more delays

Sorry folks,
My attempted to get more painting done these past few weekends have been side tracked by helping my brother move to a new place. This is good news in that I can now move into his old place on the cheap. Bad news is, that I am busying packing things up again.

Good news is that I was able to get a VSF game in last weekend along trying out the new "Fire Fly" Board game. Both games were fun, with lots of smack talking, dice rolling and fun times. To Cap it off got to watch "Desolation of smug" Twice and turned in my two week notice at work.

Signed up for classes so I will be a student again this time next month. Wish me luck on that front. And to cap it off, I have knocked out about 10 hours of (research) Playing fallout new Vegas.

To all the best, and kind regards.

The Commissar.

Up dates.

A lot has been happening on my end as usually, friends and family visiting for the holidays. Punk and rock shows to see and school coming to a close for winter has zapped most of my free time.
That being said on to the hobby front.

Sadly the "1933: A Nation Divided", Kickstarter didn't make it. So Back to the Drawing board with a less ambitious one to get the book out next time.

In the mean time, I am not going to let all of the plastic-vile buildings I ordered go to waste. So I am thinking I might bite the bullet and start a fallout new vegas project. Stay tuned on that one.

Also I have rekindled my interest in 15mm sci-fi. So I will be trying to get those painted up and posted as I get them.
And finally on the kick starter front, I am looking into the "Total Extinction" One.
Looks cool. But I am not sure if I want to drop money on another kickstarter when I should be getting stuff for the family.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sentinelgames/total-extinction-battle-for-karnak

Here is a link.

Irish army in the Field, 1933

IRISH ARMY IN THE FIELD

New Helmet for the US military

Looks pretty cool, But being a former grunt myself. I will say that I am not envious of the weight and heat that thing will generate being used in humid and hot enlivenments.

Lots of updates

As the post says. Lots of updates, On the 1933: "A nation divided" Kick starter.
The first few refure to the 1917 Six Ton tank, and the MkVIII "Liberty" Tank. With Pics, stats and history's of these two old school monsters. Also with pic's of the casted up versions that are provided for in the kickstarter.

the Next few post pertain to new buying options for grabbing separate units and tank fallowed by 3 post explaining the history of 3 "Historical" units that fought in the second American Civil War. Such as the "The Crispus Attucks Auxiliary", "The Thaddeus Kosciuszko Volunteer Cavalry Squadron," and last but not least. The Oliver Cromwell Brigade.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1926752146/1933-a-nation-divided/posts

There is also a post stating a goal to the effect that they will be taking submissions for co-authors of stores and back ground.
And in closing, a time line of the start of the conflict and the Ohio River campaign.
SELECT MAJOR EVENTS OF THE SECOND AMERICAN CIVIL WAR,

FEBRUARY, 1933 to MARCH, 1935

With An Emphasis upon the Ohio River Valley Campaign

(July 20th, 1934-January, 1st, 1935)

1933:

February 15th: Attempted assassination of President-Elect Franklin Roosevelt.

February 18th-25th: The Washington, D.C. and New York City “Brushfire” Incidents.

February 20th-25th: The March on Washington.

February 26th: Lindbergh’s “Many Headed Hydra” Speech.

March 3rd: Creation of the Office of General Affairs. Lindbergh nominated.

March 4th: Inauguration of John Nance Garner as Vice President of the United States.

March 5th: Lindbergh officially appointed General Secretary.

April 3rd: Operation “Cleanup” begins; the “Hoover Raid” in New York City.

April 15th: Douglas MacArthur appointed head of Anti-Insurgency Command.

April 18th: General Order #1910 issued.

May 13th: Battle of Pine Plains, New York.

June 5th: Hartford Riots.

June 6th-7th: US Army occupies Hartford, Connecticut.

June 8th: Resignation of John Nance-Garner.

June 11th: Garner returns to Texas.

June 13th: Battle of Sleepy Hollow, New York.

July 4th: The Opposition Government is formed in Philadelphia, lead by by recently resigned VIce President John Nance-Garner and former Vice President Charles Curtis.

October 13th: Opposition Government censures Congress and the Executive Branch

October 15th: Rhode Island overrun by Communist coup.

October 20th: US Marine landings in Rhode Island topple Communist rebels.

November 3rd-7th: Battle of Topeka, Kansas.

November 9th: Nationalists in Illinois establish Pro-Nationalist government in Cairo.

December 2nd: Nationalist Congress censures the Opposition Government

December 7th: Creation of the Kentucky Free State

1934:

February 3rd: Bolshevist “Agrarian-Socialist” government established in Iowa.

