Richard Brooks
Pickelhaube Press has four booklets available now (The Second Schleswig War, campaign, uniforms and flags; The Campaigns of 1866, a guide to the campaigns and orders of battle of the Seven Weeks War of 1866; The Armies of 1866, a guide to the uniforms and armies of the Seven Weeks War; and Vive Radetzky, a guide to the battles, uniforms and armies of the Campaign of Novara 20th-23rd March 1849). The first three are available from Nigel for 8.50 pounds each plus 1 pound shipping, the Novaro booklet is 6 pounds plus 1 pound shipping (cash, sterling or dollars, not checks). Check Preziosi's ad and contact him for US prices. The booklets are in A4 format, with heavy paper stock covers. Nigel is working on his fifth booklet on the Caporetto Campaign of 1917 (Austro-Germans against Italians), he would like to know if anyone can provide information on Italian Army Organization or Austrian Cavalry/Artillery, please let him know. The Second Schleswig War booklet has already been reviewed-excellent account with sufficient information to reproduce the war on the table top. A highly recommended booklet for European military history buffs. The Armies of 1866, a guide to the uniforms and armies of the Seven Weeks War obviously includes information on uniforms, organization, weapons and tactics of all the major and most minor kingdoms, empires, principalities and duchies involved. Uniform info includes infantry, cavalry, artillery, specialist troops as well as standards and flags. The drawings are a mix of contemporary and modern illustrations and photographs. I would love to see these in color, oh well, and more detailed captions. However, the captions are sufficient if you read the uniform descriptions. Highly recommended. The Campaigns of 1866, a guide to the campaigns and orders of battle of the Seven Weeks War of 1866 is a 20 pages detailed account of the war with 50 pages of army OBs. Obviously, this is not the level of detail available in the Prussian General Staff's The Campaign in Germany 1866 nor was it intended to be. What it is is an excellent introduction the war with enough detail to write your own rules and form up on the table top. Smith's account is clearly written and a joy to read. My only negative comment is, as usual, I want more maps to follow the action. There are two maps that are sufficiently topographically detailed to translate to the table top and give your battlefield an air of authenticity. Even more than that, it would make it more interesting than fighting on a flat surface. Highly readable, highly commended. Vive Radetzky, a guide to the battles, uniforms and armies of the Campaign of Novara 20th-23rd March 1849 is a 26 page account of the armies and the campaign, 13 pages of uniform descriptions and 8 pages of army OBs. This has almost everything you need for this campaign. As with Nigel's previous works this is clear and easy to read, actually a joy since I knew nothing about this campaign or the players. The only fault I find is with the maps, they are very good but lack topographic detail. Based on the information on the maps I could reconstruct the battlefields quite easily but I don't think this area of Italy is as flat as the maps would have you think. Highly recommended. My overall opinion is that Nigel Smith has done an impressive job of gathering varied source materials, not just in English but German, Italian and Danish, and has written clear accounts of campaigns and battles that are obscure to most Americans and probably Brits as well. If you have any interest in European military history of the nineteenth century these are a must for your library, they certainly are for mine. Available from Nigel Smith, 17 Chelford Avenue, Bolton, greater manchester BL1 7AY, UK (US distributor Preziosi Publishing Company, 11017 SW 125th Ave., Miami FL 33186). Back to The Heliograph #97 Table of Contents © Copyright 1996 by Richard Brooks. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. |