Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i Miniature Wargames

SUBSCRIBE TO MINIATURE WARGAMES NEW YEAR, NEW SUBSCRIPTION Start 2022 with a subscription to Miniature Wargames OFFER FROM JUST £16.99* Not bad for a monthly magazine that provides: • Thought provoking scenarios for popular rule sets and periods. • How to’ guides for painting and scratch-building both figures and scenery. • Whole rule systems to take away and play. • Reviews of items of interest to the wargamer including books, modelling materials, games, figures, wargame shows. TO VIEW OUR SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS VISIT TTGAMI.NG/MWG-NEW22 or call us on 01778 391180 quoting MWG/NEW2022 *Subscription saving quoted is correct as of print 12/11/2021 and is subject to change.…

FROSTGRAVE: BLOOD LEGACY £20 In last months in Forward Observer we briefly touched upon the latest Frostgrave outing by Osprey’s Joe McCullough. It offers a wealth of expanded information about the undead from the frozen city, not just the vampires and the giants (who have wandered south to infest the frozen ruins) but a host of other ghoulish types. From what I’ve read, the Giants are ‘catnip’ for the vampires: their blood is like an elixir to the undead, filling them with strength and magical power. Included in the book are a host of vampiric magic items and spells plus a breakdown of the different tribes of giants. Also included are rules for several new soldier types: there’s the obvious (and much needed) Vampire Hunter, along with a Sword…

THE LABYRINTH OF TEREOR A ‘Biggles’ style adventure Words by Marcus Wheeler. Photos by The Author and The Editor This looked like a fun party game at Salute so Mr Wheeler has brought it here to the readership so we can all have a go! Ed. Can there be many show game concepts that start with a mechanic? I’ll hazard a guess that the answer is not many. When bending my thoughts to a show game proposal back in November 2017, I had come up with a few “Oh, I could do that…” type ideas, but nothing that really fired my imagination. One evening after I had put the children to bed, I turned on the television and I had a revelation. I saw something that immediately made me think: “I…

DEFEATING THE PANZERSTUKA MENACE; & THE WARSAW UPRISINGS 1943-1944 D. Lister; and I. Baxter Frontline Books; and Pen and Sword (2021) £25; and £14.99 259 pages (hardback); and 127 pages (softback) ISBN:9781526787156; and 9781526799913 I have no idea why the first title refers to ‘Stuka’, as this intriguing history of British WWII spigot weapons focuses almost entirely on land and naval warfare. On the land side, it covers mainly the Bombard, Piat, and AVRE weapons; on the naval side, the Hedgehog and Hedgerow; plus a variety of weapons that never got much beyond the experimental stage. It is a compelling mix of science, bureaucracy, and the quirky nature of weapons development, supported by ample (and well explained) technical detail. The author is clearly a supporter of such weapons, and…

ISANDLWANA TO ULUNDI Chris Schoeman Amberley Publishing (2021) £20.00 288 pages (hardback) ISBN:9781445699301 The author, who has previously written several books on the Anglo-Boer War, the First World War and this work (subtitled: The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879) begins by describing the origins of the Zulu kingdom and its development into a highly militarised society under Shaka and his successors. The second chapter describes the Zulus’ reaction to firearms and Cetshwayo’s attempts to train his warriors in their use. The Anglo-Zulu border is dispute, the Boundary Commission of 1878 and Sir Bartle Frere’s ultimatum which provoked the war are explained in the third chapter. The fourth chapter analyses British overconfidence at the start of the war, but also discusses Zulu War historian John Labland’s belief that the Zulus’ reputation…

THE MEN WHO FLEW THE VOIGHT F4U CORSAIR Martin W. Bowman Pen and Sword Aviation (2021) £25.00 274 pages (hardback) ISBN:9781526705808 Are you an air wargamer stuck for realistic scenario construction? If so, then this is the book for you! It records the daring tales of pilots flying the Corsair in World War Two with some tales from the Korean War and a brief history of other users of the Corsair such as the French in Indo China (Vietnam). As one would expect, the book covers the trials and development of the Corsair and the formation of naval and marine squadrons during the Second World War with an overview of their operational histories. It then has chapters following the individual careers of some of the pilots of the Corsair…

