Bob Cordery’s excellent compilation of the Madasahatta archives.
The new map of the island, again prepared by Bob Cordery.
The French also never featured in Eric’s WW1 South East Asian naval campaign which was a shame as they had some wonderfully bonkers looking ships for the period. I never knew why he left them out but am sure that it was for reasons of practicality around the availability of models rather than anything else.
Anyways, all of this has gotten me thinking once again about the island and how I could add to its history in a plausible fashion. The answer actually came to me whilst I was busy building the Royal Navy ironclads for the Portable Ironclads Wargame: Definitive Edition, to be followed by the Turks.
The Anglo-Turkish War of 1883 will feature Madasahatta as both a casus belli as well as a casus foederis but I need to fine tune the details of exactly how the island became involved in the affairs of the British Empire and that of the Ottoman Turks. Oh, and with a nod to the Germans.
I am unable to furnish any further details about this at present, mainly due to the need to weave an alternate history into the alternate history of the actual history of the period. It may be fictional but there is no excuse for sloppiness with the timeline. In a sense I am hoping that my undertaking will serve as a kind of prequel to the events, people and places outlined in The Madasahatta Campaign, the book compiled and written by Bob Cordery based on Eric’s notes etc.
There is more to follow with this idea and I hope to report back with more details in due course but for now it is back to the ironclad building.
10 comments:
Fascinating post, David...
In building my Azuria navy, I studiously skirted around some of the more peculiar French warship designs, though even then it looks a whole different navy from all the others I built - apart from the Hellenic 'Hydra' class vessels.
Madasahatta was supposed to lie outside the scope of Jacko's and my 'Darkest Aithiops' - somewhere off the coast to the east, but never part of our narrative (and possibly post-dating it anyhow).
I have a feeling that there might be some naval activity in the east Mesogesean Sea between the Royal Navy and the Hellenic on one side, and the Azuria and Turcowaz on the other. The Turcowaz have the strategic problem of the Izumrud-Zeleniya in the Karadeniz and the Rubic-Hellenic in the Mesogesean. The Azurians have already felt the mettle of the Hellenic!
Meanwhile, I have four land battles to write up...
Cheers,
Ion
Tbh these sorts of conundrums are largely why I avoid Imagination stuff. Real history is complicated enough without adding lot of fictional elements. I suspect I'm not very imaginative when it comes to this sort of thing.
I've followed your Madasahatta project quietly for years. I too would be torn between the desire to return and expand it, while preserving its legacy intact. I think you can have your cake and eat it too.
I suggest you investigate the long neglected island of Ambarre, which sits immediately beside Madasahatta, with the two forming a large island/archipelago complex through which international merchant shipping runs. The French colony of La Côte d'Ambre regards British Madasahatta as somewhat crude and commercially obsessed, while the British consider the French dangerously. Meanwhile the Belgain foothold at Nouvelle-Léopoldville is encompassed by the Italian Protectorate of San Marco and relies on the river system to feed raw exports to the cargo ships that dock there.
If this sort of expansion interests you, gimme a call :-)
Hi Ion,
Madasahatta has been a burr under the saddle probably since I took part in it! It stands as a self contained campaign in its own right but I genuinely believe that it is rich enough to stand being expanded in some way. Having said that, in order to ensure that any additions have a degree of credibility - rather an odd concept for a fictional creation I would say - they need to be carefully knitted into the established lore. A further complication in this case is that there is a further element I am considering, over which I have no control. I realise this all sounds rather mysterious but all will be revealed in due course. In a nutshell, there will either one extra part to the story - mine - or possibly two - mine and A. N. Other…..
Four land battles to write up? I shall look forward to seeing them and the further naval adventures - any excuse to see those wonderful models in action!
All the best,
DC
Hi Martin,
I suspect that the whole imagination thing harkens back to Charge! Along with The Wargame and probably Battle! Practical Wargaming. Then came Madasahatta and for me there was then no looking back! To be honest I am very much of the opinion that unless one is refighting an actual battle or engagement pretty much any wargame is largely imagination based!
All the best,
DC
This sounds like a really interesting project. I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Hi Mark,
It is early days yet - the first order of business will be to finish the ship building - but I genuinely believe that this will really fit in nicely with the Madasahatta lore so to speak. As ever, progress will feature on the blog.
All the best,
DC
G’Day Paul,
My feeling is exactly that and for the reasons you mentioned! ‘This sort of expansion interests you’ - hell yeah! Let me ping a few times over to you for a call, it would be good to catch up.
All the best old chap,
DC
A great idea to deploy ironclad fleets for this campaign. Lots of potential for some great scenarios and bespoke ironclad scratch building. 👍🏻
Hello there Jim,
The models are under construction but I need to get the back story written first. In my mind’s eye there is a whole range of options with this idea and so I hope to fully explore these in due course.
All the best,
DC
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