Terribly Obscure Wars A-Z Ly Bon's Rebellion A.D. 541-47

Ly Bon (also known as Ly Ban, Li Bi and Ly Bi) is recognised as being the leader of the first attempt of the people of what was to become Vietnam to rise in rebellion against the Chinese. He overthrew the Governor of what was then the Giao-chao Province and captured the capital at Long Bien the following year. 

Now part of Modern Vietnam used to be the Kingdom of Champa

The area that Ly Bon ultimately commanded was vast by the standards of the time and was comprised of most of what today is northern and central Vietnam, much larger than the actual province he liberated. Before this though he had to defeat an invasion from the Kingdom of Champa (now southern Vietnam) in 542. 

The following year he named himself Emperor and his rule was recognised by all the nations in the Red River Delta. He named his Empire Van Xuan, the meaning being it would last One Thousand Springs.

However this was not meant to be and just four years later he was defeated by a Chinese Army in a battle to the north near a village called Chu Dien. The defeat must have been complete as he fled to Laos but a local tribesman killed him and sent his head back to the Chinese.

So ended the first attempt to gain independence but two more attempts to throw off Chinese rule were made in less than 50 years but it would be another 550 years before it would be realised.

Wargaming the period. 

I can only assume that figures would have to be based on the Chinese of the time, though I would use more auxiliary types of units rather than the more exotic or centralised unit types for the Chinese. For the Van Xuan forces I would start with mostly light and medium troop types but come the battles with Champa I think something between those of the Chinese and the Korean of the period for both sides. 

Information is so sketchy it has to be made up as you wish. I can't see the Chinese accepting the loss of a province for six years and have to assume at least one campaign against Ly Bon each year and given Le Bon gained the recondition of surrounding Nations you have to assume that this was done by defeating other Nations armies.

All in all an interesting side project for anyone who already has figures from this period. The only souce material I could find being George C Kohn's Dictionary of Wars and Britannia.com. 

Terribly Obscure Wars K, The Kampuchean Civil War of 1978-1997

It's fair to say that everyone knows about Cambodia and the Killing Fields but I am thinking that the vast majority like me know little or nothing about the period of time post the Khmer Rouge and the continued misery of the people of Kampuchea or Cambodia as it was finally renamed again.

One year prior to the Kampuchean Civil War breaking out the Khmer Rouge had broken off diplomatic relations with Vietnam after a year of boarder clashes between the two countries. The Vietnam Government reacted by stepping up the clashes and encouraging Kampuchean Rebels to overthrow Pol Pot and his regime. This increased the number of internal attacks and in 1978 a Vietnamese army 200,000 strong invaded Kampuchea  occupying the capital of Phnom Penh on 9th January the following year.Hun Sen a dissident Khmer Rouge leader became president of the Vietnamese sponsored Government but the Khmer Rouge continued armed resistance in the countryside with attacks on supply lines and outposts but refusing to be drawn into pitched battles. The Khmer Rouge received a political boost when the Governments of the US and China recognised Pol Pot as being the legitimate leader of Kampuchea (the British Government also recognised his rite to rule a little latter). Such was the dislike of Soviet backed Vietnamese influence the leaders (and by default the people) of these countries preferred a man and party that had killed 20% of their own people over anyone selected by the Vietnamese.

By 1982 the three main anti government forces united their efforts to oust the Vietnamese troops from their country. Meanwhile Prince Norodom Sihanouk formed a Government in exile which as a coalition included Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge and shockingly the United Nations recognised this exiled government, warts and all.

By 1984 things were getting difficult for the Vietnamese troops in Kampuchea and was forced to launch major attacks on the guerilla  camps along the Thai boarder. By this stage ironically the Vietnamese were now relying on Soviet aid to hold onto what little of Kampuchea they controlled and as that support dried up the Vietnamese finally withdrew their troops in 1989.

Over the next two years the area of control shrank until only the capital and a few towns close by were now held by Hun Sen but infighting between the three major opposing forces kept any one side having the ability to break the stalemate and take control.

Hun Sen a great political survivor then offered to share control with all three parties but through various under the table deals and manoeuvres Hun Shen and the leaders in Phnom Phnom continued to be the real leaders and the three factions continued to wage the guerilla war on and off but now not against each other.

