Vapnartak 2026

 The first big wargames show of the year is Vapnartak at the York racecourse. York is a lovely city, with plenty to see and a few decent bookshops as well. The venue is a short distance from the city centre, which wasn't a problem since I had a car. It was a quick visit as I was driving to Manchester for the Fulham game at Old Trafford in the afternoon. On Saturday, I stopped at Marston Moor, the site of the largest English Civil War battlefield. It is not far from York and has a decent memorial and information board. The site is also little changed from the 17th century.

The venue is bright and airy, with adequate car parking and catering. The local club has resolved the entrance issues, and the substantial queue entered the building quickly. Visitor numbers looked good, although trader numbers were down, with some well-known faces missing. It has always been mainly a trade show, with a small number of games on the top floor. The trader spaces would have benefited from more games, as they used to have on the ground floor.

The games were small but well-thought-out, mostly participation-based, and well-supported. 

Wings of Glory is always a popular participation game and is a good length for a one-day show.

Quartermaster general. A WW1 Risk-type game by the looks of it.

Rebels and Patriots. Fighting over the booze wagon.

The biggest game was Germantown using British Grenadier rules. By the Yarkshire gamer and team.

This busy table was Fornovo using Midgard. Stretching the timeline for these rules, but the game looked good.

Battlefield Northag, and fine modern town

Japanese naval game, Hakodate 1869, with an engaging team of players.

The unmistakable look of blood and sand, with a Ben-Hur-style chariot race.

Gripping Beast came in force, bringing several games to showcase their fine figures and rules.

I bought some bits and pieces and yet another set of Napoleonic rules! Thanks to the York club for all the hard work that goes into running this show.

A Box of Sand

 This is Charles Stephenson's study of the Italo-Ottoman War 1911-12. As he covers all aspects of the conflict, it is the ideal background reading for my current wargame project. 

A quick reminder that the Italo-Ottoman War (1911–1912) was fought when Italy invaded Ottoman-controlled Tripoli (modern Libya) to expand its colonial empire. Italy quickly seized major coastal cities such as Tripoli, Derna and Tobruk but faced strong resistance inland from local fighters and Ottoman officers, including Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) and Enver Bey. To pressure the Ottomans, Italy also occupied the Dodecanese Islands and pioneered the first military use of aeroplanes for reconnaissance and bombing. The war ended with the Treaty of Ouchy in 1912, under which the Ottoman Empire ceded Libya to Italy, as the Balkan Wars were imminent. However, Arab resistance continued long after the treaty was signed.

This book is a narrative history and a strong analysis of the conflict. The Italian government wanted a quick colonial war to distract the electorate from domestic issues. The key weapon was the navy, which was weak by great power standards but much stronger than the Ottoman Navy. The head of the British Naval Mission found vegetable gardens growing on the ageing warships at Constantinople, a fleet with 'no organisation, doctrine or culture.' The Ottomans also faced uprisings in Yemen and Albania, as well as the newly formed Balkan League planning an attack. 

The Italians had no coherent plan other than to occupy the ports and the coastal strip. They assumed that the Arab and Berber populations would welcome them. Instead, with the help of Ottoman regulars and 107 Ottoman officers who travelled to the province, they faced a significant resistance organisation, which pinned them to the coast. Supply was a problem for the Ottomans, but they developed the technique of living off the enemy.

The war marked several firsts. Most notably, the use of aircraft to bomb the enemy and the deployment of radios. They also used motor vehicles fairly well. It was also fought on several fronts. To put pressure on the Ottomans, the Italians invaded the Dodecanese. This was a successful amphibious operation, but none of the landings were contested. There were also naval actions in the Adriatic, the Dardanelles, Lebanon, and the Red Sea. The actions in the Adriatic almost brought Austro-Hungary into the war, with the Emperor vetoing Conrad's recommendation. The Italians also considered a 100,000-strong invasion of Anatolia, via Smyrna. Shades of the later Greek invasion. 

While the Italians won the war, it was a disaster overall. By 1912, they had to deploy 100,000 men in Libya, seriously depleting their stocks of weapons and ammunition. They also suffered around 10,000 casualties, for very little cost to the Ottoman state. In contrast, the war absorbed 47% of Italian government expenditure. The treaty was ambiguous on several grounds, and started up again during WW1, with German submarines dropping men and supplies to the Senussi tribes. 

