Arithmetic on the Frontier: A poem by Rudyard Kipling

The title of John Sly's article in the recently published issue of SOLDIERS OF THE QUEEN made me re-read Kipling's poem, the text of which follows.

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A great and glorious thing it is
To learn, for seven years or so,
The Lord knows what of that and this,
Ere reckoned fit to face the foe—
The flying bullet down the Pass,
That whistles clear: "All flesh is grass."

Three hundred pounds per annum spent
On making brain and body meeter
For all the murderous intent
Comprised in "villainous saltpetre".
And after?—Ask the Yusufzaies
What comes of all our 'ologies.

A scrimmage in a Border Station—
A canter down some dark defile—
Two thousand pounds of education
Drops to a ten-rupee jezail—
The Crammer's boast, the Squadron's pride,
Shot like a rabbit in a ride!

No proposition Euclid wrote
No formulae the text-books know,
Will turn the bullet from your coat,
Or ward the tulwar's downward blow.
Strike hard who cares—shoot straight who can—
The odds are on the cheaper man.

One sword-knot stolen from the camp
Will pay for all the school expenses
Of any Kurrum Valley scamp
Who knows no word of moods and tenses,
But, being blessed with perfect sight,
Picks off our messmates left and right.

With home-bred hordes the hillsides teem.
The troopships bring us one by one,
At vast expense of time and steam,
To slay Afridis where they run.
The "captives of our bow and spear"
Are cheap, alas! as we are dear.

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This poem was published in 1886 and yet it still has a resonance today. The recent war in Afghanistan may now be over, and the bullet would probably now come from a Kalashnikov rather than a jezail, but the essence of the poem remains true. It reminds us that the complexities of what is in effect modern colonial warfare requires local knowledge and an ability to adapt in the light of practical experience rather than relying on a textbook approach that overvaules overwhelming firepower and sophisticated and expensive technology.

Soldiers of the Queen (SOTQ) Issue 194

The latest issue of the Victorian Military Society's SOTQ (Soldiers of the Queen) was delivered on Saturday, and I have spent some of the time since reading each of the articles in it.

The articles included in this issue are:

• The Army and the Periodic Press by Prof Ian F W Beckett
• A Soldier of the Queen and the Imperial Tour of India 1875-1876 by David Howell
• Commissions by the Back Door by Dr Roger Salmon
• 'Arithmetic on the Frontier' by John Sly
• Book Reviews by Andy Smith
• Obituary: Meurig Giles Morgan Jones by Dan Allen
• Officers of the Victorian Military Society
• Myth and Reality: Military Art in the Age of Queen Victoria Tuesday 1st July 2025 to Sunday 1st November 2026 at the National Army Museum.

Another excellent collection of articles, and it is very difficult to select a single one as being more interesting that another. That said, I can see myself returning to and re-reading both Professor Beckett's article about the Army and the press and Dr Salmon's article about the commissioning of officers via the back door.

The annual cost of membership of the Victorian Military Society is:

• UK: £30.00
• Overseas: £40.00 [except for Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore: £43.00])

My opinion remains that this magazine and the membership of the Victorian Military Society is well worth the cost of the annual subscription.

Hannay

Until I reached my teen years, I really wasn't one for reading fiction. Then, thanks to a Canadian-born English teacher, I 'discovered' C S Forester, and I began to appreciate a good story in book format!

(By the way, the book that he made us read was THE SHIP, which was Forester's fictionalised account of the Battle of Sirte, and which featured as its main characters the crew of the cruiser HMS Artemis.)

I happened to mention my enjoyment of Forester's books to a librarian ... and they suggested that I ought to try several other authors, including Rudyard Kipling and John Buchan. I followed this advice ... and I was soon hooked! In particular, I enjoyed the latter author's stories that featured Richard Hannay, later Major-General Sir Richard Hannay KCB DSO OBE and his cronies:

• Mary Lamington, later Lady Mary Hannay
• Ludovic 'Sandy' Gustavus Arbuthnot, later 16th Lord Clanroyden
• Barbara, Lady Clanroyden
• Sir Archie Roylance
• Janet, Lady Roylance
• John Scantlebury Blenkiron
• Peter Pienaar

I began with THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS, which I had seen on film in two versions:

• Alfred Hitchcocks 1935 version, which starred Robert Donat.
• Ralph Thomas' 1959 version, which starred Kenneth More.

However, the film version of the story that - in my opinion - keeps closest to the original story, is the 1978 version, which starred Robert Powell.

Robert Powell as Richard Hannay.

Not only that, but it proved so popular that it resulted in a spin-off television series that was simply named Hannay.

