It seems rather odd to write a column about warfare in the 18th Century and to lead it off with some information about the Internet. I wonder what Frederick the Great and Voltaire would have thought about all of that. Old Fritz would undoubtedly have declared the Net to be a state secret, and the Austrians would likewise have found out about it the very next day, such was the efficiency of their spy network in Berlin during the days of yore. Nevertheless, I would like to tip the readers off to a few interesting internet sites that should be of interest to anyone with an interest in our period.
SYW Association Web Page
SYWA member Bob French was kind enough to offer his services to help me get the Association on-line. Bob also provides a similar service for HMGS and other groups with a connection to the historical miniature gaming hobby. More on that in a minute. The web site address for the Seven Years War Association is http://www.erinet.com/bp/sywassoc.html . Now this may seem to be a lot of characters to type in while online, but once you are there click on the "Preferences" box and save this address, and others, so that you only have to open up a window and click on the SYWA address for an immediate connection.
Once you are on the SYWA web page, you will be greeted by the smiling face of Frederick the Great of Prussia. Actually, it looks more like a steely grin, but that was probably as happy a look as Old Fritz could give us, considering that he was not known for possessing a warm disposition. Next you will find a sort of mission statement that explains what the SYWA is all about as well as a copy of the table of contents from the most recent issue. There is also a news section that will feature new product releases, information on the publication date of the next issue of the Journal and some convention news. I would encourage MWAN readers to give this web site an occaisional browse in order to see what we are up to. And finally, there is a list of links to other web sites of related interest wargamers and enthusiasts of the 18th Century.
Historical Miniatures Wargame Home Page
If you have any interest in history and wargaming of any type, then this is THE page for you to visit. This is a web site dedicated to historical miniature wargaming and includes links to HMGS chapters, convention news, a historical miniatures flea market, manufacturers and their product information, news groups, and the Historical Miniatures Virtual Store. The online store is a venture founded by Bob French which allows you to tap into current products, rules, books, etc and to order them on-line. For example, if you want to know about the latest releases from Old Glory, make a bee-line to this site and you will see a complete listing of product offerings and information on how to order the same. I should also point out that Bob is the "Man on Horseback" who put the wargame home page togeather and he deserves recognition for a job well done, and one that is of great service to all wargamers. The web site address for this gold mine of information is http://www.erinet.com/bp/hist.html.
As of February 25, 1996 there had been 14,289 visits to this web site which gives us some idea as to the number of wargamers out there who are on-line. I should mention that there is a high probability of repeat visits, but my guess would be that 3,000 to 5,000 people visited this web site.
Horse & Musket Page
Another web site ot interest is Ed Allen's Horse & Musket Home Page, whosc address is http://tetrad.stanford.edu/HM/HorseNMusket.html . This page .segments wargaming activities by sub period such as ECW, 18th Century, Napoleonic, ACW, etc. which allows one to zero in on a period of interest and find related web sites. While visiting this page, I found links to George Nafziger's Orders of Battle service, a copy of Frederick's Instructions to His Generals, and a French & Indian War Home Page. The web address for the F&I War Page is http:/lweb.syr.edu/~laroux/. This, in turn, led me to other web sites that included historical sites, re-enactment equipment suppliers and a Fort William Henry web page. Interesting stutf out in cyber space these days.
Other excursions through cyber space have uncovered an on-line tour of the Fortress of Louisbourg in Canada, the Williamsburg Home Page, an 18th Century Internet Resources Page and a plethora of American Revolution pages that are geared towards people interest in reenactments and living history. One other nage of particular note is Michael Meals American Revolution War Links. I regret that I do not have the address listed here, but you can find it by entering the name of this page in the search function of your internet web browser. The related links led me into the University of Illinois history library, the Chicago Historical Society and the University of Kansas History Library. The internet is a constantly changing animal and undoubtedly a number of new sites will have popped up by the time this column reaches print. Give it a try and see what you can find.
The Best Book Store in the World
This is only my opinion, but anyone who has ever visited Articles of War Bookstore, 8806 N. Bronx Avenue, Skokie, IL 60077 will probably agree that this is the largest and most complete collection of military history books in North America. There are some large collections in the UK, such as Ken Trottman and Athena Books (is this outfit still in business? if so they are the equal of Articles of War in terms of size and depth of their stock). Proprietor, Bob Ruman, has acquired an extensive inventory of Napoleonic, ACW, British Colonial, American History, WW I and II, and the Seven Years War. My guess is that WWII and the American Civil War account for the largest segments of the store's inventory, but the other periods are well represented.
