As I explained in a blog entry in late November, after a recent hiatus during which I have not fought any wargames, I gained inspiration – and renewed interest – from a photograph of the attack on the Great Wall of Morobad.
This was a wargame fought by Joseph Morschauser using his gridded wargame rules, and dealt with a British attack on the capital of the Sultanate of Hauser, Morobad. Morschauser described the Sultanate as follows:
This was a wargame fought by Joseph Morschauser using his gridded wargame rules, and dealt with a British attack on the capital of the Sultanate of Hauser, Morobad. Morschauser described the Sultanate as follows:
French Central Sahara borders the Sultanate ... on the west, Italian East Somali borders on the east. Anglo-Sudan is north and British East/Central Somali on the S.E. Directly south of course is the Kingdom of Zulu inhabited by (naturally) Zulu types who have always been friendly to the Hauserians. It’s all imaginary but fun.I have now completed work on my modular fortress, and can reproduce the Great Wall of Morobad ... or at least that section that the British force will attack. I already have written a draft of the rules that I am going to use (my own version of Morschauser’s ‘Frontier’ wargame rules), I have plenty of suitable figures to use to represent both the British and the Hauserians, and I now have the terrain; all I need now is a long enough block of time to fight the battle!
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really looking forward to reading your BatRep Bob, and hopefully seeing plenty of pictures of your minis in action. Hope you and and your family had a very enjoyable Christmas :-)
ReplyDeleteBlaxkleric,
ReplyDeleteI hope to stage my version of the 'Attack on Morobad' later today or at some time tomorrow, and I will write a battle report as soon as I have.
I trust that you and your family had a great Christmas and can look forward to a wonderful New Year.
All the best,
Bob
I knew it wouldn't take you long to get weaving. Merry Christmas Bob!
ReplyDeleteI well remember this picture, which remains strangely inspiring despite its simplicity. Perhaps therein lies the attraction? Hope you and your family had a Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteConrad Kinch,
ReplyDeleteThe terrain has been set out, the forces selected, and the first three turns have taken place. I'm now having a break for lunch and will hopefully carry on fighting this battle later today.
All the best,
Bob
Pictures eagerly awaited.
ReplyDeleteGonsalvo,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the simplicity of Morchauser's rules, and the photograph of this battle seems to sum up his approach to wargaming.
My wife and I enjoyed a quiet but very enjoyable Christmas with friends, and I hope that you and your family had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteFirst off a very merry Christmas to you and Mrs C! Ours was also quiet but with some very nice loot which will feature in a blog post in due course.
I am really looking forward to seeing the refight of Morobad - are you using black and white pictures?
All the best,
DC
Xaltotun of Python,
ReplyDeleteWith luck the battle report - with lots of photographs - will be on my blog tomorrow.
All the best,
Bob
David Crook,
ReplyDeleteSue and I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I got an few interesting but non-wargaming-related bits and pieces as presents, including a number of DVDs and a very useful magnifying glass.
With a bit of luck the battle report about the 'Attack on Morobad' should be on my blog tomorrow.
All the best,
Bob
PS. The photos will be in colour. I did think about making them black-and-white, but decided against it after a couple of trial shots.
Ah! Good news that the battle is under way. I'm looking forward to the reports.
ReplyDeleteRoss Mac,
ReplyDeleteMatters are coming to a conclusion, and I hope to finish fighting the battle after this evening's meal. I have been writing my battle report and taking photographs as I have been going along, so I hope to put it all on my blog at some time tomorrow.
All the best,
Bob
Looking forward to reading more of that. For me, the name 'Morshausen' has always been associated with a rather shadowy wargames personage from antiquity. I've never been able to locate any books or articles by him. I did read long ago Don Featherstone's all too brief account of the war that brought low the African Hauserian Empire (I think in his 'Wargames Campaigns' book). Tony Bath mentioned it too in his book 'Setting up a Wargames Campaign'.
ReplyDeletethis kind of Colonial war against an organised , militaristic great power I find an intriguing idea. I have played around with it in my head from time to time, but never did anything about it. I did get some Zulu Wars British and Foreign Legion French, but this has rather transformed itself into something more continental european rather than African! It is a project I fear that my other wargames ... erm ... commitments ... rule out court, But you will have an avid readership of at least one in Christchurch for your own accounts of the Hauserian fight for suevival against the Midian Hordes of Europe...
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo,
ReplyDeleteI was luck enough to be able to buy a copy of Joseph Morschauser's book in Foyles many years ago, and then rediscovered it when I became interested in wargames that used grids. I managed to persuade John Curry to re-publish the book (with a few additions of my own) and since then I have been trying to find copies of everything that he wrote about wargaming. It is my long-term plan to have what I term THE MORSCHAUSER PAPER (I.e. His collected works ) published.
I have always enjoyed fighting Colonial campaigns, and hope to do so again in the not too distant future. I suspect that it will involve the armies of several European countries as well as those of a variety of non-European nations.
All the best,
Bob