"The Great Redoubt" Issue #1

The Official Journal of Borodino 2002

Editor: Charley Elsden

FIRST EDITORIAL: WELCOME!

Salutations to all the brave Russian players, and confusion to the French ones! This little online newsletter will attempt to entertain and enlighten, reflect a spirit of healthy competition, and hopefully help to pull us together until the glorious September of 2002 is reached. All players are welcome to contribute their own articles (celsden@aol.com). We are now especially interested in you introducing yourselves both as real people, and as the characters you will be role playing as well during the battle. Feel free to share bibliographic information too, so those of us less familiar with the period can begin to catch up. Our Con officials may have announcements and other information to send to us periodically.

So feel free to drop in and say hello! Just don't give away any of your planned game strategy or tactics--the enemy will be reading too!

Charley

*THE SEA OF GRASS*

A PROCLAMATION TO THE ARMY AND PEOPLE OF RUSSIA

How do we know that Napoleon Bonaparte is a criminal? We know it by his actions. A criminal always wants more. More of everything. Not content with being a military officer or government official, he staged a coup and declared himself Emperor of the French. Not content with being Emperor of a great nation, he put a gang of relatives on the thrones of every country in Europe he could bully. Now, not content with pulling the strings in most of the capitals of Europe, he marches East into Russia!

What are the two seas Napoleon can never cross? One is the English Channel. The British defy him. The other is the Russian steppes, the "Sea of Grass." Because we Russians defy him. Defy him with our heart. Defy him with our soul. And the Russian Soul is vast, like the Sea of Grass.

Noblemen of military talent, Slavs and others, take up your commands! There are places for you on the General Staff, and the staffs of our Russian Armies, Corps, and Divisions. You will be our eyes and ears! Common soldiers, rally together under the flags of your regiments of infantry, cavalry, and artillery. You will be our legs marching, and our arms dealing out terrible blows of vengeance!

With every step further into the Sea of Grass they take, the men of Bonaparte's invading horde see more clearly just how vast is the land they dare travel today; how impossible it is to conquer! It is much larger even than they imagined. Their officers grow frightened, their men grow hungry, and their horses grow lame. They have now become desperate indeed.

We, on the other hand, we Russians, grow stronger. We build more Russian fortifications. We bring forward more Russian supplies. Russian Cossacks make more raids on their outposts and their few remaining baggage trains. The hour of reckoning is not far off now. Our anger is gathering like a storm, upon the Sea of Grass.

My friends, we strike soon, for Mother Russia! Strike hard!

General Prince Mikhail Larionovich Golenschev Kutuzov
Commanding For His Excellency Alexander
Czar of All The Russias
Imperial Headquarters, Borodino

ASK MIKHAIL LARIONOVICH

(The Column where you can ask a question of our beloved leader, The Old Man. All letters are screened by the Russian Imperial General Staff, and answered directly by General Prince Mikhail Larionovich Golenishchev Kutusov!)

Dear Mikhail Larionovich,

I have heard that you are not getting along with the Czar. I don't mean to be a defeatist, but one can only wonder at such stories. What is the truth?

Andrei, Moscow

Dear Andrei,

Don't worry about it. The Czar and I have an understanding. I stay out of politics, and he stays away from the battlefield. Therefore we both serve where we are needed most. --M.L.

Dear Mikhail Larionovich,

I am a patriotic young girl of eighteen, who wants to do all I can to help the Army in its time of trial. I don't have many practical skills, but I am told I am beautiful. What would you suggest?

Olga, St. Petersburg

Dear Olga,

Thank you, on behalf of the Army, for your sentiments. Here at headquarters, we have a Woman's Auxiliary which performs many important support functions.

If you are interested, I will arrange for a tour by one of my officers, in order to see if you would fit in around here. --M.L.

Dear Mikhail Larionovich,

I am told you only have one eye left. Can you see well enough to direct a battle anymore?

