The Three "Ns" -- NATO, Nukes and Nazis --have by now become legendary in describing the most prominent features of the wargaming landscape. Yet none of these topics could be fully developed without the existence of one other army -- the Red Army. With this in mind, I traded a week of the not at all unpleasant clime of Bahrain in April for Easter 1993 in Moscow. A portion of this family vacation was devoted to military museums and monuments. For a city that overwhelms the visitor with monuments and statuary, nearly all of these modern icons are of a decidedly nonmilitary nature. Workers, collective farm girls, Karl Marx and Vladmir Ilyich Lenin predominate in the capital of the former "worker's paradise." But writers, composers, artists, and politicians also abound, ranging from the internationally famous to minor party functionaries barely known when they lived, much less remembered today. One figure, however, who has not survived the transition from communism as the Russians knew it to democracy as the Russians define it, is Felix Dzerzhinsky. My 1989 guidebook described him as "eminent Party leader, Soviet statesman and a close comrade of Lenin." Felix, they "forgot" to mention was also the founder of the Cheka --the forerunner of the KGB. His pedestal now stands empty in old Dzerzhinsky square -- his statue one of the earliest casualties of the breakup of the Soviet Union. But the pedestal, in its mute testimony still stands in front of the old KGB building -- a must see stop. Thanks to a Moscow guidebook, a most understanding and knowledgeable guide and a pair of understanding daughters (aged 5 & 7) and one long suffering (but patient) wife, it was possible to find more than empty pedestals. Borodino My personal wargaming experience predates Strategy & Tactics 1972 edition of Borodino -- a game that I still enjoy more than 20 years later. Even today the battle of Borodino is indelibly fixed in the Russian psyche. While bad weather and inordinately muddy ground prevented a trip to the open-air museum of Borodino village 120 kilometers from Moscow, there is still plenty to see in the capital dealing with Napoleon's invasion during the 1812 Patriotic War. Our military tour started at the Triumphal Arch, now located on Kutuzovsky Prospect. Built in the years 1829-34, the Arch looks somewhat like a smaller scale Arc de Triomphe, replete with Corinthian columns, allegorical statues of Victory holding wreaths of laurel and myrtle, broken swords, all topped with a chariot drawn figure of Glory. Of particular note are the crests of the various Russian cities whose citizens participated in the struggle against Napoleon. The only drawback to the visit to the Triumphal Arch is that its current location places it smack in the middle of a main approach road to Moscow. Contemplating it requires being able to think over the engine noise of eight lanes of traffic. As a result, the visitor appreciates the quiet dignity of the nearby izba Kutusova, a replica of the small wooden hut at Fili where General Kutuzov made his decision to abandon Moscow, and save the army rather than lose Russia's only source of defense. The izba is typical of the Russian peasant dwelling of the early Nineteenth Century. Icons stand in a corner, and a large ceramic stove, the center of the family's life, dominate the room. The hut's diminutive size leaves no room for the typical displays, but the "feel" of the place makes a visit worthwhile. You can easily see a small handful of tired, muddy officers coming to grips with the decision that will determine the future of their country. Near the izba is the Panorama Museum of the Battle of Borodino, a great circular painting of the battle similar to the ones at Waterloo and Gettysburg. However, for some inexplicable reason it was closed, so we had to content ourselves with gazing at the 60+ cannon captured from Napoleon's army that are mounted on the museum's parapets. Our guide, who grew up in the area, recounted how as a child he would come to the museum and "load" the cannon with empty bottles and cans -- something I'd always wanted to do as a child at battlefield parks in the US but never seemed to have the nerve to do (me neither -- Ed.). With the wife and girls now fully knowledgeable and educated with respect to the Battle of Borodino, defensive strategy and General Kutuzov, it was time to turn them loose in Red Square. Museum Of The Armed Forces The next stop on my gamer's tour, this time without family, was the Museum of the Armed Forces, located, appropriately enough, at Number 2 Red Army Street. The museum contains an open air section which I quickly by-passed -- I've seen enough military trucks, tanks and field artillery elsewhere. The inside exhibits are fascinating. It was an ideal day to visit. Except for the occasional group of school children -- who, like children everywhere seemed more interested in a day out of school and