Jocks in the Jungle

 This was my library pick this month. Gordon Thorburn focuses on the Black Watch and the Cameronians contribution to the Chindits campaign in Burma during WW2. It probably reached my local library because the Cameronians were a local regiment here in Ayrshire. The regiment arose out of the Covenanters and one of the most radical, Richard Cameron. He died at the Battle of Airds Moss in 1680 fighting against Charles II, and the volunteers were subsequently a staunchly Protestant loyalist regiment that fought against the Jacobites. This makes it a somewhat unusual British regiment, having fought against the Crown initially. 

The author takes us through the Burma campaign's early stages and both regiments' involvement. Then up steps Orde Wingate the founder of the Chindits. Wingate's ideas on long-range penetration and guerrilla warfare were inspired by his experiences in Palestine during the Arab revolt of the 1930s. He proposed the formation of special forces units that would operate deep behind enemy lines, disrupting Japanese communications and supply lines and harassing their troops. In 1942, Wingate was allowed to put his ideas into action when he was tasked with organising a long-range penetration force to operate in Burma. This force became known as the Chindits, named after the mythical Burmese lion creatures. The force was created despite the fierce opposition of the Indian Army HQ, but he had the support of Churchill and Mountbatten.

The author takes us through the Chindit campaigns using personal testimonies from the soldiers in both regiments and the war diaries. The first operation did not go well. It did distract the Japanese, who were preparing for their offensive against India. Still, the lack of supplies and dehabilitation meant 818 of 3,000 men went missing, and only 600 recovered sufficiently to fight again. Lessons learned: the next incursion was better planned with fortress bases created that could be supplied by air, and the sick could be evacuated.

As is often the case with books like this, you remember the small details. For example, the voice boxes of the mules were cut out so that their braying didn't attract the enemy. And bandages in green because white ones attracted snipers. The classic bearded Chindit look did not apply to the Scottish regiments because the colonels wouldn't allow it. 

Wingate was the driving force of the Chindit operations, and disaster struck when his Mitchell bomber crashed in the Bishenpur Hills. There had been trouble with one of the engines, and Wingate ignored weather warnings, although other theories abound. His replacement, Major-General Lentaigne, was an experienced commander but never really bought into the concept of long-range operations. He had viewed Wingate as an upstart with crazy schemes.

The real enemy of Chindit operations was illness and disease, exacerbated by the long marches in horrendous terrain, living on inadequate rations. Incapacitation rates of 75% were typical for all the brigades involved in the last operation. The medical officer's report makes grim reading, highlighting the lack of reinforcements, the length of the campaign and class distinctions in the provision of equipment and medical evacuation. Despite all this, morale was much better than you might expect.

It is difficult to evaluate the overall impact of Chindit operations, not least because of limited data. They did disrupt Japanese operations and inflicted casualties, as well as providing a morale boost in theatre and at home. However, the strategic impact was limited, and whether the heavy losses were worthwhile is questionable. For the whole of Operation Thursday, 1,035 were killed, 2,531 wounded, and 473 missing. There were also 7,217 hospital admissions; of the remaining effectives, 50% were declared unfit for active service on their return. They were pioneers of jungle warfare and unwitting volunteers in a gigantic, disorganised, unintentional medical experiment.

My 28mm Far East models in action on the tabletop

King or Covenant: Voices from the Civil War

This book, by the period specialist David Stevenson, is a different approach to the history of the civil wars. He has taken thirteen individuals who lived through the period, looking at their writings and stories to get a different perspective. Some played significant roles, others less so, but none were the 'great men' of the period. I found this book buried in a second-hand bookshop, but copies appear to be available from other sellers.

The thirteen people range from soldiers, to gentry, lawyers, a priest and a clerk. They are somewhat self-selecting based on adequate sources but can be characterised as being from the middle ranks of society.

I naturally spent more time reading about the soldiers. Sir Andrew Melville was the first. Like many Scots, he fought in the Thirty Years' War before being tempted back to Scotland when the fighting broke out. His memoirs might suggest he was a lucky officer to have survived many near misses. However, as one of his benefactors, The Electress Sophia of Hanover, put it, he was often a 'soldier of ill-fortune', given his many wounds. Later in the wars, he joined the forces assembled by the Duke of Lorraine for an intervention. However, this was abandoned when Charles I was executed. He fought for Charles II at Worcester but was wounded and captured. However, he managed to make his way back to the continent. He ended up as a major general and, despite his many wounds, died in some comfort, at least materially.

