Engines of War

Unlike my last review of The Berlin-Baghdad Express my latest read Engines of War by Christian Wolmar is a proper blend of railways and military history. The author is a prolific writer and broadcaster on railways and that is his real focus with this study.

He shows how railways transformed the nature of war in the 19th Century with chapters covering the main conflicts of the period. The railways enabled large armies to be transported considerable distances and equally importantly, suppliedthem to the level modern weaponry required.

For a period of about 100 years from the Crimean War to the Korean War, trains and railways were inseparable from war. Whilst railways have generally been a force for good, we also have to remember that without them industrial scale carnage would equally have been impossible.

I had previously read John Westwood's Railways at War and this author pays tribute to that book. However, this is a better organised and more readable study of an aspect of military history that has received little attention. Recommended. 

Scots skirmishers

A few skirmishers for the early feudal Scots. I know the early tartan is unproven, but the odd figure makes it look like a Scots army.

These lads are from the Gripping Beast range.

Berlin to Baghdad Express

Just finished Sean McMeekin's book The Berlin-Baghdad Express - The Ottoman Empire and Germany's Bid for World Power, 1898-1918.

If a railway enthusiast picked this up he or she would be sorely disappointed. There is actually very little about how this amazing line was constructed. It is still the backbone of the railway system across large swathes of the Middle East.

Instead this is a book about Imperial Germany's attempts to harness the power of Islam against the British Empire. It catalogues the many schemes dreamt up in Berlin, at huge cost, with very little success. Spies, guns and gold tried to stir up Jihad across the Middle East, Persia and Afghanistan.

It's a great story, told fairly well, with more than a few topical references that also shed more than a little light on the current challenges in the region.

The Scots are coming

Very busy at work and starting to panic as Carronade beckons and our Lord of the Isles display still needs plenty of Scots. Can't let the Norman's steal the limelight.

Finished some really nice Characters today. Love the guy with his hands in the air - no idea why, but who cares!

Plus some solid looking Thanes.

The skirmishers are nearly done. Then the spearmen. Oh and those nice, but fiddly banners.

Fields of Death

Just finished reading 'Fields of Death' the last installment of Simon Scarrow's Napoleonic quartet. This series takes the lives of Napoleon and Wellington and run through the Napoleonic wars as viewed by them.

Perhaps a strange choice of personalities to pick as they never met in battle until Waterloo. Although in this fictional series they meet twice. None the less two very different personalities are explored fully.

This final installment covers a long period. From the Danube campaign of 1809 to Waterloo. I was expecting two volumes to cover this period. Scarrow is of course an excellent writer of historical fiction. I just felt that he attempted too much with this volume.

Russo-Japanese War

A new member at the club expressed an interest in playing 19th Century Principles of War today. This was a good opportunity to dust down my armies for the Russo-Japanese War 1904/05.

For those not familiar with this conflict it was the first major war of the 20th century. The main cause was the rival ambitions of Russia and Japan over Manchuria and Korea. The major theatres of operations were Southern Manchuria, together with naval action in the seas around Korea and Japan. The Russians sought a warm water port on the Pacific as Vladivostok was only operational during the summer and Port Arthur would be operational all year. The surprise Japanese victory transformed the balance of power in East Asia, resulting in a reassessment of Japan's recent entry onto the world stage. The embarrassing string of Russian defeats undermined the Tsarist government, and proved a major cause of the Russian Revolution of 1905.

I first 'discovered' this conflict over 30 years ago when I was given a copy of The Tide at Sunrise by Denis and Peggy Warner. This is an excellent study of the war although a more recent study and probably easier to source is Rising Sun and Tumbling Bear by Richard Connaughton. There is also a useful Osprey essential histories. Of course the real inspiration is the marvellous TV series, Reilly Ace of Spies and the episodes that concentrate the siege of Port Arthur.

The starter for the Japanese army was the old Lancashire Games range that I first collected for the Boxer Rebellion. By modern standards these are not good figures. For the Russian's I had a good selection of Minifigs. I picked up the figures below at Salute  a few years ago. They came in 50 figure bags but I can't recall the company who made them. I haven't seen them since but I hope the molds are still around as the animation is superb for 15mm.

PoW is a good ruleset for this conflict. It correctly puts the Russian player in the difficult command position of controlling a sluggish force with poor fire discipline. I got away with it today, through a combination of a crowded table in terms of terrain and my opponents poor initiative dice. This led him into a piecemeal attack on my best units, without the opportunity to manoeuvre around me. An enjoyable game done and dusted in just over three hours.

