Claymore

Last Saturday was one of Scotland's biggest wargame shows, Claymore. Held for the second year at its new venue, Telford College in Edinburgh.

The new venue is a huge improvement on the dismal Meadowbank stadium that housed this show for many years. Plenty of space, good lighting and decent catering all help to make this a very good show. As usual there was good support from the trade and there seemed to be a good turnout from Scottish gamers.

We presented a display game based on the Battle of Alexandria 1801. A development of the Napoleon in Egypt series of demos we ran a few years ago. This time the French faced a British expeditionary force. My new Vitrix Brits got their first run out, accompanied by Liam's very fine foot and cavalry with his trademark supersized flags. A colourful display with a decent handout and display that attracted a lot of interest. We even won a prize.

General Moore's Brigade around the ruins

French cavalry brigade advances

French Cavalry Museum

Saumur is also home to the French cavalry museum (Musee de la Cavalerie). The museum is housed in former stables of the cavalry school. Poorly signposted compared to the tank museum, it is near to the city centre next to the Place du Chardonnet, that is still used for equestrian shows.

Not a large museum, but it has an interesting collection of French cavalry uniforms, together with oil paintings and weaponry. The choice of battles is highly selective with many French defeats being omitted from the history!

German Tanks at Saumur

The French tank museum at Saumur has a good collection of all the main German WW2 AFVs. Here are some of the ones I found interesting.

King Tiger

Marder 38

Marder Hotchkiss

Hummel

French Tanks of WW2

Just back from holiday in France. A number of visits will feature in blogs in the coming days.

One highlight was my first visit to the French tank museum (Musee des Blindes) at Saumur. This is the French version of Bovington and it is well worth a visit if you are in the Loire region. Saumur has been the home of the French cavalry since 1763, when Louis XV reorganised the French cavalry and formed the cavalry school there.

Here are a few of the more unusual French WW2 tanks that were new to me at least. Starting with a prototype tank the ACG1.

Then a 47mm anti-tank gun.

Then then museum's collection of more familiar early WW2 tanks. Starting with the Renault B1

Then the R35

 

The H39

The Panhard Armoured Car

and the AMR 33

Finally the 25mm ATG

International Brigade

First infantry off the workbench for the Spanish Civil War project.

These are the International Brigade. These troops were volunteers from all over the world who came to Spain to fight fascism. Real heroes, one and all. Their individual stories make a great read in books like 'The Real Band of Brothers', 'Heroic Voices of the Spanish Civil War' and for the Scots, 'Homage to Caledonia'. 2500 British and Irish volunteers fought with the International Brigade - 526 of them lost their lives.

As the trade union leader Jack Jones put it:
"For us it was the battle against Fascism... and that inspired and encouraged me to do what I could against it, even if it meant laying down my life."

"Oh brothers, swear on these words: it is better to die than to allow tyrants."

Varangian Guard

Just finished reading Osprey MAA 459 The Varangian Guard 988-1453 by Raffaele D'Amato.

The book includes a short history of the Varangian's in Byzantine service including the early Russ and the later English exiles from Norman England. This is followed by sections on the Guard in service and equipment and weapons. Finally a helpful bibliography and of course the colour plates that are almost always the main selling point of an Osprey publication.

This is a link to pictures of my Comenenian Byzantine army including Varangian's in 28mm.

These figures are from the Gripping Beast range

German WW1 Artillery

Latest addition to the Salonika Campaign project is a German Field Gun.

Not that any project is ever finished, but that should be it for now. Until some new figure range comes out anyway!

Interestingly, we haven't found artillery to be too effective in the Great War rules. Oh, and keep them out of range of HMGs.  

British in Egypt

Latest additions to the British in Egypt project have left the workbench.

These are the 27th Foot, one centre and one flank company of 18 figures each. The figures come from the Victrix range of hard plastic figures. I picked up these figures as the subscription offer with last year's Wargames Illustrated sub. The detail on the figures is excellent. A bit fiddly to assemble and I would have been happy with less variety. You also forget how light they are, falling over at the slightest touch.

Still they are very good value and one friend told me that he puts one metal figure with two plastic ones for stability. Might try that next time. These figures will see action at the GDWS display game, Alexandria 1801 at the Claymore wargames show in August.

