I Have Been To...Akershus Fortress

Thursday morning found us well rested after our lengthy sojourn to Oslo. So after a filling breakfast of eggs, potatoes, turkey bacon (thank you Google Translator!) and toast, washed down with a litre of coffee, we were ready to tramp about. 

Herself had already planned to take me to Akershus Fortress where there are three museums inside the perimeter, Akershus Castle, the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum, and the Norwegian Resistance Museum. With the dreich weather, we eventually managed the first two, and left off the third "for later"... 

The tram from our Air BnB was a quick walk and a short trip down to the port area, where the fortress is located. Built in the 1290's by King Haakon V, it has been in continuous use since then. Akershus has held against every siege, including the 1716 siege by the Swedes in Charles XII. It has been used as a prison in the 19th century. And currently it is home to the Norwegian MoD and is an active military post. 

Entrance to the fortress

A very nice Visitor's Center to buy your admission tickets and book...so many books...

The price of admission was fairly cheap for what you get. For the three museums, you pay 100 NoK for an adult. That about $10 USD. You can wander around the grounds for free if you wish and there is a fair amount to see, just for free, too. 

A view of Oslo Harbor from the just outside the Castle's walls

Inside the front gate of the castle

The castle has a number of exhibits and with the price of admission, you get a small electronic device the size of an iPhone which will play a pre-recorded blurb about the different points on the self-guided tour. Very helpful for non-Norwegian speakers such as myself. 

Typical dress from the 1600's of the Governors of the Castle

Chapel of the castle, still in use today by the Garrison

There were a large number of tapestries throughout the castle

Reception Room with Squadron Guidons of units, sadly nothing interpreting them

One half of the Christian IV Room, I think it was called

King Frederick V of Denmark-Norway, who reigned in the mid-18th century

Frederick V's wife, Louise of Great Britain, as she is listed

This was called The Prince's Room, and has quite a few furnishings and paintings from the period

Stained glass window, sadly I forget the name of this room

But it was a beautiful room, nonetheless

Concept sketch of St. Hallvard, the Patron Saint of Oslo. His image is in the stained-glass window pictured above

This building outside the castle serves as the Garrison Mess Hall, but we did not eat here

We are lunch here, instead. And a very nice lunch it was...If you find yourself at the Akershus at lunchtime, I highly recommend this place. 

After lunch, the three of us went back into the Akershus for the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum. But that's a story for another time. 

Until then...time to rest up for tomorrow's adventure. 

A Norwegian Holiday

The Royal House of the Duchy of Saxe-Appeal was invited a number of months ago to attend the Confirmation of a dear friend's daughter in Oslo. This is our first holiday as a family in 10 years, so we were all looking forward to an adventure. 

We left Tuesday night from Newark, NJ and flew to Oslo, via a changeover in London's Heathrow, and arrived, somewhat exhausted, Wednesday afternoon. Our friend Ellen picked us up at the airport in a Ford Fiesta that was almost, but not quite, too small to fit everyone and our luggage. Ellen hasn't had a car for some time, since she lives in Oslo proper, so having her drive a manual transmission car and all, was an adventure in its own right. 

But with the modern conveniences of iPhone Navigation, we managed to get to our Air BnB just fine. A short trip to the local market and we had our necessities. Coffee. Oh, and some things to eat. But coffee first, and all else will sort itself out... 

Sandy did a magnificent job, as usual, in finding an excellent place to stay. We've used Air BnB in places as diverse as Montreal, Edinburgh, and even Williston, Vermont. And she always gets a winner. 

This place is no different. 

Our eat in kitchen area

View from the balcony from the living room

Quiet, off the main roads, close to the tram... just what we like. There's a park on the other side of the building on the left of the picture. 

It has been cloudy, grey, and drizzling rain since we arrived. With prospects of more cloudy, grey drizzling rain for the, well, entire time we are here. 

Meh. If I wanted sunshine, I'd have gone to Dundee, Scotland... 

After a long, long proper sleep, we got up yesterday to visit the Akershus Fortress and the museums there. More anon on that visit. This morning, after breakfast, Sandy and Morgan went off to buy things. Leaving me to do some "schoolwork", er, maybe a bit of blogging, first, then schoolwork. 

A trip to the Botanical Gardens is set for this afternoon. Looking forward to that. 

But for now... schoolwork... 