This status quo continued for another year before a UN controlled operation was put in place to bring order to the country. Whilst it had some success the refusal of the Khmer Rouge to disarm, the Government's resistance to handing over day to day running of the country and the UN's own overly difficult organisation made this only a partial success.

Even so in 1993 open elections were held with 90% of those allowed to vote did indeed vote with an overwhelming victory for the Royalist political faction led by Prince Sihanouk. This of course was not the end of matters, the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) and Hun Sen refused to recognise the result and typical of the UN it failed to enforce the result. Instead Prince Sihanouk formed a coalition with the CPP with Hun Sen being the Second Prime minister. Given that the CPP controlled the Army, Police Force and the Justice System the recently elected Prince Sihanouk actually had almost no power at all. Of course the UN was quick to recognise the coalition and ignore yet another failing of theirs. 

By the mid 90's at least the Khmer Rouge had collapsed proving the various governments that had poured so much money into it as being wrong on every level and by 1998 Pol Pot was dead. However Hun Shen the year before had staged a coup against the rest of the coalition and taking over the country in the usual brutal way of killing anyone who was in opposition and the odd supporter just to be sure.

1998 not only saw the back of Pol Pot but also by Kampuchean standards a fair election which Hun Sen won (not sure anyone in their right mind would try hard to win him!)  and with it an end to the Civil War.

This one is a difficult war to wargame, but for once not for the lack of figures. I imagine many a player will quote moralistic reasons for not taking up arms to fight battles (really it's skirmish only) and who can blame them, it's still fairly recent and it's so hard to get past that period of slaughter!

However putting that to one side it gives the NVA owner another string to his bow, and even the Viet Kong figures can be brought into play as members of the three factions in the jungle. Of course many of the Khmer Rouge would also be uniformed and can be armed with British or American weapons for a nice twist. As by far most of the actions are small in nature and often in the form of raids you can have a lot of fun coming up with scenarios with a wide variety of actions. It would also work as a campaign with up to four players all trying to get one over on all the other players.

A-Z Terribly Obscure Battles J. Justinian's First Persian War A.D. 524-32

Justinian I was a Byzantine Emperor who like previous eastern emperors before him had to deal with Persian invasions. I about 524 the Persians again making in roads into Mesopotamia. Justinian was at this time waning to expand his empire to the west but was forced to send troops to force the Persians back. Belisarius was to lead the army and his being Justinian's best general you can be fairly sure his best troops were also sent. This lead to a fairly long campaign and in 530 he won a great victory at the battle of Dara defeating a combined army of Persians and Arabs of about 40,000 troops. This he did by using the infantry in defencive positions whilst aggressive use of his cavalry.

 

Around this time the Persians also suffered a second defeat in the Caucasus by Sittas at Satala. This left the Byzantines in a strong position at the start of the campaigning season of 531 after failed negotiations to end the war but this was turned on it's head when Belisarius was defeated by superior numbers at Callinicum though he was able to withdraw the remains of his campaign weary army to the city of Sura astride the River Euphrates. Here he withstood repeated attacks but was unable to take offencive actions himself.

 

Things improved wen King Kavadh I died in 531 and his son concluded the eternal peace which lasted all of eight years. The peace required both sides to give captured territories back though Persia was to keep Iberia with the displaced people given the choice of returning home or staying within Roman controlled provinces. Justinian was also to pay a tribute of 110 Centenara (11,000 lb of gold).

 

OK not quite as obscure as many but have you seen J, it's not exactly packed with options LOL.

 

Wargaming the period is really quite easy as figures are readily available in most scales you would like. By this point the Persians had taken note of Roman methods of siege and both sides conducted successful and failed sieges and more battles than the two mentioned happened though not all were with full armies. The Persian aim all along was to gain tribute from the Romans and this could be worked into a campaign were with each success the Persians will gain x tribute at the end of the campaign and set levels equate to levels of victory. Besides what wargamer could resist playing for imaginary wealth? The main advantage for the Persians was that they were safe from invasion from their other boarders as the terrain made this almost impossible whilst the Byzantine were already involved in other wars and incursions. This was not the all conquering Roman armies of days gone past. The Persians made good use of bow armed light cavalry and heavily armoured lance cavalry which worked well against the Byzantine armies until they adopted some of the same troop types and started to get the edge on the Persians.

