The Boshin War - The Penultimate Samurai

Despite being chock full of historical clangers, there is no denying that the Tom Cruise file: The Last Samurai is a splendid piece of entertainment. Although the film technically covers the later Satsuma rebellion it does serve as a great scene setter for the events of the period as Japan grappled her way into the modern world. Besides, any film that has given me a memorable quote will always get my vote!

A few ships, a simple campaign system suitable to fight to a conclusion potentially in a few hours and mental images of Samurai fighting modern troops means that this is probably a no brainer for me! The reality of the conflict is somewhat different though, but no less interesting for all that.

The Boshin War  was fought between 1868 and 1869 and is the subject of a supplement available from David Manley’s Longface Games label on the Wargames Vault. 

I rather fancy cobbling up the forces required for the naval side of this - I reckon I could probably do so from stock - and in any event, I am due to remodel the former Confederate ironclad the CSS Stonewall that became the Japanese Kotetsu. The Portable Ironclads Wargame would cater for the ships involved readily enough and for the land side I am thinking along the lines of Dominion of the Spear and Bayonet for speedy resolution on any actions or perhaps the Portable Colonial Wargame for greater depth. I do not possess any figures for the period BUT, I know a man that does - and he has, ahem, volunteered to take part in this Oriental flight of fancy.

Covering the later Satsuma Rebellion but very useful for the earlier period as well.

The later and final rebellion, that of the Satsuma, is the one that is depicted in a stylised, Hollywood interpretation of the events in the Tom Cruise film: The Last Samurai. It also features in the supplement to the Dan Mersey “The MenWho Would Be Kings” rules and is chock full of information and scenario ideas. I also splashed out £3.98 on a copy of the book by Mark Ravina about Saigo Takamori - who also featured in the earlier rebellion and is today revered in Japan. The Samurai leader Katsumoto is based on Saigo Takamori.

I feel a quote coming on:

“The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.”

I am not sure if Takamori said this but I like to think that he did!

It is the Fort that counts….Part 3

The two internal buildings are still not fixed in place but that is where they will finish up. Everything you see that is currently white will be grey - including the gun carriages. Vallejo Iraqi Sand for the walkways and Humbrol Matt 29 enamel for the doors and hatches etc. Gun barrels and flagstaffs will be black.

I had a couple of hours spare today so I set to work with making a start on painting the fort. The colour scheme will be the same as used for the earlier, rectangular version which means grey for the stonework, sand coloured walkways and brown for doors and hatches. I plan to completely paint and varnish the fort before I add the gun barrels and flagstaffs - mainly for protection purposes as it will get a lot of handling whilst its ‘teeth’ are being put into place.

Once this is finished it is them on to the floating batteries.

It is the Fort that counts….Part 2

 The next fiddly phase has been completed and so the model has now been sealed prior to undercoating and painting. The final fiddly phase will of course, adding the ‘teeth’ - the gun barrels.

Students of military architecture should look away methinks….

The two interior buildings are not fixed in place yet. This stage was adding the gates, doors and shutters - all from laser cut grey card. As the interior is rather more expansive that on the earlier model I also had to do the same with the inside as you can see.

A clearer view of the interior and the two internal buildings. The larger of the two will be glued against the flat front wall on the inside. This will give a more secure join to the two blocks that are currently only glued at the ends.

The model has been sealed prior to undercoating and painting so my next step will be the former. I will also need to jig up the enquired number of cocktail sticks for the gun barrels and flagstaffs. I will also need to drill a few holes and also address the rather embarrassing lack of entrance points to the gun deck….

It is definitely getting there though and I am pretty pleased with the progress so far.

It is the Fort that counts….

 When I first started the project that eventually morphed into The Portable Ironclads Wargame I had always planned to build forts, shore and floating batteries. Aside from the two Jenga block blockhouse style buildings I had built sometime ago I had not, up until now, really made any further progress. Anyways, for reasons that will become obvious in due course, I needed to build something rather more ambitious than my earlier models.

This is still a work in progress but I am rather taken with how it is coming along. So without further ado, here is what will eventually be Fort Squaragon.

Made from two full sized ‘not Jenga blocks’, six three quarter length and a single quarter length (a full sized block is 63mm long, 12mm high and 21mm wide), 10mm by 5mm grey card pieces for the gun carriages and 3mm square wood strips for the battlements. I have yet to add the window shutters, doors and gates, gun barrels and flagstaffs although the latter two will be added last, after the painting.

An unusually tidy work station with the earlier fort alongside the newer and larger version.

To give an idea of the size of this the hexes you see above are four inches across the flat sides. The two interior buildings have yet to fixed in place but I plan to paint these first.

Alongside the fort I am also building a couple of floating batteries so Fort Squaragon (named after a local Native American chieftain) will be well protected from any Union naval activity. That and the torpedo barrage…

In Other News….

Laurel and I headed out to our local boot sale today and whilst for the most part it was fairly low key I was able to score the book you see below for the princely sum of £1.

A nice addition to the Battle of Britain part of my library which has also given me something of dilemma with a part of my collection!

