Ages ago, in fact from November to December 2016, I posted on putting together an Irish Army for Saga. Alas the figures were purchased, tactics worked out, and converted, undercoated and based ready to be painted. There they stayed as I haven’t played Saga since

The posts can be found here, here and here.

Having played a lot of “Rampant” games of late I have decided to resurrect them. Hopefully I’ll do better than Captain Jack Harkness with Suzie.

I have decided to keep the High King Brian Boruma mac Cennetig as the army leader.

The 88 year old Brian Boruma mac Cennetig is far from the peak of health and should avoid close combat at all, because he was killed at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 because he could not get out of the way of the of the Leinster and Dublin warriors, or he was praying in his tent depending on your bent.

On the other hand his presence inspired all of his Irish units and they eventually won the battle.

To represent this in Lion Rampant is easy as you can give him both the “Commander” and “weakling” skills. Dragon Rampant is a bit harder you can select the command skill, instead of rolling and then make the unit Light Infantry to reflect his fighting ability. Brian Boru would be 3 pts.

Ulf, (wolf) the Quarrelsome, or Ulf Hreda is the ideal first choice as the first of my heroes. He is primarily mentioned in the Njarl’s saga’s account of the Battle of Clontarf of 1014, in the aftermath of which he gruesomely killed Brodir of the Isle of Man to avenge his brother’s death at the hands of the invaders.

To represent his heroic and noble skills and equipment he should be an elite infantry unit for 6 pts.

What Irish army could fight without a warrior priest at their side. As my last hero he has little armour and should be classed as a Light missile unit to represent his ability to commune with the big kahuna (which one is your choice).

A unit of six mounted nobles will be classed as Heavy Cavalry at 4 pts due to the lack of armour in the Irish Army.

Any suitable Housecarl miniatures could represent the dismounted nobles. Again these should only be Heavy Infantry for 4 pts.

 Finally for my last choice you cannot have an Irish army without Irish Wolfhounds. I have classed these a bellicose foot for 4pts.

Two provide some variety I already have 2 units of Bonnachts which can replace Ulf as light infantry for 3pts each.

Let’s hope this iteration of the Irish doesn’t take another eight years to be looked at again.

Finally for Dragon Rampant the Irish are not without their own monsters of myth and legend. These include:

The Leprechaun: Ireland’s Most Famous Mythical Creature

Banshees: The Wailing Spirits

Abhartach: The Irish Vampire Legend

The Púca: Shapeshifting Tricksters

Dragons: Powerful and Wise

The Selkie: Seal Spirits of the Sea

The Dullahan: The Headless Horseman

The Morrigan: Phantom Queen

The Fir Bolg: The Dark Demons

The Cailleach: The Hag of Winter

The Aos Sí: The Fairy Folk – often portrayed as a Celtic Lady on horse.

There is a lot of choice here and the Dragon Rampant rules can be used to field all of them. I am partial to the Fir Bolg (the old hammer bloodletters will do nicely) and the Cailleach as I have a few “hags” in the bits box. I also have a Lady Godiva model that could do as a mounted Aos Sí.

That is unless I am across the table!

The term the Luck of the Irish came about in the nineteenth century when Irish miners were deemed lucky rather than hard working and skilled. In theory it is offensive as it was used as a way of explaining away the spoils of this hard work as good old fashioned luck.

The specialist medic is generally only found within elite formations of the German military, a rarity on the battlefield.

This medic uses experimental Rift-tech in the treatment of wounds and injuries. Whilst effective, not every soldier appreciates the occasional, long-term side effects!

Th-s specialist medic is accompanied by bodyguards to both protect him and assist in his duties.

Tomorroiw some more Weird War “stuff”.

Following on from yesterday’s post is another book about the Great War in East Africa. This time by the German commander Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck himself.

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, also known as the Lion of Africa, was one of Germany’s most prestigious and well-respected generals both during and after World War I.

