Innholdsfortegnelse for WSS 116 i Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

Several groups headed for Jerusalem, arriving piecemeal in Byzantine territory. One of the first groups to arrive was from Lombardy, led by Anselm IV the Archbishop of Milan. They started pillaging Byzantine territory and were quickly ferried across the Bosporus to Nicomedia, where they would be less of a nuisance. There, they were joined by Stephen of Blois, Stephen of Burgundy, Eudes of Burgundy, and Conrad constable of the Holy Roman Empire. A detachment of Byzantines led by Raymond of Toulouse joined them, along with a force of Pecheneg mercenaries hired by the emperor. The group headed east into Seljuk territory. The initial plan was to head south to Konya, but an argument broke out. The Lombards, the most numerous faction, insisted that the crusade head north, and later east.…

There are many ways for commanders to gain the necessary information. They include the study of maps, information on previous battles (Napoleon was a keen reader of history), the use of local people, and of course spies. However, both before and during campaigns it is reconnaissance that predominates as the means of information gathering. The following definition is taken from A Universal Military Dictionary by Captain George Smith, 1779: Reconnaissance, in military affairs, implies to view and examine the state of things, in order to make a report thereof. Parties ordered to reconnoiter, are to observe the country and the enemy; to remark the routes, conveniences and inconveniences of the first, the position, march, or forces of the second. In either case, they should have an expert geographer, capable of…

The following is a brief guide to some of the recon models available. Our list is admittedly fairly random; we have tried to pluck out some of the more unusual models from a range. As usual, the limits of time and magazine space prohibit us from covering every single manufacturer. We are using what has been kindly supplied in time for our deadline. We wish to thank all the manufacturers who responded. The few that missed our deadline we will put up online. In a change to our usual reviews, for the range classifications we will be commenting on the periods the manufacturer covers, not the extent of the range. Artizan 28mm Range: WWII (Soviet scouts) Size: 28mm ‘foot to eye’ or 31mm tall Price: £6.00 for four infantry Artizan…

Crooked Dice specializes in making games to recreate scenes from movies or television series on the tabletop. There have been several to date, including 7TV: Inch High Spy-Fi (1960s and 1970s cult TV spy-fi action), 7TV: Pulp (classic 1930s and 1940s pulp cinema serials), and 7TV: Apocalypse (post-apocalyptic movies). The latter two, and 7TV: Fantasy, have been developed with the assistance of the creative writing students from Edge Hill University in the northwest of England. All use the same basic and clever mechanisms. For this Let’s Play, the WS&S team went deep into historical research archives, dusting off old VHS videos of Krull (1983), Hawk the Slayer (1980), and, of course, – Conan the Barbarian (1982). Popcorn in hand, we spent many an hour in ‘meditation’ while watching these old…

15mm English Civil War Company: Steel Fist Miniatures Size: 14mm ‘foot to eye’ or 16mm tall; cavalry stand 24mm tall Era: English Civil War and Thirty Years’ War Price: £16.50 for 28 infantry or 14.95 for 12 cavalry www.steelfistminiatures.com Steel Fist Miniatures has launched a new range of 15mm miniatures suitable for the English Civil War. The infantry range consists of two sets of armoured pike (one of models with shouldered pikes and one with models in a charging pose) and two of shotte (one with shouldered arms and one giving fire). The cavalry consists of twelve sets of horse, covering trotters, gallopers, dragoons, and cuirassiers. Steel Fist intends for this to be a comprehensive range, so it will include artillery and Scots Covenanters at a future date. The models…

In 1864, Paraguay decided to side with the Blanco government of Uruguay, who were fighting a civil war against the Colorado faction, backed by Argentina and Brazil. To alleviate pressure on the Blancos, the Paraguayan military mobilized and attacked both Brazilian and Argentinian provinces. Unfortunately, by April 1865, the Blancos were defeated when Montevideo was surrounded and the Colorados took power. Paraguay now found itself at war with the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The Paraguayan invasions had won many battles, but by the end of 1865 the tide was turning. In April 1866, Allied troops crossed the Parana River and bombarded Paso de la Patria with a Brazilian naval fleet. This one-sided action involved an amphibious assault. Next, the allies attacked and successfully took the outpost of…

