Soldiers of the Queen (SOTQ) Issue 195

The latest issue of the Victorian Military Society's SOTQ (Soldiers of the Queen) was delivered early last week, and since then I have been reading each of the articles in it.

The articles included in this issue are:

• Newbury's Russian Gun Question by Tom Allen
• National Army Museum Templer Centre
• Sikkim - The British Military Expeditions of 1860 and 1888 by David Howell
• The Battle of the Handub and the Reconquest of the Sudan by Richard M Crowell
• Regulations for officer and their servants in the Palace Hospital near Scutari, where Mrs Willoughby Moore was 'Superintendent of the officer's war' by Mike Hinton
• Book Reviews by Harold E Raugh Jr
• Officers of the Victorian Military Society
• Myth and Reality: Military Art in the Age of Queen Victoria Tuesday 1st July 2025 to Sunday 1st November 2026 at the National Army Museum.

Yet another excellent collection of articles and I can see myself re-reading all of them again and again.

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Interestingly, we live near to Welling, Kent ... which also has a Russian gun on prominent display at the main junction in the centre of the main shopping street.

The Russian gun in Welling is a 36-pounder carronade (calibre 6.75 inches and weighing 17 cwt). It was captured during the Crimean War (1853 to 1856).

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The annual cost of membership of the Victorian Military Society is:

• UK: £30.00
• Overseas: £40.00 [except for Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore: £43.00])

My opinion remains that this magazine and the membership of the Victorian Military Society is well worth the cost of the annual subscription.

The Fiddletown and Copperopolis Railway: Some more information

The Fiddletown & Copperopolis Railway was 'invented' by Carl Fallberg, a life-long lover of American narrow-gauge railways, especially those in the western states. His cartoons told the (exaggerated and humorous) story of such a railway.

The Fiddletown ^ Copperopolis Railway's coat-of-arms.

The Fiddletown & Copperopolis Railway was a mainly freight-carrying railway located in the foothills of California and run by (the mythical) George W Luce. He was known for his unconventional approach to the transportation demands of the area, which – until the building of the railway – relied upon the use of mules, wagons, and even rafts to move goods between the mining towns of Fiddletown and Copperopolis. The area featured treacherous terrain, bandits, and very unpredictable weather, as can be seen in the following map:

A map of part of the Fiddletown & Copperopolis Railway. I particularly like the choice of some of the place names, including Nothing Flat, Cinder (formerly Tinder) City, Saggy Springs, Goshawful Gulch, Bicarbonate of Soda Springs, and Fort Grisley P Boondock, the base of the 198th Cavalry!

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Carl Robert Fallberg was born on 11th September 1915 in Cleveland, Tennessee and died on 9th May 9, 1996 in Glendale, California. He was by profession an extremely prolific writer and cartoonist, and is best known for his work on animated feature films, TV cartoons, and comic books for:

• Disney Studios: He began working for Disney in 1935. His work included being assistant director and storyman for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, and Bambi. He also worked on many of Disney's comic books, often in collaboration with Paul Murray.
• Hanna-Barbera: Between 1972 and 1981, he was the storyman and story editor for numerous TV cartoons – including Scooby-Doo – as well as being a writer for The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and The Jetsons comic books.
• Warner Brothers: From 1953 until the early 1970s, he wrote stories and acted a story director for many Warner Brothers cartoons, including of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Speedy Gonzales.
• MGM: He wrote comic books that featured The Addams Family, Tom & Jerry, and Droopy.

He also authored comic books for United Productions of America, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, Walter Lantz Productions, Dell Comics, Western Publishing, and Gold Key Comics.

The Herring War: The Royal Norwegian Navy’s orders

Last year I was asked by Tim Gow to write the orders for the Royal Norwegian Navy forces taking part in his Herring War wargame. (A blog post about the game by Martin Rapier can be seen here.)

The orders I wrote can be seen below.

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From:

Admiral Commanding His Majesty’s Royal Norwegian Navy

To:

Admiral Commanding the Fleet

Situation Appraisal:

I am commanded by the King and his government to instruct you to take the fleet to sea and reinforce our nation’s rights to fish in the waters of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea unhindered by the ships of another nations, to wit, the Navy of the Kingdom of Denmark.

The ships available to you are:

The battleship Mestag Berg

The light cruisers Torp Norum, Bo Morkid

The monitor Heltberg Rygh

The torpedo boat leader Vold

The torpedo boats TB1, TB2, TB4

In addition, the navy’s airship has been placed under your command.

(For Your Eyes Only: We have a spy stationed in Skagen who will report to the Admiralty and whose intelligence will be passed on to you.)

Orders:

Your force is to be organised as follows:

Main Force: Mestag Berg, Torp Norum, and Bo Morkid (the latter will be transporting the two landing companies, the two landing guns, the cyclist machine gun company, and the naval brigade’s staff)

Scouting Force: Vold, TB1, and TB2

Coastal Defence Force: Heltberg Rygh and TB4

The Scouting Force is to set sail an hour before the Main Force and is to sail in an arrow formation, with the TB Leader at the arrow point. If the weather is clear, the ships are to be 20,000 yards (10 miles) apart so that they can easily signal by flag/semaphore or signal lamps to each other. If the weather is bad, the distance to be reduced to 10,000 yards (5 miles) so that they can signal to each other using signal lamps.

The Main Force is to sail in line ahead with two cables (400 yards) between ships. It is to be led by your flagship, followed by the two light cruisers. The Force is to sail 20,000 yards (10 miles) astern of the Scouting Force so that any signals can read easily.

