Every now and then something happens that is out of the usual run and which brings unexpected pleasure to the wargamer and military collector. Such an event occurred this week when I received two books THE DOWNFALL OF LOBENGULA and WITH THE MOUNTED INFANTRY AND THE KASHONALAND FTELD FORCE, 1896 from a firm in Africa "Books of Rhodesia" Publishing Co. (PVT) Ltd., 137A Rhodes Street (14th-15th Aves), P.O.Box 1994, Bulawayo, Rhodesia. This enterprising organisation are reprinting rare and out-of-print books on the pioneering and development days of Rhodesia, many of them being of a military nature that will bring tears of joy to the eyes of the wargamer specialising in the Colonial period - it certainly did to me anyway! The prices of these books are quoted in Rhodesian dollars but they may be ordered through any South African bookseller to overcome problems of remitting currency. (At the moment I cannot give you the names and addresses of any South African booksellers but I hope to be able to do so shortly). I have not had a chance to read the first of these books although I have read in the past that one concerned with the Mounted Infantry. Both of these reprints are exactly like the old volumes with original photographs, drawings, etc., and are beautifully produced. The list that accompanied them includes some other fascinating titles such as ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN FRONTIER; WITH PLUMER IN MATABELELAND; THE JAMESON RAID. Here is the review of one of these books and the second one will be similarly dealt with in a later issue of Wargainer's Newsletter. WITH THE MOUNTED INFANTRY AND THE M.F.F. 1896 by E.A.H. Alderson. (8 3/4 x 5 3/4"; 308 pages; 10 photographs and a map. The Rhodesian Reprint Library - Vol, 20. $6.30 South African). This book is an exact copy of the original volume published in 1898, a book which has long become a collector's item. It deals with the rebellion of the Matabale tribe in March 1896 at a time when only a handful of settlers were thinly spread over the vastness of the country while the main body of white police were away in connection with the abortive Jameson Raid. In a most readable fashion the book deals with the formation in Aldershot in England of four companies of Mounted Infantry sent out to Rhodesia under Lieut.-Colonel Alderson. The operations of this small force in conjunction with such colourful units as the Rhodesia Horse, the Salisbury Field Force, Grey's Scouts, etc., etc., paint a vivid and fascinating picture of the perils of being a colonist within living memory or certainly within the memory and knowledge of many of our fathers. The colonial wargamer who wants an unusual and thoroughly interesting campaign that requires only small numbers of troops will not do much better than this. It is worth pointing out that this book together with many others of interest to wargamers can be obtained at reduced prices by being a Member of the Books of Rhodesia Book Club which gives a 33% discount on all books. THE BATTLE FOR THE ARDENNES by John Strawson. (8 3/4" x 5 3/4"; 212 pages; 30 photographs; 7 maps. Batsford - £ 2.50P) We are familiar with John Strawson through previous books reviewed here which include "The Battle for North Africa" and "Hitler as Military Commander". As Chief of Staff to Headquarters United Kingdom Land Forces together with a host of experience as a Commander in armour and infantry during World War II and subsequently, John Strawson is most adequately equipped to write such a book as this. At the time of the German offensive in the Ardennes, I was on leave from Italy in Britain and I remember feeling most depressed about what seemed to be a resurgence of German military power which might well prolong the war that we had all hoped was ending. It seems from this exciting book that the offensive had no chance from the beginning but soldiers in the field (on both sides) being unaware of this fact, fought bravely under appalling climatic conditions. The bulk of the fighting was borne by the Americans although Field-Marshal Montgomery was appointed Commander of some of U.S. General Bradley's forces, much to the fury of the Americans and considerable controversy and dissent arose from this move. From a wargaming point of view, there are many small scale actions which together form the whole operation and they can well be refought as a single wargame or as part of a table-top campaign. All the information you need, including the order of battle, strengths, etc., etc., are contained in this very readable book. Subsequent to some rather adverse reviews of a series BATTLES FOR WARGAMERS by Terence Wise (in the November and December Newsletters) some remarkably friendly correspondence has been exchanged between Terry Wise and myself and, in all fairness, I feel that some of our comments should be published and read in conjunction with my reviews. I hit this series hard because I believed them to be bad books in so far as they used the word "Wargamers" in their titles. If they had been called "Battle Notes" or something like that then I would have given them a more favourable review because, for their size and scope, they give a reasonable account of the actions, discussing informatively the arms equipment and the soldiers concerned. Mr. Wise has explained that "my aim was not to teach wargamers how to play, how to set out terrain or formulate new rules. This is left entirely to the individual, which I consider the most important point about all wargaming, especially rules. Indeed, all these type of points have been more than adequately covered in books on wargaming, mostly by yourself. Had I included all these extras each small book would have become a large one, defeating the purpose of the series -- condensed facts on a series of battles within an era for a comparatively low price. When re-fighting battles from history one is always faced with the problem of tracing the basic facts -- how many men, what weapons, how many of each weapon, capabilities of the weapons, uniform and organisation of regiments etc., etc. The series aims to supply some of these basic, bare facts." As an author, I get mad when I read an adverse review of one of my books, particularly when I consider the reviewer to have missed the point behind the book. This may well have occurred in my reviews of Mr. Wise's books and I trust that what is written here today, read in conjunction with my reviews, will present a reasonable and fair picture of his series as I see it. BORODINO - Napoleon Against Russia 1812 by Christopher Duffy. (8 3/4 x 5"; 199 pages; 7 coloured plates; 29 black and white prints and 14 maps. This book is simultaneously published in hardback by Seeley Service Ltd and in paperback by Sphere Books Ltd at 60p.). The arrival of this book shows marvelous timing - it actually arrived in my house on the morning of the day on which B.B.C. T.V. showed the Battle of Borodino in their "War and Peace" series. Then there is the War and Peace weekend to be held at Missenden Abbey on the 23rd, 24th and 25th February when the author Christopher Duffy (in company with David Chandler, Anthony Brett Jamps and J. Orr) will all be lecturing on the "War and Peace" period and will be supervising a gigantic reconstruction of the Battle of Borodino as a wargame. The soft cover edition that I have before me is excellent value for the money and no wargamer in the Napoleonic period can really afford to be without this book. The coloured prints include three of the actual battlefield, taken recently with four more scenes from the Borodino sequence in the B.B.C. film. The black and white prints not only show comtemporary prints but also many of the weapons that were used in the battle and all the principal participants. I always think it is much more interesting to read about some brilliant piece of command/possibly a disastrous /or activity and then, by looking at a portrait of the commander concerned, to say "Well, he looks a bit of a pompous bore!" The style of this battle and the nature of the terrain make it an ideal example of one of the massed battles of the Napoleonic period that can be refought using the 5mm, figures obtainable in "regimental" blocks. Using them, it is possible to fit in the entire terrain on the average sized wargames table and a relatively new concept of wargaming opens up before ones eyes. However, back to the book. It is difficult to speak too highly of this volume which, in most readable terms, sets out the conditions and events that led up to the massing of troops on the battlefield and then describes the battle itself in great detail. Personally, I thought that the three opening chapters "The Weapons and Tactics of 1812"; "Napoleon's Army"; "The Russian Army" just about explained the style and tactics of Napoleonic warfare in a more concise and understandable way than almost anything I had ever read. The book contains an invaluable Order of Battle for Borodino with every unit of the Grande Armee down to regimental level and the some for the Russian armies under Kutuzov - what a wonderful choice of names and units this list presents! Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 131 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1973 by Donald Featherstone. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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