GENERAL HISTORIES
1. Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War. After more than 30 years, this book remains the standard against which all others are measured. It is a well written and comprehensive history, from the early turbulence to the final Republican collapse. It contains excellent descriptions of the battles and the forces involved, as well as numerous maps and photos.
Gardia Civil resist an attack by Popular Army Infantry supported by a Russian BT5 tank. Tank by Akhetom Infantry by HPC, From the collection of Pat Condray. Photo by Pat Condray.
2. Beevor, Anthony The Spanish Civil War. Interesting mainly because it is the first history of the conflict written after the death of Franco. As such, it is more critical of the Nationalists and their tactics than Thomas. It is quite good, thorough and comprehensive. You may want to read both and compare them.
3. Wyden, Peter The Passionate War. A good book, written from a more humanistic perspective than the other two. It draws heavily on first hand accounts of the situation. Not as good as the other two on the detailed military aspects, it is nevertheless useful for conveying the feel of the conflict.
While these are all general histories, they are all written from a different viewpoint. If you have the time and the inclination, read all three. You can only benefit by doing so.
PERSONAL MEMOIRS
1. Hemingway, Ernest For Whom The Bell Tolls. While this book is ostensibly a work of fiction, it is most certainly based on some of Hemingway's own experiences as a journalist and volunteer on the Republican side in the war. It is in fact said that Robert Jordan, the hero of the book, is based on Robert Merriman, one of the most outstanding leaders of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
2. Orwell George Homage to Catalonia. Certainly one of the most famous of memoirs from any war. Orwell's insightful wit and intelligence make this account of his adventuresin Spain both entertaining and very informative. His descriptions of trench warfare and the day to day life of the troops are excellent. If like me, your interests lean towards skirmish level games, you will find that books such as these personal memoirs are most useful, both for color and often for scenario ideas. There are many more listed in the bibliographies of the general histories; I list these two as being among the more well known and accessible.
SPECIFICALLY FOR MODELLERS AND WARGAMERS
Albert, F.C, Tank and Trucks of the Spanish Civil War. This has recently been translated and printed in English. This booklet is a comprehensive study of all the vehicles in use by both sides throughout the war, hom regulation tanks to the various colorful armored cars homemade by both sides. All of the descriptions are accompanied by 102 scale drawings of the vehicles.
Cauffies, Guy (Modelkit Series) Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War This book, I believe, is still only available in Spanish, but the text is not really crucial to the usefulness of the book. Essentially, the book is a photo survey of models available in 1/72 scale, depicting the types of airplanes that took part in the war. Color photos are useful in showing common paint jobs and camoflauge schemes. Each description also indicates what weapons the plane carried, and also who manufactures kits of the craft. One of the most useful sections of the book is a chart that is produced at the end. This chart lists ALL of the aircraft used in the war, gives the country of origin, the number in service, the side it served on, and it's primary mission in combat.
The Osprey Men At Arms Series The Spanish Civil War and The Spanish Foreign Legion These two volumes follow the typical format of this excellent series. Between the two, a gamer can get a fairly comprehensive overview of the events that took place. Both books provide extensive information on unit organization and equipment. Of course, there are the color plates, which are essential to anyone painting up armies for this conflict. Keep in mind though, that there would be A LOT of variation in the field. The volume on the Spanish Foreign Legion also provides a good bit of background on the Rif Rebellion of 1920 - 1925, which is yet another fascinating inter-war conflict.
As I said, this bibliography has only scratched the surface. There is a great deal in print on the Civil War, which makes it's relative obscurity all the more puzzling. Over the past seven years, I've probably read two dozen plus books on the war, and I'm always on the lookout for more.
FIGURE SOURCES AND RULES
When I became interested in the Spanish Civil War, there was virtually nothing available to the wargamer that was made specifically for this period. In fact, the first article which I read concerned Robin Hunt's efforts to painstakingly convert a variety of plastic figures to the proper types. Fortunately, most of the figurer types he used were at that time still readily available. In addition, various types of 20mm metal figures, especially from Jacklex Miniatures, were found to be very useful.