Brothers in Arms

This is the latest in the Jack Steel series by Ian Gale. Essentially Steel is a Sharpe type character in Marlborough's army. A Captain of Grenadiers, although of course he is given detached duties, appropriate to his heroic status, in the best traditions of the genre.

This book covers the Battle of Oudenarde, the siege of Lille and the smaller actions over supply lines including Wynendael. In between he is sent on a spy mission to Paris. It all ends sadly with his wife betraying him and then getting herself killed by an evil French Major. Who of course dies at Steel's sword.

If you like Sharpe you will like this series. Well written, plenty of action, hard to put down. Recommended.

Wappinshaw

It was Glasgow's annual wargames show, Wappinshaw, today. This is a small show, largely due to the limitations of the venue. Just a few, mostly local traders, although most of Scotland's wargames clubs put a game on.

On the plus side it is fairly central with good transport links and free, albeit limited, parking. It has basic catering facilities and a bar. The downside is a small venue that does not attract  the range of traders you get at the larger shows, or allow for bigger display and participation games. The numbers attending are correspondingly low. Still, I picked up some more Highlanders for my British in Egypt project in the Bring and Buy, so I left happy.

GDWS put on a display game Stramash on the Struma. 28mm WW1 battle in Eastern Greece in WW1 using the Warhammer Great War rules. The Turks occupied a small village with their Bulgarian allies holding the ground to their right. The Entente skirmished with the village but put their main effort against the Bulgarians who were pushed back and then fled. A fun game with a good pacy set of rules.

Medieval Bosnia

Just finished the June update to the Balkan History website. A number of changes this month with sections being updated. Plus a plug for the Wappinshaw show at Woodside Halls, Glasgow next Saturday, 19th June. I will be there with the GDWS display game Stramash on the Struma, that will feature a fine collection of WW1 figures in 28mm from a number of GDWS members.

The feature article this month is medieval Bosnia with a selection of Old Glory figures in Bosnian colours.

Empire - Wounds of Honour

Just finished my latest historical novel - Empire: Wounds of Honour by Anthony Riches.

The story line revolves around the son of a Roman senator who is sent to Britain to escape the wrath of the Emperor Commodus who has executed his father. A friend of his father changes his name and appoints him as a Centurion in an auxiliary cohort.

The action takes place on Hadrian's Wall and the cohort is quickly involved in repulsing a barbarian attack. Lots of twists and treachery as our hero proves himself as a leader of his unit.

There is a fast paced narrative and the story is action packed without losing sight of historical accuracy. It gives a real feel for what it must have been like to live and fight in an auxiliary cohort. Highly recommended and I look forward to the next installment.

WAB 2

Played my first game of the new edition of Warhammer Ancient Battles rules today. Played a new member at our club by dusting down my Seleucids to play against his army of Alexander - essentially lots of pike and light infantry.

Lots of opinions out there on the forums so here is mine.

The production quality is good, plenty of eye candy and a decent (if not perfect) attempt at a reference section. Price is a bit steep, but not too high for the size and quality. What is not acceptable is poor editing and proof reading. From a professional company charging commercial prices, this is really very poor.

As the intro says this is evolution not revolution. The rules are not radically changed, so it is simply a matter of getting used to the changes. Most of the ones we came across seem sensible. The 1" proximity rule, open order and skirmishers and the restrictions on marches felt right. Fleeing towards the table edge again seems right as is counterchargers moving forwards. The new flanks are fine, but needs some clarification if this is the same for shooting - important today with the Phalanx rule.

Getting rid of the musician roll off is welcome and I like the +1 for momentum in the combat results. Fewer ranks bonuses should make units look more realistic. I don't like the restrictions on lights turning into skirmish formation. This was an historical tactic with a number of armies, so I don't see the problem. One ferocious charge is right - even if it will weaken my Normans! Shooting at elephants also doesn't seem right to me. Crew protection should be higher if in a howdah and I don't understand the scatter rule from shooting.

In summary more pluses than minuses and no doubt an errata sheet will sort out the errors. It just shouldn't be necessary for a production at this price.

More Bulgarians

More Bulgarians for the Salonika campaign. This time regular line infantry. Again from the impressive Tiger Miniatures range.

