Common Era Errors

[Techno]

Why DID we end up with different countries using the opposite sides of the road ?

I think we should be told !

Cheers - Phil

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Well we drive on the left to keep your sword arm free, but our trains "drive" on the right ! Think other countries drive on the right to allow driver to change gear with the right hand. Mind you friend of mine had a 1930's Morris in his garage and the pedals were from left : foot brake, clutch, and accelerator. Also driven a Japanese car with indicators on left and wipers on right. Kept wiping the windows when I wanted to indicate.

IanS

[Leman]

Merseyrail certainly drives on the left although the driver sits on the left to be able to see signals clearly. Canal boats drive on the right.

[Raider4]

. . . but our trains "drive" on the right !

GB trains drive on the left as standard.

[steve_holmes_11]

Indeed. But where's the fun ?  Crushing the other player ?
( But i like when it happens during a campaign, It's well desserved)

The fun is that the alliance player gets far more troops, particularly cavalry, so your veteran infantry can't guarantee secure flanks or space to manoeuvre.

[steve_holmes_11]

Why DID we end up with different countries using the opposite sides of the road ?

I think we should be told !

Cheers - Phil

Something to do with mounting ridden horses and the position of wagon drivers.

Default left hand since a sword wearer (and all other civilised folk) climb on their horse from its left, and don't wish to mount from the middle of the road.

USA and France introduced larger wagons drawn by paired teams of horses.
The driver sat on the left-rear horse to best control the team, which led to a preference for driving on the right.

Other countries varied, but the Code Napoleon standardised right side driving across continental Europe.
Queen Victoria's conquests standardised left sided driving across her empire.

Other places:

Japan drive on the left after British engineers helped build the first railways.
Indonesia inherited left sided driving form their Dutch colonists, and weren't subsequently subject to code Napoleon.

Apart form Sweden, I don't know of any other country that switched sides as motor cars displaced horses as the main means of transport.

[FierceKitty]

Japanese traditionally mounted from the off side, I understand.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Danmark swapped on one day in 1948...

[Steve J]

Nigeria changed from left to right after independence. The trouble is all the old roundabout are buggers to drive in and out of as they are configured the wrong way for driving on the right!

[Techno]

It's bloomin' daft.....isn't it ? 

Too late to change 'the whole world' to the same system, now.

Cheers - Mr Stuck-In-The Mud.

[Ben Waterhouse]

It's bloomin' daft.....isn't it ? 

Too late to change 'the whole world' to the same system, now.

Cheers - Mr Stuck-In-The Mud.

Variety is the spice of life...

[d_Guy]

When you lot switch to the right we lot will go metric. We should do it on the same day.

[steve_holmes_11]

Apart form Sweden, I don't know of any other country that switched sides as motor cars displaced horses as the main means of transport.

Update: Loads of countries changed over, usually to conform to the standard among neighboring nations.

[FierceKitty]

Roman armour

...was mail a thousand times for every once it was a moulded cuirass or a lorica segmentata, which didn't exist during the republic.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

But Lorica was used from the Early Principate and used up until at least Severus.

[FierceKitty]

Oh, certainly. Just tired of seeing Caesar or Scipio leading troops wearing it. Trajan's column and Asterix will answer for this at the last judgment.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

 
*MA in Roman Military History and feeling like a fight.*
Trajan's column shows a mix of armour, within the correct timeframe (and Goscinney and Underzo have done more for popularizing Roman history than anyone apart from Gibbon [who himself could/should feature on this thread]). I would love to do a Caesarian army of Asterix figures.

[Chad]

Think Obelix will have something to say about that 😉

[FierceKitty]

Trajan's column is a thing of endless joy to a wargamer. I just object to the assumption that it covers everything.

[Westmarcher]

Split Rail Fences

If you randomly nick them to break up the smoothness and add a touch of paint and/or a wash, cocktail sticks (of the round variety) with the ends cut off can make believable logs for entrenchments and fortifications. But not for split rail fences.

Firstly, split rail fences are made of split lengths of wood. Cocktail sticks (of the round variety) are, in effect, logs. So, it's probably better to use the straight edge variety of toothpick (as featured in the Fire & Fury ACW rules, for example) (but, even then, these are probably only suitable for the larger scales).

Secondly, what scale are your figures? Real life rails in a split rail fence are usually only about 10 or 12 feet long and are easily lifted by one man. So, for 15mm, the rails should be about 25mm to 30mm long, in 10mm scale, no more than 20mm, and in 6mm scale, no more than 12mm.

The cocktail sticks in my kitchen cupboard are of fairly standard size. But at 80mm long (60mm if you cut off the pointy ends) can you now see how naff cocktail sticks are for fencing? Scale wise, its a telegraph pole. It's far too long and too heavy for one man to lift. 

So, when buying (or making) your split-rail fencing, choose carefully.

Split rail fences come in various types. I've visited a number of U.S. battlefields and have lots of photographs of period fences but, unfortunately, I'm naff at posting pictures so here are some examples in the following link.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-rail_fence