Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Dawn Burns over Tennessee - An After Action Report


Near Covington, Tennessee, the morning of May 24th, 1914 - Many who have not been to the Front often think of brave American doughboys and guns eagerly sitting in massive fortifications waiting for the Martians to attack. This is to be expected. Most newspaper men do tend to stay in the fortified areas and their stories often lead one to believe that the Martian War is a stagnant one. This is, however, not true. While hundreds of miles of fortifications have been built along the Mississippi line, mobile operations are the hallmark of this new form of war with machines. These mobile battles can cover great amounts of land quite quickly and are fought in the farms and fields of America’s heartland; not just the major cities on the river front. This story, recounted by a brave newspaperman that travelled with the 301st, is about an encounter between a Martian advance force, hell bent on destruction, and the American Force moving through the country west of Jackson, Tennessee in an effort to flank the Martians crossing the Mississippi at Memphis. It’s a clear example of hundreds of battles fought over the typical rural American landscape so many of us are familiar with…

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All Quiet on the Martian Front Serial Fiction Stories by E. Skye Chaney


Official All Quiet on the Martian Front Serial Fiction
Part One – Samson
By E. Skye Chaney


Pop. Pop. Pop. The bubbles shone and tickled, catching in the delicate hairs on the back of her hand. Pop. Another one lost. Always more to follow though. So effortlessly dispensed from the wavy glass that housed them. The bubbles cleansed, they broke down grease, they made pots and plate shiny again. They offered the chance of a fresh start; a new soup to be simmered, a bloody piece of meat to be fried. And then they popped. Ceased to exist.

WOOF. A deep bark, heavy with warning and question. One rough syllable was enough, and Edene startled, let the suds slide off her hand, disappear into the basin. How long had she been standing there? Seconds? Minutes? An hour? She looked down into dark eyes. Canine concern regarded her, and she patted his taupe head as she moved across the room, grabbing her last clean rag.

“We'll have to do some wash again, Samson.” She dried her hands, ignored their cracks. Washing clothes and dishes and herself meant long treks through the woods to the stream, lots of trips back and forth with heavy metal pails, icy water sloshing as she hurried through the trees, stumbling over rocks and branches and downed trees as quickly as possible. Back and forth, back and forth, until her legs trembled and her hands wept. The winter forest and its naked trees offered little protection from roaming Tripod eyes, and Edene was always soaked after her frenzied treks, her trousers freezing stiffly. They would stand upright when she shivered out of them, leaving an empty woman-shape poised in front of the wardrobe, ready to take a stroll. Samson froze, also, as he stalked through the quiet woods, hoping to catch a foraging squirrel or rabbit or maybe even a wayward chicken. His mangy fur hung with tiny icicles. He was a good hunting dog. But the Tripods had silenced the woods efficiently, and his findings now were meager. A stringy rabbit occasionally, or an already dead deer, not gone past eating yet. The Invasion left Edene and Samson's world still and patient, quietly watching for her to make a mistake, reveal herself with a careless sliver of smoke or an ill-timed dropping of a pot.

The nights would come when she could hear the Tripods walking nearby, metal joints screeching, a strange electronic humming vibrating through the woods. Red lights would roam and shine though her cabin windows, and sometimes she would hear screaming, far, far in the distance. Sometimes she even heard shots fired. So she wasn't alone, her and her old dog. The Tripods still searched, humanity still needed quelling. Pop.

She wouldn't leave. Where would she go, after all, an old woman and her dog? And anyways, last she heard news, no corner completely belonged to humans anymore. Here was as good as anywhere else, and here she had a purpose, a cause; here she could still smell him if she laid her head just right on his pillow, she could hear the ghost of his footsteps, she could put her fingertips to the worn axe handle, feel his prints beneath hers. Richard would return to this house, he had promised her when he left, and she had promised to stay put, to maintain this bit of civility to return to when the world stopped burning.

At night, Edene blew out the candles, snuffed out their small fire, wiggled behind Samson into the crawl space under the floor, then quietly and swiftly replaced the boards as they settled into the earth, wrapped in quilts and nestled together, dog and woman. They would doze through the night, sharing warmth and troubled dreams. Above them, Tripods walked, and the world still burned.

About Plastic Steam Tanks

The Plastic Tank Kit for All Quiet on the Martian Front.



Morning Lads, pull up a stump or a rock and let’s talk about Tanks! 

Now, everyone knows that we, the muddy Doughboys, do the fightin’ and are gonna win this war, but we have to see that the tanker boys help too.  Those big, hot, steamy mechanical mules are the best bet to stop the Tripods, so we can then get in close and give them what for! 

