Eyes all over the Sky - a review

John Streckfuss' book "Eyes all over the Sky: Aerial Reconnasaince in the Fist World War" (Casemate Publishers) turns a spotlight onto the importance of aerial observation to the war effort and how this key activity came to be overshadowed and forgotten by it's owning institutions and historians.

It's certainly a well researched and documented work. Of the books 239 pages almost 30% of the work is taken up by the citations. While this quantity shows a level of rigor worthy of academia, the level of writing is quite accessible to the casual reader.

Streckfuss lays out the case that the majority of aerial activities during the war were observation actions - be it spotting for guns, mapping the battlefield or searching for the enemy. The quantities of fighters was less and the role of the fighter was supplemental to that of the observation aircraft - that is the fighters role was either to deny space to enemy observation aircraft or to escort friendly observation aircraft to ensure they accomplished their mission.

The book provides a good high level discussion of the origins and growth of observation activities both over land and at sea and speaks to the challenge of creating a 'data source' that struggled to feed the voracious demands of the operational staffs on both sides.

Much of the narrative is constructed to support the  author's hypothesis that observation activities became overshadowed and forgotten for multiple reasons. There is good coverage of post-war political jockeying in the United States for the creation of a separate Air Force along with the positions advanced by the post-war warrior theorists that the real value of aircraft lay in the fighting power and not in their observational ability.

Streckfuss' lays out an interesting case for reclaiming an emphasis on observation, one made even more timely when reflected through the prism of the observation revolution that UAV and digital systems have made possible in the past twenty years. 

The author has been researching WWI aviation history for nearly fifty years. He is a founder of the League of World War I Aviation Historians and a long-standing editor of its leading journal Over the Front, as well as President of the League for eleven years. He has edited and contributed to several books on aviation history and holds a PhD from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Anglo-Sikh War - the end of the beginning...

...but not the beginning of the end.

I've started painting the back log of Anglo-Sikh war figures that have been gathering dust the past few years. Many of the figures are Studio Miniatures while the rest are a mix of Foundry and Old Glory.

The plan is to paint enough figures to allow me to game the Battle of Sobraon from the Second Anglo-Sikh War. To do this, I need a bunch of additional linear bases of Sikh infantry and some additional artillery.

But for starters, I'm working on the infantry. Pulled out the old Osprey book on the Sikh army and started in on the turbans and facing.

These two stands are intended to be yellow turbans with yellow facings. 

This stand shall be blue turbans with yellow facings. I'm thinking the blue turban is almost too dark. Perhaps I should use the color of the trousers on the figure in the lower right? 

ACW Naval - Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

Earlier in 2016 I finished building and painting my back log of 1:600 scale American Civil War naval models. What an accomplishment! I was able to move forward and wrap up the 1;144 WWI airplane project and begin focusing on the 25mm Sikh War project.

And then, that quote from the Godfather III pops up.

While at Fall In 2016 in November, I found two 1:600 Ellet Ram models in the flea market. Okay, great - I could use more rams.

A Thoroughbred Miniatures ram, but with different stacks than the stock kit. Still a good gaming model. 

And a stock Ellet ram, with a good primer coat laid down. 

And then a few weeks ago, a friend gifted me with his unpainted, mint in box collection of 1:600 Thoroughbred Figures kits.

Huzzah! A third Ellet Ram! 

Another one!

You always need more tugs and barges! 

Another Sassacus class double ender! 

Again? Guess we'll have to reinforce the Carolina coastal squadron. 

Back to the Mississippi! 

And just like that, I've got a backlog of ACW models to work through again. It's a good thing there were 28 ships in the Sassacus class, because at this rate, I may end up with all of the them!

Getting a broken Panzer IV model back on the gaming table

I may have mentioned that at FAll IN 2016, I purchased a batch Panzer IV H from a guy in Wally's basement. The were assembled, basecoated and given a heavy coat of weathering, which covered the basics of what I wanted. Given closer inspection, these appear to be Plastic Soldier Company Panzer IV kits.  I say this because one of the tanks is clearly a Panzer IV F1 with the 75L24 gun.