I Have Been To...D-Day Ohio

Late last night I returned from Conneaut, Ohio after participating in the annual re-enactment of the D-Day landings in Normandy. 

How was it? I am sore, bruised, a bit scratched up and very, very happy to have participated again. 

For WW2 re-enacting, I normally badge up as either 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion or Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. At D-Day Ohio, though, those impressions are less needed, so for the last couple of times, I badged up as Regiment De La Chaudiere, which is a French Candian regiment coming from the Chaudiere River area of southern Quebec. A friend of mine, Martin, and his brother Jean often portray The Chauds, when they are not portraying Canadian Film and Photo Unit. 

Sadly, Martin and Jean couldn't make it this year because of a last minute issue, so I thought I was going to be on my own, but that was not the case. Yannik, Pascal, and several others made the drive down from Quebec, so I was in good company, even if I speak almost no French. C'est bon! 

Welcome to Camp Harris, home of the Commonwealth Forces

Named after the former commander of the Commonwealth Forces at D-Day Ohio, this was the sign that greeted us as we arrived from our various starting points. 

Behind this line of canvas (to the left of the photo) is where bums like me in my little two-man tent were placed. On the one hand, out of sight, out of mind, but on the other hand....

Fortunately, the property owner behind the hurricane fencing, just out of sight of the photo, allowed my friend Rich and I to park our cars there, for a reduced fee, for the weekend. So, pack out was quick. More anon about that.... 

Had I know they were coming with the bell tents... C Coy, Regt De La Chaudiere on our little bit of Ohio...Glamping 1944 Style

But being out of sight out, out of mine had some benefits. Jambon et Oeufs for breakie. I also fried up bread in the pan. 12 men, 22 cackleberries right out of Le Poulet, and two packs of diced ham, and some butter tarts, we were ready to start the day. And fresh coffee made in the perk pot. Had I know I was going to have the section with us, I would have been better prepared. 

The Commonwealth Forces do a number of impressions and some of them are fairly involved. That shack has a wonderful layout of kit and uniforms and papers. 

There used to be a CF Mess, but the folks who set up that haven't been here for the last couple of years. 

The RAF Regiment is well represented with lots of displays and kit to "show and tell", along with the Polish Forces, The Royal Navy, the Paras, and several smaller organizations. 

I did not take any photos of the beach assault on Friday because I was, well, busy assaulting. Suffice to say there will be pictures at some point. One of the CF&PU was there and he's promised to send me some ones that are free to share outside of our group. 

But for now....there were tanks there...a troop's worth of Shermans of various models. 

"Arrogant Bastard" owned by a friend of a friend in Ligonier, PA

That particular tank is crewed by retired members of the old 6/68th Armor Battalion from the US Army Reserve, back when the USAR had combat arms battalions. Arrogant Bastard badges up as a Canadian tank for D-Day Ohio, then reverts back to US Colors for other events like the one coming up in Hazelton, PA.

The two carriers in front came from the Ontario Regiment Museum in Oshawa, Ontario. The carriers provided cover fire for us on the beach with Bren guns. 

Two fine veterans here. Steve P on the right (whom I have re-enacted with for er....almost 30 years...) and his former Battalion Sergeant-Major on the left (whose first name I cannot remember right now...). They were kind enough to let my fellow Chauds and I climb into the tank and look around. 

View from the loader's station in the tank. The breech block was removed and this shows where they place their blanks when firing. Essentially, they have a way of making the "rounds" fire that give a decent impression of tank gun fire. 

Driver station in the tank. Note how small it is... However, if you have ever driven a M113 or M577 carrier, you'll know exactly what you are looking at... 

The Allied Forces mess is one of the unsung groups that make this re-enactment worth going to every year. This small team, no more than a half dozen or so, manning the mess section full time, made up 4200 meals during the event, from Thursday to Saturday, using the three field kitchen stoves you see in the photo. 

Essentially served what was then known as a "B" Ration (mostly canned goods, with some fresh produce added), the equipment is mostly owned by the D-Day organization, but volunteers are the ones who do all the cooking. 

My section was told off to assist in cleaning for Saturday, after dinner, but before the landing. Scrubbing pots and pans brought back memories of being a 17 year old Private... but being able to help out these gentlemen was worth it. They spend the entire event either cooking or cleaning up. A great example of giving back to the hobby. 

And then the thunderstorm hit...Tabernac! 