The Italian failures included poor intelligence, little desert training, and weak leadership. On the other hand, they handled amphibious operations well and deployed new technology effectively. In summary, it was a strategic blunder of massive proportions.

This is an invaluable study of the war, with all the major actions covered and many new scenarios I hadn't considered. I just need to find the time for some more painting. I have started the Ottomans with the locally raised Muhafiziya (Ottoman uniforms with Arab headdress), what Enver called his Guard Companies. And the HMG company commanded by a German volunteer officer. All from Pendraken in 10mm. The first batch of Arab cavalry is nearly done, and then I will be ready for some tabletop action.

Italian Adriatic Fleet 1915-18

As my current bedtime reading is John Biggins's series on the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and my current wargames project is the Italian-Ottoman War, this book by Enrico Cernuschi is one I have been eagerly awaiting. 

The Adriatic is a relatively narrow stretch of sea, where in 1915 two battleship fleets faced each other. As it turned out, there was no major fleet action at the scale of Lissa in the previous century, but there was plenty of naval action between the smaller ships. The Austro-Hungarian military always believed that Italian adherence to the Central Powers was unlikely, and they were right: Italy entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1915. During the Italian-Ottoman War in 1911, the Chief of the General Staff for the Austro-Hungarian Army, Conrad von Hötzendorf, actually proposed attacking Italy. Mind you, he was in favour of any and every war possible!

Between 1891 and 1911, Italy commissioned eight 12in or 10in pre-dreadnoughts plus seven armoured cruisers. Ironically, Austria believed Italy would knock out its Istrian ports with an amphibious landing, while the Italians believed it was impossible. So, reluctantly, in 1910–12, Austria–Hungary laid down the four Viribus Unitis-class battleships. 

The author starts by setting the scene, explaining the warship development plans of the powers with Mediterranean fleets, and how the naval bases in the Adriatic were used. Then, how the Italian battlefleet was deployed in May 1915. Traditionally known as L’Armata, was formed by:

• I Divisione (battleships Cavour (flagship), Dante Alighieri, Cesare, Leonardo da Vinci)

• II Divisione (battleships Vittorio Emanuele, Regina Elena, Roma, Napoli)

• III Divisione (battleships Benedetto Brin, Regina Margherita, Scout Quarto, Bixio, Marsala)

• IV Divisione (armoured cruisers Pisa, Amalfi, San Giorgio, San Marco)

• V Divisione (armoured cruisers Garibaldi, Ferruccio Ferrucci, Varese)

The force was based between Taranto, Brindisi and Valona, and also included 13 destroyers, 28 torpedo boats and seven submarines. The shallower waters of the Northern Adriatic meant the Italians relied on smaller ships and minelaying. These included the famous MAS boats. The book also covers intelligence operations, a vital role in these pre-satellite days. 

The core of the book covers a wide range of sea actions and shore bombardments in the Adriatic, with maps and some fine colour plates. British and French ships also participated in this campaign. As the Macedonian campaign got underway after Gallipoli, control of the sea routes was vital to supply the armies there. Some of the harbour actions revisited places I described in my book about the Adriatic during the Napoleonic Wars. Cortellazzo was attacked by the Austrians in November and December 1917, although with less success than British frigate captains of that period. The Italian Navy fought 48 actions in the Adriatic, excluding shore bombardments. During these surface actions, the Austrians lost two dreadnoughts, one coastal pre-dreadnought, two destroyers and two armed motor boats. The Italians lost two destroyers. 

The last moments of SMS Szent István, hit by a torpedo of the Italian MAS of Luigi Rizzo

This excellent book has plenty to offer the wargamer and naval history buff, covering the subject for the first time in English. I already have a small order for 1/3000 ships to make a start on the tabletop.

The Emperor's Coloured Coat

This is the second book in John Biggins' historical fiction series about an officer in the Austrian navy before and during WW1. It is billed as a sequel to Sailor of Austria, although it is actually a prequel, covering his service just before the war started in 1914. 

Our hero, Otto Prohaska, is serving on the battleship SMS Erzherzog Albrecht in 1912 when, to escape the drudgery of a peacetime navy, he volunteers for the newly formed flying corps. So new, in fact, that pilots had to pay for their own training at private flying schools. His final flying test ends in an unfortunate collision with the Emperor's shooting party, resulting in his joining the staff of Archduke Ferdinand. Now, the Archduke has a generally good reputation, befitting the heir to the throne, whose life was tragically cut short in Sarajevo. However, Biggins's is less kind and paints a very different picture of him. 