Settled on a scenario for the Wappinshaw show in Glasgow on 19 June. It will be Stramash on the Struma. Loosely based on the actions in the Struma Valley in the winter of 1916. British and Greek troops attacking Bulgarian and Turkish positions. The rules will be Warhammer Great War. If you want to read about the actual fighting, the official history (Volume1) of the Macedonian Campaign has a good description.

Gordon Highlanders

Some new recruits for my British in Egypt project. These are Gordon Highlanders who formed part of Hope's Brigade. The Highland regiments played such an important role in the campaign that I just had to have at least one unit. The downside was the thought of painting tartan.

The solution came up on E-Bay and I am now the proud owner of this unit. Many thanks to whoever painted them! The figures are Vitrix plastics.

We have now settled on the Battle of Alexandria 1801 for our demo at Claymore in August. So you can see this unit and much more in action at this excellent event in its new venue at Telford College, North Edinburgh.

Bulgarian WW1

Some progress on the Salonika WW1 project. The first Bulgarians are off the workbench. We have an officer stand and a unit of irregulars. Regular infantry to follow.

The figures are from the Tiger Miniatures range. These are very good, full of character.

They could get their first outing at the Glasgow Wappinshaw show on 19th June. The original demo plan didn't work out, so current planning is around a Salonika scenario "Skirmish on the Struma". More details to follow, but some pictures below of the new Bulgars.

Russian Army of 1877

Just completed the May update of the Balkan History web site.

The main new feature this month is the Russian army of 1877 with its Romanian and Bulgarian allies. The figure are in 15mm from a couple of older ranges; Awesome Enterprises and Pioneer Miniatures. Pioneer were a bit crude with poor sculpting and proportions. Awesome on the other hand are excellent figures albeit on the larger side for 15mm. I haven't seen them for some time so they may be out of production.

They are all based for Principles of War my favourite set for this period in 15mm.

Russian Line

Romanian cavalry

The Sultan's Seal

My latest reading has been The Sultan's Seal by Jenny White. This is a work of crime fiction based in Istanbul in 1886.

The 'dectective' is a new style Ottoman Magistrate called Kemil Pasha. The 1880's was a period of transition in the Empire with Western ideas being introduced and some political turmoil. The plot revolves around the murder of two western women and it involves the royal family.

I am not a huge fan of crime fiction and this one is particularly drawn out and in places downright confusing with flashbacks that might be apparent to the author, but the reader is left floundering. On the plus side it is a good period piece and you really feel you are in Istanbul of the period.

On balance a nice piece of history, but not a great read.

Carronade and Tannenberg

Excellent show at Carronade yesterday. The Falkirk club have established this date as one of the best in Scotland with good games and a wide range of traders in an excellent venue.

We took Tannenberg 1410 as our display game. 2010 is the 600th anniversary of this classic medieval clash. We recreated it with 28mm figures from a wide range of firms using two 5000+ point WAB armies. Andy McGreary's Teutonics caught the eye as did George Dick's war wagons masquerading as the Polish camp. Visually effective and the battle itself went pretty much as the historical event.

Been a bit busy at work lately so the Polish standard bearer was a rush job with the basing still drying on the table! The figure and flags are from the Italian firm Mirleton.

The display with the game in the background. More pictures on the GDWS site

and finally a close up of Andy's Teutonic knights.

Black Powder - Napoleon in Egypt

First go at a Napoleonic game using the Black Powder rules at the club on Sunday.

The opposing forces were Napoleon's army of Egypt and their Mameluke opponents. I originally built up these armies for a series of display games at shows in 2008 and they featured in Wargames Illustrated in August of that year. We used Principles of War rules for the display games so it was interesting to use a different set of rules.

Napoleon had to march a cavalry brigade and two infantry brigades across the table whilst attacked by hordes of Mamelukes supported by Bedouin light horse. The outnumbered cavalry eventually crumbled but the infantry squares held firm. The rules played really well, particularly the special rules like 'determined charge' that required the Mameluke horse to attack the French whenever they came in charge range. Very impressed as it gave a really enjoyable game.

