More Library additions

The 'about to move overseas and not have Amazon anymore' buying frenzy is underway.
The ECW library got a few new titles, including our intended rule set: Baccus' Polemos.

Yes Dux, the centre bottom title is a present for you!

Sadly, most of these must go into the sea freight box shortly and wont be seen again until March or maybe April.
Lots to look forward to then though :-)

Wargames Illustrated just posted this article at their website here.  Funnily enough I just ordered this last week and am waiting for it to arrive, so I shall add my own thoughts on this volume in due course.

An Alternative History of Britain: The English Civil War

Posted on 13/10/2015 by Mark // 0 Comments

By Timothy Venning, Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 2015 [ISBN: 9781473827820]

Reviewed by Robert Giglio

Excerpt from the back cover of the book:

“With hindsight, the victory of Parliamentarian forces over the Royalists in the English Civil War may seem inevitable, but this outcome was not a foregone conclusion. Timothy Venning explores many of the turning points and discusses how they might so easily have played out differently. The author analyses the plausible possibilities in each thread, throwing light on the role of chance and underlying factors in the real outcome, as well as what might easily have been different.”

Mr. Venning’s book follows his other titles in the ‘Alternative History’ genre, as he lays out very convincing details of how King Charles I and the Royalists could have won at various times during the years of the First English Civil War. Being a Cavalier myself, I wish it would have been so, and some things are quite plausible; yet, being a realist, I know there are aspects that just would not work. This discussion however, could go on for years (and has), though probably in the UK it does not rival the US’s more popular “If the South had won the American Civil War…”

The book is a very good read as the author convincingly points out situations where the Royalists could have tipped the scales militarily throughout the years of the Civil War. Other aspects are examined as well, such as the war in Ireland and the Royalists’ outcome there, as well as how circumstances could have favored Parliament and the New Model Army at different phases of the war.

For the wargamer, this book provides circumstances that could lead to theoretical battles at every phase of the war, since different outcomes presented are based on plausible possibilities. Of course, the easiest and simplest of these ‘what if’ scenarios to game would be those where a battle could have been fought a second day: second day of Edgehill; second day of First Newbury; second day of Second Newbury. Other scenarios might include: what if the King had retained the 2,000 odd veteran cavalry that were sent off with Lord Goring (in a huff) to the West prior to Naseby; alternately, what if the letter (orders) made it to Goring and he actually marched to join the King prior to the battle (which would’ve been a big help against Cromwell’s cavalry command on the Royalist left wing!). The possibilities are endless, and many are as nicely outlined in the book for the entire war.

While the book covers many ‘what if’ aspects of battles and campaigns, there are no orders of battle or such, so the wargamer would have to consult one of the myriad of books or scenarios of battles they want to refight or alter in order to play a ‘what if’ battle. However, this should be quite an easy task, as the English Civil War abounds with many books and scenarios detailing battles.

This book is recommended as a good read, since it provides some provoking thoughts about the battle possibilities. For creative wargamers, An Alternative History of Britain: The English Civil War, introduces a number of ‘what if’ battles to game.

The adventures of Captain Innocent Stryker

Long time without a post here I know, but no this project is not dead.  In fact, it is now confirmed to be on track to go into high gear in early 2016.  Excitement and purchases continue (though no actually modelling yet).    Hopefully the upcoming Hoby Challenge will see some brushes get dusted off, eh Alan?

Anyway, in the meantime I have been keeping my toe in the ECW period with a bit of fiction set during the war.  Namely, the adventures of Captain Innocent Stryker.

Captain Stryker is the creation of author Michael Arnold.  A reluctant Royalist Officer, he and his sidekick Sergeant are grizzled veterans of the continental campaigns of the Thirty Years War.  As such, they have a much more jaded view of the war and what it will do eventually to their homeland.  He is frequently compared to Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe - in fact this comparison is done with monotonous regularity by reviewers but notwithstanding this is a pretty accurate.

The series of books takes the main cast of characters through the opening battles of the ECW with an interesting plot line running throughout all the different books.  Though I think the first couple were the best, I quite enjoyed all of them.  They gave a really interesting perspective to the lifestyles and language of the period, as well as how the skirmishing and fighting tactics of the period worked.  While there is also a good measure of artistic license, it also gives a good perspective of how the command chains of both armies worked, the impacts of suffering from poor logistics processes, and the impact of certain personalities.


