Yugoslavia 1941-44

 We are being spoiled by Osprey on the subject of Balkan partisan operations. This book by Pier Paolo Battistelli covers anti-partisan operations in Yugoslavia after the German invasion. Unlike the MAA on Greek partisans, this is a campaign guide that focuses on the operations.

As usual, we get a brief introduction and chronology. Then the opposing commanders. German commanders were regularly rotated, much to their relief, I suspect. Austrian officers were often deployed to the Balkans, and some studies suggest they were more likely to engage in war crimes. For example, Redulic was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. However, none came close to the atrocities committed by Croatian fascists, including Slavko Kvaternik. The Italians were less brutal, but not very competent. The partisan commanders are also covered, including the Chetnik leader Mihailovic, who inexplicably has been the subject of revisionist histories that seek to play down his collaboration. Finally, there is Tito, who was eventually backed by the Allies because his units actually fought the Axis occupation forces.

The next chapter covers the opposing forces. The Germans increasingly made use of local troops or White Russians to avoid taking combat units from active fronts. Ethnic Germans were preferred in units such as the SS Prince Eugene Division. They also recruited Muslim troops into the SS Handschar Division, on the basis that anyone who gave them a gun to resist Croatian attacks was acceptable. The Italians also deployed second-line units, who generally performed poorly. The Croatian Ustaše units effectively drove recruits to the partisans with their atrocities, much to the horror of German commanders who regularly complained to Berlin. To little effect. The Partisan structure had to be flexible, but by the end of the war had grown into something approaching a conventional army. The author has made a very good attempt at an order of battle. I have lots of books on this subject, and this is no easy task.

The opposing plans and campaigns cover the primary anti-partisan operations. This is where the Campaign series is strongest, with lovely, clear maps and colour plates. The use of French armour was a particular feature. The detailed maps over two pages help the reader to understand the rugged terrain. I have driven through large parts of Bosnia, and you are immediately drawn to the challenges of fighting up and down river valleys. The island campaigns in the Adriatic were particularly challenging for the Germans, who had limited naval forces. The campaigns concluded with the Red Army arriving in the Balkans, joining with the partisans to liberate the country. This was also a civil war, and many collaborationists died in mass executions.

While partisan operations played a limited strategic role in the war, they did tie down significant numbers of Axis troops, as even the avowedly anti-communist Churchill recognised based on ULTRA intercepts. On that basis, the author is unjustifiably dismissive of their contribution in his conclusion. There are few neutrals in this debate! However, this remains an excellent military history of the campaigns.

Partisans around the campfire from my 28mm collection

Partisan Warfare in Greece 1941-44

 A new Osprey on a Balkan theme is a no-brainer for me. This is a rare, little-explored corner of the Second World War, as well, by Phoebus Atanassiou.

A brief introduction sets the scene following the Greek campaign and the occupation of Greece by German, Italian and Bulgarian troops. Germany's primary interest was less about Greece itself, but instead defending the Romanian oilfields from the Allied bombing. The Axis Powers divided Greece into three occupation zones. Germany controlled the most strategically important areas; Bulgaria occupied (and annexed) eastern Macedonia, western Thrace and the islands of Thassos and Samothraki; and Italy took over the remainder of the Greek mainland, eastern Crete (Lasithi prefecture), and the south Aegean Sea and Ionian Sea islands.

Despite the best efforts of the Allies, there wasn't a unified resistance in Greece. Two broad coalitions dominated partisan warfare in Greece. ELAS was the military arm of EAM, a KKE-dominated loose coalition of pre-war left-wing political parties, all but uprooted in by the repressive regime of Ioannis Metaxas. It moved to the left during the war, dominated by the Communist Party. On the right stood EDES (later renamed EOEA), the brainchild of a group of Athens-based Republican-minded political and military figures. It moved away from liberal politics and became pro-monarchist. Britain supported the monarchist government in exile, but recognised that ELAS was the most effective force on the ground. Both sides fought each other as well as the Axis.

The author describes how both groups were organised. They were much closer to the Yugoslav model than resistance groups in France, with military structures and permanent units. Weapons and uniforms were sourced from the former Greek army stocks, supplemented by Allied air drops, and whatever could be captured from Axis depots. The Italian surrender in 1943 was very helpful in this regard. However, ammunition was always limited. An interesting development was ELAS's small naval fleet, which makes Cruel Seas scenarios possible. Overall, ELAS had around 67,000 men under arms. EDES was much smaller, growing to around 5,000 by the summer of 1943, and 12,000 in 1944. EDES had an effective truce with the Germans in 1943-44. The Allied military mission in Greece fielded no more than 400 men.