Anonymous Private, Russian Infantry

Dear Anonymous,

My dear boy! I can see perfectly well. Only yesterday I picked out that a group of riders on a far hill were our own Cossacks, when my young aides thought they were French, and were almost ready to run away! --M.L.

Dear Mikhail Larionovich,

They say a double-headed eagle of victory (like the one on our Little Father's coat of arms) was sighted recently flying above you. A good omen!

But is it true?

Vladimir B., Captain Russian Artillery

Dear Vlad,

Now, now, let's not be silly. I don't work miracles--not that kind, anyhow.

It was a normal single headed eagle--still a good omen for the coming battle, I think. --M.L.

ON THE NAPOLEONIC BOOKSHELF

Since we have a whole year to steep ourselves in period preparation, here are a few suggestions for reading. Where two dates are given, the first is the original, the second the particular edition date. Guest columnists are welcome to add their favorites--with commentary!

GENERAL INTEREST

Here we start with my own favorites.

Haythornthwaite, Phillip J. The Napoleonic Source Book (Arms and Armour, 1990/1995). If you buy one book, this is the one. This volume of the famous British series is a comphrehensive study of the people, nations, campaigns, weapons, and tactics. My copy was $22.00.

Nosworthy, Brent With Musket, Cannon, and Sword: Battle Tactics of Napoleon and His Enemies. (Sarpedon, 1996). The recent classic on the development of period military tactics.

To trace the evolution of European military practices in the previous period, read his earlier book The Anatomy of Victory: Battle Tactics 1689-1763. (Hippocrene, 1990/1992).

Rogers, Colonel H. C. B. Napoleon's Army, (Hippocrene, 1982). A well-known work on the gloriously complex and multifaceted troop types, and how they changed over time.

Schom, Alan. Napoleon Bonaparte (Harper Perennial, 1997) This new biography gives the scoop on the whole ball of wax in under 800 pages, including politics, military, social, economics, diplomacy, etc. Highly recommended.

Wren, Melvin C. The Course of Russian History (2nd Ed.). (MacMillan, 1958/1965). A general survey I got from a Russian History major in graduate school many moons ago.

THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN

Let's get down to it!

Cate, Curtis. The War of the Two Emperors (Random House, 1985) Very good at busting the stereotypes. The author is very critical of Kutusov, and claims that the Seal heroes were de Tolly and Toll. Great details.

Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. The seminal Russian novel, made into several movie versions. Its long--I read it while traveling to and in China, on a long trip! Best for its nonmilitary scenes of period life.

UNIFORMS

The Blandford/McMillan series is still the best one-volume sources around with colour, I mean color, plates.

Haythornthwaite, Phillip. Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars In Colour 1796-1814. (Blandford, 1973).

Haythornthwaite, Philip. Chappell, Michael. Uniforms of the Peninsula Wars 1807-1814. (Arms and Armour, 1978, 1995).

Haythornthwaite, Philip. Chappell, Michael. Uniforms of the Retreat From Moscow, 1812. (Blandford, 1976).

Haythornthwaite, Philip. Uniforms of Waterloo. (Blandford, 1974).

WARGAMING

In the specialized literature, the best British authors are at it again!

Grant, Charles Wargaming In History: Waterloo. (Sterling, 1990)

Grant, Charles Stuart, and Asquith, Stuart Wellington In India: A Wargamers Guide. (CSG Publications, 1995).

Featherstone, Donald Wargaming In History: The Peninsula War (Argus,1991).

THE PENINSULA WAR

Naturally, most of the English sources about the period are about the English!

Featherstone, Donald Campaigning with the Duke of Wellington & Featherstone: A Guide to the Battles in Spain and Portugal, with Donald Featherstone, the Duke of Wellington, and All the Others, 1808-1814 and 1973-1992. One of the founders of the wargaming hobby gives historical richness to the entire theatre with many contemporary accounts, as well as his modern comments based on his frequent trips to the areas involved. One of his "walking the battlefield" books. Learn who the real "Sharpe" was, and why the author and his gaming pals were once almost arrested by the Spanish police!