By coincidence, the latter is currently being televised by the Talking Pictures TV Freeview channel, and I have been watching them. There are two series and the episodes are as follows:

• Series 1
• The Fellowship of the Black Stone
• A Point of Honour 
• Voyage into Fear
• Death With Due Notice
• Act of Riot
• The Hazard of the Die
• Series 2
• Coup de Grace
• The Terrors of the Earth
• Double Jeopardy
• The Good Samaritan
• That Rough Music
• The Confidence Man
• Say The Bells of Shoreditch

The stories are not based on anything written by John Buchan, but they are very much in their mould, and are set in the period immediately before the outbreak of the Great War. (i.e. the Belle Époque). There is one recurring villain in both series, Count Von Schwabing, who is played with great gusto by Gavin Richards ... who is probably better known for the role of Captain Alberto Bertorelli in the Second World War comedy, 'ALLO, 'ALLO.

Desperta Ferro: A further video review

Further to my blog post review of the back issues of the Spanish-language military history DESPERTA FERRO that I bought online from their website, I have now produced a video version of that review.

It can be seen here.

My father's one hundredth birthday

If he had still been alive, today would have been my father's one-hundredth birthday.

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George Cyril Cordery was the eleventh child of Frederick Thomas Cordery and Eleanor Cordery (née Kemp) and was born on Monday 17th May 1926. This was five days after the end of the General Strike, a strike that his father was actively involved in as one of the leaders of the West Ham tram drivers.

The earliest known photograph of my father.

He passed his 11+ exam and attended what later became Stratford Grammar School, but his education was interrupted when the building was damaged by bombing during the London Blitz. He left school and began working as a clerk during the day and as a member of the Home Guard (and later the National Fire Service) during the evening and at weekends. (He and his brother Stanley joined the Home Guard in 1940, but George was kicked out when they discovered that he was only fourteen! He then joined the National Fire Service who seemed to be less worried about his age.)

My father as a young man.

He was called up for National Service when he was 18, and after initial training at the Durham Light Infantry Depot in Durham, he was sent to Woolwich for further training with the Royal Artillery. When they realised that he had studied trigonometry at school, he was trained as a battery surveyor and joined the Forward Observation Troop attached to the 53rd (Worcester Yeomanry) Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery. The regiment formed part of the 6th Airborne Division and he therefore took part in the Ardennes counter-offensive, the crossing of the Rhine (Operation Varsity), and the drive across Germany that ended up in Wismar on the coast of the Baltic.

My father in uniform. It is thought that this was taken just before he was posted to Burma.

My father at the Operation Varsity anniversary event at the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich. He was immensely proud of having served with the 6th Airborne Division.

Post-war, the 6th Airborne Division was sent Palestine, but rather than go to the Middle East, George was posted to Burma as part of the British Training Mission to Burma. There he became part of the team  tasked with training the Chin Hills Battalion to become the Burmese Army's anti-tank battalion.

During his time in Burma he was also involved in combatting dacoits (armed robbers) who were plaguing the border area with India as well as protecting the family of the assassinated leader of Burma, Aung San. He was also in Calcutta during the pre-independence riots, and took part in the armed suppression of those riots.

He returned home and was demobbed ... and very soon afterwards he married Kathleen Eva Jackson (my mother).

My mother and father on their wedding day.

Between 1950 and 1962 they had three children; myself, my younger brother, and our younger sister. They spent their first few years of married life in Sydenham and then Kenton before buying their forever home in Corbets Tey, Upminster in 1958.

He returned to office work, and trained to become a bookkeeper and later an accountant. After working for a large property company, his brother Charles suggested that he move over to the Alliance Assurance, an insurance company. Over the years this company became the Sun Alliance, the Sun Alliance & London, and then the Royal & Sun Alliance Group, and by the time of his retirement in 1990, he was a senior management accountant.

My mother and father at a family wedding.

Throughout his life, he was a keen supporter of West Ham United Football Club, and for many years he worked as a matchday stile man serving the North Bank of the Boleyn Ground, Upton Park. He was also a very keen gardener – something that he had learned from his father – and particularly enjoyed growing vegetables.

My mother and father in our conservatory. This was taken at New Year 2000.

My father during a visit to Marcus Street in the East End. He lived there whilst he was a child.

My father in the care home where he spent the last years of his life.

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I think that every member of my family – his children, his grandchildren, and his great grandchildren – wish that both my mother and father were alive today to celebrate his one hundredth birthday.

We dearly miss them.

Thirteen million hits!

I almost missed the fact that the number of hits achieved by my blog had passed yet another milestone.

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13,000,000 hits!

The AI bots seem to have been at it again … and earlier today my blog achieved thirteen million hits!

