Nazaire Beeusaert and old Belgian toy soldiers

A long time ago I posted on this blog about old Belgian toy soldiers in my collection, produced by Nazaire Beeusart, who led a toy factory in Deinze, Belgium. 

Since then, I did acquire more of these old toy soldiers and even have tried repairing and repainting some of them.

Recently, I visited a local museum in Deinze near Ghent to see a total different exhibition, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out they had a display window specifically dedicated to the toy soldiers made and sold by Nazaire Beeusaert.

I visted Dunkirk and Gravelines

During the weekend of 8-11 November, we visited Dunkirk and Gravelines. These are located just across the Belgian border, so it was a relatively short car ride. Dunkirk and Gravelines both lie in the area that was once Flemish-speaking, still very much visible in the place names - Duinkerken and Grevelingen - but also many smaller villages such as Hondschoote or Koudekerke.

We did some beach walking and shopping, went out for some good dinners (gastronomy is an important aspect of all our trips), but of course also visited some of the military historic landmarks, of which some pictures are shown here.

As for the military nature of the Vauban fortress of Gravelines, I can refer to Henry Hyde's excellent series of articles in "Miniature Wargames with Battlegames", in issues 380-384 (published early 2015).

Me in the museum about "Operation Dynamo".

Monument for the fallen in the centre of Dunkirk.

Still visible shipwrecks on the beaches between Bray-Dunes and Dunkirk.

German bunkers, part of the Atlantik Wall.

Vauban Fortifcations in Gravelines

Gravelines again. It's somewhat difficult to capture the nature of the restorated Vauban Fortress when taking pictures from the ground and not from the air.

More Gravelines

November 11 in Gravelines

November 11 in Gravelines

A new campaign? (3)

Ok, so I finally made some progress with the new campaign I plan to launch ... 

The map is sort of decided, and the lay-out of the countries as well, although I might still make a few changes to the borders of the various countries. I realized most of them are well-defined islands, but that means any conflict will have to involve sea movement, so that's perhaps a bit too awkward.

So, what's the progress? I finally settled on the name of the various countries, as well as their historic counterparts from which inspiration will be drawn. The idea is to set the campaign in the late19th / early 20th century, the era between the Franco-Prussian war and the first World War.

 With a little help from ChatGPT, I arrived at the various country names.

A typical question I asked CHatGPT: Can you generate a fictive country name with Turkish elements that evokes deserts?

Then ChatGPT would come up with a list:

Here are some fictive country names with Turkish elements that evoke deserts:

1. Kumkarya ("Kum" means "sand" in Turkish, combined with a suffix to suggest a land or region)
2. Sahrapa ("Sahra" means "desert" in Turkish, with a suffix for a more fictional feel)
3. Çölkova ("Çöl" means "desert" in Turkish, combined with a suffix to suggest a place)
4. Tuzgöl ("Tuz" means "salt," and "göl" means "lake," implying a salt desert or dry lake area)
5. Kumovik ("Kum" meaning "sand," combined with a suffix to imply a place or region)
6. Dünyakum ("Dünya" means "world," combined with "kum" for a broad, desert-like region)
7. Sahralia (A blend of "sahra" for desert and "-lia" for a fictional land)
8. Kumtepe ("Kum" for sand and "tepe" for hill, suggesting sandy hills or dunes)
9. Gölçöl ("Göl" means "lake," and "çöl" means "desert," combining the concepts)
10. Aridistan (Inspired by "arid," reflecting a dry, desert-like environment)

These names combine elements related to deserts with Turkish phonetics to create evocative and fictional desert landscapes.

Ok, so I picked Ardistan... then I asked: What does Ardistan mean? ... and the answer was:

"Ardistan" is a fictive name that combines elements inspired by both Turkish and Persian:

• "Arid" – Derived from English, meaning "dry" or "desert-like," reflecting a lack of moisture.
• "-stan" – A Persian suffix meaning "land of" or "place of," commonly used in the names of countries and regions (e.g., Pakistan, Afghanistan).

So, "Ardistan" could be interpreted as "Land of Aridity" or "Place of Dryness." It evokes the concept of a dry, arid, or desert-like region, suggesting a vast, barren landscape.

This looks all very good. So I repeated this exercise for the other countries I want to include.

Country	Colour on Map	Historical Inspiration
Ardistan	Red	Arabia/North Africa/Ottoman
Bellancia	Green	France/Italy/Switzerland
Shirokai	Yellow	Japan/Far East
Falkenland	Bue	Germany/Poland
Zeelandia	Magenta	Netherlands/England
Frostovik	Cyan	Scandinavia/Russia
Islands	Black

And the respective explanations, again after playing around with ChatGPT:

"Ardistan" could be interpreted as "Land of Aridity" or "Place of Dryness." It evokes the concept of a dry, arid, or desert-like region, suggesting a vast, barren landscape.

While "Bellancia" isn't a recognized word, it could evoke imagery like "beautiful lance" or "beautiful weapon" in an abstract or poetic sense. As a fictional country name, it suggests elegance and strength.

"Shirokai" could be interpreted as "White Sea" or "Castle Sea," depending on the context and kanji used. It evokes imagery of a serene, possibly majestic body of water or a significant geographical feature.

"Falkenland" translates to "Land of Falcons" or "Falcon Country." It suggests a place associated with falcons, evoking imagery of freedom, strength, and possibly a connection to nature.

"Zeelandia" can be interpreted as "Land of the Sea" or "Sea Land." It evokes imagery of a coastal or maritime region, reflecting both the sea and the idea of a distinct, land-based area associated with it.

"Frostovik" could be interpreted as "Frost Village" or "Frozen Place" in a fictional context. It evokes imagery of a cold, possibly remote or rugged region with a wintry or icy character.

I certainly am not suggesting you should let ChatGPT do all the work. But by asking a number of questions, picking some results you like,  iterating on them, you quickly come up with some good inspiration.

Now I still need a name for the continent and the campaign. Since I have a soft spot for Tony Bath's Hyboria, I wanted something that sounded like Hyboria. My wife suggested Arboria. That sounds good, also because HY and AR are shifted exactly 7 spots in the Latin alphabet for both letters ;-) But since we have a lot of water on the map, perhaps Seaboria would be better choice? 

But I think I'll stick to Arboria for now.