Nature imitates Art (Off topics)

Pan (a.k.a Saturn XVIII) is the innermost moon of the most of 50 satellites of Saturn. It is a walnut-shaped small moon about 35 km across and 23 km high that orbits within the Encke Gap in Saturn's A Ring. It was discovered by Mark R. Showalter in 1990 from analysis of old Voyager 2 probe pictures dating from 1981.

Pan acts like a ring shepherd moon (Pan, son of Hermes and a nymph, was the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, nature, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music) and is responsible for keeping the Encke Gap free of ring particles which accumulate on its equatorial ridge, giving Pan its peculiar walnut-shaped aspect recreated by the scientists from the Cassini Mission data in the opening picture.

Seeing the Pan image, immediately come to mind images of floating islands or UFOs as those accompanying this post, that were imagined and drawn long before the image of Pan was known.

Is nature imitating art or just anything we can imagine can exist?

Thanks to the blog La ciencia y sus demonios to rescue this image)

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Wethau (VI). The end

The French situation has worsened around the Mertendorff ford and the French have been forced to evacuate the village, while the Allied cavalry is trying to outflank them

In the Wethau area the things are not going better for the French, although the 2/86e de Ligne has momentarily stopped the advance of the 1/von Strauch #24 IR and their divisional artillery is firing at full speed against the Austrian cavalry

But the 2e Dragoon Regiment is broken by the Vincent#4 Chevauxlegers

and the 3/32e de Ligne is caught in the wrong formation by the Kaiser#1 Chevauxlegers and is also wiped out

The surviving French cavalry in the center is forced to retire towards the far bank of the stream

so the French wings must retire at full speed. The 51e Division from Wethau

and the 52e division from the Mertendorff ford.

The Kaiserlicks have won the day!

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Wethau (V). The cavalry battle

The fight in the centre and near the Mertendorff ford has become a large cavalry battle. The Austrian C-i-C is using his cavalry superiority in the zone to launch a powerful all-of-all attack. The French infantry, in square or deployed in the village, can only wait the final of the combats around them.
Initially, the 22e Dragoons rejects with some difficulty the Austiran Erherzog Johann #1 Dragoons

But their comrades of the 25e Dragoons are routed (but not broken) and fall back before the Klenau #5 Chevaux-legers.

While in the extreme flank, the 18e Dragoons suffer the same fate at hands of the Austrian Kienmayer #8 Hussars

The French centre is broken at the French wings are at serious risk of becoming isolated

At the same time than their right flank is in danger to be turned by the Allied cavalry and Cossacks

The things are becoming really bad for the French!

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The Curro's diorama on Badajoz is on exhibition

The diorama on the assault to the breach of the La Trinidad bastion is now finished. His author, Curro, is currently exhibiting it at the Museo Luis de Morales (Sala de las batallas) Plaza Santa María, 2 - 06002 Badajoz (Spain).

You can see a lot of wonderful pictures, like the above ones, at Google+

Enjoy this masterpiece!

Edited (23/April/2012). Last news about the team behind the diorama. According to Curro himself (see the comments below) three of the members of Recreaciones Historicas en Miniatura, Maximo (a.k.a Curro), Pablo and Miguel, have started a new commercial adventure named Modelismo Profesional de escenas históricas,

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Computing Empire V: A mammoth Project

Don't panic, I am not trying a new wargaming period/gaming experience. I am only giving notice of the work of steveoc, and old and wise wargamer that has undertaken a colossal task, that in words of the author can be summarized nothing less than: "taking the bulk of Empire V rules, and using this as a specification for a computer moderated application to run Napoleonic Wargames".

I used Empire rules many years ago, in the first 90's, but I gave it up because of its complexity for solo playing and adopted Napoleon's Battles instead. Therefore, I am now very curious about this project so I am waiting with some trepidation the final result. The author has made available his first results, and the 'Interesting Miscellania Blogs' blogroll and the Yahoo group Empire_Napoleonics will keep us up to day of this intriguing (mad?) project.

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How people in science see each other

A bit old (August 2011) but some of you will see some truth in it (I do!)

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Wethau (IV) The fight near the bridge

The fight near the Wethau bridge is becoming general. The arriving Austrian reinforcements, 1sdt and 2nd battalion of the von Strauch#24 IR (1st Brigade/1st division/II Corps)are running at full speed to help the 1/Brooder Grenz.

But the Croats are broken by the 2/17e Légère

Meanwhile, the 1/von Strauch#24 IR finishes the almost broken 2/58e Ligne after a fierce hand-to-hand combat

And then routs easily the combined attack of the 6/121e and 6/122e Ligne battalions

While their comrades of the 2/von Strauch#24 IR also breaks the 2/17e Légère near the woods

The French infantry is having a very poor performance!

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Wethau (III)

The 1/Brooder Grenzer has managed to stop the outflanking French attack by breaking the 3/10e Légère caught in the defile between the cemetery and the woods.

The all-arms Austrian Light Division is desperately buying time, while awaiting the arrival of reinforcements, while the French are trying to fan out from the Wethau bridge.

The Allied C-i-C is trying to break the French line, by pushing the French Quenet's Dragoon brigade towards Wethau, to isolate it from the rest of the French cavalry reinforcements.

