Holidays? Bah, humbug!

In the depths of Stagonia's vile Nochtswan Castle (pictured at left -- click for a larger image), Ludwig du Vile, the young king of Stagonia, cursed the holidays.

"Why are the peasants so joyful because of this "Christmas" nonsense?"

"I need to find out. Go, get me a dozen or so assorted peasants. I'll torture them on my new 'Stollen rack'. " (at his words, some of his vile courtiers left to fetch the required peasants).

Giggling, the mad monarch (seen at left) continued, "Wouldn't Irwin Amadeus be furious if he knew to what purpose I've put his precious timbers?"

Now alone, Koenig Ludwig mused about his future plans. Where would his mighty troops strike next?

"I could strike Stollen again. The Elector of Zichenau has been after me to coordinate something vile like last year. I could attack Frankszonia but there are all of those Gallian troops nearby. "

"Let me see, Wittenberg is rather weak right now, perhaps I should hit them? Or what about . . . yes, that might be a very nasty move."

Grinning from ear to ear, his vileness mused, "Why Christmas IS a wonderful time . . . it gives me such ideas." But before he could complete his thoughts, his courtiers returned with the peasants he would torture.

Waiting is So Frustrating

Koenig Ludwig of the Kingdom of Stagonia was in a foul mood as he railed in the presence of both the Duchess and his foul mother.

"I hate this. I don't know if my plots will have had time to develop with the change in scheduling. Why did the Grand Tour have to bypass Wittenberg?"

"Well my plots are in the same situation" complained the frustrated Duchess of Saschen-Vindow, Ludwig's lover and would-be queen.

"Children, don't fret," purred Ludwig's evil mother (formerly a member of the de Sade family), "My plots have been prepared for months . . . and they are fiendish. All we need do is to wait for the vile news."

"But I HATE waiting, Mother . . . and I wish I could see the mayhem."

"Grand Tour" Plans

"Will the 'Frankszonian Incident' be ready in time?" growled the Vile King to his Foreign Minister. "The Grand Tour will be arriving sooner than expected due to the Wittenberg fiasco."

"There's no way to know at this point, sire. We'll just have to wait and hope." replied the harried minister.

"Patience, my dear" cooed the Duchess . . . "if the timing isn't right in Frankszonia, you'll think of something equally clever for later."

"But I hate waiting," snarled Koenig Ludwig.

"Sad" News Reaches Stagonia

After receiving a message, Koenig Ludwig of Stagonia sent for his mistress, the Duchess of Saschen-Vindow.

"You sent for me?" purred the behatted beauty (see photo at left).

"Indeed, my dear. I have just had some bad news." replied the vile king.

"Oh? What news is that?" replied the Duchess.

"A death." sighed Ludwig,

"Well that happens. Who died."

"A young man. Noble they say. Let us have some wine to toast the fact that we still live." said the king, "And that . . ."

"And that . . . what?" coaxed the dark lady of Saschen-Vindow.

The king sighed again . . . and stretching it out finally said, while raising his glass, "And that you are now a widow."

With a gasp, the 'bereaved' beauty exclaimed, "Peter dead! Thank God."

"Are you sure that he's the one you need to thank?" smirked Ludwig the Vile.

The Rains Came . . . then the Flood

Does history always repeat itself? The Stagonian army is beginning to wonder.

Those with a long memory will recall that the Tippelbruder campaign was in large part foiled by torrential rains which flooded much of the field reducing the available frontage to such an extent that the raid couldn't succeed.

Sadly the weather gods have once again turned against our wonderful Stagonian Field Force. Their expedition to the Grand Duchy of Stollen, which had been going so well, has again been thwarted "due to a sudden and protracted cloudburst, both armies retire from the field with no further fighting possible thanks to wet powder and sodden ground that prevents any movement for cavalry or guns."

Fortunately the primary goal of the expedition had already been accomplished. The lumber supply and working parts of the Sawmill had already been loaded upon wagons and was on its way to our glorious realm.

Thus, while the unfortunate weather has prevented our capturing the town of Saegewerkdorf, our forces will disengage and escort our "spoils of war" back to the Kingdom of Stagonia so that Koenig Ludwig (and his Lady Duchess) can have everything needed to see a proper "Royal Rack" constructed.

