Topics created by Witt

Many of them seem to have been unhinged. I think it was in the blood.

30th August: Rapunzel.
In 1862 in Northern Virginia, however, Major General John Pope was about to get his long awaited comeuppance. Lee was ready to take the offensive against the man he had come to despise, for his over confident bombast and disregard and disrespect of Virginia and the men he had come east to command.
Not heeding his subordinates’ requests for caution, Pope tried once again to break Jackson’s battered Corps(one Brigade did break, but others plugged the gap). On the union far left were only two brigades of Infantry and they were to be assailed by ten times their number. Three Southern Divisions, Hood’s, Kemper’s and Jones’ crashed onto the field, making short work of the outnumbered Northern troops.
Pope did well to recognise the danger when it appeared and sent four Brigades from three different Divisions to hold at Henry House Hill on his left. Remember this was ground fought over 13 months ago, by much the same men and officers, although most were now promoted.
This time around there would be no rout. Understandably, there was much jubilation on the side of the Southerners and a great loss of morale on the Northern side. This sense of martial superiority, begun last Summer  at 1st Manassas, was to continue and come to a head on the field of Gettysburg another Summer from now.

I’ve played most of Total War games and was thoroughly disappointed with Napoleon Total War, I hope this one is nothing like it. I’m pleased that they have chosen to make another game about Rome. But Medieval TW 2 is my favourite of the franchise. I made wonders with cavalry in this game. By the way, that was a poor deployment of your troops, full of redundant actions.

attorney help

Thank you Aequitas.
Did not know about the strength always being 10000.

On the 16th August 1717 Eugene of Savoie won his last and possibly, greatest victory. Like 20 years ago when he defeated the Turks at Zenta, it was won fighting Austria’s mortal enemy. He had been besieging the city of Belgrade, when a relieving force much larger than his own, tired and diseased one, came to lift the siege.
His commanders suggested he retreat or lose his army. Instead, he waited until nightfall and under cover of fog, attacked the Turkish host. It was a brutal affair, but his army prevailed and in victory, spared as few of the Turks as possible.
The Turks probably lost 20000 to Eugene’s 5000. Two days later the garrison of Brlgrade surrendered the city to him. Peace between the two nations followed in 1718. The Ottoman Empire would never get this far West again.

Nice. Thank you Herr KaLeun.
He was never having our feet!

Thank you fro the answer. I thought it might have been a little closer.
Hope things are working out for you over there.

@rjpeters70:

Underrated by whom?  I think a lot of professional military historians (Tim Hoyt at Naval War College for one) see Caesar as one of the finest ever, far better than Alexander or Napolean. When you look at the number of people and provinces he defeated, it is staggering.  Then you compare that with the number of casualties his forces took (damn, damn few), and it is breathtaking.

He is on my short list of best.

Today in 117AD Hadrian, the adopted son of  Trajan, became the new Roman Emperor. Trajan had ruled for nearly twenty years and had enlarged the Empire greatly. Hadrian in his twenty one year rule would be just as good for Rome. He left behind four great building works, which remain today.
The first was to rebuild Agrippa’s Pantheon, adding the 141ft diameter Dome. It has massive bronze doors and now a church, has buried two of Italy’s kings and the artist Raphael amongst others.
On the river Tiber is the Castel San Angelo, another stone dome building, this one built as his own tomb. It has been used as a fortress by more than one Pope when Rome has been threatened. It housed Pope Clement VII when the forces of the (Spanish)Holy Roman Empire sacked the city in 1527. It is well worth a visit if you ever go to Rome. A coffee from the battlements’ cafe’ is a good end to a walk around the military museum it is now.
The third monument is the beautiful Villa at Tivoli.
Lastly is the wall he had constructed in the North of England to keep out those pesky Picts(Scots). It was 15ft high and stretched 73 miles from coast tocoast and there was a fort every five miles.
Hadrian had been unwell for some time and despite seeking death and requesting it of his adopted son Pius, who refused to aid him, he died  aged 62 in his villa at Baie on the Bay of Naples.

Today, the 6th of August, in 1284 the little known naval battle of Meloria was fought between the  powerful city states  of Genoa and Pisa. It was a Genoese victory, which marked the end of Pisa as a power in the region and would see it absorbed in 1406 by the flourishing banking and textile rich city of Florence. A position as leading Tuscan city which she would hold for hundreds of years, under the clever and super rich Medici family.

