that there was a separate Machine Gun Company created on July 7, 1920, under Captain James A. Frow in Nevada, Missouri.  It was this company that was to become the nucleus for the whole artillery regiment.  I also believe that this might explain why the markings on the vehicle does not say Machine Gun Battalion on it, which could support that this truck might be for one of the batteries that came from the 128th, 129th, or 130th MG Battalions.

The six police officers killed at the Young Brothers Massacre

Another interesting thing about this unit was on January 2, 1932, Battery F of the 203rd was called out to support the local law enforcement officials in Greene County & Springfield, Missouri, after the largest lost of life of law enforcement officers in a single shoot out to date, normally referred to as the "Young Brothers' Massacre" (only the 9-11, 2001, terror attack and the Milwaukee bombing in 1917, killed more police officers in a single event in the USA.)  The events of the Young Brothers Massacre are very sad indeed, leaving the Greene County sheriff and five Springfield police officers dead of the eleven men that went to arrest the two brothers.  Both the brothers escape before the return of more police men and the National Guard who had orders to use their machine guns on the house if necessary.  More can be read on the massacre at the Wiki site here or with this book, The Young Brothers Massacre, by Paul & Mary Barrett (which I have read) or another book, "We're Dead, Come On In", by Bruce Davis (I have not read this one yet).  An additional note; "F" Battery would get the rating of "Excellence" during their 1932 annual training at Fort Still, for their machine gun scores by Federal inspectors.  Had the Young Brothers waited to fight it out, I think the National Guardsmen would had made short work of them.

After reading a bit more on the Young Brothers Massacre again, it got me thinking about the Indiana National Guard that was used to guard the Crown Point Jail in 1934 where John Dillinger escape with the use of a wooden gun.  In some reports I have seen, it states that the National Guard had armored cars there.  So I would also like to know what unit was there and what kind of armored cars that they had at the time.

The National Guard scene from the 2009 movie, Public Enemies

 Any help will be very helpful,

Sapper

Photos from the St Louis Civil War Roundtable meeting with Dr. Mark Lause

Last night I went to the monthly St. Louis Civil War Roundtable meeting which had as their guest speaker, Dr Mark A Lause, an author of several Civil War books (see below).

His lecture was very interesting and mainly focused on the first half of General Price's 1864 Raid (also the subject of his book, Price's Lost Campaign.) But he also covered a bit of the last half of the raid, which will be covered in his upcoming book, The Collapse of Price's Raid.  

He is also working on two other books on the Civil War.  Unfortunately, I forgot to write down what they were where, but I remember that one of them is about the rise of Spiritualism / Mediums during the Civil War and afterwards in the USA.  It might be interesting as I have read about this topic before this lecture.  With the huge lost of lives which have never been at these levels before the Civil War in the USA, many of the families of lost soldiers turned to Mediums to have seances to talk with their lost loved ones.  I wish I could remember what the other book was about.

List of Civil War books by Dr Mark A Lause and links to Amazon.com.

Price's Lost Campaign: The 1864 Invasion of Missouri
The Collapse of Price's Raid: The Beginning of the End in Civil War Missouri
A Secret Society History of the Civil War
Race and Radicalism in the Union Army (About the Frontier Division in Kansas specifically)

Whimsical Wednesday & Quick Update

First, the Whimsical Wednesday moment

Schrödinger's cat conducts an experiment

Well, this will be a short update.

I still have not done much in the line in gaming other than getting in one game with Blake, Don, & Curtis in a Colonial battle of British vs Egyptians using The Sword & The Flame.  Don and I were the Egyptians and were facing equal British forces under Blake & Curtis.  Amazing, we won!  Not only did we win, but destroyed the British force (only 4 guys of 48 figs escaped off the board)...but we were pretty much bloody too.  I think we had 9 guys out of 48 figs and we passed are army morale rolls, multiple times! Unfortunately, none of us took pictures!

So, on the reading front, I finished a couple of books since my last post and now on to another book.

Finished:
1920 - The Deadliest Year for St. Louis Police by Ken Zimmerman Jr
2912 Washington and the Murder of Arthur Huddleston by Ken Zimmerman Jr

Started:
King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild

I am off work next week and plan to do some work in the basement or maybe even paint miniatures.  But as I mention before, I will be attending the lecture on Price's Raid and attending the 150th anniversary of the Pilot Knob reenactment.

Cheers, 

Joe