From Stuart Schoenberger I was in Lancaster this past weekend for the summer con. It was really great! While I was involved in an event to be described later, Phil Barker looked over our shoulders. I took the liberty of requesting his autograph. Due to the impossibility of being two places at once, I missed Terry Gore's demo on his Ancient Warfare rules. I played in three Might of Arms games, one Ancients and two other Renaissance. The first was between the Republican Romans and Greek Successor Army of Antionchee III or IV. As a wing commander, I out-maneuvered my opponent even though he had more units. After successfully breaking this wing, I proceeded to rout the main battle line obviously, a tactical genius! In the Renaissance game, I broke three Imperial pike blocks with my inferior French shot and pike. Of course, I took advantage of the terrain feature, a stream, and inv artillery. With the latter, I had crossed his T. In forcing him away from his objective, I successfully maneuvered two pike blocks to his one. After defeating one, I would then proceed on the next. By the time I defeated my opponents three, the other side was in turn maneuvering the mass of his army against my force and the knights on my side were rapidly maneuvering to join me. As a result, the effort on the part of the opposition went nowhere. I liked the modifications made by the gamemaster.
In the past, I played Renaissance until we modified the rules of our club to the point of being totally absurd. I played a second Renaissance game gamemastered by the designer of Might of Arms. Although I purchased a set and enjoyed the scenario, he was not a very good gamemaster. What I liked was the way units gradually deteriorated, not all at onLe. Units became worn by taking fatigue points in what seemed to be a realistic fashion. Also, there was no counting of the figures. once one got into the system, it was rather easy to play. It's not for everyone, especially those who love WRG 7th I'dition, Armati, or the DBA, DBM and DBR style games. One can customize units and army lists. Although it included army lists, I would prefer it for the larger style game. I think it will better handle larger type units than Clash. However, I may be wrong on this. As indicated in the rule book (which is all encompassing and easy to read), it is designed for large battles in which more than one player is involved per side. As for ease of reading, I only noticed one ambiguity. it is easier to let the gamemaster bring you into the game.
On the other hand, a new rage is sweeping wargaming, or should I say a revolution of staggering proportions. Piquet, miniatures with it's readability and playability, is a new phenomenon. Rather than waste time with lots of other rules, Piquet uses cards to incorporate leadership, movement and the like to eliminate much of the gamesmanship and petty tedium. I don't think it's for everyone. As for me, I could see how it could be used to force a lot of decision-making back into the game. Armies, especially Ancient or musket and horse, could grind each other down without a need to remove figures or waste time in unnecessary routine. It appeared easy to play, but extremely difficult to translate one's own from the rule book. Only my initial impression in addition to the above, I attended a seminar on the Seven Years war (Jim Perky?) Travelogue to battlefields in Poland and Czechoslovakia, and participated in a WWII card game and charge Project game and a WWII Spearhead game, as well as purchased numerous books and magazines for my collection. Also, I purchased 15mm decals which I intend to translate to 10mm. I am sort of sorry I didn't purchase a unit of AWI figures. I was literally bowled over by the number of figures and ships being offered in the Dealers and Flea market areas. I could have gone broke and still not purchased enough to purchase the large size armies I like. I would say that the friends I came down with spent as little as $200.00 and as much as $500.00 on hobby oriented materials.
From David Barnes I read in the latest MWAN in your section What's New in Halls mailbox. I think that you were bothered that ECW/TYW Dragoons didn't have a standard bearer and had a drummer instead. That's because in those days and indeed down to the time of Frederick the Great, Dragoons counted their druins as their standard - like the artillery count their guns similarly. So the pack not including a standard should not have had one anyway. I have seen a representation purporting to be that of Oakey's Regiment of Dragoons (ECW); where the writer dreamed that one up, I don't know. When Dragoons List became Norse, then they began having standards, but their drums were still important to them.
