The Swan of the East (I)

I have been kitting up for some naval gaming in the Pacific and Southern Atlantic theatres.  In historical terms this will include von Spee's dash across the Pacific and the engagements at Coronel (1 November 1914) and the Falklands (8 December 1914).

But first its my old favourite – the Battle of Cocos. HMS Sydney vs. SMS Emden. 9th November is not far away, but this will be one commemoration I'm ready for!

Planned layout of the HMAS Sydney vs SMS Emden clash at Cocos Islands

HMS Sydney sights the smoke trail from the Emden

HMAS Sydney is spotted - Müller order a full head of steam and the SMS Emden leaves it's shore party behind and makes of open water.

Sydney closing to a distance of 9,500 yards (8,700 m)where they set a parallel course to the Emden and open fire to deadly effect. 

North Keeling Island - the final resting place of the Emden

German 18th Division - Battle of the Frontiers

The clock seems to have stopped ticking on the 1st of August 1914, here.

Despite a good, solid start to this project, German mobilisation has languished for a couple of months – family, work and a return to study have more than filled my waking hours.

However, I'm pleased to report some progress. In a flurry of recent activity two regiments of the German 18th Division have rolled into the marshalling area.

Alas, just some quick iPhone shots ...

I'm onto artillery next, have a bit of a break from the infantry.

One of the benefits of a return to study at my old university is I get to visit a great antiquarian bookshop that was once a regular haunt of mine - Bradstreet's Books.

I managed to pick up an interesting title: John Laffin, Panorama of the Western Front.

From Amazon:
In 1916 the French illustrator Georges Malfroy decided to produce a series of panoramic views of the entire western front from the english channel to the Swiss border. It was designed to give people an idea of where their children/loved ones were fighting and so they could make sense of the names mentioned in newspapers. He put together his illustrations from topographical survey maps, ariel photos and extensive personal travels to different areas of the front
(http://www.amazon.com/Panorama-Western-Front-John-Laffin/dp/1856279014)

Not a bad little volume - I know there is a collection of ariel photographs of the Western Front been published recently, just out of my price range at the moment. I

The personal side of this journey

The centenary of the Great War has been significant to me on a number of fronts, but none more than the personal side. My early experiences of the conflict were tales of my grandfather, Harry Sennett (who died a few years before I was born). I always knew Harry was an artist – having grown up with his painting on our walls. He was trained by Frederick McCubbin at the National Gallery School, in Melbourne Australia – schooling paid for by his benevolent step father, John Sennett.

Harry Sennett (seated).

'The Grey Mill', HJ Sennett, 1947. Painted from oil sketches made of everyday life
behind the lines of the Western Front in 1917-18.

But the other side to my grandfather that captured my imagination, was that in 1916, at the grand old age of 34, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and went on to serve on the Western Front in 1917–18. After a stint in the trenches with the 39th infantry Battalion, Harry's cartography and drafting skills came to his rescue and he was transferred to a position as a clerk at 10th Brigade HQ then was subsequently posted to GHQ as one of General Monash's personal clerks.

A grand collection of maps, documents and souvenirs came home with Harry – many of them now at the Australian War Memorial. Some remain with me, fortunately. Although, I remember my mother telling me that in the 1930s he pulled out a kitbag of Pickelhaubes and German forage caps and tossed them on the fire saying 'nobody will ever want to see these'!

I've always heard that Harry kept a diary during the war (indeed, through his while adult life), but they have always been in the (very safe) possession of others. So, they have always presented an unreachable opportunity. Well, today that has changed! I have finally managed to get my hands on the three diaries he kept while on active service.

The three elusive diaries on Harry's kitbag

March 1st to November 17th 1916 – enlistment to leaving England for the Front in France.

December 1916 to the icy fields of Flanders in December 1917. 

1918 diary

Well, as you can imagine, I can hardly wait to get my teeth into these. The plan is to transcribe all three volumes and try and piece together a narrative with help of the official records. I will post some of the more interesting finds among it here.

German IX Corps musters for Battle of the Frontiers

Having WWI commemorations in full swing has inspired me to keep at the painting table on the Mons project. Today I finished the first batch of German infantry for IX Corps. Irregular miniatures in 6mm – as per the BEF – with five figures a base (Irregular bases are 3 figures per base).

While the grey uniform certainly differentiates them on the table, I've also changed the basing colour scheme just to make that easy at a glance. I've not found the German infantry as easy to paint as the British troops.

In many of these Irregular sculpts the Pickelhaube is a little indistinct. To try and capture that very early war look, I've gone with painting the regimental number (well, a red dot!) on the Pickelhaube cover in red rather than the green that would be more appropriate for 1915, which I hope to stretch this early war range into.

The Old Contemptibles at Mons

The build up for my upcomming Great War Spearhead II (GWSH II) scenario has reached it's first milestone with the completion of the British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) OOB for the Battle of Mons (23 August 1914), their first major engagement of the Great War.

The BEF under Sir John French fielded 70,000 troops and 300 guns at the Battle of Mons but faced General Alexander von Kluck's First Army – 160,000 troops with 600 guns. The BEF were charged with holding their line so the French Fifth Army under General Charles Lanrezac, on the right of the British line, could fall back.

Courtesy of: In the footsteps 

The GWSH II scenario focusses on the actions on the right of the BEF's line with elements of the 7th Brigade and the 8th Brigade attempting to hold the salient around the city of Mons against the German IX Corps – represented by two brigades of the 17th Division and the four brigades of the 18th Division. The BEF were dug in along the line of the Mons–Condé Canal with the Germans advancing across open ground to the north.

