Before & After Dorking

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 was arguably the first in which the railways played a pivotal role in the timely and organised delivery to the battlefield of vast quantities of troops and supplies. Recognising the importance of the railway infrastructure, the Prussians and the Bavarians each had their own railway troops. With regard to the 1875 Invasion of Britain, an earlier post considers the planned German advance from Shoreham, via Horsham, to Dorking. This route follows one of the many lines owned and run by the London Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSC). A map of the LBSC system, at Victoria Station, London: In 1875 the LBSC was also running its own distinctively liveried engines and stock on the East London Line, via the former Thames Foot Tunnel which by then had been converted to double rail. The Thames Tunnel crossed under the river between  Rotherhithe and Wapping  e nabling trains to run through to Croydon West and thence onto Dorking, Horsham, Shoreham, e...

It’s 1875 and the German Invaders have landed near Worthing, advancing north through Horsham to what could be a decisive battle near Dorking. Meanwhile there’s been a feint landing at Harwich and an attempt will be made to seize the Woolwich Arsenal. So far, so ‘ Reminisces of a Volunteer’ , written by George Chesney and published in May 1871. However, this project  does not follow the book exactly as it is written, both in varying the units involved and in including a subsequent landing on the north of bank of the Thames. The latter being intended to seize intact the Royal Gunpowder Mills at Waltham Abbey, the Tower of London and the East End docks after taking out the Artillery ranges at Shoeburyness and the fort at Tilbury. As an aside, at the time of writing (2023) this wargaming project has been in development for a few years, initially as Victorian Gothic Horror set in 1888 Whitechapel and more recently as Victorian Military Fiction, with this German Invasion primarily s...

‘Before & After Dorking’   (BAD) is a wargamer’s study of the German Empire’s fictitious invasion of Great Britain. Set in 1875, this hypothetical event was explored in a piece of Victorian Military Fiction,  ‘ The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer’ ,  which was written by George Chesney and originally published in 1871. As a serving British Army officer, Chesney’s story had reflected his concern with the comparative speed, superiority and adaptability of the Prussian Army as demonstrated by it in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871. He  was not to know that by 1875 the various German states would have come together to create an even more powerful Imperial German Empire. Much is already written about the Battle of Dorking (especially by Chesney!) and so this blog - BAD - is primarily concerned with the actions, skirmishes and battles that could have taken place both before and after it.  As a wargamer’s study, the blog content is part histo...