One of the losing Pisan Admirals, Count  Ugolini, can be found in the Florentine poet Dante’s Inferno.
He is in the Ninth Circle with Satan punished for treason, found forever gnawing on the Archbishop Ruggieri who betrayed, imprisoned and starved him and his family.

@Imperious:

That will never be surpassed.

Thank you inhouse dicey!

TripleA Turn Summary for game: WWII Global 1940 Alpha 3 Balanced Mod, version: 3.7

Game History

Round: 5

Purchase Units - Japanese
            Japanese buy 1 armour, 1 artillery, 1 destroyer, 3 fighters, 2 infantry, 2 mech_infantrys and 1 submarine; Remaining resources: 0 PUs; 2 SuicideAttackTokens;

Combat Move - Japanese
            1 armour moved from Kweichow to Szechwan
                  Japanese take Szechwan from Chinese
            1 armour moved from Szechwan to Yunnan
            1 infantry moved from Kweichow to Yunnan
            1 infantry moved from Kweichow to Yunnan
            1 infantry moved from Kweichow to Yunnan
            1 artillery and 3 infantry moved from Shensi to Tsinghai
            1 infantry moved from Kansu to Tsinghai
            2 mech_infantrys moved from Kweichow to Tsinghai
            2 bombers, 2 fighters and 4 tactical_bombers moved from Kwangsi to 35 Sea Zone
            1 fighter moved from Kwangtung to 35 Sea Zone
            1 fighter moved from 37 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone
            1 tactical_bomber moved from 37 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone
            1 fighter and 1 tactical_bomber moved from 41 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone
            1 fighter and 1 tactical_bomber moved from 42 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone
            1 destroyer moved from 6 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone
            2 fighters moved from Japan to 20 Sea Zone
            1 fighter moved from 20 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone
            1 fighter moved from 20 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone
            1 battleship moved from 37 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            1 destroyer moved from 37 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            1 carrier moved from 41 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            1 destroyer moved from 41 Sea Zone to 43 Sea Zone
            1 destroyer moved from 42 Sea Zone to 44 Sea Zone
            1 battleship moved from 37 Sea Zone to 43 Sea Zone
            1 cruiser moved from 37 Sea Zone to 44 Sea Zone
            1 carrier moved from 42 Sea Zone to 44 Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from Siberia to Sakha
                  Japanese take Sakha from Russians

Combat - Japanese
            Americans scrambles 3 units out of Philippines to defend against the attack in 35 Sea Zone
            Battle in Tsinghai
                Japanese attack with 1 artillery, 4 infantry and 2 mech_infantrys
                Chinese defend with 5 infantry
                1 infantry owned by the Japanese , 2 mech_infantrys owned by the Japanese and 1 artillery owned by the Japanese retreated to Shensi
                Chinese win with 5 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is -9
                Casualties for Japanese: 3 infantry
            Battle in Yunnan
                Japanese attack with 1 armour and 3 infantry
                British defend with 2 infantry
                Japanese win, taking Yunnan from Chinese with 1 armour and 3 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 6
                Casualties for British: 2 infantry
            Battle in 35 Sea Zone
                Japanese attack with 2 bombers, 1 destroyer, 8 fighters and 7 tactical_bombers
                ANZAC defend with 1 cruiser and 3 fighters; Americans defend with 1 battleship, 2 carriers, 2 cruisers, 2 destroyers, 3 fighters, 2 submarines, 1 tactical_bomber and 2 transports
                Units damaged: 1 battleship owned by the Americans and 2 carriers owned by the Americans
                Japanese win with 1 fighter and 1 tactical_bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 33
                Casualties for Japanese: 2 bombers, 1 destroyer, 7 fighters and 6 tactical_bombers
                Casualties for ANZAC: 1 cruiser and 3 fighters
                Casualties for Americans: 1 battleship, 2 carriers, 2 cruisers, 2 destroyers, 3 fighters, 2 submarines, 1 tactical_bomber and 2 transports
            Battle in 36 Sea Zone
                Japanese attack with 1 battleship, 1 carrier and 1 destroyer
                Americans defend with 1 destroyer
                Japanese win, taking 36 Sea Zone from Neutral with 1 battleship, 1 carrier and 1 destroyer remaining. Battle score for attacker is 8
                Casualties for Americans: 1 destroyer
            Battle in 43 Sea Zone
                Japanese attack with 1 battleship and 1 destroyer
                ANZAC defend with 1 destroyer and 1 transport
                Units damaged: 1 battleship owned by the Japanese
                Japanese win, taking 43 Sea Zone from Neutral with 1 battleship and 1 destroyer remaining. Battle score for attacker is 15
                Casualties for ANZAC: 1 destroyer and 1 transport
            Battle in 44 Sea Zone
                Japanese attack with 1 carrier, 1 cruiser and 1 destroyer
                Americans defend with 1 destroyer
                Japanese win, taking 44 Sea Zone from Americans with 1 carrier, 1 cruiser and 1 destroyer remaining. Battle score for attacker is 8
                Casualties for Americans: 1 destroyer

