Paper Soldiers:

Crusaders and Their Foe

by Nick Nascati

This book (by David Nicolle. Bellerophon Books, 36 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbare CA 93101, 1982. $2.95.) was a surprising discovery in the children's book section of a book store and is unkown in the several wargaming shops that I frequent. It is a collection of 68 front-and-back cut-out figures of soldiers and followers of the armies that fought in the Crusades. It includes 31 figures from Christian armies, 10 figures from Byzantine and eastern European lands, and 27 figures from their Muslin adversaries. Sample figures include:

  • Fatimid Guardsman with Caliph's parasol-emblem early 12th century
  • Frederick I, of Hohenstaufen, called Barbarossa, Emperor of Germany & the Holy Roman Empire
  • Byzantine Syphonator with Greek Fire projector, 11th century
  • Provencal Knight, First Crusade
  • Sicilian Muslim infantry guardsman, 12th century
  • Hospitaler Turcopole, mid-13th century
  • Mamluk faris, late 13th century

The caption for each figure includes information about armor, equipment and utilization in the Crusades. Readers can appreciate the author's meticulous research in each caption through his inclusion of bibliographical and museum sources that range from Europe to Russia to the Middle East in quest of authenticity.

Wargamers in this period may benefit from purchasing this inexpensive book as a resource toward the purchase and painting of correct figures. I have included the publishers' address above if they wish to order this item directly, as it is hard to find in the usual places. The inner cover also indicates that subsequent publications will include THE HUNDRED YEARS'WAR and THE WAR OF THE ROSES.

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