Fnurban #38: The Reality of Combat Today?

Almost the end of another month, and only two posts here - that needs to be rectified. But a bunch of real life has been happening, hence not so much hobby activity, and not so much to write about. This does not seem to have discouraged the 'bots' whose views of this blog have surged recently - where I typically had 2,000 views per month, in the past 30 days there have been 47,000. Of those, over 90% were from the USA - who knows why?   I gather this has been happening to many other bloggers too, of course - my various ramblings are not uniquely interesting to the AI learning models. Not sure what on earth they can learn from this blog! 

Anyway, as a break from the marchpast of vintage Minifgs 7YW / AWI figures, a quick one about a recent film release which I think should be of interest.

2000 Meters to Andriivka is a documentary portaying the current war in Ukraine,  made during the 2023  Ukrainian 'counter-offensive'.  Distributed by Dogwoof Releasing (a pretty reliable indicator of quality), it was made by Ukranian photojournalist Mstyslav Chernov, who had previously gained attention for his 20 Days in Mariupol, about the Russian attack on that city. 

This film concentrates on the men of the Ukranian army's 3rd Assault Brigade as they try to capture the village of Andriivka, This 'strategic position' is a small road junction settlement - the '2000 Meters' of the title being a narrow corridor of woodland which stretches out from  Ukranian lines to the village. The country around is open land, but inaccessible to the troops because heavily mined by the Russians. There is extensive use of bodycam footage made by the soldiers themselves, as well as filming by the 'embedded' journalists, The introduction is a quite terrifying set of rapidly-moving sequences of high-intensity combats in other locations - you get the participants view of 'suicide drones' crashing into nearby positions ( in which the viewers comrades are hit ) , being inside an APC which breaks down and has to be evacuated under heavy fire, etc.  Then we join the 3rd Assualt Brigade ( in fact only a small sub-unit,  perhaps a platoon )  on their mission at Andriivka, as they gradually traverse that 2000 meters of ground towards their target, and again the ( fantastically high-quality)  bodycam images tell most of the story. 

 

This is essentially a small-unit infantry assault, and the filming method places the viewer completely inside the action, Wierdly it reminded me of the view one gets in 'first-person shoot-em-up' video games, seeing the soldier's personal weapon and the terrain for just a short distance ahead -  but of course this is no game, and the enemy don't obligingly stand up and charge towards the shooter, as in those games. Mostly the defending Russians were invisible to my eye, even as the Ukranian protagonist emptied a magazine in their direction.  The Russian defenders are concealed in dug-outs and foxholes, which have to be cleared one by one,  in a style which has clearly not changed in over 100 years, and would presumably be familiar to Tommy Atkins in the trenches of 1917. Plaster the entrance with suppressive fire, lob in a grenade or two, shout for them to come out with their hands up.   At times this is happening and being filmed from a range of only a few yards, including a sequence in which a Russian does indeed come out,  but does so  lobbing his own grenade.  I found it completely involving, and absolutely terrifying. 

 

But of course this is the 21st Century,  and there is the strangest juxtaposition of 1917 and 2023 - not so far behind the attacking soldiers is the brigade's command post, which frankly looks like the control room of a TV studio, as the commanders look at a bank of multiple monitor screens showing the views from their  reconnaisance drones flying above  the battle. This really does look like a video game, but again is all too real - and bizarrely they can clearly see individual Russians evacuating dugouts and retreating, only yards from the assualt troops - cue frantic shouts over the radio  'they are getting away - get them, get them!'. Everyone is clearly linked by radio at all times, everyone is referred to by call-signs (the enemy is assumed to be listening in, presumably) - a luxury that Tommy Atkins never had. As an aside, I noted that the Ukrainians rarely refer to their enemy as Russians  -  the most common descriptor used is 'motherf***ers'.  

Of course it's a truism that war is 99% boredom and 1% panic, or some variation on that, and there are several sequences filmed as the men wait for something to happen, keeping in cover in trenches and dugouts,  just talking about what they did before the war, how they came to be here, etc. Inevitably, it seems, more than once a voiceover then tells us that the man speaking was killed a few months later. One man is pictured preparing to take part in an assault on the next Russian position, then seemingly minutes later filmed lying dead on the battlefield. The village, over which all this fighting occurs and for which many lives are lost , is reduced to piles of rubble. War - what is it good for? You know the rest of the line. 

I found this both totally engrossing and involving, and unbearably tense and difficult to watch. Of course it must have been reviewed and approved for release by the Ukraine government, so it might be painted as propaganda  ( I hear you, Reg.. )  and perhaps any such work has a propaganda element. But although it inevitably generates sympathy for the (Ukrainian) troops shown fighting and dying, it doesn't by any means  come  across as trying to glorify them. It seemed much more to be just saying 'this is what it's like to be there'. I suspect ( though I can of course never know) that this is the most accurate portrayal of combat that I will ever see. I'm not sure 'enjoy' is the appropriate word, but I am very glad to have seen it. I don't watch any of the standard Hollywood 'Action Thriller' movies where Tom Cruise et al run around manically  between huge explosions that don't seem to harm anyone, but maybe some of the fans of those films should look at this. Maybe I needed to see it, too, in order to get a very strong reminder of what our 'games' are very superficially representing. Lots to think about. 