RED STAR AT WAR; & MARCHING FROM DEFEAT Colin Turbett; and Claus Neuber Pen and Sword (2020) £19.99 each 242 and 202 pages (hardback) ISBN:9781526763280 and 9781526704269 Two unusual and moving accounts of the Eastern Front in WWII. ‘Red Star’ describes military and civilian life from the Soviet viewpoint, with a mixture of a potted history of the main offensives, chapters on key aspects of the war (food, morale, training, reward and punishment, etc), and collections of individual stories. It is about ordinary people caught up in a horrific war – 25 million Soviet dead, 2.8 million permanently disabled, and all within a bleak past (the purges of the 1930s) and a bleak future: veterans faced hardship, indifference and downright distrust for many years after 1945. ‘Marching From Defeat’…

HELL & UNCIVIL DISORDER ◗ Amazon.co.uk & wargamevault.com◗ £4 - £9.50 Jim Webster – a writer and reviewer for this magazine – sent in another of his rules systems for review. Hell and Uncivil Disorder is subtitled Rules for the scruffy and disreputable side of warfare and that’s a pretty accurate description. Produced in A4 at 48 pages, I was sent a rather nicely finished soft-cover version (print on demand, I would assume) but it is also available as a Kindle product which is why there are two different prices listed. Cover aside, it is without illustration but is well laid out (in what I describe as a ‘comfy word processor’ style) with clear type and a good index. The rules are… unusual. They have the feel of a 20th…

THE WAR WITH THOSE IN The Anglo Cherokee War of 1758 to 1761: Part 1 Words by Chris Swan. Photos by The Editor As many readers will know, the Seven Years war is seen by many historians as the first truly global war as it was fought in Europe, India, North America, and the Caribbean as well as on different seas and oceans. The struggle for the control of North America is often called the French and Indian Wars as both sides made use of Native American or “Indian” allies. Early on the French made better use of their native allies inflicting a number of defeats on the British and so you would have thought that the British would have tried to maintain their own native alliances. Yet in 1758…

RECCE BOOK REVIEWS FOR THE DISCERNING WARGAMER VELIKIYE LUKI 1942-43 Robert Forczyk Osprey (2020) £15.99 96 pages (softback) ISBN:9781472830692 Another excellent production from this highly capable author – and with strong wargaming potential. The city became a ‘mini-Stalingrad’ in winter 1942, as the Soviets sought to stretch Axis resources and prevent reinforcements going to the relief of Stalingrad. The scale was much smaller (the German garrison numbered around 7,500 and Soviet forces were not massive), but it has all the hallmarks of a desperate siege – the initial Soviet breakthrough against thin German forces including security battalions, the encircling of the city, the ad hoc relief efforts including re-supply by air, the Soviet juggling of resources to erode the besieged and ward off the relieving forces, and the final…

THE ANGLO-SPANISH WAR 1655-1660 Paul Sutton Helion & Company (2021) £29.95 334 pages (softback) ISBN:9781913336639 Number 67 in Helion’s Century of the Soldier 1618-1721 series has its origins in the author’s earlier work, Cromwell’s Jamaica Campaign: The Attack on the West Indies 1654-55, published by Partizan Press in 1990, much revised and expanded in the light of new research. The first part of the book (subtitled: Volume 1: The War in the West Indies) explains the strategic situation, both France and Spain were interested in securing England as an ally so Cromwell thought it might be possible to seize Spanish colonies in the Caribbean without provoking a war. It then describes the planning and preparation for the expedition, the English forces and their officers, the voyage to the West…

AIR BATTLE FOR MOSCOW D. Degtev and D. Zubov Pen and Sword £25 246 pages (hardback) ISBN:9781526774460 I am no expert on air warfare, but this seems a well-integrated account of the human, technical and tactical air war over Moscow from late 1941 onwards. As is common with Pen and Sword titles, photographs are interwoven with the text and give a good supporting picture of the equipment, personnel and actions, including several tactical diagrams used by Soviet pilots to conduct plane-on-plane attacks. The writing is a bit stilted at times, and the book is no way ‘Soviet-sympathetic’: if anything, it seeks to downplay the Soviet achievements. It is certainly no friend of Stalin, describing him as ‘the cowardly dictator’ who – amongst other things – required the best Soviet…

