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t t WARGAMER'S NEWSLETTER
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WARGAMER'S NEWSLETTER
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Books on every asilect of the military field - wargamers especially c1lterced for. All the 'in print I titles dealing with Military Miniatures are sctocked including Continental publications. Catalogues pUb1 i shed periodically; orders dealCt with ~~o rnp tly; enr:J')~.r~e8 j,nvited.
t~;::r .. I.\lrU~~ .::. ~i ; ~{;·;·.~::h8. ,1 (se--t in the time of Napoleon) by' J.C • ...<f.><.,_ . .....-.--.-.. ......... ..,.....,-. .
candTer-. 1!)68~~ lea'Cpul:i1icat'ion in ' strong ring binder • . IllUstrated ...................................................................... 57/- :P'ost free.
'LEAD SOLDIERS AND FIGURINES' by lla rcel'Billaet; 'Profusely 111-ust-r.ated with coloured plates' & photos ••••••••••• 63/- post free
'NATO UNIFOR MS' by !l.Pfeill. Ccrd covers. 70'full page plat~es depicting 1a colour uniforms a nd rank insignia ••• 21/9 post free
1H,~;d)BUCH DER UNIFORr'~KUNDE' by Knotel and Sieg. Although in Ger -man and with uncd.oured illustrations this is- considered to be the 'B:!:ible ,' on 'inilitary' lliliforms; ' With '1600 ' figures' and full colo U l' d eta i 1 s ........... ....................................................... C 3 '. ~ O. 0 p .. f re e
'pHLITARY' tHNIATURES" by P.Blum; Scores ' bf ' ilJ.ustration"in colo U r .. ~ ... ' ............................................................................ ~. Q.~/ 9 d P 0 s t -£··ree
'THE MODEL SOLDIER GUIDE' bi ' C;Ri~leyAfta";I~~ie~ Ne. Ame rican work wi th over 100 drawin g s ................... to ................. e ' . 37/- pos:t :froo
The above 3 re ,just a few of the useful titles that are' available _ not forgetting Dona .ld Featherstone's wonderful pair - 'WAR G,H1ES ' ahd 'TACKLE rW DEL SOLDIERS THIS \7AY'. I
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Full page ; half or quarter page eavirt i sements ore invited . They may be of a standard nature ( i. e the same advert ~ach . month) o r changed ' regularl y . They may be i llustrated J.n l J.ne o r by pn ot og r aphs ;
t ith full det ~J.· ls t o the Edit o r wh o will Sen d y ou r r e qUi reme n s IV u
DO ~lea fied t o quote y OU a price
----------------------------------' VIARGA !.1ER ' S NE r! SLETTER ' i s printed and published by Donald . F . Feethel'st one fr o m 69 , Hill Lane , So uthampt on , England •
.i'!!o!b""Q.!:inJon Rates l 28/- per ' annum includ i ng p o s-tage . 04 ill U . S . A and Csnada . ,
Single Co p i es 2/6d each .
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~ARGAMER'S ' -0'
NEWSLETTER
ThiS" moni;h s~ es; the s't o rt of On i d eo that ho S ' b e'e n germi nat ing in the min d of the Ed it or fo r some ti me; there is nothing t o show a t the ~ome nt but the first shots hove been fired in wha t mi ght vlell turn out to be a revolut i ona ry a ff b irl The ope r a tion is being outlined to re ade rs be ca use it is' cons'i de r ed t ha t they should know about it as' i't could; have a most beneficial effect upon wa r gaming cer,t a inly in thiS' count ry i f not thruug hout the worl d .
WfdlG!, ~lEn ' S NEI7SLETTER has" been run for ov er thre e years by the Ed i to r at a relati v e f inanc i a l l eoss bes-ides consider~ ab le persuna~ inconveni e n c e - b ut it was a l way s his view that the hob b y n eeded such a magaz ine Dnd that; it filled a most; useful role iri st i mul a ting the g r oA th of wa r g aming. With some justification, it ca n be c l Di med that the Editor has, in this c'ountry, dragged up wa r geming by his s-hoestrings thr o ug h books', r ed i D, t e leviS'i on, o r 8a nising"converi ti ons - and this mGg cz ine. J~ ck Sc-uby h ~ s, in ~ ('i'~f:, r C'n t c~ y. d :m e "uch the ,s n nc t h ine; in U . S .. :., •
" I1ARGA HER ' S NEVIS LETTER S'hould be a better presente d a n d more', i mp re ssive jO),lrnal of the fast-growing [lobby it r ep-res'ents. It gho uld b 'e b i g ge r 8'0 that it can present mo re fea ture s and in fo r mat i on. Ne i ther of th e s'e' thing s c!,!n come a bo ut with out soume bette r f inanci a l s,upport - nnd thot suppo rt the Ed itor feels; could well come from the co mmerrc'i a l o r g a nis at i ons who ma ke mo n 'ey out of wargaming ,and th e- c'ollector.
With th at in mind , on advertising brochure con t a ining a nu mbe r of S'pecimlin adVe rts ' has be en ci:-culat.ed t o a ll k n own c"ommeno'ial g roupS" invo lve d in wargaming acce ss'ories. In futuro there will' NO adVert ising in the VlAnGA MER'S NEI1S LE~TER but only in the brochure, a copy of which will be g iv en away free e ach 'mo nth with the }IEHSLETTER . Thi s a lone adds about £5 per mont'h' to th e post age billl The spa~e gained by la ck of adv erts will be g i ~en over to mb re B rticle~ and wargaming featu res - this mon th, for example, a t le a s t three more pages would re sul'tl
SubS'cribers will s 'hortly see fo r the mselves wh ich commeIrCial g roups have .t a ken adVe rtising spa~e Bn d suppo r~ed the NEWSLETTER , real'ising that a "trnne "nC' f l~uri sh ing magaz ine is n ot only beneficial to the hobby but a sound economic propositi on.
DONA LD. F.FE;\ THERST ONE.
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by
~RICK GRIFF ITH
Being unable to attend the ~jilitary Festival, I decided to hold my own. This report .of it may perhaps be of some interest to readers of the wargamers News letter.
On the Tuesday after the Battle of Waterloo had been fought out at the Duke of York's Headquarters in London, it was fought yet aga in on the out skirt s of Liverpool. I g ot toge ther four war game rs arid prospective wargamers, and two more spectators -including two history teach e rs - a nd some 1,500 converted Airfix figures from my own collection and from that of my friend Stephen Peach. I commanded the Br1.t ish Army , and he took the French front lines as Ney . A Napcle on was found to co-ordinate the French and to comm a nd their r eserve , f'nd a BlUcher to come in ofter six table mOV'es ("six hours" after the first shot at 11.00 a.m.) with the first Prussians. The table-top was abo ut 7 feet by 5 feet, so the troops -were realistically thick on the gr ound, laid out as nearly as possible in the actual battle order. Wellington was inf e rior in artillery and cavalry, so was reluctant to attack, preferring to use his strong defensive position to the full. His reserve was behind his ri ght centre end i f possible he would hav$ liked to have 'used this to attract the main French reserve, including Lob au and all t he Guard, far D\1ay from Plaucenoit where the Prussians tlere h ourly expected.