 

Also in the first few years both sides used smaller armies of vasel states to do the fighting. This only came to the end with the death of Kavadh when better troops and commanders were sent by Justinian forcing the Persians to do the same. Up to this point the Persians tended to do better in the battles. About this time the Iberian revolt (originally supported by the Byzantines) had been put down releasing more Persian troops.

Terribly Obscure A-Z Haitian-French War of 1801-03

Here's one for the Napoleonic Wars fan who wants something a little different. The island of Haiti known then as Saint-Domingue was French controlled but under the command of Toussaint L'ouverture a former slave. L'ouverture seems to ave done such a good job as Governor that he managed to turn around the colony. He was successful in bringing peace to the island, defeated both Spain's and England's attempts at taking control (part of the island was Spanish territory). Further more he turned the colony into a prosperous entity.  Both his sons were being educated in France but L'ouverture had further plans for his homeland and after hunting down the former Governor of the island proclaimed  self-rule for the island. Bonaparte was not willing for this to be so and sent his Brother-in-Law Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc with between 25 and 30,000 troops (L'ouverture was known to have over 16,000 troops. Leclerc took along both L'ouvertures sons and their tutor to show goodwill, though the sons were in the end held to ransom! The terms France offered were generous but were not offered a the French landed at multiple points with the intent to take the fight to the defenders. Not all of the 30,000 troops (31,131 all told) arrived at the same time but they still outnumbered the defenders from the start. The islanders had been ordered to demand a parlay and if none were offered threaten to burn the towns and kill the white settlers. This order was followed and the town of Cap-Haitien was set alight and a number of whites had their throats slit as the islanders well back from the town. In just ten days the French had control of all major towns and most of the cultivated areas whilst L'ouverture only had a few brigades left under command. At this point Leclerc informed L'ouverture of his possession of his sons whilst also offering him the position of Leclercs deputy in commanding the island if he would only surrender. This failed to get his co-operation so a combined attack from several different parts of the island finally forced their way into the defenders stronghold and the last towns and forts were captured but not before these were set on fire and the white settlers killed, even the women and children.

The defenders were not yet done and they fell back further into the interior but faced with certain defeat and generous terms all leading Generals surrendered and whilst under house arrest their former positions were granted them. L'ouverture though had not given up and as he watched his enemies wasted by Yellow Fever (as much as 15,000 in just two months) he corresponded with other leaders ordering them to be ready to revolt. Some though were not prepared to fight again and informed on L'ouverture who was then taken to France as a prisoner.

Toussaint L'ouverture

News came back from France that slavery would soon be reintroduced and about the same time another bought of Yellow Fever struck. The black troops had their weapons taken off them which inflamed their anger and were joined in revolt by the mulattos (mixed race from Black and White integration) who had to this point been loyal to France. The French now only numbering 8-10,000 and weak from fever were forced to retreat to the small island of Tortuga, here Leclerc died. Whilst his replacement Rochambeau tried to hold back the revolt it was not looking good. Cap-Haitien site of the original landing was the final position held by the French  and was under siege when the French were finally defeated at the battle of Vertieres. Yellow Fever and the British blockade of French ports were twin allies of the islanders leaving just 7-8,000 French troops alive at the end of the campaign. Dessalines proclaimed the colony of Saint-Domingue  to be the second independent state in the Americas, under the name of Haiti. The Island was finally recognised as free by the French in 1838 when they paid the French 90 million gold-francs as indemnity.

Henri I, King of Haiti

Wargameing the War. Unlike most of the previous  Terribly Obscure this one does offer a good mix of battles, sieges and would work as a campaign if the victory conditions were worked right. The Islanders can not win in the long term and can be expected to loose any early battles due to the French having better troops and larger numbers. Late in the campaign the French have even larger numbers though the Islanders have a better morale by this point. I would suggest points are lost to the French every time the Islanders burn a town and kill the hostages whilst the Islanders lose points based on a time line of leaving villages and towns to early. The battles on the whole should be of about 4 to 6,000 for the French with about 2/3rds  that for the islanders. The last battle has the French listed as 2,000 men facing12,000 a figure I take with a huge pinch of salt, especially as the French had 1,200 killed and wounded to the Islanders 3,200. With 23,000 troops facing 800 they would not have stopped attacking until no French were alive. What I would say is that in the final section of the war the French should be out numbered and very much on the defencive apart from the odd attack column were they try and get a local gain.