The German Attack at Nimy Bridge on 23rd August 1914. Courtesy of: In the footsteps 

Below are the completed BEF units based on 30mm x 30mm squares. They are 6mm Irregular Miniatures. While the miniatures lack a bit of clarity in their castings, once painted up I think they look good. As has been said elsewhere, gaming this period in 6mm is more about the terrain than the figures. They have been surprisingly easy and quick to paint. I've tried to put a little extra effort into basing the figures.

Two battalions of the 7th Brigade, BEF

8th Brigade of the BEF

BEF Engineers (not required for the scenario, but I couldn't resist getting a few for later use)

The heavy guns of the BEF – 2 Batteries of Howitzers
(should be 4.5" howitzers – but I only have these 60 pounder's at present)

One of the two 18 pounder Field Gun Regiments supporting the BEF.

Brigade HQ

Detail of the Old Contemptibles – each base is a company of infantry or a machine gun platoon

Also, I've started work on a generic terrain mat for the WWI gaming. I'm using a canvas painter's drop sheet coated in brown latex caulking compound coated in various colours of flocking.

The next step is to start work on the German IX Corps!

Remembrance

As the centenary of the opening engagement of the Great War on 28 July 1914 approaches, its a useful time to ponder the meaning of such remembrances. As a war gamer and history buff it's terribly easy to look forward to the various big dates ahead. One must temper this enthusiasm with the more somber reality of the events we recall.

This cataclysmic conflict saw over 9 million combatants killed in a style of warfare driven by technological and industrial sophistication. Yet, it wallowed in tactical stalemate at immense cost to society and the environment. The impact of the war was wide reaching, and had many legacies - it's well worth having a look at the summary of these by the Wall Street Journal: 100 Legacies of the Great War.

Much of the horror of war can be glimpsed in the work of artists and poets of the time - it is by making occasional reference to these works that I hope to curb my boyish enthusiasm for this event.

After a Push, C.R.W. NEVINSON
The battle-scarred landscape remains deserted with great water-filled craters. In the distance, a series of broken trees line the horizon and exploding shells remind us of the proximity of war. This work is a critical response to the meaningless destruction of landscape in war.
Source: Imperial War Museum, reproduced at http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/20212

After a Push, C.R.W Nevinson, with thanks to the Imperial War Museum

The Harvest of Battle, C.R.W. NEVINSON.
This work was commissioned by the Ministry of Information for the Hall of Remembrance alongside Sargent's, 'Gassed'. Nevinson describes how he produced the sketches for this work during a trip to Passchendaele with a fellow officer: 'We arrived at Ypres, and while he went to the Officers' Club I wandered on up towards the Salient and obtained notes and rough sketches for my painting, 'Harvest of Battle'.' (CRW Nevinson, Paint and Prejudice, 1937) Nevinson provides his own description of this work in a letter to Alfred Yockney from the Ministry of Information on 11 June 1919: 'A typical scene after an offensive at dawn. Walking wounded, prisoners and stretcher cases are making their way to the rear through the water- logged country of Flanders. By now the Infantry have advanced behind the creeping barrage on the right, only leaving the dead, mud, & wire; but their former positions are now occupied by the Artillery. The enemy is sending up SOS signals and once more these shattered men will be subjected to counter-battery fire. British aeroplanes are spotting hostile positions.'
Source: Imperial War Museum, reproduced at http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/20223

The Harvest of Battle, C.R.W. NEVINSON. 1919, with thanks to the Imperial War Museum

Preparations for the Battle of Mons, 23 August 1914

I have two areas of interest in wargaming the WWI centenary: early naval actions in the Pacific, Indian Ocean and South Atlantic, and the campaigns on the Western Front. My current project is painting up the forces for the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at Mons, Belgium, on 23 August 1914.

A resource I hope to be calling on for some of the early-war engagements on the Western Front is a little gem I've had on the shelf for years, but never dipped into:

A selection of the 10 fold-out maps in the collection being modelled by my every reliable second in command (my gaming-loving 10 year old girl).

• The First Forty Days 1914. Robertson, Lieutenant - General Sir Horace. Published by Australian Army Headquarters., Melbourne, 1950. A comprehensive study of the first forty days of the war in 1914 on the Western Front. Produced from lectures originally given at the military college at Duntroon.

While the maps are far from detailed, the text accompanying them has some good summaries of troop dispositions and actions.

This is a totally new era for me in war-gaming and I have adopted the Great War Spearhead II ruleset in which a base of troops equals one company. I am gaming in 6mm scale using Irregular Miniatures figures. I had originally planned on using the excellent looking Baccus 6mm Great War range, but due to the proximity of Eureka Miniatures to me (allowing weekly top-up of the unpainted lead pile!), convenience won out over art.

So, the paint brush is working furiously and I have a few pictures to offer of elements of the BEF's 7th Brigade and some divisional artillery (two batteries of 18-pounder field guns).

Two infantry battalions of the 7th Brigade (detail)

Elements of the 7th Brigade, BEF

Two batteries of the Divisional artillery supporting the 7th and 8th Brigades at Mons. Note the spent shell cases next to the gun - quite like how that has turned out (clippings of brass wire).

A huddle of Red Caps: At 7th Brigade HQ - Major General Hamilton drops in to inspect preparations for the defence of Mons (his staff car must have ducked behind some bushes!).

I still have some detailing to do on the field guns and Brigade HQ tent, but they are close to done. They are only iPhone pictures - must improve my photographic abilities for this scale!