Haythornthwaite, Phillip The Armies of Wellington. (Arms and Armour, 1994). An excellent introduction; the glossary itself is worth the price of admission. Good on social history as well.

THE WAR OF 1812 IN AMERICA

Oh, those crazy Brits! Was the Buck Rogers character Black Barney the Space Pirate named after our own hero Commodore Barney? What famous Civil War general's father commanded at Fort McHenry in "The Dawn's Early Light?"

Lord, Walter The Dawn's Early Light. (Norton, 1972). Fine general book covering the entire war.

Muller, Charles The Darkest Day: The Washington-Baltimore Campaign (Curtis, 1963). Exciting narrative with great detail. Makes you want to refight Bladensburg.

THE CARIBBEAN

Antigua-Barbuda National Parks Authority, The Romance of English Harbor (6th Edition). Nelson's Dockyard on Antigua was the Eastern British naval base in the Caribbean, as Jamaica was the Western base). A visit today rewards one with the reconstructed Fort, harbor defenses, buildings, and even a hotel where you can stay and dine amidst nautical antiques. Up on the hill are the ruins of the old barracks and the high ground of the army base, including a modern tavern which features a list of the English regiments who served there, including the 95th Rifles.

Ros, Martin Night of Fire: The Black Napoleon and the Battle For Haiti. (Sarpedon, 1991) Who stopped a French army from landing in New Orleans, and possible moving out from there to take over Central and South America? The same people who threw out the British and Spanish as well! The amazing story of Toussaint Loverture, who ended up in a French prison.

JODIECON PLAYER TIPS:
THE 1812 CAMPAIGN

Based on some initial dialogue with JodieCon Borodino 2002 director Pete Panzeri (Major, US Army), I've begun to go over not only the battle of Borodino itself, but the opening of the 1812 Napoleonic Russian Campaign conditions which led up to it. Having played (Successors of Alexander, Gettysburg the Battle, Gettysburg the Campaign), umpired (Arnhem) and even served as Intelligence Chief (Waterloo) at previous JodieCons, my first question was "Are we playing the battle or the campaign?" Answer: The Battle itself. That means that we'll be fighting on the historical ground that Kutusov chose for the Russian defense, with the historical Orders of Battle (military units and army organization), as they were at the actual Battle of Borodino.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean we should ignore the major factors influencing the armies "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (see Trivia Quiz this issue). Now call me Suspicious, but I've been checking up, and these pre-battle conditions include a number of things that are not readily apparent, unless you really know the period already. Since this newsletter is going out to both sides, I'm not going to share my analysis with you here. BUT--you might want to make your own strategic appreciation.

Add to that the fact that we'll be using the excellent computerized Carnage and Glory system, which I've played before, although not at such a huge exercise. Now call me Old Fashioned, but there are good and bad things about computer game systems. Good Things: they save you some of the work, especially (ugh) math--hey, my Masters is in History, ok? They also save you time, which is important. And you don't have to study so many rules. However, they do remove you from the nuts and bolts of the game design, and this may be deceptive. Therefore...

Bad Things: they make decisions based on factors in the programming with which you as a player might not be familiar. I recall playing an early SSI computer strategy game many years ago ("Antietam") where I kept getting battle results I couldn't explain with only a novice familiarity with the system. When I later found out what the problem was, I said: "C'mon, no historical general in his right mind would make that kind of mistake." So much for my career as a computer gamer. Machines! As a recent TV Guide article noted about the upcoming Star Trek prequel series ENTERPRISE's 'just invented' transporter system: "Sure, we can beam a tool kit or a ham sandwich around, but no human being is going to get into that thing!"

Hmmm...I see that they used Carnage & Glory at JodieCon Austerlitz, didn't they? In fact, a review of the Austerlitz After Action Reports (AARs) available to all at the JodieCon website (jodiecon.org) reveals some interesting things to the wise sifter of information. I will say no more on this subject, but the astute reader can,. I'm sure, take the hint. Of course, it would be helpful to play at a Carnage and Glory event at an upcoming HMGS convention this year. But even without specific familiarity with this system, a study of campaign factors would be useful. That's what the programmer is doing, right?

