Partizan Press/Caliver Books

English Civil War

review by Tom McMillan

Everything, and I Mean EVERYTHING, You Ever Wanted to Know About The English Civil War, and Much, Much More... Partizan Press and Caliver Books.

You say you want rules for the ECW? How about full scale grand tactical rules, or maybe company-troop level small unit rules, or maybe skirmish rules, or perhaps you prefer a set specifically written for 5mm scale troops? You want historical OB's, either for campaigns or specific engagements? You wanna know every flag and coat color from the period? You want detailed, very specific battle commentaries? Ya wanna know what they ate? (I'm not kidding, "Civil War and Saltfish" is about ECW diets.) All this plus reproductions of tactical manuals, first-hand accounts, political and religious tracts of the period, and a very great deal more is now readily available to the American gamer.

Partizan Press is the publishing house, Caliver Books is the affiliated book store/service, and Front Rank Figurines is the related line of miniatures so these folks do cater specifically to the serious (an' we talkin' SERIOUS!) ECW miniatures gamer. There is also "English Civil War Notes and Queries", an excellent newsletter, particularly of interest to reenactment societies. Although many of the publications are somewhat esoteric, quite a few are of general appeal. For example, "Gunpowder Triumphant", by Stephen Reid, is very useful on many levels. Subtitled "the infantry in the English Civil War", it begins witha thorough description of equipment, weapon handling, and pike-shot tactics, followed by a dis cussion of how these worked in three significant battles. Also included are a dozen full page line drawings of troop types - and all for $7.95! Other typical titles include "Naseby Fight", a highly dramatic reconstruction by Barry Denton demonstrating a keen interest in wargaming and reenactment, and "Old Robin's Foot", by Stuart Peachey and Alan Turtan, which in 62 fine print pages will give you some familiarity with the Earl of Essex' infantry regiments in the period 1642-1645. "English Civil War Flags and Colours", actually includes full color flags suitable for cuttint out and using in 25mm units. The artwork, by Neil Wright, Shaun Hart and others is energetic and well detailed, though many will find the heavy handed line drawings a tad crude - one hopes that all of the citizenry of 16th C. Britain weren't quite this unattractive! In addition, in what seem to be a standard English artistic convention, the subjects seem to regress down the evolutionary scale as they descend the social hierarchy, so that highlanders and such appear downright australopithecine.

The Caliver Books catalogue is a definite must for anyone with the slightest interest in pike and shot It's simply all there, not only for the ECW, but for related periods as well. For example, this writer's interest lies in the Italian Wars, and both Taylor's The Art of War in Italy and Monluc's Commentaries were listed, which I have been trying to obtain for some time. The entire production of these people shows tremendous effort, commitment, and devotion to high standards, and their products are highly recommended.

Available from Califer Books, 7 Cliffside Grove, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex SS9 1 NQ. The catalogue is $3.

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