The remainder appear to have been done up as Panzer IV H with the 75L48 gun and schurzen skirts.
Unfortunately, one of the models was missing a gun barrel. A bit of a bummer as it's otherwise a nice tank model and was the only one with the tank commander modeled as exposed in the cupola.

The Panzer IV missing the barrel. The original owner never painted the tank commander.

Alongside one of it's Pazer IV H compatriots. One odd note - the cupola hatch is correct for the G and earlier, but not the "H".

But having knocked out a number of the Battlefront kits I wondered if I could find a spare part. Scrounging the used sprue trees, I found a couple of guns intended for Stug III G models. Now the Stug III G mounted the 75L48 - same as the Panzer IV H, so good news! 

Two spare barrels, but one is for a 105 howitzer! 

Selecting the 75mm barrel and removing it from the sprue, I used a Zona saw to cut the barrel of at the manlet. But looking at the resulting barrel after being cut off the mantlet, it was shorter than the barrels on the Panzer IV H models.  Sigh.

Anyway, pressing ahead, I used ABS cement to attach the barrel to the turret. A little care is needed to have the muzzle brake aligned correctly.

Here you can see the new barrel glued to the turrent of the table. Looks a bit shorter, yes? 

In this overhead view, we can say - yes, yes it does look shorter.

So I've got a tank with a barrel a little shorter than the 75L48. Looking at the data archives we find a happy coincidence, the Panzer IV G model (also known as the Pzkw IV F2) mounted the 75L43 gun - just a little shorter than the L48. This could work! Late in the G model production run, the Shurzen began to be fitted - that fits too!

Good news everyone! The model actually works out nicely as a late model Pzkw IV G refit with Shurzen. This will make a nice somewhat unique model for the battle group.

Goes to show you, there are no problems, only solutions waiting to be discovered!

Panzer Vor!

On this beautiful fall day, I fired up the airbrush and proceeded to paint up a mess of late war German AFV. Most of these are meant for use with Gale Force Nine's new game TANKS, but I'm also getting the urge to play Command Decision again.

Here's the force lined up after painting. A Panther,  Pzkw IV and two Sug III G. 

This is the stock Battlefront Panther and I gotta say - it's a nice kit! 

Late model "G" on the left with the early model on the right.  Still need to attach the side skirts (Shurzen)

A trio of Pzkw IV H models. Think I went a little overboard with the brown.. These are models I picked up at Fall In! already assembled and base coated in Armor Yellow.  I added the green and brown. I need more practice with the airbrush! 

These are two Battlefront Pzkw IV H sold in the awesome two pack.

There was a panzer IV F2 included in my purchase. Feeling a little out of place for late war.

Practicing painting on the schurzen.  That third one in just went SPLAT! 

A bit more prototypical! 

Of course, now I'm dusting off all the stuff that's been sitting in boxes for the last ten years (or more!) . This includes today's project - a trio of Old Glory M36 Jackson tank destroyers.

There's not too many pieces, which is good. 

One of the models was already assembled.

The other two required...some assembly.

Okay, After assembling a bunch of the Battlefront plastic models, I just want to say - lead miniatures suck!  After working with the plastic models and seeing the detail done with the plastics, assembing these lead models was a real drag. Getting out the CA glue, getting the CA glue on my fingers. Gluing my fingers together.  Trying to glue the barrel in a tiny hole that doesn't seem like a good fit.

Yeah, yeah, I know - these were state of the art ten years ago. But that was then and this is now. It's a golden age for 15mm WWII gaming. That's all I'm saying.

Achtung, Panzer!

Picked up a copy of TANKS by Gale Force 9. Fun little game. Very stripped down WWII game with total focus on tank combat.