• Twelve million hits: 10th April 2026
• Eleven million hits: 3rd March 2026
• Ten million hits: 3rd February 2026
• Nine million hits: 16th December 2025
• Eight million hits: 4th October 2025
• Seven million hits: 26th July 2025
• Six million hits: 6th September 2024
• Five million hits: 20th January 2024
• Four million hits: 8th November 2021
• Three million hits: 6th December 2018
• Two million hits: Unsure
• One million hits: 25th December 2015

Yet again, I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to my regular blog readers. I know that not all the hits are down to AI bots and that you are continuing to read and comment on my blog … and long may you continue to do so!

The Timeless Traveller: This week's update

This is my take on what took place this week ... and if you think that because we went back twenty-four hours, things will repeat themselves, then you are in for a big surprise!

So, the group resumed their place in the queue to board Thinkertop’s ship.

This time, everyone ignored Elandra, even though she was immediately in front of the group and was bubbling with enthusiasm to get aboard. As we reached the shoreside end of the gangway, Mankare (the Shadowmancer) noticed a man in a hood at the top of it. He immediately put his hand into Elantra’s shadow, pulled out one of his spirit entities to pursue the man as he disappeared inside. Unfortunately, it lost him.

Bumble (the Stormshifter) attempted to fly aboard in the guise of a bird, but as he approached the side of the ship, an invisible force field stopped him and a giant hand appeared above him and indicated that he was a magic user!

Our party eventually reached the top of the gangway, and after being greeted by Thinkertop’s assistant, Nordian (the head of the ship's security team) – who did not acknowledge Ragnar (the Berserker) on this occasion – made everyone hand over their weapons and the magic users to put on the magic-cancelling bracelets.

As this was happening, a commotion broke out when someone just ahead of us refused to hand over their weapons and were thrown overboard by two of the guards. Whilst this was happening, Munch (the Songweaver) noticed a small man dip his hand into the chest everyone was having to put their weapons and other possessions into … and then disappear into the gloom. Munch identified him as Umber, the halfling hustler who claims to be able to get hold of anything that you want.

Once aboard, Vale (the Shepherd) asked a servant to provide him with a live chicken. This was done, and the bird was immediately named Tofu. Munch then asked a servant for assistance in helping Umber … but this request was politely declined although they did agree to pass on a message that Munch wanted to meet with Umber.

Mankare asked the portal to take us all to where the Silamane twins were, and we were transported to the ship’s Great Hall. The twins were surrounded by people and – with the exception on Munch and Bumble – we joined the group.

Munch had seen a Umber in the corner of the hall and he and Bumble approached him. He was very evasive, but did eventually allude to his possession of a potion that could enable the user to override the bracelets for fifteen minutes … but the price as huge and he refused to indulge in a wager with Munch for it. He did – however – intimate that he would swop the potion for the recipe for Cockatrice in mushroom sauce ... and he also sold Bumble a 50’ rope!

Munch and Bumble 'negotiate' with Umber.

Whilst this was happening, Mankare began speaking to the twins about a life-changing situation they were about to find themselves in. They followed him to one side of the room, and protected by Ragnar, Vale, and Callistra (the Hunter), he disclosed that we had knowledge of the future … and that one of them was going to die during a robbery that was intended to steal one of the amulets that one of them wore.

The twins were stupefied by this information and did not believe what they had been told until Vale showed them the amulet he had taken from Thinkertop’s body. Callistra also intervened and tried to convince the twins that everything that they had been told was true.

Mankare explained that the twins’ amulet was a necessary part of a ritual that was going to be used to summon a titanic demon, and in support of this, Vale described how he had been possessed by the cult’s magic and that he had seen a priestess summon the titanic demon using a book and a dagger. Mankare then asked to touch the amulet, which – true to its function – told the twins that they had been told the truth. Callistra then asked the amulet to tell the group if Thinkertop would help us to stop what might happen … but its answer was undefinable.

Mankare explains what will happen if the group cannot stop it.

She then invited the twins to accompany the group to meet Thinkertop, and they agreed. Callistra then told them about the Hooded Men, and warned them to be alert. The twins became somewhat agitated by this, but when they were told about singing in the garden to the wisps, they began to calm down.

By his time, Bumble had decided to go to Elandra’s room. Once there, he told her that she was in danger and that she needed to collect all her things and to come with him to his room. She began to panic, and in the hope that he can calm her, he told her that he is from the future and what had happened. Elandra protested, and wanted to call the guards to protect her, but Bumble told her that they were useless. Eventually he persuaded he returned to the ship’s Great Hall.

Munch planned to go to the kitchen to get hold of the recipe for the forthcoming special meal that Thinkertop had planned, but before he did so, he told everyone about the potion that will disable the bracelets and that he had used an ability he has to enter Nordian’s mind to ‘see’ an important event from his life … and disclosed that Nordian once led a mission to kill an enemy force and was the only survivor, and that he had feelings of guilt that he led his men to their deaths.

