Osprey: Zulu, Landsknechts,
Napoleon's Dragoons and Lancers,
and Mexican American War 1846-48

Book Review

by Don Featherstone

From OSPREY PUBLISHING LIMITED I have received the four latest titles in their MEN AT ARMS SERIES, published at £ 1.75p each. Justifiably proud of all titles in this series, Martin Windrow the Editor considers this quartet to be among the best titles they have published.

THE ZULU WAR - text and colour plates by Angus McBridge. In forty very well illustrated pages, the author has really caught the spirit of what is undoubtedly one of the most attractive of the Victorian Colonial Wars. His coloured illustrations of the Zulus themselves and the remarkable assortment of uniforms worn by Lord Chelmsford's force should persuade many Colonial wargamers to branch out into this era. The information in this book alone is sufficient to assemble accurate armies and wargaming.

THE LANDSKNECHTS - text by Douglas Miller, colour plates by G.A.Embleton. Along with Terry Wise's book reviewed above, this most authoritative and colourful book must surely arouse more than a sense of curiosity in our minds as to the practical aspects of using mercenaries on the wargames table. The battles between the Swiss pikemen and the German landsknechts were bloody and ruthless, fitting in well with the wargamer's reluctance to bother about prisoners-of-war! Consider the incredibly coloured uniforms depicted by Gerry Embleton and then have a look at some of the coloured ranges of 25mm landsknechts (such as those produced by Warrior) and if you do not feel a distinct yearning to embark upon armies of this period then you are not a true wargamer!

NAPOLEON'S DRAGOONS AND LANCERS - text by Emir Bukhari, colour plates by Angus McBridge. This is first in a planned sequence of titles, covering all classes of French 1st Empire line cavalry and he has certainly started with a most colourful (both from the point of view of ability and uniform) group! It is well known that there are more Napoleonic wargamers than in any other period, largely because of the gorgeousness of the uniforms which in itself causes a lack of balance in forces as enthusiastic wargamers paint up Dragoons, Lancers, Cuirassiers, etc., etc., until their armies are disproportionately formed. I cannot give an answer to this and I am certain that all the wonderful illustrations and the in depth information contained in this book will only accentuate the situation - but do not let that prevent you from buying it because under one cover, is information that will take you months to obtain elsewhere.

THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR 1846-1848 - text by Philip R.K.Katcher, colour plates by G.A.Embleton. Philip Katcher is well known for his beautiful book on the Armies of the American Revolution (also published b'' Osprey) and now he has opened wargamer's eyes to a really fascinating period for tabletop battles and one in which so far as I am aware not a single wargamer participates! Truly, they miss something - when writing Volume IV of my WARGAMES THROUGH THE AGES, I was really stirred and stimulated by the uniforms and the battles between the small but highly efficient American army, fighting miles away from home and with annihilation as the penalty for failure. Their opponents, the courageous Mexicans, wore a galaxy of uniforms surely only matched in colour by those of the Landsknechts themselves! If you are looking for a "second" period of armies to supplement your first line Napoleonics then consider the Mexican-American War - this book provides enough information to more than get you started.

More Book Reviews

Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 171
To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1976 by Donald Featherstone.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com