The final battle of Vertieres.

Note in the painting above the Islanders are partially dressed in French infantry uniforms, headgear and the lack of gaiters and boots being the biggest changers.

Terribly Obscure A-Z ..... Guatemalan War

In 1871 a long period of conservative rule was brought to an end with Miguel Garcia Granados and Justo Rufino led liberals in the capture of the capital (Guatemala City) after a short six month campaign. Granados ruled for two years before retiring being succeeded by Barrios who was the commander of the Army. Barrios not surprisingly ruled as a dictator and reduced the influence and power of the church. He also strengthened the economy by pushing the cultivation of coffee which was a lucrative commercial crop.

In 1876 his attempted move to bring about a union of Central American states via a peaceful route failed. This followed his call of 25th February 1885 for the establishment of a united Central American states which was supported by Honduras but was rejected by El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In an attempt to force Guatemalan acceptance of this Mexican President Porfirio Diaz ordered troops to be deployed on their common boarder. This failed to have the desired effect and Barrios led his army into El Salvador where he was defeated being killed in the battle of Chalchuapa on April 2nd 1885.

Modern Boundaries of Guatemala.

This brought to an end the war but not the Government. Guatemala was to remain a Liberal Controlled Dictatorship till 1945.

Wargaming the overthrow and war. With the war lasting such a short period and only one major battle it offers little for the wargamer. What ifs and possible extension of the campaign make it a much more reasonable conflict to wargame. Given the unstable nature of the region and that heady period before trench warfare and industrialisation turned warfare into mass slaughter. The revolution period is a much easier (and better value for money) to wargame. This can be done it small scale with units of troops fighting for many and varied reasons only limited by your imagination. What's more the forces can transplant to many other revolts and minor wars that were fought during this period. More recent and brutal uprisings make wargameing the modern period far more a morel dilemma.

A-Z Terribly Obscure...... Flammock's Rebellion

King Henry VII was levelling a tax to pay for military action against the Scottish which was as always not popular. Whilst most of the Country grumbled but paid up the Cornish planned to refuse. Thomas Flammock was a Lawyer and came from a wealthy family and argued that such a Tax was illegal as it should only be paid by the northern counties. Michael Joseph, a blacksmith was a very vocal commoner who it is said was always taking up arguments against authority in an attempt to promote himself (an early case of character assassination?) Between these two men they raised a large enough unrest that they had 6,000 men gathered ready to refuse to pay the £2,500 levy. On arrival of the tax collectors the protest went from demonstration to action. The 6,000 marched from Cornwall to Taunton in Somerset killing the Tax Collector there (Provost Perrin) and then marching a little further to Wells. Here they gained the leadership of Lord Audley said to be an impoverished Lord but still a Lord. The decision was made to march on London to present their grievances and demands, by this time this could be seen as no less than a direct challenge to the King. The march went through Salisbury and Winchester a march that on modern roads would be 170 miles from Taunton. Whilst original sources claim that the force that reached Blackheath (just outside London) was over 15,000 and made up of Cornish men I doubt 9-11,000 extra men were gained prior to leaving Cornwall and suggest that the majority were gathered on the march and would as such be a mix of Somerset, Devon and possibly beyond. After all all southern counties would share the view that it should be a northern tax.

Henry VII

Henry called back the army he had set off for the proposed campaign against the Scottish and whilst the Rebels were large in number they lacked sufficient leaders to command them effectively and were defeated on the 22nd June 1497. Though it was not plain sailing as Lord Daubeney was for a short time captured early in the battle. Both sides lost men in the battle. The Kings forces around 300 whilst the Rebels number given varies between 300 and 1,000+. The vast majority of the 15,000 were pardoned and allowed to go home but the leaders were executed. Lord Audley beheaded on Tower Hill whilst Flammock and Joseph were both hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn so rank even has it's privileges for rebels. For Henry the biggest concern was not that they had rose up in Rebellion but that they got to London without challenge. Whilst the London citizens had risen up in defence they had managed to march to London almost unopposed and without the aid of his field army the Londoners would have been unlikely to hold off the Rebels.

