Currently Reading

[Leman (Andy)]

That is sad news, as I am only now discovering his work. Thanks for the additional information Sean.

[Sean Clark]

Just had this arrive from Mr Bezos.

Very interesting. Although I'm  disappointed that in the history section detailing development of grid based gaming theres no mention of Martin.

Without checking, Squarebashing came out around 1997, followed by Conquerors and Kings and Lincolns War using similar mechanics, and of course PBI.

Now, every rule set since Regiment of Foote v2 jas been gridded.

I feel this is quite an ommission on what is otherwise a very interesting take on grid games.

[Leman (Andy)]

Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger (Penguin Classic edition). This is a really interesting read from the German point of view on the Western Front. Junger was a Hanoverian and his regiment's motto was Gibraltar - the fickleness of war eh? He volunteered right at the start and after initial training was posted to France towards the end of 1914. After time spent in France and Belgium, on active duty and continuing training, which resulted in him becoming a junior officer by the age of 20, he has now been posted to the Somme (June 1916) initially to a sideshow area of the battle - still resulting in many deaths and casualties in his regiment. In August 1916 his regiment is now being posted to the more active sector of Guillemont. Two things occured here which I had not been aware of before reading this book, at least fom his point of view. He felt very strongly that the nature of the war changed quite dramatically at this point. It is also the first issue of steel helmets to his unit. I had not realised that some German units went 2/3 of the the way through 1916 still wearing the pickelhaub. This has been something of an eye-opener for me, even after all these years, and I am actually going to finish reading this one. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the historical German perspective of the Western Front.

As a follow up I received a surprise birthday gift from one of my nieces in the form of the previously mentioned 'Act of Oblivion'.

[Leman (Andy)]

Now reading the Osprey, British Cavalryman versus German Cavalryman 1914, by Alan Steele (Combat 66). This is turning out to be an excellent find. It is well researched and gives a great deal of background information on the organisation, recruitment, training, doctrine, arms, equipment and tactics of both the German and British cavalry (with a nod to the French and Belgians) at the start of WWI. An overview of the first few weeks of the BEF's involvement in Belgium and France, up unto the Battle of the Marne, is followed by a more detailed look at three cavalry engagements during that period: Casteau, Cerizy-Moy and Le Montcel. At first I thought the battle maps gave no indication of height variations on the battlefields, but in better light I was able to make out the faint grey contour lines which are indeed there. It reads well and provides all the information needed to develop three cavalry scenarios to put alongside the likes of Nery and Haelen, which are often the combats chosen to illustrate cavalry actions at this phase of the war. I would recommend this to anyone interested in these early war cavalry battles of the BEF.

[martin goddard]

Good observation there Sean.
The TSA  book takes a  similar  approach I believe.

martin :

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

Dipping into 'Apache Dawn' by Damien Lewis. If you ever want to know what it was like to be air support for the troops in 'Afghan' in 2007, this is an eye opener. I particularly like the Health & Safety madness at Camp. It has a MASH-esque quality about it. Cooking off lunches on the airframe while at the ready beggars belief... better that than the missiles though...

Neil

[Big Mike]

Just finished 'Snow and Steel. Battle of the Bulge 1944-45' by Peter Caddick-Adams.
Plenty of in-depth analysis of the command and intelligence work, no surprise given the authors Army career. He has spent plenty of time on the battle site and his research is first class. He has unearthed fascinating period interviews of the German commanders such as Pieper by Allied officers.
The a story of a blond US nurse who so captivated a German officer that she kept him away from his men and delayed the advance, is ripe for a Hollywood film!     
It reveals plenty of surprises and well worth a read even if you already have one of the many books written about the Ardennes.
Mike     

[Panzer21]

"Instrument of War" by the recently deceased Christopher Duffy the first volume of his two volume work on the Austrian army of the SYW.
A little dry in places, but interesting none the less.
Neil

[Colonel Kilgore]

I recently read Ospreys "The Conquest of Saxony AD 782-785 - Charlemagne's defeat of Widukind of Westphalia".

It was nicely laid out with some good-quality pictures of artefacts (some in the older Ospreys are less good), nice 2D and 3D maps as well as a couple of battle scenes.

If Carolingians are your thing (and with Martin's new range, why wouldn't they be?), this book is recommended.

Simon

[Colonel Kilgore]

I recently finished Michael Livingston's "Never Greater Slaughter: Brunanburh and the Birth of England", published by Osprey.

I really enjoyed this book. It tells what's known of this pivotal battle in British history, its context and aftermath.

But a lot of the book is taken up with an analysis of sources, linguistics and campaigning logistics to try to place the long-lost battlefield itself. This is the part I found the most satisfying - it read more like a detective story than typical history. I'm not qualified to comment on the arguments put forward for the proposed location (on the Wirral), but it all sounded well-balanced to me. An added bonus was some nice coloured photos of re-enactors in period warriors' kit.

I'd be interested in hearing whether others (Andy?) have read it and what they thought of the evidence put forward for the proposed battle site.

Simon

[Sean Clark]

The Korean War by Max Hastings.

It is the only book of his I hadn't read. Really very interesting account of the Forgotten War as its known. I've just bought the Pendraken book, the Forgotten War designed for snother set of rules  but also very interesting. I wonder why this conflict isn't gamed much?

[Colonel Kilgore]

The Korean War by Max Hastings.

It is the only book of his I hadn't read. Really very interesting account of the Forgotten War as its known. I've just bought the Pendraken book, the Forgotten War designed for snother set of rules  but also very interesting. I wonder why this conflict isn't gamed much?

Mostly because it is so poorly known or talked about,  Sean?

From a gaming perspective, it's a bit stuck between WW2 and Vietnam. And the helicopters are cooler for Vietnam?

Simon

[Richardwills]

Simon,

I too have the Livingstone book and his (co authored) stuff on 1066.  All very interesting as you say.  Great to read about all the sources in the depth he goes too.  The only reservation is it's all a bit Channel 4 / 5 exclusive! -  like all the "exclusive" revelation programmes on WW2.  The saving grace is he is a proper academic, and he's got to sell his books!

Persuasive arguments too!  But, at the end of the day, we'll just never know where these two battles, and the three 1066 Northern battles were actually fought.  Doesn't take away from the fun though.

Richard

[Leman (Andy)]

I haven't read it, but now that they are beginning to finally dig up evidence of a Dark Age battle in Bromborough it does stiffen my resolve to see that pivotal battle taking place on the Wirral.

Currently ploughing through the two Osprey books on the Eighty Years War and the one on the Spanish Tercios.

[Sean Clark]

The Korean War by Max Hastings.

It is the only book of his I hadn't read. Really very interesting account of the Forgotten War as its known. I've just bought the Pendraken book, the Forgotten War designed for snother set of rules  but also very interesting. I wonder why this conflict isn't gamed much?

Mostly because it is so poorly known or talked about,  Sean?

From a gaming perspective, it's a bit stuck between WW2 and Vietnam. And the helicopters are cooler for Vietnam?

Simon

The Korean War was thr only time the Cold War turned hot and other than perhaps Cuba was the closest we came to use of nuclear weapons. Orders were approved for their use apparently....

I suppose it might feel a bit like WW2, but the tanks used were those that didn't quite make it into WW2.