The Coastal Defence Force will patrol the coast off Kristiansand from I16 to M12 to deter any attacks on our main naval base. The airship is to operate from Larvik (Q4) and to patrol the area R9 to R16 to N19 to N14 to R9.

The Scouting Force shall sail from Kristiansand (I13) on a course towards Klitmøller (L24). Once it has reached L23, it will turn east towards Skagen (T16) to cover the operations of the Main Force. If no enemy ships have been discovered and attacked by the time the Scouting Force has reached T16, it will sail to Larvik (Q4). Any Danish fishing vessels found in the area are to be sunk and their crews taken aboard and treated with the utmost courtesy and care due to any fellow seafarer.

The Main Force will follow a similar course, but on reaching L23, the light cruiser will move into L24 and land the naval brigade it is carrying. The rest of the Main Force will cover this landing and engage and enemy resistance, be it from coastal defences or enemy ships.

Once Danish naval base at Klitmøller has been razed to the ground, its facilities destroyed, and any enemy naval vessel therein sunk by demolition or gunfire, the troops will be withdrawn, and the Main Force will return to Larvik. Any enemy ships that are intercepted whilst the Main Force sail towards Larvik are to be attacked and sunk (Q4). Any Danish fishing vessels found in the area are to be sunk and their crews taken aboard and treated with the utmost courtesy and care due to any fellow seafarer.

These orders are subject to alteration should the circumstances change. For example, if the airship discovers any major Danish naval units operating in the area bounded by Larvik (Q5), Skagen (T16) and Kristiansand (I13), its signals will be passed on to you, and you will have the discretion to change your priorities to sink those enemy ships.

I wish you to remember the words of the Royal Navy’s foremost admiral: “No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy.”

Godspeed and wishing you great success,

Olaf Bjornsson (Admiral)

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The tactical map of the area of operations.

The tactical map of the area of operations showing the courses and patrol areas laid down by the Admiral Commanding His Majesty's Royal Norwegian Navy. The orange line shows the course to be taken by the Scouting Force; the red line shows the course to be taken by the Main Force; the green line shows the Coastal Defence Force's patrol line; and the purple line shows the course and patrol area to be covered by the Norwegian airship.

Arithmetic on the Frontier: A poem by Rudyard Kipling

The title of John Sly's article in the recently published issue of SOLDIERS OF THE QUEEN made me re-read Kipling's poem, the text of which follows.

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A great and glorious thing it is
To learn, for seven years or so,
The Lord knows what of that and this,
Ere reckoned fit to face the foe—
The flying bullet down the Pass,
That whistles clear: "All flesh is grass."

Three hundred pounds per annum spent
On making brain and body meeter
For all the murderous intent
Comprised in "villainous saltpetre".
And after?—Ask the Yusufzaies
What comes of all our 'ologies.

A scrimmage in a Border Station—
A canter down some dark defile—
Two thousand pounds of education
Drops to a ten-rupee jezail—
The Crammer's boast, the Squadron's pride,
Shot like a rabbit in a ride!

No proposition Euclid wrote
No formulae the text-books know,
Will turn the bullet from your coat,
Or ward the tulwar's downward blow.
Strike hard who cares—shoot straight who can—
The odds are on the cheaper man.

One sword-knot stolen from the camp
Will pay for all the school expenses
Of any Kurrum Valley scamp
Who knows no word of moods and tenses,
But, being blessed with perfect sight,
Picks off our messmates left and right.

With home-bred hordes the hillsides teem.
The troopships bring us one by one,
At vast expense of time and steam,
To slay Afridis where they run.
The "captives of our bow and spear"
Are cheap, alas! as we are dear.

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This poem was published in 1886 and yet it still has a resonance today. The recent war in Afghanistan may now be over, and the bullet would probably now come from a Kalashnikov rather than a jezail, but the essence of the poem remains true. It reminds us that the complexities of what is in effect modern colonial warfare requires local knowledge and an ability to adapt in the light of practical experience rather than relying on a textbook approach that overvaules overwhelming firepower and sophisticated and expensive technology.

Soldiers of the Queen (SOTQ) Issue 194

The latest issue of the Victorian Military Society's SOTQ (Soldiers of the Queen) was delivered on Saturday, and I have spent some of the time since reading each of the articles in it.

The articles included in this issue are:

• The Army and the Periodic Press by Prof Ian F W Beckett
• A Soldier of the Queen and the Imperial Tour of India 1875-1876 by David Howell
• Commissions by the Back Door by Dr Roger Salmon
• 'Arithmetic on the Frontier' by John Sly
• Book Reviews by Andy Smith
• Obituary: Meurig Giles Morgan Jones by Dan Allen
• Officers of the Victorian Military Society
• Myth and Reality: Military Art in the Age of Queen Victoria Tuesday 1st July 2025 to Sunday 1st November 2026 at the National Army Museum.

Another excellent collection of articles, and it is very difficult to select a single one as being more interesting that another. That said, I can see myself returning to and re-reading both Professor Beckett's article about the Army and the press and Dr Salmon's article about the commissioning of officers via the back door.

The annual cost of membership of the Victorian Military Society is:

• UK: £30.00
• Overseas: £40.00 [except for Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore: £43.00])

My opinion remains that this magazine and the membership of the Victorian Military Society is well worth the cost of the annual subscription.

Desperta Ferro ... back numbers

As regular blog readers will know, I am very enamoured with the Spanish military history magazine, DESPERTA FERRO. I bought my first issue in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria during our Christmas cruise and my next three copies when we revisited the city during our recent cruise.

I was looking at the magazine's website and realised that there were four back issues that covered periods of particular interest to me ... so I ordered them! They were delivered in less than a fortnight and I have been looking though them with great interest.

