'Malleson Mission' - looking for Turkomen cavalry in 28mm (p.4)

[Ignatieff]

Great points Mark.  Would also love to hear from Curpum

[giles the zog]

Mark

I am curious about the use of cotton bales.  I may have missed this in my reading.  I know they were used in the region. The Bukharans used them them as flaming barricades for example.  All the reference to trains I have read speak of 'armoured' trains.

Thanks

Steve

Hi,
I snaffled the copy of this book from AbeBooks.
The reference to cotton bales used as "armour" is on p27 at the bottom.

HTH

Giles

[cuprum]

I'm here

In the Russian tradition of improvised armored train properly called Блиндированный поезд - "Blindirovannyy poezd " (as opposed to Бронированный поезд - Бронепоезд - "Bronirovannyy poezd " - train really having armor). But alas, in the realities of the Civil War, these terms are applied equally ...

Very often armored train really created improvised. Used the metallic coal railway wagons slotted embrasures; ordinary wagons with double wooden walls filled with concrete, gravel or just planked in several layers. And, of course , in Central Asia - bales of cotton ( but it is very fire risk protection). On the platform put ordinary field guns, lined sides of railway sleepers, could install faulty armored cars.
Locomotives were usually not armored and were placed behind the train.

Many different designs - they are often made ​​in a single day when the need arose.

[Ignatieff]

cracking!!!

[giles the zog]

That looks like an Austin-Putilov on the second railway car in the third photo.

Fascinating !

Thanks.

[Turbo-Ben]

I just read through this thread and it looks like this could be a very cool scenario idea for our next con.
If former user really joines us and brings all his train stuff, I'll finish my indian figures and even build some new terrain till november!

[H.M.Stanley]

This has Bolshy and i written all over it .. 

[Ignatieff]

I just read through this thread and it looks like this could be a very cool scenario idea for our next con.
If former user really joines us and brings all his train stuff, I'll finish my indian figures and even build some new terrain till november!

Have you got a date yet?  I've got trains and kit galore for this, and would love to get over.


S

[Turbo-Ben]

99% that it will be the 21.-23.11.14!

It would be great if you'd come and bring your stuff!
(I have a dream of the largest table ever used for a BoB style game....) 

[H.M.Stanley]

That looks like an Austin-Putilov on the second railway car in the third photo.

Fascinating !

Thanks.

I just so happen to have one of those! Excellent [rubs hands]

[cuprum]

It really is "Austin". But not "Putilov."
This the armored car Czechs assembled from several faulty armored cars:



Its modern copy:

[giles the zog]

I assume it wan't always that colour.

Hmm that'd be a challenging project to model...

[Ignatieff]

99% that it will be the 21.-23.11.14!

It would be great if you'd come and bring your stuff!
(I have a dream of the largest table ever used for a BoB style game....) 

Booked.  I'll head off early Friday morning and get there friday pm. 

[sukhe_bator]

I'm looking forward to wargaming this whole campaign in 15mm at some point
I've more or less completed the Brits. I just need to model a station, an engine shed, lots of track, a second armoured train, some more Armenians and some Turcoman cavalry...
It may be a lttle while

[Red Orc]

Right, if I've got my forces straight, what I need for gaming this would be:

...
1-a contingent of Punjabi Infantry (with machine gun section);
2-some British troops to represent the Hampshire Regiment;
3-some Royal Artillery;
4-some Indian Light Horse to represent the 28th;
5-some Turcoman cavalry;
6-some (presumably irregular) forces to represent the troops of the Askebad Soviet;
7-some White Russians (Denikin's troops? The '80 ex-Tsarist regulars' mentioned in the article at the battle of Dushak);
8-some White Russian artillery;
9-Bolshevik infantry (with machine guns);
10-Bolshevik cavalry;
11-Bolshevik artillery;
12-conscripted Austrian POWs fighting for the Tashkent forces...

So, 4 lots of British and Indian troops, 4 different lots of troops to reperesent the Ashkebad & White forces, and 4 different sets of Bolshevik troops (at least?).

I'm thinking that the Copplestone Sikh Infantry, and the British in Tropical Dress, will be OK for the 19th Punjabis and the Hampshires. I need to source the Punjabi machine-gun detatchment though - the Copplestone Indian Army machine-gun detatchment is of Muslim troops not Sikhs 9they ddon't come with alternate heads by any chance?). Then there's the problem of Artillery in tropical dress. I have no ideas for them. Nor can I currently find Indian light cavalry though I'm certain I recently saw some lovely lancers from the period. Can't remember where from though.

Copplestone again do plenty of Russians, both Bolsheviks and Whites, which I figure I can use for the Tashkent and Ashkebad forces. How 'uniformed' would the forces of the Tashkent Soviet be anyway? It doesn't seem very likely that by July 1918 there was going to be much standardisation yet. I have a few generic early 20th century figures that can be used for the Ashkebad militia or mixed in with the Tashkent militia to represent armed railway workers and the like, but the 'Russian Partizans' set from Copplestone looks like a good place to start for those kinds of troops.

Any other recommendations? Some Turkoman cavalry are obviously going to be needed. And the Austrian POWs? Czech Legion figures perhaps?

Finally (for the moment) what's a good source for illustrations? This really is all uncharted territory for me here I'm afraid.