Major Thomas Weir was a strange soldier, possibly mad, who was executed not for his soldiering but for criminal offences of incest. He was also charged with sorcery, although the court dismissed them as fanciful. Nonetheless, his reputation survived into 19th-century prose. He was an extreme covenanter, and I came across him first as Montrose's unpleasant jailer before the great man was executed himself.  

The most famous soldier in the book is Alasdair MacColla. He played an important part in several of Montrose's victories but was also missing pursuing his own feud with the Campbells when he was needed the most. He almost certainly invented the Highland Charge, which impacted the battlefield for over a century. Stevenson has written a separate book about MacColla, which points to the broader story rather than simply a lieutenant of Montrose.

The fourth soldier in this book was Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, who played a minor military role. He certainly looks like the classic cavalier with his extravagant dress, reflecting his belief in his genius. He was a prolific writer, even though his works were often unintelligible. He fought in the failed Pluscardine rebellion and at the Battle of Worcester, where the English soldiers found a better use for his writings, which, for some reason, he took on campaign in five chests.

I enjoyed this historical approach, which differs from the traditional narrative style. There are some interesting characters here that give us a better understanding of how the civil wars impacted the middle classes.

Carronade 2024

 Today was the first of the two big Scottish wargame shows, Carronade in Falkirk. It is held in a school, with two large halls, two smaller ones, and a room for a table-based bring-and-buy.

I was running the Glasgow and District Wargaming Society's display game, so I only had a little time to spend at the trade stands or the many games. In fact, for the first time in my life, I didn't buy a thing. I had bought all the odds and ends at York, and nothing else caught my eye. I am clearly a failed wargamer!

We didn't get to play many rounds of our display game, thanks to the regular stream of visitors keen to talk about a conflict they either knew little about or knew quite a bit about, often because they served in Cyprus. The battle for the Agirda Pass makes an interesting scenario, but the mix of equipment attracted confused looks until they read the handout. I am pleased that my F-100 Super Sabre got its first kill, a T34/85 tank.

Here are some of the other games that caught my eye.

This is the Phoenix Club's take on Fulford Bridge using Midgard rules.

Dystopian Wars. I must dust my fleets down.

Delighted to see the Montrose supplements for FK&P being played in 15mm

The Gothenburger's well-travelled pirate game.

Unmistakably Pegasus Bridge.

Valour and Fortitude are used for Quatre Bras using Epic figures.

Excellent ECW cavalry scenario intercepting the Queen. Pikeman's lament.

A very engaging group of lads displaying the Battle of Kambula in the Zulu wars.

54mm ACW. Definitely a spectacle.

Tradeston club's Breitenfeld.

It's a lot of work putting on a big show like this. So, thanks to the Falkirk Club for another great day out.

Convoys

My holiday reading was Roger Knight's, Convoys: The British Struggle Against Napoleonic Europe and America. My research for the HMS Ambuscade book flagged up the convoy system that gets marginal attention in the main histories. In practice, the convoy system was at the heart of British naval strategy. For most Royal Navy ships, convoy protection was their main role, defending the trade that provided the sinews of war and moving the troops to the continent and beyond.

Warship casualties on convoy duties were high. Between 1803 and 1815, 409 British warships were lost, 250 of which were wrecked or foundered. Bad weather was the main cause of these heavy losses, and the late-season Baltic convoys were the most dangerous. Convoys were organised by Admiralty clerks, who also arranged the warship protection, which was typically inadequate for the job. Both in numbers and the size of ships.

Convoys were not a new concept. The idea goes back to antiquity, but in this context, the Parliamentary navy used them to protect against Royalist privateers. Throughout these wars, privateers operated under a letter of marque, which provided the main threat. The difference in the Napoleonic Wars was the sheer scale of the operations. Convoys could consist of several hundred ships, often understaffed as the demands for crews multiplied. Sailing in a convoy was not popular with the masters of merchant ships because of the sailing discipline and the price advantage of getting goods to port first. However, it was effective and became an insurance requirement and a statutory duty for large parts of the conflict. The ships in the convoy were not always British. They would be protected if they departed or finished at a British port.