NAPOLEON AS ANTI-HISTORIAN

It is ironic that the "great men" of history we study are often those who would be the first to send us history buffs to the guillotine! Huang Di, the First Emperor of China, was famous for not only burning the books of all previous eras, but also burying all the scholars alive who knew what was in them, so history could "start" with his Ch'in Dynasty (that's why they call it China). Political strong men are often dedicated anti-intellectuals.

There is a story about Ouspensky, a composer, musician, and follower of the philosopher Gurdjieff, during the Bolshevik Revolution, in a town in the south of Russia. When he heard that a unit of Whites was coming, he quickly put a sign above the local library that read "Imperial District Library," and saved it from the blind destruction that was the order of the day. After they left, he heard that the Red cavalry was approaching, and quickly painted up another sign that read: "People's Institute of Education"'--as if the books would now only be read by the poor peasants and proletariat. But in that case, he managed to save the books twice in one month.

One of the great sins to be laid at the feet of Napoleon Bonaparte was his purging of the school system and the destruction of historical memory. From the schoolhouse to the Paris theater, literature was carefully screened and censored to ensure the "proper" ideological content. All Frenchmen needed to know about was the glory of his own dynasty, as far as he was concerned. As a result, an entire generation grew up knowing nothing of the past before the Revolution. The very playing of "La Marsaillaise" itself was forbidden (see the article "Ramblings In The Tavern" in this issue).

While some considered Napoleon the Great Liberator, in reality he soon replaced the repressive but less efficient vestiges of The Ancient Regime of kings with the rule of his own secret police. It was Beethoven who, having dedicated a symphony to Napoleon as the bringer of freedom to Europe, ripped up the dedication when he heard that the Corsican had declared himself Emperor.

This was yet another reason why French exile community, who themselves felt a strong attachment to their historical past, hated him. In one of the many grim jests of history, this 'Liberator' appeared to his enemies as the fruition of the worst tendencies of the bloody Revolution--The Terror! Spreading it abroad, he plunged Europe into almost continuous warfare for many years.

It is easy enough to see Napoleon as a Romantic figure--from a distance. He seems a modernizing force, revising the law, supporting archaeology in Egypt, etc. Compared to the class bound, conservative monarchs who ruled the other major states at that time, he seems like a good reformer. Yet ultimately, all he wanted to do was to take his place among them the other rulers; to establish his own legitimacy of power and privilege.

It becomes easy to understand the horror that he evoked in the citizens of other nations, when he proposed to turn their world upside down, only to replant society's roots to benefit his relatives or puppets. The blindness to the rights of others which resulted in the awful guerilla warfare in Spain, his "bleeding ulcer," would result in the same type of conflict being brought much closer to our home here in the New World. A generation later under his nephew Louis Napoleon it would rear its ugly head once more--in Mexico.

GAME REVIEW: UPCOMING STRATEGIC NAPOLEONIC BOARD GAME (Mark McLaughlin, GMT Games)

I had the pleasure a year or so ago of playing Mark's really good Strategic Napoleonic game (I don't know the current working title) at Crusades Con in Connecticut. As Napoleon I was able to threaten the invasion of Britain, take Vienna, and crush the Prussians, while trying to avoid the Russians and put diplomatic efforts into influencing the smaller nations and even Turkey.

Strategic card play allows you to make either/or strategy decisions, and a simple tactical system makes the battles fought all different from each other. It could easily be used as the strategic map campaign for gaming out a series of battles with miniatures. Moderately simple yet gives much fun and enjoyment in play.

This is an unusual design that gives a relatively easy multi-player diplomacy-economics-military-political game that plays differently every time.

THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR CONNECTION

Close to the planned location of JodieCon Borodino 2002, Fortress Monroe, at the tip of the York/James peninsula, was reinforced early in the American Civil War, and held throughout by the Union. Unlike the major naval base in Norfolk across the water that was captured by the Confederacy, Fortress Monroe served as a safe haven for Federal naval forces. Nearby sites include Hampton Roads, site of the famous ironclad duel between the Monitor (built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard) and Virginia/Merrimac (burned and then refloated and rebuilt at Norfolk Navy Yard). Others include locations of battles during the Peninsula Campaign of George McClellan ("The Young Napoleon") such as Big Bethel, Yorktown, and Williamsburg.

THE HISTORICAL MINIATURES GAMING SOCIETY (HMGS)

JodieCon participants wanting further information about the wargaming hobby need only go to HMGS.org for the website of the East Chapter of HMGS, the national organization. HMGS EAST sponsors three annual general wargaming conventions which are HISTORICON in July, the granddaddy of them all, COLD WARS in March (both held at The Lancaster Host Convention Center in Lancaster, PA), and the newer FALL IN held in the Fall in Gettysburg, PA. Many JodieCon participants and staff are also HMGS members.

At these events hundreds of games "on land, air, and sea," in all periods in many scales are offered and played. There are also special tournaments, a huge vendor center, a flea market, and special events. Many East Coast clubs host games there as well. To enjoy the warm, welcoming community of gamers, nothing is quite like an HMGS convention. Beginners and children are welcomed at many events; others are geared for the old veterans of many prior games experience. For the rest of the family there is much to do and see in the surrounding areas.

HMGS--very much a user-friendly organization!

"JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE, MOTHER..."

THE 1812 FRENCH INVASION OF RUSSIA TRIVIA QUIZ

Five points per question; answers follow below!

1. The French force was called "The Army of Twenty Nations." Name ten nationalities besides French who were included in the force of half a million men.
2. Many of the Russian commanders were not actually Russian. General Barclay de Tolly, whose forbears had immigrated to Russia, was from which foreign ethnic group?
3. When Napoleon crossed the frontier, he refused the Czar's peace emissary. Bonaparte then asked him what was the best road to Moscow! What did the envoy reply?
4. Uprising among Moscow militia regiments of serfs were motivated by:
   1. the demand for emancipation
   2. the desire for a new commander
   3. impatience to see action
   4. disgust at being armed only with pikes
5. When Hitler invaded Russia, he failed to enlist the Ukrainians, who first hailed him as a Liberator. Which group did Napoleon manage to make a similar error with when he entered Russian territory?
6. What Napoleonic dynastic offer had been spurned by the Czar before the invasion?
7. Which national group was the most pro-French and anti-Russian in Eastern Europe?
8. Name three other nations besides the French whom the Russians fought during the Napoleonic period.
9. Which American minister to Russia noted the Czar's expectation of war during a walk on the river in Petersburg before the invasion?
10. The Russian cannon were heavier and more numerous than the French. Which country contributed some of them?
11. The Battle of Smolensk was the major engagement before Borodino. Which French commander failed to scatter the retreating Russians as Krasnoye?
12. Which French commander was wounded in the neck at Smolensk?
13. Tolstoy based his battle scenes in War and Peace on a novel by a Frenchman. This other author was a relative of Napoleon's minister secretary of state, and present with the French army in Russia? Who was he?
14. What French general crossed the Dneiper, and then mysteriously ceased his advance, which would have caught the Russians in the flank?
15. Further down the road from Smolensk, at ValutinaGora, after corpses were stripped by Cossacks or Frenchmen intent on hiding their losses, how could one tell the dead of one side from the other?
16. What alternative city to Moscow was suggested to Napoleon as an axis of advance, in order to get grain and forage, and foment rebellion against Russian rule?
17. What was the population of Moscow at this time?
18. What field position before Borodino was manned to slow down the French, but isolated out in front of the main Russian line?
19. What position was the strongest in the Russian line?
20. Which French officer argued with Napoleon to conduct and outflanking march, rather than a direct attack?