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DESPERTA FERRO – ESPECIALES (No. 36): EJÉRTICOS DE LA GUERRA CIVIL (I): EL EJÉRTICO ESPAÑOL EN 1936 (ARMIES OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (I): THE SPANISH ARMY IN 1936)

• Ejército y sociedad. De la Restauración a la República (Army and Society: From the Restoration to the Republic) by Alfonso Iglesias Amorín
• En vísperas de la catástrofe. Las Fuerzas Armadas en julio de 1936 (On the Eve of the Catastrophe: The Armed Forces in July 1936) by Roberto Muñoz Bolaños
• La reforma militar de Manuel Azaña (Manuel Azaña’s Military Reform) by Justo Alberto Huerta Barajas
• Marruecos y las raíces del africanismo (Morocco and the Roots of Africanism) by Daniel Macías
• La industria militar española a comienzos del siglo XX (The Spanish Military Industry at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century) by Manfredo Monforte Moreno
• Entre el antimilitarismo y la defensa de la República. La Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista (Between Antimilitarism and the Defence of the Republic: the Republican Antifascist Military Union) by Eduardo González Calleja
• El orden y la ley. Las fuerzas de seguridad republicanas (Order and Law: The Republican Security Forces) by Sergio Vaquero Martínez
• Conspiradores en uniforme. Las tramas militares contra la República (Conspirators in Uniform: Military Plots against the Republic) by Francisco Alía Miranda
• La travesía del fénix. El desarrollo de la aviación military (The Phoenix’s Journey: The Development of Military Aviation) by Marcelino Sempere Doménech
• Vidas paralelas. Los generales Domingo Batet y Manuel Goded (Parallel Lives: Generals Domingo Batet and Manuel Goded) by Fernando Puell de la Villa
• El difícil camino de la modernidad. El armamento español en 1936 (The Difficult Road to Modernity: Spanish Armaments in 1936) by José Vicente Herrero Pérez
• La división de las Fuerzas Armadas ante la sublevación (The Division of the Armed Forces in the Face of the Uprising) by Alberto Ayuso García

DESPERTA FERRO – ESPECIALES (No. 40): EJÉRTICOS DE LA GUERRA CIVIL (II): EL EJÉRTICO ESPAÑOL DE ÁFRICA (ARMIES OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (II): THE ARMY OF AFRICA)

• El Ejército de África en julio de 1936 (The Army of Africa in July 1936) by Jesús Albert Salueña
• Las primeras columnas en la Península (The First Columns on the Peninsula) by Joaquín Gil Honduvilla
• El reclutamiento en el protectorado (Recruitment in the Protectorate) by Mimoun Aziza
• Regulares, mehalas y Tiradores de Ifni (Regulares, Mehalas, and the Ifni Tirailleurs) by Alberto Guerrero Martín
• Lógica colonial y guerra civil (Colonial Logic and Civil War) by Alba Llavina Ros
• La Legión en Guerra (The Legion at War) by José Luis Rodríguez Jiménez
• El retorno del “moro”. Nacionalismo, estereotipos y propaganda (The Return of the “Moor”: Nationalism, Stereotypes, and Propaganda) by Xosé M. Núñez Seixas
• Las unidades coloniales en el Ejército sublevado (Colonial Units in the Rebel Army) by David Alegre Lorenz
• La vida cotidiana del soldado marroquí (The Daily Life of the Moroccan Soldier) by Alí al Tuma
• La caballería de Regulares en combate, el Tabor de Alhucemas n.º 5 (The Regulares Cavalry in Combat: the Alhucemas Tabor No. 5) by Jesús Martínez de Merlo
• Mohamed ben Mizzian. El único general español de origen marroquí (Mohamed ben Mizzian: The Only Spanish General of Moroccan Origin) by Fernando Puell de la Villa
• “Hombres de Mola” y “hombres del sur”. Los africanistas en el franquismo (“Mola’s Men” and “Men of the South”: Africanists in Francoism) by Roberto Muñoz Bolaños

DESPERTA FERRO – ESPECIALES (No. 44): EJÉRTICOS DE LA GUERRA CIVIL (III): LAS MILICIAS REPUBLICANAS (ARMIES OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (III): THE REPUBLICAN MILITIAS)

• Paramilitares. Las milicias izquierdistas de preguerra (Paramilitaries: Left Wing Militias before the War) by Eduardo González Calleja
• Cubriendo el vacío. La disolución ejército y la organización de Milicias (Filling the Void: The Dissolution of the Army and the Organization of Militias) by Fernando Hernández Sánchez
• El Quinto Regimiento de Milicias Populares (The Fifth Regiment of Popular Militias) by Juan Andrés Blanco Rodríguez
• El Comité Central de Milicias Antifascistas de Cataluña (The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia) by Manel López Esteve
• Milicianas. Mujeres reales detrás del mito (Women Militians: Real Women Behind the Myth) by Sofía Rodríguez López
• “Sangre de la juventud”. Las milicias socialistas y de la JSU (“Blood of Youth”: The Socialist Militias and the JSU) by Fernando Hernández Sánchez
• Euzko Gudarostea. Las milicias nacionalistas vascas (Euzko Gudarostea: The Basque Nationalist Militias) by Roberto Muñoz Bolaños
• La revolución en el frente. Las milicias anarquistas en Levante (The Revolution at the Front: Anarchist Militias in Levante) by Julián Vadillo Muñoz
• Líster y Mera. La forja de los mandos de Milicias (Líster and Mera: The Forging of Militia Commanders) by Luis A. Ruiz Casero
• En defensa de la revolución. La formación del Consejo de Aragón (In Defence of the Revolution: The Formation of the Council of Aragon) by Assumpta Castillo Cañiz
• Retaguardia republicana. Comités y violencia revolucionaria (The Republican Rear Guard: Committees and Revolutionary Violence) by Fernando Jiménez Herrera
• Armas para el pueblo. Balance de las milicias en combate (Arms for the People: An Assessment of the Militias in Combat) by Daniel Raya Crespi

