I Think We'll Persist
With that short story as written by 'Sapper', "A Day Of Peace", because it means all the creative heavy lifting has already been done and all I have to do is copy and pontificate.
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| What the well-dressed sapper of today wears |
Also, the traffic algorithm on Blogger has gone potty again. Art!
ANYWAY back to Sapper. In a long prose paragraph he lays out what - er - 'stakeholders' the Royal Engineers had whilst participating in trench warfare of the kind in vogue over a century ago. "In addition to the Infantry, other people thrust themselves forward in a manner which requires firmness and tact to deal with: gunners require O.P.'s or observation posts -"
Long gone were the days when gunners fired over open sights at targets they could see in front of them; the British found out the hard way at the Battle of Le Cateau that the Napoleonic method was dead. Art!
What you have here is an OP, where an observer for his gun battery is watching the Hun lines, telephoning back any target information. The OP has to be robust in order to shrug off shellfire or shrapnel or bullets, yet blend into the background so as not to be an obvious target.
"- other gunners require trench mortar emplacements"
Technically, if it's a trench mortar then the infantry will be manning it, not the Royal Artillery, who crewed the big medium and heavy mortars. The emplacement still needs to be constructed. Art!
There the mortar is, hiding at the bottom of a hole, painstakingly lined with wood to prevent the sides from collapsing either from muzzle blast or rain. This emplacement is entirely separate from the front line as the Teutons loathed trench mortars above everything, and would visit hurricane bombardments upon any they discovered.
" - dangerous men with machine guns sit up and take notice, and demand concrete and other abominations"
Nor did the Teutons love British machine guns with brotherly affection. Rather, they would attempt to blow them to little bits, so the crews liked to have a nice safe reinforced concrete pillbox or bunker to protect their delicate hides and their engine of destruction. Art!
That these things were robust is proven by the one above. These shelters can still be found in Flanders, over a century after they were laid down. The RE Captain in Sapper's story would have to prioritise whom got what shelter and when, as there was a perpetual shortage of men and materials. Whomever he satisfies will have two disappointed compatriots. Also -
" - while last, but not least, the medical profession demand secret and secure places in which to practice their nefarious trade."
Art!
This is a dressing station, which would have been located close behind the front lines, hence the need for concrete and plenty of it. If I were being conscientious I'd put up a picture or two from "Armageddon's Walls" because I definitely recall a large, multi-partitioned shelter for medical use in there. However - there goes that word again! - I'm not feeling at all conscientious.
The OC then goes on to discover that, of their official bicycles, six have been 'lost', which noun then becomes 'destroyed', as in a large Teuton shell landing on them and rendering them unto fragments. What had actually happened is that, left unattended, they had been 'stolen'. Reporting this would lead to all sorts of questions being asked, so the 'destroyed' is a lot handier. Art!
Then there were two bikes whose front wheels were badly buckled. Due to a couple of junior officers playing 'bicycle polo' with them, a sport that involved a half-brick being propelled by pick-axe handles. O what people used to get up to before teh Interwebz, hmmm?
Okay, enough of experiments for today. It only remains to display the Leach Trench Catapult. Art!
As deadly in 1915 as in 1195.
More Misery In Mordorvia
I am going to divide up a broadcast made by Big K (Konstantin if we're being formal) on his "Inside Russis" vlog, as he gave four examples of how badly the Ruffian economy is faring. Four, plus a bonus tale, is rather too much all at once, so here goes Tale Of Toxicity Number One. Art!
Taking care not to identify either the business nor it's owner's name, 'Company A' is a private manufacturing plant, making specialist plastics, specifically ones that cover cables and wiring used in the construction of buildings. They have been around for thirty years, definitely not a fly-by-night business.
So, in February and March of this year their sales fell to 0%. Nil. Nothing.
There have been recessions in Ruffia before, in 1998 and 2008 and 2015, but business never flat-lined in this fashion back then.
What's the problem? Simple, construction has stopped across Ruffia. No construction means no demand for cables or wiring thus no specialist plastics needed. Oooops.
We're Not Finished With The Bulls Yet
Certainly not! Not when I've got a couple of pages and a long list of further referrals in my Brewer's. What to choose first?
BULL'S EYE: Mentioned in passing yesteryon. "The name is also familiar as that of a black-and-white streaked peppermint-flavoured sweet." Yuck. You're not selling that very well, Mister Confectioner. Art!
BULLROARER:Intruiging. This is a flat piece of wood, "about 8 inches long", which is swung around the head and thus making a loud moaning noise. As used by folks in Australia and South Canada for rain-making, initiation and fertility purposes. As Conrad also recalls, from the depths of his skip-like mind, also used in "The Last Train" to scare off a pack of feral dogs. Art!
BULL DURHAM: Just because.
Conrad Points And Laughs
We've had a long Intro dedicated to the First Unpleasantness, and if the following picture was in monochrome, and a bit more blurred, you'd be perfectly happy imagining that 'Popular Mechanics' of 1915 had inspired Ruffian military designers of the time. Art"
These are orcs wearing the very latest in 'anti-drone suits', which 'Bricktop NAFO' posted on Twitter (Ha! take that, Elong Tusk!) back on the 3rd of April. It is remotely possible that this is an April Fool's prank broadcast slightly late. The odds are against it, mind.
You What?
You should, if you know what's good for you, be readily aware that Conrad has 0% interest in sports. I am aware that Liverpool have won the Premium Laager (sp?) because Alex, my Team Leader, was at the match on Sunday that clinched this in terms of points. He had Monday off to recover from his hangover, wise chap. Art!
Ah whatever, I cannot be bottomed to go any further. Maybe it will make sense to any of you out there who follow sports. Or not.
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