1) From The Redoubt, The Newsletter of the Wargames Study group of the Victorian Military Society. Subscriptions from Ray Boyles, 19 Plantsbrook Road, Walmley, Sutton Coldfield, B76 1EX. While this is only 18 pages, it is packed with great information, a sample of the test edition includes "Torgut and the Sicilian Batteries", "Skirmish Wargames Group - Adowa," "The Great Game circa 1886", "The Battle of the Lions/ Figures for the Battle of Adowa".

Figure manufacturer's that have come to my attention this issue include Strategem, 15 Lover's Lane, Newark, Notts, NG24 1HZ (Abyssinians in 25mm, they also manufacture German Askaris) and Tin Soldier, 182 Western Rd., Billericay, Essex, CM12 9JD (15mm Abyssinians, Italians and Askari).

2) Barnes and Noble, 1-800-THE-BOOK. What can I say? Tons here, a small sampling: Classical Islam $7.98 (know thy enemy) The Horsemen of the Steppes, the Story of the Cossacks $7.98, The Texas Rangers $16.95, Kitchener's Sword Arm, The Life and Campaigns of General Sir Archibald Hunter $23.96, Zulu (video) $14.95 and more medieval military history stuff I care to think about.

3) Redoubt, Miniature Service Center, 1525 Bridge #163, Yuba City, CA 95993-8611. The review was last issue, they still have a 15 % discount in effect.

4) Scholar's Bookshelf, 110 Melrich Road, Cranbury, NJ 08512. Farwell's Armies of the Raj $13.95 and Queen Victoria's Little Wars $13.00, Beyond the Khyber Pass; the road to British Disaster in the First Afghan War $9.95 (Highly recommended), Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas $19.95, The Charge: the Reason Why the Light Brigade was lost $32.95, The Colonial Wars Sourcebook $39.95, "Go to your God like a Soldier" The British Soldier Fighting for Empire $49.95, Imperial Echoes, an Eyewitness Account of Victoria's Little Wars 31.95, They Fell Like Stones $16.95, The Anglo-Boer War $24.95 and Brave Men's Blood $35.00.

5) The Messenger, newsletter of the HMGS-Pacific Southwest, PO Box 701, Norwalk, CA 90651-0701. I have no idea how I got this, but these guys have some show going in California, if you live there contact them, they are extremely active with lots going on.

6) Field of Battle Miniatures, Unit 9a, Well Lane Business Centre, Well Lane, Batley, West Yorkshire, WF17 5HF. I got these two sheets from Chris Nelson, thanks. Rather than writing about it I have included them next page.

7) Tall Ships Books, PO Box 8027, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52408-8027. If you are into naval warfare of any period this is the place to contact. They have more books on naval history and fiction than anyone.

8) Tornado Alert! Scott Saylors ed., 2605 N. Hammond, Oklahoma City, OK 73127. Newsletter of the Tornado Alley HMGS. Scott Wrote a very nice little article/scenario "Egypt in Danger: The Dervish Invasion of 1889 in #21. Great scenario, good OBs and several useful maps for the scenarios. These folks like the Messenger are very busy in OK, MO and TX. Both newsletters have more than just society news, they are full of useful info. Well Done.

9) Raventhorpe Miniatures, RLBPS 805 Blenheim Drive, Rockford, IL 61108. I have no idea what these figures look like but I have included the two pages from their catalog that are relevent.

10) Caliver Books, 816-818 London Road, Leigh on Sea, Essex SS9 3NH, Catalog T Modern Warfare 1820-2000AD. Too many books here for me to list, prices are fairly reasonable and the selection very good. I hope you guys are at work early next August as I'll be there at the end of my research time in England so I hope I have a few pounds left before I fly home to spend with you. Well recommended services.

11) Articles of War, 8806 Bronx Avenue, Skokie, IL 60077-1896, 847-674-7445. A new book in their series on the European War Russian Campaign in Turkey 1877-78. See review elsewhere this issue. List #6 includes 82 books of interest in our period. Well recommended services.

