Before & After Dorking

The second game was played between LAFers Captain Blood (German) and OSHIROmodels (British, fielding many of his own troops) with the author as Umpire. Rules were a variation of ‘Rebels & Patriots’. It was a matter of poor timing that just this weekend the Minister of War had been at his Sussex estate. Though planned as an intense working weekend, with much to be done to catch up on developing events in Europe, the Minister had included his mistress in the travelling party. Unfortunately, the Minister’s planned weekend had become overtaken by events. With the Germans Forces having made their surprise landing at  Worthing and then quickly advanced towards Horsham, the Minister had been forced to scurry from his estate. The Minister of War, his Personal Private Secretary and his Mistress - The Three - are in now hiding in or near a complex of buildings - The Slaughterhouse - on the road between Worthing and Horsham, at the junction with road to Guildford. It’s not known if anyone...

The paved road inserts represent setts, created using impressed Milliput on MDF. The sections with laser-etched manhole covers areas are predominantly for urban locations, sections without being also suitable for some rural areas . The horse poo is a mixture of static grasses and clump foams, dropped into a pot containing waterproof PVA, Vallejo Air Mud Brown and a little water to reach a moveable consistency. A little at a time, it was then plopped onto the tile and moved around with the edges of the pooling paint thinned and blended with a wetted brushed.

This first game was something of an experiment, with the British tasked to hold a key bridge. The author played the Bavarians with fellow LAFer Captain Blood playing the British; rules were a variation of ‘Never Mind The Billhooks’.  A small Bavarian force is advancing north from the South Coast, intent on taking and holding the bridge for their artillery that will in time be following up. The British objective is decidedly similar, expecting that they would want to move their own artillery south to drive (pummel) the dastardly invaders back into the sea. However, somewhat naively the British think the Bavarians to be some distance away. Should the British not be able to hold the bridge, then their secondary objective is to retire in good order, so as to hold the next bridge behind them. It’s just after dawn, and all is quiet in the village: Somewhat behind schedule, as a pre-dawn raid would have been better, the Bavarians make a rush for the bridge: Alerted by sentries, the Britis...

In addition to the ‘chocolate box’ hamlets and villages of the countryside, the project needs buildings that will represent the industrial and commercial powerhouse that was the Victorian Age.  These mostly brick-built structures are created from laser-etched panel kits designed and produced by  ‘ OSHIRO modelterrain’, supplemented by cast resin, 3D prints and scratch-built pieces as necessary. Unlike the half-timbered houses, these buildings have removable roofs for figures to be placed inside, as there are likely to be far too many individual buildings on the wargaming table to be able to track who is where. The  ‘ OSHIRO modelterrain’ products   are   self-assembly kits, many of which are catalogue items while some are bespoke designs. In creating a cohesive industrial or commercial site, various building kits are combined and then based on a MDF tile.  A completed tile that can represent a slaughterhouse, brewery, etc: And the various parts at early in ...

At the time of the Battle of Dorking the bulk of the regular Army was overseas, serving around and about The Empire.  As such, domestic defence primarily rested on the Royal Navy and various coastal artillery forts. Should an enemy defeat the Royal Navy and then breach the shore defences, any counterattack by the Army would be dependant on the capability and enthusiasm of a somewhat ad-hoc and scratched-together mixed-ability force that comprised of: Army Regulars in Home Service Ballations, perhaps fulfilling ceremonial duties Army Regulars  at UK regimental depots for refitting and retraining while  reinforcing with new, young recruits Army Reserves being former Regulars allocated to county-based Regiments of Militia for administration and annual training  The county-level Yeomanry force of part-time Light Cavalry volunteers who could be called-out at a time of civil crisis The various Rifle Volunteer Corps formed from local civilians who paritpcated in shooting pr...

The representative units of the British regular infantry - the Line Infantry - will be on Home Service and as such occupied with garrison, training or ceremonial duties.    The regulars in the UK were but a small part of the British Army, the vast bulk of which was serving elsewhere around The Empire. To clearly differentiate them from Rifle Volunteers, the regulars will wear the Home Service Helmet. This project is set in 1875 whereas the Home Service Helmet was not formally adopted until 1878 and was not in widespread use until 1879. Before 1879 a shako was worn in non-colonial settings. However, the Home Service Helmet was trialled for several years before being formally adopted, and so - to take advantage of its distinctive appearance - it is assumed that the small number of regular units that will feature in this project are a part of that trial.  By 1875, the Line Infantry were organised into 2 battalions who almost without exception served apart. Each battalion had...