The French, howeve r, re f used t o be dr8\1n in this \1ay. They were only to ') we ll aware o f the Pruss ian menace on the ir right flank, so did not commit t he r&serve, but in the afternoon moved it over to the r i gh t to meet Blucher. Perhaps this cantion was their undoing, fOr it meant that they did not · beat Wellington decisively in time.
During the early hours of bettIe they successfully captured both Hug oumont and La Haye Sa inte, and by their massed bombardments drove the English and Dutch lining the crest of their rid ge to seek cover on the r evers e slope. At that point the French launched their main attack betc1een La Haye Sa i nte and Papel otte. They had initial success; a Highland unit broke in panic and g uns were captured, but up the h ill, impetus was lost and the break-through ~ wa s delayed. Meanl7h ile, infa ntry and cevalry r e serves were hurry-ing past Mont St. John from Wellington's right centre to plug the gap, and a well-known charge by the Scots Greys helped to repulse the infantry , bu t itself fell foul of the enemy batteries. It wa s not in vain, however, and the main French assault was held.
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On V/e llington ' s right there 11as little but skirmishing until 5.00 p.m., Pire s cavalry charged an unbroken infant ry brigade and were destroyed, and then some Bruns~ ic k infantry were driven beh ibd the ridge, but no major attack was made. An abortive attempt to advance the F r ench batter ies on the left ~as bogged down by limited counter-attacks, and 8S on the other flank, the battle became a skirmish over the gun line. At this point Bl uch e r appeared.
His advance guard looked g reater than Napoleon had anticipated. Ney panicked, and after d isp ut ing Plancenoit , withd re w all the infantry to the road by the Be lle Alliance under cover o f the mass ed artillery. We llin g ton ordered a genel'al advance , and afte r crossing the rid ge, captured some guns bes ide Hug ou mont.
llarkness was closing in, so th e French pulled out to their rear covered by a re a r gua rd which did not, in fact, see action.
Our Water loo seemed to follo~ the original qu ito closely, the di fferences being that the attocks on the British line were not pressed to the limit, the Guard was not used in them, Hugoumont fell ea rly in the action, and the French were able to make an orderly t1ithdrawal . Perhaps the simi laritie s can be explained by the starting ilisposit ions, which were the same. Our commanders we re not free to layout their t roops os they pleased, but had to follow the prototype. As at the ~.lilitary Convention wa r gom e the French attacked on the right , in on attempt to split the British from the Pruss i ans, but unlike the Festival game , the Allied ;J;ight was pinned down and could not mount a compensating attack to draw off the enemy reserve. The Fl'ench had the initiative, b ut their task was the harder, and the only way I can visualise their success agoinst We lling t on is by a concentration of al l the res e rves, all the cavalry, and the greater part of the artillery in one 'masse de rupture'. They failed to do this, and as in the real thing frittered away their strength in unco-ordinated skirmishing. It seems that when a general is given troo ps l a id out in historical dispositions the temptation is too strong, and he g oes and makes all the mistakes of h is predecessor.
The r ules u sed were s i mp lif ied to allow faster acti on, but unfortunately they also led to high casualties, especially from artillery. This helped to stop the ch ief French ottack between La Haye Sa inte and pape lott e , but also deterred the Prussinn and Br itish !ldvances at the end. The inf8ntry moved only six inches per tUrn, so mob ilit y out of .the firing line wa s perhaps slowed
:> down. It was, for i nstance, i mposs ible for Blucher to reach the French rood to the rear before nightfall, so he could not make the most of his decisive preponde.rance.
In retrospect it I'lnS a satisfactory encountEir - several people we re intro duced to vl9rgames, and the Batt le riElS brought to a credi b le concluA i~n. with Napol~on b~ing taken home by car to St.
Helens! The action d i d not f ollo w the orig ins l t oo closely , yet history was not outrageous l y revers e d. An effect i ve comp r om ise was made between the "hi st orical inev it ab ili ty " of the forces engaged and the li e o f the land, 9nd the "f r eewill" of the gc neral1B to use them a s they wi shed .
MORE ON AVALON HILL GAUBS ---· by
I' m pleas e d to see that y ou a r e now acting as agen t fo r Avalon Hill . I now have Af rika Korps wh i ch i s f irst r a te and Mi dway wh i ch I cons i der is very g ood, but fO i dway does need s o me amendments to make th e situati on real isti c . In pa rt icular , the use of one heavy cruiser to represent the Japanese i nvas ion fleet . It i s possible, in the game as published for the At a g o to be pushed forward , screened by a host of Bat tle wagons and heavy cruisers and to survive a couple of air strikes (assuming ave ra ge luck on d ice ) , and then st ill be capable o f carry i ng out the la nding . \7 e have ad ded the 1 2 transports that l1e r e orig i nally the number used i n the operation - just try to screen that lot aga i nst air attack ! lIhat it means, in effect, is that the Japanese commander does not da r e to let h i s transp ort~ get wit h range of enemy nir strikes . By the way , Vie give the transpo r ts a screening power o f 1, and two h i ts to s i nk. 50% h i ts on the transport fleet are rec koned to be enought to r en der the in- · vasion force unab le to ca r ry out it s funct ion. The othe r a lte r a tion we have made i s to halve the a ircraft sh ot down when on l y A . A. f ire is involved . Study in g the actual actions it se em s that guns, whilst obv i ously shooting some aircraft d o wn , tended more to keep the bombers at a distance, and spoil their aim. On the othe r hand, d i rect l y f i ghters took D hand the !lct ion \Vas ve r y d i fferent, and a fl i gh t of f i ght e r s seemed to be able to carve through a bomber for mat ion in double qu ick! time. Ge hnve therefore l ef t the los ses table as pub li shed for a ll cases .here fighters o r e involved in the defence fac tor. Fe are now c onsidering bringing i n dest royers and subma rines - the ,\merica ns had about 20 in the orea .
"iay I i mpl ore my Ame rican subsc ribe r s I'Iho send me mon ey ordlil!rs • t o writ e me a letter g iving me the number, valUe and date of that mon ey or de r beca us e whe n th e y arrive her e they have n o indicat ion whatsoever of the sender's na me . I h ave at least '3 hanging around here which I am f righten ed to cash because I have not the slightest id ea wh o sent them .
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R..!L!!g CA !!2!!§
AYAllA~~~_~~2~ JACK SCRUB!
JACK SCRUBY'S CATALOGUE OF MILITARY MINIATURES ••.•• • • 7 shillings ---------------------'--------A 58 page catalog ue conta i ning lists an d illustrations of military miniatures des i g ned by To m Cox, Jack S c r uby , Greenwood & Ball, and Holger Eri ksson in scales ra ng ing f r om 40mm to 20mm in a great var i ety of peri ods. Th e catal ogue includ es some i nf or mat ion on unif=s, helpful hints f or the beginn ing warga mer and th e lists of cann on s , wargame ships, building s and pa i nts available ' f ro m Jack Scruby .
~AQ~_~Q~Q~r~§_NAR.2~~2~!~QA~A~Q£Q~ •• •• ••• 7 sh i ll i ngs
A spe c i al illustra ted cata lo g ue of 2 0mm and 3 0mm Nap ol e onic f i gu r es with c o mp l ete c olour gu i des f or Nap ol e onic soldiers .