All in all then, not a bad way to spend part of Sunday - and with a roast leg of lamb to look forward to for dinner!

Pictures Telling Stories

Just a brief post for today as a lot is going on. Just three pictures of some of the ACW naval collection, posed for the camera, but why?

A menacing looking Confederate squadron.

A rather more menacing looking Union squadron.

A rather less menacing Union Squadron

A tease? Maybe, but for now that is all there is….

Till the next time that is!

CSS Atlanta: Ready for Action!

 

Finally got the Spar Torpedo fitted. A simple construction although the original had a much more complex system for lowering the spar boom.

First of all, a happy Easter to all! It has been a busy bank holiday weekend as I am also involved in some DIY so gaming related stuff has taken a bit of a back seat. The available ‘me time’ has been spect preparing for the battle to be fought for Developing the Portable IroncladsWargame: The American Civil war. The scenario has been designed and aside from finishing the CSS Atlanta I also have a terrain piece to get ready - this is currently underway and should be finished in a couple of days or so.

For the spar torpedo rig I used two small pieces of MDF, cut from a Warbases dice frame ‘sprue’. these were placed either side of the bow with a length of cocktail stick for the spar. A large dollop of superglue placed between the two pieces of MDF and on the deck itself ensures that the spar is solidly positioned and hopefully table usage proof!

I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to model the spar torpedo - truthfully I have, as usual, overthought the whole thing. The end result was very much from the school of bodgery but it will suffice!

On with the terrain piece….(once the DIY is finished, naturally!).

Not Quite The Battle of the River Plate - 1864 style

Yesterday evening at the club another Portable Ironclads Wargame was fought and as usual, I managed to fail once again in the picture and reporting stakes! The action was based upon the famous WW2 Battle of the River Plate but in this case the Graf Spee was represented by the ironclad CSS Stonewall under the command of Mr Huband. The Union squadron, commanded by Mr Fox, ably assisted by Messrs Kightly and Slater commanded the frigate the USS Wabash and the sloops the USS Watchusett and USS Kearsage. As befitted his seniority, Mr Fox flew his flag in the frigate.

The scenario was a simple one in that the Stonewall had to exit the opposite board edge whilst the Union had to stop her. The action was brief, mainly due to the fact that the Stonewall ‘went for it’ in a big way before finally being stopped in a rather freakish way. As ever, the pictures tell some of the story.

Starting positions. The CSS Stonewall on the left with the USS Wabash bottom right and the USS Watchusett and USS Kearsage top right.

USS Kearsage in the foreground with the USS Watchusett following

CSS Stonewall. I have two of these and they are among the first models I built for this project. They are scheduled to be rebuilt to my current standard and I will make sure that the turret is replaced by a gun house!

CSS Stonewall bearing down on the Union Frigate - who will blink first?

Meanwhile the two sloops (no sign of Julie Waters for readers of a certain vintage!) manoeuvre for position against the oncoming rebel ship. 

It was the USS Wabash and so the CSS Stonewall duly rammed her.

The damage inflicted on the USS Wabash from the ram attack was heavy but not fatal and so both ships pivoted away. Unfortunately for the CSS Stonewall, this left her facing a full broadside at point blank range! Luckily for the rebel ship the gunnery from the Union frigate, no doubt suffering from the after effects of the recent ram attack, was abysmal - the armour of the CSS Stonewall proved to be a tough nut to crack.

Unfortunately this was the last picture I took but the action ended shortly after as the CSS Stonewall succumbed to damage whilst ramming the USS Watchusett. In the rules a ship that damages another from a ram attack has the chance of being ‘attacked’ themselves - the rule represents damage sustained whilst attempting to back away from the target ship. In this case the counter attack was supremely effective - two 6s and a 5 being rolled for 5 points of damage! The CSS Stonewall had already taken damage from gunfire earlier in the action and so the resultant ram attack was enough to sink her. The next move she would have exited the playing area and secured the victory!

The River Plate scenario always plays well in my experience and this was no exception. The firing rules once again demonstrated to my satisfaction the value of armour and just how vulnerable unarmoured ships are. The CSS Stonewall was fortunate to avoid serious damage when at point blank range under the guns of a full broadside from the USS Wabash - the damage rolls were at a net -1 - but her luck turned in spectacular fashion with the final ram attack. The result raised eyebrows and so I have been giving this some additional thought.

At the battle of Hampton Roads the CSS Virginia was nearly lost when she rammed the USS Cumberland. Her ram was stuck fast in the Union ship and was being pulled under when her ram broke off. This was what I had in mind when I allowed for rammed ship, assuming it had suffered damage, to effectively counterattack the ramming ship. I am satisfied with the thought process behind the rule but am mindful that the execution may be seen to be over the top. I have a couple of ideas to try to mitigate this so will see  how they play out before adjusting the rule. Adjusting is the right word for this as a wholesale change of the process is not needed - of that I am certain.

Once again, I would like to extend my thanks to Messrs Huband, Fox, Kightly and Slater for their enthusiastic participation as well as providing me with much to think about. In a good way, naturally!