12) Practical Wargamer September and October 1996 issue. An article sent by Chris Nelson entitled "The Battle of Loigny, 1st and 2nd December 1870." A short background to the battle and a scenario.

13) Cromwell Productions Limited, 11 Central Chambers, Cooks Alley, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire CV37 6QN. These folks produce The History of Warfare Series videos, generally very well done, but a trifle expensive. Contact them at the above address if you would like to become part of The Zulu Wars production, looks like fun if you can afford it.

14) Soldiers of the Queen, the Journal of the Victorian Military Society #86, Contact Mr. Meurig Jones, 31 Downland Court, Stonery Road, Portslade, East Sussex BN41 2PS. There are a couple of interesting articles this issue but the most interesting and useful is "One Hundred Years Ago: the Battle of Adwa, 1 March 1896" by Edwin Herbert. See number 1 for figure ideas. The article has an eleven point analysis of key factors of the campaign from available sources. This analysis is extremely valuable as a tool for understanding the campaign. We should see more of this type of analysis for British campaigns.

2. the governor had military powers, but not knowledge, quarrelled with the military commander, ordered the troops around with no idea where they were, inefficient staff;
3. misleading maps;
4. Italians underestimated the numbers of the Ethiopians;
5. Menilek mislead the Italians;
6. Italians underestimated the firepower of the Ethiopians;
7. Italians expected the insurgent chieftains to join them, instead they went over the Menelik;
8. routing troops from the flanks do have effect;
9. Italians had no mounted troops or scouts while the Ethiopians had at least 10,000;
10. Ethiopians were better in the field on the difficult terrain than the Italians;
11. Italians had poor communications; and
12. the Italians withdrew the better rifle from troops sailing to Africa as an economy measure, most of their equipment was worn out before the battle started.

15) Miniature Wargames and Wargames Illustrated. MW 159 has two articles of note, first is the conclusion to the "MW Guide to The Sikh Wars - Part 4". This contains the battles of Chillianwalla and Gujerat plus OBs, sources and five color plates. This is a little short on substance, but a good overview. The second article "The War of the Worlds" is a brief but fun game to play with your British troops against the deadly Martians a la H.G. Wells. MW 160 has one article "Desert Warfare in Lybia". This is a pretty good scenario, if you have Italian troops. Or, you could change it to Brits. Should work pretty well with either TSATF or SvP. MW 161 has one article "The Battle on the Joazoang Plain, Burma, May 27th 1824" is an historical account of the battle (Brits vs Burmese irregulars) that is interesting and well worth using as a scenario for your time period.

WI 106 contains " A Franco-Prussian War scenario for the popular 19th century rules Principles of War." WI 107 has two articles of note. First, is a Napoleonic era campaign history and scenario "Go Bully Bhurtpore, Warfare in John Company's India" Wellington and colonial campaigning what a combination. Second, "Mexican v. Apache Conflict circa 1870". This is a game scenario with some basic rules and tips on organizing a game. Some ideas worth using for your own enjoyment. WI 108 has three articles of interest. "How did a Napoleonic General Staff Work?" part I is well worth reading and applying to your own campaign rules set. If you are interested in the adventures of Custer "The Battle of the Little Big Horn" part I, yawn, is worth reading. But there is little new here, read Panzeri's Osprey Campaign book instead. Finally, "Mission Impossible" Wargaming Isandlwana, 1879. While I am not particularly interested in the Zulu War this is worth reading just for the much too short Analysis section of the article. I am not thrilled with the choice of scales, yes scales. If you refight an historic battle at least represent both sides with the same ratio of figures.

16) The Ghost and the Darkness looks like a must see movie.