Returning from the war a hero, he would be remembered as one of the most well-respected commanders of the era, so popular and influential that even during the reign of the Nazis, he was able to insult Hitler to his face (he told Hitler to go @#%$ himself), refuse any positions offered by the regime, and survive their reign of terror with his popularity and honour intact.

In this work, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck of the German East-Africa campaign shares his narrative of the war, and how his effective use of guerilla warfare kept the Allied army in check. Unlike his counterparts in Europe, whose war degenerated to infamous trench warfare,

German Askari’s on parade.

Lettow-Vorbeck led a highly effective campaign that impressed commanders on both sides. His campaign took place over modern-day Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, with parts of Britain’s colonial holdings eventually also subject to skirmishing. The cunning use of terrain, weather, ambush, guns from the sunken ship Konigsberg, and local auxiliaries meant Lettow-Vorbeck’s small force kept an Allied army roughly ten times as large occupied.

One of the 105mm guns salvaged from the Konigsberg

Lettow-Vorbeck and other military figures in Germany had calculated how effective a guerilla campaign could be in Africa prior to the war commencing in 1914. Frustrated by his successes, the British sent reinforcements totalling over 70,000 men in 1916 – these too failed to gain a decisive victory

German led Askaris man a machine gun

The account is written in a first-person, and I consider it a primer for a more in-depth study of this brilliant and effective tactician. Search also for “Lion of Africa” and “African Kaiser” for additional readings. Like a lot of period works the English is in an older style and can be sometimes difficult to read but this is the fault of the translator and not the author.

Highly recommended, especially for those interested in military history in general and the East Africa campaign in specifically.

I am a big fan of the conflict in Africa during The Great War. When we think of WWI, we usually only visualize the grinding trench warfare of the European theatre and forget that there was fighting taking place on other continents. This book, by the great historian of the British military experience, Byron Farwell, takes us to the colonial empires in Africa where a different kind of war was fought.

Farwell graduated from Ohio State University and the University of Chicago (M.A., 1968). He served in World War II as a captain of engineers attached to the Mediterranean Allied Air Force in the British Eighth Army area and later also saw combat in the Korean War. He separated from the military after seven years of active duty.

As a civilian, he became director of public relations and director of administration for Chrysler International from 1959 to 1971. He also served three terms as mayor of Hillsboro, Virginia (1977-81).

He published articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, American Heritage, Harper’s, Horizon, Smithsonian Magazine as well as serving as a contributing editor to Military History, World War II, and Collier’s Encyclopedia. Farwell also published biographies of Stonewall Jackson, Henry M. Stanley, and Sir Richard Francis Burton.

He was a fellow of the MacDowell Colony and a member of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society of Literature. From the publisher.

He is more well known for his titles Queen Victoria’s Little Wars, Mr Kipling’s Army, and The Great Boer War, this book is another great piece of historical writing that is very easy to read.

Published in 1989 the scholarship has become a little outdated, with many new publications based on the war based on German source material. This in no way diminishes the book which is well researched with detailed referencing.

Farwell is my favourite historian on “Colonial” British military history, and this book might be his best. Farwell does not write dry, dull history but tells a tale that keeps you wanting to read just one more chapter before putting the book down.

I read this book in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down – one of the few advantages of being “retired”. The book is very reminiscent of “Out of Africa”,”Young Indiana Jones”, “African Queen”, , and the like. I remember the hunt for the Konigsberg from an old “Boys annual” and the 1976 movie “Shout at the Devil, in which the German cruiser was bottled up on the Rufiji River with its engine in need of repairs. Thousands of native labourers hauled the engine to a machine shop in Dar-es-Salaam and then back again.

A great read I thoroughly recommend.

We decided to try Dragon Rampant last night with Very Angry Little Guys v Very Angry Big Guys the Vikings were lead by Thor himself and the dwarfs by none other than High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer on his Throne of Power.

