THE PENINSULA VETERANS by D.S.Richards. (84" x 52"; 183 pages; 1 map. McDonald and Janes - £3.95p).
After three trips to the Peninsular with the Military Historical Society, I have more than a passing familiarity with these magnetic battlefields in Spain and Portugal, the scenes of perhaps the most resounding victories of the British Army. Lt was an army incomparably equipped with men of all ranks who possessed sufficient literary ability to write of their experiences - there are no less than 32 of them extensively quoted in this book. We meet many old friends, familiar names that march bravely across battlefields emblazoned on the colours of most of the regiments of the British Army. On parade .. Rifleman Harris; George Bell; Napier; Tomkinson; Surtees; Rifleman Plunkett (who shot General Colbert on the bridge at Cacabelos); Costello; Grattan; Lieut. George Simmons; Johnny Kincaid and Harry Smith, among others. Smoothly and aptly, the author blends their varied accounts into his recital of the stirring course of the war, and it comes off very well. This is another book that I am very pleased to add to my growing collection of writings on the Peninsular War.
HITLER'S ELITE - Leibstandarte SS by James Lucas and Matthew Cooper. (9" x 62"; 160 pages; 165 maps and photographs; MacDonald Illustrated War Studies - £3.25p).
Misguided they may have been, but this elite Nazi force certainly seem to have been a first-clas lot - so efficient,professional and well-trained that it makes me, as an ex-amateur.-soldier, proud an not a little surprised that we beat them! Possessing an intense and inherent distaste for anything connected with Hitler and the German nation of his era, I admit to a grudging admiration for the achievements (but not the background) of this elite group whose story is so excellently told here in text and photographs. The illustrations have obviously taken a great deal of collecting and present a graphic record. If you are a World War Two wargamer, this book should be of great interest and value.
GRAND ARMY by Don Lowry and Pete Rice.
This little booklet, a Panzerfaust Publication (P.O.Box C. Belfast, Maine 04915, U.S.A.), provide rules for miniature wargames in the American Civil War and Napoleonic periods, especially designed fo use with large armies of 9mm or 15mm figures. Its authors claim that their rules provide realistic wargaming with full opportunities for outflanking and those other manoeuvres usually impossible on the confined space of a wargames table. Without using them, it is difficult to appraise, but they contain what seem to be useful "Unit Characteristic" charts for all the warring Napoleonic nations, besides a host of other small-print charts and tables that no doubt lead to the reasonable game one could expec from a pair of knowledgeable and experienced wargamer-authors.
TANK BATTLES IN MINIATURE - 2 by Bruce Quarrie. (This is a further review by armoured wargaming authority John Sandars).
In this second book the author, who is currently editor of Airfix Magazine and is also a keen military modeller and wargamer, has closely followed the format set by Don Featherstone in TANK BATTLI IN MINIATURE. In this case however it is the Russian campaign from 1941-45 that is the subject.
The text covers three main areas. Firstly there are numerous quotations from other works aimed 1 giving the reader the "feel" of what fighting in Russia was really like. These in some cases seem a little over dramatic, and the author points out one or two of the exaggerations. They will however bring home some of the horrors of this particular campaign to any reader unfamiliar with it.
The second area covered is that of facts and figures. These are well presented with numerous simple but useful maps and diagrams, as well as tables of weapon and vehicle performance, a good description of the campaign as it happened, and explanations of the tactics and organisation employed by both sides. The photographs will not add much to the knowledge of the existing modern wargamer, but the pictures of ti various types of tanks and guns will be very useful to anyone totally unfamiliar with the subject.
The third area is that of actual wargames, and here the author sets out a fairly detailed and sophisticated set of rules based on the other two. These are designed for use with the 1/285-1/300 scale "micro" AFVs, but give adequate prominence to the part played by the other arms such as infantry and artillery, as well as dealing with armoured trains and air action. A chapter on board games is also included. Logistic and recovery problems as well as the use of partisans and minefields or other obstacles also receive attention.
Apart from the wargames rules, which unless one is already familiar with general wargaming principles may need careful scrutiny to be fully understood, the book is easy to read and of interest even to the non-wargamer, although there is understandably not much in it for the pure military modeller. The solid information, including such things as a map of the Russian Railway system, and organisation diagrams for a very wide variety of units, is probably the best point of the book, and from a few snap checks would appear to be at least sufficiently accurate for normal wargame purposes.
In short a useful and interesting book which should be of good value to anyone not already an "expert" on the campaign, and may well prove a useful source of readily available information to those who are.
That avid reader Bill Thurbon has sent the following comments on recent books mentioned in the Newsletter.
May - THE ENGLISH ARCHER. I still wonder if you do not under-rate Genghis Khan's Mongols in comparison with the Longbowmen of England. It is also interesting to note that both the English Longbowman and the Swiss Pikeman was ultimately defeated by a combination of cavalry and artillery.
June - I was glad to see your comments on McElwee's fine WATERLOO TO MONS. I recently picked up copies of Dennisons HISTORY OF CAVALRY 1913 reprint and Erskine Childers (not the late President of Eire, but his father (the "Riddle of the Sand's" man - shot by the Free State Forces in the "troubles")WAR AND THE ARMEBLANCHE (1910) - both with forewords by Lord Roberts. Both of these stressed the lessons of the Boer War - futility of conventional cavalry, and deadliness of rifle fire - yet none of our Generals in 1914-18 seemed to learn this - except Plumer and Monash.
Have you read any of those fine historical novels for older children by Ronald Welch? Welch is a senior history teacher, his background material is very authentic, and not only are they firstclass stories - for adults as well as children - but they also give good background material for the wargamer. I especially recommand -
KNIGHT CRUSADER - Palestine at the time of the Crusades - Hattin and Arsouf. BOWMAN OF CRECY - fine description of the training of the English Archer, SUN OF YORK - Wars of the Roses.
TANK COMMANDER - 1914-16.
I have just returned from a coach tour of Wales which included several of Edward's castles, as well as a lot of the Owen Glendower (Owain Glendwyr:5 country.
Incidentally I have just discovered that Seward's MONKS OF WAR is now published by Paladin in paperback.
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© Copyright 1975 by Donald Featherstone.
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