Impossible units

[Deleted User]

I would hope my smile was not too smug when a poster on one of the plastic figure forums inquired when they’d make a set of Napoleonic Highland cavalry. Any smile undoubtedly comes from the thought of wearing a kilt on horse back: almost certainly a role only for the “hardest” hielander.

So, just for fun, how about suggesting non-historical, historical units.

For example, Imperial Roman chariots or ACW balloon infantry.

If nothing else, this may inspire some colourful & exotic figures for fantasy gaming.

 

donald

[Deleted User]

I’ve been deaming for years of a squadron of paramotor gunships. Basically a guy with paramotor sporting an MG or granade laungher for the close air support role.

For way back historical, I wouldn’t mind some greek mounted phalanx or child soldier ankle slicers to mingle within the phalanx.

[Not Connard Sage]

Deleted User wrote:

Any smile undoubtedly comes from the thought of wearing a kilt on horse back: almost certainly a role only for the “hardest” hielander

 

No saddle either. Och ouch!

 

Of course, they could have worn trews. 😉

 

 

 

Obvious contrarian and passive aggressive old prat, who is taken far too seriously by some and not seriously enough by others.

[Thaddeus Blanchette]

…or they could have been female highland cavalry.

We get slapped around, but we have a good time!

[Norm S]

Longbow armed French at Agincourt

Mounted (i.e. cavalry based) Anglo-Saxon Housecarls at Hastings

[John D Salt]

Just for the name of the thing, I think it’s quite disappointing that there were never a Fourth and Fifth Fife and Forfar Yeomanry.

I rather fancied having some Russian WW2 ski cavalry, perhaps accompanied by rocket-sled aerosans. Not that much odder than some of the things the Russians experimented with in the 1930s, really.

I think Military Modelling once carried an article on the uniforms of Napoleon’s Régiment des Aérostiers, a light infantry unit intended for a cross-channel assault in hordes of Montgolfier balloons when the wind was right.

For some reason I quite like the idea of an anti-aircraft elephant, and I’m sure you could rig a MANPADS such as SA-14 to fire from a suitably-modified howdah.

There was I understand once a proposal by the Bavarian police to train pigs for riot-control purposes, to avoid the negative connotations of the German Shepherd. Since then I have fascinated by the idea of Kevlar pig barding.

Of course anti-swimmer dolphins, the MI5 Falcon Destruction Unit (shooting hawks that attacked carrier pigeons), Albanian goat-mobile mountain mortars, Belgian dog-drawn machine guns and Russian anti-tank dogs were all real.

All the best,

John.

[Rhoderic]

In medieval pitched battles, bands of “Merry Men” or similar forest-folk of a wily bent who launch surprise flank attacks out of wooded areas. Ideally using bows and clad mainly in greens. Possibly, in the manner of the old WHFB Bretonnians, they would all be squires, putting to use their presumed experience as hunters and beaters.

[Autodidact-O-Saurus]

First thing that pops into my mind is a unit of nude amazon archers mounted on centaurs. Hmmm… what would Freud say?

Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/

[Thorsten Frank]

Pavese  or shield carrying Landsknechts (Oops, I think we get close to classic Macedonians here) and “bazooka”-like heavy “handgonnes” for the forlorn hope/Verlorener Haufen (Well, close call – if I interprete some medieval pictures correct some early handguns were actually shoulder fired….).
EDIT: but a Testudo may look funny in this style.

Hm. European Shinobi/Ninja … wait, knights did that job too.

Maybe Comanche cataphracts? Balearic slinger cavalry? African “knights”? (Ooops, again, the Kingdom of Aksum and later Medri Bahri seemed to utilize heavy, cataphract-like, cavalry)

Much more difficult topic than I thought at first.

"In strange grammar this one writes" - Master Yoda

[Mike]

Autodidact-O-Saurus wrote:

First thing that pops into my mind is a unit of nude amazon archers mounted on centaurs. Hmmm… what would Freud say?

Too much Xena?

[Autodidact-O-Saurus]

Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/

[zippyfusenet]

The old Airfix HO/OO Civil War Artillery set is a highly accurate representation of the very famous First Artillery Regiment of Boston. In fact, all the old 20mm Airfix ACW figures were taken straight from the Kurz & Allison lithographs. Except for the Plains War cavalry, who made great opponents for the Confederate Cowboys. I useta love all those guys…

You'll shoot your eye out, kid!