The inspiration for the orignal game was Charles Grant's books on the campaign and in particular Bob Marrion's artwork. One of my projects for this year is to develop the British forces for the later stages of the campaign. The paintbrush awaits.......

Somerled

My short break after Easter took us up to the West Highlands for a few days.

After my business trip to Stornaway (see earlier blog) it was interesting to be in the heartland of the original Lord of the Isles, Somerled. I picked up a book I hadn't seen before by Kathleen MacPhee, Somerled, Hammer of the Norse. Interesting title as there are those who argue that Somerled himself was of Norse descent. Others that he was a Gael and yet others a Scot.

The book gives a concise guide to Scotland and the West, in particular during the 11th and 12th Centuries. The imprtant role of of the Vikings based in Dublin, Man and Orkney as well as their home in Norway. Somerled ruled what is roughly modern day Argyll. The Scots kings of the period had no effectve rule over these territories, as military might depended on a powerful fleet, and that meant longships.

This was the transition from a Celtic Scotland based on the rule of the Earls, to a feudal Scotland with the introduction of Norman knights, with names more familiar in later centuries like Bruce. I feel another opportunity to field my Normans coming on!

There are many of the coastal castles that can be visted including my personal favourite Castle Tioram. I didn't get to visit it this time. But we did get to Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, always worth a visit with its new visitor centre.

Eclipse of the Crescent Moon

Short break away after Easter allowed me to catch up with some reading.

My choice was the Hungarian author Geza Gardonyi and his novel Eclipse of the Crescent Moon. This is the story of the siege of Eger, Hungary, in 1552. A small garrison successfully resisted a huge Ottoman army for nearly six weeks, forcing it to withdraw. The novel concentrates on the life of one of the Captains in the siege, Gergely Bournemissza. He takes us through his early life and the events of the period he was engaged with. This all culminates in the epic siege that is told in some detail.

Excellent novel, well written and highly recommended.

Heroic Voices of the SCW

My Spanish Civil War project in 15mm is grinding slowly on. My latest reading has been Heroic Voices of the Spanish Civil War by Peter Darman.  This book covers the actions involving the International Brigades, through the stories of individual soldiers. The format is a brief overview of the battle, followed by a dozen or so eye witness accounts. This is an interesting and different approach that gives you a real feel for how the war was fought from a soldiers perspective. As all these soldiers were volunteers from around the world, you also get a better understanding of what motivated them to fight in a war far from home.

Some progress on the painting front. My Republican armour is now completed. A BT5, 3 T26 light tanks, 3 BA10 armoured cars and a BT6. A mixture of Skytrex and QRF models. I decided on a brown primer, then a dark green khaki, finished off in Soviet forest green. Then plenty of earth brown around the tracks and some drybrushing on the upper bodywork. A few simple numbers and we have a reasonable finish. I need a finer brush (and a steadier hand) to tackle a few slogans.

Below is the BT5.

Followed by some T26 light tanks

No Pasaran!

Tannenberg 1410

I have been working on the preparation for our next display game over the holiday weekend. This will be Tannenberg, the epic encounter between the Teutonic Knights and the Polish/Lithuanian army in 1410. The show will be the excellent Carronade at Falkirk on 8 May. The handout is completed and on the club web site.

For the game we will be using 28mm figures and WAB rules. I am pleased to say that we appear to have almost all the troops required between me and Andy McGreary with support from Bob Low's Rus and a few of George Dick's Hussites. Yes there were Czech mercenaries (including Jan Zizka) and three banners of Russians from Smolensk on the Polish/Lithuanian side.

I did struggle to find Polish banners and had to resort to Mirliton. So I hope the postal service from Italy is good. While on their web site I purchased a few figures for the period that might make it if painting time allows.

With around 5000 points a side it should make a good display even if the battle is a bit more complex than I remembered before reading the Osprey campaign book. Mind you I am going to need a few more trees!
Below are my Hinchcliffe Teutonic kinights. Despite their age the quality (great animation) is nearly as good as my more modern Gripping Beast figures - although less chunky.

19C Ottomans

Just completed the monthly update of Balkan Military History. The feature article this month is the Ottoman army of the 19th Century.