So, fortified with several boxes of Airfix figures and a variety of metal types, I set out to recreate the armies of the Spanish Civil War. Happily, the period has caught on to a degree, and gamers who started in the period as much as five years ago faced a much brighter picture than I saw. Let me now go over what is available.
SPECIFIC 20MM FIGURES
1. Hotspur: This company produces a large and varied range of figures for the war covering all of the required troop types, including an impressive variety of militia. The figures are well done and nicely detailed. The only drawback to the figures from my viewpoint, is that they must be purchased in prepacked sets, forcing a gamer to buy figures in poses which they would not normally want. These are a very good value, currently selling for $10 per 20 figures. The range is now being offered by Pat Condray, through his Historical Products Company (see his ad in this issue). Pat also offers an assortment of die cast models of the major fighting vehicles used in the war, for $5 each. Overall, this line is highly recommended.
2. Ahketon Figures: This company may be out of existence at this point, as my last letter to them was never answered. They were the first to come out with a range of figures for this period, and quite an interesting range it was. Full of character and in very active poses, the range represented most of the major troop types, though not to the extent of the Hotspur range. They also offered a large range of figures for WWI French painted up as International Brigade and Republican Regulars.
This group, in fact, truly became an international unit when I traded them off to Robin Hunt, in whose collection they still hold an honored place today. The figures had a very definite style that made them incomparable with any other figures, but they certainly had flair. The company also produced some excellent vehicles to go along with the range. These are highly recommended if you can find them.
ADAPTABLE 20MM FIGURES
1. ESCI: Plastic figures from this prolific company come in several useful varieties. Perhaps the most useful is their set of WWII French troops. Though the poses are not the best, the set is useful none the less for any conversions, providing a source of figures in Adrian Helmets. Their sets of WWII British and Germans can be gleaned through for useful types. The one-piece battledress of the British can be painted to resemble the Mono, the ubiquitous overall worn by the para-military forces in the war. The plastic sets are also useful as artillery crewmen. Civil War sets can also be a useful source of irregular and militia type troops. ESCI also has the only available mounted troops to be used as basic material for conversion to the various mounted units that were used by both sides in the struggle.
2. Airfix: What is actually still available from this company seems to be a closely guarded secret. You can still find most of the 'WWII sets in the shops, though prices may vary. The most useful set for conversions is actually only needed for heads. That set is the one of Luftwaffe Ground Crew. It was at one time the only source of heads in side caps, perhaps the single most common form of headgear in the war.
3. Revell: This new company to the field has produced several sets which could be useful. One is a set of WWI French which contains crews with Hotchkiss HMGs and other figures useful for gun crews. The range also includes several WWII sets from which useful figures can be pulled, Civil War sets good for irregulars, and also a German WWI set that contains two good maxim MGs with crews.
4. Raventhorpe: Available from Pendragon Miniatures, this range offers many possibilities for metal figures. The great feature of these figures is that many of them come without heads. The set of heads which are offered range from side caps to Adrian Helmets, to commando woolen caps, thus enabling most of the required troops types to be created without major conversion. The most useful figure types would probably be the Italians, Russians, French and Germans. The company also produces a variety of exotic and hard to find vehicles, as well as many weapons. These figures currently cost $.65 each, and seem to represent a fairly good value for the money, especially if you don't have time to do major conversion work.
5. Platoon 20: The extensive WWII range produced by this company contains a few useful figures, most notably, those available in their Eastern Front range. These include two types of Schuma (German security police) in side caps and several useful figures of resistance fighters. These figures are currently available from over seas but will soon be available from RAFM of Canada (20 Parkhill Road, east, Cambridge Ontario N1RlP2). They are nice figures, nothing special, but useful. I'm not sure of the current price, but guessing between $.60 and $.75 would not be far wrong.