While Ike would have said "Go!" in history, thunder and lightning are a real safety hazard for recreating a beach assault, so after a half hour or so, the organizers called it and we just had to stand by until the storm passed. 

"I went to D-Day Ohio and all I got was this (wet) t-shirt" 

As soon as the storm abated, about 90 minutes or so later, Rich and I started to pack up. There was no point, really, in staying, even though the insides of our tents were dry. There were more storms enroute and neither of us looked forward to packing up during a rainstorm on Sunday morning. 

All in all, it was bonkers fun, incredibly exhausting, and a great way to spend time with like-minded enthusiasts. Sharing a love for history, remembering those who stormed the beaches 80 years ago, keeping history alive for the next generation to learn. 

Can't wait to do it again next year. "See you on the beach!" 

"More Lasting Than Bronze" 

More Irish in the service of Spain

 Since finishing my regiment of Spanish Walloon Guards, I've started another regiment of Irish serving His Most Catholic Majesty in the Spanish service. 

Regiment Irlanda retained the red coats associated with the Irish, but with blue distinctions, waistcoats and breeches. As with all non-Spanish regiments, they have a black cockade instead of the red of the Spanish units. 

I've completed three stands out of the five I've planned, two left to go. And the flag, as well. 

That will give a nice little brigade of two regiments, Irlanda and Hibernia. Then I suppose it'll be another regiment of Walloon Guards, to make up another brigade. 

I'm trying to keep to a schedule of finishing a stands worth of figures every other day or so. A little painting before work, when I can, and a little before I go to bed. It's definitely getting the project along. 

My goal is to have enough painted for both my Spanish and Austrians to start a little bashing about in Italy. 

Tomorrow, I'm off early early to Conneaut, OH to take part in the D-Day reenactment. I'll be back on Sunday, hopefully with a fair number of photos. 

Should be a great time. 

Weekend Update

 This year is flying by, so it seems. With work being so busy, the best way for me to find time to paint is to squeeze a little time in before going to work or before going to bed. 

A recent meeting of the Virtual Wargames Club (VWC), rejuvenated my desire to complete figures on the painting desk for no better reason than to clear the decks. Well, the previous week I cleared the deck, and this past week I was able to finish some 25mm Spanish Walloon Guards for my WAS project. 

These are figures from the Dayton Painting Consortium and are the old line from The London War Room. Cracking figures and just lovely to paint. The flag in front has since been given to the standard bearer to carry and is from David of Not By Appointment blog. His blog is on my "go to" list. If you need flags, particularly for the 18th century, David is THE resource, in my opinion. His flags are top shelf. 

But as I was admiring the figures, I noticed that the Game Room needed....er....some attention....

This is a result of too many projects, too little time, and too little discipline in keeping things in order.

Well, instead of the painting desk, I suppose I should sort some of this out. 

But I do have more Spanish on the table to paint. And some Prussian grenadiers. IR40 in their Pepto-Bismal Pink...

More anon. 

More From Historicon 2024

 In addition to Jim P's amazing 54mm Gettysburg wargame, there were several other 54mm games presented. Technically, mine were 1/48th scale, but for The Road To Ambleve, (my take on the 1965 "The Battle of the Bulge" movie) I used 54mm MPC US Infantry. 

A nice AWI game in 54mm

An amazing, if somewhat hard to see, 54mm WW1 trench game between French and Germans

There were several other 54mm games, one of which I had signed up to play, but just did not have the mental bandwidth to participate in on Saturday. My apologies to the GM. I just couldn't do it. 

All four of my games were filled up. I ran two iterations of The Road To Ambleve on Friday. The 3pm session was one of the most fun games I've ever had the pleasure to run. It was great and the players were fantastic. 

Scott S. eagerly awaiting the arrival of the other players...

The 7pm game was very much less so, and, sad to say, that was mostly due to me. Normally, by 7pm, I'm winding down my day and getting ready to sleep by reading or something like that. I should have stuck to my normal process and run games in the morning and afternoon. 

My second game was The Battle of El Guettar form the 1970 movie "Patton"

Again, the 3pm game was great, the 7pm game, far less so. And since I am the common denominator, well, I learned my lesson. Run in the day, play at night. 

Other wonderful games that I saw:

Tom Ballou ran his Moby Dick game from HUZZAH!

