An Extemporaneous Effusion on the Passing of King Maurice DeVille

An Extemporaneous Effusion on the Passing of King Maurice DeVille

(Note: Frankszonian officials insist that this broadsheet which appeared on the doors of some local taverns does not accurately represent any of the poetic tributes offered at the official “Drink to That” event ... though they can’t seem to find anybody who remembers those very clearly ....)

Old King Maurice of Stagonia is dead now, alas!
Pity their girls of their working nights class:
Who must now half their prices
For duration of the crisis.
For what species will King Fred prefer in His bed?

Mad Maurice, alas, has horribly died.
Stagonia insists that it Was a suicide.
Of Course that is true,
For surely, just like you,
New King Fred is sadly aware of how he tried!

Stagonian nights must be terribly depraved.
Their Kings have become so sickly and afraid,
So filled with depravity
They catch their decaptivity
With bracelets behind so shiny and engraved.

—

In other news ....

Though the court does not wish to start the Witch Hysterias anew, it has taken notice of the purported activities of the recently ascended King Frederick De Vile of Stagonia.
As a consequence, we are recruiting specialists from the Rabbinate and also will encourage quarterly competitions in composing and painting distelfinks ... (probably spelt wrong ... those are the colorful, kaleidoscopic patterns used by the “Pennsylvania Dutch” and their German forbears to attract good spirits and drive off bad ones).

Battle of Sharp (Cheese) burg

Battle of Sharpcheeseberg

Forces involved:
(note, battle used 25 mm figures ... no pictures, wife was asleep with a cold)
Frankszonia:
* Brigadier Chicken
* I/R Sanders/Chicken: 1 battalions x 12 figs @ (5) (rebuilt after Siefriedsburg)
Blue / red; Yellow / yellow black black/white
* I R Footlongs: 1 battalions x12 figs @ (5)
Blue/Yellow white/white black/white black/white
*Bangers Jaegers 1 Battalion x 8 figures @ (6)
Blue / buff white / black black / na

Cheezers:
* Michael O’Mouse
* Bitischerwurst composite Grenadiers x 10 figures @ (6)
** I/R Gruenkaze 2 bats x 10 figures @ (5)
Dark green / light green Light green / black bronze helment
(actually, used figures for a jaeger unit)

No artillery nor cavalry involved in this skirmish.
Notice that the more flexible basing of 25 mm permitted the use of “10 figure battalions”.

Battlefield Terrain.

in the north, a road runs from Hesse Fedora (to the west) east to west across the board ... Sharpcheeseberg is in the middle.
From Sharpcheeseberg, another road runs south, but takes a sharp turn east towards the bottom o f the board, swinging behind a hill, and exits in the southeast.
Squeezed in between the road and the board edge in the northwest beyond Sharpcheeseberg is another hill.
An hedgerow runs from Sharpcheeseberg southwest to the board’s edge. In the southwest quadrant is also a small woods.

Opening Dispositions and Missions:
* Frankszonia:
Bangers Jaegers start in Sharpcheeseberg, their orders are to advance to the woods in the southwest to fire on any approaching Cheezers.
The Foot Longs and the Chicken/Sanders battalions are to concentrate in the fields south of Sharpcheeseberg to act as a blocking force to any columns trying to reach the Hesse Seewald forces or trying to strike Gen. Broglie or Gen. Chevert from behind.
* Cheezers:
March into Sharpcheeseberg and probe for less defended route to link with either Hesse Seewald or Hesse Fedora.

The Action:

As the Bangers barge down the road, they suddenly observe a column of Britscherwurst grenadiers headed their way! Horrors! A messenger dashes back to Brig. Chicken who exclaims “Boiled Sausages! Burn them! Quickly, deploy into a skirmish line and delay them!”

Seeing the Frankszonian activity up the road, Gen O’Maus proclaims in his squeaky tenor: “Okay, Men! by the numbers at my signal, Deploy into line of battle.... Deploy!”
“B... b... but of course,” Major Goofey chuckles. “We’ll soon show THEM, eh Mickey?”
“Watch your posture, Major,” the General warned. “This could be serious.”

Even as Brig. Chicken fires up Col. Sanders Original battalion to line up in support of the Jaegers, they observe battalions of the Gruen Kaze regiment hurrying up behind the Britscherwurst. “Brats!” Gen. Chicken exclaimed, “With Green Cheese!” Seeing that one of the G.K. battalions is heading for the hedgerow which obliquely flanks the road south, he orders the FootLong battalion to seize the hedgerow itself also. Colonel Nathan hurried up to Chicken and asked whether the enemy was heading for the Hesse Seewald or Hesse Fedora encampment. The General angrily replied, “the only place those Hussies are going is back home!”