The tanks you see today are far better than they used to be.   Why, it was only a few years ago that I remember they weren’t much more than a steam tractor with a cannon on it, but now they come in lots of shapes and sizes.  For the most part, they are really just a big steel box with an engine like a locomotive and places for the crew.  Most of the ones you see are Mk II tanks that have a single cannon. There are more of them than any other, but now the Mk IIIs are popping up everywhere.  They don’t look that different, but they have stronger engines and carry three guns.  One of the guns sits on top in a big box.  Then, of course, there are many different modifications, like the mobile field guns, the mine layers, the clamp tanks and the list goes on!

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Wargame: All Quiet on the Martian Front

Architects of War has announced that All Quiet on the Martin Front is now available for order and immediate delivery through their site. - See more at: http://www.beastsofwar.com/all-quiet-on-the-martian-front/quiet-martin-front-reporting-duty/#sthash.5R29BJo4.dpuf
Architects of War has announced that All Quiet on the Martin Front is now available for order and immediate delivery through their site. - See more at: http://www.beastsofwar.com/all-quiet-on-the-martian-front/quiet-martin-front-reporting-duty/#sthash.5R29BJo4.dpuf
rchitects of War has announced that All Quiet on the Martin Front is now available for order and immediate delivery through their site. - See more at: http://www.beastsofwar.com/all-quiet-on-the-martian-front/quiet-martin-front-reporting-duty/#sthash.5R29BJo4.dpuf

Ironclad Games of Missouri has announced that All Quiet on the Martin Front is now available for order and immediate delivery through their site.




After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Architects of War are now able to make this interesting game available to all those who did not get in as a backer.

All Quiet in the Martian Front was formerly owned by Robot Peanut Studios and was acquired in June 2016 by Ironclad Games.  Our goal is to continue this brand through new models, updated rules and an organized play system.

As a game designed around 15mm miniatures from the early 20th century it takes a time period that is less played and adds the H.G. Wells flavour of the Martins returning to Earth after their defeat by the British. This time they start their campaign in the United States and are testing the equipment and resolve of the Americans. Of course you have the British with their experience in fighting the Martins coming to the aid of the United States by sending their British Expedition Force (BEF) to aid in sending them back to where they came from.

The initial starter sets and individual miniatures are available for the US and Martin armies, with the BEF to become available at the end of June.



It seems that World War I is getting some well deserved love and respect recently and this will make for an interesting twist. There is also some scenery planned with the first set, trenches now available for pre-order.

  • A Fistful of Tripods – Miniature wargame rules for The War of the Worlds based on the FFT system. Covers the “historical” invasion of the 1890s, and a second invasion in 1920; and alternative invasions in 1917, the early 1940s, and the 1990s.
  • Tripods and Hussars – Fast-playing rules covering the “historical” War of the Worlds Martian invasion of Earth. Uses a non-FFT game system.
  • Tripods and Hussars Eratta – Word 97 file.

Featured Website: War of the Worlds Invasion


This website began as a focal point for my interest in the War of the Worlds radio broadcast of 1938, the infamous event that saw Americans apparently gripped by panic as fictional Martian invaders devastated the New Jersey countryside. But H.G. Wells' seminal science fiction novel has been re-imagined many times. In books, on television and at the movies, and even in comics such as Killraven and musicals like Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, its extraordinary influence has resonated across the world and the years, most prominently in the 2005 War of the Worlds remake by Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise. Learn more now at the War Of The Worlds Invasion, where you will find dozens of in-depth articles and reviews.

Wikia: War of the Worlds


The War of the Worlds was first penned by H.G Wells in 1895 and published chapter by chapter in a series of magazines. In 1898 it was then published as it's own novel.

The popularity of The War of the Worlds has grown over the years and is told by the number of films and other works produced.

LINK 

 

The Complete War of the Worlds Website

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Website: Dieselpunk Encyclopedia

Dieselpunk Encyclopedia

Your gateway to the world of Dieselpunk

 
 

Book: Boilerplate Reich by W. S. Marble

LINK

A kinder, gentler sturm und drang story... What it Paul von Hindenburg and his son Oskar were more complicated figures than those depicted in current historical accounts? What if they were much more complicated than anyone COULD imagine?
 
 
Interesting view of the 3rd Reich from an alternate reality. Well told if a little dry. Not an action packed novel but an entertaining read none the less. I bought it thinking it was Steam Punk, and I guess it kinda is as far as it's an alternate history, but it isn't the typical plot and story of the genre. Its a good story a about the beginnings of the Nazi Party from a different point of view.

Dirtside II Martians Mod



Martians

When the dying Martians launched their ill fated attack in the early 1900s, only to die of bacterial contamination, the world was shocked. The governments, however, attempted to try to restore order, and faith to a shaken people. Using vast resources, they launched a media campaign, and within a decade, had the populations of the world believing that the Martian invasion had been a hoax.
After World War I, the War to End All Wars, Europeans were hopeful that they would not be so ravaged for many years to come. However, with humanity such as it is, by 1939 it had started again. The Second World War. While humanity looked to each other with both hope and fear, other, un-Earthly eyes watched from afar. The Martians had not expended all of their resources in the first invasion. And while they watched the outcome so many decades ago, they plotted, planned, and built much better, much stronger machines from which to do their conquering...
The following units and modifications for DS II allow for a blend between the Martians of H. G. Wells novel "War of the Worlds" and the movie adaptation. While the Martians presented here can be used with any DS II forces, they are exceptionally fun when pitted against DS II forces designed for WW II.