The occupation forces are also covered. The success of Allied diversionary operations meant that larger German forces were kept in Greece than needed - 100,000 in 1944. However, other than a core of veterans, they were typically second-line units. The ORBAT is dominated by fortress and jager units, without the usual heavy weapons. The Italian forces were generally poor, and suffered from low morale. Bulgaria annexed their occupation region and enforced the Bulgarisation of the population. Unlike the Italians they actively deported the Jewish population. Bulgaria deployed around 70,000 troops, mostly reservists. The Greek puppet government was allowed to recruit collaborationist units, and nine security battalions were organised by the end of the war.

As you would expect from this series, there are lots of period photographs and colour plates of the main troop types. A very useful addition to the series and plenty of scope for small scale skirmishes on the table-top as well as larger scale anti-partisan sweeps.

Some of my 28mm Bulgarian troops.

Claymore 2025

 Yesterday was the second of the big Scottish wargame shows. Claymore is held in Edinburgh College's Granton Campus. Public transport is not brilliant, but it is a large venue, with good car parking, catering, and you can avoid the city centre, always a plus during the Edinburgh Fringe!

The GDWS participation game was 'Coming, Suvorov', based on the Battle of Rymnik 1789, fought in modern Romania during the Russo/Austro-Ottoman War of 1787-92. We have been playtesting the Lust for Glory rules written by Simon Miller, and got some helpful feedback from players who were not familiar with his medieval and ECW variants. The eagle-eyed will notice the terrain was a lot flatter than that implied by the map I used in the handout. While it's a good diagram showing the direction the armies moved, it incorrectly suggests mountainous terrain. Having visited the battlefield in April, the terrain can best be described as rolling, although with some gullies, which were important in the battle.

And we won a wee prize. Very chuffed.

The problem with running a participation game is that you don't get to spend much time looking at other games. I also bought very little, other than some scenic items. During a quick sortie, these games caught my eye, in no particular order.

Samurai games are popular at shows this year. There were at least two, and the siege buildings were very impressive. It includes a memory of Derek Hodge, a past Claymore organiser, who sadly passed away last year.

Nearby, in the main hall, my pals at South Ayrshire Gamers were using Midgard for the Battle of Doon Valley, an Irish mythology game.

The guys at Glasgow Phoenix with two Mumakils, in their Lord of the Rings game.

Vietnam make popular participation games, even if finding your units can be tricky.

A rugged Peninsular War battle, using a set of rules I hadn't seen before.

In the Atrium, which was thankfully not too hot, amphibious games always look good.

My apologies to this game, as I'm not sure what it is, but the village is excellent.

The Durham guys always do striking big games. This is no exception.

More 30 Years' War from Glasgow Tradeston.

A small, but perfectly formed naval action

The Gothenburgers like a quirky game, and this Wild West game, with proper toys, meets the criteria.

Finally, back in the main hall, TSS were running a Balkan game (how dare they!), based on Dioran 1913. This is the 2nd Balkan War, rather than the better-known WW1 battles there. They used Bloody Big battles, which work well for this conflict.

As always, thanks to the South East Scotland Wargaming Club for the enormous amount of work that goes into a show like this. An excellent day out.

The Douglas Bastard

 This was my homeward-bound reading on the plane back from Istanbul. It is J.R. Tomlin's take on the later Scottish-English Wars. Our hero is Archie Douglas, the bastard son of the Black Douglas, overly keen to live up to his father's reputation. 

The story starts during King David II's exile in France after the defeat at the Battle of Halidon Hill in July 1333. Archie is taken on as a squire by a Douglas relative, William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale, and returns to Scotland to take part in the campaigns that largely freed Scotland from English rule. Edward III was distracted by the Hundred Years' War. He is knighted by King David after he also returns to Scotland.  

The Scots army had not learned the lessons of fighting against the English longbow in pitched battles. In 1346, under the terms of the Auld Alliance, David invaded England to try to draw King Edward away from the French, who had been defeated at the Battle of Crécy. After initial success at Hexham, David's army was soundly defeated at the Battle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346. Unlike the King, who is wounded and captured, our hero escapes to live another day in the rest of the series.

This is an ideal quick read for a holiday. The action is fast flowing and continuous. Archie is not a flawless hero, and the story captures the divisions among the Scots nobility that plagued the country for centuries after the Bruce's death.

Some of my 28mm Scottish schiltrons of the period

Horse and Pistol

 This novel by Griff Hosker was my outward-bound reading on my recent trip to Moldova. It is set in the reign of James I & VI, so it fits in well with my recent Tranter novels. It is the first in a new series titled "English Mercenary."