Yes, it's a game, but this is clearly designed as an introductory WWII armor miniatures game. The game provides two Shermans and one Panther as plastic model kits (the same 15mm kits produced by Battlefront). The models are clean, well cast and easy to assemble. All pluses that will hook the budding model builder. Heck, I've been building models for decades and I enjoyed putting the models together.

As a game, it's well written and easy to pick up. At the same time, there's a good degree of strategy and planning required. It's initiative system is reminiscent of Star Wars or X-Wing. High initiative units move last and shoot first. You get data cards for a variety of tanks for the major powers - the United Kingdom, Germany, the Soviet Union and United States of America.  No Italian, French or Japanese tanks at this time.

There are modifiers in the form of crew and equipment cards.

Game play is straight forward. The game may start to bog down with more than a couple of platoons of tanks on each side. Terrain and cover are both represented with simple easy to grasp rules.

Overall this is great for casual play by grognards and veteran gamers and as noted above a great intro game for gamers new to tabletop gamers.

Sikh Wars: Battle of Ferozeshah December 21-22, 1845 - A scenario for Volley and Bayonet

Following Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, a struggle for power erupted that saw a succession of weak rulers replacing each other by increasingly nefarious means. The Sikh army – the Khalsa – moved into the leadership vacumn created by the lack of strong civil leadership. The recent British disaster of the 1st Afghan war, had seriously eroded the Sikh's fear of the Company's army, while the annexation of Scinde by Charles Napier increased Sikh fears of British annexation. Amongst those individuals competing for power in the Punjab, a plan emerged to have the Khalsa cross the Sutlej River and force the British to guarantee Sikh sovereignty. Exactly how the Khalsa was to accomplish this goal was left unsaid, and few concrete objectives were set for the campaign. Some historians view this as a deliberate attempt by the Sikh politicians and nobility to weaken the Khalsa at the hands of the British. Whatever the motivation, December 1845 saw a large Sikh army cross into British India, and then…stop, apparently awaiting the British response.

As the British Army advanced from Ambala to relieve the troops at Ferozepore, they first encountered a Sikh division near the village of Mudki. Sir Hugh Gough - commanding the British Army in India – attacked the Sikh’s under Lall Singh late in the day. The battle raged into the night, but was a clear victory for the British

Following the Sikh defeat at Moodkee, Lal Singh retreated to Ferozeshah, rejoining the main body of the army. The British spent the 20th resting and treating the wounded from the battle, but set out a 0400 on the 21st to unite with General Littler's division from Ferzorepore. Gough's column arrived near Ferozeshah from Moodkee about 1030 on the morning of the 21st.

Spotting the Sikh army, Gough's immediate reaction was to deploy for an immediate assault against the eastern side of the Sikh position. Several officers were critical of Gough's decision to attack, including his second in command Brigadier Hardinge-who happened to be the Governor General of the Colony! Hardinge overruled Gough's attack and ordered him to keep moving towards Littler's approaching division. The junction was effected at the village of Misreewala, southwest of Ferozeshah around 1330 in the afternoon.

      At this point the army started to deploy, an event that took the next two and a half hours to complete. The battle opened around 1600 hours. Littler's division launched a premature attack on the left flank and was bloodily repulsed. Meanwhile, Gilbert and Smith's divisions advanced. The British regiments bore the brunt of the fighting and they succeeded in fighting their way into the center of the Sikh position, where Harry Smith's troops seized Ferozeshah.

      Night fell, and the battle became even more confused. Sniping and sporadic artillery fire occurred all night long, with both sides attempting to regroup or reform. Littler's troops fell back to Misreewala, as did the survivors of Smith's division. A panicked British junior officer -saying he was passing along General Gough's commands, attempted to order a withdrawal to Ferozepore, but was overruled by General Smith. 