British forces in Greece

Slow progress on the painting and gaming front recently; work does get in the way of the hobby!. More done than I think but limited to short bursts.

Anyway, the British allies for the Greeks are now finished and the sun is even shining so, temperature apart, you might even think we are up the Pindos Mountains.

Greece WW2

Just finished FoW rebasing the Greeks of WW2. The Italian Greek campaign of 1940 is one of the more interesting and underplayed conflicts of WW2. A totally inadequate Italian army blundered into the mountains of north-west Greece, where it was defeated, thrown back into Albania, only to be rescued by the German invasion of Greece the following year. The common perception of this campaign is of a massive Italian army being held off by valiant, outnumbered Greek forces. Valiant they certainly were, however, the opposing forces were actually fairly evenly balanced.

I wrote a short history of the campaign for the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers Journal a number of years ago and an updated version is on the Balkan History history site. I have also visited the main battlefields in Greece and Albania, some high up in the mountains. It gives a very different perspective of the campaign.

Next stage is to rebase the Brits as allies.

Carthaginian Warrior

I have enjoyed my latest Osprey, Carthaginian Warrior 264-146BC. As I have mentioned before this was my first wargame army and I have a soft spot for them. Made my first visit to the site of the city a few years ago.

This is in the Warrior series so the focus is on the men who fought for Carthage through a series of wars, most famously of course, the Punic wars against Rome. The unusual feature of Carthaginian armies was that they were almost all mercenaries or at least levies from subject tribes. This makes the achievements of Hannibal particular very special in my view. His leadership skills must have been amazing.

This study by Nic Fields takes the reader through the recruitment, equipment and experience on campaign and in battle. Good narrative supplemented by glorious artwork from Steve Noon. Recommended.

Italian WW2

Finished rebasing my WW2 Italians for Flames of War. I can use some of the units to supplement the Nationalists for the Spanish Civil War project. But the main reason I collected them was for the campaign against Greece in 1940. So I am now rebasing the Greeks and the Brits as well. Not my favourite task as it takes me away from real painting - but they were all originally based for Rapid Fire (individual bases), so needs must.

Plus, I have finished this month's update of Balkan Military History. The feature article is on Pyrrhus of Epirus and his army, inspired by Jeff Champions book. A good general history of one of the ancient world's greatest battlefield commanders.

Empire of the Moghul

Brothers at War is the second book in the Empire of the Moghul series by Alex Rutherford. This follows on from the story of the dynasty's founder, Babur, in the first book. His eldest son Humayun takes over but has to face the rivalry of his three half brothers who want the empire to be split up between them.

As a consequence they fail to unite when the Empire is threatened by a rebellion and Humayun is driven from India to seek support from the Shah of Persia. With military support from the Shah he recaptures Babur's original base in Afganistan from his brothers. When the warring factions in India break apart he grasps the opportunity to recapture the Moghul lands and reestablish their rule. The irony is that after this epic struggle he falls down the steps of his observatory and dies. Such is fate!

I raved at the first of this series and I cannot fail to do the same for the second. The history itself is of course truly epic and Alex Rutherford brings it to life with great story telling skills. I cannot recommend this series too strongly. Time to get my 28mm Moghuls out of the box ......

Albanich

I popped down to Dumfries yesterday for Albanich the first Scottish wargames show of the year.

This is a small local show that none the less attracts a good range of traders. I picked up a number of smaller items I needed. I had bought a very nice Spanish/Italian 15mm building at a show last year, very suitable for my SCW project. Some more would be good but I forgot who did them. And there they were, sold by Rif Raf Miniatures, so a village of them is taking shape. I also got some nice entrenchments for FoW along with grass tufts and some more bases from the excellent Warbases. Warlord Games had their latest and Aventine Miniatures had some very nice Republican Romans and Indians with some fabulous elephants.

The theme of the show was A Very British Civil War (AVBCW). This is produced by Simon Douglas at Solway Crafts who organises the show. For those not familiar with the concept it is an alternative historical outline of events of 1936-38 that begins with a decision by Edward not to abdicate. They have produced some excellent source materials, flags etc and you use whatever rules you like.

I have been attracted to the concept but have resisted. However, yesterday I gave in and bought the books. You can use Great War Warhammer rules for this and a number of my WW1 figures will be suitable for starters. I suspect a worker militias will be my starting point.

There were a number of well presented games on this theme to tempt anyone in, certainly someone as weak willed as me! Below is a snap of the South East Scotland game. The terrain surface is teddy bear fur. Cheap and robust according to the Edinburgh lads.

