I bought my first set of Airfix soldiers when I was seven with the winnings from an art con test, two silver dollars worth. I got two packs of 8th Army and two of the Afrika Korps. I painted my first set of figures, Marx "D Day" set when I was nine.
I started war-gaming in 1969 when a friend, Hardy Van Doren, conducted a seminar in board-gaming at Wakefield High School. Hardy gave two whole days of instruction in the ,., intricacies of zones of control and odds computation. Our homework assignment was to plan out the German initial placement/first move for Avalon Hill's Battle of the Bulge.
I was hooked. I played whenever I could and started collecting boardgames. The first exposure to miniatures came when I purchased a copy of Rally Round the Flag and used some of my old Airfix Civil War figures that I had used in 9th grade on a model of the Battle of Sharpsburg. I mounted the figures for the troops in my Company in Germany to give them something besides drugs and booze to occupy their free time. The troops played Civil War every night; eventually we had twenty guys and gals around the table gleefully killing plastic figures.
As I was carrying out a box of freshly mounted figures, an Armor officer named Tom Garnett saw the figures from three stories up and rushed down six flights of stairs, accosted me and demanded that I come with him. He was six foot two inches tall so I did. He showed me his beautifully painted old Minifigs 15s. He had Russians, Austrians, Bavarians and some French; I was hooked immediately. The next day I ordered some Heritage 15s and waited an eternity for the first boxes. I did a terrible job painting them and played my first skirmish while they were still wet. Tom Garnett and I played frequently using Empire II and Empire Ill. He was a master of the quick game and the odd situation. He asked questions such as what would a French cavalry division do against a Russian infantry brigade and we would play two or three times and note the results. This process led me to write my Napoleonic Scenario Guide. I was also introduced to a wider circle of gamers in Germany. We sponsored the first Convention of the Grenadier Strasse Kriegspiel Society, Mannheimer Con in 1981 and played one of the largest Napoleonic battles yet seen in Europe or elsewhere; seven French Corps with the Bavarian Army versus three Russian Corps and five Austrian and Prussian Corps on the floor of the gym.
Eventually, I was elected secretary of the Rheinland Confederation of Wargamers and served as editor of the montly newsletter. Some time duringthis period I was shown a copy of The Courier, and ratherthan wait for a pass around copy, I subscribed immediately. When I returned to the states I formed a small group from my cadets at Mount Saint Mary's College and made a few field trips to the PW meetings at Pilgrim Church where I got to meet Wally Simon, Jim Arnold and other "experts" in the field. When I was forced to retire from the Army due to injuries, I started work on my Ph.D. in Military History atthe University of Alabama. I have a BA in history from VPI (Va. Tech.), an MS from Troy State University in International Relations and an MA in Military History from the U. of Alabama. I dabble in everythingfrom ancients to WWII skirmish. Despite this well rounded background, my first love in wargaming is the Napoleonic period. I prefer the third rate armies from Italy, Turkey and Spain because they allow me to lose with dignity.
Afterall, they were supposed to run away. I have reviewed rules and purchased at least one copy of every set ever published. I have no allegiance to any one set of rules. I view wargaming as more than just fun but intellectual stimulation. Stimulation requires input from a wide variety of sources so I hope to encourage submissions and ideas forarticles. I hope to raise questions on concepts and mechanics as well as on our historical understanding of the period we are simulating. I believe that the nature of men has changed little with time and therefore we can learn a great deal from the study of men under stress and fire.
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