Nordian remembers.

The group decided that:

1. Munch and Johnny-Baptiste (the Cheat) should visit Nordian to tell him about what was going to happen so that everyone could get their weapons back and the bracelets removed.
2. Callistra, Mankare, and Vale should accompany the twins to see Thinkertop.
3. Ragnar would help Bumble to protect Elandra.
4. Everyone would meet up in Bumble’s room in an hour’s time.

Munch and Johnny-Baptiste went to see Nordian, and after passing through the guarded door into the barracks, they told him that there was a group of hooded cultists aboard who were going to try to animate a dormant titanic demon. When they were asked how they knew this, they explained what had happened previously, but Nordian did not believe them and kept them in one of the cells. He did – however – ask to see Ragnar, who he knew would be truthful.

Callistra, Mankare, Vale, and the twins waited in the ship’s Great Hall for Thinkertop, and when he appeared to announce the special dinner he had planned, they managed to speak to him … and after Thinkertop spotted the amulet Vale had, he agreed to see them in his room in fifteen minutes.

Ragnar was accompanying Bumble to Elandra’s room when a guard asked him to go to see Nordian at the barracks. He reluctantly agreed, and when he got there, Nordian asked him what he knew … and upon hearing Ragnar’s version of events, Nordian seized one of the guards and commanded him to open his tunic and show his chest. Another guard attempted to avoid being asked to do the same, but Ragnar grabbed him and restrained him.

Ragnar tells Nordian that Vale and Johnny-Baptiste are telling the truth about what is going to happen if the group don't stop it.

On his own, Bumble arrived outside Elandra’s room, only to find four Hooded Men outside, attempting to get in. Hearing screams from inside, Bumble summoned servants to help him …

Bumble confronts four Hooded Men outside Elandra's room.

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Unfortunately, I am going to miss next week's session ... but I look forward to finding out what happens!

Warship Annual ... and other naval books in my collection

As can be seen from this photograph ...

... I have been buying WARSHIP ever since it was first published nearly fifty years ago!

For the first twelve years, it was published as a quarterly in softback format but then moved over to being produced as a hardback annual. Luckily, I was able to buy bound copies of the first twelve year's issues, so I now have a shelf and a third full of these invaluable reference books.

I am guess that several sure sighted blog readers will also have noticed that I have well-thumbed copies of the reprints of JANE'S FIGHTING SHIPS for 1898, 1905-06, 1906-07, 1919, 1924, and 1931 as well as a reprint of JANE'S ALL THE WORLD'S AIRCRAFT for 1913. There are also several other books by Fred Jane (THE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN NAVY, THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY, and THE BRITISH BATTLE-FLEET) as well as a copy of his biography.

These books represent about a third of my naval book collection ... which probably gives you some idea about how strong my interest in the subject is!

Warship 2026

Every May I look forward to receiving my annual copy of WARSHIP … and this year's issue was delivered on Sunday.

This issue was edited by John Jordan, and contains the following articles:

• Editorial
• The High-Speed Destroyers of the Novik Type: Part I by Przemyslaw Budzbon
• Royal Navy Fleet Carriers: Second World War Damage by Robert Brown
• The Reconstruction of the Battlefleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy between the wars: Part II by Hans Lengerer
• The development of Torpedo Boats in the Imperial German Navy (Part II) by Dirk Nottelmann
• The Allies' Emergency Escort Programmes of Summer 1942 by Nigel Whybrow
• The French 450-tonne Destroyers by John Jordan
• Royal Danish Navy Vig Class Inshore Minesweepers by Lars Jordt
• 'Sea-Stained Priceless Documents': The Capture of Magdeburg's Codebooks by Stephen McLaughlin
• The Cadet Training Ships of the Royal Navy by Aidan Dodson
• The Italian Aircraft Carrier Falco/Sparviero 1942-43: The Real Story by Enrico Cernuschi
• Warship Notes
• The French Navy's Twin 203mm Turrets Mle 1924 and 1931 by John Jordan
• The Paknam Forts by Ian Sturton
• Russians on the Clyde by Kenneth Fraser and Stephen McLaughlin
• A's and A's
• Naval Books of the Year
• Warship Gallery
• The Danish Coastal Defence Ship Skjold by Tom Wismann

Wow! There's not a single article that doesn't have something to interest me. The ones that stand out for me are:

• Hans Lengerer's article about the reconstruction of the Japanese battlefleet ... because it covers the Fuso, my favourite Japanese battleship.
• Enrico Cernuschi's article about the Italian aircraft carrier Falco/Sparviero ... because I once saw a model of what she might have looked like.
• Ian Sturton's article about the French attack on the Paknam Forts that were situated on the Chao Phraya river in Siam ... a little-known colonial battle.
• Tom Wismann's illustrated article about the Danish Coastal Defence Ship Skjold.