Again this was a good show, well worth the journey.

Open Days

Glasgow and District Wargames Society held its annual double header and open days this weekend. This is the opportunity to play big games that take longer than the normal afternoon. We also open the doors to any member of the public who wants to find out a bit more about wargaming and what the society has to offer.

I was primarily involved in testing the scenario Somerled's Last Stand that will be our main demo game this year. A big 5000pt WAB game based on Somerled's last battle at Bargarran in 1164. We learnt quite a bit about WAB 2 rules and how it impacts on fighting a battle in difficult terrain. We concluded that we probably made the terrain too difficult as it made the light infantry Islemen very difficult to beat and the outcome was a resounding victory for them. If that had been the historical outcome we would probably be speaking Gaelic not English today!

The above are my Iselsmen with the big man on the hill representing Somerled's right hand man Saor McNeil. They sent several units of Norman knights packing.

There was also a FoG competition using smaller 650pt armies on a 5' x 3' table. This provided quick games. There was also a big WW1 game using PoW, Blitzkrieg action in France from the WW2 boys and a couple of Fire & Fury games. George Dick's 15mm Arthurian army (see below) is one of my favourites.

Pyrrhus of Epirus

Just finished Jeff Champion's book on Pyrrhus of Epirus. His claim to fame is that he defeated the Romans in two major battles and was rated by Hannibal as the second greatest general after Alexander. His name lives on with the phrase 'Pyrrhic victory'.

The author starts with an overview of the Eastern Mediterranean in the 3rd Century BC and of Epirus itself. At this time the state was a loose combination of tribes with the King's role primarily that of war leader. Epirus covered large parts of modern North Western Greece and Southern Albania.

Pyrrhus spent much of his youth in exile. This was the period of the Successors and war between them was the norm, dragging in other states. He developed into an brave and capable commander before returning to Epirus as King. He probably inherited a modern Macedonian style of army based on the pike armed phalanx supported by cavalry and elephants.

The rest of the book takes us through his main campaigns. Firstly his conflicts with neighbouring Macedonia and then, at the invitation of the Southern Italian states, with Rome. His famous 'Pyrrhic victories' at Heraclea and Asculum are covered in detail. He then campaigned in Sicily against Carthage before returning to Italy, this time to lose against the Romans at Beneventum. His final campaigns were in Greece, culminating in his death in battle against Argos and the Spartans. 

A fitting end for a King who was almost continually at war. Whilst he was undoubtedly a great battlefield commander his strategic outcomes were poor. Too many campaigns were not seen through to the end and his diplomatic skills in maintaining allies were weak, even allowing for the shifting alliances of the period.

This is a book I would highly recommend. The author has a good writing style and effectively deals with the limited sources in way that retains readability for the general reader. I have spent some time in the Epirus region and it is well worth a visit with plenty of sites of interest for the historian.

Russia's Balkan Entanglements

Another gift from Santa was Barbara Jelavich's tome on Russia's Balkan Entanglements 1806-1914.

This is a primarily a diplomatic history of Russia's 19th Century engagements in the Balkans. Starting with the Napoleonic wars and ending with WW1 and the subsequent collapse of both the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Imperial Empires. The period included no less than five wars with the Ottoman Empire from which Russia gained minimal territorial advantage at considerable expense. The author concludes that emotional commitments played a significant part in driving Russian policy. The irony is that an autocratic regime supported, what we would today call liberation struggles, at an economic cost that contributed to its own downfall.

I was about to say that the military operations are given cursory attention. However, that would be overstating the case. They are barely mentioned. Whilst this is not a military history, a reader not familiar with these conflicts would struggle to follow events.

This is not an easy read, not least because the author quotes primary documents at length. It does give a detailed understanding of both the internal Russian considerations and the diplomatic exchanges between the Great Powers. The author also threads the theme of the motives for Russian engagement throughout the book. The analysis is excellent, if the presentation is a little turgid.

One for the real Balkan enthusiast now it is available at a reasonable price in paperback. Not for the general reader.

Cross and Crescent in the Balkans

Santa was very good to me in the books department. The first to be read was David Nicolle's Cross and Crescent in the Balkans.

This is the story of the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. He covers the early history of the Ottomans and the chaotic world at the time. The decline of Byzantium, divided Islam and distracted European states all contributed to the extraordinary rise of this dynasty from a small tribe to superpower status.