Actually the reformed army after the Greek War of Independence that performed adequately during the Crimean War but less well in the Russo -Turkish War of 1877. The exception was the defence of Plevna by Osman Pasha. Osman Pasha’s inspired defence of the town lasted five months.

The siege is covered by several sites in the city. The Museum of Liberation of Pleven 1877 in ul Vasil Levski actually only preserves the house where the Tsar received Osman Pasha after the capitulation, although the surrounding park has two artillery stands and the railings and gates are made from cannon and bayonets. The Mausoleum is impressive but is not open to the public. The main museum is situated in Skobelev Park (known as the Green Hills during the siege), includes a massive panorama built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle. The circular paintings and displays concentrate on Skobelev’s southern assaults on the town and can only be described as superb. 



South of Plevna in the Balkan Mountains is Shipka Pass, the site of an epic battle when Ottoman troops fought to displace the Russian and Bulgarian advanced guard. A smaller monument and museum here is well worth a look.

My 15mm Ottoman army include Minifigs, some old Pioneer figures and the rest from the Awesome Enterprises, Rank and File range. These are particularly nice chunky figures. I haven't seen them advertised recently so they may be out of production.

Ottomans in FoG

Second half of our club FoG competition started yesterday. The first half was limited to pre-Feudal armies and now we have shifted to the later forces.

My choice not surprisingly is firmly in the Balkans with an Ottoman army and Serbian allies. My hope is that the Serbs will give the army a bit a punch that will complement the flexibility of the Ottomans.

Best laid plans and all that. My opponent fielded a Plantagenet army with wall to wall longbowmen, knights and some spearmen. My Serbian nobles charged up to his knights with all the elan they were famed for. And you guessed it, the commander got killed and they all ran away!

However, the Ottomans are made of sterner stuff. The Janissaries formed up with support from Voynuks and Ilyars and punched their way through his longbowmen. The Timarots kept their head and knocked out his lighter cavlary and then a unit of knights and the infidels were routed. 19-6 to the Ottomans in FoG terms.

So a good recovery from disaster and a lesson to me and my bias towards mounted armies that infantry are important, particularly superior types with the shooting and fighting expertise of the Jannisaries.

The Prow Beast

This is the latest adventure of the Oathsworn from the pen of my wargaming opponent Robert Low. This is a Viking saga told by a man who really knows his history and in particular how his characters lived and fought.

I wasn't as keen on the last book, because I felt Bob got a bit carried away with the camp fire tales at the expense of the main story. It therefore lacked the pace and action that I look for in historical fiction.

No such reservation with the Prow Beast. Full bloodied action and a real feeling that you are with Orm and his crew as they sally into the borderlands between the Holy Roman Empire and the Slavs to the East. Orm takes on other Vikings and an array of tribes that even I only vaguely recognised. The book culminates in an epic siege of a plague ridden fort where our heroes (of sort) fight of an army of Pols. Great stuff and highly recommended.

Vlad - the Real Dracula

Just finished C.C.Humphreys novel of the real Dracula, Vlad. This is the first novel I have read by this author who appears to be better known for the Jack Absolute series.

This is historical fiction at its best. A well researched history that keeps as close to what we know about the real historical figure, yet written with a great fast paced dialogue. The real Dracula was of course Vlad Tepes known as The Impaler after his favourite form of execution. Contrary to myth a form of execution that originated in the west - not the East. Dracula is a play on Dracul, or Dragon the knighly order he belonged to. It was of course Bram Stoker who created the vampire version, although in fact he did very little research on the original.

The novel takes us through Vlad's early years as a hostage in the Ottoman court, through several periods as Prince of Wallachia until his final defeat by the Ottomans. To this day Vlad is a national hero in Romania and many would welcome his success in stamping out crime - even if his methods were a bit robust by modern day standards!

In 2004 the GDWS display game The Real Dracula was based on Vlad's most famous battle the Night Attack. We used WAB rules as we had playtested the WAB supplement. I provided the Ottomans and the Wallachians came courtesy of my pal and fellow GDWS member Liam Entwistle. Liam is getting married today to Aileen in Glasgow so congratulations to them both. I will probably not mention to Aileen (or the priest for that matter!) Liam's interest in this period at the celebrations later!