6. Wargames Foundry The excellent WWII range produced by this company contains several useful figures. The early war Germans, the French troops, and their new range of resistance fighters, all offer great possibilities. If you like these figures as much as I do, consider buying them, and then getting heads from Raventhorpe to make them look right. These are available also from Pendragon Miniatures (see advt. elsewhere in this issue). The current price puts infantry at $.75 each, and weapon sets at $2. These are highly and enthusiastically recommended.
7. Vehicles and Aircraft. I've lumped these last two together as the choices are more limited. With some careful searching, you can find everything you need to produce the hardware of this war.
Along with Raventhorpe, Lyzard's Grin, and Hinchcliffe both offer a wide variety of suitable weapons and some vehicles, including Russian trucks, and an assortment of light Russian and Italian tanks. These are of course, rather pricey, averaging $8 per model.
The plastic manufacturers offer slightly better value, though not as a wide variety. You can find Fujimi and ESCI kits of the Pzl fairly easily, and the Matchbox Renault FT- 17 can still be found. Beyond that, though, there is litde available. Luckily, though, depending on the set of rules that you use, and the type of game you like, armor may not be needed in great quantity. More useful will be a couple scratchbuilt models of the home-made armored cars that were used by both sides. These are easily built out of card, plastic or whatever, and can be stuck onto any suitable 4 wheeled chassis.
Most gamers who do 20mm miniatures tend to ignore the physical presence of aircraft and are content with some abstract representation of their effect on the table. For the Spanish Civil War, this simply will not do! Aircraft played a critical role in almost every action of the war, and the image of the divebomber remains one of the strongestof the conflicts. This being the case, you will be happy to know that representing the aerial side of the conflict is quite easy.
In 1/72 scale plastic, virtually all of the models shown in the Guy Caufries book can be found in hobby shops, and those that can't are readily available through mail order. There is also a huge selection of vacuum formed kits available, that basically produce anything not found in the plastic kits. There are also several ranges of 1/200 and 1/300 planes, which can provide us types, more interchangable because of the the smaller size of these models.
FIGURES AVAILABLE IN 15MM
1. Historical Images Company I confess to knowing very little about these, beyond reading Bill Rutherford's review. 15mm is probably the ideal scale for this period, being small enough to make both figures and vehicles affordable, and allowing room on the table for WWI style sweeps and even flanking cavalry movements. I wrote, requesting a listing of the range, but to date have received no reply.
2. Quality Castings: Maybe a letter writing campaign would convince Chuck Cook to turn his attention to this period. Currently, he does offer a wide range of WWII types, including several that could be used for the SCW. Infantry figures include French, resistance, Italians, Germans and Russians, all of which could be painted to pass. His range of excellent vehicles, including Pz I and T-26 along with several useful trucks. Figures and service are both excellent, so perhaps with some prodding? Currently, the figures are sold in sets, and average out to under $.30 each. Very highly recommended.
3. Miniature Figurines: This company's extensive range of WWI items offers a wide variety of useful figures and equipment. The infantry sets range from French in kepis or helmets, to American infantry in side caps. The types of weapons offered include several machine guns, mortars, and a French 75mm field gun used extensively by both sides. The vehicles include a fine FT-17, a Schneider (useful in the early phases), and a general service truck, which is fine as is, but which can also be used as the basis for armored car conversions. Both this range and their colonial range offer several types of suitable cavalry figures. A bit plain for some tastes these days, but good, solid figures nevertheless. Recommended.
FIGURES AVAIIABLE IN 1/200 AND 1/300
1. Wild Geese: This English company produces a fairly comprehensive range of figures for the conflict. Plans apparently include the production of a large range of vehicles and aircraft. The photos I've seen look pretty good, the figures really seem to have individual detail. These could be combined with other 1/200 scale ranges to provide a fairly complete collection for the period.
2. Irregular. This company has recently begun what promises to be a very large and complete range for the period. The present listings include all the major troops types, along with armored cars and artillery. Having seen the efforts of this company in other periods, I expect that these figures bear looking into if you are a fan of this scale. Keep in mind that in this scale a good paint job can often do as much as a major conversion in a larger size, so that ranges meant for other periods can often yield a number of useful figures or equipment.
