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| And he means business! |
WWI Centenary
I had intended to write centenary posts for the First World War, but only six weeks in have fallen behind! And it's not as if it'll be over by Christmas.
Those of you who follow my geekery on Facebook, won't be surprised to find I'm going to concentrate on naval actions. Which brings me to...
Prettiest-Killing-Ship-Spotted-on-Facebook Of the Week
Iltis, a gunboat of the Kaiserliche Marine, launched in 1898 and saw service in Chinese waters. She saw service during the Boxer Rebellion (taking part in the bombardment of the Taku Forts). She was awarded the Pour le Mérite (the Blue Max), which is the decoration on the prow - the only ship to be so distinguished.
Play By Blog - Clint's Game
This week's turn (Turn Seven) of the 'Blood, Bilges and Iron Balls' finally saw some gun-smoke! Clint's report can be found here.
I'll do my own report on my BBIB page.
Play By Blog - Michael's Game
This week was also a 'turn week' for Michael's Game of Diplomacy (Fall 1901).
The Movement results are here. Coming soon will be the Retreat Phase (Austria has been forced out of Trieste) and the end-of-year allocation of troops.
There's a lot to digest (and I don't want to give anything away about my gameplay), so I won't write anything here. Fortunately, Michael has devised an in-game newspaper, The Daily Dissembler - "We make sense of a complicated, far-off world so you, dear reader, can enjoy the Gilded Age".
A ship with The Blue Max! Excellent!
ReplyDeleteOh God, I can't think about Christmas yet!!
ReplyDeleteThat is a handsome ship!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jonathan, a lovely and graceful ship. Oddly, Iltis was also the name of a small jeep-like vehicle that the Canadian army used from the Cold War until about a decade ago.
ReplyDeleteGerman for 'polecat' I believe, which makes more sense for a vehicle than a ship. She certainly looks nippy though.
DeleteHer predecessors had distinguished careers, but I'm not sure how the first Iltis got her name. The second Iltis was in the Wolf-Class and has sisters of equally odd names. Basically these navies had more ships than available 'sensible' names!
I have a soft spot for the boats the Powers sent out to China Waters. The RN's Insect-Class (more odd names!) were as ugly as sin, but hard workers...