After having dealt with some Housecarls the Troll Slayers are attacked by Thor, who in true Chris Hemsworth style, despatches the slayers and then rolls “box cars” for his Enchanted Armour to repel the two hits the slayers inflicted on him!

Thor was beginning to single handedly swing the runes in the Norsemen’s favour.

After High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer on his Throne of Power repelled two combats with Norse Housecarls he was almost destroyed by Thor

The Viking Heavy Cavalry fail to destroy the Dwarf High King and are forced to retreat.

In an attempt to save their High King the dwarf Bear Riders charge Thor and bring him to half strength but are destroyed in the process.

Thor and Thorgrim Grudgebearer again clash war hammers, and although giving as good as he received, the High King entered the “Hall of Heroes”. At least the two combats with Thor had significantly weakened him.

Having defeated gtroll Slayers, Bear riders and Thorgrim Grudgebearer Thor was finally sent to Valhall by the Dwarf Handgunners.

After three successive combats the hand gunners were destroyed but not before reducing both remaining Housecarl units to below half strength.

After marching to attack the Vikings in the rear, Bugman’s Brewers arrived causing the two battle weary Viking units to flee the table.

A near run thing, with Bugman finally winning a very bloody day by the smallest of margins.

Another great Rampant game!

More of the robots for my WW2 Weird War army.

Hopefully I will catch up on some Battle reports tomorrow.

About a month ago I finished these robots for my Weird War grtmans.

The post can be found here.

I then found this model which I think is from Mantic’s Deradzone range but am not sure.

I thought he would make an ideal controller or leader for the robots, so here he is.

More of the robots themselves tomorrow.

I have finally finished assembling and undercoating the WW2 Italian Bolt Action Army. This was designed to fight the early campaigns against France and Greece.

This is not a high priority for painting my objective was to just get it to a stage where it was ready for painting and then if I needed or wanted to use it was prepared and ready to start.

I intend to add a light howitzer, Light tank and an Armoured Car, probably 3D printed, down the track to round off the army but again these are not a priority.

Here is a Bolt Action list of the army so far.

Officer Teams with rifle and SMG

Forward Operations Observer and an anti-tank rifle teams

Light mortar team, a sniper team, and a medic.

Four MMG teams

Infantry Squad (1)

Infantry Squad (2)

Infantry Squad (3)

Infantry Squad (4)

Infantry Squad (5)

Infantry Squad (6)

Bersaglieri Infantry Squad

Back in the box until……………………whenever!

Cartoon credits here.

This book came up in a kindle “books you may like” suggestion. The title intrigued me an after a few week of the book sitting in my “wish list” I decided to pick it up.

On October 28th, his suspicions were confirmed when he was served an ultimatum by Italian Ambassador Emanuele Grazzi. The ultimatum demanded that Italy – a close ally of Hitler’s Germany – be allowed to occupy Greek territory, or there would be war. This event marked a critical turning point in the geopolitical landscape of Europe at the time. Tensions between the Axis powers and Greece had been escalating for months, and this ultimatum pushed the situation to the brink of open conflict. It placed Greece in a precarious position, torn between defending its sovereignty and avoiding direct confrontation with two formidable military forces. The internal debates and external pressures faced by the Greek leadership during this period of uncertainty were immense, as they grappled with the weighty decision that could determine the fate of their nation. The diplomatic manoeuvrers and strategic calculations undertaken in response to this ultimatum reveal a complex web of alliances, power dynamics, and competing interests that defined this tumultuous era in European history.

Metaxas’s response to Grazzi, encapsulating the spirit and determination of the Greek people, reverberated across the nation, igniting a fierce sense of unity and defiance. The palpable tension in the air was juxtaposed with Metaxas’s unwavering confidence as he uttered his response. As dawn broke on October 28th, 1940, the Greek nation stood united in the face of adversity as Italian forces launched their assault, marking the beginning of a heroic struggle that would be eternally enshrined in the annals of history.