Non Combat Move - Japanese
            1 tactical_bomber moved from 35 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            1 fighter moved from 35 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            2 armour and 1 mech_infantry moved from Kiangsu to Kwangsi
            1 artillery moved from Kwangtung to Kwangsi
            1 infantry moved from Japan to 6 Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from Japan to 6 Sea Zone
            2 infantry and 1 transport moved from 6 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from 36 Sea Zone to French Indo China
            1 infantry moved from 36 Sea Zone to French Indo China
            1 transport moved from 41 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            1 transport moved from 42 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            1 transport moved from 37 Sea Zone to 41 Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from Sumatra to 41 Sea Zone
            1 infantry and 1 transport moved from 41 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from 36 Sea Zone to French Indo China
            1 carrier moved from 37 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
            1 submarine moved from 80 Sea Zone to 39 Sea Zone
            1 submarine moved from 39 Sea Zone to 37 Sea Zone
            1 destroyer moved from 37 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone

Place Units - Japanese
            1 armour and 2 mech_infantrys placed in Kiangsu
            1 artillery and 2 infantry placed in Malaya
            3 fighters placed in Japan
            1 destroyer and 1 submarine placed in 6 Sea Zone

Turn Complete - Japanese
            Japanese collect 58 PUs; end with 58 PUs total

I believe the number to be in excess of 100.
Which is extraordinary  for a one eyed, one armed old man from Norfolk.

This year saw various “celebrations” of the 70th anniversary of the “Dam Busters” raid.

I have a problem with this, since it was in effect an act of terrorism, which killed about 1600 civliians and had minimal effect on German industry.

It’s rather like the German government celebrating the anniversary of the bombing of Rotterdam.

Still, more people are offended by the fact that the commander called his dog “nigger” than the destruction of human life. Don’t worry, though, as in the new film version the dog is renamed “digger”. So that’s all right, then.

@Makoshark13:

I’ve always found it interesting that the confederate army at Manassas was the Army of the Potomac, while the Union army was the Army of Northeastern Virginia. It’s like afterwards, both commanders decided to switch names.Â

And on a similar note: “Many [Confederate volunteers] were from state militia outfits which had their own state-issued uniforms, and in the early battles some Confederate units who wore dark blue uniforms were often mistaken on the field of battle for the enemy. Conversely, many Union units which were originally militia units went to war wearing grey.”

@Cromwell_Dude:

What would you have done had you been Hood or another general in the West?

If I was Hood I would have shadowed Sherman deep into Georgia and attempted to counter attack him near Savannah while his supply lines were at his longest.

July 16th 1212: the important battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, in Andalucia,  was fought and won by the Christian armies of Spain and Portugal. It was also Pope Innocent III’s fourth Crusade( 2 had been to the Holy Land and the other against the Albigensian heretics). It was a great feat to get the warring and jealous kings of Aragon, Navarre and Portugal to fight alongside Castille, but it was very necessary. The Moors had been on the Iberian Peninsula since the Arab chief Tarik crossed at what is now Gibraltar, in 711AD.
The battle did not see the eviction of the Moors from Spain, but it was the beginning of Spanish resurgence, which would culminate  with Ferdinand and Isabella’s capture of their last stronghold, that of Granada in 1492.
Never again did Europe have to fear from Muslim invasion from this direction.
The next wave would come from the East and towards Constantinople and then Vienna.

I think it was easy for another to bribe the executioner to make  a mess of things so the victim suffered.

Thank you Toblerone.
I do not mind people going off at a tangent incidentally. It is all fun.
As you said, Flashman made a very good point.

More deserved much worse.

He burned people alive for being courageous enough to call the Pope a git.