As you can see, there is no shortage of figures or equipment out there for anyone interested in gaming this period, It's a far cry from a few years ago when I found myself gluing my fingers together trying to do all sorts of intricate conversions. With a couple of the books listed above as guides, the wargamer should have no trouble at all putting together armies for the Spanish Civil War.
Now you have all these figures and vehicles sitting in fiont of you. The next question you have to answer is what to do with them. Fortunately the answer is only one of what suits your taste, not how to write a playable set of rules. There are currently several sets of rules available that can provide a good game with a fairly accurate feel for the period
RULES FOR THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR
1. Arriba Espana- by Bob Cordery, This is the only set of commercially available rules for the period. They are designed primarily with small scale 1/200 and 1/300 figures in mind, but conversion tables are provided to make use of larger figures. The rules emphasize the importance of cooperation, or lack of same, among the various political factions on the Republican side. The Nationalists would seem to have a built in edge because of this, but the game seems to play fairly balanced. Frankly, though, I found the game to have a rather stiff feel to it, and the flow of a modern battle seemed to be missing. Nevertheless, as the first set of rules available for the period, they go a long way towards taking on the difficulties involved in wargaming this very complex conflict.
2. Over The Top / Command Decision Frank Chadwick's system has had everybody rethinking the way they play 20th century miniatires. While either set can provide a good basis of the Spanish Civil War, I feel that the unique transitional quality of the war is better represented by the WWI set. I find that it is easier to pull the stats out of CD for the one or two modern tanks, than to try and go the other way. The rules are designed with 20mm figures in mind, and with a 1 to 30 ratio, do not require masses of troops.
[Editor's Note After Nick wrote this, GDW revised CD so that vehicles are treated identically in both sets of rules, making Nick's suggestion even easier to execute.]
3. WRG Armor and Infantry 1925 - 1950 These rules are designed to provide a fairly simple game at a 1 to 1 level and provide for the close integration of armor and infantry. The rules can handle a fairly large game because of their simplicity, and a gamer could probably handle a battalion even at 1 to 1.
4. WRG Infantry Action 1925 - 1975: You will have to search for these rules, since they are long out of print (why won't WRG reprint them??), but your search will be worth it. Next to The Sword and The Flame, these are my favorite rules. Strictly 1 to 1, and with limited inicusion of vehicles, etc., they provide a fine game down at the sharp end. The mechanics are simple and a gamer can easily handle a company along with supports. I've found that morale is at the center of the rules and that minor modifications can be made reflecting the peculiarities of the war in Spain without changing the game. These rules can even be used with 54mm figures, if your tastes run to true skirmish gaming.
5. The Sword and The Flame: You will find these referred to in any article I write on any period. This set of rules can easily be tailored to any period of history within certain limits. In fact, you can use a basis the adaptation Henry Lubbers did a couple issues ago for WWI as a good starting point. I did a version several years ago, that provided a few fairly good games, and included infantry, armor and artillery.
There are, of course, many other sets of rules for both world wars that may be suitable. I have listed here only those with which I have had some experience. Rules are a very personal thing and depend on the type and style of game you prefer. Given the time and inspiration, home grown rules offer an attractive option and will repay careful research with a sense of pride of ownership.
Hopefully, this article has opened your eyes to the possibilities in this fairly obscure period. Judging from the interest shown in Pat Condray's colorful games at the HMGS conventions, it seems that the period has already begun to take off. To finish things off I'd like to present a brief scenario so that interested gamers can give the period a try. If you haven't yet gone out and spent the rent money on SCW figures, PLEASE DON'T. Use whatever you have around, just as long as both sides are consistent. This scenario is a small skirmish game drawing its inspiration from the famous novel For Whom The Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway. A larger scenario is described by Pat Condray elsewhere in this issue. Feel free to use whatever rules you normally use for the World Wars, though rules designed for late WWII may need to be altered to a degree. Above all HAVE FUN!
Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 by Nick Nascati
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