Perhaps unsurpisingly this film didn't get a hugely wide cinema release (I had to go to the ICA in London, haven't been there for years!), but it may still be around on a few art-house or repetory screens, and of course these days I assume it will be available on streaming services. I presume a DVD and/or Blu-Ray will be available to buy in time, from the Dogwoof site shop at least.   

A couple of related links :(1)   The official Dogwoof website for the film gives you the trailer, if you're interested,  and (2)  Peter Bradshaw's review from The Guardian .. 

Next time, back to the Minifigs vintage figures, I hope. Meanwhile keep well, everyone.  

  

Reviewing New Recruits (3) : Infantry, part 2

Without further ado, let's show some more of my recently acquired vintage Minifigs 25mm 7YW/AWI figures.  Having presented boxes 1 to 4 of infantry last time, now I'll show the next  three, box numbers  5 to 7 of foot units.    

Box no. 5  brings us a new nation into the frame - Russians!  These consist of: 

 Two battalions of Line Infantry (Musketeers) : 

It appears that all units had basically the same uniform, with different regiments distinguished by their flags. There are no flags here, so I have no regimental identification - which means I can choose!  Just need to make or buy some standards.

Grenadiers: a full battalion-size unit at the back and a 'company' (or maybe two)  of 8 figures with slightly different detail colours.  I wonder if the latter ar meant to be added, 4 figures each, to the above 'Line' battalions? 

 and finally Pandours: one battalion-sized unit.

 So, with 'four and a bit' foot units, and some cavalry ( Cossacks and Hussars, see earlier post ), I have a reasonable Russian contingent  - perhaps not being a 'main army' but a useful allied force  for one of the larger armies (which look likely to be Prussians, Austrians and French ).   

Box 6 takes us back to the French - the most significant outcome of buying this collection has been I have  acquired quite a large French army! We start with some 'Wild Geese' - Irish in French service: 

First, Regiment Dillon : 

 and Regiment Bulkely : 

 Next, a couple of battalions of 'Grenadiers de France' : 

 

Interesting units; it seems that after the peace of  1748, many French line regiments were disbanded. But 48 of their Grenadier companies were retained, and grouped into the four 'brigades' of 'Grenadiers De France' - each of 12 companies of about 60 men (it seems  that each 'brigade' may have had 12 colonels too!) . And it seems that everyone doing an army for the period wants a unit of them, including the various gens who painted these..     

Now for a bit of a mystery unit: I am assumng also French, because they came from a box full of French.. 

 Looking at Kronoskaf , my best guess is  the Volontaires de Kerjean, part of the Compagnie des Indes based in French India.  Kronoskaf has this image:

which doesn't seem too far off, but if anyone has other suggestions, I'd be interested to hear them. Does this open up a whole new front - India! Not sure I can afford to recruit Moghuls! 

And finally from this box, another nice group of mounted officers 

 

I'm really pleased that there are plenty of these coming up, I am going to need  Generals, Brigadiers etc, and they are nicely painted. 

OK, on to Box no.7, and it's yet more French, and some more  Americans. first, the only unpainted troops in the whole collection  

 described by the seller as 'French Light Infantry' - I admit I have not yet managed to decipher the maker's code on the bases, which should  give a big clue ( though plenty of the other figures are not painted as their code numbers would indicate, sometimes not even the same nation!). My assumption is that they will be more 'AWI' than '7YW', as specifically  'Light' infantry really only got going in the later conflict. 

Another unusual group - sold as 'French Light Fusilier' 

 Again, I  think these are more likely to be from the  AWI -  though I rather think they might be snuck into the 7YW as some sort of 'Imagi-nation' unit, perhaps representing some small principality whose ruler had somewhat advanced ideas on new infantry tactics.. They do look nice! 

Next and well well, what a surprise, another unit of Grenadiers de France! 

Looks like every club member was determined to have a unit of these - it's like King Tigers in WW2! Nicely done though, and the flag is good. If there are too many of these, I suppose  the other units might become Grenadiers of some other blue-coated nation, real  or imaginary. 

And finally for today,  back to the Americans themselves, with a unit conveniently labelled '4th Massachusets'

  and a slightly rag-tag bunch described as 'US Continentals' 

 

That's enough for now, though I have another two boxes of infantry to show, this time with a dstinctly Germanic flavour..  I will save them for another time.  I continue to enjoy sorting through all these and mulling over how they can be used, they are nearly all nicely painted and will look great en masse on the table. In particular, it looks like we have a powerful French army in the making! If I'm not boring my readers  to distraction with these, I'll show the final batch of infantry next time. Until then keep well, everyone. 

