"Major Dundee French" Topic

Chasseurs d Afrique?
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link

I loved that movie as a kid. Two Mules for Sister Sarah too!

Charlton Heston and Gary Cooper BOTH found French lancers in Mexico. John Wayne for the Chasseurs d'Afrique, I think.

If you've got some old Couriers, I believe there was a scenario titled "You've got a Real War at Last."

The black Union sergeant lying beside the Confederate captain looking at the Turkos:

"Ha! they ain't tough, they've never lived in Mississippi."

John Wayne had to deal with French cavalry in The Undefeated.

That's what I was talking about, OldYeller. But in the trailer they don't look like lancers, so I'm guessing Chasseurs d'Afrique. (Yes, of course I have the DVD. But tonight is music and paperwork, not video.)

doc mcb, the best line in Major Dundee is in the book, but not the film. It's the final river crossing. In the book, they've got an artillery piece in support, firing at Dundee and his people--but since the Americans in in a skirmish line, it's not doing them much good. Lt Graham and his baby howitzer, though, are bursting shells over tightly formed lancers. Dundee considers this.

"Those French are surely in need of a good gunner. Do you suppose if we gave them Lt Graham, they'd let us go?"

Do a search here on TMP. You will find several threads dealing with Major Dundee.

Robert, I've reviewed all my indexes for The Courier and can't find an article entitled "You've got a Real War at Last." Can you narrow it down a bit?

You were referring to the second run of The Courier and not the first run, right?

Yes, the later magazine and not digest-size issues, and I'm thinking relatively late in the run, so possibly it evaded the indexes.

But more likely, I've abbreviated the quote in my memory. Try starting with "Well, Major, it Appears You've got a Real War at Last" and see what appears under W or M. I remember it was slightly over 1 model for 1 "historical" figure, and that there was an irate letter in the next issue from someone who had never heard of the movie and was upset that the fictional nature of the whole thing wasn't explicit. Ye Ed explained that he didn't think there were any wargamers not familiar with the movie--at least none interested in ACW or Indian wars.

(Sorry I can't look it up. I've made a real effort to trim down the wargaming apparatus so my son won't just pitch everything when the time comes.)

Glad my brother started this topic, so I can jump in with an historical 'almost' a Major Dundee adventure that never made a movie. In 1855, Captain James Callahan, a Texas Ranger (mounted militia back then) commanded a 3 company battalion of Rangers who chased a band of Apaches from Central Texas to the Rio Grande River--the border between the US and Mexico. With the vague permission of the Texas governor, Callahan's 110 Rangers crossed into Mexico where on the Escondido River about 15 miles from the Rio Grande, they fought a cavalry battle against a combined force of Mexican lancers, Apaches, and some Mexican infantry. Texas Rangers with a couple of Colt revolvers each vs a lot more Mexican soldados. For a while it was an up-close clash of charging horsemen, then the outnumbered Texans withdrew to a gully to go the defense until dark. They limped back to the border town of Piedras Negras, which Callahan ordered set to the torch to cover his retreat across the Rio Grande which was in flood stage and couldn't be swum--only forded a few men at a time in skiffs. The 'adventure' caused an international uproar but the people of Texas loved Callahan for his audacity and named a county after him, even though Callahan was killed in a family feud just a year after his excursion into Mexico. And his killer was dragged out of jail and shot many times by a pro-Callahan mob. Such was life in Texas in 1857. This is true stuff.

If these are French Cavalry, then they are not Chasseurs d' Afrique. They look to be Lancers but without their lances.