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Author Topic: General military equipment history question  (Read 2147 times)

Offline FramFramson

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  • But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back
General military equipment history question
« on: November 04, 2010, 07:39:39 PM »
So I hope I'm placing this question in the correct location, as it easily spans several eras.

I'm building a series of "supplies" for my collection of terrain. Now, most folks have the standard collection of crates/barrels/sacks, which are actually pretty good, since they are generic enough for lots of different situations and eras. I definitely have some of those. However I would like to add a little more detail and interest to my little supply piles, so I want to add some more specific items. I decided I wanted to have some ordinance boxes and the like, some of which are open, showing equipment inside. I'm also open to standalone equipment, so long as it's not so large that it's a terrain piece in and of itself.

The thing is, I want to mostly avoid weaponry, since that will immediately narrow the uses for the supplies (you're picking an era much more definitely and the supplies become a definite weapons cache). Everyone knows about guns or swords or other weapons, and usually there's an awareness of supply trains and food but there's plenty of other military equipment that was used that wasn't fired or eaten (a lot of which had perfectly legitimate civilian uses as well).

What sort of small-and medium field equipment (loose or boxed) could possibly be found in a pre-modern or early modern army?

The usual fantasy eras are good (Early Medieval, High Medieval, and Pike & Shot), but my game is pretty loosey-goosey with accuracy, so I figure anything up to the early industrial era (ACW) is okay really, just so long as it's not obviously technological (i.e. mobile telegraphy equipment is probably a bad idea).

So far I've put together the following list (which should also give you a better idea of what exactly I'm talking about):

Field glasses or Telescopes
Signal flags
Signal mirrors or helioscopes/heliographs
Signal rockets/flares
Collapseable camp furniture
Compasses (maybe? Too small?)

I kind of ran into a mental wall after that, though I'm sure there must be much, much more. I'm not sure if sextants or other navigation aids were used on land or that was mostly map-and-compass-based. I'm also not sure about early survey gear, or anything else for that matter.

Another good sort of source for idea would be to figure what kind of light and heavy equipment were carried by military engineers, but the online resources I've been trolling have been pretty thin on anything non-modern. Anything a support troop of any kind (engineers, sappers, signalmen, etc. etc.) would carry or use would really be fair game I suppose. As mentioned above, bonus points go to things with Civilian applications. 

Thoughts? Ideas? Online sources I can go through? (Googling at length has not been much help, nor has Wikipedia).

Thanks!


I joined my gun with pirate swords, and sailed the seas of cyberspace.

Offline Arlequín

  • Galactic Brain
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  • Culpame de la Bossa Nova...
Re: General military equipment history question
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2010, 08:24:03 PM »
A mobile forge, crates of horseshoes, shovels, axes and picks. Carpenter's and Cooper's tools and supplies. Various types of rope and cordage. Tents. Surveyor's theodolites etc. Surgeon's equipment, drugs and bandages etc.

The bulk of supplies would of course be ammunition and food - and lots of it.

Offline cataphractarius

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  • Posts: 109
Re: General military equipment history question
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2010, 08:49:16 PM »
As armies famously march on their stomachs, how about food? I don't see that very often, but from boxes with apples to pig halves that should give room for nice details; also all sorts of kitchen paraphernalia.

Offline FramFramson

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  • Posts: 10681
  • But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back
Re: General military equipment history question
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2010, 10:39:49 PM »
Food is quite important, I agree! But I have that covered already, mostly with piles of grain sacks (though I have some other food items).

Offline gamer Mac

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Re: General military equipment history question
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2010, 10:46:51 PM »
Wood for build and fires.
Tents.

Offline HPFlashman

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  • Posts: 115
  • Why dont YOU make for the forlorn hope, old chap ?
Re: General military equipment history question
« Reply #5 on: November 04, 2010, 11:44:17 PM »
Birdcages for carrier pigeons, if I recall correctly I`ve seen WWI pics of dove "depots" as well as single or double berted for taking the birds out and about.
General campclutter,
Firebuckets
Water containers in several different sizes.
Mapboards
Cooking stuff
Latrine/Dug-out
Hitching post outside CO tent
Butchers rack in the kitchen area.
and a Sandtable, modelling the upcoming battle... :D

If its a more permanent encampment, a dungheap, clotheslines.
Best regards

Harry

Offline FramFramson

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  • Posts: 10681
  • But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back
Re: General military equipment history question
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2010, 03:49:41 PM »
Pretty good lists of material to work with here.

Thanks again folks.

 

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