"Most obscure army/campaign/period collected..." Topic

Wargamers seem sometimes to revel in the obscure…So I was wondering the most obscure army from the 20th century anybody collects--for example 1940 Danes, Soccer Wars Latin Americans, WW2 Persians..
That sort of thing…

Latvian Independence War. First Latvian Independence Company. Bermont-Avaloff's West Army, made up of ex-Freikorps, ex-KaiserHeer, ex-Russian Army, Russian Pows.

War of Jenkins Ear?

War of the Triple Alliance and Russo-Turkish War.

Dave

I've been doing some research into the Dutch police actions in Indonesia. Seems the Dutch troops were mostly issued WWII British kit for army, and US kit for Marines. Hard to find anything on the Indonesians, though it seems they scavenged a lot of abandoned Japanese equipment.

OK, OK, o it's not collected… But it's pretty obscure :)

You want really obscure in the 20th Century? Try the six-month reign of Prince William of Wied in Albania, squeezed neatly beween the Balkan Wars and WWI, a side-show to a side-show of the lead-up to the Great War, but involving a sort-of peacekeeping force of Great Powers troops, a Dutch-led Gendarmerie, a wide variety of local warlords, Greek, Italian and Ottoman intrigue… Oh my!

I've got the WW1&2 navies for the ABC powers (Argentina, Brazil & Chile).

Well the Narrow Seas group just been talking about rum-running on the Great Lakes. (All mixed in with some other alternate history and future topics – but this one seems to be what everybody is excited about.)

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Rif War 1920s Spain (and France) Vs Moroccan natives.

So far I have built/collected in 20mm –
Spanish Pennisula infantry – company
Spanish Penninsula cavalry – platoon (another being built)
Spanish regular artillery – 1 battery
Naval infantry – company
Moroccan Regulares – company
Spanish Foreign Legion – weak Bandera
armour – CA1, Ft17, Laffly A/C (one of each)

Riffi/Arabs – about 70 warriors (foot), 14 (mounted)

My most arcane 20th Century figures are French Foreign Legion, Senegalese Tirailleurs and Arabs in 28mm.

Or do my British and Turkish Great War mideast in 10mm count as more arcane?

Historical only?

Um, War of Jenkin's Ear wasn't 20th Century…

Portuguese Colonial Wars (Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau in the 1960s and 70s.)

Chinese Warlord Period (1920s – 1930s)

US Intervention in Nicaragua (1920s – 1930s)

Mexican-American War (Not sure if that really qualifies as "obscure")

Oh I have a French 1920s force too -

FFL, Algerian & Senegalese Tirailleurs, Moroccan Spahis cavalry and a complete medical unit with mule ambulances and wagons :-)

Interwar Turkish forces. Not gamed them yet, but an interesting mix of equipment from Russia, UK, France, Germany.

Vichy North Africa

R-35s, laffly & Panhard A/Cs, French regulars, Saharienne camel corps. Plus all the early French troops (who do double duty).

Algerian War of Independence. Or the AWI. :)

1903 British invasion of Tibet

Blackjack Pershing vs. Pancho Villa

Professor Challenger's expedition to Monte Roraima

(well, the last one's not real, but it's real fun! :)

I did the Mau Mau uprising once, using AK47 rules and Peter pig figs.

I guess the Herero uprising stuff I'm painting.

And I'm doing some research on the Kazym rebellion (ten points for the first one who knows what that is)

I was doing the Chinese Civil War of the 20s long before it was popularized by "Back of Beyond," et al using converted figures and the only 20mm scale KMT figures then on the market from Wargames Foundry (exactly three poses!).

I even went so far as to commission Reviresco to make some custom 1/72 scale CCW warlord soldier figures with separate arms and weapons so I could customize and expand my basic armies.

FAA makes WW2 Norwegians (on my acquisition list for late 2008), and Perry Bros. make the Choson Koreans (enemies of the samurai during the 16th century) which are now on my prep tray.

Kazym Rebellion:

link

My Google-jitsu is still holding up quite well despite advancing old age… Mwahahahaaa!!

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

Almost forgot; Ethiopian troops for the Italian invasion of 1935-36, and the later Abyssinian Patriot Army (Raventhorpe makes some figures for this unique force).

I had Reviersco make me a generic unit builder Ethiopean levy with separate arms and weapons in 1/72 scale for the Italian invasion '35-36. Feel free to bug John McEwan if you wnt to special order some with my blessing… same for the CCW figures…

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

How about Thais on the Western front in WWI?

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I read on another forum that there was a 'war' in the 20s between Bulgaria and Greece because of a dog that got shot.

There were a few 'wars' and revolts in Portugal in the 1910s-30s, there was sometimes real little battles with air and naval power but other times hardly anyone died, the opposing sides simply beat each other up then went home.

If there were figures, I might collect them.

I haven't got any Bulgarian WW2 because only Lancashire games make them and they are too tall to go with my other figures, but I think, besides being a relatively obscure army, they are quite interesting because of the Bulgarian uniforms, German equipment and tanks and the fact you can have German panthers etc. painted Russian forest green.

Another more realistic obscure campaign is the Portuguese in the South of Angola in 1915, against the Ovambo. There was a big battle at Mongua where 40,000 Ovambo and allies (including about 12,000 armed with modern rifles)faced the Portuguese force of 4,500 (including naval troops and askaris from Mozambique). I have some Portuguese WW1 figures, I just don't know what the Ovambo looked like yet.

I have 25mm Moros painted to use as Timorese headhunters, again, to fight the Portuguese, but am stuck to find figures to represent the latter. The Portuguese had native troops from Macau, Goa and Africa, so quite a good mix of uniforms.

