Handbook for Colonial Wargamers

Book Review

by Don Featherstone

by Ted Herbert

This is Special Publication No. 1 of the Victorian Military Society and is written by a wargamer who has always shown a great enthusiasm and knowledge of the Colonial period and is said to have assisted the Individual Skirmish Wargames Group with their rules for this style of fighting. I commend Ted Herbert's approach to this in that he has not attempted to lay down dogmatic sets of rules, rather he has suggested scales for movement and described typical infantry and cavalry formations of the period; casualty effects from musketry and artillery fire are suggested by giving details of the potentialities and possible effects of actual fire during the period under review. An interesting aspect is the manner in which the book refers to some late 19th century rules for wargaming used by armies of that time - they are the official RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR GAME (Great Britain) published in 1884 and Captain Naumannts Das Regiments Kriegspiel. Versuch einer neuen methode des Detachements-Kriegsspiels, Berlin, 1877.

However, whilst this gives a certain "period" air appropriate to a publication dealing with Victorian warfare, it seems almost certain that since then rules have progressed and been so adapted as to conform to modern wargaming ideas and figures as to be a superior and more suitable means of controlling our games. Morale is all important in Colonial wargaming because of the varied temperament and characters of the vast diversity of native foes, hence the book considers this in some detail, again without laying down hardand-fast rules. Perhaps the most valuable part of this booklet lies in the two sections detailing the weapons, organisation, tactics and dress of the protagonists - this is in two sections, the first covering Regular Troops and their Native Allies and including Americans, Belgians, British, Dutch, Egyptians, French, Germans, Indians, Italians, Japanese, Portuguese, Russians, Spanish and Turks. Even more fascinating is Section Three which covers Tribesmen and Irregulars Abyssinians, Arabs (Tuaregs and Moors), Ashanti, Baluchis, Boers, Chinese, Dahomeans, East Africans (Baganda, Kikuyu and Masai), Hereros and Namas, Hovas of Madagascar, Mahdists of the Sudan, Malays, Pathans of the North-West Frontier of India, Persians, Red Indians, Somalis, Turkomans of Central Asia and Zulus.

Long the poor relation of wargaming, Colonial warfare is fast making up lost ground as it should do because there is little that is more colourful and presents such a diversity of armies and opponents for the wargamers delight. If handled properly - and the Victorian Military Society are doing their best in this connection - there is no reason why Colonial wargaming should not, in time, rival the well organised activities of the Society of Ancients. Such books as this play a big part in furthering such ambitions.

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© Copyright 1976 by Donald Featherstone.
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