This is not a simple narrative military history. The author gives a fair amount of social history that puts the Ottomans in context and explains their resilience. Not least the loyalty of Christian vassals in the Balkans. He also gives some detail of the Ottoman military and administrative system as well as their remarkable comeback after the defeat by Timur at Ankara in 1402.

The military history is outlined and expanded with a somewhat selective treatment of the major campaigns. The Crusade of Nikopol and the Siege of Constantinople get several chapters each. However, the battle of Maritsa plus the first and second battles of Kossova are virtually ignored. This is a bit disappointing as this prolific author has written detailed accounts of Nikopolis and Constantinople in the Osprey campaign series.

With that exception this is still a good overview of the period, written in the David Nicolle's very readable style.

Punic Wars

Happy New Year! May your dice always roll 6. Well for most rules anyway.

It is traditional at this time of year to review projects and plans for the coming year. My main project will be Lord of the Isles as this will be our main display game for this year. Mostly Scots spearmen outstanding. I will no doubt add the odd unit to the WW1 Salonika campaign armies as particular figures catch my eye. I am also enjoying my first few games of Flames of War, so I anticipate some expansion of my Spanish Civil War armies and rebasing the Greeks and Italians. As for actual gaming there will be the club FoG, FoGR and WAB competitions. Plus I want to play more Black Powder, Warhammer Great War and FoW. That should be more than enough to keep me busy!

Just completed the monthly update for Balkan Military History. The main new piece is in the outside the Balkans section with my 28mm Punic Wars armies. The Carthaginians were my first proper wargames army, although I was somewhat shocked to calculate that this was some 40 years ago.

Those Garrison figures have long been sold off and replaced with a bit of a mixture of figures and units gradually picked up or painted when the mood took me over the last ten years or so.

These Spanish foot are some of the best. 

and these Libiyan spearmen are not bad. Later additions from the 1st Corps range I think.

I suppose we have to show some miserable Romans as well........

Spanish Civil War using FoW

Thank goodness for the Xmas holidays and a chance to get some figures onto the tabletop.

Had my first serious effort at playing Flames of War using my new Spanish Civil War armies. A fairly simple scenario to start with. The International Brigade attacking a Nationalist held village, right out of Ken Loach's film. Land and Freedom for those not familiar with his SCW film.

The attack started with the T26 platoon supported by infantry advancing on the centre. The aim was to pin down the fascists while the remaining infantry platoons attacked the flanks. However, the T26's were quickly knocked out by the Italian ATGs and artillery and the infantry went to ground, so offering little distraction. The right flank did reach the hill and I therefore tried out the assault rules. But the Nationalists were too strong. Heavy Machine Guns are very effective!

I really like the rules. The mechanisms work well, fairly simple once you work through the sections in the right order. The SCW has few of the later complications so I haven't had to tackle many of the annexes. I am playing a larger game at the club on Sunday so we will see how that goes.

Austrian WW1 Hussars

Bit of a fill in job this. I picked these Hussars up from the Geordies at Under the Bed Enterprises in the Summer to strengthen the Austrians for my Salonika project. These figures from their Reiver Castings range, are a bit more slender than many 28mm, but others would say more proportional. Either way I like them.

I went for early war uniforms albeit with the grey linen shako covers. Probably stretching it a bit, even for early 1916, but the later uniforms are very drab and a bit of colour was needed. These lads wouldn't look out of place on a Napoleonic battlefield!

There were 16 Hussar regiments at the outset of the war. However, remounts became scarce as the war progressed and a number of regiments were dismounted. I used the fine colour plate in the Osprey MAA 392 as my reference.

Somerled

A bit more work completed on the Lord of the Isles project. 

I have re-read Andrew McDonald's book on the subject. This is a more academic study that discusses the sources for what we know of Somerled and his life. The sum total is not very much. A bit disappointing in one respect, but for the wargame point of view it gives a bit more license!

On the Bargarran battle scenario I am planning, he concludes that the cause of the conflict was probably conservative opposition to the expanding Anglo-Norman fiefs in the West of Scotland. Their Lords, knights and castles would have been viewed with increasing unease by Somerled and other rulers on the western seaboard. He therefore views the battle as a pre-emptive strike against the expanding Stewarts.

This author argues for two possible sites for the battle. Landing at Renfrew and a battle at Knock. Or a landing at Greenock and a battle at Inchinnan. However, there is no firm evidence for either but we know the broad area.

On the figure front I now have a Somerled. Of course we have no idea what he looked like, so I have gone for the Gripping Beast representation of Ragnar Lothbrok, with some conversion.