!A:!!~~_!2R._!~~~ ••••••• 2 1 s h ill i n g s· for aye a r 's sub s c rip t ion (6 i G GUO S )
A bi - monthly magaz i ne desi g ned to keep the collector a nd wargamer up- to - date with hiG h obby. It io nn "nIl purp o se" magaz i ne featur ing a rticle s on va r ious aspects o f the hobby by prominent people with in the hobby . Regul e r featUr e s inclu de a liter a ry r ev iea by Ne we l l Chamberlin, a Letters column i n wh i ch readers cen subm i t their opini ons and a Classif ied section f or advert i sing . !~Q.lL~Q.J2. !~l~ i s a must for anyone interested in wa rgames and mili tary miniat u re s.
~~~A:!!2Q!_!!~RG~.!!!~ - Rules f o r Tact i ca l Musket Pe riod wargames • • • 10s . 6d .
By Jack Scruby . Emphasis is on the Napo leonic era . Th e b oo k ex plains the use of the Morsc hsLlse r Roster System and the Unit 17ar games as \7ell as such i nterest i ng rul es as the Li beral Move Game, Pursu i t by Cavalry and Ni ght Moves, etc .
~Q~~~-E2~_~_~!~~!EGX~!AQ!IQAL~~~£A~~ by Jack Scruby • • ••• 7 sh illings
An illustrated b o ok which expla i ns h o \'1 to playa ''board type" st r a tegy wargame and st il l use mi litary min i atures wh ile f i ght i ng tact ic a l act i ons.
~~R.2~~2~!Q_~~~r_2~~~B!1~!!Q! by Fr ed Vietmeyer •••••. 7 shi llings .
An i llustrated b ook dealing wi th the histor ic al organ i zat ion o f maj or Napole onic armies and how to set up wa r games on the S8me bas i s •
ADDRESS ALL ORDER S OR ENq UIRIES TO : Jud i th Scruby Ma cInnes, 53 Fi nborough Road, Lond on , S . VI . 1 O.
Engl ish Representative f or JA CK SCRUBY MILITARY MINIATURES .
fu1UST L!ST I run indebt ed to RichD-rd Paul Smyers for the follouing: "I 1·!Onder if ml1Ily
of your r eader s have heard of t he line of miniature military vehicles offer ed by Superior Hode l s Incorporatod , 2600 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont, Del mmre, 19703. " This cQmpnny offer s tnnks, self-propel l ed guns, half-tracks , a r moured cars and sundry trucks and other vehic l es in a scale of I" = lOS". The ca talogue lists 45 American, 13 British, 9 Russinn, 13 Ger man and 7 J apanese vehicles D-t prices ",' from %1.20 to %2.25, Hith = ntomic cannon and transporters d %6. 00. Some hnve f aults in det a ils, the gun on the Pnnthcr t ank being one in particulor, but mos t shO\-I e. high qualit y that is 101ell Horth the money. I \wuld advise prospective buyers to try a f ell sampl es first, to see if the models meet t heir stl1Ildards, but if they do , Superior Hodol s should be given ca r e ful attention by modern lm r gamers."
Carl Johnson Hho advertis es r egul arly in this NeHsletter has some very fine HO scnl e metal t onle kits of throe or four pieces eoch.
He sells the World 'lor I Renault for %1. 00 Dnd the l1k. V at tl. 50.
For the benefit of r ender s, and t o pr event confusion :-
ORDERS
ORDERS
TRADE ENQUIRIES
FOR Bellona Hodels and custom built models to Deltoruma Ltd.
FOR Bellona Prints etc. to Her berlon Ltd.
TO l'1erborlen Ltd. the manufect ur ers of Bellona Models.
This firm ar e nO\oI turning out a small but ver y useful scenic nccessory in their range of fellen trees in 20 and 30mm scnles. Painted up and l eft dotted a r ound the battle-field, these look most r ealistic and provide extr emel y good hiding pl aces for light troops.
\o!JSERLOO ROUNDTLBLE BY FRED VIETNEYER
On J une 19th, 1965, a group of sbtcen nidl.es t ern \,Jarganer s and ldbitzers met a t the hone of Ted Haskell in Lonsing , }u chigan to commemor a t e t he 150tb Anniversary of lJat erloo .
Tho focus of the event Has a Del'ut i ful three dinensional scal ed \,Jar game t able of the battlefield scenery using a scale of 900 yards equa l s one foot and 20L".D troops a t a r at io of 200:1. Seventy-t,1O s lide sequences wer e te.ken by Ed Strauss of Fort !layne , Indicnn, "ith t aped commentary by Ted Haskell.
f. l ecture on the Napol eonic infn.ntry brtta lion t ['.ctics and orgDlli zntion Has given by Fred Vict meyer and a sur prisingly ext ens i ve cover age 'lOS given of the entire event by the pr ess \,Jith c pl er s cnt stoady s tre('E. of vis itor s .
Each of tho four naj or British- French actions \,Jere shoh'n "-nd phot ographed i n detail and then "- short six move Hcrgcne \,Jas fought of the (',ction using tho lfdd,Iestcrn Napoleonic rules conmon t o I ndil1Ila , Illinoi s , Ohio , l1:i.chigl'.n and Kentucky. Yes ••• the l as t cho.rge of the Guard failed rgain but the \,Jhole bottle >ms "ni p and , ., '." ,
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!HE COM/BATT unIT by R. G. G!:.~
The ba'sic unit of modern infantry is the Battalion. If a model unit were a full-scale battalion, it is unlikely t ha t there would be many different units on the table. As most wargamers like to see several d ifferent units in the same game, the answer is to scale down the battaTIion.
The British Infantry Ba tt a lion of the 1 950 l s had 6 companies: the H. Q. c ompany of 3 platoons - admin., signals, a nd motor transport; the Support company of 4 platoons - anti-tank, medium- M.G" 3" mortar, ( e ach of 6 weap ons) and the assault pla<toon; and 4 Rifle companies each of 3 Rifle platoons,
The Rifle Platoon bed 4 sections: the H.Q. section of 10 men - P l atoon commander, ser g eant, runner, radio op., 2" mortar tea m of 3, and 3.5 " rocket launcher team of 3, and 3 Rifle sections of 1 0 men - N. C. O. with sub- 1ft. . G., 6 riflemen, and light - M. G. (Bren) team of 3.
For transport each Rifle platoon had 1 Austin Champ and 2 3-ton lorries. Each of the 18 weapons of the Support company had a univer sal carrier to two or carry it. The Assault platoon, with f l ame-throwers, mine detectors, etc., had 13 carriers.
In the 1960's the support weapons have been issued at company level. The Rifle company has 3 Rifle platoons, as bef ore and a Support platoon ~~ 3 sections - a secti on of 2 anti/tank gilns, a section of 2 medium mortars', and a section of 3 medium hi .G.s. at Company H.Q. The Assault platoon is kept at battalion level. Not ice that the supporting firepower of the battalion has been increased to 8 A/T guns, 8 medium mortars, and 12 meC~l;m- M . G . s . Als o in each Rifle section of the platoons, 1 rifle- man and 1 man of thelight- M.G, team have been re moved in preparation for replacement by a 2 man team with a "Carl GUstav" rocket laun cher.