When that spell is finished, he ends up on a Danube monitor. These were low-draft gunships designed to defend the river approach to the empire. Little more than a floating artillery battery, they were unpopular postings for sailors. As a side story, the Royal Navy ended up on the Danube in WW1, supporting the Serbs, commanded by Rear-Admiral Troubridge. I highly recommend Charles Fryer's book, The Royal Navy on the Danube, for this story, which is almost as remarkable as any historical fiction.

Prohaska's run-ins with the captain are very entertaining. However, his amorous adventures with the wife of a Serb factory owner get him involved in a somewhat unlikely engagement with the Serbian Black Hand organisation prior to the Archduke's assassination. He goes on a very entertaining trip across the Balkans before ending up as part of a crew replacement for the Austrian navy's sole ship at the China station. He is in Tsingtau when war breaks out, and the Japanese, with some British units, besiege the German port. Charles Stephenson's book on this is excellent.

Our hero manages to escape on a Chinese junk before the port falls, then ends up in Dutch territory, and embarks on a long and bizarre journey home via Arabia and the Ottoman Empire.

Perhaps not quite as good as the Sailor of Austria, not least because the story is not quite as credible. But this is fiction, and it's a great read. I thought I had the whole series, but thanks to a reader of this blog, I understand there are two more, which I will certainly look out for.

For my planned mini-project on the Adriatic war during WW1, I have ordered a model of the SMS Erzherzog Albrecht. So, Prohaska will sail on my tabletop.

Brough Castle

I drove down to Leeds on Saturday for the football, and my stopping off point for a break was Brough Castle. The castle is one of a number of medieval castles just off the A66 in the North Pennines, starting at Penrith, then Brougham, Brough and finishing at Barnard Castle. Brough Castle is next to the village of the same name, and you should turn off there, as the signage isn't great. There is no charge to enter, so suspect English Heritage hasn't invested as much in the site. In the summer, the local farm has a tea room.

Brough Castle was built on the site of the Roman fort of Verterae, which was occupied until the 5th century. The site protected the Stainmore Pass, along the Roman road from York to Carlisle. There is nothing left of the fort, but the helpful information board gives an artist impression of what it looked like.

William the Conqueror's son, William Rufus, invaded the north-west in 1091 and built Brough Castle around 1092, making use of the existing  Roman earthworks. It was a classic Norman motte and bailey design. In 1173, William the Lion of Scotland invaded the north of England and captured the castle after a short siege. It was recovered later in that year and rebuilt. After the Barons War the castle came under the Clifford family who strengthened it and gave it the shape you can see today.

The Cliffords were Lancastrians during the Wars of the Roses and the castle was captured, but later returned to the family. It fell into disuse after a fire. However, the castle was restored in the 17th century by Lady Anne Clifford, a major landowner in the Clifford family. In 1666 another fire struck the castle rendering it uninhabitable for a period, and afterwards materials were used for local buildings.

The ruin is in poor condition today and at risk of further damage. This is a shame because it is in a magnificent spot with great views all around. There are several information boards, which tell the story, and it is well worth a short visit. An ideal stretch of the legs stop.

In Tripoli - Enver Pasha's Diary

 My current wargame project was inspired by the Turkish TV series Land of Loyals, an entertaining take on the Italian conquest of Libya during the Italian-Ottoman War of 1911-12. Highly recommended, but use the subtitles. The English dubbing uses an array of upper-class English accents, which are simply bizarre.

While it makes dramatic TV, it isn't a documentary. My starting point for the history was Osprey's MAA, Armies of the Italian-Turkish War, which is an excellent overview and includes the uniform plates I need. 

For a primary source, I have been reading, In Tripoli, Enver Pasha's diary during the war. It's not strictly speaking a diary at all. It is a compilation of letters he wrote to friends in Germany and to his wife.  

Enver Pasha (1881–1922) was an Ottoman military officer and political leader, best known as one of the “Three Pashas” who dominated the Ottoman government during World War I. Rising to prominence after the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, he became Minister of War and played a central role in aligning the Ottoman Empire with Germany. 