February 9th: Establishment of Socialist Government in Wisconsin

February 20th: Nationalist Coup attempt in Frankfort, Kentucky.

May 1st: Communist Coup in Gary, Indiana.

May 3rd : Attempted Communist Coup in Springfield, Illinois.

May 7th: Springfield, Illinois declared an “Open City.”

June 7th: Constitutionalist Government retreats from Philadelphia.

June 9th: The USS Langley Incident – Crew of USS Langley mutinies.

June 11th: March on Des Moines by the Lindbergh Youth.

June 12th: Battle of Sterling’s Still, Kansas.

June 21st: St. Louis established as acting Constitutionalist Capital in lieu of the “Occupation of Washington by an Unconstitutional Dictatorship”

June 22nd: The first confirmed use of the term “Washington Junta” in an editorial by Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

July 4th: “Coalition Government” takes over in Cincinnati

July 20th: Beginning of Ohio River Valley Campaign

July 23rd: Battle of the Cincinnati Barricades

July 24th: Fall of Cincinnati

July 28th: Organized Constitutionalist forces in Ohio formally evacuate.

August 12th: Battle of Schurmann’s Hollow, Kentucky.

August 14th: Battle of La Grange, Kentucky.

August 20th: Army of the Ohio’s feint attack on the western outskirts of Louisville.

August 22nd: Battle of Louisville Armory, Kentucky.

August 25th: Patton’s “Right Hook” Outflanks Northern Louisville, enters Indiana.

August 28th: Southern Corps, Army of the Ohio, probes Southeastern Kentucky

August 30th: Battle of Lauritzen’s Crossing, Indiana.

September 4th: Battle of Middlesboro, Kentucky.

September 8th: Major Nationalist offensive in Indiana begins; Generals Patton and Tate split the Army of the Ohio. Tate moves toward Indianapolis, Patton moves toward St. Louis.

September 11h: Battle of Evansville, Indiana.

September 21st-25th: Battle of Indianapolis, Indiana.

October 7th: Brigadier General Tate recalled to Washington; Nationalist lines in southern Indiana stabilize.

October 11th: “The Relief of Cairo”; Nationalist forces resupply Cairo, Illinois.

October 20th: Siege of St. Louis Begins

October 29th: Colonel Harry Truman given command of the Defense of St. Louis, appointed a Brevet Brigadier General.

November 30th: General Patton recalled to Washington to testify before Congress. He identifies the Constitutionalist movement as a “serious, well defined threat that is growing in strength and popularity and will require a significant force of arms and a carefully considered operational plan to defeat.”

December 4th: General Charles Pelot Summerall takes command, Army of the Ohio.

December 27th: Summerall ordered to withdraw his forces from St. Louis.

December 30th-January 15th: “Operation McClellan” – the Army of the Ohio begins a long tactical withdrawal back to Ohio. The plan, though executed by Summerall, is thoroughly mapped out by General Patton, an act that arguably saves his career.

1935:

January 20th: Harry Truman is formally appointed a full Brigadier General by the Opposition Government.

February 11th: Congress in Washington authorizes full peacetime mobilization of the United States Army, allowing its numbers to reach the limit established by law: 280,000 men.

February 14th: Formal end of the Ohio River Campaign. Fighting continues throughout the Midwest. Though the Nationalists have fully secured Ohio, established a strong presence in Southern Indiana, and kept Cairo in Nationalist hands, the opposition government remains active in St. Louis, and the War Department prepares for a long, bloody conflict.

February 20-25th: The “Cincinnati Zoo Incident” – In one of the most bizarre incidents of the war, the Cincinnati Zoo is raided by ‘Insurgents’ who open the gates of the zoo and many cages, allowing the animals therein to run wild in the streets of Cincinnati. The 2nd Cohort, Ohio Silver Legion, is ordered to restore order, but must use “non lethal” means to return the animals to their enclosures.

March 20th, 1935: First confirmed use of Soviet supplied weapons by CPUSA forces

March 22nd: "Springfield Burns " - Communist guerillas attack the “Open” city of Springfield, burning much of it to the ground.

Readiness Report Ep. 1 - X-Wing Wave III

Up dated Female Militia member...Now with a 1903

Up dated Female Militia member...Now with a 1903

The Battle of Sleepy Hollow, New York. June 13, 1933

Overview

IN the late afternoon hours of June 11th, 1933, a group of "armed ruffians, dressed in a civilian clothing and wearing large pistols on their hips" entered the town of Sleepy Hollow New York, and approached several local vendors, attempting to bargain for food, dry guns, and various "assorted supplies (sic)."