On the basis of the organisations above, I decided to compose my model units with 4 full-scale Rifle p''iatoons, and a Support platoon of 4 sections: medium-M.G., medium mortar; anti /tank, (each with 2 weapons) and assault section (with
~ 2 flame-throwers and 2 mine detectors). This makes the model unit exactly one third of II fUll-scale bat talion, and it may be used as a battalion by calling each of the platoons a company. Alteratively it may be used as a company by / td con •
!~Com!bat. unit (contd)
leaving one of the Rifle platoons on ~?~, ","ection of the Support plstoon. The
'lrortunate coincidence.
the shelf with the Assault title com/Batt is a
You may c~lculate for yourselves that the transport needed is 4 jeeps, 8 3-ton lorries, 1 0 universal carriers, and a command vehicle at Unit H.Q.
I use troops by Airfix, and they fight as squads fixed to card trays 9/8" square. A Rifle section (full-scale) ~onsists of 3 squads: a rifle squad - 3 men in arrowhead formation; a sub-M. G. squad - 1 Sllb-machine-gunner and 2 riflemen in arrowhea d,; and a light - M. G. team of 2 men. The H.Q. section also has 3 squads; the H.Q. squad - officer, radio op, and sgt. with sUb-M.G.; P.LA.T. (I use the term generally) team of 2 men; and a light mortar team of 2 men with a 2" mortar. The numbers are similar to those of the new Infantry Company, and this leaves room to add 2 more P.I.A.T. teams to the platoon.
So in all the rifle component of the Com/uatt Unit will need 48 trays or squads - 12 light- M.G.; 12 sub-M.G., 12 rifle; 4 H.Q.; 4 P.I.A.T.; and 4 light mortar. Certain alterations may be made e.g. in German and RUssian units the Rifle squads may be replaced by SUb- M. G. squads; and in the absence of light mortars, flamethrower teams (2 men - flame pack and g ren ad ier) may be used.
Each weapon of the Support platoon has a 3 man crew and a carrier with driver.
I should like to thank N.D. and R. M. for their infor ma tion and T.B. for the Red Army orga nisations (wh ich are similar to those of the British ) .
British Ho me St ores in London are selling a card o f "Combat Tro op s" at 2s . 11d. per 100 figures made in Hon g Kong ; they look very much like Airfix! Also on sale at the same store is a " Battle Group" comprising 8 men, 2 tanks, 20 guns wit h 8 shells in plast ic but n one of the m seem to be in a set scale; the men
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being p oss i bly 30mm the tanks loo k like 4mm reproductions of a • Tiger or Panthe r tank, whils t the guns look b i g enou g h for 54mm ! Ha l j a re in g re en and half of the f or ce in grey and sells at 3s . 110 .
--------,---------~~Q!liER __ !~RG~M~£ _ _fLU~!
It is hoped t o start the JOHANNESBURG (SOUTH AFRICA) WARGA MES CLUB wit h seven or eight members. This gr oup r ecently put on their own re- f ought Waterloo on June 1 8th at the Jo'burg War Museum (full report later ). Dave Na ish, Phy l Van Wyk and Ken Nol an are the lead ing light s of th is g roup, wh o h ope to print their ow n magaz ine. If YOll live in South Africa - get i n tOllch !
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by
KEITH HUDBA RD
Th e Vlargamer s Convention of t he lUn int ure ColJ_0cbors of Americo held 8ev'3:.a1 l'wDth o flgO in Philnde l phia . It i s pre tty l et e to be rapcr -c ad on now, bu t i t waG , on t h e who l e , a tho ro ugh ly succe ss ful me et ing wit h seve ral wnrgame s d e menstra te d , b eth Dru m a nd !'lusket a nd Anc i ent .
I -:;c s successfu l in g etting a mov i e projector and shol1ing a f ilm cuJ.led "Two Ents " actually a recruiting f ilm for tbe '\ ::1'
F oc"::c Rese rve, but hav ing a g reat deal to. do wit h a li fe s i ze'l'l ~~~gnu e betl1 een tWD my t hical c o unt ries c a rri ed out jointly between uni ts of eur Ar my flnd Air Ferce wit h one side wear ing the "Agg resser" type un i ferm. The wo r gam e was feug ht eut e n actual terrain wit h i n t he limits e f the Mythical c eu nt ries super i mp osed on Nerth Ca re lina .
IJn ny members b rought f i g ure s to. d i splay and sell flnd there were one 0.1' t wo cemmercial firms present with medels a nd fi g ures f or sale a t half price .
Attendonce VI!l S very g ee d an d I weuld estimate thnt whot with the ceming and g eing s ome 50 to 60 per sons were there a t one t i me or anether.
Th e conventi on e p ened wit h a comb inat ion g et acquainted and business meeting i n th e morning , fo llo wed by a sort o f roun d table d iscussi on of rules and battlef i e ld s et -up s which last edJ as I r eca ll unt il ab e ut lu nc h time.
Th e afterneen was mere 0.1' less deveted t o. wBrgam e demenst r a t iens and f i gur e exh i b itiens, and the evening sessien e n ded en a high nete with Blair Sten ier serving as P ipe Majer fe r a series ef bagp ipe mu sic and ma rche s by his pipe band , 0. 1' memb er s ef the band, in fu ll Hi g h l ander unif er m.
Seme da ys later I je i ned the as sec i a tien and invit e d them to. held the ir next c e nvent ien eut here a t th e Air Base . I understand that the ma tter is under c ensi d eratien at t h i s time.
o To illustr a te h ow eut e f hand :3 heb b y like this can get - I am prGsently i nvo l ve d in th e f elle wing :-
Sometime i n January vla lt Koffe l (my nearest wa r game eppenent) an d I are due to set up a 1000 f i g ure d iera ma e f a Civil Wa r Battle
(AntiEltam) in the Bucks Coun-ty Hig h Schoo l, teach a history class on the battle Dnc after school h ours are over, g ive 0 demonstration of a warg ame to intere sted students an d faculty .
A couple of weeks ago I was photographed in colour with a complete battleground l ay out of 30 mm Revolutionary f i g ures for i nclusion in the Sunday wo g azine section of the Phi l adelph i a Da ily . Bulletin. If it does come out so on I'll try to send a copy to you .
I am presen tly engaged in a ma il ( s o for) type war g ame with Pat Condray and h is assoc i at es o f th e " Condray Con f ederc tion". The countries of C£<rd or, Schlessburg and Lux ia (on .his sid e) and lIz uria, Krimson i a and ICathenbu r g (on wy side). Fat lives in Mary lond on a road appro priately named "Po ,ld er Ijill noad ". The wcr looks like it will eventually i nvolve as many as 8 to 10 persons as p l13 yers and opponent s.
I am still strugg ling to g et tOGether a 2 0 mm f leet of Ro ma n ,7a r Gplleys to opp ose my present fleet of Vi k ing sh i ps. I mi g ht say that I am hav ing about as much trouble g ettin g th e fleat orga nized as the Romans in the latter days o f the Empire.
In the b oo k deportment - I have c o me across an exce ll ent b oo k on the Roman Occupat ion of Britain called BRITflNNIA written by a Geor g e Patrick WelSh. Anyone read in g this f ine piece of mil itary hi st or y that d oesn It lone 'Ii a lead out a mi n i ature leg io n or two in batt le must be either hopelessly addicted t o Gunpowder a nd modern ti me s or not a n afician Dd a of the hobby a t all.