Vlad Tepes as painted by Liam Entwistle

The wedding. Note Liam's period kilt. No Victorian tourist stuff for him.

Guillou - Crusades Trilogy

Missed my wargaming fix this weekend as I am streaming with a cold. Particularly annoying as we have our open FoG competition Schiltron and a club day today when we were going to try Black Powder rules with my Napoleon in Egypt figures. The cold started when I was up in Stornoway on business; given the usual hospitality on the islands, it is obviously a myth that whisky cures a cold!

My hotel room overlooked the old harbour and it isn't difficult to imagine the galley fleets of the Lord of the Isles docked there. I say galleys, but these would have been Berlinns, small galleys with up to 18 oars that were the mainstay of the largely independent Lordship of the Isles. Nigel Tranter's fictional account of the life of Somerled is a good introduction to this period. For a real history I would recommend 'Kingdom of the Isles' by R.McDonald. I have never built a wargames army for this period but Viking types are a good starter. For a card cut out model visit the Comunn Birlinn site.

Carving of a Birlinn at Finlaggan

Anyway back to the subject of this blog. Being ill I finished my latest book The Road to Jerusalem by Jan Guillou. This is the first of his crusades trilogy and was made into a film in 2007. It tells the story of Arn de Gothia from his upbringing in 12th Century Sweden to becoming a Templar knight.

This series has had some good reviews, but I regret I can't agree with them. His early life in a monastery together with the domesticity of medieval Sweden doesn't exactly make a racy read. The action is an occasional diversion from this. The back cover describes the book as "An epic tale of bloody battles and deep held beliefs, of forbidden love and heroic people" - frankly this is seriously overhyped, particularly the 'bloody battles' bit.

The author clearly knows his subject - but he could have spared us a lot of the detail. After sleeping with two sisters he is banished to join the Knights Templar at the end of the the book. The rest of the trilogy therefore holds out more promise, although the pedestrian writing style will need to improve to tempt me to complete the trilogy.

Hobilar and the Longbow

Just finished reading the latest edition of Hobilar, the journal of the Lance and Longbow Society.

There is a particularly good article by Paul Reeve, Longbows and Bowmen and the End of the Medieval Army. Paul gives an overview of longbow use and sets out comparisons with the gun in terms of range, accuracy, rate of shooting and impact. He also addresses some of the fables around guns and armour such as armour made arrows useless; and it takes a lifetime to earn the bow and day to fire a musket.

His conclusion is that the decline of the longbow had more to to with other military and social factors such as the decline in the popularity of military service. It was also a matter of training given the lack of shooting drill compared with the musket's use in practice and the regularisation and integration of the later musket armies.

As always this debate will go on and I expect a response from the longbow advocates in the next edition. Thankfully only time travel will end this type of historical debate.

The Normans

Just finished my monthly update of the Balkan Military History website. The feature army this month is the Normans.

The Norman adventure in the south is a great story and Normans served as mercenaries in the Byzantine army as well as against them. Most famously in 1081 when they invaded the Empire in modern day Albania at dyraccium (modern Durres).

Not just a great story but also a good wargame army. Heavy knights with a ferocious charge supported by a solid spearman base and quality missile firing with bows and crossbows. I like the Sicilian version that gives you light horse archers as well.

These are from the Gripping Beast range.

Field of Glory - Byzantine

It was Field of Glory competition day at the club on Sunday. I was fielding my Early Byzantine's against a Pontic army.

The Pontic's won the initiative and went for mountain terrain. This resulted in a cluster of steep hills in one corner and they dug in there. My cavalry army couldn't operate in there and there is no way in the rules that cavalry in two ranks can ride up shoot and evade to tease them out. Bit of a weakness in the rules in my opinion. An actual Byzantine army of the period would have done just that. Alternatively the might have galloped up, then shot them up dismounted. However, in the rules you can only dismount at the start.

So a stalemated draw after a few moves. Day not wasted though as we played another game in agricultural terrain. Good balanced game that looked as if it was going against the wily Byzantines, until they recovered to snatch victory. Belisarius triumphs again - although you just know the Emperor Justinian won't thank him!

On the subject of Byzantium I am enjoying a series of podcasts 12 Byzantine Rulers by Lars Brownworth. A really good introduction to the subject.