DESPERTA FERRO – HISTORIA MODERNA (No. 54): LA GUERRA RUSO-TURCA 1877-1878 (THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR 1877-1878)

• La gran crisis de Oriente (The Great Eastern Crisis) by Lucien Frary
• De los Balcanes al Cáucaso. Campañas de la Guerra Ruso-Turca (From the Balkans to the Caucasus: Campaigns of the Russo Turkish War) by Andrei Pogăciaș
• La reforma del Ejército ruso, 1856-1877 (The Reform of the Russian Army, 1856–1877) by Roger R. Reese
• El asedio de Plevna (The Siege of Plevna) by Ömer Turan
• La última cruzada. El paneslavismo durante la gran crisis de Oriente (The Last Crusade: Pan Slavism during the Great Eastern Crisis) by Denis Vovchenko
• Las batallas del paso de Shipka (The Battles of the Shipka Pass) by Alexander Statiev
• El Tratado de Berlín, la mecha que prendería la Primera Guerra Mundial (The Treaty of Berlin, the Fuse That Would Ignite the First World War) by Lucien Frary

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There's lots here to get my teeth into ... and to think about.

Greek Torpedo-boat No.11

The Feth-i Bülend was torpedoed and sunk by the Greek Torpedo-boat No.11 in Salonika harbour on 31st October 1912. No.11 was one of six vessels that had been built at the Vulcan shipyard in Stettin, Germany, for the Greek navy, and she had been commissioned in 1885.

A model of Torpedo-boat No.11.

Her characteristics were:

• Displacement: 85 tons
• Dimensions:
• Length: 37.5m (123ft)
• Beam: 4.66m (15ft 4in)
• Draught: 1.65m (4ft 5in)
• Propulsion: A locomotive boiler providing steam to a vertical compound steam engine (1,000ihp) driving a single propellor
• Speed: 18 knots
• Complement: 20
• Armament: 1 x 57mm (3-pounder) Hotchkiss quick-firing guns; 2 x 14-inch (356mm) bow torpedo tubes; 1 x 14-inch (356mm) trainable torpedo tube

Torpedo-boat No.11 was wrecked near Mudros Bay on 13th April 1913.

The Turkish battleship Feth-i Bülend and the Russian gunboat Vesta

The Feth-i Bülend was the name ship of a class of two Turkish ironclads built for the Ottoman Turkish navy between 1868 and 1874. The Feth-i Bülend was built by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company Limited, whose shipyard was located at Leamouth Wharf (which was also known as Blackwall) at the confluence of Bow Creek and the River Thames in East London. She was laid down in May 1868, launched in 1869, and joined the Ottoman Turkish navy after sea trials in 1870.

A diagram showing the layout of the Turkish battleship Feth-i Bülend's armour and armament.

Her characteristics were:

• Displacement: 2,718 tons
• Dimensions:
• Length: 72m (236ft 3in)
• Beam: 11.9m (39ft 1in)
• Draught: 5.2m (17ft 1in)
• Propulsion: Six box boilers providing steam to a horizontal compound steam engine (3,250ihp) driving a single propellor
• Speed: 13 knots
• Complement: 16 officers and 153 sailors
• Armament: 4 × 9-inch (229mm) Armstrong guns
• Armour:
• Belt: 150mm (6-inch) to 229mm (9-inch) iron armour
• Casemate: 150mm (6-inch) to 229mm (9-inch) iron armour

The Turkish battleship Feth-i Bülend during her reconstruction in Armstrong-Ansaldo's shipyard in Genoa.

Despite being damaged during the Russo-Turkish War, she remained in service until 1924! She was inactive from 1880 to 1900, at which point she was reconstructed by Armstrong-Ansaldo in Genoa. She was reboilered and emerged with two water-tube boilers, which increased her speed very slightly. her armament was replaced by four 15cm (6-inch) SK L/40 guns which were mounted in the casemate, and six 75mm (3-inch) quick-firing guns and six 57mm (6-pounder) quick-firing guns on the upper deck.

She was disarmed during the Italo-Turkish War (1911-1912) and her guns were used to defend Salonika. She was then used as a barracks ship. During the First Balkan War, she remained at Salonika, and on the night of 31st October 1912, the Greek torpedo boat No.11 managed to sneak into the harbour, avoid detection, and launch three torpedoes at Feth-i Bülend. Two of the torpedoes hit the ship, and she capsized and sank with the loss of seven crew. The torpedo boat escaped undamaged.

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Little is known about the Vesta other than she was a converted steam-powered wooden merchant ship that was armed with five 6-inch mortars and two 9-pounder guns and spa torpedoes. The latter were described in contemporary publications as lance torpedoes.

Zinovy Rozhestvensky and the non-sinking of the Ottoman battleship, Feth-i Bülend

Zinovy Rozhestvensky is probably best know for commanding the 'fleet that had to die'; in other words, as the admiral in command of the Baltic Fleet that was sent to the Far East during the Russo-Japanese War. He was wounded early during the Battle of Tsushima and was court martialled on his return the Russia.

Despite trying to take all the responsibility for the defeat, he was pardoned by the Tsar, allowed to retire. He died in St Petersburg during the early hours of New Year's Day 1909.