Therefor all Stagonia may rejoice at another triumph of Stagonian arms.


-- Stagonian Jeff

(Note -- Stokes game room has flooded and his game table needed to be disassembled so that the water damage could be dealt with prior to his trip to Germany.)

Koenig Ludwig Hears Some News

"Sire, we have word from General von Drednoz. He has captured the Sawmill itself and is now preparing to advance on the town . . . although he is opposed by a large force of Stollenian troops. Nevertheless, he has already sent wagons back loaded with the wood you requested and all of the key equipment from the sawmill."

"Wonderful! See to it that we send the fair Princess Antonia that 'special gift' I've had prepared."

"Do you mean the bejeweled 'Lobster Cookbook' and the 300 gallon kettle?"

"Of course."

"Very well, Your Majesty."

"Wait. Was there any news of von Krinkle's Battalion?"

"I fear so, Sire. It appears that they've defected to the enemy."

"Just so . . . well, I love it when a plan comes together."

Situation at Sawmill Village

[note -- my apologies for not keeping up with the affairs of Stagonia. As some of you know, I've been rather ill with pneumonia, a popped rib and then a nasty bout of gout (which is almost over). In addition my computer (which is now fixed), was down for some three weeks. So I missed the episode of the Duchess and many other matters. I'm sorry. But Stokes is finally about to start our "Charge!" version of the "Sawmill Village" scenario.]

Word has reached the Stagonian capitol that Major General Karl von Drednoz and the Stollenian general, von Drosselmaier are about to join battle.

Looking north, this rendering by a Stollenian artist depicts the Stagonian forces. From north to south (i.e., top to bottom), the units depicted are:

• von Kirschstein Kuirassiers -- 3 squadrons
• Grossfurzen Grenzers -- 2 companies
• Feldpaff Battery -- 2 guns, limbered
  
• du Lepps Fusiliers -- 3 companies
• von Hirschbock Grenadiers -- 4 companies
• Umgraben Sappers -- 2 companies
• Hockdorf Hussars -- 2 squadrons

The same Stollenian artist provided a view (looking northeast) of the deployment of the "lobster lovers".

(as always, "click" on photos for larger version . . . and go to Stokes' blog for even more photos.)

The identities of the various Stollenian units is somewhat in doubt, but from northeast to southwest (again, top to bottom) they are believed to be:

• 4th (Trakehnen) Dragoons -- 3 squadrons
• Jaeger zu Fuss -- 1 company
• Leib (Grand Duchess Sonja's Own) Grenadiers -- 3 companies
• Van Laurenz Musketeers -- 3 companies
• 11th Engineers -- 2 companies
• von Krinkle's Battalion -- 1 company
• Battery -- 2 guns
• Jaeger zu Fuss -- 1 company
  

The "fly in the ointment", of course, is von Krinkle's Battalion. They were originally with the Stagonian forces . . . then they "deserted" and joined the army of Stollen.

Are they true "turncoats"? Or is this one of Stagonia's famous "dirty tricks"?

It should be noted that von Krinkle has his battalion directly in front of the Stollenian command tent . . . will they turn around and "wipe out" the Stollenian command during the battle?

And if they do (given von Drosselmaier's record of failure), will that hinder or help Stollen's chances?

Follow the course of the fight for the Sawmill Village at the Grand Duchy of Stollen blog.


-- Stagonian Jeff

Jeff's Computer Is Down

The problems I've been having with my computer are more severe than first thought. It now looks like the hard drive will have to be wiped clean and a new operating system installed.

I'm writing this from a friend's computer because mine can no longer connect to the Net. So for perhaps the next week or so I won't have much online access.

Furthermore this will delay my game with Stokes. And prevent the awful nastiness resulting from the Vile King's encounter with the Duchess from coming to light for a while . . . who knows what evil lurks in their hearts?

Sadly we will have to wait . . . because right now my job is to try to copy all of the files I need before my poor machine is wiped.


-- Jeff (as Owner-Moderator)

A Command Assignment

"Brigadier Lothar Oppenkopf reporting as ordered, sir."