Hove a lso ' co rn e across an excellent b ock on the German East African Campaig n called DUEL FOR KILI~NJlIRD . The a uthorl~ name escapes me but it is OLlt in paperback . It hos several illu st rations and mops and wh i le t he out h or is defin it ely sympathet ic to the German c omm o nd er and tro ops, i t g i v es 0 fine pi ct ure of the German st r ug g le to ho l d Ger ma n Eas t Af ric a dur ing World Ua r I.
New worga mers are turning up a ll the time in th is area, and even the e d i tor of t h e Daily Bulletin i s not only i nterested in
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the c olo ur p ic tu re story of the narg a me hobby but has asked if • I con g iv e so me readin g motorial on it as he is inter ested also in the hobbyJ
This e venin g I will motor up to a town a b out 14 miles away to see a window display mentioned in the paper, of a costle and soldiers from the collection of a 10c81 inha b it a nt .... live never heard of hi m, but who knows, perhaps i n ti De t h e warg ame ranks will be aug mented by one woreJ
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HINTON MUNT F IGURES - ;;a -
Mi l.it.a"'I'Y- a 1:1 d 11 i 8t or ic a 1 Mo del s •
Collectors. elld warg9'mers - , there a re many recent additions to !:!.in~Hu!lt Figu:s~ liste d in b oth 54 mm end 20 mm -including the new CRIMEII N RANGE in 54 mmscale; pll's numerous other items in our ' Napoleonic Range in 20 mm sea leo High.;. . lenders Bnd French Old Guard have recently be'en odded.
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ANN OUNCEMENT! -----!li.!.12.!!....Hunt Figure~ novI hav e a stall at the CA MD EN l?ASSA G:J ANT I QUE MARK ET, I SL INGT 'jU (o:of I sling t on High Street, London.) Nearest St a tion THt: IING:i!:L (Gnd erg r 'ou.nd ) .
Open only on satur days f rom 1 0 . 30 until 5.30 p.m.
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up IF OR1,j rRlU.!~ND CARD,2
!!i!!.!.2.!!. Hqnt Fi[ure.~have made available to the Collector and Student of military uniforms, ~everal wide range!!; of colollred uniform prints a nd oards by well~known artists, covering the widest variety of periods sed nati ons. The re are als o severol booklets on these sllbjects not previously listed
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For ful~lists - please send LARGE sta mp~d and addressed
envelope (with 6d. stamp) to:-
!lINTON HUNT FIGUI\ES,
'Ro\'lsley',
River Road,
Taplow,
EuO.ks,
Ene :tand.
LOOKIN(~' AR.OUND
AIRFIX MLGAZINE, JULY 1965 - Jill article on milit8.ry modelling by Chris Ellis describes converting the Airfix Bren Carrier into various types of fIe me-throwing cB.rriers • . There is an interest ing section on photographing models with one article enti tled "Giving Hodels a lA.ilitary Look" 1'hich should prove of great inter est to wargumers and collectors. There ar e also two or three useful and informative l ett ers in the correspondence section.
NINIATURE AUTmJORLD, JULY 1965 - Nothing specifically of inter est to va.rga.mers in t his magazine but ther e is always some inter esti ng data on t errain in relation to model ca.r set-ups >lhich could veIl be adapt ed to Har gaming. Also infor mation about military models occasionally given .
M012EL VJAKER, JULY1965 - An inter esting article descr ibes t he Revell Kit of The Vict ory as " ." uhut must certai nly be t ermed the finest plas tic lei t \·Te h:we ever built. 11 Plsns ore inc l uded also for a Navy Patr ol Boat and a C Group Dostroyer 1944 period plus an article describing Hith i llustrations an ElizabGthan galleon. Ther e are a lso plnns and notes for H.N. S. Pegasus , a Seaplane Corrier of the 1917 period.
I am told thnt the Air Hagc.zine I NTERAVIA r ecently published a def ence suppl ement. It cover ed ground equipment 2nd included the fi r st pictures that the uriter had seen of the ne", Vickers Hedium Tank developed f or India. It is r. 37 Tonner \·lith the engine of the Chieftain but thinner f.rmour and a Centurion turret nnd 105mm Gun. Looks a very efficicnt piece of machiner y. Also there is E diagram of the neu British light tank uith parts common to the Abbot SP 105mm gun but the tur r et and armament of thc Saladin armoured c"r. The sum t ot al of this lil"ou l d appear very much l i ke a l atcr mark of VO.lentine though of course it uill be more advanced mechanically \'Then finv.lly developed.
!!!~!Q~.L!Ql1~L._~!!'Q:.1'£!_1 2.12.:2. - l' h i s c on t a i ns a n ex cell e n tart i c 1 e " FOUR HUNDRED YEAR S AGO; 1'HE GREAT SIEGE OF MALTA 1465" by T . H. LlcGUFFIE (author of that excellent b ook RAND and FILE ) .
Read in co n.i unct ion !'I i th the bo ok " THE GR EA T SI EGE " by ErnIe Br a df or d, t h i s a rt i cle stimulates a heady desire to co llect models of this peri od , bu i ld up fo r ts and a harbou r a nd ho ve e go at i t on the table - topt
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MINIATURE FI GURI NE S,
SOUTHAMPTON, Hampsh ire.
Dea r Via r ga me r ,
Je wou l d like to Op ' ID Ri sB for Dny inc onv F n ie nc & or delay y o u may have su f fe re d du ri n g the f irst week s o f l'Iini a ture Fi g uri nes . Th is i s almost in ? Vl "tu bl,. dur ing the toke--over of e n e xi st i ng busin ~ ss b ut ws nO D fe s l most uf the sn~g s o nd problems 9 re s orted out Dnd we D r ~ ra rin g t o go .
The f irs t nBR fi g ur ~ s to be p r oducsd Ri ll b~ the cont i nuation ~ f the Aust r o- HungDr i n n "Emp ir e ; th~se wil l of cou r se , in clude mo unte d tr e· ,' ps . _Hth i n a very short t i me , VIe shall be ob I " to off e r a n Aust ro- Hungo r i sn Army fa ll oR ing the pa ttern set by our p r ed e Cesso rs. It i s a lso our i ntention t o r e - model seve r a l of thb 0 81"1i (' r cavalry fi g ures und o f ccurno, pr cd ucc ne w. rle can pro mis e tha t the rs ma i nde r of the Aust ro- Hungar i ans will be a v a ilable with in the next three weeks as well B S the f i rst of our Amer ica n Civ i l r!8 r s e r ie s .
~e hnve many in te r e sting pIo ns fo r f igures ana acce s s o r ies as we a r& both active .,9 rga mers. Al l these th i ngs ne ed t i ms but we csn assure Y0U that we o r e wo r k i n g t D our capacity t o b rin g out more i nt e r estin r; and 'Ia nte d lin e s.
~e sincerely hope the repu t at io n f or prompt d e livery Al be r ken en _j o yed, wi l l b e continued by u s and our on6 ai-m-;i-s to s atisfy you a ll. 7: e wil l we lc o me 88 bef L.' r e , any criticisms a nd sugg0stion s yo u may WAnt to put forward .
lfuy WG tal,e this op p or tun i ty of wi shing y ou happy wargaming e n d look forwa rd to heq rin g f ro m y~u i n the futu re.