Wargameing the battle. Historical licence has to be taken to make this work. I would suggest a better command system for the rebels than they had. Further to this I would on turn two or three stop any more forward movement of the Royal Army for a undisclosed number of turns to represent Lord Daubeney's capture. How ever it would be played the rebels can not win a straight wargame so victory conditions should be designed to give them a win even in defeat. Possible ideas would be keep x units in good order for x turns. Hold X position till game end or inflict x causlties (unit breaks etc).

A skirmish also happened at Guildford, this obviously was not a defeat for the Rebels so could be a good action to represent. Obviously the cream of the army was not used in the major action and this should be taken into account in any battles that are played. The Rebels were mostly armed with Bill and Bow as you would expect. They were surprised on the 22nd expecting the attack the following day, this means they were prepared to fight a real army so I would expect a fairly high morale for them. Given a good set of VC's and scenario rules to reflect the situation you could get quite a good and interesting battle out of this.

Terribly Obsure (E) Rebellion: The Eureka Stockade.

Whilst Australians may wonder why this Rebellion features in a Terribly Obscure I am fairly sure it fits the bill, especially with mt Pom followers ;-)

1851 saw the discovery of gold and with it an influx of migrants other than the usual agricultural workers. A great strain was put on all professions as many left their normal jobs and went to seek their fortune seeking gold. The Governments answer to this was to create expensive licences that had to be renued every month at a cost of 30 shillings no matter how successful the miner had been the previous month. The idea was that the shear cost would deter some and many others would go back to their professions as they failed to make ends meet. Not only was these licence's unpopular but the method of enforcement was heavy handed. The problem was that the established Police Force was far too few in number so a hasty and large expansion was required. Not a small amount of irony found a ready source of recruits being ex-convicts and their previous guards. This quickly led to corruption as the Police were open to bribes and even the honest ones just had so much work related to the miners (checking all licences twice a week!) so normal police duties suffered and with it a rise in crime both inside the camps and also in the area around them.

This only led to angering the miners who felt the licences were excessively expensive and saw little return in both mining profits and social decency. The greater the resistance and anger to the licence and police corruption the greater the Police brutality. The spiral just fed itself until it came to a head in the Eureka Lead at Ballarat where a man accused of the murder of a Digger (miner) escaped justice due to being a friend of the police. A group of Diggers burnt down Bentley's Hotel where the murder took place and three of them were arrested for arson. When the demand for their release was refused the miners along with other demands the diggers had two choices. Back down or make a stand! The murder of the digger had had acted as a rallying call and the main grievances were brought to the fore. Voting for all miners (at this point you had to have mined for 6 months in one location to vote), the removal of the hated licence and reduction of corruption within the police. The Governor refused to release the men and 18 days later on the 29th November 1854 a second mass meeting was held and this was the first display of the Eureka Flag, a dangerous development.

The five stars represent the Southern Cross.

The meeting broke up after the burning of Licences and the election of leaders. The following day further licences were burnt and the diggers now numbered over 1000 men and they built a wooden stockade made of stakes. They swore an oath of allegiance assuring the Governor could neither ignore or tolerate the miners actions. In the mean time extra troops had been dispatched to help contain the miners and by the 3rd of December enough troops were in place to take action (around 700). Meanwhile many of the miners had slipped away from the stockade knowing they stood no chance against well armed professional troops whilst having few arms themselves. Early on the 3rd the troops moved against the stockade. Despite the low numbers of arms and now numbering less than 200 strong the diggers still tried to make a stand. Organised resistance lasted but about twenty minutes before the troops defeated the miners leaving around 50 dead to a cost of three of their own.

Breaching the Defences.

13 of the leaders of the uprising were charged with treason and many others had been wounded in the action and following sweep through the diggers camp and whilst they faced hanging for the charge of treason they were all acquitted instead. As often is the case when unreasonable events lead to such activities the central government after an investigation found the miners demands were just and whilst the licences were not revoked, the cost of them were reduced to an 8th. Voting was allowed for all miners no matter how long they had worked the area and the Gold Commissioners (who were hated for their corruption and heavy handed manner) were replaced by a system of wardens.

Wargaming the Rebellion.

Obviously any wargame of the stockade action is going to be short and not exactly inspiring, as such most of the gaming this can provide is almost of the roleplaying level. Actions between Police and the Bushwhackers or travellers and bushwhackers (bandits in the bush) or fictitious small engagements between the police and diggers where both sides have limited arms.

