The Horrors of War

" …it was a brutal time when brother butchered brother, and men hacked bits off other men…."

" and soldiers with dirty great swords disemboweled soldiers with swords that 

wurnae quit as long…."

"…it was a time when rivers ran wi blood, and oozed entrails stained the heather…."

"… they grabbed his hair and severed it, and then ripped out his tongue, it wriggled like a jellied eel on the grund were it was flung….."

"….they beat his brain tae a throbbing mush and slashed his guts asunder…."

"…and cut his heart out wi a dirk and he died, nae bloody wonder…"

from the traditional highland lament " The Splattered Blood of Oor Slaughtered Sons"  collected by The Curries

Folks songs of countries often serve up an oral history of the effect of historic events on ordinary people.  Scotland has a rich selection, the above giving a feel for the horror of war in such dire times.

Pike and Shotte requires markers to record the effect of combat on a unit and many manufacturers have specific figures to represent these unfortunate peons.  Walter choose to base his on round bases, but stealing shamelessly from the great Barry Hilton & Dave Imrie, I choose to go with hex bases.

These can be scattered or joined nicely together to produce mini-vignettes of the horrors of war.  Hopefully the Rev. I. M. Jolly would not disapprove.