In 1911, when Italy invaded Ottoman Tripolitania (modern-day Libya), Enver Pasha travelled covertly to the region, as the Ottoman Empire could not openly deploy regular troops due to diplomatic constraints. Alongside other young Ottoman officers, most notably Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk), Enver helped organise local Arab and Berber forces into an effective guerrilla resistance. He operated mainly around Benghazi and Derna, coordinating military strategy, training fighters, and strengthening ties with local leaders, including the Senussi order. His letters cover this period.

Most of his letters are pretty short and outline the military actions he led and the organisation of the resistance. They were always short of equipment and munitions, so they relied heavily on captured Italian stores. There were some Ottoman troops, but he mostly relied on the local tribes. They were equally happy fighting each other as they were fighting the Italians. It took some remarkable leadership skills to keep them together. As he says, his army "looks more like a horde of armed men, similar to soldiers of the First Republic." (He means France).

There is an annoying lack of detail on the military actions, and some of his casualty claims look more than a little suspect. However, there are many small details I enjoyed. He created uniformed 'Guard' companies composed of the sons of influential sheikhs, units I will definitely have on the tabletop. A machine-gun company commanded by a German volunteer, Lieutenant von Bentheim. There was a British volunteer, Stuart Smallwood, who commanded a scout unit, specialising in reconnoitring Italian defences. He converted to Islam and was killed in action. I must dig deeper, but here is one blogger's research, although I don't think he is right about the films.  Enver wasn't so keen on the European women in his HQ: "God, we have a great number of Bedouin women here, who behave quietly, yet two European women cannot bear to get along with each other." He was equally nonplussed about the 'gift' of two women from the Grand Senussi. 

The letters are translated from a French copy into English. The Germans apparently edited their version. Well worth a read.

I have made a start with the wargame figures, Italians for starters, using Pendraken figures in 10mm. My kepi-clad Italians are converted from the Belgium WW1 range, and others are mostly from the WW1 Middle East WW1 range. 

A Sailor of Austria

When I had a clear-out of paperback fiction some years ago, the plan was just to retain my Nigel Tranter novels, reread them, and donate. However, I recently discovered that I still had a few more classics to reread, and one of them was A Sailor of Austria by John Biggins.

This is the fictional story of Austro-Czech naval lieutenant Ottokar Prohaska, who is posted to the modest Royal Austro-Hungarian Submarine Service in the Adriatic port of Pola (Pula). He has no experience with submarines, but very few of his fellow officers have either. When war breaks out with Italy in WW1, he is commanding a small coastal U-Boat. The book recounts the various missions he undertakes and his personal life. While the missions are entertaining, the book also offers insight into the crumbling Habsburg monarchy. The best remaining example of Austro-Hungarian fortifications at Pula is Fort Bourguignon.

Most of his missions involved coastal defence from the submarine base at Pola, and raids across the Adriatic against Italian and Entente shipping, operating out of Italian ports. The convoy system wasn't introduced until late in the war, so even small, basic submarines could be effective. When he received a newer submarine, the mission range expanded beyond the Otranto Barrage into the Mediterranean. The best story involved conveying gold to the Senussi tribes in Libya and receiving, in return, a racing camel for the emperor. 

All of this provides valuable insight into the challenges facing submarine commanders. The Austro-Hungarian Navy was not large, which is not surprising for a largely landlocked empire. I would highly recommend Milan Vego's book, Austro-Hungarian Naval Policy 1904-14, for a better understanding. The navy was always the poor relation of the cash-strapped Austro-Hungarian military. The Navy wanted a larger fleet of 16 Dreadnoughts, but others argued that these were unnecessary to defend the Adriatic coast and called for a smaller fleet of inexpensive cruisers and torpedo craft. There were some innovations. For example, Austria was the first to use aircraft for naval purposes in April 1913, as part of the international blockade of Albania during the Balkan Wars.

However, submarines were low on the list of priorities, and the lack of shipbuilding capacity and expertise meant they had to buy from Germany. The 1914 estimates included five 790-ton submarines, and in May 1914, they had six operational submarines, compared to Italy's 20. There is a room in the Croatian Naval Museum dedicated to the use of torpedoes. Whitehead developed his torpedo at Rijeka, and most of the Austrian sailors were Croats.

Later in the war, our hero and his submarine moved to the base at Cattaro (modern-day Kotor). This is a wonderful natural harbour, and you can still see the Austrian fortifications that protect the bay's entrance (see below), and in the mountains overlooking the bay. 

This book is a great read. Highly recommended. I must develop my modest collection of warships of the period for some naval games in the Adriatic.