New Equipment

Martian Shield Generators (MSG)
MSGs produce a force field around a unit which takes damage before the unit does. Additionally, given enough time, the shields are capable of fully recovering from anything short of the destruction of the shield generator itself, or the complete destruction of the unit using it. Like other weapons and equipment in DS II, the MSG comes in classes as follows:
Class
Shielding
MSG/1
4 points
MSG/2
6 points
MSG/3
8 points
MSG/4
10 points
MSG/5
12 points
MSG Rules
  • Shields use 2 capacity points per size class of the MSG. Thus, an MSG/2 uses 4 capacity points.
  • Each MSG costs 10 x it's class in points
  • Shields are damaged by any valid chits, being degraded by one point per point of attack. Thus, if a player uses a class 3 weapon which has RED only chit validity, and draws a GREEN 1, YELLOW 2, and a RED 2, the red is valid, and reduces the value of the shielding by 2 points.
  • Shields regenerate at one point at the beginning of the unit activation.
  • When Shields are at 0 strength, the shielded units are attacked normally.
  • Shields ignore special chits, except for the BOOM! chit, which destroys the MSG.
  • Units with FGP power may use MSGs of class size equal to or less than to that of the vehicle.
  • Units with HMT power plants may be equipped with MSGs at two class levels lower than the vehicles size class. Thus, a Size 4 vehicle with an HMT could carry an MSG/1 or MSG/2.
  • Units with CFE power plants may not be equipped with MSGs.
  • Powered Armor units may be equipped with MSG/1s.

Martian Units

Martian Flier: Size 3, FGP power, Grav mobility, 3 armor. 1 x DFFG/3 in 180 degree turret. Superior FireCon, Superior ECM, MSG/3.
Martian Tripod: Size 4, FGP power, Combat Walker mobility, 4 armor. 1 x DFFG/2 in fixed mount. Superior FireCon, Superior ECM, MSG/2, APSW, Stealth 1 (effective size 4), Capacity to carry 1 Powered Armor Infantry Element.
Martian Infantry: Powered Infantry with IAVRs and MSG/1.

The Martian fighting machine circa 1900



The fighting machine is composed of the following parts: Basket, Hood, Legs, Body, Arms.

The Legs are made of aluminum, and probably have telescopic sections, as well as joints, which are probably ball-and-socket, or some sort of tentacular device made of many curved friction bearings.  I have very little experience with friction bearings, and have trouble visualizing such an affair.  It seems these are powered by the "sham musculature," which apparently produces a great deal of green smoke.

The hood has been described variously as a dish cover, a schoolteacher's bell, a cowl, and a hood.  It seems to be sometimes referred to as brazen (made of bronze) and other times as metallic, white, as of aluminum.  Recently, the brass description seems to be favored, though all aluminum Martians remain popular.

The Basket is often said to be of white metal, as Wells mentions it.  Others occasionally claim it to be of steel.  The cage can apparently hold at least five people, and I suppose has some method of keeping people inside it.  It has been likened to a working man's basket, or a fisherman's basket.  In Global Dispatch, we are told that there is a latch on the back, which a man on the outside can unhook, though those inside cannot.  Others may claim that the basket is electrified, or otherwise set so that people inside it cannot move.

The Arms are claimed as steely tentacles.  They grope about blindly, and thus must not have a big camera on the end, like the ones in the movie.  These steely tentacles are able to wrap around people, and pick them up that way.  They can do the same trick on small trees, suggesting great strength.  Apparently there is an attachment on the end, which allows them to pick up single pieces of coal as well.  There must be at least two, so as to hold those black smoke tubes "Gun-wise."  I suspect a third for the heat ray, though that may be hard mounted, and probably a few more for picking up people.  Some claim six, which seems a suitable number, others claim twelve, which, with a separate housing for the heat ray, would give us a Martian’s tentacle for each appendage, one for each leg, one for the heat ray, and one for each arm.  I'm guessing they have no more than sixteen tentacles.  What would they do with all of those!  It may be, however, that there are only two, adding to the "manlike" appearance of these three legged giants.

The body is perhaps the most poorly described portion.  It is mentioned specifically only a few times, when the Martian at Weybridge gets its head blown off, brown fluid spews out of the body.  At his first viewing of the Fighting machine, he says that the basket is located behind the body.  Thus, if we find the height of the cage, we may obtain a good approximation of the height of the body.