      The dawn of the 22nd brought a renewal of the battle. The regrouped British force (minus many of their native troops) renewed the offensive, attacking the entrenchments they had captured once already. As they advanced, the Sikh army's morale collapsed, and the troops fled north. The British appeared to have ended the battle with a resounding victory. The battle, however, was not yet over.

      Tel Singh, arrived from the west, bringing with him the troops that had been loosely besieging Ferozpore. Gough reformed his troops to meet this new threat, occupying the entrenchments they had so recently attacked. The Sikh's stopped, unlimbered their artillery and threatened to charge with the large bodies of cavalry on each flank.

      This threatened attack failed to materialize. On the British right, White's cavalry again charged the Sikh cavalry, throwing the Sikh flank into disarray. On the British left, the cavalry and artillery mysteriously withdrew toward Ferzepore - the work of a panicked junior officer, successful this time. This withdrawal apparently had a negative effect of Tel Singh, who worried that the British were attempting to flank him.  To the amazement of the exhausted British, the Sikh army ceased fire, and then withdrew. The only blemish on the victory was that the exhaustion of the British prevented a proper exploitation of the victory.

The Battlefield

      Ferozeshah was a village located at the junction of three roads leading to the major cities in the Sutlej region- Ludhiana-the main British "base" for the campaign, nearby Ferozepore, which was held by the British, but threatened by the Sikh Army, and the road to Moodkee, which General Gough's troops were advancing along. The surrounding terain is covered by open scrub "jungle" -consisting of low thorny scrub and scattered trees. The Sikh position at Ferozeshah was a strong one. The army was drawn up in a horseshoe shaped formation around the village of Ferozeshah, with the open end of the "shoe" to the north. Light works protected the perimeter of the Sikh position.

 

Terrain

The battlefield has some unusual terrain which should be treated as follows;

      Ferozeshah: Ferozeshah is represented by a single town block as described in the rules.

      Misreewala: Misreewala is represented by two town blocks as descibed in the rules.

      Abatis: Abatis (a barricade made from felled trees) is treated as hasty works for any stand that begins the turn adjacent to the abatis.

      Jungle: Jungle is treated as open woods as described in the rules.

Game Length

      Ferozeshah models the events of the first day of battle. The game begins with the 11:00 am turn and continues through the 5:00 pm turn.

Victory

      The main British objective is to defeat the Sikh force and secure the camp near Misreewala. The Sikh's are defending the approach to Fezeropore and the Sikh army under Tel Singh, and attempting to defeat and delay the British force approaching from Moodkee.

      The British win by destroying or crippling the Sikh Army. The Sikh Army has 4 derahs or divisions. Each division exhausted at the end of the game counts as one point for the British, while each division in morale collapse or completely destroyed counts as two points. The British win a tactical victory with 5 points and a strategic victory with 8 points.

      The Sikh’s win by keeping the British from meeting their victory conditions and retaining control of the village of Ferozeshah.

Optional Victory Conditions

Okay, the only way to explain the British success at Ferozeshah is to factor in the inexplicable behavior of the Sikh commanders. Lal Singh has near parity in troops, but lets his command sit while the British outflank and overrun him. Then, Tej Singh – with victory in his grasp! – disengages from an opponent that he could crush. Obviously, the goals of the senior officers in the campaign were not to defeat the British.  To that end, I offer a set of victory conditions that better reflect the goals of the Sikh leadership.

Lal Singh – defeat the British, but have at least one Khalsa division in morale collapse. Taking the fire out of your army will make it easier to seize power back home.

Metab Singh – At least two Khalsa divisions exhausted AND Khalsa must suffer twice the casualties of your Ghochurra cavalry. The Ghochurra division must not be exhausted at the end of the battle.

Tej Singh – Let Lal Singh take the blame and conspire with your British allies. You must engage the British, but if all of Lal Singh’s divisions are collapsed, you can withdraw a happy man. If none of Lall Singh’s divisions are in morale collapse when you join the battle, then you must defeat the British by making all their divisions go into morale collapse.