Yuu rs S incerely ,
NEVILLE DICKINSON
PETER GILDER
" Minia tur e F' i g urin es !l.
BOOKS RZVIEWED
Carl Johnson t ells me that he has a book (52 pages) of t ext and photos entitled • "Billy Yank - Soldi er of the North" by Hwnrd K. Hayden (price 33 .95). It is easy ~ to read and is an introduction to the Union soldier. It may not inter est t he collector uho has many books on the subj ect but it too is a good s t art- , ing point. All of t he information'Ias verified by "The Company of Nilitary Historians" "rho ha.ve r evi e1ded the book and sponsor it for younger r ec,ders. He will have some descriptive liter ature shortly.
John Nnrgiotta "Irit es: - "I Hould like to bring just one book to your a ttention. "The Influence of See, POHer Upon History 1660-1783" by A. T. lfuhan. This is a military classic r ecently re-published by Methuen a t 30s . O'd. It studi es all the political, geographical, economic !'nd psychological f actors of Har ",t s oa £lnd i s absolutely es s ential to war gamers inte r ested in the Amer ican Revolution. It Has only a f t er I he.d studied this H[lr tha t I fully appr ec i ated the importance of naval ,Jarf a r o on history and on Hargam;ing. Hishing no offerce t o American r eaders I am inclined to believe that the better management of our fleet in this Har 1Jould have l ed us to ultimate victory. Vol. IV of Lr."lSon ' s "His t or y of the Uniforms of the British Army" WIS published on 28th J uno. This t akes us into the Napoleonic poriod. Roll ' on Vol. V!!" ' ~
I notice in tho July Airfix Na gazine a book entitled "Armoured Vehicl es" -from their conception t o the pr esent time compiled by G. Bradford. It CDD be purchased from Nerberlan Limited r.t 7s. 6d. plus 6d. postage . It is a pUblica tion of tho Hininture AFV Collector s Association.
I have a l s o r ace i ved the usua l inter esting list of ne," nnd second- hc.l1d milit £lry books available f r om Ken Trotman, 3 Ash Close, Naphill, High Hycombe , Bucks. England.
~~~_QQg~~~Qr~~_~~R G~ :lE§
I have r e ceiv e d t wo exc e llGnt box e d ga me s f rom t he Milton Br adle y Co mpa ny o f Springfield, Was s . 0 11 0 1, U. S . A. (Chad Valley in G. B .) The f ir s t " DO GF I-G HT " pits t wo s q uadro n s of AmGric a n Spad fi g ht e r s a ga inst ' two o f German Fokl{er tr iplanes, but there are nu me r o us extras such as An t i-airc r aft f ir e , no - mans - land e tc . to contend wi th. Th e ga me i s bas i ca ll y s i mplE a nd only l a sts a round a n hour; t he rules a re e a s il y underst s nd a bl ~ . Despite t h i s, it i s a g ame which ne e ds as much sk i ll as luck. Ea ch plan e is e q u ipped with c a rds gi v i n g atta ck Bnd defe nce v alu e s - the luck l i e s i n dra win g th e ri g ht cerds, t he s ki ll i n the way you play them.
The second ga me "lIlT THE BEACH" is [} land r!s r g o me - Pac i fic area W. W. 2 . I ' ve n o t YEt played th i s ', n e bu t it lo oks g ood. Othe r g ame s a r e "BATT LERRY" (C i vil lia r - Bull Run to Shiloh ) 8 n d ''BR OA DSIDE'' an 1 812 Na v a l r1o r g arne. Th e se gomes appe a r to be ad mira bly su it ed t f il l in tha t od d hour " h e n e wDr go me f i ni,shes Ga rl y! Ba sically s ;im p l e, thpv c a n b e e x pe nded into l o r g e - sc El le operati on s.
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LETTERS Ala n C. Gibbs (113 Goer Park Road, Ne wport, Mon.) luites: "Bill Cainan and I have fought over the Patville Valley,. nnd this has resulted in a crushing Federal defeat. The armies used a re converted Airfix, a nd include Louisiana Tig ers, La Grange Light '. Gua rd, Pennsy lv 8 nia Loncers, Char18ston Zouaves, Virginia Cavalry, Be rdan's Sh a rpshooters, 72nd Pe nn s ylvania Zouaves , Georgia Volun-teers and 6th Vi i sc on s in Volunteers. I hav e plans f or North Caro lina Militia."
(Alan Gibbs has produced a nell ran g e of model soldiers under the name of " King 's Shilling MOdels" . <lhich he is producing at the rate of one per month. He reports that they a re unusllol in that the f i g llre can be made in the uniform and position desired by the purchaser. He describes one that he has made a s a Filsilier for the 8 e Leg er in camp a i gn uniform, suitably tattered a nd mild-stained. They are made of cloth on a wire frame Dnd are 4 " tall. Infantry cost t:5 . 0 .0., Cavalry £8 . 0 .0 and stand bearers £6 .10.0. At present, he has models of a British Private of the Penin s ular V:ar , 2 Frenchmen and a Drumme r o f t~,!'.' 8 e L.!g~r 1808) •
Derryck Atwell writes: "Up to press, my ma in opponent is my 8 year old son; rle have fought two U. S. Civil f:O r actions - mind you, I have to see that the dice roll his way most of the time, but it is fun. I sari the advert for the Belg i a n rlaterlo o Fiesta and foolishly mentioned it to him - now, I'm landed with a trip to Belgium!! You have a lot to ansrler f or!"
David Bradley "rites: "I very much enjoyed the Milit ary Fest ival last Soturday , the re-construction of Koterloo being particularly impre ssive.
"f,t present I am in the second yeDr of an Economics De g ree at Br ad:ford Institute of Technol ogy , th is mea ns I only have time for warg a ming durin g the holidays, bu t I am able to study the theoreti-cDl side of the hobby, rules, org anization etc . /Iiy ma in interest is still'the modern period and I am developin g a VI.'; .I set-up, but seeing the Napoleonic set-up last saturday , I have been at'tracted by that period.
"As I am li v ing in a He 11 of Resid8nce, I am wo rkin g out various sch emes f or a portable wargeme set-up ghich could be set up and dismantled qu ickly, stored easily a nd yet still be able to use model soldiers."
_ __ Hal Kle pak of Montrea r -w.r<ite-s: - -- "An English wargamer, John Ke llett from Norfo lk, who is a student at McGill had a week-end with me. We put on a reasonable wargame as re gards size -around 2,200 men (keeping it - the number - low since we tried some new ideas). It was Nap oleonics and was fought on the floor a s usual. John commanded the Ang lo- Wurttemburg f orces, while Les Carter commanded, in conjunction with Robert Feber, the Russian , Prussian, and French enemy (obviously not historically correct). Bob Umbarger and myself were field commanders under John. \/e experimented with the idea of having absent command ers, that is John, supreme command er of Anglo-Wurttemburg forces, was · in one room with a staff member as aide, and the commander of the enemy wa s in another room with an aide. This, of course, caused some confusion as when we sent a note to our C-in-C, by the time the couriers arrived back 'ilith or ders, th<e wh ole situation might have changed completely. This produced the confusion characteristic of Napo leonic battles and added great l y to the realis m. A good but confused t i me was had by all concerned except pe rhap s for John, who was reported to be pacing back and fo rth in the other room in ag ony waiting fo r an other re p ort. I must admit that when the battle became intensely hot, there wer p " orne mnves in wh ich my scribe 'Ind I we re too lVorri"ed to s ,,,,nd word back. The British, beet' use of torrnin (at let\st 1;'118'1; 11iwhat ",, · say) were i mme(J-iate ly at a disadvantage (thE> enemy's gllns naving longe r range than ollrs since theirs qllickly mounted hi~~s and there were none on ollr side at first as we moved up). The maul ing Vie received ' .from the French and Prussians was ro ugh but the Rllssians were out-shot consistently. We fllll back on so me diplomatic manoeuvres and got a drQw in _ the end."