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WARSHIP 2026 was edited by John Jordan, assisted by Stephen Dent, and published in 2026 by Osprey Publishing (ISBN 978 1 4728 7259 3).

Going off at a tangent

Until Saturday morning, my wargaming life was bimbling* along quite nicely. I was working – albeit at a leisurely pace – on several projects. These included:

• The working draft of my Portable Belle Époque Wargame project.
• Assembling the figures for a couple more armies for my Belle Époque project.
• Writing an article about the development of warships between 1800 and 1920.
• My ongoing American Civil War campaign.
• My weekly role-playing sessions.

So, what happened on Saturday morning?

I opened a cupboard in my toy/wargame room ... and found something that I thought was in storage.

It was the printed copies of first ten years of my blog posts.

Now, many of my regular blog readers might not be aware that way back in 2018 I decided to have the text of my blog posts printed and bound in hardback format. I did this because I was afraid that if Blogger was ever to close down, I would not have a copy of what I had written. I have not had the last eight years of blog posts printed or bound ... but its something that I really need to think about ... just in case.

So, how did this discovery cause me to go off at a tangent?

I made the mistake of opening the first volume of my printed blog posts ... and immediately began to read it. Back then, my blog posts were about the then recently published reprint of Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES by the History of Wargaming Project and its impact on my RED FLAGS AND IRON CROSSES (TARRED AND FEATHERSTONED) rules. In fact, between 20th September 2008 and 21st October 2008 I wrote eight blog posts about the rules and my play-tests as well as four about the Colonial version, which was entitled REDCOATS AND NATIVES (TARRED AND FEATHERSTONED).

Looking at the rules now (and the former are available online and in the History of Wargaming Project's reprint of Donald Featherstone's WARGAMING AIRBORNE OPERATIONS), I am struck by how much fun they were to wargame with. I was also struck by the fact that they could do with a bit of updating and improving because since I wrote them, I've had a lot more experience in writing wargame rules and developing slicker – and hopefully better – game mechanisms.

So, I now have another project to add to my growing list ... and I can see myself having a bit of fun tinkering with these rules and even pushing a few figures and tanks around on a tabletop!

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Here are some images from the play-tests of my RED FLAGS AND IRON CROSSES (TARRED AND FEATHERSTONED) ...

... and REDCOATS AND NATIVES (TARRED AND FEATHERSTONED) rules.

I hope that they convey how much fun I had ... and how few figures etc., I needed to enjoy myself! Sometimes, less is more!

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* For those of you who have never come across this verb before, it is defined as being 'to walk or travel at a leisurely pace.'

Desperta Ferro: A video review

Further to my blog post review of the Spanish-language military history DESPERTA FERRO, I have now produced a video version of that review.

It can be seen here.

The Timeless Traveller: This week’s update

Here is my take on what took place this week. If you think that a lot happened last week ... you ain't read nothing yet!

In the aftermath of the fight in the dining room, Callistra (the Hunter) searched one of the bodies, and besides a few gold coins, she found what looked like an amulet embedded into the body’s chest. The centre of the amulet was a shining jewel that looked like an eye ... which went blank when the man died.

She attempted to pull it out ... but it seemed to be attached to the body by vein-like tendrils. Johnny-Baptiste (the Cheat) and Ragnar (the Berserker) attempted to help Callistra, and eventually Johnny-Baptiste's knife cut through the tendrils and pulled it free.

Whilst this was happening, Mankare (the Shadowmancer) took the surviving member of the Silamane twins to the infirmary and then returned to talk to one of the remaining Hooded Men in Abyssal. Before he died, the latter claimed that they had won. Mankare then went back to the infirmary, where the surviving twin was being treated by a number of clerics. She was in a state of shock and incapable to talking properly without her sister. He asked her why the Hooded Men were after the amulet, but she only wanted to know about her sister and to see her dead body.

Mankare and the twin returned to the dining room, and she collapsed next to her dead sister and became hysterical. As this was happening, Nordian arrived in the dining room with some guards and begun trying to sort out the chaos. Ragnar approached him and in no uncertain terms told him how useless the ship's security was. Nordian agreed and also agreed to allow all the members of the group to use magic – with immediate effect – and to collect their weapons from the barracks.

In the hope that it would help the surviving twin to cope with her loss, Johnny-Baptiste gave her the amulet that had been taken from her dead sister. Mankare then retrieved it and attempted to examine it. He found that it was a magical, chaotic good amulet, and that its magic related to divination, alteration, and probability.