The Austrian cavalry converges towards the French bridgehead in the Mertendorff's ford.

While the Cossacks try to oppose the Dragoons while awaiting the arrival of the Austrian Hussars.

The Allies must to attack or perish!

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The Siege of Badajoz (16 March – 6 April 1812)

Today is the bicentenary of the end of the siege of Badajoz (16 March – 6 April 1812) when the Anglo-Portuguese Army, under the Earl of Wellington, forced the surrender of the French garrison.
Badajoz was one of the key fortresses in the Portuguese-Spanish border possessed much stronger fortifications than either Almeida or Ciudad Rodrigo. Located in the highway Madrid-Lisbon, Badajoz was fundamental for the British army and had already faced two unsuccessful sieges during the Peninsular War. In 1812 the French garrison amounted to some 5,000 soldiers under General Philippon. The town and was well prepared for a third attempt, having its walls strengthened and covered by numerous strongpoints and bastions and with some areas around the curtain wall flooded or mined with explosives.

The Allied army, some 27,000 strong after encircling the town, began to lay siege by preparing trenches, parallels and earthworks to protect the heavy siege artillery, work made difficult by prolonged and torrential rainfalls and by the French. The Allies began an intense bombardment of the town's defenses and took the Picuriña and the San Roque forts. By April 5 two breaches had been made in the curtain wall and the soldiers readied themselves to storm Badajoz at 22:00 on April 6.

Main attack

The first men to assault the breach were the Forlorn Hope, leading the main attack by the 4th Division and Craufurd's Light Division while diversionary attacks were to be made to the north and the east by Portuguese and British soldiers of the 5th Division and Picton's 3rd Division. The French raised a furious resistance killing and wounding some 2,000 men at the main breach, with countless men of the 3rd Division shot down at the diversionary assault. The carnage was so immense that Wellington was just about to call a halt to the assault when the diversionary attack of the Picton's 3rd Division finally managed to reach the top of the wall and simultaneously link up with men of the 5th Division. Once they had a foothold, the British and Portuguese soldiers were at an advantage and General Philippon withdrew from Badajoz to the neighboring outwork of San Cristobal but he surrendered shortly after the town had fallen.

Diversionary attack

With success came mass looting and disorder as the redcoats turned to drink and it was some 72 hours before order was completely restored. The assault and the earlier skirmishes had left the allies with some 4,800 casualties, whereas the French soldiers and the Spanish civilians suffered around 4,000 dead.
With the fall of Badajoz, Wellington had secured the Portuguese–Spanish frontier anf he could now move against Marshal Marmont at Salamanca.


Taken and extracted from Wikipedia

The pictures and the map are taken from a masterly post in the blog of Miguel Angel Garcia.

The map itself is from the Cartografía de la Guerra de la Independencia, edited in 2008 by the Spanish Ministerio de Defensa. The site allows the 'Search' ('Búsqueda') of any map of the printed work. Try with 'Badajoz' in the 'Title' ('Título') box.

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Wethau (II)

Facing a double menace, Liechtenstein, the Austrian C-i-C, takes a risky option using all his cavalry to break the French line.
The Kaiser#1 Chevauxlegers Regiment, facing the flanking fire of the French artillery, takes the 27e Chasseurs a Cheval Regiment in flank breaking them, while their comrades of the Vincent#4 Chevauxlegers carry out a similar maneoeuvre against the 14e Chasseurs a Cheval Regiment.

The Austrian pressure is breaking the French centre and manwhile, near the Mertendorff ford, the Er. Ferdinand #3 Hussars and the Klenau#5 Chevauxlegers Regiments make a combined attack that will break the French 3e Hussar Regiment. However the 'Spanish' Quenet's Dragoons (1st Brigade/5th Heavy Cavalry Division) are running fast to close the gap in the centre of the French line.

After routing the French Hussars, the Klenau#5 Chevauxlegers charge the French Foot battery, while the French infantry forms square and the rest of the French 'heavy' cavalry reinforcements, are arriving in the rearguard.

Meanwhile, a lucky French volley has blown up the Austrian battery near the cemetery. This is a very funny Lasalle feature!

The French try to take advantage of the Austrian right flank weakness, but they have only a lone unit, the 3/10e Légère Regiment, that is advancing fast between the cemetery and the woods. However, Liechtenstein has sent the 1/Brooder Grenz IR and 7th Jaegers to stop the menace.

Wethau is becoming another cavalry battle!

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A new wargaming period?

After much thought, I have at last decided to carry out an old dream: to combine two seemingly incompatible wargaming periods: Napoleonic and Fantasy. Evidently, the idea is no new and there is at least a precedent: Flintloque is an old ruleset featuring British Orcs against French Elves, but it is a skirmish game and I searching for a game at divisional (Lasalle) or Army Corps (Napoleon's Battles).

A careful internet search has been unsuccessful so I am forced to introduce home-rules for my current rulesets. My first efforts will be addressed to integrate dragons as flying artillery: a mix of heavy artillery and light cavalry with more evasion capacities than horse artillery. Th above picture shows my old French dragoons with his new ally, providing them with a more fearful artillery support.
I am open to sugerences: Any idea?

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