What is less well-known about Rozhestvensky is the part he played during the Russo-Turkish War. He was serving aboard the gunboat Vesta and on 10th June 1877 he volunteered to lead an attack on moored Turkish battleships at Sulina by six torpedo boats that were armed with spar torpedoes. The attack ran into trouble when his torpedo boat became entangled in a rope boom that had been deployed to prevent just such an attack. The Turks were alerted by this and opened fire on the Russian topedo boats, sinking one and forcing the others to flee.

On 23rd July, he attacked the Turkish battleship Feth-i Bülend in the Vesta. The David and Goliath battle between these two warships continued for five hours and was marked by both sides being hampered by very poor visibility due to smoke and escaping steam. Both ships were damaged and suffered casualties, but Rozhestvensky's report gave the impression that he had left the Turkish ship on the verge of sinking before he withdrew. forced the ships to disengage, both with slight damage and few casualties. As a result, he was awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir and Order of St George for this action and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander.

The Turkish battleship Feth-i Bülend.

The unequal battle between the Russian gunboat Vesta and the Turkish battleship Feth-i Bülend.

After the Russo-Turkish War ended, Rozhestvensky admitted in a newspaper article that he had 'gilded the lily' somewhat, and the the damage inflicted on the Turkish warship was minimal. This did not, however, affect his career, which continued to flourish.

Quintin Barry's history of the Russo-Turkish War

As a follow up to reading Quintin Barry's two-volume history of the Franco-Prussian War, I have been reading his history nof the Russo-Turkish War, WAR IN THE EAST: A MILITARY HISTORY OF THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR 1877-78.

The book covers the fighting that took place in the Balkans and the Caucasus, and includes:

• The Battle of Simnitza.
• The Battles of Shipka Pass.
• The Siege of Plevna and the battles around the city.
• The Battle of Kızıl Tepe.
• The Battle of Erzurum.
• The Battle of Kars.
• The Battle of Tashkessen.
• The Battle of Sofia.
• The Battle of Philippopolis.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I may well move on to re-read Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin book set during the war, TURKISH GAMBIT.

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WAR IN THE EAST: A MILITARY HISTORY OF THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR 1877-78​ was written by Quintin Barry and published in paperback format in 2024 by Helion & Company (ISBN 978 1 8045 1730 7).

Quintin Barry's two-volume history of the Franco-Prussian War

Over the past few weeks I have been reading - for the second time - the late Quintin Barry's two-volume history of Franco-Prussian War.

The first volume covers the outbreak of the war until the surrender at Sedan and the collapse of the Second Empire.

The second volume covers the period from the proclamation of the Third Republic until the end of the war, and includes the Siege of Paris and the foundation of the German Empire.

I have found these to be well-researched and admirably written in a style that told the history of the war in an easy-to-read way that still managed to include the sort of  level of detail beloved by wargamers. This is hardly surprising as - according to his obituary in the Law Gazette - he spent ten years doing his research before he wrote this work.

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THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR 1870-71 was written by Quintin Barry and published in paperback format in 2025 by Helion & Company (Volume One: ISBN 978 1 8067 2104 7; Volume Two: ISBN 978 1 8067 2105 4).

Edward Dicey: A Victorian and Edwardian writer and journalist

I have recently been reading Edward Dicey’s first-person narrative about the Schleswig-Holstein War of 1864 - which he observed a at close hand from both sides of the conflict - and as a result, I decided to find out more about him.

Edward Dicey was born on 15th May 1832 in Claybrook, Leicestershire. His father - Thomas Edward Dicey - was a senior wrangler in 1811, a railway pioneer in the Midlands, and owner of a Northampton newspaper, and his mother - Anne Mary - was the sister of Sir James Stephen - an abolitionist and the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1836 to 1847.

He was educated at home before attending King’s College London for two years and then Trinity College Cambridge, where he obtained a 3rd-class BA and been President of the Cambridge Union for a year.

After university he began writing and travelling as well as developing an interest in international politics. From 1861 until 1870 he crossed and re-crossed the world, and visited and wrote about the early stages of the reunification of Italy, the American Civil War, the Schleswig-Holstein War, and the Austro-Prussian War. In 1862 he became a member of the staff of THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, and in 1870 he was editor of THE DAILY NEWS for three months. He then moved over to THE OBSERVER, where he was editor from 1870 until 1889.

In 1865 he entered Gray’s Inn and ten years later he was called to the Bar although he never practiced. That said, in later life he made his Chambers his home, and he became a Bencher in 1896 and Treasurer from 1903 to 1904. He died in Chambers on 7th July 1911.

His books reflected his travels and interests and included:

• Rome in 1860 (1861
• Cavour: A Memoir (1861)
• Six Months in the Federal States (1863)
• The Schleswig-Holstein War (1864)
• The Battle-Fields of 1866 (1866)
• A Month in Russia during the Marriage of the Czarevitch (1867)
• The Morning Land, being Sketches of Turkey, the Holy Land, and Egypt (1870)
• England and Egypt (1881
• Victor Emmanuel (1882)
• Bulgaria, the Peasant State (1894)
•  The Story of the Khedivate (1902)
• The Egypt of the Future (1907)

Britannia's Bluff: The ships

Back in September, I wrote a blog post that included images of some of the ships that were going to be featured in Antoine Vanner's forthcoming novel (BRITANNIA'S BLUFF), which was published recently.

The book includes illustrations of the most important ships featured in the book. These are shown below.

