Just in case anyone was wondering, I was working in Scotland last week and I thought I might share this image with you of Ruthven Barracks where, in August 1745, one Sergeant Molloy and twelve British soldiers succesfully fought off an attack by 200 Jacobites. In February 1746, the Jacobites returned, this time with artillery. The now Lieutenant Molloy, was sensible enough to realise that his barracks were not designed to withstand an artillery bombardment and surrendered. The Jacobites parolled Molloy and his men and then burnt the barracks down which have remained untouched eversince. Anyway, a great place well worth the visit and I thought you might like the picture.
This week started with a bang with this charming looking artillery piece that you would not find anywhere near Horseguards Parade - a shame really because it would make Trooping the Colour so much more fun to watch. Imagine the commentary; "And now the Royal Horse Artillery will pass in review order pass Her Majesty......What The .....?!%$
And if your artillery does not have wheels, just employ some large gentlemen to carry the barrel instead. This has all the makings for claims being submitted for repetitive strain injury.
Rob brought in one of his magnificent prolifery of periods with this very nice rendition of (correct me if I'm wrong, Rob) what became known as 'The War of English Succession' that occured in the immediate aftermath of William III gaining the throne of Britain. This was to be the first of a series of wars fought between the British and French over the next 125 years wars that only ended at Waterloo in 1815.
Postscript: Andy B kindly corrected me that the figures he painted are from 'The War of the Grand Alliance'. I wanted to find out more and found that, like other events in history, this is one of those events that has been given a number of titles over the years. For example, whilst the British and Dutch call their battle of 18 June 1815 'Waterloo', the French and Germans often refer to it as 'Mont St Jean' and 'La Belle Alliance' respectively. The war fought between
1688 - 97 is variously called 'The War of the Grand Alliance' (the title most used today), 'The War of the League of Augsburg' or the 'The Nine Years War' whilst older texts (including my dusty old history book) refer to it as 'The War of the Palatine Succession' or 'The War of English Succession'. Call it what you may, my dice still hate me!
Ok, this is not Waterloo but it has got blokes dressed in red. So either they have got something right or they just think that the concept of Camouflage and Concealement is for big girls blouses. The storage containers stacked up on the left are a nice aesthetical touch.
It's Boxer 'Chippy Choppy Time' again! This was a test game for Legionary 09 that is being held in Exeter this Saturday (see http://www.legionary-exeter.com/ for more details) where this game will be open for anyone who wants to play the part of the Western Powers and feels brave enough to face the terror of a Boxer attack. See you at the barricades!
NEXT WEEK:
Napoleonic Naval: Chris, Tony, Tom (plus room for one other).
Napoleonic Land: Myself, Brett, Trainset, Andy B.
Necromunda: Mick and Robin.
Game tbc: Brad, Rob, Bookmark and Vince.
PRJA
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