Secondly, I noticed that you asked for information about ECW and TYW. I can give you a few titles which you might be able to obtain in the USA. The first is a wargaming book: (1) With Pike & Musket, C. F . Wesencraft, Elmfield Press, ISBN 0 7057 0059 3. First published in 1975. The sub-title, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Battles for the wargamer. It gives some rules and then battle reconstructions of 27 battles from Pinkie 1547 up to Worcester, 165 1. It also gives the proportions of wargames figures required to fight the battles and the actual numbers (as far as is known) on each side. All the addresses in the book for obtaining figures are out of date. (2) The Thirty Years War by C. V. Wedgewood , published by Penquin; Standard work, history. (3) Renaissance Rules 1420-1700" by George Gush, published by WRO. (4) Ironsides by Corporal Howard Whitehouse (ECW rules). (5, 6, and 7) Once Upon a Time in the West Country by Pete Berry, Forlorn Hope by Berry & Wilkins, and File Leader by Pete Berry (all available fro in Partizan Press) . (8) William The Silent by C. V. We dgewood, published by J. Cape, London; 1533-1584. Standard work; history; Dutch/Flemish Revolt vs Spain. (9) The Rise of the Dutch Republic by Motley; standard work - a bit dated (Same period as William the Silent). (10) The English Civil War - A Military Handbook by J. Tucker and L. Winstock from & Armour Press. (11) The New Cambridge Modern History Vol IV - The Decline of Spain and the Thirty Years war 1609-45/59. Edited by J.P. Cooper, ISBN 0 521 29713 3 paperback from Cambridge University Press. This is a history book but will give you background to everything and the actual chapter on TYW was written by HA Beller, Professor of History at Princeton University. (I 2)Armies of 16th Century by Ian Heath published by Foundry Books; ISBN 1 901543 005; earlier but excellent!
(Editor's Note. Thanks for the information, David! I was sure of Dragoon drummer information; my point was that the manufacturer labeled the pack as "Cavalry Command" and did not have any standard bearers, only dragoon drummers).
From Terry Hooker, The South and Central American Military Historian's Society. 27 Hallgate. Cottingham, East Yorkshire, HU16, 4DN, UK: Read with interest in MWAN 92 about John R. Surdu's articles on the Causes of the Mexican war. Two books that could be of help and interest on this subject are: British Interests and Activities in Texas 1836-1846" by Ephraim Douglass Adams, first published in 1910, reprinted by Peter Smith, Gloucester, MA, 1963, and Mexicans at Arms; Purlo Federalists and the Politics of War 1845- 1848" by Pedro Santoni, published by Texas Christian University Press, Forth Worth, 1996. As one can see by their titles, they cover the period in question, but frorn the British and Mexican sides which I feel is always of help to have a clearer view of the period. Another title which could be of interest is: The Southern Dream of a Caribbean Empire 1854-1861 " by Robert S. May, published by the University of Georgia Press, 1989.
(Editor's Notes. Thank you, Terry. if anyone is interested in South and Central American military history, they should definitely subscribe to Terry's fine magazine El Dorado. Contact him for derails!)
From Jim Purky As for Spanish SYW flags, that is a tough assignment. I would start by talking to Dale Wood since he actually has a SYW Spanish army. Regiment Colours might have information, and they would probably even make the flags for you too. Another thought is to contact Steven Manley in the UK since he has (or will) publish a uniform guide for Spain in the W.A.S. If you need addresses for the above people, let me know. I looked in Funcken and it appears that Spanish use a flag with the Cross of Navanel?). This is probably a King's Colors and I would be that each regiment has one of them plus some sort of regimental colours. Probably flags are similar to those the Napoleonic ware but that is just speculation.
(Editors Note. Thanks very much fbr the info. -Tim. I would like Steven Manley's address if you it would be so kind as to send it. Gamers interested in the SYW, or, American Revolutionary War, should subscribe to Jim's publications on the subjects: very good stuff.
From Brian Carroll I am enclosing an article about an old Wargame campaign that rny group had years ago. I hope it proves interesting. I was delighted to read Brigadier Grant's article about gaming with his father in one of the recent issues. I arn a great fan of the work of both father and son. Perhaps the Brigadier would like to publish more in MWAN? Also, can you republish any of Grant senior's great articles from Battle for Wargamers? I really enjoyed them. My daughter is now 15 months old, and quite a busy girl she is. My gaming firne has evaporated. I've painted almost nothing in the past year. But boy I've shoveled money to figure painters. Now I just have to find time to play with the toys. We're still hunting for the holy grail of WWII rules. Since we are not a full time WWII gaming group, we need something simple and fairly quick (I know, a tall order). We've started experimenting with (don't laugh please) Fire and Fury for World War II. We call it Rapid Fury, since we simply stole a lot of data from Rapid Fire, and plugged it into F&F. Oddly enough, it seems to work. But we have to tweak it some more. Has anyone else tried this?
