Move Nine -- The Musketry and Artillery Fire. . .

We are fast approaching the end of Move Nine! And things are finally getting really interesting in the ongoing Action at Pickelhaubewicz. After a month, most of the respective troops are all gathered around this key coach and postal stop along the road leading to the Greater Zwischen River and the Stollenian capital Krankenstadt beyond that. Many of the troops concerned are finally in a position to contribute something to the battle as well, a struggle which promises to be fierce.

With that aim in mind, my esteemed opponent in North Carolina, the good Major Wolfgang von Hirschbiegel, has asked me how many figures he has positioned within each building in Pickelhaubewicz, so we can determine the casualties from musketry and artillery fire. Judging from the photograph above, it seems that the Major has nine of the Newts occupying the warehouse on the lower left, eight more from the same unit in the pink coach stop/post office on the lower right. Moreover, there are eight grenzers in the village church on the upper right and five in the double-townhouse on the upper left. Hmmm, I must get those remodelers in to finish painting and detailing the ruins!

On an entirely different note, the Grand Duchess had her research grant applications for next summer in Berlin come through just before Christmas, and I will have the chance to join her there for three weeks in June! Best of all, we just managed to find me a round trip airline ticket for an UNBELIEVABLE price given that it will be high tourist season. I'm so excited since I haven't been back to Germany for almost twenty years. 1990 was the last time I was in the northwest of the country (Luebeck and Flensburg). And this coming visit will give me a chance to brush up my German language skills over the next six months before we leave. Potsdam, Frankfurt an der Oder, Checkpoint Charlie, and Berliner Zinnfiguren here I come!