This page is my opportunity to salute wargamers who wargame operationally, or enjoy the “Not Quite” periods of history – the ones where new technology and tactics were disrupting the old, but had not matured to become the new orthodoxy. If manufacturers do not support the period and you have to improvise, well so much the better 🙂
In that Spirit, I salute Don Maddox’s Bombastian forces and their splendid mix of cutting edge technology carefully selected by the most modern scientific trials known to man:
Bombastia between the wars. Don Maddox’s collection and photo copyright.
Archduke Piccolo posted this excellent Finnish Winter War battle report, which perfectly illustrates the perils of historical research!
Photograph copyright Ion used without permission.
http://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/suomussalmi-project.html#comment-form
I’ve been meaning to add these photos from Alan Hamilton’s Morvalistan website for some time now. I applaud the idea of a fictitious campaign based loosely on East Africa in 1940s.
An Italian general on a white horse, with companion; Askaris and rubbish armour. What’s not to like? Photo copyright Alan Hamilton.
Scratch-built tractors and guns. Photo copyright Alan Hamilton.
Imaginative use of toy fire engines as limbers, with scratch-built guns. Photo copyright Alan Hamilton.
Mule train and guns with Askari crews. Photo copyright Alan Hamilton.
The Dancing Cake Tin’s Division Légère Mécanisée falls well within the spirit of NQM. Imagine 6 tons of (tiny) armoured fury racing into battle at 4.3 mph!
Graham Evans, a.k.a. Trebian, has produced rule sets for the Spanish Civil War and Russian Civil Wars, links over on Wargaming for Grown-ups. They are definitely rules rather than guidelines, and produce entertaining games with cavalry, rubbish armour and the odd biplane or armoured train (or the very latest in modern aviation, if you are selling the arms to the belligerents).
Red and White cavalry get properly stuck in!
Not Quite Mechanised 
Thanks for the kind words about my models.Splendid new Blog my friend!
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Thanks Don,
Always a pleasure seeing modern armour on parade. Never mind all this scientific breeding of horseflesh nonsense. Large slow tanks, with lots of guns, are the future!
Regards, Chris
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I’ll be sure to keep your noteworthy comments from our Cavalry brigade commander,he’s quite hide bound on the subject, it was only his size and advancing years that finally convinced him of the comfort of a staff car!
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The modern Bombastian army is made up of
three corps of 50 percent Regular and Reserve
troops, as well as the smaller Royal Guard Corps
which also serves as the training establishment of
the Bombastian army.
The Royal Guard Corps consists of 3 battalions of infantry
and a number of attached company sized elements.
Number one battalion is the 3rd and 4th year class of the
Bombastian Officer Academy.
Number two Battalion is the elite Jager Light Infantry.(Airborne)
Number Three Battalion is Grenadier Battalion (Mechanized)
Royal Tank Training Company*
Royal Artillery Training Battery*
Royal Signals Training Company*
Royal Medical Training Company*
Royal Cavalry Training Squadron*
Guard Cuirassier Squadron
Guard Hussar Squadron (Mechanized)
Guard Field artillery Battery
* one regular unit one training unit of company size.
Ist Corps …….. Based in the Doritsonov Plains
First Askari Infantry Battalion****
****
While on a holiday safari(1889) in what was German West Africa
the then crown prince (Stanislav IV) greatly admired the German
colonial troops he saw there and instructed the Bombastian embassy
to set up a recruiting station open to all of African origin. The unit
was established in the fall of 1893 based in the Doritsonov region where
it is still to this day. Many new recruits still come to the embassy
now in Nairobi, others are the descendants of some of the original
recruits that settled permanently in he country
Third Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
First Infantry Battalion (Mechanized)
Seventh Infantry Battalion (Mechanized)
First Armored Battalion (Lt Tanks)
Fourth Armored Battalion (Med Tanks)
Second Composite Artillery Battalion…Half Truck (Reg) /
Half Horse Drawn (Reserves)
Third Cavalry Battalion half Motorized (Reg)/ Half Horse (Reserves)
Second Cavalry Battalion (Reserves) Horse
2nd Corps ……. Based in the Terak Mountains
The Mountain people of Bombastia are famous for there long battles
against both the Turks and Austrians and from time to time their own
central government. Drawn from the various tribes and villages of the
Terak Mountains the soldiers of the the 2nd corps are mostly reserves
with only a very few regular troops confined largely to technical services.