[Cerdic]

Either that bloke on the horse is tiny or the horse is absolutely bloody massive!

http://28mmreview.blogspot.co.uk

[Rhoderic]

I see this topic having two facets: On the one hand, just plain “crazy” units such as Great Northern War Swedish elk cavalry, or Song dynasty Chinese rotary “Gatling-type” fire-lances. On the other hand, unit types that someone with a very naive, extremely beginner-level view of military history might expect to have actually existed because it fits their system of thinking (possibly because they’ve been conditioned to think that way by a background in fantasy gaming or video gaming). The idea of Highlander cavalry in the Napoleonic Wars belongs squarely in the latter category, I think.* Likewise Imperial Roman chariots. I was also thinking along these general lines when I suggested medieval “Merry Men”.

Another idea in this general category: A “full range” of World War 1 tanks and other tank-like vehicles, of all the same diverse roles as existed in World War 2, for all nations. Light tanks, medium tanks and heavy tanks. Assault guns, tank destroyers, combat engineering tanks, flamethrower tanks, rocket artillery tanks, etc.

* By the way, I’m one of those people that come from a fantasy and video gaming background, and I’m sure there would have been a time when I would have nodded along in perfect ignorance at the mention of Napoleonic Highlander cavalry. I might then well have gone on to assume Highlander artillery, Highlander rifles, etc. – basically thinking of Highlanders after the same system that I think of 40K Imperial Guard regiment types like Tallarns, Mordians and Catachans. If that kind of thinking sounds utterly alien to anyone here, then that just goes to show what a broad church the miniatures wargaming scene is, and how varied the ways we “came up” through the hobby have been.

[Who Asked This Joker]

ACW balloon infantry.

Why not take it to the next level?  ACW paratroopers!

John

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

--Abraham Lincoln

[Patrice]

Many years ago I heard about a guy in Paris who had a unit of French Napoleonic cuirassiers-lanciers.

He said he made a mistake when ordering the figures, he ordered flag-bearer cuirassiers instead of ordinary cuirassiers; so to do something with them he had to cut their eagles and use them as lancers.

People believed he did it on purpose, to get the tactical advantages of breastplates AND lances…

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[Sane Max]

Patrice wrote:

People believed he did it on purpose, to get the tactical advantages of breastplates AND lances…

 

We had a nutter come in when I worked at GW, and unveiled his latest conversion. over 200 skeletons, with the heads replaced with the heads of plastic skaven. TADA ! Skaven undead. He had done skeleton skaven Horsemen, skeleton skaven chariots…

Out of charity, we postulated he wasn’t actually mad – he had some sort of plan for them, a cunning plan of the sort that used to make playing WHFB 1st and 2nd edition so much fun for the truly twisted cheesey bastard. We just never were able to work out what it was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willz]

A unit of Lance armed Heavy cavalry senior officers, no problem with morale or orders.

However probably have to have some dice modifier to take into account all the unit would be trying to give each other orders.

 

Willz.

[Thaddeus Blanchette]

A Corps of Old Guard Grenadiers and cuirassier-equipped Old Guard Grenadier Cavalry.

A panzer division fully equipped with Tiger IIs, Jagdtigers, all-halftrack borne infantry and a completely mechanized artillery regiment.

A brigade of Napoleonic British Rifles.

Spanish  Napoleonic troops that don’t run away… 🙂

 

 

We get slapped around, but we have a good time!

[McKinstry]

Since the US Army has always been ‘tail to teeth’ heavy with 10 logistics troopers for every fellow on the sharp end, I’ve played a game or two with the 999th Airborne Messkit Repair Battalion getting stuck in.

The tree of Life is self pruning.

[Hafen von Schlockenberg]

Speaking of Russian experiments:

[Guy Farrish]

My favourite Russian Naval invention – the circular ship!

The Monitor Novgorod:

probably the best thing that can be said of it is that it didn’t spin as badly as you might think when you fired a gun or tried to go forwards. I’d love a fleet of these!

[Thorsten Frank]

So, what about US Rocket Commandos in 1966?

http://www.astronautix.com/i/ithacus.html

This is something I was fascinated of since I heard about it a couple of years ago. EDIT: Crazy, very expensive, plan. Especially considering the dimensions. And if something went wrong….

"In strange grammar this one writes" - Master Yoda

[Thaddeus Blanchette]

Coooooool! Dropships!

We get slapped around, but we have a good time!

[Etranger]

How about the Union Elephant Corps for the ACW? Not so much impossible as so nearly possible… https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/lincoln-rejects-king-siams-offer-elephants

[Author]

Posts