The swift-shooting Parthians, led by an unknown military genius called the Surenas (leader of the clan Suren), not only defeated the Romans – they obliterated them. Subsequent Roman armies would also fail against the Parthians, but Crassus’ forlorn force was the worst Roman military disaster on land since the massacre inflicted by Hannibal at Cannae in 216 BC. In the spring of 53 BC, Crassus’ army of nearly 38,000 men, of which 30,000 plus were Roman legionaries, crossed into Parthian territory. His Syrian and Arab scouting cavalry chased the all-cavalry Parthian force out into the arid flatlands. The legions followed as Surenas’ cavalry forces goaded Crassus onward. After days of marching in the sandy plains, the Romans’ Arab scouts fled, and suddenly 10,000 Parthian horsemen appeared out of the heat…

By 1944 the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron was an integral part of the British 1st Airborne Division. Men of the squadron, commanded by Major Freddie Gough, had seen action in Italy in 1943 and performed well. Parachute trained and qualified to wear their red berets bearing the spearhead and lightning badge of the Reconnaissance Corps, the recce squadron, equipped with well-armed jeeps, provided a highly mobile and hard-hitting capability. Little wonder then that, when the British planners for the Arnhem operation saw they had an eight-mile gap from the drop zones to the prized bridge at Arnhem, they turned to the recce squadron for a coup de main operation in which the jeeps would zoom ahead of the main column to secure the bridge whilst the slower infantry moved up…

The cars, by Empress Miniatures, only have two simple modifications. A little styrene rod has been cut and stuck to the top of the radiator to simulate the radiator cap and some soft metal foil from the top of a wine bottle has been cut and folded to create a canvas cover attached to the right and side of the vehicle. The crews in the cars are completely unaltered. The three standing figures come from Copplestone Castings and Woodbine Design. The map draped over the bonnet of one vehicle is actually a map of the region from 1900 scaled to size, thanks to a quick internet search. The Light Car Patrols were created initially for service in the Western Desert (Libya) in late 1915 to 1917. They played an important…

We have previously run group projects very successfully. Ten years ago, with ‘Project Platoon’, for example, we built late World War II armies and tested them out with various rulesets (see WS&S 60). Several years ago, James suggested that we paint armies for the Battle of Ligny (WS&S 69 and 70), which inspired the recent recreation of Waterloo in 28mm at Glasgow University for the Waterloo Uncovered charity (WS&S 94 and 104). Now that we are all returning to gaming, the editor thought it was time we had a 1940 theme, and what better way than to get a group of like-minded gamers together to paint up and play-test the scenarios for that issue? We set a date for WS&S 120, which should be out in May/June 2022. The field…

Several bloody skirmishes drove the Argentines to their second line of defences, based on the heights of Mount Harriet, Two Sisters ridge, and Mount Long-don. Each of these would have to be secured before the British could move on to the final defences at Mount Tumbledown and Sapper Hill before the final push on Port Stanley. It was decided that this would involve simultaneous night attacks on each of the hills. The operations by 3 Commando Brigade would be carried out as follows: • Night attack conducted by 3 Para on Mt Longdon (north) • A night attack by 45 Commando on Two Sisters (central) • A night attack by 42 Commando (42 Cdo) on Mt Harriet (south). A lack of heavy transport helicopters due to the loss of the…

It’s a common problem; we wargamers suffer from that fear. Throw it away and you can guarantee you’ll need it. Maybe not tomorrow, but in a week or a year ... Well, today is your day of transformation, the day you will actually put that pile of plastic sprues to good use. By following the prescription below carefully, you will rid yourself of this burden and build for yourself your own scratch-built train tracks by recycling the spare plastic you already have. Train tracks are such versatile pieces of terrain that can be utilized for many periods of history from the Wild West right through to modern times. They make for creating interesting and challenging scenarios for wargamers to fight over. CONSTRUCTION STEPS Use 3 mm MDF cut into strips…

USS KITKUN BAY William Friend wrote to us saying that he’d like to let us know that he greatly enjoyed the recent article covering the Battle off Samar. Will particularly enjoys naval gaming, so he thought he would share a few of his recently completed miniatures with WS&S, one of which is related to this article. The first is USS Kitkun Bay, one of the six Taffy 3 CVEs that he finished recently. He’s currently working on all the ships of Taffy 3. The model is 1/2400th scale, by CHQ; the ship itself is three separate pieces: the hull, flight deck, and island. Each aircraft is separate. The flight deck markings are actually a superb decal from Flight Deck Decals. The second ship is also recently finished, also CHQ 1/2400th…