In light of the horrific situation in Palestine I've decided against starting a WW1 Middle Eastern collection. It seems too near the knuckle to game a location that's currently seeing so much bloodshed. I've decided instead to expand my existing ECW collection to a size more reasonable to game with. It'll basically mean adding to each side three or four regiments of foot, a regiment of dragoons and perhaps another cavalry regiment apiece too.
Oh sh-t! The colonel's here!
A busy life and dealing with long Covid suppressed any desire I had to game over the summer months. Now the cooler weather's here I'm thinking of starting up again, perhaps with a new 10mm project, perhaps by expanding an old one.
As a nod to the potential new project I recently bought Allenby's Gunners...
The blurb...
The book tells the story of artillery in the
highly successful World War I Sinai and Palestine campaigns. Following
Gallipoli and the reconstitution of the AIF, a shortage of Australian
gunners saw British Territorial artillery allotted to the Australian
Light Horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifle brigades. It was a
relationship that would prove highly successful and Allenby's Gunners
provides a detailed and colorful description of the artillery war,
cavalry and infantry operations from the first battles of Romani and
Rafa, through the tough actions of Gaza, the Palestine desert, Jordan
Valley and Amman to the capture of Jerusalem. The story concludes with
the superb victory of Megiddo and the taking of Damascus until the
theater armistice of 1918.
Smith Covers the trials and triumphs
of the gunners as they honed their art in one of the most difficult
battlefield environments of the war. The desert proved hostile and
unrelenting, testing the gunners, their weapons and their animals in the
harsh conditions. The gunners' adversary, the wily and skillful Ottoman
artillerymen, endured the same horrendous conditions and proved a tough
and courageous foe.
* * *
I've yet to start in on the book, but it sounds promising. There are a number of blogs out in the blogosphere which are inspirational, such as:-
Although Michael hasn't posted anything on this project for a while, it's still inspiring stuff. He bases his gaming on the Too Fat Lardies If the Lord Spares Us rules set, which I plan to use as they lend themselves to solo play.
So, I might begin a new period in this interesting theatre of the Great War, with its eclectic mix of units types and terrain - plus Lawrence of Arabia! Or, I might continue with my ECW collection, expanding from the handful of foote and horse to something approaching a worthwhile army for both Parliament and Royalists. Decisions decisions...
