Skip to main content

A misty, muggy midsummer morning dawns. . . 8 July 1770

After a hearty dinner with entertaining guests, followed by too much cognac, several cigars, too little sleep, and a large breakfast, Major von Topfsange and Colonel von Adalnowski returned to the latter's drawing room by mid-morning the next day. They discovered to their delight that the main armies of Stollen and Zichenau had indeed arrived and deployed sometime in the night on either side of Teodorstal Valley, and that the respective commanding generals, together with their retinues of subordinate officers, were deep in consultation. Von Adalnowski expressed surprise at how much space the relatively small forces occupied atop his 6'x10' gaming table. Von Topfsange uttered something in reply from across the room that sounded to the Colonel like assent, though he was not entirely sure just what the ashen-faced young officer was mumbling about.

Sadly, the battery in the digital camera was dead, however, requiring an overnight recharge before photographs could be taken to document the start of their first set-piece battle. "Never mind all that," counseled von Adalnowski in a jovial tone, "There's a wild boar hunt taking place on a neighboring estate today, just past the next village but one. If we hurry, we can still make it and join the fun. I'll have the horses saddled and made ready. Fancy some fresh pork, von Topfsange?" Gaping dumbly, the Major stood before von Adalnowski and tried to focus his eyes.

The Colonel smacked the younger man firmly across the upper back as he walked past, making happy yummy sounds to himself as he exited the drawing room. Major von Topfsange, not a morning person under the best of circumstances, started suddenly. His monocle fell to the floor as he doubled over in a violent fit of coughing brought on by the merry-making of the night before. Those same ill-conceived indulgences had, among other things, resulted in a raw throat today, to say nothing of the Major's rather pronounced headache.
"Please, my dear von Adalnowski," von Topfsange croaked, "a bit quieter just now. I beg of you."

"Nonsense!" blustered von Adalnowski, impatiently from the hallway, "Come along! Time and wild boar wait for no man. Are you coming?" Von Topfsange turned another shade of green but managed to steady himself in the doorway where he remained for a moment to collect his thoughts and constitution. Perhaps, thought the Major, it was best for the game of soldiers to wait until later. If only extricating himself from the wild boar hunt were as easy. Von Topfsange could hardly bear the the thought of bouncing around the countryside astride a horse for much of the day, chasing after a herd of wild boar. Especially after the previous evening. Staggering toward the entry hall, his temple throbbed yet again as the Colonel thundered from the front door, "Von Topfsange! Look sharp there my boy!"

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Eventual Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment. . .

  The Anhalt-Zerbst regiment musters in the drill square to sort themselves into platoons and companies during the coming weeks  Fall maneuvers if you will. A large dose of real life the last few days with the start of classes next Monday, various preparatory meetings, and finishing up a few other things this week.  But, I managed to sort out 60 or so Minden Austrian infantry from the pile and get 'em stuck to temporary painting bases.  Must carefully drill out the hands of several NCOs for flagpoles and pole arms this weekend before the usual basecoat.   I'm thinking of mixing the usual white gesso with the usual light gray to kill two birds with one stone so to speak.  Applying both base- and undercoat in one fell swoop as my grandmother used to say. In the meantime, the recently finished squadron of Saxon cuirassiers has been placed carefully in one of the clear acrylic boxes on my shelves until I have the suitable flag to affix.   -- Sto...

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

Continued Regional Map Revisions. . .

F ooled around a bit more with the revised map just before and after dinner this evening, using the Fotor app to reinsert missing text .  I also removed a few other things using the 'Magic Eraser' function, which works surprisingly well.  Now, we're getting somewhere.  I just have to figure out how to ensure that the text is all a uniform font style and maybe figure out a way to add a few bunches of trees to suggest forested areas,  Ninja AI is not always entirely cooperative to the tune of "I'm sorry Dave.  I can't do that." -- Stokes