New Mobile Infantry in Hadji Land

Here's an interesting picture...the new mobile infantry. I wonder how he'll react to firing off his back...

At The Swimming Hole

Me and some friends decided to take the horses down to the Ponds to go swimming. I managed to coax Max into the deep end a bit and I was soaked through my boots and leggings. Not the best picture but what the hey! The next time, I'll bring a change of clothes!

Singapore - The Fall of Malaya

I've been playing Singapore: Fall of Malaya. This game was in S&T 96 nad it presents the Malaya Campaign. I opted for the submarine rules (so the British can intercept Japanese sea movement on the west side of Malaya), increased reinforcements, and two air counters. The Japanese opted for sacking General Nishimura and some extra troops. I deliberately stayed away from the more major options such as the Jungle Training and Royal Engineers.

It's about mid-February 1942 and the Japanese forces are only about halfway down the pennisula. There's been some losses but the Japanese have also suffered. The biggest problem is that Commonwealth forces ZOCs don't extend into jungle hexes and there's not enough troops to do a "wall-to-wall" defense so it's fairly easy for the Japanese to outflank. Combined with the attrition rules, the effect is devastating on the Commonwealth forces.

I've played the game into March 1942 and the Commonwealth forces are slowly being pushed back. It's also been a game of attrition, especially with the deadly supply/attrition rolls and the CW forces are dwindling. The two optional Royal Tank Regiments arrived and combined with the 18th Division having managed to stop a couple of Japanese thrusts cold. In one case, the British 18th Division and supporting armor (2nd and 7th RTRs) managed to destroy one Japanse regiment that tried an end-run at Port Dickson. The nature of the CRT really limits any long-lasting effects of the CW counter-attacking.

The biggest problem is that with the lack of ZOCs into the jungle, the CW is greatly handicapped and easily outflanked, Combined with fewer troops, the CW just can't cover the frontage. Soon it will be withdrawal to Singapre Island for the last stand.

Well, I played out Singapore with the final "last stand" occuring during the late April game turns. The Commonwealth did much better than their historical counterparts although the end result was a Japanese substantive victory. Force Z was lost but the Commonwealth air units were successfully evacuated just prior to the final assault on Singapore thus denying the Japanese victory points for capture.

Overall, I attempted to wage an aggressive Commonwealth defense but the big problem was the Commonwealth's inability to form a solid line due to the lack of ZOCs exetending into jungle hexes. Combined with an overall shortage of units, it just wasn't possible to create a solid line and to dig in. Also, any counterattack had to be carefully considered so as to prevent being isolated in turn and this was especially so because of the ZOC/Jungle problem. Combined with this, the CRT is a bit strange in that even at the max differential, there is still a strong possibility (one in three in some circumstances) of a "BR" (both retreat) result occurring. One of the reasons that the Japanese took so long was because of some poor die rolls.

Based on playing the game, I believe that any Commonwealth defense of Malaya/Singapore was ulitmately doomed to failure. The chief problem was the lack of jungle training combined with the "peacetime" mentality that inhibited any serious defense preprations. Just as important, Percival was the worst choice for commander. While a more energenic and forceful commander might not have prevented ultimate defeat, it certainly would have forced the Japanese to work harder and perhaps seriously disrupt their war plans.

Overall, an interesting game but a forelorn hope.

Max - Crusing Down the Trail

Last night I decided to not give Max too much of a workout and rather take him for a walk around Gabriellano Park. It was pretty uneventuful except for the clueless idiot teaching his kids to ride an ATV on the grass area of the park (hell, why not, grass just gets in the way). Once I got to the arena, I worked Max a little, doing mostly leg yields at the trot and canter. I also worked on moving Max by leg without use of the reins (mostly- I cheated in a few difficult spots)- it's tougher than it looks.

Coming home, I decided to take Max home by way of Orcas Ave. Max didn't seem to have any issues, even with barking dogs and all.

Well, it will soon be time to take Max to Morro Bay so I've got to get him ready. :-)

RE: Event Pictures MTH 2005

Here's some pictures of me at Marching Through History at Prado Regional Park in 2005:




As a German



As an American

Max the Cranky Horse

Did our weekly lesson today and boy was Max a complete jerk- he did not want to cooperate in various leg yields and the harder I tried, the more Max resisted (in his stubborn way). Basically he's fairly dull to my legs and we need to work more on focusing his attention on leg motions while at the same time keeping off of the reins/bit as much as possible.

It wasn't a complete loss as we were able to get some good moves on the forehand and I was able to finally get his cooperation. I'm going to have to do more leg work while planting the reins against the mane or saddle and not doing anything with them except to apply braking pressure.

Just using the legs is easier said than done, at least with Max, and sometimes it seems to work out fine and other times it's a major chore. Well, guess I have my work cut out for me...

Doing Something Different with Max

Today for something different I decided to take Max to a practice session of the Warhorse Foundation, an organization that does all manner of equestrian activities, some military and some not (they tend to do Napoleonic which I don't particularly care for so I don't do a lot with them). Max has done a couple of other practice sessions but I figure that if I'm going to be taking Max out more to events (trailering permitting, I hope), I want to get him used to functioning as part of a larger group of horses (he really needs more work in this area).

This is the second time in recent months I've done this and he was a complete gentlemen, not getting upset by other horses bumping into him as we do formation changes and the like and learning to work in close proximity with other horses. The only questionable part has been with charges at the trot and canter- Max gets so much into the moment that sometimes he doesn't pay attention to his cues or he wants to get in a flat-out run because the other horses are getting in front of him (they're mostly Arabs and Throughbreds).

However, Max did much better at the charges this time- maybe is was the little Arab mare that was riding alongside- he would keep pace with her but not try to pull out in front- he was actualy very controlled. Doing some more of this may take the edge off of Max more.

Basically practice is much like doing Quadrilles on acid- lots of them in different formations which makes sense since much of this has its origins in cavalry. Basically a fancier version of standard military drill manuals- certain movements may have different commands attached to them, depending on the army and time period, but they're basically the same movements and accomplish the same thing.

Overall, this was very successful for Max and I and we'll need to pursue this further.