Allan R. Sloane of 2LEd g ew ood Road, Lexine.!on, Ma s!!...,. writes:
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"We i1SV'e 0 club of wa r gomer s wh ich goes under the title of "Tme Enstern !.Iossachusetts Wa r Game . Club". Just yesterday, our member-ship increased by five os I discovered that there was 0 g roup of kids just one town north of me. \1 e are quite a young g roul' as the average age is 15-16, and no one is over 17. Our main in-fe rest is World Wa r II and after, but conflicts of any sort . interest us. I know of !l couple of people who subscribe to your magazine who are in the gr oup; omone; whom ore Druce Weeks , DUll' president; Jim Dretler; ond Do na Ketchllm. If you know of anybody else in the Mass. ;,._ Rhode Island - New Hompshire area, it wotild
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be much appreciated ',i f yOU could send me their nomes and oddresses • •
"Our g roup has hod several me etings ond we' re still tryimg to compile 0 set of rilles that everyone will be familior with. Althoug h e veryone will keep and use their own set o:f idiosyncrnsies, we can use the club rules wh-en we get together. The rules willI resemb le Tarr's in a small way, but will be more complicated.
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"We are planning to have a campaign using U.S. Geographitcal Survey Maps for the ba sis of terrain. These are excellent map 's a.nd are only 301 a piece. Maps can be bought for gny part of
/ t .he U.S. and many o f its possess ions.
"Our · armies ore composed ma inly of ROCO, DliG M, MIN ITANK (or any other names) models. There a re a few Auth enticast lead models too •
"I hope that someday in the near futu re, we can pUblish some sort of rule book that contains all the accepted rules, options, and ideas of Mass . worgamers.
"We had a re g ional meeting (7 member s ) of our club (17 members ) on Saturday the 20th. '17 e played a game where Ray Delaney end myse lf defended my home town of Lexington. We used USGS maps . The German attackers, Dave Chisholm and Ernie Jones, were unable to cutwit the Br itish defend ers.
"In the game we used simulta!!eous tim.!!.£2!2.~§ of 2! minutes each. Th is makes for a fast-moving g ame. Not too realistic for some people, but confusion reaches a high point in the last 10 seconds of the move. (After movin g , we have simultaneous fire). We used Roco tanks, Airfix infantry, and metal, Brit i sh f-PC 's PYle' 8Pl"~i. Yls."
• !~!!_.M.,..2£f@!l_£f_Ql9..§.&.Q.~ writ e s: "I must pr ot est st r ongly against some of the very misleading notions put out by Bill Gunson.
"Where on earth did he get his fi g ure s on the rate of fire of the Chassepot and the Need le-Gun? He says that infantry cou l d load and f ire a volley in about on e minute. This is very far from being correct. Even in Wellingt on's day the infantry could load Dnd fire volleys at the rate of three or four a minute. If it took four times as long to load and fire a b reech-loa der , th en the Ch a ssepot would never have been introduced . In foct, the main objection to the early breecb-loaders was that they fired s o rapidly that all the generals Vlere n ir Gl id t h ey would 1l3t lie "b1e to organize sufficient supplies of ammunition to the front lines. The rate of fire from Chassepot and Needle-Gun was AT LEAST TWICE that of the musket - more like eight to t~lelve shots per minute.
"As fo r ·the cavalry, I am afraid Mr . Gunson is the one who has come a cropper about the Sudan campaign. At Omdurman in 1898, the charge wa s made by the 21 st Lsncers, not the 17th. They did break throu~h the Dervishes, and they did inflict a lot of casualties on the way throu g h. Then they reformed in rear of the enemy, dismounted, and drove the enemy away by carbine fire . Th ey did not wish to charge again for the
simple rea son that the enen!'1" were in po s ition in a deep dry wate-N}ourse, which wa s the m-rtn rea son why the first attack , had not been fully successfUl. One can read up Sir Winston Churchill's accou n t of it in "The River War ".
" Mr. Gunson a lso makes the co mm on error being too g enero u s as re g ards the shock action of cavalr y aga inst infa ntry. He ma kes it that if cavalry reach en e my infa ntry they h av e an even chanc e of success . Study Nap oleonic an d later 19th Century battles and one will find that cavalry suc cess a ga inst infant ry was a r a rit y unless the infant r y had already been demoralised or badly shaken by artillery f ire, heav y losses, caught i n a ba d formation, or taken by surprise. Aga inst unshaken in fan try in formation, one chance out of six would b e more rea list ic.
" Mollwitz in 1741, Dett ing en in 1742, Fontenoy i n 1745, and Minden 175 9 g ive sufficient proof of the resistin g power of infantry, even when f ormed in line and armed enly with muzzle-loadin g muskets ." --
CS M_~.2.£.alL!Y_._~~~4b En The R 0:Lal~£.~&!!.ire Re!tt.!..1.-.E..:.~ :!2E.1-..11.J!a Ih_!!.~~E.!.L-1~l e _ .2.L!1-..!lh.!. wr it e s : "I \~a s a wa ret ha t Ger ma ny wa s the h ome of the flat fig ure, but in a ll my ti me th ere I have never seen any on sale. Cowboys and Indians, a nd R omans and Huns , seem to b e the most popular gam es judging from the toy shops I visited.
"At the moment I am i n the (s low) process of raisin g a rmies for a Franco- Tu rkish Wa r o ut o f converted Air f ix f i gures. It is g oin g to be a continuation-of the dispute over the Ho ly Places that set off the Cri mean Wa r, and i s r eck oned to have taken place just afterwa rds. French Foreig n Leg ion and Union Infantry f orm the basis of Nap oleon Ill's army, whilst the Turks a r e b eing re c ruite d f rom Arabs and Japanese In fa n t ry! It will be some ti me however before the first blood is shed."
~i!.L!i.2.!.!!'2.&_l.2.Ll!~!.!.~E.~E!.U wr i te s: "Have been f ri g htfully bu sy wi th models , and have I e unched my self i nt o tailor- made one-only specimens f or sp ecial order. One was f or Nor ma n Newt on as a backg ro und to Napo leon bidd ing ad ie u t o his Generals in 45mm scale . Quite some j ob . Another i s the castle I hav e made f or Peter Yo ung in 30mm. It has su rrou nd i ng city walls enclos ing a small town , lIurembur e style , where i n the houses o pen up and c on ta i n beds , end all mod. cons. Unde r the c ast le i s a dungeon f i tted up as the complete t or tu re chambe r wi th f i re , red h ot irons, ball and cha i n , and the r ack . In on e c orner I in stalled a whisky still ."