© Antoine Vanner

© Antoine Vanner

© Antoine Vanner

© Antoine Vanner

© Antoine Vanner

© Antoine Vanner

© Antoine Vanner

I am particularly pleased that Antoine Vanner has included a battleship (the Memduhiye) that is based on one of my favourite Turkish ships, the Mesudiye.

The Mesudiye (Turkish: Happiness) was built as a central-battery ironclad for the Ottoman Navy in the 1870s. She was ordered – along with a sister ship – from Thames Iron Works and delivered in December 1875. (Her sister ship – the Hamidieh – was compulsorily purchased by the British Government at the time of the Russian war scare of 1878 and completed as HMS Sultan.)

By the end of the nineteenth century, she was obsolete and poorly maintained, and in 1898 the Ottoman government decided to have her reconstructed by the Gio. Ansaldo & C. shipyard in Genoa. When she returned to service in 1904, she was a coastal defence pre-dreadnought battleship.

Her characteristics when built were:

• Displacement: 8,797 tons
• Dimensions:
• Length: 101.02m (331ft 5in)
• Beam: 17.98m (59.0ft)
• Draught: 7.9m (25ft 11in)
• Propulsion: 8 x box boilers producing steam to power 1 x 7,431 ihp compound steam engine driving a single propeller
• Speed: 13.7 knots
• Complement: 700
• Armament: 12 × 10-inch RML guns; 3 × 7-inch RML guns
• Armour: Belt: 305mm (12-inches); Battery: 254mm (10-inches)

Her characteristics after being reconstructed were:

• Displacement: 8,980 tons
• Dimensions:
• Length: 101.02m (331ft 5in)
• Beam: 17.98m (59.0ft)
• Draught: 7.9m (25ft 11in)
• Propulsion: 16 x Niclausse boilers producing steam to power 2 x 5,500 ihp triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a propeller
• Speed: 17 knots
• Complement: 800
• Armament: 2 × 9.2-inch Vickers A guns (Not fitted); 12 × 5.9-inch Vickers D QF guns; 16 x 3-inch Vickers N QF guns; 10 x 57mm Hotchkiss QF guns; 2 x 47mm Hotchkiss QF guns
• Armour: Belt: 305mm (12-inches); Battery: 254mm (10-inches)

The Mesudiye.

Soldiers of the Queen (SOTQ) Issue 193

The latest issue of the Victorian Military Society's SOTQ (Soldiers of the Queen) was delivered last Friday, and I spent a very interesting time reading it over the weekend.

The articles included in this issue are:

• La Trobe, Redcoats and Mounted Police, 1839-1846 by Dr Andrew Kisby
• The Diehards at Detling: Military Odyssey 2025 by Tim Rose
• Kolhapur 1844 by David Howell
• Obituary: Professor John Laband (1947-2025) by Ian Knight
• Officers of the Victorian Military Society
• Myth and Reality: Military Art in the Age of Queen Victoria Tuesday 1st July 2025 to Sunday 1st November 2026 at the National Army Museum (In my last review, I used the wrong end date for this exhibition! Mea culpa!)

Another excellent collection of articles ... as usual! I must admit that if I had taken up re-enactment, I’d have liked to have joined the ranks of the Diehards … but I am now of an age when the only military group I could honestly re-enact would have to be the Chelsea Pensioners!

The annual cost of membership of the Victorian Military Society is:

• UK: £30.00
• Overseas: £40.00 [except for Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore: £43.00])

My opinion still remains that this magazine is well worth the cost of the annual subscription.

The 'thirty-knotter' turtle-back destroyers

These were not a homogeneous class of torpedo boat destroyers. They were built from 1895 onward to designs produced by the shipyards that built them to match guidelines laid down by the Admiralty. By 1913 the Royal Navy had split them into three 'classes':

• B-class (the ships with four funnels): 24 ships (22 served during the First World War)
• C-class (the ships with three funnels): 40 ships (36 served during the First World War)
• D-class (the ships with two funnels): 10 ships (8 served during the First World War)

By the outbreak of the First World War, although the surviving ships were obsolete and unfit for front-line service, they performed many useful tasks such a patrolling and escorting convoys, and several were lost as a result on enemy action.

• HMS Recruit was torpedoed and sunk by U-boat UB-6 on 1st May 1915.
• HMS Coquette sank on 7th March 1916 after a hitting a mine laid by U-boat UC-10.
• HMS Flirt was torpedoed and sunk by German destroyers on 27th October 1916.
• HMS Cheerful was mined and sunk on 30th June 1917.
• HMS Fairy sank after ramming U-boat UC-75 on 31st May 1918.

HMS Lively (B-class built by Laird, Birkenhead).

HMS Arab (C-class built by J & G Thomson, Clydebank).

HMS Fame (D-class built by Thornycroft, Chiswick)​,

The main characteristics of the '30-knotters' were:

• Displacement: 350 to 445 tons
• Dimensions:
• Length: 209ft (64m) to 215ft (55m)
• Beam: ?
• Draught: ?
• Propulsion: 2 x Triple expansion steam engines or steam turbines
• Speed: 30 to 36.5 knots
• Complement: 63 to 69
• Armament: 1 x 12-pounder QF gun; 5 x 6-pounder QF guns; 2 x 18-inch (450mm) torpedo tubes

The Astraea-class second-class protected cruisers

The eight ships of the Astraea-class of second-class protected cruisers were built for the Royal Navy in the period after the passing of the Naval Defence Act (1889). During their service, they operated across the world and served on foreign stations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and off the coast of South Africa.

HMS Astraea.

By the outbreak of the First World War, the class was obsolete (one had even been sold for scrapping) but the survivors continued in service with the Royal Navy in a number of secondary roles, including acting a training and depot ships. With the exception of one of the class (HMS Hermione), they were all sold and scrapped soon after the end of the war.