On the group's arrival at the entrance to the barracks, they are ambushed by a number of Hooded Men. Ragnar was pushed inside and the door was shut behind him, leaving Callistra, Johnny-Baptiste, and Mankare in the corridor. Vale (the Shepherd) – who had by now been released from his gaol cell – healed Ragnar, who then retrieved his axe from the chest it was in. As he did this, Vale conjured up his spirit wolf.

Outside, a confused fight took place. Mankare made a spell that blasted one of the Hooded Men with a ball of darkness, whilst Callistra attacked one of the others with the spear she was carrying. The spirit wolf then appeared through the wall and was ineffectually attacked by one of the Hooded Men ... who Johnny-Baptiste promptly stabbed with his concealed dagger! The wolf then attacked two of the Hooded Men and Callistra pinned another to the wall with her spear.

The fighting in the corridor outside the ship's barracks.

At this point, Ragnar opened the door of the barracks, and with two deft blows of his axe, cleaved one of the Hooded Men in two from his head to his chest. Mankare then reached into his shadow and brought forth two spirit entities who attacked and killed the last of the Hooded Men in that part of the corridor.

Sensing that something was amiss, Bumble (the Stormshifter), who had been sitting with Elandra the historian and researcher, turned himself into a lion and set off to find the rest of the group. He found them in the corridor outside the barracks, and the party went inside and retrieved their weapons. During this, the group overheard a conversation that made it clear that some of the guards knew about the Hooded Men.

Now reunited with Bumble, the group set off for the ship's vault to find a secure place for the amulet. On getting there, the floor outside was covered in dead bodies of guards and guests ... and the vault door was open! Mankare sent one of his spirit entities into the vault, and before it 'died', it told him that there was someone or something inside. Bumble – who was still in his lion form – then entered the vault and saw two Hooded Men in there. He immediately attacked one and knocked him to the ground. The other Hooded Man fired at Bumble ... and missed ... but this allowed the other Hooded Man to try scrambling away. He did not get far as by then Mankare and Ragnar had rushed in and attacked him, pinning the Hooded Man to the floor.

Callistra rushed toward the other Hooded Man, but before she could reach him, he self-immolated by slashing his chest open and crying out in Abyssal 'The Lord is here!'. A great dark light surrounded him, he rose to the ceiling ... and then he was gone, leaving a large black void in his place.

Mankare – assisted by Johnny-Baptiste and Ragnar – attempted to interrogate the remaining Hooded Man, who stated in Abyssal 'All glory to the Titan! He will be reborn here!'. Vale then attempted to psychically link with the Hooded Man ... and he immediately began to have visions of hell and a sunken temple. Whilst this was happening, Mankare and Ragnar attempted to remove the Hooded Man's embedded amulet ... but Vale pleaded for them not to, just as he felt himself being dragged into hell. In the meantime, Callistra began investigating the other end of the vault ... but then the room began to shake as if affected by an earthquake and the ceiling began to crack and clouds of dust and plaster began to descend.

The fighting in the ship's vault.

Suddenly, Vale rushed for the vault door, which he slammed shut behind him. The rest of the group immediately followed him, and after forcing the door open, set off in pursuit. Using the portal to find where Vale as gone, the group suddenly found themselves on the open deck, where they found numerous bodies (including that of the ship's captain and several guards) and ring of acolytes ... including Vale! The goddess in the centre of the ring gradually levitates, and as she rises, she cries out 'The Lord is here!' ... and as she does so, a huge, horned entity rises out of the sea behind the ship. The Titan then smashes the centre of the ship with a huge hammer ... and the ship immediately breaks up, and the group is thrown into the sea, where they drown!

The horned Titan destroying Thinkertop's ship with his huge hammer.

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Sometime later, Vale awakes on a beach, where he finds the remains of Thinkertop.

Vale on the beach after the destruction of Thinkertop's ship.

Next to the body, Vale finds Thinkertop's assistant, who is clutching the gold disc that Thinkertop had used to fly about his ship. On Thinkertop's body, Vale finds an hourglass-like amulet, which he takes. Pondering on it, he wishes that he could turn time back by twenty-four hours ... and suddenly Vale finds himself back on the dockside with his erstwhile companions, wating to board Thinkertop's ship!

The group prepare to board Thinkertop's ship ... for the second time!

Army in a box storage

Further to Archduke Piccolo's recent blog post about how he stores his various wargame collections, I thought that I should share some photographs of where and how I store my Belle Époque collection.

My Really Useful Boxes tower unit.

One of my larger Belle Époque armies (the army of the Kingdom of Schwarzenberg) in an A4-sized Weston Boxes box inside one of the draws in the tower unit.

One of my smaller Belle Époque armies (The army of the Kingdom of Ashona) in an A5-sized Weston Boxes box inside one of the draws in the tower unit.