After explaining the convoy system and the ships that sailed in them, the author takes the reader through the convoy routes. Some of these are obvious, such as escorting troops and supplies to Wellington's army in Spain. Others, including the East and West Indies, provided the bullion and trade goods that paid for the war. Less well known is the importance of the Baltic, not just for the timber and hemp to build and maintain the Royal Navy ships but also for wheat. Privateers were also active along the British coast, intercepting goods like coal, which were typically moved by sea in the absence of good roads. Finally, the War of 1812 against the USA required huge convoys of troops and supplies to Canada and releasing hordes of American privateers against British ships in the West Indies and home waters.

British shipyards built 500 warships and 6,000 merchant ships during the war, plus prizes taken from enemy states. They were needed because French privateers captured 5,314 ships between 1803 and 1814. However, winter weather caused more casualties than enemy action. 61% of warship losses were due to the weather.

It is not an overstatement to say that without convoys, Britain could not have emerged victorious from the war. The significance of convoys in securing essential resources cannot be overstated. Bullion from Mexico, coffee and sugar from the tropics, and foodstuffs were crucial for financing the war and keeping the armies and population fed. Saltpetre from Bengal and sulphur from Sicily were vital for making the gunpowder that the army fought with. The importance of convoys was largely forgotten after the Napoleonic Wars, only to be reinstated in 1917 when U-Boat losses became unsustainable. In WW2, the convoy system played an equally crucial role in securing victory. 

This is an excellent read, highlighting an aspect of the Napoleonic Wars that has largely been ignored. 

Some of my Black Seas ships. 

Heeresgeschichtliches Museum

The highlight of my trip to Vienna was a visit to the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, one of the finest military museums in the world. I managed a quick visit some 20 years ago, but this is a museum that deserves plenty of time. 

The museum building was designed as the centrepiece of the Vienna Arsenal, built just outside the old fortifications after the 1848 revolution. The building is a work of art in itself, with paintings on the walls and ceilings that represent key moments in Austrian military history.

The exhibit halls take you through Austrian military history from the 17th century to 1918. The post-WW1 sections are being refurbished. The exhibits include paintings, uniforms, equipment and sculptures. The early years focus on the wars against the Ottoman Empire, with plenty of captured equipment from the 1683 siege and Prince Eugene's subsequent victories.

 The highs and lows of the 18th century and Napoleonic wars are in the first floor halls.

And the 1848 revolution.

The ground floor displays start with the conflicts of the later 19th century. The uniform guides include obscure units like these Bosnian infantry.

The WW1 section is exceptionally good. I particularly liked the collection of non-Austrian uniforms and equipment.

Serbian

Bulgarian

Romanian

Ottoman

Albanian

If you want obscure WW1 units, they have the Ukrainian Legion, the Polish Legion and others.

There is no shortage of heavy equipment as well. I have no idea how they got this massive 38cm siege howitzer into the building.

The Air Force was part of the army. I didn't realise they produced over 5,000 aircraft. Including this Albatross B.

The paintings in this section are very striking.

On a lighter note these are the war toys sold for kids in WW1.

If you have any interest in the Austrian army and can't visit the museum. Then I would highly recommend the museum guide. It is a beautiful piece of work with photos of the main exhibits. 

Austrian Imperial Armoury

The Imperial Armoury in Vienna houses an extensive collection of arms and armour. Located within the Hofburg Palace complex, the collection includes suits of armour worn by knights, ceremonial armour of emperors and kings, and weaponry ranging from swords and firearms to cannons.

The collection is on the top floor of the Weltsmuseum. The floor below has an eclectic collection of items the Hapsburgs collected worldwide. Many were collected by Maximilian, whose travels ended up on the Mexican throne and a sticky end!

The collection is vast, so I will give a flavour. I was naturally attracted to the Ottoman equipment, which reflects the almost continuous conflict with the Hapsburgs. 

However, it is the armour collection that attracts most visitors. My absolute favourite is the Skanderbeg helm and sword.

There are also some of the strangest pieces of armour I have seen.

I assumed this was Teutonic, but the catalogue says it was made for Albert of Prankh in the 15thC.

This is the advert picture to draw you in.

One of several halls full of armour.

This is wedding armour. I pity his wife!

Not sure if he is bragging or just pleased to see his enemies!

They also have muskets and handguns.

The catalogue picks out 100 items and is a work of art in its own right. Overall, a museum not to be missed if you are in Vienna.