THE BRITISH ARMY

      General Hugh Gough (army commander)

Corps Troops

      Field Artillery Battalion..........(2-6) qq

      Field Artillery Battalion..........(2-6) qq

      Heavy (siege) battalion...........(2-6) qq

      Siege mortar battalion…….…(2-5) qq

White’s Cavalry Division (exhaustion = 3)

      Brigadier White

      Horse artillery battalion….........(2-6) qq

      White's Cavalry Brigade...........(3-6) qqq battalion gun

      3^rd Light Dragoons…………….(1-6) q

      6th Light Dragoons……………(1-6) q

McCaskill's Division (exhaustion = 6)

      Brigadier Wallace (commanding)

      9th Foot...................................(3-6) qqq

      2nd Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

      26th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      73rd Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

Gilbert's Division (exhaustion =9)

      Major General Sir Walter Gilbert (commanding)

Taylor's Brigade

      29th Foot.................................(3-6) qqq

      80th Foot.................................(2-5) qq

      41st Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

McLaren's Brigade

      1st European Light Infantry......(3-5) qqq

      16th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      45th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

In reserve;

Smith's Division (exhaustion = 7)

      Sir Harry Smith (commanding)

Hicks Brigade

      31st Foot.........….......................(2-6) qq

      24th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

      47th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

Ryan's Brigade

      50th Foot..............................…..(2-6) qqq

      42nd Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      48th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

Littler's Division (exhaustion = 7) Arrives as reinforcements in road column from Ferozepore to the west.

Major General Sir John Littler…..leader stand

Corps Troops

Marriot's Cavalry Brigade.........(3-6) qqq battalion gun

horse artillery battalion….........(2-6) qq

Ashburnham's Brigade

      33rd Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      46th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

      54th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

Reed's Brigade

      62nd Foot................................(3-6) qqq

      12th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      14th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

British Deployment

      The British troops are deployed anywhere within 12” of the southern village of Misreewala.

Khalsa Army

      General Lall Singh (army commander)……command stand

     

Army Troops

      artillery battalion # 1...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 2...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 3...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 4...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 5...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 6...............(2-5) qq

  zamburak battery # 7………...(6-3)    qqqqqq

      zamburak battery # 8………...(6-3)    qqqqqq

Akali Irregulars (religious fanatics)

      Akali...…..(1-3 skimisher)

      Bakali….. (1-3 skimisher)

      Dakali….. (1-3 skimisher)

      Brakali.….(1-3 skimisher)

      Makali…...(1-3 skimisher)

1^st Infantry Division (exhaustion = 11)

      1^st Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

      2^nd Brigade...................(6-4)    qqqqqq

      3^rd Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

      4thBrigade………........(6-4) qqqqqq

2^nd Infantry Division (exhaustion = 8)

      5^th Brigade….................(6-4) qqqqqq

      6^th Brigade….................(6-4) qqqqqq

      7^th Brigade….................(6-4) qqqqqq

Sikh Cavalry Division (exhaustion = 3)

Cavalry Regiment # 2..................(2-4)  qq Poorly Trained Regulars

Cavalry Regiment # 3..................(2-4)  qq Poorly Trained Regulars

Cavalry Regiment # 1..................(2-4)  qq Poorly Trained Regulars

Sikh Ghocurra Horse (Nobility and retainers of the Sikh tribes)

Exhaustion = 6

Mehtab Singh  (‘division commander’)

Ghochurra cavalry # 1….........(3-3)  qqq         Poorly Trained Regulars

Ghochurra cavalry # 2.............(3-3)  qqq         Poorly Trained Regulars

Ghochurra cavalry # 3.............(3-3)  qqq         Poorly Trained Regulars

Ghochurra cavalry # 4.............(3-3)  qqq         Poorly Trained Regulars

Ghochurra cavalry # 5.............(2-3)  qq            Poorly Trained Regulars

Entering at some point on December 22, 1845 in road column from Ferozepore. No earlier than the 1100 hours turn.