Terribly Obscure part 4 (D) Danish-Estonian War of 1219-27

Livonia was an area that was essentially the whole of Estonia and part of Latvia. Tensions and then all out war was created with the Christianising of the south of the area. The Danes became involved when their King, Valdemar II launched a Crusade with the support of the Christian Livonian Knights of the Sword and the bishop of Riga.  This crusade was against the Estonians under Russia's Greek Christian influence and originally took the Estonians by surprise by landing a large force at Lyndanise (the name of this as then trading town has since been called Reval and now Tallinn) A battle was fought here on the 15th June 1219 in which the Danes were originally losing but legend has it that a red flag with a white cross fell from the sky giving them fresh hope and they went on to win the battle. The Danish National flag is the oldest in the world as from this date they took this up as their national standard.

The Estonians were originally outnumbered and sued for peace but secretly reinforced their forces and through a five pronged attack drove back the Danes but they in turn were reinforced with German troops and Waldemar and defeated the Estonian-Russian forces before the end of 1219. The trading town of Lyndanise was again captured but burnt to the ground to be replaced by a fortress and later to become a city. The garrisons job was not just to enforce Danish rule but also to enforce conversion to Christianity of the Danish style.

Danish sovereignty in Estonia was lost when German troops fought against Valdemar at the Battle of Bornhoved (22nd July 1227) and was so hard pressed by both sides that it was said that they fought up to their knees in blood.

Battle of Bornhoved in the traditional depiction.

Control was finally regained in 1238 through agreement with the Livonian Knights (Brothers of the sword) with whom it all started.

Terribly Obscure Battles, Wars and Revolts 3 (C)

The Chaco War (1932-35).

Not so terribly obscure a war as the previous two but rather more obscure than it deserves. This was South America's largest war and whilst Osprey has released a book on the war it remains one of the more neglected wargame subjects that is very much possible to play. The Spanish Civil War gets all the attention though both wars have some parallels. Firstly both lasted about three years and secondly (and for the SCW fan importantly) both used a lot of European equipment. Not only did they use the surplus WWI equipment such as old planes and MG's but they also used modern equipment very much as was later used in the SCW so if you already play this period you have some flexibility.

The Disputed Area.

Gran Chaco was an area that could well be described as an a place God had forgotten. It's fair to say that both Bolivia and Paraguay had also forgotten about it as well! A nasty mix of jungle and scrub desert with daytime temperatures rising to over 40 degrees C but can fall below freezing at night. Dust ridden in the Summer and a sea of mud between December and March. The only fertile parts being along the two rivers within the area. Gran Chaco was in parts owned by Bolivia and Paraguay as well as Argentina but none of the three paid attention to this almost uninhabitable wasteland. So what was it that brought the former two to such a bitter three year conflict? Oil. The area was thought to be rich in oil reserves, this was to prove inaccurate but before this was discovered 400,000 troops had been drawn into the conflict with 90,000 killed and a waste of an equivalent of US$500 million.

Paraguayan Troops Enter The Chaco to protect their settlers.

Paraguay had the unenviable distinction of being the first League of Nations member to declare war on another member state. Ironic as the League was brought into being to ensure the future would hold no more wars! Though this is jumping forward in the tail as 11 months of unofficial war and discussion predate the declaration (10th May 1933). The conflict supply a ready mix of battles for the enterprising wargamer from skirmish battles such as the Paraguayan capture of a Bolivian post on the 16th of July 1932, starting the armed conflict  through to pitched battles of 1933 and 1934 to the Trench warfare that ended the war. Sieges, air battles, tanks and river boat actions all have a place in the war making it the surprise missing guest at the wargames table.

Paraguay had the best of the first months of the war as both countries had fairly small armies deployed at the start of the conflict ( a form of National Service meant a large pool of trained and semi-trained troops could be brought into service). But the Larger, better equipped and trained Bolivians were soon retaking lost positions and forcing the Paraguayan troops back. Paraguay had ordered full mobilisation whilst Bolivia only a partial as they expected an easy victory. By the end of 1934 Paraguay held most of the Chaco and even managed to invade Bolivia itself in 1935 before being pushed back. This was the high water mark for the Paraguayan forces but Bolivia was never able to use it's strength effectively enough to win the war. 1935 saw the war take on a static nature and the cost in men and material had left both countries with little left to conduct an operation that would bring about the others defeat and as such after many attempt to solve the war Diplomatically through the years of conflict first a truce then finally a Peace Treaty with Paraguay retaining most of the Chaco whilst Bolivia given access to the Atlantic via Paraguay and Parana rivers plus the use of Puerto Casado as a free port. So a lot of blood spilt for no real gain for Paraguay though Bolivia gained trade advantages it was at a shocking cost.

