History and wargaming

  Oooof, it has been a long time since I last updated this blog hasn't it. Well I'm back, and maybe this new project will keep me posting here. As a long time fan of Warwick Kinrade's excellent ww2 ruleset Battlegroup, I was very much intrigued by his latest new ruleset, Nam'68. It sure reads like something I haven't tried before, especially the way it creates non-symmetrical battles. It will be some time before I'm ready to set up a game. I don't have any suitable jungle terrain pieces lying around, tho I'm slowly working on trying to rectify that. What I have finished is a fire team of US infantry, and a handful of Vietcong fighters, with more on the way. For Nam'68, that's enough figures to get a game going. I went with Flames of war 15mm scale 'Nam figures as they are reasonably easy to get a hold on in the EU, but I'm also pleasantly surprised by their quality, great looking sculpts all around!           I've alwa...

I've finished up two small units from the second line of the swedish left flank, Smålands kavalleriregemente and Skånska tre- och femmänningsregementet till häst. These are two very different units, Småland being one of the original "indelta"/alloted cavalry regiments raised before the war and was part of the King's army fighting at Kliszów 1702, Pułtusk 1703, Warszawa 1705, Holowczyn 1708, until it was lost at Poltava, and reraised for the defence of Skåne in 1709, and Skånska tre- och femmänningarna one being one of the temporary regiments raised in 1700 by combining three and five rusthåll to set up one extra cavalryman, only participating in one field battle, i.e at Helsingborg. Johan Valentin von Daldorff, the colonel of Smålands, was originally a messenger from the court of duke Friedrich IV of Holstein-Gottorp sent to its ally Sweden with the news of the peace at Travendal, and then took service in the Swedish army. Daldroff avoided capture at Polt...

Took a brief break from the great northern war and finished up a squad of german Fallschirmjäger that have been sitting on my workbench for the whole spring. I just need to finish another squad and the paltoon hq to have completed my "set" of paratroopers, already having finished the British and US.

I've more or less finished the command structure of both the danish and the swedish army. I'm still one commander figure short to represent major general Valentin von Eickstedt leading the danish centre. Anyway, without further ado, the commanders of the battle of Helsingborg: Swedish commanders: Army commander and centre: general Magnus Stenbock                 Left wing: lieutenant general Jakob Burenskiöld     Right wing: lieutenant general Johan August Meijerfeldt       Danish commanders: Army commander: lieutenant general Jørgen Rantzau Left wing: major general Frantz Joachim von Dewitz   Right wing: major general Christian Rodsteen                            

  Originating from fänikor (roughly company size units) set up in Östergötland 1551, it was made into an indelt infantry regiment in 1685. In Swedish Pommerania at the start of the great northern war, it was transferred to Poland in 1702, and served in the royal army, taking part in the field battles of Holowczyn 1708 and Poltava 1709 where it was lost. It was reraised in Sweden and took part in teh battles of Helsingborg 1710 and Gadebsuch 1712, and capitulated after the siege of Tönningen. It was led by the interim regimental commander lieutenant colonel Magnus Gripensköld. Differing sources put him as either 47 or 45 at the time of the battle. His grandfather Magnus Jespersson began as a common cavalryman in the Östgöta cavalry regiment in 1626, rising in the ranks and ennobled in 1665. Magnus became a career soldier at around 13-15 years of age as a volontär, and served abroad as a cadet in the Prince of Orange's guard 1681-1684. Returned to serve in the Östgöta regiment for t...

 Here's another danish unit fresh from the work bench, reasonably happy with the result, especially the basing.