History and travels

TRAVELS VIA HISTORY p1

Gettysburg (twice) and I lost all the picture, imagine!!

Absolutely great place, one hour infinitely interesting chat with a park ranger, formerly from Th Marines Guess what, about artillery

The walls of Smolensk

Told by the guide of the bricks they can't reproduce, that were so strong the Germans on 41 could not break them.

Moscow history museum 1812

Unique 1812 French mobile cooking cart.

WAGRAM
Driving through south western Germany to reach Wien and Wagram! So much to see an the ways.
I loved it but was...right disappointed with Wagram battlefield.
The Aspern/ Lobau part is nearly zero covered with new constructions. Overall nearly nothing is marked,kept; obviously the Austrians are not much interested in this. Towards the Russbach part of the field, the surroundings still give an idea of the grounds.
Austria is very nice, beautiful little towns, mountains, and a number of beautiful castles. But the houses got the modern outside isolation, so no need of pictures.
To do the whole for a good wargamer, you need 8-10 days.
This Austrian officer welcomes you in the small Wagram museum (private/no public state stuff at all).

(ex!) floating mill on Danube
Like those sent to break the bridge at Essling... now out of reach, half salvaged from grounding.

Possibly already used back then; can imagine them commandeered to cross troops.

From Aderklaa...You, as an exhausted Saxon bicorned infantryman, can see the Austrian masses coming to retake it from you?

The Russbach
Game wise, the most useful part and intriguing bit of the visit: everywhere the little river would be quite an obstacle to charges and guns and lined with trees and bush that will impede distant visibility through it. Here from French positions.

Austrian redoubt
On the height (the Wagram) above the Russbach, a few 100m behind, effectively hidden from the flatland, here the irregularity and open ground told of a former hasty work.

Markgrafneusiedel tower
...heights behind the village, you can see far above to the right wing of the French; useful.
(from a sort of mount behind)

...like this
and it carries on to the left( as seen from Austrian positions), but with a complicated ups and downs and no clear artillery positions

Reincarnated hussar horses on one side of the grainerie.

OF RESEARCHING AND WIKIPEDIA AND THIRD HAND ACCOUNTS

While translating and reading a Russian book on Cossacks, there was this story of the brave Cossacks defeating 2000 dragons near Mühlberg 18th of September 1813. The way it was described and the fact that dragons in 1813 would most likely be the most veteran cavalry around bar of the guard, I sort of smelled a rat. Let’s check it. You know the famous very fashionable fact checkers… except that no big company is paying me, for a specific slant. A notable event (Benevent?) in there was the French commander being captured, the nephew of Talleyrand. Wikipedia in its great wisdom and knowledge, told me that this fight (found because of col. Talleyrand otherwise nada) was between 3 rgt. Of chasseurs, not dragons (8e+9e+?) argh. Then they spoiled it by pretending the boss was general Von Dolschütz, Aie because this one I know was a Prussian… And then there was 2 pulk (bn/ rgt) of Cossacks and 3 sqn of Prussians. Who to believe?
In the Russian book there is a vague allusion to the source which ended up being “A History of Cavalry from the Earliest Times” by GEORGES T. DENISON published around 1900+ which once loaded (Murdoch inquest as finally found it via Haiti trust, thanks to my VPN which pretends I am in Florida,-warmed in winter) was hey! Using Captain Nolan’s “Cavalry its history and tactics “1860 (yes the falling screaming one) .well, guess what I searched for it and loaded it. Ha, this one did not interrogate an 80 years old veteran, he used an obscure book of memoirs (yes could not find it even in German) of a Prussian captain who was there (?) That fellow obviously needed glasses or was not so close to see the chasseurs he took for dragons, or he did not know! Besides he states they fired their carbines at the halt, not sure dragons mousketons can be really fired mounted. There is no doubt they were chasseurs as there is no doubt their famous named colonel was captured there! It is the same as with the “news”, the devil is in the details; when part of the thread is wrong, we have no clue how far it will unroll. In a German bit about this Von Dolschütz, it says not much of a fight, a surprise. A bit of a downgrade for the Cossacks. So the “multiple” sources on internet who copied Wiki (or wiki copied from one of them) the standard too often found on internet, screwed up the names putting the victorious Prussian in command of the defeated French…In the end I think about 7-900 French chasseurs of the new breed of 1813 were mauled/ flanked by some 400 Prussians (33% Black hussars, rest Landwehr) and 5-700 Cossacks. Even Illowaski their chief was badly spelled the same way…everywhere. The Russian author nicely omitted the Prussians and the commander. Well, all is fine.

TRAVELS VIA HISTORY p1

Gettysburg (twice) and I lost all the picture, imagine!!

The walls of Smolensk

Moscow history museum 1812

NAVY MUSEUM MURMANSK

Stories about their navy used mostly to supply troops from the sea and trying to deny the nazis from doing so. Mostly small vessels, often civilian transformed. Obviously heroic battles.Was also the museum of military medicine, very interesting, and obviously I lost the pics.

CHINO AIR MUSEUM USA/CA

A gem (actually I remember there were two places) on the south side of Los Angeles..

NAVY AIR ARM 100 years 2011

A great day, lots to see, load of interesting talks. Only shadow, could not go aboard anything as a foreigner. Thanks to the religion of love and tolerance 9/11. Last century, I went aboard plenty of ships/ visited airbases etc. no pb. Maybe I should have asked beforehand..