My Marlborough troops are coming along. I finished putting flocking and terrain on the last set of bases last week. It's been a long road. Now I'm adding grenadiers and some French Dragoons. They look too cool to leave out.
From Timothy Boyd We're selling our house. which is a royal pain in any area of the body known to mankind! As well, since we'll be moving into much smaller quarters, the bulk of our stuff will have to go into storage, which means that I have to say goodbye to most of my toys and books for the next year.
This also presents a nice challenge, however: what periods/scales of figures can I take which will fit on what I guess will be no more than a 3x5'dining room table? Because we have plans to visit all of the battlefields of the American Revolution in the South we can find, my first choice was to put together a game in 15mm to fit and I've spent my painting time so far this summer in painting up a little British army as it might have looked at Guilford Courthouse in March, 1781 --almost entirely infantry, a total of four small guns, and just a smattering of cavalry. From now to our moving date at the end of September, I'll add a Continental army which will match. Beyond the Revolution, I've thought to add something 19th century and so I plan to create two small armies for the 1st Carlist War of the 1830's--half-a-dozen infantry regiments for each side, a few cavalry units, and a couple of guns. These are wonderfully colorful figures and will allow me to practice all of those Napoleonic tactics I've read about for years.
My Maori Wars figures are just about finished, so I may include them to provide a different kind of problem: war in the bush. Last of all, and still in the distant planning stages, and I thought that I'd move up into the 20th century by including a small Spanish Civil War set-up, with a limited number of infantry, a few guns, cavalry, and tanks. Economically speaking, this will allow for taking a bit less scenery, since I can use the same stuff for Spain in the 1830s and 1930s. This may be a bit ambitious--we'll see--but it's been fun to consider all of the possibilities! Have I remembered to say that MWAN gets better and better? When I think of (A) all the figures and books I've found advertised/reviewed there, and (B) all the friends I've made through it, the subscription price feels embarrassingly low! Thanks! And a final note--the new 1st Corps Cape Wars figures--have you seen them? I had read that the maker was inspired by the work of the amazing Bill Horan--and it's true!!!! They are absolutely some of the best 25s I've seen since Wargames Foundry!
From Charles Elsdon The "mock interview" was meant to be a humor and thought piece, and I hope it will start up some interesting discussion on the hobby. A few people have called or written me directly as a result of the first two articles, and I've even started up a new friendship locally. I'd especially like to thank Stuart Asquith over in the "Auld Countree" for his many comments and enclosures. I'd love to hear from others out there either in the magazine or direct to me-the Big Scale needs to come out of the closet, for one thing. Fellow 54mm Fans of the world; Unite! Fellow MWAN subscribers; Write! This current article shares many years of intense 54mm collecting knowledge through corresponding with dealers and going to "military toy shows." I think it makes a good "starters kit" for those willing to stick their toes in the 54mm water. If you go to the shows you will find hobbyists and dealers as friendly and informative as their Cousins at the miniatures conventions. Its also fun to find reference books useful for any scale there, and see toys you may have had when YOU were a child. It looks like one or more of rny rules sets which can be used for any scale 54min- I 5min will be published for Christmas 1998. I would like to tell the story of their design, which combines my own ideas on rules with a format which attempts to sell to two different markets-first time 54mm collectors/gamers and veteran historical miniaturists. I may be able to reveal all by next writing. Right now several versions of several rules sets are under consideration, and only when I'm further along in the production process will I know what the final product will look like in several respects. If possible I'd want to send you a review copy/copies, so I was interested in your recent discussion of how to handle new rules. You can describe them yourself and/or send them to an "impartial" reviewer, as you wish. I think these rules will break new ground in several ways, and help unite players of different scales, which is one of the issues I discussed in the "interview."
On the personal gaming front, I just enjoyed my first Historicon (98) down in Lancaster,, PA. As Boxers in China we kicked British butt out in the open using the Piquet system. As Chinese once again in the sand Pebbles event I put a light wound on Steve McQueen! And I'd like to thank my fellow Metropolitan wargamers for the spiked coffee concoction at Appleby's restaurant. Also from 8-1:30 PM Saturday night at the open gaming tables I hosted a first play of the great now multi-player boardgame from France Joan of Arc (available from Clash of Arms Games, among others). of course, its hard not to get intense when you're playing out the entire Hundred Years War.
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© Copyright 1997 Hal Thinglum
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