REVIEWS THE NORMANS IN ITALY 1017-1194 Raffaele D’Amato Osprey (2020) £11.99 48 pages (softback) ISBN:9781472839466 This is a solid traditional ‘Men-at-Arms’ volume, by a good writer, and offering an emphasis on clothing, weapons and equipment, supported by short chapters on the politico-strategic background and the military organisation of the Normans. Illustrations are clear, and even I could paint most of the shield designs. The usual eight colour plates offer not only the Norman troops but also allies and opponents, adding value for the wargamer – an eclectic mix of Normans, Swabians, Muslims, Byzantine Greeks, plus local militia-type troops. There are two battle accounts (Civitate 1053 and Andria 1155), but each is only a page: the strength of this book lies in its description of the troops. An interesting period,…

COMMUNITY CORNER COMFORT ZONE BUSTED In this month’s Community Corner, we thought we would try and step away from wargaming figures for just a moment and spoke to Patrick, who got into painting miniatures when he was bought Tainted Grail (a board game that comes with some detailed models) and was challenged to paint them all before playing. After learning the basics, Patrick admits to a fair share of painting of board game miniatures, but now has started the process of printing his own minis with a 3D printer, allowing him to experiment across a number of differing miniatures and genres. “I chose this bust because I wanted to see what I could create without the boundaries of existing art for the mini. Also, I wanted to tackle a lot…

NEW PRINCIPLES OF WAR Marvin Pokrant Potomac Books (2021) £21.50 347 pages (hardback) ISBN:9781640122222 This thought-provoking book (subtitled: Enduring Truths with Timeless Examples) compares current principles of war across many of the major nations and identifies which are common and enduring. It examines those principles through examples from history opening with Picket’s charge at Gettysburg where it notes how the charge complied with all current principles. This is inspired because it provides the evidence that perhaps there is something wrong with those principles. It examines this idea through examples from wars ancient and modern, notes where these fail and proposes new principles. The book identifies and defines enduring principles as those that do not need frequent revision and are not dependent on technology which is why historical examples are…

REVIEWS THE PANJSHIR VALLEY 1980-86 Mark Galeoti Osprey (2021) £15.99 96 pages (softback) ISBN:9781472844736 The strength of this book is its portrayal of the complex intermeshing of political, social and religious factors and the military elements. There were many sides to this conflict: Soviet, and Afghan, forces; Soviet, and Afghan, governments; and several resistance movements whose aims varied from moderate to hardline, sometimes allying and sometimes competing. The Panjshir Valley runs for around 100 miles to the north-east of Bagram, with many side-valleys and gorges that provided retreat and counter-attack routes for the guerrillas under the able and charismatic leadership of Ahmad Shah Massoud (killed by al-Qaeda in a suicide attack just two days before 9/11). The book focuses on the nine Soviet/Afghan army offensives, describing events at operational…

VICTORIA CROSS WINNERS OF THE KOREAN WAR; & FIGHTING HITLER FROM DUNKIRK TO D-DAY S. Wynn; and J. Haward MM with N. Barber Pen and Sword (2021) £14.99 each 126, and 174, pages (softbacks) ISBN:9781526713315; and 9781399013871 These are two lively accounts of wartime experiences. The first title actually covers the two George Cross medals as well as the four Victoria Crosses, including an interview with Bill Speakman, VC, plus a number of other citations for battlefield gallantry and sheer endurance in captivity. It follows the similar ‘homely’ style in the author’s other titles on what it was like to be a soldier, especially a National Serviceman, on active service. There is relatively little on tactics and strategy, but it ‘tells a story’. The second (reprint) title describes the…

BOMBER COMMAND Gordon Wilson Amberley Publishing (2021) £20 288 pages (hardback) ISBN:9781445690933 As someone who knows very little about air warfare, I found this thoroughly absorbing. It is basically a tribute to Bomber Command, including a short chapter on post-1945 activity, with a panoramic sweep of men, machines, squadrons (including sorties and loss rates), training, organisation and operations. The 288 pages only permit a broad description of most aspects, but in a very readable style that combines facts with personal accounts. There is relatively little on operational techniques, nor on overall strategy or the finer points of tactics, but you certainly get a feel for the evolving nature of the conflict, from the early sparse endeavours, through the periods of high loss rates and/or limited bombing accuracy, to the…