Secret weapons of the Kaiser - Part 1

Bismarck's overthrow of France in the 70’s had been a phenomenal success, the semi permanent state of revolution that followed, allowing the newly created German Empire to become the dominant force in Europe. This state of affairs would have been enough for Kaiser Wilhelm 1st but not it transpired for his eminence grise. Bismarck knew that in order to ensure continued German overseas expansion, a wounded Britain and its fractious empire would need to be brought to heel. Planning for an invasion began in earnest in 1883, spurred on by reports that HM Government had begun to experiment with technology recovered from their defeated Martian foe.

With a two year search for a way to circumvent the Royal Navy, (of which more later) coming to a dramatic conclusion in a Silesian coal mine, the Iron Chancellor presented an open mouthed Kaiser with a second device that he would use to overawe the British defences should Eagle Day be finally sanctioned.

And here she is…

Der Kleine Dampfpanzerwagen I

Weighing in at 30 tons she has a crew of 6 and is armed with a single 5.7cm Maxim - Nordenfelt cannon. Her naphtha fired 400 horsepower steam engine propels the vehicle at a blinding 6kmh across country though her heavy consumption of powdered coal limits the operational range to a mere 5 kilometres.

I’ll be using The Men Who Would be Kings for the upcoming games and since that rule set does not include armoured vehicles I’ve been having fun making my own dice to determine where any hits on such a vehicle might occur.

The faces shown here include optics, propulsion and the vehicles armour.

For those of a more historically serious disposition I shall eschew any further cod Victorian flights of fancy for a wee while and return to my ECW campaign - well when I’ve finished building my new 4Ground windmill that is. 

TTFN