The Colonial Wars Sourcebook
By Philip J. Haythornthwaite
Arms And Armour Press (Sterling Publishing Co. in the U.S.), 1996
384 pages
A title long awaited by the Colonial Wargame enthusiasts, this book does not disappoint. Readers familiar with Haythornthwaite's previous volumes on the Napoleonic Wars and WWI already know how much material he provides on all aspects of his subject, and this latest work is no exception.
The book is divided into major chapters to simplify finding the specific data you want. The first section, "Great Britain" has sections on the Army, its uniforms, and, especially useful, tactics. The second chapter is devoted to "India And Associated Regions" and describes, chronologically, all the major campaigns from around 1800 to 1900 with sub-sections on the various native armies and periodic changes in the British and "John Company" armies as well. Among the "associated regions" are sections on Afghanistan, Arabia, Burma, Ceylon, Nepal, and Persia The third chapter, South Africa And The Mediterranean, follows the same order with sub-sections on the campaigns and native armies of Abyssinia British East. Central Africa East Somaliland, South and West Africa, as well as the Sudan, Zulu Wars, and Boer conflicts usually well covered in other sources.
The fourth chapter covers "The East" with the emphasis on China, but some coverage of the East Indies. "The Americas and the Atlantic" and then Australasia and the Pacific" constitute the fifth and sixth chapters. As usual in his other works, the author includes a useful chapter of brief biographies of important personages (e.g. Baden-Powell, Colin Campbell, The Rani of Jhansi, Kitchener, The Mahdi, Nana Sahib, Tantia Topi, and Wolseley) which serves as a "who's who" to the neophyte Colonial history buff. The final chapters are a list and description of his sources (hardly exhaustive of the subjects) and a practical glossary.
The work is illustrated with a selection of drawings and BW photos and only a few theater maps, so there is little here for the modeler or scenario designer. The descriptions of native armies, certainly the least well covered subject in the entire field, are very useful, if not exhaustive. The description of the Indian Army up to the Mutiny is remarkably succinct and provides almost as much information as do some entire books on the subject.
One of the real pluses are the frequent sidebars containing contemporary or eyewitness accounts of actions that go far to give the flavor of the times. Though obviously not intended as a book to be read cover-to-cover, the individual sections make for a good read and plenty of inspiration can be found for different projects.
A similar book by Ian Heath is expected to be published in about a year. Judging from his articles on the Afghan, Tai-Ping, and Imperial Chinese arrnies, among others, which have appeared in Wargames: Illustrated over the last couple of years, his may actually become the Acme in the field. However, until such time comes, there is no better single volume source currently available on the market than The Colonial Wars Sourcebook and, as such, it deserves unqualified recommendation to both the neophyte and veteran Colonial Wargamer.
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