   

Reviewing New Recruits (2): Infantry, part 1

 Regular readers will know that I have recently acquired a nice lot of vintage Minifigs 25mm 7YW/AWI figures, whose former owners were members of the Whitehall Warlords club. I've been going through them ( there are twelve boxes full!),  making notes and taking 'mugshots' of each unit.   So far I've gone through seven boxes of infantry  ( I showed some of the cavalry in a previous post );  and I'll give a quick run-through of the first four boxes here. I am reasonably confident of what is being represented in most cases, though there are a few mystery men -  I'd welcome any opinions on what they might be! 

Box 1 was sold as  Bavarians:  there are two 'regiments'  ( that's what I'm calling them, at least ), one with red facings, the other yellow facings,  each of two battalions. Each battalion has a 'company' each of what look like Grenadiers and 'Light Bobs'  -  I have not checked on when that battalion organisation might have been introduced, but feel it might be later than 7YW.  

They have fictionalised French-style flags, so I suspect these are leaning towards an 'Imagi-nation' setup. But they are nice, and there's some mounted officers and a couple of regimental  gun crews too, all potentially useful. 

Here's the 'red' regiment with officer and gun crew.. 

  .. and the 'yellow' regiment in close-up 

 

Box 2: described as 'French and Swiss' :  

First a battalion of (judging from the flag) probably Picardie regiment :

( I have my own Regiment Picardie from Garrison figures, so I will probably change the flag on these to another unit with similar facing colours ).

also a  battalion of  'Santorge' regiment :

 ..and two battlaions 'Vaubecourt' regiment, with their Colonel : 

 and some  'Swiss' : I have not delved into what regiment they might be representing, and they don't have flags, which can be the easy way to identify them! Need to look into them a bit more.. 

 Box 3 and it all gets a bit more esoteric :  AWI  Americans and Native Americans! 

The American  units are conveniently labelled under the bases, so I know what they are intended to be,  and we'll start with '3rd New York' :

 

  and '1st Continental'  :

 then '3rd Pennsilvania' 

and the rather interesting-looking 'Glovers Marblehead' with splendid snake 'Don't Tread On Me' standard! 

  various riflemen/militia,  

 

and an assortment of drummers on a single base - a sort of amalgamated band? 
 

A very minor point, but that last one is a good example of some pretty unusual basing that has been used for some units - they are on an aluminium bases, which have clearly been specially cut by someone with access to fairly serious machinery! Maybe the former owner knew someone with a metalwork shop.. Serious 'old school' basing, anyway, and as the chap selling them said, the only problem is that they can't be used with magnetic paper in storage boxes!  You'll notice there are several basing styles going on here, because there were several different owners/painters involved. There are a few rather ragged cardboard bases that will need replacing, but  I'm inclined to keep them as they are as far as possible, partly because re-basing is just tedious, and partly to reflect the history and 'heritage' of the figures - which are probably 30 or even 40 years old, some perhaps even older. I think the ones on Aluminium bases may be hard to remove, anyway!  

Next the Native Americans, in what look to be three distinct 'Warbands', if that's appropriate. The first one is led by a British officer and features a few red coats, so I think we can surmise  their allegiance:  

 

 and the third is a real curiosity, with those red facemasks! 

 I'd be quite interested if anyone can suggest what tribe or faction these might be representing... 

 

We'll finish with Box number 4 : oodles more French, and a lone Hungarian unit.  the French are labelled with their former owners' designations, so easy to identify. Starting with Royal Italien Infanterie: 

 Touraine Infanterie: 

 Soissonais:

and Bourbonais:

 ..and finally the wild card,  'Hungarian Fusiliers'  

[ Update : commenters have kindly pointed out that the above are not 7YW period figures, but more likely from the Revolutionary Wars/Napoleonic period, 30-odd years later.  Many thanks for the correction, everyone - I admit I didn't research them! So they probably won't be staying with these armies, but never mind, I'm sure I can find a good  home for them.. ]     

That's enough for now, I think! Plenty more boxes to come, though - I am still working through them, identifiying units and taking pictures.  I have clearly got the makings of a decent French army, to start with!  I'm quite pleased with that, as I was just starting to try to add a French contingent to my collection. I'm going to need to add some cavalry for them - I have some dragoons awaiting painting, and I will look into acquiring some more of the basic types. 

The Americans and Native Americans  are a completely new direction for me, but I'm quite pleased to have them - topical too, with the 250th anniversary upon us. I have a copy of 'Rebels and Patriots', and I can see some games of that being possible ( no British yet, but watch this space - or the red-coated Swiss might stand in!).

Bavarians  interesting too - they can be a small allied contingent, traditionally to the French, but Imaginary campaigns can allow all sorts of 'what-if' alliances. .  

More to come - as a teaser, I can say Box no.5 is full of Russians! I will continue sorting through them  and show more pictures in future posts. I am rather enjoying the process of all this -  is it  a rather extended example of Bob Cordery's 'sorting the button box'?   I also need to plan a campaign, clearly..!  So, more to come in the next post or two, watch this space. Meanwhile keep well, everyone.