17) Pallas Armata, available from Preziosi Publishing Enterprises, 11017 SW 125th Ave., Miami, FL 33186. English readers can get these booklets from Gareth Simon, 98 Priory Road, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 2BP. I have a 12 page list, in very small print, of the booklets available, they range from 17th century to 20th century materials. The materials are copies of original documents, books and reports. The one Preziosi sent is entitled "The Expedition against the Anuak Tribe in the South-eastern Sudan, March and April, 1912" by Captain C.R.G. Mayne, this is eight pages plus a map. This little gem is listed as .80 pounds about $1.50 not a bad price. On the whole Pallas Armata seems to be well worth the money. There are quite a number of them listed for the African and Indian Colonial period.

18) Preziosi Publishing, 11017 SW 125th Ave, Miami, FL 33186. Besides Pallas Armata Andy also carries Picklehaub Press (see review) and a nice little book from Stuart Penhall entitled The War Between Denmark and Germany 1848-1850 by Major E. Delmas ($16). The booklet is 72 pages with a plastic spiral and clear plastic cover, both good ideas. There are a couple of maps that are hard to decipher but on the whole therest of the maps are excellent, the drawings are quite nice (but not described or captioned) and the text is good. If you are interested in the European continental battles of the 19th century this is a must have book. Besides where else can you find Moltke fighting against his future masters. The 19th century wars of Denmark being an interest of mine this is worth the money. As far as I know it is also only one of two books in English on the subject and the other is not available in the US. This book has the better maps while the other has better uniform illustrations in color. However, the uniform illustrations were not the intent of this booklet. The intent was to provide good information on the war and that it does.

19) MWAN There are quite a number of worth-reading articles in #s 82 and 83.

82 - "Campaigning by Narrative" my kind of article with a great narrative write up of 'The War of Independence in Nuevo Guano.' This is a Napoleonic period campaign in a ficticious South American country. I find this particularly interesting as to the development and reactions of the characters and officers. "Brave Men's Blood" grand tactical game rules. There are some problems with the table as well as the different scales (all 5) used to depict the rules. I find it difficult to conceive of the Isandhwala (?) scenario as being even vaguely accurate with what appears on the table as only a two to one advantage of Zulus over Brits. "The Rules with no name" Brian Ansell's wild west rules, exciting, fast play rules to go with his (or anyother) western figures. "Some thoughts on Solo Wargaming" developing terrain as you move your lead elements. This is worth stealing for your home rules. "The Battle of Naaf River-Burma, 18 May 1824" nice scenario for almost any colonial period. "Wargaming the Taiping Rebellion" a brief introduction with a list of where to find more.
83 - "Napoleonic Campaign rules" practical rules and insight with a sense of humor. Too many good ideas to skip over this, particularly the forms at the end of the set that are well thoughtout. "John Company, the conquest of India 1750-1860" a set of rules to playtest for Foundry Press. I have read through them once. They are nothing if not well detailed with descriptions for beginners and experienced. My first impression is that these are good rules, but I have some problems with the movement table - particularly the prolonge and prolonge and fire distances, too long. I am also not sure that N/A is the correct movement for squares. As I read history this is incorrect, squares did move and some if not most quite rapidly. You will love the events tables. "In the Shade of the Sausage Tree" another outrageous Binky Bagshot by loveable Howard Whitehouse. Well, I can't say I can fully agree with Lockwood's review of #93 but at least it's a step in the right direction. I have noticed in Lockwood's review of Solo Wargamers both US and English editions that the US edition appears to leave out 28 pages from the English edition, and the articles left out sounded pretty good for gamers who are tired of reading yet another battle scenario.

20) Speaking of reviews you will notice that there are no reviews for Colonial Conquest or Battlefields. What gives have they gone under, need a new editor that can't seem to find his --- with both hands? WHAT'S UP. I have seen several ads for hardcover Osprey books in WI and MW available through an English Military History book club. Why aren't they available here???? from some of our wargames suppliers???? What's happened to S&S???

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