The Portable Belle Époque Wargame rules: Grading generals and activating units: Correcting an error!

One of my regular blog readers (Rumblestrip) has pointed out that the chart in yesterday's blog post contained an error. I have therefore redrawn it and that section of the blog post should now read as follows:

Grading generals

In these rules, generals are a player’s tabletop alter ego. However, if we want them to perform realistically during a wargame, they should not be regarded as being infallible super-heroes and should have some limits placed on what they can do each turn. This can be done by:

• Grading each general as either good, average, or poor.
• Placing restrictions on the number of units they can activate each turn.

To determine a general’s grading, two D6 dice are thrown and the combined dice score determines the general’s grading.

This grading helps to determine how many units they can activate each turn.

This means that each grade of general has the following chance of being generated using this mechanism:

• Good: 16.6%
• Average: 75%
• Poor: 8.3%

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I have also added a YouTube video that covers this erratum to the Wargaming Miscellany channel. It can be found here.

The Portable Belle Époque Wargame rules: Grading generals and activating units

I have been slowly working on the draft of my Portable Belle Epoque Wargame rules ... and have adapted a previously designed grading system for each side's generals and a playing card activation mechanism.

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Grading generals

In these rules, generals are a player’s tabletop alter ego. However, if we want them to perform realistically during a wargame, they should not be regarded as being infallible super-heroes and should have some limits placed on what they can do each turn. This can be done by:

• Grading each general as either good, average, or poor.
• Placing restrictions on the number of units they can activate each turn.

To determine a general’s grading, two D6 dice are thrown and the combined dice score determines the general’s grading.

This grading helps to determine how many units they can activate each turn.

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How many units can a general activate each turn?

Before the battle begins, each side is allocated a playing card colour (i.e. red or black). The number of units they command is totalled, divided by 2, and rounded up. This gives the median value of the playing cards that commander will be allocated. The median value of the playing cards is then adjusted according to the general’s competence:

• Good: Increase the median value of the playing cards by 1.
• Average: No adjustment is made to the median value of the playing cards.
• Poor: Reduce the median value of the playing cards by 1.

The players extract the red and black playing cards from two packs of playing cards and place them in separate piles.

The red general removes the red playing cards that have their modified median playing card value from their pile plus the red playing cards that have their modified median playing card value plus 1 and minus 1.

The black general removes the black playing cards that have their modified median playing card value from their pile plus the black playing cards that have their modified median playing card value plus 1 and minus 1.

Example 1

A red general commands a force of 9 units and has been allocated a grading of good. They therefore have a basic median value of playing card of 5 (9 ÷ 2 = 4.5, which when rounded up equals 5). Their modified median playing card value is 6 (5 + 1), and they select from the pile of red playing cards the 5, 6, and 7 of Hearts and Diamonds. The rest of the red playing cards are discarded

The red general's activation cards.

Example 2

A black general commands a force of 11 units and has been allocated a grading of poor. They therefore have a basic median value of playing card of 6 (11 ÷ 2 = 5.5, which when rounded up equals 6). Their modified median playing card value is 5 (6 – 1), and they select from the pile of black playing cards the 4, 5, and 6 of Clubs and Spades. The rest of the black playing cards are discarded.

The black general's activation cards.

The red and black activation cards are combined together along with two Jokers to form the pack of activation cards. The pack is then shuffled and placed face down.

At the start of the battle, the top card of the activation pack is turned over, and the colour and value of that card determines which side activates its units and how many of them can be activated. Once all the units that side can activate have been activated, the playing card is discarded and placed face up next to the pack of activation cards.

The next card of the activation pack is then turned over, and the colour and value of that card determines which side activates its units and how many of them can be activated. Once all the units that side can activate have been activated, the playing card is discarded and placed face up next to the pack of activation cards.

This process continues until a Joker is turned over, at which point the discarded activation cards are returned to the pack of activation cards and the whole pack is re-shuffled, and the process begins again.

During the turn sequence, the artillery and machine gun fire phases take place before a side activates its other units. Both sides can activate their artillery and machine gun units each time one of their side’s activation cards is turned over. If they do this, these count as one of that side’s unit activations.

Example 3

A side can activate 6 units. It chooses to activate an artillery unit and a machine gun unit during the artillery and machine gun fire phases. Once these phases have taken place, that side can then activate 4 other units.

It may well be that one side can have a run of activation cards, but this is part of the randomness generated by this mechanism. Experience shows that over time this apparent unfairness tends to even itself out.

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I have also added a YouTube video that covers these mechanisms to the Wargaming Miscellany channel.

It can be found here.

An army in a box

Some years ago, I visited the late Stuart Asquith at his home in the Cotswolds. When he retired and moved there, he did something that now makes a lot of sense to me; he created the 'army in a box' concept. He had a special cabinet constructed and allocated a draw in each to an army. Once that army had filled the draw, no further units or figures were added to it.