Some of the strangers appeared to be drunk, and their armed appearance caused local citizens to panic, as a result of which, a local constable appeared on the town's main thoroughfare, where they had gathered, and requested that they leave, citing the town's ordnance against carrying weaponry and various policies against public intoxication. "The ruffians," period accounts go on to say, "left in a huff."

In consideration of the possible threat posed by the armed visitors, the tiny force of constables placed a call to nearby State Police and Sheriff's offices, requesting reinforcements in case "the armed interlopers" returned again. An additional forty officers - excessive by the standards of the town -had appeared by late that evening, and manned check points on the major roads leading into and out of the town. The expected return of the outsiders, however, did not occur during the 12th, and many of the police reinforcements correspondingly had left the town and returned to their own homes by the evening of the second day.

Around 6:30 AM, on June 13th, a column of trucks, some of them "covered over with boiler plate", rushed into town, disgorging approximately sixty armed "brigands" equipped with "all manner of weapons, both primitive and modern", and demanded that the town immediately surrender large quantities of, "(sic) Ammunition, Dry Goods, and Sundry." They identified themselves as members of the "International Communist Movement."

The twenty or so police officers remaining, mainly State Police and the Sleepy Hollow Constabulary, responded by demanding that the armed strangers leave town, at which point, one of the invaders fired a "warning shot", shattering the window of a local dry goods store. Thereafter followed an hour long engagement between the Communist brigands and the heavily outnumbered policemen.

By the time that the dust had cleared, twelve of the original twenty police officers, and some fifteen Communist guerillas lay dead. The leader of the column, an "unidentified middle aged man, dressed in a sweater and smoking a pipe" clambered to the top of the lead vehicle and offered to leave the town in peace "if the demands of the column were met without further bloodshed." The first demand was that the original supplies requested would be delivered without further delay. The second was that the local policemen surrender their firearms, at which point the invaders would "leave the town in peace."

Completely outnumbered, the policemen reluctantly complied, at which point the Communists began what is described as an "unusually restrained form of looting" in which they "entered several of the local shops, exiting with large numbers of the supplies they sought," which where then loaded onto their trucks. Before leaving, the column of guerillas finished by collecting the firearms of the policemen and setting fire to approximately six buildings on the outlying areas of town before leaving without further violence.

Further police and National Guard reinforcements arrived in Sleepy Hollow the next day, but the town was not subjected to any further violence by the Communists during the early period of the war.

A monument, dedicated to the dead policemen, was erected in 1940, not far from a statue of Washington Irving, the man who immortalized the town with his story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Historical Significance

This was the first of many large scale Communist attacks in Upper New York and New England, part of Chairman Browder's plan to fight a long-running guerilla war against local police and military units. While regarded as a Communist victory, it is more significant in that this marks the first time a so-called "Flying Column" of mobile, truck mounted insurgents, was reported in use. The use of such tactics became standard in many areas where Communist forces were not definitively in control of strongly held territories, and helped to sew chaos and confusion, as well as to promote their cause.

Gaming the Battle

This would be an excellent, small scale skirmish scenario, requiring less than one hundred figures - approximately twenty policemen and about sixty or so odd guerillas. The "sweater wearing" leader may actually have been Chairman Browder himself. One would need only a single street and a handful of buildings to provide cover.

The column of trucks, while interesting, do not appear to have played any role in the actual fighting, and could easily be abstracted with one or two vehicles for cover, or simply ignored all together.

The scenario could be fairly simply designed, with the policemen attempting to hold the town until reinforcements could arrive, and typifies the low intensity warfare typical of the war against the Communists in New England and the Mid Atlantic.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1926752146/1933-a-nation-divided/posts/628229?at=BAh7B0kiCHVpZAY6BkVUaQPFQi9JIgtleHBpcnkGOwBUSSIYMjAxMy0xMS0xNCAyMTo0MDoxMQY7AFQ%3D--8dd96919b6db1c8ac9f1b9731746a73219fc5d70&ref=backer_project_update

The United States Marine Corps, 1898-1934

After the Spanish-American War, and prior to the First World War, the Marine Corps was kept at a size of approximately 17,000. The Corps was a strictly volunteer only force, and did not accept conscription when it was implemented during the Great War, but the Corps did rise, by November 11th, 1918, to a force of nearly 70,000 men, many of whom saw significant combat, particularly at Belleau Wood, a battle that many historians regard as the engagement that made the Marine Corps internationally famous.

After the end of the First World War, the United States began an immediate draw-down of its armed forces to peacetime levels. The size of the US Armed Forces was further reduced by the Defense Act of 1921, by which time the Marine Corps was once again restricted to no more than 17,000 men.