Quiz Answers

1. Italians, Dutch, Belgians, Swiss, Germans, Danes, Austrians, Magyars, Spaniards, Poles, and Illyrian Slaves (OK--that's actually eleven, not to mention Slavs).
2. A Scot.
3. "Charles XII took the road by Poltava!"
4. c. - truth is stranger than fiction!
5. The Lithuanians
6. Marriage to the Czar's sister
7. The Poles
8. The Turks, The Swedes, The Persians
9. John Quincy Adams
10. England
11. Murat
12. Ney
13. Henri Beyle (Stendhal)
14. Junot
15. As peasants, the Russians had shaved heads!
16. Kiev in the Ukraine
17. 300,000
18. The Shevardino Redoubt
19. The Rayevsky or "Great" Redoubt (and hence the name of our newsletter)
20. Davout

RAMBLINGS IN THE TAVERN: MUSIC AND OTHER JOYFUL NOISE IN TIMES GONE BY

Music in the late 18th/early 19th Centuries used euphemism, but the popular ballads were quite bawdy. That most familiar tune "Over the Hills and Far Away, for example, is about sex:

"And I will love you all the day
Every night we'll kiss and play
If with me you'll gladly stray
Over the Hills and Far Away"

Only later does it become that more historical version used in the "Sharpe's Rifles" TV series--a British soldiers talk of making expeditions to real far away places:

"And its up the hill and down again
In Denmark, Portugal and Spain
King George commands and we obey
Over the hills and far away"

The expression in the original version reminds me very much of a recreated similar metaphor used in the musical '1776," which was written by historians who made very few mistakes, by the way--when John and Abigail Adams sing out their frustration at their long separation: "Soon Madam we shall romp through Cupid's Grove together, and fairly survey That Promised Land."

Later Adams used the phrase again while replying to the astonished friends on the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. He refers to sex again by singing:

"Mr, Jefferson, dear Mr. Jefferson,
I'm only forty-one; I still have my virility.
And I can romp through Cupid's Grove with great agility.
But life is more than sexual combustibility"

Salty songs are recorded right up to collections of ballads in American Civil War collections, such as those by the fine 79th Regimental String Band of Florida. Sailor songs exceed in this sort of thing. I particularly enjoy those that mention my hometown of Brooklyn or at least New York City specifically. There is one particular song, dated back to the polka craze of the 1830s, which I insist all players attending games at my home join in to sing when it comes around on the tape--well, at least the chorus.

NEW YORK GIRLS (Chorus)

Oh you New York girls
Can't you dance the polka?

Another ditty makes reference to South Street, the old New York wharf district downtown where today tall ships ride at anchor. That's the chorus to JOLLY GROG:

"Where is me grog?
Me jolly, jolly grog?
All gone for beer and tobacco!
And I spent all me tin
Down in South Street drinkin' gin,
Now across the Western Ocean we must wander."

And the last two lyrics say it all about the situation of the poor sailor:

"I'm sick and stony broke, and I'm parted from me smoke,
And the sky is looking blacker than the thunder;
And the tavern keeper too, for I haven't got a sou.
That's the way you're treated when you're out and under.

I'm sick to me head, and I haven't been to bed,
Since first we come ashore with all me plunder.
I see centipedes and snakes, and I'm full of pains and aches,
And I guess we'd better push out over yonder."

Many musical salutes to the Napoleonic era include the famous revolutionary anthem "La Marsaillaise" to represent the French. But this song about cutting the throats of the oppressors was actually banned during Napoleon's time, as far too subversive to the new order the French Emperor was trying to establish. He didn't want anyone rebelling against him! Better stick with something like the old marching song "The Bear Went Over The Mountain," mes grognards amis, unless you wish to be arrested!

