Currently Reading

[Leman (Andy)]

Now reading up on the 1866 scenarios in Neil Thomas' Wargaming C19th Europe, in order to see if I have enough troops prepared to be able to do at least Nachod (definitely need to paint up Bavarians for Kissingen). A good way to do the big C19th European battles on a 4x3 cloth.

[Colonel Kilgore]

I've just finished reading "Mine Were of Trouble", by Peter Kemp. This is the autobiography of a Brit who joined the Spanish Civil War on the Nationalist side. The author then went on to do a bunch of interesting things in the SOE during WW2 in both Europe and the Far East (each of which feature in subsequent books).

Mr Kemp first joined the Requetés and then, looking for more action, the Spanish Foreign Legion. He comes across not at all as a fascist, but as an anti-communist (in the same way that memoirs of foreign volunteers who fought on the other side seem to portray them as anti-fascist, rather than pro-communist).

It's well observed, well written and surprisingly balanced in its views, with lots of military detail - recommended for anyone interested in this conflict.

Simon

[Leman (Andy)]

Currently reading Short Stories in Dutch for Beginners, for rather obvious reasons. Naturalisation depends on being able to pass an exam.

[Wardy64]

Just reading 'A breed of heroes' by Alan Judd. About a four month tour of Armagh and Belfast the end of the 1970's - a good read.

David & Ben

[Colonel Kilgore]

I've just finished reading "Treasure Island" with the children (original version).

The language is a bit archaic, but that adds to the charm. It's a cracking good story, of course, and has me itching to paint my Pirates (which only made it onto my 2022 task list as one of many possible foreseen distractions, and which I naturally should try to resist for a little while, at least...).

Simon

[Leman (Andy)]

Reading Eagles of Empire FPW skirmish level rules. One of the interesting concepts is that the better you do in the game the more points you get to spend on reinforcements, ammunition and victory points. A scenario will end when one side or other accrues a certain amount of victory points. At the moment only one scenario (from rule book one - there are two covering the three different arms), but I have lots of generic scenarios which I can use or adapt.  I am also looking at some randomisation to help make it playable solo.

[Colonel Kilgore]

I've just finished reading "A General History of the Pyrates - from Their first Rise and Settlement in the island of Providence to the present Time" by Daniel Defoe (published 1724).

It is quite archaic in much of its language (not all of passages of which I understood), but covers pretty much all the usual suspects - Avery, Teach, Bonnet, England, Vane, Rackham, Roberts, Low etc, as well as a lot of detail on Mary Read and Anne Bonny.

I was struck by how often pirates simply let ships go - sometimes even with some payment - once they'd taken what they wanted. But equally how completely and needlessly bloodthirsty others were. It was also interesting how often the pirates beached their ships to clean their hulls before setting off again, and how infrequently anyone resisted them (other than English Men of War).

This 180-page book is full of little anecdotes, and a great source of ships' names (both pirates and victims).

Simon

[John Watson]

Nearly finished reading Normandy 44. Another entertaining and informative work by James Holland.
Next read will be the first of the West Wall series by Charles Whiting. He was an amazing man. From 1976 until his death in 2007 he wrote 6 books a year. So many that his publisher was overwhelmed. They ended up using a number of nom de plume for him, including Leo Kessler.
John

[Colonel Kilgore]

You seem to have a very good pedigree for Pieces of Eight, Julian!

Simon

[Leman (Andy)]

The Long War for Britannia by Edwin Pace (Pen and Sword). I have long had an interest in Post-Roman Britain, but there is no definitive history of events, but rather one postulation after another in various books based on the scant surviving primary and secondary sources. Edwin Pace takes a somewhat different approach based on the notion that different Dark Age historians are recording the same events but using different time lines and names for these same events. Pace believes that the dates can be adjusted to a single timeline and that various names can be attributed to the same character, eg. Riothamus, Vortigern and the Proud Tyrant are all in similar titles given by different historians of the day to Arthur and that the Battle of Badon was fought in 446 against Arthur's main enemies the Picts and the Irish. The Saxons were actually Arthur's federates. Further Vortimer  and Ambrosius are the same person. He fought against Arthur and his Saxons, losing but killing Arthur in the process. He continued to operate against the Saxons in the later C5th. Some of these deductions are quite difficult to follow, particularly the maths relating to the different dating systems and how he is able to reconstitute them into one timeline. I am only up to 500 at the moment and he continues the story well into the C7th, but it does make for compelling reading. At the moment I am still at the stage of thinking that one interprets history depending on one's standpoint at a particular time.

[Colonel Kilgore]

I've just finished reading Osprey's "The Viking Siege of Paris - Longships raid the Seine, AD 885-86".

I knew very little about the Carolingian empire, but the dynastic struggles and infighting are a thread running throughout this book, and arguably the reason for the settlement of what is now Normandy by the Vikings.

Two other things I didn't know:

• Viking longships were sometimes covered in pitch (so we can just paint them black!)
• in Charlemagne's reign, each horseman was expected to be equipped with a bow and several quivers of arrows in addition to a shield, lance, sword and sax, while foot soliders were told to muster with a bow and twelve arrows in addition to their shield and spear.

The book also includes two maps, three modern double-page battle paintings and a double-page 3D battlemap in addition to many photos of artefacts and near-contemporary artwork.

Both enjoyable and informative.

Simon

[martin goddard]

Marvellous Simon.  Ready for the Carolingian range  you are (bit of star wars speech problem there



martin

[Leman (Andy)]

For WotR fans, The Sonne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman. This is a massive 600+ page tome and the main focus is Richard of Gloucester. It begins with him at 8 years old, just prior to Ludford Bridge, and continues on until beyond Bosworth. It is fiction and was written in 1983 (picked mine up 2nd hand in Groningen, but it is in the original American - so expect colors and not colours) so predates the recent findings related to Richard's physical disability and location of Bosworth. However hints are there such as the number of tumbles Richard takes in his early life that seem to cause damage to one of his shoulders. The author has taken a lot of trouble over research although having to make a considerable amount of speculation about leading characters' personalities and how their conversations would have played out. The battles are there, but not in any great detail. This is the story of the interactions and intrigues that led to battles and beheadings, but it does make for a very entertaining look at the world of the WotR.

[Colonel Kilgore]

Marvellous Simon.  Ready for the Carolingian range  you are (bit of star wars speech problem there



martin

Why I bought the book in the first place, it was, Martin 

Simon

[Colonel Kilgore]

Although ironically I've just got an email from Amazon saying that they are out of stock of the "Viking Warrior vs. Frankish Warrior" book (published today, but which I'd pre-ordered), and are unable to provide an updated delivery estimate...
I hope you have more luck with yours, Martin!
Simon