Rodolfo Graziani, marquess di Neghelli (born Aug. 11, 1882, Filettino, Italy—died Jan. 11, 1955, Rome) was an Italian field marshal, administrator, and adherent of Benito Mussolini.

Ioannis Metaxas rejected the ultimatum with the words “Alors, c’est la guerre” (French for “Then, it is war.”). In this he echoed the will of the Greek people to resist, a will which was popularly expressed in one word: “Ohi” (Όχι). Within hours, Italian troops began attacking Greece from Albania.

The map can be found here.

Greece’s remarkable defence against the Axis forces, particularly during the early stages of the war, showcased the determination and resilience of its people. The unexpected successes achieved by the Greek forces not only inflicted significant losses on the Axis Powers but also served as a source of inspiration for the embattled Allied forces. The courageous stand of Greece not only weakened the momentum of the Axis but also provided a much-needed morale boost to the Allied nations, underscoring the pivotal role played by the Greek resistance in altering the trajectory of World War II.

“Facing the Axis Powers: How Greece tried to counter Mussolini and Hitler in WWII” is the English edition of Sotirios F. Drokalos’s thesis for the MA in Contemporary Military History of the Niccolò Cusano University of Rome (AY 2019-2020). The original Italian title of the thesis: “Di fronte a due imperi: Come la Grecia cercò di contrastare l’offensiva italiana e tedesca (1940-41).” The thesis was awarded the maximum mark (110/110).

It was translated from Italian to English by Sotirios F. Drokalos himself. From Kindle

The book delves into the intricate details of Greece’s resistance against the Italian invasion, shedding light on the strategic manoeuvrers and unexpected challenges that hindered the formidable Wehrmacht’s military prowess. It thoroughly explores the miscalculations and oversights of Mussolini’s Fascist regime, offering compelling insights into why they underestimated the complexities of engaging in war with Greece. Additionally, the narrative unveils the clandestine efforts of both the British and the Germans to manipulate and exploit the Greco-Italian conflict for their respective advantages. Moreover, it meticulously examines Hitler’s opposition to Mussolini’s territorial ambitions in Greece, and the pivotal events that led to the German involvement in the conflict.

The diaries of key figures such as Ioannis Metaxas, Galeazzo Ciano, and Joseph Goebbels provide invaluable first-hand accounts, offering a glimpse into the lesser-known and dramatic episode of World War II.

An excellent resource which provided me far more detail of the politics behind the battles. The translation is sometimes a bit stilted but this in no way diminishes the end result.

The Italian Bersaglieri Corps was founded on 18 July 1853 as elite light infantry in the Sardinian Army and fought in the Unification of Italy (1848-71) and Crimean War (1853-56) against the Russians.

The Bersaglieri Corps fought in the First World War in the form of 12 regiments, and then due to cuts in the military budget, only four full-sized regiments existed in 1920.

During the Second World War, the Bersaglieri Corps again saw much action in the form of 12 Bersaglieri regiments that were deployed on all fronts, with half fighting in the North African Campaign.

Under General Armando Diaz, the Bersaglieri Corps was reorganized in 1923 with the 12 regiments each consisting of two battalions, six being infantry regiments and the other half being equipped with bicycles. In 1940, under orders from General Alberto Pariani, the Bersaglieri regiments that were now equipped with motorcycles, were deployed in the Po Valley as part of the Army of the Po. 

At the start of the Second World War, three Bersaglieri regiments formed part of the three Italian Army armoured divisions attached to the Army of the Po, the 5th (Centauro), 8th (Ariete) and 12th (Littorio) Bersaglieri Regiments. In the two existing motorized divisions, there were the 7th (Trento) and 9th (Trieste) Regiments. All these Bersaglieri formations later fought in North Africa.

Five riflemen

NCO with SMG

Two LMG

Information from History Fandom