Although its numbers were reduced and its funding restricted, the Corps was able to graduate about 125 to 150 officer candidates via the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis each year by 1933. Further officers and NCOs were "poached" from a rather unexpected place - the US Army ROTC. Since the Army was also under size restrictions and had a limited budget for officers in peacetime, the Marines were able to recruit the best and brightest Army ROTC candidates by offering employment and a highly likely chance of action in the field: a fast track to career advancement. This was a remarkable feat, considering that the United States Military was described by one period source as (sic) "...one of the most depressing career paths a young man can choose to follow."

By 1933, the USMC was around 15,000 personnel strong, with the majority serving in active duty positions and split between the East Coast and the West Coast. Traditionally, East Coast Marine units were deployed on operations to the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Africa, while West Coast Marine units were used almost exclusively on Pacific duty stations and, increasingly since the end of the Great War, in China.

It has been estimated that of the 15,000 Marines serving at the time of the outbreak of hostilities, about 70% remained loyal to Washington and to the Nationalist Government or were actively deployed abroad, as in China, or in the US Pacific Territories, such as Hawaii, and played no role in the Early War fighting. About 30% chose to align themselves with the Constitutionalist movement. The majority of Marines choosing to side with the Opposition Government were stationed on the West Coast, but there were exceptions to the rule, and the same can be said of the Marines deployed on the East Coast.

Most of the armored vehicles in Marine Corps service (consisting, at the beginning of the war, of six M1917 Six Tons in inactive reserve and approximately six King Armored Cars) remained in Nationalist hands, but two King Armored Cars stationed near San Diego did fall under the control of a Constitutionalist Marine unit fairly early on. Of course, the sixteen Disston Tractor Tanks (classified by the Marines as the M1933 Disston) ordered prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1933 were delivered to Quantico upon completion and began their service in Nationalist hands.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1926752146/1933-a-nation-divided/posts/627474?at=BAh7B0kiCHVpZAY6BkVUaQPFQi9JIgtleHBpcnkGOwBUSSIYMjAxMy0xMS0xMyAwNTowMjowNQY7AFQ%3D--94666817b6a5c266047d71aeb562914b55e1da37&ref=backer_project_update

It ain't easy being green

Here are some pics of the greens for the first two groups in the kick starter. The Minutemen and the Militia.

First Figuer for the Milita is up on the page.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1926752146/1933-a-nation-divided/posts/624433?at=BAh7B0kiCHVpZAY6BkVUaQPFQi9JIgtleHBpcnkGOwBUSSIYMjAxMy0xMS0xMCAwNjoxODo1NgY7AFQ%3D--f825a5aeb0a79d808f2f37124894c65f1c7c06f0&ref=backer_project_update

Just fallow this link to the first Militia fig for the 1933 "A nation divided"

"The American Nationalist Party"

The American Nationalist Party was organized by founding members of the American Liberty League, incorporated in April, and officially recognized as a political party on July 3rd, 1933. Notable founding members read like a list of the leading industrialists of the day. They also included notable politicians and political figures, many of whom had been opposed, to one degree or another, to President-Elect Roosevelt’s proposed reforms: General Secretary Charles Lindbergh, Former New York Governor Al Smith, and leading Senate Republican Robert Taft.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given some of the ideological leanings of the party, William Dudley Pelley, founder of the American Silver Legion, was an enthusiastic supporter. So too was self-described Black Nationalist, Marcus Garvey, who would later become a leading light in the Black Nativist movement.

In the 1933-1935 period, the ANP was still quite a new political party, with enthusiastic support, deep reserves of cash, and numerous supporters, but with only minority representation in National and State Governments. The vast majority of Congressmen and Governors chose to continue to identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats rather than officially designating themselves as ANP members, but the ideology was nevertheless highly popular among many Americans, and Charles Lindbergh, the unofficial leader of the party, predicted that membership would grow rapidly by the time of the next Presidential Election.

In that sense, one could argue the ANP is often represented largely out of proportion in any history of this period of the Second American Civil War. Nevertheless, the ANP made itself as visible as possible during this early stage, and it could perhaps be rightfully suggested that this was the impression that the ANP strove to make. The ANP was certainly a populist movement, and while few politicians of the era might have openly identified themselves as members, hundreds of thousands of Americans openly embraced ANP ideology, re-registered their party affiliation, and proudly supported the General Secretary. As a result, those who supported Lindbergh and the Federal government are often referred to as "Nationalists," regardless of their actual political affiliation.

While the Anti-Comintern Pact was still some time away at the beginning of the conflict in America, leaders of the ANP were eager to share their struggle against the threats of International Communism and Socialism, and found reciprocal, cooperative minds throughout much of Europe and Asia. From 1933 to 1935, this support surfaced primarily in the area of moral and political backing. By 1935, however, small quantities of small arms and vehicles had begun to reach the ANP, and these were eagerly accepted and pressed into service.