My Belle Époque collection is currently stored in an eleven-draw Really Useful Boxes tower unit. Its draws are slightly larger than A4 in size and have a removable sheet of magnetic sheet fixed to a thin sheet of plywood in their bottom.

© Really Useful Boxes.

I have recently discovered a problem with this storage ... it isn't very easy to lift the whole army out in one go. I then remembered Stuart's 'army in a box' and thought to myself that if I could find a suitable box that would fit into the draw, it could serve two purposes:

1. To enable me to lift an entire army out of the draw in one go and
2. To place a physical limit on the size of each of my Belle Époque armies.

Luckily, I had a number of A4-sized Weston Boxes close at hand, ...

© Weston Boxes.

... and I am now in the process of transferring each army into its new box ... which fits nicely into one of the draws in the Really Useful Boxes tower unit.

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PS. Some of the smaller armies fit into A5-sized Weston Boxes ... of which I also have a few available!

The Timeless Traveller: This week’s update

No update of last week's action from our gamemaster, Paolo. Instead, here is my take on what took place:

The group started the session in Elandra’s ransacked room. Whilst we tried to support Elandra – who was distraught – and to investigate the crime scene, the ship’s guards kept getting in our way, which led to a confrontation with the Nordian, the Head of Security. Ragnar (the Berserker) told him that his guards were useless and the security system aboard the ship didn’t protect the passengers. The others in the group were equally vocal … and in the end we were all assigned guards to keep us under surveillance.

Whilst the rest of us left for the infirmary, Bumble (the Stormshifter) escorted Elandra to the ship’s temple. At the infirmary, we acquired a greased pig for Vale (the Shepherd) which we took to the casino. Ragnar announced that we were going to set up a pig speed contest and called for bets to be placed. The group was showered with bets – including one for 500 Gold Pieces from Caldor the Dwarf – and then Vale attempted to set fire to the pig! Before he could, he was seized by the guards who dragged him away. (He was taken to the ship’s barracks, where he was incarcerated in a cell next to another prisoner … who turned out to be the talkative guard the group had met outside Thinkertop’s room.)

The pig rushed across the casino, overturning at least one of the gaming tables and tipping piles of gold pieces onto the floor. Ragnar and Menkare (the Shadowmancer) grabbed as much gold as they could, and the former asked a servant for a pair of heavy-duty seaman’s socks … into which he put the gold he had picked up. During the fracas, Callista (the Hunter) and Johnny-Baptiste (the Cheat) sneaked out of the casino and went back to their rooms … accompanied by a guard!

Meanwhile, Bumble kept watch over Elandra and Vale – who had been stripped of all his possessions – was attacked by the talkative now-ex-guard (whose name was John). Ragnar then arrived at the barracks, where he was confronted by the Head of Security and fired from his undercover job. He then went to the cells, where he had a confrontation with John … and the latter threw the contents of his slop bucket over Ragnar. In response, Ragnar told John that he would not forget what had happened and that he should expect retribution.

Soon afterwards, Menkare went to the dining room, where he attracted everyone’s attention and announced that the ship’s guards were useless and that they were incapable of protecting anyone. Many to those present left immediately, leaving a few elderly passengers and the twins in the room.

At this point, all hell let loose! Several hooded men could be seen outside and then there was an explosion, which breached the room’s wall and knocked the Silamane twins over. The hooded men then rushed in … just as Ragnar, Callista, and Johnny-Baptiste arrived.

Whilst some of the hooded men set about killing anyone who was close to them, one grabbed one of the twins, grabbed an amulet from around her neck, and then slit her throat! Fighting was taking place across the dining room. Ragnar took on two men, hitting them with his improvised weapons, two socks full of gold coins! Callista was wounded before seizing a spear that had been dropped by a dead guard and stabbed one of the hooded men. At the same time, Johnny-Baptiste threw his concealed ricocheting dagger at another, killing him with a strike to the heart.

The fight in the dining room.

Ragnar then attacked the hooded man who had taken the amulet, and despite being seriously injured, killed him. The rest of the hooded men then began to leave. Ragnar then handed the amulet to Callista, who – with Menkare – was escorting the uninjured twin to the infirmary. Whilst he was doing this, Menkare intercepted one of the hooded men who was attempting to leave the room. He tripped him up and seized the man’s dropped sword and stabbed him with it. As he died, the man pulled open his robe, revealing a metal chest piece with a vibrant gem in its centre. Menkare, who speaks Abyssal, heard the man mutter a warning in that language.

This was the first time we had used the Nimble combat system ... and is it not ony easy to use but also produces some exciting results.