Tej Singh’s ‘Wing’ (exhaustion=11)

Tej Singh (Corps Commander)

Corps Troops

Heavy artillery battalion # 8………(2-5)  qq

Heavy artillery battalion # 9………(2-5)  qq

Zamburak camel battery..…………(6-3) qqqqqq

Infantry Division (exhaustion = 8)

Infantry Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

Infantry Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

Infantry Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

Ghochurra Left Wing  (exhaustion=7)

Ghochurra cavalry # 6…..............(3-3) PTR   qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 7..................(3-3) PTR      qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 8..................(3-3) PTR   qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 9..................(3-3) PTR   qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 9..................(3-3) PTR   qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 10..................(3-3) PTR    qqq

Gochurra Right Wing  (exhaustion=7)

Ghochurra cavalry # 11..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 12..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 13..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 14..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 15..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 16..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghocurra Cavalry Skirmisher…..(1-5)     q

Ghocurra Cavalry Skirmisher…..(1-5)     q

Sikh Deployment

The Sikh troops under Lall Singh are placed inside the perimeter formed by the works around the village of Ferozeshah. Artillery is placed on the perimeter of the line, with the infantry and cavalry deployed anywhere on or within the perimeter.

Up, Up and away in my beautiful ballooooooooooooon........

.....or 99 Luftballoons on the wall, 99 Luftballoons.....

But seriously folks, I'm making great progress with the Reduced Aircraft Factory model of the Caquot Type M kit balloon available on Shapeways.

You can read the earlier installment here;


The painting has gone very well, in fact much better than I anticipated. I stumbled over a link to a postcard of a similar balloon done up in a charming checkerboard pattern. With that as a base, it was just a matter of selecting colors and a brush and getting started.

Here's the balloon after painting and following installation of the mounting post and the basket and shroud lines. The mounting post is a #6 1/2" screw that's screwed into the provided hole. To this screw, a strong rare earth magnet is glued using DAP adhesive or other strong adhesive (I'm a big fan of JB Weld). I thought I'd get smart and use a stainless steel screw with the magnet, but as I'm driving in the screw I remember....stainless steel is not magnetic! 

Here's the balloon after the basket installed. (Don't mind the hand of God in the lower left). Okay the paint job looks crummy in this picture.  I think the camera is too close. 

This looks a little better. It might be the angle. (It might be my painting skills!)

Thought I'd hold it over a game mat to get a feel for it.  

Success! The magnet on the post mates with a magnet glued to a 'bomber' peg and allows the balloon to be placed on a stand. 

Here's a view of the inverted balloon showing off the basket assembly. The great thing about this is that the basket and all the lines are a single part, making installation very easy.

The colors used on this model include  Folk Art Lemonade (the light yellow) and Americana Yellow Ochre. The basket was flat brown and the shrouds a base coat of yellow oche with a stain of flat brown and dry brushed light gray for weathering. 

Here's a shot of the primer, paints,  and screws used in the construction process. 

Now we're cooking with gas!  An Italian SVA 5 flies past this balloon somewhere on the Piave front.  The checkboard effect looks much better from a few feet away.

Heavy fighter escorts reporting for duty!

The Letord 2 and the Caudron R.11 are completed!

These both painted up nicely. Decals were from Dom's Decals and a few odds and ends from the decal box (the numbers were Woodland Scenics decals).

A box with the escorts in front and back.

The bomber box with the escorts shifted to the flanks. 

Caudron G.6 on a bomb run, as the fokker D.VI closes in. 

The Letord 2 turns as the D.VI hurtles past into the rear guns view. 

The Letord from the front, showing off the twin MG's in the nose and the prominent radiators over each engine.

The R.11 and the D.VI get close up and personal.

You can see the gunners clearly in this image. The gunners are separate items for this model.