Thomas S. came down from Port Dover, ON to run this nice little game of Op WELLHIT with Chain of Command from the Too Fat Lardies.

Tom U. from the WAMP club ran his insanely beautiful Arnhem game in 28mm

Romans in Funny Hats and 2mm figures was going on behind me. 

A very nice Sharp Practice game, Second Trenton (Assinpink Creek) from the AWI

And, of course, it would not be Historicon if I did not buy some things to keep me occupied until next Historicon... 

I horrified my fellow members of the VWC by mentioning that this is the first time I ever actually owned a copy of either The War Game or Charge!, but I managed to get both for ten bucks each. Both hardbacks and first editions. 

This was more for Professional Development purposes. I'll have a go at these and then take them up to my next drill weekend and see who I can interest in playing. The Baltic version should be ready by this time next year. 

Of course, I can't get away and not buy some lead. Strictly speaking, I asked Rich M from Dayton Painting Consortium to make up this box for me before Historicon and I'd pay for it there. He was kind enough to do so. More 18th Century Spanish for my War of Austrian Succession project. More of that anon. 

All in all, it was a great show. I got to meet some folks I've never met before, like Richard Clarke from the TFL. I saw quite a few friends I just don't ever get to see, nor spend much time with. Played in one of the best games I have ever seen in the hobby. Bought some things to finish off a collection. 

Now, onto the next adventure...

I Have Been To....Historicon 2024

 

"Wait for the Wagon" Regimental March of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps...

I have been remiss, no, actually I've just been bloody lazy, when it comes to reporting on my time at Historicon this year. It was the usual mix of feelings and emotions for me. Mostly good, some negative, but certainly better than no wargaming at all. 

Work meant I was under the gun to prepare for the four games I ran. I managed, though, even if I did detail my last terrain pieces the morning of their game... I ran four games, played in one, failed to make a second game (my apologies to the GM), bought some things and talked to a lot of friends I only see a couple of times a year. 

The game I did play in was run by Jim P. and assisted by my friend Bill M. It was a re-fight of Pickett's Charge from Gettysburg and consisted of around 1200 (yes, that is indeed twelve hundred) 54mm figures spread over three six foot wide by twenty-four feet long tables. 

Jim carted all of this from his home in Illinois over a two day drive, just for this convention. He made up a set of rules, built the terrain, including several scratch-built buildings, and tested his more than once with friends in the Midwest before bringing this amazing game to Lancaster. 

The Bliss Farm that Jim modelled in memory of a friend of Bill's and mine, Elwood "Woody" Christ

The dastardly Confederates have gained the Emmittsburg Pike. 

The brave Union boys in blue awaiting the Johnnies. I commanded Stannard's Vermont Brigade on the lower right-hand corner of the picture. 

The game was simple enough, the Confederates attack and try to take the Union position, the Federals must try to stop the Confederates. Regiments were five stands of six figures...all in 54mm! Batteries were two or three gun models with four crew each. Six sided dice were used. Movement rates were big, naturally. 

My opponents, Nate and his son. A very nice father-son team. First class, all the way. 

Wargame Rule #27: Never play against anyone under 12, because you will lose...

Stannard's boys standing firm, like the Green Mountains. 

Jim was generous enough to paint up a couple of units for me to represent the 13th and 14th Vermont Regiments. The 1st USSS replaced the 16th VT for the game. I was very thankful to Jim for being kind enough to do this, it meant a lot to me. 

The Maestro himself, before Thursday's game. 

And there's Bill M. getting ready to broadcast via his YouTube Channel, Bill's Wargame World...

To be fair, the game was huge bags of fun. We played 12 turns in four hours, including the briefing and we had at least 14-16 players. It wound up being a Confederate victory, but it was a nail biter all the way. The Union and Confederates went back and forth in the middle and even on the far end of the table. But my end held firm, until the very end. 

"There stand the Vermonters! Standing like a Maple Wall! Rally on them!"

"Maple Wall" Stannard? Hmmm....

One thing that was truly nice to see, was HMGS awarding Jim a PELA award for his game. PELAs are given to those GMs who go above and beyond to create fun and exciting games. And this was truly well earned. 

All in all, it was one of the most fun games I've ever played in and certainly ticked off almost every box in my mind. I would play in this again (no, Jim, I'm NOT asking you to run it again...). 

As far as the rest of the convention, more anon.