On Campaign - news! Mr Billy Russell of the Times

 Glorious sunshine, and an early start setting up the first game.  

Situation - the lower Chatham Lines are being besieged by the opposition force, who have entrenched/invested the position and mounted their siege guns.  Sapping and mining operations have also begun.  

Before the action begins, a look at the besieging forces, and their HQ.  The Crimean War toy soldiers are very much in evidence, and Lord Raglan will be standing in as 'Backsight Forethought (Snr)' in this campaign.

The Chatham siege exercises attracted crowds of tens of thousands of spectators and were covered by magazines such as the Illustrated London News - so it is appropriate to have the press represented at the HQ, in the form here of the lovely Tradition Billy Russell of the Times.   

Mr Russell of the Times, photographed by Roger Fenton

The Illustrated London News reports on the Chatham Exercises