The class's characteristics were:

• Displacement: 4,360 tons
• Dimensions:
• Length:  320ft (97.5m)
• Beam: 49ft 6in (15.09m)
• Draught: 19ft (5.8m)
• Propulsion:  8 x cylinder boilers providing steam to 2 x 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines (7,500 hp) each connected to a shaft driving a propeller
• Speed:  18 knots (19.5 knots with forced draught)
• Range:  7,000 nautical miles at 10 knots
• Complement: 318
• Armament 2 x 6-inch (152mm) QF guns; 8 x 4.7-inch (120mm) QF guns 10 x 6-pounder (57mm) QF guns; 1 x 3-pounder (47mm) QF guns; 4 x 18-inch (450mm) torpedo tubes
• Armour: 
• Deck: 2 inches (50mm)
• Engine hatch: 5 inches (130mm)
• Gun shields: 4.5 inches (110mm)
• Conning tower: 6 to 3 inches (152mm to 76mm)

There were eight ships on the class:

• Astraea: Laid down: August 1890; Launched: 17th March 1893; Completed: 5th November 1895; Sold: 1st July 1920
• Bonaventure: Laid down: December 1890; Launched: 2nd December 1892; Completed: 5th July 1894; May 1906 to April 1907: Converted into a submarine depot ship; Sold: 12th July 1920
• Cambrian: Laid down: 1891; Launched: 30th January 1893; Completed: March 1916; Renamed HMS Harlech and converted into a base ship; Renamed HMS Vivid in September 1921; Sold: February 1923
• Charybdis:Laid down: 1891; Launched: 15th June 1893; Completed: 14th January 1896; Sold: 1922
• Flora: Laid down ; ?; Launched: 21st November 1893; Completed: ?; 1914: Paid off and retained for harbour service; April 1915: Renamed Indus II and used as a training ship; Sold: 12th December 1922
• Forte: Laid down:?; Launched: 9th December 1893; Completed: 5th November 1895; 1913: Paid off for disposal; Sold: 2nd April 1914
• Fox: Laid down: ?; Launched: 15th June 1893; Completed: 14th April 1896; Sold: 1920
• Hermione: Laid down: December 1891; Launched: 7th November 1893; Completed: 14th January 1896; December 1916: Became HQ ship for coastal forces; Sold: October 1921 to the Marine Society and renamed Warspite; Sold: September 1940

The Edgar-class first-class protected cruisers

Having recently written a blog post about Antoine Vanner's next book in the Dawlish Chronicles series, I decided to take a closer look at the classes of British ships mentioned in the book.

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The Edgar-class were a group of nine first-class protected cruisers that were built for the Royal Navy in the late nineteenth century.

On 30th May 1889, the Naval Defence Act received royal assent. As a result, the 'two-power standard' (i.e. the Royal Navy to be as strong as the combined strength of the world's next two largest navies ... which in 1889 meant the French and Russian Navies) was formally adopted as a central tenet of British naval policy, and this led to a large number of new ships being ordered to increase Britain's naval strength.

HMS Edgar.

The Edgar-class was one of the classes that were ordered as a direct result of this Act, and they served until they were scrapped in the 1920s.

The class's characteristics were:

• Displacement: 7,700 tons
• Dimensions:
• Length: 387ft 6in (118.11m)
• Beam: 60ft (18.3m)
• Draught: 24ft (7.3m)
• Propulsion: 4 x double-ended boilers providing steam to 2 x three-cylinder reciprocating triple expansion engines (12,000ihp) each connected to a shaft driving a propeller
• Speed: 20 knots
• Range: 10,000 nautical miles at 10 knots
• Complement: 544
• Armament: 2 x 9.2-inch (230mm) Mk VI BL guns; 10 x 6-inch (152mm) QF guns; 12 x 6-pounder (57mm) QF guns; 4 x 18-inch (450mm) torpedo tubes
• Armour:
• Deck: 5 to 3 inches (127mm to 76mm)
• Casemate: 6 inches (152mm)
• Gun shields (9.2-inch guns): 3 inches (76mm)
• Conning tower: 10 inches (254mm)

There were nine ships in the class:

• Edgar: Laid down: 3rd June 1889; Launched: 24th November 1890; Commissioned: 2nd March 1893; Sold 9th May 1921
• Hawke: Laid down: 16th June 1889; Launched: 11th March 1891; Commissioned: 16th May 1893; Sunk by a torpedo fired by the German U-9: 15th October 1914
• Endymion: Laid down: 22nd November 1889; Launched: 22nd July 1891; Commissioned: 26th May 1894; Sold 16th March 1920
• Royal Arthur (laid down as Centaur): Laid down: 20th January 1890; Launched: 26th February 1891; Commissioned: 2nd March 1893; Sold: August 1921
• Gibraltar: Laid down: 2nd December 1889; Launched: 27th April 1892; Commissioned: 1st November 1894; Sold: August 1923
• Grafton: Laid down: 1st January 1890; Launched: 30th January 1892; Commissioned: 18th October 1894; Sold: 1st July 1921
• St George: Laid down: 23rd April 1890; Launched: 23rd June 1892; Commissioned: 25th October 1894; Sold: 1st July 1921
• Theseus: Laid down: 16th July 1890; Launched: 8th September 1892; Commissioned: 14th January 1894; Scrapped: 1921
• Crescent: Laid down: 13th October 1890; Launched: 30th March 1892; Commissioned: 22nd February 1894; Sold: 21st September 1921

These ship provided valuable service during the First World War despite being obsolete by 1914.