As the Britischerwurst line advanced, the Jaegers cut loose with wild and inaccurate fire. Seeing a line of regulars forming behind the skirmishers, however, the Britischerwurst line halted and responded with an equally futile volley. Gen. Chicken, observing the close advance of the grenadiers decided to spare his Jaegers and ordered them to retire behind the flank of the Sanders battalion, between them and the FootLongs. On the other side, however, O’Maus decided to spare his grenadiers for a more opportune moment and advanced the 2nd battalion of the Gruen Kazes beyond the grenadiers. These G.K. troops had hardly moved into position when the Col. Sanders Chicken Battalion hit them with a close volley.

Meanwhile, along the hedgerow, the 2nd G.K. battalion was engaged in a firefight from one end of the obstacle against the Footlongs advancing from the other end. The Footlongs were at a disadvantage as they were still in an attack column formation. Brig. Chicken drifted over towards the Footlongs to observe their condition. Seeing Chicken seem to leg it aside, O’Maus ordered the1st Battalion GK> to charge, but battered in the Footlong’s fire, they hesitated.
Chicken squawked, “at them!” when he observed this. On the side, he ordered the Bangers Jaegers to move onto the G.K. flank and fire and afterwards Sanders to charge them. “Chew the breading off of them!” he encouraged the men.

Under the combination order, the 1st G.K. reeled back past the Britscherwurst grenadiers. In their turn, the grenadiers grilled the Frankfurters with a deadly close volley. Chicken, however, had joined the Footlongs and urged them to charge into the 2nd G.K. which was disrupted by its clambering through the brush and bank of the hedgrow. The Footlongs slammed into the highly nettled 2nd G.K. and stung them badly.

Suddenly, O’Maus found that his Britscherwurst veterans were the only still viable unit left to him. Since Col. Sanders seemed still to be cooling down from its exchange, O’Mause had the grenadiers about face and confront the Footlongs as they emerged froms the hedgerow’s stinging nettles. The Footlongs, with their brigadier still with them, rapidly formed line and began a lively firefight.
Without the brigadier’s influence, however, Col. Sanders had difficulty blowing up the coals in his men to advance. The Bangers Jaegers advanced to harry the rear of the grenadiers. which prevented them from driving back the Footlongs. On the other hand, one of the Green Cheese battalions had clumped enough together to open an enfilade fire on the Footlongs as well.

Smoked by this combined fire, Brig. Chicken did not observe Gen. O’Maus quickly turning his grenadiers and retiring among the G.K. remnants. Together, the Cheezy force managed to string off the field though fully battered and fried.

Parrse in Rear View Mirror ...

These K.K. 12 man battalions are assembled from approximately three or four boxes of Revell Prussians. In spite of the quite different figures in each battalion, their placement provides the illusion of an active battle line.
The formation is pictured twice.
This top picture reveals the immance of the Cat-atstrophe, Tweety Pie ...

Grenadiers of the Sage Guard being blessed ... a demi battalion that I'd hoped to use in Texas.

The figures are Mindend Minatures Prussians.

Grenadiers of the Sage Guard ... a break down showing how they can be based for a Koenig's Krieg battalion.

Blessing of the guns: I believe this is the correct size for 25 mm artillery bases.

The Artillery Park:

Still too small a collection in 25mm, and the Revell Austrian Artillery on the left are on bases which I think are too small.

The Light Infantry:

Pioneers in front, Officials on the Right, notice that at 25mm one can use individual bases ... given that these are light troops, there are also double bases. Basically one regular 15mm base easily accomodates the 25 mm figures ... so one 25mm figure would take exactly the basing for 4 15mm figures.

Blessing of the Lights:

The first short line behind the officers are Revell Austrian pioneers, several of the officers are modified artillerymen. The parson is in black and white.

Some officious officials: (also Revell figures)

Breaking the sequence, the Limburger Brigade of the Cheezers.

15 mm Minifigs, French figures w/out turnbacks. The disordered appearance to give several views, but by family custom, some figure(s) are always based aimed in the wrong direction! LOL

When I began, I was woefully short on 25 mm artillery. So whipped these babies up in Chenile craft with those ugle Giant of Hong Kong figures. The gunners are about 20 mm, the dice is about an inch high for scale. The basing is correct for 25 mm artillery.

I've mentioned on occasion the special command vehicle used by Frankszonia ... here is an example with a 25mm figure (exact same vehicles used in 15 mm are more impressive at that scale).

:)

And, of course, the 15mm; 2nd squadron of the One Fifth Light Dragoons ...

(Since the Anglerican denomination dominates the Britischerwurst, and whereever you find four, you'll find a fifth ...)