the "gift shop" (a table selling Japanese plastic model kits) than learning anything about Russian military history. The museum pays quick homage to Moscow's military past with a large painting of Grand Prince Dimitri Donskoy, who defeated the Mongols in 1380. After that the Museum dealt exclusively with the development and activities of the Soviet military. War gamers would have little trouble understanding and recognizing most of the exhibits. However all the signs are in Russian, making a guide a very useful addition to the tour. Various and sundry halls detail the "Formation of the Red Army," "The Civil War," "The Defeat of Denkin," "Stalingrad," "Kursk," etc.. In addition to the usual case after case of documents, rank insignia, personal effects, photographs, and maps, the museum possesses some stunning an eye-catching pieces such as a machine gun mounted on the back of a stylish horse-drawn carriage, a crudely made mortar mounted on a sledge and life- size dioramas. I looked about for Leon Trotsky, the War Commissar and founder of the Red Army. No military history museum could possibly cover either the Revolution the Civil War without him. Would he be a victim of Soviet historiography's disconcerting trend to make people and events disappear, even in this museum? The answer was that Trotsky both exists and doesn't exist at the Red Army museum. The famous photograph of Lenin haranguing the crowds from atop a wooden barricade is there -- but Trotsky has been airbrushed out by his rival Stalin. But he appears in one wall-sized painting of Lenin, surrounded by his victorious commanders, albeit off to one side, dressed in black, and looking like Frank Languella in the film Dracula. The room devoted to the 1930's contained interesting displays dealing with an obscure battle, Khalkin-Gol, and a rising young general named Zhukov. Also included are photographs and uniform items of already well-known generals of the Soviet Union -- all of whom, surprisingly seem to have died in 1937! Spain is one of the last places a visitor would go to view military museums that deal with the Spanish Civil War, particularly the Republican side. For that you need to go to the German History Museum in Berlin or the Red Army Museum. Soviet participation in the Spanish struggle is highlighted with exhibits of a Soviet tank corps in action. The Great Patriotic War (World War II) naturally received extensive coverage with Stalingrad and Kursk displays dominated by life size dioramas extolling the patriotism, self-sacrifice and virtues of the Russian soldier. The Red Army's triumphal entry into Berlin and a final diorama of captured German standards piled up on the stones of Red Square are among the more fascinating displays. Artifacts from the Soviet involvement in North Korea and Cuba comprise the postwar era. The most significant items on display being the fuselage, wing and tail sections of US Air Force reconnaissance (OK, spy) planes shot down over the USSR during the 1950's and early 1960's. Heroes of Plevna Our military tour of Moscow concluded with a visit to the Monument of the Heroes of Plevna, commemorating Russia's hard fought victory over the Turkish army in 1877. The monument was built of cast iron not long after the war ended and has obviously seen better days. The Plevna monument itself seemed forlorn and out of place in a city noted for its gargantuan Twentieth Century statuary, as if city planners, politicians and dwellers had overlooked, or simply forgotten it. I was glad to pay it a visit. Located near Dzerzhinsky's empty monument base, the Plevna memorial is constructed in the shape of classic Sixteenth Century tent roof churches and contains figures, some of them missing hands and forearms of the despicable Turks, cowering women and children and the valiant Russian soldiery. Nearby an outdoor display case holds some textual information and faded photographs of the battlefield site, which is in Bulgaria. While in Moscow, my family and I were treated to the warmth of Russian hospitality by a family to whom we were, initially at least, complete strangers. Our driver's father was a retired major who had entered Berlin in those momentous days of 1945. As we talked about our various military experience, I again reflected that soldiers, sailors, and airmen everywhere -- even those who may someday have to fight one another -- have more in common than their political masters would perhaps like to admit. As a former US Air Force officer, I spent most of my twenty year career preparing to fight the Soviets. While I'm not naive enough to believe that wars and conflicts will ever be banished -- it would be nice if it could all be relegated to cardboard counters and military museums. Back to Cry Havoc #6 Table of Contents Back to Cry Havoc List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by David W. Tschanz. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com