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~~Tri ~2.!.£ writes: - "I still can't th i nk of n really g oo d way to s i mulate Ach - och f ire in wa r gemes . I've th ought o f combined d i ce throws; guess ing where th e plane wi ll be on its pre - planned f li ght path, marked o ut on a map of the table - top befo re take-off Bnd which must be f 01l o IVed exactly - this may be tho; best iden.
Tony Bath >lrites:- "I feel that I must t"ke exception to John Cook ' s reEmrks .. in the July Nm/Slettor . SOl'le of My best friends don't like flnts end everyone is
..: anti tIed to their opinions feS to "hat type of figures nr e the best . But to say that "nny uar GnDor 1fho haD not thE> desire to Me.ke nn originrcl or conversion should l10t hnve taken up the hobby" is an intolerp..nt r emark >lhich might well put off many people who got the idea they weren ' t wanted unless their interests l ay in that direction .
"I have never had the slightest desire to 8i ther make an origina). figur e or to convert, and I don 't think anyone is likely to suggest that I shouldn't have t aken up wargnming. l·lr. Cook seems to have lost sight of tho fact thnt the rai son q ' etre for baing a wargamer is to fight wargames, not necessarily make figures . Hodelling, painting etc . e.re all fncets of the hobby, but the whole idel'., basically, is to fight games; whether you fight them uith beautifully m£.dl'l original figures or just counters; uhether you reproduce actual battles or fight Avalon Hill games, doesn 't matter - it's the game thnt counts .
"There ' s room for nIl sorts in the hobby, Hr . Cook!"
C. Beaumont "rites :- " I have rules concerning the definition of " retrent or rent. To reve executed a RETREAT all units must l eave the field 1Jithin 6" of e.ny Q!lg r oo.d le[lding to their baseline . Units not doing so ere cop.sidcred lost.
"If 50% of the r etreating forco exits outside that area (,·lithin 6" of line of retreat) the [troy is considered routed. "
Stephen Cop..nally Hri tes: - "It s eems str ange to me that most ,mrgm;]ers have not taken into account the fnct th[lt "hen guns are blown up, horses m~y also be hi t Hi th splinters and F..aybe ldllod. I use the follOl,ring rule for this purpose.
";Ihenever [\ gun i 's destroyed ond the limber is ,li thin 3" a dice is thro1-1n and the totnl hnl ved and thet is the nurober of horses hit . If the dice l(1llds on an odd nlli~bor, c,,~l it the next one down, e . g. 5 ,",ould become 4. Half of 4 is 2 ther efore 2 horses a r e hit, a 4, 5 or 6 spves them. Limbers cannot be pulled by less than 3 horsos.
"lli th this rule I have had enemy batteries stuck in no- man ' s - land, not being gble to move ."
Peter Garratt ',rites: - "I have been r eading H. Rider Haggnrd ' s "Child of Storm" about the Civil Har betlfeen the Zulu Princos Cetywayo and UmbGlazi ending in the battle of (I've got to look this one up) Endondokusuka, in DecGmber 1856. Though novels, Heggard ' s uorks 11.bout the Zulus havG helped Ine in a projGct I he.vl'l undertaken at school, ,",riting a history of Zululnnd from the massacre of Piet
Rot i of end 68 othor Boers by King Dingavn on February 8th, 1838, to tho ovcrthrm,r of CctJ7imyo at Ulundi in 1879. Haggard is no., one of my favourite authors, ranking in my esteem besido Edgar Rice Burroughs, who, if the number of l.fprS in his 60 books arc an indication Hould havo boen a very imaginative uargamor if he hnd lmown about tho hobby. In f nct, someono with timo could probably got a good Hargrune going out of sOl'1e of his brilliant idoos. If you don't believe mo rODd his ll ii Princess of Nars" for some new ideQs. l1
I'J. R. F. J enkinson Hri t es :- "Hi th r eferonce to Tony Bllth' s suggestion f or a magazine devoted to Ancient Hargames, I don't r eD.lly think it's a good suggestion • . The Uargamers' Nel·,sletter is surely the correct medium through Hhich all wo.rgal'lCs .... should be discussed othOY,lise ono Hill end up "ith separate magnzinos for 0.11 diff er ent WGr periods, n,t a much greater cost than yeur Ne"sletter. After all, even though one mi ght not necessarily be intor osted in a particular period there is al"ays a chnnce of pieldng up a few no" tips, so I say keep it ell in one magazine; even if you increase the size [llld cost! IT
(I underst1'.l1d that Tony hns receivod a promising nUlnbor of enquiries, ho"ever! Ed.)
Mnlcolm ~Ioolgnr "rites:- "My long search for Crinean uniforms and equipment detail has endod Guccessfully! Thnnks to a tip from a B.H.S.S. membor I made fW vmy to the Victoria and LIbert lfuseun Library. Thunbing down the index under "Uniforms - British Isles - Army" I located manuscripts "British Arl'1Y Uniforms 1844-1855". The librarian produced three fnbulous volunGs of the Roynolds manuscripts (theso were volumes 20, 21, and 22, so there were nor G where thGy C1'mG from!) For tuo hours I sketched Dnd jott.ed in my notebook, nnd some day I'll go through my regiments correcting thG mistnkes in detail that I IJ£lde originally. For one thing all the haversacks illust!'ated "'ere white - mine· are black!
"I cnn ' t stop drooling over these books. One volWlle deals vith the infnnt""" and covers every regiment in nunerienl order stnrting with the Foot Guards, then tho 1st Foot, 2nd Foot nnd so on. Another deals 1.fith the cavnlry in similar fnshion, nnd the third covers genernl staff, artillery, engineers, Dedical staff etc. Thero are plentiful Hater colour sketchos of uniforms , uniform details, badges, lace , butt.ons, photographs, nnd copious manuscript notos. If only someone could publish them for general purchnse!"
Bill Mell "rites: IlHave r ece iv ed a set of Nnpo180nic rUles from llflve-Gladding's IlCounty" Group (B.M.S.S. Wargames Section). One idea I shall ndopt conc e rns counter battery fire or elimination of gun crews. They never have 9 gun knocked out 8S I/me do, ruling thet it r ep resents a bottery 2nd 8 lucl,y shot just would not do that. Instead, f or eve ry gunner '~{nocked off" tha t battery's dice throw is r e duc ed by one - w'ich does re f lect the diminishing effectiveness of the battery 8S 8 whole. I like this, it's BBS Y, realistic and effective."
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UNPf. INTED METAL MI NHTUHES 9 different 54mm figures of 'Custer's Last-StcndT\won 3rd pri;G in 'Troditi cn" Photo Competition). Set of 9 - $11.50. General Custer ' or trooper in overcoat ~;1.30. 20m m Ancient Greeks ~md Il om~lli.s, - 6 different 01.50. Mo ny' other figures, equip ment cnd be oks . Send Interna tional Heply Coupon o r s t 8 mp for' 1 i st • Q~B.~~!i!!'§'-Q~_!:l.0 X- 28 ~:t:~~Un-Y---±'-A Il K 11., N 'EW :2J:~M EY' QlIg.L!:!~§.~~~
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~!lQf .. !EIl' S ~~!:!~~I.QE __ ~~2_~ - hove yo u go t your copy yet? 60 p a.g'es- of' leng thy war g a mes- articl e s Dnd fe a tures by the expeIrts.
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