The one notable exception being the eighth Infantrybattalion (Mountain) who’s troops are mostly drawn from this region but recruitment
is open to all Bombastians.
5th Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
7th Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
8th Infantry Battalion (Mountain Regular)
11th Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
14th Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
22nd Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
3rd Artillery Battalion (Mountain Regular)
5th Artillery Battalion ( Regular)
4th Cavalry Battalion (Reserves) Horse
3rd Corps ……. Based on the Adriatic and foothills of Terak Mountains
reaching just into Doritsonov Plains. By far the largest corps in the army
also the most modern and containing the BRAAC ( Bombastian Army
Air Corps) 3rd Corps also has the Coastal Artillery attached to it.
6th Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
9th Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
10th Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
12th Infantry Battalion (Reserves)
15th Infantry Battalion (Regular)
16th Infantry Battalion (Mechanized Regular)
17th Infantry Battalion (Mechanized Regular)
18th Infantry Battalion (Mechanized Regular)
2nd Armored Battalion (Lt Tanks)
3rd Armored Battalion (Lt Tanks)
5th Armored Battalion (Med Tanks)
1st Composite Artillery Battalion…Half Truck (Reg) /
Half Horse Drawn (Reserves)
3rd Composite Artillery Battalion…Half Truck (Reg) /
Half Horse Drawn (Reserves)
4th Artillery Battalion (Mechanized Regular)
1st Coastal Artillery Battalion (Regular) one 14 Inch Railway Gun
2nd Coastal Artillery Battalion (Regular) one 14 Inch Railway Gun
BRAAC ( Bombastian Army Air Corps):
Training Squadron
Avro 621 Tutor …6 each
Fighter Squadrons:
Hawker Fury ….24 each 1st and 3rd Squadrons of 12 aircraft.
Boeing F4B ….12 each 2nd Squadron
Boeing P-26 Peashooter ….12 each 4th Squadron
Curtiss P-36 Hawk ….12 each 5th Squadron
Bomber Command:
Handley Page Heyford Mk III 36 each in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
Heavy Bombardment Squadrons of 12 aircraft each.
Fairey Swordfish 36 each in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Coastal
Bombardment Squadrons.
PZL.23A light bombers 36 each in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
Tactical Bombardment Squadrons
Transport Squadron:
De Haviland Dragon DH89…4 each
Boulton & Paul 71A …..6 each
Fokker F.VII B/3m…..24 each
Avro Anson ….8 each
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Impressive and fascinating. I’d certainly like to see more of these. Methinks I might have to post some of my own NQM pprojects here.
One is my ‘Latin Wars’ – set in a fictitious region of South America. But really that is just WW2 set somewhere else, perhaps Not Quite Not Quite Mechanised…. The belligerents (using WW2 war surplus) are Orotina (German equipment, lots of it but hard to replenish, President, General Adolfo Ximinez), Gran Bolivia (British equipment), and the Pan-Andean People’s Republic (Russian equipment with some US equipment by way of the Soviet Union {Lend-Lease}. Theoretically there ought to be a United States of Amazonia, but, well, I don’t have a US army.
The other is my ‘Army Men’ project, which uses ‘el cheapo’ army men, and whatever other suitable equipment I can find. This is set on a distant planet Sideon IV’ – a creation of a creative inventor of fantasy worlds and technology that caught my fancy. Although his ‘tech’ was restricted to c.1940, I have upped it a year or so. I have scratchbuilt or adapted extra equipment. Some pics may be found in the archives of my own blog (search for ‘Archduke Piccolo’ or go to http://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.co.nz/ – look up ‘Jono’s World’)
Or you could try the ‘armymencrew’ group.
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I’ve just had a look – they are excellent!
Regards, Chris.
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I am wondering how hard it would be to use NQM rules for a 1940 campaign using 3mm models on Perry “Travel Battle” boards with 25mm squares?
Any advice? I will post a pic on http://www.generalwhiskers.com shortly.
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I would suggest deciding on your level of resolution first, Regt/Bde, Div or Corps. Try 3 or 6 bases for a Battalion. See how it goes, good luck. It will be interesting to see how it goes.
Regards, Chris.
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