Another interesting but obscure thing would be the units of Indian spahis the French maintained in Pondicherry through the 19th to 20th centuries, I don't know if they did any fighting besides bandits though.

And, of course, the Vichy French – Thai battles of WWII.

link

Sal,

any photos or pictures of the WW1 Thai troops? I'm also still holding out for Royal Thai and Vichy troops for the 1941 fight as well (got some aircraft, though)…

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

Or, for that matter, the Thais' Shan campaign of WWII…

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For pictures of the Siamese expeditionary force, try here:

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I've run a convention game of WWII Greenland. Yes, an entire campaign in 1:1 scale in two hours! All you need is an iced in German Trawler & weather station, with a crew of second-rate Kriegsmarine,and a 15 man unit of Greenland hunters/trappers and Eskimos with dog sleds. Add in the odd polar bear and a hunter's shack and you're done.

I ran a solo hypothetical campaign set loosely to the north of NZ with an Indonesian occupation of an off shore island – based on a GW Harpoon/ CD Falklands interface of naval, limited air and a 1/300 land battle with forces of the late 1980s – Operation Shoestring. Back in the day Indonesia was considered the threat on the block down under (Timor Leste changed all of that ironically enough but maybe closer to a shooting war on a larger scale than we know?

Good fun but the Harpoon rules were a little tedious for my taste (and lack of naval combat knowledge).
I also recall a Cod war naval game in one of the UK mags – Battle? that looked interesting – no shooting but lots of manoevuring Ice breaker vrs RN frigates.

Cod Wars by David Manley:

PDF link

Um, War of Jenkin's Ear wasn't 20th Century…

Well, the FIRST War of Jenkins' Ear certaily wasn't.
However, old grudges die hard, and the Second War of Jenkins' Ear is certainly 20th Century. AND obscure.

If there were Vichy French troops available, I would add the figures to my "to-do" list, to prolong Franco-American emnity on North Africa.

The air wars are easy to do in 1/144, though. I am rapidly assembling the planes to do American versus Vichy, and Australian versus Vichy air battle scenarios form the Cy6 rule book.

I'm with Richard with Rif War. I've got about a peloton of Spanish Foreign Legion, a full platoon of French Foreign Legion and around 80 Rifs.

Next most obscure for me I guess would be 1980's Afghanistan and I'm also working on a Grenada force for Moderns.

Doc

Chad versus Libya?
Biff versus Libya?

US aided by greek irregulars against the Sultan of Tripoli?

a little odd for the period but fiction can do anything

I am trying to get planed Warsaw pact Polish amphibious assalut on Denmark in the opening days of III WW
(mid to late 80 ties for the start)

so war is not obscure but battle itself is

Things I have:

I have a large number of bits and pieces for the Anglos Irish War ( mostly Cannonfodder, BTD, Foundry etc + a scratchbuilt Lancia APC)

Building the necessary forces for the Third Afghan War (mostly Copplestone for the Brits).

Forces for Transcaspia and the Northern Interventions in the RCW.

Plans.

I really want to do the Prestes Column for Brazil in the 1930s along with the Civil War. I have some wonderful source material. Probably use various SCW ranges.

I'd also like to do Lampia and his Cangaceiros battling it out with the police in the 1920's and 'thirties.

The Italo- Ethiopian War appeals and someone actualy makes the minis now!

But then I have a list of really obscure stuff from the 16th to 19th centuries I want to do too.

The second war of Jenkins Ear? Clarify please sounds intruiging….

I'm boringly conventional, the most exotic C20 figures I've got are for WW1 in East Africa.

I suppose my AK47 stuff is a bit bizarre, but that is all just made up.

I do have 5 Troop, A Squadron, 107th RAC in not one, not two but three scales… My favourite WW2 tank troop.

Well I have started building both Russian and Turkish armies for the Russo-Turkish war 1877

The second war of Jenkins Ear? Clarify please sounds intruiging….

If I told you, I would have to kill you.

The RTW isn't twentieth century.

I suppose I do have the entire 1920s/30s Spanish Navy. Not quite sure why, but it seemed like a good idea at the time!

I'd like to have a go at the assault on Vichy held Diego Suarez in Madagascar '42. Naval, air, ground arms against a fortified port, with regular, commando and marine elements. What's not to like?

Somebody has to be playing the Gran Chaco war surely? Or is that not obscure enough anymore?

I like Chaco War a lot, and have many books about it(over 40 now, I think I have more books about the Chaco War than any other single war I am interested in, but, it is relatively hard to find books about the Chaco in libraries in the UK so buying them becomes necessary).

I always thought gaming it would be good, but I haven't found any figures I like.

You again huh? ;-)

I know virtually nothing about it, other than the basics. I just vaguely remember one of the mags covering it briefly and I've come across it looking for other stuff.

Good for you….

and good for MeroMero and his Portugese Colonial Wars… I've been so tempted by this myself, along with Rhodesia and RSA's wars.

Ok next bid, Cuban Revolution anyone?

archstanton73 17 Feb 2008 7:27 a.m. PST wrote:
<" The second war of Jenkins Ear? Clarify please sounds intruiging….">

Well, he had at least TWO ears, didn't he?

"Somebody has to be playing the Gran Chaco war surely? Or is that not obscure enough anymore?"

When somebody gets off their duffs and actually makes some viable figures -preferably in 1/72 scale to go with all of the existing artillery and vehicle kits already available!!!- I'll be one of the first to play the Chaco War!

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

When somebody gets off their duffs and actually makes some viable figures -preferably in 1/72 scale to go with all of the existing artillery and vehicle kits already available!!!- I'll be one of the first to play the Chaco War!

Ah…. but then it wouldn't be obscure <wink>

Alto Chelpa 1995 in the air mostly, gotta love those Kfirs, but I have a few 20mm floating around

Fatman