There were musical notes sounded on the battlefield too, naturally. How did Light Infantry (Voltiguers, Jaegers, etc.) communicate with each other in open order? Perhaps like the earlier ones did in the North American woods with whistles, like the wooden souvenir I picked up at the American Revolutionary War Battlefield at Brandywine, PA. I used it during a Cold Wars convention game once to signal my commander that my Hessian column had finally rolled the right dice to enter the table during the Battle of Bennington. It gives out only one note, but its a VERY LOUD one, which stopped play for an instant! The accompanying instructions set out the simple calls for Enemy Sighted, Advance, Retreat, Open Fire, and Cease Fire, and Halt. A Tory reenactor friend warmed me not to use it during the recent Battle of Brooklyn 1776 reenactment, as some modern day units actually use them to signal maneuvers.

Listen to another old drinking song "To Anacreon In Heaven," and you'll notice its the original tune to "The Star Spangled Banner." My favorite chorus is that of another song "I'll Fathom The Bowl," whose lyrics exult the British Empire for its most important ability--that of providing local tipplers with various kinds of alcohol from all over the world! Its sung in a slow, stuporific cadence, as if you've had many rounds already, but are still up to the challenge of emptying the current bowl of rum punch:

"I'll fathom the bowl,
I'll fath-om the bo-wwwwwwwwl--
Give me the punch ladle,
I'll fathom the bowl."

The common folk of those days made fun of the gentry in their powdered wigs, which they called "macaronis," with their curled ends. Sound vaguely familiar? That's because

"Yankee Doodle went to town
Riding on a pony
Stuck a feather in his hat
And called it macaroni"

I always wondered about that. One surreal, Monty Pythonesque tune popular at the time had nonsense lyrics like "If pigs had wings." If conditions like that prevailed, then The World Would Be Turned Upside Down. And this was the song that is reputed to have been played by the British at the surrender of Yorktown. Anyway, it makes a good story to tell by the fire in the tavern, with a full mug of ale.

PRACTICING BEING CZARIST IN NEW YORK CITY--BY DINING OUT, AND OTHER MEANS!

If you like to role play, and steep yourself in the background of your historical character, nothing helps like a visit to a place where that period feeling is part of the normal routine. The Russian Samovar is a restaurant/night club in midtown Manhattan where one can steep oneself in the Imperial Russian experience and atmosphere, for about $50 per person.

The food is excellent, and the waitresses are pretty. With evocative decor and entertainment at night, how can you go wrong? Although the motif is early 20th Century rather than Napoleonic, the "Russian comfort food" puts you in the mood for taking a nice carriage ride to review your lines!

Here in Brooklyn Heights, a local Polish restaurant called Theresa's serves the kind of Eastern European food I ate as a child--since three of my grandparents were Ukrainian or Galician Jews. Another evocative area for the Russian experience is "Little Odessa" down in southern Brooklyn (Garden Spot a de Woild), where such nightclubs as Rasputin, restaurants like Baku and many shops help evoke a Russian mood. On May Day, you can see the veterans wearing their Soviet medals. Buy a book on Russian military painting, a tape on World War II or other historical period (usually in Russian), or stop off for a lunch of authentic Russian food washed down with kvas. Russian animation is often beautiful, telling fairy tales with exquisite artwork raised far above that of a regular cartoon. A tape of Russian classical music can help get you into character too.

One of the fun parts of preparing for a JodieCon is the pre-battle planning with your team, and doing some historical research on your period and battle. I was reviewing the Kutusov scenes recently in the Russian film version of War and Peace with my Russian pal and fellow gamer Igor Olshansky as informal "cultural advisor." A book revealed that that funny white red-striped soft hat Kutusov wears in the movie, (alternating with a more normal Marshall's fancy feathered bicorn), which looks something like the WWI German brimless fatigue cap, was in fact that of a cuirassier. And the 67-year-old Kutusov’s blinded eye was milky white and open to view, so apparently he didn't wear an eye patch! Did you know he had a bullets go through his head twice and survive? Whew!

Once you are given a player slot, find out what you can about your own character. Feel free to drop me an article on what you can find out. I'm looking forward to meeting you at JodieCon Borodino 2002. Until then, see you next issue!