While the two are often confused, it is important to note that Fascism and National Socialism were politically quite different in a several significant ways. The most important distinction: the lack of religious freedom in a true National Socialist State, made the Nazi movement less palatable to many members of the ANP, but others (including Ford and Lindbergh) were self-confessed admirers of Chancellor Hitler.

Like many political movements of the time, and in the model of the European Statist and Fascist movements from which they had drawn inspiration, and support, the ANP maintained their own militia. At first, this involved securing the support of various local militias and elements of the American Legion. But because neither source was universally helpful to the cause, the ANP took an early decision to create its own, uniformed militia. The nucleus of this movement, with more than 10,000 members, was conveniently available in the form of the American Silver Legion.

William Dudley Pelley had formed the Legion in early 1934 as a right wing Fascist militia. The organization involved numerous veterans, and was comparatively well organized. With work, it was believed by the ANP that the Silver Shirts could become the equivalent of the Black Shirts in Italy. Ideally, these were to be hard working, patriotic men (and, in some cases, women) with a minimum of military training, useful as shocktroops and strikebreakers, who could be pitted against the guerilla movements and militias forming in support of Communism and dozens of other movements across the country.

While some of the goals of the Silver Legion were Classically Fascist – dedicated to the superiority of the state, the purity and nobility of the state idea, the sacrifice of the individual for the greater good, etc, there were other ideas that troubled many of the moderate members of the ANP, particularly the virulently Anti-Semitic speeches given and pamphlets printed by founder William Dudley Pelley in recent years. Though it is often forgotten in the post-war era, Classical Fascism had very little to do with racism or Anti-Semitism and as a result, Pelley’s ideas were not necessarily comfortable, or acceptable, to certain members of the ANP elite, who otherwise were friendly to the ideas of Fascism. In exchange for the services of his militia, therefore, the ANP offered funding, arms, and legitimacy. Pelley agreed to “tone down” the more controversial aspects of Silver Shirt Propaganda, and soon the Silver Shirts had become the official uniformed militia of the American Nationalist Party.

The Taft Report of 1934

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1926752146/1933-a-nation-divided/posts/621026

In January 1934, Senator Robert Taft was tasked by the United States Congress to create a study of the 48 states and determine which states were most likely to support the General Secretary in the instance of a "large scale civil disruption." His report was published a month later.

Taft's report collated intelligence, polling data, and information released by the various state governments to separate the states into three (3) groups.

"Loyal" states were states where the state government was likely to support the General Secretary, and/or states in which, at the least, the majority of the population would provide this support.

"Compromised" states were states where either the state government or the majority of the population were believed to have pro "Red" or "Opposition" viewpoints, states that might take up arms against Washington if provoked.

"Neutral" states were states which had professed outward neutrality in the political crisis or whose true loyalties at the time remained undetermined.

The following summarizes the data gathered; at the time, Senator Taft recommended that a military "show of force" might easily dissuade "Compromised" states from taking their resistance to a military level; this, in turn, formulated the basis for the planned Ohio River Valley Campaign.

Interestingly, the Territories were not considered with any significant degree of study by Taft and his staff. The assumption was that, being ostensibly governed by military authorities, they would quickly fall in line. This was, of course, not to be the case. Washington D.C., was also discounted, being the seat of Federal power.

"LOYAL" STATES

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Iowa

Kansas

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Mississippi

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

North Carolina

Ohio

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Texas

Vermont

Virginia

West Virginia

"COMPROMISED" STATES

Connecticut

Illinois

Indiana

Minnesota

Missouri

Oregon

Rhode Island

Washington

"NEUTRAL" STATES

California

Colorado

Kentucky

Montana

Nevada

North

Dakota

Oklahoma

South Dakota

Tennessee

Utah

Wyoming

"In conclusion, we believe that the majority of the opposition beyond that compromised by direct involvement with the Communist Party of the United States of America can be persuaded, either through diplomacy or a show of force to lay down their arms peacefully and to support the national effort against the Communist insurgency."

- Senator Robert Taft (R) Ohio

Here is a photo of what the minutemen are going to look like. Sill have greens up in the next few weeks.

Minute men for the Ohio river campaign

1933 "A Nation Divided"

Greetings! Spreading the word that the American version of "A very British civilwar". Called 1933 "A Nation Divided" Is now live as a kickstarter. So give it a look and see if its your speed. So spread the word!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1926752146/1933-a-nation-divided

Thanks and Cheers!