Ju52 in Bolivian Service

If you are interested in wargaming the period I can not recommend The Green Hell by Adrian J. English as a great place to start. Not only does the book cover the whole war but has descriptions of the actions and best of all for the wargamer supplies lists of equipment and Regiments allowing the gamer to reproduce accurate units on the battlefield.

Terribly Obscure Battles, Wars And Revolutions 2 (B)

Burmese-Chinese War of 1765-69

Burma under the reign of King Hsinbyushin followed an aggressive expansionist policy. Having recently invaded Siam and even capturing their capital in 1767 (but failing to bring them to peace) Hsinbyushin then started to raid the Chinese boarder. China's Emperor Ch'ien Lung launched a major invasion into Burma. This caught the Burmese somewhat by surprise as the vast majority of their troops were fighting in Siam. Fortunately for Hsinbyushin the Chinese expecting a rather easy campaign had committed mostly untrained troops to the invasion and the greatly outnumbered but superior Burmese defeated the invaders. The second invasion was no more successful as more troops were committed by both sides to a slowly expanding conflict.

By the time of the third invasion the boarder conflict had become a full scale war as more and more Burmese troops were taken from the Siam front and thrown into defence against the massed Chinese armies.

Elite Manchu Bannermen

The third invasion (1767-68) was the most successful as it used the Elite Manchu Bannermen as the main part of the invading fore. China being so much larger than Burma had the forces to keep up the pressure on the Burmese and could replace lost troops far faster than the defenders and after winning a series of battles and smaller engagements were within a few days march of the capital (Ava). This was as close as they were to get. Each battle had cost the Bannermen high in casualties. The jungle was not neutral, many more soldiers were to die from disease or starvation as supply lines were cut by smaller Burmese units operating to flank and rear of the Chinese battling forwards. Momentum was lost and the remains of the army staggered back to china. King Hsinbyushin well aware of how close a call it was stripped Siam of most of his remaining troops and reinforced his border posts.

The fourth and final invasion was also the largest as Ch'ien Lung determined to bring the war to an end in his favour was bent on battering his way into victory. The invasion soon bogged down and the more mobile Burmese forces soon had the Qing forces surrounded and a truce was organised between the opposing commanders in December 1769.

Both sides kept an heavy presence on the boarder for about ten years but no more attacks were made by either side. China also held a trad embargo for 20 years with Burma but in 1790 Diplomatic relations were reinstated. China claiming this as a victory against Burma. Estimates of Chinese losses vary greatly between 20,000 and 70,000. What can not be disputed is that some of the cream of China's army was lost in the third invasion. Siam was the real winner, with the main war effort shifting from there to China they were able to claw back the lost territory and settle on good terms. Another example of fighting wars on two fronts just not being effective.

Terribly Obscure Battles, Wars and Revolutions A-Z (and back again?)

OK a new series to go along with the ECW history stuff. I will try and pick out battles and wars that may not be mainstream and give a bit of detail of them. It's not meant to be in depth or long, just a bit of an interest read for you.

Typical troops of the period.

Abbasid Revolution of A.D.747-50

Northeastern Persia was controlled by the Ummayyad family but the Abbasid's who claimed to be descendants of Addas, Uncle of The Prophet Muhammad and led by Abu Muslim (they were Muslim Arabs) openly revolted in 747 and seized the strategically important City of Merv that sat on the silk roads. Marwan II the last Ummayyad caliph tried to smash the rebellion but suffered defeats at the battles of Nishapur, Jurjan, Nehawand and Kerbela. Up to this point the rebellion was contained in the province of Khorasan but with these defeats the revolt spread across other provinces in the Muslim empire. A further and decisive battle was fought at the Great Zab River in 750 which ended the revolt in the Abbasid's favour with Abu al-Abbas as-Saffan proclaiming himself  the first Abbasid caliph at Kufa, a Mesopotamian city near the Euphrates River. As for Marwan he fled to Egypt but was soon murdered.