Three books for your consideration.
Chiricahua
First, if you are interested in the latest offerings of Apaches and Victorian Bystanders from The Foundry then you will love Chiricahua by Will Henry. It is full of good ideas for Apache scenarios.
Redcoats for the Raj
From Valda Publishing, 4 Abbey Walk, Church Street, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 8BU Great Britain comes Donald Featherstone's latest book on the colonial period Redcoats for the Raj: Tales from the Victorian Barrack Room from the publisher for £16 post paid. After about 60 other titles Don has written a novel set in 1868 India. It contains stories about the 18 inhabitants of the barracks room, Bungalow 5, Aliwal Lines, Mirzapur Cantonment. This book contains so much flavor of the period it's hard to describe. The dialogue, barrack setting, and the individuals living there are masterfully woven into a story that is hard to put down once started. Don brings to life Wellington's comment that British soldiers were "the scum of the earth." This book is highly recommended.
America and the China Relief Expedition
The latest offering from Articles of War, Ltd. and Battery Press is BG A. S. Daggett's America and the China Relief Expedition. This is even better than their last offering. Daggett explains in great, but not boring, details the advance on Peking that began August 4th 1900.
Daggett takes one chapter to explain the history of the boxer rebellion prior to the capture of the Legations. Then eight chapters to discuss the situation from the US Marines arrival to the arrival of the 14th Infantry Regiment, Col. Daggett commanding. Then Daggett takes 22 further chapters, in 100 pages and another 100 pages of appendices containing official reports of action and troop movement to the fall of Peking. If the text weren't compelling enough to read the official reports are just as good.
The photos are excellent. While not sharp, it's hard to be sharp when you're not working with originals, they are very useful for gamers. There are photos of villages, troops, Peking and battlefields. There are three sets of photos taken from the same place in the same direction but minutes apart. They are not necessarily in order nor grouped together but they are interesting for showing the continuity of troop movement. They consist of a Russian column with infantry, cavalry and artillery passing the same point (two photos); a Japanese column of infantry (three photos); and another set of Russian troops in column (two photos).
Maps
There are three maps: one of Tientsin with cross sections of the mud wall and the city wall, contains great details of house locations, roads and flooded areas; The battle of Yang-Tsun showing the route from Peh-Tsang indicating US positions and their route of advance; and a map of Peking with cross sections of the Tartar and Chinese walls and the Tung Pien gate.
The appendices contain, from US reports, General Orders, Recon reports, casualty reports and after action reports. These appendices are a great read almost as good as the text itself. OBs are not set out in any particular section and there are three of particular interest: Chapter IV contains information on the Ninth Infantry along with an action report and gives the numbers of officers and soldiers of battalions with staff for the Battle of Tienstin; Chapter IX contains the Fourteenth Infantry OB; and Chapter XXIV contains information on troops in a punitive expedition, US and British troops, led by US General Wilson.
Major Norie's Military Operations in China 1900-1901, by these same publishers, is a valuable library addition for the operations of the British, and Henry Keown-Boyd's The Fists of Righteous Harmony is better balanced, discussing all nations of the relief contingent. However, I read the first 153 pages, all of the general text, in two hours and it was riveting reading. Not a Tom Clancy, Harold Coyle or W.E.B. Griffin but, I think it's real close and it's non-fiction.
As you can tell Daggett's America and the China Relief Expedition is highly recommended.
Available from: Articles of War, Ltd. 8806 Bronx Avenue, Skokie, IL 60077-1896
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© Copyright 1997 by Richard Brooks.
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