"Well, Oppenkopf, Koenig Ludwig has a task for you. He wants you to capture and secure the Stollenian Sawmill just inside their border. Furthermore you are not to damage the facility nor any of the wood stored there since His Majesty has need of it."

"Do you have any idea of what sort of defenses can I expect?"

"Defenses? Oppenkopf, it's just a sawmill; hardly a military stronghold. It should be a cakewalk, even for you."


. . . . And so begins the "Battle for the Sawmill" which Stokes and I will play by email starting in a few weeks after he and his lovely Grand Duchess Sonja return from their Mexican holiday. We will be using the basic "Charge!" rules, with Stokes setting everything up on his table . . . and I'm sure that there will be lots of wonderful photos of the battle.


-- Jeff

For Want of a Rack . . .

Koenig Ludwig of Stagonia was in a rage.

"Why can't I have it? I need it so that I can work out my tensions on my enemies. I NEED a new rack. The old one has HIS monogram and is all stained with foul juices."

"Sire, we don't have the proper wood here in the Kingdom. It takes a very strong, non-warping wood to make a good Royal Rack."

"Well, get the right wood elsewhere then."

"But, Sire, no-one will sell to us. Your late unlamented predecessor alienated all of the states of Europa. And none will sell us anything."

"Who said anything about buying it? Why do you think we have an army? Who has a supply of the proper wood?"

"I believe that the Grand Duchy of Stollen has a Sawmill near the border that specializes in the proper wood."

"Near the border, is it? Very well, call my generals. We will annex Irwin-Amadeus' Sawmill . . . then I will make the finest rack in the world! Then I can really have some FUN!"

"As Your Majesty commands."

Flags for Mounted Troops

I've decided that all of the heavy cavalry will have gold buttons and yellow hat tape; while the dragoons will have tin buttons and white hat lace . . . well that is my thought for right now.



The four heavy horse units will have square guidons featuring the Stagonian horse on the unit facing color.



I'm currently planning on blue, red, yellow and purple -- with a gold fringe.



The four dragoon units will have swallowtail guidons featuring the Stagonian horse in a light blue oval.

The guidon will be split color with dragoon light gray on the bottom and the facing color on top -- and I'm currently looking at black, white, green and lavender -- with a silver fringe.


-- Jeff

Thinking About Uniforms

Well I've got a bunch of figures on the way for my Stagonian army . . . and I realized that I have got to start thinking about uniforms for the vile ones.

I've long been planning for the infantry to be in an off-white. I don't like a pure white because to me it makes me think of white primer. So I'll probably go with a cream or light buttermilk sort of color.

However I realized that I've not really thought about the cavalry. So I sat down this evening and gave it some thought. I want the uniform colors to be quite distinct from those of Saxe-Bearstein (whose heavy cav is in white; whose dragoons are in buff coats; and the horse grenadiers are in red -- like the infantry).

I've therefor decided to have the heavy horse in light blue (the GNW heavies that have been substituting are in blue and I'd like something a bit distinct from them). The dragoons will, I think, be in a light gray . . . so the dismounts will be distinct from the regular foot.

The hussars, of course, will resemble rainbows (as always).


-- Jeff

Ludwig Muses on Possibilities

"Is there any further word from that Duchess who is infatuated with me?" asked young Koenig Ludwig of the Kingdom of Stagonia.

"No, your majesty. Some rumors that she's headed here . . . but those are almost assuredly false."

"Ah. Well, let's look over our options for exercising the army. As I see it, we have a number of possible 'options'.

1. We could launch another attack on Saxe-Bearstein -- although the Mollwitz campaign failed badly.
2. We could support Zichenau by launching a strike into northern Stollen -- say at that sawmill the Lobster Duke loves so much.
3. We could attack Tippelbruder again -- I doubt that they could resurrect the alliance that managed to turn us away last time.
4. We could invade the Frankszonian lands on this side of the river -- but Gallia might not appreciate that -- and we do want to stay on their good side (they are one of our few friends).
   
5. We could attack someone new."

"Yes, your majesty. Those are all good options. As usual you see things most clearly indeed."