This is a period that is little covered, just at the outbreak of the Thirty Years War, rather than the later, better-known, Swedish phase. Our hero is James Bretherton, the son of a minor landowner, who squanders his Hugenot French wife's fortune, leaving James in need of a new career. He decides to join a mercenary band that is recruiting for the European wars. The king supported the Protestant cause but not to the extent of committing significant forces. 

Bretherton serves initially in the Netherlands under Prince Maurice. The band was sent on the ill-fated Bohemian campaign, being destroyed by Tilly at the Battle of White Mountain in November 1620.  Our hero and a friend manage to escape the battlefield. Frederick V of the Palatinate is James I's son-in-law, but that only brought limited support. His army was forced to abandon the Palatinate as well, fleeing to the Dutch.

Our hero acts as an envoy to the court of James, and there are various sub-plots involving Spanish espionage in London. He finally returns to England, somewhat richer, and no doubt ready for the next book in the series.

Griff Hosker has developed some strong characters for the series, and the book has a very Bernard Cornwell feel to it. Plenty of action on and off the battlefield as well as political intrigue. The fighting style of the pike and shot period is well-researched, and the mostly small-scale skirmishing offers Pikeman's Lament scenarios. I really enjoyed this and will undoubtedly read the next one. 

One of my 28mm foot units of the period.

Back to the Harbiye Military Museum and Istanbul Wargaming

 I stopped off in Istanbul for a couple of nights on my way back from Moldova. I have been there several times, but you just cannot visit Istanbul without going to the Harbiye Military Museum. This is THE place in the world for everything Ottoman and Turkish Republic. There have been a few changes inside, but most of the outside exhibits are not on display, while a redevelopment takes place.

You can't miss the museum as you walk up from Taksim Square, as the Dardanelles gun outside is a massive structure. I gave my old pal a hand loading it. 😂

As last year marked the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus intervention, that is the subject of a special exhibition. Needless to say, that was of particular interest to me, although there is nothing new.

The huge diorama paintings are a feature of the museum.

They have several model dioramas, including this massive one of the Gallipoli landings.

The Scots are not forgotten, with this Claymore. The story of how it arrived in Turkey would be an interesting one. There were Scottish mercenaries in Transylvania during the Turkish wars of the relevant period.

I spent some time on the 18th-century weapons for my current project. There are lots.

The museum also has some of the strangest weapons I have seen.

Sadly, World War II is almost entirely forgotten, although this waxwork and uniform are new. I ruminated over uniform colours for the illustrations in my book on Turkey and World War II, although this officer is in a tailored uniform, and a clean one at that.

The Korean War is a project I need to revisit. The Turkish Brigade was one of the larger contingents and was rotated three times to give the army battlefield experience. They started with the British battledress and changed to the more practical US ones. They preferred the American helmet, but not the boots.

That was the morning. After lunch, my friend Onur took me on a tour of wargaming in Istanbul. That included his wargames club Karargâh (Headquarters in Turkish). They have an interesting model for a club. They rent a shop in a shopping centre, with room for five tables, and an overflow outside. They have a good collection of terrain and lockers for members to store their armies (it used to be a Yoga venue, hence the mirrors). Housing is expensive in Istanbul, so most people have limited space at home. We played a game of Trench Crusade, which I had not seen before. It is a skirmish-level fantasy game set in 1914, sort of. Simple mechanics and a fascinating lore. I threw an embarrassing number of sixes, but we still lost.

Most of the games played were fantasy, but they also play Bolt Action and Flames of War. Postage and import costs/paperwork mean they can only import small numbers of figures at a time. 

We took a look at a couple of gaming venues elsewhere in the city. Goblin Games is primarily a board game venue, and Pegasus has tables mostly for Games Workshop, which they also sell.

Dinner in Kadikoy and then back across the Bosphorus for a beer in Besiktas. Crossing two continents after dinner is cool in both senses of the word. Istanbul rates as one of my favourite cities. It has everything: history, good food, friendly people and incredible views.

Moldovan National History Museum - Chisinau

 This is the last museum I visited before heading to the airport. It had some poor reviews, which are unjustified. This is a fine museum by small country standards, in a lovely building.

The Dacians play a significant role in the early period of Moldavian history, and their archaeology is examined. 

This is a fine model of a 10th- to 11th-century fortification.

The weapons hall is the best part of the museum.

Starting with medieval times, the high point of Moldavia was under Stephan the Great.

You would not argue with the guys wielding these maces.

I took numerous photos of the 18th and early 19th-century uniforms and equipment for my current project, as well as a fine collection of battle maps and paintings.

Then the world wars of the 20th century. The later kit is in the military museum.

1917 Moldavian soldier

There is also an excellent bookshop, featuring a wide selection of English language books. Although my wife was not impressed with the trending title! 😂

So, ignore the online reviews; this is definitely worth a visit.