(ex!) floating mill on Danube Like those sent to break the bridge at Essling... now out of reach, half salvaged from grounding.

Possibly already used back then; can imagine them commandeered to cross troops.

From Aderklaa...You, as an exhausted Saxon bicorned infantryman, can see the Austrian masses coming to retake it from you?

The RussbachGame wise, the most useful part and intriguing bit of the visit: everywhere the little river would be quite an obstacle to charges and guns and lined with trees and bush that will impede distant visibility through it. Here from French positions.

Austrian redoubt On the height (the Wagram) above the Russbach, a few 100m behind, effectively hidden from the flatland, here the irregularity and open ground told of a former hasty work.

Markgrafneusiedel tower ...heights behind the village, you can see far above to the right wing of the French; useful.(from a sort of mount behind)

...like this and it carries on to the left( as seen from Austrian positions), but with a complicated ups and downs and no clear artillery positions

Reincarnated hussar horses on one side of the grainerie.

Impregnable door with bullets impacts

You should know ;).

From Aderklaa...You, as an exhausted Saxon bicorned infantryman, can see the Austrian masses coming to retake it from you?

In Wagram tiny museum, a bit old fashion dress for that year, maybe?.

1-1 scale for a change.

Salute!

Essling museum.

No I won't paint 15mm cocardes.

Katzeldorf and other Zinnfiguren museum (flats)

Sacile model

Eugène

Andreas Hoffer

Tyrol 1809

Inspiration

Well you know of one of the future projects ;)

siege

bang

ARSENALThe wargamer's gem in Wien. The army history museum.

They greet you. All those names in books.... From my ancestors most favorite enemies;)

Habsburg mugnificence..

This museum is huge; with only 4 hours I did not manage to have the artillery hall and the Panzer hall.

A bit dark inside, not easy for pics.

Ancient glory.

Not sure the colours resisted time (leather).

The Thirty years war, that changed Europe, that has disappeared for kids history books.

DUXFORD & BOVINGTON

SAINT PETERSBURG FEB 2020 A week in beautiful St Petersburg, not enough as there is so much, especially if, like us, you go beyond the usual tourists spots. We also add several historical flats of soviets (Kirov) and writers, "repressed"+ etc. Artillery, Suvarov, Hermitage, Aurora, Navy museums...

Stunning Aurora

Restored former beauties

Fantastic artillery museum

Big boys outside

1812 supply / ammunition

Russian of course

1-1 scale, no need to paint.

Sample XVIIth century attack

1905 Bits of fleet to paint yours well.

If you manage Cyrilic letters , you can get the names;)

1877+ Russian machine gun.

1877-78 Bronze Russian breech loader.

WW1

Image Caption and Link

Image Caption and Link

Image Caption and Link

Guess what, will be painting more of the By Fire and sword and 30YW troops...

Annoyingly magnificent arquebuses.

1838 Katyusha

a discovery!

45mm 1932 horse drawn

Did they ever shoot something down with this?

Turkish guns 1878

Brits

The Navy

Canisters, shells++

The size of the rooms

Did not climb any rope, just been to second partial level;).

Louis XIV royal galley

A rare model showing studding sails out.

Plenty of magnificent pictures. Turks providing the victories shown, mostly. Here Athos 1807. And no it is not a remake or sequel of The three musketeers.

Adriatic 1806 heroic brig Alexander mauling superior numbers.

As if you were inside

You are inside a Russian ship battling the Turks. Sinop 1853.

Then this is the result....

A great day, lots to see, load of interesting talks. Only shadow, could not go aboard anything as a foreigner. Thanks to the religion of love and tolerance 9/11. Last century, I went aboard plenty of ships/ visited airbases etc. no pb. Maybe I should have asked beforehand
..

(ex!) floating mill on Danube
Like those sent to break the bridge at Essling... now out of reach, half salvaged from grounding.

The Russbach
Game wise, the most useful part and intriguing bit of the visit: everywhere the little river would be quite an obstacle to charges and guns and lined with trees and bush that will impede distant visibility through it. Here from French positions.

Austrian redoubt
On the height (the Wagram) above the Russbach, a few 100m behind, effectively hidden from the flatland, here the irregularity and open ground told of a former hasty work.

Markgrafneusiedel tower
...heights behind the village, you can see far above to the right wing of the French; useful.
(from a sort of mount behind)

...like this
and it carries on to the left( as seen from Austrian positions), but with a complicated ups and downs and no clear artillery positions

ARSENAL
The wargamer's gem in Wien. The army history museum.

They greet you. All those names in books....
From my ancestors most favorite enemies;)

SAINT PETERSBURG FEB 2020

A week in beautiful St Petersburg, not enough as there is so much, especially if, like us, you go beyond the usual tourists spots. We also add several historical flats of soviets (Kirov) and writers, "repressed"+ etc.
Artillery, Suvarov, Hermitage, Aurora, Navy museums...

1905
Bits of fleet to paint yours well.

1877+
Russian machine gun.

1877-78
Bronze Russian breech loader.

Plenty of magnificent pictures. Turks providing the victories shown, mostly. Here Athos 1807.
And no it is not a remake or sequel of The three musketeers.

KULIKOVO
They are making a museum a bit like Gettysburg, trying to recreate the surroundings as it was in 1380 down to the plants and woods. I went there before it was redone.