The next novel in the Dawlish Chronicles series will be out in December

I have been a fan of Antoine Vanner's novels about Nicholas Dawlish - a later nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Royal Navy officer- since the first was published back in 2013. Since then he has published a new novel every year in the run up to Christmas.

Antoine has recently announced that the next book - the thirteenth in the series - will be published in December, but he has not yet disclosed the titled. However, he has made it known that the following (imaginary) British warships will be featured:

© Antoine Vanner.

© Antoine Vanner.

© Antoine Vanner.

This looks like it is going to be yet another great read, and I highly recommend this series of books to anyone with an interest in the exploits of the Royal Navy during the second half of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century.

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The twelve books in the series that have been published to date are (in chronological order):

• BRITANNIA’S INNOCENT: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: FEBRUARY 1864 – MAY 1864
• BRITANNIA’S INTERESTS: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: JULY 1866 – NOVEMBER 1866
• BRITANNIA’S GUILE: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: JANUARY 1877 – AUGUST 1877
• BRITANNIA'S WOLF: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: SEPTEMBER 1877 – FEBRUARY 1878
• BRITANNIA'S REACH: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: NOVEMBER 1879 – APRIL 1880
• BRITANNIA'S SHARK: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: APRIL 1881 – SEPTEMBER 1881
• BRITANNIA'S SPARTAN: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: JUNE 1859 AND APRIL 1882 – AUGUST 1882
• BRITANNIA'S AMAZON: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: APRIL 1882 – AUGUST 1882
• BRITANNIA'S MISSION: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: AUGUST 1883 – FEBRUARY 1884
• BRITANNIA'S GAMBLE: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: MARCH 1884 – FEBRUARY 1885
• BRITANNIA’S MORASS: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: SEPTEMBER 1884 – DECEMBER 1884
• BRITANNIA’S RULE: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: SEPTEMBER 1886 – APRIL 1888

The paperback edition of Dominion of the Blue and the Grey has been published

He's done it yet again! Only a month after he published DOMINION OF OTTO VON BISMARCK, Steve Parker has published yet another book in the 'Dominion of ...' series. This latest book is aimed at the American Civil War, and is entitled DOMINION OF THE BLUE AND GREY.

It follows the same format as the previous books in the series, so I will not repeat myself other than to state that is has American Civil War-appropriate rule changes. These are:

• Revised rally rules.
• Amended activation rules.
• Rules for generals influencing the battle.

As in previous books, there are scenarios for 24 historical battles. These include a brief background to the battle, relevant army lists, deployment details, and brief account of the actual battle. The battles covered are:

• First Bull Run (First Manassas) (1861)
• Wilson’s Creek (Oak Hills) (1861)
• Fort Donelson (1862)
• Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern) (1862)
• Shiloh (1862)
• Seven Pines (Fair Oaks) (1862)
• Gaines’s Mill (1862)
• Second Bull Run (Manassas) (1862)
• Antietam (Sharpsburg) (1862)
• Perryville (1862)
• Fredericksburg (1862)
• Stones River (Murfreesboro) (1863)
• Chancellorsville (1863)
• Vicksburg (1863)
• Brandy Station (1863)
• Gettysburg (1863)
• Chickamauga (1863)
• Missionary Ridge (Chattanooga) (1863)
• The Wilderness (1864)
• Kennesaw Mountain (1864)
• Atlanta (1864)
• Franklin (1864)
• Nashville (1864)
• Bentonville (1865).

I have already ordered my copy of the paperback from Lulu and hope to receive it within the next ten days.

Recent reading material

During my 'break' from wargaming, I have been doing some reading. I have already mentioned that I intended to read 1864: THE FORGOTTEN WAR THAT SHAPED MODERN EUROPE by Tom Buk-Swienty.

Well, I have now read it ... and thoroughly enjoyed it, just as I did when I read it back in 2015. I might not yet be ready to refight the Battles of Dybbøl or Als ... but I hope to do so in the not too distant future.

I have also been reading two books about the Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War. Both were written by Charles D Winchester, who is a military historian and wargamer with whom I am very well acquainted. 

The first is OSTFRONT: HITLER'S WAR ON RUSSIA 1941-45 ...

... and the second is HITLER's WAR IN RUSSIA.

The second book is actually a very heavily revised edition of the first book and does not include the extensive illustrations and maps in OSTFRONT: HITLER'S WAR IN RUSSIA 1941-45. In fact, it is almost a complete rewrite, and I did not notice that the text of both books were at all similar.

I read these last two books because I have been sorting out and cataloguing my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War collection and it seemed rather appropriate. In fact, they gave me lots to think about whilst I was doing this 'sorting the button box' exercise, and I am already developing plans in my mind to add some more vehicles, artillery, and figures to the collection. Perhaps my wargaming mojo is beginning to return ... which is no bad thing!

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1864: THE FORGOTTEN WAR THAT SHAPED MODERN EUROPE was written by Tom Buk-Swienty, translated into English by Annette Buk-Swienty, and published in English by Profile Books in April 2015 (ISBN 978 1 781 25276 5). (It was originally published in Denmark in 2008 by Gyldendal, entitled 1864: SLAGTEBÆNK DYBBØL [which can be translated as ‘The Dybbøl Slaughterhouse’].)

OSTFRONT: HITLER'S WAR ON RUSSIA 1941-45 was written by Charles D Winchester and published by Osprey Publishing in 1998 (ISBN 978 1 8553 2711 5).

HITLER'S WAR IN RUSSIA was written by Charles D Winchester and published by Osprey Publishing in 2007 (ISBN 978 1 8460 3195 3).