One of the things that I like about AOW is that Bob Ruman is able to stock books published overseas, particularly in the 18th Century segment. There are a number of books on Frederick the Great and the SYW being published in Germany at this time, and AOW seems to have a pipeline into these German (and French) publishing houses. For example, I toured Eastern Germany in 1994 and visited a wonderful bookstore in Berlin, but I found that I had already acquired many of the books in that store through AOW. If you would like to find a particular book or obtain more information, then give Bob Ruman a call at (847) 674-7445 or send a fax to (847) 674-7449, or e-mail to WARBOOKS@aol.com. And please tell them that Jim Purky sent you.
Historical Orders of Battle
If you are new to the SYW and are wondering how to draw up an army list or order of battle for your tabletop forces, then I would like to draw your attention to another wargaming service that deserves a close look: George Nafziger's Orders of Battle. George has spent a considerable amount of time compiling lists of OB's for a variety of periods beginning with the 30 Years War and on through the modern era to World War II. If you write to George, he will send you a catalog listing of OB's for campaigns and specific battles, each with its own code number. Then, all you have to do is select the code number that you want, send in your order, and you will receive a computer printout depicting your order of battle. My recollection is that the price is an economical $0.25 per full page. George will often throw in partial pages for no extra cost. What it comes down to is the fact that you could spend $5 to $10 and receive a wealth of detailed OB's for the SYW or any other period. This is too good to pass up. After you receive your OB's then in some cases it is a simple matter of painting the units, battalion for battalion that are listed on the print out and VOILA! you have an accurate historical wargame army. Or, you can create your own army lists by examining the available forces and determining what percentage of units were infantry, cavalry and artillery, or what percent of the Austrian cavalry were composed of cuirassiers, dragoons and hussars? You can then compare your results with those listed in conventional army lists in WRG or Age of Reason. You may find that by your calculations, you need to have more cuirassiers in your army, or fewer grenadier battalions, etc. An accurate OB is always a good place to start when you enter a new period and decide to start painting units. To take advantage of this excellent service, contact George Nafziger at PO Box 1522, West Chester, OH 45069, or look him up at Cold Wars, Little Wars and the Historicon conventions and order your OB's direct. George brings his computer and extensive data base to these conventions and he can print out your order in a matter of minutes. Highly recommended!
New 25mm SYW Figures From Old Glory
Just when I had thought that I had all the 25mm Austrians and Prussians that I could ever want, then along comes Old Glory to prove me wrong. The company follows up on its fine line of 15mm SYW Austrians, Prussians, Russians and British with a companion 25mm line that will take your breath away. I reviewed these figures rather extensively in the Seven Years War Association Journal, Volume VIII Issue No. 4 and encourage you to seek a copy of the same if you want a detailed 3-4 page review of the Austrian and Prussian infantry and artillery releases. It is my understanding that the cavalry for both sides will be released at Cold Wars 1996 (i.e. they will be available by the time you read this).
Let me offer this germ of an idea to all the readers: if you already own 15mm SYW armies, then don't be put off by the idea of having to paint two new 25mm armies because you like the new Old Glory releases. Instead, why not buy 50 to 100 figures and organize a skirmish level game? This is the approach that I am using. My wargame table can not possible hold any more Austrians and Prussians in the 25mm scale; so instead I elected to paint units for a skirmish level game. Each side will have 20-24 figure units on the table. I already had a number of Croat units that were based on single 1" by 1" stands, so it was relatively easy to add a unit of Austrian grenadiers and a unit of musketeers to fill out the Austrian side (3 Croat units, 1 Jager, 1 Grenadier and 1 Musketeer). As for the Prussians, I quickly painted a battalion of 24 grenadiers sporting exquisitely detailed mitre caps, and added another battalion of Musketeers, this time using Elite Miniatures 25mm Prussians. I am currently working on another battalion of Old Glory musketeers and will close out the side with a couple pieces of artillery. I've noticed that some of the best convention games are simple skirmish level games, because the rules are easy to learn, the terrain usually looks great, and gamers simply have more fun with the role playing element. More on this skirmish project in future issues.
As always, if you have any questions about the SYW or wish to trade information about new products and services, then please write to me at SYWA, 3127 Park Place, Evanston, IL 60201. Or drop me a note via e-mail at JPURKY@aol.com for a quicker response.
And of course, do not forget MagWeb (Magazine Web), which you can find at http://www.magweb.com on the Internet World Wide Web.--RL
Back to MWAN #81 Table of Contents
© Copyright 1996 Hal Thinglum
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com