Overall, if you are an ECW aficionado and want some entertaining reading to immerse yourself in the period, then this series is for you!  But be warned, it will have you hankering to play some Pike and Musket skirmish gaming, which is the level that most of the books' actions is set.

The author's webpage also has some interesting resources which are worth checking out.
http://www.michael-arnold.net

I'm up to the sixth instalment now, which covers the Battle for Marston Moor. It will be interesting to see how the author tackles that engagement and what he will do with the series once this climatic event is done.

Any recommendations for other ECW era fiction?


[EDIT] Steve the Warmer has just posted a review of Marsten Moor at his blog here:
 http://steve-the-wargamer.blogspot.com/2015/10/marston-moor-review.html

An idle resort to war

A veritable dearth of activity on the ECW project this month as my real life academic requirements piled up, and Alan rightly prioritised getting some Dark Ages figures completed for a campaign he has going.  Nevertheless, I did achieve some interesting acquisitions for the library - 2 gaming and 2 non fiction titles which will form part of my summer reading.  Reviews to follow in due course.

Book Review: Featherstone's Pike and Shot

OOP 'classic' edition

This is the second John Curry reprint that I bought recently, to go with Wesencraft's excellent "Pike and Musket" volume (which I reviewed here).  As much as I have enjoyed many other Featherstone tomes over the years, in my opinion this one is inferior to Wesencraft's book on the topic.

Reprint available from Amazon here

To be fair, I wanted this book for its information in regard to the ECW and thats not what it is.  Its a book on the entire age of warfare in the 16th and 17th centuries.  It details 15 different battles in great detail (up to 8 pages each, including  full page map) but only 3 are from the ECWs - Rocroi, Cropredy Bridge, and Auldearn.

The book is rounded out with some typically Featherstonesque rules and some references and reading lists in the back.



If you are after information about the whole period this may be of interest to you.  If you are after ECW material in particular, stick with Wesencraft's "Pike and Musket' instead.

Book Review: With Pike and Musket

 With Pike and Musket: Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Battles for the Wargamer 
by Charles Wesencraft

OOP 'classic' edition cover

This 204 page classic gives a basic overview of the period, provides rules with which to fight battles and sets out a number of battles to be refought.  As such, its a great primer but with lots of detail for the Pike and Musket veteran too.

The book starts by describing the weapons and their uses, the generic tactics of the day and the typical formations, troop types and how they were used.  The organisation and structure of Elizabethan, Irish, ECW and New Model armies are included. Very good and simply explained for the genre novice.

The book then goes on to include wargaming rues for the period, which are typical of the time when they were written in 1975.  Very much in the Featherstone/Grant style, they were of passing interest but would no doubt work most capably.

The highlight of the book is that no less than twenty-seven battles of the period are described, including the numbers engaged, types of troops, battle maps and objectives.  These battles 5 pre ECW in Europe, then every major ECW engagement from Edgehill to Naseby, with four battles subsequent battles:

Pinkie 1547

Yellow Ford 1598

Curlieu Hills 1599

Nieuport 1600

John Curry reprint- available from Amazon here

Moyry Pass 1600

Newburn 1640

Edgehill 1642
Syon House 1642
Hopton Heath 1643
Ripple Field 1643
Stratton 1643
Lansdown 1643
Roundway Down 1643
First Newbury 1643
Winceby 1643
Nantwich 1644
Newark 1644
Cheriton 1644
Cropredy Bridge 1644
Marston Moor 1644
Lostwithiel 1644
Castle Dore 1644
2nd Newbury 1644
Naseby 1645
Rowton Heath 1645
Dunbar 1650
Worcester 1651

Each battle has 4 or so pages dedicated to it, with detailed suggestions for refighting them including special rules where applicable.  Very gaming focused vice historical analysis.

Overall this is a well written, enjoyable and very informative book which I'm glad I bought.  Thanks again to Millsy for the recommendation (I bet you've got the 'classic' edition in that great collection of yours haven't you!)

5 stars based on its information content, clarity and wargaming utility.

ECW Reading

Thanks to Amazon I am now enjoying some new ECW reading.  While we have yet to determine which more modern rules we will use (Impetus, Polemos etc) these classic titles have some great content.

I must admit that as nice as it would be to have original editions, the Curry reprints of classic books are very nice, at very reasonable prices, and immediately available.

...and thanks for the tip on the Wesencraft title Millsy!